The crowning of new champions at WrestleMania is inevitable. Some of wrestling’s most famed championship reigns have both began and ended at ‘The Grandest Stage Of Them All’, from The Ultimate Warrior becoming the dual WWF World Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion to Seth Rollins emphatically cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, robbing Brock Lesnar of his WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
WrestleMania XL was no different. It boasted a total of eight title matches. Although Rhea Ripley and Logan Paul retained their respective titles, WWE’s other champions were not so fortunate.
This feature lists all title changes that took place on both nights of a seismic WrestleMania event.
WrestleMania Saturday:
A-Town Down Under won the SmackDown Tag Team Title in a Six-Way Ladder Match
Both sets of the Undisputed Tag Team Title were at stake in the six-way ladder contest at the fortieth WrestleMania event. Both sets of titles needed to be captured in order for the match to end.
A-Town Down Under knocked DIY and The Awesome Truth off both sets of ladders and scaled one, to capture the SmackDown Tag Title. However, there were not able to capture the Raw belts. Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne nailed Grayson Waller with a double powerbomb from inside the ring and over the top through a ladder that was bridged from the apron to the commentary table.
The Awesome Truth won the Raw Tag Team Title in a Six Way Ladder Match
The Raw Tag Team Title was decided in the second fall of the bout. The final stretch saw The Awesome Truth battle with the Judgment Day, who were desperately trying to hang on and retain one set of Tag belts.
R-Truth hit Damian Priest with an AA that sent him packing out of the ring. He scaled the ladder to capture the straps.
Truth and the Miz were champions. The win was significant as it marked Truth’s first victory at WrestleMania.
Sami Zayn defeated Gunther to win the Intercontinental Championship
Gunther entered WrestleMania XL, as the record longest reigning Intercontinental Champion in history. No-one in the 45-year history of the strap had held the belt for as long as the imposing Austrian.
However, his record reign was snapped at an ominous 666 days, as the perennial underdog, Sami Zayn entered another career performance at WrestleMania to lift the IC Title for the fourth time.
The match was expertly booked as Gunther dominated Zayn throughout, but the challenger, cheered on by his wife at ringside showed grit and heart to remain in the contest.
The pendulum swung to Zayn after Gunther became too overconfident and allowed himself to be distracted by Zayn’s wife which allowed the Canadian to smash Gunther with a brutal Brainbuster and several Helluva Kicks to defeat the Austrian and lift the title.
The match of WrestleMania Saturday, with a result that will be talked about for decades to come.
WrestleMania Sunday:
Drew McIntyre defeated Seth Rollins to win the World Heavyweight Championship
Drew McIntyre had not held a WWE World Title since 2021, whilst the world was still in the throes of the COVID pandemic. Therefore, he had never wrestled as World Champion in front of a live crowd.
The Scotsman had the opportunity to right that injustice in the opening bout of WrestleMania Sunday. McIntyre nailed the champion, Seth Rollins, who was burnt out after taking a pasting in the headliner of WrestleMania Saturday, immediately after the bell with a Claymore.
The pair smashed each other with huge moves in an energetic, fast paced match-up. The finish came when McIntyre smashed Rollins with a succession of Claymores to finally pin the champion. Top effort. However, post-bout, The Scottish Psychopath couldn’t resist goading CM Punk, who was guest commentator for the bout, the new champion’s evening took a turn for the worse…
Damian Priest defeated Drew McIntyre to win the World Heavyweight Championship
After CM Punk began to pound on Drew McIntyre, an opportune, Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase, nailing McIntyre with it and hitting the South of Paradise to win the belt in a matter of seconds.
McIntyre’s first title reign in over three years lasted less than five minutes. Priest celebrated with his Judgment Day comrades and left WrestleMania XL as the first Puerto Rican WWE World Champion since Pedro Morales five decades earlier.
Bayley defeated Iyo Sky to win the Women’s Championship
Although the storyline between Royal Rumble winner, Bayley and her former stablemate, Women’s Champion, Iyo Sky was underwhelming and bereft of interest and crowd heat, they turned it on in the semi-final spot of WrestleMania Sunday.
For 14 minutes, the pair constructed an excellent contest packed full of emotion and crisp action. The match built to a crescendo and saw Bayley nail Sky with a top rope Elbow Drop and the Rose Plant to win the belt and leave ‘Mania as champion.
A superb match and a career moment for Bayley.
Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to win the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship
Cody Rhodes finally finished his story and won the belt his father never held, the WWE World Title.
The rematch from WrestleMania 39, was sports entertainment at its finest. Paying off several long-term stories, the bout was a masterpiece and the perfect climax to one of the finest ‘Mania shows of all time.
‘The American Nightmare’ was victorious after he reversed a Spear and nailed the champion with three Cross Rhodes to earn the pin and the title. That ended Roman Reigns’s epic World Title reign at a mammoth 1,316 days.
In a scene reminiscent of Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart’s coronation at WrestleMania X, a wide array of officials and babyface stars congratulated the new champion as WWE ushered in a new era.
WWE WrestleMania XL can be replayed on the WWE Network and via Peacock in the United States.