Speculation on the WrestleMania 33 card

[Cap]

HHH vs Rollins has lost a lot (all?) of its momentum, but I feel like that match is the MOST set in stone of any. I just can't see HHH not on the show and I can't see him against anyone other than Rollins.

 

I am not saying they are going to scrap Brock vs Goldberg, but if that wasn't set in stone they would have a lot of room to work and that also feels like it lost some steam to me. Taker vs Goldberg and Braun vs Brock feels like something Vince would lose his mind over. Taker vs Goldberg vs Brock would add a lot of mystery to the finish. Just watching that segment on Raw I was really uninterested in the Brock vs Goldberg sub-narrative of the rumble and more interested in the chaos of it who is going to wind up with who.

 

Styles opponent is the most interesting to me. He has pretty easily been company MVP since last mania and I hope they give him a chance to steal the show with someone (not named Shane preferably).

[supersonic]

Observer:

 

Samoa Joe and Nakamura are doing autograph signings at Axxess with the major stars of the main brands. Whether thats a sign that Nakamura will be up by Mania, I dont know, but the plan is for Joe to be up soon and in a good spot

The plans at this point are that neither Kevin Owens nor A.J. Styles will be champions going into WrestleMania. Smackdown has an Elimination Chamber match, meaning six guys will be in, so if John Cena wins the title at the Rumble, and thats being teased (although they did downplay the tying of the Ric Flair record this past week), that doesnt mean hell retain it in the Chamber match.

 

The Mania lineup at this point is looking like Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, HHH vs. Seth Rollins, Jericho vs. Owens, Wyatt vs. Orton, Show vs. Shaquille ONeal and Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax as the Raw womens title match. The key is the Rumble winner is likely, although they could swerve, to be the person who will challenge for either the Universal title or WWE title.

 

The only Smackdown match on that list is Orton vs. Wyatt, and its not a secret that Wyatt was scheduled for a title run in 2017. That immediately puts both of them in contention, and if one wins, the other would be favored to win the Chamber match. Theres a story that just started going around about Orton winning the Rumble and Wyatt winning the Chamber match. If that doesnt happen, it would be because plans changed. Even though historically the booking before Mania always gets out and it almost never changed (it changes for other reasons, such as injuries or guys quitting, but thats usually known as well), with the increase in social media, my feeling is nothing is a lock until it happens. I doubt well see major destination changes, in the sense the top of the card will probably be pretty close to as is slated now, but how to get there could change.

 

On the Raw side, Goldberg vs. Lesnar, Undertaker vs. Reigns or Jericho vs. Owens would likely be the title match. Goldbergs storyline explicitly mentions coming after the title. Owens vs. Jericho would make more sense as the U.S. title match since Owens would figure to win if Jericho is still going to tour over the summer.

 

Coming off the Rumble, or at least when the Fast Lane main event is announced, that should make the Raw title direction obvious, unless its Reigns vs. Goldberg at Fast Lane and Owens isnt figured in, at which point it wont be as clear.

 

Among the key guys, the obvious guys not on the list of matches are Cena, Styles, Balor, Dean Ambrose and Strowman of guys that will likely be in key matches. Cena vs. Samoa Joe was definitely an idea that was pitched, and made sense based on a few things weve heard, but weve never heard a confirmation on that. There are rumors of Styles vs. Shane McMahon, and Styles did complain about the idea of the Elimination Chamber match to Shane and neither have anything going. As noted before, Goldberg agreeing to stay past one match may have saved Lesnar from this years Shane program and Shane pitched for that idea and they had started in that direction before it was dropped cold.

 

Strowman is harder to figure, as hes clearly being pushed for something big. Theyve teased the idea of doing spots with him with Undertaker and Show at the Rumble. But all the guys youd think they are building him up for, Goldberg, Lesnar, Undertaker, Reigns or Show, are all taken at this point. He could be put in there for the Andre Battle Royal, and perhaps take that one (at one point that was the idea last year but the feeling at the time is he wasnt ready), and then work with one of the aforementioned names after Mania in a top program. One would think hell play monster in the Rumble, and there will be a story built from his elimination to take him to his next destiny.

 

I could see the Smackdown womens title in a multiple person match, except you dont want both womens titles up in the same type of match. Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch are the most over of the women on the brand, but both are faces. Nikki has been kept away from the title ever since the brand split, and theyve been feeding her heels to fill her time staying out of that picture, so her chasing would be new.

[Strummer]

Orton winning the Rumble wouldn't be that bad. He's probably the most interesting he's been in years, probably since 09 which was the last time he won it

 

 

don't see how Jericho v Owens would be for the title since Dave said Owens won't be champ going into mania and I don't think Jericho is winning the title at the Feb PPV.

 

Dave said before that Taker would not be in the title match and if they do him v Roman doesn't look like Roman is winning the title Sunday.

 

by POE it looks like Goldberg v Lesnar will be the title match. Goldberg wins it at Feb PPV

[supersonic]

Goldberg or Lesnar leaving Orlando as Universal champ? Interesting but neither is currently advertised for the aftermath Raw.

[Strummer]

Yes but Dave said last week Taker is not scheduled to be in the title match and he's working Roman so it really only leaves that option unless Vince changed his mind on that

[stro]

HHH vs Rollins has lost a lot (all?) of its momentum, but I feel like that match is the MOST set in stone of any. I just can't see HHH not on the show and I can't see him against anyone other than Rollins.

 

I am not saying they are going to scrap Brock vs Goldberg, but if that wasn't set in stone they would have a lot of room to work and that also feels like it lost some steam to me. Taker vs Goldberg and Braun vs Brock feels like something Vince would lose his mind over. Taker vs Goldberg vs Brock would add a lot of mystery to the finish. Just watching that segment on Raw I was really uninterested in the Brock vs Goldberg sub-narrative of the rumble and more interested in the chaos of it who is going to wind up with who.

 

Styles opponent is the most interesting to me. He has pretty easily been company MVP since last mania and I hope they give him a chance to steal the show with someone (not named Shane preferably).

HHH vs Seth has never had any momentum, imo. It felt forced and not interesting when they first started planting the seeds, then having to put it on hold for a year pretty much killed it before it got started. HHH screwing Seth out of the title and taking the next 6 months off, leaving Seth to just kind of flounder around aimlessly certainly didn't help make the angle feel like anything important. And here's what's going to happen anyway:

 

HHH is going to be the face in that match. Doesn't really matter if Seth wins or loses, he's going to look inferior to HHH, for various reasons that don't involve HHH is trying to berry my fav type of stuff. Fans have been pretty indifferent to Seth since his return outside of the first night, then to double down on the heel thing only to just kind of float to being a face for no story reason other than he was mad at HHH, never atoning for his actions against his Shield brothers yet still being bros with Roman all of the sudden, plus just flat out being a poor face. He wasn't good as the face of FCW/NXT, he's not a good face now.

 

You could pretty easily argue that Seth deserved what he got and HHH was kind of in the right for doing what he did. HHH and Steph handed everything to Seth, then Seth was being a cocky shithead to them for no reason at all. Of course HHH would take it personally. So what you're left with is an overly long angle where the heel is in the right, the face is in the wrong and not being a good face anyway, and there is no reason to care about either guy getting their revenge.

[Parties]

Having either or both the World and Universal won by new guys at the Feb PPVs feels like rushed booking. Six-month reigns for Owens and Styles aren't bad at all (esp. for Owens as a Balor replacement), but this is the annual problem of the Feb PPVs made worse by now running two. You either have to have your champ successfully defend at a moment when they should look vulnerable (in something like a Chamber match no less), or you're reshuffling the deck four weeks before Mania. I think you can change a title or two at Rumble, but doing it in February just feels like Vince casting aside the younger talent who've been carrying 2-4 shows all year so that he can play with his Taker/Brock/Cena/Orton action figures.

• Having Goldberg, Lesnar, or Taker win the Rumble feels like overkill and a waste. That said, maybe there is real benefit to Goldberg-Lesnar being for the Universal title, if it leads to someone like Reigns, Rollins, Braun, Joe, or Balor beating Goldberg/Lesnar for the title at Summerslam or elsewhere. I don't think your biggest stars need titles, but beating Owens or Reigns for a world title doesn't give anyone a rub right now. Beating Goldberg or Lesnar does.
• Orton-Bray doesn't feel like a world title fight to me, and I say that as someone who'll probably like the match and thinks a babyface Wyatt could still be a top star. I could see Orton getting the Boo-tista treatment if he wins the Rumble.
• Cena should beat Styles on Sunday if he's beating him at all.
• Reigns somehow losing to Owens at the Rumble, and then possibly losing again at Fastlane and Mania feels like heel turn or bust. Put over the story that he's been blowing his chances all year and has now blown it at Mania, and have him lay out Taker post-match in front of a lot of people who want to jeer him anyway.
• It seems odd for Elimination Chamber to be a SD show if an SD guy is winning. Are your Mania challenger and champ both then also meeting in a 6-way match? Does the Rumble winner sit out of the EC and say, "I get whoever's champ coming out of EC"? If so, you can still book the shock of Joe winning the Rumble, which remains their best option and a road to a Cena-Joe match at Mania that could steal the show.

I can't fairly complain until we see the Rumble and assess where they're going. If nothing else, this is the most wide-open Rumble in years, with several guys who stand roughly equal chances of winning, plus the possibility that Cena, Hunter, AJ, Reigns, or Owens could end up appearing in the match as well.

[Migs]

I feel like the Rumble is as open and as interesting as it's been in years, but there also feels like real risk that they could end up in a spot where I really don't care about any of the Mania matches.

[jcmmnx]

AJ working with Shane would pretty much kill the whole card for me. They should at least give him Joe or Nakamura if he isn't getting a match with one of the big boys.

[Exposer]

At this point I'd say there are 4 matches that are locks:

Brock-Goldberg

HHH-Rollins

Big Show-Shaq

AJ-Shane

I'm drinking the koolaid on the AJ-Shane rumor. I legit think that's the AJ match. Signs are pointing to it in their Talking Smack & SD Live arguments. I also think Taker-Reigns & Y2J-KO are nearly locks as well. The question is which of those 3 matches, the latter two & Brock-Goldberg, will be for the Uni Title. Right now I'm actually thinking it is Brock-Goldberg for belt based on the speculation we have at the moment. Seems likely.

Of course other questions like what the hell is Cena going to be doing are a little tougher to predict. Maybe a Joe match? Maybe he loses to AJ at Rumble in screwy fashion, Shane costs AJ the belt at EC to set that up, & either Miz or Corbin win the belt & work Cena at Mania. The latter option is something I can logically see happening. Obviously, a lot of questions will be answered the next 2 weeks with at The Rumble & EC.

[Gutenberger]

If the plan really is Taker vs. Reigns, they can't be that delusional to really think that Reigns won't be butchered by the crowd from the second his music begins, right?

 

And they have to do something with Bryan and Miz. I know, a match is probaby not in the stars, but there has to be some blowoff. Miz is basically Bryan 2.0 at this time, looking at his moveset. This can't lead to nothing.

[Grimmas]

If the plan really is Taker vs. Reigns, they can't be that delusional to really think that Reigns won't be butchered by the crowd from the second his music begins, right?

 

And they have to do something with Bryan and Miz. I know, a match is probaby not in the stars, but there has to be some blowoff. Miz is basically Bryan 2.0 at this time, looking at his moveset. This can't lead to nothing.

I think Bryan bringing in Joe as his surrogate is the way to go with that.

[Cap]

Apparently the Joe vs Cena match is being thrown around. I am soooo into that idea. I know people have their feels about someone like Joe winning the Rumble, but if I had my pick, that is the direction I would go to set up a shock title match with Cena.

 

There are 15 other rumors out there though. I was talking to a friend last weekend who said he doesn't like to read rumors for stuff like this around Rumble/Mania time because he doesn't want to spoil anything. i am not even sure how you could spoil anything at this point. There are contradictory rumors at every turn. I would probably have a better idea of who was going to be doing what if I completely checked out.

[WingedEagle]

If it is indeed Taker/Reigns, hopefully they've decided to try rehabbing Reigns as a heel. It seems so easy and a natural fit at the moment, but they haven't been willing to go there.

 

On the other hand, the prospective Smackdown Title match at Mania leaves me quite apprehensive and is killing the major buzz I had for the Rumble this weekend.

[stro]

AJ working with Shane would pretty much kill the whole card for me. They should at least give him Joe or Nakamura if he isn't getting a match with one of the big boys.

 

What's sad is that the roster is so devoid of top guys that Shane IS the biggest boy not tied up in something. The SD roster is so devoid of stars in particular that Shane really is the biggest name they can put AJ with even if they were to call up Joe or Nak.

[Grimmas]

 

AJ working with Shane would pretty much kill the whole card for me. They should at least give him Joe or Nakamura if he isn't getting a match with one of the big boys.

 

What's sad is that the roster is so devoid of top guys that Shane IS the biggest boy not tied up in something. The SD roster is so devoid of stars in particular that Shane really is the biggest name they can put AJ with even if they were to call up Joe or Nak.

 

AJ vs Miz would be excellent.

[El-P]

Please, no Shane bullshit this year. Last year's debacle made it possibly the worst Mania ever.

 

And yeah, AJ vs Miz would be quite the cool match.

[Cap]

I am on board with the Miz is pretty good right now line of thinking, but I still only see him as pretty good in the ring and he doesn't excite me as an in ring performer. I think his charicter is off the charts good and he is still GOOD, but given how great Styles has been I would be somewhat disappointment in the matchup. better than shane? sure, but Styles vs Miz doesn't jump off the page to me as a way to maximize Styles on the big stage, especially since he got a pretty Eh match last year with Jericho.

[stro]

 

 

AJ working with Shane would pretty much kill the whole card for me. They should at least give him Joe or Nakamura if he isn't getting a match with one of the big boys.

 

What's sad is that the roster is so devoid of top guys that Shane IS the biggest boy not tied up in something. The SD roster is so devoid of stars in particular that Shane really is the biggest name they can put AJ with even if they were to call up Joe or Nak.

 

AJ vs Miz would be excellent.

 

I'm sure it'd be a fine match, but I'm not talking about match quality. I'm talking about name quality, and Shane is literally the biggest name SD has after Cena.

[Grimmas]

 

 

 

AJ working with Shane would pretty much kill the whole card for me. They should at least give him Joe or Nakamura if he isn't getting a match with one of the big boys.

 

What's sad is that the roster is so devoid of top guys that Shane IS the biggest boy not tied up in something. The SD roster is so devoid of stars in particular that Shane really is the biggest name they can put AJ with even if they were to call up Joe or Nak.

 

AJ vs Miz would be excellent.

 

I'm sure it'd be a fine match, but I'm not talking about match quality. I'm talking about name quality, and Shane is literally the biggest name SD has after Cena.

 

Sure, and Foley is the biggest name on Raw.

 

SD has AJ, Cena, Randy Orton, Bray, Ambrose, Miz all of guys that are main eventers.

 

Bardon Corbin is coming along as is Luke Harper. SD is not lacking on main eventers.

[Childs]

It just amazes me that anyone there would believe they need a Shane match on the show. The one last year made some sense, even if the result sucked ass. But it seems entirely unnecessary this year when they have plenty of story lines and plenty of name wrestlers to juggle. It's not like Shane-AJ would drive network subscriptions or come close to headlining the show. Why not use the Mania stage to launch someone like Nakamura in a standout 20-minute match? But Shane the wrestler is one of the things I hate most in recent WWE, so I can't pretend to think rationally about it.

[sek69]

I wonder if it's Shane feeling that he needs to have a Mania match to justify sticking around, or does Vince really think a Shane match would be a big draw?

[Flyin' Brian]

I like Shane, but Shane-AJ seems like such a waste of AJ Styles and all the work they have done to build him up the past year, plus how good AJ is and his performances too.

[stro]

 

 

 

 

AJ working with Shane would pretty much kill the whole card for me. They should at least give him Joe or Nakamura if he isn't getting a match with one of the big boys.

 

What's sad is that the roster is so devoid of top guys that Shane IS the biggest boy not tied up in something. The SD roster is so devoid of stars in particular that Shane really is the biggest name they can put AJ with even if they were to call up Joe or Nak.

 

AJ vs Miz would be excellent.

 

I'm sure it'd be a fine match, but I'm not talking about match quality. I'm talking about name quality, and Shane is literally the biggest name SD has after Cena.

 

Sure, and Foley is the biggest name on Raw.

 

SD has AJ, Cena, Randy Orton, Bray, Ambrose, Miz all of guys that are main eventers.

 

Bardon Corbin is coming along as is Luke Harper. SD is not lacking on main eventers.

 

 

Guys who aren't main events on that list: Orton, Bray, Ambrose, Miz. Corbin and Luke are barely upper mid carders at this point. SD is extremely lacking in main eventers, hence why AJ got stuck with a comedy jobber as his main feud for 3 months while Cena was out.

 

At best, Orton/Bray/Ambrose are Jericho versions of a main eventer. They are certainly not "top 3 WM match" names at all/anymore. They're all decidedly out of the main event scene. Miz's great work for the past year doesn't make him a main eventer.

 

On top of all that, Bray/Orton are obviously going to be involved with each other, Ambrose is going to very likely be in whatever multi man gimmick match they come up for for the IC and US titles this year. Same with Miz. They're literally not main eventers.

[Loss]

I wonder if it's Shane feeling that he needs to have a Mania match to justify sticking around, or does Vince really think a Shane match would be a big draw?

 

I think people in wrestling, and not just in WWE, have almost always had the belief that if it worked once, then it will work twice. Sometimes, that's true, but it often isn't.