While we can’t say for certain what the main event of WrestleMania 39 – Night Two will be, I’d be comfortable putting a pretty sizable bet on it being some combination of Roman Reigns and literally anybody else.
After all, while there are technically two WrestleMania main events now that the show of shows is split over two consecutive nights, we all know that the second night’s closer is the real main event; and that’s the Tribal Chief’s domain, Uce.
That isn’t to say that the main event of WrestleMania: Night One can’t be a banger; hell, these past few years it’s arguably been the stronger match, with Stone Cold making his return last year, and Sasha Banks taking on Bianca Belair the year before.
As we head in to the fourth year of two-night ‘Manias, it’s fair to say that the finale of night one has started to establish itself as something of a connoisseur’s main event, where the more interesting and avant-garde feuds reach their conclusions (or, in the case of WrestleMania 36, it’s where WWE puts the premier of a sci-fi original movie starring the Undertaker and AJ Styles).
This is especially true of WrestleMania 39, whose night two seems destined to feature the Big Dog taking on an obvious (if not yet finalized) opponent in the Rock, Cody Rhodes or – if we’re lucky – Sami Zayn, while night one could go in a number of wildly different directions.
So with that in mind, here are a few matches that we could potentially see main event the first night of WrestleMania 39:
Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair
The nice thing about having two nights of WrestleMania is that you can ensure that at least one women’s match main events every single year (even if WWE hasn’t been entirely committed to that idea this far).
The build up to this year’s Royal Rumble even specifies that the winners of each Rumble will get a main event spot, which seems to all-but guarantee that will be the case in 2023 (though this is WWE we’re talking about, so that’s a big “all but”).
Bianca Belair has established herself as a genuine main event player ever since she made her way up to the main roster, and as the current WWE Raw Women’s Champion it would make total sense for her to defend her belt at the conclusion of night one.
The most obvious opponent for her at this stage is Rhea Ripley, not least because that’s a feud that has been teased ever since both women made their way to the final two of the 2021 Rumble.
It doesn’t hurt that Ripley has really come into her own these past few months, becoming a stand out member of a stable that includes NJPW legend Finn Balor and Bad Bunny’s best mate Damien Priest.
Also – assuming he hasn’t had creative control wrenched away from him by Vince McMahon before ‘Mania takes place – I’ll bet Triple H would love to have an honest-to-goodness NXT match close out the biggest wrestling show in the world.
Bayley vs Charlotte Flair
Despite being one of like three things that kept the company afloat during WWE’s pandemic era (the other two being Drew McIntyre and, of course, Otis), Bayley is the only one of the four horsewomen to still be denied a WrestleMania main event.
While her return to the main roster following her year-long recovery from injury hasn’t been quite to the standard set by the Golden Role Model, Bayley is still a huge name in women’s wrestling and deserves to test her mettle in the top spot.
As of the time of writing, Charlotte Flair is WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion, and while I’m sure WWE is tempted to have her face Ronda Rousey or Becky Lynch for the 8000th time, why not a mix it up a bit?
There’s still plenty of time to set Bayley up as the number one competitor for the belt, and of the potential candidates she’s just as – if not even more – capable of putting on a clinic with wrestling’s favorite nepo baby.
It would also be a great opportunity to play with the face/heel dynamics a little bit, as while Bayley is still technically a bad guy there’s no better way to garner sympathy for a wrestler than by having Charlotte cut a promo on them.
Better yet, turn all of Damage CTRL face, and put Charlotte – somebody who always feels a little detached from the rest of the women’s roster – in the position of having to put together a squad to help defend herself.
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs the Usos
If Roman’s UWU Championship (senpai kawaii baka) is the biggest prize in wrestling at the moment, the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship is a very close second.
At this point it’s pretty difficult to see who could possibly end the samoan twins’ record-breaking run of dominance, but in storyline terms Owens and Zayn are the most likely contenders we’ve had in months.
The story is right there already: Sami betrays (or is betrayed by) the Bloodline, and teams up with his best frenemy to strike a blow to the group by taking away the things that signify their dominance in the company.
While Sami/Roman is the preferred match right this second, Zayn and Owens have so much history together that there would be something very cool about putting the two of them on the biggest stage and letting them run wild.
Not to mention the fact that before he was beefing with Roman, the main thorn in Zayn’s side was Jey Uso, whose hatred for the Syrian superkick machine was at one point the only thing getting him out of bed in the morning.
And then after they’ve won the belts, and the confetti starts flying, that’s when you STUNNER, OH MY GOD KEVIN OWENS HAS STUNNERED SAMI ZAYN, NOT TONIGHT, NOT TONIGHT!
Becky Lynch vs Ronda Rousey
The nice thing about Triple H being in charge of creative (NOTE TO SELF: check that Triple H is still in charge of creative before publishing) is that it means we might get a few things that WWE has promised us previously, but for some reason has held just out of reach like some sadistic prison guard.
WWE should have put this match on in 2019, but unfortunately came down with a severe case of Flair-itis (dammit, I should have said they had a “Flair up”) and made a perfectly good singles match a triple threat that nobody really wanted.
But hey, what is women’s wrestling if not a story of redemption? Let’s finally right that wrong by letting these two go at each other while there’s still a chance that people could care.
Neither woman has a belt at the minute, but that’s something that can be easily remedied in the coming weeks and months.
Maybe have Becky win the belt from Charlotte at Elimination Chamber, and have Rousey become number one contender to set up the match.
Or you could be really brave, and have two women main event WrestleMania without there being a title on the line? Let’s break some new ground, Triple H/Vince (NOTE TO SELF: delete as applicable).
Gunther vs Brock Lesnar
While Roman Reigns has pretty firmly established himself as the number one attraction at the Granddaddy Of Them All, featuring in a staggering six main events over the past eight WrestleManias, Brock Lesnar is no stranger to the top of the card either.
Thankfully this year we already have a good idea of what Brock’s annual beef-fest is liable to look like, as it has been rumored that he’ll be facing everybody’s favorite terrifying Austrian: WAL- I mean, Gunther!
Frankly, of all the non-Samoan matches that are likely to take place at this year’s ‘Mania, Gunther/Brock is probably the most worthy of that night one main event spot.
Just from a sheer wrestling perspective, this has the potential to be an absolute masterclass in the destruction of chest meat, and it deserves to take place under the biggest spotlight possible.
Plus it helps to satisfy the WrestleMania requirement of having a main event match that features a competitor who appeals to a more casual audience because they’re well known outside of the wrestling bubble (Gunther is a very famous ballet dancer in his home country).
Although I guess Vince is back in the company now, so I suppose we could just end up getting…
Roman Reigns vs ???
Yes, with Vince McMahon returning for one final scare like an 80s slasher movie villain, it’s entirely possible that we could end up seeing Roman Reigns main event both nights of WrestleMania this year.
I choose to live in a world of hope and optimism, so I’m just going to get this out of the way quickly, but I wouldn’t totally discount the idea of the Tribal Chief taking on Brock Lesnar in a “for realsies, last ever, we super promise this time” match.
What’s more likely, though, is that Roman instead takes on one of the many candidates we’d otherwise have expected to instead see in the night two spot but ended up not making the cut.
It kind of makes sense: if the Rock does turn out to have cleared his dance card for one last go-around at the Colossal Tussle, he’s obviously going to close out night two. So why not use night one to feature somebody who has actually, you know, appeared on WWE television this decade?
Better yet, while Roman has officially unified the WWE and Universal championships, he’s still carrying two belts around; why not just pretend they’re still separate titles, and have him defend one on each night? Because it would violate continuity? Have you met WWE?
This way you can have either Cody or Sami get their moment in the spotlight (or both, if the Rock is too busy filming Fast and Furious 24 or whatever), and, crucially, allow the biggest wrestler in the company to retain a top title going into the rest of 2023.
John Cena vs Logan Paul
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until they throw me in jail: Logan Paul is one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now.
He’s also one of the biggest draws WWE currently has at its disposal, and should absolutely be put in prime position at the show of shows (Prime! Like the drink! Shut up, I’m funny).
And what better way to maximize that drawing potential than by putting him up against one of WWE’s biggest home grown stars in Big Match John himself?
There are definitely more worthy wrestlers that you could put in the main event spot, but you can’t deny that Logan Paul has the ability to put on a better show than virtually any other outsider celebrity gimmick you could put in that position (and I’m including Cena himself there).
If reports are true, WWE wants this to be its biggest WrestleMania ever, and it doesn’t get much bigger than having a mainstream new media darling face off against an old-media movie star and 16-time Champ.
Sure, it would pretty much be the ultimate sell-out move on WWE’s part. But think of the engagement!
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock
No. Surely not. But what if? No. But maybe?
Here’s the thing: there’s a chance that both Stone Cold Steve Austin and the People’s Champion will be competing in matches at this year’s WrestleMania.
That’s a statement that hasn’t been true for 20 years, and one that isn’t likely to ever be true again (until Tony Khan stops messing around and starts investing his money in cybernetics).
Instead of having them both face separate opponents at WrestleMania, why not just cut out the middleman by tossing them in the ring together, crossing your fingers and hoping for the best?
They’re going to be there for the nostalgia pop anyway, what’s the harm? Apart from the danger of actual, physical harm, obviously.
Hell, if Limp Bizkit are available we could be a My Way promo and some flash bulbs away from being transported back to 2001.
Think you’re a wrestling mastermind? Well you can prove it by taking quizzes in our brand new quiz section! Don’t forget to tweet us your results!
Comments.
Loading comments…