I don’t normally do columns that cover pay-per-view predictions, but I’ve had a handful of people reach out and request it this year. It makes for an “easy” week, so I’m moving forward with it.
Longtime readers of mine know that I don’t just make predictions on winners and losers, though. On top of that, I also like to throw in my two cents on what would happen in each match if I were involved in the decision making process. Sometimes, the “What Will Happen” and the “What Should Happen” align perfectly, and other times, they’re wildly different. That’s part of the fun.
We’ve got a lot to discuss, so let’s get to discussing, shall we?
Rey Mysterio vs El Grande Americano
What Will Happen: All “who is El Grande Americano” jokes aside, this will be the singles debut for Chad Gable on a WrestleMania main show. He wrestled in three Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royals, but all three of them took place on the Mania pre-show, and all of his main show appearances have been in tag matches. I know some people are upset that THIS is how he makes that debut, but there are much worse positions to be in than a singles match against one of the sport’s all-time greatest performers.
This has the potential to steal the show. I don’t think they’re going to get a ton of time to work with (between 8-10 minutes, if I had to guess), but they’re going to make the most out of whatever they’re given.
In the end, I think Rey picks up the victory. There will be some shenaniganery involving the other players in the storyline, but when all is said and done, not only does Rey win, but he unmasks EGA, who will shockingly be revealed to be none other than Chad Gable.
What Should Happen: Honestly, if this was Rey vs Chad Gable outright, I would have Gable win. He needs it far more than Rey, who wouldn’t be hurt by taking a loss. However, with a limited run story like El Grande Americano, it’s time to wrap it up and move on to something else. You could go the “50/50” route and have EGA win, only for post-match brawling to end with Rey “getting his heat back” by unmasking EGA, but that’s the type of booking that Vince McMahon ran into the ground and pissed everyone off with for years. Here, I’d have Rey win and unmask EGA.
AJ Styles vs Logan Paul
What Will Happen: I think it’s pretty clear that AJ has been chosen for this role because of his ability to make anyone look like a million bucks. No matter who he’s facing, and no matter the outcome, you know the level of quality you’re going to get in an AJ Styles match.
Logan Paul is in a weird spot right now. He’s still wildly talented, and remains one of the most over heels in the business today. However, he has won a total of one match over the last year. I think that’s the key part of AJ Styles being his “dancing partner” for WrestleMania this year. Not only can Logan have a potentially great match with AJ, but AJ doesn’t exactly get hurt a ton by taking a loss, which is exactly what I think happens here. We’ll get something really entertaining, but it will end with Logan finding a way to pick up the win, probably through nefarious means.
What Should Happen: Almost the complete opposite of what I just said. Look… I’m on record, multiple times, saying that I think Logan Paul is a future World Champion, but only if he can fully commit to the sport. He has yet to do so. Because of that, I’d choose to go in another direction here. AJ could use some momentum as he makes his way back to the main event scene, and a fun victory at WrestleMania sounds like just the thing to do that. Logan looks great, but AJ would get the win, and he’d move on from there.
Jade Cargill vs Naomi
What Will Happen: Very interesting match to make a selection for. Jade Cargill could really use a win, as she’s returning from her big “injury.” Naomi could really use a win, as she’s fresh off of a big heel turn and character change.
Jade is coming off of her first singles loss via pinfall. I think that might be the deciding factor here. With as much as WWE has put behind Jade… time, effort, money, and so on… it’s difficult for me to envision her taking another singles loss, no matter the situation. Because she was involved in a tag team, we haven’t seen Jade get a singles victory since August of last year. The online discussion was that WWE felt she wasn’t “ready” to be a singles competitor at their level. One way or another, it sure seems like they feel she’s “ready” now, giving her a singles match at WrestleMania. With as much as they have invested in her, I think Jade picks up the win here, providing for a satisfying piece of revenge.
What Should Happen: I think I’d go the other way. Yes, WWE has a tremendous investment in Jade Cargill, hoping that she becomes a major star and a multiple-time World Champion. That’s fine. Naomi really needs this, though.
Since returning to WWE at the 2024 Royal Rumble, Naomi is starving for big singles victories. She doesn’t have a lot of singles victories, period, but most of the ones she’s had have come against lower-tier opponents. Giving her a win here would really help to solidify her big heel turn, but I’d also make sure to protect Jade. She’d take the loss, but without it being a clean pin, she can move forward and continue looking for her revenge.
Damian Priest vs Drew McIntyre – Sin City Street Fight
What Will Happen: Physicality. Tons of it. Both of these guys aren’t afraid to dish out a lot of punishment, and they aren’t afraid to be on the receiving end of it, either. They’ve been beating the hell out of each other on random episodes of WWE television. What do you think they’ll pull off in a Street Fight on the biggest stage in all of wrestling?
Nothing against Damian Priest whatsoever, but I think WWE sees that it’s more important to keep Drew McIntyre hot than to keep Priest hot. No matter who is the top guy on Smackdown (or on Raw, depending on what happens in any upcoming WWE Draft), having Drew waiting in the weeds is a big deal for the company. Drew hasn’t won a match on pay-per-view since defeating CM Punk at last year’s edition of SummerSlam. That was eight-and-a-half months ago.
I think that losing streak comes to an end here. Priest puts up one helluva fight, but in the end, Drew gets the win.
What Should Happen: A wild, wild, wild brawl. I think that’s a pretty safe bet, though. I’m higher on Damian Priest than it seems a lot of fans online are, but I’m also of the thinking that a World Title challenger in Drew McIntyre is a big money deal to have on WWE programming. I’d have McIntyre pick up the win here, and he would be an absolute thorn in the side of anyone who is the World Champion on whatever brand he ends up on for the rest of 2025.
LA Knight vs Jacob Fatu – United States Title Match
What Will Happen: I’ve gone back and forth on this one from the moment that the match was made official. The easy prediction is having Jacob Fatu win here, making him the brand new United States Champion. That seems to be the overwhelming favorite pick from what I’m seeing everywhere.
However, I can’t shake the looming breakup of the 2.0 version of The Bloodline. Jacob’s rise in popularity with live crowds has accelerated the need to get him out on his own. We’ve seen him get increasingly angry with Solo Sikoa and/or Tama Tonga for getting in his way recently, so… could it happen again here, on the biggest stage of Jacob’s career?
As of the moment I type this, Solo Sikoa isn’t booked for a match at WrestleMania, although it is rumored that he could be Randy Orton’s opponent after what transpired on last week’s episode of Smackdown. I’m going to make my prediction based on Solo’s presence at Mania. If he ends up being the opponent for Randy Orton, I’m going to go with Jacob Fatu beating LA Knight and winning the U.S. Title. We don’t need Solo being one of the only people (perhaps the only one) to make multiple appearances at WrestleMania.
If someone else is named as Orton’s opponent, though… then I’m going to say interference from Solo backfires on Jacob Fatu, costing him the match. That would give Mr. Fatu something to do for a but until… oh, I don’t know… June, when Money In The Bank is rumored to be taking place this year. I’m not saying… I’m just saying.
What Should Happen: Jacob Fatu leaves Allegiant Stadium as the United States Champion. LA Knight is still really popular with the WWE Universe, but he has a ceiling. Jacob does not. One way or another, the title needs to go home with the challenger. If you want to advance the Bloodline split, have Jacob win the title, only for Solo to demand that he hand it over. Jacob turns him down, and the face turn is on. Imagine the pop that we’ll get if Jacob tells Solo off, or if he overcomes an attack and leaves Solo a crumpled mess in the middle of the ring.
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs Bayley & Lyra Valkyria – Women’s Tag Team Title Match
What Will Happen: This seems like a weird way to get all four of these women on the show. Liv has been one of the best acts in all of WWE for a long time now, and her pairing with Raquel has been a lot of fun. Bayley is one of the biggest stars that women’s wrestling has ever seen. Lyra is the Women’s Intercontinental Champion. Of course that means we’re going to put them in a “randomly” put together tag match that was thrown together at the last minute.
It’s probably not a good sign for the challengers and their chances of winning that they were put together for one match, a week before WrestleMania. I think Liv and Raquel get the win here, in what may end up as one of the more surprisingly good matches of the entire weekend.
What Should Happen: Let’s try our best to stay away from dual champions as much as possible, shall we, WWE? I like Lyra Valkyria a lot, but we don’t need to see her holding the Women’s Intercontinental Title and one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Titles at the same time. The champions retain.
The Viking Raiders vs The New Day – World Tag Team Title Match
What Will Happen: I think this one is pretty easy. At least it should be. After starting out red hot with their heel turn, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods haven’t been able to build on that momentum at all. We knew it would be difficult, as Big E wasn’t going to be around to help keep the storyline going, but it has bordered on a complete waste at times. As much as I enjoy The Viking Raiders and their work, I think it’s safe to say that Kofi and Woods need this win. New Day pick up their 13th Tag Team Title reign, but their first in over two years, and their first on the main roster in over four years.
What Should Happen: Again, this one is pretty easy. Kofi and Woods are overdue for another reign as Tag Team Champions. It has been over four months since they booted Big E from the group. They should’ve won the titles already, but this is as good a time and place to do it as any. I’d have the new New Day win the titles.
Bron Breakker vs Finn Balor vs Dominik Mysterio vs Penta – Fatal Four-Way for the Intercontinental Title
What Will Happen: A Fatal Four-Way that features three competitors that people are picking to win, for one reason or another, and Finn Balor is also there. Interesting field.
In the last 20 years, only six Intercontinental Title reigns have been longer than Bron Breakker’s current reign. That blew my mind when I was doing my research for the column. Not that I felt he’s been doing a bad job. It’s just been really quiet on that front. If he retains at WrestleMania, he’s within a couple weeks of passing three of those aforementioned six reigns that have been longer over the last two decades.
Does he retain, though?
I don’t think so.
Putting him in a match of this type is the perfect “out” for him to drop his title without being pinned or submitted.
It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to see Penta pick up the win here. Clearly, WWE sees something in him, and has made it a key point to push him since he made his debut in January. I think his time is coming soon, but it’s not here yet.
I already talked about Balor as something of a throw-in, probably just there to take the pin. That leaves just one man…
Dom.
It’s time.
I know that some people have talked about the nuclear levels of heel heat that Dom would get if he won the title here, but I don’t think it’s quite that simple. I’ve noticed some people have been cheering him at shows, and his current “rift” with Balor could be leading to the unthinkable… a face Dominik Mysterio in 2025. Whaaaaat?!?
Give Dom the win and the title, and have him pin Balor to do it. Then, go ahead and let the chips fall where they may. If nothing happens, you know you have one of the top heat getters in the sport today, getting more heat than usual because he has a title around his waist. However, if that face reaction begins to grow… man, that could be a ton of fun.
What Should Happen: Why don’t we get crazy? Dom as the brand new Intercontinental Champion has the potential to be a ton of fun, whether he turns face or not. He has played the comedy role to damn near perfection since turning heel. If he remains on that side of the fence, it would be a blast to watch him crumble under the pressure of being the target of several people gunning for him and his title.
Either way, it’s a risk, but it’s a risk I’d be more than willing to take.
Tiffany Stratton vs Charlotte Flair – WWE Women’s Title Match
What Will Happen: After what we’ve been seeing over the last few weeks, I think WWE is going to try and present this as something of a “worked shoot,” if at all possible. Oooh, one of them went off-script in a promo! Oh, boy, one of them fired back and possibly went too far! Oooh, they really dislike each other in real life!
If I’m being real, I don’t know if you can say Tiffany Stratton’s Women’s Title reign has been that great. She hasn’t defended the title in two months, and her last defense was a disqualification victory. She has one “legitimate” win since becoming champion, and that was three months ago, a mere two weeks after winning the title in the first place. Throw in not exactly looking great at times during the build for this very match at WrestleMania, and you have a bunch of people calling for a title change.
I don’t think WWE will be in that group of people. While the road has been bumpy at times, I think the company has tried to even things out a bit during the build, and that they are actively trying to make her reign better.
How would that be accomplished?
A win over the winningest woman in the history of the sport would do the trick.
After a very physical, and sometimes sloppy, contest, I see Tiffy Time continuing on. Hopefully, she doesn’t go another three months before getting the pin in a title defense, though.
What Should Happen: A decisive victory for the champion. Not a squash, but something that truly declares to the world that Tiff has “arrived.”
While I understand Charlotte’s value to the company and the overall product, I don’t feel that she is as dependable as she once was. Her injuries have been piling up, and her “incidents” have been, as well. I think it’s more important to get Tiffany on the right track, and a win here could help to do just that.
Iyo Sky vs Bianca Belair vs Rhea Ripley – Triple Threat Match for the Women’s World Title
What Will Happen: Man, this one should be great. I’m still upset about not getting the Rhea vs Bianca singles match that was RIGHT THERE on a silver platter, but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking forward to what we’ve been given.
As we’ve seen with the build, Iyo Sky has been forgotten, even though she comes in as the champion. I think that has been done on purpose. Almost all eyes and attention are on Rhea and Bianca, and that should allow for Iyo to sneak her way in and out, leaving WrestleMania with the title.
What Should Happen: We go back in time and make sure to get Rhea vs Bianca in a singles match. Short of that, though, I guess I’d just make sure this was as good a match as it can be, no matter who wins. It wouldn’t take much. These are three of the best in the business today.
I’ve seen a lot of people saying that Bianca should turn heel, especially because she has been getting some heel heat in the build for this match. I don’t agree with that. In some ways, that would overshadow Naomi’s recent heel turn. I also don’t think Bianca was getting some boos because the crowds are turning on her. It’s just a product of how much the fans like Rhea and Iyo. No heel turn. Maybe down the road, but not here.
Gunther vs Jey Uso – World Heavyweight Title Match
What Will Happen: People will be angry, one way or another. If Gunther wins, a lot of people will be upset that Jey Uso won’t achieve what was once an unthinkable dream. If Jey wins, a lot of people will be upset that someone “undeserving” has become the World Heavyweight Champion.
Needless to say, there’s a ton of pressure on Jey here. Win or lose, if he puts on anything remotely resembling a “bad” performance, especially after last year’s match against his brother, Jimmy, the negativity online is going to reach insane levels.
That’s where Gunther comes in. I can’t see Gunther having a bad match, especially on a stage like this. His love and passion for the wrestling business won’t allow him to be involved in matches that are panned to that level. Gunther is a great opponent for Jey here.
WWE is all about the major moments. Multiply that tenfold for WrestleMania. Jey, with the World Heavyweight Title in his hands and tears streaming down his face, leading 55,000 fans in YeetAMania… that’s a major moment, and one I don’t see WWE being able to avoid.
What Should Happen: As much as I love Gunther and the work he does, I’m eagerly anticipating that post-match celebration between Jey and the fans in Allegiant Stadium. It just makes too much sense.
Over the last five years, it could be argued that only Roman Reigns has meant more to WWE than Jey Uso, and a ton of Roman’s importance over that span has been because of Jey. He deserves this spot, whether you agree or not, and it’s time to reward him.
Roman Reigns vs Seth Rollins vs CM Punk – Triple Threat Match
What Will Happen: Chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. Of every match at WrestleMania this year, I don’t think any of them feature as much potential for chaos as this one. On top of that, I don’t think any of the matches on this year’s card feature as many guesses and speculation as to what’s going to happen. I get it, as I’ve gone through multiple drafts of this section of the column since I started writing it.
There are “exciting” options to go with here, and there are “boring” options to go with here. With everything that has been presented and even hinted at, I think the “boring” options need to be removed from the table. This is WrestleMania, goshdarnit! We need as much of the “exciting” as possible!
What’s the most “exciting” outcome we can get here?
Paul Heyman turning on Roman Reigns to align with CM Punk.
Not only would that draw the biggest crowd reaction, but it would also give us a Roman vs Punk feud that would provide some of the best promo work you’re going to witness, especially when you throw Heyman into the mix. That’s a feud that help carry the company all the way to SummerSlam.
No, I don’t care that, as it stands now, Punk is a member of the Raw roster and Roman is on Smackdown. Those types of things are easily fixed, or completely avoided altogether, as we’ve seen from WWE many times in the past. Just make it happen. Heyman betrays Roman to join up with Punk again, giving Punk the victory here.
What Should Happen: You know, I talked myself into it. The thought of how deeply personal we could make some of these promos between Punk/Heyman and Reigns for the next few months has me excited for a shocking moment here. Sign me up.
Cody Rhodes vs John Cena – Undisputed WWE Title Match
What Will Happen: We’re going to get an electrifying atmosphere for this one. Whether or not that “electricity” is tied to the return of The Rock remains to be seen, but it will be wild nonetheless.
I’ve seen a couple different outcomes predicted here, but I think the one that makes the most sense is to have Cena win here, giving him his record-breaking 17th World Title reign. Most everyone thinks he’s going to win #17 at some point in 2025, but I think WWE sees that it’s best done here. For one, it gets the most attention that way, and we all know how much WWE loves that precious attention. More importantly for the product, though, it allows for a “Super Cena” run where it doesn’t look like he can be defeated, until someone (perhaps Cody himself) comes along and finally dethrones him down the road.
The shot of WrestleMania 41 closing with John Cena holding the WWE Title in the air would be something spectacular.
What Should Happen: Exactly what I said. You can’t have that big of a heel turn, only to have Cena lose his first match as a newly minted heel. What sense would that make?
Get the big mystery of whether or not Cena break’s Ric Flair’s World Title reigns record out of the way immediately, then spend at least the next few months building the best and most dramatic storylines you can. I’d even give Cody some much needed time off after WrestleMania, perhaps due to an injury angle or something like that. Conspiracy theorists are already looking at that, as Cena has been announced as appearing on the Raw after Mania, but Cody has not. There are plenty of people for Cena to work with while Cody is at home, recharging his batteries. Then you can have the hero make his return, and we’ll go from there.
What are you looking forward to seeing at WrestleMania 41? You don’t have to do every match, but I want to know what are some of the things you think will happen, as well as some of the things you feel should happen. As always, feel free to hit me up in the comments section below, or on Bluesky (@aaronhyden.bsky.social), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Now, let’s switch it over to my Weekly Power Rankings, followed by closing things out with the list of songs I was listening to as I put this column together.
Weekly Power Rankings
Jey Uso: He needed a big-time promo, and man, he delivered one. Great, great work here. Kudos to Gunther, as well, for helping to sell the tone of the promo. Gunther started out being very cocky, but he really helped sell the promo by his facial expressions and body language changing, as if he realized that Jey wasn’t going to be the easy win he thought.
Lyra Valkyria vs Bayley: Very quietly, Lyra has had herself a really good run on the main roster thus far. She continues to have good matches against everyone she gets in the ring with. Now, if she could get her personality and mic skills to come close to approaching the level of her in-ring skills, WWE could have something special on their hands.
Dragon Lee, Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro vs El Grande Americano & The Creed Brothers: Lots of crowd pleasing fun here. Sometimes, you don’t need much more than that.
Will Ospreay, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Mark Briscoe & Kevin Knight vs Ricochet, Lio Rush, Action Andretti & The Beast Mortos: Lots of crowd pleasing fun here. Sometimes, you don’t need much more than that.
Bron Breakker: If you were to make a list of the “20 Most Devastating Spears In Wrestling History,” how many times would Bron appear on that list? Ten? More than that? The spear he hit on Carlito was about as crazy as I’ve ever seen. Bron is on an entirely different level as an athlete, with explosiveness that you just don’t see.
Brody King vs Konosuke Takeshita: Brody continues to be stuck in the “I’m going to give you a great match against anyone you put me in there with, but I’m going to lose” role, which is a shame. He deserves better. I think he’ll eventually receive better, but it’s just not to be right now.
Jamie Hayter vs Billie Starkz: I enjoy seeing Jamie return to the form she had before her major injury put her on the sidelines for a long time. At the same time, I also enjoy seeing Billie get a run on AEW television to show a bigger audience what she’s capable of in the ring.
Chris Jericho: Yes, I know it’s an angle, but Jericho announced that he’s “leaving” AEW. Take your time coming back, my guy. Maybe a year or two? Then come back and announce your official retirement? Think it over.
Lyra Valkyria & Bayley: Impressive performance by the duo, going nearly 30 minutes to win a Gauntlet Match on Smackdown, earning a Women’s Tag Team Title shot at WrestleMania.
Samoa Joe & Hook vs Claudio Castagnoli & Wheeler Yuta: When I see old names from Ring Of Honor squaring off in 2025, I think of the “look at us” meme from Paul Rudd’s appearance on Hot Ones a few years back. “Who would’ve thought?” “Not me.”
Kris Statlander vs Thunder Rosa: A nice back-and-forth match, where the winner wasn’t obvious going on. AEW needs more matches like that.
Rey Fenix vs Berto: Somewhat on-topic, but “Berto” is a really dumb wrestling name. Vince McMahon isn’t around anymore. Can we give Humberto Carrillo his full name back?
Jordynne Grace vs Jaida Parker: While I’m not thrilled about them being shoehorned into the NXT Women’s Title match at Stand & Deliver, at least this was an entertaining match. Jaida Parker has really started to grow as an in-ring performer. It has been fun to watch.
Athena vs Harley Cameron: We’re finally getting Athena vs Mercedes! Hooray!
This Week’s Playlist: “Lachryma” by Ghost… “Heaven Passing Through” by Turnpike Troubadours… “Knockin’ Da Boots” by Kaipo… “Cue the sun” by The Mars Volta… “SHADOW TALK” by Magnolia Park… “Shattered” by Elwood Stray… “To The Sinking” by The Man-Eating Tree… “Ruins Of Insanity” by The Man-Eating Tree… “Duffle Bag Boy” by Playaz Circle & Lil Wayne… “Float On” by The Floaters… “Since I Don’t Have You” by The Skyliners… “Renee” by Lost Boyz… “What’s My Name” by DMX… “Outta Control (Remix)” by 50 Cent & Mobb Deep… “Let’s Stay Together (Together Forever)” by Run-DMC & Jagged Edge… “Choose U” by Project Pat… “Y’all Niggaz Ain’t No Killaz, Y’all Niggaz Some Hoes” by Project Pat… “So Into You” by Tamia… “Locked Up (Remix)” by Akon & Styles P… “The Best Things In Life Are Free” by Luther Vandross, Janet Jackson, Bell Biv DeVoe & Ralph Tresvant… “I Adore You” by Caron Wheeler… “Forever Love” by Color Me Badd… “Money Can’t Buy You Love” by Ralph Tresvant… “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival… “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival
