Tag: Seth Rollins

WrestleMania 40 Night 2 results: Cody Rhodes gets the help he needs to defeat Roman Reigns

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
  • Drew McIntyre def. Seth Rollins by pinfall to become the new World Heavyweight Champion, but …
  • … 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
  • LA Knight def. AJ Styles by pinfall
  • Logan Paul def. Kevin Owens and Randy Orton by pinning Orton to retain the WWE United States Championship
  • Bayley def. IYO SKY by pinfall to become the new WWE Women’s Champion
  • Snoop Dogg and the Philadelphia Eagles reveal the announced attendance: 72,755 for Night 2 and 145,298 total for the two nights
  • Cody Rhodes def. Roman Reigns by pinfall in a Bloodline Rules match to become the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, in a match that also involved both Usos, Solo Sikoa, John Cena, The Rock, “Shield era” Seth Rollins and The Undertaker
  • 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

WrestleMania 40: Biggest takeaways from Night 1

Look back at WrestleMania 40 Night 1 and ahead to what’s next for its winners and losers.

Since 1985, WrestleMania has been utilized as a way to showcase WWE and its biggest stars.

But as the 40th edition of the “Showcase of the Immortals” descended upon Philadelphia this week, it was clear that the event that was once a single day with a 1 p.m. start time has grown into a cultural happening for wrestling fans.

It’s a place where fans from opposite corners of the planet with nothing in common other than an undying love for professional wrestling can quickly bond and create lasting memories together.

Heck, you may even find Eagles and Cowboys fans putting away their differences for a week all in the name of pro wrestling.

There are wrestling shows, meet and greets, parties, and even a wrestling block party on South Street — and that was just Saturday.

But while all of those events are meaningful in their own right, the main course is still WrestleMania, which has also seen its share of growth over the years. WrestleMania XL on Saturday was simply the latest piece of evidence.

Here are my takeaways from a brutally cold night at Lincoln Financial Field:

Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes is shaping up to be a chaotic affair

It was an all-too-familiar scene for Cody Rhodes Saturday night as for the second year in a row, he was left sitting dejectedly in the ring while Roman Reigns — joined this time by The Rock — celebrated another victory over him.

Because of that result, Rhodes’ Undisputed Universal Championship match against Reigns will now take place under Bloodline Rules, which basically means there are no rules.

Within the story, it means Rhodes will be entering the match in a great deal of peril.

Rhodes and his partner Seth Rollins fell short against Reigns and The Rock Saturday and there was no interference. There was no sign of Solo Sikoa, and Jimmy Uso was still recovering from his defeat at the hands of his brother, Jey Uso, earlier in the night.

Sure, The Rock used his “Mama Rhodes” weight belt to help his team earn the win, but there isn’t a ton of wiggle room for Rhodes to dispute the outcome. Simply put, Rhodes and Rollins got beat. 

Now, Rhodes will have to try to do this all over again, except this time, The Bloodline can do whatever they want given that there are no rules.

However, the lack of rules also extends to Rhodes, who I expect will have a lot of backup during the title match. 

The result could be a chaotic, overbooked mess — and I would love every second of it.

The main event isn’t just the culmination of Rhodes’ story. It is the culmination of so many others as well. The Bloodline saga has incorporated so many characters since it began in 2020, it would only make sense for them to have a role in the climax of one of the best stories in wrestling history.

It’s a story that has drawn comparisons to the Avengers, which makes sense given WWE employs a former Marvel writer (Rob Fee).

While “Infinity War” ended on a bleak note, “Endgame” saw the heroes overcome Thanos and save the day. Will Rhodes enjoy a similar fate Sunday night?

Side note: The Rock’s entrance may have been the best in WrestleMania history.

Will we get Rhodes vs. Rock in the future?

One detail that some may have missed Saturday night was The Rock pinned Rhodes to win the match.

To me, that leaves the door open for a possible match between these two in the future. It doesn’t seem that far-fetched given all of the physicality between the two even before WrestleMania. 

But then during the post-show press conference Saturday, The Rock hinted that part of the reason why he returned to WWE (and joined TKO overall) was to build something not just for WrestleMania XL, but for the future as well.

Nothing is guaranteed, but I think it is something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Sami Zayn ends Gunther’s reign

The last two WrestleManias have been very kind to Sami Zayn.

Last year, he closed out Night 1 with an emotional victory for the tag team titles alongside his best friend, Kevin Owens.

This year, Owens was the last person to lend Zayn words of encouragement before he walked through the curtain to challenge the longest-reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Gunther.

And once again, Zayn walked away with gold.

In what was in my opinion the best match of the evening, Zayn ended Gunther’s historic 666-day reign (was it a bad omen for Gunther?) with a pair of Helluva Kicks to become the new Intercontinental Champion. It is Zayn’s first singles championship since he held the same title back in 2022.

One aspect of the Bloodline story that I don’t think is talked about enough is how it has developed multiple people into major stars, and Zayn is a prime example. 

Zayn was an over enough heel that he was slotted into a match with “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville at WrestleMania in 2022. But once that was over, he was kind of … just there

But then Zayn began his attempts to join the Bloodline. Fast forward to 2024 and Zayn enjoyed an emotional moment in the ring with his family in front of more than 70,000 people. 

What a time.

What’s next for Rhea Ripley?

Mami proved once again that she is still on top after she defeated Becky Lynch in the night’s opening match to retain her WWE Women’s World Championship.

The match itself was good, but it left me with one question: What’s next for Rhea Ripley?

The Raw women’s division doesn’t have a slew of credible challengers lined up for Ripley. Lynch was easily the most credible, but Ripley has already beaten her clean in the middle of the ring.

Based on the reaction Ripley received in Philadelphia (and everywhere else), she is one of WWE’s biggest stars at the moment. I’d imagine WWE will have something planned. However, that does not mean it will be anything of real consequence.

WWE makes the right decision to split the tag titles

Anyone that knows me and how I view professional wrestling knows that I am usually against having split championships.

The NFL doesn’t split up the Super Bowl title. It goes to one team and one team only. That’s what makes it special.

For me, the same applies to pro wrestling, as I am typically in favor of having one title per division. That means one world title, one set of tag team titles, etc.

However, I am not unreasonable. I understand that WWE has placed itself under the unique circumstances of having a massive roster of wrestlers that need their respective time to shine. Five hours of television (not counting NXT) is simply not enough to feature them all, which means they are divided up into their own brands, and those brands come with their own set of championships.

I understand that. I’m not usually in favor of it, but I understand. That is why I am on board with WWE deciding to split up the undisputed tag titles and go back to having Raw titles and Smackdown titles.

Entering WrestleMania 40, each brand already had its own set of championships. The only one that was undisputed were the tag team championships.

I guess you could make the case that Reigns is the top champion in WWE since he is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and since the universe is bigger than the world (looking at you, World Heavyweight Championship), you could make the case that those titles are not on equal footing.

But when it comes to WWE’s tag team division, there is no hierarchy. Both titles are very much on equal footing.

WWE’s tag team division is pretty stacked at the moment. There’s young talent on both shows that did not appear at WrestleMania. It only makes sense to give each show its own set of titles so that more teams can be featured at a given time.

Also, it probably cuts down on the wear and tear that comes with appearing on both shows on a regular basis.

I think Austin Theory and Grayson Waller walking away with the Smackdown titles was a smart decision by WWE. They’re young, they’re talented, and I believe they have a bright future ahead of them. However, they still need time to develop into the top singles stars I think they are capable of being. 

A good way to help them eventually get to that point is to develop together as tag team champions. It’s a method that has been proven to work with countless others in the past. Legends such as Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Batista, just to name a few, all started as one half of a tag team or as a member of a larger group before spinning off to become bigger stars. 

Whether Waller and Theory will reach those same heights remain to be seen, but I do believe they are on the right track.

On the opposite end of the spectrum would be R-Truth and The Miz, collectively known as the Awesome Truth. Truth and Miz have decades of experience between them and have enjoyed a recent run of success, mainly due to the fans simply loving Truth and his shenanigans. 

It was great to see Truth have a WrestleMania moment after all of these years. He’s gone from K-Kwik to the first Black NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and on this one Saturday, he sat atop the ladder before 70,000-plus who were all thrilled to see him become a champion.

Bah gawd, that’s Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson’s music!

Wrestling fans from around the world may or may not have cared, but wrestling fans from Philadelphia most certainly cared that recently-retired center Jason Kelce and tackle Lane Johnson not only appeared at WrestleMania, but were also involved in a match.

In the latter stages of the tag team match that pitted Rey Mysterio and Andrade against Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio, two large men wearing luchador masks hopped over the guardrail and prevented Dirty Dom from bringing a steel chair into the ring.

One of the masked men then tossed Dom into the ring post before throwing him back into the ring so he could receive a call from the 619 area code to end the match.

The men then hopped into the ring to reveal themselves to be Kelce and Johnson.

For the uninitiated, Kelce is among the best centers of all time and delivered the best Super Parade speech ever. He also co-hosts the popular “New Heights” podcast alongside his brother, Travis Kelce. I think Travis dates Taylor Swift or something.

Johnson is arguably the best tackle in the NFL and is always willing to cut a Steve Austin-esque promo. 

He also recently worked out with Seth Rollins at the NovaCare Complex, the Eagles’ headquarters.

Maybe it wasn’t for everyone, but as a Philadelphian — and former Eagles employee — I was here for it.

Yes, the crowd was cold — literally

If you watched WrestleMania from the comfort of your own home, you were guaranteed to be warmer than the 72,543 fans in attendance at Lincoln Financial Field who had to endure a brutally cold night in Philadelphia.

Just a week or two ago, it was 70 degrees and sunny in Philly. On Saturday night, the temperate dipped into the 40s with some gusts of wind to boot. It felt more like an Eagles playoff game than WrestleMania.

While it didn’t sour my personal experience, I do understand why others weren’t as enthralled, which I’m sure contributed to the lack of noise you heard at times during the event.

Philadelphia fans have a reputation for being vocal, especially when it comes to wrestling. However, not all of the fans at Lincoln Financial Field were from the Philly area, and they probably didn’t dress warm enough to prepare for the bone-chilling temperatures.

I wore a jacket with a hoodie underneath and was still kind of cold. There were plenty of cool WrestleMania fits on display Saturday night, but not all of them were ready to endure a chilly night in Philadelphia.

If someone traveled to WrestleMania, they probably didn’t pack a winter coat, which is what would have been the appropriate attire for Saturday night.

The cold is the only explanation I have for why WWE had a few production hiccups during the show, which is not what you would expect from WWE in general, but especially so at WrestleMania.

I’ll be attending Sunday night’s show as well and will be sure to dress even warmer.

WrestleMania 40 Night 1 reactions: The Rock delivers while Cody Rhodes withers

Wrestling Junkie’s Rob Wolkenbrod analyzes WrestleMania’s first four hours of festivities.

Philadelphia, PA. — WWE hyped WrestleMania 40 as “The Greatest WrestleMania ever,” setting a lofty standard. Yet, with The Rock returning for his first full-length match in over a decade and WWE riding high both financially and creatively, there was a real chance it could live up to the billing and become the best WrestleMania to date.

Just one night at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia isn’t enough to definitively declare WrestleMania 40 as the greatest. However, it undeniably delivered a memorable evening of sports entertainment, or as Paul Heyman emphatically said during his WWE Hall of Fame speech, professional wrestling.

Night 1 was packed with excitement, from a main event featuring four future WWE Hall of Famers to the conclusion of several title reigns, as analyzed by our own Rob Wolkenbrod in a special breakdown of WrestleMania’s opening four hours of festivities.

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch, a match undeniably deserving of a WrestleMania main event slot, opened Night 1 for the Women’s World Championship. If not for The Rock’s return, perhaps this would have claimed the top slot on April 6, but to open a highly anticipated show, they still performed in front of an excited, invested crowd. The match result never seemed in doubt, however, as Ripley retained the title to continue her year-long reign.

Gunther‘s 666-day run as Intercontinental Champion ended in dramatic fashion, taking the rarely-seen-in-WWE brainbuster and a Helluva Kick from Sami Zayn in arguably the match of the night. Though it did not go the distance of other bouts on the card, this had the feel-good story of WWE’s favorite underdog overcoming all the odds to win on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

Let’s not forget the main event either. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins faced off against The Rock and Roman Reigns with high stakes involved. If Rock and Reigns emerged victorious, Reigns’ match with Rhodes on Night 2 of WrestleMania 40 for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship would be designated as a Bloodline Rules match. And with the result of the night 1 main event, expect chaos in the closing match of the weekend.

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The Rock and Roman Reigns def. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40: Best photos

Check out these photos from The Rock and Roman Reigns’ victory over Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia.

Check out these photos from [autotag]The Rock[/autotag] and [autotag]Roman Reigns[/autotag]’ victory over [autotag]Cody Rhodes[/autotag] and [autotag]Seth Rollins[/autotag] at WrestleMania 40 Night 1, which took place April 6 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, setting up the “Bloodline Rules” stipulation for the main event of Night 2. (Photos by Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports, Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

WrestleMania 40 results: ‘Cody is screwed’ as The Rock, Roman Reigns triumph

A People’s Elbow finished Cody Rhodes and meant the Night 2 main event of WrestleMania will be Bloodline Rules.

Cody Rhodes rises from the floor to start his ring walk and plenty of pyro to boot. As befitting his role as WWE’s top face, he gives a fist bump to a young fan along the ramp.

Seth Rollins manages to outdo himself with his entrance gear, which is hard if you’ve been following his career.

The graphics for The Rock are unreal, playing off his Final Boss moniker more than ever before. He stands in a flaming version of the Brahma Bull tattoo and holds up the People’s Championship he was given by Muhammad Ali’s widow at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

Pat McAfee enthusiastically discusses Roman Reigns while he makes his usual deliberate walk down the ramp. Samantha Irvin does the intros for each of the four combatants one by one.

After the bell rings, there’s plenty of discussion among the two duos before we end up with Reigns and Rollins starting out. Seth gets an early taste of Roman’s power, and the Tribal Chief laughs about it with The Rock.

Rhodes tags in and gives us the first preview of tomorrow night’s main event. Roman gets the first shots in, backing Cody into the corner with a clothesline and right hands. Michael Cole puts the idea forward that everyone but The Rock is risking injury for their Night 2 matches.

The Rock reaches out and enters the WWE ring for the first time in eight years. He circles with Rollins before locking up, tossing Seth backwards with ease. The first shot from Rollins gets the fans to sing, to which The Rock only gives a little nod — and fans start chanting “Rocky” in response.

The famous “just bring it” gesture is done toward Rhodes, who asks for and gets a tag from Rollins. The noise really gets loud as dueling chants break out for Cody and Rock, with Rhodes getting in a series of offensive moves in the corner. A tag is made to Rollins for some double team offense, and Reigns gets a Sling Blade from Rollins when he attempts to lend a hand.

The ref tries to settle things down with all four men in the ring, so the battle simply moves outside. Rollins drinks some Prime and spits in Rock’s face right in front of The Rock’s mom. The beep-out guy is asleep at the wheel as The Rock drops an f-bomb on the ref.

Rhodes suplexes Reigns on the stage as The Rock continues battling Rollins elsewhere in the crowd. The Rock gets some water and spits some in Seth’s face for some payback.

Rollins comes off the barricade and hits The Rock with a double axhandle. They fight back into the ring, where the Final Boss has the upper hand. He wraps Rollins’ left leg around the post more than once. Are we going to get back to a real tag team match? Maybe as Reigns tags in.

Continuing the assault on Seth’s left knee, Reigns grabs a half crab. Roman smacks him with strikes, but he takes a moment to knock Rhodes off the apron and gets sent to the floor.

Roman pauses to throw one finger in the air for acknowledgement. The Rock is back in now, and Rollins is still getting ragdolled. He finally hits a neckbreaker on Roman when the Head of the Table is once again legal, but The Rock tags himself back in and drags Seth to the enemy corner. Rock hits a blatant low blow on Seth, and the ref apologizes to Cody claiming there’s nothing he can do about it.

Unable to get a tag, Seth ends up in a Sharpshooter from The Rock. Rhodes wanders in and smacks The Rock, and the good guys double team until Rollins hits the Stomp on the Final Boss.

Rollins finally makes the hot tag to Rhodes, who opens up for a flurry on the Tribal Chief that ends with a powerslam. A Disaster Kick and Cody Cutter land, but Reigns kicks out at two.

Reigns gets a near fall of his own with a Superman punch. Roman rushes in for a spear but gets countered by a springboard shoulder tackle, and Rollins tags in and hits a top rope splash for a near fall. Paul Heyman complains about the fans singing for Seth, and Reigns recovers to powerbomb his old Shield teammate.

The faces hit a series of superkicks, a Stomp and Cross Rhodes in quick succession, but The Rock pulls the ref out of the ring when Cody looks like he’s got it won. Michael Cole is especially disgusted now.

Reigns locks Rhodes in a guillotine choke, and when The Rock flaunts his immunity to the rules by pulling on Cody’s leg from the floor, Seth hits a Stomp on Roman to break the hold.

The Rock gets his weight belt and starts yelling at Mama Rhodes, who gives it back to him. Cody gets the belt shortly and the ref disposes of it. Rhodes hammers Rock with punches and a Bionic Elbow, but The Rock responds with a spinebuster on the Prime bottle.

A People’s Elbow is countered by a Cody Cutter, and Reigns returns to the fray as well. Reigns has a spear lined up, but Rhodes moves and The Rock takes the move. Cody and Seth hit stereo Pedigrees, then both go to cover, but Reigns and The Rock kick out at the same time.

Rollins comes off the top and takes out Reigns on the floor while The Rock clears the Spanish announce table. Rhodes ends up giving The Rock a Rock Bottom from one announce table through the other, and Reigns spears Rhodes through the barricade right after that.

Reigns and Rhodes are legal once again, and Cody is getting peppered with right hands. Now they stand and trade, with the fans responding on each shot. Rhodes has his super finisher charged, but when he goes for the third Cross Rhodes, The Rock slams Cody with his weight belt from the floor.

Roman spears Cody before tagging his cousin back in. Rock Bottom drops Rhodes, and The Rock makes a throat slash and The Bloodline ‘1’ before hitting The People’s Elbow. “Cody is screwed,” says Cole as the ref gets to three.

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WrestleMania 40 Night 1 results: All matches, winners from Philadelphia

Keep up with all the action from WrestleMania 40 Night 1 with results and live updates from Philadelphia.

The big day has finally arrived. The first of two big days, to be precise, as Night 1 of WrestleMania 40 invades Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. A completely sold-out crowd is expected to watch seven matches, culminating in what WWE is calling the biggest tag team match in WrestleMania history.

Considering the main event at WrestleMania I was a tag team match, that’s really a matter of opinion. There’s no question that it has real stakes, however, as it can shape the all important stipulation for the Night 2 main event.

Roman Reigns and The Rock have so far managed the two-alpha problem in The Bloodline just fine, and if they defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins tonight, they’ll ensure Reigns has Bloodline Rules on his side against Rhodes on Sunday night. That will certainly make Cody’s second chance at finishing his story a lot harder.

The main event has attracted the lion’s share of attention, but there are several other great matchups on Night 1. The expected opener, Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley for the Women’s World Championship, is definitely one of them. So, too, is the battle of brother between Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso.

The Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match should also be a spectacle where any team can win — or maybe more than one team, since it appears the Raw and SmackDown titles could be separated again during the match. And we’ll see the bona fide debut of Jade Cargill, something fans have been anxiously awaiting.

We’ve got multiple people on the ground in Philadelphia, and we’re ready to get this rolling.

WrestleMania 40 Night 1 results from Philadelphia:

(please click on any match with a link to see full details)

  • Coco Jones performs “The Star-Spangled Banner” to kick off the show
  • Triple H welcomes the crowd to a new era
  • Rhea Ripley def. Becky Lynch by pinfall to retain the Women’s World Championship
  • Pretty Deadly gives their own unique takes on the teams in the Six-Pack Ladder Match
  • Austin Theory and Grayson Waller and The Awesome Truth win the Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship; Theory and Waller grab the SmackDown titles, while R-Truth and The Miz grab the Raw titles
  • Andrade and Rey Mysterio def. Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar by pinfall, thanks in part to two masked figures who revealed themselves to be Philadelphia Eagles lineman Lane Johnson and recently retired center Jason Kelce
  • Jey Uso def. Jimmy Uso by pinfall
  • Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi def. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and Kabuki Warriors) by pinfall as Cargill pins Kai
  • Sami Zayn gets a visit from his family and Chad Gable, who tells him that “you’ve got this on your own” but also says “don’t forget, you owe me a favor”; he also gets some last second encouragement from Kevin Owens
  • Sami Zayn def. Gunther by pinfall to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion
  • Nick Aldis and Adam Pearce come to the ring to reveal tonight’s announced attendance: 72,543
  • The Rock and Roman Reigns def. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins by pinfall, meaning the Night 2 main event will be Bloodline Rules

WWE WrestleMania 40 card: Both nights finalized

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

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WATCH: Lane Johnson gets in a workout with WWE star Seth Rollins ahead of Wrestlemania 40

Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson gets in a work out with WWE World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins ahead of Wrestlemania 40

Lane Johnson is one of the most charismatic players in the NFL, and the Eagles right tackle will indeed have options once his football career ends.

Johnson is a former Oklahoma Sooner and has a tight relationship with WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross.

During a previous sitdown with Trey Wingo on his “Half-Forgotten History” podcast, Johnson discussed the potential of a post-NFL wrestling career based on the projections of Jim Ross, who promised the Eagles a star shot if he ever wanted it.

“Jim Ross, J.R., was an announcer for the WWE. He was always at our games and he would just whisper in my ear every now and then, ‘hey, if football don’t work out, I got you a spot,’ ” Johnson explained. “So I feel like in my heart I want to be a wrestler, but we’ll see what happens when this football’s done. But, yeah, I would love to. It’s something you never have to grow up in, just seems like a lot of fun.”

The 6-foot-6, 317-pound Johnson would be an imposing character. He could build a solid niche by leveraging his Texas roots and relationship with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Johnson and the Eagles are playing host to Wrestlemania 40, as the sport’s biggest event kicked out activities in Philadelphia and will commence with two days of action at Lincoln Financial Field.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will face Drew McIntyre on night two and decided to hit the weights with Johnson ahead of Wrestlemania 40.

Triple H on WrestleMania plans changing with The Rock: ‘We always have to call audibles every single week’

Triple H won’t hesitate to call an audible when the reactions warrant it, even if it involves the main event of WrestleMania.

The Rock‘s transformation from fan favorite to villain on the journey to WrestleMania 40 was swift. Seemingly poised to headline the event against Cody Rhodes, The People’s Champ found himself despised by WWE fans, viewed as attempting to wield his corporate power for a greater role ot the Grandest Stage of Them All.

Instead of Roman Reigns and The Rock fighting, which WWE never officially announced, the two Bloodline leaders will team up to face Seth Rollins and Rhodes in the main event of night 1 of WrestleMania. Reigns and Rhodes will then battle for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on night 2.

It reflects a new era where storylines are increasingly shaped by fan input, a trend embraced by Triple H, who heads WWE’s creative team. When questioned about altering the WrestleMania storyline involving The Rock, The Game emphasized in an interview with ESPN the need to make adjustments on the fly, acknowledging that they call audibles every week.

Now it’s a different time, and the way I do things is slightly different. My career, I learned from being here, but there were things along the way that I always thought I would do differently. In this time now, I get to make those calls and with a large team of people. Whether people will want to believe it or not, I think we were sort of looking at this as here’s where we’re going to go to get this started and it has the opportunity of going this way or that way.

We always have to call audibles every single week. Everything you do is dependent on reactions. That’s what we do as an industry. … The beautiful thing with this group and with Cody and Roman and Rock especially, everybody’s got their ear to the ground. … And then we all just get together and figure the s–t out.

WWE’s pivot for WrestleMania created a red-hot storyline involving their top stars, coupled with The Rock’s return to a heel persona not seen in two decades, adding a refreshing twist. If similar situations happen in the future, it seems Triple H will evaluate all options if it’s best for business.

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The Rock has simple message to Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins before WrestleMania: ‘F–k them’

The Rock carried out a beatdown/profanity combo on Cody Rhodes for the second straight week on WWE Raw.

If The Rock has done two things consistently during his current run as The Final Boss of The Bloodline, it’s beat up Cody Rhodes and drop some four-letter words.

Monday night in Brooklyn was no different. The Rock and Roman Reigns combined to add to Rhodes’ misery, suckering him in perfectly during the night’s main event, a Bloodline Rules affair between Seth Rollins and Bloodline enforcer Solo Sikoa.

Even though Rhode arrived as Rollins’ Plan B to counter The Rock, the unexpected appearance of Reigns tilted things back in favor of The Bloodline. The show ended with The Rock and Reigns taking turns beating the good guys with Cody’s own weight belt, symbolically and physically imposing their will once again.

And just like the previous week on Raw, when The Rock beat Rhodes bloody, he didn’t just flip the switch off once the cameras stopped rolling. WWE posted a short but succinct video after the show, with just a few last words from The Rock: “F–k them.”

It’s an interesting little clip if for no other reason than the widespread fascination with The Rock being allowed more leeway with curse words than other WWE talent. It certainly fits his current persona perfectly, and though he uses some of the same language on TV, it’s bleeped out when he does.

This likely won’t be the last we’ll hear from The Final Boss ahead of the Show of Shows, with WrestleMania XL Kickoff and SmackDown in Philadelphia still looming on Friday. Rhodes probably won’t want to see or hear from him again, however, before they meet in the tag team match that will close out WrestleMania XL night 1 on Saturday.

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