The Clear WWE Booking Pattern For Every 10th WrestleMania Ahead of 40

We are just days away from WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, and WWE has set up several potential show-stealing matches.

Gunther vs. Sami Zayn is sure to be a clinic, Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre will be a brutal fight, and Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch could be one of the best women's matches we see all year.

However, no matter how good any of those are, all eyes will be on Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns in the main event of Night 2.

The final match of any WrestleMania is what the entire card is built around. WWE has effectly spent more than a year building this feud dating back to the 2023 Royal Rumble.

Rhodes won the men's Rumble but lost his title match against The Tribal Chief last year. He was again able to win the multi-man contest this year and will challenge Reigns for the second year in a row.

It always feels like WWE goes all-out for these 10th-anniversary shows, and there is a clear booking pattern to how every show ends.

Let's take a look at how WrestleMania 10, 20 and 30 ended before we get to this year's likely outcome.

WrestleMania 10

The main event of WrestleMania 10 wasn't even set in stone until part of the way through the show due to the nature of how the Royal Rumble ended that year.

Bret Hart and Lex Luger were the co-winners of the Rumble, so WWE did something unique. The defending champion heading into WrestleMania 10 was Yokozuka, and the company decided there would be two titles bout that night instead of having Luger and Hart fight to see who would earn a title shot.

Luger was given the first chance to challenge for the WWE Championship with the winner facing Hart in the main event. To ensure The Hitman didn't have an unfair advantage over his eventual opponent, he was also booked in a match against his brother, Owen Hart.

Owen ended up scoring an upset victory in one of the most memorable wins of his career, but his celebration was short-lived.

Yokozuka was successful in his defense against Luger but was unable to do the same against Bret. A new champion was crowned and the show ended with members of the roster hoisting The Hitman up on their shoulders to celebrate as Owen angrily looked on.

One year prior, Bret lost to Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9, so it seemed fitting for WWE to correct that mistake and give the 10th Show of Shows a more satisfying conclusion.

WrestleMania 20

By the time WrestleMania 20 rolled around, WWE had two world titles.

Eddie Guerrero successfully defended the WWE title against Kurt Angle in one match, and Triple H put the World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit in the main event.

Due to Benoit's history, we're not going to spend a lot of time on this event. Suffice to say, he was a babyface who triumphed over a heel champion in the main event to end the show.

His name has been almost completely removed from the official WWE website and YouTube channel. There is no mention of him in the WrestleMania 20 retrospective featured above.

WrestleMania 30

WrestleMania 30 still has one of the most memorable main events of WWE history because it was the culmination of Daniel Bryan's Yes Movement.

Not only did he have to overcome Triple H in a singles match, but he also had to face both Randy Orton and Batista in the final bout of the night.

Batista won the Rumble that year, but WWE saw the groundswell of support for The American Dragon and opted to switch direction.

After a grueling Triple Threat main event, Bryan won the match and became WWE champion in one of the biggest feel-good moments in company history.

Not only was his back against the wall due to being outnumbered by Evolution, but he was also much smaller than any of his opponents that night.

It was as if David defeated three Goliaths at the same time.

WrestleMania 40

If you look at how the main event of each 10th WrestleMania played out, you can start to see a pattern.

Not only did WWE book a babyface challenger to defeat a heel champion in each instance, but it also did so by putting them up against more than just one hurdle to overcome.

Bret Hart needed to wrestle two matches at WM10 and went into the main event against a competitor more than twice his size after just suffering a loss to his younger brother. Benoit had to defeat Triple H and Michaels at the same time.

As for Bryan, he defeated The Game, Orton and Batista on the same night to claim his victory. Not only were all three men underdogs, but they were also all gifted technical wrestlers facing powerhouses.

Rhodes will have to wrestle a tag team match alongside Rollins against The Rock and Reigns on Saturday before he and The Tribal Chief have their one-on-one showdown on Sunday, but we all know it won't be a by-the-rules fight.

The American Nightmare is going to be up against the entire might of The Bloodline. Paul Heyman will likely be at ringside, Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso are always lurking nearby to help Reigns, and The Rock will be involved in some capacity.

Much like the other victors we mentioned, Rhodes will also be taking on someone physically stronger than him. In every way, it will be an uphill battle.

At the end of the day, WWE is an entertainment company. It wants this year's event to feel like the biggest WrestleMania of all time, and one way to help ensure that happens is to book a satisfying outcome to the main event to send everyone home happy.

If we were putting money on the outcome, we would bank on the 40th 'Mania ending the same way as every other 10th-anniversary show.