WrestleMania 39

WrestleMania 39 was the 39th annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. It took place on April 1 and 2, 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
== Production ==
=== Background ===
WrestleMania is considered WWE's flagship event, having first been held in 1985. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, dubbed the "Big Four". WrestleMania is ranked the sixth most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes, and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.
On February 10, 2020, WWE announced that WrestleMania 37 would take place on March 28, 2021, at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, WWE announced that WrestleMania 37 would be relocated to the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was also announced that WrestleMania 38 would take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, while WrestleMania 39 would take place at SoFi Stadium on April 1 and 2, 2023. On August 12, 2022, tickets went on sale for WrestleMania 39. 
=== Storylines ===
The event will include matches that result from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portray heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results are predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands, while storylines are produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.
On the March 17 episode of SmackDown, it was announced that two WrestleMania Showcase Matches would take place at WrestleMania 39. It was revealed that these would be Fatal Four Way Tag Team Matches, one each for male and female competitors. That night, qualifying for the women's match began, with Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez defeating Emma and Tegan Nox to secure the first spot. The following week, Natalya and Shotzi qualified after beating Lacey Evans and Xia Li. After, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler announced that they had been added to the WrestleMania Showcase. On the March 27 episode of Raw, Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville defeated Candice LeRae and Mia Yim to qualify, rounding out the WrestleMania Showcase. As for the Men's WrestleMania Showcase, no qualifying matches took place. Rather, on March 20, the participating teams were revealed to be Braun Strowman and Ricochet, Alpha Academy (Chad Gable and Otis), The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford), and The Viking Raiders (Erik and Ivar).
At Survivor Series on November 26, 2022, Kevin Owens took part in the WarGames Match as part of the team opposing The Bloodline. The Bloodline would emerge victorious after Sami Zayn, who was an honorary member of The Bloodline and Owens' former friend, betrayed him. At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Roman Reigns, leader of The Bloodline, would defeat Owens. After, Reigns would demand that Zayn hit Owens with a steel chair, however, Zayn was hesitant. Zayn would instead attack Roman with the chair before he was swiftly overpowered by the rest of The Bloodline. As a result, Zayn was defeated by Reigns at Elimination Chamber the following month. Despite this, Owens would prevent The Bloodline from attacking Zayn after the match. Later, Zayn would declare that he and Owens should join forces to take on The Bloodline but the offer was declined. Zayn then went on to attempt to convince The Usos (Jey and Jimmy Uso) that Reigns was manipulating him. Jey would appear to be open to Zayn until the March 6 episode of Raw, where Jey would attack Zayn and side with Jimmy. On the March 17 episode of SmackDown, Cody Rhodes, Reigns' WrestleMania opponent, attempted to resolve the issues between Zayn and Owens. However, he was unsuccessful. Despite this, Owens would come to the aid of Zayn later that night, stopping The Bloodline from attacking Zayn further. After, Zayn and Owens embraced. On the March 20 episode of Raw, The Usos would accept Zayn and Owens' challenge, agreeing to defend the Raw and Smackdown Tag Team Championships against them at WrestleMania. 
At Clash at the Castle on September 3, 2022, Rey Mysterio's son, Dominik, would turn on his father before later joining The Judgment Day. As a result, Rey, who refused to fight Dominik, was moved to SmackDown in order to avoid The Judgment Day. However, at the Royal Rumble on January 28, Rey was unable to compete in the Men's Royal Rumble Match due to an attack from Dominik, who entered the match holding his father's mask. Thanks to Judgment Day member Rhea Ripley winning the Women's Royal Rumble and choosing to challenge SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, Dominik and Rey began to cross paths again on SmackDown. After it was announced on the March 10 episode of SmackDown that Rey would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, Dominik would berate his dad. The following week, Rey revealed that he wanted Dominik to accompany him for his Hall of Fame induction. Despite this, Dominik attempted to convince Rey to face him at WrestleMania. The next week, Dominik cost Rey his match with LA Knight. Dominik would then confront his mother and sister which forced Rey to intervene. Rey then announced that he would face Dominik at WrestleMania.
On the February 20 episode of Raw, MVP, accompanied by his client Omos, mocked Brock Lesnar for getting disqualified in his match against Bobby Lashley at Elimination Chamber, declaring Lesnar realised he would be unable to escape Lashley's Hurt Lock. MVP then challenged Lesnar to appear on the following episode of Raw to accept a challenge from Omos. On that episode, Lesnar would appear, accepting the match against Omos, making it official for WrestleMania 39.
At the Royal Rumble on January 28, Logan Paul returned from injury, entering the Men's Royal Rumble Match. During the match, Paul would eliminate Seth Rollins. After this, Rollins would begin to criticise Paul. At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Paul would attack Rollins during the Men's Elimination Chamber Match, costing Rollins the bout. Rollins would invite Paul to appear on the March 6 episode of Raw, which Paul accepted. That night, Paul declined to fight Rollins unless the stage was bigger. The Miz, the host of WrestleMania, intervened, declaring he could make the match official. It was later confirmed that Rollins would face Paul at WrestleMania. 
At SummerSlam on July 30, 2022, Becky Lynch was confronted by a returning Bayley, who was flanked by Dakota Kai and IYO SKY. On the August 1 episode of Raw, after an attack from Bayley, Kai, and SKY, who had dubbed themselves Damage CTRL, Lynch would take time off. Returning in November, Lynch and her team would defeat Damage CTRL's team in a WarGames Match at Survivor Series on November 26. On the February 6, 2023 episode of Raw, Lynch defeated Bayley in a Steel Cage Match after Lita prevented Kai and SKY from interfering. Then, on the February 27 episode of Raw, Lynch and Lita teamed up, defeating Kai and SKY to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. During the match, Trish Stratus would return to prevent Bayley from getting involved. The following week, Trish announced she was coming out of retirement to team up with Lynch and Lita to face Damage CTRL at WrestleMania. Bayley would accept, making the match official. 
On the March 10 episode of SmackDown, a Fatal Five Way Match between Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Karrion Kross, LA Knight, and Xavier Woods took place to determine who would challenge Intercontinental Champion Gunther at WrestleMania 39. However, the match ended in a double pinfall, with McIntyre and Sheamus both winning the contest. As a result, McIntyre and Sheamus faced off in singles competition the following week. Once again, there would be no victor as Gunther, along with Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser, attacked both men. Consequentially, it was announced that Gunther would defend his Intercontinental Championship against both McIntyre and Sheamus in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania.
Following exchanges on social media, Austin Theory would mock John Cena on the June 27, 2022 episode of Raw. Having retained his United States Championship at Elimination Chamber on February 18, Theory would complain about the discussion focusing on Cena rather than him during the event's press conference. On the March 6 episode of Raw, Theory confronted Cena, challenging him to a match at WrestleMania. Cena initially declined, however, after coercion from Theory, Cena asked the fans in attendance if they wanted to see the match. The crowd cheered, and as a result, Cena accepted. 
At WrestleMania 38 Night 2 on April 3, 2022, Damian Priest would assist Edge in defeating AJ Styles. Edge and Priest would then form a faction dubbed The Judgment Day, which grew to include Finn Bálor and Rhea Ripley. However, on the June 6 episode of Raw, Edge would be removed from the group after Bálor, Priest, and Ripley turned on him. Edge would then begin a feud with The Judgment Day, who later recruited Dominik Mysterio. At Elimination Chamber on February 18, 2023, Edge and his wife, Beth Phoenix, would defeat Bálor and Ripley. On the February 20 episode of Raw, Edge, who believed his feud with The Judgment Day had come to an end, lost his United States Championship match after Bálor interfered. The following week, Bálor would challenge Edge to a match at WrestleMania 39. On the March 6 episode of Raw, Edge cost Bálor his match against Johnny Gargano. Later, Edge challenged Bálor to meet him the next week. The two would meet, with a Hell in a Cell Match between Edge and Bálor being scheduled for WrestleMania. 
At Elimination Chamber on February 18, Asuka beat Carmella, Liv Morgan, Natalya, Nikki Cross, and Raquel Rodriguez in an Elimination Chamber Match. As a result of her win, Asuka earned the right to challenge Raw Women's Champion Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 39.
At the Royal Rumble, Rhea Ripley won the Women's Royal Rumble Match after entering the contest first. On the January 30 episode of Raw, Ripley chose to challenge SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. 
Also at the Royal Rumble, Cody Rhodes would win the Men's Royal Rumble Match after entering at number 30. Thanks to his victory, Rhodes earned a match against Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship and WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39. 
==Match Preview==
Women's WrestleMania Showcase 	Preview
Men's WrestleMania Showcase 	Preview
The Usos vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn 	Preview
Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio 	Preview
Brock Lesnar vs. Omos 	Preview
Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul 	Preview
Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL	Preview
Gunther vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Sheamus 	Preview
Austin Theory vs. John Cena 	Preview
Edge vs. Finn Bálor 	Preview
Bianca Belair vs. Asuka 	Preview
Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley 	Preview
Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes 	Preview
==Results==
===Night 1===
;
;
*Austin Theory (c) defeated John Cena to retain the WWE United States Championship (11:20)
*The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) defeated Ricochet & Braun Strowman, Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis) and The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar) in a Fatal Four Way Tag Team Match (8:28)
*Seth Rollins defeated Logan Paul (16:16)
*Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus defeated Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY) in a Six Woman Tag Team Match (14:38)
*Rey Mysterio defeated Dominik Mysterio (14:30)
*Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair (c) to win the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship (23:34)
*Pat McAfee defeated The Miz (3:35)
*Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens defeated The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) (c) to win the WWE Raw Tag Team Championship & WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship (24:17)
===Night 2===
;
;
*Brock Lesnar defeated Omos (w/MVP) (4:55)
*Ronda Rousey & Shayna Baszler defeated Raquel Rodriguez & Liv Morgan, Shotzi & Natalya and Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green in a Fatal Four Way Tag Team Match (8:23)
*Gunther (c) defeated Drew McIntyre and Sheamus in a Triple Threat Match to retain the WWE Intercontinental Championship (16:36)
*Bianca Belair (c) defeated Asuka to retain the WWE Raw Women's Championship (15:58)
*Snoop Dogg defeated The Miz (2:12)
*Edge defeated "The Demon" Finn Bálor in a Hell in a Cell match (18:08)
*Roman Reigns (c) (w/Paul Heyman & Solo Sikoa) defeated Cody Rhodes to retain the WWE Championship & WWE Universal Championship (34:29)
==Other on-screen talent==
;Commentators
*Michael Cole
*Corey Graves
*Titus O'Neil 
*Marcelo Rodríguez 
*Jerry Soto 
*Bad Bunny 
;Pre-show Panel
*Booker T
*Kayla Braxton
*Kevin Patrick
*Peter Rosenberg
*Wade Barrett	
;Interviewers
*Byron Saxton
*Cathy Kelley
*Kayla Braxton
;Ring announcer
*Mike Rome 
*Samantha Irvin 
;Referees
*Chad Patton
*Dan Engler
*Danilo Anfibio
*Daphne Lashaunn
*Eddie Orengo
*Jason Ayers
*Jessika Carr
*Rod Zapata
*Ryan Tran
*Shawn Bennett
==See also==
*WrestleMania
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
*WWE Event History
*Event gallery
*WWE Hall of Fame 2023
==DVD release==
* [ WrestleMania XXXIX on DVD]
==External links==
* WrestleMania XXXIX Official Website
* [ WrestleMania XXXIX Night 1 Pre Show on WWE Network]
* [ WrestleMania XXXIX Night 1 on WWE Network]
* WrestleMania XXXIX Night 1 at CAGEMATCH.net
* [ WrestleMania XXXIX Night 2 Pre Show on WWE Network]
* [ WrestleMania XXXIX Night 2 on WWE Network]
* WrestleMania XXXIX Night 2 at CAGEMATCH.net
Category:WrestleMania
Category:2023 pay-per-view events
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view events
Category:WrestleMania 39
Category:Events with Hell in a Cell matches