WWE WrestleMania 38 Results: Austin vs. Owens and Bouts That Exceeded Expectations

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While there were several matches on the WrestleMania 38 card that fans expected to deliver, others were met with a bit more skepticism.

Given the reliance on legends and celebrities, there was some thought that the in-ring action wouldn’t necessarily live up to WrestleMania standards, especially since it was a two-night affair at the massive AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

WrestleMania 38 as a whole was largely praised by the WWE Universe, however, and a big reason for that is the fact that some matches were far better than anyone thought they would be.

Along with a full listing of WrestleMania 38 results, here is a look at the WrestleMania matches that most exceeded expectations.

WrestleMania 38 Results

• SmackDown Tag Team Championship: The Usos (c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs
• Drew McIntyre def. Happy Corbin
• The Miz & Logan Paul def. Rey & Dominik Mysterio
• Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair def. Becky Lynch (c)
• Cody Rhodes def. Seth Rollins
• SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) def. Ronda Rousey
• “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. Kevin Owens
• Raw Tag Team Championship: RK-Bro (c) def. Street Profits and Alpha Academy
• Bobby Lashley def. Omos
• Johnny Knoxville def. Sami Zayn
• WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Sasha Banks & Naomi def. Carmella & Queen Zelina (c), Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan and Natalya & Shayna Baszler
• Edge def. AJ Styles
• Sheamus & Ridge Holland def. New Day
• Pat McAfee def. Austin Theory
• Vince McMahon def. Pat McAfee
• WWE and Universal Championship Unification: Roman Reigns def. Brock Lesnar

WrestleMania 38 Matches That Exceeded Expectations

Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Kevin Owens

When Night 1 of WrestleMania 38 started, much of the WWE fanbase was under the impression that the segment involving WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Kevin Owens would merely be an appearance on The KO Show.

WWE framed it as such, and although most figured things would get physical and result in Austin beating Owens down, it was very much in question whether they would have an actual match.

After all, the 57-year-old Austin hadn’t had an official match in 19 years with his last one coming against The Rock at WrestleMania 19. The Texas Rattlesnake’s in-ring hiatus finally came to an end in the main event of Night 1 of WrestleMania 38, however.

Once Owens challenged Austin to a No Holds Barred match, Stone Cold accepted and proceeded to take the fight to KO all over the stadium.

Even most who thought a match would happen likely expected a brawl that would go on for only a few minutes, but Austin and Owens delivered to the tune of a nearly 15-minute match that spilled into the crowd and featured plenty of weaponry.

Austin even took a suplex onto the floor, which was far above and beyond anything he had to do in the match.

Instead of taking the easy payday and just throwing some punches, some kicks and a Stunner, Austin actually put his body on the line, and the fans clearly appreciated it.

The match did end as expected with Austin hitting the Stunner and then celebrating with a beer bash, but everything before that was icing on the proverbial cake.

Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville

Many wrestling fans tend to be wary about celebrities stepping into the world they love, but there are times when those celebrities are able to win them over.

Last year’s WrestleMania is a good example, as musician Bad Bunny teamed with Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison, and turned in a better performance than anyone could have imagined.

Something similar happened this year when Jackass star Johnny Knoxville locked horns with Sami Zayn in an Anything Goes match.

Nobody was expecting a 5-star classic, but Knoxville and Zayn succeeded in giving the viewing audience one of the most fun and entertaining matches of the entire event.

The match essentially morphed into an episode of Jackass with other characters getting involved, including Wee Man impressively body slamming Zayn.

There was also no shortage of contraptions, including a giant hand that slapped Zayn and a giant mouse trap that held him in place and allowed Knoxville to pin him for the victory.

The match was all-out chaos and felt more like a cartoon than a pro wrestling bout, but that is what made it so unique and enjoyable to watch.

Knoxville didn’t do anything incredible from a wrestling perspective, but he played his role to perfection, and Zayn was the ideal heel to contest him.

The Miz & Logan Paul vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio

In much the same vein as Knoxville, fans were skeptical of whether YouTuber Logan Paul would be able to deliver on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

For the second year in a row, The Miz was tasked with competing in a celebrity tag team match and making sure that the celebrity hit their marks.

Unlike last year when The Miz went up against a celebrity in Bad Bunny, this time he teamed with one in Paul against the father-son duo of Rey and Dominik Mysterio.

In terms of pure athleticism, Paul likely outperformed what Bad Bunny did last year, as he perfectly executed leapfrogs, the Three Amigos suplexes and a frog splash, all in the name of emulating the late Eddie Guerrero and getting into the Mysterios’ heads.

Paul also looked and acted the part of a star, and it was clear early in the match that the fans were embracing him as an in-ring performer.

The heel duo of Miz and Paul stole the win from Rey and Dominik with help from a sneaky tag, and the fans didn’t appear upset despite the heels prevailing.

After the match, The Miz turned on Paul by hitting him with a Skull Crushing Finale, which may have been foreshadowing something else in the future.

Given how Paul performed at WrestleMania, WWE fans would likely be open to a match between Paul and Miz, possibly at SummerSlam at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.