The Casual Fan's Guide to WWE WrestleMania 2023 Match Card
WWE presents WrestleMania 39, live from SoFi Stadium in suburban Los Angeles Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2.
The annual professional wrestling showcase is headlined by a colossal encounter between 2023 Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes and Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns, and it features the culmination of WWE's top feuds and storylines.
Get ready for this year's Showcase of the Immortals with this look at the match card and everything you need to know about the men, women and contests that will define it.
Match Card
1 of 6
Saturday, April 1
United States Championship Match: John Cena vs. Austin Theory (c)
SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. The Usos (c)
Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus vs. Damage Control (Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky)
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
Men's WrestleMania Showcase Match: The Street Profits vs. Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. The Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy
Sunday, April 2
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns (c)
Raw Women's Championship Match: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
Triple Threat Match for the Intercontinental Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus vs. Gunther (c)
Hell in a Cell: Edge vs. Finn Bálor
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
Women's WrestleMania Showcase Match: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez vs. Shotzi and Natalya vs. Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville vs. Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler
Familiar Faces
2 of 6Trish Stratus and Lita forever changed the role of women in professional wrestling, taking them from the sidelines and into the squared circle, laying the groundwork for the Women's Revolution that would engulf the industry during the second-half of the 2010s.
What they accomplished was built upon by Becky Lynch and Bayley during the early days of NXT, and now, the two generations of competitors mesh Saturday as part of Night 1 of WrestleMania 39.
Lita and Stratus are no stranger to competing against this current crop of wrestlers. The former battled her own partner, Lynch, in February of 2022 at the Elimination Chamber premium live event, while Stratus last appeared at the 2019 SummerSlam against Charlotte Flair.
Both are still as good as ever, if not smarter, and have the fortune of working with wrestlers who are better and more evolved than some of those they had competed against at the height of their in-ring careers.
They wage war against the brash, arrogant and overly confident Damage CTRL trio of Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky in what should be a very good match that highlights the extent to which women's wrestling has grown in the two decades since Lita and Stratus rose to prominence.
Expect the Hall of Famers to reaffirm their greatness while helping to elevate the women around them in what may well be one of the show-stealers of the entire two-night event.
Logan Paul: Social Media Maverick
3 of 6Logan Paul is an entrepreneur, actor and social media megastar. He is also a natural in the ring, as evidenced by his jaw-dropping performances in his first three matches.
Debuting a year ago at WrestleMania 38, where he debuted alongside The Miz in a victory over Rey and Dominik Mysterio. He followed that up with a win over Miz at SummerSlam, then stole the show in a Match of the Year candidate loss to Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel last October.
His rookie contract with WWE concludes Saturday at WrestleMania, where he battles Seth "Freakin" Rollins in one of the hidden gem matches of the entire event.
Paul has repeatedly proved to be uber athletic, with a knack for the big moment. He is a showman at heart and knows what to do when to elicit a reaction and social media engagement. It has worked wonders for both him and WWE, and that should be the case at The Showcase of the Immortals.
That Rollins can match his athleticism, and is among the best in-ring performers in the industry, only enhances the likelihood that the match will meet expectations and give WWE, and Paul, the mainstream recognition it values.
A Family Feud
4 of 6Dominik Mysterio's betrayal of his father, Rey, sparked an unexpected run as one of the most despised competitors on the WWE roster. He has developed into a spoiled, entitled brat who has no problem crashing a family get-together and disrespecting his parents.
When he ended up in jail over the holidays, he adopted a new attitude that had him believing he was tougher than everyone else. He spoke out more, benefited from more camera time and openly talked back to his father on television, denouncing him and admitting he wishes the late Eddie Guerrero was actually his dad.
Through every taunt, though, Rey resisted the urge to accept a match against his son. He would not even strike him, believing it to be the greatest disgrace a father could bring upon his family.
It was not until Dominik disrespected his mother, Angie, that Rey finally stood up to him, blasting him with a hard right hand and making the much-anticipated match a reality.
The story has been one of the best in WWE over the last six months and has fans chomping at the bit to see the elder Mysterio silence his obnoxious offspring. That Rey entered the Hall of Fame without the support of Dominik only enhances the raw emotion surrounding the narrative.
This is sure to be a match that generates the loudest reaction and is among the most emotional on Saturday's Peacock broadcast.
Return to Hell: The Cell Returns to WrestleMania
5 of 6Hell in a Cell is one of the most storied match types in WWE history, thanks in large part to the finality it brings to top rivalries. Sometimes referred to as "The Devil's Playground," it has been home to some of the greatest Superstars and feuds in pro wrestling history.
The Undertaker had a huge influence on those early matches, and over the years, big bumps and high spots have become integral to the overall success of the contest. In some instances, sheer brutality the likes of which has not been seen elsewhere in WWE has helped set the bout apart from others.
Edge and Finn Bálor will bring an end to their feud Sunday night inside the unforgiving confines of the steel structure.
A story that began with Bálor kicking Edge out of his own Judgment Day faction and assuming leadership of it will conclude with the latter's third foray into the cell while the former makes his first appearance in the match.
With two cerebral performers, expect a smartly wrestled match that incorporates Bálor's athleticism and Edge's unmatched experience in high-profile bouts. It will be brutal and, arguably, more violent than anything else on the entire WrestleMania card.
For fans looking for something a little more aggressive and physical, this will be the match that brings spectacle and brutality to the broadcast.
That Bálor is dusting off his Demon persona for the event ensures an injection of showmanship to the proceedings, too.
The Prodigal Son Returns
6 of 6Cody Rhodes left WWE amid creative frustration and a Stardust character that severely limited his ability to accomplish the goals he had set for himself in the industry that his father, the legendary "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, had helped revolutionize as one of its biggest stars.
He embarked on a journey that took him to independent promotions around the globe, saw him form a friendship with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, enjoy enormous success in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and lead a revolution that saw All In sell out the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago.
With Omega and the Bucks, and the financial backing of Tony Khan, Rhodes helped found and grow All Elite Wrestling.
In 2022, he left the promotion he considered his baby and returned home to WWE, looking to finish his story and capture the same WWE Championship that had eluded his father.
Sunday night, on the grandest stage he has ever competed on, he will have the opportunity to do just that.
To payoff his journey, he will have to do what no man has proved capable of: defeat Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.
The self-proclaimed Tribal Chief has ruled the WWE roost for over two years, its top star and undisputed face of the company. Beating him does not just come with a championship, but the lofty expectations from high-ranking officials that the new titleholder can carry the company on his back the way that Reigns has since August 2020.
Rhodes appears ready to do just that, with a fanbase that is prepared to support him on that quest. A victory completes the return to the company that gave him his start in the business and solidifies his status at the top of it—some seven years after he first left it to become his own man.
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