WrestleMania 40: What are the rules for each fight?

WrestleMania 40 is upon us, with the biggest wrestling show of the year scheduled for Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia.

The event at Lincoln Financial Field has been built around the return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is set to compete in a WWE ring for the first time since 2013 – with the exception of a record-breaking, rapid win at WrestleMania in 2016.

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Johnson is teaming with his ‘cousin’, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, in the main event of night one (Saturday 6 April), with the result of that match against Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins having major ramifications for night two (Sunday 7 April).

But what are those ramifications? And what are the general rules for WrestleMania matches? That depends on the match type. So, let’s get into it...

How is a wrestling match won/lost?

Most WWE matches are decided by one of the following means: pinfall, submission, countout or disqualification. A pinfall occurs when a wrestler pins their opponent’s shoulders to the mat for a three count – as counted by the referee – while a submission occurs when a wrestler taps out or passes out while in a chokehold or a limb lock.

A countout occurs when a wrestler cannot re-enter the ring before a count of 10, and a disqualification occurs when a wrestler uses an illegal strike – for example a low blow, or using a weapon like a chair to attack their opponent.

These rules apply in one-on-one matches and tag-team matches (which typically pit teams of two against each other, though sometimes teams of three or more).

Other stipulations

Other matches are won by other means. For example: A table match is won when an opponent is driven through a table, and a ladder match is won when a wrestler climbs a ladder and claims the prize hanging above the ring (often a title belt).

The latter example is a relevant to WrestleMania 40, because night one involves a six-team ladder match for the Undisputed Tag-Team Titles. The Judgment Day will defend their four belts against #DIY, The Awesome Truth, The New Day, A-Town Down Under and New Catch Republic. This particular match will only end when both sets of title belts are pulled down, leading fans to speculate that the undisputed titles will be split up – with two belts going to a team on Monday Night Raw, and the other two going to a team on Smackdown Live.

Elsewhere at WrestleMania 40, The Pride will face The Final Testament in a ‘Philadelphia Street Fight’. In that contest, there will be no countouts or disqualifications – so expect plenty of weapons to feature.

What about The Rock and Roman Reigns vs Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins

If The Rock and Roman Reigns (the bad guys) beat Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in the main event of night one, Rhodes’s match with Reigns on night two will be fought under ‘Bloodline Rules’. The Bloodline is the name of a group led by Reigns and The Rock, which includes their family members Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa, and Bloodline Rules are basically the same rules as in a street fight.

In the main event of night two, Rhodes will challenge Reigns for the Universal Championship – just as he did at WrestleMania last year, when Reigns came out on top. Rollins will also fight again on night two, defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Drew McIntyre.

WrestleMania 40 card in full

Night one

The Bloodline (The Rock and Roman Reigns) vs Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins

Rhea Ripley (C) vs Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s World Championship

Gunther (C) vs Sami Zayn - WWE Intercontinental Championship

Jey Uso vs Jimmy Uso

The Judgment Day (Finn Balor and Damian Priest) (C) vs #DIY (Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa) vs The Awesome Truth (The Miz and R-Truth) vs The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) vs A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller) vs New Catch Republic (Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate) – Undisputed WWE Tag-Team Championship ladder match

Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill and Naomi vs Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai, Asuka, and Kairi Sane) - Six-woman tag-team match

Rey Mysterio and Andrade vs Santos Escobar and “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio - Tag-team match

Night two

Roman Reigns (C) vs Cody Rhodes - WWE Undisputed Universal Championship

Seth Rollins (C) vs Drew McIntyre - WWE World Heavyweight Championship [CM Punk on guest commentary]

Iyo Sky (C) vs Bayley - WWE Women’s Championship

Logan Paul (C) vs Randy Orton vs Kevin Owens - United States Championship

LA Knight vs AJ Styles

The Pride (Bobby Lashley, Angelo Dawkins, and Montez Ford) vs The Final Testament (Karrion Kross, Akam, and Rezar) - Six-man Philadelphia Street Fight