Without all the celebrity and kayfabe-breaking shoots
I was so into WWE for the past 2-3 years. After Vince got Successioned, I was convinced that WWE would never be bad again. I even spent north of $5000 to fly to Perth for Crown Jewel, and the year before that spent a bunch to go Elimination Chamber. That Elimination Chamber trip was my absolute peak of WWE fandom. It was the build to WrestleMania 40. There was sincere well-built storytelling perfectly mixing with chaotic fourth-wall breaking Rock nonsense that made every episode must-see. In the wake of WrestleMania 40 my fear was that WWE would try and replicate this. I remember thinking at the time about how they just need to put their heads down and push on with telling consistent stories even if they don’t reach the same heights because what happened at WrestleMania 40 was a rare series of events that can’t be manufactured. Just paddle and wait for the next wave to come. Unfortunately, with WrestleMania 41 in the rear view and WrestleMania 42 fast approaching, my fears have come true.
Mania 41 saw The Rock intervene again this time only briefly and with an incredibly foggy direction for his character. Travis Scott sort of acted as his stand-in and ended up playing a key role in the outcome of the main event of Cody Rhodes vs John Cena. It took me back to being a young teen watching SummerSlam 2015 and being so disappointed when Jon Stewart helped Seth Rollins win in the main event. But to be fair to Travis Scott, at least he’s a much bigger name than Jon Stewart.
And now in the build to WrestleMania 42, we’ve got Pat McAfee returning and making the main event of Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton all about him. Even the stipulation of the match revolves around McAfee, with him promising to never return to WWE if Randy loses. Also Jelly Roll’s there for some reason and we’re supposed to believe that he’s Cody and Randy’s close friend or something (even though I can’t remember Cody and Jelly interacting before this).
It seems like all this has either been done intentionally to try and recreate the “political intrigue” of Mania 40, or that political intrigue has been added afterwards in response to the backlash to try and stitch this story together. Either way, it seems that corporate big wigs have interfered in the creative process once again and ended up ruining it just to try and move a couple decimals. Well, as ticket sales and views are showing, they’ve succeeded in moving those decimals, just not in the right direction.
Alright alright, I’m being dramatic. WWE will be fine and is doing well financially as always. There are plenty of other factors that have affected their metrics and even so, they’re not down so much that it should cause concern. I’m just personally the most offended I’ve been by WWE’s booking since Vince McMahon was in charge. It probably has to do with the whiplash of loving it so hard during that WrestleMania 38 to WrestleMania 40 period, to now not loving it at all. Especially since I was more high on a lot of creative decisions that WWE made in the early TKO period that people saw as early signs of their creative decline.
To help me cope with this terrible, terrible tragedy, I’m gonna do what I did when Mum and Dad would argue – escape into a fantasy world where the grass tastes sweet as sugar!
Night 1
Logan Paul, Austin Theory, & IShowSpeed vs The Usos & LA Knight
After all that melodramatic speal I prove myself to be a hypocrite. And, yeah I got no defence. This match seems like it’ll be a fun schmoz and Speed’s involvement has always been pretty good. Plus he’s an insane athlete so it won’t be unbelievable if he pulls off a couple moves. It also gives Usos, LA Knight, and Logan Paul something memorable to do on the card.
As far as changing the storyline goes, I wouldn’t change much. Only thing is that in my universe, The Vision never exist as I think it was a terrible and uncreative idea to try and recreate The Bloodline but with Seth Rollins as the leader. Also, Austin Theory returning as a “Silent Badass” is really uninspired and doesn’t play to his strengths. He’s just unconvincing in the role.
Instead, he returns in a form that’s a bit closer to his himbo selfie character and joins up with Logan Paul as a pair of frat bro influencers. Basically, like a main roster Vanity Project (when they get called up they should absolutely be in a faction led by Logan Paul. It’d make me turn my TV off every time they show up so I’d be more productive). Usos & LA Knight get the win as a pat on the back for taking a little back seat this year, but at least they’ll show up in the most viewed clips from this year’s Mania.
Jacob Fatu vs Randy Orton Unsanctioned Match
This is my first big change. Randy’s not in the title picture at all. Look, I love Randy a lot but him in the main event of WrestleMania at this point just doesn’t excite me. What does excite me is his return to a somewhat heel psycho character. So, instead of it being Cody Rhodes who brings that out of him, it’s Jacob Fatu.
In a fit of rage, Fatu can make an enemy of Orton, costing him a WWE Championship match. In response, Orton goes after him and the feud escalates to a point where The Viper is brought out once again. Instead of being scared, Fatu tries to bring the worst out of Orton, wanting to beat the most legendary version of him.
This is something the younger, brash Fatu comes to regret as at WrestleMania, he eats a punt kick and Orton gets the win. I know it’s more common and logical in some cases for the young guy to beat the veteran but I don’t want to bring back ’09 Orton just to have him lose immediately. This win helps establish him as a big threat. And Fatu’s young so he’ll have plenty time to get his win back and build himself back up.
Kairi Sane vs Asuka (c) World Championship Match
This one might seem too out there for a lot of people, and it even took me a little bit to convince myself too, but I’m happy with this choice. The main sticking point is that Kairi Sane isn’t a World Champion level performer at the moment. Since her return to WWE, Kairi seems to get lost in the ring more often. After a couple years of adjusting though, I think she more than makes up for it by developing stronger character skills. On top of that, her in ring work has been fairly spotless for the last year or so. Not lighting the world on fire but looking a lot less lost and a lot more confident. Asuka, on the other hand, is on top of her game as always. She really should be presented as a much bigger deal in the same tier as your Becky’s and Charlotte’s.
The reason I’ve given this match the world title is because of the story. It’s a simple story and one that we’ve seen done many times in wrestling. The classic abused underling finally stands up for themself. But they’ve managed to add enough individual spice to make this one stand out. The culturally specific senpai dynamic along with the “KAIRIIII” bit helps this stand out a little and get the crowd involved and invested.
When I was putting this card together and considering the overall picture of the women’s division and what has been built over the year, it just made sense to elevate this story into the world title picture. Most of the established main eventers are tied up in the tag team division, so it’s time to elevate someone else. And the Kairi turn + Kairi vs Asuka match will be pretty big emotional climaxes when they eventually happen in real life. And I think that more than earns this story a World Championship.
Initially, I thought the Intercontinental Championship would be more appropriate. However, I went back through 2025 and rebooked the RAW women’s division and this is where the story naturally led me. Especially since I enjoyed and wanted to keep the Becky Lynch-Maxxine Dupri mini feud. It just would’ve been too messy and forced to try and shove Asuka in there to win the title while also figuring out what to do with Iyo’s World Title reign.
I’d have Stephanie Vaquer go to SmackDown instead of RAW upon her main roster debut, so she never wins the World Championship. Instead, once Naomi vacates it, a rematch is set between Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky for Wrestlepalooza. Iyo once again beats Rhea but this time only due to interference from Asuka which Iyo didn’t see. This leads to Iyo standing up to Asuka and getting turned on, with Kairi joining in on the beatdown out of fear.
At Crown Jewel, Iyo and Rhea beat The Kabuki Warriors but are attacked afterwards, and Asuka injures Rhea. The next night on RAW, Iyo demands a match with Asuka and Asuka only agrees if the title’s on the line. Thanks to Kairi begrudgingly interfering, Asuka wins the World Championship. After Team Rhea beats Team Asuka at WARGAMES, we can split Iyo and Rhea off into their tag title pursuit. Rhea tells Iyo to go after Asuka but Iyo refuses, saying she’s done with Asuka and Kairi and now wants to move forward with Rhea and win the tag team championships. Meanwhile, for Asuka’s reign she can defend against Lyra Valkyria and Bayley, while also getting on the wrong side of The Judgement Day.
In the build to Elimination Chamber, Asuka demands Kairi enter the Chamber and win so that she can lay down for Asuka at Mania. Kairi enters the Elimination Chamber and shockingly wins. Then on RAW, she’s finally had enough of Asuka’s berating and fights back, setting up this match.
In the actual match, since they’re both very familiar with each other I’m confident they’d pull off a good match. I can imagine them being fairly stiff with each other and moving at a quick pace. In the end, Kairi dodges the mist, spinning backfist, then climbs to the top for the Insane Elbow to get the feel-good win.
I don’t see her having a long reign with the belt, around 1-2 months before dropping it to Liv Morgan or back to Asuka. Maybe Giulia can debut on the main roster as Asuka’s new henchman to help her take the title back from Kairi. Either way, I feel like the crowd investment in this story is strong enough to warrant a World Title match and would feel like a satisfying emotional payoff. There’s still more to develop with the story as well once we get Iyo back involved in the fray.
Becky Lynch vs AJ Lee (c) Intercontinental Championship Match
My first instinct for this match was that it didn’t need the Intercontinental Championship and should just be a straight up one-on-one as they’re both big stars. I think it’s good for the women’s division to have big matches that don’t have to involve a title or a big stipulation ike how Jade Cargill and Naomi just had a normal match at Mania last year. However, if this were the case, I don’t see how I could get the IC Title on the card. Also, having AJ want to win the IC Title definitely elevates it.
This feud has been kind of weird. AJ’s been presented as this strong physical presence that makes Becky afraid and that’s just not believable. I love Becky and think she’s a phenomenal promo but she’s really hammed it up in this feud and it’s been a bit too much for me. It’s also been quite a long feud and they haven’t really been able to dig any deeper than just AJ wanting Becky to acknowledge that she’s a pioneer of women’s wrestling.
Firstly, to make Becky’s fear of AJ feel warranted, I think we have to see AJ’s craziness on full display. Have her attack Becky on the street or during a book signing or a TV interview. Show how AJ’s obsessiveness can ruin Becky’s life and make her paranoid. Take some inspiration from the Saya Kamitani and Tam Nakano feud. Hammed up segments like this will at the very least make Becky’s scenery chewing feel less out of place.
To make the story a little deeper and more developed, we can touch on some real feelings about both of their careers and where they’re at now. Becky’s current character needs to believe that she’s the biggest star and most important person on the roster. Meanwhile, AJ feels that she doesn’t get the credit she deserves for giving women in WWE more opportunities, opening up doors for women like Becky.
This has all been touched on in real life but they haven’t dug deeper. Why does Becky need to believe she’s the biggest star? Why does AJ want the credit? It’s actually for the same reason. They’ve both been overlooked, undervalued, and had their successes downplayed. Now, they’re trying to cement their legacies and make them undeniable. Let’s show how similar they both are. Interview them seperately about their careers and have their answers parallel each other.
This way, after the match (where Becky wins the title back) it feels natural for them to shake hands and develop respect for each other. This shouldn’t be a face turn for Becky either, just her adding another shade to her character. Cutting through the bravado to her core and seeing within AJ the same heart that she has.
RHIYO vs Bayley & Lyra Valkyria vs The Bella Twins vs Charlexa (c) Tag Team Championship TLC Match
Now this is what we all wanted. I know it’s a pretty basic and popular opinion, but it’s popular for a reason. Multi-man ladder matches are always a fun car crash even when they’re a mess and having it end with RHIYO winning the Tag Team Championships (for the first time in my universe) would be a super memorable and fun ending.
You’ve also got lots of story and character development potential. This win would cement RHIYO’s friendship after a tumultuous beginning to their tag team run caused by their competitive spirit. Meanwhile, it can provide the first serious hurdle in Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss’s relationship as they figure out how they’re going to come back from this. Maybe both of them decide to take a break and pursue singles gold for a bit, only to realise that they’re strongest together. For Bayley & Lyra, I think it could be a bit more lighthearted as Lyra hits a crazy spot off the ladder to prove to Bayley that, actually, she’s the crazier one (just ask Tatum). And The Bella Twins are in this as well but that’s only if Nikki is healthy by showtime. If not, a triple threat works just as well.
My problem with what WWE have booked in real life here, is that they’ve taken RHIYO out of the Tag Team Championship picture so that Rhea can face Jade Cargill in an obviously quickly cobbled together match. I’m guessing that once they got the news that Bianca wouldn’t be back in time for Mania, they needed another main eventer to replace her so they pulled out Ol’ Reliable Rhea. I understand the struggle since, I too would’ve banked on Bianca coming back and would’ve pencilled that in.
But what this has led to though is a really weird rivalry between Jade and Rhea that got too real, then got too boring, and now has seemingly cost Iyo Sky a spot on the WrestleMania card. I think when we look back at this Mania a decade or two later it’s gonna look really weird that Jade’s on the card in the World Title picture and Iyo Sky’s nowhere to be seen (this was written when it was still TBD if Iyo vs Asuka would be on the card). So, WWE have steered away from their direction of a RHIYO Tag Team Championship match at Mania and put Rhea in a WWE Title match that she seemingly doesn’t even want to be in, and no one wants to see her in. So, as I’ll go into later, I’ve made a couple changes that increase the depth of the WWE Women’s Championship division meaning that this never becomes a problem in the first place.
Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns
We finally get the conclusion to this over decade long rivalry. Since, Roman seems to be winding down his career a bit, I think now’s as good a time as any to tie a bow around this. Both guys are two of the most important to the business over the last 15 years. The story between them only recently emotionally invested me though, with the really good Royal Rumble 2022 match (it’s one of my favourites). Since then, in the rare moments that the relationship between them has been touched on it’s been packed full of sincere, touching story potential and I really hope that when it gets explored in real life it lives up to that potential.
In my version, Seth Rollins loses the WWE Championship to Cody Rhodes at Crown Jewel 2025 and gets injured in the process. We don’t see Seth all the way until Elimination Chamber 2026, just like in real life. But here, he tries to restart his forever feud with Cody, never giving up on taking the top spot from QB1. After getting ambushed by Seth a couple times, Cody gets help from a surprising person: The Tribal Chief Roman Reigns.
In an inverse of WrestleMania 40, it is now Roman Reigns who is Cody’s shield, promising to take care of Seth Rollins once and for all at WrestleMania so Cody can focus on his match against the Royal Rumble winner (we’ll get to who that is later).
Roman’s motivation is simple: he watched Seth win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 41 and parade around calling himself the top guy. Roman can stomach that when Cody does it because they have some respect between each other, but between Seth and Roman, nothing but hate. Roman has also never beaten Seth in a clean one on one, so even if he doesn’t admit it, even if Seth is the one that points it out, Roman wants to prove to himself that he is the top guy, and that he is better than Seth.
Once we get past that, the rivalry can really get into the meat and potatoes. Explore how Seth was the one that basically created The Tribal Chief because he gave Roman the trust issues that have consumed him in the first place. Seth can twist the knife and say that everyone has turned on Roman and that it’s always been Roman’s fault. While Roman can say that Seth’s always been jealous and always tried his hardest to keep Roman down because he knew that Roman was going to be a bigger star than him. Stuff like this has been touched on and eluded to before, but now it should get explicitly mentioned.
In the match, Roman wins after an emotional war. Seth is distraught as now it’s finally setting in that he can’t be the face of the company like he’s always dreamed of, that’s just not his role. Seeing this, Roman can’t help but feel a pang of empathy for what used to be his brother. He picks up a steel chair and brings it into the ring. Seth shuffles back. Roman hands Seth the chair. Then he turns around, giving Seth his back. Seth is confused, then angry and goes to hit Roman but stops. Looks around at the crowd. Raises the chair once more. And throws it to the ground. Seth turns Roman around and the two hug to a big pop Golden Lovers style.
Roman’s finally overcome his trust issues. Seth’s now comfortable in his role within the company as, despite not being the face, he’s just as important and the role he’s played has given him an amazing life and has now reunited him with an old brother.
CM Punk vs Drew McIntyre (c) World Heavyweight Championship Match
For this one we gotta go back to Clash in Paris . At this show, Bron Breakker beats World Heavyweight Champion John Cena and wins the Championship. Bron holds the belt up until after Royal Rumble ’26 when an injury forces him to vacate. The Elimination Chamber is then used to crown the new champion. Being in Chicago, of course Punk is in the Chamber and the favourite. He enters last so the odds are against him. He still gets that great 90s Bulls entrance too. Punk fights hard and finally it’s down to him and one other person. His old rival Drew McIntyre. And Drew is fresh because he entered last. This is where they reignite their rivalry and despite Punk fighting valiantly, Drew batters him against the cage and beats him, winning the World Heavyweight Championship.
Punk earns his rematch for WrestleMania where the build is a bit more solemn and calm then before. Both men acknowledge their never-ending hatred for each other. But they’re tired of the violence and physicality. At the end of the day what their hatred all boils down to is who is better than who. They’ve already done all the blood and violence, but now it’s time to put that all aside and decide once and for all who’s the better man.
After a long match that’s both technical and brutal, Punk locks Drew in the Anaconda Vice and keeps him there for ages. Drew outright refuses to tap and will die before acknowledging Punk is better so Punk wrenches back further until Drew passes out. After over a decade, CM Punk is finally World Champion again.
I went back and forth over this one for a while but eventually it just fell into place. I knew I wanted Punk in the World Championship match because that’s just where he’s destined to be at this point. His character would’ve gotten too stale if he didn’t start fighting for the top prize. I actually considered Punk going against a Royal Rumble winning Dominik Mysterio but decided against it as Dom doesn’t feel built up enough by this Mania to be in the main event. His name just doesn’t look right in the main event of WrestleMania just yet.
I also considered Roman of course, but in my WrestleMania 41 rebook I’ve already got him going against Punk and a rematch doesn’t feel exciting. So, I went with Drew. I know their rivalry’s over and they’ve both moved on but it’s been over a year since they’ve interacted and revisiting it here to give their classic feud a WrestleMania match feels right. Further, Drew is often the odd man out in my rebooked universe so finally giving him a real World Title win (even if it’s a short reign) and a Mania main event also feels right. Ending Night 1 and the Drew and Punk rivalry with a Punk feel-good win puts a nice little bow on Night 1 and gives lots of potential for post-Mania with Dom, Roman, Seth, and Oba Femi all looming.
Night 2
Oba Femi vs Brock Lesnar
WWE have done this one perfectly so I won’t change a thing. Oba has to win though. And he should absolutely be a World Champion by SummerSlam.
Lash Legend vs Jordynne Grace vs Tiffany Stratton vs Jade Cargill (c) United States Championship Match
If we go back to my WrestleMania 41 rebooking, I had Jordynne Grace beat Chelsea Green for the United States Championship. After that, Jordynne has quite a long reign but she loses the title towards the end of 2025 to Jade who has recently turned heel and recruited Michin and B Fab as her Baddies.
Jade and The Baddies quickly make enemies of most of the SmackDown locker room. Jade’s postering as the most impressive physical specimen attracts all the super athletes like Lash, Tiffany, and Jordynne. So, we get a car crash Fatal 4-Way here with a shocking result as the least experienced of the four, Lash Legend, comes away with the title.
As for how Tiffany ended up here, after losing the WWE Championship to Stephanie Vaquer at Summerslam ’25, she unsuccessfully tried for a few months to get it back. As WrestleMania approached, she needed to find a way onto the card and with both World Title matches and the Intercontinental Title match set, she zeroed in on the US Title.
For a while I had Jade pencilled in as the WWE Champion and going against Stephanie Vaquer. However, Jade just doesn’t have the juice to be a World Champion and in the main event picture. I’ve always rooted for her even when she started in AEW because she has a one of one look so if she could just be good enough in the ring and on the mic she’d be great.
While her recent matches are actually mostly serviceable with her not botching or looking lost much, it’s the inbetween stuff like footwork and positioning that always leave me feeling underwhelmed. The confident look doesn’t match the in-ring. And she’s been pretty hit or miss on the mic too. Sometimes sounding really sure and confident while other times, like in her promos with Rhea, sounding like she’s reading off a script. But, she can always improve and I’m not against her being World Champion and may book her as one in the future.
Jade taking up a WrestleMania World Championship match doesn’t feel right to me at least not at this Mania. I feel she probably fits that SummerSlam-Royal Rumble period better as champion before moving out of the title picture for her Mania match. Regardless, she absolutely should be on the card here and her holding the US Title will help raise its prestige a bit. Plus the Fatal 4-Way means she loses the title without being pinned so she’s protected meaning that when she does get pinned it feels more special.
Penta vs Finn Balor vs Dragon Lee vs Je’Von Evans vs Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio (c) Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
This one’s another that’s pretty similar to real life. A big midcard ladder schmoz is always heaps of fun at Mania. Only changes are that I’d have had Judgement Day turn on Finn Balor much earlier than real life. I know the Liv Morgan injury delayed it but I would’ve just carried through with the same timeline and tried to work around not having Liv there. Because what happened in real life was that the tension and development in the Judgement Day got put on pause for 6 months.
This way, we can have Dom turn on Finn around SummerSlam and those two can feud for the IC Title. Maybe Finn gets a short reign before Dom wins it back. Of course, we have to keep Dom’s short program with Cena too. I think having the Finn breakup angle earlier also helps Penta and the greater IC Title division out too because it would prevent the constant Dom vs Penta rematches.
I’d have Penta finally win the IC Title here after a match that I’m sure will consist of some crazy spots. I did consider Je’Von winning but I think Penta needs it a little more right now and he can even drop it to Je’Von later in the year (maybe we can get a Penta heel turn?).
After Mania, I’d move Dom straight up into the main event. He should absolutely win Money In The Bank and I’d be ok if he held the briefcase for a very long time. Dom has absolutely proved himself as a star and a main eventer so it’s time they legitimise him and strap the rocket.
Liv Morgan vs Stephanie Vaquer (c) WWE Championship Match
Rewinding to just after WrestleMania 41, Stephanie Vaquer is called up to the main roster but goes to SmackDown instead of RAW (also Giulia stays in NXT to give her a little more time to develop). This is because SmackDown’s women’s roster has been so thin for quite a while. We saw that with the United States Championship picture basically being Chelsea Green, Zelina Vega, Michin, and B Fab (3 of the 4 don’t get any crowd reactions at all). This problem bled into the WWE Championship picture too as Tiffany Stratton’s title reign consisted mostly of Nia Jax matches while Jade Cargill has hardly defended the title at all.
We fix this by having Stephanie debut on SmackDown, instantly giving the show a shot in the arm. Stephanie has a meteoric rise, winning the Queen of the Ring tournament. Meanwhile, Jade is eliminated thanks to interference from Naomi. Stephanie beats a still heel Tiffany Stratton at SummerSlam to win the WWE Championship. These two can then continue to feud throughout that September-December period with Nia Jax, Jade Cargill, and Jordynne Grace getting involved here and there to keep the division feeling alive.
Liv Morgan wins the Royal Rumble and chooses to face Stephanie Vaquer. I like their rivalry in real life and how it’s built in tension each week so I’ll keep that the same. At Mania, Liv loses thanks to Raquel & Roxanne betraying her due to her self-obsessiveness and manipulation. After Mania and a brief feud with Liv, Raquel & Roxanne are split up in the draft allowing both to become singles wrestlers. While The Judgement Day is in shambles, now only featuring Dominik, Liv, and JD McDonagh. But the rest of 2026 can see Dom and Liv try to rebuild Judgement Day and recruit new members. I think elevating Dom to the top as now the undeniable leader of Judgement Day will make him feel like a much bigger star.
Meanwhile, Stephanie gets to continue her strong babyface reign and whichever heel beats her is immediately put over huge. I did consider Liv beating her as Liv hasn’t really had any big Mania wins but I think the post-Mania period with Liv as champion would be too repetitive and I just can’t hear that “greatest champion of aaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllll tiiiiiiimmmeee” line again.
Trick Williams vs Sami Zayn (c) United States Championship Match
Probably a controversial pick here but I’d have Sami Zayn retain the United States Championship and beat Trick Williams. Look, I’m just as big a Trick fan as everyone else and I rode with him through all the “and then the bell rings” critiques but I think for the story and what they’re building, WrestleMania’s just the start.
See, so far in Trick’s main roster career he’s been all flash and all fun and he’s been very successful, winning a lot of matches. But what Sami said on a recent SmackDown, that he’s gonna drag Trick into deep waters and see if he can swim, I think Trick needs that. And Trick doesn’t need to win to prove that he can swim. In fact, a gutsy loss will make the crowd like him even more, completing the double turn, making Trick a huge babyface as the fans now have a genuine reason to cheer him (his heart) while making Sami a truly hated heel.
This benefits the US Title a lot as well because now we’ve got Sami as a heel champ that’s just defended at Mania so whoever beats him will get a lot more rub. And this reign can go on a while too. Eventually, you can have either Trick finally beat Sami or, what I like better, is Carmelo Hayes being the one, getting revenge on Sami for taking his spot on the Mania card (I think Trick should skip the midcard and go straight to the main event).
Gunther vs Cody Rhodes (c) WWE Championship Match
As eluded to in my WrestleMania 41 rebooking, in my universe, Gunther still retires John Cena, same as real life. What I think they failed at was capitalising on Gunther’s heat. Having him retire AJ Styles too at the Rumble was a good first step and made sense. But, after that, it was clear they had no real plans for him for Mania. And, if the rumoured Rey Mysterio match was the plan, then that too doesn’t feel big enough to justify Gunther retiring Cena (because I’m sure Rey wouldn’t have retired and having Rey beat Gunther would be nuts).
So, my change is that Gunther wins the Royal Rumble. Then his choice is obvious. He chooses to face John Cena’s protege Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship. Firstly, having Cody go up against a true heel in Gunther will prevent him from getting booed like he is in real life against Randy Orton. Secondly, this way we can follow up with the Cody-Cena story about being the face of the company and we can wring out all those emotions from the John Cena retirement, instead of what’s happened in real life where they’ve left a lot on the table.
So, we have Cody Rhodes trying to avenge his fallen idol and mentor, while Gunther continues his warpath (Gunther finally fulfilling his Ivan Drago potential). Since there’s a long way to go from Royal Rumble to Mania, we can mix up the build for a few weeks with the returning Seth Rollins trying to get involved before being taken out by Roman Reigns.
Aside from that, it’s a simple setup for the build and I trust Cody to cut a lot of promos that add even more emotion and stakes. This is the real final test for Cody, he was able to beat an older, weaker John Cena, but is he able to beat the in-his-prime Gunther who took Cena out for good? And now Cena’s gone, it’s all up to Cody to carry the entire weight of the company and responsibility.
But we have to be careful that Cody doesn’t feel like he’s riding Cena’s coattails. Of course it’s important that Cena’s mentioned but after the first one or two weeks of the feud, we have to move on and make it about Cody and Gunther. We can do this pretty simply as Gunther sees the WWE Championship as having a different distinction than Cody does. He sees it as proof that you are the best wrestler in the world. And he hates that Cody doesn’t see it that way and has instead made it about all of this extra curricular face of the company nonsense. Further, Gunther’s whole identity is built around being the best at wrestling, so if he doesn’t have the title then he doesn’t know who he is. At WrestleMania, Gunther promises to break the golden boy and prove that he’s the best wrestler ever. After that, Cody will retire out of shame just like his heroes.
And we don’t include Pat McAfee or Jelly Roll. Obviously. I’ll save going deeper into that for another article. Or I won’t because it honestly doesn’t deserve the effort.
Anyway, in the match, it’s a long, back-and-forth, brutal affair. Cody hits a spear, AA, and a Styles Clash. Gunther keeps Cody in the sleeper for a long time just like he did Cena and AJ. Cody fights out of it and refuses to give up. Ultimately, Cody gets the win with a Cross Rhodes.
I’d have Cody win mainly because if you look at his Mania track record since coming back, he’s lost a decent amount. So, losing here would look pretty bad on his resume. Also, it’s the ultimate satisfying conclusion to the John Cena Retirement Tour. Once Gunther loses here, the slate’s wiped clean. Of course he still has all that equity from those impressive wins, but we can move on to a new stage in the story, not having to rely on Cena references as much.
Instead, post-Mania, we can have Gunther continue his pursuit of Cody but now out of revenge and to prove that he’s not a WrestleMania choker. I prefer this over Gunther winning here because yes, it would set him up as the ultimate top heel champion but I’m just not interested in seeing another long Gunther title reign. Especially since in the last few years he’s seemed to have toned down his in-ring style a bit, so the matches in his reign won’t compare to those of his NXT UK or IC Championship reigns.
Cody winning and retaining the WWE Championship is the right choice and while it’s not a story or build that will light the world on fire and create must-see TV, it’s a natural expansion of the John Cena Retirement Tour and results in a consistent, well-built story with a big emotional payoff. Now, Cody can hold the Championship until SummerSlam where 2026 King of the Ring Oba Femi squashes him. And that’s when we get the super long WWE Championship reign. Yes please.