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WrestleMania is around four months away and the road to the biggest show of the WWE calendar is set to begin in less than four weeks' time.
The annual Royal Rumble match will kickstart The Road to WrestleMania and the card will then begin to officially take shape.
Following WWE Day 1 this past weekend, there appear to be several hints regarding WrestleMania matches as well as some interesting rumors doing the rounds.
The following article looks at just five current WWE Champions and their rumored opponents at this year's WrestleMania.
#5. WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte could face Bayley at WrestleMania 38
One of the dark horses for the upcoming Royal Rumble match is former Champion Bayley. The former SmackDown Women's Champion has had to watch from the sidelines over the past few months after suffering an ACL injury in the build-up to Money in the Bank.
Bayley was expected to be out for 6-9 months following the injury which could see her make her return at The Royal Rumble at the end of January. A Royal Rumble victory would then allow Bayley to choose which Champion to face and Charlotte would be the perfect option.
Charlotte is the current SmackDown Women's Champion and given the history between the two women, this could involve some fantastic storytelling.
Charlotte Flair has dominated the WWE Women's Division over the past few years and this would be Bayley's chance to prove that she is one of the best female wrestlers in the company at present as well.
Flair missed last year's WrestleMania but has a decent record on The Grandest Stage of them All, so she is expected to retain her Championship until this WrestleMania showdown.
Of course, this match taking place at WrestleMania is based on whether or not Bayley can be cleared for action in time to make her return to the company and be part of The Royal Rumble. The company has several options for the annual match this year, but Bayley does appear to be the safest choice.
#4. WWE's United States Champion Damian Priest could defend against Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 38
There is still four more months until WrestleMania 38 which gives WWE plenty of time to shuffle their championship pictures.
Seth Rollins is part of a storyline with Kevin Owens, which could end at The Royal Rumble if one of the two men decides to turn on the other. Damian Priest recently retained his United States Championship against Dolph Ziggler which means that he will now be able to step into a new feud.
WWE has several pay-per-views ahead of WrestleMania and enough time to set up this match, since Seth Rollins deserves to be part of a championship match at WrestleMania.
Damian Priest appears to be looking to turn heel in the near future, whilst Rollins turning on Owens would allow him an opportunity to turn face. Rollins has stolen the show at WWE's biggest show several times throughout his career and this year could be no different if he's able to lift the United States Championship in Texas.
#3. WWE RAW Women's Champion Becky Lynch is expected to face Bianca Belair at WrestleMania 38
The seeds have already been planted for a feud between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair on WWE TV, since Lynch defeated Belair in just 27 seconds back at SummerSlam.
Belair referenced this as part of a promo last night on RAW as it appears that WWE could be set to circle back to these issues. There are currently several rumors linking Becky Lynch to a match against Belair at WrestleMania, which could become apparent in the coming weeks.
Next week's RAW should see Liv Morgan come out on top in the triple threat match to earn her final shot at the title, before Belair is then able to step into the title picture following The Royal Rumble.
If the Royal Rumble winner chooses to challenge the SmackDown Women's Champion, then The EST of WWE will have enough of a claim for a match against Lynch at WrestleMania. This could be the second year in a row that Belair has main evented the show.
#2. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar could face Bobby Lashley or Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 38
WWE has several options for Brock Lesnar heading into WrestleMania now that The Beast is holding the WWE Championship.
It has already been revealed that Lesnar will be facing off against Bobby Lashley at The Royal Rumble, but there are several ways which this match could be booked.
Lesnar could drop the WWE Championship to Lashley and allow The All Mighty to head into WrestleMania as champion. The Beast could retain the Championship and then be challenged to a rematch by The All Mighty heading into the show in April.
There is also the option that Brock Lesnar could retain the WWE Championship before turning his attention back to Roman Reigns. Their match could then still potentially go ahead at WrestleMania but as a Champion vs. Champion match instead.
It's unclear if the stakes of this match would be something other than the championships or if WWE would then make this a winner-take-all match for both of the titles instead.
#1. WWE's Universal Champion Roman Reigns is expected to face Drew McIntyre or Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38
Roman Reigns has held the Universal Championship since Payback 2020 and is expected to hold it heading into WWE's biggest show of the year.
Whilst there have been several rumors regarding Reigns' WrestleMania opponent this year, it's safe to assume that The Rock is now off the table. Instead, Reigns has just two superstars that could step up to the challenge heading into WrestleMania 38.
It appears that WWE had plans for Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns to face off once again. However, McIntyre was recently written off TV due to an injury and it's unclear when he will make his return.
If Roman Reigns is able to face off against The Scottish Star at The Royal Rumble later this month, then this opens the door for The Universal Champion to step back into his feud with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania.
As of this writing, it's unclear if that match will be for The Universal Championship or a Champion vs. Champion match which would see the winner take all.
