Biggest Takeaways From WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 1 Results

WWE set the bar incredibly high with a phenomenal first night of WrestleMania 39 action Saturday night at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

New champions were crowned, grudges settled and the greatest wrestling storyline of our time wrote its penultimate chapter.

That is just a taste of what went down on Saturday night, though.

Which stars and stories defined the first half of the 2023 Showcase of the Immortals? Find out with these takeaways from part one of this Hollywood blockbuster.

Beating John Cena in the opening match of WrestleMania to retain the United States Championship should have been a defining moment for a young star like Austin Theory.

Instead, the finish begs even more questions.

Did Cena really need to be protected in defeat by way of the screwjob finish? If the whole world saw Theory tap out, does it not prove the veteran's assertion that he is not ready for this spot?

If that is the case, why would he have even been put the 25-year-old there?

The match was very good and Theory was allowed to dominate, really shining for two-thirds of it. All of that was undone late when the guy he beat up all that time trapped him in the STF and forced him to tap out, only for the referee to have been bumped and not witness the submission.

Theory only won after a cheap low blow, which did nothing to help him look any better than he did entering the show and, worse yet, leaves the impression that someone behind the scenes does not believe in him quite enough to give him that definitive passing-of-the-torch victory over the future WWE Hall of Famer.

Again, if that is the case, why even go there with this match?

A follow-up is unlikely with Cena returning to Hollywood and nothing, short of a world title win, will mean as much to The Now as the straightforward victory would have.

Sure, Theory is a heel and they cheat, but this was the moment to establish him without question, but the decision was made to protect Cena instead.

It was a misstep that only creates questions about WWE's commitment to Theory as a true future main event star.

Every Logan Paul match is the best Logan Paul match.

Saturday night, he proved that again by delivering another show-stealer, this time against Seth Rollins. It was a match that saw him target the core of his opponent with the hard rights and lefts that he utilized while boxing.

When Rollins took the right hand away via a Stomp on the ring steps, it began a downward spiral that saw Paul accidentally splash his buddy, KSI, through a table before flying right into a superkick from his opponent.

From there, The Visionary scored the victory, much to the delight of the fans in Los Angeles.

Despite the loss, Paul showed up and showed out again. He was uber-athletic, matching the great Rollins, and adding in the showmanship that has been such an integral part of what he has accomplished during his wrestling career to this point.

The facial expressions were there, the selling was better than it has ever been, and his timing was at its best. He understands the value of letting things breathe, which goes a long way in achieving the desired reaction.

Rarely does a celebrity make the transition into pro wrestling as seamlessly as The Maverick. He understood the intricacies from day one and had the physicality and athleticism to help bridge the gap.

With claims by Paul that his WWE contract expired with the conclusion of Saturday's match, the company must re-sign him and ensure he continues to deliver show-stopping performances against top stars for years to come.

His fans take note, social media numbers benefit, and he all but guarantees a quality match when he appears on the card. Put pen to paper before Backlash on May 6 and guarantee he remains part of the WWE family for the foreseeable future.

In a perfect world, Paul would not make it out of SoFi Stadium without a new deal. That is how good he has been for WWE in his five in-ring appearances.

Rey Mysterio did as he promised during his Hall of Fame speech Friday night, taking care of business by defeating his spoiled brat of a son in an emotionally charged grudge match.

The contest, one of the hottest on the show thanks to the story at play, saw the involvement of Rey's wife, Angie, and daughter Aalyah before he delivered a 619 and top-rope splash to defeat Dominik.

Bad Bunny, who had joined the Spanish announce team for the bout, also interfered, evening the odds for the Hall of Famer after The Judgment Day's Finn Bálor and Damian Priest got involved in the proceedings.

The post-match celebration with his wife and daughter, in the middle of a stadium full of fans showing respect and adulation for the 48-year-old, was the exclamation point on what may well go down as the greatest weekend in the career of the luchador.

It was a well-deserved weekend, too.

Over the years, we have seen Mysterio inexplicably taken for granted by company officials. Whether it was sticking him in meaningless underneath feuds, cutting his WrestleMania matches short or leaving him off the card entirely, he has fallen prey to being so consistently good that management forgot how beloved and influential he is.

This weekend righted those wrongs and paid tribute to one of the five or so wrestlers in the discussion for greatest of all time. It also gave him every last one of the flowers he has earned throughout his career.

The feud with Dominik is likely not over, and the latest chapter will probably be written at Backlash in Puerto Rico with involvement from Bad Bunny, but this was the perfect conclusion to Rey's momentous WrestleMania experience.

It could not have happened to a better or more beloved member of the WWE roster.

Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship in a match that was better, more physical and more aggressive than their first encounter in 2020.

It was a coming-of-age moment for the 26-year-old, who spent the early portion of her main roster career trying to establish who she was.

After several reboots and repackaging, she finally found herself with The Judgment Day and embarked on a journey back to the WrestleMania stage against the woman who derailed her progress three years earlier.

She did so in what was, arguably, the best match of her young career.

When faced with her most significant match against the measuring stick for women's wrestling on the grandest stage, she performed up to the moment. She proved she belonged there.

The Australian has long had all of the tools to succeed but was missing the answer to the question "who are you?" She finally discovered it Saturday night and reaped the rewards.

Long may she reign, even though she is almost certainly going to defend against The Queen in a series of rematches.

As long as Triple H and Co. resist the urge to inexplicably book Flair to regain the title, let there be more in-ring excellence between the fierce competitors.

There was enormous pressure on WWE, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and The Usos to deliver a main event that was worthy of the storyline that preceded it.

However, all involved rose to the occasion and did just that, delivering an instant classic that had fans hanging on every near-fall and adults shedding tears as the Canadian pair celebrated their historic Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship victory.

It was the first time a tag team title match had headlined WrestleMania, but it was a deserved accolade.

What Zayn, Owens, and The Usos accomplished Saturday night was the culmination of a 10-month odyssey full of ups, and downs and the not-so-quiet hope that WWE Creative would know what to do when the time came to wrap it up.

It did, though, and booked the perfect outcome in which the right team went over after a grueling contest. Even with the outcome relatively obvious, the performers took the audience on a roller-coaster ride at SoFi Stadium, crafting a dramatic blockbuster befitting its Hollywood stage.

In the end, it was the two leading men who starred in the finale, with Zayn rocking Jey Uso with one Helluva Kick, then uttering the words, "I'm sorry, Uce," before delivering two more to finish him off.

For the sake of everyone involved, and all of the fans who had helped make the storyline one of the best in modern wrestling history, WWE had to stick the landing.

It did, and it produced one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history and one of the most satisfying endings to any story the company has told.