Predicting the Winners and Losers on Road to WWE WrestleMania 40

WrestleMania season is a very important time in WWE.

New stars can emerge more often than at any other time by delivering in big moments, but it's also a time when moments can go wrong or never come at all.

While WrestleMania 39 was a great show for Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Gunther and Rhea Ripley, it was a difficult one for Cody Rhodes, Asuka, Bobby Lashley and LA Knight.

WrestleMania 40 has set the stage for many stars to emerge while others fade into the background.

From the building star power of Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to the possibility of serious heartbreak for Seth Rollins and Bayley, these are the likely winners and losers on this Road to WrestleMania.

Winner: Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes is the top babyface in WWE, and he is widening the gap between himself and everyone else each week.

It's clear WWE knows how important he is, and he is likely to redeem his loss at WrestleMania 39 with a definitive victory this year.

This year's Road to WrestleMania will focus on The American Nightmare both on Raw and SmackDown.

All of this is the vision Dusty Rhodes had for his son when he encouraged him to leave WWE and find himself. This is the vision that The American Nightmare had for himself when he rejoined WWE.

Rhodes will become the face of WWE by WrestleMania 40.

Loser: Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns has had a generational run with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. By the time he arrives at WrestleMania on April 6-7, he will have held the world title over 1,300 days.

However, the focus of this year's Road to WrestleMania is not on him.

Cody Rhodes is the top star in the story, and it feels like The Rock is the bigger heel in The American Nightmare's way.

Reigns may find a way to step ahead of The Great One, but there is no reason that the focus should not have been on The Tribal Chief vs. Rhodes exclusively up to WrestleMania.

Reigns will be fine even if he loses some of his mystique up to WrestleMania and in defeat at Lincoln Financial Field, but WWE has taken some of the shine off its top star.

Winner: Rhea Ripley

No one gained more on the Road to WrestleMania 39 than Rhea Ripley, who became the top woman in the business at the event.

The Eradicator is still the top woman in WWE, but she has yet to have a definitive rivalry and match since her battle with Charlotte Flair at The Show of Shows last year.

Ripley did have a powerful moment at the Elimination Chamber premium live event, defeating Nia Jax in a memorable main event, but no one truly believed she could lose.

That will change with Becky Lynch. Mami and The Man are on a collision course, with the top two women in wrestling fighting for the top prize in WWE.

While it is likely Lynch will put over Ripley at the end of the day, nothing is certain as The Man remains WWE's most protected active Superstar.

This is a rivalry that could rage on for months after WrestleMania 40 and be one of the biggest stories ever told by two women in WWE.

At the end of the day, though, Ripley will still be on top, established as the woman to beat for years to come.

Loser: Rest of The Judgment Day

The Judgment Day is struggling to keep its dominant hold on Raw, especially after losing inside WarGames in a one-sided battle in November.

While Finn Bálor and Damian Priest are the tag team champions, the division has not risen with them. No teams come off as exciting rivals for the supposed top duo in WWE.

Priest holds the men's Money in the Bank briefcase, but he does not come off as a serious threat to capture a world championship soon.

Dominik Mysterio and JD McDonagh have become clear underlings in the group, losing to put over Judgment Day challengers.

The Road to WrestleMania is messy for each male member of the faction, and the next month could further take away from the mystique of Raw's top stable.

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre is the most engaging character in wrestling today. His week-to-week promos are consistently engaging, and everyone is taking about The Scottish Warrior.

There is no reason to believe he will slow down any time soon. He has plenty of material left to level at Seth Rollins before WrestleMania.

It is highly likely McIntyre will win the World Heavyweight Championship. BetOnline shows him as the heavy favorite.

All the Scot needs to do is keep his momentum, and he will be the obvious top heel on Raw going into 'Mania.

McIntyre will get his chance to hold a world title in front of a live crowd for the first time, and there will be no doubt he is a main event star for years to come.

Loser: Seth Rollins

While Drew McIntyre continues to rise to main event stardom, Seth Rollins is losing his grip at the top.

He is cutting great promos alongside Cody Rhodes, but he hardly feels like a world champion anymore.

His focus has been too driven by his need to protect and support Rhodes. This makes it harder to see him at the same level as The American Nightmare.

The Visionary will likely wrestle twice at 'Mania and get plenty of TV time in the coming weeks. But he is likely to leave Philadelphia without his gold and rely all the more on supporting Rhodes over promoting himself.

Winner: Santos Escobar

Santos Escobar is the newest top heel on SmackDown, and he continues to deliver in the spotlight.

The goal should be for him to face Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania, and the build to that looks poised to solidify the Legado del Fantasma leader as a future champion.

Even if Mysterio beats him at Lincoln Financial Field, Escobar should still come out of the 'Mania season hotter than ever.

Each week, his stable grows more dangerous and should promote Escobar all the way to championship gold in 2024.

Loser: Imperium

Gunther has redefined the Intercontinental Championship with his record-breaking reign.

The Ring General should be one of WWE's highest priority performers, but his direction for WrestleMania remains entirely undefined.

It's likely he will defend his gold at The Show of Shows in a multi-man match, including the likes of Sami Zayn, Chad Gable and Dominik Mysterio.

This will take the spotlight off Gunther and leave Ludwig Kaiser and Giovanni Vinci in a defensive role, likely to focus on keeping the gold with the group leader.

Imperium has built some momentum as a tag team, delivering great matches with The New Day, but this is unlikely to carry forward to WrestleMania.

Winner: AJ Styles

Last year was a down one for AJ Styles, who looked to be winding down toward retirement. Beyond making the finals of the World Heavyweight Championship tournament, he made little impact over 2023.

That should change in 2024 as he is becoming fully integral to the product as a newly turned heel.

His feud with LA Knight is heating up after The Phenomenal One traveled to Perth, Australia just to cost The Megastar a world title shot.

Singles matches at WrestleMania are rare without gold on the line, but there is no reason Styles and Knight cannot sell their feud as necessary for The Show of Shows.

This is also a rivalry that can extend beyond 'Mania while Styles potentially reinforces The O.C. for the last big run of his WWE career.

Losers: The Pride and Final Testament

WWE has multiple stable battles building on the Road to WrestleMania. However, unlike The Judgment Day vs. the Raw roster and the LWO vs. Legado, there is no spark to The Pride vs. The Final Testament.

Bobby Lashley has consistently outshined the rest of the field, proving he's still a world title contender at any time.

However, Karrion Kross can barely get on television at the moment despite being the leader of Final Testament.

The Street Profits and Authors of Pain are keeping each other out of the tag team title scene rather than pushing each other up.

This could change by the time of WrestleMania, but it seems more likely that The Show of Shows will not feature anyone in this rivalry.

Winner: Bayley

Bayley won the women's Royal Rumble match for a reason, though the lack of marketing hype for her clash with Iyo Sky has tempered expectations.

This is not taking away from the work that The Role Model is doing each week on SmackDown. Her issues with Damage CTRL and her uncertainty in trusting Dakota Kai make for compelling TV.

At a certain point, WWE will allow Bayley to address the lack of hype behind her match with Sky, and it will make the program even more exciting.

This is the story that will ultimately solidify Bayley's career in WWE. The way she sells every moment will show her all-time greatness.

She may never make the WrestleMania poster, but she and Sky will tell one of the most important stories of their career together.