WWE WrestleMania 33 Rumors and Overreactions

The Royal Rumble is over, so we can spend the next 2 months speculating about who will compete at WrestleMania 33.

WrestleMania 33 is less than 2 months away and thanks to the outcome of the Royal Rumble, we know that Randy Orton will comprise one half of the main event. The rest of the card is still up in the air, despite what many fans consider a sure thing in regards to potential matches.

The first thing we should mention is that plans in the WWE change and they change often. Wrestler X is put into a feud with Wrestler Y and suddenly Wrestler X gets hurt/arrested and is therefore replaced with Wrestler Z. Kayfabe injuries are sold, storylines are rewritten, and as the old adage says, the show goes on. The WWE Universe is usually satisfied with these changes so long as the creative team does its job properly. Seth Rollins’ recent injury is a perfect example as his impending clash with Triple H at WrestleMania 33 is in serious jeopardy.

So what happens when the original plan isn’t that appealing to begin with? If the current rumors are to be believed, we are in for some questionable matchups in Orlando this April. Keep in mind that these are only rumors and should be taken with a grain of salt. We should also remember that when it comes to Vince McMahon, nothing is off the table.

Our own Rob “Stay Woke” Wolkenbrod has already reported on John Cena’s WrestleMania role as being extremely underwhelming. Would you be excited to watch John Cena with Nikki Bella take on The Miz with Maryse? Me neither. The logic here is two-fold; Cena may very well lose his title at the upcoming Elimination Chamber event to Bray Wyatt, thus setting up the Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton match at WrestleMania that has been rumored for several weeks. Also, Nikki Bella’s neck injury may finally force her to retire from professional wrestling. I’ve never been a fan of the Bellas but I hate to see anyone’s career cut short by something out of their control.

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The mystery surrounding the Universal Title is sure to keep the IWC buzzing until it’s set in stone. Will we finally get the Owens vs. Jericho match fans have been dreaming about? We might, but not in the way we had imagined. This match may still take place, but Owens will have dropped the belt to Goldberg, thus making the Lesnar vs. Goldberg match for the Universal Title (a match Lesnar will most likely win).

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The inevitable break up of JeriKO should culminate at the biggest show of the year with the two men who have consistently predicted quality material in and out of the ring. Unfortunately, it appears that it won’t involve the supposedly second most prestigious belt in the WWE which definitely takes some of the impact away from this match. Jericho as Universal Champion would be insanely entertaining and would actually bring a level of prestige to a belt that is still struggling to find a credible identity.

Now let’s address the please-don’t-be-true rumor about a match between Shane McMahon and AJ Styles. Shane has no business being in a WWE ring. Period. Shane is not a wrestler and pitting him against a far superior talent like Styles is almost more insulting than the match against the Undertaker last year. There was no way Shane was going to beat Undertaker and there is no way he could or should beat Styles. Just because the two men are having a spat between employee vs. employer doesn’t make it on the same level as Austin vs. McMahon but that’s how the WWE will sell it to fans. Shane is a rodeo clown and the rodeo clown never beats the bull.

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Out of all these rumors, those involving Owens and Styles worry me the most. These two men have been the best representatives for RAW and Smackdown respectively, and their reward for a year’s worth of hard work is potentially having one drop his title to a 49 year old part-timer and the other possibly having to wrestle the owner’s son. To say these would be insults is putting it mildly.