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Six weeks before WrestleMania 33, what do we think could happen at WWE’s biggest show of the year?
WrestleMania 33 is the WWE’s biggest show of 2017. It will feature the top moments and matches with the most at stake taking place. This should see title changes and the spotlight placed on WWE’s Superstars.
As of February 20, there’s only Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg confirmed for WrestleMania 33. Everything else has been speculated or teased to be added to the show. This includes title matches and blood feuds. One of them may even be someone who’s going to take a hiatus from WWE after the show.
With WrestleMania, there are typically 10-13 matches with the show going as long as seven hours total in 2016. This includes the two-hour Kickoff Show, which featured three bouts. The other nine took place on the main program, most of which lasted over 10 minutes. A few non-match segments took place as well, extending the show. So there will be plenty to be seen and even more to predict for what could happen on Sunday, April 2 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL.
With six weeks to go until WrestleMania 33, what will take place at the show should be known in short order. That allows WWE to properly build everything and get the fans invested, something that was a problem over the past two years. It also allows everyone to speculate on what could happen. So here are 20 early predictions for WWE’s Showcase of the Immortals.
Credit: WWE.com
20. John Cena Proposes to Nikki Bella in the Ring
Nikki Bella and John Cena’s relationship has been made public for the past three years. “Total Divas” first addressed this when the show debuted in 2014. It never got mentioned on WWE TV, however, unlike Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella.
Things changed when Bella began feuding with Natalya. Now we hear about her relationship with Cena almost every week on SmackDown. Maybe it’s due to the Face That Runs the Place not being around as often, so WWE is letting it go with not mentioning this.
At WrestleMania 33, the rumor from the Wrestling Observer has been that Cena and Bella will team to face the Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag match. This would then send Cena into his latest hiatus from the company.
This match is all about “Total Divas”, since all four play a role on there. The mixed tag bout would be a way of tying it in, potentially creating some interest in the show. What if Cena ends up proposing to Bella after the match, though? This may be the only time they ever team up in the ring, and with a likely win, maybe Cena looks to cap it off with a proposal? It’s a stretch, but maybe it happens with Bella taking time away from the ring too.
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19. Big Show Loses to Shaquille O’Neal
Big Show and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal have been on a path toward a WrestleMania 33 match since WrestleMania 32. This saw these two giants standoff in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, teasing more to come. They even went to national media to promote the match without WWE actually announcing it. As of February 20, they still haven’t made it official, but it’s pretty much a guarantee to take place.
This isn’t the first time Show has taken on a celebrity at WrestleMania. He lost to boxing star Floyd Mayweather at WrestleMania 24 in 2008, doing “the job” on a grand stage. At this point in the World’s Largest Athlete’s career, he could be doing this again on April 2.
When WWE brings a celebrity in, they are never made to look bad — unless we’re talking about Kevin Owens powerbombing Machine Gun Kelly off the stage in 2015. So Shaq won’t be losing this match. It’ll probably be a short hoss match that goes in between something like Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho and the Undertaker vs Roman Reigns, soften up the crowd, and warm everyone back up for one of the bigger matches.
Source: WWE.com
18. The Rock Won’t Do Anything of Importance
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has become a WrestleMania staple since coming back for WrestleMania 27. He has appeared at every show since, competing at WrestleMania 28 and 29, and technically at WrestleMania 32, if you count his six-second “match” against Erick Rowan.
With the Rock having a globally-successful movie career, there’s little chance he risks it by stepping into the ring for WWE. This is why he hasn’t wrestled since 2013. However, expect him to do what he’s done since 2014 and make another appearance.
Don’t expect anything of significance with Johnson at WrestleMania 33. He can’t contribute to a storyline or have a match, so he may talk for a while, fight with someone who’s not on the WrestleMania card (maybe Rusev again?), and get a few cheers. Maybe WWE will satisfy the fans who want to see him wrestle again by having another short “match” too.
The other option is replicating WrestleMania 31, which had UFC star Ronda Rousey join Rocky in the ring. Maybe he brings another MMA star in?
Source: WWE.com
17. No NXT Call-Ups… Yet
At WrestleMania 32, Baron Corbin made his main roster debut in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and actually won it. Hideo Itami had become the first NXT star to make his debut at a WrestleMania event in 2015, but was only there for a one-off appearance. Corbin’s led to an official spot on the WWE roster, having never gone back down to NXT since.
For WrestleMania 33, don’t expect any NXT Superstars to debut — at least, until the night after.
The best opportunity for someone from developmental arriving at WrestleMania is the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The rest of the match card is already going to be set, so finding space is difficult. However, if someone like Braun Strowman is going to win, then why bother wasting someone’s debut in this match? They would look like any other Superstar when eliminated, decreasing their momentum from the first day.
Wait until the night after for someone to arrive. The best bet would be Shinsuke Nakamura, who recently lost the NXT Championship to Bobby Roode at NXT TakeOver: San Antonio. Maybe there’s a spot for him on SmackDown after Samoa Joe arrived on Raw. The Revival are an option as well.
So if you’re waiting on someone to debut at WrestleMania 33, it likely won’t happen. That could change, but there doesn’t seem to be room to make this happen.
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16. None of the Tag Team Championships Are Defended
A problem with the WWE brand split has been the tag team titles on Raw and SmackDown. Even when New Day closed in on breaking the record for the longest reigning tag team champions in WWE history, their run still felt diminished due to their lackluster booking of getting pinned in nontitle matches and barely squeaking out a win when it mattered.
Now American Alpha and Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are in control of the tag titles. However, neither have been booked to look that strong during either of their reigns (look no further than Elimination Chamber and on Raw). So with the tag titles have become so irrelevant, maybe they’re not even defended at WrestleMania 33.
The tag team division is no longer interesting, even with the infusion of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan. New teams are needed before the duos get a spotlight that fans care about, which could take any tag title match out of WrestleMania. This may not come until the post-shows, with the Revival debuting from NXT’s suddenly red-hot tag team division.
With so many tag teams, just about all of which are irrelevant, maybe WWE does some kind of showcase match for them. It fits everyone onto the card, even those who likely wouldn’t make it into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
The other issue here is WWE having nine titles. Not all of them are going to be defended at WrestleMania with all the other nontitle matches taking place. That’s going to leave some of them off the card, which may result in the tag belts not making the cut.
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15. The New Day Break Up During the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
It’s been about two-and-a-half years since the New Day formed as the babyface team no one wanted to root for. Then came their heel turn, which changed them and the tag team division. They ended up becoming the longest reigning WWE Tag Team champions of all time, sending the group into the history books and pretty much guaranteeing them a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame.
However, since the New Day’s tag title run ended, they’ve become insignificant parts of Raw. Tension had been teased within the group when Titus O’Neil tried fracturing them before the Royal Rumble match. However, all three got eliminated at the same time, taking away any potential moment of friction.
Heading into WrestleMania 33, there’s nothing for Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods to do. They’ve also faced just about every tag team on Raw, and wouldn’t really have a fresh feud on SmackDown — except for American Alpha. So why not send these three in their own directions?
WWE could put the New Day into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, with someone like Xavier Woods eliminating Kofi Kingston. This could surprise Big E, who then gets knocked out by Woods. It’s an easy way of having this happen, along with some tension built up over the previous seven weeks.
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14. Baron Corbin Wins the WWE Intercontinental Championship
At the 2017 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Baron Corbin decided to lash out at Dean Ambrose after taking a surprising pinfall. He mauled the WWE Intercontinental champion around the structure and left him to be pinned.
On the following episode of SmackDown, Ambrose searched for his assailant, only to be beaten down for the second time in three days. So the battle of fists here is far from over. If anything, it could continue for another six weeks until WrestleMania 33.
If Corbin challenges for Ambrose’s title at the Show of Shows, expect him to walk out victorious. He’s been trending up since the brand split, steadily moving into the top of the match card. This includes two WWE Championship matches and now feuding with a former World champion. If the Lone Wolf is going to progress, it will see him win the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania. He should then be in for a long run, while Ambrose potentially moves back into the main event picture.
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13. Braun Strowman Wins the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
This one is easy. Braun Strowman has no direction for WrestleMania 33, at least with a potential singles match. His WWE Fastlane opponent, Roman Reigns, is likely booked with the Undertaker, so their feud is just going to be a one-off on March 5. With other Raw stars involved in their own situations, it leaves Strowman without anything to do.
When space runs out, WWE often throws the remaining talents into the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. It’s not like the Mountain of a Man is being tossed in there, however. It’s an opportunity for him to step in and dominate the field, getting a WrestleMania win without it being at anyone’s expense. Plus, Strowman could use another year before receiving a prominent spot on the WrestleMania match card.
By getting this battle royal win, it could push Strowman into the WWE Universal Championship picture, depending on who has the belt after the show. If it’s Brock Lesnar or Goldberg, then we may have something interest in store here. If it’s still Kevin Owens, then we can get an extended look at the match they had for the Universal Title.
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12. Kurt Angle Won’t Wrestle at WrestleMania 33
Since WWE announced Kurt Angle as the headlining member of the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame class, fans have wondered if he’d wrestle. The speculation began with the 2017 Royal Rumble match, which he did not appear in. In the three weeks since, Angle has still not appeared on WWE programming.
On March 30, the Olympic Gold Medalist is guaranteed to show up, as it’s the day of the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Before that, however, time is running out if fans hope to see him wrestle at WrestleMania 33. There’s only six weeks to go until the show, which is too short of a time to build up Angle’s return feud. To make it special, it can’t be hot shotted and would need maybe two or three months of hype.
If fans are looking for a way for Angle to compete, maybe he shows up the night after WrestleMania in an angle on Raw. Maybe it’s SmackDown too. He could show up as a general manager, if WWE doesn’t want him wrestling too much. With Mick Foley needing hip surgery, maybe Angle shows up as the GM on Monday nights?
Credit: WWE.com
11. Luke Harper is Added to WWE Championship Match
Luke Harper seemed like the third wheel to the Wyatt Family drama. Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt are bigger names than Harper, so he seemed to be off in the background for a few months. This changed when Wyatt and Orton sided together, leading to the Backwoods Brawler being singled out and removed from the group.
In the weeks since, we have seen Harper grow in popularity as a babyface and gain plenty of steam. This saw him put on an excellent match with Orton at Elimination Chamber, which was really the first time fans were able to see Harper on his own. He had a singles run in late 2014 to early 2015, but that had been when WWE strangely broke apart the first incarnation of the Wyatt Family.
A match at WrestleMania 33 seemed unlikely for the 37 year old, until Orton “refused” his WWE Championship match against Wyatt. This set up a battle royal for the upcoming episode of SmackDown, something Harper may be a favorite to win.
We’re going to roll with the idea of Harper winning here. He would get a WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania, something no one could have expected just three weeks ago. The story makes sense, though, with all three members of the Wyatt Family being involved and having their program culminate at the Show of Shows. Harper probably won’t win, but it’s going to be the biggest opportunity of his career.
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10. Daniel Bryan is the Special Referee for Mixed Tag Match
Daniel Bryan returned to WWE just months after retiring due to head and neck injuries to be the SmackDown General Manager. It has kept him in front of the fans, who have loved and stood behind him for years.
There’s a heavily rumored tag team match at WrestleMania, which we noted earlier with John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. the Miz and Maryse. Maybe not so concidentally, Bryan has tie-ins with everyone involved — he’s Nikki’s brother-in-law, potentially becoming a family member of Cena’s, and has feuded with the Miz for the majority of the brand split. So why not interject the former WWE World Heavyweight champion by making him the Special Guest Referee?
Placing Bryan in the middle of it all could wrap up his nonphysical feud with Miz, which can’t go any further due to his medical history. He’d also be the final “Total Divas” tie-in to this match, as well since the four participants have all been on the show. It makes for a logical piece to this bout, which should be fun one the lower end of the card.
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9. Undertaker Defeats Roman Reigns
Undertaker defeating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 33 doesn’t sound like a major prediction. This is someone who has 23 wins at the show with just one loss and one of the most iconic WWE Superstars ever.
However, Taker’s potential opponent is Reigns, who has headlined the past two WrestleMania events. He lost at WrestleMania 31 when Seth Rollins cashed in Money in the Bank, and predictably defeated Triple H one year later for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
This may be the year that Reigns is grounded at WrestleMania. He won’t main event the show against the Undertaker, and isn’t going to hand the Phenom his second ever loss at this event. That won’t come until his final match in WWE — whenever that may be.
WWE may need to work on Reigns in the months following WrestleMania, but by the time SummerSlam comes around, he should be in the Universal Championship picture.
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8. Mick Foley Resigns as WWE Raw General Manager
All WWE authority figure roles come to an end (unless it’s the Authority). Some have lasted for years, while others only survived for a few months. At WrestleMania 33, Mick Foley’s time as Raw General Manager may come to an end.
Foley made it public knowledge that he needs hip surgery, so at some point, he’s going to step away from his role to recover. That will leave the general manager position open. If this is going to happen soon, then the timetable could be to make the change at WrestleMania 33.
The real idea of this could see Foley play his hip surgery into resigning from his spot. However, he may also become too aggravated working under Stephanie McMahon, quitting to avoid the stress of having to be with someone that’s hurting Raw.
Not firing Foley seems like something WWE would do out of respect for the work he’s done over his career and coming back to be the general manager. It then sends him on his way, allowing him to return in one-off appearances in the future.
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7. Kevin Owens Wins the WWE United States Championship
Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho’s friendship came to a chaotic end on February 13 during the Festival of Friendship segment. After Jericho serenaded Owens for about 15 minutes, Y2J would be presented with a new list. He loved this, until he saw his own name on there and KO’s logo being on the back of the clipboard.
We’re likely in for an Owens vs. Jericho match at WrestleMania 33, which the former has a decent bet of winning. It may even be for the WWE United States Championship, which the Ayatollah of Rock ‘n’ Rollah sill holds.
By the time this match rolls around, Owens would have already lost the WWE Universal Championship to Goldberg at Fastlane. So he’ll be gaining back a title just three weeks afterward, which keeps him relevant and the U.S. belt feeling important.
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6. Seth Rollins vs. Triple H Will Happen
When Seth Rollins went down with an injury in Samoa Joe’s WWE debut, it seemed like a “here we go again” situation. Rollins had hurt his knee just months before WrestleMania 32, causing him to miss the show. So to see him go through this again, especially with a Triple H feud lingering for the second consecutive year, was painful to watch.
In WWE’s injury updates on Rollins on Raw, they said his WrestleMania status is “in doubt”. That’s probably true, but they’ve never guaranteed that he will miss the show. Maybe that’s because he will end up competing.
For the Architect to wrestle Triple H at WrestleMania 33, he probably can’t step into the ring beforehand. WWE won’t want to risk any type of injury to Rollins, so he can walk into the show as healthy as possible. Then they can let him appear on TV after April 2, but in nonphysical roles, before they feel comfortable enough having him regularly competing.
The Game isn’t a reckless worker at this stage of his career, so the risk of reinjuring him may be low, especially since this isn’t a high-flying Superstar. They can then have the match everyone’s wanted to see for a few years.
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5. Samoa Joe Interferes, Costs Seth Rollins the Match
Seth Rollins is out of action because of Samoa Joe’s Coquina Clutch, which brought down the two-time WWE World Heavyweight champion awkwardly. So whenever Rollins gets back, going into a feud with Joe would make sense, at least for the post-WrestleMania shows.
To get it restarted, we would see Joe interfere during Rollins’ match with Triple H. Enough would be then to cost Rollins his chance at defeating the Game, who ends up walking out with a win.
Triple H losing at back-to-back WrestleMania events doesn’t seem likely, as evidenced by his recent appearances at the show. He lost at 28, won at 29, lost at 30, won at 31, and lost at 32. If he’s going to continue wrestling at the Showcase of Immortals for another handful of years, he has to win to keep credibility. If not, then the Cerebral Assassin’s matches are going to seem like predictable opportunities to put someone over.
By not taking our Rollins clean, it sets up more to come in this feud with Triple H. It could even set up the payoff match for SummerSlam, which is main event-worthy. First is the feud with Joe, however, which helps take Raw through the spring.
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4. Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg Lasts Under Three Minutes
At the 2016 WWE Survivor Series PPV, Goldberg ended Brock Lesnar in 86 seconds — a shocking result, to say the least. Lesnar hadn’t been pinned since WrestleMania 29 and passed out to the Undertaker at SummerSlam 2015. So to see him go down this easily to someone that hadn’t wrestled since 2004 was a stunning booking decision.
Then at the 2017 Royal Rumble match, Goldberg got the best of Lesnar again, eliminating him within seconds. It’s been an easy disposal for the former WCW star at any chance he’s received, meaning we should expect another short match at WrestleMania 33 — probably under three minutes.
With how Goldberg has been booked, he’s not going to compete for any more than three to five minutes. He lasted three minutes, 21 seconds in the Royal Rumble and wrestled for 86 seconds at Survivor Series. So in the time he’s been back in WWE (returned in October 2016), this makes for a total of 287 seconds, or just under five minutes in the ring. Should we expect anything more than three then?
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3. Brock Lesnar Wins the WWE Universal Championship
The Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar match will be another short one, except there will be a title change, as the Beast Incarnate wins his first title since SummerSlam 2014. He’ll take the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 33.
The title change would be due to Goldberg potentially leaving WWE after WrestleMania. His three-match deal has him competing at Royal Rumble, Fastlane, and the Show of Shows. The first happened, but the second hasn’t, which will be against Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship. We’re assuming that Goldberg wins and defends the belt in six weeks.
Like Lesnar’s reign in 2014, there would be controversy surrounding it. How long does he hold the belt? Will he disappear for months after winning, again? Who will dethrone him? It’s going to be a handful of questions that hopefully see most of them answered on the night after WrestleMania 33. If he’s going to be the champion but leave for a few months, then we’re going to see his previous title run repeated.
Source: WWE.com
2. Bayley Will Win Raw Women’s Title, End Charlotte’s PPV Streak
On the February 13 episode of WWE Raw, Bayley won the Raw Women’s Championship. It seemed two months earlier than expected, as fans thought she would walk out victoriously at WrestleMania 33. However, it marked the usual booking of Charlotte, who can’t win on Raw, but always does on PPV.
Fastlane will likely see Charlotte vs. Bayley for the title in a rematch, which the former should win. Her PPV streak being broken at a pre-WrestleMania show like Fastlane seems like a waste of a moment on a small stage, so WWE should save this for Camping World Stadium.
At WrestleMania 33, we could see Charlotte defend against Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax. This may be a way of having the Hugster not pinning the Nature Girl, and instead taking out one of Banks or Jax to get the win. However, if WWE wants to make this the moment where the PPV streak ends, then they’ll let the future five-time Raw Women’s champion take the fall and end the hot potato booking.
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1. Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton vs. Luke Harper Main Events
When this started in October, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton seemed like they were on a path to compete at WrestleManai 33 in a one-on-one match. That was until Luke Harper became an important piece to the puzzle, having tension teased with Orton from the beginning of the formation of this new Wyatt Family. If anything, Harper became the focal point of the story since he didn’t get along with Orton and how the Eater of Worlds ousted him. Now he has a chance of joining the WWE Championship match in the upcoming battle royal
The Wyatt Family saga has been the most intriguing part of WWE programming. From Orton’s alignment, his Royal Rumble win, Wyatt’s WWE Championship, and Harper’s sudden surge as a babyface to get in the middle of things, it’s made this interesting. If anything, there may be more fan investment and a bigger long-term picture by putting this over Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg in the main event, so why not make this call?
WWE has screamed for about a month that Orton will go into the main event of WrestleMania 33. However, given the mainstream appeal of Goldberg and Lesnar, it seemed that they would still get the final spot with the Universal Championship. If that match is only going to last under three minutes, then you can’t have that close out a WrestleMania event where fans will be looking for a classic showdown, one of the best ones of the year. That may be within a potential Wyatt vs. Orton vs. Harper matchup, which would put the cap on the Wyatt Family feud.
Wyatt is probably the favorite to walk out as WWE champion, but with Orton and Harper chasing him, it makes things interesting and less predictable than Goldberg vs. Lesnar. However, we did see WWE roll with the obvious in 2016 with Roman Reigns defeating Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship with no fanfare.
Related Story: WrestleMania 33 Card Projections 7.0; Post-Elimination Chamber
The more interesting option is having the three Wyatt Family members compete for the WWE Championship. Will WWE actually go through with it? We’ll have to see if Harper wins the battle royal first before that can happen.