Roman Reigns, Rhea Ripley and Superstars Guaranteed to Lose at WWE WrestleMania 40

With Elimination Chamber in the rearview mirror, the WWE Universe has fully turned its attention to the Road to WrestleMania 40 and the Superstars guaranteed to lose on the biggest stage in the sport.

The buildup and storylines for the two-night April premium live event have been lackluster at best, but wrestling fans will forgive all of the issues if the correct wrestlers end up losing at the two-day show, including some of the very top names.

Here are the performers sure to end up on their backs at the end of their WrestleMania XL matches.

Roman Reigns

It may be a year too late, and it may have taken a massive shift in the booking direction for the storyline, but Roman Reigns will finally lose his world championship to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

Despite The Rock's best efforts on camera and behind the scenes, Rhodes will finish the story.

The Rock's return to WWE Programming to start 2024 caused wrestling fans to question who would challenge Reigns in Philadelphia, but Rhodes winning the Royal Rumble made the path to the title plain as day.

Unfortunately, a convoluted plan calling for Rhodes to deliberately step aside so The Rock could challenge the champion was met with disgust from the WWE Universe, forcing Triple H and his team to abandon ship and alter the plans moving forward.

Despite the company's best efforts to force-feed The Rock into the main event, the backlash from wrestling fans will give Rhodes the platform to defeat Reigns and claim the world title. The City of Brotherly Love will go wild when the challenger finally slays the champion.

Rhea Ripley

Over the last year, Rhea Ripley has been one of the most popular Superstars on the WWE roster, regardless of gender. While her run on top has been one of the best in recent memory, it comes to an end at WrestleMania 40 when Becky Lynch takes her title.

Whether Lynch deserves to be the one to dethrone Ripley or not, the way the WWE has booked the Irish Superstar makes it abundantly clear she will be walking out of Philadelphia with the Women's World Championship.

Lynch's promos on the road to WrestleMania have been lackluster at best, and her booking has made her seem more like the indestructible John Cena than the Stone Cold gimmick she embodied as The Man.

The hope is that Lynch elevates her game in the coming weeks to match the level set by Ripley since she won the title. The two women have the chance to steal the show with an unforgettable match, so getting the fans invested through proper storytelling and elite promos needs to be WWE's top priority.

Regardless, Lynch is winning at WrestleMania, so the company should do anything it can to protect Ripley.

Gunther

No matter which Superstar wins the Gauntlet match set for Monday's episode of Raw, Gunther's unbelievable run with the Intercontinental Championship will end at WrestleMania 40.

It's not that Gunther has lost his luster as IC champion, but instead, WWE Creative has realized he should be fighting for—and eventually winning—a world heavyweight championship.

Once Rhodes beats Reigns and walks out of Philadelphia with the title, he will need a viable challenger, and there is no better option than Gunther. As a result, the current IC titleholder's opponent at WrestleMania is sure to earn a career-changing victory.

The best-case scenario for the WWE Universe is Sami Zayn and Chad Gable being the final two members of the Gauntlet match, only for the duo to have a weird double-pin finish. With no resolution in sight, Adam Pearce should book a Triple Threat for WrestleMania, setting the stage for Gunther to lose without taking a pin and move into the world title scene.

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