2023 WrestelMania 39 recap, reactions, winners and losers

The biggest wrestling card of the year, WWE’s WrestleMania 39 wrapped up on Sunday night. The two-night affair featured all of your typical bells and whistles for the “Showcase of the Immortals.” There were 15 matches — including two impromptu, celebrity adjacent affairs — with two title changes and an ending that unexpectedly extends WWE’s biggest storyline heading into WrestleMania.

So what went down in Inglewood, California this weekend? Who were the biggest winners and losers? Which matches will be in the conversation for 2023’s best already? Yahoo Sports takes a look back and has you covered with the results from both nights of wrestling action.

Results

WrestleMania 39 Night 2 (Sunday)

• Brock Lesnar pins Omos in 4:57

• Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler defeat Shotzi & Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan and Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in 8:28

• Gunther pins Drew McIntyre, defeats Sheamus in 17:38 to retain the Intercontinental Championship

• Bianca Belair pins Asuka in 16:55 to retain the Raw Women’s Championship

• Snoop Dogg pins The Miz in 2:06

• Edge pins The Demon Finn Balor in 18:13 in a Hell in a Cell match

• Roman Reigns pins Cody Rhodes in 34:34 to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

WrestleMania 39 Night 1 (Saturday)

• Austin Theory pinned John Cena in 11:24 to retain the WWE United States Championship

• Street Profits defeated Viking Raiders, Alpha Academy and Braun Strowman & Ricochet in 8:29

• Seth Rollins pinned Logan Paul in 16:15

• Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus defeated Damage CTRL in 16:52

• Rey Mysterio pinned Dominik Mysterio in 14:23

• Rhea Ripley pinned Charlotte Flair in 25:15 to win the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship

• Pat McAfee pinned The Miz in 3:40

• Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens def. The Usos in 24:15 to win the WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship

Winners and Losers

Winner: Women’s wrestling — We’re about eight years removed from the “Women’s Revolution,” ushered in in part by Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks and Bayley. Three of the Four Horsewomen were in action this weekend, with Lynch and Bayley working a six-woman tag match featuring the past (Lita, Trish Stratus) and future of the division (Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai).

We also saw two of the greatest women’s matches ever as Charlotte Flair defended her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair defended her Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka. Ripley and Belair walked away victorious and both matches are worth your time if you missed them this weekend.

Winner: Seth Rollins and Logan Paul — Seth Rollins may have won this match, but both he and Logan Paul raised the bar for what a celebrity-esque bout should be at WrestleMania. The victory likely pushes Rollins closer to the top of the WWE card (where he arguably should always be) and it builds Paul’s reputation as a legitimately good and entertaining professional wrestler. Oh, and there was also a walking billboard for Paul’s Prime drink in the form of KSI in a mascot costume.

Winner: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens — The purpose of WrestleMania is to essentially serve as the Super Bowl or season finale of WWE’s year. Night 1 created a WrestleMania moment that will be looked back on fondly for years, if not decades.

Zayn and Owens dethroning The Usos as tag team champions in the main event was significant for a number of reasons. It marked the first time the tag team championships have been defended in the main event of a WrestleMania and it paid off arguably WWE’s best storyline in recent memory. The match was arguably the best of the entire event and sparked a massive crowd reaction when it finally ended.

Winner: Snoop Dogg — Snoop is no stranger to WWE and being part of the events, but Sunday, during Night 2 he was called into emergency action as Shane McMahon appeared to suffer a serious knee injury during an impromptu match against Mike “The Mix” Mizanin. Once McMahon went down, Snoop jumped into action, hitting a few punches and a People’s Elbow to score the pin. It was a moment that went sideways, but ultimately was salvaged due to quick thinking and acting.

Winner: George Kittle — Kittle, the star tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, is not shy about his wrestling fandom. On Saturday night, he was able to get into the ring and be a part of the action alongside Pat McAfee in a match against The Miz. Crossover moments for the win!

Winner: Roman Reigns — In what was the biggest swerve of the entire event, Roman Reigns retained his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in a thrilling main event. Reigns remains the top star in WWE and arguably the entire industry on a night where it felt like Cody Rhodes was going to “finish the story” and usher in a new era. Rhodes-Reigns had everything you want in a main event and because of the questionable finish — Solo Sikoa interfering as Rhodes was on the cusp of victory — we’re going to see this feud continue and an all-new version of The Bloodline since The Usos lost their own main-event match on Saturday.

Loser: The Judgment Day — Sure, Rhea Ripley won the Smackdown Women’s Championship, but she always seemed destined for bigger things than the faction. Dominik Mysterio and the groups leader, Finn Balor, took pretty major losses in storyline-heavy matches at WrestleMania. It seems like we might be headed for a major tag match at Backlash in Puerto Rico in May, but beyond that we’re not sure what the long-term plan is for this group.

Loser: Damage CTRL — Bayley, Iyo Sky and Dakota Kai’s group made a huge return/debut at SummerSlam last year and, while it makes sense that they lost on Saturday night, it’s hard to view them as a major threat in the women’s division (singles or tag). All three women are too talented to be kept down for long, but much like the Judgment Day, it remains to be seen where this stable goes from here.

WrestleMania Superlatives

Night 1’s best match: Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair

Night 2’s best match: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes

Best WrestleMania moment: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens winning Unified Tag Team Championships

Best performance: Rhea Ripley

Best entrance: Bianca Belair

Viral move: Chad Gable’s suplex of Braun Strowman

What’s next? ‘The TODAY show’ and ‘Raw’ After ‘Mania

While WrestleMania the event may be over, the action carries over into Monday as the big winners make appearances on “The TODAY Show” and there’s another whole night of wrestling with WWE’s weekly “Monday Night Raw” airing on USA Network later that day.

The same way WrestleMania serves as the Super Bowl/season finale for WWE, the “Raw” after ‘Mania basically starts the whole cycle all over again. It’s usually a night filled with new storylines, surprise returns and features a “hot” crowd that really adds to the atmosphere.

How to watch:

“Today Show” airs at 7am ET on NBC.

“Monday Night Raw” airs at 8pm ET USA Network

Previous updates from WrestleMania week

WWE 2023 Hall of Fame inductees

• Rey Mysterio, inducted by Konnan

• The Great Muta, inducted by Ric Flair

• Andy Kaufman, introduced by Jerry “The King” Lawler, inducted by Jimmy Hart

• Stacy Keibler, inducted by Mick Foley and Torrie Wilson

• Tim White*, inducted by JBL and Ron Simmons

*Indicates Ultimate Warrior Award recipient

‘Go-home’ SmackDown and Hall of Fame updates

• Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns faced off one last time

• Sheamus & Drew McIntyre defeated Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Von Kaiser

• Raquel Rodriguez defeated Natalya, Shayna Baszler and Sonya Deville in a preview of the women’s “Showcase” Fatal 4-Way match

• Bobby Lashley won the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royale, last eliminating Bronson Reed

• Ricochet defeated Erik, Chad Gable and Montez Ford in a preview of the men’s “Showcase” Fatal 4-Way match

‘Go-home’ Monday Night RAW updates

• Cody Rhodes maintained his undefeated streak — ending Solo Sikoa’s — in a final tune-up match ahead of Sunday’s main event

• Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville formed a tag team and qualified for the women’s Fatal 4-Way showcase match by defeating Candice LeRae and Michin

• Stacy Keibler was announced as the fourth WWE Hall of Fame inductee for 2023, joining Rey Mysterio, The Great Muta and the late Andy Kaufmann

• Omos weighed in at 410 pounds for his match vs. Brock Lesnar, then attacked Lesnar with the scale before the weigh-in could be completed