2024 - Wrestlemania 40 Write Up

[D Backs GM (Tyler)]

We’ve got a two night spectacular this year. I’ve been watching for most of my life and I can honestly say I don’t think it has even been this good. First, a couple things to set the table:

1. This is WWE but you’re getting AEW mentions when needed. It’s basically WCW/WWF from the 90s out here and we’re here for all of it. Plus it’s part of the story.
2. HHH is now (kinda) fully in charge. Vince is out. For good. And likely going to jail at some point for the rest of his life. I’m not really going to address much of that story in the write up but if you want more info look here: www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2024/02/29/wwe-vince-mcmahon-sex-trafficking-lawsuit-latest-details-developments/72793083007/ - Short version: lots of sexual assault, sex trafficking, and cover ups.
3. The Rock is back. And I mean like “on TV every week doing awesome shit” back. Not “show up once per year for a cameo” back.
4. Hey I heard CM Punk was back and is talking shit. Yes, but he is injured. Not fighting.

Let’s get into it.

Night 1 - Saturday April 6

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky (Singles match for the Women's World Championship)
What an opener. For those who haven’t been paying much attention, Ripley is THE woman in the company now. She is jacked, great on the mic, the head-ish of a faction in the Judgement Day, and an all around stud. Mets - she will scare you into being turned on. Becky has never really recovered her previous popularity from her “The Man” era heat. But she can still go in the ring for sure. No complicated story here, just two top stars wrestling for the title.

Prediction: Rhea wins clean.

The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) (c) vs. #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs. The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) vs. The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs. A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) vs. New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) - (Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match)
Apparently both sets of tag titles (Raw and Smackdown) will be suspended above the ring and they can be grabbed separately. I suspect this is how they re-split the belts. I have no earthly idea what will happen in this match, but it’ll be a lot of cool spots. No real story here, just lots of carnage and flippy shit. We’ll get to the story don’t worry.

Prediction: Judgement Day take one set, DIY take the other.

LWO vs. Santos and Dom - Tag Team Match
Bathroom break time. Dom Mysterio is the class of the undercard heel wise but there is nothing here worth noting. It is likely eventually setting the table for Dom vs Rey at Summerslam, but this will just be a teaser match if I had to guess. That being said, luchadors are fun!

Prediction - LWO. Rey beats Dom’s team but not Dom himself and kicks off the father vs son story in earnest.

Jey vs. Jimmy - Singles Match
Now we’re cooking. While this match is years in the making from the Bloodline story, they really kinda threw this together a couple weeks ago. Jimmy Uso has stayed loyal to Roman and the Bloodline while Jay Uso has set out on his own on Smackdown to make a main event name for himself. It has gone… meh. This is going to be a banger of a match because these two are great but I wish there was a bit more on the line here. I’m guessing we don’t get Bloodline interference because of the action later in the night and they won’t want to ruin the pop, but you never know. Send out Solo or something? Bleh.

Prediction - Jey Uso. The start of the bloodline cracking. More on that later.

Bianca, Jade, Naomi vs. Damage CTRL - 6 Woman Tag Match
A storm is coming (https://www.wwe.com/videos/jade-cargill-makes-her-electric-entrance). Jade Cargill is the first AEW star to defect to WWE and oh boy is it significant. She is massive. She is a beast. They are smart to not waste her vs Rhea or her 1-1 with another big name here. Bianca and Jade will eventually have the most athletic women’s match you’ve ever seen. But not yet. For now, it’s a Bayley-less Damage CTRL. They need the win more, and I’m assuming there will be some friction in the three randoms team to set up the next major feud.

Prediction - Damage CTRL after Jade decimates her teammates.

Gunther vs. Sami - Singles match for the Intercontinental Title
Last year I wrote this about Gunther’s match: “If you want to see people beat the piss out of each other for real, this is your match.” Well, that applied then and it applies now. The most dominant IC Champ ever, Gunther just beats the living shit out of people. He barely has a finishing move. It’s just “you dont want to get up after a while”. Sami is the perfect underdog counterpart for him at mania. I expect Sami to take a whooping, but I also expect a major shock here.

Prediction - Sami wins! What should have happened a long time ago, Sami Zayn gets to run with a major title. He has earned it after the part he played in keeping the Bloodline story fresh last year while it was floundering with no real challenge.

Rock/Roman vs. Cody/Seth - Tag team match. If Rhodes and Rollins win, all members of The Bloodline will be barred from ringside during the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match on Night 2. If Rock and Reigns win, the championship match on Night 2 will be held under Bloodline Rules (which is basically no rules).

Whew. Where to start. I’ll get to the Finish the Story and Cody vs Roman of it all in the last segment. The Rock is back. He came back and more or less said he was going to fight Roman at Mania, even though Cody had won the Royal Rumble. Fans hated it. Cody is so hot and so over that fans rejected THE ROCK returning to headline Mania. Once the powers that be (including the Rock himself, more on that later) saw the writing on the wall, they shifted course, and went to Cody/Roman to headline night two. But that begged the question: What to do with the Rock?

First, watch this:

With that, The Rock squarely aligned himself as “The Final Boss” of the Bloodline.

Now, watch this:

http://instagram.com/p/C5GpCQ4rug9

The Rock is now the full on completely evil asshole Rock. A phenomenal change from his usual “hi everyone nice to be here” cameos of the last 10 years. He has positioned himself as the Final Boss. Above Roman, who is the current champion. That hasn’t really been addressed yet but you know it will be at some point. For now, they’re on the same page.

The quietly most interesting part of all this? The Rock is literally the boss now. He is on the board of directors of the real life company that owns WWE. It is likely why he is back in such a major way. I am hoping against all hope that he is back for good. I know we will get Rock/Roman for the head of the bloodline at some point, but I need a “control of the company” proxy feud between The Rock and HHH. I need it. I know Trips cant wrestle due to health, but he should be on screen 1000%.

Anyway. Thats for next year.

Prediction - Rock and Roman win. The Rock pins Rollins. I think Roman has him beat and The Rock does something that is slightly underhanded/odd to make sure HE gets the pin and not Roman. Remember this for Night 2.

Night 2 coming in a bit.

[D Backs GM (Tyler)]

Night 2 - Sunday April 7

Seth vs. Drew - Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship
Seth took the pin the night before, and Drew wasn’t even supposed to be here (this was the slot for CM Punk, but he hurt himself in the Rumble). Not sure what to make of this one to be honest. The best segments have been Punk vs Seth and Punk vs Drew. Particularly this one:

Prediction - It’ll be a fun match. Punk probably on commentary or something? Who knows. But Seth will retain.

Six-Man Philadelphia Street Fight - The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins, and Montez Ford) (with B-Fab) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar)
I don’t know or care about any of these people. Sorry if you are a fan, I’m not. Fill in your own commentary below.

Prediction - The Pride

LA Knight vs. AJ Styles - Singles Match
This is the “we didn’t have anything else but you both definitely deserve to be on this card” match. No real story. No heat. It is really pretty much the four title matches on night two and some filler. Here is hoping these two go back to back and you can take a full break for dinner or something.

Prediction - AJ Styles (why not?)

Logan Paul (c) vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens - Triple threat match for the WWE United States Championship
Want a hottest of hot takes? Logan Paul is the best current wrestler in this match. I hate this YouTube douche as much as the next guy, but man oh man was he born to wrestle. He can talk, he is insanely athletic, he has it all. He is a deserving champion (which would have been an insane statement even 2 years ago). Orton and Owens are both veterans and both excellent in their own right. Call me crazy but I’m drinking the koolaid here.

Prediction - Logan Paul retains, some other mainstream star comes out to challenge him (bad bunny? He is also great)

Iyo vs. Bayley - Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship
It has been a long hard climb to the top of the mountain for Bayley. One of the original 4 horsewomen (Bayley, Sasha, Charlotte, and Becky), she was always the forgotten one. With Sasha now in AEW going by Mercedes Mone, Charlotte injured, and Becky seemingly being passed in popularity, it is Bayley’s time now. She deserves it. Her heel mic work, faction leading, face turn, etc. She has truly done it all. Here is the inciting incident for this match:

Prediction - COME ON BAYLEY! She will win it.

Roman vs. Cody - For the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship (Stipulation to be determined by the result of Night 1's main event)

First, yes, this does look familiar. chinmusicupin.proboards.com/post/50111/thread

Read that first because it all still applies. Cody has been chasing all year trying to get his return match with Roman, eventually winning the right to do so through the Rumble and almost having it ripped away by The Rock.

Now, I think we’re going to be under Bloodline Rules for this one, which basically means that interference is allowed.

If there is no Bloodline Rules and it is straight 1-1, I think Cody just takes it clean in an all time classic.

Bloodline rules means we are seeing The Rock, Solo, Jimmy, and maybe more (Rikishi?!) members of the family. However, I think we are also getting everyone that they have fucked over during this run. All their enemies: Sami and KO.. Cody’s allies (basically every current for past member of the wolfpack/elite), and it is an all out brawl war on the outside until all the crazy returns and wild pops settle down and eventually its Roman and Cody 1-1 in the ring.

Then Cody does it. He wins the title his dad never could.

Prediction - We close mania with dueling shots - One of Cody with the title, the other of The Rock shaking his head in dismay at Roman while Roman stares back defiantly, implying that The Rock cost him his title.

[White Sox GM (alligatorchris)]

I’m excited now. Any surprise returns? I keep hearing we could see a Dustin Rhodes appearance. I don’t know why because I never follow wrestling but the meat cutter at the grocery told me “Stardust is whipping the Rocks ass.” Then he asked if I wanted him to prep a Tri Tip. 🤷‍♂️

I had to have the follow up conversation. Well done with the write up and links….AS ALWAYS!

[D Backs GM (Tyler)]

Re- Dustin

It would signal an incredible shift in the business. There has been a total of one time EVER where WWE/AEW talent was allowed to appear on the other show. The other time was the Brody Lee memorial show. It was a tribute to a wrestler who had just died and Erik Rowan specifically requested to be able to go pay tribute to his close friend for one night. WWE said yes. This is certainly not the same situation.

HOWEVER! WWE has been willing to let of its lesser talent do some indie shows over the weekend. Specifically Bloodsport this weekend featured wrestlers from AEW, WWE, and others. So the forbidden door is slightly more open than it has been ever before. But still, I think we are quite far away from Forbidden Door (or any other mainstream PPV) featuring WWE and AEW wrestlers.

But I hope I'm wrong! That would be awesome!

PS "Forbidden Door" is a term for when wrestlers from other federations show up on each others' shows. AEW has co-opted this idea of openness and once per year hosts a "Forbidden Door PPV" where wrestlers from federations all over the world show up on each others shows and all fight together. It is fucking awesome. Mostly NJPW and AEW but also a bunch of lucha guys from CMLL and apparently some women from Shimmer this year. We'll see. But WWE has notably never participated in any type of event like this. The closest they get is letting Jericho go do a match in Japan and completely ignoring that its happening on their product like 10 years ago.

[D Backs GM (Tyler)]

Also - I'd like to change my call for Seth/Drew. They have a PPV in the UK coming up soon. But the belt on Drew for that. He will likely headline that PPV with CM Punk once he is back.

[White Sox GM (alligatorchris)]

Just remember DX said that door can suck it and gawd forbid the door have glass.

[KC Royals GM (Kevin)]

Ripley vs Becky was best match of night 1

Barn would get the biggest fear boner from Ripley

Excited for tonight...

[White Sox GM (alligatorchris)]

I’m hoping get to read about how they take FULL advantage of this no rules stipulation.

[D Backs GM (Tyler)]

Apr 7, 2024 14:03:10 GMT -5 KC Royals GM (Kevin) said:

Ripley vs Becky was best match of night 1

Barn would get the biggest fear boner from Ripley

Excited for tonight...

I was partial to Sami Zayn and Gunther and the main event but Rhea is an absolute stud. Crazy intro

[D Backs GM (Tyler)]

Easily one of the best endings to a wrestling event ever. Would recommend watching if you can.

[Mets GM (barnstormers)]

Apr 7, 2024 14:03:10 GMT -5 KC Royals GM (Kevin) said:

Ripley vs Becky was best match of night 1

Barn would get the biggest fear boner from Ripley

Excited for tonight...

Went to Whitey's grocery to see about a nice tenderloin and the meat cutter told me to watch the Rhea Ripley/Becky Lynch match. So I did. First time.

Becky Lynch, Wow! A hot red head in fishnets with her legs wrapped around my neck, swinging me around a canvas, just made my bucket list.

Rhea Ripley, I don't know. Not much scares me, but man, she gave me nightmares. If I was still young and prone to nocturnal emissions, she would have frightened me from a good wet dream.

I'm on Medicare. If Ripley were to fuck me, I'd end up in the hospital. They would have to invent Part Z just to resuscitate me.

Waiting for the wardrobe malfunction. Didn't happen. Bummer. You know Ripley has a set of nipple rings that could pass as door knockers.

On the other hand, Lynch undoubtedly, has the cutest little copper landing strip waiting to be exposed.

Fear boner! Sorry BK, couldn't quite get there.

By the way, who won?

[Athletics GM (Bird33)]

Way late to the party, but awesome writeup in here! I was lucky to be there for the week and what an absolutely amazing time. This is my second Mania as I went to Dallas 2 years ago. Philly is my favorite wrestling town by far, not even an argument for me. Giant ECW guy, that's my wheelhouse other than territory wrestling, but still a huge fan till this day. I got there Thursday and stayed until Monday afternoon. I watched 6 shows in all that week and a total thumbs up. I was at the ECW Arena Thursday night for the Mark Hitchcock Memorial, Friday morning for the Tokyo Joshi Pro (do yourself a favor and see this live, you won't be disappointed, pure fun), Friday night ECW Arena Battleground to the Extreme 2, Saturday AM NXT Stand & Deliver, Saturday night Mania Night 1 and Sunday night Mania Night 2. I put a ton of stuff on my Twitter (@bird33wv) and FB for those who care, so I won't bug much in here. Love indy shows and the vibe but also loved the spectacle of Mania and that crowd was rockin both nights, so I wanted that mix.