Roman Reigns has had such a stranglehold on WrestleMania main events that has never been seen since the days of Hulk Hogan. However, with the WWE switching the Show of shows into a two-night affair instead of one that goes for half a day, several wrestlers who would not usually have the opportunity to feature in the main event, now suddenly do. This is no different with WrestleMania 39. Reigns will without question main event night 2 against Cody Rhodes. That leaves night 1 open for stars looking to add that feather to their caps.
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With there being two Royal Rumble winners for both the men’s and women’s division, it would make sense for both Rumble winners to close out one night each. However, the WWE has shown a tendency to prioritize matches with the strongest story going into WrestleMania, often at the expense of Royal Rumble winners. Will it be the same this time?
Which match will main event WrestleMania 39 Night 1?
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the push feeling within the WWE is to have one of the Women’s Championship matches close out night 1. WrestleMania saw both nights closed out by men’s matches, and the promotion believes that doing the same this year may not be a good look for them.
Despite the Usos vs Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens being hotter than either women’s world championship matches, the WWE may go ahead with Charlotte Flair vs Rhea Ripley instead because of sponsors and political reasons. There is also the feeling that this match is stronger on paper than Bianca Belair vs Asuka.
The report read:
“Reigns vs. Rhodes is expected to headline the second night. There is no decision on the main event past an internal feeling that Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley right now is the favorite. There is a push feeling for sponsors and political reasons after men main evented both nights last year it would be good for a women’s match to headline and the feeling Flair vs. Ripley is stronger than Bianca Belair vs. Asuka for the spot. If there is Usos vs. Zayn & Kevin Owens, one would think that would be the other favorite.”
Charlotte Flair has a lot of history with Rhea Ripley
Rhea Ripley may be relatively new to the main roster, but she has already built a bit of a rivalry with WWE’s Queen Charlotte Flair. After winning the Royal Rumble in 2020, Flair decided to go down to NXT and challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship instead of going after either the SmackDown or RAW titles.
She overcame Ripley, who was the Champion at the end time, to kickstart her reign. Flair eventually dropped the title to Io Sky, known as Io Shirai at the time, before moving back to the main roster.
Ripley followed suit soon and won her first main roster title at WrestleMania 37, beating Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship. However, Flair once agan signaled her desire to grab that title from her as well.
Ripley managed to pin Asuka in a triple threat to retain her title. She then faced Flair in a singles match and retained her title via disqualification. However, a third match between the two saw Flair get the better of her once again and take the RAW Women’s Championship from her.
Flair has clearly been Ripley’s bogeyman, and she will look to exorcise her demons at WrestleMania. If she does manage to finally overcome The Queen, Ripley will become the first women in WWE history to win each of the singles title available to them in the main roster, NXT and NXT UK.
So there is quite a bit of history between them and a WrestleMania moment to make, and we know how much the WWE loves those. But is that enough to eclipse the story Sami Zayn and the Bloodline have been telling for the last 9 months? Guess we’ll find our answers in the days to come.
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