WrestleMania XL, also known as WrestleMania: Philadelphia was a 2024 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 40th annual WrestleMania and took place as a two-night event on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, 2024, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. This was the second WrestleMania to be held in Philadelphia, after WrestleMania XV in 1999.
This was the first WrestleMania held after WWE merged with the Endeavor subsidiary Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in September 2023, under the banner of TKO Group Holdings. It was subsequently the first WrestleMania under TKO and the first not directly under McMahon family control. It was also the final WrestleMania to livestream on the standalone WWE Network in most international markets as the service moved to Netflix in January 2025, with only a select few territories still maintaining the WWE Network due to pre-existing contracts.
The card comprised a total of 14 matches, evenly divided between each night. In the main event for Night 1, The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) defeated Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin" Rollins in a tag team match, which made the stipulation of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match on Night 2 a Bloodline Rules match. In other prominent matches, Sami Zayn defeated Gunther to win Raw's Intercontinental Championship, ending the latter's record-setting reign at 666 days, and in the opening bout, Rhea Ripley defeated Becky Lynch to retain Raw's Women's World Championship.
In the main event for Night 2, Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns in a Bloodline Rules match to win SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, ending the latter's world championship reign at 1,316 days.[a] In other prominent matches, Bayley defeated Iyo Sky to win SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship, Logan Paul defeated Randy Orton and Kevin Owens in a triple threat match to retain SmackDown's United States Championship, and in the opening bout, Drew McIntyre defeated Seth "Freakin" Rollins to win Raw's World Heavyweight Championship, after which, Damian Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated McIntyre to win the title. This was also WWE's final PPV and livestreaming event for the tag team championships to carry a brand name, as a week after the event, the Raw and SmackDown tag team championships were renamed as the World Tag Team Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship, respectively.
The event received highly positive reviews, with Night 2 being singled out for critical acclaim. Praise was given to all seven championship matches, with the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match garnering universal acclaim for its storytelling and satisfying conclusion.
Background
The event was held at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
WrestleMania is WWE's flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event, having first been held in 1985. It was the company's first PPV produced and was also WWE's first major event available via livestreaming when the company launched the WWE Network in February 2014. It is the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April, featuring wrestlers from WWE's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions.[2] Along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is one of the company's five biggest events of the year, referred to as the "Big Five".[3][4][5] WrestleMania was ranked the sixth-most valuable sports brand in the world by Forbes,[6] and has been described as the Super Bowl of sports entertainment.[7] Much like the Super Bowl, cities bid for the right to host WrestleMania.[8] The official theme song for the event was "Gasoline" by The Weeknd, which marked the fifth consecutive year that a Weeknd song was used for WrestleMania.[9]
On July 27, 2022, it was announced that Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, would host WrestleMania 40 on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, 2024.[5] Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney welcomed WWE to the city, noting the economic boost from visiting fans.[10] The event's logo was revealed on October 8, 2022, during the Extreme Rules Kickoff pre-show at the nearby Wells Fargo Center. Themed after the Liberty Bell and in the colors of the Philadelphia Eagles, it incorporated Roman numerals for the first time since WrestleMania XXX in 2014, thus officially stylizing the title as WrestleMania XL.[11][12] Tickets for the event went on sale on August 18, 2023.[13] Over 90,000 tickets were sold on the first day for both nights combined, breaking WWE's record set by the prior year's WrestleMania.[14]
Lincoln Financial Field set up for WrestleMania XL.
From January 2023, there had been speculation that WWE had been placed up for sale.[15] Hours before WrestleMania 39 Night 2 began, CNBC reported via multiple sources that a deal between WWE and Endeavor, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) via Zuffa, was imminent. The deal involved a merger of WWE with the UFC into a new publicly traded company, with Endeavor holding a 51% stake.[16] The sale was confirmed the next day on April 3, 2023,[17] and was finalized on September 12, with WWE merging with the UFC to become divisions of TKO Group Holdings. WrestleMania XL was in turn the first WrestleMania held in which WWE was not owned and controlled by the McMahon family, and subsequently the first WrestleMania under TKO.[18]
Broadcast outlets
WrestleMania XL was broadcast live on traditional pay-per-view worldwide. Additionally, it was available to livestream on Peacock in the United States, Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia, Disney+ in the Philippines, Binge in Australia, Abema in Japan, SonyLIV in India, Shahid and SSC in the Middle East and North Africa, and the WWE Network in all other countries.
Additionally, the event streamed live on Netflix in New Zealand, as a technical stress test for when the promotion's new contract with Netflix came into effect in January 2025.[19] As a result of said contract, all WWE Network content moved to Netflix in most countries where the former was still available as a standalone service, making WrestleMania XL the final WrestleMania event to livestream on the WWE Network in those areas. A select few territories still maintain the standalone WWE Network due to pre-existing contracts, but will eventually merge under Netflix once those contracts expire.[20]
Other WrestleMania week events
As part of the WrestleMania festivities, WWE held a number of events throughout the week. WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker presented his 1 deadMAN Show on Thursday, April 4 at The Fillmore Philadelphia.[21] From that same day through April 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, there was a fan convention called WWE World at WrestleMania. In partnership with Fanatics Events, the five-day event included interview panel sessions with WWE wrestlers, a WWE 2K24 gaming tournament, live podcast recordings, meet-and-greets with wrestlers, and a large merchandise store with various memorabilia honoring WrestleMania's 40-year history.[22] WWE World replaced the WrestleMania Fan Axxess event that had been held at each year's WrestleMania prior to WrestleMania 36 in 2020.[23] WWE commentator Pat McAfee also hosted live editions of his eponymous ESPN afternoon show at WWE World on Friday, April 5, and Monday April 8.[24]
The week kicked off with a special "WrestleMania Edition" of Monday Night Raw, held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The night before WrestleMania XL on April 5, WWE kicked off WrestleMania Weekend with a special "WrestleMania Edition" of Friday Night SmackDown, which featured the André the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, won by Bronson Reed.[25] Immediately after SmackDown, the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony commenced. The afternoon of WrestleMania Saturday, WWE's NXT brand held its annual WrestleMania Week event, Stand & Deliver. WrestleMania Week concluded with the post-WrestleMania edition of Monday Night Raw on April 8. These events were held live at the nearby Wells Fargo Center.[26]
Between all of the WrestleMania Weekend events (SmackDown/HOF induction ceremony, Stand & Deliver, both nights of WrestleMania XL, and Raw), WWE announced a grand total attendance of 201,924.[27]
Celebrity involvement
See also: List of celebrities involved with WrestleMania
WrestleMania XL featured many celebrity guest appearances, including rapper and WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg, and online streamer IShowSpeed.
WrestleMania also features celebrity appearances from those outside of wrestling, who participated at the event in various capacities, such as rapper and Philadelphia native Meek Mill, who narrated the cold open for the event on both nights.[28]
On Night 1, Grammy Award winning R&B singer and actress Coco Jones opened the show by performing "The Star-Spangled Banner".[29] Grammy winning rapper Lil Wayne also debuted his latest single during the event.[30] Philadelphia Eagles offensive linemen Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson were involved in the Rey Mysterio and Andrade vs. Santos Escobar and "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio tag team match, aiding Rey and Andrade. Metalcore band Motionless In White appeared and performed the theme song of Rhea Ripley called "Demon In Your Dreams".
On Night 2, Country music duo The War and Treaty performed "God Bless America" to open the show. WWE Hall of Famer and rapper Snoop Dogg was on commentary for the Philadelphia Street Fight, and returned later alongside the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders to announce the evening's attendance. Rapper and YouTuber IShowSpeed accompanied Logan Paul to the ring for his WWE United States Championship defense (wearing a Prime bottle costume at the start and then revealing himself while the match was in progress).
Storylines
The event included 14 matches, split evenly between both nights, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the Raw and SmackDown brands,[31][32] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television shows, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown.[33]
Main event matches
Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin" Rollins wrestled on both nights of WrestleMania XL. On Night 1, they teamed to face The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) in a tag team match. On Night 2, Rhodes faced Reigns for SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and Rollins defended Raw's World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre.
After Cody Rhodes made his return to WWE at WrestleMania 38 in April 2022, he declared he would finish his story by winning the WWE Championship, a title his father Dusty Rhodes never held.[34] Also at WrestleMania 38, Roman Reigns became the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion by retaining the WWE Universal Championship and winning the WWE Championship.[35] Rhodes subsequently won the 2023 Royal Rumble match but failed to defeat Reigns for the undisputed title at WrestleMania 39.[36] A year later, prior to the 2024 Royal Rumble at Raw: Day 1 on January 1, The Rock made a surprise appearance and seemingly called out Reigns by asking if he should sit at the "head of the table", a reference to their relationship through the Anoaʻi family as for over three years, Reigns had claimed he was the Head of the Table and Tribal Chief of The Bloodline, a faction of wrestlers from the family that, at the time, included Reigns and his cousins Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa, managed by Paul Heyman.[37]
The Rock competed in his first match since WrestleMania 32 in 2016 when he teamed up with Roman Reigns to face Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin" Rollins in a tag team match on Night 1.
Rhodes again won the Royal Rumble match in 2024.[38] With the introduction of the World Heavyweight Championship after WrestleMania 39,[39] Rhodes received a choice of which world title to challenge for at WrestleMania XL.[38] During the Royal Rumble post-event press conference, Rhodes stated that he wanted to face Reigns again for SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship,[40] but on the January 29 episode of Raw, Seth "Freakin" Rollins argued that Rhodes should instead challenge him for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship.[41] On that week's SmackDown, Rhodes announced that he would not challenge Reigns at WrestleMania and said that one of the individuals he took counsel from in making his decision knew Reigns very well. Rock then came out and stared down Reigns, with the clear implication that he would be Reigns's WrestleMania opponent instead.[42] This decision drew intense fan backlash with the hashtag #WeWantCody trending on social media worldwide, which caused WWE to legitimately pivot their story plans.[43] A WrestleMania XL Kickoff media event was then held on February 8 where Reigns and Rock declared that they would face each other for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XL, which Rock dubbed as "the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling". However, Rhodes appeared and asserted that since he won the Royal Rumble, he earned the right to decide the main event and announced that he had reversed his decision and would challenge Reigns for the title at WrestleMania. After bringing up each other's families, Rock claimed that he and Rhodes now had issues and he slapped Rhodes in the face, turning heel for the first time since 2003. In the ensuing brawl, Rollins backed Rhodes.[44]
WrestleMania XL marked Roman Reigns' fourth consecutive defense of the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania, and his second as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. In main eventing both nights, Reigns set the record for most WrestleMania main event matches (nine).
On the following SmackDown, WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H affirmed that the main event of WrestleMania XL Night 2 would be Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Rhodes.[45] On the February 12 episode of Raw, Rhodes claimed that it was because of the fans that he reversed his decision and decided to challenge Reigns. Rollins interrupted and stated that he understood Rhodes's decision and offered to be his backup due to Reigns always having his family in his corner.[46] In response on that week's SmackDown, Rock officially joined The Bloodline and vowed that he would do everything in his power to ensure Rhodes did not finish his story.[47]
At Elimination Chamber on February 24, Rhodes challenged Rock to a one-on-one match at any time, and Rollins again asserted that he would be in Rhodes's corner in facing The Bloodline.[48] On the following SmackDown, Rock rejected Rhodes's challenge and instead offered a counter: a tag team match featuring Rhodes and Rollins against Rock and Reigns in the main event of WrestleMania XL Night 1 with an added stipulation that if Rhodes and Rollins won, then The Bloodline would be barred from ringside during the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match on Night 2; however, if Rock and Reigns won, then the championship match would be contested under The Bloodline's rules in which anything goes.[49] Rhodes and Rollins appeared on the next week's episode where they accepted the challenge.[50]
Undercard matches
Bayley challenged Damage CTRL member Iyo Sky for SmackDown's WWE Women's Championship on Night 2.
At SummerSlam in July 2022, Bayley made her return from injury alongside Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky with the trio dubbing themselves Damage CTRL.[51] Kairi Sane, who returned to WWE in November 2023 and who had previous issues with Bayley before her departure, forgave Bayley and joined with Damage CTRL, followed by Asuka joining the group, subsequently reuniting The Kabuki Warriors in the process.[52] The group would attain success on SmackDown, including multiple WWE Women's Tag Team Championship reigns,[53] as well as Sky winning the WWE Women's Championship.[54] Bayley then won the 2024 women's Royal Rumble match, thus earning a women's championship match of her choice at WrestleMania XL.[38] Bayley had previously said she would be going after Raw's women's championship so that Damage CTRL would hold all the women's titles of Raw and SmackDown;[55] however, on the February 2 episode of SmackDown, after Bayley overheard Sky, Asuka, and Sane talking behind her back, Bayley revealed she understood Japanese and heard them making fun of her. Bayley was then kicked out of Damage CTRL after Asuka and Sane attacked her, turning face for the first time since 2019. After fighting off the rest of Damage CTRL, Bayley decided that she would challenge Sky for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania XL.[42] Kai was absent when Sky, Asuka, and Sane turned on Bayley and although she seemingly sided with Bayley the next week,[45] Kai also turned on her on the March 1 episode.[49] On April 1, the WWE Women's Championship match was confirmed for Night 2.[56]
Concurrent to their feud with Bayley, Damage CTRL (Iyo Sky, Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane) were also feuding with Naomi and Bianca Belair. On the March 29 episode of SmackDown, following Belair's win over Kai, Damage CTRL engaged in a beatdown of Belair and Naomi. Jade Cargill, who was making her debut as an official roster member of the brand that night, made the save after weeks of teasing a feud with the faction. Later, it was announced that Cargill, Naomi, and Belair would face Damage CTRL (Kai, Asuka, and Sane) in a six-woman tag team match at WrestleMania XL Night 1.[57][56]
The Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley defended Raw's Women's World Championship against Becky Lynch in the opening match of Night 1.
Drew McIntyre challenged Seth "Freakin" Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship in the opening match of Night 2.
As a result of both the men's and women's Royal Rumble match winners choosing to challenge for SmackDown's respective men's and women's world championships at WrestleMania XL, the challengers for Raw's respective men's and women's world championships at the event were decided by Elimination Chamber matches at Elimination Chamber: Perth.[58][45] Raw's Becky Lynch won the women's eponymous match to face Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship, while Raw's Drew McIntyre won the men's to face Seth "Freakin" Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship. The Women's World Championship match was scheduled for Night 1,[56] with the World Heavyweight Championship match set for Night 2.[59] On the March 25 episode of Raw, it was announced that CM Punk, who had issues with both Rollins and McIntyre but had gotten legitimately injured at the Royal Rumble, would serve as a special guest commentator for the World Heavyweight Championship match.[60]
After several wrestlers declared their intentions to challenge Gunther for Raw's Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania XL, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced that a gauntlet match would be held on the March 11 episode of Raw with the winner facing Gunther for the title at WrestleMania.[61] The gauntlet match was won by Sami Zayn,[62] and the Intercontinental Championship match was later confirmed for Night 1.[56]
On the March 11 episode of Raw, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that at WrestleMania XL, The Judgment Day (Finn Bálor and Damian Priest) would defend the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship in a Six-Pack Tag Team Ladder match. Qualifying matches for the five vacant spots—three teams from Raw and two from SmackDown—occurred over the subsequent episodes of Raw and SmackDown.[62] The three teams from Raw were determined by qualifier matches on the March 18 episode of Raw, which were won by #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa), The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth), and The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods).[63] The two teams from SmackDown were determined by two tournament brackets, which were won by A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) and New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) on the March 29 episode of SmackDown.[57] On April 1, the match was confirmed for Night 1,[56] and it was also clarified that both sets of titles under the Undisputed Championship banner (the Raw and SmackDown tag titles) had to be retrieved for the match to end.[64]
On the December 15, 2023, episode of SmackDown, AJ Styles made a return from injury and helped LA Knight in fending off The Bloodline, but then turned on Knight and attacked him with a steel chair.[65] Styles later explained that he attacked Knight for taking his spot in a tag team match at Fastlane in October 2023, saying he "stepped over his dead body" to get ahead.[66] Both then participated in a fatal four-way match for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble in January 2024, but were unsuccessful.[38] Knight then qualified for the men's Elimination Chamber match at Elimination Chamber: Perth the following month, but Styles did not. During the match itself, Styles snuck into the chamber and attacked Knight with a steel chair, causing Knight to be eliminated.[48] After more weeks of feuding, Knight challenged Styles to a match at WrestleMania XL and Styles accepted,[67] which was later confirmed for Night 2.[56]
The match between Jey Uso (left) and Jimmy Uso (right) on Night 1 was only the third time two brothers had fought each other at WrestleMania, following Bret Hart and Owen Hart at WrestleMania X in 1994, and Jeff Hardy and Matt Hardy at WrestleMania 25 in 2009; this was the first time two twin brothers have competed against each other at this event.
Prior to the summer of 2023, The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso) were a unit of their family's stable, The Bloodline, on SmackDown. However, due to the manipulations of its leader, Roman Reigns, The Usos left the group which eventually led to a "Bloodline Civil War" tag team match at Money in the Bank against Reigns and Solo Sikoa, in which The Usos won.[68][69] Jey then faced Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam that August, but Jimmy interfered and cost his brother the match.[54] On the following SmackDown, Jimmy explained that he cost Jey the match to keep him from gaining power and becoming corrupted like Reigns. Jey subsequently attacked Jimmy and "quit" WWE,[70] but was later reinstated as a member of the Raw roster.[71] Despite being on different shows, Jimmy, who rejoined The Bloodline, would often appear on Raw and attack Jey or cost him matches.[72] The two would also face off in the men's Royal Rumble match in January 2024 as the first two entrants.[38] Jimmy then cost Jey a match for the Intercontinental Championship the following month.[73] On the March 11 episode of Raw, fed up with his brother's actions, Jey challenged Jimmy to a match at WrestleMania XL,[62] which Jimmy accepted on that week's SmackDown.[67] The match was later confirmed for Night 1.[56]
Logan Paul defended SmackDown's United States Championship against Randy Orton and Kevin Owens in a triple threat match on Night 2.
At the Royal Rumble, Logan Paul defeated Kevin Owens by disqualification to retain SmackDown's United States Championship. Paul had attempted to use his signature brass knuckles, but Owens instead used them and was caught, thus was disqualified.[38] The following month at Elimination Chamber: Perth, Paul, Owens, and Randy Orton were participants in the men's Elimination Chamber match. Orton eliminated both Owens and Paul, who in turn caused Orton to be eliminated by punching him with the brass knuckles.[48] On the March 8 episode of SmackDown, Paul and his business partner KSI announced that their energy drink company, Prime, would be an official WWE sponsor with the Prime logo placed in the center of the ring mat for PPV and livestreaming events, in turn becoming WWE's first center ring mat sponsor. Orton interrupted and attempted an RKO on Paul, but Paul escaped with KSI instead receiving the RKO.[50] The following week, SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis announced that Paul would defend the United States Championship against Owens and Orton in a triple threat match at WrestleMania XL,[67] which was later confirmed for Night 2.[56]
At Crown Jewel in November 2023, Rey Mysterio lost the United States Championship to Logan Paul after his Latino World Order (LWO) stablemate, Santos Escobar, left Paul's signature brass knuckles on the ring apron, allowing Paul to hit Rey with them and win the title.[74] On the following episode of SmackDown, fellow LWO member Carlito accused Escobar of intentionally leaving the brass knuckles on the ring apron. Later that night, Escobar attacked Rey as he was checking on Carlito, injuring Rey's left knee and striking it with steel steps, turning heel and defecting from the LWO.[52] After a three-month hiatus, Rey returned on the March 1 episode of SmackDown to help Carlito defeat Escobar in a street fight.[49] Three weeks later, Escobar defeated Rey after interference from the latter's son, "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, who had turned on his father at Clash at the Castle in September 2022 to join The Judgment Day.[75] One week later, Escobar and his Legado Del Fantasma stablemates thanked Dominik for his actions. Rey interrupted, introduced Dragon Lee as the newest member of the LWO, and Rey and Lee subsequently challenged Escobar and Dominik to a tag team match at WrestleMania XL, which was made official for Night 1.[57][56] The following week, however, Lee was attacked backstage, rendering him unable to compete at WrestleMania. Andrade, who assisted Rey in fending off Escobar and Dominik earlier that night and reunited with LWO's Zelina Vega, was named Lee's replacement.[25]
At SmackDown: New Year's Revolution on January 5, Karrion Kross, accompanied by Scarlett, attacked The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins, and Montez Ford) with help from the returning Authors of Pain (Akam and Rezar), accompanied by Paul Ellering, with Kross, Scarlett, Authors of Pain, and Ellering forming a faction called The Final Testament.[76] The two groups would continue feuding over the next couple of months and on the March 29 episode of SmackDown, The Final Testament attacked Lashley and B-Fab backstage, causing a distraction that cost The Street Profits (Dawkins and Ford) their tournament final match to qualify for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania XL.[57] On April 1, a six-man tag team Philadelphia Street Fight pitting The Final Testament against The Pride was confirmed for WrestleMania XL Night 2.[56]
Cancelled matches
Brock Lesnar, who last appeared at SummerSlam in August 2023, was planned to return at the Royal Rumble and be featured in a match at WrestleMania XL, reportedly against Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship. However, due to Lesnar being referenced in a sex trafficking lawsuit against WWE chairman Vince McMahon, Lesnar was pulled from the Royal Rumble and all planned storylines for him leading into WrestleMania were scrapped.[77]
CM Punk, who after nearly 10 years made his return to WWE at Survivor Series: WarGames in November 2023, legitimately tore his right triceps during the men's Royal Rumble match. It was reported that his planned WrestleMania XL match was to challenge Seth "Freakin" Rollins for Raw's World Heavyweight Championship, but due to his injury, plans were changed.[78]