With WrestleMania Saturday in the books, it is now time to turn attention to Night Two of The Grandest Stage of Them All.
The main event needs no introduction, as John Cena hopes to break the all-time record for most world championship victories in his final WrestleMania match against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Another match worth noting is the Women’s World Championship match, where Iyo Sky looks to defend her title against Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. While those are the only two noteworthy matches at the moment, recent developments suggest the card has more potential for excitement than it does at first glance.
So who walks out of Allegiant Stadium with a win, and how did they even get here?
Cody Rhodes (c) vs John Cena (Undisputed WWE Championship)
It was the low blow heard round the world.
At Elimination Chamber, WWE lifer and seemingly permanent babyface Cena turned heel for the first time in over 20 years when he joined The Rock (and Travis Scott, for some reason?) and attacked Rhodes. Since then, Cena has run down Rhodes and the fans at nearly every turn, and yet Rhodes is still getting jeers from some sections of the fanbase. It’s clear that both have needed resets for a long time and, just as Cena got his at Elimination Chamber, the time is now to do the same for the American Nightmare.
With a 17th title win on Sunday, Cena would surpass Ric Flair for the most world championship reigns in the history of professional wrestling. WWE has always had a knack for celebrating history, and this feels like the best chance to give their loyal soldier the highest honor they can bestow. Rock, Scott, and at least a couple others (a newly heel Seth Rollins or new World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso, perhaps?) are sure to make their presence felt, all for Cena to serve as WWE’s in-ring final boss for the remainder of his retirement tour.
Rhodes finishing his story last year was nice, but it is time for this chapter to come to a close.
Prediction: Cena wins the Undisputed WWE Championship
Iyo Sky (c) vs Bianca Belair vs Rhea Ripley (Women’s World Championship)
This feud has been…weird, to say the least.
Since dropping the belt to Sky last month, Ripley has gone way out of left field to whine and complain her way to a rematch. It reached a new point of ridiculousness when Ripley signed her name on a contract that did not even include her, and then proceeded to get added into the match anyway. The feud has looked as though it is just Ripley and Belair, with Sky getting the upper hand due to her two opponents underestimating her.
Belair has an undefeated WrestleMania streak going (5-0 right now), and it is hard to see WWE breaking that yet. However, let us take things a step further and have Belair pin Ripley for the finish, setting up a fun program where Sky chases the championship she technically did not lose. Belair can embrace a tweener role for a bit until the next PLE, where she defeats Sky only for Ripley to attack both for a full-blown heel turn.
Mami was never supposed to be a face to begin with. Change my mind.
Prediction: Bianca Belair wins the Women’s World Championship
Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs Lyra Valkyria and Bayley(?) (WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships)
Talk about adding some intrigue at the eleventh hour.
On the go-home edition of Friday Night SmackDown, Valkyria and Bayley won a gauntlet match to become the number one contenders for Morgan and Rodriguez’s championships. Morgan and Rodriguez are both members of the Judgment Day, which looks poised to split up soon. However, Valkyria and Bayley’s own rivalry towards the former’s Women’s Intercontinental Championship seemingly made this match a battle of which team can actually co-exist.
That was until the kickoff show Saturday, when Bayley was attacked and supposedly will not be ready to compete. While it is unfortunate that Bayley will likely miss WrestleMania, it opens the door for Becky Lynch to make her first in-ring appearance since May. The Man re-signed with the company shortly before Monday Night Raw switched over to Netflix and, if she is ready to return to the ring, there are few better ways to re-introduce her than to aid her fellow Irishwoman in her battle.
With so many opportunities to set Valkyria up for a huge storyline later, her and Lynch running the tag team division for a good bit is a fun way to go.
Predictions: Bayley replaced by Becky Lynch, Lynch and Valkyria win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships
Bron Breakker (c) vs Penta vs Finn Balor vs Dominik Mysterio (Intercontinental Championship)
This feud has had a lot going on, and has some surprisingly large implications that could come out of it.
Judgment Day has been aiming directly at Breakker to get the Intercontinental Championship, and the younger Mysterio believed they could recruit Penta to their cause in order to do it. The idea has caused tensions to rise between Mysterio and Balor, while Breakker and Penta have had some issues of their own. With so many feuds brewing between all four, this should put an end to all of it.
With how he has blossomed as a heel over the past few years, it is time for WWE to reward Dirty Dom for his hard work with his first main-roster singles championship. It ends up being the path of least resistance; Breakker gets to move to the world title picture with no issue, Penta gets to chase Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship, and Balor effectively gets kicked out of Judgment Day and refresh his character. If Balor brings back a vengeful Demon persona in a feud with Mysterio, that alone makes it all worth it.
After years of scratching and clawing, Dominik Mysterio will finally be on top.
Prediction: Dominik Mysterio wins the Intercontinental Championship
Drew McIntyre vs Damian Priest (Sin City Street Fight)
McIntyre deserved better than this.
He was one of the best acts of 2024, with his feud against CM Punk and his short-lived “Bloodline hunter” character looking as though he was set up for something huge down the line. Unfortunately, WWE chose to explore other avenues, and McIntyre ends up in a match against Priest. In all fairness, Priest was the one who cashed in Money in the Bank last year on McIntyre to take away his WrestleMania moment, so this is a nice way to get some closure there.
Regardless, this is one of the easier matches to predict. McIntyre needs a win to keep his status in good health, and running through Priest should give him the push back into the world championship picture. Assuming Jey Uso remains face after WrestleMania, expect McIntyre to be on the shortlist of potential challengers.
If it weren’t for being in late August, Uso vs McIntyre at Clash in Paris would be an excellent program.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre wins
AJ Styles vs Logan Paul
If Paul ever decided to go full-time, he is actually good enough to have some consideration for a world championship run.
Whatever your personal feelings towards the man are, Paul has done an excellent job putting on good matches and serving as a walking heat magnet. Now, he gets to have a program with Styles, who can wrestle a wet paper bag and somehow put on a decent performance. Where things stop being so straightforward is when all the variables get considered.
Paul has not had a real marquee win since losing the United States Championship to LA Knight at SummerSlam in August, so he could use a win to get his stock back up. Recent WrestleMania efforts all but guarantee Paul will have the support of [insert random influencer or business partner here], while Karrion Kross might be looking to get involved due to him pushing for a spot on the card in his hometown. Paul should walk away with the win here to get himself back on track, freeing Styles and Kross up for a legitimate program.
To the lovely people behind WWE’s creative progress, if this is the year that Kross gets his long-deserved push, that would be great.
Prediction: Logan Paul wins
Randy Orton open challenge
What was once expected to be a hard-hitting affair between Orton and Kevin Owens has turned into something more tragic.
With Owens being diagnosed with a career-threatening neck injury, he is obviously off the card for health reasons. With this being Orton’s 20th time at the Show of Shows, he is dead set on facing whoever is brave enough to walk down the aisle and meet him in the ring. The question now is who would garner the most reactions from the fans.
Solo Sikoa is too obvious of a solution, while there is no real connection of Orton to the aforementioned Kross. New signing Jeff Cobb is likely NXT-bound, while the return of Aleister Black is likely waiting until the SmackDown after WrestleMania. However, there is one more option that makes sense, with a confirmed signing and rumors of being in Las Vegas helping their case.
For Orton’s open challenge, WrestleMania Sunday shall become Rusev Day. The return of the Bulgarian Brute to WWE likely coincides with a win, but Orton is likely going to get a world championship match in his hometown of St. Louis for Backlash. If this is the route WWE chooses to go, they better have a plan, even if Orton is bulletproof at this stage.
Prediction: Rusev accepts Orton’s challenge, Rusev wins
Fans react: WrestleMania main event ends in shocking heel turn
