WrestleMania 41 predictions: Reigns vs. The Rock finally happens
WrestleMania XL wasn’t full of Brotherly Love this past weekend — thanks to Jey and Jimmy Uso — but wrestling’s biggest families squared off for control of the ultimate prize in WWE. The Bloodline’s grip on the brass ring finally loosened as Cody Rhodes — with the help of Jey Uso, John Cena and The Undertaker — finished his story and dethroned Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship.
Big questions linger following the 14 matches that took place at Lincoln Financial Field: What does the future hold for The Bloodline? What’s next for an on-the-mend CM Punk? Could Jade Cargill be fighting for a title in 2025?
Next year’s WrestleMania location will be announced soon by WWE, so we tapped our pro wrestling correspondents to look ahead and forecast who will be on the card for “The Showcase of the Immortals” in 2025. Marc Raimondi, Mike Coppinger, Greg Wyshynski, Arda Ocal, Brandon Caldwell and Eddie Maisonet make bold predictions about WrestleMania 41 and what it will take to get there.
Roman Reigns vs. The Rock will main event WrestleMania 41 on Sunday
Raimondi: Reigns might not be the Undisputed WWE Universal champion anymore. But he is still the Tribal Chief, the leader of the Samoan Dynasty. Except one guy seemed to call that into question three months ago. Remember on Jan. 1 when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson returned to WWE, beat up Jinder Mahal and then asked the fans if they thought he should sit at the Head of the Table? That’s where Reigns sits right now — and a challenge to that throne could come in the form of his incredibly famous cousin beginning Monday night on Raw.
Reigns accidentally speared Rock on WrestleMania Saturday in the main event tag match, which pitted Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins against the two Samoan cousins. Rock and Reigns won Saturday, with Rock pinning Rhodes. Reigns was not able to do the same thing against Rhodes on Sunday. Could The Rock take umbrage with his family, which is no longer at the top of the industry and not holding WWE’s top prize? Rock vs. Reigns was the planned main event for WrestleMania 40 before WWE had to pivot due to all the support for Rhodes. There is no reason that marquee blockbuster match should not happen in the future. And there’s no bigger stage than WrestleMania.
Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk will main event WrestleMania 41 on Saturday
Coppinger: Cody Rhodes eliminated CM Punk to win the Royal Rumble for the second consecutive year. And yet, Punk was in the ring to help celebrate his victory over Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Punk has never headlined WrestleMania during his illustrious career and looked to do so this weekend after his WWE return 10 years later. Only he suffered a torn triceps during the Rumble and instead was on commentary during the opening match Sunday.
Punk attacked Drew McIntyre after his win over Seth Rollins, allowing Damian Priest to cash his Money in the Bank briefcase. When Punk recovers, he’s bound to feud with McIntyre and maybe even Rollins after that.
But by the time the Road to WrestleMania rolls around next year? Punk deserves the long-awaited WrestleMania main event that he’s longed for, and there’s no better opponent than Rhodes for WWE’s top prize. Two men, who were essentially cast off, remade themselves in AEW and have returned to WWE as bigger and better stars.
The foundation is already set after their excellent promo face-off on Raw three months ago, which led to their battle in the Rumble, which Rhodes ultimately won.
Cody Rhodes will wrestle for the Universal Title as a challenger
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Cody Rhodes tells McAfee the moment he knew he was winning universal title
Cody Rhodes explains to Pat McAfee that he knew he was going to win the undisputed WWE Universal Championship the moment he came up the elevator.
Ocal: The story doesn’t need to include Rhodes holding the title for an extended period.
If he loses it at Survivor Series to say, Gunther, then chases until WrestleMania 41, that’s also an exciting storyline. WrestleMania 40 cemented him as the face of the brand, the next John Cena of WWE. Cena is a 16-time champion, but that also means he lost the title 16 times. (Could Cena get one more title shot in the future?) The losses don’t diminish a grand champion, and Rhodes doesn’t need the belt to be a leading man on the marquee.
Rhodes has a chance to be a fighting champion and a pursuant challenger for the next 12 months, making for intriguing main events involving ‘The American Nightmare’ for upcoming premium live events — and WrestleMania 41 — in the future.
Forget the Big 3, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill face off for ‘Big Me’ supremacy
Wyshynski: As anyone who’s seen her at the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania now knows, Jade Cargill is a natural fit for the WWE. She’s powerful, chiseled and with charisma to spare. As anyone who saw her in AEW knows, she’s also terrific as an egotistical heel.
The problem is finding someone who could draw fan support against someone like Cargill, who will have her backers in a big match. I think that’s Belair. She can also hang physically with Cargill and tell a great story. Cargill still needs a bit of training and seasoning — witness her protected ring time in that Mania tag-team match. Give her a year, turn her heel, get her into a program with Belair, and have a brutal blowoff match (with a title on the line, perhaps?) at WrestleMania 41. Besides, as Kendrick Lamar reminds us in “Like That,” Big Threes aren’t meant to last anyway.
Carmelo Hayes, Bron Breakker or Trick Williams will win singles gold
Caldwell: Speaking of Big Threes, the NXT’s superstar trio was supposed to be Hayes, Breakker and Ilja Dragunov. Two of the last three NXT champions have debuted on Raw and SmackDown and should be full-time roster members within the next few months. Once Dragunov settled into being one of the most dominant NXT champions in brand history, Williams within months asserted himself as one of the best babyfaces on Tuesday nights. Dragunov — who appeared on Monday Night Raw last night — could be in line for another violent Match of the Year candidate with Gunther in the future.
All three should factor into WWE’s plans for the next year, each with varying levels of stardom. Hayes has already mapped himself out as a heel with significant bona fides, Breakker is a physical marvel who literally moves the ring when he bounces off the ropes, and Williams is a charismatic presence in the ring, on the mic and with one of the company’s best entrance themes. The trio that made Tuesday nights important television will likely have a representative earn a WrestleMania moment in 2025.
Gable Steveson and Tiffany Stratton will make their first WrestleMania appearance
Maisonet: During the first night of WrestleMania XL, the camera panned to a setup shot of 2012 London Olympics gold medalist freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs. The shot was set up to promote the Paris Olympics this summer, but one could also envision this as a tease for Burroughs to join WWE after his amateur wrestling career ends.
That scene leads me to Gable Steveson, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics gold medalist currently signed to WWE. Rumors swirl that WWE will take the “Showcase of the Immortals” to Minneapolis for WrestleMania 41. However, having the crowd pop for the Apple Valley, Minnesota, native and University of Minnesota alum feels like a given.
Add former NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton to the debutant list as well. The Prior Lake, Minnesota native and St. Catherine University alum is one of WWE’s biggest rising stars. One could easily see both Steveson and Stratton put into tag teams to build their stature and ensure a place at WrestleMania 41.
