6 mistakes from WrestleMania 40 that WWE should avoid at WrestleMania 41

WrestleMania 41 is a few weeks away. WWE typically sends fans home happy after The Show of Shows each year, but this year's epic in Las Vegas needs to surpass last year's event.

Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns main-evented both nights of WrestleMania 40. When all was said and done, The American Nightmare toppled the tyrannical Tribal Chief and won the Undisputed WWE title.

Several other titles changed hands, setting the company on a different path in the year's second half. Despite a successful show, many notable issues still arose.

Triple H and the bookers must not make the same six mistakes at WrestleMania 41 that were made at WrestleMania 40.

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#6. Too many non-title matches

WrestleMania 40 consisted of 14 contests, including Damian Priest's cash-in on Drew McIntyre. That means half - including a two-minute Priest segment - involved titles. The remaining six matches included a few mish-mashed tag team contests.

Bobby Lashley and the Street Profits faced The Final Testament in a Street Fight. Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, and Naomi beat Damage CTRL. Rey Mysterio had a tag team match, and Roman Reigns/The Rock faced Seth Rollins/Cody Rhodes.

That left two grudge matches - LA Knight vs. AJ Styles and Jimmy vs. Jey Uso. WWE needs to book one or two more singles, grudge, or title matches at WrestleMania 41 instead of multi-person tag bouts.

Two more titles were recently introduced - the Women's US and Intercontinental Championships. If the onus is to get more stars on the card, the company should book a multi-star ladder match or a fatal four-way.

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#5. Roman Reigns main events again, but without a title

This may, unfortunately, come to fruition after the triple threat match was made official on last week's SmackDown. Due to ongoing issues and history between them, CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins will battle at WrestleMania 41.

There haven't been any stakes added to the match, making it a bit of an outlier for a three-performer match. WWE always brags that Royal Rumble winners are in the main event at WrestleMania.

Bayley won last year but didn't receive the honor. Rollins, Rhea Ripley, and others also didn't get the opportunity via Rumble wins. The Tribal Chief is still one of WWE's top stars.

He's already closed eight WrestleManias. The honor should go to someone else, like his cousin, Jey Uso, on Night 1 of WrestleMania 41.

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#4. Celebrities interfering in matces

Involving celebrities may get WWE some viral views on social media, but in the long run, it hurts the credibility of the performer they beat. Sami Zayn put Johnny Knoxville over, but he's one of the most selfless wrestlers of all time.

Snoop Dogg briefly interfered in the street fight between the Pride and the Final Testament after appearing on commentary.

Philadelphia Eagles stars Lane Johnson and Jason Kelce helped Rey Mysterio and Andrade defeat Dominik Mysterio/Santos Escobar. Being in Las Vegas, WWE will likely have several big names, including UFC fighters, in attendance.

With Travis Scott appearing randomly a few times, he'll likely show up to stick his nose in the Rhodes/Cena match. Triple H must resist the urge, especially since some celebrities aren't trained well enough for their spots.

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#3. The same stars main event both nights of WrestleMania 41

As mentioned in a prior point, WWE always claims that winning the Royal Rumble earns a star a main-event spot at WrestleMania. However, when the rubber meets the road, about half of the Rumble winners get that honor.

Both Cody Rhodes and Bayley won their respective Rumbles in 2024. The American Nightmare and Roman Reigns main-evented both nights. This was the first time it happened due to the Rock's involvement after a year of prior buildup.

If the same three or four stars always main-event the biggest shows, it sends the message that other stars aren't as important, even if they earn the right. Jey Uso has grown in popularity and will be fighting for a title.

Will he get the honor of closing Night 1 or Night 2, or will WWE throw another wrench into the plans to feature Reigns or Rhodes again?

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#2. A lack of variety in matches and stipulations

One thing WWE should do at WrestleMania 41 that it didn’t do last year is have a variety of matches with different stipulations. There were four tag team matches and only two non-title one-on-one showdowns.

The Rock turned both of his contests into "anything goes" showdowns, and the fans had a six-man street fight. Bookers could easily put five or six stars in a ladder match for either the Intercontinental or United States Championship.

The other title match could be a fatal four-way. Kevin Owens and Randy Orton should battle in a street fight or cage match instead of a normal bout. There will likely be two triple threats after another Women's World title match on next week's RAW.

Triple H must provide more matches with different stipulations. Triple threats may not have rules by default, but there need to be offerings with a variety of stipulations to promote for WrestleMania 41.

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#1. Overbooking Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 41

One huge problem with last year's weekend-closing match was WWE's need to overbook it. Rhodes lost a tag team match on Night 1 of WrestleMania 40.

That loss made the Undisputed WWE title bout between Roman Reigns and Rhodes essentially a "No DQ" match. Because of the stipulation, nearly 10 people interfered at one point.

WWE didn't want Reigns to lose cleanly, so Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, John Cena, and the Undertaker intervened on Cody's behalf. If they hadn't had faith that Rhodes could beat The Tribal Chief clean, it should have been done differently.

With the Rock involved yet again, the likelihood of an overbooked WrestleMania 41 main event is high. Triple H should avoid watering down the main event for the second year in a row.