3 ways SmackDown can catch up en route to WrestleMania 36

#1 Book Cena-Fiend & Reigns-Goldberg

John Cena and Bray Wyatt

For the longest time now, it has been speculated that Roman Reigns and The Fiend will compete for the Universal title at The Show of Shows.

This month though, all those backstage plans reportedly went up in the air, due to several likely contributory factors, like Goldberg impacting TV ratings, Cena’s return to the blue brand, and possibly the PPV streaming deal with ESPN+.

Whatever the reason might have been, WWE now has a few massive decisions to make i.e what matches to book for Mania.

As we speak, The Fiend is set to defend his Universal title against Goldberg at WWE Super Showdown, in a match that has grown to become more unpredictable with every passing day since it was announced.

Needless to say, it would be a detrimental long-term decision to take the title off Bray Wyatt so close to Mania. Yes, WWE has booked itself into a corner with the possible lineup of Wyatt matches in the upcoming days and months, but it's easy to get out of this situation with flying colours.

For starters, Wyatt needs to retain the title (no matter what it takes). It is understandable that WWE would want to protect Goldberg from taking a clean loss at this point, so as frustrating as it may sound, a screw job finish works!

Once that’s out of the way, let Cena and Reigns enter the Elimination Chamber match, and have Cena win to challenge The Fiend at The Show of Shows.

Wyatt and Cena’s story writes itself too - Cena was the superstar who handed Wyatt his first major loss and that too at WrestleMania a few years ago. This storyline comes full circle which could be an intriguing story from The Fiend's perspective WWE could opt to tell. Conversely, Cena on the other hand, can hype this bout on the basis of his possible record-breaking title win.

A Cena vs. Wyatt match today is bigger than a Reigns vs. Wyatt match, and also lends some unpredictability to the outcome of the universal title bout - something we rarely see in big matches involving Roman Reigns.

On the other hand though, pairing Reigns with Goldberg for a one-on-one match at WrestleMania would be a no-brainer. This could be WWE’s “franchise vs. franchise” bout this year - something the company loves to book almost every year in April.

Goldberg will not lose much stock coming off a loss at Super Showdown, and WWE can keep capitalizing on his star power. Both heavyweights can have a short and explosive match at the Showcase of Immortals, something similar to Lesnar-Goldberg from WrestleMania 33.

This match however, would not need the Universal title attached to it. In fact, if anything, having the title in the mix would only spoil the possible result of this bout, as Reigns will most likely be penciled to win. Without the title on the line though, WWE can smartly tackle the predictive nature of this bout.

All in all, if WWE decides to go this route, it will make sure Smackdown thrives on the road to WrestleMania.