The 10 Most Important Moments On The Road To WrestleMania 41

In the last few months, Kevin Owens has vowed to get revenge on every “friend” that, in his mind, turned their backs on him by teaming up with Roman Reigns. The former Universal Champion started with Rhodes after the WWE Champion teamed with the Tribal Chief at the WWE Bad Blood event. Owens assaulted Rhodes outside the building after the show aired. Next, the Canadian superstar attacked his former tag partner Randy Orton for allegedly choosing Rhodes over himself. Orton tried to keep peace between Rhodes and Owens which, in the prize fighter’s perspective, “The Viper” chose Rhodes over their friendship. This would lead to Owens giving the man that made the letters “RKO” famous, a piledriver (a move previously banned for a long time in WWE), effectively injuring Randy Orton.

Owens got another shot at the world title at Saturday Night’s Main Event, but once again, he came up short against Rhodes. All of this built up to the Royal Rumble, where Owens and Rhodes faced off in a high-stakes ladder match to decide the champion. Leading up to the match, Owens tried to get his longtime best friend, Sami Zayn, to have his back and help him win. But when the moment came, Zayn stayed silent, refusing to get involved. In the end, Owens lost to Rhodes for the third time, setting the stage for what was to come between him and Zayn.

This would set the stage for what would follow with Zayn and Owens.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts at winning the world title, Owens directed his attention toward Zayn. Owens has been unhinged as of late, and he demonstrated his ruthlessness by laying out Zayn on the February 7 edition of RAW. Reverting to his past, Owens delivered a devastating “package piledriver” to Zayn—a move that could break a person’s neck or even cause paralysis.

We’ve seen many unfortunate incidents in the past involving variations of the piledriver. Legendary wrestlers such as Stone Cold Steve Austin and current AEW commentator Taz both suffered broken necks after taking modified versions of the move. Needless to say, it was no surprise that the former Intercontinental Champion was sidelined for weeks after being dropped on his neck and head by Owens.

Zayn was not medically cleared to compete, which forced RAW General Manager Adam Pearce to reluctantly book a match for the Elimination Chamber event. The match would be unsanctioned by WWE, allowing both Zayn and Owens to inflict any type of harm they saw fit while absolving the company of any liability.

In a brutal contest featuring chairs, tables, and barbed wire, Owens soundly defeated Zayn in front of a packed house at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada. You would think victory would be enough for Owens, right? Wrong! He continued his assault on Zayn after the match, leading to the shocking return of multi-time world champion Randy Orton.

Without a doubt, this moment serves as a major building block for WrestleMania, potentially setting the stage for an epic showdown between Orton and Owens on the grandest stage of them all.

Returning from injury is challenging for any wrestler. After being out of the squared circle for over a year due to a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus, 15-time world champion Charlotte Flair made her return in the Royal Rumble match. Flair outlasted 29 other women to claim her spot at WrestleMania, earning the privilege of hand-picking her opponent.

After delivering a vicious beatdown on WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, Flair announced she would face “Tiffy” at the annual extravaganza. With this choice, fans now have the chance to witness a contest between two superstars with incredible athletic abilities. Flair’s Royal Rumble victory undeniably made an impact on this year’s WrestleMania—whether we like it or not.

On the February 28 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, it was announced that The Final Boss would be making his return to WWE television. At the start of the show, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis informed Rhodes that he had been removed from a match originally scheduled as a six-man tag team bout. Naturally confused, Rhodes asked who had removed him. The answer? The Rock.

Later that night, The Great One made his way to the ring to announce that WrestleMania 42 would be returning to New Orleans. He made it clear that he was a bad guy and proceeded to insult the audience. After some jovial comedy from The Rock, he called for the WWE Champion to join him in the ring. The Final Boss told Rhodes that he wanted something from him, seemingly eyeing the WWE Championship draped across his shoulder. But it wasn’t the title the Brahma Bull wanted—it was Rhodes’s soul.

He promised he could make all of Rhodes’s dreams come true, insisting that the entire Rhodes family would be in a better position for life. Numerous WWE Superstars attempted to talk Rhodes out of joining forces with The Rock. Seth Rollins made the most convincing argument during his segment on RAW, reminding Rhodes that he was the one who helped him defeat Reigns last year at WrestleMania, stating that Rhodes even considering a deal with The Rock was a slap in the face.

A week prior to the Royal Rumble match, former 10-time tag team champion Jey Uso challenged WWE World Champion Gunther at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event in an attempt to win the championship. Although unsuccessful, Uso remained optimistic about winning the Rumble match.

After 29 other men were eliminated, the Yeet professor claimed victory, creating one of the most spectacular Rumble moments in history. A few weeks later, after being assaulted on Raw by the world champion, Uso officially chose Gunther as his opponent for WrestleMania. WWE has the potential to pull off something special by having Uso win the world championship for the first time.

In a shocking turn of events, Iyo Sky pulled off a huge upset by defeating Rhea Ripley on the RAW after Elimination Chamber. Bianca Belair, fresh off her Chamber victory, was watching from the commentary table as Ripley and Sky put on an absolute banger.

Tensions boiled over when Ripley, frustrated by what looked like Belair cheering for Sky, shoved the “EST” to the ground. Not one to back down, Belair shoved Ripley right back, throwing The Eradicator off her game. That split-second distraction ended up costing Ripley her championship.

Now, with WrestleMania just over a month away, Ripley finds herself in an unexpected mess. She only won the title from Liv Morgan two months ago, and losing it this close to the biggest show of the year throws a major wrench into the Road to WrestleMania.

WWE teased the “Who attacked Jade?” mystery for months now. It all started back on the November 22 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, when Jade Cargill was ambushed during a match. At the time, she was tagging with Bianca Belair, who was in the middle of competing for a shot at becoming the first-ever Women’s United States Champion. After that brutal attack, Cargill vanished from WWE television for months.

With Cargill out of the picture, Naomi stepped up as Belair’s new tag partner, and together, they defended the tag titles. By default, Naomi became one-half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. However, their reign didn’t last forever—Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan took the gold from them on RAW right before the Elimination Chamber. This loss led many to believe that Cargill’s return was right around the corner. Fans weren’t exactly sure what she’d do, but revenge seemed inevitable.

Then came Elimination Chamber. Just before the match could even begin, Cargill’s entrance music hit—and chaos followed. She stormed in and went straight for Naomi, demolishing her across the Chamber. Meanwhile, Belair was trapped inside one of the pods, completely helpless as she watched her partner get taken apart. The look on her face said it all—she was devastated.

This attack didn’t just shake things up; it completely changed the game heading into WrestleMania. Now, the big question is: What’s next?

Seemingly, CM Punk’s last chance to main event a WrestleMania match this year was to win the Elimination Chamber match. The Chicago native has been embroiled in a feud with former world champion Seth Rollins for quite some time. After defeating Rollins on the debut edition of RAW on Netflix, Punk attempted to win the Royal Rumble. He was one of the final two wrestlers in last year’s Rumble match but fell short to Rhodes. This year, he had “The Visionary” to worry about.

After Punk eliminated former Shield members Rollins and Roman Reigns during the Royal Rumble match, Rollins went ballistic—not only attacking Reigns but also brawling with Punk. The animosity between the two escalated leading up to the Elimination Chamber event.

After being eliminated by Punk in the Elimination Chamber, Rollins viciously attacked him, delivering a skull-crushing Curb Stomp, giving John Cena an opening to apply an STF submission on Punk. Cena won the Chamber match, securing his ticket to WrestleMania. As for Punk, his focus immediately shifted to Rollins. The two clashed again on RAW the following night, leading to a brutal steel cage match at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, on the March 10th edition of RAW. That match saw the shocking return of the Tribal Chief.

A triple-threat match is now inevitable—and when it happens, it’s going to be a game-changer.

For over a year, Bianca Belair has been part of a tag team. It’s been two years since she had a singles match for a championship at WrestleMania. The EST was eliminated from the Royal Rumble by Queen of the Ring winner Nia Jax, creating a setback for the Tennessee native. Belair’s only other opportunity was to enter the Elimination Chamber match and win.

Before the match began, her best friend Naomi was pummeled by her other “friend,” Jade Cargill, sending Belair into a panic. Despite the chaos, the EST weathered the storm and won the match after pinning Liv Morgan. Iyo Sky then went on to defeat Rhea Ripley on the RAW following the Elimination Chamber, confirming that it will be Sky versus Belair for the world title at the biggest show of the year.

Now, Belair has the chance to prove once again that you can’t spell WrestleMania without EST.

Following a loss at the Royal Rumble, John Cena declared that he was entering the Elimination Chamber, a match that would determine who would face Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania. Unlike his opponents in the match, Cena did not have to qualify to enter. Although this could have been seen as a testament to Cena’s legendary status precluding the need to qualify, it was also a clear indication of what would follow.

The 16-time world champion went on to win the Elimination Chamber after the already eliminated Seth Rollins attacked CM Punk, allowing Cena to secure the victory. Everyone in the Rogers Centre assumed that would be the end of Cena’s role for the evening. They were wrong.

After the match ended and the Elimination Chamber structure was raised, WWE Champion Cody Rhodes made his entrance and walked to the ring. Rhodes was presumably out to congratulate Cena on his victory and to get a shot of both WrestleMania competitors in the ring at the same time. Then, The Rock appeared—accompanied by Travis Scott, for some reason—and all hell broke loose.

Rhodes turned down The Rock’s offer to sell his soul while Cena was still in the ring. This should have warned everyone that something major was imminent. Rhodes and Cena embraced in the ring with a hug while the Final Boss watched. The Rock then signaled to Cena that it was time.

In what might be the biggest shock of the last 20 years, longtime babyface John Cena hit Rhodes below the belt, solidifying himself as a heel who wants to be the corporate champion. In a stunning turn of events, Cena bloodied his WrestleMania opponent and turned on the fans.

The journey to WrestleMania is always the most unpredictable period for WWE, and this moment not only changed how fans viewed the build up to the grandest stage of them all, but also how they saw the once-beloved Cena. In his final year as an in-ring competitor, Cena captivated the audience once again—by doing the unthinkable.