WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 2 Predictions: Wrestling Inc. Picks The Winners
Well, here we are. For the 40th consecutive year, "The Show of Shows" has arrived. And for the first consecutive year, Wrestling Inc. has arrived to make our official WWE WrestleMania 40 picks.
We've compiled our consensus picks for every PPV and PLE so far in 2024, and if the recent past is any indication, you can view this column as less of a prediction and more of a spoiler. We are 20-2 as a group so far this year, with the meaning the person a majority of us predict to win a PPV match is almost always the person who wins that match. But with three massive WWE shows taking place over two days, WrestleMania weekend has the potential to elevate our hot streak to new heights — or dash it against the rocks of defeat.
It's time to talk about Night Two of WrestleMania, a card that will see major singles championships defended in four of the six matches. Night Two also has its very own magic number: 76.5%. Shockingly, that's the percentage of WINC staffers that favor a particular winner in four of the six Night Two matches. Who, exactly, do three fourths of our crew believe will earn victory? And while we're at it, what do we think is happening with that Damian Priest guy and his fancy briefcase? Let's get to the picks!
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles: Knight (76.5%)
After months of back-and-forth jabs (both physical and verbal), the rivalry between LA Knight and AJ Styles will culminate at WWE WrestleMania 40. Looking back, many pundits expected WrestleMania 40 to be the platform for Knight's first main roster title win. However, in the lead-up to the 2024 Royal Rumble, it became clear that Knight was headed down a different path — one that led him to Styles.
A month before he was first attacked by Styles, Knight unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the 2023 Crown Jewel event. Following his loss, Knight asserted that he deserved a rematch against Reigns. Knight, of course, wasn't alone in this pursuit, as Styles and Randy Orton also verbalized their interest in facing Reigns. As such, "WWE SmackDown" General Manager Nick Aldis later announced that all three men would receive the opportunity to challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the 2024 Royal Rumble premium live event. While victory ultimately landed in the hands of Reigns on this occasion, Knight later received an opportunity to secure a shot at WWE's other main title — the World Heavyweight Championship — in the Men's Elimination Chamber match. Much like the Royal Rumble and Crown Jewel, though, Knight's appearance was accompanied by a loss — this time due to Styles' direct interference.
Despite these three consecutive PLE defeats, Knight's popularity with the WWE Universe continues to soar. With this in mind, the majority of Wrestling Inc. staff (76.5%, to be exact) are confident that WWE will rectify these aforementioned losses by awarding Knight with a win on "The Grandest Stage of Them All." Should Styles emerge victorious at WrestleMania, WWE may be putting Knight's momentum at risk — a risk that we don't believe they can afford to take.
Written by Ella Jay
Six-Man Philadelphia Street Fight: The Pride (87%)
Our predictions for this match aren't as cut-and-dried as others across both nights of WrestleMania, but still, a large majority of us are taking The Pride, made up of Bobby Lashley, Montez Ford, and Angelo Dawkins, over The Final Testament, featuring Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar. The Philadelphia Street Fight stipulation for this match is fitting, as both teams have been feuding for months and often lay each other out with brutal attacks outside sanctioned matches, which they've also had in recent months.
While many of us can't exactly remember why these two teams are feuding, according to WWE, it may have stemmed from Lashley eliminating Kross in a WWE United States Championship No. 1 Contender Tournament way back in December. With a feud going on that long, we think a street fight is a perfect stipulation to end it all, and The Pride coming out on top for their WrestleMania shine is a perfect babyface moment. The fans in Philadelphia are certain to enjoy this match a little bit more with the integration of weapons, and it will be interesting to see how the teams utilize the different environment of the WrestleMania setup. With the Authors of Pain's return to WWE being extremely lackluster, 82% of us here at WINC are riding with Lashley and the Profits.
Written by Daisy Ruth
WWE United States Championship Match: Logan Paul (47%)
Logan Paul is heading into his third WrestleMania and first as WWE United States Champion. The social media influencer has the deck stacked against him this weekend, as he's taking on not one, but two WWE veterans in "The Viper" Randy Orton and "The Prizefighter" Kevin Owens.
Paul has been embroiled in his feud with Owens for some time now, with Orton an added foil over the last month or so. While Owens has been fighting tooth and nail to get revenge on Logan Paul for throwing away the two men's match at the Royal Rumble, the presence of Orton adds an interesting twist. Orton is one of the wiliest superstars in WWE, but it would not be controversial to say his better days are behind him. He's barely found his footing since returning from a lengthy back injury, and now he's caught in the crossfire between two younger stars. It feels like either Owens or Paul are poised to pin a wounded Orton and escape with the title, likely extending their feud to Backlash in France. That said, while 47% of the Wrestling Inc. staff think it will be Paul who leaves WrestleMania 40 with the US title, Orton is a close second place with 41% of the vote, while only 12% of us believe the gold will wind up in the hands of Owens.
Written by Ross Berman
World Heavyweight Championship: Drew McIntyre (76.5%)
Thank CM Punk and his injured triceps for this match taking place at all. A contest that was most likely going to be Punk taking on Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship has transformed into Rollins defending his title against a man who has been waiting for his WrestleMania moment for four years.
WrestleMania 36 in 2020 was bittersweet for fans of Drew McIntyre. It was sweet to see him finally achieve his ultimate goal of winning the WWE Championship, but doing it in front of zero people was a bitter pill to swallow. Since then, he failed to reclaim the title at WrestleMania 37, picked up a forgettable victory over the happiest incarnation of Baron Corbin at WrestleMania 38, and then failed to dethrone GUNTHER for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 39. For four years, McIntyre hasn't come close to recreating his crowning moment in 2020, and this year feels like the perfect time to rectify that.
Even from a logic perspective, McIntyre is going into this match as the favorite. Rollins is going to be wrestling in the main event on Night One, a match that involves The Bloodline, which means that there is every chance that the match will still be happening by the time night two officially starts. The point is, Rollins is going to be exhausted going into his match with McIntyre. It's a clever way of keeping Rollins strong in defeat — the debate will always be "would Rollins have won had he not wrestled on Night One?" — while also making McIntyre look strong by finally dethroning a man who has held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for nearly a year. As is true for a weirdly high number of matches on Night Two, 76.5% of us believe Drew regains the gold.
Written by Sam Palmer
WWE Women's Championship: Bayley (76.5%)
As one of WWE's "Four Horsewomen," Bayley has been putting in fantastic work for years. Her efforts were rewarded this past January when Bayley won the 2024 Women's Royal Rumble, securing her place at WWE WrestleMania 40. Though she initially thought to challenge Rhea Ripley, the severing of ties between herself and the other members of Damage CTRL led Bayley to step up to IYO SKY instead. With all of the build-up this story has received, it only feels right for Bayley to walk away from WrestleMania holding the WWE Women's Championship, with more than three-quarters of the Wrestling Inc. team in agreement.
SKY has been the company's Women's Champion since cashing in her Money in the Bank contract on Bianca Belair at WWE SummerSlam 2023. That's a more-than-respectable reign, especially considering some of the matches she's had along the way. But heels were made to be toppled by babyfaces, and the personal history between the two leads us to believe that Bayley is going to overcome.
Now truly feels like Bayley's time just as much as it is Cody Rhodes'. While the overall run of Damage CTRL thus far has been a little rocky, the company has an opportunity to end this chapter on the right foot by giving Bayley her long-awaited feel-good moment at WrestleMania.
Written by Nick Miller
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Cody Rhodes (76.5%)
At long last, we're right back where we were last year at this time. Of course, these days, The Rock has gotten involved in The Bloodline mess and the tag match on Night One with he and Roman Reigns taking on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins could have a big say in how this match ends up going down, so maybe things are a little more complicated. Or maybe they aren't, since, if Rhodes and Rollins can pull off a win in said tag match, Rhodes just may have himself a fair fight in this one. In the end, it doesn't matter to our pundits, who chimed in at more than a three-quarters clip in favor of Rhodes actually finishing his story in Philadelphia.
Is that wishful thinking? It's hard to say. Cody's quest for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship has now taken up the better part of two years, and maybe folks are just ready to see it happen. Maybe they're tired of the story itself. Or maybe they're ready for The Bloodline saga to take a hard left turn, split the faction, or crumble altogether, setting the stage for a Reigns departure — only to return somewhere down the line, likely to face his legendary cousin, ol' Dwayne himself.
As a group, we're leaning toward the happy ending we didn't get last year, one that sees Mama Rhodes handed not a bloody weight belt, but the vaunted WWE title that her late husband Dusty was never able to secure for himself (well, not really, but sort of). WrestleMania is usually babyface season, after all and, especially since we took the L there at WrestleMania 39, conventional wisdom says "The American Nightmare" will make that right this time around — we think.
Written by Jon Jordan
Will Damian Priest cash in Money in the Bank? Yes (53%)
Much can be said about whether or not Damian Priest has shown the instincts of a future world champion since winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. However, as per the stipulation, he only needs the most opportune three seconds to take the throne should he wish to cash in his contract.
Priest is tied up with the WWE Tag Team Championship heading into Philadelphia, scheduled to defend the belts alongside Finn Balor in a six-pack ladder match against New Catch Republic, The Awesome Truth, A-Town Down Under, DIY, and the New Day. Presuming he gets through that match in one piece, he will have the pick of the bunch with Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins both defending their Undisputed Universal and WWE World Heavyweight titles against Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre respectively.
He might even stand a chance to cash in on either of those titleholders on the first night of 'Mania, as Rollins and Reigns stand opposite one another with Rhodes and The Rock, respectively, in tag team action. With all those chances begging to be taken, the poll put to the Wrestling Inc. team backs Priest to call his shot in Philly with 53% of votes — nearly an even split. If he does cash in, 78% of us believe it will be for the World Heavyweight title, not the WWE title, and the same percentage believes such a challenge would be successful.
Priest's contract will be valid until the next Money in the Bank event in July, so there is still plenty of time to wait and see. But as one of WWE's current world champions can attest to, there's nothing quite like a WrestleMania cash-in.
Written by Max Everett