WrestleMania 39 predictions
From 2010-2020, I was a Digital and Social Media Editor and Producer for WWE. I worked on just about every show, lived and breathed the product and of course, was part of an amazing team that helped shape WWE into the digital and social media behemoth that it is today. In the three years since I’ve left WWE, I’ve sparingly written about wrestling. A few tweets here and there, but nothing in-depth. Frankly, it took a couple of years to really become a fan again.
Heading into WrestleMania, WWE creative is white hot. I’m invested in the product for the first time in a long time and I’m actually enjoying it a bit again. With that in mind, I thought for the first time in a LONG time, I’d give my predictions for what is shaping up to be a really solid WrestleMania.
Austin Theory vs. John Cena – United States Championship Match
There’s a reason this is kicking off WrestleMania and I think it’s because Cena is going over. A few weeks ago when he confronted Theory on Raw, Cena did that magic thing where he just out-promos his opponent – he did it to Roman Reigns, CM Punk and most notably, The Rock.
Cena absolutely does not need to win this match. He’s filming a new movie and likely doesn’t have time for even a frequent part-time schedule. That being said, I can see Cena winning because Theory makes a misstep, Cena wins the title and WrestleMania is off to a fan-favorite start.
Does this hurt Theory? Not really. Theory has a bright future and giving someone like Cena a great match is still a net positive.
Cena’s reign will be short-lived. He’ll bring back the open challenge on the Raw after Mania and either Theory will answer and win, or it will be someone’s big return.
Winner: John Cena
The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders vs. Ricochet & Braun Strowman – Fatal Four-Way Showcase
This match should be a lot of fun as every team involved has great chemistry and I do believe that the winners of this match will be set up to be the next challengers for the Tag Team Championships in a reinvigorated tag team division (more on that later).
I think it’s pretty clear Alpha Academy’s chances of victory will be torpedoed by Otis being distracted by Maxxine and the Maximum Male Models. Ricochet and Strownman are a fun duo and their chances are higher than Alpha Academy’s and the Viking Raiders, but this match will belong to The Street Profits. They need a good run because I think it’s only a matter of time before Montez Ford breaks out on his own.
Winner: The Street Profits
Becky Lynch & Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL
There’s a purpose to this match and it is to set up Becky Lynch vs. Trish Stratus. Although I don’t think Trish will be the only one turning heel. I think Lita may turn on Becky as well, going back to their rivalry that culminated at Elimination Chamber 2022 when Lynch defeated Lita to retain the Raw Women’s Championship.
Now the real question is WHEN does the heel turn occur? Does it happen at WrestleMania itself, or does it happen on Raw after Mania?
My guess is the heel turn happens on the Raw after Mania. Why? Because Trish will cause Lita and Becky to lose the Tag Team Championships to the winners of the Women’s Fatal Four-Way Showcase.
Winner: Becky Lynch & Lita & Trish Stratus
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
I know everyone likes to call this the “Vince Match,” and I’d be lying if I said Brock vs. Bobby Lashley wouldn’t have been a great matchup, but this actually makes more sense… Why? Because of the way it’s been booked. Omos is just a big man, he looks great but he’s somewhat limited in the ring. Regardless, he’s been completely dominant in his showdowns with The Beast Incarnate and traditional wisdom suggests that Lesnar needs to get his heat back.
How does he do that, you ask? The answer is simple. He’s going to take Omos to Suplex City and SoFi Stadium is going to go insane when he hits the F5 after a few failed attempts. I see Omos looking insanely strong early on, and then Brock being Brock and taking over in the second half of what will likely be a 10-15 minute match.
Winner: Brock Lesnar
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
I will be the first person to sing the praises of Logan Paul’s in-ring ability. It’s uncanny. Yes, it’s mostly indie spot stunts, but it’s a lot of fun and something we don’t always see in WWE. That being said, there’s just no reality where he beats Seth Freakin’ Rollins. Despite that fact, this should be an absolute banger of a match between two incredibly athletic performers with a lot of high spots and well-deserved “holy shit” chants.
Winner: Seth Rollins
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville – Fatal Four-Way Showcase
I think the outcome of this match is fairly obvious. Ronda and Shayna are going to absolutely clean house. There will be some fun bits with Chelsea and Sonya, but I think the main intent of this match is to finally get Ronda and Shayna together because they’re going to win the Tag Team Titles the night after Mania.
Winner: Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominick Mysterio
“Prison Dom” is one of the most unintentionally hilarious gimmicks I’ve seen in a while. Even so, Nepo Baby Dom is proving to be a great heel and a solid worker. The storyline has been a little over-the-top and absurdist – but that’s just good pro-wrestling – and the father vs. son dynamic has been solid since the get-go.
However, the real powerhouse of this angle is The Judgment Day. They’ve been around a while, had gotten stale for a minute but are not proving to be a dominant faction that will last. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a member of two added in the wake of WrestleMania. I’m on the fence with how this will go. On one hand, Dom could defeat his father, likely with help from Mami and/or Damien Priest, and The Judgment Day will dominate WrestleMania. Then again, it is a little weird to have Rey be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame and then lose as there is very little talk of retirement at this stage.
This could go either way and I don’t think it will be the conclusion to the rivalry.
Winner: Toss-Up
The Usos vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens – Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
This was ALWAYS the end game for Sami Zayn. The storyline was never about Sami and Roman Reigns. It was always about Sami’s relationship with Kevin Owens and The Usos. Zayn’s journey since his (tremendous) Jackass Match last year has been about finding where he belongs and finding true allies. He shunned his best friend to find belonging with The Bloodline. Sami Zayn’s incredible mic skills only elevated this storyline and his status with the company and provided one of the most memorable storylines in recent history.
The questions isn’t who wins this match, but HOW. Does Jey Uso turn on his brother? Does Solo cost them the match by mistake? Does it just happen clean? That’s going to be the most interesting part of this match because I DO believe that the final chapter in The Bloodline saga will be Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso at SummerSlam.
Winner: Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka – WWE Raw Women’s Championship
This is a tough one to predict. Bianca Belair’s reign is nearing one year and she’s made a good champion. She’s not and has never been as white hot as Becky Lynch before her (as both a face and a heel), but her reign has been solid. However, Asuka is due for another championship reign and a dominant one at that. The question is – does that happen at WrestleMania?
My short answer is “no,” but I also don’t think this is the end of the rivalry between Belair and Asuka. In fact, I think The EST of WWE will barely pull off the victory, forcing Asuka to tap into something deeper and making her a more dangerous adversary. What is that, you ask? Coming out of WrestleMania Asuka will fully embrace the Kana personality that’s been hinted at since she started to adopt the look at the Royal Rumble.
Winner: Bianca Belair
Gunther vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre – Intercontinental Championship Match
There’s one real expectation I have from this match… these gentlemen are going to be the hell out of each other. When you get three guys who are as strong and talented as Sheamus, Gunther and Drew McIntyre, you’re in for a good old fashioned brawl. This match could go a few different ways and no doubt The Brawling Brutes and Imperium will be involved in some fashion – I still think Gunther retains. He benefits the most from a victory and even though he may soon be ready for World Title contention, picking up a victory at WrestleMania against Sheamus and McIntyre is a big step in that direction.
Winner: Gunther
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley – SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
I really wish this match had a better build-up and story. Yes, there is some history here because the two Superstars previously clashed at WrestleMania 36 for the NXT Women’s Championship with Charlotte as the victor. In the years since, Rhea Ripley has become something different, she’s grown as a star and a fan-favorite, even as a heel. Charlotte doesn’t have the same allure she did. Don’t get me wrong, she one of the greatest female competitors of all-time, but there’s just something missing. Maybe it was her hiatus in 2022 due to injury, but there’s just something lacking.
Regardless, I anticipate this being a really great contest and Rhea Ripley emerging victorious, allowing The Judgment Day to dominate Raw and SmackDown.
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Edge vs. Finn Balor
In all likelihood, this should be the end of the Edge/Finn Balor/Judgment Day saga. The ingredients are all in place and the match stipulation is final. I don’t just mean the match taking place inside Hell in a Cell, but the fact that it will be Brood Edge vs. The Demon. I expect an instant classic between these two, no doubt with a bit of a supernatural twist. I’m sure The Judgment Day and Beth Phoenix will be involved in some capacity, but just as I expect Dom and Rhea to be victorious, I also expect it from Balor.
The Judgment Day is poised to take The Bloodline’s place as the premier faction in WWE and I see Balor entering the World Title picture as a result.
Winner: Finn Balor
Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match
I’ll say right off the bat that I have a bias towards Cody Rhodes. I worked with him during my time at WWE and during his indie run I tried to see and support him whenever he was within reasonable driving distance. That said, this entire storyline has been brilliant. There are a lot of opinions out there and a lot of predictions. Some argue Sami Zayn should have dethroned Roman, but that was never the story. Others argue that The Rock and Roman needed to happen, but that benefits neither party, nor the company as a whole. Then there’s the new argument, “oh, Cody is going to lose so Roman can hit 1000 days as champion.” I see the merit in that argument, but it’s not going to drive the outcome of this match because that’s not as powerful a story.
Roman Reigns’ WWE career has been a real case study in booking, fan reaction to said booking, star-making… just everything. The man has always been talented, that’s obvious, but for a long time the Powers That Be did indeed try to mold him John Cena’s image, “force him” down the throats of the WWE Universe. The problem was that the WWE Universe saw right through it. So how did WWE solve this problem? They did with Roman Reigns what they didn’t with John Cena – they turned him heel. The Head of the Table/Tribal Chief has been awesome – a dominant competitor, but also a shit-heel that ultimately relies on his heel faction to keep his status. Roman’s defeated just about everyone worth defeating and no one has been able to dethrone him.
Enter WWE’s prodigal son. Cody Rhodes talks about his father – the late, great and legendary Dusty Rhodes – a lot. It’s driven this storyline: the first Rhodes to headline WrestleMania, do what his father never did and win the WWE Championship… it’s all there and I know for a fact it’s real. That reverence for The American Dream, the son living up to and even surpassing his father’s legacy. Pro-wrestling is at its best when it blurs the lines between reality and kayfabe and this is the pinnacle of that.
Since returning at last year’s WrestleMania against Seth Rollins, Cody has been the favorite to dethrone Roman Reigns. Frankly, I don’t ever think The Rock was really part of the equation, at least for WrestleMania. Cody’s injury may have led to some uncertainty in the plan, but the timing was fortunate enough for him to triumphantly return at Royal Rumble. Cody’s been white hot since his return. He competes every week and yes, that Hell in a Cell Match with the torn pec elevated him to new levels. His popularity has grown and even with Sami Zayn’s rise, WWE did not have a “Daniel Bryan in 2014” problem on their hands.
The true story of Cody Rhodes’ journey to this point is an integral part of his storyline, his character and who he is in real life. He left WWE in 2016 unsatisfied with middling in the mid-card, broke out on his own and reshaped the independent wrestling scene, became a founding member of AEW and then returned as a main event star who is arguably the most popular Superstar on the roster.
And let’s be clear, Cody isn’t an “AEW guy.” Cody is WWE. He comes from the period between OVW, FCW and NXT… at FCW and NXT his father would end up training many of today’s biggest stars including Roman Reigns – that’s where Paul Heyman’s “Roman Regins was the son (Dusty) always wanted” came from. Cody was born in the WWE system, but realized that in order to get to where he wanted to be he had to walk away. Other Superstars have done this in the past, but Cody took it a step further with All Out and eventually AEW.
There’s a lot of real history behind this match, that’s what makes it great. That’s why it’s the main event of WrestleMania and frankly, that’s why WWE never even needed The Rock or anything else in its place. It’s The Rhodes Family vs. The Anoa’i Family in The McMahon Family promotion.
Bottom line, this should be an excellent, emotional match that will likely feature The Bloodline and potentially Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in some fashion. A perfect surprise would be a one-night only appearance by Dustin Rhodes, but Cody Rhodes will finish the story and be the one to dethrone Roman Reigns. Cody will be the new face of WWE for the foreseeable future, a true fighting champion and The American Nightmare will be living The American Dream.
Winner: Cody Rhodes
What do you think? Find me on Twitter @kevinpowers70, Instagram @kevinpowers70 and sign-up for the TJ Comics newsletter (which is also my regular newsletter) here.