***Note - There was a Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton match scheduled which has been cancelled due to Owens' injury. I have heard there is a chance that Orton will still have a match against the dreaded TBD, but I can't really predict that one. I also want to just best wishes to Owens on a speedy recovery and wish him all the best.
I have to admit that I kind of side with Drew McIntyre on this one. Or at least the rumors that circulated that Drew was unhappy with this match and deserved more. Drew McIntyre had an insane 2024, especially in his feud with CM Punk. Drew does deserve to be in a main title picture. But the WWE is so top heavy that McIntyre has been left to this singles match with Damian Priest. And this is not a slight against Priest. Damian left Wrestlemania 40 as a champion and carried the belt for a few months before losing to Gunther. I feel like this is just a case of two stars with no other spot for them. All of that seems to be the perfect recipe for these two men to put on a hell of a show and prove that they both deserve to be in the main event picture going forward. This is a match that could go either way, but I'll give the slight edge to McIntyre in this one. Maybe the two will square off again on the next PLE or Saturday Night's Main Event, but McIntyre will walk away with the advantage and insert himself into a feud with whoever walks out of Mania with the title.
NIGHT ONE (Saturday, April 19)
1. Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
Back in November of 2024, Jade Cargill was mysteriously attacked and put out of action. From that moment to this past February, fans have speculated as to who the unknown attacker was. The WWE led many fans to believe that it was Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez. However, at the Elimination Chamber PLE, Jade Cargill returned and laid down a vicious beating on her attacker, Naomi. This came as a shock to some as Naomi was a friend and partner of Cargill, along with Bianca Belair. Since then, the two have come to blows and the payoff will take place at Wrestlemania 41. This is an interesting match in that we will see a women's match without any stipulations or titles on the line. Regardless of there not being any stipulations, I could see the limits of disqualification pushed and both women doing everything possible to get the victory. In the end though, I believe Jade Cargill does something that gets her disqualified and this feud continues on the next big show from WWE.
Winner: Naomi by DQ
2. Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
When Penta debuted on Monday Night Raw in January, his first match was with Chad Gable. Penta picked up the win and this infuriated Gable. Eventually, Gable asked Dominik Mysterio for helped in beating a luchador. This leads to what we have now: El Grande Americano. Now, let's not insulted anyone's intelligence. We all know who is behind the red, white and blue mask. This is obviously not some new talent that hails from the "Gulf of America" and this is clearly some angle with Gable behind the mask. Where does it go from here? I have no idea. However, it has to be better than the "Shorty G" gimmick. Right? Regardless, I see Rey Mysterio get the win and unmasking the patriotic luchador.
Winner: Rey Mysterio
3. World Tag Team Championship Match
The War Raiders (c) vs. The New Day
The War Raiders have had the best run of their careers in WWE with the World Tag Team Championships recently. Let's remember that this team was called The Viking Experience when they first debuted on the main roster. The New Day have been interesting again following their heel turn when they cut ties to the injured Big E. While the tag team division on Raw has not been nearly as good as it has been on Smackdown, this should be a good, solid tag match with two excellent teams. I do feel like this will be a shorter match than it could be and The War Raiders will walk away successful in their title defense. This will give The New Day another chance to challenge again in the ner future.
Winners: The War Raiders
4. United States Championship Match
LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
The United States Championship picture has been a messy one to say the least. LA Knight has been a fine champion, but there has not been too much excitement around his title reign. Even the popularity of Knight has seemed to dwindle from where it was just a year ago. Standing across the ring from Knight will be the “Samoan Werewolf” Jacob Fatu. If this match took place a few months ago, I would have definitively said that Fatu would win. But following the breakup of the New Bloodline that has headed by Solo Sikoa, I feel like Fatu just hasn’t been the same. I will still take Jacob Fatu in this match and hopefully this will begin a much bigger push for the star.
Winner: Jacob Fatu
5. WWE Women's Championship Match
Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
Well, this got personal real quick. Tiffany Stratton won the WWE Women’s Championship after cashing in her Money in the Bank briefcase on then champ, and friend, Nia Jax. Fast forward to the 2025 Royal Rumble and Charlotte Flair returns from an injury to win the women’s Royal Rumble match. Since then, the only buzz coming from this rivalry is their lackluster promos that got personal real quick. Charlotte has not been received as the “face” that WWE hoped for and has taken shots at Stratton. Stratton has shown a weakness in her promos and has taken shots at Charlotte, including commenting on her three failed marriages. Ouch! Anyways, I just can’t see Charlotte walking out of Wrestlemania with the title and a loud chorus of boos. Therefore, I say keep the belt on Stratton and let this rivalry continue. Or, maybe separate them permanently!
Winner: Tiffany Stratton
6. World Heavyweight Championship Match
Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso
One of the boldest decisions that WWE made in a while was booking Jey Uso to win the men’s 2025 Royal Rumble match. I am sure that 99% of the world thought John Cena was about to win when he and Uso were the last two men in the ring. But, Uso surprised everyone when he pushed Cena off the ring apron to declare victory. Then, came his decision: Gunther or Rhodes. Since Uso and Rhodes were friends on television, it seemed like the obvious choice was to challenge Gunther for the World Heavyweight Championship. But, wait, didn’t Jey Uso just lose to Gunther at Saturday Night’s Main Event in January? Yes, that is correct. He did in fact lose to Gunther and, in the process, caused people to question his “Main Event” nickname. I know there are some people who dislike Jey so much that they would rather see Gunther win and continue his title reign. I am on the other side of this. I want to see Jey win and have his chance to lead the Raw brand. I have not been thrilled with Gunther’s championship reign and maybe it is time for him to take a break and come back in a month or two. Then, maybe he can try to reclaim his title and have a better second run with the main title on Raw.
Winner: Jey Uso
7. Triple Threat Match
Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk
I should be more excited than I am for this match just with the wrestlers involved. Seth Rollins is perhaps the best all around wrestler of the past 10 years. CM Punk returned to WWE in 2023 and, after losing almost a year to injury, is in a main event match at Wrestlemania. And Roman Reigns has been the biggest star in the WWE in a long time and helped wrestling become more mainstream than it had been since the Attitude Era. I’m not saying he did that all on his own, but he was definitely a huge part of it. This has all the makings of a great, main event worthy match. But the storytelling has been average at best.
Let’s start with the “favor” that Paul Heyman, Roman’s wiseman, owed CM Punk for Punk teaming with Reigns at Survivor Series in 2024. The big favor that everyone was waiting for was to take Heyman away from Reigns and have him in Punk’s corner for this match. That’s it! That was a weak conclusion to a storyline that dragged on for months. Then, Rollins just simply does not curb stomp Heyman so now he says that Heyman owes him a favor? Really? So all you have to do is NOT attack someone and they owe you a favor? This favor part of the story has been lame and there could have been so much more. Why not tell the story of The Shield and how CM Punk was responsible for bringing them into the WWE? Or how Punk did not want Reigns as a part of The Shield at first? So much was left on the table with this match.
Back to the match though. I expect it to be an amazing match with plenty of twists and turns and memorable moments. CM Punk did great work with Drew McIntrye in 2024. Rollins has been fighting through injuries to be the face of the WWE. And Reigns has the longest title reign of the modern era that spanned over 1,000 days. The players in this match are great and it will show. As for the end, I see Rollins picking up the win and some shenanigans and turning back into the full heel Rollins. That’s when he is at his best and he might just even walk out with his own wiseman!
Winner: Seth Rollins
NIGHT TWO (Sunday, April 20)
1. Fatal 4-Way Intercontinental Championship Match
Bron Breakker (c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio
Bron Breakker has been on a tear through the mid-card since coming up from NXT and has been a great Intercontinental champion. But this may be his toughest challenge. Penta arrived in the WWE in January and it should not surprise anyone that he has looked great. Finn Balor is always a great competitor despite often being overlooked by the WWE. And Dominik Mysterio, well, has the support of the rest of the Judgement Day stable, especially Liv Morgan. Despite facing against three challengers, I still see Bron Breakker retaining and having a showcase match on the biggest stage in WWE.
Winner: Bron Breakker
2. AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
This will be the match to steal the show. AJ Styles and Logan Paul are both athletic and great entertainers. The end of the road is definitely nearing for Styles and I am sure that he will want to have a Wrestlemania match that will go down as one of the best. This match with Paul has the chance to be that match. These two competitors will leave everything in the ring and won’t hold anything back. I have to give credit where it is due as Paul is a natural performer and will give Styles a tough time. But I am going with my heart here and I think AJ Styles gets the job done.
Winner: AJ Styles
3. Women's Tag Team Championship Match
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
The Women's Tag Team champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez will take on the team of Lyra Valkyria and Bayley in a championship match at Wrestlemania 41. I think it is crazy that Lyra Valkyria, the WWE Women's Intercontinental Champion, is fighting in a tag team match instead of defending her title. If this was a title that has been around for a while then it might be more understandable. But this is a title new to the WWE and Valkyria is the inaugural champion. I can imagine that this is just a place on the card for Morgan, Rodriguez and Bayley, but I feel like it is slightly a letdown for Valkyria. But, at least she is on the card which is more than could be said for Chelsea Green, the reigning and inaugural WWE Women's United States Champion. With all that said, I see this being another victory for the champions. I do not see how switching these titles again would help the titles or the women involved.
Winners: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez
4. Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
Winner: Drew McIntyre
5. Triple Threat Women's World Championship Match
IYO SKY (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley
What is it with WWE and their women’s Wrestlemania matches? This one is confusing in its own right. So, Bianca Belair wins the 2025 Elimination Chamber match and is going to challenge for the Women’s World Championship. However, that championship, held by Rhea Ripley since January, was being defended on the March 3 episode of RAW against IYO SKY. In that match, SKY becomes the new champion after Ripley is distracted by Belair. Then, instead of just setting up the triple threat match that EVERYONE knew was coming, they stalled for a while and made SKY look like an afterthought. But, here we are and the triple threat match is booked and I just feel like this is a spot where IYO SKY gets to have her moment and show why she is the champion even after she felt like the third wheel in this build up.
Winner: IYO SKY
6. Undisputed WWE Championship Match
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
The time is now! That’s right. Heel Cena is here and it only took, well, most of his career. Following is victory in the men’s Elimination Chamber, Cena appeared to be on Cody Rhodes’ side as he told The Rock to go f@“k himself. His words, not mine. But, with one signal from The Rock, Cena turned on Rhodes and the heel run that everyone wanted began. As thus, it is Rhodes vs. Cena for the Undisputed WWE Championship at Wrestlemania 41, the last Wrestlemania match for John Cena.
So far, the two have just traded promos back and forth and I am hoping that the match will be one of those “Rock vs. Hogan” matches that live on forever. There is very little that I can say that has not been said already. I want Cena to walk away from Wrestlemania 41 on Sunday night with his record-setting 17th world title reign. If that happens, Cena will always be associated with that record all by himself. I think this would be the smart move. However, I just have a feeling that Rhodes will overcome the odds and retain the title. Whether we have interference from The Rock or Travis Scott or whoever, I just have a hunch that Cody Rhodes will be victorious and Cena will have to wait for the record.
But that’s just a hunch. I am going to predict that Cena will find a way and break Ric Flair’s record and the closing shot of Wrestlemania will be a very smug-looking John Cena with the title belt over his head as the fireworks explode outside Allegiant Stadium. And he will do this in his last Wrestlemania EVER! Maybe I’m right. Maybe I’m wrong. But it should definitely be fun!
Winner: John Cena
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