WrestleMania 33- Thoughts & Predictions

The Showcase of the Immortals. The Biggest Stage of Them All. WWE's Super Bowl. Whatever you want to call it, WrestleMania is one of the best nights in all of WWE. Truly anything can happen: Streaks can be broken, alliances shattered, Vigilantes can fall, and our emotions can be easily toyed with. WrestleMania 33 seems to have a fairly stacked card with 13 matches.

DETAILS

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• Location: Orlando, FL
• Venue: Camping World Stadium
• Brands: RAW, SmackDown, 205 Live

Kickoff Show

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2017 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

When this match was first introduced at WrestleMania XXX, I was actually intrigued by the concept of it. Though in the last couple years, it has essentially fallen to the wayside. This year though, it truly feels like they are just trying to get everyone on the card, which makes me feel bad for people like T.J. Perkins, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, Brian Kendrick, etc. who couldn't get their spot. The vast majority of the field is just a cluster of tag teams (including The Usos and American Alpha who really should have had their own match, as the SmackDown tag titles are the ONLY titles not being defended) and people who dominate the low and midcard. There are really only three viable possibilities to win: Braun Strowman, Big Show, and Sami Zayn. There's still the chance for surprise entrants since Samoa Joe and Luke Harper don't have WrestleMania opponents, but based on what we know...

Prediction: Braun Strowman

SmackDown Women's Championship (6 Pack Challenge): Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Becky Lynch vs. Mickie James vs. Carmella vs. Natalya vs. Naomi

Alexa Bliss has been perfect as a heel champion, taking over after Naomi's status was up in the air and had to vacate the title due to injury. Since then, bridges have been burned everywhere. It was eventually announced by Daniel Bryan that Alexa would defend her championship at the Show of Shows against every available woman on the SmackDown roster. Now I have no real speculation as to how the match itself will go in between the bells; however, I strongly feel Naomi will win since she is from Orlando.

Prediction: Naomi

WWE Cruiserweight Championship: Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries

Austin Aries is making his PPV debut in a title match against The King of the Cruiserweights. Initially, I was against this match being on Kickoff Show, since this is the first WrestleMania this iteration of the Cruiserweight Championship is being defended at, but at least Aries is taking it in stride, having said the Kickoff show is now "must see". Aries has an incredible gift, not just in the ring, but also in talking. In fact, I'm convinced he could sell ice to an Eskimo. The Cruiserweights have been kind of watered down since the CWC, but I'm hoping this will be the start of something awesome.

Prediction: Austin Aries

MAIN CARD

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RAW Tag Team Championship (Ladder Match): Gallows & Anderson (c) vs. Enzo & Cass vs. Cesaro & Sheamus

Gallows and Anderson have been halfway decent as the RAW tag team champions, but they've been average in tag team action and made to look weak consistently. Yeah, booking them to lose in handicap matches against Reigns wasn't really going to bode well, but I digress. Their time is up as champions, Enzo and Cass shouldn't be and for Sheamus and Cesaro, their dynamic still works so why not put the titles back on them?

Prediction: Cesaro & Sheamus

WWE United States Championship: Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kevin Owens

Originally, Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho were an unstoppable duo on RAW. Because of Chris Jericho's contributions, Kevin was able to retain the WWE Universal Championship until their falling out in the aftermath of Fastlane, where Owens dropped the championship to Goldberg. This prompted Kevin Owens to challenge Jericho for his United States Championship. As I have said in the past, revenge is one of the oldest stories in all of professional wrestling. That being said, not only do I think Kevin Owens will get the win, I believe he will destroy the old title (explaining the rumored face lift that the belt is getting).

Prediction: Kevin Owens by pinfall

WWE Intercontinental Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Baron Corbin

This is one of a few matches that I feel should have some form of a stipulation on it. Granted, it wouldn't have to be Jon Moxley Death Match levels, but something that is suitable to both Corbin and Ambrose (though this might be saved for Payback). That being said, the psychology between these two has been fantastic and they should put on a fantastic match despite there being no stipulation.

Prediction: Corbin by pinfall

John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse

A match that has been built up for awhile....and I've bemoaned it the whole time. Despite the fantastic build-up, I hate the whole premise behind this match. It wasn't really started until Maryse insinuated that Nikki was jealous of having a wedding ring. Of all the things a wrestling feud could be built upon, this is by far one of the worst. Not much can be said about the match. Of course Cena and Nikki are going to go over, as that is the only logical endpoint. And if the speculation about this being Nikki's last match are true, of course she will go out on top.

Prediction: John Cena & Nikki Bella by double submission

Shane McMahon vs. A.J. Styles

This is another match that should have had a stipulation attached to it. That is where Shane McMahon thrives. Without that, this just becomes another run of the mill match. That's not to say it will be bad, but I really hope A.J. brings his A-game because I don't believe Shane's contributions will be as big as they were in the past. All of this being said, I'm...disappointed in part. That doesn't mean I won't be watching in anticipation.

Prediction: A.J. Styles

RAW Women's Championship (Fatal 4 Way Elimination match): Bayley (c) vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax

At RAW's Fastlane PPV, both Charlotte and Nia Jax's streaks of being undefeated on PPV were tragically ended. This allowed Bayley to retain her championship, but I feel as though her luck is about to run out. I would hope WWE would take advantage of the opportunity to at least repair some of the damage they have done and bring Nia Jax to the next level on RAW.

Prediction: Nia Jax by pinfall

Order of elimination: Sasha, Charlotte, Bayley

The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns

This section comes from a previous post I've done.

This match could have been seen coming ever since January. Vince (or WWE, as I am unsure of who is pulling the strings) seems to be really keen on Roman Reigns being "the guy", which is perfectly fine. What is not fine, in my humble opinion is the almost incessant push that he is getting. Even in the days of The Shield, it was clear that Roman was to be the breakout star, the prodigy; however, that is not how it worked out (that distinction went to Seth Rollins).

I really feel like Reigns is going to beat The Undertaker and make this 'Taker's last run, but that will make Reigns heel number 1. Now, I hate to sound like a card-carrying member of the Internet Wrestling Community, but a heel turn could be just what Roman needs. The likelihood of this happening though could be none to slim.

The chief problem about Reigns and the fans is that the fans don't like being told who to root for. And Vince (or whomever) IS telling you who to root for (if that wasn't true, why would they edit out boos?).

I strongly feel as though Roman will ultimately go over, but this will prove even more to his detriment. No matter how much the E tries to force Reigns on the fans, the more and more they will be put off.

Prediction: Roman Reigns (but I hope I'm wrong)

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H (Non-sanctioned match)

Non-sanctioned matches have happened before (involving Triple H no less) and this couldn't be any more perfect. The amount of pure rage that has been on display between Seth Rollins and Triple H leading up to this has just been astronomical. That being said, I have no doubt that these two will put on an incredible match. With the speculation about a heel stable led by Triple H, Samoa Joe or even Kevin Owens could make their presence known in this match as well.

Prediction: Seth Rollins by pinfall

WWE Championship: Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton

This is another feud where the buildup has been fantastic, but before we get into that let's look at something else. Bray and Randy were former SmackDown tag team champions before losing to American Alpha, which set in motion another big event. In January, there were many different predictions regarding how the Royal Rumble match would go. There was a contingent that predicted Randy Orton would outlast the other 29 superstars and go on to "main event" WrestleMania. John Cena was coming off of a grueling match with A.J. Styles where Cena tied Ric Flair with his 16th World Championship reign. So at that point, everyone was sure it would be John Cena vs. Randy Orton for the umpteenth time; however, there was still Elimination Chamber. Bray Wyatt had defeated John Cena cleanly to win his first WWE World title and it was about damn time. This is why I have a measure of trepidation regarding this match. I like Randy Orton, but I don't think he should come out on top here. WWE has had multiple opportunities to make Bray Wyatt the new face of fear (what The Undertaker was for our generation) and just as many times the ball has been dropped. Taking the title off of Bray here might do more harm than good. My trepidation mostly comes from the fact that it took him this long to get a title reign so how long would (or could) we wait to see Bray get another chance?

Predictions: Randy Orton (again, I hope I'm wrong)

WWE Universal Championship: Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar

This was a match that I wasn't excited about when it was first announced and that went even further when the Universal Championship was added to the picture. After a horrendous match at WrestleMania XX, no one was really clamoring for a rematch, but at Survivor Series in Toronto, it was announced Goldberg would once again enter a WWE ring to face Brock Lesnar. To everyone's surprise, Goldberg won in 1:26. In January, it was announced that both Goldberg and Lesnar would both be in the Royal Rumble match. Again, Goldberg humiliated Lesnar in San Antonio. And here we are coming up on WrestleMania and I'm still trying to see what the appeal of this match is. No new ground is being broken. Now I don't really think this match will be much of a knock-down drag out of a fight. In fact, this will easily be the shortest match on the entire card. Honestly, there isn't much I have to say about it, but there are two suggestions I might have had:

• Make this a "Gassed Man Standing" match
• Make it a 5 minute Iron Man match

I'm being facetious about this match, but only to illustrate my displeasure with it. Brock Lesnar is going to win the Universal Championship because apparently, WWE doesn't learn. Brock being a part time champion didn't work the last time they tried it and it will be now different now. So expect Lesnar to hold on to the championship until SummerSlam. Lesnar will likely win by pinfall after an emphatic F-5; however, I really think Lesnar should win with the Kimura Lock. Just to add a little something to it.

Prediction: Brock Lesnar by pinfall