The MVPs of WrestleMania Weekend – from WWE and beyond

WrestleMania may have been a two-night affair, but like every year, WrestleMania weekend was made up by more than just the two titular shows. Not only did WWE run their annual Hall of Fame and the recurring NXT Stand and Deliver event, but other promotions like Ring of Honor, IMPACT Wrestling, New Japan, GCW, DDT, TJPW, Prestige, Santino Bros, and Circle 6 were putting on insane shows all over Los Angeles this past weekend.

So, with the Raw after WrestleMania finally punctuating this long weekend, we here at AIPT felt like celebrating all of the amazing performers who went out and showed the world what they’re made of this weekend. Though we admittedly didn’t and couldn’t watch everything, we did watch over 15 shows across four days, from an exhibition between Kidd Bandit and Eli Everfly to a main event slugfest between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.

And if you, like us, couldn’t watch everything during WrestleMania weekend, what’s worth going back to watch?

Who stole the show at WrestleMania? Which indie wrestlers are future stars in WWE and AEW? What lower-key wrestling promotions should you invest in outside of America’s Big Two?

AIPT’s Tyler West and Darius Melton are here to answer some of those questions by highlighting the five MVPs of WrestleMania and WrestleMania weekend, respectively.

Honorable Mentions

Tyler: While this may be a moot point coming out of WrestleMania, has there been a single performer in all of WWE that has benefited greater from the absence of Vince McMahon than Michael Cole? Long the butt of jokes amongst fans, Cole has proven what he’s capable of when he’s not being overproduced and screamed at through a headset: the emotion, the pacing, and the passion. Yes, there are still the cheesy lines and canned “oh my’s!” but at this stage in his career it’s become endearing. And now that Vince is back running the show, let’s give Cole his flowers for all of his great work in the short-lived Triple H era, capping off at a phenomenal performance at the showcase of immortals.

Darius: Because I wanted to use this article to highlight some wrestlers that might not be on your radar, I’m using the honorable mentions to do some obligatory shouts out for the usual suspects. Everyone with an eye for indie wrestling knew that “Speedball” Mike Bailey was going to steal many shows across his five (secretly six) matches this weekend. Also, those who’ve watched AEW in recent weeks and saw the announcement of El Hijo de Vikingo vs Komander would know that those two were in for a crazy weekend as well — and, truthfully, Vikingo and Bailey probably had my favorite match of the weekend at Joey Janela’s Spring Break. But those three wrestlers and the returning Kota Ibushi were expected to overperform this weekend, so let’s acknowledge them here, then move on to some names you might not have expected to see on this list, like Johnny Nitro Morrison Mundo Impact Elite Hennigan Bloodsport for his surprisingly intense match with Royce Isaacs at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport and Veda Scott for a weekend of funny and insightful commentary on most of the GCW shows.

WWE MVP #1: Rhea Ripley

Tyler: While the purpose of this exercise has been to highlight some performers who’ve been hiding in the shadows, sometimes you just can’t deny excellence. Rhea Ripley rose slowly but surely through the ranks in the women’s division, all without wrestling a match. She went into this WrestleMania clash against Charlotte Flair with a solid foundation of a story, but nothing much built afterwards. And then she proceeded to have the best women’s wrestling match since Sasha Banks vs. Bayley at NXT TakeOver Brooklyn. There’s also the fact that she built the biggest heel in all of pro wrestling, Dominik Mysterio.

Indie MVP #1: Sandra Moone

Darius: When you’re in a high-profile indie promotion like GCW, it’s hard to get over by just being a great wrestler since most of the card is full of great wrestlers. To stand out, you have to either be absolutely insane in the ring (think Konosuke Takeshita), or you might have to rely on an over-the-top character (think Danhausen). “Lightning in a Bottle” Sandra Moone is a great wrestler, but what lands her on this list is the secret third method of getting over, one that you can’t really recommend to wrestlers because it’s hard to accomplish on purpose: she is EXTREMELY likeable. Much like 2015 Bayley, 2017 Juice Robinson, and 2023 Willow Nightingale before her, Moone is someone that I saw for about 30 seconds before deciding, “She needs to win every match she’s ever in or I’ll riot.” Between her exhibition match with Kenzie Paige at D-Generation F, her triple threat with Janai Kai and Brooke Havok at Emo Fight, and here heated back-and-forth with Steph De Lander at Big Gay Brunch, I spent a lot of this weekend rooting for Sandra Moone, her Finger Lickin Good kick, and her sliding elbow. The next time you see her name on a wrestling card, give it a watch; I’m sure you’ll be chanting her name by the end of minute three.

WWE MVP #2: Dominik Mysterio

Tyler: Speaking of the devil, Dominick takes the number four spot for a pretty simple reason, and it’s not (just) his legendary entrance. This kid accomplished something in modern wrestling that’s truly a lost art: he made you want to see him get beat up. He was a heel who fans absolutely hated and either tuned in or showed up in droves to watch him get his ass beat. He kept this storyline going for months without ever feeling stale. His reward? Bad Bunny in Puerto Rico at Backlash.

Indie MVP #2: Arez

Darius: Sometimes, all it takes is one match to leave an impression, and as 1/6th of my favorite non-Mike Bailey match of the weekend, Arez stole my heart with two words: Strange Style. I cannot begin to explain to you what “Strange Style” is, but Arez creepy, slinky way of moving makes him an absolute treat to watch in the ring. Arez’s sole match this weekend was at The WRLD on Lucha, teaming with the rudos (bad guy) team of Black Taurus and Latigo to take on the technicos (good guys) Rey Horus, Aramis, and Komander, a match that’s lived in my head rent-free since the final bell rang. Any one of these six men could have landed a spot on this list (especially Taurus and Komander, who had another crazy match with Vikingo at the Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow), but as far as standing out, Arez is that guy for me. Also, if you’re already going to watch this match from The WRLD on Lucha — which I highly recommend — I also recommend that you check out Sexy Star 2 vs Dulce Tormenta, a hardcore match that admittedly landed both women on this list before the trios match took my breath away minutes later.

WWE MVP #3: Sheamus

Tyler: Again we have another entrant that lost during WrestleMania weekend, this time in the Intercontinental Championship bout. How do you possibly measure up to Gunther vs. Sheamus from Clash at the Castle? You throw in Drew McIntyre and give them 30 minutes. The match, obviously, was a banger. But the connection Sheamus has with the fans is palpable. The groundswell support exploded and was shaking my television after Sheamus delivered his Ten Twenty-Five Beats of the Bodhran to Drew’s chest and turned around to face the crowd, receiving one of the most genuine outpouring of support from the fans I’ve ever seen. It’s kind of like we’re all apologizing for not realizing his greatness all those years ago. Keep going after that IC belt, and we’ll keep cheering you on, fella!

Indie MVP #3: The East West Express

Darius: I’ve seen the “East Coast Ace” Jordan Oliver a few times in the past few years, and he’s always been impressive. I’ve also heard about “The Prince of the Pacific Northwest” Nick Wayne a WHOLE LOT in the past year, especially since he’s as good as he is at only 17 years of age. However, watching the pair of tag matches they had as a team this weekend, plus the bonus tag match Wayne had teaming with Andrew Everett, taught me two things. First, Nick Wayne is the real deal, and whenever he does show up in AEW this summer, he’s going to rocket to superstardom. Second, Jordan Oliver is not someone to sleep on, as I’ve honestly been doing for the past two years. The East West Express admittedly had two very crazy teams to work with on Friday between The Moonlight Express (who we’ll get to) and the Motor City Machine Guns, but it takes four to tag team tango, and when push came to shove, the two young stars really gave it their all this weekend and etched their way into the GCW history books. I’m not sure if they plan on being a team long-term, but I think right now, for as young as they are, the two of them do well covering each other’s faults and propping one another up to be the future stars of their respective sides of the country.

WWE MVP #4: Angelo Dawkins

Tyler: For months and months (and months), fans have speculated when Montez Ford was going to get his singles push. And in that time, Angelo Dawkins has done nothing but keep pace with his fellow Street Profit. Dawkins got the pinfall victory at WrestleMania in a very well-received match, and that’s great. But the visual of Braun Strowman being stopped cold in his track in the middle of his years-long, well-established running train spot via a shoulder tackle by Dawkins? Legendary.

Indie MVP #4: Thrussy

Darius: Bear with me. There’s this tag team called “Bussy,” and they are pretty good. Now, I’m not going to pretend like Effy or Allie Katch are unknowns, especially to those who know anything at all about GCW. Heck, this weekend saw Effy produce the 6th Big Gay Brunch event in his name, so he’s literally a marquee name. Still, Friday’s DDT vs GCW event was my personal first time watching Effy and Allie team together as they faced Pheromones (a team that you should seek out but not with kids around), and it was also my first time seeing “The High Priestess of the Church of Professional Wrestling” Dark Sheik. The same way Sandra Moone stood out to me as inexplicably loveable, Dark Sheik was inexplicably cool to me the moment she entered the ring, and I was excited to see her wrestle a second time in the main event of Big Gay Brunch with Bussy, a team who’d spent the weekend with bedazzled butts and equally bedazzled pizza cutters in their faces. The trio of Thrussy isn’t a regular team, instead only coming together to face Mason’s Mercenaries in a “War Gays” match, but Effy, Allie Katch, and Dark Sheik all left big impressions on me this weekend, and all of them — especially the high-flying and death-defying Dark Sheik — should be on your radar.

WWE MVP #5: Sami Zayn

Tyler: Talk about redemption. Unlike Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn was finally able to put a punctuation mark at the end of his story. What started in spring of last year, Sami pulled off what many thought was merely a mirage in the desert of WWE fandom: telling a long-term story and, unlike the other participants in the main event, finish it. A babyface winning. Fans happy. Who woulda thunk it?

Indie MVP #5: MAO (and the whole DDT roster)

Darius: Rest assured that, even if I name MAO as the one wrestler that this entry is about, the entire promotion that is Dramatic Dream Team Wrestling belongs on this list. DDT is excellent at bridging hilarious comedy wrestling (Yoshihiko, the lifeless blow-up doll legit wrestler, and Pheromones, the aggressive nudists, come to mind) with highly competitive and hard-hitting match-ups (e.g. Tetsuya Endo vs Joey Janela and Yuki Ueno vs Konosuke Takeshita). I’ve always kept my eye on guys who excel in the middle area like Chris Brookes, but the absolute biggest star coming out of this weekend for me is MAO, a.k.a. “A F—ked Up Wrestler for a F—ked Up World.” MAO and his regular tag team partner, Shunma Katsumata, kicked off DDT Goes Hollywood with my third favorite match of the weekend against Brookes and Yoshihiko, with everyone — but especially MAO — going out of their way to make Yoshihiko look like a killer. While that match was fun, MAO’s reunion with long-lost tag partner Mike Bailey made for one of the best fights this weekend as MAO and Bailey’s Moonlight Express took on the aforementioned East West Express in an unfortunately bloody affair. Just when we thought we’d seen the last of the Moonlight Express, MAO learned about Emo Fight backstage and got himself and Bailey booked in that show’s secret main event, capping off the incredible Emo Fight show and sealing the 26-year-old MAO’s spot in my heart as DDT’s best kept secret. If you haven’t seen MAO, 37KAMIINA stable he’s in with Takeshita, or DDT in general, fix all of that. Then, thank me once you’ve fallen in love.