WWE Wrestlemania 40 Day 1 Highlights: Reigns and Rock win Day 1 main event, Cody vs Roman in Bloodline rules tomorrow

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Even before Jimmy could enter the ring, Jey leaps from inside the ring to outside and catches his big brother by surprise. Just how fast the night changes. Last year, at WrestleMania, The Usos were tag-team champions, in the main event on Day 1. A year since, not only are they champions but their bond has been torn by jealousy, complacency.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Last year, Rey Mysterio taught a beating to his son Dominik Mysterio in a one-on-one contest. After the match, it seemed as if the father and son were done for good. But clearly no. Dominik put his nose where it didn't belong and teamed up with Santos Escobar to take out Rey. Thankfully, the WWE Hall of Famer received support from Andrade, who came to Mysterio's aid, setting up this tag match beautifully for the three-time WWE champion.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: So many twists and turns before we finally have a winner. Priest had the match won but as he gingerly climbed up the ladder, boasting in the confidence that he had the match won, Senor Money in the Bank had a reality check. The Miz came out of nowhere and disturbed his pursuit to the title. As both landed on the mat, Truth double teamed with Miz and delivered an AA to Priest. As both members of the Judgment Day licked their wounds outside, Truth climbed up the ladder and took off the titles. Finally, a WrestleMania moment for R-Truth as he and The Miz are back at the top of the tag-team division.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: As Waller was celebrating the victory, Dunn and Bate spoil the party. They both climb up the ladder on which Waller was showboating on, double team him and throw him off the ladder from inside the ring to outside where another ladder was perched between the apron and announced table. Waller comes crashing down.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: One high-octane clash followed by what promises to be another as the six tag teams try and clinch the titles hanging above the ring in a ladder match. Just moments after the opening bell, athletes straightaway went after the ladders. And can you blame them? Such matches have historically provided many picture-perfect moments – such as jumping off the ladder, on opponents… even teams and these promise to be no different. Damian Priest and Finn Balor seemed to have seized control but R-Truth pulls a leaf out of John Cena's book, hits Balor with the Five Knuckle Shuffle and then plants him on the ladder with an AA. Truth having his WrestleMania moment.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: There's the finish. Rhea's strength game does the trick again. MAMI plants Becky with back-to-back riptides – one on the turnbuckle and the other one on the man to put the match beyond conclusion. Stacks Becky up for the pin. 1…2…3, and Rhea Ripley's year-long reign continues. Becky knows she came this close, and while it could well be the sore throat or whatever it was that was troubling Becky, Rhea entered and walked out as champion.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: What a banger this is turning out to be! Manhandle Slam, kick out. Rip-tide, kick out. Arm-bar, another kick-out. Rhea then tries a desperate move out of her armour. Lifts Lynch up on her shoulders and slams Lynch for the Electric Chair outside the ring. And oh yes, how can we forget that this was just seconds before Becky hit Rhea with a Superplex off the top rope. Madness!

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: The match is heading at a crazy tempo. Rhea had Becky in the Prisoner's Trap but after a good 2 minutes of struggle, Becky countered it albeit only momentarily. Rhea then went for a Riptide, but Becky countered it into a Manhandle Slam. Much to her shock, Rhea kicked out. Was that a moment of self-doubt? Could well be. And now both women are on the top rope. Not a good feeling when that happens.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: This match is going back and forth now. Rhea finally finds some gas in her and uses her strength to slam Becky on the mat thrice. Tremendous will power as just moments ago, Becky had Rhea in the 'Disarmher'. To find her way out of it to turn the offence is bloody commendable. There's a reason why she hasn't been pinned even once in the last year. This is only the second time that these two women are facing each other in a one-on-one contest.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Becky takes control as she is constantly at Ripley's throat. This is a bit odd. Becky is the babyface here but the pace at which this match is heading, Rhea is the one made to look like one. A suplex off the top rope flattens Rhea Ripley, who clearly it feels wasn't ready for this. Becky then follows with a leg drop on the apron but Rhea kicks out. Becky is not letting this go. She has Rhea where she wanted her and has thoroughly negated Mami's strength.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: An early shove on to the mat from Rhea Ripley but Becky Lynch is going to have none of it. A slap across Mami's face has stirred things up early. The Man then jumps from the top rope to push Rhea out of the ring, but doesn't waste the advantage as she stuns Ripley with a string of attacks initially. Oh wait, Rhea on the offence now. Yeah, pretty much neck-and-neck. Becky suplexes Rhea before Ripley plants one of her own.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: What a start to the show as Becky Lynch's music hits and the arena explodes. A bit of a special entrance from The Man, who reads out a few motivational lines from her own book. And as she walks down the ramp, the look of determination on her face is unmissable. Becky has been battling a flu over the last couple of days but you can't guess it. No way.

Meanwhile, Rhea Ripley doesn't take long to enter the fray although she too has her special entrance as the Motionless in White, Rhea's favourite band, performs her entrance music and introduces MAMI. Samantha Irwin on duty right away. The Women's Heavyweight Championship starts the show. Gear up!

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: And we're away. WrestleMania 40 is now live from the Lincoln Field where America's National Anthem is being sung. Nothing, and we mean nothing comes close to this spectacle. As Michael Cole rightly mentions, the first of the double-decker is here. And who better to open the show is Triple H, the Chief Content Officer. Metalhead and The Game. Oh we got goosebumps already. Paul Levesque soaks it all in. This man has competed in 23 WrestlManias in the past and just to see the look on his face is so heartwarming. This is his WrestleMania. He may have retired but the Game lives.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Here it is! The moment of truth. The crowd outside the stadium is slowly dispersing. Where are they heading? No prizes for guessing. Inside the Lincoln Field Stadium as we are just moments away from the start of WrestleMania 40. Two nights a year, with the biggest superstars. This Mania starts an hour earlier, which makes it a five-hour bonanza. And just as we mention it, first-hand visuals from inside the stadium emerges. Corey Graves is making his way to the commentary box. As it Pat McAfee. We couldn't be any closer. Let's go wrestling fans. Once again, WrestleMania 40… is here.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: By the end of Mania XL, Roman Reigns would have done the unthinkable. Irrespective of whether he beats or loses to Cody, Reigns would have solidified himself as the True Goat having main-evented 9 WrestleManias. WOW! By doing so, he will leave behind Hulk Hogan, who had main-evented 8 WrestleManias back in the day. Reigns has an 8-2 loss at WrestleMania, with his only two defeats coming to Brock Lesnar (and Seth Rollins) – at WrestleMania 31 and 34. As for who all he's defeated, the list is a pretty intimidating one – Triple H, Undertaker, Lesnar, Edge and Daniel Bryan and of course, Cody.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Two is better than one. Well, the WWE surely believes in this theory. Tomorrow, as Roman Reigns defends his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes, the two would have done it for a second year in a row. This is just the fourth time that the same two guys are pitted against each other at consecutive WrestleManias. The chronology started with The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels who stole the show at WrestleMania 25 and 26. Taking over the baton, Triple H and The Undertaker battled at WrestleMania 27 and 28 in a No-Holds Barred and Hell in a Cell match respectively. The Rock and John Cena main-evented WrestleMania 28 and 29, taking this pattern to a whole new level. And now Roman and Cody take centrestage tomorrow having put together one hell of a main-event at WrestleMania 39 last year.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: The Covid-19 pandemic did all sorts of bad to the world. The only good thing it did was add a tweak to WrestleMania. As the world shut down in 2020, WWE was forced to move WrestleMania to its performance centre, but not before it was turned into a two-nighter. Yes, after the first 35 WrestleMania, fans would come in for a double delight as the Showcase of the Immortals was extended to two days. This meant more matches, more action-packed spots and more WrestleMania moments. And know what, had it not been for the pandemic? We would still be swinging just once.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: When The Rock returned to the WWE as member of the TKO board, it was clear he had one idea on his mind. To make the long-awaited dream match come true. Roman Reigns vs The Rock. As per Dwayne Johnson's own admission, the match between himself and Roman was a 'lock in' at WrestleMania at the SoFi Stadium. But as it often happens in the WWE, a spanner was thrown into the works. With The Rock finally showing his desire to return, he was set to face his cousin on the biggest stage of them all.

But something surreal happened. After Cody Rhodes won the Royal Rumble for the second years in a row, the crowd got behind him. And the support was so overwhelming, that creatives changed. 

The We Want Cody hashtags paved the way for a new hero to emerge, which created a ripple effect. The Rock became the bad guy, sided with his cousin, and even acknowledged him. As they say, a hero is only as good as the villain and here is WWE's chance to hand over the company to the biggest babyface since John Cena. Come on WWE, do it. Pull the trigger and see the people go bonkers.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: The answer is plenty. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart at WrestleMania 10, followed by The Undertaker wrestling his kayfabe brother Kane twice at the Showcase of the Immortals. Then, at Mania 24, the Hardy Boyz – brothers Matt and Jeff took it to the Extreme. And now The Usos. Main event Jey Uso, with his Yeet Army behind him, is burning up the charts in terms of fan popularity and selling merchandise.

He has never been the same since separating himself from The Bloodline. But standing in his way is his own brother. Jimmy, who still pledges his alliance with Roman and Solo Sikoa. Jimmy brags that Jey needs him to be relevant. It could be stemming out of jealousy… or not. Who knows? But the idea of this match cannot be any more crystal clear. Both want to break out of the other's shadow.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: As The Rock has repeatedly pointed it out since his return, professional wrestling is cool again. Yes, WWE more than anyone else, is hotter than ever before. Even beating the infamous 'Attitude Era' in terms of crowd attendance, sold-out arenas, red-hot storytelling and the addition of a bit of sports-broadcasting like features in its product. And it's all thanks to one man. Paul 'Triple H' Levesque. Highly invested in the current product of wrestling, Trips has really turned it on and how. The Chief Content Producer, Triple H has made superstars, orchestrated and delivered compelling storylines, raise the standard of matches and most importantly, been listening to the crowd.

In the past decades, the WWE has been categorised into many eras. The period between 1980 to 1990 was known as the Golden era. The time from 1990 to 1996 was the New Era with stars such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker coming to the fore. Then, of course, The Attitude Era, followed by the highly-entertaining Ruthless Aggression Era. In 2008, the WWE turned family friendly, introducing the PG era, which was a lot more docile. But finally, after years of waiting, a new era is upon us, and people within the company, including Michael Cole are insisting that this be called The Triple H era. How does it sound to you?

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: We all know what the main-event is, but there's a whole lot of chatter around the start of the show that the women's heavyweight championship match between Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch is going to kick off the show. Rhea Ripley had the match of her career and possibly, of the year when she beat Charlotte Flair. One year later, she is still undefeated, yet to lose the title even once. Up against her is someone who has done it all.

A royal rumble winner, part of the Four Horsewomen, a 6-time champion. The Man. Becky 'Two Belts' Lynch. Having put up a spirited performance inside the chamber back in February at Perth, Australia, Becky earned to right to challenge Rhea. And truth be told. There couldn't have been a more ideal opponent for Rhea. One of the most over wrestler with the crowd and the WWE Universe, MAMI is operating at a whole new level and rest assured, is the favourite to walk out of here today… still the Women's Heavyweight Champion.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Unfortunately, the answer is NO. The roof of the All-State Arena in Chicago blew up when 'The Cult of Personality' hit at the WWE Survivor Series in November and out walked CM Punk in a WWE arena for the first time in 14 years. Punk immediately set his sights on the top prize – one of the top world championships – and even competed at the Royal Rumble. But a legit injury – a torn triceps has ruled him out for a good chunk of time – six months approximately.

But hey! That doesn't mean Punk won't be at Mania. He was part of the Kickoff show and is already outside the stadium with the rest of the broadcasting team. And of course, he will be doing commentary tomorrow when Seth Rollins defends his world heavyweight championship against Drew McIntyre.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: WrestleMania weekends are all about glitz, glamour, public appearances, press conference and more. But this year, there was a different buzz to it. Besides the star power – the returning Rock, CM Punk as ring announcer, Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes and etc – there were chat shows on ESPN, podcasts such as Pat MacAfee's and one with the entire public gathering. Wrestlers broke characters, spoke out of kayfabe, which has an aura of its own. And then there was the prestigious Hall of Fame, where several legendary figures in the history of this industry took their rightful place among the pantheon of immortality. And hey! In case you missed Paul Heyman's speech, go watch it right away.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: Don't let the hype surrounding this magnanimous main-event take your eyes off the ball. The Women's World title will be up for grabs as Rhea Ripley defends her year-long reign as champion against The Man, Becky Lynch. Besides, Rhea's teammates, The Judgment Day will be involved in a six-pack ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag-team Championship. More women's action is in store as Bianca Belair and Naomi team up with SmackDown's newest addition, Jade Cargill as they aim to conquer Damage CTRL. Back to men's, Sami Zayn challengers Gunther's historic Intercontinental run, a match that promises to be barbaric, brutal and physical.

And hey! The drama doesn't stop there. Sami's buddy Jey Uso also makes his WrestleMania singles debut against none other than his brother Jimmy in another 'Brother vs Brother' match at WrestleMania. Jeez! We got goosebumps already.

WWE Wrestlemania 40 Live: The highlight on WrestleMania Day 1 is undoubtedly its main-event. The biggest tag-team match of all time as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champions Roman Reigns teams up the Final Boss – his cousin – The Rock, to take on once bitter rivals Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. Tonight marks The Rock's first match since 2016 when he wrestled Luke Harper in an impromptu match at Mania 32, but one that lasted all of 10 seconds. As the People's Champ makes his in-ring return for a proper long and well-orchestrated match in 11 years – he lost to John Cena at WrestleMania 29 – the stakes could not be any higher.