WrestleMania XL Predictions

The WWE has never been hotter and for as great as it’s been for the last year, it feels like we’re just getting started on the next great era of WWE.

That begins tonight with night one of WrestleMania XL at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. This is one of the most stacked cards I’ve ever seen and I’m glad WWE has decided to continue with making WrestleMania a two-night event.

It never made sense to cram 14 matches into one night and not give enough time to the performers in the ring.

My condolences to the fans and performers who will be bracing the cold weather for five hours, if not longer.

Let’s get to the matches and my predictions. A lot of my predictions are actually just what I want to see happen and I’ve talked myself into them being realistic outcomes (because they are).

Enjoy!

Night 1 – Saturday, April 6

Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Women’s World Championship

We’re getting Mami vs. The Man.

Rhea Ripley has been champion for 370 days; the record is 379 days by Bayley. For that reason, I don’t see Ripley losing this match. They’re going to let her break the record and hold the title for as long as possible.

Lynch has proven she doesn’t need the belt to be a main event player.

Stay with me now: in my mind, she’s headed toward a feud alongside her husband Seth Rollins to face CM Punk and his wife AJ Lee (who retired from WWE in 2015) at SummerSlam. This is just me fantasy booking things, but if this is a possibility, Becky doesn’t need to have the title.

Prediction: Rhea Ripley

Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
WWE Intercontinental Championship

Gunther is the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all-time. He has held the championship for 666 days. Eventually, he’s going to lose the title and go after the World Heavyweight Championship. Everyone knows this. It’s just a matter of when.

Is that time now? It could be. At the same time, I don’t love the idea of someone as dominant as Gunther losing at WrestleMania.

Sami Zayn was on the hottest run of his career last year which resulted in him winning the Undisputed Tag Team Championship with his best friend, Kevin Owens, in the main event of night one of WrestleMania 39 against The Usos.

Zayn is still very popular with the fans, though he hasn’t felt as hot as last year.

On one hand, I can see Gunther keeping the championship and continue his reign, although his next challenger isn’t clear. Would it be Chad Gable, again? On the other hand, this would be a big moment for Zayn and allow him and Gunther to go in new directions.

Prediction: Sami Zayn

Finn Balor & Damian Priest (c) vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Miz & R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods vs. Austin Theory & Grayson Waller vs. Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate
Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship

This match is going to be chaos, but I’m sure the production crew will be on top of everything so they don’t miss any of the planned spots.

Without a doubt, I think Balor and Priest are losing the titles. I wouldn’t mind The Miz and R-Truth winning, just for the comedy they’ll bring in future weeks.

Ideally, I want Austin Theory and Grayson Waller to win. They are the future of the company and are great at being annoying heels. I find them to be entertaining, especially Waller. Being tag team champions will allow them to appear on both Raw and SmackDown, which will help they grow into the superstars the company thinks they can be.

Prediction: Austin Theory & Grayson Waller

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Twin vs. Twin

For the third time in WrestleMania history, brothers will face off against each other. But for the first time, it’s twins. Jimmy likes for all of us to know that he is the older brother.

I think this match is going to be great. The Usos are one of the best tag teams of all-time and for a lot of that time, fans couldn’t tell them apart.

Jey Uso even referenced it in a promo during the pandemic when there was no live audience. “You know what they say when they see me, Uce? Which one are you?” That promo elevated him to the next level.

When they joined The Bloodline, they were presented as two individuals – who were also twins, and a tag team – who had their own personalities.

Barring any funny business, this is Jey Uso’s time.

Prediction: Jey Uso

Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Kairi Sane, Asuka, and Dakota Kai)
Six-Woman Tag Team Match

Damage CTRL has been getting away with too much over the last few years, mainly at the expense of Bianca Belair. Now, she has Naomi – who recently returned to WWE – by her side, as well as one of WWE’s biggest free agent signings, Jade Cargill.

Cargill participated in the Royal Rumble match and has made some backstage appearances, but this is her first real match. She is a dominant force and I expect her to be presented as such in this match.

Prediction: Bianca, Jade, and Naomi

Rey Mysterio & Andrade vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio
Team Team Match

Last year, Rey and his son Dominik faced off at WrestleMania 39 and Rey came out victorious.

This year, Rey was initially going to team with Dragon Lee (the future of Lucha Libre according to Mysterio), but that lasted only a week as Lee was taken out backstage on last night’s SmackDown.

Andrade recently returned to WWE and looked like he had aligned himself with Dominik Mysterio, but when push came to shove, he sided with Rey and his former manager, Zelina Vega. Andrade and Zelina were a wonderful duo in the past and I’m glad they’re back together.

I feel like Dominik needs this win over his father to potentially set up another match down the road, possibly with Rey’s career on the line.

Prediction: Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio

Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins vs. The Rock & Roman Reigns
Tag Team Match

This match was never supposed to happen. The initial plan (as far as I know) for the main event of night one was CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns would then face off on night two in a rematch of last year’s main event, as Cody once again won this year Royal Rumble and had the right to choose the champion he wanted to face.

But then CM Punk got hurt in the Royal Rumble and The Rock entered the picture. All of a sudden, it was going to be The Rock vs. Roman Reigns. They even filmed the confusing angle on SmackDown where Cody gave his blessing to The Rock to “take his spot” in the match against Roman.

Which meant we were going to get Cody vs. Seth.

Within a few days, the fans flipped things on its head with a “#WeWantCody” hashtag. Last year, we were shocked when he lost to Reigns at WrestleMania and the last 12 months have been about Cody “finishing the story”.

Now, The Rock was in the way.

WWE realized that fans were going to hijack every show with disdain unless they listened, which is how we got to Cody & Seth vs. The Rock & Roman on night one,

On night two, Seth will put his championship on the line against Drew McIntyre, while Cody vs. Roman II will also happen.

The stipulation for the tag team match on night one is as follows: if The Rock and Roman Reigns win, then Cody and Roman’s match on night two is Bloodline Rules, which means anything goes. If Cody and Seth win, then the match is a straight up singles match with no interference.

I think The Rock and Roman Reigns are winning this match, as to stack the deck even further against Cody.

However, I think the Bloodline Rules stipulation will work in Cody’s favour and he might get help from past legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena.

Prediction: The Rock and Roman Reigns

Night 2 – Sunday, April 7

Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
World Heavyweight Championship

I know this may be going against the grain, but I’m not really a fan of this iteration of Seth Rollins. He had been a heel for a few years with an annoying laugh and outrageous clothing, which both did their job in getting people to dislike him.

Then he naturally turned face and I haven’t been able to get on board with it. He has an entrance theme song with no lyrics that the crowds sing loudly and often…but I’m not a fan of the song. I’m the only one who thinks this. I think it’s boring.

I don’t know what I want from Rollins exactly, I just know I’m not fully with his current character. It’s a shame because he was my favourite member of The Shield when he debuted ten years ago. I’m just waiting for him to find his next character, I guess.

Drew McIntyre won his first WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36. However, that was in 2020 and the event was held at the WWE Performance Center without anyone in attendance. From a real life perspective, that’s unfortunate.

From a storyline perspective, it’s given McIntyre a reason to be so hell-bent on getting his winning moment in front of a WrestleMania crowd. And although he is the heel – a very good one – in this matchup, I hope he wins and gets his moment.

I think if Rollins loses, he can use the tag team match the night before as an excuse for not being 100% (maybe Drew even attacks him during that match) and hold the grudge against Cody.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Damian Priest crashes the party and cashes in his Money in the Bank contract and steals the championship from either Rollins or McIntyre.

Prediction: Drew McIntyre

Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley
WWE Women’s Championship

At SummerSlam 2022, Damage CTRL was born. It was a faction consisting of Bayley, Iyo Sky, and Dakota Kai. Bayley was the de facto leader.

Within the last few months, it has all come apart. It started with Sky going behind Bayley’s back and bringing Asuka and Kairi Sane into the group. It continued when those three would be seen snickering behind Bayley’s back, whenever she gave an interview on promo.

Bayley won the Royal Rumble and the “plan” had been for her to challenge Rhea Ripley for her championship so Damage CTRL would rule all of WWE. If this happened, Bayley would have to move over to RAW from SmackDown, meaning she wouldn’t be around her group. Deep down, that’s what Iyo Sky et al. wanted. They wanted to get rid of Bayley, but make it seem like it was for the sake of total domination, rather than the fact that they were just tired of her.

Well, Bayley caught on and instead of challenging Ripley, she challenged Sky for her championship.

I would love to see Bayley win. I think she deserves her moment in the biggest spotlight the industry has to offer. She has been a constant in the women’s division and can play any role she’s given.

If Iyo wins, I’m okay with that but there needs to be a roster shakeup because she’s in desperate need of new babyface challengers.

Whereas if Bayley wins, the other members of Damage CTRL, as well as Tiffany Stratton, are right there as future challengers.

Prediction: Bayley

AJ Styles vs. LA Knight
Singles Match

This feud has gotten personal, to the point where LA Knight was arrested outside of AJ Styles’ house.

Styles also attacked Knight the other day at WWE World, which is the WrestleMania fan convention.

LA Knight has quickly become a fan favourite over the last year and a win here will solidify him as a threat to start chasing championships.

Prediction: LA Knight

Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
WWE United States Championship

The lead up to this match has been all about Randy Orton and Kevin Owens agreeing on how much they dislike Logan Paul, to the point where Orton and Owens haven’t turned on each other at all.

The match will probably start the way all triple threat matches start in WWE. Two guys team up one on guy, send him out of the ring, and then make the “it’s just you and me now” hand motion, until the third guy gets back in the ring five minutes later and reminds people he exists.

I don’t think Orton needs the championship at all. I think if Cody Rhodes wins the Universal Championship later in the night, Orton is a potential feud – maybe not immediately – due to their history as members of Legacy, where Orton was a mentor to Cody.

An Orton heel turn would probably have to happen for that feud to kick off, but if it’s a possibility, we don’t need Orton as the US Champion.

Give the belt to Owens. If all goes well in other matches, Owens, Zayn, and Rhodes can take a picture together with their new championships.

Prediction: Kevin Owens

Bobby Lashley, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins vs. Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar
Six-Man Tag Team Philadelphia Street Fight

This is hard to call. I like Karrion Kross and think it’s about time he gets a push and starts challenging for a US Championship. Also, my predictions for Night 2 are heavily favoured toward the “good guys”, so for that reason I could see Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar winning.

I’m hoping they do because I think they need the win more than the other team.

If Lashley, Ford, and Dawkins win, does it really do anything for them? Lashley is above wins and losses at this point in his career; he’ll always be seen as dominant. I know they just recently formed this new faction, but Ford and Dawkins have been together for years (Street Profits) and it’s starting to get a bit stale for me.

I think many see Montez Ford as a potential breakout singles star, but he hasn’t been given that shot.

Prediction: Karrion Kross, Akam, Rezar

Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship

I’m expecting this to be a Bloodline Rules match, where anything goes and Roman can have his family – Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso, and The Rock – nearby to help him out.

To even things up, I expect Cody to have his contingent of friends there to help him, too.

A few weeks ago, an episode of Monday Night Raw ended with The Rock making Cody bleed outside next to his tour bus. In the background was a conveniently placed WWE truck with Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena on the side of it.

All WWE trucks are wrapped with images of superstars, past and present.

I feel like this specific truck being in the background was a “wink wink, nudge nudge” by WWE. A little Easter egg, if you will. I don’t think it was an accident at all.

Lately, when WWE does a backstage scene, they often have something happening off in the distance. Maybe it’s two wrestlers talking to each other who normally don’t. But the camera makes sure we see it. There is no accident.

I think Roman Reigns’ title reign comes to an end and I think he will come out of WrestleMania blaming The Rock for the loss. This will eventually set up The Rock vs. Roman Reigns at next year’s WrestleMania with Reigns as the face in the matchup and The Rock as the heel.

Cody needs to “finish his story” or the fans are going to riot. That’s not a joke. He can’t lose in the main event of WrestleMania two years in a row; where would he go from there?

Let Cody Rhodes be the face of WWE. He will do a great job.

All that being said, if Roman wins I wouldn’t hate it one bit. And I say that as someone who loves everything about who Cody Rhodes is and what he represents. For a “celebrity”, he’s as real as they come.

I just think Roman winning would cause so much chaos and would be fun to watch unfold.

But I guess they already went that route last year and doubling down on it for the sake of extending Roman’s championship run is too much of a risk.

Cody Rhodes playing the Rocky role in Philadelphia and winning the championship his father never did, is the right way to go.

Prediction: Cody Rhodes

Do you have any thoughts on WrestleMania XL?