WrestleMania 38
| WrestleMania 38 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
The WrestleMania 38 stage | ||||
| Tagline(s) | "The Most Stupendous Two-Night WrestleMania in History"[1] | |||
| Information | ||||
| Promotion | WWE | |||
| Brand (s) | ||||
| Date | April 2–3, 2022 | |||
| Attendance |
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| Venue | AT&T Stadium | |||
| City | Arlington, Texas | |||
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||||
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| WrestleMania chronology | ||||
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WrestleMania 38 was the 38th WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming show made by WWE. It took place on April 2 and 3, 2022, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event brought together superstars from the company's Raw and SmackDown brands, showcasing some of the most memorable matches and championship showdowns in recent WrestleMania history.[3]
Background
Following the success of WrestleMania 37, which was also a two-night event, WWE announced in January 2022 that WrestleMania 38 would follow the same format. This marked the third time in history that WrestleMania spanned two nights. AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, had previously hosted WrestleMania 32 in 2016, and once again became the grand stage for the WWE Universe.
Main Matches and highlights
Night 1
In the main match of the first night, Stone Cold Steve Austin made his long-awaited return to the ring for the first time since WrestleMania XIX in 2003. Kevin Owens invited Austin as a special guest of his talk show "The KO Show". Owens then challenged Austin to a No Holds Barred match, which Austin accepted and won.[3]
Night 1 was also famous for the surprise return of Cody Rhodes to WWE. He was selected by Mr. McMahon to face Seth "Freakin" Rollins and was able to get the victory.[3]
Also on the showy Charlotte Flair kept her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Ronda Rousey in a controversial victory, and YouTube star Logan Paul made his impressive in-ring debut. He teamed with The Miz and defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio in a tag team match.[3]
Night 2
The main event of night 2 was a Winner Takes All Championship Unification Match between Universal Champion Roman Reigns and WWE Champion Brock Lesnar. Reigns won the match and became the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. This historic win was symbolized by Roman Reigns holding both the WWE Championship and Universal Championship belts.[3]
Also on the show, Mr. McMahon had his first match since 2012 and the last match of his career. He defeated Pat McAfee, who beat McMahon's new protegé Austin Theory minutes before.[4] Another celebrity appearance saw Johnny Knoxville defeat Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes match.[5]
Attendance and reception
WrestleMania 38 drew a combined attendance of over 131,000 fans across both nights.[2] Critics and fans praised the show for its high production value, surprising returns, and strong in-ring performances.[6]
Results
Night 1
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) (c) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs by pinfall | Tag team match for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship[8] | 6:55 |
| 2 | Drew McIntyre defeated Happy Corbin (with Madcap Moss) by pinfall | Singles match[9] | 8:35 |
| 3 | The Miz and Logan Paul defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio by pinfall | Tag team match[10] | 11:15 |
| 4 | Bianca Belair defeated Becky Lynch (c) by pinfall | Singles match for the WWE Raw Women's Championship[11] | 19:10 |
| 5 | Cody Rhodes defeated Seth "Freakin" Rollins by pinfall | Singles match[12] | 21:40 |
| 6 | Charlotte Flair (c) defeated Ronda Rousey by pinfall | Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship[13] | 18:30 |
| 7 | "Stone Cold" Steve Austin defeated Kevin Owens by pinfall | No Holds Barred match[14] | 13:55 |
| |||
Night 2
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) (c) defeated The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) and Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis) by pinfall | Triple threat tag team match for the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship[16] | 11:30 |
| 2 | Bobby Lashley defeated Omos by pinfall | Singles match[17] | 6:35 |
| 3 | Johnny Knoxville defeated Sami Zayn by pinfall | Anything Goes match[5] | 14:25 |
| 4 | Sasha Banks and Naomi defeated Carmella and Queen Zelina (c), Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley, and Natalya and Shayna Baszler by pinfall | Fatal four-way tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship[18] | 10:50 |
| 5 | Edge defeated AJ Styles by pinfall | Singles match[19] | 24:05 |
| 6 | Sheamus and Ridge Holland (with Butch) defeated The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) by pinfall | Tag team match[20] | 1:40 |
| 7 | Pat McAfee defeated Austin Theory (with Mr. McMahon) by pinfall | Singles match[4] | 9:40 |
| 8 | Mr. McMahon (with Austin Theory) defeated Pat McAfee by pinfall | Singles match[4] | 3:45 |
| 9 | Roman Reigns (Universal Champion) (with Paul Heyman) defeated Brock Lesnar (WWE Champion) by pinfall | Winner Takes All match for the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship[21] | 12:15 |
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References
- ↑ "WrestleMania 38". AT&T Stadium. April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wrestling Observer Live (April 4, 2022). 2022-04-04 Wrestling Observer Live~! with Bryan Alvarez & Mike Sempervive. YouTube. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 WWF Belt (July 1, 2025). "WWE WrestleMania 38". wwfbelt.com. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Pat McAfee def. Austin Theory, then lost to Mr. McMahon; afterward "Stone Cold" Steve Austin Stunned all three". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Johnny Knoxville def. Sami Zayn (Anything Goes Match)". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ "Dave Meltzer Star Ratings – Wrestlemania 38 (2022)". IWNerd. March 24, 2022. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (April 2, 2022). "WrestleMania 38 results: Powell's live review of night one with Steve Austin on The KO Show, Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown Women's Title, Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair for the Raw Women's Title, Seth Rollins vs. an opponent of Vince McMahon's choosing". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). "The Usos def. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs to retain the SmackDown Tag Team Titles". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). "Drew McIntyre def. Happy Corbin". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). "The Miz & Logan Paul def. Rey Mysterio & Dominik Mysterio, Miz turns on Paul". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). "Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch to win the Raw Women's Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). "Cody Rhodes returns to WWE, def. Seth "Freakin" Rollins". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). "Charlotte Flair def. Ronda Rousey to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Bryant, Nathan (April 2, 2022). ""Stone Cold" Steve Austin accepts No Holds Barred challenge, def. Kevin Owens, raises hell". WWE. Archived from the original on April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ↑ Powell, Jason (April 3, 2022). "WrestleMania 38 results: Powell's live review of night two with Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the Unified WWE Championship, RK-Bro vs. The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy for the Raw Tag Titles, Edge vs. AJ Styles, Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes match, Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory, Bobby Lashley vs. Omos". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro def. Alpha Academy and The Street Profits (Triple Threat Match)". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Bobby Lashley def. Omos". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Sasha Banks & Naomi def. Carmella & Queen Zelina, Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan and Shayna Bazler & Natalya to become the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions (Fatal 4-Way Match)". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Edge def. AJ Styles after a distraction by Damian Priest". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Sheamus & Ridge Holland def. Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ↑ Clapp, John (April 3, 2022). "Universal Champion Roman Reigns def. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion". WWE. Archived from the original on April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.