Opinions

What should Main Event WWE Wrestlemania 40 in Philadelphia?

Roy Coston

Background

One of the biggest accomplishments many WWE superstars strive to obtain is being in the main event of Wrestlemania. Though some wrestlers feel that any match can be considered the main event, many feel the main event is the night’s last match. For years, there was only one main event for Wrestlemania, but over the past three years, Wrestlemania has become a two-night spectacle. It would be fair to say that with the addition of an extra night, there are now two main events for Wrestlemania each year. Now there are more opportunities for someone to mainevent a Wrestlemania. Fans have seen this as a chance for WWE to have a women’s match main event one night and a men’s match main event the other night. 

But what happens when a storyline becomes hot and “deserves” to main event Wrestlemania? Last year, fans were hoping Charlotte Flair versus Rhea Ripley would have been the main event for night one. Rhea won the Royal Rumble and Charlotte was the women’s champion at the time so it made sense. But then the storyline with the Uso’s and Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens picked up and it became undeniable that the feud should main event. This decision upset a lot of fans because it felt as if the women had the rug pulled out from underneath them, especially considering that Rhea and Charlotte had one of the best matches of the weekend. Now it seems WWE may be heading in the same direction as last year.

Speculation

For months, fans and wrestling analysts have speculated that Becky Lynch would be facing off against the unstoppable Rhea Ripley. There were teases earlier in the year and then Becky has been kept away from the title scene, seemingly to hold off a build for Wrestlemania. Now enter CM Punk. One of the grievances Punk has been vocal about over the years has been the fact he has never been in the main event match of Wrestlemania. Punk has had high-profile matches, one of them being his match against Undertaker at Wrestlemania 29, but he has never been a part of the last match of the night. Punk has confronted Seth Rollins so it seems like a match between the two is being set up and a match that big would likely take place at Wrestlemania. 

On the other side, WWE still has Cody Rhodes needing to “finish his story” by dethroning Roman Reigns. Rhodes versus Reigns is a massive marquee match one year in the making. Following his loss at Wrestlemania 39, Rhodes has been hellbent on getting back to Roman and the title. So it is safe to assume Cody versus Roman will main event one of the nights at Wrestlemania 40. Even though this match can happen anytime and anywhere, the likelihood of it happening at Wrestlemania is high.

Opinion

I like the idea of having a women’s match main event one night and a men’s match main event the other night. It isn’t about “forcing” a women’s match as a main event. There is a simple way to get there organically. The winners of the Royal Rumble are guaranteed a Wrestlemania main event title match. For years, it has been the case that the winner of the Royal Rumble would face the champion at Wrestlemania in the main event match. Now there are two Royal Rumble matches, the men’s match and the women’s match, and there are two nights of Wrestlemania so it would make sense.

There are a lot of matches that take place at Wrestlemania that have sufficient stories going into Mania that are not the main events. There are also plenty of titles on the Wrestlemania cards that do not main event either.  So a surefire way to main event Wrestlemania should be to win the Royal Rumble. 

Conclusion

WWE is in a particularly exciting position right now because there are many options for Wrestlemania’s main events. Roman Reigns having the run he has had deserves to main event. Seth Rollins being the workhorse of Raw and carrying the World Heavyweight Title with prestige deserves to main event. Rhea Ripley has been on a complete tear this year and has been presented as a megastar so she deserves a main event spot. Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens, Jey Uso, Bayley, and Iyo Sky, all of these wrestlers have had a stellar year and could easily be in the main event match of Wrestlemania. Ultimately the decision is up to Triple H and the rest of WWE’s creative team. My suggestion would simply be, if you win the Rumble, you main event Wrestlemania.