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WrestleMania is like Christmas for fans of sports entertainment, only with slightly more Hurricanranas off the top rope than what you usually get at the end of the year. It's a focal point for the professional wrestling industry, the gold standard for live events as the WWE's best performers turn their performances up to 11 and go all out. This year is the 40th Wrestlemania, and WWE has a stacked card of matches that'll play out across two nights.
Will stories finally be finished? Will championship reigns continue? Will the Gobbeldy Gooker ever get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? WrestleMania weekend will have all the answers, but we're feeling impatient. With a few days left to go, we're busting out our WWE 2K24 crystal ball and predicting who'll get their hand raised at the end of their bouts.
This year's entry in the wrasslin' simulator series is a pretty great game, and we've been using it to simulate WrestleMania 40 matches. To make things interesting, we've dialed up the PC skill level to Legend and have added distractions where necessary and plausible. After all, a Roman Reigns match without the Bloodline present would be unheard of! It'd be the equivalent of a beer shared with Stone Cold Steve Austin not leading to a Stunner.
Of course, things can change at the drop of the hat when it comes to WWE matches. Results can be changed on the fly, and even leading right up to the start of a bout, nothing is set in stone. But for now, WrestleMania 40 is looking to be a weekend of monumental change as championships--and friendships--hang in the balance.
Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee vs. Santos Escobar and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio
Fun fact: Dragon Lee isn't in WWE 2K24, but thanks to the magic of community creations, I wasn't missing a luchador for this bout. On one side, the living legend Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee, facing off against his son "Dirty" Dom Mysterio and Santos Escobar. The younger Mysterio recently had his face introduced to Becky Lynch's favorite Pantera album cover, but he was in full heel mode in this match as he demolished his dad. With Escobar serving as the wild card, it wasn't long before the younger Mysterio escaped his father's high-flying offense and stole a win.
Winners: "Dirty" Dom Mysterio and Santos Escobar
Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits vs. Final Testament (Six-Man Tag Team Philadelphia Street Fight)
In another case where WWE 2K24 simply didn't have the option to watch coordinated collisions of gigantic superstars, we settled for a traditional tag team format to decide this match. With StableMania running wild in the WWE lately, Karrion Kross and Akam--another community creation download--this match could only end one way. Lashley sealed the deal when he delivered a slam powerful enough to be picked by seismologists in Australia, banishing Karrion Kross and pals back to the WWE's Phantom Zone.
Winners: Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder Match
Unfortunately, we couldn't pit six tag teams against each other in a brutal bloodsport, so instead, we went for a six-man match instead. Sure, that's 50% less ringside carnage than the upcoming WrestleMania six-pack match, but that's still a lot of devastation to witness! After flipping a coin and choosing one man from each team, we threw them into the ring and watched the mayhem unfold. The local kendo stick salesman probably made a killing supplying WWE with all those fancy rods, the ring looked like a hardware store with all the ladders inside of it, and several life insurance policies were rendered null and void that night. The last man standing atop the ladder? None other than Judgment Day's Finn Balor, who left a trail of bodies in his wake and climbed the ladder to victory.
Winner: The Judgment Day, Finn Balor and Damien Priest
LA Knight vs. AJ Styles
In one corner, you have LA Knight, a man who has shifted an obscene amount of merchandise with the power of a single word. Facing him is AJ Styles, a veteran of the ring who moves like Spider-Man and hits harder than the Hulk with those phenomenal moves off the top rope. These two superstars have been at odds for months now, and Wrestlemania 40 is their battleground. In WWE 2K24, this showdown was a highlight as both superstars battered each other like a rack of meat in a Rocky movie. The winner? LA Knight, who survived an onslaught of attacks from AJ Styles to emerge triumphant. Yeah!
Winner: LA Knight
Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso
Forget about Godzilla and Kong wrecking the box office, because this face-off between Usos is the real clash of the titans. With Solo Sikoa in his corner, this tale of two brothers had high-flying moments of spectacle, ground-and-pound brutality, and plenty of near-falls. The sibling rivalry would come to an end with a Double Uce from Jey, firmly establishing the former Bloodline member as a main event attraction.
Winner: Jey Uso
Intercontinental Champion Gunther vs. Sami Zayn
In an ideal world, this would have been Gunther up against Chad Gable for the championship, but as the Rolling Stones once said, you can't always get what you want. What you can get is an instant-classic match between the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time and the WWE's best underdog. Gunther vs. Zayn was a show for the ages in WWE 2K24, a back-and-forth bout pitting the Ring General's cunning and brutal offense against the indomitable spirit of Zayn. Only one man could be left standing by the end of this championship match, and thanks to a little interference from his Imperium cohorts, Gunther's reign was secure for another night.
Winner and still Intercontinental Champion: Gunther
Logan Paul vs. Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship Title Triple Threat Match)
This is what you'd call a dream match, as not only did you have Randy Orton and Kevin Owens shortening each other's careers inside of the ring, they were taking turns demolishing Logan Paul, as well. You could see Paul losing years of his life and YouTube subscribers with all the pain being inflicted on him, but he gave as good as he got in one of the best matches of the night. Every man was on fire, but in the end, Orton added more gold to his illustrious career with an RKO outta nowhere on the maverick.
Winner and new US Champion: Randy Orton
Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch
Becky Lynch has overcome some incredible odds to stand opposite Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 40, but even The Man was no match for Mami at the showcase of the immortals. Credit where credit is due, Lynch put on a hell of a show in her attempt to claim her first championship in almost two years, but Ripley had an answer for almost everything Lynch threw at her. With Dirty Dominik Mysterio in her corner, an exposed turnbuckle, and an oblivious ref, Lynch quickly became yet another name on the long list of challengers who failed to dethrone the champ. Ripley, believe it or not, is still the champ.
Winner and still WWE Woman's World Champion: Rhea Ripley
WWE Women's Champion Iyo Sky vs. Bayley
Former allies turned bitter enemies, Bayley vs. Iyo Sky turned into a high-flying slugfest. Were there some Damage CTRL shenanigans? You bet! But with the Role Model pulling out all the stops in her attempt to once again hold championship gold, it looked like it was only a matter of time until she emerged triumphant. Unfortunately, Sir Isaac Newton's most wanted criminal defied the odds and broke even more laws of gravity in her title defense, utilizing a well-timed distraction to land her signature moonsault and walk out of WrestleMania with the belt still around her waist.
Winner and still WWE Women's Champion: Iyo Sky
World Heavyweight Champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre
Almost as lethal in the ring as he is on a microphone lately, Drew McIntyre gave Seth "Freakin" Rollins a run for his money and his championship. This was two burly dudes treating each other like slabs of meat, slamming, suplexing, and manhandling each other throughout a grueling match. McIntyre's sadism saw him turn Rollins into a human pretzel, while the Monday Night messiah endured the pain and struck back with his own unique offense. It wasn't long before McIntyre was wearing a crimson mask, and one stomp to the back of the head later, Rollins retained his championship while the entire audience went into acapella mode.
Winner and still WWE World Heavyweight Champion: Seth "Freakin" Rollins
The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin" Rollins
It's been a long time since we've last seen The Rock wrestle, but this match was a solid reminder that the Great One is a force to be reckoned with. While it's not the main event of WrestleMania 40 weekend, this match was still a fun session of high-energy offense, signature spots, and tense moments in the story of Cody Rhodes. Of course, there was only one way it could end, and that was with The Rock's monumental ego being fed with a beaten and bruised Rhodes beneath his heel.
Winners: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Roman Reigns
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes
What will end first: the universe or the Roman Reigns empire? The Head of the Table has set a new benchmark for longevity in the WWE, and in the WrestleMania main event, that legacy was up against a man who had battled through unbelievable odds to reach the top of the mountain. With The Rock in his corner, this match to be crowned the top dog in the WWE held nothing back, with both competitors throwing everything they had in their arsenal at each other. An eternity later, the American Nightmare finally pinned Reigns for the three-count, dethroning the king and ending WrestleMania 40 on a feel-good note.
Winner and new WWE Universal Champion: Cody Rhodes
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