TJRWrestling WWE WrestleMania 41 Preview
It’s WWE WrestleMania 41 with Cody Rhodes facing John Cena, a CM Punk-Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins triple threat match, and a whole lot more.
This is the big one. WrestleMania 41 has arrived and it’s taking place about two weeks later than it usually does because WWE was smart enough not to against the college basketball Final Four this year. I’m not a huge fan of it being on Easter Sunday for night two, but that’s fine. I went to WrestleMania last year in Philly because I thought it would be one of the best WrestleManias ever and I think it was. This year? I’m not as excited for it, but I still think there will be many great matches and hopefully some memorable moments.
As of this writing, there are 13 official matches. I’m going to leave the Randy Orton match off because while I expect him to have a match, it’s not officially on the Sunday card yet. If something is added on SmackDown then I will edit this preview and add the Orton match in.
I’ll do this preview with the Saturday matches first and then the Sunday matches after that, so you know what’s coming on what night. If it was up to me, there would be a Women’s Battle Royal on Saturday’s and a Men’s Battle Royal on Sunday’s pre-show. Whoever wins the battle royals gets a shot at their brand’s Intercontinental or United States Champion during the first Raw or Smackdown after WrestleMania. By doing that, it gets more wrestlers on the show by being in a battle royal and there’s a reward for the winner too.
You can watch the WWE WrestleMania 41 when it streams live on Saturday, April 19, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and Sunday April 20, at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and Netflix internationally. Let’s get to the preview.
WRESTLEMANIA 41 SATURDAY APRIL 19th MATCHES
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WWE World Heavyweight Championship: GUNTHER (c) vs. Jey Uso
It has been reported that this match is going on first, which makes a lot of sense since the crowd will be on fire supporting Jey Uso with the “Yeet” chanting. They had about 10 weeks to build this match, so it was slow at first, but the angle when Gunther beat up Jimmy Uso and bloodied him while Jey was handcuffed to the ropes was awesome, so that helped a lot. Jey also followed up with great promo to say he wasn’t scared of Gunther, which tells the audience that Jey does have a legit shot to win.
Gunther has been the WWE World Champion for over eight months going back to SummerSlam last year, so it’s been a long reign and it seems like a title change is possible. My pick for this match has been Jey Uso for several weeks, but there’s also a part of me that thinks that CM Punk could beat Gunther for the title in a few months. That’s an option anyway. However, I think Jey is loved by the fans and he has a good story as a former tag team wrestler that has succeeded as a singles wrestler, so it makes sense for him to win. We’ve seen them wrestle a few times, including at Saturday Night’s Main Event in January. I think Jey will kick out of everything and find a way to get the emotional win. It should be a very good match because Gunther is involved while I think Jey will do a great job in his role too.
Winner AND NEW World Heavyweight Champion
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Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
I enjoy the El Grande Americano gimmick because I’m a big fan of Chad Gable and I’m happy to see Gable in a singles match at WrestleMania, even as a masked man. I don’t mind the tongue in cheek gimmick either. Have fun with it. I see people online sharing images of how Gable and the masked man have the same tattoo in the same spot and things like that. So what? That is literally the joke that WWE is playing. Smile, laugh and have fun with it. Don’t take pro wrestling seriously all the time and you will enjoy it more.
Rey really doesn’t need wins at this point in his career, so I think Americano should get the win. My idea for the finish is to have Rey take off Americano’s mask, then Americano has another mask underneath it and Americano hits Gable’s Chaos Theory for the pinfall win. That would be a good finish.
Winner: El Grande Americano
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World Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders – Erik & Ivar (c) vs. The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
There are times when WWE does a good job of featuring the Tag Team Titles on both brands and then there are times when they are ignored for weeks at a time. The heel version of The New Day has been awesome over the last four months and I want to see them win the titles. It’s been a few years since they’ve been champions, so it makes sense to put the gold on them. The New Day guys should get plenty of heat, but I’m not sure if the fans will care about The War Raiders a lot.
I think The War Raiders could win if there is some angle with Big E. Since Big E is probably working the pre-show, have The New Day guys insult him and piss him off. That could lead to something during the match where Big E goes to ringside, distracts his former friends and The War Raiders win. However, I think it’s better if The New Day win the titles, so that’s my pick.
Winners AND NEW World Tag Team Champions: The New Day – Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods
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Naomi vs. Jade Cargill
This one should be very interesting since they have one of the longest storylines out of anything on the WrestleMania card. There was a mystery attacker who took out Jade last November and we didn’t find out who it was until Elimination Chamber on March 1st when Jade attacked Naomi. Since then, Naomi has admitted that she attacked Jade because she was jealous of Jade teaming with their friend Bianca Belair. Naomi has also been very entertaining as a heel doing these serious promos and showing she’s a lot more than the “feel the glow” girl she was for over a decade. I’m happy for Naomi embracing the heel role.
It makes sense for Jade Cargill to get the win as revenge for Naomi’s cheap attack against her. I’m just happy that there’s a women’s singles match at a WrestleMania without a title on the line. That’s good progress for the women’s division and I want to see it again in the future. Anyway, this should be a win for Jade although I think Naomi will get plenty of offense throughout the match as well.
Winner: Jade Cargill
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United States Championship: LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu
It’s a tough match to call because LA Knight won the US Title for the second time over a month ago, so it’s early in his title reign. However, Jacob Fatu is so entertaining to watch and the fans are getting behind him, which makes me think he has a good shot to win the title. There isn’t that much of a story since Fatu won a contender’s match to get here, but I still expect the crowd to get into it since they like both guys.
I’m going with LA Knight to win. The crowd is getting behind Fatu a lot, so putting the title on him makes a lot of sense. I also believe they could also do a finish where Solo Sikoa tries to help Fatu win, Solo screws up and “accidentally” costs Fatu the match. After the match, Fatu attacks Solo and the crowd cheers for it because they want to cheer for Fatu anyway. Fatu is a future champion in WWE for sure and I’m happy for him being on the WrestleMania stage. I just don’t know if he’s going to get the win here.
Winner: LA Knight
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WWE Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
Charlotte Flair hasn’t wrestled that much since winning the Royal Rumble, but we know she has a history of delivering great matches on the WrestleMania stage. I know that a lot of people hate Flair as a performer and perhaps even as a person. I don’t mind her at all and I enjoy watching her in the ring because she’s an awesome pro wrestler. The problem is
Tiffany Stratton is somebody who I have covered since she started in NXT about three years ago and I’ve seen her evolve into a terrific all-around performer. The issue with her is I don’t think she was a heel long enough on the main roster before turning heel. I get that the fans like her because she’s a pretty woman who has the “Tiffy Time” thing, but other than that, I don’t feel like there’s a connection between the fans and her as a face. I think Stratton was legit frustrated by Flair in their promo exchanges, which led to many awkward moments, but it also helped their match because fans think that they legit don’t like eachother. I don’t know how Flair and Stratton are behind the scenes, but I feel like they’ll get along and have an entertaining match.
I’m going with a title change here. Charlotte missed all of last year and it’s been a couple of years since she held a title, so I think she’s going to beat Stratton for the title. I can see WWE building up Jade Cargill as a future opponent. Jade might win Money in the Bank and use that to beat Flair or just do it the traditional way. Win or lose, Stratton has a very bright future in WWE as a woman in her mid-20s and many years ahead of her. This will probably go 20+ minutes, I think Flair will work on the knee the whole match, wear Stratton down, Stratton will try to fight back, but Flair will win with the Figure Eight to become the champion.
Winner AND NEW WWE Women’s Champion: Charlotte Flair
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CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins
The winner of this match must climb a ladder to retrieve Paul Heyman and give him a big hug. There’s nothing on the line, except for the affection of a bald Hall of Famer. I like Heyman a lot and I’m just having fun. To me, this match would mean more if they said that the winner would receive a WWE or World Title match at SummerSlam or something like that. You need to give fans more of a reason to get excited about a main event match.
I think that CM Punk, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have done a great job of building the match to feel like a big deal. We know about the issues between Rollins and Punk that were escalated at the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber and in the Punk-Rollins cage match when Reigns got involved. I’m also happy for Punk getting a main event match, but again I would have liked to see something on the line. What does the winner get? I think it’s important to dangle that carrot and make the fans care more about the win or loss. If Punk loses, should Punk fans be that mad or would they even care? The reason there are titles are to give the characters something to attain, and it feels like a big deal when they win. If there are no titles and no title shots involved then it’s less interesting.
In terms of match quality, I think this will be the best match of night one and maybe the whole show. These three guys are going to get 25-30 minutes, if not more, and they know how deliver on the big stage in a huge match like this. I fully expect them to have a match with a lot of twists, turns and maybe Heyman doing something shocking as well. Since triple threat matches have no disqualifications and no countouts, we could see some weapons being used and some table bumps too.
My lean when this match was announced was to pick CM Punk to win. I think it means more for him to win in his first WrestleMania match. Reigns won so many matches over the last five years and they could do it where Punk beats Rollins, who Punk has beaten before. I doubt Rollins will win, but he’ll probably be the glue in the match in terms of being the guy who is heavily involved and stands out the most in the ring. Reigns winning could happen for sure, I just think CM Punk winning makes sense to try to build him up to get him into the WWE or World Title picture in the summer or later.
Winner: CM Punk
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WRESTLEMANIA 41 SUNDAY APRIL 20th MATCHES
WWE Women’s World Championship: IYO SKY (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley
It has also been rumored that this match will open the Sunday lineup, which is fine with me because I expect this to be an awesome match. They will try to top the triple threat matches taking place at WrestleMania Saturday and at Stand & Deliver and they might just do it because these women are so talented.
The build for this match was a bit shaky because it took them a full month to make it a triple threat match even though it was obviously going in that direction. There were rumors for a while that it would be just Belair against Ripley, but we know Triple H as a booker loves Iyo Sky and that’s fine with me because Sky is an awesome performer. They can certainly use this match to set up a Belair-Ripley rivalry that will lead to some incredible matches in the months ahead.
Last year Sky dopped the Women’s Title to Bayley and now I think Sky is going to drop her title to Bianca Belair. It has been a couple of years since Belair has been a singles champion, so I think she’s due for another title reign. I think back to Belair main eventing WrestleMania four years ago. She was good back then, but she’s even better now and it’s been so fun to see her ascension in the division in the last few years. Ripley has been pushed consistently for over two years, so she doesn’t need another title reign right now. I think either Belair wins or Sky retains, and I’m going with the Belair victory.
Winner AND NEW Women’s World Champion: Bianca Belair
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AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
I am glad that AJ Styles is on the card because there are times when WWE ignores him or doesn’t use him properly. I know he had the foot injury that sidelined him for over four months, but they still only use him sparingly. Since Styles is 47 years old, he likely only has a few years left, so it’s important to get him on the show and I’m glad that he is. With that said, I think the obvious result is for Logan Paul to get the win as the younger guy who WWE values a lot as a heel that the fans hate.
It should be one of those matches that is a bit of a sleeper because in terms of height, other matches got a lot more attention. However, these guys can really go in the ring and I fully expect them to have an entertaining match. Styles will probably come close to winning a few times, but Paul will get the win, perhaps by cheating or maybe his brother Jake Paul shows up to help him. I don’t know what the finish will be, but I think Logan should win.
Winner: Logan Paul
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WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan (c) vs. Bayley & Lyra Valkyria
The team of Bayley and Women’s Intercontinental Champion Lyra Valkyria won one Gauntlet Match to earn this title shot. I thought there might be a multi-team match for these titles to get more women on the show, but instead it’s just one opponent for the champions Liv & Raquel. It makes sense for WWE to get a talented veteran like Bayley on the show while it’s a big spot for Lyra in her first WrestleMania.
I’m going with the champions retaining. There could be at title change and that’s fine, but it doesn’t feel like a big match to me. I like Liv & Raquel as the heel champions. They are good in that role.
Winners: Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan
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Sin City Street Fight: Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
It’s a Street Fight so it will allow them to use weapons throughout the match. They are bigger guys who are very physical, so I think they will match up well and have some creative spots in the match. Drew McIntyre was my WWE Superstar of the Year in 2024 and I wanted him to be in a bigger WrestleMania match, but I will still support him and hope for the best for this match. Damian Priest did have a good year last year and became a main event level guy, so win or lose he’ll be fine after this match.
My pick is McIntyre because I think it’s important for him to win a match like this and get into the WWE Title or World Title picture because of it. They haven’t said this is a number one contender’s match or anything like that, but it feels like that in a lot of ways. I think Drew needs to win a match like this and I think he will.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
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Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Penta vs. Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
This four way match will be a lot of fun. Penta is so exciting to watch, Bron has been getting over huge with his Spears all over the place and then there’s the dynamic of Balor-Dominik as allies in The Judgment Day. Will The Judgment Day guys fall apart during a match like this? It could happen. You could argue that Dominik doesn’t deserve to be in the match since he rarely, but I think he’s there for a specific reason.
I mentioned recently that I thought Balor could be in line for a face turn after being a heel for a few years, so perhaps this could be where it’s headed. For that to happen, I think Dominik Mysterio should win the IC Title and beat Balor to do so. They could do a finish where Bron hits Balor with a Spear, he’s about to go for a cover, but Penta pulls Bron out of the ring and then Dominik does the classic “steal the pin” to pin Balor to win. I think when they announced this as 4-way match, it was a way to get the title off Breakker without beating him and if that happens then I think Dominik is the right guy to leave with the title.
Winner AND NEW Intercontinental Champion: Dominik Mysterio
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Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes (c) vs. John Cena
The main event of WrestleMania 41 Sunday features Cody Rhodes as the WWE Champion for over a year against John Cena going for his record-breaking 17th WWE World Title. The heel turn that Cena did at Elimination Chamber over a month ago surprised me and it likely surprised a lot of you reading this too because it wasn’t something that was on the radar. Most of us assumed that Cena was going to spend most of 2025 as a babyface in his final year and do the “greatest hits” tour while the fans cheer him on to possibly winning another WWE Title. Instead, Cena went heel and now it’s a very personal rivalry for the WWE Title.
When this match was set up, my first inclination was that John Cena would win because I think breaking the WWE World Title record makes a lot of sense for a guy who spent his entire career with WWE. There could be some controversy with The Rock possibly helping Cody and maybe even Travis Scott will show up as well.
As much as I like Cody, having the WWE Title for over the year has been good, but I’m ready for a change. I think seeing John Cena as a heel WWE Champion is the kind of change that is going to get the company a lot of attention. They can do the story about if Cena will be able to keep the title until the end of the year when he retires. I say that won’t happen, but as a story it is intriguing. I hope it’s a great match and I am optimistic about it. I also think Cena will leave as the champion.
Winner AND NEW Undisputed WWE Champion: John Cena
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BONUS TOPICS FOR WWE WRESTLEMANIA 41!
The Match I’m Looking Forward To The Most
I’ll go with Roman Reigns-Seth Rollins-CM Punk on Night 1 and Cody Rhodes/John Cena on Night 2.
The Match I Care About The Least
My pick would be the Women’s Tag Team Title match, but I am happy that the titles are on the show.
Longest Match
I think it will be Reigns-Rollins-Punk going about 35 minutes.
Shortest Match
Jade Cargill vs. Naomi for about 10 minutes.
Excitement Level on a Scale of 1-10 (1 being low, 10 being high)
It’s an 8 out of 10. I think the last two WrestleManias in this Triple H Era (if we are calling it that) have been very good, so I have high expectations and I think the matches will deliver. I think the build could have been better in some cases and maybe more title matches on the show, but otherwise I like most of the card.
I’ll be doing a live review of WrestleMania 41 on Saturday so check out my review on TJRWrestling.net and on Sunday it might be delayed by a few hours, but it will be there that night. You can also tweet me on X/Twitter at @johnreport as well.
If you want to send an email, send it to me at mrjohncanton@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.