WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, also known asWrestleMania 39, will see Cody Rhodes go up against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, see Rey and Dom Mysterio perhaps finally settle their family differences, and hopefully seeKevin Owens and Sami Zaynsettle their bad blood with The Usos for good. Of course, when all is said and done, as many rivalries will be just as inflamed as they were before the showcase rolled around. However, following several high-profile and high-performing shows, there’s undoubtedly a lot of hype for WrestleMania, taking place on April 1 and April 2.
Ahead of the show, it seemed it would be interesting to see howWWE 2K23’s MyGM Mode would rate these match-ups and simulate these winners. To do so, we drafted all the involved superstars (alongside some “fillers”) to three brands in MyGM Mode in order to play all of these matches in one season’s WrestleMania. We then played as normally as possible, while trying to reserve these rivalries and superstars' stamina for the final few weeks of the season, lining up these rivalries headed into WrestleMania. Of course, these are not real “predictions” for the show and obviously the game has a few line-ups it would penalize, but discussing the real-world set-ups heading into each match, looking at how they were rated on the game and why, and who ultimately came out the winner is interestingly nonetheless.
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Because of the limitations inWWE 2K23’s MyGM Mode, there were a few matches we could not simulate as well as some necessary changes from WrestleMania’s stacked line-up. These are listed here.
Austin Theory (C) vs. John Cena for the United States Championship - Singles Match
Theopening match of WrestleMania 39 sees John Cenareturn to the Grandest Stage of Them All to face Austin Theory for the United States Championship. This has been slowly brewing in the background for a while, to the point that Theory was annoyed by the Cena-related questions tied to Elimination Chamber. More recently, Theory confronted Cena and demanded a match against the Legend at WrestleMania, and although Cena scoffed at the idea (as he believes Theory isn’t on his level yet), Cena let his hometown of Boston decide. And the two face each other at WrestleMania.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins vs. Logan Paul - Singles Match
Logan Paul made a surprise return at the Men’s Royal Rumble earlier this year, eliminating Seth “Freakin” Rollins in dramatic fashion. The result was a feud between Rollins and Paul, with the former badmouthing the latter at every opportunity and the latter attacking Rollins whenever he had the chance. The two ultimately decided to settle it all at WrestleMania.
Charlotte Flair (C) vs. Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship - Singles Match
As leading member of The Judgment Day, Rhea Ripley is involved in a number of storylines: the rivalry with Edge, Dom’s hatred for his father, and her own gold-seeking glory. After winningthe Royal Rumble, Ripley challenged Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, which is also effectively a rematch of the two from WrestleMania 36. There has been some back and forth since the Royal Rumble, all building up to Ripley’s shot at the gold come WrestleMania.
Roman Reigns (C) vs. Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship - Singles Match
The biggest match of WrestleMania 39,Cody Rhodes will challenge Roman Reignsfor the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship after winning the Royal Rumble. It’s a true David vs. Goliath story, with Rhodes seeking to prove himself, as himself, to the WWE Universe and Reigns seeking to defend his title streak that has lasted since late 2020. Since winning the Royal Rumble, Rhodes has worked at brokering peace between Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (achieved), worked at proving himself in the ring week after week, and has exchanged a few words with Heyman, the Bloodline at large, and had a face-to-face with Reigns.
Bianca Belair (C) vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship - Singles Match
When Ripley decided to pursue Charlotte Flair’s title, an Elimination Chamber match was used to determine Bianca Belair’s challenge for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. Her opponent would be Asuka.
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Brock Lesnar vs. Omos - Singles Match
Omos and MVP called Brock Lesnar out shortly after Elimination Chamber, claiming Lesnar’s actions during his match with Bobby Lashley proved he was a coward. Afterward, Omos challenged him to a match at WrestleMania, being somewhat billed as a battle between giants, which Lesnar accepted.
Gunther (C)* vs. Sheamus vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Intercontinental Championship - Triple Threat Match
A Fatal Five-Way Match between Drew McIntyre, LA Knight, Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, and Karrion Kross was set up to see who would face Gunther at WrestleMania 39, with the Intercontinental Championship on the line. McIntyre and Sheamus would end the match in a draw, with the two men sharing some heated words since. They would have a rematch to determine, again, who would face Gunther, but when Gunther and his Imperium allies attacked both men,WWE Official Adam Pearcedecided the title match would be a Triple-Threat one.
Edge vs. Finn Balor - Hell in a Cell
Edge and Damian Priest would form The Judgment Day after WrestleMania 38, growing later with the additions of Finn Balor and Rhea Ripley. The three would eventually turn on Edge, creating a feud between them and Edge (as well as his wife Beth Phoenix). Around this time, Dominik Mysterio was also recruited as part of The Judgment Day. This feud would go back and forth with match interferences, Edge losing his US Championship, and more. Now, it seems Edge and Balor are ready to settle it once and for all in aHell in a Cell match at WrestleMania.
The Usos (Jimmy and Jey) vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship - Tag Team Match
The feud, development, and storyline involving The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa), Sami Zayn, andKevin Owenswhich has been ongoing since late 2020 seems to come full circle at WrestleMania. Not only is Reigns defending his championship, but so are Jimmy and Jey Uso against Zayn and Owens. As a crude summary, this match comes after…
What’s clear is how high emotions are as WrestleMania 39 pits brothers vs. brothers.
Rey Mysterio vs. Dom Mysterio - Singles Match
This highly-anticipated WrestleMania 39 match has been building up since Clash at the Castle back in September. After Dominik turned on his fatherRey Mysterioand joined Judgment Day, Rey began avoiding his son, transferring to SmackDown. That didn’t stop Dominik’s harassment of his father when he could though, and it was implied that Dominik attacked Rey at the Royal Rumble. Especially once Rey was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Dominik’s shenanigans started up again, with Dom challenging his father to a match at WrestleMania. Rey continuously refused to strike or fight his own son, until recently when Dom was disrespectful to his mother and sister live on SmackDown. Rey’s “strike” was heard around the world and set the Grandest Stage of Them All up for a Mysterio clash.
WWE 2K23is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
