By JOE REEDY (AP Sports Writer)
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Leave it to Snoop Dogg to emerge because the Most Valuable Performer of WrestleMania 39.
During a weekend that noticed World Wrestling Entertainment set a two-night attendance report for his or her signature occasion, rumors of a attainable sale and Roman Reigns remaining the undisputed champion, the long-lasting rapper stepped up in an emergency.
Snoop Dogg was co-hosting a section between matches on Sunday at SoFi Stadium with wrestler Mike “The Miz” Mizanin when he goaded Mizanin into an impromptu match with Shane McMahon, who made his look at a WWE occasion for the primary time in 14 months. McMahon and Mizanin traded punches earlier than McMahon tore his quad when he did a leapfrog maneuver whereas making an attempt to keep away from Mizanin.
Doctors checked on McMahon earlier than he was helped out of the ring. Snoop Dogg then got here again into the ring to proceed the match, as he punched “The Miz” twice, then stole a web page from “The Rock” and landed a individuals’s elbow to safe the win.
“My hat’s off to Snoop, just picking it up and like, ‘oh man, he’s hurt? That’s alright, I’ll fix that.’ Just a natural born entertainer,” mentioned WWE head of inventive Paul “Triple H” Levesque. “I’ve known Snoop for years in this environment and what kind of a fan he is, but tonight he put himself on a different playing field and respect factor for me. I know a lot of guys that have been in business a long time; if that happened, they’d go, ‘what do we do?’ It was amazing.”
Besides co-hosting with “The Miz” each nights, Snoop drove Rey Mysterio out to the stage in a lowrider earlier than his match towards son Dominik Mysterio.
The Doggfather stepping in as a pinch wrestler continued the pattern of celebrities coming in and never wanting misplaced.
Social media star Logan Paul participated in a WrestleMania match for the second straight 12 months on Saturday. San Francisco 49ers tight finish George Kittle got here out of the stands and was a part of a match between former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee and “The Miz.” Rapper Bad Bunny made a cameo throughout the match between the Mysterios.
“They have no right to be this good,” Levesque mentioned of the celebrities getting into the ring. “What’s awesome about it is the grind and the level of what they’re willing to put into this because they respect the business, respect for the WWE superstars and what we do and the people that came before them. It’s cool to see them do that, but also awe-inspiring to see how good they are at it and how it raises the bar for everyone else.”
Paul, who misplaced to Seth Rollins, did high-flying stunts and strikes as if he had carried out for greater than 10 years. McAfee was a WWE announcer for 17 months (April 2021-September 2022) and took part in a match finally 12 months’s WrestleMania, whereas Kittle has been a long-time wrestling fan.
Bad Bunny, who took half in a tag workforce match at WrestleMania two years in the past, will host WWE’s subsequent premium stay occasion on May 6, which can happen in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the primary time since 2005 that WWE goes to Puerto Rico.
Bad Bunny might additionally participate in a match that night time. On Saturday, he was doing commentary in Spanish throughout Mysterio’s match when he stopped Dominik from utilizing a metal chain he would hit his father with. Rey Mysterio capitalized on the distraction and would hit his ending transfer to get the win and arrange a attainable storyline between Bad Bunny and the youthful Mysterio.
Outside the ring, attendance for each days was 161,892 and set stadium single-day data on each nights. The first WrestleMania in Los Angeles since 2005 is anticipated to generate report gate and sponsorship income when ultimate figures are introduced Monday morning.
The report revenues additionally come when WWE may very well be nearing a sale with UFC proprietor Endeavor. CNBC was the primary to report that the 2 sides have been nearing an settlement, however Levesque didn’t touch upon these stories Sunday night time.
One of the weekend’s greatest surprises was Reigns persevering with his 900-day-plus reign as champion. Cody Rhodes had all of the momentum going into the match, and all indications pointed to a title change. Still, WWE’s inventive forces have determined to proceed Reigns’ dominance atop the corporate.
Barring harm or an enormous shock, Reigns will change into the primary WWE wrestler to succeed in 1,000 days as champion in early June. At this level, Reigns will probably maintain the title by Summerslam in early August in Detroit, or he might nonetheless be the champion by subsequent 12 months’s WrestleMania in Philadelphia.
“I want somebody to step up and take this ball from us,” Reigns mentioned. “Because if you don’t, we’re just going to keep a chokehold on this.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com”