Stone Cold match, Rhodes return, Rousey loss

The word WWE used to describe WrestleMania 38 was “stupendous.” Surreal was more like so far. On Night 1, we saw “Stone Cold” Steve Austin have his first match in 19 years, Cody Rhodes return, Ronda Rousey get screwed and Bianca Belair reaffirm her star. Here are five highlights from the opening night of WrestleMania 2022 at AT&T Stadium on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 77, 899.

Stone Cold!, Stone Cold!

There is “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and then their is everyone else — still. The Texas Rattlesnake won his first match in 19 years in an impromptu “no holds barred” battle in the main event. It was credible, hard hitting and a fun trip down memory lane. It allowed Austin, whose previous match was a loss to The Rock at WrestleMania 19, to close his career where it began in Dallas.

Austin, 57, entered to one of the loudest pop you will ever hear after Owens continued to talk smack about him and Texas on The KO Show. Owens then said he tricked Austin, who played the hits on the mic and in the ring, because he brought him there for a match.

While there was plenty of brawling, Austin took a suplex onto the concrete when the two brought things into the crowed. He even drove Owens up to stage on his signature buggy. They fought up there with Austin, who stopped to drink bear occasionally throughout the match, suplexing Owens twice on the stage before rolling him down the ramp.

When they got in the ring, Owens was able to hit a beer-distracted Austin with a Stunner, but the Hall of Famer kicked out. Austin turned Owens’ attempt to use a chair into his chance to deliver a Stunner of his own and pin KO for the win. What followed was another Stunner to Owens, plenty of beer drinking and Austin getting to closing out another WrestleMania with his brother in the ring. Owens — a life-long fan of Austin — bumped and sold his butt off for his hero and should be celebrated for everything he did during this feud.

Mrs. WrestleMania

WWE has struggled at times building true babyfaces, but they deserve credit for consistently hitting the right notes with Bianca Belair. The EST got an all-time WrestleMania entrance. An entire marching band played her out before she put on a second straight excellent WrestleMania match and earned another championship win at WWE’s biggest show. Belair is a superstar and WWE is treating her that way by having her take the Raw women’s championship from Lynch.

The two started with an early callback to their SummerSlam match, this time Belair extending her hand to Lynch. They traded counters until Big Time Becks hit the Man-handle Slam but was unable to get the quick pin this time. It set the tone that this wasn’t going to end in 26 seconds. Instead we got a chess match of counters with having moments of doubt of whether they could win.

The EST, who topped Sasha Banks for the SmackDown belt last year, finally won by flipping off the top turnbuckle to counter Lynch trying to hit another Man-Handle slam. She got Lynch up on her shoulder and the crowd to its feet for a Kiss of Death to seal the victory.

What’s next for Lynch — who hasn’t had a bad match since returning — remains to be seen. Does she take some time off? Does she stay a heel as Big Time Becks or slowly work her way back to her babyface The Man gimmick or something different?

Welcome Home

The rumors and reports proved to be true, but it was surreal to see Cody Rhodes, the former All Elite Wrestling executive vice president, back in WWE after six years. He and Seth Rollins delivered a beautifully told story that had hints of a war between the two companies. It ended with a touching moment, where Rhodes stopped after two straight Cross Rhodes to deliver the snap punches and Bionic Elbow made famous by his father “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes before delivering the third to put Rollins down for good.

To start, Rollins waited in the ring a little extra before the lights dimmed and Rhodes arose from the stage to a humongous pop as the American Nightmare. Nothing about his presentation changed from his ring gear and music, but his wife Brandi was absent as he proved to be Rollins’ mystery opponent. Gone were the boos Rhodes was receiving late in his run in AEW as he got a huge babyface response. He even got in an old Stardust taunt just to connect the dots to the way WWE fans last saw him in the company. Rollins, who has been a flagbearer for WWE, continually welcomed Rhodes back and at one point said “welcome back to the big league, bitch.”

The two had a more old-school, paced wrestling match with the physicality and stiffness increasing as things when along. They each continually hit huge moves that the other kicked out of. After a number of counters, Rollins kicked out of an initial Cross Rhodes and Cody later…