WrestleMania XL Predictions: Finish The Story?
adrenaline in my soul.
I’ve wanted to do this for a while and what better time than WrestleMania? If you subscribe to this blog for music - sorry (if you know someone who enjoys wrestling well then feel free to forward this to them). But if you are that Venn diagram between music and professional wrestling then this is for you! I haven’t been this excited for a WrestleMania since WrestleMania 30 in 2014 - an event that ended in the culmination of the Yes Movement with Daniel Bryan overcoming the odds to become WWE Champion. Ten years later and WWE has something similar on their hands - Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson took Cody Rhodes main event spot against WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and outraged the fans. Thus Rock turned heel, aligned with his family member Reigns in the Bloodline, and created the most anticipated two(!) main events in WWE history. Now whether this happened because the WWE tried to reverse engineer what happened a decade ago (ehhh) or just plain dumb luck (most likely!) we will never know. But also I don’t care because there are so many stories that can splinter off from not only these main events but other matches down the card. Below you can find my predictions along with some fantasy booking.
Enjoy or don’t.
WrestleMania XL Night One - Saturday April 6th, 2024
Women’s World Championship: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
It’s been announced already that this will kick off night one - a smart decision between two of the most over women in WWE’s recent history. Becky Lynch has been doubting herself lately and needs to prove herself again by beating the best. The best is Rhea Ripley - who’s held this title since last April’s Mania by defeating Charlotte Flair. No chance I see Rhea losing anytime soon - in fact I think she’s being set up as the Roman-equivalent on the women’s side (I think the big money match is a year from now where Jade Cargill defeats her for the title) but I do see the Judgment Day falling apart this weekend so it’s time to solidify Ripley as the absolute best in the division. Beating The Man will do that. As for Becky - maybe some time off for soul-searching after this - go tour that new book of yours.
The Prediction: Rhea Ripley retains.
Intercontinental Championship: GUNTHER (c) vs. Sami Zayn
GUNTHER is a fucking dawg, man. Maybe the best wrestler in the entire company and he’s had a stronghold on the IC title - over 500 days. Sami Zayn was the star of last year’s Mania and finds himself in another contest where he needs to overcome the odds. On one hand, it’s still difficult for me to see GUNTHER losing ever but I also think it’s time to elevate him to the main event and compete for the World Heavyweight or Universal Title - he’s elevated the IC Title to new heights and more. Plus Zayn getting a singles run holding gold as a face would be awesome too and I could see him bringing back the IC Open Challenge to the weekly shows (his first match? Chad Gable please.)
The Prediction: Sami Zayn wins IC gold while GUNTHER moves on the main event scene.
Six Pack Ladder Tag Team Championship: The Judgment Day (c) vs. DIY vs. Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. A-Town Down Under vs. New Catch Republic
Potential to fucking steal the show on night one. And the stipulation that the both sets of titles are being separated gives us potential for two different teams leaving as champs. Like I mentioned above - I think the Judgment Day is on the outs and I think they should lose both titles. The teams of DIY and New Catch Republic are gonna pull off some crazy shit (especially the former) but I see Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) winning one set and the young cocky heels of Austin Theory and Grayson Waller winning another set. I think both teams could tell any story and feud with any set of tag teams in the WWE and godammit R-Truth deserves one last legit title run.
The Prediction: A-Town Down Under win the Raw titles while Awesome Truth take home the Smackdown titles.
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
I don’t want to write too much about the backstory and lore of the Bloodline and how we got this match (this is already gonna run way too long) but finally the two brothers are facing off on the grandest stage of them all. Jimmy has been stuck doing lackey work in the Bloodline for Roman after turning on his brother last year by helping Reigns retain the title, while Jey has legit become a main eventer (winning the tag titles with Cody Rhodes last fall and just in general the fans get AMPED to see him). We got a taste of this matchup in the Rumble but it’ll be nice to see it one-on-one.
The Prediction: Main Event Jey takes it over his big brother.
Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar
I’m sorry but I don’t really give a shit about this match, even though by all accounts it’ll be a banger just based on the talent involved - I just can’t get into the father-son drama between the Mysterios. What I find interesting is Dom seemingly aligning with Escobar and potentially creating his own faction with him and the recently returned Andrade (yet another crack in the Judgment Day foundation). Rey beat his boy last year so I think Dom and Santos get the win (thanks to Carlito turning on Rey for choosing Dragon Lee over him as his partner) and sets up a match at Backlash or something for Dom to finally retire his father.
The Prediction: Dom and Santos with some help from Carlito.
Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair & Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Dakota Kai)
Now this match I am fucking fired up for. I am so high on Jade Cargill - she is a star already and will only become the face of the division sooner rather than later. Her teaming up with Naomi and Bianca Belair to rid themselves of the Damage CTRL problem is perfect booking and this is gonna be a showcase match through and through. I expect fan favorite Asuka to get some good offense in, I expect Naomi to be the face in peril leading to the hot tags to Bianca and Jade, and I expect Jade Cargill to launch Kairi Sane and Dakota Kai into the orbit with a variety of kicks, suplexes, and press slams.
The Prediction: Jade, Bianca and Naomi squash Damage CTRL.
Night One Main Event: The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
First let’s quickly go over the stipulation: if Roman and Rock win then it’s Bloodline Rules for night two’s main event between Cody and Roman, if Cody and Seth win then no one from the Bloodline can be ringside. Okay, so this match - whew baby The Rock is putting in his best work ever. I’ll be honest I didn’t see it in him - he’s an A-List actor with a huge Disney movie on the way - no chance he’s becomes an asshole. But he went way back - bringing back the Versace vests and delivering his best promo work ever. WWE Heavyweight champ Seth Rollins has had enough of the Bloodline so even tho he has a huge problem in the shape of Drew McIntyre waiting on night two, he’s teamed up with Cody to exterminate the Bloodline problem - to save the future of wrestling. Like most matches involving Roman Reigns expect this to have a ton of overbooked chaos. Part of me can’t see Seth losing twice this weekend (spoiler alert for his match) but I think Cody eats the pin so that he has to go through EVEN MORE HARD TIMES to Finish The Story (TM). Plus having Bloodline Rules and the potential for hella surprises on night two just adds more drama.
The Prediction: The Rock and Roman Reigns claim Bloodline Rules by defeating Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
WrestleMania XL Night Two - Sunday April 7th, 2024
World Heavyweight Championship: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
Drew McIntyre has never been better. Injuring CM Punk at Royal Rumble has helped turn his character into a smartass heel ethering everyone on the mic. Seth Rollins has been the workhorse for WWE with the Heavyweight title - elevating it from the originally perceived “No. 2” title into something highly coveted. Also CM Punk is the guest commentator for this match (I don’t think he will get involved but I’ve been worked before by injuries and how long it takes for them to recover). Drew is obviously winning this, as Seth will get some time off (yes I see him showing up in the main event on night two and no I don’t think he’ll turn on Cody - that’s old hat by now and plus they’ve already had 3 matches). What I think is most interesting is what happens after Drew wins. He’s been taking short cuts for the past few months to earn this spot - picking the bones clean off his opponents after someone else already did the work. And Clash at the Castle is heading to his home country this summer and I don’t see him heading into that event as a heel. So how do we turn Drew? It’s simple. Have Damien Priest cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase and win the title from Drew right after. Drew realizes that the short cuts finally bit him in the ass and you got a white hot baby face chasing Priest and title heading into Clash, with Drew getting the win in front of his home country (plus the added bonus of continuing the feud that was planted between Drew and Priest at War Games).
The Prediction: Drew wins the heavyweight title but only so briefly as Priest cashes in successfully.
Women’s Championship: Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley
It’s time for Bayley to have her Mania moment. After being betrayed the members of the faction she created, this year’s Royal Rumble winner takes the Women’s Championship from Iyo. Bayley is completely isolated at the moment, with no allies by her side. It’s pretty likely Damage CTRL shows up at some point to help Iyo win so it’ll be interesting to see who shows up to even the odds (probably Jade, Bianca, and Naomi again). This has been an expertly crafted story and I’m looking forward to the payoff.
The Prediction: Bayley becomes two-time Women’s champion.
United States Championship: Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
I HATE how fucking good Logan Paul is at wrestling. Like he’s annoying as hell but goddamn is he one of the best in-ring performers in the company - a true prodigy. Anyways, he’s gonna find a way to weasel out of this triple threat as champion - Kevin Owens and Randy Orton have been peacefully co-exiting the last few weeks but both are known to turn at any moment. I see KO eating a RKO and Paul throwing Randy out of the ring to get the pinfall victory.
The Prediction: Logan Paul retains.
Philadelphia Street Fight: Bobby Lashley & The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament
High potential for this one to be the worst match on the card for both nights - it’s my designated bathroom break match. I don’t know how WWE screwed up Lashley and The Street Profits - Montez Ford has (had?) potential to be the Shawn Michaels to Angelo Dawkins Marty Janetty but I don’t know right now. Hurt Business was so fucking good - where the fuck is Omos and MVP? What are we doing here? Karrion Kross and the Authors of Pain - or their awful faction name The Final Testament (sounds like a butt rock band opening for Five Finger Death Punch) - are so fucking boring, man. None of these guys could get over with the NXT crowd and that’s saying something considering the type of wrestlers that Full Sail crowd has gotten behind over the years. Also what the hell is a Philadelphia Street Fight? Is someone gonna throw batteries at someone?
The Prediction: Who honestly cares? Probably Lashley and the Profits.
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
These two guys hate each other - over the past month or so they’ve just keep fucking each other over - my man AJ flew all the way to Perth, Australia just to interfere with LA Knight - that’s a level of petty not many reach. The last few weeks LA Knight and AJ Styles have been fighting in random places - like AJ Styles’ house or recently the fan convention today. LA Knight is still hugely over - losing to Roman Reigns didn’t dim his star at all - the crowd still pops huge for that “YEAH!” This is LA Knight’s moment.
The Prediction: LA Knight in a banger of a match because AJ Styles rarely has bad matches.
Night Two Main Event: WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
I was absolutely floored that Cody Rhodes lost year to Roman Reigns at Mania 39. Thought it was time to pull the Cody trigger but alas we got another 365 day reign from The Tribal Chief - dude’s had the belt since the pandemic. I didn’t see how they could heat up this story again but by god they did it - mainly once again because of The Rock putting in all-time great work as the Final Boss. So we are gonna have Bloodline Rules and just prepare for this match to be messy. We’re gonna get Solo, Jey, and The Rock involved. The big prediction is Cody calling on his Avengers type team to even the odds - Seth and Jey will be there but how about we get some glass shattering and some horns? Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena are gonna return to even the odds and help Cody finish his story and end Roman Reigns’ 1,314 day reign of being Universal Champion.
The Prediction: Whoaa-ohhh Cody Rhodes finishes the story.
But while Cody’s story has been finished, the Bloodline one is just getting started with Phase Two. It’s no coincidence that The Rock keeps referring to himself as The Final Boss - but he’s not saying to Cody or even Seth but more a subtle warning to Roman. It’s fairly obvious that the big money is in a Roman vs Rock main event and it’s here where the two wrestlers’ egos collide and The Rock turns on Roman. If you haven’t noticed it’s been The Rock doing all the evil shit recently - giving Cody some color by throwing him into a truck while lashing him with his own weight belt. It’s the Rock telling a crowd to “go home and smoke some crack.” Sure, Paul Heyman has said that it was Roman giving orders but don’t for one second think this isn’t a way to get fans warmed up for a face turn from Roman (the timing of Roman’s very face-leaning documentary premiering this week isn’t lost on me either). So here’s the Rock - he’s made it easy for Roman to retain - he’s beaten the shit out of Cody on Raw and Smackdown, he helped get Bloodline Rules for this main event, and Roman still couldn’t get it done? Dude is about to be ex-communicated from the Bloodline and lose his title as the Tribal Chief. The WWE has been trying since 2015 to make Roman Reigns the top face and nearly ten years later in the very city where the fans booed The Rock holding up the Rumble-winning Reigns arm in the ring does the WWE universe finally acknowledge Roman as the top face - with his coronation happening next April at WrestleMania 41 where The Rock and Roman Reigns face off for Head of the Table.
(we’ll return to our usually schedule music writing tomorrow with a new edition of hear this / read this / watch this.)
