Wrestlemania 33 is almost here. Well not quite, it’s a good 5 months away. But not for WWE, for them, it’s only 5 months away. Efforts to put up the next Wrestlemania Match card commence as early as the event itself concludes (See The Rock vs. Cena feud).
This year, the showcase of Immortals was held in Texas and hosted more than a 100000 people, 101,763 to be precise. Wrestlemania 33 comes to the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida on 2nd April 2017.
Topping the attendance record won’t be possible, but topping last year’s Wrestlemania event should be of the utmost importance for Vince McMahon and co. The promotion has a very good chance of doing so, as a lot of quality feuds needs to culminate and plenty of big names are ready to appear on The Show of Shows that is Wrestlemania.
Going by the rumours and current storyline arcs here are a few matches waiting to steal the show at Wrestlemania 33.
#1 Dwayne ‘The ROCK’ Johnson vs. Vin ‘DOMINIC TORETTO’ Diesel
By now most of you are aware of Dwayne Johnson directing his ‘candy-asses’ comment towards his Fast and Furious co-star Vin Diesel. If you missed out you can read all about it here.
Things picked up when stars started to pick sides as Tyrese Gibson openly backed Vin.
Also read: WWE WrestleMania 33: Projecting the top bouts for the biggest PPV of the year
Even executive vice-president of Universal studios stated that there were moments of tension on the sets. But the smoke cleared when Life & Style magazine reported someone who knew them closely as saying:
“They are playing a huge prank, and it’s all for publicity. The Rock convinced Vin to amp up the drama between them so they could turn it into a WWE match to help promote the April 2017 release of Fast 8.”
Well, it all makes sense, as Wrestlemania 33 is on the 2nd of April while Fast and Furious 8 rolls out on April 14. It would be unfair to ask for a wrestling match between these two mega stars.
Even a Wrestlemania moment instead of a full match shall be enough to attract the attention of the whole world. Rumors also point to a segment or match between the two megastars, with the purpose of boosting the star power for the show and promotion of the movie.
#2 Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal
This is the most likely match on the list to take place at Wrestlemania 33. Earlier this year at the ESPY Awards, the world's largest athlete Big Show threw down the challenge to the 15 time All-Star Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal to face him at Wrestlemania next year.
“You sure you want to do that?”- Shaquille O’Neil before accepting Big Show’s challenge.
This gigantic showdown shall be one the ‘largest’ Wrestlemania matches ever. Their cold rivalry is brewing for some time now, as these behemoths have come face to face on 2 different occasions.
Once, when Shaquille O'Neal was the guest host of Monday night RAW back in 2009. Shaq got rid of the Big Show with a little help from Cryme Time. Then at Wrestlemania 32, we saw Shaquille O’Neal enter the 3rd Annual Andre the Giant battle royal and confront the Big Show.
Considering that Wrestlemania will at least be four hours long this match shall fit in there somewhere perfectly or on the Kick-Off show.
#3 Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
The Master versus the Prodigy- a solid rivalry has already started to take shape even without the two confronting each other once. Now isn’t that a must see match?
We might see these two go at each other on the coming Royal Rumble, but the inclusion of a certain bald-headed badass would allow us to witness the feud come to an end at Wrestlemania.
The match is three years in making, ever since Seth Rollins betrayed his Shield brethren and joined the Authority. It was only a matter a time when either one turned on the other, this satisfying moment came on 29 August 2016 when The Game pedigreed Seth Rollins.
Triple H is also rumoured to return to television once the NFL season is done. Two months of high-quality drama should be enough to fuel the feud. Rollins facing HHH at Wrestlemania means that we’ll have to wait another year at least to see Seth winning the Royal Rumble.
#4 Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey
According to cagesideseats.com, Ronda Rousey may very well be headed to Wrestlemania 33. WWE is thinking of pairing the toughest woman on the planet with their resident dominant queen - Charlotte Flair.
Considering the enormous cheer Ronda garnered during her segment with Stephanie McMahon at Wrestlemania 31, WWE would like her to come back to the greatest spectacle in sports entertainment once again.
Depending upon the outcome of her rematch for the UFC women’s Bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207, things might change up a little.
If Ronda wins she would be expected to defend her title sometime in the future and that would possibly discard a Wrestlemania match. This will result in forcing Charlotte to defend the Raw Women’s Championship elsewhere.
#5 Bayley vs. Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks
This match has been done before (Clash of Champions) but considering the success of the triple threat match at Wrestlemania, WWE would not like to change that formula.
Charlotte ended her feud with Sasha Banks at Roadblock: End of the line, and there won't be a rematch. We expect Charlotte to walk into Wrestlemania as the champion. Also, WWE had hinted earlier that they were saving Bayley to enter the title picture during the Wrestlemania season.
#6 Kevin Owens vs. Finn Balor
The Demon King is on his way to recovery and is expected to return during the Wrestlemania season. WWE did trust Finn Balor with their premiere title. In fact, Kevin Owens might not have become the Universal champion if Finn wouldn’t have suffered that nasty shoulder injury.
We have seen these two fight for the NXT Championship before and they tore the house down in Japan (WWE: Beast In The East), they continued their momentum in a ladder match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn.
Kevin Owens losing on both occasions might also fuel his desire to prove that he is better than Finn Balor and that he is a deserving champion rather than a replacement champion.
The WWE universe would like to see Kevin Owens get in a program with Finn Balor, as Owens would have probably feuded with every top name like Rollins, Reigns and probably Jericho by the time Wrestlemania comes around.
A returning crowd favourite Demon going after a championship he never lost, against a man who is making the best of the situation, should prove to be a great experience for the Wrestlemania crowd.
#7 Undertaker vs. John Cena
John Cena is one of the big names that does not feature on the Deadman’s now imperfect Streak opponent list. For the past few years, the predictions of this match happening at Wrestlemania are just getting stronger and stronger.
The Undertaker associating himself with the blue brand increases the chances of this match happening significantly. It would be interesting to see how WWE books this angle. When would Undertaker reappear on WWE TV? Who confronts whom? How shall the seeds be sown? Will it be Taker’s retirement match?
Cena is set to return on 26th December’s Live event at Madison Square Garden, but he is not expected to return to regular TV programming until he finishes shooting for the 2nd season of American Grit. It will also be interesting to see whether John returns and pursues his 16th World title reign making this match a Career vs. Title match.
#8 Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg
The Survivor Series main event was the most shocking moment that WWE have produced in quite a while.
Who would have expected the Beast to be slain in such a manner? Goldberg went 2-0 over Lesnar, and the next night on RAW, Goldberg promised to be in the Royal Rumble and stated that that he would be aiming for another championship reign.
Paul Heyman wasn’t far behind and confirmed Brock’s participation in the Royal Rumble as well.
Brock Lesnar would definitely want some redemption, which he’ll probably get by costing Goldberg the Royal Rumble win and a future title opportunity. Reminiscing his actions from Royal Rumble 2004, but this time as an entrant in the rumble match.
WWE should be smart and take this feud to Wrestlemania by not ending it in the Rumble match. There is big money written all over this rivalry for all the 3 of them: Lesnar, Goldberg, and the WWE.
#9 AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
With Cena probably taking on Taker at Wrestlemania and AJ Styles just having been in a lengthy feud with Dean Ambrose for the WWE championship, there aren’t many big names left for AJ Styles to face at the showcase of the Immortals.
Wyatt, who won his first championship in WWE in the form of tag titles with the Viper, is also rumoured to further his silver patch by winning the 30th annual Royal Rumble. Even if the win comes with the help of his Wyatt family members and Randy Orton, a win's a win.
Orton joining the Wyatt Family was a bizarre turn of events, similar to when Daniel Bryan surrendered himself to the guidance of the Eater of Worlds. He turned on Wyatt soon afterwards and that’s also what is expected from the Viper.
Recently, Orton attempted an RKO on Luke Harper in a dark match, but they soon laughed it off. WWE would likely play on this slight tension for some time before booking Randy to backstab The Wyatts and costing them the Tag Titles, somehow making his way into the world title picture.
You might be wondering that this would be an all-heel match. But with Randy tuning on Wyatt, you get one babyface. Once Bray Wyatt wins the Rumble match and challenges AJ Styles, WWE can start considering a face turn for an already crowd favourite AJ Styles.
- "The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda."
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