The road to WrestleMania is in full swing in World Wrestling Entertainment, and it’s heating up as the weeks go by.
As of Sunday, we have four matches set up to go down at WrestleMania 41 taking place on April 19 and 20.
Those matches are Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair for the WWE Women’s Championship, Iyo Sky vs. Bianca Belair for the Women’s World Championship, Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship and Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena for the WWE Championship.
I’ll start with the WWE Women’s Championship match. Stratton is the current champion; she won her title earlier this year in January, after she cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase on former champion Nia Jax after months of torment from her.
Stratton had little time to prepare because a few weeks later Flair returned from a year-and-a-half medical leave to win the Women’s Royal Rumble Match on Feb. 1. If a superstar wins the Royal Rumble, they are guaranteed a title shot at WrestleMania.
Stratton and Flair have been at each other’s throats on “Friday Night SmackDown!,” one of the weekly shows WWE airs, since Flair won the Rumble. Attacking each other on the microphone and in the ring, the rivalry is in full swing, and I can’t wait for the match.
My early prediction is that Flair will be unsuccessful in her bid to become champion. I believe Stratton is far more popular than Flair, and she has no reason to lose her title to someone who’s been at the top of the mountain for over 10 years, like Flair.
Sky vs. Belair is next – this match is for the Women’s World Championship. Sky shockingly defeated former champion Rhea Ripley on an episode of “Monday Night Raw,” the other weekly television show WWE produces, about three weeks ago.
Belair, who just won the Elimination Chamber match which guaranteed her a title match against the champion that wasn’t chosen by the Rumble winner, will now face Sky for sure at WrestleMania. This is because the championship match between former champion Ripley and Sky was made prior to the Elimination Chamber.
Sky and Belair have history against each other since Sky beat Belair for the title in August 2023 after Sky cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase on Belair when she regained her title earlier that night.
On top of her title match, Belair is caught in a situation between her two best friends, Jade Cargill and Naomi. This is because Naomi viciously attacked Cargill back in November 2024 without Belair knowing.
I believe this will affect Belair’s confidence going into this match, and assuming former champion Ripley doesn’t get her rematch, I think Sky retains her title.
Onto the men’s championship matches, I’ll cover Gunther vs. Jey Uso for the World Heavyweight Championship first.
Uso punched his ticket to WrestleMania after unexpectedly winning the Men’s Royal Rumble Match eliminating a returning Cena, who was the favorite to win the match in many fans’ eyes.
Uso chose to face World Heavyweight Champion Gunther at WrestleMania over Rhodes, the WWE champion. This was a rather predictable choice since Rhodes and Uso are allies. Since Uso’s choice, Gunther has been tormenting him on “Raw” weekly.
Gunther leaves Uso beaten week in and week out, hurting Uso’s confidence in himself for this match. On top of the beatdowns, Gunther has called Uso “not good enough” and the clown of “Raw.”
Since winning the championship in August 2024, Gunther took only one loss to Rhodes in an exhibition match at Crown Jewel in November 2024. He has been unstoppable aside from that, but I feel the underdog challenger Uso has enough to beat Gunther and become new World Heavyweight Champion.
Lastly, the WWE Championship match is between Rhodes and Cena. Cena punched his ticket to WrestleMania after winning the men’s Elimination Chamber match. The beloved superstar was the fan favorite, receiving praise when he won the match. But, in a sudden turn of events, The Rock convinced Cena to turn on Rhodes, after Rhodes denied selling out to The Rock.
Cena would beat and bloody Rhodes in a villainous attack. The future looks uncertain for the yearlong champion, Rhodes, and I believe Rhodes will lose to this new visceral version of Cena. Thus ending his reign and making Cena a record-breaking 17-time champion.
