WWE
WrestleMania 41
APRIL 19-20, 2025
ALLEGIANT STADIUM
PARADISE, NEVADA

Watch: Peacock/Netflix (Non-US)

MEET YOUR PREVIEWER:

Suit Williams: You can read Suit’s long-form previews and reviews of wrestling from around the world here at Voices of Wrestling. You can also find his weekly reviews of AEW Collision over at F4WOnline. Check out his blog Williams Watches Wrestling, where he’ll engage in watch projects and review requests like Williams Watches WrestleMania, which finally concludes with reviews of WrestleMania 41 this weekend! Follow Suit on all social media platforms @SuitWilliams.

For the past two years, I’ve been the primary WWE correspondent for Voices of Wrestling. And throughout those two years, I’ve felt like Roddy Piper in They Live. I’ve been seeing a different reality than everyone else, a reality in which these WWE Premium Live Events have been routinely boring and uneventful. Meanwhile, all I could hear about over the last two years is the excellent booking of Paul Levesque, as he’s taken victory lap after victory lap while being critically rewarded for his work as well. I’ve repeatedly ended my WWE reviews openly wondering what about these shows warranted these big houses with crowds that were usually quiet—unless they were in Europe—and asking if pro wrestling in this country had passed me by.

It’s taken some time, but it seems as though I may have finally shot the satellite down. This year’s Road To WrestleMania has been bumpy enough for questions about Levesque’s booking to finally be raised by someone other than myself. Storylines with weak reasoning, matches and stories teased and dropped, and needless additions to matches to pacify grumpy wrestlers have added up to a WrestleMania build that has left WWE fans feeling less than enthusiastic about the biggest show of the year. Let’s dive into the main events.

WWE TITLE MATCH
CODY RHODES (C) VS. JOHN CENA

I’m sure that when the bell rings on April 20th, Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena will feel like a major match. There’s a chance that we get a passing of the torch at the end of the match, and we have a visual throughline from Hogan to Rock to Cena to Rhodes that lives on in video packages for years to come. On the night, there’s a chance that Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena is the marquee match that it very well should be. That would be great, as it would paper over the lackluster follow-up to the heel turn of one of the most popular babyfaces in company history.

You’ll remember the scene of Cena’s heel turn well. The Rock slashing his throat, Cena bloodying Cody up with both the WWE Title and the watch Dusty Rhodes pawned to send Cody to acting school, and Travis Scott busting Cody’s eardrum with a shoot slap to the face. It was an unexpected, well done, well received surprise to pour gasoline on the WrestleMania main event after a sleepy post-Rumble period.

Everything that has come after that angle in Toronto feels like it’s been ported over from a different version of this feud. Instead of explaining why he sold his soul to The Rock, or even mentioning The Rock at all, Cena has trotted out the “you people” reasoning for turning. It’s reasoning that may have worked at any time pre-pandemic, but Cena has been universally beloved in WWE since then. All the people Cena’s talking to are either watching AEW or aren’t watching wrestling at all anymore. It’s a lazy, uninspiring way to pull one of the biggest possible aces up the sleeve this company had on this Cena retirement tour.

Meanwhile, ever since the bloody beatdown that started this feud at Elimination Chamber, Cody Rhodes has acted in a manner that makes you question if that bloody beatdown ever happened. He’s been in the ring with Cena three times since the Elimination Chamber. In none of those appearances has Cody charged this man with the fire and rage of a man left in a pool of his own blood. No, he came out smiling and doing the WHOA arm cue to his music and chatting with Cena about the future of the company or whatever. Eventually, Cody hit Cena with a Cross Rhodes in Cena’s last appearance before Mania, but none of this adds up. Where the fuck is The Rock? Why did John Cena, the babyface to end all babyfaces, join up with him? Why have Tony Khan and Vince McMahon been talked about more than the catalyst of one of the biggest heel turns in company history???

This has been an incredibly disappointing follow-up to what was a promising angle at Elimination Chamber, but as I said at the top, this can all be patched over on the night. I don’t have much doubt in these men, as both are very good stadium wrestlers and the crowd energy will be enough to carry the match anyway. There’s a great chance that Cena puts Cody over, shakes his hand, and maybe helps Cody pinball the Rock around if he shows up. It allows Cena to finish his retirement tour as the babyface he was meant to be, and it gives Cody another marquee moment as the top guy of this Netflix era.

CENAWINSLOL Prediction: John Cena

CM PUNK (W/PAUL HEYMAN) VS. SETH ROLLINS VS. ROMAN REIGNS

After a decade-long absence and nearly 18 months back in the company, CM Punk is finally getting his WrestleMania main event on Mania Saturday! How did he achieve this goal that’s eluded him for the past twenty years? Did he win the Royal Rumble, triumphing over 29 other superstars to officially punch his ticket to the WrestleMania main event? Did he survive the Elimination Chamber to make the most of the last chance at the main event? Did he win one of the two World Championships to earn the right to walk into the WrestleMania main event as a champion, ready to prove his claim to be the Best In The World?

No. CM Punk is main eventing WrestleMania because Paul Heyman did some paperwork.

This match is Saturday Night’s Main Event because Paul Heyman assumed CM Punk’s favor that was earned in the WarGames match at Survivor Series was for his match to be the main event of WrestleMania. I guess Heyman has that power, so he made it happen. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the favor Punk wanted. Of all the things in the world that Paul Heyman could make happen, which seems to include the match order at WrestleMania, Punk just wanted Paul Heyman to walk out with him and stand in his corner.

This feud has essentially become the Hulk Hogan/Macho Man story if it was only about which corner Miss Elizabeth would stand in. There are no real stakes, despite Rollins trying to cram some half-baked “soul of the company” crap in at the eleventh hour. No matter who wins, the landscape of the company will ultimately be the same. The only difference is that Paul Heyman might not be with his-his-his-his Tribal Chief anymore, which isn’t important enough to warrant a WrestleMania main event.

As far as a result goes, I’ve got an expectation that Punk’s dream will become a nightmare – damn, they were in Philly last year – and he will end up getting stabbed in the back by Heyman. I think Seth Rollins will turn heel, earn himself a Wiseman, and get a run on top of Raw for the time being. It’s a risky proposition expecting anything out of Seth Rollins, as he spent the entirety of last year’s WrestleMania build and show getting geeked out. He got to look cool in this build for a month, taking out Reigns with a pair of curb stomps on the floor at the Royal Rumble and costing CM Punk the Elimination Chamber. That was before he “won” a steel cage match against Punk via Roman dragging him out of the cage by his neck and beating his ass. But I think that he’ll get the win here to set up the spring feuds on Netflix. Prediction: Seth Rollins

With the main events done, let’s dive into the rest of the shows.

WrestleMania SATURDAY

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
GUNTHER (C) VS. JEY USO

The 2025 Royal Rumble winner Jey Uso challenges Gunther for the World Title. Gunther’s World Title reign has been the definition of turning chicken shit into chicken salad, as he’s been given nothing to really sink his teeth into until now. He had a couple matches with Damian Priest, one where he was suddenly scared of him for no real reason, a three-way with Finn Balor in there too, and a defense against Sami Zayn on a Raw. He hasn’t defended his title since Saturday Night’s Main Event in January, as they’ve given this match nearly three months to build to this point.

It’s been an interesting ride to say the least. Main Event Jey Uso is such a bad singles wrestler that a 90-second showcase match against Austin Theory turned into a multiple-week story of his confidence being shot because the match, which was NINETY SECONDS LONG, was so sloppy.

Gunther has done his absolute best to make this a match worth caring about, including bloodying up Curtain Jerker Jimmy Uso in a legitimately good angle on Raw a few weeks back. He’s going to try his damndest to shine this turd up as much as possible. But when it comes to the big stage, Jey Uso is as much the proverbial broomstick as one can be. He repeatedly wilts under the spotlight, with two Worst Match of the Year contenders under his belt with Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2023 and Jimmy Uso at last year’s WrestleMania. If this match is good, not great, but good, I will consider it a miracle done by Gunther.

Jey Uso will win. The people will YEET. And then the people will wake up the next day and realize, huh, Jey Uso is the World Champion. This is a match designed for the pop when he wins, and it will be a title reign where it peaks at the win. Prediction: Jey Uso

WWE WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH
TIFFANY STRATTON (C) VS. CHARLOTTE FLAIR

In a match that can best be described as fascinating, Tiffany Stratton defends the Smackdown Women’s Title against Charlotte Flair.

As the kids would say it, Charlotte Flair seems to be crashing out before our very eyes. She won the Royal Rumble and clearly was designed to be a babyface, then was roundly rejected the next time she was on television. She turns and gets put in a program with a younger blonde gymnast that one could reason is her TKO-era replacement in Tiffany Stratton and responded by actively cutting Stratton off at the knees at every turn. Snide comments, cutting her off during promo battles, and making sure to stand tall as often as possible, we haven’t seen a burial like this since Triple H’s heyday.

Stratton is out of her depth as a WWE PC trainee, and out of her element as a babyface. Her airhead cheerleader vibes are as heel as they can be, but she’s a babyface after a months-long turn on fellow heel Nia Jax ended with people cheering her. The company threw her into the pool with a great white shark, and she had a few chunks taken out of her. But Stratton fought back in a wild segment on Smackdown where she, allegedly off-script, threw in a barb about Charlotte’s recent real-life divorce and bailed out of the ring like she was Gail Kim in a battle royal.

This has been an entertaining mess, and I’m genuinely interested in how this match goes. Having just watched all of the WrestleManias, I was stunned to find out just how much I’ve loved Charlotte’s output in singles matches. Her matches with Asuka, Rhea Ripley, and Ronda Rousey were all great matches, and I’m of the opinion that Charlotte is one of the best big match wrestlers in the company. If Charlotte wants to prove her worth and prove her doubters wrong, I believe that she can guide this talented but green star to a fantastic match. But if Charlotte doesn’t want the spotlight on Stratton and is willing to tank her own stock even further to do it, this could be a hatchet job for the ages.

I have no clue what happens when the bell rings. This could be a classic, or it could be an absolute trainwreck. And in a perverse way, that’s made this one of my most anticipated matches of the show. I will say Stratton wins the match, Charlotte no-sells the loss on the floor as Stratton celebrates, and these two never come within 50 feet of each other again. Prediction: Tiffany Stratton

WWE UNITED STATES TITLE MATCH
LA KNIGHT (C) VS. JACOB FATU

LA Knight defends the US Title against Jacob Fatu. Knight’s 15 minutes may be up, as he’s spent the better part of six months feuding with the absolute dregs of Smackdown. He lost the US Title to Shinsuke Nakamura, who went on to do absolutely nothing with the title before losing it back to Knight a few weeks ago. Knight hasn’t gotten worse, but he feels like he’s on the back end of his hot streak. He’s carved out a nice role for himself, but I doubt he gets many more showcase matches on the big “PLEs”.

Meanwhile, Jacob Fatu has got the goods. The company knows it. The fans know it. Everyone who watches him knows it. So why has he been spending months going back and forth with Braun Strowman, finally putting him away on Smackdown to earn this title shot? Why did we waste months on 2025 Shinsuke Nakamura when this could have been the dominant US Champion Fatu defending against an LA Knight that’s fought through the remains of the Bloodline to try and topple the monster? Why isn’t Fatu up against the top players in this promotion? Why isn’t he on Cody’s radar as he seems to be running out of top heels to work with? Fatu is a guy who forces you to tear up your plans and figure him into the mix. Everyone knows he’s a money player, so what are we waiting for here? Fatu gets a showcase win and the US Title. Prediction: Jacob Fatu

NAOMI VS. JADE CARGILL

Jade Cargill has been in WWE since October of 2023. Did you know that she still hasn’t had as many matches in WWE as she had in AEW? But Tony was the one who fumbled, I guess.

Between being iced for months before and after her Royal Rumble debut, her tag team run with Bianca Belair, and the injury angle that took her out before Survivor Series, WWE has done as much as they possibly can to push this Jade singles run back. But we’re at the drop date, and Jade goes up against the woman that took her out all those months ago, Bianca Bel…oh, uh, Naomi. Alright.

This feels like the closest thing to a final exam for Jade. It’s time to shit or get off the pot with her, and this is the time to show us what Jade Cargill will be. People will always give Jade a shot because her look is incredible, but does she actually have the potential to be a headliner or is she someone whose look will carry her? Jade will win regardless, but her performance will decide what her future looks like. Prediction: Jade Cargill

REY MYSTERIO VS. EL GRANDE AMERICANO

Chad Gable. A year ago, he was a rising midcard babyface that had a groundswell of support to become Intercontinental Champion. Now, he’s doing a “timely” masked gimmick as an undercard goof heel again. I don’t know why they couldn’t do a tag with the LWO against “Grande” and The Creed Brothers, but we wouldn’t want too many people getting showcased, now would we? I expect Grande to win to set up a mask match down the line. At least I hope they’re smart enough to do a mask match.

The worst part of all of this is that this could be the match of the night. Prediction: El Grande Americano

WWE WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
THE WAR RAIDERS (C) VS. THE NEW DAY

The New Day turned on Big E at their tenth anniversary celebration in December. The payoff to that emotional, heated segment was four months of nothing. Does Big E cost them this match? I can’t see why this microwaved tag title feud would make WrestleMania otherwise. Prediction: The War Raiders

WrestleMania SUNDAY

WOMEN’S WORLD TITLE MATCH
IYO SKY (C) VS. RHEA RIPLEY VS. BIANCA BELAIR

The Raw Women’s Title will see Iyo Sky defend against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair in a feud that asks, “What if everyone looked like either a dork or an asshole?” Ripley won the title on the critically panned Netflix debut show, finally ending the worst feud of 2024 with Liv Morgan. She looked to be on a crash course against the Elimination Chamber winner Bianca Belair, but Sky won the title on the Raw after Elimination Chamber in a surprising title change.

Everything that has ensued has been the prime example of why triple threat matches are awful in the lead-up. This feud has turned badass Rhea Ripley into a whiny baby, stomping her feet because she wouldn’t be in the WrestleMania title match. It’s gotten Bianca Belair booed for simply bringing up that she earned the title shot and Ripley blew her shot. And while those two have been feuding, Sky has literally been shoved to the side and seems to be here to eat the pin. It’s been an absolute mess, and it’s been a strong example as to why this WrestleMania has less buzz than recent years.

As far as the winner goes, this may be me picking with my heart over my head, but Bianca Belair has been wasted over the past year babysitting Jade Cargill. She’s one of the strongest talents in the company in-ring, and she needs to be put in a position to show that. Give her the win and give her defenses against both of these women in far better-looking singles matches in the upcoming months. Prediction: Bianca Belair

WWE INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH
BRON BREAKKER (C) VS. FINN BALOR VS. PENTA VS. DOMINIK MYSTERIO

Bron Breakker spent several weeks teasing a match with AJ Styles on this show. They even had a staredown in the ring as the announcers wondered what that match would look like. Well, we aren’t finding out here, as they pivoted to this four-way with the corpse of the Judgment Day and Penta. It’s a Paul Levesque-booked show, so you know we had some STABLE UNREST with the Judgment Day. Dominik wanted to bring Penta into the group, but Balor and Penta had been going after the Intercontinental Title. Balor and Liv Morgan have also been sniping at each other for months.

Bron Breakker looks ready for a swing at the big time and the big boy titles. Whether that means being who Jey Uso transitions the top title on Netflix to, or going after Cody and the real World Title, he’s losing up here. I can’t believe we’re still doing the Dominik Mysterio gimmick, but this clearly looks like they’re gonna have him win the title, stab Balor in the back to do it, and have both Balor and Penta chase him for a while. If that excites you in 2025, god bless. Prediction: Dominik Mysterio

WOMEN’S TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH
LIV MORGAN & RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ (C) VS. BAYLEY & LYRA VALKYRIA

The Women’s Tag Titles are on the line as Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez defend against Bayley and Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria. Lyra’s been getting a modest push against Raw’s undercard women and has successfully defended the title against Bayley in the build to this show. They came together as a team and won a gauntlet match to get this title shot.

Bayley is clearly filling in for Becky Lynch in her continued absence, as Bayley seemed to be setting up a match with Roxanne Perez at some point this weekend. Instead, Roxanne is working the pre-show of NXT, in a #1 contender’s match for these very titles alongside Cora Jade, and Bayley is doing this tag title match. My guess is that they will get back to the Roxanne/Bayley issue after this weekend, and that Bayley and Valkyria will win the titles here. Prediction: Bayley & Lyra Valkyria

AJ STYLES VS. LOGAN PAUL

AJ Styles and Logan Paul are wrestling on this show. This feud featured Karrion Kross and comedian Andrew Schultz as key players, so you’ll forgive me if I didn’t pay the most attention to this one.

…I got nothing. Maybe they’ll do another AJ/Cena match? Prediction: AJ Styles

SIN CITY STREET FIGHT
DREW MCINTYRE VS. DAMIAN PRIEST

We’ll wrap things up with the match that Drew McIntyre himself doesn’t even care about, as he takes on Damian Priest in a street fight. Talk about two guys whose stocks have dropped significantly since the calendar turned to 2025. I was never high on Damian Priest, but after his World Title reign and feud with the Judgment Day ended, he has been an absolute zilch on Smackdown. Meanwhile, McIntyre was in an acclaimed feud with CM Punk in 2024, carrying the load for it while Punk was out injured. THIS is all he gets out of it? This is his reward for being a part of the best feud of the year? I’d be pissed if I were him too.

The story is that McIntyre suddenly realized that Priest has benefited a lot from his misgivings, cashing in Money in the Bank on him last year, being saved in multiple title defenses, and eliminating him from the Rumble and the Elimination Chamber. McIntyre should get his win back here to keep him warm for one of the titles. Prediction: Drew McIntyre