I loved the ending to Smackdown Live last week. The image of Randy Orton giving up his title shot at WrestleMania 33 seemed to throw the entire WWE Championship Match into chaos thus making an unpredictable “Road to WrestleMania”. Was the match we expected not going to happen?
That being said I am sure a lot of us expect Orton to get involved in the match somehow. Will he be part of a triple threat match in Orlando? Will he help Bray win and continue the storyline longer? Or will he do the predictable thing and hit that RKO at the expected time to win the title?
There are a lot of questions but the only thing we know right now is that Bray doesn’t technically have an opponent for the WrestleMania 33 and it should set up an interesting Battle Royal to see who that opponent is.
With that in mind, I present my list of top five best choices to replace Orton in the WWE Title Match at WrestleMania 33:
#5 Dolph Ziggler
You know what is truly crazy? Since he debuted as Dolph Ziggler in the months before WrestleMania 26, Dolph has never had a one on one singles match at Mania.
Whether he has had a tag match, multiple ladder matches or a Battle Royal, he has never had that deserved moment in the sun. I mean the poor guy had to be on the losing end of a tag match with Snooki. He deserves better.
Also read: 5 Best opponents for AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33
Dolph is more than capable of having a fantastic match with Bray on the biggest stage. Win or lose, it would continue to build on the current Dolph storyline and give Bray a unique matchup as well.
#4 The Miz
Few have used the brand split better than The Miz. He has had a highly successful series of matches with Dolph Ziggler and has brought a lot of credibility back to the IC Title. He is one of the few heels in the company that actually get booed by the crowd.
Since people want to cheer Bray Wyatt, why not use the most annoying heel in the company to get him there for a face turn? It would lead to some unique promos in the weeks to come and give The Miz a richly deserved shot at the WWE Title.
Could you imagine the crowd for that match in Orlando?
#3 John Cena
While John Cena has become more and more of a part-time performer in recent years, he has improved his in-ring work considerably. What has been even more interesting is his willingness to put over new talent in the last few years.
He has lost cleanly to AJ Styles, Kevin Owens and Bray Wyatt. You could hear the crowd’s shock and awe when Bray pinned the 16-time World Champion in the Chamber. It was a big deal. That could happen in Orlando as well.
There are rumours that Cena could be in a mixed tag match at the show before he goes off to film another movie. This seems like a colossal waste of a big moment. Cena could win the Battle Royal and have a one one one match with Wyatt at Mania.
Cena could rightfully bring up his victory against Wyatt at WrestleMania 30 and play some mind games with Bray in the weeks to come. You know the two could put on a quality match and if Bray won a singles match against John Cena clean, he would be set for the rest of his career.
#2 AJ Styles
AJ Styles has a fair gripe. He held the WWE Champion for over four months before losing it at the Royal Rumble in an excellent match to John Cena.
Since that point, he has had two WWE title matches but neither was the traditional one on one title rematch that the former Champion usually gets. Sure it kind of comes off as a whiny heel’s complaint but it isn’t without some merit.
AJ would be the perfect choice to fill in for Orton as needed. AJ has almost single handily carried the Smackdown brand in the last five months.
The one on one matchup would be a fresh one with Bray and lead to some interesting moments. And if we had some Wyatt Family interference at WrestleMania 33, then AJ’s well-deserved face turn could begin as well.
AJ deserves a high profile match at the biggest pay-per-view.
#1 Luke Harper
The obvious but fun choice. Luke Harper has always been in Bray’s shadow. He has broken away from Bray on multiple occasions. But he always comes back to Bray like some sort of puppy dog. This time he acted like the jealous child as Orton took the attention from the charismatic cult leader.
He finally got angry and it led to an excellent match between Orton and Harper at Elimination Chamber. The question now is, where does Harper go from here?
Harper is a fantastic talent who just needs a chance. He is a solid talker and has shown over the years that despite his size, he is capable of performing at a fast pace with his unique move set.
He is a fantastic wrestler who just needs a break. You could tell this by how the fans got behind him at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
I think having Harper in the WWE Championship match would be a fantastic idea. He will help the quality of the match, provide a built-in story and give an opportunity for Orton to be involved if needed. Harper’s hard work deserves a moment on the biggest stage possible.
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