This Saturday and Sunday may very well shape up to become one of WWE’s most revered, iconic, and remembered nights as we approach the 40th Wrestlemania in history. From the most recent episode of Monday Night RAW turning out to become the most sold-out episode of all time, WWE has hit an absolute peak within these past weeks regarding popularity, speculation, and overall fresh hype.
And I must admit, I haven’t been this stoked for a pay-per-view since the raw and gritty days of the legendary NXT Takeovers. Whenever a Takeover was announced, it went right on my calendar, and it was a day to prepare for and set aside for wrestling. This Saturday and Sunday, I am ready to sit down, mute my phone, grab a good snack, and bask in these insane matches to come.
Now, to make matters all the more anticipated, all seven championships are up for grabs in this two-night event, so today we’re going to be making some big, bold, and thought-out theories and explanations for who I’m betting my money on, and why. Make sure to read to match 4, because that is without a doubt my most anticipated brawl for the night!
Now, let’s begin.
NIGHT ONE:
THE ‘FINAL BOSS’ ROCK AND THE ‘TRIBAL CHIEF’ ROMAN REIGNS
VS
‘THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE’ CODY RHODES AND SETH ‘FREAKIN’ ROLLINS
When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned on the 16th of September’s episode of Smackdown Live, the crowd went berserk. The WWE community blew up to bits and the entire landscape we scorched in flames of excitement. However, February 3rd would make for a very controversial day for The Rock, where he would once again appear on Smackdown, but this time interrupt Cody Rhodes as he spoke about aiming for Roman Reigns once again at Wrestlemania 40. The ‘People’s Champ’ would soon enter the ring, shake Cody’s hand, embrace him with a hug and a warm Dwayne-like smile, but then ominous whisper something into his ear which caused Cody to display an uncomfortable grin as he exited the ring, all to the WWE universe’s confusion. The Rock and Roman would soon lock eyes for multiple minutes as the crowd knew exactly what was to come at Wrestlemania 40; ‘The Hollywood Star’ The Rock vs. The Longest Reigning WWE Champion, Roman Reigns. Or so it would seem?..
Controversy soon arose among many supporters of Cody Rhodes who wanted to see him ‘Finish the Story’, which refers to him being the destined man to end Roman Reign’s seemingly invisible reign. The rise of Cody fans wanting to see him in place of The Rock as Wrestlemania became widespread, where the main point in the group’s argument was that “Cody had worked tirelessly to earn his shot back at Roman, and some part-timer (The Rock) had no right to come and steal his opportunity.”
I frankly agreed with the movement and wanted to see Cody face Roman once again, but I was also still very passionate about seeing The Rock back in WWE, so I was very in between on the issue. However, it wouldn’t be long until this internet ordeal became a movement in the arena. The Rock would soon find himself getting booed at the WWE Wrestlemania Press Conference, where a handful of people would chant “We want Cody!” However, there were still chants in The Rock’s favor, which stated “We want Rocky!”
In this press conference, The Rock would call everybody cheering for Cody a bunch of “Cody Crybabies”, and by the end of the night, he would slap Cody across the face, and walk out alongside Roman Reigns, almost as if they had put their desire for championship gold on the sidelines, and united as family, just as their ancestors had. This is where the rollercoaster of The Rock’s insane heel turn took off. After the press conference, it was announced by WWE that they had changed the main event at Wrestlemania back to Cody vs Roman, however, The Rock was nowhere near done. On the 25th of March, The Rock brutalized Cody in the parking lot and made him bleed, just as he promised in a segment earlier in the episode. On April 1st, ‘The Final Boss’ and ‘The Tribal Chief’ absolutely brutalized and abused Cody and Seth in the ring. This set everything up for Rock and Roman VS Cody and Seth for this Saturday.
Now that we’re up to date, the real question is; who will win? It’s been a long run for Cody as he’s kept his eyes on Roman’s championship(s), even through the trail of losing at ‘Mania 39. Seth and Roman are both reigning champions, with neither ready to be pinned, and The Rock certainly isn’t either with his first match back in the WWE since his return. Everybody has everything to win here, but what will truly be lost is when Cody and Roman face 1-on-1 on Sunday. The tensions are simply higher on Sunday when all champion gold is actually on the line. Because of that, I believe The Rock and Roman Reigns walk out as the victors of this match. If they were defeated, I simply believe the tension and stakes would become all that much lower for Sunday night. We need to see the two biggest heels in the brand walk out bruised and battered with smirks on their faces as they walk out of the arena to overflowing boos.
The Winners: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns.
OUR ‘MAMI’ RHEA RIPLEY
VS
‘THE MAN’ BECKY LYNCH
I haven’t kept up to date on these ladies’ rivalry as much as the others on this card, but frankly, I don’t believe I have to; because I am very confident with my answer right off the bat. She has been the most dominant monster in the women’s division in quite some time, forged a team of top-tier superstars that have taken over the tag division, turned a nice boy into a criminal who stole ‘Mania 39 last year against his ‘dead-beat dad’, and has turned every hater into an appreciator of goth style. Becky Lynch may have an impressive amount of feats and victories underneath her belt, but there is simply no denying everybody and their grandpa loves Rhea Ripley. Rhea is simply unstoppable when it comes to passionate fans right now, and there is no way they simply put an end to her insane hype train by stripping the title off her now. Sorry for not having an insane in-depth analysis or hypothesis, but I know my answer.
The Winner: Our ‘Mami’ Rhea Ripley
‘THE RING GENERAL’ GUNTHER VS SAMI ZAYN
The underdog from the underground takes on the other nearly-unstoppable force in WWE next to The Tribal Chief, Gunther. The Rock may be ‘The Final Boss’, but I’d argue Gunther is one to compete for that title, or may even be the hidden final boss when you unlock the bonus world in Super Mario. The point is, Gunther isn’t one to be messed with, and as excited as I am to see Sami take this man on, I don’t believe the title will be changing hands. I believe The Ring General will be holding onto his gold this time around, and will be defending it against another big fish in the pond soon enough; most likely, Roman Reigns… Or if something crazy occurs, The Rock will take a shot at this beast of a man.
The Winner: ‘The Ring General’ GUNTHER.
“YEET” JEY USO VS “NO YEET” JIMMY USO
I’m gonna be completely honest chat; I stopped following this rivalry after Jimmy turned on Jey and joined the Bloodline once again. The Uso brother’s most recent peak was when they pinned Roman and the world was set ablaze, but ever since then, their entire story has gotten confusing and annoying to follow. However, because of that, I am glad this match has finally arrived, because it’s time to put their case to rest.
It’s an interesting match because it’s become genuinely face vs heel, and yet, both of these bros are most iconic right next to each other. It’s honestly different compared to my favorite rivalry and betrayal story, Johnny Gargano vs Tomasso Ciampa, because as time went on for DIY, Ciampa was becoming jealous of Gargano’s spotlight, and decided he didn’t want to see him thrive in the lights if he wasn’t gonna be there either (because he just injured himself). Of course, it was a selfish motive to throw Gargano into the wall and beat him down, but it established Ciampa as the heel, and Johnny as the face, and as depressing as it was to see them split, they had wrestled by themselves for years prior. However, the Usos are one of the same, and seeing one without the other is like walking around with only one sock. Not only that, the betrayal of Jimmy to Jey just felt so random and shoe-horned, and I kind of tuned out of their story once that happened.
However, unlike Gargano vs Ciampa where Ciampa sorta redeemed himself as time went on, and Gargano became infuriated the crowd was beginning to cheer for him, and the roles of face vs heel became blurred and controversial, Jey vs Jimmy is very one-sided; Jey is the face, Jimmy is the heel. However, I believe The Bloodline is going to gain ALL the momentum heading into Night 2, and because of that, I see the YEET train coming to a halt on Night 1, and Jimmy and ‘Mr. Interrupt-every-match’ (Solo Sikoa) coming out on top as Roman, Rock, Jimmy, and Solo all close out the night with their fingers pointed up to the heavens.
However, I truly don’t this will be the last battle between the two brothers, and am definite we could be seeing some no-rules, street fights, or even an ‘I quit’ match. It seems like one match for such a major betrayal just wouldn’t be good enough by WWE’s standards. But for this Saturday, I have my bets on him.
The Winner: Jimmy ‘NO YEET’ Uso
SIX WAY LADDER MATCH FOR THE TAG-TEAM TITLES:
‘THE REIGNING CHAMPS, JUDGEMENT DAY,’ FINN BALOR AND DAMIAN PRIEST.
‘AWESOME TRUTH’, THE MIZ AND R-TRUTH.
DIY, JOHNNY GARGANO AND TOMASSO CIAMPA.
NEW DAY, KOFI KINGSTON AND XAVIER WOODS.
NEW CATCH REPUBLIC, PETE DUNNE AND TYLER BATE.
A-TOWN UNDER, AUSTIN THEORY AND GRAYSON WALLER.
YEAHHHHHH BABBBBYYYYYY!!! Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is my most anticipated match for the night. Look, I’ve just been an absolute fan of huge ladder matches ever since Adam Cole won the North American Title back in 2018’s NXT Takeover New Orleans against Ricochet, Killian Dain, Lars Sullivan, Velveteen Dream, and EC3. Yeah, all of these guys besides Ricochet and now out of the brand, but let me tell ya, love ‘em or hate ‘em, they made an absolute banger of a match, which earns a 5-star in my book. Now, New Orleans may finally have a worthy opponent of being dethroned as my favorite ladder match; Mania 40’s Ladder Match.
Finn and Damian have everything to lose on Saturday with their titles on the line, meaning they will surely have to go Super Saiyan in this match if they hope to retain. The AWESOME!! Miz is here and ready to show his experience in every match that exists, alongside R-Truth who will undoubtedly throw in some belly-laugh-worthy gimmick or spot into the match. Then they’re the two teams who I hope to see shine the most, two extremely experienced and entertaining teams, both of which are severely underrated outside of NXT. Those two are ‘DIY’ and ‘New Catch Republic’ (let’s just call them Pete ‘n Tyler), who will surely have some show-stopping moments that will hopefully put more respect on their names in the world of the main roster. The New Day is here to lend their invaluable experience in the ring and also hopefully have some great moments, A-Town Underground brings the two major punks, Austin and Waller, who will surely have no shortage of cheap moves and cheating, but even at the end of the day, man are they some insane performers!
Editors note: Soooooooo I wrote up an entire essay on who I thought was gonna win, and who had the least likely chances of winning, but all of this unfortantley isn’t relevant anymore as I just learned TWO teams will walk out as tag-champs, and not just one. I guess this makes sense since there are two pairs of titles on the line, but I got so used to them both being on Finn and Damian, I nearly forgot they were seperate.
So, I’m gonna have to cut this section short as two winners instead of one has really changed my perspective on this match. With that, my money is on Awesome-Truth to take home the RAW titles, and A-Truth Underground to take home the Smackdown titles. I believe giving titles to Miz and Truth would seriously spice up the worth of those titles as they’ve gotten a bit stale on Balor and Priest as time as gone by, so giving them to those absolute legends would be terrific. However, I believe to feed the unending ego of Austin and Grayson even more, we give them their first tag-titles together. Giving them gold will only give them all the more bragging rights and will result in some very heel-ish victories as they likely cheat for some time to continue reigning with the titiles. However I feel like the contrast between Awesome-Truth and A-Town is beautiful, both extremely contrary teams that are seriously different from one another.
However, since I’m cutting this segment short, I want to give my dream predication. If you know me, you’ll know I’m the biggest fans of ‘The Whole Shebang’ and the ‘Blackheart’. I believe it’s time for daddy to adopt a new Goldie, and I believe the ‘Heart and Soul of Wrestling’ looks really good with gold around his waist. My dream prediction to take home the RAW titles are none other than Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa, representing DIY. These two men are absolute work horses when it comes to amazing fights inside the ring, their insane veteran experience, Johnny Gargano hitting over 100 matches in NXT the last time he was there, and Tomasso Ciampa being around in main roster for quite some time now, both of these men are more than deserving of another gold-rush run just like their glorious NXT championship run back in 2016. DIY, DIY, DIY!!
Speaking of work horses, it would be a shame to not mention the other set of men who I believe seriously deserve gold around their waist for all they’ve done for NXT, NXT UK, and main roster. If mentioning UK didn’t give it away already, I’m talking about the GOATS Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate. I would absolutely love these two men to walk out as champs, and possibly they could be used to promote the fact WWE is still in the works of opening NXT Europe this year. If we wanted two pairs of fresh main roster talent but having absolutely no shortage of in-ring experience over their years upon years of experience, DIY and New Catch Republic would be an extremely fresh, and honestly surprising pairing as new champs to run RAW and Smackdown. If neither of these men win this Saturday, which I’m still on the fence about, we seriously need to see these guys grab gold in the near future as all their hard work completely deserves to pay off.
The Winners: A-Town Underground, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller
Awesome-Truth, The Miz and R-Truth
Also, I read online somewhere that R-Truth needs to pin someone during the ladder match and act like he’s won, and I completely agree. That would be absolutely feeding us Truth fans.
BIANCA BELAIR, NAOMI, JADE CARGILL
VS
DAMAGE CTRL (DAKOTA KAI, ASUKA, AND KAIRI SANE).
Let’s be honest, they just threw together three all-time greats on the same team, Bianca, Naomi, and the newly signed Jade Cargill, and there is simply no way they lose this match. I look forward to seeing my favorite women’s faction, Damage CTRL, and more action with Auska and Kairi teaming, but there’s no way they let them win.
However, I do have two theories for something that could happen AFTER the match, one of which contradicts my previous statement.
Either Damage CTRL loses because of Dakota Kai, and after the match, Auska, Iyo, and Kairi turn on her and create the trio we’ve dreamed of for years. Or, Bianca possibly fumbles the match, causing the three queens to lose, and afterward Jade pushes Bianca around for losing, which throws them into a continued rivalry. However, I still stick with my previous statement.
Winners: Bianca, Naomi, and Jade.
REY ‘69’ MYSTERIO AND DRAGON LEE
VS
SANTOS ESCOBAR AND ‘DIRTY DOM’ MYSTERIO.
Last year at Mania 39, Dirty Dom made his show-stopping entrance as officers escorted him to the ring in handcuffs. He would then have a full-on match with his very own father, where he was publicly spanked and pinned in the center of the ring. However, Dominik would shrug that loss off like the goat he is, and go on to become one of the hardest-working performers of 2023, running strong even through the four months of 2024 thus far. He has become a terrific performer, and although his father Rey Mysterio alongside Dragon Lee, another extremely talented young performer who is an absolute beast inside the ring, who put on some masterclass-type stuff in NXT, I believe Saturday is all about the dirtiest member of Judgement Day. With Escobar by his side, another great performer who I don’t believe has seen enough spotlight and needs to show what he is capable of, I believe these two men who have publicly lost to Mysterio come for a good, nasty bite of revenge against the veteran, both taking home the win over the babyfaces. It will be a good, slimy win over the two heroes, and I’m totally looking forward to it. May the heels prevail!
The Winners: Santos Escobar and ‘Dirty Dom’.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end! If you enjoyed this article, please check out my home page where you can learn all about this blog’s mission, and how Caleb Gunn strives to bring authentic and enjoyable reads. Please support his social platforms and the ‘Gunn’s Garage’ blog as he hopes to reach for more popculture fans like you! If you enjoyed this article, share this a friend and leave a comment on your thoughts.
-Caleb Gunn, Writer, Actor, Artist, and ‘Self-Proclaimed’ Celebrity
Leave a Reply