WrestleMania 41 Night 2 Recap: Match of the Year & a Flat Main Event + WWE 2K25 Gameplay Reaction

Peter Klein

🎮 WrestleMania 41 Night 2 had everything—potential Match of the Year candidates, big title changes, surprise returns… and unfortunately, a main event that didn’t quite land. In this live reaction stream (with bonus WWE 2K25 gameplay sim), I break down everything from Iyo Sky’s brilliance to Joe Hendry’s unexpected debut and why Cena vs. Cody didn’t hit that next gear.  📺 Key Matches Discussed:  Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair 🔥  Drew McIntyre vs. Damien Priest  Dominik Mysterio wins the IC Title  Joe Hendry shocks as Orton’s opponent  Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena main event  🧠 Thoughtful takes. No hot takes. With some laughs along the way.  🎮 Visuals powered by WWE 2K25 – simmed, not played. 🎧 Subscribe for more post-show recaps, previews, and wrestling talk.  #WrestleMania41 #WrestleManiaRecap #WWE2K25 #IyoSky #DominikMysterio #WWEReview #CouchPotatoDiary   🔗 Stay Connected & Support the Show 🎧 Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/couch-potato-diary/id1564122189 Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM  🧠 Partners & Promos: C of Dead Apparel → https://www.cofdead403.ca/ Swift Energy → https://www.swiftenergy.gg/?ref=mriusnqm 🎁 Use Promo Code: PKPrimetime for 25% off!  📲 Follow Me: Twitter (X) → https://x.com/primetimeklein Instagram → https://instagram.com/primetimeklein Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/Couchpotatodiary Twitch → https://twitch.tv/primetimepk  📬 Business Inquiries & Fan Mail: Email → couchpotatodiary@yahoo.com

Transcript

00:00welcome everyone to uh i get a special um stream here twitch.tv slash primetime pk uh after

00:09wrestlemania 41 uh in the books right now gonna talk about that and try the new video game wwe

00:162k25 um so starting things out here uh just gonna run a simulated royal rumble on the screen uh so

00:24we can uh kind of talk about the show i'm not going to be distracted by gameplay and then we'll

00:28play the game and have some fun and uh answer questions and everything like that but uh the

00:33first part of this is going to just be straight up breaking down um what we saw at wrestlemania

00:38um while on the the video game screen we have a uh royal rumble on the mixed match challenge so

00:45that's uh that's where we're at and for my guest listeners none of that made any sense to you

00:49because you're just listening to it but uh that's uh yeah that's what we're doing here today so um

00:54obviously wrestlemania um it it just wrapped up a couple of moments ago and look i i think overall

01:04i i do think you have to view this as a a good wrestlemania but i i do think that it had a bit

01:11of a sorry i'm apparently very choked up about it i do think that it had a bit of a subpar ending

01:18with the the john cena thing and i i don't know like this is another one where i feel like i kind

01:28of duped myself a little bit maybe um and let myself kind of buy into what i thought was going

01:34to happen and uh everything like that so

01:39sorry just sending up the uh sending up the tweet there um i i kind of convinced myself that you

01:48know what we hadn't heard from the rock but we hadn't heard from um him in a little bit we thought

01:53it was the like he was just like kind of brushing the whole thing aside with cody and we were just

01:57moving on um and then he comes back and he he wants cody's soul and so because of that we are now

02:03getting um him with john cena it's like okay well they're not mentioning him again but like we kind

02:08of got duped into thinking that this whole thing was done last time and now here it is again and

02:12we're getting duped one more time and then it all plays out and that's actually not what happened it's

02:18just that we're not getting the rock here and you at least get some travis scott involvement but it

02:23almost would have been better to have not had that at all because it just it took it took a lot um out

02:31of the crowd i feel like and it just kind of it made you think like this was the first act and of the

02:37the involvements right like i kind of thought travis scott comes out like okay here we go this

02:43is cody gets him and he's gonna do the thing but then we're gonna hear if you smell and that's gonna

02:48happen and then we're gonna get to it and then cena hits him with the belt and it's over and it's just

02:52like that's it that's all we're getting that's it that we're not getting any more okay so again

03:00nothing aside from the rock being very prominently involved at elimination chamber um in the creative

03:08led me to thinking that there would be a rock involvement i just thought there had to be

03:14because he was such a big part of that big moment at the elimination chamber and so it was

03:20it was just a bit of a downer it was a little bit disappointing by the end of it that you just

03:26don't get any any rock involvement and it just it felt like that still had another level to get to

03:33if that makes sense and so look like i i kind of thought that about a number of matches that this

03:38weekend and we'll get to somewhere i absolutely didn't think that but it felt like there was a lot

03:42of matches that maybe it's just because of wrestlemania and we're thinking it needs a little

03:47bit extra or whatever that may be but it did kind of feel like all of these matches had a little bit

03:53more to give than than what we saw and maybe had another level to get to to reach that wrestlemania

03:59moment that we were kind of looking for and reach that wrestlemania kind of level i guess that that

04:05we're hoping for because like the level in wrestling has changed right like you look at how good the

04:10matches are on aew and how good the matches are in wwe and and all of that and it's okay the the this

04:16is wrestlemania we're gonna get some big time stuff here and instead we got we got good matches we got

04:22some great matches as well but a lot of matches that i thought needed to be a little bit better

04:27than they were came just a little bit short and i think that main event got there as well and i i was

04:33admittedly getting a little bit worried when um cena hits the the third aa or whatever it was

04:39and cole is like losing his mind at a classic or what he he lost his mind about something when cody

04:44kicked out and i was like i mean i guess like that i i believe that you want me to believe that

04:53but i just i i didn't really think that i i i wasn't watching this be like oh my god this is crazy

04:59it's just like okay when's cody gonna get hit whatever you know like it just it it didn't feel

05:04like a complete match to me and then it was over so you just get left with this wanting feeling and

05:10so now that there are still levels to go in this one obviously john cena winning the title for the

05:1717th time that doesn't um that that doesn't finish his story so to speak but from what where we were

05:26at losing our minds and elimination chamber john cena has finally turned and they did it in such a

05:33great way with the rock doing this and we're thinking that it means that the two sign means that

05:37there's going to be another person coming out and and joining this group and instead it just meant

05:42no that's the amount of people uh in this ring we're going to be at wrestlemania that's what this

05:46two meant uh so sorry for the confusion sorry if we uh threw you off the scent on that one a little

05:51bit but that's actually what that meant like you just think of how excited we were at that point

05:54to now the creative leading up it's like you know i i my i i liked it more than most i think

06:00with the the john cena stuff and all of that i thought like okay the explanations make sense

06:06for why it would be a heel turn it doesn't necessarily make sense in the way that he did

06:11it but these are making sense okay then we get the back and forth and the the i make empires for

06:16billionaires and you just whatever um cool great lines all that stuff but again it just felt like

06:24for your big program for john cena against cody rhodes this this didn't feel like a wrestlemania

06:31build and this just didn't live up to what that initial inciting incident was necessarily honestly

06:39it's a lot of what we criticize aew for right where you have this big um inciting incident with

06:45mariah may and and tony storm and then the creatives a little whatever and they do eventually get it back

06:51on track and have a very good ending but this is wrestlemania it's supposed to be like the big thing

06:55and and all of that right so to to to just have it end this way it kind of feels incomplete and

07:05that's not what you're supposed to be feeling coming out of a wrestlemania so i am sure postmania

07:11there's going to be a lot there but this did kind of feel sorry this did kind of feel just a little

07:18incomplete and a little underwhelming and maybe the first time where you could feel the momentum

07:23really start to slip for for wwe here not not in a way that is going to be i think economically

07:30disastrous to this company or anything like that but this was the first time that it kind of felt like

07:35we're not going to give you the benefit we gave you the benefit that it out we gave you the benefit

07:38that it out we gave you the benefit that it out and now eh eh you know just eh we didn't love this

07:46one so um yeah frustrating very frustrating because there was a lot that could have been done with this

07:53and now this is going to feel like it feels like this was the disappointing pay-per-view but now

07:58we're going to get to wrestlemania it's like no that was that was wrestlemania by the way just so

08:02you know so a little underwhelming the match was okay uh it wasn't great uh by any stretch of the

08:08imagination uh certainly when you look at what it had to kind of live up to um on this night

08:14a little underwhelming and then when you compare it to what we got last year at wrestlemania 40 and how

08:19big of a moment that felt that this certainly doesn't reach that kind of a level um so yeah

08:26just just disappointing is i think what the overall feel is for me coming out of uh wrestlemania 41

08:33and that main event anyway we did not start the night disappointed though did we um eo sky

08:40bianca belair and rhea ripley put on a classic and it's interesting my two favorite matches of the year

08:47so far um are both women's matches with the the tony storm or ima match at uh which one was that

08:53revolution i think it was um and then this match tonight that this match was incredible some of the

09:00defeats of athleticism i thought everyone kind of weaved in and out of this match perfectly i thought

09:06you got some very very good spots and very creative spots and then all the way down to the finish

09:10with the over the moon salt um while um they have something locked in was spectacular and i think

09:20again it was a great showcase if you are a consumer of my content you know that that i i am irrational

09:28when it comes to my eo sky fandom and so i was worried that this match was going to be a lot of okay

09:34this is some cool stuff and hey look at this eo can do some flippy dippy shit isn't that fun but then

09:39the main story is going to be the the two bianca and and rhea and it is going to be um it's going

09:47to be if eo wins then all of a sudden we get um like she's going to win because it was rhea and

09:56bianca getting tangled up with each other and focusing too much on each other and not enough on

10:01on eo but that was not it it was eo being equal with all three of them or with sorry with the other

10:08two and putting on a phenomenal performance so fantastic stuff from eo sky uh toxic in the chat

10:14um night two main event was just bad yeah it really it was not great it certainly was not great it just

10:20it never it never really got out of first gear it felt like like it felt like we were still in the

10:26building up moment and uh going into this match i was i was trying to not let last year get to me

10:33right because you can do the same thing this year that you did last year with uh travis scott comes

10:38running out and then like fucking sammy zane comes out to help cody again or something along those lines

10:43right and then it all builds up and we basically get the moment we thought we were going to get last

10:47year with rock and then austin comes down to help him and and so you are kind of relating like okay

10:55this is not this is not building great this is not really picking up here but this is still just

11:00kind of act one of this match right we're not getting out of and then the bell rang and like

11:04well fuck hey i guess this match is done like it just it never felt like it got another gear really

11:11i want to see what um i wonder if they have it up on wikipedia yet do we have how long this match was

11:17because it felt like i was doing other stuff to try to get this uh all set up and everything like that

11:21um but it felt like yeah 21 minutes and 40 seconds so it was just shy of logan paul or sorry just

11:28beyond logan paul and um aj styles and then the the longest match of the weekend deservedly so

11:35was cm punk roman reigns and seth rollins in uh their banger of a triple threat match that we saw

11:42on night one but um yeah that this one like it just it none of it felt like a finality like last year

11:49felt like the end of an era really but it really did feel like the end of this big whole story and this

11:57one this felt like the this felt like for for us kind of older ish fans this felt like no way out

12:03this felt like this is the thing we got to get to and then wrestlemania is going to be off the hook

12:07this is uh john cena had to win this one so we can get our big thing at uh whatever this was yeah

12:12rock had to beat kurt angle to hold on to his wrestlemania spot because we had a month to fill

12:17so we had to do this one this did not feel like wrestlemania coming to a close so again just

12:24disappointing with how it ended because this was this was a great night i thought of wrestling

12:28overall and i think night two was probably better than night one but night one ends a whole lot

12:32better than night two did but yeah eo was phenomenal um mcintyre against priest they went for it i thought

12:39they were great i thought they did put on a a really entertaining show with those two and just some

12:45big spots but not like overwhelming plunder or anything like that like you watch some of those old

12:50two thousands hardcore matches it's not just well i got a fucking cookie sheet now so let's go

12:56it wasn't that um i thought it was really entertaining and i thought they they did a

13:00great job there and i do think that uh the right guy wins with drew mcintyre getting the victory there

13:06but priest looked really strong and i thought it was an overall um overall really really entertaining

13:12matchup uh dominic mysterio is the new intercontinental champion as he beats brawn breaker

13:18finn balor and penta at 10 and a half minutes first of all this 10 and a half minute match

13:24the fact that that they were twice as good as cena and uh cody with half the time is i think quite

13:32telling but kind of talked about it on the pre-show a little bit like they gave dominic a lot on monday

13:38against penta and so you just kind of got this feeling like we're starting to progress with this

13:42kid a little bit and just thinking about it i kind of tweeted this out like at some point if you're

13:46going to do this with dominic mysterio you kind of got to try with him a little bit you know you can't

13:52just keep having him be the guy in the tag match or the guy who is just going out there and getting

13:57beat up and booed a whole lot but not actually doing anything at some point he actually has to

14:02have matches and things like that and have storylines and his character has to progress

14:07a little bit and we are now into that so now this is going to be a where are we at with dominic

14:13mysterio how how far has he risen how how good is he actually and so i think this is a really

14:18interesting test for him because i i thought he was really good that finish there in that match was

14:22great everyone comes out of this i guess i shouldn't say that finn does not come out of this i think

14:27much higher um it did kind of feel like he was he was there to get pinned was kind of what that felt

14:34like uh but penta looked amazing braun breaker felt like the biggest star on this card like i there is

14:41no doubt in my mind that when we are doing this for for wrestlemania 42 um we are going to be

14:47talking about braun breaker winning one of the championships um and being in a very prominent

14:52spot like he was excellent and there's a lot of talk right now um you know back in my day it was

15:00like swag uh right now it's aura he is oozing aura he had like just every little bit of it he has that

15:08he was so much fun to watch in this match and he just the way they presented him the way they shot

15:14him with the camera all of the engine i mean the fact that he's jacked helps um but all of it just

15:20made this guy feel like an absolute super de duper star for wwe and honestly like i'm i kind of laid

15:29out how i thought this was all going to go with the cena stuff um i believe it or not didn't start

15:36with all right so it's going to start with a really underwhelming main event but i had kind

15:40of laid it all out that cena was going to win the title to close his career and retire vacate the

15:46championship and um that they're going to have a royal rumble for it now i'm kind of of the opinion

15:52at this point give that one to braun let like cena can do his run whatever um i don't know if

15:58braun is the one to take the title off of him but i do think that braun should be seen his last

16:04match and i don't think cena should win it i i think that that is the level that i think braun

16:09breaker can get to he has all of it he has that charisma he has obvious physical gifts he has

16:14obviously worked very hard at this craft as well and i mean the the steiner math promo on the the

16:21kickoff show thing that or one of the kickoff show things that they did was just simply perfection

16:29um so he he is the the the total package he really is i know that that guy just got put into the the

16:35hall of fame but braun breaker really is the total package and i think this weekend did nothing to slow

16:41those conversations down randy orton beats joe hendry at 310 um i still wish it was nick aldis i i still

16:49wanted him to have that wrestlemania moment but this was not what i was expecting i i didn't for one

16:56second honestly think oh of course it'll be joe hendry it was it was going to be rusev it was going

17:01to be solo or it was going to be um nick aldis and so when that music hits a actual gasp comes out of

17:11me when that happened um i thought again it was really cool and there was what it needed to be right

17:16like the tna champion getting squashed i'm sure a couple people were a little upset by it but it was

17:21so much fun um joe hendry gets his his looks in and and then randy orton doing the spin after and

17:27all of that and getting his rkos and it was perfect joe hendry turns to the camera and then out of

17:32nowhere rko bam and he gets him and and that's it and it's over oh i loved it i i thought it was

17:41great and i i love that joe hendry got that spot and seemed actually emotional about getting that that

17:45opportunity as well so great for him to to get that spot it would have been funny if it was uh

17:51randy orton now wins the tna championship um and then you do randy orton versus john cena for the tna

17:57championship at bound for glory uh sign me up probably not gonna happen but um i i thought it

18:04was cool uh logan paul against dj styles i i am not one to say a whole lot glowing about logan paul

18:11although this match was exactly what you would expect it to be and we get a carry and cross

18:15something uh coming out for uh post wrestlemania and i mean for those watching um either live here

18:21on twitch or afterward in the videos um we got carry and cross on here right now but i i think

18:27that he has done good enough work that we need to now focus on this guy a little bit more coming out

18:32of wrestlemania he should be i think one of the projects moving forward uh lira valkyria and

18:37becky lynch defeat live morgan and raquel rodriguez for the wwe women's tag team championships

18:43again i i thought this was fun um i thought this match kind of hit on a lot of things and obviously

18:48the big thing is becky's return i don't know why bailey had to get thrown into it and then thrown out

18:54of it in this way if you're going to do this again bailey against roxanne perez was a feud that was

19:00right there and and so again don't love that this happened maybe you tie something into the attack

19:07with a roxanne perez and we can build on that feud there but wrestling is more fun when becky lynch is

19:13back and now she is a back and as a champion um i loved that we got um lira valkyria genuinely

19:20fangirling out right like she was like looks out at the crowd like oh my gosh there's 60 whatever

19:26thousand people watching me wrestle right now and that when becky comes out she is just like an

19:32absolute child just so excited when that happened and so you'll love to see the passion there of um

19:38of lira valkyria and and doing all that so overall night two was better than night one um i i the ending

19:47of this really does kind of drag a lot of it down for me but you look at what we get coming out of it

19:53now jay usa winning the championship was great we get um like tiffany stratton gets her big win

20:00anyway that match wasn't great but she at least i thought put on a good performance jacob fought too

20:05as a champ for the first time uh jade cargill looked like a star el grande americano and uh ray

20:11phoenix was fun as hell and seth rollins turn with paul hayman was big and then night two

20:16eo bianca and rhea ripley put on the match of the year uh dominic mysterio is a champion now

20:22mcintyre and priest had a banger so a lot and we got joe hendry on wrestlemania so we had a lot of

20:28real fun on this one it's just that the main event really does kind of drag it down so i don't think

20:33anyone's list of best wrestlemanias is changing um after this one i don't know if anyone's list of

20:40worst wrestlemanias is changing i don't even think this is the worst wrestlemania main event to have

20:45happened in las vegas nevada but it is a bit of a downer to end things on and this is one it's not

20:52to the point of where i made the aew is in trouble video on on youtube but this is one where this john

21:00cena story whatever um act two is now coming out of this needs to be very impressive and i think we

21:08kind of got to get to it a little bit quicker on on monday and we need to have some big advancements

21:13because i do think that this one has the potential to lose a lot of people and has the potential to

21:18to really disappoint a lot of people coming out of this so a bit of a bummer for for wrestlemania to

21:23end that way we still get some big matches but this just didn't have the same grandeur the build-up

21:29didn't have the same grandeur and this mat this night didn't really feel like the big wrestlemania night

21:34either

21:35either

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