Rob Wolkenbrod offers up his breakdown of Night 2 of WrestleMania 40 from Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, PA. — Night 2 was poised to be the climax of WrestleMania weekend for WWE, marking the culmination of numerous storylines. However, the focus leading into the weekend was squarely on one man, Cody Rhodes. The question loomed large: Would he finally achieve his long-awaited goal of finishing his story? As WrestleMania Sunday began, all eyes focused on Rhodes as he prepared to potentially etch his name in wrestling history.
With Bloodline Rules in play, along with Roman Reigns‘ dominance atop WWE for three years, it clouded whether WrestleMania 40 would culminate Rhodes’ journey to the top. But it happened anyway as the American Nightmare ended a modern-day record title run to begin his own, featuring surprise help from Seth Rollins, John Cena and The Undertaker to counter The Bloodline.
Night 2 featured surprises, once-in-a-lifetime moments, and some fun in-ring work, as analyzed by our own Rob Wolkenbrod in a special breakdown of WrestleMania 40’s second night.
Rollins and Drew McIntyre opened WrestleMania with eclectic entrances and a dramatic, hard-hitting match for the World Heavyweight Championship. While the Scottish Warrior seemingly secured his long-awaited WrestleMania moment in front of an audience, Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to spoil the celebrations, courtesy of CM Punk laying the foundation for this moment to happen.
AJ Styles might have won the battle by flying around the world to cost him a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania, but LA Knight won the war on Sunday night. It opens an avenue for the Megastar to return to the cusp of the main event scene and potentially become a Money in the Bank favorite this summer.
Meanwhile, after years of waiting, Bayley finally had her WrestleMania moment by defeating IYO SKY in a fun back-and-forth match for the WWE Women’s Championship. Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks all received their spotlight once upon a time on the Grandest Stage of Them All, so it was only appropriate for Bayley to become immortalized as well.
Bayley won the WWE Women’s Championship from her former teammate in an impressive match at WrestleMania 40.
Bayley has an Egyptian motif for her ring walk, as well as a new theme that sounds like a remix on the original Damage CTRL music. IYO SKY has a hyper version of her usual entrance, and while her teammates accompany her to the stage, they don’t come to ringside.
What starts as a few lockups spills to the floor, where SKY is fine with turning it to strikes instead. Back in the ring, the champ yells but runs into trouble by the ropes. Bayley launches into a nice suicide dive that is right on target. She rolls SKY back inside and covers for two.
Bayley misses a baseball slide kick and gets her right knee smashed into the post, followed by a leglock that tortures that same knee. The announcers frame this battle as one of familiarity born from their time together as teammates.
The crowd starts singing Bayley’s traditional song as the fight goes toward the timekeeper’s area, where Bayley catches SKY coming off the barricade and slams her onto the floor. A running knee is on target for Bayley before she fires away with punches in the corner.
A side slam puts SKY down, and Bayley earns another near fall. But IYO takes back momentum and nails a moonsault to the floor, yelling out in triumph again. A missile dropkick and a kick to the back of the neck are next, but Bayley kicks out at two.
Bayley is selling the pain to her knee, but she’s still able to execute a sunset flip powerbomb and use a small package for a near fall. SKY fires back with a bridging German suplex, then another in impressive fashion even though it’s only good for two.
SKY wants a moonsault but catches knees, though Bayley maybe shouldn’t have used her knees that way. The challenger tries for a top rope elbow, but SKY moves and applies a crossface. Bayley pivots for a pinning predicament that makes the champ break the hold, but SKY reapplies it seconds later.
Bayley is dragged back to the center of the ring, where SKY switches to an STF. Hopping on one leg once she frees herself, Bayley nails the Bayley-to-Belly and still can’t keep the champ down for three.
A quick conversation while they’re locked up ends when SKY blasts Bayley with a forearm. Bayley slaps the champ and gets slapped even harder in return. They stand and trade, with SKY rolling up Bayley for two and adding more punishment on top of it.
SKY hits the Over the Moonsault and covers, and even Michael Cole is glad Bayley manages to kick out. Bayley shrugs off a moonsault and hits the Rose Plant, but SKY more or less no sells it.
Bayley is feeling the energy from the crowd, hitting a side suplex and following with a top rope elbow. A second Rose Plant is on the mark, and Bayley has done it.
Check out the complete history of WWE Money in the Bank winners, including every briefcase winner and how they fared when cashing in.
Originally the brainchild of Chris Jericho, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match has gone from being an entertaining gimmick match to one of the most anticipated subplots of any WWE calendar year. It’s changed and expanded to multiple brands and the women’s division, and become the focus of its own event, joining the likes of WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam as one of the most important that WWE puts on.
At its core, however, is a simple and compelling idea: Whoever outfights and outwits a group of hungry competitors and grabs the namesake briefcase has a guaranteed title shot they can use any time, any place, for one year. It’s the WWE’s equivalent of a golden ticket, and the anticipation for when a briefcase might get cashed in has become drama in its own right.
As Money in the Bank has risen in prominence, its history has grown as well. Let’s take a look at a complete history of WWE Money in the Bank winners, including how the winners fared when they eventually cashed in their contracts.
See how WrestleMania 40 came to its conclusion with all the results from Night 2.
When last we saw Cody Rhodes, he was looking glum. And why not? He and Seth Rollins had just lost the most significant tag team match in WrestleMania history, one that made the likelihood of Rhodes never hearing the phrase “finish the story” again that much more unlikely.
But that was Saturday and this is Sunday, and there’s still hope that Rhodes can regain control of his narrative in the main event of WrestleMania Night 2 in Philadelphia. He’ll have to overcome Roman Reigns despite the match being contested under Bloodline Rules, which means The Rock, fresh off scoring the pinfall on Night 1, is virtually guaranteed to get involved.
Fighting back will probably mean getting some help, whether it’s from the likes of Jey Uso and Sami Zayn or WWE legends who have a bone to pick with Reigns and The Rock. There’s also a chance Reigns may have an ace up his sleeve, but however it plays out, it should be wild and entertaining.
It might not be as enjoyable for Rollins, seeing as he has to defend his World Heavyweight Championship against a very locked in Drew McIntyre. Will the Scottish Warrior win the title he craves and be able to let the world know his way was the right way?
Another emotional high point should be the WWE Women’s Championship match between IYO SKY and Bayley. While fans are heavily invested in Cody’s journey, they’ve become quite attached to Bayley’s narrative as well. It’s hard to not relate to people you thought you could trust stabbing you in the back, and while that’s standard pro wrestling fare at this point, it’s become especially poignant in the case of Damage CTRL.
We’re ready with people in the press box at the Linc, in the crowd and watching at home, so let’s do this.
WrestleMania 40 Night 2 results from Philadelphia:
(please tap or click on any match with a link for full details)
Damage CTRL and Bayley are shown entering the stadium earlier today
The War and Treaty sing “America the Beautiful” to kick things off
Stephanie McMahon is introduced, putting over the specialness of WrestleMania, touting the work of Triple H and generally getting the fans excited
… while McIntyre is mocking CM Punk on commentary, Punk removes his arm brace and smashes him with it; Damian Priest runs down, hits McIntyre with his briefcase and cashes in his MITB briefcase, then hits the South of Heaven and pins McIntyre to become the new World Heavyweight Champion
Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits def. The Final Testament by pinfall in a Six-Man Tag Team Philadelphia Street Fight, with Snoop Dogg on commentary and Bubba Ray Dudley as special guest referee
Logan Paul is shown doing push-ups in his locker room; we then see a highlight package of the Night 1 main event
Paul Heyman tells Kayla Braxton that Bloodline Rules means no DQ, no count-outs and there has to be a definitive finish, but also suggests it’s really whatever Roman Reigns, The Rock and Heyman decide they are
LA Knight is shown pulling up to the ring in the Slim Jim car; he then hands the keys to the car to the sweepstakes winner by ringside
Rhodes celebrates in the ring after his victory with Brandi, his mom and many of the faces, including Cena, Zayn, Owens, Orton, Knight, Jey Uso and more …
… Cody gets on the mic and says he’s surrounded by greatness but wants to thank both Bruce Prichard and Triple H
A look at the updated match card for WWE WrestleMania 40.
Anticipation is building for WWE’s grandest annual event, as it always brings massive hype. A month out, it seems fans know who will square off in some of the top matches of the two-day extravaganza at WrestleMania 40.
Bayley‘s Royal Rumble win propelled her to a title match at WrestleMania. While Rhea Ripley presented an intriguing matchup, once her Damage CTRL teammates turned on her, the Role Model chose to challenge IYO SKY for the WWE Women’s Championship instead.
In a surprising turn of events, Cody Rhodes told Roman Reigns on the Feb. 2 episode of SmackDown that he would not challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. While it seemed like the logical continuation of Rhodes’ storyline, one wondered how much CM Punk’s injury changed WWE’s WrestleMania plans for the top title matches.
Nevertheless, Rhodes surprised the audience by bringing out The Rock to share a face-to-face moment with Reigns in the ring, closing the show. This comes just a month after the People’s Champion proclaimed on Raw that he would “sit at the head of the table.”
However, then came the WrestleMania Kickoff event in Las Vegas on Feb. 8. Rhodes, Reigns, The Rock and Seth Rollins were all billed for it, with a teaser that the American Nightmare made his decision on what he’ll do at WrestleMania despite what happened.
The Tribal Chief tried to take matters into his own hands at the Sin City show, declaring he’ll face the People’s Champion at WrestleMania. After a handshake agreement, Rhodes interrupted the festivities and told them he wanted Reigns at Lincoln Financial Field after all.
It sparked a fierce war of words, with The Rock snapping back at Rhodes and Rollins for talking about his family. Most comments were explicit and bleeped from the Peacock broadcast as the faces traded words with the Bloodline members.
For any questions about how definitive that event’s shenanigans were, Triple H confirmed on X that Reigns vs. Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
Rollins got his own challenger at Elimination Chamber, when Drew McIntyre outlasted five other men to earn his world title shot. Becky Lynch did the same earlier on the show, and will take on Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship.
But that’s not all. After the events of the first few shows of March, a huge tag team match has been set for Night 1. Rhodes and Rollins will team together to face Reigns and The Rock with high stakes for Night 2: If Cody and Seth win, the Rhodes-Reigns rematch will be one-on-one, but if they lose the tag team match, that rematch will be fought under Bloodline Rules, meaning anything goes.
WrestleMania 40 goes down on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The full card looks set at this point, but we’ll update if needed all the way up to the weekend.
Latest update: April 5, 2024, 10:00 p.m. ET.
WWE WrestleMania 40 card:
Night 1:
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch – Women’s World Championship match
Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn – WWE Intercontinental Championship match
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 Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship (possible for the Raw and SmackDown titles to be split if two different teams retrieve them)
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi vs. Damage Control (Dakota Kai and Kabuki Warriors)
Rey Mysterio and Andrade vs. Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar
Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns and The Rock – If Rhodes and Rollins win, then all members of The Bloodline will be barred from ringside during Rhodes’s Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match against Reigns on Night 2; however, if Reigns and Rock win, then the championship match will be Bloodline Rules
Night 2:
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship match
IYO SKY (c) vs. Bayley – WWE Women’s Championship match
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton – WWE United States Championship match
The Pride (Bobby Lashley and Street Profits) vs. The Final Testament (Karrion Kross and Authors of Pain) – Six-Man Philadelphia Street Fight
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match, stipulation TBD
Hello there. If you’re reading this article, it’s probably because you know WrestleMania 40 is this weekend and WWE is hot again right now. There are all kinds of people who have watched in the past who are wandering back into pro wrestling in …
Hello there. If you’re reading this article, it’s probably because you know WrestleMania 40 is this weekend and WWE is hot again right now. There are all kinds of people who have watched in the past who are wandering back into pro wrestling in general, but there’s no question that this weekend’s event in Philadelphia is the biggest draw.
Maybe it’s caught your eye because The Rock is back. Maybe you just have friends excited about this year’s show and decided you should dive back in too and see what all the fuss is about.
But now you have a dilemma: You haven’t watched WWE in quite some time, and while some of the faces are familiar, you have no idea what’s going on outside the broadest of strokes. You can’t go to a friend’s house and watch WrestleMania and not know what you’re talking about, right?
We agree that’s less than ideal, but no worries. We’re glad you’re here and very excited you’ve chosen this point in time to reacquaint yourself with WWE. And we’re going to help you with this WrestleMania 40 guide for lapsed fans. It’s a primer that you can read and feel good about knowing the most important storylines and subplots going into this weekend’s Showcase of Immortals, presented in the time-honored FAQ style.
Let’s jump in!
It’s true. Cody Rhodes did his best to topple Roman Reigns last year in Los Angeles, riding a wave of fan support based on his compelling personal narrative: He wants to win the world championship his late, great father Dusty Rhodes never could. It was a surprise when he left WrestleMania 39 without the title, and lots of people wondered where he’d go from there.
What’s happened since then could fill an entire 1000-word article, but we’ll do the TL;DR version. Rhodes won the Royal Rumble in January, putting him in position to challenge Reigns again. Then The Rock became available, allowing WWE to do the Rock vs. Reigns match it reportedly wanted to do each of the last two years. But fans revolted and WWE was listening — something much more possible with Triple H now in charge of the company’s creative direction instead of the deposed Vince McMahon.
So The Rock turned heel and aligned himself with Reigns. That ended up giving WWE two huge matches for this weekend, as Rhodes and Seth Rollins will take on The Rock and Reigns on Saturday. If the good guys win, Reigns’ group, The Bloodline, won’t be able to interfere in the Sunday night match (as they did last year). If Rock and Reigns win Saturday, it’s Bloodline Rules on Sunday, meaning anything goes. The Rock has already promised to interfere liberally if that’s the case.
Call it the ultimate case of pivoting on the fly and landing somewhere better. The end result is a rematch from last year, yes, but with a lot more going on.
You’re really going to doubt The Rock? Actually, that’s a valid question, because it’s been 11 years since he last had a full WWE match (against John Cena at WrestleMania 29), and he suffered multiple injuries in that one. He was 40 then and is nearing 52 now.
Fortunately, both he and WWE know this, so they’ve taken some pretty impressive measures to get him ready. Also, he’ll be in a tag team match, which can be carefully plotted to avoid him having to go for like, 10 minutes straight. He’s also one of the best to ever do this. He’ll probably be fine.
Plenty. In fact, one of the reasons WWE has been firing on all cylinders again is due to the fact that it’s really been nailing the storytelling up and down the roster. The women’s championship matches for WrestleMania 40 both fall in that category.
The match that’s expected to kick off the show on Saturday features Rhea Ripley, the Australian Women’s World Champion who has become arguably the most popular woman in the company over the past year, against Becky Lynch. What’s fun about their dynamic is that Lynch has accomplished almost everything worth doing in the industry, but she still feels like an underdog because of Ripley’s incredible power and presence. They should get things off to a great start.
Some of the same undertones are in play during the Sunday title bout, where IYO SKY will defend her WWE Women’s Championship against Bayley. In this case it’s more pupil vs. teacher, as Bayley included IYO in her Damage CTRL group and helped her on her way to become champion. Alas, once IYO’s friends Asuka and Kairi Sane joined the team, they effectively started a coup and gave poor Bayley the boot — while turning her face in the process. A Bayley victory would cap this long-running tale and be very popular.
There are several, but two stand out for different reasons. Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso, the brothers who just happen to be one of the greatest tag teams of all time, have been important parts of the sags involving Reigns and The Bloodline over the past two years. They went their separate ways since last year’s WrestleMania, with Jey heading to Raw and pursuing a singles career while Jimmy stayed loyal to Roman and remained with The Bloodline on SmackDown.
Now they will face off this Saturday in a rare WrestleMania bout between brothers (it’s happened only twice before). Along with his surging popularity in his own right, Jey is tapping into some real Star Wars vibes here, even recording a “there’s still good in Jim” video this week. Except for the main events, this figures to be the most emotional match during the whole weekend.
Then for pure spectacle, there’s a six-team Ladder match for the men’s tag team titles that figures to be chaotic and wonderful. There’s also a chance that the two tag team championships, which have been unified for a while and we won’t get into here, could be split back up again in the process.
There’s certainly a chance for any or all of them to make an appearance, though nothing that’s been confirmed at the moment. John Cena has made multiple teases about doing something, then he posted something on Instagram Friday that made it seem like he was suggesting Stone Cold Steve Austin would show up. It wouldn’t be surprising if they appeared in some capacity, as it’s hard to bill something as the biggest WrestleMania of all time (though WWE tends to do that every year) and not have some of its top legends involved.
The most popular fan theory is that Rhodes and Rollins will lose their tag team match Saturday, meaning the very real threat of The Bloodline simply overrunning Cody on Sunday will loom over his match. When that happens, however, Cena, Austin and maybe The Undertaker will come to even the odds, kind of like all the heroes popping out of the portals in the climax of “Avengers: Endgame.”
Could that happen? Sure, and it would send the fans at the Linc into pandemonium if it does. For now, it’s just a theory.
It would hardly be a WrestleMania without stars from adjacent areas of sports and pop culture, right? Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill will be on hand, and will likely perform a song at some point. Lil Wayne is also going to be in Philly and has suggested he will debut a new track at WrestleMania. R&B star Coco Jones has been announced as the national anthem singer on Saturday night as well.
There have also been reports that Jason Kelce, the popular and recently retired All-Pro Philadelphia Eagles center, has been approached to appear. He likes wrestling and has the oversized personality for it, plus he’d get a crazy reaction from the fans in Philly, so it makes perfect sense.
We’ve already discussed The Rock, and we’d be worried indeed if you didn’t know him.
As for other performers you should recognize even after an extended absence, let’s do it this way …
If you’ve been away from WWE for five years …
There has been some turnover since WrestleMania 35, to be sure, but still plenty of talent will be in Philly who were also at the Meadowlands in 2019. Among them are The Miz, who will be in the six-team ladder match Saturday, and AJ Styles, who is set for a grudge match against LA Knight.
Drew McIntyre challenged Reigns five years ago but will hope for a better outcome when he tries to win the World Heavyweight Championship this year from Rollins on Sunday night.
If you’ve been away from WWE for 10 years …
We talked about Rollins, who was still part of The Shield alongside Reigns back at WrestleMania XXX. There’s also Naomi, taking part in a six-person tag match this year on a team with Bianca Belair and much-hyped newcomer (to WWE, anyway) Jade Cargill.
If you’ve been away from WWE for 20 years …
Believe it or not, there are several other wrestlers on the card other than The Rock who competed at WrestleMania XX in 2004. Randy Orton will be part of a three-way match for the United States Championship, while Rey Mysterio will team with Dragon Lee to take on his son, Dominik, and Santos Escobar.
Bayley couldn’t resist the chance to see if she could get The Rock to take her side in her feud with Michael Cole.
There are long-running WWE feuds, and then there’s Bayley and Michael Cole. Whether a heel or face, the Role Model has been tormenting the voice of WWE for years.
As she explained to our teammate Phil Strum on his Under the Ring podcast, making fun of Cole was something Bayley originally started just to break up awkward silences during WWE’s pandemic era. And it stuck from there, with Bayley rarely passing up any chance she gets to give Cole the business.
That includes while both of them were at WWE World at WrestleMania Thursday in Philadelphia. On the first day of the fan event, Bayley was on hand to take part in the WWE 2K Showdown video game tournament, while Cole was on the job.
Among other things, Cole moderated some Q&A with The Rock. As she posted to social media, Bayley couldn’t resist the chance to call for The Rock to hit Cole with a Rock Bottom.
The Rock did not, in fact, Rock Bottom Cole (though he has in the past). He did, however, find the time to turn running a little bit late for his appearance into an opportunity to troll the hometown Philadelphia Eagles, as well as invite a young fan onto the stage as a birthday surprise and treat him to a song you might have heard him sing in “Moana.”
. @TheRock might be the imposing Final Boss at the moment, but that doesn't mean he can't still make a young fan's birthday special at #WWEWorld.
WrestleMania 40 must have missed the memo: The women of WWE are more than capable of taking the helm.
WrestleMania 40 must have missed the memo: The women of WWE are more than capable of taking the helm.
Despite two strong title matches and a six-woman tag team with historic implications, WWE women will not main event either night of this year’s WrestleMania.
Instead, headlining both nights is an unfinished story and a 1,307-day title reign. The epics need an ending. For nearly four years, some version of The Bloodline has dominated the title scene, and it’s left little for those not involved in the drama. Then, an overly-calculated wrench was thrown into the works, and, to the disdain of many, The Rock returned.
(Act normal everyone, the boss is here.)
Play the tape forward. The Rock declared himself Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania opponent when Cody Rhodes backed down — a move that made zero sense story-wise, infuriated fans and ultimately led to a story redirection.
Keep fast-forwarding that tape. The Rock berated Rhodes for bailing on the match. The Rock joined The Bloodline. The Rock nicknamed himself “The Final Boss” (see: Meiko Satomura). The Rock issued a convoluted challenge to Rhodes and Seth Rollins. The result? Night 1: Rhodes and Rollins vs. Reigns and the Rock. Night 2: Rhodes vs. Reigns, shenanigans to be determined by the winner of night 1.
The WrestleMania 40 main events are by-product of a messy effort to fit every top guy into the puzzle.
That is a lot of exposition on the WrestleMania 40 main event scene for an article clearly intended to explore women’s wrestling struggles. It may seem excessive, spelling it all out, but that’s exactly the point: This is overkill. The whole mess comes off as melodramatic, hastily changed and not purposeful enough to encourage anticipation. It does capitalize on one thing, though: nostalgia.
Something else missing from this saga? Women’s wrestling.
We’ll preface by saying there have been plenty of overcomplicated stories from the women’s division that hindered their relationship with fans; they’re not immune to similar hang-ups. Remember when James Ellsworth won the Money in the Bank briefcase for Carmella? What about the Lana-Rusev-Dolph Ziggler-Summer Rae love fiasco? We can’t forget how Lacey Evans started a relationship with Ric Flair just to get under Charlotte’s skin. And let’s agree to never talk about Dawn Marie and Al Wilson.
The women and men both have had horrid stories, with obvious differences.
The mucky men’s story, though, gets the main event. The women, regardless if the feud is riveting or not, don’t get that chance nearly as much. The potential has always been there for a remarkable women’s main event; Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks delivered it at WrestleMania 37.
WWE seemingly understands the worth of its women superstars, yet still can not exceed the industry standard of booking women to fall short of their male counterparts. This leads us to where we seem to always land: WWE women deserve better.
At the time of this writing, there are 13 matches announced for WrestleMania 40, only three of them women’s bouts.
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi will face Damage CTRL (Asuka, Dakota Kai and Kairi Sane). The significance of this match can not be overstated in an industry that does not honor and respect Black women like it should. The representation has real, positive effects on the fans. Women and girls see themselves in this match and it has impact.
At the end of KNOW YOUR ROLE tonight I went on a bit of an emotional rant expressing how surreal it is to see this! A little black girl started watching at 6 yrs old .. and now 3 top women in WWE will be at Wrestlemania that look like me (minus the abs) and my daughter 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/qLoM019WWB
That’s just one side of the fight, too. Asuka, Sane and Kai are acknowledged as undeniable talent. There’s no uncertainty at the level of greatness Damage CTRL is about to hand us, easily a banner match for either night of the big show.
Continuing on, IYO SKY will defend her WWE Women’s Championship against Bayley. We all saw this coming, right? Sane returned to WWE and Bayley was left on the outside looking in at her former stable. Turning Bayley face in the process, Damage CTRL kicked Bayley out of the group, and suddenly the 2024 Royal Rumble winner knew her destiny for WrestleMania 40.
In the second of the women’s title matches, Rhea Ripley will defend her Women’s World Championship against Becky Lynch. Lynch won her shot after winning the 2024 Elimination Chamber women’s match. The story here is that both women are really good, and both want to prove it to the other.
Do the women’s matches stack up against the current main events, story-wise? Of course not. None of the women have taken center stage for nearly four years. There simply hasn’t been that type of commitment to the women’s division.
Could one of the women’s title matches carry a main event with the story they do have? Yes, if WWE had given the stories time and creative investment. The stories were built enough to give the women’s division power, but not enough that would give them undisputable access to a main event.
Do the main events necessarily need a larger-than-life story? Honestly? Yes. WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year for the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. Fans need a finale. WWE is story-focused, and putting a technical masterclass as a main event will just not sell to its current fanbase.
Does any story need to take up the main event of both nights, one of which will be a match with certain interference overload? No. It’s too much. The Cody-Roman saga has taken enough airtime already.
IYO SKY and Bayley would be an easy main event for night 1, especially if you’re putting the six-woman tag match on before. The narrative is there.
Bayley has an incredible talent for pulling fans to her corner of the ring, whether she’s face or heel. She is a wrestling standard, a pillar of WWE. So is SKY. They could end their tale in a way that doesn’t sacrifice entertainment for predictability.
Ripley vs. Lynch doesn’t have a big story to lean on. They may not need one. Both women are admired for their talent in the ring. Some feuds are just fine as, “I run this show, and I’m going to prove it to you.”
Really driving the point home, Lynch and Bayley have recently gone on record with their thoughts on women taking the lead at WrestleMania.
“I would never say that two women shouldn’t be main-eventing a WrestleMania; especially at the caliber of Rhea and Becky.”
Continuing, Bayley told McCarthy it was her spot to take.
“With all due respect, I would like to take that [main event]. Rhea, you’re very young.”
Lynch, too, spoke out on getting the recognition she is owed, telling Under the Ring’s Phil Strum women’s wrestling shouldn’t exist separately from wrestling as a whole.
“When it becomes too much like ‘look at this historical women’s whatever, insert x,’ it kind of starts to feel a little condescending,” Lynch told Strum. “And I didn’t want that, I don’t want that in general. I just want to get opportunity based on the good work that I’ve done.”
Lynch makes a strong point: Women shouldn’t get opportunities just because they’re women. The goal of equality is for those lines to disappear, not bolden.
So, while this article argues for WWE women to get their chance at running the show, it’s not because they are women. Systematically, there has been an imbalance in treatment of the divisions, despite the amount of talent in the women’s ranks. Women in sports just want to be known as athletes and as advocates. That’s our endgame.
Predictably, almost methodically, the women’s division is looking at less than one-fourth of the WrestleMania 40 card. That’s not taking into account the potential ratio of match time, either.
It shouldn’t take hashtag movements or written essays to convince wrestling to treat women like athletes who deserve their spot. Frustratingly, it takes the motivation and determination of promoters to move that needle. Movements have no power if those in power don’t make the moves. How long do fans and women wrestlers have to shout before those moves are made?
The women of WWE have proven themselves capable of taking the wheel. The trust is there. The desire is noticeable. The clamor exists. The WrestleMania 40 card might already be set in stone, but the work for next year begins now.
A look at WWE’s match card for night 2 of WrestleMania 40.
Once again, WrestleMania takes place over two electrifying nights. Set to unfold from April 6 to 7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, this year’s event promises to be a spectacle, spotlighting WWE’s top talents and culminating the year’s top storylines.
Night 1’s main event has implications for night 2’s headlining match, Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Should Rhodes and Seth Rollins emerge victorious, all members of The Bloodline will be banned from ringside on night 2. However, should Reigns and Rock win, the championship match will be Bloodline Rules.
Rollins will also compete on night 2, defending the World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre. While the spotlight has focused on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, don’t overlook this match, as it stands among the weekend’s top bouts. The Architect puts his near-year-long title reign on the line against a superstar riding a wave of momentum, both in the ring and on the microphone, and though this won’t main event, it should prove noteworthy.
With Damage CTRL ousting her from the group, Bayley will use her Royal Rumble win by challenging IYO SKY for the WWE Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. It’s an opportunity for Bayley to receive a moment years in the making, and Philadelphia could be where she shines.
Recall when AJ Styles flew around the world to cost LA Knight a WrestleMania title match? After weeks of escalating tensions, the stage is set for these two to clash and settle the score once and for all.
WrestleMania night 2 goes down on Sunday, April 7 from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Latest update: April 1, 2024, 9:53 p.m. ET.
WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 2 card:
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes – Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match
Seth Rollins (c) vs. Drew McIntyre – World Heavyweight Championship match
IYO SKY (c) vs. Bayley – WWE Women’s Championship match
Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton – WWE United States Championship match
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament – Philadelphia Street Fight
Another thing to watch for on SmackDown: Which tag teams will win their way into the Six-Pack Ladder match at WrestleMania?
As I count myself among them, I feel comfortable saying this: Wrestling fans aren’t always the most patient bunch. A not insignificant percentage of them have been clamoring for the debut of Jade Cargill, for instance, and that’s finally happening tonight on WWE SmackDown in Uncasville, Conn.
WWE clearly was in no hurry to rush the former AEW champion into the fray, despite an impressive debut earlier this year at Royal Rumble. Part of it was likely getting Cargill used to the WWE style of in-ring work, given that she’s still not super experienced compared to many of the company’s other wrestlers.
But the other part was making sure Jade could have the proper impact at a time when storytelling is so strong up and down the card, so it will be interesting to see what’s been cooked up for her.
There seems to be a logical foil for her in Damage CTRL, which still has a lot of power on SmackDown between IYO SKY and the Kabuki Warriors. Could we see Cargill come to the aid of some of the faces who have been standing against the group?
If so, that could even lead to a spot for Jade in a multi-person match at WrestleMania, which would be a good way to use her.
Speaking of WrestleMania, two tag team matches tonight will fill the final two spots in the Six-Pack Ladder match for the men’s tag team titles, which should be a spectacle. Our picks are Street Profits and New Catch Republic, though the former may get caught up in their larger feud with The Final Testament.
Let’s see what this show has in store for us.
WWE SmackDown results from Uncasville:
(please scroll down for more details on any match or segment in bold)
A brief clip of The Rock’s attack on Cody Rhodes from Raw is played, and we see Bianca Belair and Dakota Kai entering the arena earlier today
Pretty Deadly def Randy Orton and Kevin Owens by pinfall … but only because Logan Paul sneaks out from under the ring and lays out KO with brass knux
Alas, Orton realizes that Paul is probably still under the ring and drags him back out, but Pretty Deadly ensure he doesn’t get driven through the announce table … then pay for it by eating a Stunner and an RKO; Paul is chased by Orton and Owens to the back, where he jumps into a Corvette and speeds off
IYO SKY cuts a promo calling Bayley a narcissist and taking fans to task for siding with her, but just as she’s wrapping up, Bayley appears and attacks her, tearing up the photo backdrop until they can be separated
Jade Cargill signs on the dotted line with SmackDown
Kayla Braxton talks with Damage CTRL, and Dakota Kai wants to know why there’s a fuss being made over Cargill and Bayley before turning her attention to Belair, who she faces tonight in the main event
After Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn get only a passing moment of Aldis’ time, AJ Styles angrily expresses his displeasure with the GM’s actions to ensure LA Knight won’t be here tonight; elsewhere Bobby Lashley and B-Fab fire up the Street Profits
Austin Theory and Grayson Waller def. Street Profits by pinfall in a WrestleMania Six-Pack Ladder Match qualifier; the critical moment comes when Karrion Kross appears on the big screen and shows that he and Scarlett have beaten up Lashley and the B-Fab in the back, and after the match, Kross and the Authors of Pain beat down the Profits … and eventually Lashley
Santos Escobar wants to thank Dominik Mysterio for helping him against Rey Mysterio, which brings the Hall of Famer to the ring with the LWO flanking him; their discussion turns into a challenge: Rey and a partner of his choosing vs. Escobar and Dom, with Rey revealing that his partner will be the newest member of the LWO, Dragon Lee …
… but a brawl breaks out after Zelina Vega and Elektra Lopez light the spark, which is eventually won by the LWO
Bianca gets well wishes from Naomi, who says she has Belair’s back if Damage CTRL plays the numbers game
The Judgment Day wants to know why Dom went and freelanced and they don’t seem super thrilled with his response, but Finn Balor calms everyone else down
New Catch Republic def. Angel and Berto by a pinfall in a WrestleMania Six-Pack Ladder Match qualifier
A replay of The Rock’s attack on Cody Rhodes on Raw is played, including his continuation of said attack even after the show went off the air
Paul Heyman appears and insists that The Rock took out Rhodes by order of the Tribal Chief; Solo Sikoa says he’ll see Jey Uso next week and take him out by orders of the Tribal Chief
AJ Styles wants to chat about home invasions, but LA Knight launches an in-arena invasion this time
A Tiffany Stratton hype video features her promising to show everyone what Tiffy Time is all about
Bianca Belair def. Dakota Kai by pinfall, and both Naomi and Jade eventually help her fight off a post-match attack by Damage CTRL
Jade Cargill signs on the dotted line with SmackDown
GM Nick Aldis says his only goal since assuming the position was to make SmackDown the very best show, and he believes signing this superstar will take him another step closer to that goal. Yes, he’s talking about Jade, who looks unbelievable as always as she heads to the ring.
Cargill says it’s about damn time after she signs the contract offered by Aldis. She says SmackDown has one of the best female rosters in the world, but they aren’t her, a once-in-a-lifetime superstar. Jade says she has a weather update: The storm has arrived.
AJ Styles may have provoked LA Knight a bit too much
Styles blames the fans for being the reason that Knight came to his house and assaulted him in the front yard. Now AJ wants the biggest possible spotlight so he can expose him as “the overachieving, undertalented piece of trash that he is.”
Despite Aldis asking him to stay away, Styles guarantees Knight is there and dares him to come to the ring. A guy in a hoodie jumps over the barricade, but it’s not the Megastar and he gets led away by security.
Oh but Knight is there, wearing glasses and a wig. He gets the best of a small scrap, then hops on the announce table to vow that he’ll get the dub when they collide at WrestleMania.
Bianca Belair takes down Dakota Kai, and a storm comes to help her afterward
Kai has not wrestled all that much since her return from injury, but she’s looked good when she has and we’d expect that to continue here. Bianca shows off her ridiculous strength with rolling suplexes like it’s no big deal.
There’s cool camera work coming out of a commercial break, with the camera circling the ring and capturing the action from every angle. The presentation continues to be very up close and tight on the wrestlers for a bit, though it does switch back to the hard cam at times.
The fans get an “EST” chant going as Kai is taunting her. Bianca is able to hoist Dakota from the other side of the ropes into a deadlift suplex, one of those moves that makes you go “damn.”
The KOD follows quickly to end it, but the Kabuki Warriors jump the victor as soon as the bell rings. As she promised, Naomi comes running down to help Bianca, but the numbers are against our heroes. The fans eventually realize what’s going on and chant for Jade Cargill, who obliges and strides to the ring.
Cargill quickly mows through Kai and the Warriors, locking eyes on Asuka who has escaped the worst of it. Six-woman tag at WrestleMania, anyone?
