Spring is an exciting time of the year for fans of professional wrestling. The biggest sports entertainment company in the world, Vince McMahon’s WWE, hosts its annual WrestleMania during the spring months. The next installment of the Showcase of the Immortals is WrestleMania 39.
The event emanates from Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and Triple H, the current Head of Creative at the company, has put together a card that will make the world stand still. There are a number of exciting bouts set to take place including Rey Mysterio vs his son, Dominik. There are also two women’s title bouts on the card, with Raw Women’s champion Bianca Belair facing off against Japanese sensation Asuka and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte battling 2023 women’s Royal Rumble winner, Rhea Ripley.
WrestleMania 39’s Main Event
The main event of the mega card will see reigning Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns face off against men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes. The reigning champion Tribal Chief has held the Universal portion of his championship for over 900 days, and he has not been pinned or submitted since December 2019. As such, the challenging American Nightmare has a herculean task ahead of him, but Rhodes has made a career out of providing people wrong.
Following a failed stint in WWE almost a decade ago, the 37-year-old decided to go it alone and ended up founding rival company All Elite Wrestling, alongside his friends the Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, and billionaire Jacksonville Jaguars owner, Tony Khan. Following the expiry of his contract early last year, Rhodes gambled with his future in the hopes of hitting it big. As those who play crypto casino games with Joe Fortune will tell you, occasionally one can hit the jackpot when gambling and that’s exactly what Rhodes did back in January when he won the Royal Rumble.
The American Nightmare made a shocking return at last year’s WrestleMania when he returned as Seth Rollins’ surprise opponent to a thunderous ovation. This year, Rollins has a different challenge ahead of him in the form of social media sensation Logan Paul.
Logan Paul’s Matches in WWE
As we all know at this point Logan Paul is a pioneer of the YouTube world and has racked up a whopping 6bn views across all platforms. As such, it was no surprise to see him head to WWE, with his brash personality seemingly perfect for the scripted world of sports entertainment. He first appeared for the company at WrestleMania 37 in a non-wrestling role, proceeding to rile up the crowd before eating a stunner from Kevin Owens.
The following year, Paul would make his WWE debut by teaming up with The Miz to face off against Rey and Dominik Mysterio. The Maverick would shock the world with his natural wrestling ability, and he and his teammate managed to pick up the victory. Then, said teammate would turn on Paul, planting him with a Skull-Crushing Finale to sow the seeds of a match at SummerSlam.
Once again, Paul would dazzle. He faced and defeated his friend turned enemy The Miz inside Nashville’s 69,000-capacity Nissan Stadium, and once again, he stole the show in the process. The highlight of the match and of the entire pay-per-view was Paul hitting a frog splash from the top rope through the Spanish announce table outside the ring.
Maiden World Title Challenge
Logan Paul’s rise in the WWE came quicker than anybody expected. Following his victory against The Miz at SummerSlam, Paul would host Roman Reigns on his Impaulsive podcast. After the Head of the Table had finished his interview and left the set, Paul said to his co-presenters that he feels he would beat the champion should the two ever face off.
As you can imagine, Reigns took exception to that, and the gauntlet was laid down for a showdown for all the gold at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. The match was one of the biggest of the year, however, no one knew what to expect of the upstart Paul in his test against the veteran champion. In the end, however, for the third consecutive time, the Maverick would steal the show.
The match was a high-octane, blockbuster affair. The highlight was once again Paul hitting a frog splash from the top rope through the commentary table on the outside, however this time, he unbelievably recorded himself flying through the air with an iPhone. If you haven’t seen the clip on YouTube, we implore you to.
In the end, Reigns would retain his title, and we wouldn’t see Logan Paul again until the Royal Rumble. There, he would eliminate Seth Rollins from the 30-man extravaganza, and he would screw The Architect out of the United States Championship at the Elimination Chamber as well. Now, Paul and Rollins will square off on the grandest stage of them all, WrestleMania 39, and it remains to be seen whether the eldest Paul brother can steal the show once again.
