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Wrestlemania 36 is less than a month away, and with the card starting to fill up, wrestling fans the world over are placing their bets and choosing their predicted winners. But as we all know, professional wrestling is not as black and white as other sports; in a world where wins and losses are pre-determined, there can be any number of reasons why your favorite wrestler may or may not get their hand raised at the end of their night.
Sure, we can look at how the previous weeks and months have treated superstars and their storylines and use this to make some educated guesses. But until the bell finally rings at the end of a match, none of us truly know what's going to happen. It's one of the many beauties of sports entertainment.
Keeping fans on their toes is one of the ways WWE has been able to keep old fans and create new ones over the years. So however well you think you know your wrestling, there are no guarantees!
With this in mind, here are 5 Wrestlemania 36 results you aren't expecting (and why they might happen):
#5 Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley - Cement Flair as "The Greatest of All Time"
When Charlotte Flair won the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble, many fans were disappointed that the daughter of the Nature Boy would end up facing a name she's faced multiple times in the past - Raw Women's Champion Becky Lynch or Smackdown Women's Champion Bayley.
But, in a unique twist in the tale, "The Queen" has opted to face current NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley after receiving an impressive challenge from the hard-hitting talent.
Bookies currently have Rhea slated to walk away as the winner, firmly setting her in a direction to become a future top star of the company. But all might not be as it seems.
While Rhea seems to be the popular vote at the moment, if Charlotte were to take all the brutality Ripley could dish out and still come out on top, there would be few who could argue against the fact that Charlotte is, in fact, the greatest female performer of all time.
Ripley would undoubtedly recover from a loss to the multiple-time world champion and will probably still go on to become a megastar in her own right. But given just how much hype is surrounding Flair's status in the history books at the moment, a victory over a younger, hungry champion could be the perfect way to cement her place on the throne.
Either way, we're all in for one hell of a match.
#4 Goldberg def. Roman Reigns - Unpredictability
Remember what we said earlier about WWE keeping fans on their toes?...
There have been numerous times WWE has tried to 'crown' Roman Reigns as the new top name in WWE. And while he's unquestionably one of the most talented and charismatic performers in the company today, some fans simply haven't been buying into the 'Big Dog'.
As it stands, Roman Reigns is an overwhelming favorite with the bookmakers to walk away with the Universal Title once again, and rightly so. But if WWE wants to throw fans off the right scent, they may choose to keep the belt on WWE legend Goldberg for a little bit longer yet.
While some may see this as a highly unlikely move, we have seen last-minute creative changes on a major scale before: At Wrestlemania 34, Roman Reigns was almost universally picked to knock off reigning champion Brock Lesnar in the main event. But in a bloody and brutal affair, Lesnar was able to retain and shock the wrestling world.
Moral of the story: Never put all your chips down unless you know something the other players don't.
Will the Roman Empire rise again at Wrestlemania? Who will win the 'Battle of the Spears'?
#3 Becky Lynch loses Raw Women's Title - Build the return of Ronda Rousey
Becky Lynch might not be 'Becky 2 Belts' anymore, but she's still had her hands on the RAW Women's Championship since her iconic victory in the main event of last year's Wrestlemania.
We've been treated to some truly excellent matches during the reign of 'The Man' (Battles with Sasha Banks & Asuka have been particularly good highlights) which begs the question as to when (and perhaps, more importantly, why) WWE may want to take the belt from Lynch. If they do schedule her to lose at Mania, they could use the defeat to build something special.
Ronda Rousey hasn't been seen in WWE since getting pinned by Becky Lynch at Wrestlemania last year in an iconic double-title victory for the Irish 'Lass-Kicker.' Having Rousey return and possibly screw Lynch out of the championship would allow a new challenger to have a good championship run and still keep Lynch in a relevant and gripping storyline with a bonafide MMA star.
Will Rousey make a shocking return to face the woman who took her title? And what repercussions will this have on the entire women's division?
#2 John Cena def. The Fiend - Take The Fiend off-screen for a while
After months of build-up, it didn't take long for Bray Wyatt's new incarnation - The Fiend - to become the most talked-about thing in pro wrestling. His terrifying mask and spine-tingling entrance made for some of the most striking images we've seen in the industry in years. But while as a character he may have received all the acclaim in the world, the same can't be said for the outcome of some of his matches.
The non-finish against Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell had fans up in arms at the result, and his most recent loss to the returning Goldberg at Super Showdown did nothing to reinforce his unstoppable aura. This is why, if WWE are looking for a way to take him out of the spotlight for a while, having him lose to one of the greatest ever in John Cena might be a good way for him to recuperate his image.
If we are treated to a stellar match (which given the talent involved is very likely) a win or a loss in either direction will do nothing to damage the reputation of either competitor. Having The Fiend take a back seat for a few months, only to return to rapturous applause later down the line, could be the best way to go.
#1 Brock Lesnar def. Drew McIntyre - Streaming deals/ Ratings
Drew McIntyre impressed everybody in the wrestling world when he won the Royal Rumble back in January. It was an exceptional performance, and one worthy of a Wrestlemania main-eventer. But winning the Royal Rumble is no guarantee of victory on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Plus, Brock Lesnar had a pretty sensational night at the Rumble, too. That is until he was eliminated by McIntyre. While the story of the night should've been the Scotsman's success, many online were too busy singing the praises of The Beast Incarnate. John Cena even went as far as calling Brock "the greatest in-ring performer of all time" after the match.
Lesnar equals money, there are no two ways about it. Which was probably the thinking behind Brock's memorable squash of Kofi Kingston for the WWE title on the debut episode of Smackdown on Fox.
If those at the top of the money tree are wanting to take care of their investment, it's not totally unthinkable to see Brock coming out on top at Wrestlemania, especially if recent rumors regarding WWE's streaming rights with sporting giant ESPN are to be believed.
Having a massive wrestling/MMA crossover name like Lesnar in the driver's seat might be the best way to drive general audiences to WWE programming on a whole new platform if the apparent plans go ahead. It's what they did on Fox, after all.
What do you think? Are any of these results realistic? Will Lesnar retain at Mania?
