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Mishal’s Top 5 NXT Matches Of 2020

Mishal takes a look at the WWE NXT brands in 2020 and ranks the Top 5 NXT Matches for the year!

Published

3 years ago

January 6, 2021

Chairshot

Mishal takes a look at the WWE NXT brands in 2020 and ranks the Top 5 NXT Matches for the year!

NXT in 2020 has certainly been something.

Admittedly not off the hottest of starts within its first few months, the brand slowly managed to find its footing over the course of the year with some outstanding results once it got out of its slump, particularly over the summer months. A plethora of redundant storylines, disappointing feuds, the temporary shutdown of their UK branch, terrible directional changes for some characters (I’m looking at you, Johnny Gargano) and the awkward inclusion of a returning Charlotte Flair for reasons that remain unexplained resulted in a product that didn’t deliver the excitement we were used to.

Whether the state of the product was due to the raging damage of COVID-19 which restricted creativity or the companies clashing creative visions which were reported on just a few days ago, NXT for a while simply wasn’t itself. However, things changed as the months moved along.

A new era in NXT begun, one with an uproar of new talent, never before seen contest, stacked programming and a revitalized product that finally tried to be something different. Despite its blunders, NXT managed to bring about the change they’ve always been known for at a time when their programming had hit its lowest point since it became a standout in the industry.

And as a result, we’ve got some fantastic matches in a year where WWE is, in all honesty, not at its best position creatively.

Rather than lump the choices I have here with the main roster product, it’s best to dissect a product with so many quality showings on its own time.

A product packed with newcomers, returning stars, international talent and a number of stars who could carry the company forward in the near future, here is my list for the 5 best matches taking place in NXT in 2020.

5. Pat MacAfee vs Adam Cole – NXT TakeOver XXX

This is more of a personal choice for me personally. Prior to his arrival in NXT most people, myself included, doubted the raw, untapped talent that a non-WWE athlete like Pat McAfee possessed between the ropes. His rivalry with Adam Cole started off well with a believable kickstarting angle, the build-up to the match marked the start of a new phase for the NXT brand and most importantly, showed that even before his first match, MacAfee was somewhat of a natural for this business.

And much to the surprise of many this match exceeded every expectation we had going into it. Even as far as in-ring debuts go, it’s tough to find one that was as smooth and as well-executed as this one came across on the night.

In terms of layout or action this was certainly nothing out of the ordinary. The flow was structured like any other match you can come across on free television, with your standard feeling out period, mid-match domination by the heel and then the subsequent match closing stretch with a plethora of near falls involved. Where this content stands out, is in the performances of both men involved. MacAfee never looked out of his element, not for one second, looking like someone with far more experience than he actually possessed rather than someone competing in their first-ever match in that moment. His solid base of in-ring work, ability to keep up with the matches flow, selling, over-the-top demeanour and ridiculous athleticism made him a must-see attraction that prior to this match, was another celebrity to most people tuning in.

While certainly not the most varied contest on this list in terms of action, this match accomplished what many this year failed to do, and that’s get people talking about someone with more talent in the ring than we’d ever grant them prior to this.

4. Io Shirai vs Rhea Ripley – NXT, November 18, 2020

Considering the fact that both these women nearly killed one another to deliver one of the best women’s matches of the year, that alone is worth enough to recognize this as the gem it truly ended up being.

Io Shirai has had a banner year under NXT in 2020, a welcome change considering how underwhelming her NXT career was before this point. She had her fair share of big-time matches and memorable angles along with the likes of Kairi Sane or Shayna Baszler, but something was always missing, something was always holding her character back. Rhea Ripley, on the other hand, started of 2020 with a surge of momentum following her capturing of the NXT Women’s Championship and opportunity to collide with Charlotte Flair at Wrestlemania, which led to low point in her career that would hinder the middle portion of the year for her almost entirely. Following Shirai’s pinfall over Ripley, resulting in Shirai taking Flair’s title from around her waist at TakeOver: In Your House, the two were destined for a collision course which would come over 5 months after that fateful night.

The match itself lived up to & exceeded every expectation. Worked at a break-neck pace with both women trading countless unforgiving blows, leaving Shirai badly bruised but most visibly, resulting in Ripley losing a couple of earrings that were pulled out during the contest. None of this stopped either woman from creating a match that lived up to the hype of being one of the ”Most Anticipated Matches in NXT History”, marking a career-defining moment for both of them and a match that will likely become one of the standard-bearers for the division down the line.

3. The Undisputed Era vs Imperium – NXT World’s Collide

Dream matches can be hard to come by in these times, especially amongst the modern crop of talent in WWE. With so many stars being mauled due to inconsistent or outright terrible booking decisions and the constant reliance on stars from previous generations to create collisions that fans want to see, we often forget how sometimes there are legitimate cases to be made that some of the current acts we see in wrestling have just as much ability to create the excitement something like the return of Edge did earlier this year.

When it came to NXT’s World’s Collide event, that happened to be just the case. Both Imperium and The Undisputed Era laid their cases for being the two best wrestling factions on the planet today through their multiple championships, complete domination under their respective brands, record-breaking leaders and the array of underrated talent lurking from within their ranks posed both units as forces of nature just waiting for an inevitable clash. The Undisputed Era existed for slightly longer than Imperium at the time of their match, but it was clear that there was an argument present as to which group dominated the landscape more, and on January 25th we finally got to decide the result to that question.

Feeling somewhat reminiscent of the dream collision between The Shield & The Wyatt Family back in 2014, this had the ”big fight feel” you look for when two dominant factions collide in the squared circle. Both teams through everything but the kitchen sink into this match, making it feel more like an all-out brawl rather than your prototypical multi-man contest we so often witness. The action was always at a maximum, despite a tragic injury to Alexandre Wolfe that threatened to derail the contest entirely, all the remaining men involved found a way to pick this back up after seemingly falling over to create a war that exemplifies just how good both factions can be, and how worth the time & effort it has been investing into both groups of talent.

Despite the remaining two entries being slightly better than my opinion, this is easily the match on this list I’ve sat through the most times since it happened earlier in 2020.

2. Finn Balor vs Kyle O’Reilly – NXT TakeOver 31

The best example this year of the main event being a pure, unhinged fight between two of the very best this business has to offer. So much of today’s wrestling can feel overly choreographed, flashy and too overly lengthy for its own good, but this was one of those occasions where a contest is booked to such perfection that it overcomes all of those obstacles without ever flinching.

Balor vs O’Reilly is the year’s best example of exceeding expectations set before a given bout. Many, many matches in 2020 have gone beyond their limitations, but both men involved here had to overcome a fairly rushed card for a TakeOver event that never really felt entirely warranted due to it taking place so shortly after the previous event just roughly six weeks prior, and gave us something spectacular.

Similar to other entries such as Shirai vs Ripley or Undisputed Era vs Imperium, this wasn’t without its long-term ramifications. A plethora of injuries occurred on the side of both men here, including a broken jaw on the part of Finn Balor that kept him out for close to two months after the match concluded. Neither man came out of this match looking better than they went going in, they pounded each other into a bloody pulp and came out of this looking like warriors who went through the fight of their life. Nothing about this main event was pretty, an aspect that in many ways resulted in it being the gem that it’s now known for being.

Champion & challenger both looked like they arrived to steal the show on an evening that came from out of nowhere for many but that didn’t stop them from putting on a prime example of just why NXT events are lauded for their world-class main events almost every single time a show comes around. Balor & O’Reilly battled through immense levels of physical pain, never holding back and always trying to one-up each other, while taking O’Reilly from a star generally known for being a tag team specialist, into a bonafide headliner in a 30-minute period. The finish of the match is a bit abrupt due to the damage both men endured to put on this masterclass, but it doesn’t hurt the fact that this is one of the best main events of 2020 as a whole.

To those who think the trials & tribulations wrestlers go through is ”fake”, I highly recommend checking out the brutality on display in this one.

1. WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov – NXT UK, October 29, 2020

A masterpiece, a work of art and a perfectly crafted piece of wrestling history.

I’m not going to write my thoughts all over again here as I’ve already put together a lengthy piece delving into just why WALTER vs Ilja Dragunov is the work of art so many people hail it to be since it took place just about two months ago, and deserves every ounce of praise it receives from fans or critics alike.

At a time when the absence of a live audience has affected so much of professional wrestling as a whole, this was one of those rare examples from 2020 where a match is able to capitalize on the tragic situation it’s being held under. If anything, the lack of audience, live participation or overall reaction made this the blistering spectacle of utter violence and passion we ended up getting from two of the best European stars in the world right now. You felt every punch, kick, slap, chop, slam, scream or stomp that was hurled from either man, further being displayed with the damaged state their bodies were in once the contest came to a close.

While it does feel I’m under-selling this match despite the pure excellence on display across the 20+ minutes it runs, it’s something I don’t want to due to what I’ve said prior, but also because experiencing this match with your own eyes rather than the commentary or babbling of some stranger on the internet is how this should be experienced. To those of you who haven’t seen this yet, you should actively go out of your way to do so, and to those of you who have, here’s to you enjoying the multiple repeated viewings you’re bound to have of this modern-day classic.

Not just the finest thing the NXT brand as a whole has produced in 2020, arguably the best match of the entire year from any promotion.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Related Topics:2020 Featured Featured Big NXT Top 5 WWE

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Greg DeMarco’s WWE Stand & Deliver 2024 Results & Review

It’s that time of year again–time for WWE NXT Stand & Deliver! Greg DeMarco is here with your results and his review of NXT’s biggest event!

Published

3 weeks ago

April 7, 2024

Greg DeMarco

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver Roxanne Perez Women's Champion

It’s that time of year again–time for WWE NXT Stand & Deliver! Greg DeMarco is here with your results and his review of NXT’s biggest event!

As everyone gears up for WrestleMania, the NXT Universe (?) gets ready for their WrestleMania, Stand & Deliver! Shawn Michaels has been less HBK and more HBCook lately, delivering some of the best booked shows found anywhere on Tuesday nights.

I fully expect that to carry over–but let’s see it in action!

Countdown Match – Shawn Spears vs. Joe Gacy

As much as I really wanted “The Ten Guy” back, I have enjoyed Shawn Spears run back in NXT. Also interesting to see Wade Barrett on commentary alongside Vic Joseph and Booker T, which makes me expect the ‘Mania call will be handled by Michael Cole, Corey Graves, and Pat McAfee.

Ridge Holland, who had joined the Kickoff panel, had to be held back during Shawn Spears’ entrance, then attacked Joe Gacy with a chair during his own entrance. Storylines in every element of the show–that is how it’s done!

Also interesting to see Gacy bring back little facets of The Schism with the mask and the smiley face on his knee pad. Makes me wonder what the long term plan is for him (either on NXT or the main roster), as he is crazy entertaining (and crazy, and entertaining).

Stream of consciousness:

Thank Randy Orton cares that Spears used the Hangman DDT? Something tells me Randy doesn’t.
Joe Gacy is so damn talented and moves so well for his size and perceived conditioning.
Shawn Spears is a 22-year veteran of the ring, and it shows in all of the little things he does, especially the non-verbals.
Gacy, mind you, is an 18-year veteran himself, let’s not forget that.
Didn’t expect that result, especially after Ridge attacked Gacy on his way to the ring.

Winner via pinfall: Joe Gacy

Highly entertaining match that fits anywhere: Countdown To Stand & Deliver, NXT TV match, NXT TV main event, PLE main card match, and would work on Raw or Smackdown. Very intrigued to see what happens next for both of these guys.

WWE NXT Stand & Deliver 2024

As usual, I am watching this on a delay (west coast time, and I’ve gots a family!). I am fairly capable of staying spoiler free as I start (I did get one result spoiled for me, but it is what it is). But I did see that the event drew 16,545 fans, which is amazing (and a record for NXT). For perspective, last year’s event with the same name drew 7,584. For those of you who, like me, try to apply some math to these things, that’s double +18% (or 215% of last year’s attendance).

Job well done by all involved.

Once again… #WWENXT delivered.

An incredible show, with a record-setting number of @WWEUniverse members in attendance. Congrats to the Superstars, and the crew members behind the scenes, who helped set the tone for the biggest #WrestleMania Weekend EVER. #StandAndDeliver pic.twitter.com/JiAypgi2MW

— Triple H (@TripleH) April 6, 2024

Very much enjoyed the opening video (that I presume we watched as Meta Four made their way to the ring), where there went through all of the major settings and storylines in NXT and here tonight.

I was wrong, Meta Four stayed by the entrance. Great to see that huge crowd on camera. The business is so hot right now.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match – Axion & Nathan Frazer vs. Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker (champions)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Nathan Frazer & Axiom win the tag team titles.

Extremely excited to see Axiom & Frazer get the nod to be in this match when you had The LWO, The Good Brothers, and Alpha Academy all as possible participants as recently as this past Tuesday. Not so sure they will get the win, but you never know with Baron Corbin having been back down in NXT for a while now, and Breakker already a member of the Smackdown roster.

Hot start to the match (and PLE) with multiple dives from the challengers.
Breakker is so damn good with less than 4 years in the business. He was truly born with it.
Interesting fact from Vic that Breakker has never won at Stand & Deliver. Of course, in 2022 he won two nights later on Raw.
Wade Barrett speaks! I forgot he was on commentary. It’s hard when Vic & Booker do this together every week. And Booker talks a lot–and for a long time.
Axiom & Frazer really do make a fantastic team. If they don’t win tonight, I wonder where they fit in. Because they are so damn good.
Hell of a Frankensteiner, not sure what Corbin was supposed to do with it.
“Justified” This Is Awesome chants, as Tony Khan would say.
BARON CORBIN WITH THE USO SPLASH!!!
Tons of near-falls in this match. HBK letting these boys go!
Spear ends it, I’m surprised Bron didn’t get to score the fall since he’s never done that at Stand & Deliver.

Winners via pinfall, AND STILL your NXT Tag Team Champions: The Wolf Dogs

Outstanding opener, crowd was way into everyone. But, man, Bron Breakker is on a completely different level. That man is going to deliver one hell of a WrestleMania main event some day.

WWE NXT North American Championship: Dijak vs. Josh Briggs vs. Oba Femi (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Oba Femi retains the NXT North American Championship

Given the copious number of nearfalls in the opener, I expected the six-woman tag here. But, hey, this card is stacked, so obviously we need to place that elsewhere. I love all three guys in this match, and I really think Josh Briggs is likely going to get called up in the next draft. But man, Oba Femi is a damn star! He might in one of those WrestleMania main events with Bron Breakker that I referenced earlier.

This match is sponsored by Knuckles, on Paramount+, by the way. Weird to see a Paramout+ sponsorship on a show streaming on Peacock, but here we are!
That Knuckles banner is literally duct-taped to the floor! That’s always a funny aspect of Stand & Deliver, some of the main production elements are already set-up in the stadium.
The Man of Mayhem definitely brings that when he flip-chokeslams Dijak from the top rope to (through?) Oba Femi, who was seated (literally) on the floor.
Briggs, by the way, is an 8-year veteran of the ring (that surprises me, I thought he had more), and Dijak has 11. Femi, of course, has about 15 matches. Which is absolutely insane.
Looking up those years, I had the result of this match spoiled for me, but I am totally fine with that. That result was expected!
Interesting for Barrett to point out that some refs won’t allow getting your foot on the ropes to break up a pin in a Triple Threat Match. All the years I have been watching this stuff, I haven’t heard that.
~~SUPERKICK~~BIG BOOT PARTY!
Dijak and Briggs doing the majority of the heavy lifting in this one, and putting on a performance reminiscent of Dijak and Keith Lee.
NOW THAT WAS A TOWER OF DOOM SPOT.
I can’t even describe it, you just have to see it. INSANE.
If I ever rewatch this match, I am counting the number of Big Boots.
Feast Your Eyes on a 300 lb man!
Crowd was NOT HAPPY about Briggs pulling the ref out. I thought it was brilliant.
“Justified” This Is Awesome chants, as Tony Khan would say.
That camera shot was AMAZING.

Winner via pinfall on Briggs, AND STILL your NXT North American Champion: Oba Femi

What a match! Seriously, one hell of a classic put on by all three men. All props to Dijak and Josh Briggs, who really need to have great runs on the main roster.Man, this company is LOADED with talent right now. Where do you fit everybody? It feels like they need a third main roster brand.

Meta Four (unsuccessfully) trying to get interviews is very, very entertaining.

Six-Woman Tag Team Match: Kiana James, Izzi Dame, & Jacy Jayne (With Jazmyn Nix) vs. Fallon Henley, Kelani Jordan, & Thea Hail (with Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, & Riley Osborne)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Babyfaces over!

I loved the addition of this match to the card, getting six very talented competitors on the card. Hell of an opportunity for Izzi Dame and Kelani Jordan, too.

All total, we have 10 NXT Superstars in and around the ring for this match.
Still not sure why Jacy Jayne worked so hard to save Chase U just to ditch them so quickly after. If she was never Thea’s friend, why did she bust her ass to help?
Kelani with a handspring into a ….. Flatliner? That makes zero sense.
Nice “not the first time a James has been jealous of a Jordan” reference by Vic Joseph, who should appreciate that Lebron James brought a championship to Cleveland.
Have to wonder if Jacy, Jazmyn, Kiana, and Izzi will formally be put together into a “Mean Girls” style stable.
Love Wade Barrett with the Toxic Attraction reference.
Gotta figure that Fallon Helney will end up on the main roster sooner rather than later–and I hope she isn’t lost in the shuffle.
Kelani Jordan has a lot of development to come, but damn she can hit that Moonsault to the floor just as good as Charlotte Flair.
Great set-up to get to Thea vs Jacy, and the crowd was hyped for it.
Nice sequence to the finish.

Winners via Hail submission on Dame, Thea Hail, Fallon Henley, & Kelani Jordan

Hell of a match that felt like it got a lot of time, and was easily Stand & Deliver worthy. The women’s division is in really good hands for years to come.

Hey look Giulia is here! (And kinda looks nervous.)

WWE NXT Women’s Championship: Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Roxanne Perez captures the NXT Women’s Championship for a second time (with something underhanded involved)

Kinda surprised to see the two women’s matches back-to-back. I actually had the match order a little different, and the final three would have been (in order): NXT Championship, NXT Women’s Championship, Trick/Melo.

Nice point from Vic Joseph, pointing out that the NXT Women’s Championship is the only NXT title to be defended at a WrestleMania.
Another streaming partnership for a match here, with Fallout on Amazon Prime getting the visibility treatment here on Peacock.
Roxanne Perez working over the arm like a champ. That’s been a big part of the story all along.
I must say–as I always do when the set-up is like this–that I really do prefer a WWE arena event without the big huge stage (not talking abut WrestleMania).
With all the high-flying, crazy action of the first three matches, the crowd is definitely a little quiet during this one–all the spent time working over the arm also causes that.
I’m not complaining, this is very much the type of match you’d see on the main roster (even a main roster WrestleMania), and that’s why we are here.
Roxanne Perez, by the way, has 6-years in the business. Nine years for Lyra Valkyria.
The Pop Rox (and subsequent kickout) definitely woke the crowd up.
Tatum Paxley appearance, which had to be expected (Paxley has been amazing in this pairing, by the way).
The crowd is now solidly behind Roxanne Perez. Big pop for her locking in the submission a second time.
Poison Rana into Pop Rox into the Crossface, and that has to be it.
Big pop for the finish, too.

Winner via submission, AND NEW WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Roxanne Perez

Roxanne Perez joins Shayna Baszler and Charlotte Flair as your only two-time NXT Women’s Champions. She needs a good 440 days to pass Baszler’s days as champion–and I would love to see it.

WWE NXT Championship – Tony D’Angelo (with Channing Lorenzo, Adriana Rizzo, and Luca Crusifino) vs. Ilja Dragunov (champion)

Greg’s pre-show prediction: Ilja Dragunov retains

Tony D’Angelo’s highest profile match to date, and I truly think he deserves this spot. But to me, this spot is about building Tony’s future. I see him as a future NXT Champion, but not tonight. The build to this has seen Tony lean more towards the heel side once again, which could set things up for a Tony/Trick feud. But we could get more than one match out of Tony and Ilja, too

During the intros I did our experience check: Tony D debuted in 2019 (5 years ago–time flies!), Ilja Dragunov has been working for 14 years.
Tony wearing the “WrestleMania whites” for his gear today–usually you see more of that! We’ll see what happens at WrestleMania tonight.
Seeing Stacks on the outside is odd to me. Not because he’s out there, or out there with Tony, but it seems like a demotion for him after working so closely with Tony in-ring. I do wonder if a split is coming there.
Ilja chops the ringpost as we hear from Booker T for the first time in this match! I almost wondered if he took a break or went back to congratulate his student, Roxanne Perez.
Ilja tried to get Stacks involved, but The Don called him off. Ilja kissed him on each cheek (a Mafia thing, which Wade Barrett totally missed and called as Ilja kissing Tony on the mouth) and that just fired up Tony D.
Huge Overhead Belly To Belly by Tony off the top rope, which woke the crowd up (much like Roxanne vs Lyra, they started off slow).
Well done H-Bomb through the table, as Stacks looks on and says he’s not doing anything (remember, Tony told him not to).

Winner via pinfall, AND STILL your WWE NXT Champion: Ilja Dragunov

Not gonna lie, that felt short. And while it was the Top Rope H-Bomb that ended it, the match never made me believe Tony might capture the title. (Late research showed me I was wrong–this was 17 minutes and was the longest match of the program!)

Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams

It was no surprise when this match was announced as the Stand & Deliver main event. It simply made sense. What’s crazy is the development of Trick Williams, wrestling on a Stand & Deliver for his first time ever, and doing so in the main event.

Hype video for this match was great, but almost felt unnecessary solely because everyone knows this story.
The only drawback of this feud was how long it took for Melo to be revealed as the one who attacked Trick. Even in the video package that was largely overlooked. I wonder how many casuals actually know that it happened that way?
Carmelo Hayes made his debut almost exactly 10 years ago, in April 2014. Trick, on the other hand debuted in late 2021, less than three years ago. That’s how fast Trick has developed.
With the brawling in the crowd (after the match started), and commentary constantly reminding us that Ava told the referee to provide “leniency,” you have to wonder why this match didn’t have any added stipulation/gimmick to it.
Nice little double dropkick spot done in a way you normally don’t see.
BIG BOOT!
Big dive to the floor from the middle rope from Melo to Trick.
“Justified” This Is Awesome chants, as Tony Khan would say.
Why did we need a ref bump in a match where the ref was already handcuffed? Let’s see …
So we got a chair, and a low blow. Since nothing followed the low blow, the crowd didn’t really buy the nearfall.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand ref bump #2.
Another, more believable, nearfall.
Trick Knee finishes the match.

Winner: Trick Williams

Look, it was a great match. Was it truly a “moment?” Tommaso Ciampa called it the biggest match in NXT history. And it might be Melo’s send-off. If so, I think it fell short. Think of the things that Ciampa and Johnny Gargano did in their Takeover matches. Hell, there was a women’s 4-way on a Takeover that got crazier than this. Trick is over, but I think this one missed a third gear to make it truly great. And I hate to say it.

Greg DeMarco’s Overall Thoughts on NXT Stand & Deliver 2024

My complaints about the match order (swap the two NXT title matches), and the lack of a third gear for Trick and Melo notwithstanding, this was one hell of a show. NXT is the future, and I need to remind myself about that. It’s a different NXT now then when Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were trying to kill each other all over the building. It’s about populating the main roster, and so many of the stars we saw today will do just that. Trick and Melo will cross paths again, even if it’s not in NXT.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this show, and the most important point is that the future is bright. Damn bright.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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Greg DeMarco’s Top 5: WWE WrestleMania 40 Opponents For Roman Reigns

It’s Royal Rumble season, which means we may soon know Roman Reigns’ WWE WrestleMania 40 opponent. Who are the candidates to challenge the Tribal Chief?

Published

4 months ago

December 30, 2023

Greg DeMarco

The start of 2024 will send us right into the Royal Rumble, which kickstarts the Road To WrestleMania, and the next milestone title defense for Roman Reigns! But who will his opponent be?

Roman Reigns’ historic championship reign is one that history will never forget, even if it can be polarizing for many fans online. Many of those fans believe it is a veritable lock that Cody Rhodes will get a rematch at WrestleMania 40 and unseat the longest reigning champion of the modern era. Doing so would be a major departure for WWE.

Only once in WWE history has the main event of WrestleMania been a rematch of the prior year’s main event: WrestleMania 29 saw John Cena defeat The Rock in a rematch of the prior year’s main event (which The Rock won). While there have been rematches at WrestleMania (including two famous trilogies featuring The Undertaker vs. Triple H and Steve Austin vs. The Rock), Cena-Rock is the only instance of a main event repeating in consecutive years.

Greg DeMarco’s Top 5 Stories To Watch In 2024

Could it happen this year? See what I think–here are your Top 5 WWE WrestleMania 40 Opponents For Roman Reigns!

5. AJ Styles

Recently making his return to WWE Smackdown, AJ Styles has been turning heads with his alignment. He seems to be a heel-leaning tweener, attacking LA Knight and not being buddy-buddy at all with Randy Orton. This is more of a vigilante AJ, one who is hell-bent on revenge on The Bloodline for taking him out. Many would expect his beef to be with Solo Sikoa, the man who put him on the shelf, but that was at the behest of The Tribal Chief.

I believe AJ will get his title shot, but I don’t expect it to be at WrestleMania 40. But if it were AJ Styles, the company would have no issue getting the match over, as AJ is one of the most beloved performers of this generation, and a WrestleMania main event would be quite the feather in the cap of an amazing career.

4. Sami Zayn

Sami Zayn is no stranger to the Premium Live Event main event, competing in multiple such matches in 2023–including the main event of night 1 of WrestleMania 39. He also challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed Championship in Montreal at the Elimination Chamber event, a night those in attendance–and Sami himself–won’t soon forget.

Sami Zayn is currently out of action, but a Royal Rumble return–and victory–would be a surprising development but would also make Sami an amazing babyface headed into a WrestleMania 40 showdown with Roman Reigns. It also follows the pattern of underdog babyfaces “on the 10s,” following Bret Hart (WrestleMania 10), Chris Benoit (WrestleMania 20), and Daniel Bryan Danielson (WrestleMania 30) challenging for the world title in the WrestleMania main event.

3. Cody Rhodes

You may be surprised to find Cody “so low” on this list, coming in at #3. As I listed above, it’s a no-brainer to so many people. History says it won’t happen, but it’s easy to ignore history when it doesn’t suit your narrative. WWE, on the other hand, loves history, especially making history.

And the company will never be this close again to having someone surpass Hulk Hogan’s 1474 day reign as WWF Champion. It’s now or never for that historical marker, and it makes perfect sense to do it with Roman. They should have split the titles in 2022 at Clash At The Castle (utilizing Austin Theory’s Money In The Bank briefcase and a wiseman in Paul Heyman smart enough to find a loophole that Theory could only cash in on one championship, thus when Drew McIntyre pinned Theory he only won one title–the WWE Championship). So if you assume Roman is breaking Hogan’s reign, it makes zero sense to have Cody lose AGAIN in the main event of WrestleMania.

For those of you who say “there’s no way Cody doesn’t win it at 40,” remember that you also said the same thing about WrestleMania 39. I do believe Cody Rhodes finishes the story–at WrestleMania 41 (potentially in London) when he is the man to finally take the title off of Roman Reigns.

2. CM Punk

Speaking of another guy looking to finish a story, CM Punk is on a mission to finally secure his WrestleMania main event (although his WrestleMania 28 title defense against Chris Jericho WAS considered a main event by WWE–but you know Punk and many others believing the main event is only the match that goes on last).

If Punk is going to get a show-closing match at WrestleMania 40, it’s likely going to have to be against Roman Reigns. You might think Punk vs. Seth Rollins is going to main event night 1, but there’s a small issue with that. WrestleMania 37 is the last “Granddaddy Of Them All” to have women in a main event match. I just can’t see Triple H being the guy to keep them out of that slot for a third straight year.

The only way CM Punk gets his WrestleMania main event at 40 in Philly is to win the Royal Rumble and challenge Roman Reigns. I don’t think that happens as I fully expect Punk vs. Rollins to happen, just with no championship involved.

Honorable Mentions – a few darkhorse/longshots to challenge Reigns in Philly include…

GUNTHER.
Seth Rollins
A Bloodline 4-way vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Jey Uso.
Brock Lesnar.

Just kidding on that last one! 😁

1. Randy Orton

It’s crazy to think that Randy Orton was last in a WrestleMania main event at WM30–a full decade ago. Hell, Triple H has a more recent WrestleMania main event (WM32), along with Daniel Bryan Danielson (WM37). Orton has been white-hot since his return. He was also rumored to be Roman’s SummerSlam 2022 opponent before the injury (that turned into Roman vs. Brock Lesnar in the now-famous Last Man Standing Match that featured Brock nearly destroying the ringside area with a tractor).

It’s also crazy to think that the internet fanbase chooses to ignore Randy’s place in WWE history. A Royal Rumble win would make him only the second three-time Rumble winner, alongside “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Orton is also crazy over with the casual fanbase. And remember, THAT is the target audience, not us.

Daddy’s Back, he’s winning the Royal Rumble, and (unsuccessfully) challenging Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the Night 2 main event of WrestleMania 40.