Way-Too-Early WWE WrestleMania 39 Match Card Predictions Amid Rumors

The dust from the 2023 Royal Rumble still hasn't settled, but the card for WrestleMania 39 is already starting to take shape.

Rumble winners Cody Rhodes and Rhea Ripley have title matches to look forward to, with the only question being whether Roman Reigns and Charlotte Flair will still be their respective opponents on April 1-2.

Bianca Belair is also set to face the winner of the women's Elimination Chamber match, although the list of competitors for the contest on February 18 is still not fully known.

Even though there is still plenty of time for WWE to start building feuds and setting up stories for The Show of Shows, that shouldn't stop us from trying to guess the lineup.

Let's make some way-too-early predictions for which matches will be added to the card to make up the bulk of WrestleMania 39.

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair

Credit: WWE

As stated, the two Royal Rumble winners wasted no time in deciding who they would challenge at WrestleMania.

Cody Rhodes is set for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns, which is highly unlikely to change.

All signs point to The Tribal Chief defending the title against Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber, and there is no logical reason why The Great Liberator would win the belt.

It is also impossible to imagine Ripley challenging Flair, only for The Queen to drop the SmackDown women's title to someone else before 'Mania.

These matches will only change if something unexpected gets in the way.

Raw Women's Championship: Who Fights Bianca Belair?

Credit: WWE

It was announced on Monday's Raw that the women's Elimination Chamber match on February 18 will determine Bianca Belair's opponent for WrestleMania, but we don't know the full field of challengers for that just yet.

Piper Niven, Carmella, Candice LeRae and Michin will fight in a qualifying bout next week to determine one of those remaining spots, but the other space is unknown for the moment.

A few names can be written off for 'Mania already. Niven, LeRae, Michin and others just don't have the momentum to be Belair's challenger.

Running back Bayley or Becky Lynch after so many previous matches with Belair would be bland.

That leaves Raquel Rodriguez, Asuka, Liv Morgan and a handful of Superstars who could be announced for the remaining qualifier, such as Shayna Baszler, Lacey Evans, Ronda Rousey and Naomi.

Place your bets on Rousey getting the spot here.

She's not had a program with Belair, would be an instantly credible threat and the biggest marquee challenger. Plus, there isn't anything else obvious for her to do.

Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match

Gunther was a star at Royal Rumble, breaking records and nearly winning the match from entry No. 1 to prove he deserves respect.

He also deserves a prominent spot to defend the intercontinental title at WrestleMania against a big name.

While it would be nice to see him against someone like Brock Lesnar or John Cena, they'll be busy elsewhere. However, it's clear Imperium and The Brawling Brutes still have unfinished business.

Sheamus told The Bump that he wants another match with Gunther at WrestleMania as part of his bid to become a WWE grand slam champion (h/t Skylar Russell of Fightful).

The Celtic Warrior and Drew McIntyre have been teaming together in recent weeks, and the Scot has never faced The Ring General previously.

Look out for a Triple Threat match in which Butch and Ridge Holland fight with Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci on the outside, and Gunther retains by pinning Sheamus as McIntyre watches on.

United States Championship: Austin Theory vs. John Cena

Austin Theory has a difficult task ahead of him when he defends the United States Championship at Elimination Chamber, but it isn't an impossible one. He can pull it off if he's the last one to enter the match.

There isn't an obvious next candidate for the belt that would make perfect sense, so retaining that title is probably in the cards for Theory.

The 25-year-old regularly mocked John Cena's "The Champ is here" catchphrase, which has to be foreshadowing a match between the two.

With The Rock seemingly not on this year's card, Cena is a great substitute as a returning legend

The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

The Usos hold both sets of tag team titles, so the idea of dropping them because Jey Uso is having conflicting emotions about Sami Zayn wouldn't make any sense.

Instead, what is likely to happen is that Jey will reaffirm his place in The Bloodline by interfering to cost Zayn the match against Roman Reigns at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.

Then, Zayn and Kevin Owens will team up to face The Usos for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania, likely beating them to end their historic reign.

It has been a long time coming for the Canadian pair to win the tag titles together. If it doesn't happen now, it never will.

Bobby Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar

Bobby Lashley has wanted a match with Brock Lesnar for years, and WWE has seemingly decided to keep beating that drum several times over the past 12 months.

They fought at WWE Day 1 last year, a few weeks later at Elimination Chamber and then in Saudi Arabia, and Lesnar has twice interfered in Lashley's United States Championship matches with no explanation as to why he keeps coming back.

Things heated up even more when The All Mighty eliminated The Beast Incarnate in the men's Rumble match on Saturday, causing Lesnar to throw a tantrum. He'll definitely be looking to strike back soon enough.

This should be the finale, though. They ran out of story a long while back, and there is no bigger show to stage this final contest than 'Mania.

Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins

Seth Rollins was worried he wouldn't have a role at last year's WrestleMania, which resulted in a match against Cody Rhodes, who wasn't announced until just before the bell.

This year, it seems WWE is setting up Rollins to face Logan Paul based on their interactions during the men's Rumble match.

Having Paul take Rollins out was a simple-but-effective way to start the feud. The Visionary will have a bone to pick with the YouTuber, who will be easy to turn heel.

This gets a celebrity match on the card, but it should also be a highly entertaining fight, given how athletic both men are.

Miscellaneous Other Ideas

Credit: WWE

With two nights to pack, there will be room for probably close to 10 other matches on top of these, but many of them are a lot less set in stone.

Here are some potential options:

• Becky Lynch and one or two teammates against Damage CTRL for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. Perhaps a few other teams are involved and this becomes more of a multi-team match like the past two years. That would open up spots for Baszler, Rousey, Rodriguez, Michin, LeRae and more.
  
• Bray Wyatt will do something with Uncle Howdy and Alexa Bliss. Either they fight each other with The Goddess stuck between them, or there a mixed tag team match.
• Braun Strowman against Karrion Kross would make for an interesting midcard contest, seeing The Monster of All Monsters against another dark character who is a juggernaut in the ring.
• Dominik Mysterio must face Rey Mysterio. Possibly, Damian Priest will be involved and Rey has a teammate such as Bad Bunny to ensure more celebrity involvement.
• Edge vs. Finn Bálor could get their previously rumored Hell in a Cell match here.

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Anthony Mango is the owner of the wrestling website Smark Out Moment and the host of the podcast show Smack Talk on YouTube, Spotify and everywhere you find podcasts. You can follow him on Facebook and elsewhere for more.