WrestleMania 38 comes to its exciting conclusion on Sunday night after a heady finish on Night 1. On Saturday, there were a couple of exciting women’s title fights as Charlotte Flair and Rond Rousey battled, while Bianca Belair took revenge on Becky Lynch for regaining her title. Plus, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin participated in his first fight in nearly two decades as he battled Kevin Owens to close the show.
Now WWE is set to shut things out with a massive main event billed as “the biggest WrestleMania match ever” when WWE champion Brock Lesnar clashes with universal champion Roman Reigns to unite the two world titles.
The second night of WrestleMania also features two all-time great titles meeting each other for the first time when Edge and AJ Styles clash. The two have been going at it for weeks, with Edge increasingly losing his mind prior to the showdown. There will also be no shortage of celebrities on Sunday as “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville also makes his singles debut and takes on WWE superstar Sami Zayn. In addition, former NFL player and current SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee will be fighting Austin Theory.
Let’s take a closer look at who our CBS Sports experts predict will come out on top at night 2 of WWE WrestleMania 38, which begins at 8pm on Sunday and streams live on Peacock after a kickoff show an hour earlier.
2022 WWE WrestleMania 38 Night 2 predictions
Women’s Team Championship – Queen Zelina & Carmella (c) vs. Sasha Banks & Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan Vs. Natalya & Shayna Baszler
While this is certainly a collection of clash teams chasing a title that Zelina and Carmella won in November and have only defended once (in January), it’s nice to see more people get their chance to participate in WrestleMania. Zelina and Carmella’s action has been driven to the ground with every fight that comes down to Carmella being distracted by Corey Graves at ringside, because now that they have a YouTube reality show, their relationship suddenly means something on screen. This means that the most likely move is either that WWE keeps the team strapped in to promote the show, or they move on by splitting the team and making them feud. I will go with the latter and a chance for a Banks and Naomi to play champions. Choose: Sasha Banks & Naomi win the titles – Brent Brookhouse
The four-way battle for the titles abruptly collapsed. New tag teams were formed week after week to fill the match. The strongest players, both in terms of name value and momentum, are clearly Sasha Banks and Naomi. They were the first duo to fight for the title and they should leave Sunday with gold for life. Choose: Sasha Banks & Naomi win the titles – Shakiel Mahjouri
Johnny Knoxville Vs. Sami Zayn
WWE is very good at working celebrities through a fight. Aside from Tyson Fury, it’s hard to remember any recent celebrity fights that have not led to the big “Wow! Can you believe it?” reactions. With that in mind, you can expect Zayn vs. Knoxville will be a fun ride as long as it lasts. Zayn is exactly the right kind of heel to lose this fight and make that loss an advantage in building him up. Zayn thrives on being “polluted” or embarrassed and losing to the stunt-joke guy who fits right in. It’s undeniably the right move to get Knoxville to win. Choice: Johnny Knoxville wins – Brookhouse
You would hope WWE would not go so far as to get a quality superstar like Zayn to take the L for “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville. The provision on non-disqualification should provide opportunities for run-ins and fun stunts from other stars from the film franchise. At the moment, Knoxville has not loved himself on the list, and Zayn is not in any other feuds, so it seems unlikely that a superstar will run in. Maybe WWE surprises everyone with a fun cameo to help Knoxville, but Zayn should really win this one. Selection: Sami Zayn wins – Mahjouri
Bobby Lashley vs. About us
WWE has booked itself into something of a no-win situation here. Lashley returns from several months on the sidelines and his return should result in a victory. Omos has been unstoppable as a single star and that aura gets a massive hit as he suffers his first loss. So where are you going? Tank Lashley’s momentum at his return or cut Omos’ monster heel ran off at the knees. If there’s anyone out here, it might be the cheapest way for Lashley to lose, which could lead to the MVP turning to him and moving on to control Omos. It would benefit the monster by giving him one that can work with the microphone and extend the program with Lashley for a while. Choose: Omos wins – Brookhouse
WWE obviously has high hopes for Omos, but he’s still up and running. It’s believable enough to give him victories over meaningful opposition like AJ Styles given the size difference. He does not want that advantage against heavyweight Lashley. “The Almighty” comes after a recent WWE championship, has a winning MMA record and muscles for days. Getting Omos to go over would be a disservice to Lashley, but that does not mean the former basketball player can not look good on the road to a loss. Choice: Bobby Lashley wins – Mahjouri
Pat McAfee Vs. Austin Theory
McAfee has shown that he can fight shockingly well in several fights in NXT. Theory is a talented wrestler, but he’s not exactly Adam Cole, so it would not be surprising if this was a minor step down overall from the previous McAfee fights. Still, WWE has fully bought into Theory, from having him taken under Vince McMahon’s wing to a seat in the Elimination Chamber and now a featured WrestleMania seat. That should mean a win for the guy who has to wrestle every Monday night. Select: Austin Theory wins – Brookhouse
McAfee is so loved by fans that it’s hard to see him lose to Austin Theory, who has plenty of time in his career to recover from a loss to a pro athlete who became a commentator. McAfee proved he has wrestling chops in a couple of fights with Adam Cole defying expectations. Maybe the campaign is building towards a longer program involving McMahon – who is expected to be in the corner of theory – and McAfee, but provided that is not the case, I will choose McAfee to win. Choice: Pat McAfee wins – Mahjouri
Raw Tag Team Championship – RK-Bro (c) vs. The Street Profits Vs. Alpha Academy
The talk since RK-Bro began their run has been that Randy Orton and Riddle will have to separate and feud. That’s probably right, as WWE loves to split tag teams. As entertaining as RK-Bro is like an action, you get the feeling that WWE is getting mad for breaking them up into a less entertaining feud. That Orton has come to fully embrace Riddle as his friend is probably a sign that the team is doomed. Losing the titles on the big stage can definitely set that story in motion, and Alpha Academy is the more entertaining team running forward as champions. Select: Alpha Academy wins the titles – Brookhouse
Alpha Academy should have had the opportunity for a longer Raw Tag Team title race, but Orton and Riddle were quick to regain their crowns. As a consequence, they are likely to leave WrestleMania as champions while continuing to build up to a possible split and feud. Select: RK-Bro retains the titles – Mahjouri
Edge Vs. AJ Styles
The Edge we’ve seen drop promos directly from an e-bold from the late 1990s has been the low point of Edge’s return. WWE has pretty much followed the same pattern with Edge rivalries since his return – stretching things beyond a series of two or three fights. With that in mind, the story between Styles and Edge is unlikely to end with just one match, even if he manages to steal the show on WrestleMania. With that in mind, it might make more sense for Edge to take the win. Select: Edge wins – Brookhouse
This is a vomit. Edge has pulled most of the weight in building this rivalry. An argument could be made that Styles should get the spark from Edge, but “The Rated R Superstar” could also benefit from momentum. When I look at my other predictions for WrestleMania Night 1, a villain has to come out on top. I take a hesitant side with Edge, but am pretty convinced that this will be Match of the Night. Select: Edge wins – Mahjouri
Title vs. title – Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (c)
Given that Lesnar is 2-0 against Reigns in the WrestleMania main events, it would certainly make sense for Reigns to win here, just as his cousin Dwayne finally got his win over Steve Austin in their third WrestleMania showdown. Yet my internal bias is the overriding logic. The reign of the Reigns Championship has come to a complete standstill. The momentum was gone months and months ago, and no amount of Reigns who cut the same outdated promo are fixing it. The only way to regain his momentum is to finish his race as the invincible champion. Reigns can get its victory over Lesnar along the way in the inevitable fourth Lesnar vs. Reigns WrestleMania main event. Select: Brock Lesnar unites the titles – Brookhouse
This is very much a vomit. A case can be made for both men to leave WrestleMania as undisputed champion. Lesnar is the most credible threat to Reigns’ record-breaking record and is delayed in repayment. Reigns is a full-time artist for WWE at the best race of his career, despite moments of obsolescence. WWE should build a challenger that can really benefit from devoting Reigns. The challenger is nowhere in sight. While it may inspire more confidence in Lesnar, I hope WWE sees the value in keeping Reigns on top as they build against new challengers. Pick: Roman Reigns unites the titles – Mahjouri