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WWE fans still have another six pay-per-views to look forward to between now and WrestleMania 36, but that has not stopped the Superstars themselves from talking about who they would like to face at “The Showcase of the Immortals” on April 5, 2020.
In previous years, Roman Reigns has often been asked about who he wants to battle it out with in a dream match at WWE’s biggest show of the year. His usual answer – a Shield Triple Threat – is no longer on the cards, so “The Big Dog” recently replied with a different match when asked about the subject again.
As well as Reigns, the likes of Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins and Baron Corbin have revealed who they want to go one-on-one with in Tampa, Florida, and Hulk Hogan has even gone as far as pitching an idea to Vince McMahon.
In this article, let’s take a look at seven high-profile WWE Superstars to find out who they want to face when WWE visits Raymond James Stadium next year.
#7 Matt Riddle
One of the most outspoken WWE Superstars on the current roster, NXT’s Matt Riddle made headlines earlier in 2019 when he gave a scathing assessment of Goldberg’s abilities as an in-ring performer.
“The Original Bro” has also been very vocal about Brock Lesnar since he joined WWE in August 2018. Unlike Goldberg, however, Riddle enjoys Lesnar’s work, and he explained recently to Sportskeeda’s Gary Cassidy that his frequent claims about one day retiring “The Beast” are said out of respect.
"NXT has made mention of me wrestling Brock in promos and other things like that, but I've been calling out Brock since I started wrestling. It's such a huge goal. If I get close to that, I'll probably be really successful. If I do it, [I’ll] probably be a legend."
In May 2019, Riddle outright laid down a WrestleMania 36 challenge to Lesnar after reports began circulating that he could return to WWE shortly after his WrestleMania 35 Universal Championship loss to Seth Rollins.
Lesnar did return to WWE, of course, but a match against Riddle at next year’s ‘Mania does not seem very realistic at this stage.
#6 Randy Orton
Randy Orton’s list of WrestleMania opponents reads as follows: Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, John Cena, Triple H, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Kane, The Shield, Batista, Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Bray Wyatt, Jinder Mahal, Rusev, Bobby Roode, AJ Styles.
Needless to say, that list is among the most star-studded in WrestleMania history, with “The Viper” often being showcased in a high-profile match at WWE’s biggest show of the year.
Looking ahead to WrestleMania 36, Orton has taken the unusual approach of trying to build a match with a WWE legend – The Rock – six months prior to the 2020 event taking place.
“The Great One” returned to WWE for the debut episode of SmackDown on FOX on October 4, where he took part in a segment at the start of the show with Baron Corbin and Becky Lynch.
Orton may have only been joking around, but he certainly made a few headlines in the build-up to the episode when he sent a tweet to the movie star challenging him to a Third Generation vs. Third Generation match at WrestleMania 36.
In response, The Rock did not give an outright answer to the challenge and instead joked about their previous meeting between Evolution and The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection at WrestleMania XX, which Evolution won.
#5 Seth Rollins
With large sums of money being offered for legends to perform at WWE’s Saudi Arabia events, there is often speculation about whether “Stone Cold” Steve Austin could join the likes of Goldberg and Shawn Michaels in competing in a match in the country.
In September 2019, the Hall of Famer said on his podcast that, at the age of 54, he feels that he is physically capable of returning to wrestling.
"People always ask me, ‘Hey man, you’re still in really good shape. You got one more match left in you?’ And I tell them, ‘Man.’ I say, ‘You know, it’s a tough thing to think about.’ Physically, would I be able to have one more match? Yes, most definitely, and I could make it to that match without being injured."
Despite various denials from Austin throughout the years about a possible comeback, this latest comment is the biggest sign yet that we could one day see “The Texas Rattlesnake” back in a WWE ring.
This week, the ‘WWE on FOX’ account sent out a tweet asking who fans would like Austin to face if he ever had one more match.
The tweet was then answered by Universal Champion Seth Rollins, who cryptically stated that “Mania ain’t that far away”.
#4 Hulk Hogan
Seven years on from his last match in Impact Wrestling, you would be forgiven for thinking that 66-year-old Hulk Hogan is officially retired.
It turns out, according to the man himself, that he is not retired and he is hoping to make a remarkable comeback in 2020 by competing in one more match at WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, which is where he grew up.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times earlier this month, Hogan said he has spoken to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon about potentially having a retirement match next year after he has recovered from back surgery.
"I talked to Vince, and I said I really don’t know if I could live with myself knowing my last match was with TNA [January 2012]. If I can get fixed, I pray I can have one more match. I told Vince, `When I get through this back surgery, I’m going to get in the best shape of my life and we’re going to talk about me having one last retirement match."
Hogan defeated McMahon in an entertaining match at WrestleMania 19 in 2003, and “The Hulkster” added that he would like to face the 74-year-old in a rematch 17 years later.
"I’d love for it to be against Vince, I had such a great time with him in the ring at WrestleMania 19."
#3 Braun Strowman
Braun Strowman has not had the best of luck when it comes to WrestleMania so far in his WWE career.
In 2016, he took part in a promo segment alongside The Wyatt Family and The Rock, who ended up defeating Erick Rowan in the shortest match in WrestleMania history (six seconds).
One year later, both Strowman and Big Show were eliminated early on in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 33 kickoff show, and he did not appear on the main PPV at all.
In 2018, “The Monster Among Men” had his first real ‘WrestleMania moment’ when he teamed with 10-year-old Nicholas to defeat The Bar for the RAW Tag Team titles, while he eliminated SNL’s Michael Che and Colin Jost in 2019 to win a largely forgettable Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 35 kickoff show.
Asked recently by Sports Illustrated about who he wants to face at WrestleMania 36, Strowman replied with one of the men who worked alongside him in 2018 as one of his “Dogs of War”, Drew McIntyre.
"I will main event WrestleMania. Hopefully more than once on my way to a Hall of Fame career. I’ll start with a main event against Drew McIntyre, and I’ll tell you who will win: me."
#2 King Corbin
Baron Corbin burst onto the WWE scene in 2016 by winning the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 32 on his main-roster debut.
Since then, he has been involved in an Intercontinental Championship kickoff show match in 2017 with Dean Ambrose at WrestleMania 33, while he was eliminated last by Matt Hardy in the WrestleMania 34 kickoff show Battle Royal.
This year, the former United States Champion achieved his biggest career milestone so far by defeating Kurt Angle in the Olympic Gold medallist’s farewell match at WrestleMania 35, and he has since gone on to win the King of the Ring tournament.
Speaking to Digital Spy recently, the newly crowned King Corbin did not reveal the name of an opponent who he wants to face at WrestleMania 36, but said he is keen to follow up his victory over Angle by defeating a champion on his next ‘Mania appearance in 2020.
"I want to be in a championship match at WrestleMania. So that’s the goal and I think being King Corbin I can get that done. I can achieve that, it puts me on a level that I can compete for a title at WrestleMania because I think that’s the next step up."
#1 Roman Reigns
Shortly after returning from his battle with leukemia, Roman Reigns defeated Drew McIntyre in a one-on-one match at WrestleMania 35.
Around the time of his comeback, the former Shield member revealed in an interview with WWE Fan France that he would like to have a rematch for the Universal Championship – a title he never officially lost – against Seth Rollins in the WrestleMania 36 main event.
“I think I’d like to close the show, and I think I’d like to wrestle Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship. I’d like to get my rematch one year from now.”
A lot has changed since then, of course, with Reigns being drafted to SmackDown in April’s Superstar Shake-Up and October’s draft. However, it only takes one Royal Rumble win (or an unexpected rule change) for somebody to move rosters, so it is not impossible that we could still see this match take place in 2020.
The two men last met on the October 11 draft episode of SmackDown, with Rollins winning via disqualification after he was attacked from underneath the ring by “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt.
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