Wrestlemania 41 Preview

Las Vegas will play host to Wrestlemania 41 this weekend. The centerpiece of WWE and all of professional wrestling, the “Showcase of the Immortals” hasn’t been to Nevada since the infamous Wrestlemania IX at Caesars Palace back in 1993. This time around, the two-night premium live event will stream in the U.S. on Peacock from Allegiant Stadium (normally the home of the Las Vegas Raiders).

The road to Wrestlemania this year has seen heel turns, betrayals and old feuds reignited, while titles have changed hands to complicate matches and up-and-coming stars find themselves at odds with wrestling legends.

Night One of Wrestlemania 41 kicks off with the World Heavyweight Championship match. After his surprising victory in the 30-man Royal Rumble in January, Jey Uso is the underdog against reigning champion Gunther, the seemingly unstoppable Ring General, who has been unrelenting in tormenting his opponent, including giving Jey’s brother Jimmy Uso a brutal beating on live TV earlier this month.

Current World Tag Team champions Erik and Ivar, aka the War Raiders, face off against 12-time tag team champs The New Day. After turning on their longtime friend and teammate Big E, a newly ruthless Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods look to reclaim the gold after a long drought without a championship victory.

After a vicious attack that left her out of action for months, Jade Cargill looks for revenge against former friend Naomi, while WWE Hall-of-Famer Rey Mysterio will take on the mysterious new luchador El Grande Americano, who may or may not be the obnoxious Chad Gable in disguise. Meanwhile, United States Champion LA Knight has his work cut out for him as he takes on his toughest challenger yet, the Samoan Werewolf Jacob Fatu, who has put some of WWE’s toughest wrestlers out of commission on his way to Wrestlemania.

Women’s Royal Rumble winner (and 14-time champion) Charlotte Flair is hellbent on taking the WWE Women’s Championship away from newcomer Tiffany Stratton, which has led to a brutal exchange of words and fists en route to their match.

The main event of Night One sees a three-man triple threat match between Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and CM Punk. The latter two men already had longtime beefs with Rollins, but now find themselves at odds as Reigns’ chief counsel, Paul Heyman, has chosen to stand in his old friend Punk’s corner.

Night Two opens with another triple threat match, this time for the Women’s World Championship. After winning Elimination Chamber earlier this year, Bianca Belair assumed she’d be facing current champion Rhea Ripley for the belt. Things took a turn when Ripley lost the title to Iyo Sky. Blaming Belair for the upset, Ripley inserted herself in the Wrestlemania match, leaving Sky to face down two former champions to defend her title.

The Women’s Tag Team Championship will see current champs Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez of the Judgement Day faction face off against friends and occasional rivals Bayley and Lyra Valkyria (who recently defended her Intercontinental Championship in a victory against Bayley, which may complicate matters).

Longtime WWE veteran AJ Styles takes on podcaster, influencer and now-wrestler Logan Paul, hoping to put the arrogant but talented young heel in his place. The men’s Intercontinental Championship is at stake in a fatal four-way match between reigning champ Bron Breakker, lucha libre sensation Penta and Judgement Day teammates Finn Bálor and Dirty Dom Mysterio, which could put the already shaky faction in jeopardy. The penultimate match of the night sees Drew McIntyre and Damien Priest face off in a no-disqualification Sin City Street Fight, as their yearlong feud comes to a violent head.

The final match of Wrestlemania 41 is for the Undisputed WWE Championship. One year after defeating Roman Reigns and the machinations of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, “The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes will face down yet another icon of wrestling, 16-time World Champion John Cena. The Rock had approached Cody Rhodes, hoping to gain his loyalty and his soul in the lead-up to Wrestlemania but the champ refused. Turns out “the Final Boss” had another taker in Cena, who turned heel and pledged to win the belt and retire with it.

As always, Wrestlemania promises twists and turns in and out of the ring, as old feuds are settled and new ones ignited, setting up a summer of new storylines for WWE and the build-up to this year’s SummerSlam in August.