Wrestlemania 41 Discussion Thread

[Supremo]

Seven days before Wrestlemania and no-one bothered to make a thread. For shame, Hunter! For shame! Won’t somebody think of the UKFF?

I was holding out hope for when the cards were announced. Maybe once the matches were given their allotted nights, it’d look better on paper. Right?

Night 1

Night 2

Oh well. Two crap cards, with mostly rubbish build, but it’s still Wrestlemania. Supposedly the biggest night for this stupid hobby we share. It’ll still feel massive on the night(s). The state of the art production, the big set, everyone in their new gear. You assume the wrestlers themselves are aware of the turning tide too, so they’ll likely have their working shoes on, to match their Sunday best. It’s a shame how quickly things have fallen off, but even at its worst I’d still get excited for Wrestlemania. I’ll still be booking Monday off. No, you grow up!

It’s been covered at length how bad the recent TV has been, so I’ll try to keep it positive and focus on the matches themselves. Plus, maybe we can take comfort from history. If we accept that this is this boom’s Wrestlemania 2000, it’s worth remembering that what followed in the Summer of 2000 was arguably the most creatively satisfying period in the history of the company. As good as it ever was. (Let’s just ignore the fact that it nosedived by September 2000 and was shit for over twenty years.)

On the night, in front of that big crowd, I think Jey vs. Gunther will deliver. Just imagine Jey’s entrance. Fifty thousand people Yeeting. It’ll be enough to forget how much he’s cooled off since The Rumble. To be fair, this is probably the only match at Wrestlemania with what feels like proper, earnest heat, too. That Rocky 4 angle where Gunther murdered Jimmy was a great bit of business. Roof will likely come off the place when Jimmy inevitably returns to help Jey win the big one. Another one of these reveals? Hell yeah! Always works.

If nothing else, this’ll be an excellent, feel good way to open the weekend, with Jey raising gold. Wonder if they’ll fly Rikishi in to celebrate. I wouldn’t let him drive.

It’s dumb. It’s shit. There’s more than a whiff of racism, with a suspicious use of A̶1̶ AI in the vignettes. But Chad Gable vs. Rey Mysterio’s New Knees at Wrestlemania? Yes please! Chad getting unmasked will probably get a big pop, too. Guaranteed Michael Cole will call it a Vintage Wrestlemania Moment in the fakest voice you’ve ever heard.

Tiffy vs. Charlotte is can’t-miss, even if it’s for all the wrong reasons. Will the match even make it to the ring? Will they be able to use their legitimate animosity to work a good match? Will Charlotte actually put a proper shift in, or will she be in top-of-the-hour-on-Smackdown mode, where she sleep walks through a stinker? Or, as a former protege of Nia Jax, maybe Tiffy’s been getting some top tips on how to potato Charlotte’s chin clean off? Can’t wait!

Amongst all the rubbish build up, all the compromises and bad booking, throwing New Day vs. Viking Raiders on this show, in a straight two-on-two, bog standard tag match? It might be Hunter’s biggest crime of all! Who the fuck wants to see this? The type of match I’d fast forward through on Raw, never mind Wrestlemania! Maybe Big E turns up? If not, this can fuck off.

I heard people suggesting they should make Viking Raiders vs. New Day a, “Vikings Rules,” match. I had absolutely no recollection of this. I think it happened when I wasn’t watching. Fair play. It does look like daft fun. Get making a Vegas-themed boat!

The only interesting thing about Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles is imagining what spots Logan “The Move-set Moocher,” will plagiarise this time. I bet he’s spent weeks binging old TNA tapes trying to find inspiration. Elix Skipper cage walk across the top rope, maybe?

Considering the dog shit booking of all three women, I wouldn’t be shocked if Iyo vs. Bianca vs. Rhea ended up getting the Goldberg vs. Lesnar at Wrestlemania 20 treatment, where the crowd just shit on everything. It’s exactly what this creative team deserve. Hopefully the participants manage to remind everyone that they aren’t a bunch of losers. Bianca’s got a low key Wrestlemania Streak going, hasn’t she? I assume she wins and they keep quietly building that up.

I’m excited to see what they come up with for Penta’s big entrance. Still feels wild that he’s wrestling at Wrestlemania. Considering the Spears Bron Breakker has been delivering recently, I cannot wait to see what he does at Wrestlemania. Maybe sprint all the way down the massive ramp, like Charles Robinson? Smash through the entire set like Jericho and Rhyno? Either way, I look forward to seeing Dirty Dom die violently.

I expect the Wrestlemania crowd are going to rightly treat Jacob Fatu like a superstar. LA Knight, YEAH? Not tonight, son. LA Knight, NAH! Looking forward to Fatu raising the gold. Feels similar to John Cena winning the US Title at Wrestlemania 20. First step to the top. Man’s got it all.

Naomi vs. Jade feels like the only match on either card that was pencilled in late last year and they actually stuck to the original plan. Good for them. Naomi has been great as a heel. She’s got her work cut out for her here, but fingers crossed she can drag something out of Jade. Whoever agents this match, “NO SPRINGBOARDS,” needs to be the number one rule.

Hoping Drew and Damien steal the show. Glad they’ve been given the Street Fight gimmick. Genuinely impressive watching them squeeze so much out of what was essentially a token Mania feud when both had nothing else to do. Drew rules. Put the eyepatch back on.

It goes without saying that the Women’s Tag Title match will overdeliver. Liv Morgan gunning for that Bryan Danielson Observer Award. Most improved wrestler ever.

I think the best we can hope for with Seth vs. Punk vs Roman is that they rely on that WWE Triple Threat trope of one guy lying on the outside whilst the other two have their mini-match. At least that way we can actually watch the two singles matches that would have actually been exciting, Roman vs. Seth and Roman vs. Punk. Main Event Prediction: Seth wins. Seth joins forces with Paul Heyman after saving him from all the favours he owes throughout the industry.

I think we’re looking at a Rock vs. Hogan situation with Cena vs. Cody. Rubbish build, but in the moment it’ll likely feel electric. Actually, Cena is supposedly scheduled for next Friday’s Smackdown, so there’s still time for him to run Cody over with a truck! Frankly, I’d take anything as long as it wasn’t any more of them sniffing their own farts and meta wanking.

My ultimate hope is that they drill down on this Summer of Punk thing, with Cena threatening to take the belt and ruin wrestling forever. That’s the money, right there. Everything else is just diluting it. I went back and watched the amazing promo for Cena vs. Punk at Money in the Bank 2011 and it’s exactly what this needs to be. Sell the whole thing on Cena fucking off to Hollywood with the belt! Say goodbye Cody! You won’t see me…or the belt…again!

Explain this premise to me a year ago, with a heel Cena potentially stealing the Spinner Belt, and with the trust I had in their creative process at the time? The sky would be the limit. There’d only be one finish.

Wrestlemania ends with Cena winning, blowing Cody a kiss, and they’d actually have a clever idea of how to follow up. Kevin Nash would not feature. They’d already have all the twists and turns planned out, it’d conclude in this huge crescendo, and it’d absolutely rule.

When is Fast X Part 2 scheduled to come out? I want Cody to chase Cena through the Multiverse and fight Cena in that to get his belt back!

Unfortunately though, given this current run, I’m genuinely expecting Cody to win and for the whole angle to just fizzle out to nothing. That’s how little faith I have in their creative right now. Quite ironic. They do Wrestlemania 2000 again, only the heel doesn’t win in the main event!

But wait! Can you smell ket? The Rock posted this CRYPTIC CLUE last night on his social media, during Smackdown!

As an aside, quite funny that he’s wearing a New Japan shirt about five years since anyone gave a fuck about New Japan. He’s nothing if not a man with his finger on the pulse of this industry!

What could The Final Boss possibly mean from this image? A puzzle that needs to be solved? A mess that only gets messier when he starts trying to fix it? Do I understand THE CLUES? No. Does The Rock and Brian Gerwirtz have any idea what they’re planning themselves? Also no. Frankly, given how The Rock has stumbled in and out of WWE this year, constantly fucking everything up and forcing them to pivot, my official Main Event Prediction is that The Rock returns at Mania, gives both Rock and Cody a Rock Bottom and we close the show similar to Wrestlemania 27, where everyone looks like a dickhead apart from Dwayne. He never wrestles either man. Their story is too clever. They don’t need to wrestle. Or something.

Damn it, this got all snarky in the end, even when I was trying to be positive! Cheer up. It’s WRESTLEMANIA! Pump it up pump it up!

 

Edited April 13, 2025 by Supremo

[d-d-d-dAz]

Saw someone should suggest Jimmy should turn on Jey and help Gunther and now I'm not going to watch just in case.

[SuperBacon]

30 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I’ll still be booking Monday off.

Thankfully it's Easter Monday. 

I don't think I'll be watching these live, as there is just so much on there I'm not arsed with but will be a fine way to spend 2 hours on the Jesus resurrection day.

[RIDDUM_N_STYLE]

I think it’ll be a case of ‘bad build, good show’ once the final bell rings next Sunday but there are one or two things that I hope end coming out of this

1) Charlotte Flair as a title contender, she’s lost a massive step since returning, hasn’t taken well to being booed and has gone down the unprofessional route that sank both her feud and friendship with Becky Lynch a couple years back. Plus unlike Becky, Bayley and Mercedes who all altered their gimmicks over time, she hasn’t since her first main roster heel turn

2) If New Day don’t win the World Tag Titles then their heel run has been a major flop and there’ll really be no point in them being a team anymore, especially in the likely event Big E doesn’t return to the ring to get his payback

3) Cena not pulling an HBK and turning back face if Cody beats him or pulling a Roman and only appearing sporadically if he does win #17

[Kamran]

Looking back at the 2025 Predictions thread:

On 12/23/2024 at 7:37 AM, Supremo said:

The Rock doesn’t wrestle. Doesn’t defend his belt. Calls intensify for Jack Tunney to strip him.

Deep down you always knew...

On 12/16/2024 at 8:53 AM, RedTwoster said:

After an astoundingly bad hit/miss ratio  for 2024 predictions, I thought I’d take another stab at this. What do you think will happen in 2025?

* Cody Rhodes vs John Cena and CM Punk vs Roman Reigns will be the two headline matches at Wrestlemania

Pretty close

I've not watched any Raw or Smackdown in a while but I am kinda looking forward to this. Besides Cena/Cody I'm not particularly fussed about any other match but I still think we'll get some decent action across both nights. That alongside the spectacle of WrestleMania and no doubt they have some surprises planned should make it worth the time. I'm surprised they didn't do anything with the Smackdown tag titles since they seemed to be featuring more lately, plus the new Women's US/Intercontinental titles are not involved either.

They've sold just over 50K tickets for each night so far which is less than usual but that's mainly down to the high ticket prices. I'm assuming a lot of people are waiting last minute for them to drop prices. Although looking at some of the feedback online, quite a few fans don't seem to be happy with the announced matches.

 

 

 

[Chili]

Maybe it's just a tribute to being back doing a Wrestlemania in Vegas and honouring IX by putting on an underwhelming card.

[FUM]

I’m in Turkey just now so this may be the first Mania I’ve not watched live in about 15 years given it will probably start about 2am with the time difference and there was no USB slot on the room telly/enough sockets nearby for my firestick. I can genuinely say I’m not really arsed which sums up the build this year.

[HarmonicGenerator]

I think I will enjoy that Supremo write-up more than I might enjoy either night of the actual show.

[Arch Stanton]

41 minutes ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

I think I will enjoy that Supremo write-up more than I might enjoy either night of the actual show.

Fucking hell, I was about to post exactly the same thing! Outstanding work again @Supremo

[wandshogun09]

Yeah, this one isn’t grabbing me and pulling me back in like last year’s card. I might dip in with not having work on Monday but I can’t see the show itself topping that opening post. Particularly loved the Tiffany vs Charlotte version of the Butterbean vs Bart Gunn KO! Completely caught me off guard on the scroll through. 

[Devon Malcolm]

Are they doing another Wrestlemania kick-off show like last year? That was one of the best shows of the year.

 

[Kamran]

55 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Are they doing another Wrestlemania kick-off show like last year? That was one of the best shows of the year.

Apparently each night has a 3-hour pre-show, 4-hour main show and 2-hour post-show.

Edited April 13, 2025 by Kamran

[Wideload90]

Is this the worst mania build? I'm sad after last years superb buildup and payoff. That said, I'll check results and catch highlights because there's no way I'm wasting time on some of this tripe.

Stupidly hoping for an Austin appearance. 

I'll join the queue for @Supremo write up and analysis.

[air_raid]

13 hours ago, Wideload90 said:

Is this the worst mania build?

It’s not even the worst Mania build of the 20s. The march to 38 was impossibly bad. The nonsensical series of events from Day 1 through the Rumble and Chamber revolving around the WWE title, each serving to make a previous inconsequential, cutting Big E and Lashley off at the legs as they went, all to land on another Reigns vs Lesnar match nobody wanted, and pissing away potentially the only interesting element (Heyman choosing a side) relatively early… awful. Even though the pay off ended up being Cody, the scenes of someone as high up the card as Seth Rollins begging to get a match at WrestleMania were risible. The stuff with Owens and Austin was good but it wasn’t even explicit we were getting a match until the night. The only announced match that I had virtually any interest in and that I thought they did an OK job of promoting was Lynch vs Belair. Everything else was forgettable, shite, or forgettable shite.

Edited April 14, 2025 by air_raid
BIGGEST WRESTLEMANIA MATCH OF ALL-TIME

[Statto]

40 minutes ago, air_raid said:

the scenes of someone as high up the card as Seth Rollins begging to get a match at WrestleMania were risible. 

But he had NO CLEAR PATH TO WRESTLEMANIA, Raid!