WrestleMania 33 is just around the corner, and all eyes are fixed on Orlando to see who is triumphant at The Showcase of the Immortals. Is Bray Wyatt finally going to get a solid Wrestlemania moment? Can Brock Lesnar get one over Goldberg?
While all of these are legitimate questions, I would like to cast my mind towards the remaining WWE PPVs in 2017. With the kind of roster at its disposal, WWE has the potential to make 2017 a glorious year with the right booking decisions.
Also read: Top 10 Superstars who have never headlined WrestleMania
Today, I'm going to lay out how I think every PPV main event after WrestleMania 33 should be booked for this year and we'll see how the WWE's booking process matches up against it.
So, without any further ado, here is how every 2017 WWE PPV main event after Wrestlemania 33 should be booked:
Payback – Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Okay, before you start rioting, just hold up and let me explain things. Brock Lesnar is almost sure to come out of Wrestlemania as the new WWE Universal Champion. With this in mind, the key here is setting up a strong challenger for him and that challenger is Roman Reigns. Not just any Roman Reigns, but a heel Roman Reigns.
We can set this up on the post-Wrestlemania 33 episode of Raw. With the return of Finn Balor from injury, we now have Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman all in the picture.
We set up a No 1 Contender's tournament for the right to challenge Lesnar. Balor vs. Owens, Rollins vs. Joe, and Reigns vs. Strowman with the three winners going into a Triple Threat Elimination match.
Balor manages an upset victory over Kevin Owens against the odds. But, then we start seeing the rising influence of Triple H and his new posse as Owens interferes to cost Rollins against The Samoan Submission Machine. This sets up Owens vs Rollins for the US Title nicely. Finally, Reigns triumphs over Strowman in typical Reigns fashion.
For the Triple Threat elimination match, we see Joe eliminated first. When it looks Balor has the match in the bag, Triple H and his crew attack. Reigns gives a cocky smile, Spears Finn Balor, picks up the victory and shakes Triple H's hand. He is the newest member of New Evolution.
Despite this, Brock walks out of Payback with the gold. We can't have him lose the title this early into his reign.
Backlash – Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Luke Harper
Now, for the purpose of this booking, we see Bray Wyatt walk away from WrestleMania 33 as WWE Champion. Two nights later on SmackDown, we see Luke Harper emerge to challenge his former Wyatt family leader to a match for the WWE Title. At this point, so does AJ Styles saying is owed a title opportunity as well. Now, we have a main event to see who faces Bray at Backlash.
Bray, believing that it would be better to face Luke Harper rather than AJ Styles, costs AJ the match to set up a WWE title bout against Harper.
A returning Erick Rowan helps his Wyatt family member to retain the title and take it into Money in the Bank.
Extreme Rules – Brock Lesnar (c) vs Samoa Joe
With Roman Reigns unable to get the job done at Payback, Triple H decides to give Samoa Joe the shot against Brock Lesnar at Extreme Rules. Before this can be made official, Finn Balor interrupts and argues that Joe should earn the title shot by facing him instead. A match is made between the two for the right to face Lesnar.
Triple H's crew once again interferes on Joe's behalf to give him the victory. They are slowly but surely laying waste to the entire Raw roster and they take complete control of Raw at Extreme Rules as they interfere and beat down Brock Lesnar to give Samoa Joe the Universal Title in an Extreme Rules match at the main event.
Brock Lesnar goes off on his vacation after this match. We now have the belt on a full-timer, yay!
Money in the Bank – Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Braun Strowman
At this point, Raw and Smackdown have managed to agree upon a trade. Braun Strowman goes to the Blue brand in exchange for Randy Orton. Strowman is immediately given his shot for the gold against his former master
The Money in the Bank Ladder match is set up as between AJ Styles, the returning Shelton Benjamin, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Baron Corbin. AJ wins to become Mr Money in the Bank.
In the main event, Wyatt and Strowman’s match ends in a draw after an incredibly tough encounter which leaves both men exhausted. In a repeat of last year's experience, Mr Money in the Bank cashes in on the same night, and AJ Styles is able to regain his WWE Championship.
Bad Blood – Samoa Joe (c) vs Sami Zayn
At this point, it seems like nobody can stand up to the might of Triple H and his cohorts and The Game hatches a plan to give the No 1 Contendership to one of his own lackeys in order to keep control of the Universal Championship. He is foiled, though, as Vince McMahon announces that Raw has a new GM – Kurt Angle.
Angle says that he is here to change things up and that Sami Zayn has been ignored for too long. He gives The Underdog from the Underground the No one contendership for Joe's title. Despite his best efforts, Samoa Joe ends up being too powerful and makes Zayn pass out to the Coquina Clutch.
Battleground – AJ Styles (c) vs. Bray Wyatt
Okay, first off I don't know if this will actually be Battleground, but there is definitely expected to be one PPV in this spot for Smackdown. For the purpose of this article, let's assume it's Battleground.
With that out of the way, we see Bray Wyatt invoke his rematch clause to get a shot at reclaiming his WWE Championship at the event. Because we want to see AJ Styles remain at his heelish best, he weasels his way to a win over Bray who is now a babyface in the making. Strowman comes to destroy Wyatt after the match to help prolong their feud and complete the Wyatt face turn.
Summerslam – AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
The first dual-brand PPV after Wrestlemania 33 will be a hugely important one which sets the tone for the remainder of the year.
On the Raw side of things, Triple H says Samoa Joe has earned himself a break and that no one on the roster deserves a shot at the Universal Championship. Despite Kurt Angle’s best efforts, we see Trips and co beat up anyone who is even considered to go up against The Samoan Submission Machine.
This seems Kurt Angle lose his patience and set up a match between himself and Joe with the stipulation that if Angle loses he is fired as GM of Raw. Hunter and Joe accept, and the match is set up.
On the Blue Brand, AJ Styles brags about how there is no one left to challenge him for the WWE title. Daniel Bryan comes out and tells AJ that there is someone, but he will remain a mystery till Summerslam itself.
Angle vs. Joe ends in an epic encounter which sees Samoa Joe beat The Olympic Gold Medalist in a match for the ages. It gives Angle the perfect last match in WWE and reverts control of Raw to Triple H.
In the main event, AJ comes out to the ring first and waits for his opponent who is revealed to be Shinsuke Nakamura! The King of Strong Style and The Phenomenal One reignite their rivalry from NJPW and put on a Match of the Year candidate. Nakamura wins the gold on his main roster debut.
Clash of Champions – Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Balor
We now move into the Raw PPV where every title has to be defended – Clash of Champions. This is basically a Team Triple H vs. Team Raw set up as all the gold is held by Triple H guys at this point.
Team Raw wins back every piece of gold from Triple H and co who are slowly disintegrating because of their collective egos. It seems like the end is nigh. To save things for himself, though, Hunter interferes on behalf of Joe allowing him to retain vs. Balor.
No Mercy – Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. AJ Styles
AJ invokes his rematch clause for No Mercy and brags about how it was at this event last year that he beat both Dean Ambrose and John Cena in the same match to retain his title. He says that he will go one better and regain the gold from Nakamura.
Despite AJ throwing everything he has at it, Nakamura retains the belt, and this sees Styles slowly becoming unhinged that he can’t beat Shinsuke.
Hell in a Cell – Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Balor
It seems like Triple H has gotten everyone from his team back on the same page as they prepare for Finn Balor – who has earned yet another title shot against all the odds.
Now, we start seeing WWE hype up The Demon King and what it means much like they did for last year’s match between Balor and Rollins. After building it up throughout the road to Hell in a Cell, we see The Demon King unleashed against Samoa Joe at the Hell in a Cell main event.
Balor finally overcomes the odds to become the Universal Champion for the second time in his career. Team Triple H now hold none of the belts.
Survivor Series – Team Triple H vs. Team Raw
Triple H is now grasping at straws to maintain the control he has over Raw. With none of the title belts in his possession and the members of his group at each other’s throats, he offers Finn Balor a deal – all the belts on the line in a traditional Survivor Series match. If his team loses, Triple H will disband his crew and step away from controlling Raw. Finn accepts.
On the Smackdown side of things, we have Team AJ challenge Team Nakamura to a traditional match. Styles manages to pull off the win for his team.
So, now we have Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, The Authors of Pain who have been called up from NXT, and Pete Dunne taking on Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, The Club who are now babyfaces, and Austin Aries. It is a clean sweep for Team Raw, and Team Triple H is no more.
TLC – Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs AJ Styles
Confident after beating him at Survivor Series in the traditional elimination match, AJ Styles comes out with one final proposal for Nakamura. One last match for the WWE title. If Styles loses, he will leave Smackdown. Nakamura accepts, and the match is set up as TLC match at the PPV.
Both men pull out all the stops here, but AJ falls agonisingly short as Shinsuke retains yet again. After the match, both men embrace to complete the AJ Styles babyface turn.
Roadblock: End of the Line – Finn Balor (c) vs. AJ Styles
A now babyface AJ Styles makes a surprise appearance on Raw with the announcement that after his departure from Smackdown, he is now a Raw superstar. He is a thorough babyface and the crowd love him. He meets up with his old buddies The Club as well as Universal Champion, Finn Balor. They perform the Two Sweet and say, “The Club for life.”
Later in the night after AJ beats Bo Dallas in his first match on Raw, Finn and The Club come out to celebrate with him. As they hoist AJ on their shoulder, Balor points at AJ with his hand and shoots. Immediately all three men viciously assault the defenceless Styles.
After they’re done, Balor picks up the mic and says, “The Club for life? No. Balor Club for life.” The match is then made for a heel Finn Balor vs. a babyface AJ Styles for Roadblock: End of the Line.
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