Mr. Tito’s PHAT WWE Wrestlemania 41 Predictions – Who Will Win the Title Matches?
It’s Wrestlemania 41 season, and I’m kind of bummed… No, not because it “lacks the hype”, nor am I crying on my pillow that Roman Reigns isn’t on Day #2’s Main Event of WM 41 even though he’s in the “main event” of Day 1. And I’m not one of those that insists that it’s a shame that the Royal Rumble winners don’t headline Wresltemania, especially with the STUPID and I repeat STUPID Elimination Chamber event also handing out Wrestlemania “main events” aka title shots.
Nah, I’m just tired of YOUR rhetoric… That’s right, YOU, the wrestling fan are just ruining everything.
For years upon years, I had wrestlers openly criticize me as being bad for business and many online fans attacking me as well. And yet, as it turns out, many of those wrestlers had their own baggage or demons while many of those wrestling fans had their own hypocrisies.
But this whining over Wrestlemania 41 is getting old. So it’s not as spectacular as maybe Wrestlemanias 39 and 40. BIG DEAL. Wrestlemanias 27 through 38 weren’t that great, by most reviewers’ ratings, and I’ll take Wrestlemania 41’s hype AND talent roster over any of those Wrestlemanias. I think Wrestlemania 39 and 40 were so good that the expectations have been risen too much that it has created extra cynicism among fans. Maybe go rewatch Wrestlemanias 27 through 38 and get a TASTE for what Vince McMahon did in his elder years and what he micro-managed. The 2015 through 2019 era, especially, of pushing Roman Reigns HARD as a babyface was embarrassing as were the multiple Main Events of Wrestlemania during that era with Reigns looking like a “deer in headlights” during most of those matches against exceptional talents (Brock, HHH, Undertaker).
Could the booking of Wrestlemania 41 be better? Sure… But have you ever been to work and a project gets upended or management is suddenly changed for a new group? Things don’t always go with what you expect, and in my opinion, The Rock has been a major problem for the WWE during the past 2 years and created major chaos for when he WANTS to participate and the Vince McMahon lawsuit controversy helped inject him into the situation as new Board member and then trying the shoehorn in Roman vs. Rock while shredding any long-term plans to have Cody vs. Roman as a rematch.
The Rock was supposed to come back around and be a major part of Wrestlemania 41… Then by late 2024, Hollywood began calling his number again with various projects and suddenly, he wasn’t available to headline Wrestlemania 41 against Roman Reigns. That created complete chaos with WWE Creative for this year’s show and the price gouging attempt for WWE isn’t working as well as it did at Royal Rumble (70,000 tickets sold versus 50,000). Turning John Cena heel was a “Hail Mary” attempt at making the show relevant, but all it has done has exposed Cody Rhodes heavily as a weak promo man against the elite promo cutter with John Cena.
The chaos with WWE Creative feels like politics to me right now… Just pure chaos, inconsistency, and a lack of trust. Meanwhile, there are at least 2 camps who are critical of everything one side does while the other camp praises everything. Turning John Cena heel with the Rock and implementing tariffs randomly, without plans, has created chaos within the WWE and the world. With big things involving millions, billions, and even trillions of dollars of business, you need to PLAN THINGS OUT but also create a CONTINGENCY PLAN in case something goes wrong. You cannot just do things on the fly because people have expectations built while also building trust with you, your organization, or your country. When things seem chaotic to someone on the outside and they cannot trust you to be reliable, then lost business happens.
WWE needs to sit down with the Rock and ask him WHEN ARE YOU AVAILABLE? And if you don’t want to do this anymore, please tell us so that we can move on. You’ve paid him $30 million or more in TKO stock, that’s the LEAST you could ask him.
You know who else “booked on the fly”? WCW did… While 1997 was headlined by Sting vs. Hulk Hogan as a long-term plan, getting from A to Z had many twists and turns that made zero logical sense. While I love Lex Luger’s August 1997 title win and cherish it as a favorite wrestling memory, it was done on a spur of a moment and to boost Pay Per View buys for Road Wild 1997. There were many other stipulations added to WCW vs. NWO matches throughout the year that never stuck and Bischoff kept adding more and more wrestlers. Then, when Hulk Hogan exerted his Creative Control to RUIN the Starrcade 1997 finish, WCW was screwed because they truly had no long-term plans for Sting as WCW champion or what to do with the NWO afterward. Suddenly, they had a tainted champion with Sting and a NWO that Eric Bischoff kept strong because he was a mark for it. Then when a very green Bill Goldberg emerged, WCW put all of their chips on him and wasted a Pay Per View opportunity by blowing the title win on a July 1998 Nitro. No plans for Goldberg as champion, and thus the inexperienced Goldberg didn’t draw as champion.
What I don’t like about the 2024-2025 WWE is the CHAOS… Oh great, we’re finally getting Rock vs. Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 40… But then we didn’t, as it was reset to Cody vs. Roman. Luckily for the WWE, the Rock actually cared to be there again (Actors’ Strikes can do that) and brought back the HEEL “Hollywood” Rock character and they made lemonade out of lemons for Wrestlemania 40 and Rock gave more effort than he did during 2012-2013 which were all lackluster performances. Ya got lucky, but then both Roman and Rock BOLTED for an extended vacation after Wrestlemania 40 to leave the rest of the roster with the bag.
Rock has only appeared 5 times, one of which was with Cody on the RAW after Wrestlemania, the random Fall PLE appearance at the end where he appeared after a Bloodline match, him being a babyface on the first RAW on Netflix, the Cody proposal on Smackdown, and then Elimination Chamber 2025. However, none of it provides the possibilities of Rock vs. Roman or even Rock vs. Cody. Instead, John Cena on his RETIREMENT TOUR suddenly decides to buddy-up with the Rock EVEN THOUGH John Cena attacked the Rock at Wrestlemania 40 to allow Cody to win the title in the first place. We still have ZERO explanation why John Cena just suddenly teamed up with the Rock.
And with more “booking on the fly”, this Paul Heyman “favor”. The favor is that Heyman will be in CM Punk’s corner, even though wrestlers aren’t truly designated corners in a 4-sided ring. He’s technically at ringside for all 3 wrestlers… But this favor is STUPID and DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. I know that everybody things that it’s an obvious play that Heyman will join with Seth Rollins, but neither guy has any true interactions together to merit any reason for Heyman to join him. If Heyman joins Seth, it’s just more desperation booking without any cohesion.
All of that build-up of what CM Punk’s favor to Roman Reigns/OG Bloodline could be, and it’s just putting Paul Heyman in the corner. Nobody puts Paul Heyman in the corner!
But again, WWE is just throwing things at the wall because the anticipation for 2025 was for Bloodline vs. Bloodline to indicate that the Rock was behind Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu, and the Haku brothers the entire time. Then, that would lead to Rock getting the WWE Title from Cody Rhodes and then headlining Wrestlemania 41 against Roman Reigns, once and for all. All of the tea leaves indicated that was the path, but then Rock shreds those plans because Hollywood came calling. I’m NOT going to blame part-time Rock for taking $20 million+ movie gigs, but I blame WWE and Triple H’s leadership and selected flunkies for having ZERO contingency plans in the event that the Rock couldn’t wrestle during 2025.
Remember when many of us, including myself, raised hell when Road Dogg was promoted to rejoin the WWE Creative Team. While I’m NOT blaming Road Dogg for what many consider a “lackluster Wrestlemania 41 hype”, I’m blaming Triple H for not finding anyone smarter to surround himself on the WWE Creative Team. Thus, when the Rock cannot perform for 2025, SMART people in the room can pitch ideas as back-up plans. That way, you don’t have to seem desperate when you turn John Cena heel randomly and without reason.
Having DUMB people in the room creates CHAOS not just because they lack good ideas, but they are often yes-men and placate the top guy (which can happen in wrestling or politics). That is what happened to Vince McMahon for the 21st century, and it could happen to Triple H if he fails to surround himself with smart people who can come up with better contingency plans for when part-time wrestlers cannot show-up or when injuries randomly happen on the roster.
CHAOS is the issue with Wrestlemania 41, not “lack of build”. The build is there, but there’s a LACK OF TRUST with the build-up of the card because it has changed repeatedly and things have been done on-the-fly. Before 2025 happened, there were ZERO plans to turn John Cena heel and he wasn’t fully penciled in to wrestle Cody for the WWE Title. Then, when Rock couldn’t make Wrestlemania 41, that’s when the idea of Cena wrestling Cody was pitched as a tribute for his retirement tour. Then, when Las Vegas tickets weren’t selling as fast as WWE and TKO hoped, that’s when the Rock was shoehorned back in and why John Cena randomly turned heel. Now, he’s tearing down his legacy by trashing the many fans who supported him.
Hulk Hogan’s 1996 Heel Turn > John Cena’s 2025 Heel Turn, BY A MILE.
Because WCW had a plan for Hogan’s heel turn, WWE doesn’t for Cena’s. Could you imagine Hogan’s heel turn during 1996 if it had the Social Media and International networks to broadcast it? Holy hell…
That’s what bums me out, folks… CHAOS… Suddenly, “careful” and “boring” are out and chaos and tribalism are in. THAT is what sucks about pro wrestling, and also politics.
I’m fine with the Wrestlemania 41 matches that are in place and TRUST that the professionals will make the matches better than expected. If you miss out on this talented roster putting on a great show, that’s on you. Go watch those lousy Wrestlemanias 27 through 38 if that makes you feel better, babies.
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Mr. Tito’s PHAT Wrestlemania 41 Predictions
Doing these early because I always feel the week before Wrestlemania is too misleading, and I don’t have time next week…
Night 1
War Raiders vs. New Day
WWE wants the New Day to re-establish themselves as a top tag team and they’ll become champions again.
Winners: New Day
Jade Cargill vs. Naomi
This will be a showcase of WWE’s big free agent signing, Jade Gargill, and I hope that Naomi is ready to bump her arse off to make Jade look reasonable here. If they make it as intense as Elimination Chamber, it could be decent.
Winner: Jade Cargill
LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu
Ship has sailed for LA Knight and I think there is still heat on Knight for his Royal Rumble performance. Jacob is the future, so he wins here and dominates as US Champion.
Winner: Jacob Fatu
Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte Flair
This one should be easy to pick, as entitled Charlotte Flair needs to be knocked down a peg or two for a bad attitude and continually benefitting from nepotism without having show much for it in terms of drawing money. However, Triple H loves himself some Charlotte Flair, as she was brought up through HHH’s NXT system and HHH was the enabling EVP of Creative during the later 2010s when Charlotte collected most of her Women’s Title reigns. Furthermore, Charlotte is the first one to break through during the Divas Revolution and prove that HHH’s system could work for women. REMEMBER who signed Tiffany Stratton, as it she was signed by John Laurinaitis after 2020 when Triple H was demoted. This one is easy for me, as I figure they’ll wrestle like it’s a shoot and Charlotte will do something like the feet-on-the-ropes to cheat as the winner. While Charlotte is in the wrong for going off-script, I see WWE punishing Tiffany for the “0-3” divorce comment on Charlotte during live television. Charlotte is a Triple H gal, don’t forget that. In my opinion, Tiffany should win because Charlotte has expired after that last great Rhea match and Charlotte has an overall bad attitude that shouldn’t be rewarded.
Winner: Charlotte Flair
Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano
Rey-Rey is old, Chad Gable is young, and therefore the younger one wins this match.
Winner: Chad Gable
Jey Uso vs. Gunther
While I’ll disagree with Jey winning the Royal Rumble, I’m 100% OK with him in this spot for the secondary World Title. He should have won the Elimination Chamber to get here rather than the Rumble, in my opinion. That said, Jey Uso deserves some sort of reward for the Bloodline work that he did from 2020 through 2024. Go back to 2020, as Jey Uso gave Roman an amazing feud that firmly established Roman Reigns as a heel that could work. While I think that Jey Uso is more like another Daniel Bryan than anything, just a flash in the pan who will peak when he wins the title, it’s hard to deny strong merchandise sales that are accompanying a great audience pop with his entrance. Furthermore, at this point, I’d rather have him as World Heavyweight Champion than Gunther. Sorry, but Gunther is a bust as World Champion. All of his best stuff was already delivered as IC Champion and I just don’t see the bigtime drawing ability needed to be a World Champion with Gunther. Time to switch and let Jey hold it for just a few months, and then get the title around a real champion who can draw for RAW (or Smackdown, if a Draft or Shake-Up happens after Wrestlemania 41). Hopefully, both Jey and Gunther have a “chip on their shoulder” because they aren’t main eventing and try to pull out all of the stops here to prove a point.
Winner: Jey Uso
Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk
With nothing on the line, this shouldn’t be the Main Event of Night #1. HOWEVER, I could see these 3 workhorses pulling off “Match of the Year” quality here and that would put Gunther vs. Jey Uso in the same position as Triple H vs. Chris Jericho or Triple H vs. Randy Orton when a much better match went on before them. Hence why this is the main event of night one… To me, the money is with Roman Reigns and CM Punk feuding and I could see the match being played up to where Roman and CM Punk argue about Heyman the entire match and then Seth pulls some antics to get them to attack each other. Many are predicting Paul Heyman to turn on both Roman and CM Punk here, but I just don’t see the chemistry between Rollins and Heyman here for them to have a relationship. I could see Rollins inducing Roman into a Spear/Superman punch, but Rollins moves and it hits CM Punk and then Seth Rollins capitalizes on the opportunity. Then, we’ll get Roman vs. CM Punk as a feud unless Roman goes on his usual summer vacation.
Winner: Seth Rollins
*****
Night 2
Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair
Jade Cargill being on night one is interesting to me… I think with the possibilities of several title changes and Iyo Sky doing the honors for Bayley last year, I could see Iyo Sky retaining here. Rhea’s character is lacking something here, as it’s just not as cool than when she was a heel.
Winner: Iyo Sky
Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor
I dislike Fatal Four Ways. It’s STUPID that the champ can lose the title when someone else is pinned. I just don’t see Bron Breakker losing the IC Title to any of these guys, but I think Dominik Mysterio would have the best chance if he cheats to win. I think that will happen and allow Bron to start climbing up the main event ladder. With WWE’s top stars aging out, they’ll need him pushed ASAP.
Winner: Dominik Mysterio
Damian Priest vs. Drew McIntyre
Come on, Damian Priest was World Champion a year ago and it went no where. Keep pushing Drew while he’s still hot and in his prime.
Winner: Drew McIntyre
Randy Orton vs. ???
I’d seriously bring in Joe Hendry if I were WWE. Otherwise, Nick Aldis would probably be a decent choice. Matt Riddle would be another choice. Regardless, Orton wins this match.
Winner: Randy Orton
AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul
Who is younger among the two?
Winner: Logan Paul
Liv Morgan/Raquel Rodriguez vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria
This match is going to be the “piss break” match before the night #2 main event. Yikes… Don’t care, but since Bayley and Lyra were just slapped together as a team, their probability to win is low. Shame how poorly they are using Liv, who was a breakout star during 2024.
Winner: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena
Steve Austin will be in Las Vegas this weekend, and the perfect ending is to have the Rock attempt to help John Cena win the WWE Title but then *GLASS SHATTERS* and Steve Austin not only dispatches the Rock, but also takes out John Cena to help Cody retain the title. Then, John Cena will win the title from Cody at the next PLE (Backlash?).
Winner: Cody Rhodes
Check out NoDQ’s YouTube LIVE Wrestlemania 41 Predictions show on 4/12/2025 at 8pm ET!
Mr. Tito Column Archive @ NoDQ