The biggest wrestling event of the year is here. WWE has landed in Philadelphia for its annual celebration and it’s a big one. WrestleMania is here and for the 40th anniversary event, the promotion has loaded the two-night spectacular to the gills with entertainment value. It all gets started on Saturday night with seven matches currently scheduled to take place.
No match is bigger on Night 1 of WrestleMania than The Rock and Roman Reigns taking on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. If Rock and Reigns get the win in the main event, then Reigns’ defense of his undisputed WWE universal championship against Rhodes in the main event of Night 2 will be contested under “Bloodline Rules,” which would mean no disqualification, no matter how many members of Reigns’ family come to his aid.
The rest of Night 1 is also sure to be filled with fireworks. Women’s world champion Rhea Ripley will defend her crown against legendary veteran Becky Lynch. The undisputed tag team titles are on the line in a very unique match with The Judgement Day members Damian Priest and Finn Balor putting both titles at stake against six different teams. Plus, intercontinental champion Gunther will take on his latest challenger Sami Zayn. And a unique matchup pits brother against brother when Jey Uso battles Jimmy Uso.
The CBS Sports experts got together to provide predictions for every match on the card. Let’s take a look at how they think all of Night 1’s action will go down. Predictions for Night 2 will be posted on Friday.
WrestleMania 40 Night 1 predictions
Women’s World Championship — Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Ripley is a dominant champion but her reign hasn’t been very memorable. That may be enough of a reason to swing some in Lynch’s favor. That’s a mistake. Professional wrestling is a star-making business. Ripley, 27, is the long-term investment and Lynch is bulletproof. Ripley had a ripper of a match against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. Crossing off another member of the Four Horsewomen in a fantastic WrestleMania match would do wonders for the champ. Pick: Rhea Ripley retains the title — Shakiel Mahjouri (also Brent Brookhouse and Connor Casey)
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship — The Judgment Day (c) vs. #DIY vs. The Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. A-Town Down Under vs. New Catch Republic (Six Pack Ladder Match)
It seems WWE will split up the tag team titles. A new stipulation for the six-pack ladder match states the match will continue until both sets of titles are retrieved. That creates the opportunity for two different teams to leave with gold. Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are on a nice roll on SmackDown. #DIY are longtime favorites of Triple H that could use a workman-like reign to elevate them. Damian Priest’s time with the Money in the Bank briefcase is winding down so he should focus on that moving forward. There’s always the potential for a surprise tag team to be added to the mix too. Pick: #DIY & New Catch Republic both win — Mahjouri
The stipulation surrounding the ladder match all but confirms that WWE is finally splitting up the Raw and SmackDown tag team championships again, which means we’re getting two sets of winners. I see The Awesome Truth winning the Raw titles; not just for the nostalgia pop but to set up a comedy spot where Truth leaves with the red belt and thinks the match is already over. There isn’t an obvious choice for the other set of titles, so let’s give New Day one more run. Pick: Awesome Truth & The New Day both win — Casey (also Brookhouse)
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Damage CTRL
There might not be a pro wrestler with a more natural star presence than Cargill. She is a hit with the crowd but needs to be managed carefully in the ring. It was wise of WWE to make space for her at WrestleMania and pair her with many experienced wrestlers. Damage CTRL is overdue for comeuppance and the heroes all benefit from a win. This is one of the easiest matches to call the entire weekend. Pick: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi win — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse and Casey)
Latino World Order (Dragon Lee & Rey Mysterio) vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio
Rey vs. Dominik Mysterio wound up being a surprise highlight of WrestleMania 39 last year. And while the tag match feels like a star-making spot for Dragon Lee, I get the sense Rey wants to put his son over at least once before he retires. Pick: Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio — Casey (also Brookhouse and Mahjouri)
Intercontinental Championship — Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Yes, Gunther’s run as champion has to end at some point. It just doesn’t feel like Zayn is the man to do it on this night. It still feels like the story of Chad Gable trying to get one more crack at Gunther is the dominant one in the intercontinental title picture. Yes, Gable could get that revenge by coaching Zayn up enough for Zayn to take down the champion. But months and months of talk from Gable about how badly he needs that shot would be rendered meaningless if Zayn wins. With that said, I think Gunther wins in a tremendous match. Pick: Gunther retains the title — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
At first, having Zayn paired up with Gunther felt like a step back given everything that went down in 2023. But to WWE’s credit, the segments between Zayn and Chad Gable on Raw in recent weeks really sold me. The match was going to be solid no matter what — I’m pretty sure Gunther is incapable of having a bad match — but Zayn being the underdog who finally ends Gunther’s record-long run finally felt realistic once they started doing homages to “Rocky III.” I also can’t shake the feeling Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther will be the main event of SummerSlam, and for that to happen they need to get the title off of him first. Pick: Sami Zayn wins the title — Casey
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Having Jey beat his brother and finally get revenge for what happened at SummerSlam makes all the sense in the world. But I want The Bloodline to have every ounce of momentum walking into that Night 2 main event so that means Jimmy gets the win here. Pick: Jimmy Uso wins — Casey
I love the idea of The Bloodline winning all of their matches on Night 1 but I can’t shake the idea of Jey winning here either by disqualification when Solo Sikoa interferes or edging out a close win before Sikoa and Jimmy put the beat down on. Either way, the idea is that Jey is attacked and taken out so that he can’t provide support to Rhodes and Rollins in the main event. Pick: Jey Uso wins — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins
My prediction changed as we drew closer to the big night. The stipulation seemed like a way for The Rock to intentionally or unintentionally screw Reigns over. It gave Rhodes a level playing field on Night 2 and Rollins a much-deserved win before dropping the world title. But rumors of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and John Cena getting involved in an “Avengers” style rescue mission on Night 2 have me reconsidering. I’ll side with The Bloodline on Night 1 to add more drama to Rhodes’ ascension the subsequent evening. Pick: The Bloodline wins — Mahjouri
You don’t tease a stipulation like “Bloodline Rules” and not deliver. Roman Reigns and The Rock will get the win here to further stack the deck against Rhodes. Expect all kinds of interference from Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman, making it seem like Rhodes is walking into a slaughter on Night 2. Pick: The Bloodline wins — Casey
Basic wrestling booking means that you have to stack the deck against the babyface going into a match like Rodes vs. Reigns. If Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso plays out as I expect, Jey won’t be available to provide backup. That leaves Rhodes and Rollins at a major disadvantage as Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman and even Drew McIntyre could involve themselves in the match, tipping the scales for The Bloodline to get the win and have “Bloodline Rules” in place for Night 2. Pick: The Bloodline wins — Brookhouse
