What will Wrestlemania 39 look like without Vince McMahon’s creative input?
For the first time in WWE’s history, the company’s notorious owner will not have creative control of wrestling’s biggest event
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Your support makes all the difference.Professional wrestling’s biggest event of the year takes place this weekend as WWE presents WrestleMania 39 from Hollywood.
With AEW, Impact Wrestling, New Japan and countless others all providing excellent alternatives to WWE in the modern day, there’s little dispute that WrestleMania eclipses everything else as a standalone event.
‘Mania’ has now etched out a near-forty year lineage that sees the extravaganza effectively spanning to cover a whole week of events, from media activities, action from WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, as well as the hotly-anticipated Monday Night Raw the night after the main spectacle.
WrestleMania 39 also marks the first instalment in the show’s history to not be under the creative control of Vince McMahon – Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque assumed the role of Head of Creative following McMahon’s controversial exit from the company last year.
Spanning the whole WrestleMania weekend, here’s The Independent’s guide on what to look out for at SoFi Stadium in California:
When is WrestleMania 39?
WrestleMania 39 officially begins with Night One on Saturday night, or the early hours of Sunday morning if you’re in the UK.
Aside from any Kick Off Show – WWE’s pre-show build-up – WrestleMania gets going at 1am UK time, and will run for three to four hours.
Night Two of WrestleMania airs at the same times across Sunday into Monday, so 1am UK time in the hours of Monday.
What other WWE events are taking place?
WWE technically starts ‘WrestleMania weekend’ with the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which forms part of this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown.
Immediately following SmackDown, WWE presents the 2023 Hall of Fame ceremony. This year’s class of inductees includes Rey Mysterio, The Great Muta and Stacy Keibler. The late comedian and actor, Andy Kaufman will be inducted into the ‘Celebrity Wing’, while the Warrior Award for 2023 will be awarded posthumously to legendary referee and producer, Tim White.
Saturday’s events begin with NXT’s Stand and Deliver which airs a few hours prior to the first night of WrestleMania.
Where can I watch WrestleMania 39?
Fans in the UK can watch WrestleMania on BT Sport Box Office as part of BT Sport’s ongoing deal to air WWE.
This year’s event airs on BT Sport Box Office 2 at a cost of £19.95, and is available direct from BT Sport or via Sky if you’re a subscriber.
Fans in most countries outside the US – including the UK - can also watch WrestleMania via WWE’s own streaming service, WWE Network, which is available on a rolling monthly subscription.
Full cards
Night 1
United States Championship: Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships: The Usos (c) vs. Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens
Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky)
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
Braun Strowman & Ricochet vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders
Night 2
Undisputed WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes
Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka
Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus
Hell in a Cell: Edge vs. Finn Balor
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos
Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez vs. Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler vs. Natalya & Shotzi vs. Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville
Who is in charge of WWE for WrestleMania?
As Executive Chairman and its majority shareholder, Vince McMahon remains in charge of WWE overall.
McMahon stepped away in July 2022 amid serious allegations of misconduct whilst in the role, announcing his ‘retirement’ via Twitter.
Soon after, son-in-law Paul Levesque – better known to fans as Triple H – took the role of Head of Creative, effectively taking charge of everything fans see on screen each week. McMahon had effectively been in that role up to his departure.
In January 2023, McMahon returned in his executive role, but is not – officially at least – involved in shaping WWE’s creative output, with Levesque still said to have autonomy in this role.
What is the main event?
While not confirmed, it is likely the main event of Night One of WrestleMania will be the SmackDown Women’s title match between champ Charlotte Flair and challenger Rhea Ripley.
The main event of Night Two will be Cody Rhodes challenging Roman Reigns for WWE’s Undisputed Universal championship.
Reigns has effectively been WWE’s top male champion since August 2020, his run with the gold now spanning the better part of 1,000 days.
Rhodes won the right to challenge Reigns by winning the 2023 men’s Royal Rumble. Ripley opted to challenge Flair after winning the women’s Rumble match.
Are any celebrities involved?
YouTube sensation turned boxer turned wrestler Logan Paul will continue his WWE career with a match at WrestleMania 39.
The 27-year-old made his in-ring debut for WWE at last year’s WrestleMania, following that with matches against The Miz and Roman Reigns, as well as an outing at Royal Rumble in January.
Paul has adjusted superbly to WWE’s style of entertainment and is already noted for producing eye-catching displays – his match against Seth Rollins this weekend is likely to be no exception.
Singers Becky G and Jimmie Allen will also perform live at WrestleMania, singing America The Beautiful at the outset of Night One and Two respectively.
Other notable performers at this year’s WrestleMania include John Cena who challenges Austin Theory for the United States Championship, and Brock Lesnar who wrestles Omos.
Ronda Rousey teams with fellow former UFC star Shayna Baszler in a Women’s WrestleMania Showcase match featuring Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriquez, Natalya and Shotzi and Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville.
Any other notable matches?
The Raw Women’s Championship will be defended when Bianca Belair puts the gold on the line against Asuka.
The Uso’s put their Undisputed WWE tag team titles on the line against the team of Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, while Rey and Dominik Mysterio meet in a father versus son battle.
Legends Trish Stratus and Lita return to the ring to team with Becky Lynch as they face Damage CTRL in a six-woman tag, and a Men’s Wrestle Showcase sees the teams of Braun Strowman and Ricochet, The Street Profits, The Alpha Academy and The Viking Raiders all face off.
There will be a Hell in a Cell match in California as Edge meets The Judgement Day’s Finn Balor, who will wrestle as The Demon.
What is the UK and Irish involvement at WrestleMania 39?
Scotland’s Drew McIntyre and Dublin native Sheamus will be foes at WrestleMania as they both challenge Gunther for the Intercontinental title in a triple-threat match.
Elsewhere, Saturday’s NXT Stand and Deliver will be hosted by Brit pairing Pretty Deadly, and Midlander Butch features in Friday’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
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