WWE WrestleMania 40 (XL) Night 1 - Sunday 7th April 2024 9am AEST

[Cleavy]

• The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins (If Rock & Roman win, Roman vs Cody on Night 2 will be under Bloodline Rules; If Cody & Seth win, Roman vs Cody on Night 2 will have no interference)
• Rhea Ripley (c) vs Becky Lynch (WWE Women's World Championship)
• Gunther (c) vs Sami Zayn (WWE Intercontinental Championship)
• Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso
• Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) (c) vs DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) vs Awesome Truth (The Miz & R-Truth) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne & Tyler Bate) vs A-Town Down Under (Grayson Waller & Austin Theory) (Ladder Match for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship)
• Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, & Naomi vs. Damage Ctrl (Asuka, Kairi Sane, & Dakota Kai)
• Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar

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hopefully I got all the team names right. and remember Daylight savings ends that morning. If you're desperate to watch the pre-shows, start 2 hours earlier (not listed in Foxtel EPG at this time)

 

[Ry009]

Added graphics and info from WWE.com for potential Mania newbies;

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth "Freakin" Rollins​

At The Showcase of the Immortals, Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins will go head to head with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns in a match with huge WrestleMania implications.

The Road to WresteMania becomes increasingly intense with each passing week. Nowhere is that more evident than in the heated rivalry among Rhodes and Rollins with The Rock and Reigns.

The Rock has acknowledged Reigns as his Tribal Chief, further cementing their family bond as they set their sights on their adversaries. With the Undisputed WWE Universal Title main event against Rhodes officially set for WrestleMania Sunday, along with Rollins' World Title Match against Drew McIntyre, The Great One made a suddenly high-stakes challenge to The American Nightmare and The Visionary for The Show of Shows.
In response to an initial challenge by Rhodes for a one-on-one matchup, The Rock issued a counter-proposal for Rhodes and Rollins to battle him and Reigns in a tag team match on WrestleMania Saturday. If Rhodes and Rollins emerge victorious, The Bloodline will be barred from ringside for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match. If The Head of the Table and The Most Electrifying Man in All of Entertainment are to win, however, the main event title match the following night will become "Bloodline Rules," meaning anything goes where the nefarious faction is concerned. The Rock threatened that if Rhodes and Rollins do not answer the challenge, the story would tragically end.

More unified than ever and convinced the future of WWE depends on them putting The Bloodline in check, Rhodes and Rollins journeyed to SmackDown to accept the challenge.

Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch​

At WrestleMania, Mami defends her Women’s World Title against The Man in what should be a legendary championship fight.
Becky Lynch has had her eye on the titleholder for some time, and now she finally has a chance to face her one-on-one.
The Man booked her ticket to WrestleMania after standing tall in the Elimination Chamber, besting Liv Morgan, Raquel Rodriguez, Bianca Belair, Naomi and Tiffany Stratton in the vicious structure.
To capture her first singles title in nearly two years, The Man will have to go through Rhea Ripley, who has looked unstoppable since winning the championship from Charlotte Flair at last year’s Showcase of the Immortals.

Intercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Sami Zayn​

At WrestleMania, Sami Zayn will seek to become the Superstar to dethrone Gunther’s historic reign as Intercontinental Champion.
By the time WrestleMania rolls around, The Ring General would have ruled as Intercontinental Champion for 664 days, bulldozing everyone in his path, defeating the likes of Jey Uso, Chad Gable, Sheamus and Drew McIntyre, to name a few.
Thus far, not many challengers have come close to taking away Gunther’s title, but Zayn, a former Intercontinental Champion, will hope to become the first.
Zayn had to go through five of the very best Raw Superstars to earn the chance, overcoming Bronson Reed, JD McDonagh, Ricochet, Shinsuke Nakamura and Chad Gable in a grueling Gauntlet Match.
Zayn and The Ring General have faced off once in the past in a one-on-one encounter inside a WWE ring, with Gunther earning the victory. However, the Intercontinental Title was not on the line during that match.
Can Zayn make back-to-back WrestleMania history after dethroning The Usos’ historic tag team title reign last year with Kevin Owens? Or will The Ring General stay undefeated at WrestleMania?

Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso​

Some would say that a WrestleMania match pitting Jey Uso against his brother Jimmy Uso has been less than a year in the making, ever since Jimmy Uso turned against Jey to "protect him" at SummerSlam prior to Jey superkicking Jimmy and quitting The Bloodline and SmackDown.
Others might argue that it was destined from the day Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns formed The Bloodline. Or perhaps it was even 38 years ago when The Usos first came into the world together.

Regardless of the reason, "Main Event" Jey Uso and his estranged sibling are about to square off on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Several times, Jimmy and The Bloodline have come to Raw to start trouble and mess with Jey, including costing him an Intercontinental Title Match against Gunther. Jimmy, on the other hand, carries the resentment of his brother leaving him and The Bloodline in what he deems to be Jey's attempt to make himself a bigger star.

The animosity between the brothers boiled over with Jey's shocking WrestleMania challenge, one that Jimmy was happy to accept.

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match​

At WrestleMania, The Judgment Day face an uphill battle, literally, as they contend with five other teams in a brutal Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match for their Undisputed WWE Tag Team Titles.
Damian Priest and Finn Bálor have been dominant in their second reign as tag team champions, overcoming almost every tag team in WWE.
At WrestleMania, however, their dominance may end, as five other teams can claim supremacy by retrieving the titles.
Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis decided which teams would compete, with three from Raw and two from SmackDown rounding out the field.
On the March 18 episode of Raw, #DIY, Aweso#DIYuth and The New Day earned the right to compete in the Ladder Match by defeating The Creed Brothers, Indus Sher and Alpha Academy, respectively.
On the SmackDown side, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory and New Catch Republic earned their way into the match by winning their side of the bracket in the SmackDown tournament.
Can The Judgment Day retain their titles against all odds, or are we destined to crown new tag team champions at WrestleMania?

Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, & Naomi vs. Damage Ctrl (Asuka, Kairi Sane, & Dakota Kai)​

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio​

At WrestleMania, Rey Mysterio will join forces with Dragon Lee against his son "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio of The Judgment Day and Santos Escobar of Legado del Fantasma.

When Rey overcame "Dirty" Dom at WrestleMania 39, he thought he was finally done with their in-ring conflict. It wasn't long before a new rival emerged when Escobar of The LWO viciously assaulted his mentor and unleashed a brutal surprise attack that injured the WWE Hall of Famer and caused him to miss significant time.

Three months later, Mysterio returned, and together with The LWO, he took out Legado del Fantasma and helped Carlito win a Street Fight against The Emperor of Lucha Libre. The rivalry continued between their two factions until Mysterio looked to settle the issue in a one-on-one showdown with Escobar. During the match, however, a masked figure emerged to interfere. He soon took off the mask and revealed himself to be Dominik, as Santos used the distraction to pick up the win.

The following week, Rey interrupted the gloating pair and challenged them to a tag team match against himself and Dragon Lee, the newest member of The LWO, on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

 

[Cleavy]

so I guess if that lineup is accurate, then matches 3 & 5 are your "buffer matches".

 

[Nicho50]

Night one looks really good but night two is hands down the best card anywhere this year. Massive expectations let’s hope it lives up to it.

 

[MadMundy]

It's shaping up to be a very good WrestleMania, I'm excited.

 

[Biggie]

Can’t wait! Monday will be long day avoiding spoilers while at work

Unless I get Covid

 

[Freo Big Fella]

Given how badly they looked to have s**t the bed 6-7 weeks ago, they've really nailed the build to this.

Even what you'd be inclined to write off as piss break matches (Dom/Andrade v Rey/Dragon, Jade/Bianca/Naomi v Damage Contol) have a bit of something to them.

 

[eddiesmith]

Be disappointing if Stone Cold Becky Botch has demanded first match as the ladder match should be kicking things off.

Looks a strong night 1 with 4-5 matches with strong interest in the outcomes.

 

[Wickzki]

Interested to see how they start the dismantling of the Judgment Day here. The first hour and a half of the show being so heavily JD centric is fascinating

I understand opening N2 with Seth Vs Drew but I would have opened it with Uso vs Uso and used it to carry the momentum of the main event the night before. Having Rock and Roman win then having Jey screwed over to start the second night would've given all the momentum to the Bloodline and really established the tone for the evening. So having Jey Vs Jimmy here feels a little displaced.

Placing Sami and Gunther as the pre-main event match adds some intrigue info the finish and casts some doubt over the anticipated result of both matches. It's unlike WWE to send the crowd home with back to back big face losses. However, I still believe the logical finish to the IC match - and most interesting results coming out of WrestleMania is Gable throwing in the towel for a Sami Zayn who looks defeated yet would clearly never give up himself.

The last few years of booking tells me that the Bloodline doesn't give a s**t about match stipulations so why would they start now so the no Bloodline interference on night 2 should Cody/Seth win doesn't mean a whole lot. Yet they've teased Bloodline Rules so frequently and there's so much creative room for Cody to defeat the Bloodline at their own game that I have to believe Roman and Rock win.

It's time the entire Bloodline suffered the consequences of their combined actions over the last few years and not just Roman.

 

[eddiesmith]

Interested to see how they start the dismantling of the Judgment Day here. The first hour and a half of the show being so heavily JD centric is fascinating

I understand opening N2 with Seth Vs Drew but I would have opened it with Uso vs Uso and used it to carry the momentum of the main event the night before. Having Rock and Roman win then having Jey screwed over to start the second night would've given all the momentum to the Bloodline and really established the tone for the evening. So having Jey Vs Jimmy here feels a little displaced.

Placing Sami and Gunther as the pre-main event match adds some intrigue info the finish and casts some doubt over the anticipated result of both matches. It's unlike WWE to send the crowd home with back to back big face losses. However, I still believe the logical finish to the IC match - and most interesting results coming out of WrestleMania is Gable throwing in the towel for a Sami Zayn who looks defeated yet would clearly never give up himself.

The last few years of booking tells me that the Bloodline doesn't give a s**t about match stipulations so why would they start now so the no Bloodline interference on night 2 should Cody/Seth win doesn't mean a whole lot. Yet they've teased Bloodline Rules so frequently and there's so much creative room for Cody to defeat the Bloodline at their own game that I have to believe Roman and Rock win.

It's time the entire Bloodline suffered the consequences of their combined actions over the last few years and not just Roman.

I can’t see Roman losing twice after they’ve protected him for so long, but at the same time it’s unusual booking to have the bloodline get the upper hand every week and win the tag match.

But, it’s a unique situation and someone is likely losing twice in this show.

 

[Wickzki]

I can’t see Roman losing twice after they’ve protected him for so long, but at the same time it’s unusual booking to have the bloodline get the upper hand every week and win the tag match.

But, it’s a unique situation and someone is likely losing twice in this show.

Think it'll be Rollins.

Built in excuse is that although he was medically cleared his knee still wasn't 100%

Work on that knee throughout the tag match so he's literally hobbling on night two.

The biggest question there is does Priest cash in and screw Seth/Drew

He's also the one that can buffer the losses the most in my opinion.

You're right about Roman. Going from being so protected to losing twice back to back while also being a part timer takes away some of the aura

Even Cody has admitted in an interview that if he loses that he's cooked as the top guy.

 

[Senor M]

Interested to see how they start the dismantling of the Judgment Day here. The first hour and a half of the show being so heavily JD centric is fascinating

The Judgement Day’s Wrestlemania can’t be over that quickly—- I suspect that they’ll go 0/3 in their matches as they aren’t working together and have an argument backstage during Night 1 (hinting that they are leaving).

Roman & Rock will win the tag match, most likely Rock pinning Seth. The Bloodline will then beat down Cody & Seth post match. Roman & Rock will be standing tall in the ring (similar image to on Raw this week) and the credit logo will appear.

THEN the Judgement Day music will hit and Priest will come down to cash in on Seth Rollins. Becky Lynch will try to protect her husband, but be put through the announce table by Rhea Rhipley (giving Rhea back her heat following the loss earlier in the night), Priest will cash in while Finn, JD & Dom prevent Cody from helping Seth. Jey Uso is unable to assist because he was taken out after his match earlier in the night.

Night 1 ends in a twist with Damien Priest the new World Heavyweight Champion.

Night 2 begins with an injured Jey, an injured Seth and Cody having “no one” to back him up against The Bloodline during the main event.

The Bloodline Rules matches goes for 10-15 mins as a clean match followed by interferences. I think it’ll be one member of the Bloodline at a time who is cut short by an ally of Cody’s.

Jimmy Uso is prevented by Sami Zayn, Solo Sikoa is prevented by John Cena & The Rock is prevented by Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Cody & Roman are able to finish the match in the ring alone— Cody gets the win and celebrates. Half way through the celebration the camera cuts and it is Dustin Rhodes behind him. The brothers hug to close off Wrestlemania XL and “finish the story”

 

[tigland]

2 weeks ago on RAW i think it was, Heyman was talking to Drew in the background of another interview. They kept moving the camera to show them like they did with the truck with Cena and Austin. Both are little Easter eggs that will play out. Not sure how the Drew/Bloodline alliance will work.

 

[Jack Richards]

Interested to see how they start the dismantling of the Judgment Day here. The first hour and a half of the show being so heavily JD centric is fascinating

I understand opening N2 with Seth Vs Drew but I would have opened it with Uso vs Uso and used it to carry the momentum of the main event the night before. Having Rock and Roman win then having Jey screwed over to start the second night would've given all the momentum to the Bloodline and really established the tone for the evening. So having Jey Vs Jimmy here feels a little displaced.

Placing Sami and Gunther as the pre-main event match adds some intrigue info the finish and casts some doubt over the anticipated result of both matches. It's unlike WWE to send the crowd home with back to back big face losses. However, I still believe the logical finish to the IC match - and most interesting results coming out of WrestleMania is Gable throwing in the towel for a Sami Zayn who looks defeated yet would clearly never give up himself.

The last few years of booking tells me that the Bloodline doesn't give a s**t about match stipulations so why would they start now so the no Bloodline interference on night 2 should Cody/Seth win doesn't mean a whole lot. Yet they've teased Bloodline Rules so frequently and there's so much creative room for Cody to defeat the Bloodline at their own game that I have to believe Roman and Rock win.

It's time the entire Bloodline suffered the consequences of their combined actions over the last few years and not just Roman.

Rhodes and Rollins wont beat them at their game..


I am personally over the Bloodline and have been over Roman "Acknowledge me even though I am a part time jobber" Reigns.

The Rock could have come in and unleashed hell on his family and hinted at it as "going after head of table" to instead just side with them as the Final Boss...

WWE just milking an already dead cow and we as viewers will be stuck with them dominating for another year or 2.

 

[Jack Richards]

Rumour MJF will arrive on Mania and ruin Rhodes chances.

 

[Nicho50]

Rumour MJF will arrive on Mania and ruin Rhodes chances.

No chance in hell of that.

 

[Gak Attack]

Rumour MJF will arrive on Mania and ruin Rhodes chances.

No chance. AEW doesn't exactly manage to keep things in house, if he was out of contract Meltzer would have reported it day one.

 

[Senor M]

Rumour MJF will arrive on Mania and ruin Rhodes chances.

IF they have MJF (key word IF; I think he is still signed to AEW) then you don’t use MJF at Wrestlemania, it’s too risky expecting the audience to understand his story when he’s never been in the WWE.

Leave MJF for the Raw after ‘Mania when the crowd is smaller & full of smarks. I’d start with MJF being an ally to Cody, before turning heel in the same way as their AEW feud.

Cody has so many potential heels to face for the title over the next year—- Randy Orton (Legacy, ‘more than one wrestling family), Drew McIntyre (former tag partners, ‘Chosen one’, etc), CM Punk (AEW history, Rumble follow up), The Rock (final boss, respecting the Bloodline), Gunther ( Foreigner with an undefeated streak),

 

[Downtown06]

5 more days till mid-card Rhodes STILL doesn't finish his story

 

[Biggie]

The Rock could have come in and unleashed hell on his family and hinted at it as "going after head of table" to instead just side with them as the Final Boss...

You’re not enjoying this “Final Boss” run?

 

[Downtown06]

You’re not enjoying this “Final Boss” run?

This is the Rock's best work since 2003, some people on here probs wont even be aware of how good he was then.

 

[Wickzki]

Rhodes and Rollins wont beat them at their game..

Cody will win Bloodline Rules match by having a counter for every member of the Bloodline hence beatng the Bloodline at their own game.

Cena, Austin, maybe Jey Uso or Sami Zayn, etc.

 

[Wickzki]

This is the Rock's best work since 2003, some people on here probs wont even be aware of how good he was then.

Heel Rock is genuinely best Rock. Once he embraces that role he's truly next level.

I want more of it.

 

[Downtown06]

Heel Rock is genuinely best Rock. Once he embraces that role he's truly next level.

I want more of it.

No one can touch him as a heel, the only person who went toe to toe with him was Cena in 2012. As much as I hated Cena at the time, looking back, he did smoke him a bit but my hatred blinded me too much lol

 

[Downtown06]

Cody will win Bloodline Rules match by having a counter for every member of the Bloodline hence beatng the Bloodline at their own game.

Cena, Austin, maybe Jey Uso or Sami Zayn, etc.

Honestly, i still dont see Rhodes winning, maybe its cause I want Reigns to win so bad or maybe cause I dont believe in Cody and his "story" but who knows.

is the outcome too obvious if he wins?? Maybe but if thats the case then so be it but I will keep my eye on Seth and what happens in his match against Drew. Seth is a wildecard!