PHILADELPHIA — The biggest event in wrestling has arrived.
It is time for WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia, where WWE will hold its flagship two-day event that will bring wrestling fans across the world to Lincoln Financial Field.
Night one of WrestleMania will feature seven matches, three of which will be for championships. Highlighting those title fights is the superstar battle for the Women’s World Championship between Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch. But the main event of the night will be the return of The Rock, who makes his highly anticipated return to the ring to team up with Roman Reigns against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
It’s already shaping up to be a thrilling night of WrestleMania, and there’s still Sunday night to go. Follow USA TODAY Sports for updates and results from the action in Philadelphia:
Match in progress.
We got Mysterio vs. Mysterio to start the match, but it was the son and Escobar that grabbed the early advantage in the match. The duo went after the WWE Hall of Famer and he struggled to get out.
Mysterio eventually tagged in Andrade and he went to work, showcasing the talent he had when he left WWE in 2021. The momentum shift led to Mysterio executing a 619 on Escobar and Andrade taking Dominik Mysterio out off the top rope. They went for the win, but Legado Del Fantasma interrupted.
Two masked men came to the aid of Mysterio and Andrade by preventing Dominik Mysterio from using a chair. Mysterio pulled off the 619 on both stars and a frogsplash on Escobar to get the pin. Afterward, the masked men revealed themselves to be retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce and current offensive tackle Lane Johnson.
The Philadelphia stars then celebrated with the winning team while the home crowd went wild to see the football stars.
WWE has been paying respect to the late Bray Wyatt all weekend, and it made sure to do so at WrestleMania. As an ad played for the Bray Wyatt documentary played inside the stadium, the crowd lit up the arena with the fireflies that were always apart of Wyatt’s entrance. His entrance music then played inside Lincoln Financial Field.
Twelve people and ladders in the ring is a recipe for chaos, but the structure of this match presented the chance to separate the Raw and Smackdown tag team titles with them separated above the ring.
There were some good spots in the match, but R-Truth once again stole the show when he asked to be tagged in the match, and when he did, went full John Cena mode with the five-knuckle shuffle and attitude adjustment. He went for the pin, but of course, that wasn’t how to win the titles.
Soon afterward, Grayson Waller and Austin Theory went up the ladder and grabbed the Smackdown tag team titles to win the championship, leaving the Raw tag team titles left. There were several opportunities to get the titles, and they were all ended with crazy moves done off the ladder. JD McDonagh came to the aid of The Judgement Day to help retain, but he was thrown off the top of the ladder and into tables by The New Day.
R-Truth had the funniest moment of the match, but he ended up in glory. He gave an attitude adjustment to Damian Priest and climbed the ladder to give him and The Mix the Raw tag team titles, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
It was a main event worthy match to start off WrestleMania, and it lived up to the hype.
Both stars felt each other out in the early minutes of the match, and Ripley was the first one to get on the offensive end, but it appeared she was nursing a left arm injury and Lynch went after it any moment she could, trying to execute the disarm-her. Ripley, showcasing her power, picked her up off the submission and planted her into the mat.
Ripley tried the prison trap submission on Lynch and the challenger was not only able to break out of it, but pulled off the manhandle slam. She went for the pin, but Ripley kicked out. Then Ripley executed a riptide, but Lynch somehow kicked out, much to the disbelief of the champion. Ripley tried to take her off the top rope, but Lynch countered and was able to get the disarm-her again, which was unsuccessful.
The final moments happened when Lynch tried to do a manhandle slam off the top rope. Ripley got out of it, and then used a riptide to throw Lynch into the turnbuckle. For good measure, Ripley landed another riptide, and then did her signature pin. “Mami” stays on top in a fantastic opening match.
The Women’s World Champion is starting off WrestleMania 40 with a bang, with the band Motionless in White performing her entrance music with pyros and fire emerging from the stage.
WWE chief content officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque kicked off the festivities with an address for the WWE universe, proclaiming that this is a “new era” for WWE and welcomed the crowd to WrestleMania.
Grammy Award winning artist CoCo Jones. Her father is Mike Jones, a former NFL player.
WrestleMania 40 start time
WrestleMania 40 night one will begin at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. WrestleMania night two will start at 7 p.m. ET Sunday.
How to watch WrestleMania 2024
WrestleMania 40 can be streamed on Peacock, but you must have their premium or premium-plus subscription to watch. Internationally, it will be available on WWE Network.
How to catch WWE’s biggest event without cable
The only way to stream WrestleMania is through Peacock. The streaming service discontinued its free trial option so the only available Peacock plans are:
- Premium: Stream with ads for $5.99/month of $59.99 for a full year
- Premium Plus: Stream ad-free and catch local NBC channels as well as downloadable content for $11.99/month or $119.99 for a full year
- Student Discount: Get the Premium plan for only $1.99/month for 12 months
WrestleMania 40 match card, schedule for Night 1
Matches not in order.
- The Rock and Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins to determine stipulations on Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match.
- Women’s World Championship match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Becky Lynch.
- WWE Intercontinental Championship match: Gunther (c) vs. Sami Zayn.
- Jey Uso vs. Jimmy Uso.
- Six-pack ladder match for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: Finn Bálor and Damian Priest (c) vs. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. The Miz and R-Truth vs. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods vs. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller vs. Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.
- Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi vs. Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane).
- Rey Mysterio and Andrade vs. Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio.
- The Rock and Roman Reigns defeat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins.
- Women’s World Championship match: Rhea Ripley defeats Becky Lynch.
- WWE Intercontinental Championship match: Sami Zayn defeats Gunther.
- Jey Uso defeats Jimmy Uso.
- Six-pack ladder match for Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship: Austin Theory and Grayson Waller defeat Finn Bálor and Damian Priest, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, The Miz and R-Truth, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods, Austin Theory and Grayson Waller and Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.
- Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi defeats Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane).
- Rey Mysterio and Andrade defeat Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio.
The WrestleMania stage this year is extra large, with a giant XL on it to commemorate it being the 40th WrestleMania. There are giant screens and on top of it is the word “WrestleMania.”
The first 35 WrestleManias all happened on one night, but that changed in 2020.
When COVID-19 resulted in WrestleMania 36 being held behind closed doors, WWE took advantage by booking as many matches as possible and stretching it over two nights. It was a success, and when fans returned for WrestleMania 37 in 2021, WWE opted to keep the two-day format and it’s been that way ever since.
Having WrestleMania across two nights was also a relief for fans. When it was just one night, WrestleMania would last around eight hours, and it became hard for fans to maintain the hype in the stadium, while also creating logistical challenges in the host city. With more and more matches worthy of being on the event card, it only made sense to make it a two-day event.
It’ll be a cold night inside Lincoln Financial Field for WrestleMania 40. Temperatures are expected to be 50 degrees when the show begins, according to AccuWeather. With winds up to 15 miles per hour, it will feel like 40 degrees.
By the end of the show, temperatures will be in the mid-40s and it will feel like 36 degrees.
For the first time in eight years, The Rock will be competing in a WWE match.
The Rock will be competing in the main event match of night one and it will be a tag team match. He will team up with Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes and World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins.
The tag team match won’t be a regular match, but it will have consequences for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match on Night 2.
If Rhodes and Rollins win, then The Bloodline, the faction spearheaded by Reigns that now includes The Rock, will be barred from the ringside during the championship match. If The Rock and Reigns win, then the match will be under Bloodline rules — a no disqualification match — which means The Bloodline can interfere however it wants. If that happens, The Rock said he will do “everything” to make sure Rhodes doesn’t win the title.
The last change to the WrestleMania card came on Friday during “Smackdown.”
Dragon Lee was scheduled to team up with Rey Mysterio against Santos Escobar and Dominik Mysterio on night one. But during a backstage segment, Lee was attacked by an unknown person and suffered an injury.
After the Zelina Vega vs. Elektra Lopez match, Dominik Mysterio and Escobar attacked Rey Mysterio and asked Andrade to assist. Andrade opted out and instead attacked the people he appeared to align with and put himself with Vega and the WWE Hall of Famer.
Later in the night, Rey Mysterio was informed Lee was unable to compete, putting him out of a tag partner. But Andrade stepped up and said he will be his partner for the match.
Laura Davis is an entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to Broadway, she offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
