At Elimination Chamber, we found out that WrestleMania 39’s headlining bout would be WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns defending his titles against Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes. As we travel the road to WrestleMania, more and more matches are being added to the card. Some look exciting — some are a bit more confounding.
Let’s take the confusing one first. On Monday, it was announced that “The Beast” Brock Lesnar, arguably the second biggest star in the promotion, will take on… Omos? It’s a strange use of Lesnar, but at least we’ll get a spectacular F5 out of it.
Both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Championship bouts have been announced, and they’re both much easier to get hyped about. SmackDown champ Charlotte Flair will defend her gold against Rhea Ripley, while Raw’s Asuka will challenge Bianca Belair for her title.
Those are the only bouts made official for the Show of Shows thus far. Expect a stipulation match between Edge and Finn Balor to finally cap the Edge versus Judgement Day storyline that began at last year’s WrestleMania, as well as the long-awaited clash between Rey Mysterio and his son Dominik. Logan Paul versus Seth Rollins has been all but made official too.
Then there’s the question about what to do with Sami Zayn. A tag team bout pitting Zayn and frenemy Kevin Owens against The Usos seems most likely.
Match card so far
- WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Cody Rhodes.
- SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley.
- Raw Women’s Championship: Bianca Belair (c) vs. Asuka.
- Brock Lesnar vs. Omos.
How to watch WrestleMania 39: Peacock, WWE Network, Binge
As you probably know by now, Peacock is the new home of WWE’s pay-per-views. The WWE Network has in essence migrated to NBC’s Peacock streaming service, and that’s where you’ll go to watch Royal Rumble 2023. Peacock has three tiers: Free, Premium and Premium Plus. To watch WWE content, you’ll need a Premium subscription. The good news is that’ll set you back $5 a month, less than the $10 for WWE Network.
Just like the WWE Network has been absorbed by Peacock in the US, it’s migrated to Foxtel’s Binge streaming service in Australia, so Aussies will need to sign up there to watch WrestleMania. If you’re in the UK, you’ll watch Royal Rumble 2023 on the WWE Network as usual.
WrestleMania start times
WrestleMania 2023 takes place at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on April 1 and 2. For those without live tickets, it starts at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on both days. Grappling fans across the pond will have to stay up late, as the show starts both nights at 1 a.m. UK time. In Australia, WrestleMania begins at 10 a.m. AEST on Sunday and Monday.
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Daniel Van Boom