The biggest weekend in wrestling is finally here with Wrestlemania 40 taking place in Philadelphia. This is the fifth year in a row that the “Showcase of the Immortals” will be a two-night event and as it does every year, the company is billing it as the biggest Wrestlemania of all time.
Below, I’ll go over everything you need to know about this year’s show and offer some predictions below.
When/where is Wrestlemania 40?
Wrestlemania 40 will take place on both Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
What time does the show start?
Both Saturday and Sunday’s shows will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
How can I watch the show?
Every WWE premium live event streams on Peacock. You can sign up and watch for $6 a month ($12 with no ads).
What are the major stories heading into the Wrestlemania 40?
The main event for Sunday’s show will feature Roman Reigns defending the undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes for a second year in a row.
Rhodes lost to Reigns in the main event of last year’s Wrestlemania and spent an entire year working his way back, earning a shot at redemption by winning the men’s Royal Rumble in January. Immediately afterwards, The Rock returned to the WWE to back up his cousin Reigns and the rest of the Bloodline (we’ll just ignore the convoluted way this all unfolded). In turn, Rhodes himself received some backup in the form of a former rival in World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins. As a result, Rhodes/Rollins will join forces as a tag team to face Rock/Reigns in Saturday’s main event. If Rhodes/Rollins wins on Saturday, then the Bloodline can’t be involved in Sunday’s title match. If Rock/Reigns wins, then Sunday’s title match will be “Bloodline Rules”, meaning anything goes.
Rollins will also be pulling double duty during the weekend as on Sunday, he’ll be defending the World Heavyweight title against Drew McIntyre. The feud between these two extends back to the fall, where Rollins successfully defended his title against him multiple times. McIntyre’s failures has made him even more bitter and desperate to win the title and he earned another opportunity by winning the men’s Elimination Chamber in February. He’s been angered by Rollins getting himself involved with the Bloodline-Cody feud as he wants the champ at 100% when they meet on Sunday. If there’s any common ground between the two, it’s the fact that they both have beef with CM Punk, who McIntyre injured during the Royal Rumble. As a result, Punk will be on commentary for this matchup.
Also adjacent to the main story of the weekend is Jey Uso going one-on-one with his twin brother Jimmy Uso on Saturday. Last August at SummerSlam, Jimmy turned on his brother and cost him his world title match against Reigns. The two were then separated for months as Jey moved to Raw while Jimmy remained on Smackdown with the Bloodline. This match was set into motion recently with Jimmy once again interfering and costing him the Intercontinental title.
Exiting the Bloodline orbit, the biggest women’s match will feature Rhea Ripley defending the Women’s World Championship against Becky Lynch on Saturday. There have been subtle teases for a matchup between these two over the past year and it became official when Lynch won the women’s Elimination Chamber in February. This will be a clash between a dominant, but cocky champion and a veteran with something to prove even after accomplishing everything that there is to accomplish.
The other women’s title match will feature Iyo Sky defending the WWE Women’s Championship against former Damage CTRL teammate Bayley on Sunday. Bayley headed up Damage CTRL for a year-and-a-half and helped Sky both win the women’s Money in the Bank ladder match last July and ultimately the women’s title. Towards the end of the year, Asuka and Kairi Sane were added to the group and everyone else in the faction thrived while Bayley suffered through a losing streak. She redeemed herself by winning the women’s Royal Rumble and left Damage CTRL when it became clear that they were insulting her behind her back. Since then, she has been trying to bring down the group that she created and it will all culminate with this title match.
Wrestlemania 40 card*
Saturday
Roman Reigns/The Rock vs. Cody Rhodes/Seth Rollins^
Women’s World Championship – Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch
Intercontinental Championship – Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Six Pack ladder match – Judgement Day (c) vs. DIY vs. Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. A-Town Down Under vs. New Catch Republic (Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship)
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Naomi vs. Damage CTRL
LWO vs. Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio
Sunday
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship – Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
World Heavyweight Championship – Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE Women’s Championship – Iyo Sky (c) vs. Bayley
United States Championship – Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton
A.J. Styles vs. L.A. Knight
The Pride vs. The Final Testament (Philly Street Fight)
*Card subject to change
^If Reigns/Rock wins, then Sunday’s title match is Bloodline Rules
Nick Simon’s predictions for Wrestlemania 40
- Roman Reigns and The Rock defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in Saturday’s main event. They leave both Rhodes and Rollins laying in a pull of their own blood to end the night, leaving you wondering how Rhodes is going to win a Bloodline Rules match the next night.
- Jey Uso defeats Jimmy Uso on Saturday, planting the seeds for the Usos to eventually get back together.
- Becky Lynch topples Rhea Ripley to win the Women’s World Heavyweight title. I’ll also predict the WWE Women’s Championship changing hands with Bayley beating Iyo Sky.
- The Six Pack ladder match produces two sets of winners, finally splitting up the tag belts. Awesome Truth take the Raw titles while A-Town Down Under take the Smackdown titles.
- Drew McIntyre wins the World Heavyweight Championship agains Seth Rollins. The match turns into a triple-threat with Damian Priest finally cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase. CM Punk accidentally costs Rollins the match, allowing for McIntyre to win.
- Gunther continues his IC title reign by defeating Sami Zayn. Chad Gable interferes and costs Zayn the match.
- The main event turns into anarchy with like 47 people interfering in the match. Cody Rhodes finishes his story by pinning Roman Reigns, ending the Tribal Chief’s near four-year reign as the champ and ushers in a new era.