WWE WrestleMania 40: Best Finishes for Top Matches on the Card

The finish of any match ultimately determines how effective and successful it is.

That is amplified on the grand stage that is WrestleMania.

A good one elevates a match from great to iconic. Look no further than the closing moments of the epic Submission Match between Bret Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 in 1997.

A bad one, though, can diminish everything the competitors accomplished leading up to it. The sub-par finish to the Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar battle at WrestleMania 38 comes to mind.

Saturday and Sunday night, WWE presents WrestleMania 40, which it calls the biggest of all time, even further enhancing the significance of an effective finisher that plays to the stories involved and highlights the Superstars involved.

Ahead of the show, these are the best finishes for the night's marquee bouts.

Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley

Credit: WWE.com

Much has been made of Becky Lynch's climb back to the top of the women's division and her desire to prove she is every bit as good as Rhea Ripley. She fell just short of winning the Royal Rumble but rebounded nicely, winning the Elimination Chamber to earn her title shot on the grand stage.

All of that work and dedication will prove to be for naught, though, as Mami retains her title Saturday night.

The best finish involves Ripley fighting out of a Manhandle Slam and rocking her challenger with one of the wicked headbutts she pulls out from time to time. With Lynch stunned, Ripley delivers Riptide and scores the win in a match that should, based on the talent of the two competitors involved, be one of the best of the entire weekend.

The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins

Credit: WWE.com

Never before has a match on one night so greatly affected the main event of the next like the tag team blockbuster pitting world heavyweight champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Cody Rhodes against undisputed WWE universal champion Roman Reigns and The Rock.

A win for the babyfaces and The Bloodline is barred from ringside during Sunday's main event. A loss, however, and The Rock, Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, and whichever other cousin Reigns can recruit will interfere as part of Bloodline Rules.

As desirable as a one-on-one, no frills match between Rhodes and Reigns may be, The American Nightmare gets more out of his championship victory if he overcomes the odds and conquers the Bloodline on his own.

To get there, the heels have to win here.

Recently, we saw Drew McIntyre talking to Paul Heyman in the background of a backstage vignette. This is where that pays off, with The Scottish Warrior attacking Rollins and further injuring his knee to set up a finish in which Reigns finally gets a win over The Visionary.

Rollins is protected and can argue that win, thanks to the McIntyre interference, and Reigns gets a win on a weekend that may not end with him standing tall to close out a show.

Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre

Credit: WWE.com

There is potential for WWE to spawn two different match outcomes off of Saturday's main event, the first being McIntyre defeating Rollins to win the World Heavyweight Championship.

If The Scottish Warrior does get involved Saturday and cost The Visionary and Rhodes their tag team match, especially by targeting a knee that is already previously established as being injured, the finish to Sunday's match is one that would result in Rollins looking strong while giving McIntyre the victory that he was robbed of by a worldwide global pandemic four years earlier.

Late in the match, a valiant Rollins sets up and attempts one last stomp to, hopefully, put McIntyre away. The Scottish Warrior ducks out of the way, leaving the champion to drive his bad leg into the mat. Immediately grasping for it, he becomes prone to the Future Shock DDT.

With Rollins struggling to his feet, the challenger mockingly utters the words "I'm sorry, I love you," as any great troll would, and obliterates him with the Claymore for the win.

So, maybe the homage to Flair and Michaels doesn't have to happen but it would be in line with the energy McIntyre has brought to his character over the last few months.

Either way, McIntyre winning the title is best for all involved right now and really sets Rollins up as a sympathetic figure who attempted to help Rhodes fend off The Bloodline, only for it to cost him everything.

Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns

Credit: WWE.com

The only appropriate finish for Sunday's main event is for The American Nightmare to hit three, consecutive Cross Rhodes and pin Reigns to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

There are different ways to get there, of course.

Rhodes running through The Bloodline to make it happen, systematically countering each before laying out The Rock and ensuring that The Tribal Chief has no one left to insulate him from defeat, is the best route.

It puts the focus on Rhodes, lets him finish his story, and leaves no doubt whatsoever that he is the man who ended the legendary run of The Head of the Table.

An entire year of WWE programming has been leading to Rhodes' coronation as champion and he, alone, should enjoy to spotlight that comes with it.