WWE WrestleMania 41 is three months away, and the WWE is on the road to the Royal Rumble this Saturday. Many feuds have been teased in recent weeks and many match ups have been rumored in the past few months, and everyone is now wondering who could be on the WrestleMania card this year. Before the Royal Rumble Winners are established, the following will provide some early match card predictions for what should be one of the most exciting PPVs of the year: WWE WrestleMania 41. Without further ado, let's start off hot with John Cena's Farewell Tour WrestleMania opponent.
John Cena vs. Drew McIntyre [Farewell Tour]
John Cena is heavily rumored to win the Royal Rumble and win his 17th World Title in the main event of WrestleMania in his last year with the WWE. However, that would be booking malpractice since Cena has not won a singles match since 2018. As Cena said, it would be a miracle for him to break Ric Flair's record. Henceforth, it would be more interesting to see Cena struggle in the face of adversity throughout the calendar year before achieving his ultimate goal, and his first obstacle will be Drew McIntyre, who will ruin his Mania dreams by eliminating him from the Rumble Match.
Prediction: John Cena
Jade Cargill & Naomi (c) vs. Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Damage Control vs. Nia Jax & Candice LeRae [Undisputed Women’s Tag Titles]
Since Bianca Belair and Naomi are still the tag team champs, Jade Cargill will likely return from her mystery car incident and reinsert herself back into the tag title picture. WWE has booked Bianca and Jade as a tag team and also booked Bianca and Naomi as a tag team, so they'll probably give Jade and Naomi a try at this point. Damage Control need the win the most at Mania, but it looks like Nia Jax and Candice LeRae as well as Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez could be looking for a huge consolation prize after losing the World Title to Tiffany Stratton and Rhea Ripley respectively.
Prediction: Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez
War Raiders (c) vs. The New Day [World Tag Team Titles]
War Raiders are still tag champs on Raw, and it seems that the biggest threat to their title reign would be the top heel team in The New Day. New Day needs to solidify their nuclear heel turn on Big E and win something big. They have never won the tag titles together at WrestleMania, so now is the time.
Prediction: The New Day
Chelsea Green (c) vs. Jordynne Grace [U.S. Title]
Chelsea Green will likely walk into Mania as the U.S. Champ. Many naysayers may expect Piper Niven to betray Chelsea Green and win the title, but Jordynne Grace has been rumored to debut with a major push and dethroning someone she has a ton of TNA history with would be a great start.
Prediction: Jordynne Grace
Bron Breakker (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Ludwig Kaiser vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Finn Balor vs. Penta El Zero Miedo [IC Title: Ladder Match]
There is no clear direction for the IC Title on Raw, so the best bet is to just throw all of the top mid carders in a Ladder Match. Breakker has feuded with Sheamus, Ludwig Kaiser, and Ilja Dragunov throughout the calendar year and recently teased a faceoff with Penta El Zero Mideo on Raw. However, Finn Balor needs this win the most, as he needs to bounce back after losing his major feud with Damian Priest. There have been rumors of Balor getting pushed in 2025, and winning the IC Title would solidify his breaking away from Judgment Day and pursuing his singles career once again.
Prediction: Finn Balor
Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton [Street Fight]
This match should be a lock, as the Kevin Owens-Randy Orton saga is actually a long term storyline that has been booked with continuity on SmackDown. It is quite simple. Kevin Owens wrote Randy Orton off television with a neck injury, and Randy Orton needs his revenge. He will get it at Mania.
Prediction: Randy Orton
Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Bianca Belair [World Women’s Title]
Although Charlotte is the betting favorite to become the first ever two-time Royal Rumble Winner, Bianca Belair is also highly considered for that accolade this year. Quite frankly, it would be serendipitous if Belair won since she did not win the Rumble in front of live fans in 2021 during the pandemic era. Despite being the current tag champion, it has been heavily rumored that Belair will be in a singles world title match against Rhea Ripley this year. Since there is no definitive storyline direction for Ripley's title reign right now, this is a marquee feud worth considering for Mania.
Prediction: Bianca Belair
Cody Rhodes (c) vs. CM Punk [WWE Championship]
These two men were the final two in the Royal Rumble last year. When Punk got injured and Cody won the Rumble two years in a row, most thought an audible was called because they were certain Punk should have won last year. This has to be the year that Punk redeems himself from that moment, cashes in his favor with Paul Heyman, and main events WrestleMania against the face of the company for the top prize in this business. This was heavily teased on the Royal Rumble Go-Home Show, and WWE has to strike while the iron is hot before anyone "goes to sleep" on this feud.
Prediction: CM Punk
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