We used WWE 2K23 to predict every WrestleMania 39 match (2024)

Theory was clearly all too aware of what he was up against as he wasted no time trying to put Cena away, attempting to cover Cena after almost every move in the early stages of the match, of course, none were successful. Eventually, Cena got the upper hand and the action spilled outside of the ring, with Theory finally getting his ass kicked all around the ringside area.

Once the action got back in the ring, Cena went for the class five moves of doom, putting Theory away with a Five-Knuckle Shuffle and an AA for John Cena to walk out as United States Champion.

While Cena winning isn’t the most outlandish prospect, given his sparse wrestling schedule over the last few years it seems unlikely he’ll get a title run this year. We think it’s more likely that Austin Theory will pull out some dirty trick to put Cena away.

In a match that inexplicably has the potential to be one of the best of the weekend, this match was all about the quick offense. Both men had each other’s moves scouted, and it took a while for someone to land a meaningful shot. Eventually, the counters stopped and Logan Paul began to dominate the match, landing a picture-perfect Frog Splash, only for Rollins to kick out. Paul went for the Frog Splash a second time but missed the mark, letting Seth Rollins hit the Curb Stomp and get the win.

We certainly hope this is the outcome on the night, but it’s honestly a coin flip between these two.

This clash started with Becky and Bayley going at it yet again, but it didn’t take long for the legends to get in on the action. Trish Stratus took the boots to Bayley like she never retired until Damage CTRL’s younger stars got in on the action. Iyo Sky turned the tide in her team’s favor, dispatching both Becky and Lita on the outside before putting the hurt on Trish.

As 6-person tag matches always do, this eventually broke down into chaos, as the women paired off and brawled around the ring. Eventually, Lita slid into the ring at the wrong moment and got taken down by Dakota Kai, getting the win for Damage CTRL.

While we’d love to see Damage CTRL win something for once, it seems unlikely that’ll happen, and we’ll instead get a feel-good moment with the Becky, Lita, and Trish getting the win.

Despite the build for this match being virtually non-existent, these two came out of the gate full of fire, as both women landed heavy strikes early on. Bianca was all about the power moves, taking Asuka off her feet at every opportunity, while Asuka picked apart the limbs one by one. Her patience paid off, as by the time she cinched in an Asuka Lock, Bianca had no choice but to tap, giving Asuka the title.

It’s hard to say whether the game will be right here. Asuka certainly has the momentum, and Bianca’s year-long title reign feels like it’s on its last legs, but we can never count out the EST at WrestleMania.

These three beefy boys beat each other senseless just as you’d expect. This match was all hard-hitting strikes from the word go, with Sheamus and Drew quickly removing Gunther from the equation. They didn’t get too much of a chance to fight though, as Gunther quickly slid back in the right with a steel chair and laid them both out.

Gunther worked over Sheamus while Drew slowly recovered, coming out of the corner to smash Sheamus with a Claymore. Gunther immediately replied by giving Drew a Powerbomb, but Drew kicked out. Drew rolled to the outside leaving Sheamus and Gunther to rekindle their brawl from last year in Cardiff, and Drew would pop back in at the wrong moment, being knocked clean out with a Brogue Kick from Sheamus.

Gunther took advantage and Powerbombed Sheamus for the win.

This is another one that’s hard to call, but Gunther’s dominance has been unchallenged since the summer, so don’t be surprised if this is the result on the night.

Like most things in this ridiculously long feud, this match was a bit disappointing. After a brief brawl in the ring, Balor sought the aid of a steel chair that gave him control of the match. He then wore down Edge for quite a long time, only for Edge to reverse Balor’s signature move and grab a trusty sledgehammer…which Balor immediately threw out of the ring.

Eventually, Finn Balor went up top and hit the Coup de Gracé for a simple win.

Balor and Judgement Day as a whole have been made to look like chumps by Edge at almost every turn in this feud – even when they win. All we can say is that we hope Balor comes out with a dominant victory here, otherwise what was this all for?

The battle of father and son begins, with the elder Mysterio in control early on, but Dominik has clearly learned a few tricks from his old man, as the lucha-libre style comes out of both men in full force. Rey goes for an early cover but Dominik turns it over, with Rey just getting his foot in the ropes in time. Dominik gets onto the apron but Rey makes him pay, stunning him and hitting a devastating Sunset Flip Powerbomb onto the arena floor.

From there it’s all Rey Mysterio. He rolls his son back in the ring, hits a 6-1-9, a Frog Splash and he’s finally put his rebellious son in his place.

Unsurprisingly, Rhea had all the power early on, not letting Charlotte get anything in. However, the tide slowly turned as Charlotte got more and more shots in. A botched Elbow Drop is what spelled Ripley’s doom, as Charlotte was able to immediately pounce and wear her down. Unfortunately, Rhea was never able to recover, as Charlotte countered the Riptide, hit the Natural Selection, and Charlotte Flair retained her title.

Thankfully, we think the game is wrong about this one. Rhea Ripley has been on a roll this past year, and it’s time for her to finally get her big win over the queen.

In the most emotionally charged match of the show things got pretty crazy. The Usos went flying about the ring like they always do, but Owens knows how to ground them, while Zayn knows how to keep pace. While the game can’t capture all of the story-based drama this match will no doubt be full of, the action went a mile a minute and was a joy to watch.

…until…

Zayn pulled off a dive to the outside onto Jey Uso, but as Zayn went to pick Jey up, he countered and took control. The two then brawled around the ringside area, neither man even attempting to make it back in the ring. The referee counted to 10 and the match was declared a Draw.

It’s safe to say that if this happens in real life, WWE will have a riot on their hands, and thankfully it feels like one of the safest bets of the night that Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will walk out with the titles.

It’s time for the big one. 940 days as world champion on the line for Roman Reigns, with Cody Rhodes being the man to finally push the champion to his limit. Such a climactic moment would require an epic 30-minute+ match, which we’re sure will happen on Sunday, but in the game, you could’ve blinked and missed it.

Cody got almost no offense in, as the Tribal Chief absolutely dominated the American Nightmare. Before Cody knew what was happening he was blasted in the face with a Superman Punch and taken to the ground with a Spear. 3 seconds later it was all over and Roman’s reign continues.

Regardless of the outcome, the real-life match certainly won’t be this clean-cut. It’s hard to pick a winner though. After two and a half years it’s entirely possible that Roman Reigns just plows right through another one of our heroes and takes his title reign past day 1,000. Still, the time just feels right for it all to end, and it would be the perfect capper on Cody’s journey through the wrestling world since 2016.