WWE WrestleMania 38 Results: Matches That Left the Best Impression

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WrestleMania 38 represented a phenomenal weekend for WWE and wrestling fans. The two-night event was packed with great in-ring action, memorable returns, surprises and a few noteworthy title changes.

The weekend also featured a couple of celebrity matches that managed to hit the mark. Logan Paul and Johnny Knoxville both carried themselves well in the ring, which isn't always the case when non-wrestlers get involved.

Of course, two of the biggest moments of the weekend involved surprising returns. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin worked a match for the first time in 19 years when he accepted Kevin Owens' challenge of a No Holds Barred fight, and Cody Rhodes returned to WWE after six years away to battle Seth Rollins.

Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair stole the show with an instant classic that saw the latter claim the Raw Women's Championship. Oh, and Roman Reigns unified the WWE and Universal Championships when he defeated Brock Lesnar, though it was a fairly standard match with an abrupt finish and little fanfare.

Here, we look back at the results from both nights and dive a little deeper into three bouts that left lasting impressions.

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Saturday, April 2

• The Usos def. Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
• Drew McIntyre def. Happy Corbin
• The Miz and Logan Paul def. Rey and Dominik Mysterio
• Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch to win the Raw Women's Championship
• Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins
• Charlotte Flair def. Ronda Rousey to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship
• "Stone Cold" Steve Austin def. Kevin Owens

Sunday, April 3

• RK-Bro def. The Street Profits and Alpha Academy to retain the Raw Tag Team Championship
• Bobby Lashley def. Omos
• Johnny Knoxville def. Sami Zayn
• Sasha Banks and Naomi def. Queen Zelina and Carmella, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, and Natalya and Shayna Baszler to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship
• Edge def. AJ Styles
• Sheamus and Ridge Holland def. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston
• Pat McAfee def. Austin Theory
• Vince McMahon def. Pat McAfee
• Universal champion Roman Reigns def. WWE champion Brock Lesnar to unify the titles

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Roman Reigns' win might have the biggest storyline impact as WWE Creative continues to push him as an unbeatable force at the top of the men's division, but Saturday's battle between Belair and Lynch was the championship contest of the weekend.

From stunning entrances and great in-ring storytelling to a showcase of both competitors' skills (Belair even hit a 450 splash from the second rope) and a satisfying finish, this one had a bit of everything.

Lynch looked to put Belair away early with a flurry of offense but became visibly frustrated when the strategy didn't work. She maintained control in the early goings, though, halting The EST of WWE's momentum every time she seemed to build some.

Over the course of the match, though, the bigger, faster and stronger Belair gained the upper hand. She eventually took over completely and hit the KOD for a clean victory, which got a huge pop from the crowd at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

Saturday's match has set up some interesting options if the feud between the two is to continue. Belair took everything the champ had to offer, and Big Time Becks will have to formulate a different approach if she is to regain the title.

Overall, the women's matches were solid. The contest between Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey was a fun, physical fight but suffered from some poor pacing. It was also good to see Sasha Banks and Naomi win the tag team titles after The Boss had come up short so many times at Wrestlemania, but Fatal 4-Way tag matches can be a mess, and Sunday's was no exception.

However, Belair vs. Lynch was a display of two of WWE's best talents and the embodiment of what a WrestleMania match should be.

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Cody Rhodes' return will have more of an impact moving forward for WWE and the wrestling business in general. His return after six years away from the company was well-received by the fans.

According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, The American Nightmare will be a babyface on the Raw roster following his departure from All Elite Wrestling. The storyline impact will be significant, too.

For fans, though—specifically those who followed "Stone Cold" Steve Austin during his in-ring prime—Saturday's surprise contest left a bigger impression.

The Texas Rattlesnake was supposed to simply make an appearance on The KO Show. However, host Kevin Owens unexpectedly challenged him to a No Holds Barred fight, and the veteran accepted. For the first time in 19 years, the 57-year-old competed in an official WWE match.

Owens and Austin put on a great show. It wasn't a technical masterpiece by any means, but rather a roaming brawl that hearkened back to the Attitude Era or even vintage ECW. The two men battled in the ring, through the crowd and up the ramp, with both taking bruising bumps throughout.

For a physical fight, it also had a fairly creative finish. Owens delivered a chair shot, Austin ducked, and the chair ricocheted off the ropes and hit KO in the face. The Rattlesnake then delivered a Stunner to get the win.

It wasn't the last Stunner Austin would provide over the weekend, as he hit Vince McMahon, Austin Theory and Pat McAfee with the same move on Sunday. However, his match with Owens was a real treat and the most well-executed surprise return we've seen from WWE in a long time.

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Serious wrestling fans might take exception to this entry, but hear me out.

Celebrity matches don't always work and comedy contests are often a recipe for disaster, but Sunday's Anything Goes bout between Johnny Knoxville and Sami Zayn was a masterclass.

Zayn is one of the best performers in WWE, so it wasn't surprising to see him handle the pacing and the communication to make this one work. However, Knoxville did a tremendous job of buying and selling moves and dictating the comedic elements throughout.

And there were a lot of comedic elements. The Jackass star hit Zayn with everything from a bowling ball and a mechanized boot, to a taser and even the ring-post pyro. At one point, the WWE Superstar even took a giant hand to the face that seemingly came out of nowhere, arguably the camera crew's best work of the weekend.

Knoxville also got a little help from Jackass co-stars Chris Pontius and Wee Man before trapping The Great Liberator in a giant mousetrap and delivering the pin.

This match truly was "anything goes" and it worked—the silliness, the spots, the guest appearances—all of it.

Social media star Logan Paul also deserves credit for putting in the necessary work to make his match alongside The Miz believable, while SmackDown announcer Pat McAfee got some of Sunday night's biggest crowd pops in his matches against Austin Theory and Vince McMahon.

However, Knoxville vs. Zayn topped everything in terms of spectacle and unexpected success. They could have easily been part of a jokey throwaway but instead created a true WrestleMania moment.

In an era when WWE has moved away from over-the-top gimmicks, this was proof that it still knows how to have fun.