01 April 2023 , 15:00
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For WWE fans, this weekend is the highlight of the wrestling calendar, with Wrestlemania 39 - hosted by A-list wannabe The Miz - setting Hollywood alight.
WrestleMania 39 is taking place this evening (April 1) at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, home to the iconic LA Chargers and LA Rams, with UK fans needing to stay awake until 1am on Sunday morning to watch the action live.
It’s the first time the event has been held in Hollywood since WrestleMania 21 back in 2005 - and the brand has made much of this comparison over the last few weeks, releasing a number of hilarious wrestler-acted parodies of famous films (our favourite is real-life couple Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch as The Joker and Batman respectively).
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On paper, night one may be the stronger of the two - with some big storylines coming to fruition and the high-profile return of John Cena, a hot Hollywood star in his own right nowadays, although night two sees Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes clash in a hotly anticipated bout.
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For our money, tonight Seth Rollins vs Logan Paul is a hot contender for match of the night, with the social media star returning to the squared circle to fight The Visionary following several impressively high-flying previous outings well beyond the usual scope of a celebrity cameo.
Meanwhile, Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley are set for a deeply personal and long-awaited rematch with Ripley, who's been rising to even greater heights over the last year or so, surely standing a good chance of scooping the title once more.
But after all of the build, night one is very much set to be all about Wrestlezaynia.
The slow burn Bloodline storyline reaches a new height tonight, with Sami Zayn reunited with Kevin Owens to take on his former friends and long-running champions The Usos.
In recent years the biggest night of the WWE's calendar has actually become a full weekend - and that's before you factor in Friday Night Smackdown, Monday Night Raw and the Hall of Fame ceremony.
This weekend not only are there Wrestlemania 39 shows on both Saturday and Sunday but there's also NXT Stand and Deliver which will air before the night one event.
For wrestling fans it's going to be an action-packed few days and, if you need to keep the momentum up between live events, you could even sign up for a free Apple TV+ trial and watch the excellent Monster Factory, a six-part documentary series about the New Jersey pro-wrestling school run by Danny Cage which boasts stars from Bam Bam Bigelow and Raven through to Judgment Day's Damian Priest as former students who've gone on to achieve their wrestling dreams.
How to watch Wrestlemania 39 Night 1 in the UK
BT Sport is the home of all WWE programming in the UK and is showing Wrestlemania 39 live and on demand for £19.95 on BT Sports Box Office 2.
You can view the event without being an existing BT Sport subscriber. But if you want to see BT Sport's wider WWE coverage - including the Smackdown and Raw shows that sandwich the pay per views - you can get a no contract monthly pass here for £29.99. This covers Smackdown, Raw and NXT as well as BT Sport's other coverage including Premier League games, rugby, UFC, MotoGP and cricket.
BT Sport is available on the BT Sport app on iOS and Android, or via bt.com/sport once coverage starts. The event will also be available to watch on demand so don't worry if you miss the 1am start time.
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Both nights of Wrestlemania are also available to view on the WWE Network alongside a host of additional content, including an in-depth documentary look at last year's Wrestlemania that gives a fascinating insight into how the events are put together.
Final Card for Wrestlemania Night 1
- Austin Theory (c) vs. John Cena for the United States Championship - confirmed as the first match
- Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women's Championship
- The Usos (c) vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships
- Becky Lynch, Lita and Trish Stratus vs. Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky)
- Seth Rollins vs. Logan Paul
- Rey Mysterio vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Braun Strowman and Ricochet vs. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy vs. Viking Raiders
Final Card for NXT Stand and Deliver
Wrestlemania is not the only WWE event being held in Hollywood today. NXT Stand and Deliver will take place at 6pm UK time from Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena.
With it needing to take place before the full night one of Wrestlemania happening down the road a few hours later, the start time is ideal for British fans to watch live - even if they're unable to stay up to 1am for the bigger show.
There's plenty of exciting matches confirmed on the card and some big-name fan favourites making an NXT return. Johnny Gargano is returning to his roots for one night only to take on Grayson Waller in a contender for match of the night, alongside Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes.
Plenty of NXT UK alumni are also set to shine, with Tyler Bate, JD McDonagh, Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre all making appearances in matches through the night.
The NXT Stand and Deliver card so far is confirmed as:
- Bron Breakker (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship.
- Grayson Waller vs. Johnny Gargano in an Unsanctioned Match.
- Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Zoey Stark vs. Indi Hartwell in a ladder match for the WWE NXT Women’s Championship.
- Chase U & Tyler Bate vs. Schism in an eight-person tag team match up.
- Wes Lee (c) vs. Dragon Lee vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh vs. Axiom for the North American Championship.
- Mark Coffey & Wolfgang (c) vs. Brutus & Julius Creed vs. Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo & Tony D’Angelo in an NXT Tag Team Championship match.
- Fallon Henley & Kiana James (c) vs. Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship.
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