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I'll start this off by saying I'm not going to even predict the WWE Universal title match for WrestleMania 35. I have no idea what they are doing with that title after Brock Lesnar re-captured the belt he never should have had in the first place.
Does Braun Strowman (hopefully) finally win the gold at Royal Rumble? Does anyone get a shot but only at WrestleMania because of Brock's part-time schedule? What in holy heck are they doing?
If it all leads to Brock losing the belt on the upcoming Raw, fine. But it won't. He'd need to want to show up. Heck, I'd rather have had Baron Corbin put himself in the match midway through after they kicked the crap out of each other and he'd won.
At least the belt would've been kept on the show weekly, and it would have given us an awesome beat down of Corbin by Strowman.
With that being said, while 'Mania is still months away, a lot of the matches have begun to take shape.
Some feuds have already been set in motion with seeds planted during SmackDown 1000, while others seem like history, or the culmination of a multi-year feud.
We'll likely get two battle royal matches as well as a pre-show consisting of a US title match and a Cruiserweight title match.
Here are some early predictions for matches that we might see at WrestleMania 35. A lot can change between now and then (injuries, title changes, wrestler returns), but lets operate with the information we currently have.
I'm not fantasy booking matches, but rather basing the predictions on what has happened in the last month or so, and on rumors that have been made over the last few weeks.
#7 Triple H vs Batista
If you have watched WWE since the early 2000s and watched SmackDown 1000, you know two things.
Firstly, Triple H and Batista planted the seeds for a WrestleMania match at the 1000th episode of SmackDown. Batista said that Triple H 'has done everything in the business except beat me (Batista)'. That probably wasn't deliberate. If you saw Triple H's reaction, you saw how hard The Game took that fact.
The second thing is that Triple H always has to get his wins. He's done it with John Cena, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and he's currently doing it with The Undertaker and Kane.
It's likely he's going to do the same with Batista next April, as long as his torn pectoral muscle suffered at Crown Jewel doesn't hold him back.
Batista doesn't really care if he loses. He's just always wanted one more match, and he's said he'd want to face his Evolution stablemate just one more time.
#6 Kevin Owens vs Bobby Lashley
Like the Triple H match, this one is contingent upon Owens being able to return by March at some point.
He's currently recovering from double-knee surgery, and the rumored timetable puts him back around March or April.
While the build to a potential WrestleMania match wouldn't need months, it would likely need at least a couple of Raw episodes before the big show to build the feud. It wouldn't be one of the major matches on the show, hence not needing months of build up.
Owens will be returning to seek revenge on Lashley (again) after suffering an injury at Lashley's hands.
He'd also be trying to avenge friend Sami Zayn, and Owens would be the face in the feud for the first time in his WWE career.
The fans in Chicago were clearly behind him in the match in which he was injured, so getting the crowd to cheer him won't be hard. Lashley just doesn't seem to excite fans, and that is what facilitated his heel turn.
If Owens cannot return, perhaps it would be Sami Zayn instead. Or maybe Lashley enters the consolation battle royal.
#5 WWE Championship match: The Miz (c) vs Daniel Bryan
With how things played out at Crown Jewel, and some rumors that came out over the last few days, I'm expecting the WWE Championship to finally change hands before WrestleMania 35.
In what was a weird booking decision, Shane McMahon somehow won the Best in the World tournament. Wherever he is, CM Punk is surely rolling his eyes. The finals were originally down to The Miz and Dolph ZIggler, and either man would have been fine as the winner.
But The Miz got injured before the match, and couldn't compete. He obviously wanted to, but Shane-O Mac put himself in the match and over Ziggler, to completely stamp out any of the previous matches.
Since Shane won, I could easily envision The Miz saying on SmackDown that he never got the chance to prove what he already knew - that he's the best in the world. That will likely lead to a WWE Championship match vs Styles at the Royal Rumble.
AJ is busy until then, having to face Lesnar (again) at Survivor Series.
Bryan can either win the Royal Rumble, which might be counterproductive, with WWE's ability to please the fans. Or he could qualify in a match at a PPV before the big show.
#4 AJ Styles vs Shawn Michaels
Hopefully Michaels will regrow some hair before WrestleMania season, because he just looked wrong as a bald man at Crown Jewel.
This match was rumored to be in the works for 'Mania ever since Michaels was slated to return to the ring alongside Triple H. It's believed by many WWE insiders like Dave Meltzer that Michaels' return is not a one-and-done situation.
If Styles does lose the belt before next April, WWE has always given him a marquee opponent in his WrestleMania appearances (against Chris Jericho, Shane McMahon, Shinsuke Nakamura).
Styles vs Michaels has been a dream match fans have always talked about, and even both men have stated they'd love to face each other.
Styles gives Michaels a safe opponent to wrestle against, and of all of the part-timers to recently return (Shawn, Undertaker, Lesnar), HBK has the most appeal to offer in a showcase match with Styles at WrestleMania 35.
Michaels is still in great shape, and doesn't appear to be in pain when he moves (sort of how The Undertaker does).
#3 Intercontinental Championship: Dean Ambrose (c) vs Seth Rollins
We should strap in because we're going along for another feud between Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.
Although they've feuded numerous times before, the dynamics are different this time around - Ambrose is the heel and Rollins is the befuddled face.
Ambrose can now say that 'now you know how Roman and I felt when you back stabbed us'.
They'll likely feud throughout the rest of the year, and into next year. It likely could involve the Intercontinental Championship because their reign as tag champs is likely over.
The Intercontinental title will once again be the featured belt on Raw with Lesnar unfortunately taking back the Universal title.
The feud between The Shield brothers is always personal, and it will almost certainly span multiple PPVs. One may cost the other in a match, or they just might have stipulations upon stipulations.
Whatever happens, the zenith of the feud should be at WrestleMania 35. If they want to involve Roman, he could be at ringside or backstage. Unless he somehow returns before then.
#2 SmackDown Women's Championship: Becky Lynch (c) vs Asuka
If WWE truly wants to salvage Asuka (they might not care to), she needs to win the SmackDown Women's Championship some time between now and next April.
It's too early to take the belt off Becky, and you know she's going to have to lose to Ronda Rousey at Survivor Series.
Asuka may win the Women's Royal Rumble (if they have it again - they should) or earn the right at a PPV leading up to the biggest show of the year.
The battle between these two is the biggest women's match left to have on SmackDown. There isn't really anyone else worthy to challenge her. Flair has already had her chance and rumors have been swirling as to her role at WrestleMania 35.
#1 Raw Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey (c) vs Charlotte Flair
As we saw last year against Asuka at WrestleMania, Charlotte is the top dog when it comes to the women on the WWE roster.
That was the case until they signed The Baddest Woman On The Planet.
Ronda is now the biggest women's star on the roster, and she might even be the biggest star on the roster.
When April rolls around every year, months of planning have gone into creating the biggest and best card possible.
The two women would have to meet at some point, and what better time than WrestleMania 35?
WWE has tinkered with the idea of having a women's match close out WrestleMania at some point, and the time is now, with the two biggest stars of the women's roster.
The build-up would certainly be centered around 'first time ever', and Charlotte has been in practically every 'first-time ever' match (except the women's Rumble).
Maybe Charlotte enters and wins the women's Rumble, and opts to face Rousey instead of her former friend, or maybe Rousey challenges Flair. However they get there, don't be surprised if it happens.
