3 WWE Stars who were buried on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41
Night One of WrestleMania 41 saw several big changes up and down WWE. Four titles were on the line, with Tiffany Stratton the lone champion to retain her title.
Jey Uso defeated Gunther in the event's opening match. While it was an emotional moment and a logical ending to his story, certain details surrounding his win hurt the finish.
Some other WWE performers, like Jade Cargill and Seth Rollins, won on Night One. The next three stars, however, were buried on the first night of WrestleMania 41.
#3. An unfortunate injury hurts Rey Fenix's momentum
WWE booked a six-man tag match on SmackDown this week after a masked individual eliminated Rey Fenix from the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee joined Fenix against El Grande Americano and the Creed Brothers. The WWE legend was hurt during the match. Fenix then filled in for Rey against El Grande Americano in the planned match on Night One.
This was the former AEW star's third official singles contest in WWE. He won the first two and should have maintained that momentum.
Instead, WWE booked the exciting new star to fall to the controversial masked performer. It will be explained that Fenix was cheated, but he shouldn't be losing so soon.
#2. LA Knight loses cleanly to Jacob Fatu
LA Knight didn't get squashed in losing the United States Title to Jacob Fatu. His loss, however, was a bit disappointing. Officials booked nearly every encounter involving the two to include some sort of outside interference.
That happened on the go-home SmackDown when The Samoan Werewolf crashed his opponent's match against Solo Sikoa. GM Nick Aldis then booked a tag team match between the two sides, won by Knight and Braun Strowman.
Since interference has been such a staple of their feud, it was confusing that it wasn't used again in the title contest. Doing so would have protected Knight to a degree instead of losing clean to Fatu.
#1. Gunther loses some mystique as a top WWE heel
Perhaps the biggest mistake of WrestleMania Saturday involved how Gunther lost the World Heavyweight Title to Jey Uso. The title change wasn't the issue. The story they told played out the right way, with Jey finally slaying his dragon.
The problem is that when The Ring General defeated The Yeet Master with a choke, he often lasted at least 10 seconds before succumbing. Jey forced Gunther to tap out with the same choke, but it only took less than five seconds.
Had WWE officials used interference from Jimmy Uso to help his brother, it would have fit more in the storyline. Gunther has been presented as a cold, methodical wrecking machine that can absorb a lot of damage.
Tapping out to a weak chokehold not only hurt the finish but also Gunther's mystique. He only held the world title for about six months.
