It’s the biggest weekend of the year for pro wrestling fans: It’s time for WrestleMania! This year marks the 40th edition of sports entertainment’s biggest event, and features a card worthy of the anniversary. After winning the Royal Rumble for the second year in a row, Cody Rhodes is closer than ever to finishing his story – but before his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match on Sunday, The American Nightmare will team with Seth “Freakin” Rollins to take on Roman Reigns and “The Final Boss”, The Rock.
So throw ’em up, acknowledge the Tribal Chief, crack open a Broken Skull IPA and get ready for the biggest weekend in wrestling with our full preview, including predictions from the AIPT Wrestling crew.
WrestleMania XL date and start time
WrestleMania 40 will air live on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 starting at 7pm ET each night. There are also tons of other events going on throughout the week – check the WrestleMania Week calendar for more.
How to watch WrestleMania XL
Like all WWE Premium Live Events, WrestleMania XL will be available to stream on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network elsewhere.
WWE WrestleMania XL Saturday card
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch for the Women’s World Championship
Patrick: Rhea Ripley is one of the best women in the business, but it’s no secret her World Championship reign has been lacking in the defense department. A convincing win against a certified Legend would go a long way.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Shane: As of this writing, as far as I am aware, Becky only has two months left of her WWE contract and hasn’t re-signed. Rhea is still white hot and Becky is arguably the only other female wrestler on Raw at Rhea’s level, but because of her contract status, I don’t see WWE taking the title off of Rhea. At least, not yet.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Jay: Rhea is going to take it. I can honestly see it going either way and I think it would be refreshing for Becky to win but Rhea needs a big win as she, astonishingly, has not had a marquee win since her reign started a year ago since beating Charlotte.
Winner: Rhea
The Judgment Day (c) vs. #DIY vs. The Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. A-Town Down Under vs. New Catch Republic for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (Six Pack Tag Team Ladder Match)
Patrick: To help build extra tension for a prediction I’ll be making later on, I think Judgment Day have to lose the titles here. The question is, to who? #DIY and New Catch Republic have both gotten some welcome focus in recent weeks, but I don’t see them winning the titles just yet. Honestly, I think out of everyone, Awesome Truth lucks into a victory, has a nice Mania moment, and then they can quickly lose the titles to an up-and-coming heel team come Backlash.
Winners: The Awesome Truth
Shane: I’m going to make a bold prediction here and say we are going to have two winners here, one from Raw and one from Smackdown. I see Awesome Truth (most likely R-Truth) grabbing one set of titles and by nothing more than the process of elimination, New Catch Republic, grabbing the other set. If there was ever a time to split the tag titles, it’s now and I’m all for trying something unique if it can be done correctly.
Winners: The Awesome Truth and New Catch Republic
Jay: They are going to split the titles with this match so I predict two winners. Awesome Truth will win the Raw tag titles but I’m not sure of the other winners. I can see a surprise tag team taking the place of A-Town Down Under but I’d have no idea who. Motor City Machine Guns?
Winners: Awesome Truth and a surprise entrant
Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar
Patrick: I’m glad Dom Dom found a place on the WrestleMania card, but it’s a little disappointing that it’s a retread of last year. Dragon Lee and Escobar should get some shine, though. I expect the babyfaces to go over here.
Winner: Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee
Shane: I’m not very excited for this tag team match if I’m being honest. I would much rather see a full on LWO vs Legado del Fantasma faction war. But, with the talent involved, this match will still be entertaining. I expect Rey and Dragon Lee to pick up the victory here.
Winners: Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee
Jay: Dominik and Santos. Rey beat Dom Dom last year and it wouldn’t make sense for him to lose two in a row. Plus, Santos is a Papa H guy and they need to solidify him.
Winners: “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Patrick: The third-ever brother-vs.-brother match at WrestleMania probably won’t surpass Bret/Owen in match quality, but it should be a lot of fun. Just one year ago, these two were a cohesive unit, main eventing WrestleMania. This is the kind of long-term storytelling I live for. I think it’s clear to see Jey has more upside and momentum, so he should get the win here and yeet all over Philadelphia.
Winner: Jey Uso
Shane: I respect the attempt WWE has made to make Jey feel like a main eventer, but it just isn’t working for me. I expect Jey to win a fun match, but fully expect both Usos to be back in the tag team ranks within the year.
Winner: Jey Uso
Jay: Jey. Easiest match to call. Jey is a bona fide singles star and needs to get his lick back against his brother.
Winner: Jey Uso
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi vs. Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane
Patrick: This will be really fun, but no question it’ll be a showcase for both the debuting Jade Cargill, and the returning Naomi who hasn’t had much shine on her since returning. Expect every member of Damage CTRL to leave this match feeling Jaded.
Winners: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi
Shane: This is an easy and effective way to get six extremely talented women on the WrestleMania card. I fully expect team babyface to get a strong showing with Jade Cargill picking up the victory.
Winners: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi
Jay: This will be a sleeper and I fully expect it to be the Jade Cargill show. This is going to be her coming out party and it is well earned as she is money. I want to say that AEW fumbled with her but they really didn’t. They did everything right with her and offered her as much money as she wanted to stay but she wanted a bigger stage.
Winners: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi
Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship
Patrick: You know it’s a different WWE when there are multiple babyfaces that the crowd is genuinely behind, to the point where they were deflated that Sami Zayn of all people beat Chad Gable for the right to face Gunther. I’m very intrigued by the story here, where Gable is trying to coach Sami to victory. I see Sami winning here with Gable’s help, and then Gable turning on Sami to get a shot at the title he was never able to win.
Winner: Sami Zayn
Shane: I want Chad Gable to be the one to dethrone Gunther so bad that there is no other result that will satisfy me. I love Sami, he is one of my current favorites, but this moment doesn’t belong to him.
Winner: Gunther
Jay: I want Sami to win so bad. I’ll be in attendance at Mania and I’d love it for Sami to win, but he won’t. This was a pivot scenario as Gunther was supposed to face Lesnar and they have a PLE in his home region in September. Sami isn’t hot enough to dethrone Gunther and won’t.
Winner: Gunther
The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth “Freakin” Rollins (Winners determine stipulation for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match on Night 2)
Patrick: I can’t see the Night 2 Universal Championship match being anything other than a gloriously overbooked, Avengers: Endgame-style clusterf*ck featuring multiple ghosts of the Bloodline’s past, and the only way that works is if there are no rules. Thus, Rock and Roman have to win here.
Winners: The Rock and Roman Reigns
Shane: The Rock isn’t coming back to WrestleMania to lose. And plus, in order to make the shenanigans filled spectacle that will be Cody/Roman II make sense, Rock and Roman have to win here.
Winners: The Rock and Roman Reigns
Jay: The Rock and Roman. Cody needs all the adversity to get that babyface sympathy and I think we can all smell an Attitude Era cluster incoming. Roman/Cody is about as hot as an ice cube in Antarctica and that match needs all the help it can get.
Winners: The Rock and Roman Reigns
WWE WrestleMania XL Sunday card
Seth “Freakin” Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre for the World Heavyweight Championship
Patrick: If I overthink this one, the rumors of Drew not signing a new contract makes me think there isn’t any way he wins here. He’s also been talking quite candidly about the sacrifices his family has had to make for him to live his dream, and wanting to make up for missed time. However, there is an escape hatch: Damian Priest and his Money in the Bank briefcase is also looming over the World Title scene, so I think Drew wins the title, gets his moment in front of fans…only for CM Punk to take Drew out and Damian Priest to pick the bones and win his first World Championship.
Winner: Drew McIntyre, then Damian Priest
Shane: Patrick and I are very much on the same page here, except for one major difference. Yes, I think Drew wins the World Heavyweight Championship. Yes I think Damian Priest is cashing in his Money in the Bank contract, just not after this match.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Jay: Drew McIntyre is on fire right now and they have a PLE coming up in just two months in his home country. This is a lay-up. Seth needs a break from the title and Drew is the only worthy character to carry Monday Night Raw. But yeah, what do we do with Damian? I can’t see him trying to interfere against Cody/Roman and I also don’t see them wanting to sully Drew’s moment. I could see a failed cash-in the night after Mania, though.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament (Philadelphia Street Fight)
Patrick: I’m still willing to give The Final Testament a shot as a faction, but I don’t think they win here. Bobby will get a fun babyface win that he ended up not being able to have last year.
Winners: Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits
Shane: I’m going to side with the Final Testament winning this match. Karrion Kross has been a bust since his return and by proxy so has AOP. I can see Triple H booking the heels to win to give them a little momentum moving forward.
Winners: The Final Testament
Jay: Yeesh. I want to like Karrion Kross so bad but I fear that he is this generation’s Test. He has all the tools to be a star, looks like a star, acts like a star but isn’t a star. I don’t get it. The man needs to win but they seem resolute on not having him win. This feud has almost solely favored The Final Testament, so I think The Pride takes it.
Winners: Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
Patrick: LA Knight has sadly cooled off a bit, but not through any fault of his own – the show is just full of big-time stars and it’s harder to stand out than it was six months ago. Knight needs the win here to get back on track and hopefully get into a title scene of some kind soon.
Winner: LA Knight
Shane: I feel like this should have some sort of stipulation. This feud has had more heat than almost anything else on the show. Considering both stars were absent from the Mania card last year, it is nice to see both of them in a prominent role here this year. But, like Patrick said, LA Knight has cooled significantly and a win here is what he needs to get back on track.
Winner: LA Knight
Jay: I feel like LA Knight has plateaued character wise. He is the Orange Cassidy of WWE in that he consistently gets a pop and will reliably have a good match but it is difficult for him to work as the main attraction. AJ just doesn’t need the win so I think Knight takes it.
Winner: LA Knight
Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens for the United States Championship
Patrick: It’s still weird to me that I have such positive opinions on Logan Paul, but lord help me, I think he should retain here. Like him or not, the spotlight follows Logan Paul, and he brings the United States Championship (a good looking belt, fight me) everywhere he goes. That’s best for business.
Winner: Logan Paul
Shane: I just don’t see anybody but Logan Paul winning this match. I have been even more impressed with Logan Paul since transitioning into a more permanent member of the SmackDown roster and feel that dropping the belt should be to someone who could use the rub. KO and Randy are two established ring veterans who do not need that rub. This’ll be a great match regardless of who walks out the winner.
Winner: Logan Paul
Jay: SummerSlam is in Logan Paul’s home city and his reign still has a lot of gas in the tank. Randy and KO don’t need a win here, so Logan.
Winner: Logan Paul
IYO SKY (c) vs. Bayley for the WWE Women’s Championship
Patrick: Bayley absolutely needs to win here. They’ve done a good job making us feel bad for a character who has been pretty irredeemable for the better part of a few years, by taking everything from her. Sure, they were jerks, but Damage CTRL was a family. Now it’s time for Bayley to get her revenge.
Winner: Bayley
Shane: The Bayley babyface turn that I’ve been calling for all year finally happened! And she will carry this new babyface momentum into WrestleMania where she will dethrone IYO SKY to become WWE Women’s Champion.
Winner: Bayley
Jay: This feud should be bigger but the machine doesn’t want it to be. It’s strange; it has ample TV time, but there is a vague lack of emphasis regarding it. Like, we all forgot that Bayley won the Royal Rumble. But anyway, Bayley will take it and she deserves a grand win here at Mania. Crazy to think she has never had a one-on-one singles match at the event.
Winner: Bayley
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
Patrick: Man, I’m going to do something I vowed I would never do: I’m going to bet against the Big Dog. There is simply no way that Cody doesn’t finish the story this time. This is the end of the line. Cody wins, hopefully with help from a lot of friends, and the Bloodline implodes, and we’re on the road to Rock vs. Roman at WrestleMania 41.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Shane: I was the only one last year who predicted that Roman Reigns would beat Cody Rhodes and I was so excited to have made that prediction. However, hindsight being 20/20, that was the wrong decision. Cody should have defeated Roman. And I think it’ll happen this year, but WrestleMania XL won’t be going off air with the happy ending that I think most of us are expecting. Instead, I think Damian Priest will successfully cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase on Cody, becoming the biggest heel in the company in the process.
Winner: Cody Rhodes and then Damian Priest
Jay: We’ve gotten some magic due to the terrible booking of this and I still think taking it off Roman is not the right call but here we are. They have to have Cody win. This is the equivalent of not having Austin win at WrestleMania 14 – it would have catastrophic ripple effects. This could have been averted by just not having Cody win the Rumble as their plan was clearly Rock vs. Roman, dating back to that leaked Sports Illustrated article (from all places) and an A&E documentary that alluded to Rock vs. Roman. So, I can conceivably see Roman winning as that was their original plan. Roman can still do more as champion but, alas, they have to have Cody win. Cody will win. Roman will take a break for a couple of months to allow Solo and Jimmy to carry on The Bloodline with Heyman. And Roman will then feud with The Rock next year at Mania. The only question is: does Rock turn on Roman now? I don’t think so. I think we use this to get to Rock/Cody somehow.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
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