The biggest event of the year gets underway on Saturday night for the first of two massive night
The biggest event of the year gets underway on Saturday night for the first of two massive night
WrestleMania 41 takes place this Saturday and Sunday from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. As always, the event is stacked with big matches featuring the top names in WWE.
On Night 1, a triple threat match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and CM Punk headlines with tensions boiling over between the three men with Paul Heyman caught in the crossfire. Things started going sideways between them at the Royal Rumble and only escalated further at Elimination Chamber. Now, Punk gets to live out a lifelong dream of headlining the biggest show of the year with Heyman, a legitimate friend, in his corner.
Saturday night also sees four titles at stake with some really interesting matchups. Most eyes will be on the opener when Gunther stakes his world heavyweight championship against Jey Uso. The feud really picked up recently when Gunther forced Jey to watch him beatdown and bloody his twin brother Jimmy while he was ziptied to the ring ropes. Another major title clash sees LA Knight stake the United States title against fast rising star Jacob Fatu. Plus, the WWE women’s championship is on the line when Tiffany Stratton takes on the legendary former titleholder Charlotte Flair.
Night 1 of WrestleMania 41 takes place on April 19 and will stream live on Peacock beginning at 7 p.m. ET. Let’s take a look at who the CBS Sports experts are picking in each match.
Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns: WWE loves to make a splash to end the first night of WrestleMania and what bigger splash would there be than to have Paul Heyman help Rollins win rather than picking a side between Punk and Reigns. Everyone has been manipulating Heyman in one way or another, but Rollins is the most honest about his motivations. Punk finally gets his WrestleMania main event, Reigns is given fuel to move forward and Rollins is once again the architect of a genius plan. Pick: Seth Rollins wins — Brent Brookhouse
Not all main event stars have equal stature. Rollins has previously conceded that WWE may never see him as their top star. Punk and Reigns garner more fan interest and are presented more strongly for it. But Rollins is a tremendous asset to WWE. He’s popular, talented and extremely driven. The triple threat stipulation presents many possibilities for Rollins to sneak a win, elevating his profile against two top stars that are bulletproof. Pick: Seth Rollins wins — Shakiel Mahjouri
World Heavyweight Championship — Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso: Directly after Uso’s shocking Royal Rumble win, I figured him as a lock for a win and a great WrestleMania moment. Then the angle cooled off to a shocking degree. In recent weeks, WWE got the fire going a bit with Gunther’s brutal attack on Jey’s twin brother Jimmy and Jey’s passionate response. All that said, it no longer feels like an Uso title win is in the cards since there needs to be a hotter challenger to take the title from him. Pick: Gunther retains the title — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
WWE Women’s Championship — Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Charlotte Flair: This WWE women’s title program has been messy. It’s a shame considering how much support Stratton rallied from the fans. Inserting Flair into the world title program gives it instant credibility but there isn’t enough upside to having her win. For whatever reason, the audience doesn’t seem to connect with Flair. Stratton should get the nod over the 14-time women’s world champion to really elevate her stock. Pick: Tiffany Stratton retains the title — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
United States Championship — LA Knight (c) vs. Jacob Fatu: Fatu might have the most potential of anyone on the roster. His aura is immense, his athleticism is remarkable and his mic skills are rough, rugged and raw. Fatu is on the way up and nothing can or should stop him. It’s a shame Knight, who is worthy of a good U.S. title reign, must be sacrificed to “The Samoan Werewolf.” Pick: Jacob Fatu wins the title — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Jade Cargill vs. Naomi: Cargill and Naomi are quietly cooking up one of WrestleMania’s more compelling storylines. It’s been overshadowed by bigger names and tepid progress down the stretch, but this match demands attention. It’s the culmination of a long whodunnit mystery, which included Cargill’s explosive return at the Elimination Chamber and Naomi’s refreshing descent into madness. Building Cargill is the match’s primary goal. Cargill’s star presences screams off the page and Naomi can be trusted to guide her to a solid win. Pick: Jade Cargill wins — Mahjouri (also Brookhouse)
Rey Mysterio vs. El Grande Americano: There are few modern angles as quintessentially “pro wrestling” as El Grande Americano, the masked wrestler who is very obviously the man claiming to not be under the mask. There is only so far you can carry that kind of angle without burning it out, however. That means Mysterio should get the win here and Chad Gable should face the consequences of his actions. Pick: Rey Mysterio wins — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
World Tag Team Championship — The War Raiders (c) vs. The New Day: Has any recent angle been as disappointing as New Day’s heel turn? Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods seemed destined for a split only to instead grow closer by turning on Big E. It was a brilliantly executed heel turn for a longtime babyface team. Then everything went completely flat. Pushing New Day into a story with War Raiders, who are basically forgotten champions on Raw, hasn’t done anything to build momentum, but the most interesting thing you can do for New Day at this point is for them to not win the tag belts and have a reason to continue raging. Pick: The War Raiders retain the titles — Brookhouse (also Mahjouri)
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