Wrestling Fans! It’s that time of year once again; Wrestlemania 38 is this weekend. This year WWE’s biggest show is again taking place across two nights. A lot is going on, and if you’re a lapsed fan who doesn’t tune in to the weekly shows. You may not know what you should care about and why.
That’s why I’m here to run you through the biggest matches at Wrestlemania and how they came to be.
Night One – Saturday, April 2nd
Bianca Belair vs Becky Lynch (c) – RAW Women’s Championship Match
The rivalry between these two goes back to SummerSlam 2021. Where Becky Lynch made a surprise return and beat Bianca Belair for the Smackdown Woman’s Championship. Fast forward several months, Belair won the number one contenders match at Elimination Chamber for the right to face Lynch at Wrestlemania. In the weeks following we’ve seen a bizarre rivalry, that pretty much amounts to Lynch trying to injure Belair. This past week on RAW she even attempted to cut Belair’s signature hair. It was Belair, however, who got the upper hand as Lynch’s plan backfired and she was the one receiving the haircut.
A hair vs hair match stipulation would have been cool here and made the build more meaningful. Instead what we have is a simple one vs one match between two of the best wrestlers in WWE. Regardless of the strange build, this one should be a great match. Will Belair triumph once again? Will Lynch take Belair’s Hair? Tune in this Saturday to find out! Hype Factor 3/5
Rey and Dominik Mysterio vs The Miz and Logan Paul
Yes, you read that right Logan Paul has a match at Wrestlemania. This one started when Miz took issue with Rey Mysterio being the cover star for WWE 2K22 instead of him. Miz even questioned if Dominik was Rey’s son, a reference to the famous rivalry between Rey and the late great Eddie Guerrero in 2005. This led to a singles bout between Miz and Rey at Elimination Chamber back in February. Which was won by Rey after Dominik interfered to stop Miz from using a chair. This resulted in Miz accusing the Mysterio duo of cheating. Announcing he would find a tag team partner who was a global star to take on Rey and Dominik Mysterio. That partner turned out to be Youtube Star Logan Paul.
In the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania, we have seen Miz and Paul attack the Mysterio duo. Miz even managed to take Rey Mysterio’s mask, the ultimate disrespect to a Lucha Libre wrestler on the March 21st episode of RAW. This past Monday, Logan Paul accompanied Miz to ring for a match with Rey wearing the mask. Following the match which saw Rey defeat the Miz. He regained the mask after his son Dominik threw Logan Paul in the ring.
I know that not many of us like celebrity matches and the storyline around them are often weak. At Wrestlemania last year though we had the surprise almost show-stealing performance of Bad Bunny in a match also involving Miz. Will this one be another celebrity success or will it be more forgettable than a celebrity boxing match?
Although I don’t have too much interest in this one. Celebrity matches are always a bit of fun, even if quickly forgettable afterwards. Hype Factor 2/5
Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs TBA
Seth has been trying to find his place on the Wrestlemania card for weeks now. After losing a Tag Team Championship match with partner Kevin Owens on the March 7th episode of RAW. Both men thought their shot at being on Wrestlemania was over. Owens however quickly came up with a plan to call out Texas native wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin, hoping to have him be a guest on The KO Show. Meanwhile, Rollins was stuck with nothing. As a result, Rollins spent the next few weeks challenging people for their spots at Wrestlemania. First, he challenged former partner Kevin Owens to replace him in the segment with Stone Cold. Inevitably he lost, following this he decided to challenge AJ Styles. In a bid to replace him in his match against Edge. Edge however wasn’t having this attacking AJ during the match, resulting in Rollins losing by disqualification.
On the March 28th episode of RAW, Rollins was called to Mr Mcmahon’s office to “decide his fate”. Here he was informed he would have a match at Wrestlemania. His own Main Event, against an opponent of Mcmahon’s choosing. Rollins however will not find out his opponent until he is in the ring on Saturday.
You may be wondering what reason would there be to be excited about this match. Well, if reports from the likes of Dave Meltzer and Sean Ross Sapp are to be believed Rollins’ Opponent will be none other than the returning Cody Rhodes. That’s right Cody who spent the few years building AEW the main competitor to WWE. Rhodes is believed to have signed with WWE a few weeks ago. WWE is reported to be preparing material for his return. Could this sensational return happen at Wrestlemania? I think so and this would be the first time we’ve seen Cody Rhodes in WWE since 2016. Will it be Cody? Who else could it be?
I can’t wait for Cody Rhodes to return. The build with Rollins has made it feel like whatever happens, this will be a big Wrestlemania moment. Hype Factor 4/5
Charlotte Flair (c) vs Ronda Rousey – Smackdown Women’s Championship Match
That’s right if you haven’t watched for a while. Ronda Rousey returned to WWE for the first time since Wrestlemania 35 in 2019 at Royal Rumble in January. Winning the women’s rumble match, earning the right to challenge the champion of her choosing at Wrestlemania this year. She chose Charlotte Flair, The build to this one has been fairly bland and simple. Mostly a war of words and not much action. Aside from a tag match that saw Rousey fight with a hand tied behind her back. Charlotte is one of the greatest women’s champions of all time. She claims there is no way Rousey will beat her. Rousey of course is billed as “The Baddest Woman on the Planet” and she has vowed to make Charlotte tap out. Will Rousey end Charlotte’s reign?
Despite what I would call a boring build to this match. These are two great athletes who when it comes down to it should have a good match. The problem is WWE hasn’t given me a reason to care beyond whatever happens in the ring on Saturday. Hype Factor 2/5
Kevin Owens vs Stone Cold Steve Austin? – KO Show
In what is being billed as a talk show segment. We will see the legendary Stone Cold return to confront Kevin Owens. After Owens has spent weeks disrespecting the state of Texas, the home of this year’s Wrestlemania and Stone Cold himself. Owens even fooling fans into momentarily thinking that Stone Cold was making an appearance on RAW a few weeks ago. When he came out to the legendary glass shattering theme dressed as Stone Cold.
Owens has done a good job of building this in the absence of Austin on the weekly shows. through strong promo and character work. I think we can expect this one to get physical maybe even resulting in a short match of some kind. One thing I can almost guarantee is we will see someone hit a Stunner. The finishing move of both men. Question is, who will hit the move Owens or Austin? Hype Factor 4/5
These are what I consider the biggest things to look out for on Night one of Wrestlemania. There are of course other matches. These shows are long.
Other Night One Matches:
- Drew McIntyre vs Happy Corbin
- The Usos (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura and Rick Boogs – Smackdown Tag Championship Match
- The New Day (Xavier and Kofi) vs Sheamus and Ridge Holland
Any of these matches could steal the show who knows but they feel mostly thrown together as filler. They are nothing to be hyped about in my opinion but could be interesting in the ring. I expect The New Day, in particular, may have a special moment with the crowd. Given their partner Big E’s very serious recent injury.
Shinsuke and Boogs are always fun and the entrance is great. I don’t expect them to beat the Usos though, given their place near the top of the card with cousin Roman Reigns.
As for Drew vs Happy Corbin, I’m just hoping this is the end of that long rivalry. Both men are great at what they do. Again it’s just the failure of WWE to make me care for this one.
Night Two – Sunday, April 3rd
Sami Zayn vs Johnny Knoxville – Anything Goes Match
This is the celebrity match I’m looking forward to. It all started when Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame enter the men’s Royal Rumble match back in January. Zayn took issue with Knoxville being in the match because he hadn’t qualified. Knoxville ultimately qualified for the match by throwing Sami Zayn over the top rope on an episode of Smackdown. Zayn ended up being the one to eliminate Knoxville from the Rumble match.
Since then the two have gone back and forth. Making life a misery for each other at any opportunity. From Zayn turning up to the Jackass Forever premiere uninvited. To Knoxville costing Zayn his intercontinental championship in a match with Ricochet.
The build to this one has been much more entertaining than the Logan Paul match. Mostly down to the comedy skills of both Zayn and Knoxville. While this is highly unlikely to be a five-star match, it will be a super fun one to watch. With anything goes rules. who knows what will happen? Hype Factor 3/5
RK-Bro (c) vs The Street Profits vs Alpha Academy – Raw Tag Championship Match
Three great teams in this one. Of course, current champions RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) have a history with former champions Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis). Both teams have gone back and forth for months now. Since RK-Bro regained the championships on the March 7th episode of RAW though. The Street Profits (Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins) have felt like they should be next in line for a shot at the champions. They interrupted the championship celebration party of RK-Bro on the March 14th RAW. Challenging the champions to a match at Wrestlemania. This challenge was initially turned down. Until The Street Profits goaded RK-Bro into accepting. Resulting in the three-way tag match we have now.
Streets Profits potentially have the momentum going into the match. After attacking both of the opposing teams on March 21st RAW. Will they win? maybe but one thing is for sure with the athleticism of these teams we are in for a good match. Hype Factor 3/5
Edge vs AJ Styles
This dream match came about after Edge issued an open challenge for Wrestlemania to anyone. His challenge was answered by Styles. This wasn’t quite enough for Edge though, who wanted to make sure he faced the best version of AJ Styles. The version of Styles that had previously been the WWE Champion. To ensure this Edge viciously attacked Styles becoming a Heel for the first time since his return to WWE. In the following weeks, Edge has changed character. Changing his beloved entrance music. Talking about how he doesn’t need the fans and how he is the measuring stick in WWE.
Hopefully, Edge has brought the best out in AJ Styles, because this match has the potential to be something very special. We are dealing with two of the greatest ever here. Who will come out on top? Hype Factor 5/5
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Roman Reigns (c) – Winner Takes All Unification Championship Match
Here’s the big one WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs Universal Champion Roman Reigns. In a winner takes all match. This one is being billed as “the biggest match in Wrestlemania history”. It’s certainly the biggest this year I’ll give them that. This rivalry is deeply personal and although we’ve seen these two in the ring together before the dynamic has never been quite like this.
Roman Reigns is one of the longest-reigning champions in WWE history. His historic run started when he returned to WWE in 2020. With Lesnar’s former advocate Paul Heyman by his side. Reigns has been the big bad of WWE ever since, his current championship reign being 576 days and counting. Lesnar returned to WWE at Summerslam last year after Reigns had successfully defended the championship to confront him. The two men had a match at WWE Crown Jewel in October for Reigns Universal Championship. Which Lesnar lost due to interference from Reigns’ cousins The Usos.
A rematch was scheduled for WWE Day One in January, but this never happened. Due to Roman Reigns having COVID-19 at the time. Instead, Lesnar challenged for and won the WWE Championship that night. Lesnar wasn’t done Reigns though. Wanting a champion vs champion match. Reigns wasn’t interested and would do anything to stop this from happening. Ultimately Reigns decided to cost Lesnar his WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble. This ended up backfiring as Lesnar would later win the Royal Rumble match. Allowing him to choose his opponent for Wrestlemania.
He chose Reigns as expected, but before we would get to Wrestlemania. He would set his sights on regaining the WWE Championship that he lost because of Reigns and Heyman. At Elimination Chamber he would win back the WWE Championship. One more roadblock was placed in front of him by Heyman though. He would have to defend his Championship at Madison Square Garden, which he did. Retaining his championship, but Reigns and The Usos would savagely attack Lesnar after the match. Now Brock Lesnar is out for blood, will he get his revenge on Roman Reigns? or Will Reigns continue to Reign as “The Head of the Table” and of all WWE? For me, this is the must-see match of Wrestlemania. Hype Factor 5/5
Other Night Two Matches:
- Queen Zelina and Carmela vs Sasha Banks and Naomi vs Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan vs Natalya and Shayna Baszler – Women’s Tag Championship Match
- Pat McAfee vs Austin Theory
- Bobby Lashley vs Omos
Unfortunately, these matches feel like the filler for night two. Lashley vs Omos zero build therefore zero reason to care. The women’s tag championships are treated like nothing championships most of the time. This match feels like it’s just there to get more people on the card.
As for McAfee vs Theory, it could be fun. it just feels like a thrown-together match though. When a commentator like McAfee wrestles the story to get them out from behind that desk should be something meaningful. This was Mr Mcmahon giving McAfee a match at Wrestlemania just because. I don’t know about you but to me, that’s not very compelling.
Summary
This year, Wrestlemania is sure to have some great matches in the ring and I’m looking forward to it. I just wish I cared more about some of the stories going in. Outside of Edge vs AJ and Brock vs Roman. With a potential Cody Rhodes return. Everything else feels unimportant and it shouldn’t be that way at Wrestlemania.
