WWE's WrestleMania 41 Aftermath Has Been One Big Controversy After Another
WrestleMania 41 is officially done, and it's safe to say WWE has lost some of its luster following one of its hottest periods to date.
The positive buzz around the undisputed industry leader was at an all-time high last April as it celebrated the 40th anniversary of The Greatest Spectacle in Sport Entertainment. The company was enjoying a run of record sellout events and a creative boon thanks to The Bloodline saga.
Even more, one could argue WrestleMania 40 was among the best shows in the event's history because WWE successfully stuck the landing with Cody Rhodes' world title win. The closing moments of Night 2 led to one of the most satisfying endings the company has ever produced.
So, it's hard to reconcile the highs of 2024 with the lows of this year's build and the deflating chain of events surrounding the festivities. The two-night event was a mixed bag, to say the least, but much of the negative buzz from the press cycle from April 16-22 was also so distracting.
Yes, WWE still raked in an obscene amount of revenue and touted substantial attendance numbers. However, the overcrowded weekend of pro wrestling spawned one public relations disaster after another.
A Baffling Press Run
In February, we opined that there was a growing shift in momentum between All Elite Wrestling and WWE to start the year. That narrowing gap in the quality of shows and perception couldn't have been more evident last week as the former delivered the best episode of Dynamite in 2025.
This came off the heels of Nick Khan's latest appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast, where he lobbed a handful of trivial and misleading shots at the distinguished competition. The president of WWE clearly didn't forget some of the unsavory jabs Tony Khan threw at him in 2021, and he took the opportunity to return the favor.
There's nothing wrong with a little competitive banter, but it didn't come off well because it felt like Khan was punching down while claiming to be the underdog. His claim that WWE doesn’t "sign and bench people" also rang hollow when The Street Profits had to answer an awkward question the next day about why they weren't on the card for WrestleMania during their interview on It Is What It Is.
Roman Reigns' quote from his Vanity Fair interview also rubbed many fans the wrong way. It was jarring to see its top star attempt to tow the company line in support of such a divisive U.S. president when the WWE has avoided political discourse in the past.
Many of us are looking for an escape from the turbulent climate following the 2024 presidential election in pro wrestling. This was a stark reminder that WWE's ties to the current regime are unavoidable at times.
Paul Heyman's deportation joke from Monday morning's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show also didn't read well days after the company acquired the preeminent lucha libre promotion, AAA. That's not to mention the inevitable can of worms stemming from The Roast of WrestleMania hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe.
An Abysmal Main Event and Confounding Response
If all that bad press wasn't enough, WrestleMania 41 ended on such a sour note. Somehow, WWE managed to undercook a generational heel turn that most of us were interested in and churned out one of the worst main events in the history of The Show of Shows.
Rhodes vs. John Cena was astonishingly bad. This wasn't a fitting end to The American Nightmare's 378-day reign or a memorable start to Cena's record-breaking 17th world title win. It was an overwrought mess that left many fans scratching their heads in confusion.
Nevertheless, it wasn't all bad because Cena's Farewell Tour still has so much potential, and the two-night event undeniably had its bright spots. Frankly, Iyo Sky, Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley stole the show on Sunday.
Sky's successful title defense quietly became the feel-good moment of the weekend thanks to the reactions from her peers and the poignant clip of her parents crying in the stands. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns also delivered after an inconsistent build.
The closing stretch of the main event of Night 1 was tremendous, and it set up even more interesting developments for Raw after 'Mania. Aligning Heyman with Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker was a pleasant surprise, and we can’t wait to see how this plays out.
However, The Rock's appearance on The Pat McAfee Show added one last bombshell to a strange week for WWE. During the surprise interview, he seemingly washed his hands of the result of his storyline with Rhodes and put the onus on Triple H and the creative team.
This kind of felt like a bait and switch because many viewers expected The Final Boss to appear at Allegiant Stadium to advance this story. After all, we haven't seen him since Cena turned heel at Elimination Chamber on March 1.
If you read between the lines, The Rock has been essentially telling us he wouldn't be available for The Showcase of the Immortals since the debut episode of Raw on Netflix. The issue is that he also continued to be ambiguous enough to give fans a glimmer of hope that he could show up.
Showing up after the fact to tell us the story didn't need him anymore, and that he only did the angle at Elimination Chamber to boost ticket sales, was such a confounding choice. It's corporate doublespeak that merely added salt to a wound that WWE was trying to heal.
More to the point, this unexpected interview added credence to the belief that he and Triple H aren't on the same page. There's enough drama here to draft another season of Succession, and it's hard to see it as a positive sign for the rest of the year.
We predicted WrestleMania 41 would propel WWE out of a slow start, but the last week has offered more questions than answers.
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