Biggest Takeaways From WWE WrestleMania 39 Night 2 Results (2024)

WrestleMania 39 Night 1 delivered some fantastic wrestling, fun moments and satisfying conclusions to storylines, so Night 2 had a lot of pressure on it to deliver the same results.

While Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship was the main attraction, the company also booked a Hell in a Cell match that Edge won against Finn Bálor for fans who like a little carnage.

Bianca Belair successfully defended the Raw Women's Championship against Asuka, Gunther retained the intercontinental title against Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, Brock Lesnar faced one of his biggest challenges to date when he beat Omos, and four women's tag teams fought in a WrestleMania Showcase that was won by Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler.

We also saw a surprise return that we will get into. Let's look at the biggest takeaways from Sunday's action.

When WWE first began airing two-hour pre-shows for WrestleMania, it used to book a few matches to fill time between the video packages and commentary, but the past few years have seen that tradition go by the wayside.

However, the pre-show is still two hours long, which means we end up watching Kayla Braxton, Booker T and a handful of other talking heads trying to fill 120 minutes by discussing feuds that have already been talked to death.

A one-hour pre-show is much more manageable. Just because this is the biggest event of the year doesn't mean everything about it needs to be super-sized.

Without a match or two, the Kickoff feels like a chore to watch. It's kind of fun to see fans getting interviewed and things like that, but the endless talking about the matches can only keep our attention for so long.

Next year, WWE needs to either cut the pre-show in half or add a couple of matches to help get through it easier.

The first match of the night was the battle of giant vs. beast when Omos took on Brock Lesnar.

After taking a lot of damage from The Nigerian Giant, Lesnar was able to hit a few suplexes and an F-5 to score the win. That part wasn't surprising, but how much offense Omos got in certainly was.

For what felt like the first time in her career, The Beast Incarnate was the underdog. He was giving up the height, weight, reach and power advantage, which is a situation he has rarely found himself in during his 20-year career.

Omos may have lost, but being able to physically dominate Lesnar like that is a good sign that somebody in a position of power sees a bright future for him.

The Nigerian Giant has rarely impressed with his performances, but he looked better in this contest. If WWE can figure out the right way to use him, he could turn into a valuable asset.

Giants are always welcome in pro wrestling, but size isn't everything. He needs to develop his other skills to ensure longevity.

The Miz ended up on the receiving end of some embarrassing moments during both nights of WrestleMania. Saturday saw him fight Pat McAfee, but Sunday was an even bigger surprise.

As The A-Lister and Snoop Dogg were arguing, Shane McMahon made his way to the ring to a surprisingly big pop from the crowd.

He and The Miz engaged in what ended up being a very short encounter. As McMahon attempted a leapfrog, he immediately fell to the ground holding his leg. It was clear that he was injured, so the referee got on the mat to check on him.

As The Miz looked around trying to figure out what to do next, Snoop Dogg decked him in the face and proceeded to finish the match McMahon started by delivering his version of a People's Elbow to score the pinfall over the former WWE champion.

There is no way WWE planned for McMahon to be injured, so what we saw had to have been improvised by everyone involved. Even though it all ended up being awkward, they managed to save it as best they could.

A lot of credit needs to be given to Snoop for reacting in the moment and turning this into something WWE can replay in video packages in the coming weeks instead of a segment it was going to have to ignore due to an injury.

When Finn Bálor was in NXT, an appearance by The Demon was almost a universal sign that he was going to win. On the main roster, it has almost come to mean the opposite.

He only lost once in NXT using the gimmick when he faced Samoa Joe. The last two times he has donned the paint on the main roster were his match against Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules in 2021 and his Hell in a Cell bout on Sunday. Both times, The Demon found himself on the losing end of the equation.

This was something that set Bálor apart from everyone else in NXT, but using it so rarely on the main roster and having him lose twice in a row with it has taken away all of its luster.

At this point, WWE should just focus on Bálor's normal persona and leave The Demon in the past. He can still have special entrance attires like he has at other recent PPVs, but if WWE isn't going to treat The Demon as anything special, then what's the point?

For the past few months, it has felt like WWE was setting up Cody Rhodes to take the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.

Everything in the way this story has been told was leading to that moment, so when The Tribal Chief retained on Sunday, it left a lot of people in disbelief.

At this point, the goal seems clear: WWE wants Reigns to reach the epic number of 1,000 days as the top champion in the company.

He is already the longest-reigning champion of the modern era, but management obviously wants to capitalize on the headlines that will come from Reigns hitting that magic number.

What stinks about all of this is that WWE had the perfect opportunity to not only create an unforgettable WrestleMania moment, but it also could have turned Rhodes into one of the top stars in all of professional wrestling by having him be the one to dethrone the champion at the biggest event of the year.

This just feels like bad booking. If you build a story that has a logical conclusion and you go in the other direction just to book a swerve, then you are going to leave a lot of people scratching their heads and upset.

Sometimes, a surprise outcome is a good thing; but, sometimes, it's the worst possible decision that can be made. Time will tell if this is the former or the latter.

What did you think of the conclusion to WrestleMania 39? Did WWE make the right call or is this just another missed opportunity?