Ranking every match from WWE WrestleMania 40 from worst to best (2024)

After months of build-up, WrestleMania 40 is now in the books. Over two nights, championship issues were settled, factions went to war and everything felt big time. All but two title matches saw new champions crowned and there were moments across both nights that will live forever.

Whether it be the fun gimmick matches, rivalry blowoffs or the overbooked ride we all went on in the main event, the 40th annual Show of Shows will live long in the memory. So, let’s go through it all again as GIVEMESPORT ranks every match from WrestleMania 40 from worst to best.

14 Drew McIntyre vs Damian Priest

Winner: Damian Priest

Clocking in at seven seconds, the bell rang twice for this match, so it finds itself on our list. Of course, it wasn’t much of a contest as Priest hit the ‘South Of Heaven’ to immediately pin the newly champion Drew McIntyre (who we’ll get to later), but, as a Money in the Bank cash-in, it couldn’t have been much more.

More of a moment than a match, it provided a shock to the system to open up WrestleMania Sunday, and meant that fans could finally stop asking when the 41-year-old would use his championship opportunity. With Rhea retaining on night one and night two starting the way it did, Judgment Day have now added even more credence to the notion that they run Monday Night Raw.

13 Jimmy Uso vs Jey Uso

Winner: Jey Uso

In the introduction, we noted that the matches at WrestleMania 40 would be ranked on in-ring quality, memorable moments and whether a match reached its potential. Given that this was a personal rivalry between two twin brothers, it really could’ve been more. The wrestling itself was repetitive, but that’s to be expected, with their decades as a team reflective in their extremely similar move set, but the clash lacked any real fire.

Over the last eight months, Jimmy has cost his brother the WWE and Intercontinental Championships, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it by watching this match. Plus, the ending seemingly came out of nowhere as Jey pinned Jimmy with a splash before the contest kicked into the next gear.

12 The Pride vs The Final Testament

Winner: The Pride

Expanding on our previous entry, Bobby Lashley and The Street Profits didn’t set the world on fire, but it was more fit for purpose than the aforementioned brother vs brother clash. Given that we were in the home of ECW, they simply had to make room for a Philadelphia street fight on this card, and it made perfect sense to do it in a multi-man affair to provide a fun experience midway through WrestleMania. If that wasn’t enough, Bubba Ray Dudley was the special guest referee and Snoop Dogg was a commentator.

Some parts of the match were sloppy, and they weren’t helped by a table or two that didn’t cooperate, but the bar was relatively low for this no-DQ clash, so it certainly did its job. It’s worth remembering that WWE didn’t have anything for Bobby Lashley this time last year, so it was nice to see him on the card.

11 Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi vs Damage CTRL

Winner: Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi

WWE sent shockwaves through the wrestling world when they announced their capture of Jade Cargill last September. The 31-year-old came in off the back of a long TBS Championship run in AEW and was immediately treated like a big deal, but this was only her second time stepping through the ropes since she signed, with the primary objective of this match being to make Jade look the best she can.

Every competitor in this match was highly skilled, including some ring generals like Kairi and Asuka, so it was a good choice in terms of opponents for Cargill. Bianca Belair had some dominant moments and Naomi came out of it looking solid too. Admittedly, it’s a shame to have the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions lose here, but it serves a good purpose in getting six talented women on the card.

10 Andrade and Rey Mysterio vs Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar

Winner: Andrade and Rey Mysterio

With wrestlers like Rey Mysterio and Andrade mixing it up against natural heels Dominik and Santos Escobar, this was always going to be solid. One of Andrade’s first matches back in WWE, this was meant to be Dragon Lee before El Idolo filled his spot, but the former NXT Champion certainly belongs on the biggest stage while the young luchador has many ‘Mania matches to come in his future.

The match can perhaps be most commended for its story, with Rey and Santos having quite an intense rivalry in the months prior. Escobar injured the Hall of Famer and wrote him out in November so revenge was already on the mind for Mysterio, and this was enhanced by the late addition of his son Dominik, who lost to Rey 12 months ago on the Grandest Stage. In a match fuelled by faction warfare, the babyfaces came out on top and The Judgment Day member’s ‘Mania record reached 0-3.

9 LA Knight vs AJ Styles

Winner: LA Knight

Both into their 40s, LA Knight and AJ Styles are industry veterans who know how to put on a very solid match on the biggest stage. Plus, their match was majorly aided by a very personal feud going in, reaching the point at which a stipulation like a street fight would’ve been more than fitting. Despite it being a singles match with no added bells and whistles, they immediately began brawling to add intensity to the match.

Some wanted a bigger spot for LA Knight at WrestleMania after his star had grown exponentially over the last year and some weren’t happy with the positioning of AJ Styles, but both worked well here under the brightest lights. Knight’s win was a good moment given to someone who had earned the opportunity to have a win at WWE’s spectacle event with bigger things likely still to come for The Megastar.

8 Logan Paul vs Kevin Owens vs Randy Orton

Winner: Logan Paul

Going in, this was very much a story of Logan Paul vs Kevin Owens and Randy Orton. The Maverick is so good at being a dislikeable heel that it made Owens and Orton (two men who could also be considered natural bad guys) team up as babyfaces to take him down. Though their alliance understandably didn’t last, the pair didn’t turn on each other and instead realised that the confines of the match meant they’d have to fight it out, a nice twist.

One thing that was particularly enjoyable about this match was that it didn’t follow WWE’s usual formula for triple-threat matches. Typically, three-way matches devolve into a one-on-one match with rotating participants, but this was filled with moments that featured all three men. Paul retained after a stellar contest and there is still room for a singles match with Orton if they so choose.

7 Judgment Day vs DIY vs Awesome Truth vs The New Day vs New Catch Republic vs A-Town Down Under

Winner(s): Awesome Truth and A-Town Down Under

When a six-way tag team title ladder match was announced for WrestleMania, most knew this would be a fun time. It was a great way to get a lot of talented people on the card, including those making their WrestleMania debuts like Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate, and it was filled with very entertaining moments which did the stipulation justice.

Plus, as a quality of life point, it’s a relief that they have now split the tag team titles. Awesome Truth for Raw and A-Town Down Under for SmackDown, this was a good way to move away from the burden of having the two brand’s tag team divisions be combined and intertwined. It’ll certainly be refreshing to see how the shows deal with their own champions, particularly with the WWE Draft coming up in a few weeks.

6 Roman Reigns and The Rock vs Seth Rollins and Cody Rhodes

Winner: Roman Reigns and The Rock

The in-ring aspect of this match almost took a backseat as the contest acted as the final step for Cody Rhodes before he got to his championship match. This, of course, decided that night two would be contested under Bloodline Rules, so it was vitally important for the story, but most just got lost in the atmosphere and occasion of The Rock’s first WWE match in eight years.

It featured wild brawls and crazy moments and felt in many ways as if ‘Bloodline Rules’ had come early. Rock even told the referee that he couldn’t count them out of the ring because of the threat of being fired, so there weren’t many rules here. It didn’t matter much, as the spectacle took over and Rock pinning Cody set everything up well for what we got on night two.

5 IYO SKY vs Bayley

Winner: Bayley

Across both WrestleMania nights, very few matches had more storytelling and foundation behind them than IYO SKY vs Bayley. Starting in August 2022, Damage CTRL’s history speaks for itself, as the three original members formed a bond that will connect them forever. As the Genius of the Sky claimed the Women’s Championship, she added Asuka and Kairi and eventually pushed her original leader to the outskirts of the group.

With all that story, thankfully, under the bright lights, IYO and Bayley certainly delivered. The match was full of drama and reminded some of the previous night’s Sami vs GUNTHER match, as SKY kept hitting moonsaults in a similar vein to how the Austrian had done around 24 hours earlier. Everyone was behind Bayley and The Role Model finally returned to the top of the mountain with an emotional victory.

4 Seth Rollins vs Drew McIntyre

Winner: Drew McIntyre

Taking many by surprise, this went from 0-60 in no time and genuinely could’ve finished within ten seconds. Straight away, Drew nailed Seth Rollins with a Claymore which got a dramatic two-count and set the precedent for the rest of the match. Fans weren’t able to take their eyes off the screen during the opener of WrestleMania Sunday, as these two battled like warriors over Raw’s top title.

In a vacuum, this is an extremely fun finisher-filled match, but it also has underlying parallels. The fuel behind Drew’s recent character change is how desperate he has become to right a wrong and win a world championship with fans in attendance, and this match was a brilliant callback to the pandemic WrestleMania. McIntyre won his first WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar at the Performance Center in a match just like this. This was a redo of the moment he was meant to have in 2020, and it was perfect until he got cashed in on.

3 Rhea Ripley vs Becky Lynch

Winner: Rhea Ripley

Kicking off the whole weekend, night one started with a simply excellent contest between Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch. This was one which split the WWE Universe heading in, with some having The Man down as winning an eighth world title while others were asking how the company could possibly take the championship off of arguably their biggest female star. Ripley has become an icon over the last 12 months, so this was a real clash of the titans.

In the end, the Australian didn’t have to drop the belt as she secured the win to retain her Women’s World Title. The match was great and featured a strong finish which saw a Riptide into the turnbuckle followed up by another finisher to get the pin. A very worthy opener for WWE’s 40th anniversary, and it showcased that Ripley deserves her place at the top of the Raw women’s division.

2 GUNTHER vs Sami Zayn

Winner: Sami Zayn

Heading into ‘Mania, most had earmarked GUNTHER vs Sami Zayn as a potential match of the weekend contender, and it delivered. A simple story to tell, the Austrian’s dominance in WWE since June 2022 is hard to overstate, so anyone coming up against him would have their work cut out for them. But, it was made even better by Sami Zayn’s innate ability to be the underdog and get the people behind him.

As expected, the in-ring side of things was awesome, and the dynamic was clear. Could Zayn believe in himself enough to overcome an opponent who may have been unbeatable? As it progressed, viewers were taken aback by just how much GUNTHER was dominating his challenger. However, the longer it went on, the more fans began to feel as if The Ring General was taking his eye off the ball a little too much, taunting Sami’s wife and taking his time in hitting many splashes. The ending is perfect, as Zayn paid homage to El Generico and his Ring of Honor days with a top rope brainbuster before hitting two finishers and ending a 660+ day reign in a very emotional style.

1 Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes

Winner: Cody Rhodes

If you haven’t seen this match, no amount of description can do it justice. That’s not because it was necessarily a mat classic with the highest quality of wrestling, but it was a thrill ride perfectly suited to such a big occasion. Nostalgic returns, past rivalries renewed and non-stop drama all fed into the greater plot point of Cody Rhodes finally achieving his dream.

The typical Bloodline shenanigans had fans rolling their eyes until each act of unfairness was swiftly counteracted by Jey Uso, John Cena and The Undertaker; one by one by one, viewers across the world simply couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Whether you’re a casual fan who rose for the legends' appearances or someone who knows the ins and outs, watching Jey stop Jimmy, Cena get his revenge on Solo and Roman Reigns’ reluctance to let The Shield breakup go, this match had something for everybody and may truly be remembered forever.