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WrestleMania 35 is all set to be one of the most stacked shows in WWE history, with 13 matches already confirmed for the event and another 3-4 expected to be announced over the next two weeks.
Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch (Raw Women’s Championship) will be the final match of the night on April 7, while other much-anticipated matches include Brock Lesnar vs. Seth Rollins (Universal Championship) and, assuming there is another storyline swerve on SmackDown Live, Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston (WWE Championship).
As for the other confirmed title matches, Buddy Murphy vs. Tony Nese (Cruiserweight Championship) has been made official on 205 Live, while Bobby Lashley vs. Finn Balor (Intercontinental Championship) and Samoa Joe vs. Rey Mysterio (United States Championship) have also been announced.
Regarding the rest of the women’s division, Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix vs. Billie Kay & Peyton Royce (Women’s Tag Team Championship) is now confirmed, and there will be a Fatal 4-Way match between Naomi, Carmella, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose to determine who faces Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
It looks as though we will also see The Revival vs. Aleister Black & Ricochet (Raw Tag Team Championship) and The Usos vs. The Hardy Boyz (SmackDown Tag Team Championship), but neither match is yet official.
With so many titles on the line at this year’s ‘Mania, let’s take a look at who is currently expected to leave MetLife Stadium as champions.
#8 Asuka
As of the time of writing, the Fatal 4-Way match between Naomi, Carmella, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose has not taken place, so it remains unclear which of the four women will challenge Asuka for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 35.
Naomi, Carmella and Rose have already faced “The Empress of Tomorrow” in title matches over the last year, which surely makes Deville, who is from the New Jersey area (the state where WrestleMania is being held this year), the favourite to earn a championship opportunity.
Either way, regardless of who becomes the #1 contender, it seems highly unlikely that anybody will win the title from Asuka at this stage, especially when you consider that her three-month reign as champion is yet to truly take off.
#7 Finn Balor
Finn Balor overcame the odds to defeat Bobby Lashley (w/Lio Rush) and Jinder Mahal (w/The Singh Brothers) in a 2-on-1 handicap match on Raw to earn himself a one-on-one Intercontinental Championship match against Lashley at WrestleMania 35.
The match does not quite feel WrestleMania-worthy -- Balor has already won the title and his reign lasted just 22 days -- so it is surprising that more Superstars have not been added to this storyline over the last few weeks.
Despite the questionable booking and flip-flopping of the Intercontinental Championship recently, dating back to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose’s reigns as champion, it looks like this storyline is only heading one way: a Balor title victory at WrestleMania.
The Irishman failed to capture the IC title in a Triple Threat match against The Miz and Rollins in the opening match of WrestleMania 34, so it would be a surprise if he was unable to win Raw's secondary championship in back-to-back WrestleManias.
#6 Buddy Murphy
Buddy Murphy defeated Cedric Alexander in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia at Super Show-Down in October 2018 to win the Cruiserweight Championship for the first time in his career.
Since then, the cruiserweight division has felt more important than it has since the days of Neville and Enzo Amore, with Murphy defending his title at Survivor Series, TLC, the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber against almost every major star from 205 Live.
Now, in a match that will almost certainly feature on the WrestleMania 35 kickoff show, the Aussie will look to retain his title against a man he has been aligned with over the last several months on WWE’s cruiserweight-only show, Tony Nese.
“The Premiere Athlete” defeated Kalisto, Drew Gulak and Cedric Alexander in a Cruiserweight Championship #1 contender tournament to book his ticket to WrestleMania 35, but it feels like the more established Murphy has a better chance of leaving MetLife Stadium as champion.
#5 Sasha Banks & Bayley
Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated five other teams in an Elimination Chamber match in February to emerge as the inaugural winners of the newly introduced Women’s Tag Team Championship.
The babyface duo have since defended the titles against Nia Jax & Tamina at Fastlane, while they fulfilled their promise of accepting challenges from anyone and everyone across WWE’s three main brands by appearing on Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT over the last few weeks.
The multi-brand storyline has led to the announcement that The Boss ‘n’ Hug Connection will put their titles on the line against Jax & Tamina, Natalya & Beth Phoenix and Billie Kay & Peyton Royce in a Fatal 4-Way match at WrestleMania 35.
While a victory for any of the challengers cannot be completely ruled out, it’s safe to assume that Banks & Bayley are the favourites to hold onto their new titles beyond April 7.
#4 Samoa Joe
The number of United States Championship reigns in WWE over the last two years is rather comical. Since Kevin Owens defeated Chris Jericho to become champion at WrestleMania 33, the title has changed hands 17 times and only one person -- Shinsuke Nakamura -- has held it for longer than 100 days.
That lengthy reign from Nakamura was mostly spent on the sidelines, too, as WWE focused on other storylines on SmackDown Live in the second half of 2018, meaning “The King of Strong Style” was hardly given any time on WWE television during his 163 days as champion.
Now, after the title flip-flopped between Nakamura and Rusev, and then R-Truth, in December 2018 and January 2019, Samoa Joe became a main-roster titleholder for the first time in his career when he won a Fatal 4-Way match earlier in March to claim the United States Championship.
Given the unprecedented number of title changes of late, will Rey Mysterio add his name to the list of titleholders at WrestleMania 35? Or will Joe finally be the one to restore some relevancy to WWE’s forgotten championship? Right now, the latter seems more likely.
#3 Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins outlasted 29 other Superstars to win the 2019 Royal Rumble and book his ticket to a Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35.
The build-up to the match has been very stop-start, largely due to the brief Shield reunion and Lesnar’s lack of appearances on Raw, and it has mostly centred around “The Beast” only just managing to defeat Superstars of Rollins’ size in the past (AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan and Finn Balor).
With Lesnar’s WWE and UFC contract situation unclear, fans are faced with the same uncertainty heading into this year’s WrestleMania as they were last year. Will this be his last match, at least for a while, and will he lose his title? Or will his part-time reign as WWE’s most dominant champion continue?
While a victory for “The Beast” cannot be dismissed, everything seems to point towards Rollins getting the win on “The Grandest Stage of Them All”.
#2 Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston has unexpectedly become the biggest fan favourite in WWE over the last six weeks. The New Day member replaced Mustafa Ali in the WWE Championship match at Elimination Chamber, which enabled him to participate -- and last over an hour -- in the gauntlet match on SmackDown Live five days before the event.
From there, the fan support for Kingston only grew stronger and stronger, especially when he came within milliseconds of defeating Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship towards the end of the Elimination Chamber match.
The storyline has taken some Becky Lynch-esque twists and turns in recent weeks, with the villainous Vince McMahon throwing multiple obstacles in Kingston’s way in an attempt to prevent somebody who he perceives to be a “B+ Player” from earning a WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania.
Bryan vs. Kingston is not yet official for WrestleMania 35, as of the time of writing, but it is safe to assume that there will be another storyline swerve and the match will be announced soon. Once it is finally confirmed, expect the KofiMania momentum to build and culminate in a title win on WWE’s biggest stage.
#1 Becky Lynch
It has been announced that Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch will be the first women’s match in WWE history to main-event WrestleMania.
The three rivals have been feuding in the ring, on the mic and on social media for the best part of six months, with fan favourite Lynch gaining a ton of support and momentum since the introduction of her “The Man” gimmick in September 2018.
Since then, one of the most complicated storyline arcs in recent memory has unfolded, including arrests, suspensions and injuries, but only one thing really matters now: Rousey vs. Flair vs. Lynch is finally official.
This Triple Threat has shades of Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 30) about it, especially with Rousey having turned heel in recent weeks. Lynch is now in the babyface Bryan role where she enters WrestleMania 35 as the ultimate underdog who is also the overwhelming favourite to close the show by holding the Raw Women’s Championship above her head.
