Rumored WWE WrestleMania 40 Main Event Taking Place After WWE SmackDown

WWE WrestleMania 40 is still over six months away, but early signs of what the card will look like come April are already showing up. Cody Rhodes has dropped a couple of teases that he still has his sights set on Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes, noting that Brock Lesnar “acknowledged” him at WWE SummerSlam and speculating that The Bloodline is “not in the third inning anymore” on a recent Monday Night Raw. While that bout would headlined WWE WrestleMania 40 Night 2, the Night 1 main event slot is still up for grabs. Out there dream matches like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin vs. CM Punk have been circulated by fans on social media while more probable options like WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair are floated.

Possible WWE WrestleMania 40 Main Event Happening Tonight

As advertised by the Golden 1 Center, the site of tonight’s WWE SmackDown, this evening’s dark match will be WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins vs. WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther. 

This will be just the second time that Rollins and Gunther have faced one another, as their last match came on a Monday Night Raw in Fall 2019 during the lead up to WWE Survivor Series. That match went just four minutes before Rollins got the victory by disqualification.

Rollins vs. Gunther at WWE WrestleMania 40?

As of this writing, Gunther is the odds-on favorite to win the Men’s Royal Rumble Match in January 2024. A victory in that bout would give him his choice of a world title match at WWE WrestleMania 40, and given his Monday Night Raw status, signs point to him challenging for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If Rollins can hold onto the title until then, which is far from a guarantee given his legitimately injured back, we would be looking at this WWE SmackDown dark match as a headlining contest for WWE WrestleMania 40.

One of the more intriguing narratives going into that match lies on Gunther’s shoulder. The Ring General is currently the WWE Intercontinental Champion, recently becoming the longest-reigning titleholder in that championship’s history. 

“If I get the chance to be in the Royal Rumble, then I aim to win it. I think that’s a possibility,” Gunther told ComicBook.com when asked about potentially leaving WWE WrestleMania 40 as a double champion. “Yes, because I don’t plan on losing the Intercontinental Championship.”

WWE SmackDown goes down at 8 PM ET on FOX.