If you’re anything like me, you’re probably still in utter shock and disbelief at what we witnessed in the closing moments of the WWE Elimination Chamber event this past Saturday night. They actually did it. John Cena turned heel! Oh, and he did so right after winning the men’s chamber match to book his WWE title shot against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41 no less. Immediately, what might have been a battle between the biggest babyfaces of the last two eras got a major jolt. One could argue that it is now easily the biggest match on the WrestleMania 41 card.
Of course, Cena’s heel turn and alliance with The Rock wasn’t the only big storyline to come out of the WWE Elimination Chamber. Following this weekend’s action in Toronto, we have four confirmed WrestleMania matches and plenty of other leads on what else will be on the card in Las Vegas this April. The question for diehard wrestling fans is naturally what else will be featured on the card at “The Showcase of Immortals”?
WrestleMania 41 Match Card Predictions
If you’re looking for some potential spoilers, then this article is for you. Last year, there were a total of 14 matches on the WrestleMania card. So, we’re going to set out to make 14 WrestleMania 41 match predictions. In the aftermath of Elimination Chamber, four of these matches are confirmed (or are they?). That still leaves the vast majority of the WrestleMania card hanging in the balance where we will have to rely on educated predictions for the time being.
Using what transpired in Toronto along with apparent feuds that have been simmering for some time now on both RAW and SmackDown, here is our attempt at predicting the entire WrestleMania 41 match card!
Confirmed WrestleMania 41 Matches
Undisputed WWE Championship Match: Cody Rhodes (c) vs John Cena
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Gunther (c) vs Jey Uso
Women’s WWE Championship Match: Tiffany Stratton (c) vs Charlotte Flair
Women’s World Championship Match: Iyo Sky (c) vs Bianca Belair
With the results of the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber events, we now know each of the four main event title matches that will go down at WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas. There is, however, a potential caveat to the latter of these matches listed above that results in the first of our WrestleMania match card predictions.
While Bianca Belair won the women’s chamber match on Saturday to guarantee her title opportunity, her date with Rhea Ripley was not yet finalized. This is because Ripley still needed to face Iyo Sky for the women’s world title, a match that took place on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. In a shocking turn of events, Sky actually defeated Ripley on RAW to win the Women’s World Championship.
So here we are. On the surface, WWE appears to have traded in a blockbuster WrestleMania 41 match between Ripley and Belair for one between Belair and Sky. Although Sky is a tremendous in-ring talent, there is very little storyline juice between the two. However, I’m not so sure Ripley is out of the picture just yet. The nature in which she allowed Belair’s presence at ringside to cost herself the title won’t sit well. We could very well be looking at Ripley returning to heel form to force her way back into this title match. All of that to say, I’m predicting that this ultimately becomes a triple-threat match.
WrestleMania 41 Match Predictions
Randy Orton vs Kevin Owens
It’s funny, I was all over Randy Orton to return at the Royal Rumble last month. That never came to fruition and I admittedly sort of forgot about him. Well, “The Viper” is back with a vengeance for Kevin Owens, who sidelined him for months as part of his package piledriver rampage. Orton returned at Elimination Chamber following the epic unsanctioned match between Owens and Sami Zayn. What was formerly Team R-KO will go to war at WrestleMania.
Jade Cargill vs Naomi
Fans at the Rogers Centre had barely settled into their seats when Jade Cargill delivered the first surprise of the night at Elimination Chamber. Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were officially vindicated on Saturday night as Cargill delivered a brutal beatdown to Naomi, clearly indicating that she was responsible for one of the most drawn-out mystery attacks in recent memory. With the tag team titles gone and Belair occupied with a world title match, the runway is clear for Cargill and Naomi to do battle in Las Vegas.
Drew McIntyre vs Damian Priest
Going back over a year, Drew McIntyre has blamed everyone but himself for his failures and shortcomings. His character’s refusal to accept responsibility will naturally lead to a one-on-one showdown with Damian Priest at WrestleMania. After all, Priest has now eliminated him from both the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber. Keep in mind it was also Priest who cashed in Money in the Bank on McIntyre to win the world title at WrestleMania last year. This feud and storyline runs deeper than some might realize.
CM Punk vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns
The seeds for this triple-threat match were planted years ago and really began to sprout at the Royal Rumble. CM Punk eliminated both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns from the match before getting dumped over the top rope himself. The brawl that ensued between the three men ended with Rollins stomping Reigns’ face into the steel steps. We haven’t heard from or seen the OTC since, with the exception of an X post that “receipts are coming” just this past week. Clearly, Reigns has a score to settle with Rollins.
In the wake of Elimination Chamber, the same can now be said of Punk. Rollins delivered on his word and ensured that Punk’s dreams of main-eventing WrestleMania died on Saturday night. Punk has largely been the “bigger man” in the dynamic with Rollins, but that can officially go out the window. Factor in the favor that Paul Heyman still owes Punk after soliciting his assistance at Survivor Series: WarGames in the fall and it seems pretty safe to assume this blockbuster triple threat will be on the WrestleMania 41 match card.
Liv Morgan vs Alexa Bliss
Alexa Bliss has had little character development since returning at the Royal Rumble, and thus is a bit of a wild card. However, it seems reasonable to believe a date with Liv Morgan is in store at WrestleMania, especially after Morgan was responsible for her demise in the chamber match. The fact that Morgan is currently a women’s tag team champion allows for run-ins with Bliss despite the former being on the RAW roster and the latter having appeared exclusively on SmackDown.
The Wyatt Sicks and Judgment Day factions could easily become part of the storyline as well. In fact, I’ll go that one step further. Could it be Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs Bliss and Nikki Cross for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships?
Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs AJ Styles
This match has already been teased on multiple episodes of RAW. However, it’s clear that WWE is dragging the storyline out, otherwise Bron Breakker and AJ Styles could easily be fighting for the title this week. Expect nothing short of a WrestleMania barn-burner is this match becomes official.
United States Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs LA Knight
LA Knight is officially the No. 1 contender for Shinsuke Nakamura’s United States Championship. Of course, this won’t be their first encounter, as Nakamura initially beat Knight for the belt shortly after making his return. However, there’s some unfinished business here. Unless there’s going to be a match in the interim in which Nakamura retains, it appears the two are now on a WrestleMania collision course.
Jacob Fatu vs Solo Sikoa
The dynamic between Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga remains messy at this juncture. Sikoa has been professing his love for Fatu ever since returning. However, the “Samoan Werewolf” clearly isn’t bought into the idea of a full reunion. This will break down at some point in the coming weeks on SmackDown and lead to the inevitable match being made.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match: #DIY (c) vs Motor City Machine Guns vs The Street Profits vs Pretty Deadly
The tag team division on SmackDown has been running hot for several weeks now. With no possible way to exclude one of these teams from a shot at the titles, I fully expect all of them to be involved with some sort of stipulation (probably a ladder match) at WrestleMania. Note that Los Garza could easily be in the mix as a fifth combatant or in place of one of these teams as well. However, their status as underlings to Santos Escobar make them the most likely candidate to be left out if WWE sticks with four teams as its cutoff.
Logan Paul vs Sami Zayn
If Randy Orton and Kevin Owens are indeed destined to do battle, where does that leave Sami Zayn? Furthermore, what is WWE supposed to do with Logan Paul, one who us wrestling purists despise but who will also need to be shoehorned into the WrestleMania match card somehow? I’m definitely coming out of left field with this one, but it’s possible. After all, Zayn’s only other realistic option based on recent storylines is Karrion Kross, and he hasn’t set foot in the ring in forever.
Notable Superstar Omissions
Keep in mind that we made our WrestleMania 41 match card predictions above utilizing the same number of matches that took place across the two-night event one year ago. There could be more this year. Given some of the notable names and top wrestlers in the list below that would not have a spot on the card, one has to believe that more surprises are coming:
- Penta
- Chad Gable
- Sheamus
- Santos Escobar
- Finn Balor
- Wyatt Sicks
- Jimmy Uso
- Chelsea Green
- Bayley
Yes, there will once again be the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and possibly a WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal as well. That said, the names listed above all feel capable of much more.
Bonus Prediction: Pat McAfee vs “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio
How about a bonus match prediction for the road? Pat McAfee probably won’t step away from the commentary desk to do battle with Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania, but dammit, I wish it would happen. McAfee has become a natural at slipping “Dirty Dom” insults into commentary regularly. Hell, he did so at Elimination Chamber, and Mysterio wasn’t even involved with the card whatsoever. A man can dream, right?
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok for more great FlurrySports content.
