Let’s break down both nights from a story perspective and see what we can expect from the matches.

I mean, what else are you doing on Easter Sunday? Thanking GOD for the New Day, I hope. I’m going to look at Night One in this post in the assumed order we’ve been given, but due to basically anything, the order could be changed up. I’m not psychic, I just know wrestling. Grabbing some images for this randomly, so if they have watermarks, no offense intended. It’s WWE’s graphics anyway.

Night One

Gunther (C) vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship

So I have a theory that the build to Mania would have felt a lot smoother if Mania had taken place a week or two ago. Once they announced the date and location for WM41, that shit was locked in and everything had to be planned around that. I’ll mention that more as it pertains to Cody/Cena, but this is the other match where that timing was crucial. Jey’s “I’m not scared of you” promo from 2 weeks ago may have been perfectly timed if Mania was immediately after that. You had a fired up babyface, the Jimmy beatdown galvanized him, his way of thinking was changed and Gunther was speechless. It gave you the first potentially real crack in Gunther’s armor.

Gunther as a champion punches down. His confidence comes from bullying and the fear he creates. He had fun beating up people like Tozawa and Axiom, but even in the Axiom match, you can see that he needed the opponent to be intimidated. Axiom got way more in on Gunther than one would expect. When Jey was unsure of himself and doubted, he never beat Gunther. Now you saw the first bit of doubt on the face of Gunther, which we established with Damien Priest, is his Achilles Heel. Without fear, Gunther is on a more even playing field. That built to a head perfectly by the end of that promo, but with another week to go, how do you escalate again? Gunther already beat the dogshit out of Jimmy in front of a helpless Jey. Unless he was planning to date his mom as well, that was about it. The babyface has everything he needs at this point. It doesn’t help anything for Jey to jump Gunther, vice/versa, or for them to put hands on each other as well without possibly blowing the lead-up. What they COULD do, and what they did, was separate the two. Gunther cut a promo where it was clear that the fans, the 3rd man in this match, were bothering him. He had to double down on his asshole behavior, but that promo didn’t push anything forward. The rivalry is basically already redlining at this point. Jey came out later to a chorus of Yeeting fans, and did something I find interesting. The whole time on the walkdown from the crowd, during the whole song, he himself was Yeet-less. No-Yeet if you will. He just bobbed and grooved and looked focused. Only at the end of the promo did he give everyone a good Yeeting. When he’s doing it with the fans, especially in the crowd, it looks celebrational. Since his pinfall over Roman, he’s had a lot to celebrate, but now it’s time to lock in and do business. This has the added benefit when the fans are Yeeting at him and he’s just taking it in, of looking like everyone is doing the Wayne’s World “We’re not worthy” at him. I have an idea that he’ll do the same thing at Mania before the match. Game time, no celebrating before the job is done.

This is honestly a good match up for those argue Jimmy is a flash-in-the-pan with two moves. What is Gunther then, if you apply that logic? Chop. Boot, Powerbomb, Sleeper? Both of these guys can work. We’ve seen it. They wouldn’t be opening WrestleMania for the title if they couldn’t. The emotional connection is not the moves they do in the match, it’s everything before and after them. Jimmy no-selling a chop, getting in Gunther’s personal space and pie-facing him is going to pop the crowd way more then him doing a perfect Three-Handled Moss Covered Family Credenza. If you wanted them to go in there and give you a Bret vs. Owen technical masterclass, you’re reading the room wrong. This match is all about emotion and not quote-unquote “workrate.” Makes it the perfect match to start the weekend and get people going. It’s about Jey conquering fears and winning the big one. This match doesn’t need to be last, it just needs to have Jey win.

Prediction? Jey HAS to go over here. If Gunther retains, it’s a deflating moment for the fans as a curtain-jerk for the show. It does nothing for Gunther, who has already beat Jey like 4 times, and would just move on to a new opponent, who there is like no build for by the way. There’s no Seth or Drew or Bron waiting in the wings for him next. Gunther/Jey has been laser focused on those two alone. WrestleMania is where stories finish so new ones can begin. Jey’s journey has to hit a peak here. Every storytelling beat has led to this. Could some shenanigans happen, sure, but it would just cheapen the finish in my opinion. No interference, no Jimmy, no Ludwig, just Jey proving himself to be Main Event. It’s a huge moment in the making and if you pass it up here, a good opportunity may not come around for a while. This isn’t like Cody/Roman 1 at 39. By next year, logically, Jey is NOT going to be able to retain the fan momentum, and there’s very few places to take it unless Jey busts into Gunther’s house like Pillman with a gun. A loss here buries Jey. It proves that the Rumble win was a fluke and he doesn’t have what it takes. Jey HAS to win. There’s no logical positive to booking it the other way. Cole will call this YeetaMania, and we’ll have to take a ten minute break before the next match cause Cole and MacAfee will be blown up.

Winner: Jey Uso

Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano

Here is one of those where the build worked out, cause I don’t know if you can drag this out much longer. Look, El Grande Americano is not JUST my Starbucks order, it’s also a funny bit. But a funny bit will not stand on it’s own forever. This is going to be a solid match on a technical level. Gable has been amazing in the ring for a long time, and Rey JUST WILL NOT AGE. If you told me in 1999 that Rey would still be wrestling at a good consistency in the year of our Lord 2025, I’d have pointed at his knees and and laughed. Yet, it is clear that Rey is make of more cartilage than bone, and here we are, with a match between a 50-year-old Mysterio and Shorty G, and this shit might tear the house down. Gable’s whole “learning the Luchadore way” story clearly ends with him versus the most Hall of Fame Luchadore in the company, right? There were so many rumors on the dirt sheets about this angle being where they bring in Penta, no wait Fenix, no wait, Aleister Black, no wait Rusev, when all they needed was Gable being an asshole in a mask.

So, here’s my calls. If American Made come to the ring, at some point, Americano is going to be given the steel plate for his mask and either the ref is going to catch him and throw out American Made or the LWO will come out and fight them off to the back so Rey and Gable can finish. Rey will unmask Gable, MacAfee will be stunned, and if Rey wins, I can see American Made coming back out after the match to get more heat. The win conditions here are different. Americano has to prove he is a better Luchadore. Rey just has to unmask Gable. As long as Americano is exposed as Gable, Rey can survive whatever finish they want to do. I can see the heels winning this, mostly because you just came off a match with a big babyface win presumably. The crowd can put up with Rey losing as long as Gable is exposed or embarrassed. Rey doesn’t need a win, dude’s career is a win. He’s not going to get MORE over because he beat Gable in a mask. We COULD see other Lucha-relevant babyfaces coming out to help the LWO if things aren’t working out, like Andrade, Penta, or Fenix, but I wouldn’t necessarily put money on it. There’s too many people involved in this as it is.

I’m going to say Gable gets unmasked and cheats to win, but it doesn’t matter because Rey and the LWO end up standing tall at the end. Mission accomplished. If Americano lasts another couple of months I’ll be shocked.

Winner: Chad Gable

The War Raiders (C) vs. The New Day (World Tag Team Championships)

I have a bit of a fondness for the New Day. Partially from watching so much UpUpDownDown, but mostly because I’m 90% sure Xavier was one of the guys that we played Guitar Hero with at the Sleep Inn after a TNA taping once. Look, there may have been an adult beverage involved on my part. Either way, you have the highly-decorated and newly-assholed New Day vs. the heavily respected War Raiders. This is another one of those matches where the build-up timing seemed a little off. New Day seemed kinda jammed in last-minute over the last couple of weeks. Granted, their argument was valid and this is going to be a good match, but if there was another week or two of build between the two teams specifically, it might be a little more over.

Let’s speak on the two teams here. I have LOVED New Day’s heel turn. The Big E shutdown was legendary. Xavier is really good at heel facials and being a jerk. Kofi over here looking like Kof De La Rocha, a street preacher ready to Rage Against the Machine and it looks good on him. They are not afraid of nuclear heat. Woods yelling at that kid in the aisle had me rolling laughing. The only problem is that they just looked like they were bitching about injustice instead of doing something about it. Them going savage on the War Raiders and targeting necks was a much needed shot in the arm for this angle.

The Raiders are just babyface as hell right now. They have sympathy from past injuries, both guys can go and they are both bigger guys that move uncharacteristically well for their size, which the crowd loves. Keeping the titles on them is a safe bet, sure, but then what’s next?

You give the titles to the New Day. Helps them remind everyone how decorated a team they are. They can have some real shitbag spots trying to end the Raiders for maximum heat. Then you have a heel team with at least 3 face teams gunning for them. Always easier to chase a heel champ than to keep a babyface champ hot. They can have “I told you so” promos on Raw. Maybe this is what gets Penta and Fenix together as a team? A New Day/Lucha Brothers program would rule. Anyway, I think giving the Raiders the win here kills the rest of the heat for the New Day. Back of the line again, which they have fought their way out of way too many times already. Raiders will remain over regardless.

New Day sucks? No. New Day Wins.

Winner: The New Day

Jade Cargill vs. Naomi

I like both of these two, but this is going to be a trial by fire for both of them. This is the biggest match on the biggest stage for both of their careers. While they’ve both given great promos attached to this angle, some of which were pre-taped, a one-on-one match will expose any weaknesses if they aren’t ready for this.

I will assume, despite whatever kept Jade on the shelf for a while, that she has gotten in time in at the PC. I think if management thought she was going to stumble here, they would have not made this match and booked Naomi vs. Bianca at the next possible spot after Mania. Jade’s biggest downside has been that she is still pretty green. She looks and carries herself like a star, and that was enough to do the job in AEW, but if she can’t do at least decent here, we may see her in NXT for development. No one would fault her personally, I’m sure. It does look like she’s been putting the effort in, but here’s the “put up or shut up” point. A win here elevates her.

Naomi is a slightly different story here. She started for the company in 2010, making her a 15-year veteran at this point, give or take any time off. She has definitely come a long way and her heel turn has breathed much needed life into her character. Her heel promos have been good, especially the in-ring tear-filled sob fest with Bianca. She is teasing a more dangerous edge. As the veteran, it’s going to fall on her to carry this match if anything goes wrong. This is going to show how much of a ring general she is. Carrying someone who has only been working WWE style for like a year would look excellent on her resume. My main issue with Naomi matches is that her “moveset” is very babyface. I think we’ll have to see a new Naomi here if she is going to look competitive to a powerhouse like Jade. A split leg drop or a flying ass bump is not going to do the job here. I want a dangerous Naomi, possibly with a new finish.

All match concerns aside, I think you give the win to Jade here. Getting written off in a worked ambush and coming back to lose straight-up to the same person kills her. WrestleMania favors the babyfaces for the most part. and if we use the show flow as an indicator, I think Jade has to win here. It settles her business with Naomi, frees her up for other stuff (potentially Bianca vs. Jade eventually?), and Naomi can always get in a post-match beatdown to keep her heat, with Bianca running out for the save. Of course, we could have no Bianca save here, giving Jade a complaint about Bianca being all about herself while Jade is handling both of their business. Bianca could argue being ready for tomorrow’s title match and not wanting to lessen her chances.

I see Jade being the logical winner in either a good match, or both of them being the losers in a botch-filled catastrophe. I’d like to see the first one.

Winner: Jade Cargill

LA Knight (C) vs. Jacob Fatu (United States Championship)

I like LA Knight. Big fan. But I think if they want to elevate Knight to the main event scene, he has to lose this title to Jacob Fatu. He has the mic work, he has the aura. His in ring style seems easy to dance with for almost any other wrestler. He’s over with the fans. I don’t think losing to Shinsuke cost him anything, and I don’t think losing to a Samoan bulldozer here would either. People want LA Knight to succeed. He has a great story that would make a hell of a WrestleMania promo video one day. But the steps to that involve passing this title to Jacob.

Jacob is as hot now as a straight heel usually gets. The fans love him, despite the fact that he has never NOT acted like a heel. The man is impressive and hard to take your eyes off of. The story building between him and Solo could be penciled in for next year, but getting to that comes first. Giving him a singles championship on the main roster gives him an edge over Sikoa, with Solo only having held the NXT North American title. He can argue at this point that he’s more successful than Solo, and if anyone is going to be head of the table, it should be him. Then you have a year or so to build a sympathetic Sikoa, or a jealous one, with Jacob becoming more babyface as the year goes.

But for now, I imagine a screwed up bit of interference on the part of Solo and Tonga could be the seeds for this next year of build. If you have the interference almost cost Jacob the match, and then have him win on his own with no assistance, it makes him look strong. You don’t want to bury Knight, though, so a couple of close calls and a sudden finish could keep him strong also. Moving him up on the roster while burying him makes no sense and sounds like something the previous regime would have done. I think you can give Jacob his first title, move Knight onto something else, and no one loses anything. A win for Knight makes sense if the Bloodline screws up and if they want to keep him running at this level for a while, but does nothing for Knight other than make it look like he got lucky.

Winner: Jacob Fatu

Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair (WWE Women’s Championship)

I don’t know the backstage stuff between this (and let’s be honest, neither do you), but this has the potential to he a solid hard-hitting grudge match. There was no story ready when Charlotte won the Rumble, but the level of personal attacks from both sides have made this hotter than it was a month or two ago. Tiffany debuted in 2021 as opposed to Charlotte’s 2013, so you definitely have a situation like in the Jade/Naomi match where the veteran will be looked at to carry this match as much as possible. If anything goes beyond backstage and personal issues flare up in the ring, Charlotte could absolutely make Tiffany look like a chump, but it would hurt her just as much, especially to the creative team. This match needs to be snug and hard-hitting, but both need to remain responsible as pros.

Charlotte has had a rocky comeback since the Rumble. I don’t know if they initially wanted her as a babyface and the crowd influenced stuff, or they were aware that promos showing her on a yacht mentioning how she’s the best that ever lived came across as heelish. I think the most important lesson of this match is “Stop reading dirtsheets.” Charlotte going into business for herself would be career suicide here, making her look unreliable and uncontrollable. Charlotte kayfabe beating the shit out of Tiffany and winning could still be on the table. Tiffany has done great so far, but has had no real tests of her championship reign yet. A win for Tiffany here would put her over big time. A win for Charlotte would mean that Charlotte would have to move on. How much MORE personal could it get? That means chasing a heel champion, sure, but against who? Charlotte has been pretty focused on Tiff the whole time she’s been back. There are other contenders you could match her with, but if you have Charlotte call Tiff a no-talent jabroni and then beat her like a jabroni, it kills Tiffany. It makes it look like Charlotte was right and Tiffany is not on her level.

I think, just because I don’t see escalation to this rivalry, that Tiff with the win makes sense. Good for the crowd, Charlotte can still move on, no one gets screwed here. Flair winning wouldn’t be unheard of, but I think if they were going to do that, she wouldn’t have needed the Rumble win to be in the conversation. I think it’s like 70-30 Tiffany wins.

Winner: Tiffany Stratton

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins

Holy shit, this show is going to be long, and this is going to have a half hour of entrances to it, but I love wrestling so let’s fucking do this. If you time your breaks on a live show right after the final bell rings on Tiff/Flair, you should have 45 minutes counting the pre-match video package to take any manner of poops.

This is an oddball and not because of no title being up for grabs. You don’t need a title for this. This is a years-long blood feud for these 3. It’s the culmination of Punk’s dream, Roman’s chance to get his hands on both of them, and Seth, well, Seth is a wildcard here and I’m not making a Vegas pun. Clearly Seth would prefer to win this, but the decision doesn’t have to involve him. That makes him consider the question of who he’d rather have win this, Roman or Punk. Long history here between everyone, but Seth was personally slighted by Punk and Roman was professionally slighted by Seth. Even if you ignore the interview where Roman said he’s only got so much time left before he hangs up the boots, Roman isn’t the one that shows up every week. He’s been over since returning but we’ve been seeing glimpses of asshole in him, culminating with him putting his hands on Heyman. It was clearly stated that Roman has never changed after losing the title, and we’re seeing now that he IS the same, just without the backup. The removal of Paul Heyman from his corner leaves him all alone on the Island of Relevancy, and you could argue how relevant can you possibly be all by yourself? Physically, Roman looks as good or better than he ever has, so it has never been a topic of conversation that he CAN’T physically hang. It’s that can he do this all by himself. Something he hasn’t had to do since sitting next to the Wiseman backstage years ago.

Seth has been straddling the babyface/heel fence for a bit now. As much as he loves fans and wants to help the industry in the story, he has also been a jerk to a good number of people. This seems to be the tipping point where they commit to a full baby or heel Seth. Not to book a year in advance, but if Cena beats Cody and then Punk takes the title later, setting up for Punk vs. Seth at Mania 42 for the belt, I wouldn’t be mad. Let’s not focus that far ahead, though. That’s way too much time and literally everything could be different by then. Seth actually being violent to Heyman could be the beginning of the finish, with Punk coming to Paul’s aid and Roman not giving a shit anymore. People can argue that Paul betrayed his Tribal Chief by being in Punk’s corner, but he hasn’t yet and Heyman has made that abundantly clear. He even glossed over Roman’s actions by saying he would still always be loyal to Roman, but Roman is the one that did the betraying by not letting Heyman do what he promised, getting violent with him, and potentially not helping him at Mania. Roman can complain rightfully that people stab him in the back, but this time, it’s him doing it to someone else and he either sees that and becomes more babyface, or doesn’t care and becomes more heel.

The people are just behind Punk. He hasn’t NOT been a babyface since he returned. All his opponents have been total heels. The people wanted to see Punk have this, and now he gets it. One could say that main-eventing night one is a technicality, but if it plays out anything like I mentioned earlier over the next year, he could be main-eventing night two for the title next year and there would be no argument either way. Stop booking ahead Prinny.

I think you probably have Punk win this due in part to both looking out for Heyman and the Seth/Roman bad blood being so serious that they cost each other the win. Again, it’s been a while since a Seth/Roman one-on-one and we could see it eventually. More specifically, you have Punk pin Seth so he can clean his hands and be done with Seth, while Seth/Roman are just getting started again. Seth eating another pin to Punk would discourage him from continuing with that story, so Punk could go on to have some bangers over the next year with a bunch of different new people and maybe Cena.

Do we get Rock The Dwayne Johnson? Yeah, maybe, but we don’t need him here. If he’s gonna show, I’d imagine it’ll be on night two with Cody/Cena. No one needs to get involved in this one without cheapening the whole thing. WWE has pulled off a big move and made us care about a non-title 3-way as a night one main event, and throwing the Bloodline or Drew would just sour the thing. Those 3 can tell the story all by themselves. A Seth win means almost nothing, since it’s not like Punk and Reigns are fired if he wins. He just gets an “I told you so.” Roman winning means a little more only if you get him back in the title chase and/or have Heyman be the Elizabeth to Macho Man Roman Reign’s abusive heel antics.

I think Punk and his best friend Paul Heyman walk out the winners and Seth and Roman continue the feud. Sends the fans home on a good note for, no spoilers, what might not be their favorite night 2 ending coming up.

Winner: CM Punk and his BFF.

Whew, that was both a long show and article and we still have a whole other day! I was thinking of writing up night two now, but as we saw last year, the results of night one can influence night two, and I don’t want to call shots without all the info. As soon as the first night is over, I’ll post a review and preview night two. You may ask, what about run-ins? Black and Rusev? All the rumors and returns? All the chaos that comes with a fully booked WrestleMania city? Have no fear, there’s still plenty to go. This was a look mostly at the angles involved in this year, but once I post a review, we’ll look at the matches deeper and on a more mechanic level. See you on Sunday, and we’ll see how close I got on the scorecard.

Deuces, Uces.

-Prinny