Super excited for Mania. Will be the first time attending one since Mania 20. I believe I managed to get some decent seats. As long as one of the pillars holding up the ring lighting isn't in my way.
Just for the hell of it gonna predict the winners of the card, and how good I expect the matches to be. We'll see if I get either right. Feel free to do your own!
Saturday
Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. The Rock and Roman Reigns- You can have the Rock and Reigns falling out on night one. Either with the Rock screwing over Reigns and revealing it was all a plot, or by having Roman turn on the Rock for trying to take the spotlight and declaring he doesn't need to Bloodline to beat Cody on night 2. But, the safer money is on Cody and Seth losing to stack the deck even further against Cody on night 2.
As for match quality, I think this should be very good. This has been probably the best built story they've done in years, so I imagine they'll keep it up here. Anticipating a match full of shenanigans and run ins by the entire population of Samoa, and that's exactly what it should be. ****1/2
Women's World Championship Match: Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley 
- I'm going to go with the underdog and say Becky wins here. Rhea is already super over and needs a catalyst to make her turn babyface and allow the crowd to cheer her like they want to. So, perhaps you have Rhea lose, possibly due to some botched interference by Dominic, which encourages her to leave the Judgment day and focus on her quest to regain her title.
As for the match quality, this should be excellent. IMHO, the two best women's matches in Mania history have been Bianca vs Becky and Charlotte vs Rhea. So, it's hard to imagine this not being a high quality match despite the build being just ok. *****
Intercontinental Championship Match: Sami Zayn vs. Gunther - Speaking of just ok builds... this one just isn't doing it for me. People (of which I'm one) really wanted Gable in this spot, not because he's necessarily better than Sami, but because it was a more fitting conclusion to the story. You need a couple of heel wins on this card, and this seems like as good of a time as any. If Roman loses, Gunther has a legit claim of being the top champion in the WWE. You can set up him Gable and Sami for Backlash, or even have Gable screw Zayn over and turn heel here.
As for the match, again, both are really good. There could be a style clash, but Gunther has managed to adapt and work with pretty much anyone. In terms of match quality, this could potentially steal the show. ****1/2
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso- Wrestling 101 dictates that Jimmy wins here to set up a rematch. So lets go with that. Should be a good match. ****
6-Pack Ladder Match for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: DIY vs. Awesome Truth vs. The New Day vs. New Catch Republic vs. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs. The Judgment Day - Wow, six teams in this match, and I don't care about any of them. Tag division is not in good shape. This should be a fun spot fest regardless. Seems like an excuse to split up the titles with R-Truth grabbing one set and celebrating like an idiot before someone else grabs the other. ***1/2
Jade Cargill, Naomi, and Bianca Belair vs. Damage CTRL- One of only three women's matches on the card, so could also be doing a better job with that division. This seems set up to be a showcase for Cargill, so I'm not expecting a ton out of it. Damage control cheats to get the edge on Bianca and Naomi, makes the tag to Jade who just squashes them. Should serve its purpose, but I'm not expecting much of a real contest. **
Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio- Seriously though, why did Rey Mysterio choose Dragon Lee over one of the LWO members for this match? People keep turning on Rey because they don't think he's really loyal to them... and you know, they may have a point. I expect Carlito to be the latest to turn on Rey and join Legado Phantasma which will be promptly renamed the "He Man Rey Haters Club".
Sunday
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship Match: Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns - Can they really do anything else? I mean, we all thought Cody had to win at Mania 39 and they went "lol nope", but can they really do it again? I don't think so. Think the obvious will happen. As for match quality, it will be like Rock and Hogan. When the build is good enough and people are invested, it doesn't really matter what they do. They can decide they're going to settle this with a best out of 50 game of rock, paper, scissors and people will still be into it. Not saying they won't put on a great match, just saying it's pretty much a guaranteed ***** no matter what.
World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre- Drew McIntyre has been on a roll. You could have Seth wins to drive Drew even further into his heel mode, but I think letting him actually win and be a complete arrogant tool about it is the way to go. Hopefully Punk is ready by Clash in the Castle. As for match quality, it's hard to believe that Rollins and McIntyre won't put on a great match. ****1/2
WWE Women's Championship Match: Bayley vs. Iyo Sky - Another case where they just need to do the obvious and give Bayley the win. Bonus points if she comes out with the ponytail and inflatable tube guys. People would lose their shit.
In terms of match quality... I keep waiting for Iyo Sky to wow me, and it hasn't happened yet. She's ok. Bayley is very good. So it should be a good match, but maybe not as good as the other title bouts on the card. ***1/2
Triple Threat Match for the United States Championship: Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens vs. Logan Paul - Another match where the build is just not clicking. Gotta have some heels win, so I guess I'll pick Logan. The match quality should be good. Paul is great for where he's at, and KO and Orton can definitely cover his flaws. But the meh build will make it a bit less exciting. ***
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles- The main point of this match is to ensure LA Knight doesn't lose all of his momentum, so should pick up the win here. I think Knight is a great character, but not a superb worker from what I've seen. Maybe with AJ Styles he can prove me wrong. ***
Philadelphia Street Fight: Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. The Final Testament- Why is this on the card exactly? I get they're really trying with the Profits and Karrion Cross, but it's just not clicking. So many better things that can be put here. And the Street Profits and Authors of Pain would have probably both been better off in the tag title ladder match. The Authors of Pain could have looked scary and dominant and not been hurt by a loss in that environment, and the Street Profits are better than any of the teams in the match. So this is weird. Going with the Profits, because I flipped a coin. **
So there are my thoughts on who will win and how good the matches will be. We'll see how I do.
