WrestleMania 40 Night 1 goes down live April 6 in Philadelphia. WWE has confirmed seven matches for this Saturday. The fate of three major championships will be decided on Night 1 too.
The biggest match of the night will see The Rock and Roman Reigns team up against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. The outcome of this match will determine if Rhodes versus Reigns II gets booked under Bloodline Rules.
Who is going to come out the winner? Will there be a title change? Let’s try to answer what’s been on everybody’s mind with the following predictions for WrestleMania 40 Night 1.
Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar & Dominik Mysterio – Tag tag match at WrestleMania 40 Night 1
Poor Rey! He thought he was done with Dominik after WrestleMania 39. The estranged son has joined forces with his father’s worst enemy. Joining forces with Dom is probably the most evil thing Escobar has done since hoping for Rey’s leg to be amputated.
Many people were probably expecting a tag team match between Rey and Escobar’s versions of the lWO at WrestleMania 40. Dom’s involvement came as a surprise. Rey pulled a surprise of his own by bringing Dragon Lee to the mix.
Lee has some bitter history with both Dominik and Escobar. The match, without a doubt, would be great from a pure in-ring standpoint. I’m really hoping there’d be some drama involving Carlito because he clearly wasn’t expecting Rey to pick Lee as his tag team partner.
Prediction: Dominik Mysterio & Santos Escobar def. Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Damage CTRL – Six-woman tag team match
Bayley must be thanking her lucky stars that she won’t have to handle the Damage CTRL situation at WrestleMania XL. The Role Model has a huge match against IYO SKY for the WWE Women’s Championship on Sunday.
WrestleMania 40 Night 1 will see Bianca, Jade, and Naomi take on Dakota Kai and The Kabuki Warriors. Jade signed with WWE SmackDown on the road to WrestleMania XL. Many fans wanted to see The Storm take on The EST but let’s be realistic, it’s too early for them to clash.
Jade already had her in-ring debut at Royal Rumble 2024, where she looked dominant as ever. WWE presumably wants to take their time before they book her for singles action. The tag team route is clearly the best direction for her at WrestleMania XL.
Prediction: Bianca, Jade, and Naomi
Six-pack tag team ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
Ladder matches have a long history of stealing the show at WrestleMania. From Shawn Michaels’ classic against Razor Ramon to the groundbreaking TLC II, WrestleMania has hosted some of the most iconic and creative ladder matches in the history of this business.
WrestleMania 40 Night 1 will feature a tag team ladder match as well. Six of the top teams from RAW and SmackDown will fight for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship. We have the champions Finn Balor and Damian Priest against challengers DIY, Awesome Truth, The New Day, A-Town Down Under, and New Catch Republic.
All participants know the pressure that comes with such a high-stake match-up. The previous tag team ladder matches have set the bar so high that it’s hard to deliver a decent tag team ladder match, let along replicate the success of the classics. That being said, the upcoming ladder match has the potential to be a show-stealer.
What’s interesting is that Michael Cole has said both pairs of the straps need to be unhooked to determine the winner. Ideally, we’d get two winners after two different teams get their hands on the RAW and SmackDown tag team titles – prompting Adam Pearce and Nick Aldis to finally split the titles.
Prediction: Awesome Truth grab the RAW tag team titles, A-Town Down Under win the SmackDown tag team titles
Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn – Intercontinental Championship match
This is arguably the biggest match of Sami Zayn’s career since the main event of WrestleMania 39 Night 1. The former Honorary Uce takes on the undefeated Ring General for the prestigious Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 40 Night 1.
Zayn earned the opportunity by winning a gauntlet match that also featured Chad Gable. Master Gable has since become Zayn’s biggest supporter and mentor. Both superstars have starred in some excellent vignettes on the road to WrestleMania.
That being said, I’ve a feeling Triple H might book Gunther to retain his title at WrestleMania XL. No disrespect to Sami, he’s a great performer, but having him end Gunther’s record-setting run would be an underwhelming booking decision, especially if you already have guys like Gable who can benefit far more by beating the Ring General.
Plus, if it isn’t Chad Gable then I can’t think of superstars other than Ilja Dragunov and Ludwig Kaiser to take down Gunther. Bron Breakker is another solid choice but he’d probably be better dominating SmackDown than RAW.
Prediction: Gunther retains over Sami Zayn
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso – Singles match
The Rock’s involvement has most certainly impacted the hype around Uso versus Uso. That being said, WrestleMania 40 is probably the right stage to host this epic sibling rivalry. Jey Uso is undoubtedly one of the most consistent performers of The Bloodline era WWE. His rise to stardom has been nothing but epic and inspirational.
Jey can tell a whole story through his facial expressions alone. He’s improved a lot on the mic. His treatment at the hands of Roman Reigns has turned him into a fan favorite. The Yeet catchphrase is one of the most over catchphrases in WWE today. Jey needs that big win because he’s always come up short of winning high-stakes matches.
Prediction: Jey Uso goes over Jimmy Uso
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch – Women’s World Championship match
Rhea Ripley is the prime example of how a title win can influence the trajectory of your career. Mami defeated Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in one of the best WWE PLE matches of 2023 at WrestleMania 39. She faces the 2024 Women’s Elimination Chamber winner, Becky Lynch, this Saturday.
I may not be wrong when I say that the majority is expecting The Man to walk out of WrestleMania XL as the new Women’s World Champion. Lynch hasn’t won a world title in two years. She’s overwhelmed with emotions after Ripley dragged her daughter into their feud. The Eradicator has outgrown both the title and The Judgment Day.
It’s only a matter of time before she drops it to Big Time Becks.
Prediction: Becky Lynch def. Rhea Ripley
The Rock & Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes & Seth Rollins will main event WrestleMania 40 Night 1
The main event of WrestleMania 40 Night 1 has been one crazy ride, to say the least. We should probably thank the Triple H regime and The Rock for actually pivoting to fan reaction. The Final Boss is a master when it comes to adjusting to crowd reaction. The WrestleMania X-8 match against Hulk Hogan is a prime example of Rocky’s incredible awareness.
The entire feud has been nothing short of personal for Cody Rhodes. The American Nightmare has bled. He has suffered the ultimate humiliation at the hands of the Final Boss. All the hardships and miseries will probably make the payoff against Roman Reigns worth it. Fans can expect carnage to go down this Saturday.
I’m expecting Rock and Reigns to defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to set up the Bloodline Rules main event for night two. Cody’s never had it easy. He probably won’t have it easy against The Bloodline. I also think Drew McIntyre shows up to influence the outcome of the match.
Prediction: The Bloodline def. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins
WrestleZone will have full coverage of WrestleMania 40 Night 1 as it airs. What do you think of the predictions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Also read: Roman Reigns: Cody Rhodes Is Reading The Wrong Book, We Don’t Care About His Story
