Next week, April 19 and 20, the biggest annual event in the world of pro wrestling will occur at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, NV: Wrestlemania 41.
I have loved wrestling since I was five. I used to hit my cousins with an Attitude Adjustment on their trampoline until the cows came home. I had an art briefcase that I pimped out to look like a “Money in the Bank” case. You better believe that I wrapped my hands in printer paper and slapped red X’s on them because I was CM Punk.
Wrestling was a massive part of my upbringing. My father grew up watching WWE during the Attitude Era and brought me up watching it during the PG Era. Over time, WWE began to decline in quality, mostly because of Vince McMahon’s declining sanity, so many people, including myself and my father, stopped watching.
In July of 2022, Vince McMahon stepped down, and Paul “Triple H” Levesque took over the company, ushering in a new era of WWE. My father and I began watching again, and it became a massive part of my life once more. The dramatic storylines have given me something to escape to when the real world gets too crazy.
This year’s wrestling “season” is a pretty emotional one for me, considering this will be my last Wrestlemania cycle I’ll be watching with my dad before going off to college. Wrestling has meant so much to me throughout my life, so I think it’s only fitting to make my last major contribution to the Kahoki about WWE.
This year’s card is pretty stacked, and my feelings are all over the place. Without further ado, let’s get into some of the storylines that will be playing out and my predictions for some of the largest matches at Wrestlemania 41.
Being a two-night event, Wrestlemania has a lot of matches, far too many to cover here in a reasonable manner, so I’ll just be covering four matches: one from each night and both of the main events.
First up, we have a fatal four-way match between Bron Breaker, Penta, Dominik Mysterio, and Finn Balor. All four of these men are incredible in the ring, and I’m eager to see Mysterio finally get more ring time, considering he’s been more of a “backup” for the past year.
Breaker has had the title for quite some time now, and it seems like they’re running out of ideas for him. Your gimmick can only be “the strong guy with the championship” for so long, you know?
Penta is very skilled but very new to the roster. I think it’s a little too early in his career for him to get the belt. I’m honestly thoroughly impressed that he’s having a title match at Wrestlemania, being that he’s only appeared on Monday Night Raw seven times total!
The most interesting thing about this match, though, is that half of the men are on the same team. Mysterio and Balor are both members of The Judgement Day and are battling for the same title. Tensions have already been high within the group, but I think this match is their final tipping point. Balor has been trying to get a title around his waist for quite some time but has failed every time. I think that Mysterio is going to take his first big step in the ring and get the belt. This will show the rest of the Judgement Day that Balor isn’t worthy, and they’ll kick him out, making Mysterio the new leader.
Match One Outcome Prediction: Dominik Mysterio
The next match on this list is the Women’s World Championship Triple Threat between IYO SKY, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley. This match is very infuriating to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love all three competitors, but I really don’t feel like Ripley should be in this match.
SKY won the championship off of Ripley on Raw, fair and square. She is the current champ; no questions about it. Belair won the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, guaranteeing her a shot at the championship at Wrestlemania. Notice that the only person who has lost something along the way is none other than Ripley.
Why is she competing, you ask? She just forced herself into the feud. That’s it.
In my opinion, WWE is not treating SKY like the champion. They’re treating her more like an afterthought in a feud between Ripley and Belair. If that was how you were going to play it, why put the title on SKY in the first place? It feels dehumanizing and belittling.
Another thing I dislike about this match is the fact that it’s a triple threat. To me, triple threats are inherently unfair because you only have to pin one opponent to win over both of them. Make that make sense.
As far as predictions go, I typically hate it when championships are retained at Wrestlemania. It’s supposed to be a big turn in every storyline, and usually, the primary way to change things up is with a belt change. However, I think (and partially hope) that SKY retains the title.
I think Belair and Ripley will be too caught up in their beef, wear each other down, and SKY will take both of them out with her incredible athleticism.
Match Two Outcome Prediction: IYO SKY
Next up is the main event of night onet: the triple threat between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and CM Punk.
Despite being my least favorite type of match, this is the Wrestlemania match I am looking forward to the most. CM Punk has been my favorite wrestler since I was tiny. He’s been with WWE for nearly 10 years, and this is his first time main-eventing Wrestlemania. I am so excited for him; this is a huge deal for his career.
This match is going to be very nostalgic for me, and the long-term storytelling is phenomenal. Reigns and Rollins used to be a part of one of the most powerful factions in WWE. Rollins sold out, betrayed the faction, and became a lap dog to the authority of WWE. Possibly the longest-term story playing out in this match is between Punk and Rollins. Punk famously trained Rollins early in his career. This match has been in the making for over a decade.
Both Punk and Reigns are allies of Paul Heyman. Heyman has claimed that he won’t betray either of them, but he will be choosing his “best friend,” Punk, over his Tribal Chief, Reigns.
I think that Heyman will get so caught up in his loyalty to both men that he will skip out on a crucial moment of the match, and Rollins will take advantage of Reigns and Punk.
Main Event Night 1 Outcome Prediction: Seth Rollins (as badly as I want it to be CM Punk)
Finally, the main event of night two: the Undisputed WWE Championship match between Cody Rhodes and John Cena.
Cena is another wrestler that I grew up with. This year is his final year at WWE, so this is a very emotional match overall. This past month, Cena had a very big character change, allegedly “selling his soul” to The Rock. This switch has changed Cena’s usual joyful and hopeful persona into an empty and cruel one that has come to hate the fans and the establishment for which he works.
Rhodes has been the champion for a whole year. The people love him. His championship reign was a long time coming, and the WWE Universe has viewed him as the perfect, untouchable golden boy during his time as champion.
This style of feud (golden boy v. authority hater) is very reminiscent of the 2011 feud between John Cena and CM Punk. With Cena being the “golden boy” of the time, so I’m eager to see how Cena plays it on the other side of the road.
Both of these men are incredible athletes and are adored by the people, even despite Cena’s current standing. It’s hard for me to make a call either way. However, I think Cena and The Rock will end up playing dirty and earning Cena the championship one final time before his time is up.
Main Event Night 2 Outcome Prediction: John Cena
All in all, I’m greatly looking forward to Wrestlemania this year. WWE is a major part of my life and probably will be until the day I die.
Wrestlemania is pretty much my Super Bowl, and I’m hoping to whatever is out there that my team(s) win.
