Final Picks for Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena and WWE WrestleMania 41 Night 2

With a newsworthy Night 1 of WWE WrestleMania 41 in the books, the bar has been set for an equally exciting Night 2.

After weeks of verbal jousting and vicious attacks, Cody Rhodes and John Cena will finally collide for the Undisputed WWE Championship. Rhodes' one-year reign as champ and lucrative spot as the face of the company are at stake against an uncharacteristically corporate Cena desperate for his record-setting 17^th world championship.

The Women's World Championship will also be defended when Iyo Sky puts her gold up for grabs in a Triple Threat match with Bianca Belair and Rhea Ripley. The bad blood between Belair and Ripley will either result in a sneaky win for Sky or a defiant new champ being crowned.

The rest of Sunday's card has plenty of promise as well, including Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest's Sin City Street Fight and the Intercontinental Championship Fatal 4-Way. Both bouts are guaranteed to deliver and have a high chance of stealing the show, regardless of who goes over.

These are the last-minute predictions for Night 2 of WrestleMania 41 that matter most mere hours ahead of the event.

For a match with such star power, the lack of creative attention this storyline has gotten en route has been disappointing for fans.

It's a stronger spot for both guys to be in than the multi-man matchup for the Intercontinental Championship, but more definitely could have been done to intensify their feud.

Despite that, Paul and Styles should have no issue getting the crowd invested in the action once the bell rings. Styles is still one of the very best to lace up a pair of boots and Paul has exceeded all expectations since joining the wrestling world in 2022.

As a part-time performer, the social media sensation routinely disappears from WWE programming after WrestleMania every year. There's been nothing to suggest that this year will be any different, which is why it would be a waste for him to win at the event.

Styles' days as an active competitor are numbered and thus he should be booked with prominence in the remainder of his run. Beating Paul would get him one step closer to championship contention on the Raw roster.

Prediction: AJ Styles wins.

The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship have largely been an afterthought since they were introduced in 2019, but the belts have been defended in some solid matches at The Showcase of the Immortals over the years and this one in particular could wind up being the best yet.

Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez have developed terrific chemistry as a heel pairing, and although they haven't defended their twin titles at all since winning them in February, they've had a consistent presence on WWE TV and are single-handedly keeping The Judgment Day afloat at the moment.

Unfortunately, the rest of the women's tag division lacks depth and there isn't an obvious choice to eventually dethrone them. As a makeshift team, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria had no reason to take the titles at WrestleMania 41, but Bayley's backstage "injury" on Night 1 leaves the door open for the returning Becky Lynch to replace her.

Hot-potatoing the titles accomplishes nothing, hence why Morgan and Rodriguez retaining would've been the better bet. Bayley and Valkyria can resume their rivalry over the Women's Intercontinental Championship post-WrestleMania, while Valkyria and Lynch tell their own story in the meantime.

Prediction: Lyra Valkyria and Becky Lynch win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.

Kevin Owens' untimely injury left Randy Orton, one of WWE's most notable names, without a WrestleMania match in Las Vegas.

It would have been egregious for The Viper to miss the card all together, so having him host an open challenge was the most logical route to go other than outright announcing a match with him and SmackDown general manager Nick Aldis.

The idea of a clash between the two was teased on the April 4 edition of SmackDown, and while it's possible Aldis does end up lacing up the boots again to take on Orton, it's more likely Orton's opponent will be a bigger name.

With Aleister Black all but confirmed to resurface on SmackDown next week following a vignette that aired on Friday night, Rusev would be the most intriguing option. Orton shouldn't be losing at WrestleMania, but Rusev losing so soon into his return to the company wouldn't be ideal, either.

If it's anyone but Rusev, Orton will win, but Rusev would be a WrestleMania-worthy surprise that the crowd would surely pop for. Rusev should go over if is indeed him that answers the call.

Prediction: Randy Orton loses.

The Intercontinental Championship picture has picked up some steam as of late with Penta, Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio all vying for the prestigious prize.

Meanwhile, Breakker has been a fighting champ across his two title reigns since SummerSlam and wants to walk out of WrestleMania victorious for the first time. There's a number of different directions WWE can go in with this one.

Balor is the ultimate stepping stone at this stage of his career and has virtually no chance of winning, but a case can be made for everyone else involved.

Penta is a hot commodity at the moment and should be champion before long, but it doesn't necessarily need to be here. As for Breakker, he's benefited big time from holding the gold but is ready to be elevated up the card.

That leaves Mysterio, who has been a background player in the buildup to the bout and needs something worthwhile to sink his teeth into after WrestleMania season. That should be the Intercontinental title, which has alluded him his entire time on WWE's main roster.

Mysterio stealing the strap would keep Penta in chase mode, allow Breakker to move on to bigger and better things, and act as the catalyst for Balor betraying Mysterio or vice versa. This the result with the most upside.

Prediction: Dominik Mysterio wins the Intercontinental Championship.

Drew McIntyre and Damian Priest have taken an otherwise mediocre 'Mania match on paper and have turned it into an exciting attraction for Night 2 of the event, specifically with the addition of the Sin City Street Fight stipulation.

Their history dates back to last year's installment when Priest cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to dethrone McIntyre as World Heavyweight champion in short order. Priest went on to best McIntyre for a second time at Clash at the Castle and again at Money in the Bank.

CM Punk inadvertently assisted Priest on all three occasions because of of his hatred for McIntyre.

The Scottish Warrior is adamant to prove he's superior to Priest by beating him decisively on The Grandest Stage of Them All, and the extreme environment will ensure there's a definitive victor.

McIntyre belongs in the main-event mix coming out of WrestleMania, making this the easiest match to predict of the night. Priest can have a standout showing in defeat, but McIntyre makes the most sense to reign supreme in this scenario.

Prediction: Drew McIntyre wins.

It had been abundantly clear since early March that WWE was headed for a Triple Threat for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania 41, yet it wasn't until less than two weeks out from the event that they made the match official.

Although the buildup has left a lot to be desired, the talent involved speaks for itself. They'll have no issue producing an excellent outing that rivals if not outright tops everything else on the card from an in-ring standpoint.

Belair and Ripley being so obsessed with each other has effectively made Sky a heavy favorite to win. There'd be nothing wrong with Sky escaping with her title reign intact, but Belair recently acknowledging her undefeated streak at The Show of Shows can't go unnoticed.

The EST of WWE is technically a member of the SmackDown roster, so if she does win, she'd need to swap brands. Other than that, there's nothing holding her back from becoming champion and continuing to plant the seeds for a future heel turn.

Moreover, Ripley has much more to gain from losing and further fleshing out her character arc than she would yet another title win.

Prediction: Bianca Belair wins the Women's World Championship.

John Cena's infrequent appearances on the Road to WrestleMania have prevented this program from being as epic as it possibly could have been, but anticipation will be at an all-time high nonetheless because of the massive implications this match will have.

Since ending Roman Reigns' historic four-year run as champ, Cody Rhodes has done a phenomenal job as WWE's lead babyface and setting back challenges from the likes of AJ Styles, Logan Paul, Solo Sikoa and Kevin Owens.

Of course, Cena will be his toughest test to date, and it marks his most important defense yet for a variety of reasons. Not only is it crucial for them to have a WrestleMania-worthy main-event–a feat easier said than done given Cena's less-than-stellar track record in quality matches in recent years–but the outcome will determine their respective trajectories going forward.

Rhodes needs a significant setback to prevent fans from slowly turning on him, a similar fate Cena suffered himself early on in his rise to super stardom. Likewise, Cena must clinch his record-setting 17^th world title to justify his heel turn and set the tone for the remainder of his retirement tour.

It's almost irrelevant how it happens; anything other than a Cena win would be an underwhelming ending to Night 2 of WrestleMania 41. If it's inevitable, WWE may as well strike while the iron is hot with him and give The American Nightmare something to avenge months down the road.

Prediction: John Cena wins the Undisputed WWE Championship.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.