On April 6 and 7, 2024, WWE will be producing the 40th anniversary of the extravaganza known as WrestleMania. A pop culture phenomenon since 1984, WrestleMania is viewed as the Super Bowl of wrestling, as fans from the past, present, and future and from all over the world come together for the biggest show of the year.

Outside of the 1990s during the Monday Night Wars with WCW, WWE has arguably not had a hotter product. There are so many deserving male and female wrestlers who should be a part of what will be a historic weekend in Philadelphia, PA. Bottom line is though, not everybody can make the card.

With the anticipation mounting as the calendar rapidly approaches to the Royal Rumble at Tropicana Field in Tampa, FL., I have booked a fantasy WrestleMania 40 card.

To start, I will list all the matches and their backstory. Then, I will go about creating a balanced card between WrestleMania Saturday and WrestleMania Sunday.

1. Roman Reigns (C. W/ Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa) vs The Rock. Undisputed Universal Championship

By the time we get to Philly in early April, The Tribal Chief’s Undisputed title reign will be at just over 1,300 days. I’m sorry to the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes, but after Dwyane Johnson made his return to Monday Night RAW on Jan. 1 and said he wanted to sit at the Head of the Table, it was clear the direction WWE wanted to go.

This is a dream match. A match of this magnitude between cousins at the top of the industry needs to take place at the biggest show of the year, not at a ‘B’ level event, even though it is taking place at a 70,000-plus seat venue in Peru, Australia.

Rhodes can Finish His Story at another WrestleMania down the line. In a wrestling town as historic as Philadelphia, Rock vs Reigns is THE match on THE stage. We’ll find another spot for the son of Dusty Rhodes.

2. Seth Rollins (C) vs CM Punk. World Heavyweight Championship

As the winner of the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble, CM Punk will choose The Visionary and finally have an opportunity to main event the Showcase of the Immortals. Punk and Rollins have already had some epic promo battles before the Rumble, and the build here will be more talk than action. One of Punk’s first televised TV matches since returning to WWE at Survivor Series takes place with the richest prize on the red brand on the line.

3. Bianca Belair (C) vs Jade Cargill. WWE Women’s Championship

At the Royal Rumble, The EST will knock off IYO SKY and regain the WWE Women’s Championship, as the Damage CTRL breakup will go into full effect with Bayley costing her stablemate the strap. Later in the night, the former AEW star will make her WWE debut and win the women’s Royal Rumble match, giving her free reign to choose either Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley or Belair as her WrestleMania opponent. Cargill will begin her journey in WWE on the blue brand, as she and Belair will become only the second all-black women’s match in WrestleMania history (the other one being Belair vs Sasha Banks at WrestleMania 37).

4. Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch. Women’s World Championship

WWE has been teasing this match since the RAW after WrestleMania 39. At last year’s event, Ripley won the title from Charlotte Flair and the JudgMent Day “leader”, and the “Mami” to Dominik Mysterio has run through the women’s division on Mondays ever since. There’s only one person left for Ripley to conquer at the current moment, and that woman is The Irish Lasskicker, who will win a No. 1 contender’s Elimination Chamber in Australia to earn the opportunity to face The Eradicator in a match that could steal the weekend.  

5. GUNTHER (C) vs Brock Lesnar. Intercontinental Championship

When WrestleMania 40 commences, GUNTHER’s reign as the longest Intercontinental Champion in history will reach approximately 550 days. The Ring General has run roughshod over both Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night RAW since coming to the main roster nearly two years ago. There is truly only one dream match left for the leader of IMPERIUM and that is a date with The Beast Incarnate, who has not been on WWE TV since putting over Cody Rhodes at SummerSlam. Lesnar doesn’t have a ton of opponents left on his dream list, and this is a perfect match for GUNTHER to solidify himself as the Next Big Thing.

6. Logan Paul (C) vs LA Knight vs A.J. Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Austin Theory vs Bobby Lashley vs Carmelo Hayes. Ladder Match. United States Championship

Originally, I had this match as a one-on-bout between LA Knight and Logan Paul, as Knight would look to build on his year-long star-making status in WWE by dethroning the Social Media Megastar. However, A.J. Styles, Kevin Owens, Austin Theory, and Bobby Lashley all have an unclear path at the time of this writing for their road to the Show of Shows. With Styles and Knight currently involved in a feud, and Owens mixed in a feud with Paul and Theory, a Ladder Match between these competitors to get all of them on the card would be a fun WrestleMania contest. Lashley, along with Knight, was left off the card last year, and the All Mighty needs a spot, so he becomes the sixth member,

Adding to the intrigue will be Carmelo Hayes, the NXT standout who participated in the U.S. Title tournament ahead of the Royal Rumble. Hayes has the potential to be a future star in the business, and the 40th anniversary of WrestleMania should showcase some of WWE’s future from an all-of-a-sudden very talented pool working for Shawn Michaels on the black and gold brand.

7. Creed Brothers (C. W/ Ivy Nile) vs New Day vs Pretty Deadly vs Alpha Academy (W/ Maxxine and Akira Tozawa). Undisputed Tag Team Championships

Before WrestleMania, on an episode of RAW, I’m projecting the Creed Brothers take the Undisputed Tag Team Titles away from Finn Balor and Damian Priest of The JudgMent Day, as I imagine WWE has bigger plans in store for Senor Money in the Bank and his Familia. For the Tag Team Title Match at WrestleMania, I think all four of these teams deserve a spot, and this should be a fun chaotic match.

8.  Kabuki Warriors (C) vs Shayna Baszler and Zoey Starks vs Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. Women’s Tag Team Championships  

I project The Kabuki Warriors to take the straps away from Chance and Carter sometime before WrestleMania, as Asuka and Kaire Sane will also be having to deal with Damage CTRL’s demise. The men are booked in a Fatal-4-Way Tag Title Match so why not the women as well?

9. Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso (W/ Solo Sikoa and Paul Heyman)

This is the match WWE has been waiting to tell ever since Jimmy turned on his twin and cost him the Undisputed Title vs Reigns at SummerSlam. Jey is now YEETING his way into the hearts of the WWE Universe on RAW while Jimmy tries to get back into The Bloodline’s good graces on SmackDown. In a similar fashion to the build-up between Rey Mysterio and Dominik at last year’s WrestleMania, Jey and Jimmy will find a way to cross paths again. Sikoa and Paul Heyman (who is beloved in Philadelphia) will also pull double duty, as they will not only accompany The Head of the Table to his battle, but they will be involved in trying to show Jey he should have never turned his back on The Tribal Chief.  

10.  Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio (W/ Rhea Ripley)

The sentiment among the WWE Universe is Rey Mysterio has moved on from fighting his son and his focus is now on his rivalry with Santos Escobar and the new Legado Del Fantasma (LDF). I don’t believe that’s the case, as Dom has continued to talk trash about his “DeadBeat Dad” since their first match last year.

I believe the match between Mysterio, Dragon Lee, and Carlito vs the new LDF will occur at Elimination Chamber, and Rey Mysterio will look to free his son from The JudgMent Day in a WrestleMania 39 rematch. The Mysterio family is a legendary wrestling family, and I think Rey would like nothing better than to put his son over in the biggest show in wrestling history.

11.  Randy Orton vs John Cena

One of the most famous rivalries in WWE history has never had a one-on-match at WrestleMania, and at this stage in their careers (especially Cena’s), time is winding down. With nothing cut and dry on the WrestleMania calendar for either individually, this match makes too much sense to me and will be based on the respect both men have had for each other in their careers, as well as the historical significance of their encounters in WWE history.

12.  Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, The Miz and R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre and JudgMent Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and JD McDonough). Philadelphia Street Fight

The City of Brotherly Love is the birthplace of Extreme Championship Wrestling, so why not bring WrestleMania 40 to the EXTREME with an eight-man tag tornado match between two teams who have tons of star talent, but not a clear direction for WrestleMania. The R-Truth involvement with the JudgMent Day has been fantastic, as well as Drew McIntyre’s constant battle with whether or not he is a part of the group. Miz has recently mixed it up with JudgMent Day, and Zayn has recent history with the group and McIntyre.

That leads us to Rhodes, who if he’s not facing Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania Sunday, there are options for him, but not many:

1. Be inserted into the World Heavyweight Championship match between Rollins and Punk
2. Face GUNTHER instead of Brock Lesnar for the Intercontinental Championship
3. Be involved in some sort of feud, whether it’d be JudgMent Day or Drew McIntyre
4. Face a superstar with credentials, like an Omos or somebody he can overcome

I opted for option three for the following reasons:

• Rollins and Punk have a history in itself that deserves a one-on-one spotlight
• GUNTHER should not drop the title, Rhodes should not suffer a loss at this point, and if not GUNTHER, who does Lesnar have to face?
• Reducing Rhodes from a match with Reigns to a random rivalry match with a Superstar like Omos seems pointless

Rhodes’ rivalry with the JudgMent Day and Drew McIntyre has been steaming for months and this will be a way to get him logically on the card.

Priest was the only member of JudgMent Day to not have a WrestleMania 39 contest. I don’t think that will happen this year, and Drew McIntyre can wrap up his multiple rivalries in this contest before his WWE contract expires. This “gimmick” match is a win-win for all.

13.  Bayley vs IYO SKY vs Dakota Kai

After Bayley costs SKY the Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble to Belair, the Damage CTRL implosion officially begins, with Bayley being the face, and assuming Kai is clear and healthy by WrestleMania season from her torn ACL, she plays the tweener role, as the original Damage CTRL triple threat occurs on the biggest stage.

14.  Liv Morgan vs Raquel Rodriquez

Raquel Rodriquez has had more tag team partners than she can count. Her last tag team partner, Liv Morgan, was taken out by Rhea Ripley. Shortly after, so was Rodriquez. I’m expecting for both women to return around Royal Rumble season and attempt to reclaim the Women’s Tag Team Titles from either Chance and Carter or the Kabuki Warriors. However, as they are about to win the belts back, Rodriquez turns on Morgan!

Rodriquez will be so sick of always being let down by tag partners that she decides to go it alone, and Morgan will be looking for revenge in a big spot for both women: A non-title women’s one-on-one match at WrestleMania. It has only happened one other time in WWE history, as Morgan faced Natalya on the Kickoff Show during WrestleMania 36.

15. The Grayson Waller Effect W/ Stone Cold

What’s the biggest WrestleMania of all time without The RattleSnake “Stone Cold” Steve Austin?! Since Grayson Waller has been on the WWE roster, he’s given “The Grayson Waller Rub” to some of the biggest legends in the business, including Randy Orton, John Cena, Edge, and The Rock. Why not give Waller a storyline going into the Showcase of the Immortals where he tries to give The Grayson Waller Rub to “one of the biggest stars in the history of WWE”, similar to The Kevin Owens Show with Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38. Expect this time, Waller will not call out Austin; he will just appear as a shock to the fans at Lincoln Financial Field. Eventually, a scuffle can break down, where Waller will go for the Rolling Stunner, only to be nailed with a Stunner from Austin instead!

Creating The Card:

WrestleMania Saturday:

Opening Match and Main Event

We already know the main event of WrestleMania Sunday will consist of The Tribal Chief defending the Undisputed Title against his cousin. That match will probably take the most time out of any match throughout the entire weekend, so it’s best to spot eight matches for Night One and seven for Night Two.

For Night One, CM Punk will finally have an opportunity to do what he's dreamt his whole life: Main event WrestleMania. For the opening match, it’s usually a match where mid-carders shine. The U.S. Title Ladder Match seems to fit the bill for this perfectly.

That leaves us with the following card:

1. Logan Paul (C) vs LA Knight vs A.J. Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Austin Theory vs Bobby Lashley vs Carmelo Hayes. Ladder Match. United States Championship
2. TBD
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD
6. TBD
7. TBD
8. Seth Rollins (C) vs CM Punk. World Heavyweight Championship

Segments 2 & 7

Segment 2 usually is the least important match of the night. After a banger of a Ladder Match to kick off the show, we’ll slide the Morgan/Rodriquez match in here.

With The Rock appearing on Night Two, it’s probably best to space out Steve Austin and Dwyane Johnson on different nights. Unlike WrestleMania 38, Stone Cold will not be wrestling, so he won’t be main-eventing, but with the POP he’s going to get, it’s best to keep him as close to the end as possible.

That gives us the following card:

1. Logan Paul (C) vs LA Knight vs A.J. Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Austin Theory vs Bobby Lashley vs Carmelo Hayes. Ladder Match. United States Championship
2. Liv Morgan vs Raquel Rodriquez
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD
6. TBD
7. The Grayson Waller Effect W/ Stone Cold
8. Seth Rollins (C) vs CM Punk. World Heavyweight Championship

Splitting Up Lesnar, Cena, Usos and Mysterio’s

John Cena and Brock Lesnar have equal star power, so they should be on opposite nights, as should the two family battles between the Usos and Mysterio’s.

I want the Uso brother battle to be separate from Reigns’ match, so that puts Jey vs Jimmy on Saturday, and Rey vs Dom on Sunday. As for Cena/Orton and Lesnar/GUNTHER, the only logic I have is splitting the mid-card titles between both nights, thus Cena/Orton go on Saturday.

The Usos have the better story heading into the match, so they will get slotted as late as possible in segment six, with Cena and Orton smack in the middle in segment four.

That gives us the following card:

1. Logan Paul (C) vs LA Knight vs A.J. Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Austin Theory vs Bobby Lashley vs Carmelo Hayes. Ladder Match. United States Championship
2. Liv Morgan vs Raquel Rodriquez
3. TBD
4. John Cena vs Randy Orton
5. TBD
6. Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso
7. The Grayson Waller Effect W/ Stone Cold
8. Seth Rollins (C) vs CM Punk. World Heavyweight Championship

Finishing off Night One with the Women

The Women’s Title Matches and Damage CTRL matches should be on separate days. I see Lynch/Ripley as a bigger match than Belair/Cargill because of the stature of both women within WWE, so I’ll push that match to Sunday.

As for whether the Damage CTRL triple threat or tag titles should happen on Night One, my vote is for the Tag Titles, as up to this point, only the U.S. Title, Women’s Title, and World Heavyweight Title are being defended on Night One.

I don’t want to have a run of three straight one-on-one encounters, so that slides the Women’s Tag Titles into slot five, with Cargill’s WrestleMania debut happening in slot three.

That gives us the finalized WrestleMania Saturday card:

1. Logan Paul (C) vs LA Knight vs A.J. Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Austin Theory vs Bobby Lashley vs Carmelo Hayes. Ladder Match. United States Championship- Winner: LA Knight
2. Liv Morgan vs Raquel Rodriquez- Winner: Raquel Rodriquez
3. Bianca Belair (C) vs Jade Cargill. Women’s Championship- Winner: Jade Cargill
4. John Cena vs Randy Orton- Winner: Randy Orton
5. Kabuki Warriors (C) vs Shayna Baszler and Zoey Starks vs Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. Women’s Tag Team Championships- Winner: Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn  
6. Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso- Winner: Jey Uso
7. The Grayson Waller Effect W/ Stone Cold
8. Seth Rollins (C) vs CM Punk. World Heavyweight Championship- Winner: CM Punk

WrestleMania Sunday:

Opening Match and Main Event

After WrestleMania Saturday, here are the matches we still have left for Night Two:

1. Roman Reigns (C. W/ Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa) vs The Rock. Undisputed Universal Championship
2. Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch. Women’s World Championship
3. GUNTHER (C) vs Brock Lesnar. Intercontinental Championship
4. Creed Brothers (C. W/ Ivy Nile) vs New Day vs Pretty Deadly vs Alpha Academy (W/ Maxxine and Akira Tozawa). Undisputed Tag Team Championships
5. Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio (W/ Rhea Ripley)
6. Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, The Miz and R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre and JudgMent Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and JD McDonough). Philadelphia Street Fight
7. Bayley vs IYO SKY vs Dakota Kai

We know Reigns V Rock will be the final battle of the weekend. Therefore, the opening match needs to complement it. Ripley and Charlotte Flair almost stole Night One of WrestleMania 39 a year ago. Let Ripley and Lynch tear the house down to start Night Two.

That gives us the following card

1. Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch. Women’s World Championship
2. TBD
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD
6. TBD
7. Roman Reigns (C. W/ Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa) vs The Rock. Undisputed Universal Championship

Matches 2 & 6

Just like with WrestleMania Saturday, Night Two’s worst match of the night on paper should come in segment two. With this card, it’s what should be a fun-paced Fatal 4 Way for the Undisputed Tag Titles.

Before Reigns and The Rock throwdown, I’m expecting some sort of segment where they announce the attendance record (Pat McAfee appearance?!), so I’m going to book the personal battle between the Mysterio’s in the same spot where Jey and Jimmy were Night One (maybe a Bad Bunny appearance as well?!).

That gives us the following card:

1. Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch. Women’s World Championship
2. Creed Brothers (C. W/ Ivy Nile) vs New Day vs Pretty Deadly vs Alpha Academy (W/ Maxxine and Akira Tozawa). Undisputed Tag Team Championships
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD
6. Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio (W/ Rhea Ripley)
7. Roman Reigns (C. W/ Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa) vs The Rock. Undisputed Universal Championship

Finishing the Card:

Here’s what’s left on the card:

• GUNTHER (C) vs Brock Lesnar. Intercontinental Championship
• Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, The Miz and R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre and JudgMent Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and JD McDonough). Philadelphia Street Fight
• Bayley vs IYO SKY vs Dakota Kai

I don’t want to put two tag matches back-to-back in segments two and three. I think it’s better to save the multi-man match for later in the show, with the two big singles matches at the end. That slots Lesnar/GUNTHER in segment three, the Damage CTRL match in segment four, and the Philadelphia Street Fight in segment five.

That leaves the finalized Night Two card:

1. Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch. Women’s World Championship- Winner: Becky Lynch
2. Creed Brothers (C. W/ Ivy Nile) vs New Day vs Pretty Deadly vs Alpha Academy (W/ Maxxine and Akira Tozawa). Undisputed Tag Team Championships- Winner: Pretty Deadly
3. GUNTHER (C) vs Brock Lesnar. Intercontinental Championship- Winner: GUNTHER
4. Bayley vs IYO SKY vs Dakota Kai- Winner: Bayley
5. Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, The Miz and R-Truth vs Drew McIntyre and JudgMent Day (Damian Priest, Finn Balor, and JD McDonough). Philadelphia Street Fight- Winner: Team Cody
6. Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio (W/ Rhea Ripley)- Winner: Dominik Mysterio
7. Roman Reigns (C. W/ Paul Heyman and Solo Sikoa) vs The Rock. Undisputed Universal Championship- Winner: Roman Reigns