What four matches should kick off WrestleMania 33?
WrestleMania 33 is approaching and will be another six-hour show. The first two hours will feature the Kickoff Show, which should have a handful of matches take place.
This week will be full speed ahead for WrestleMania with all the pieces falling into place slowly but surely. And with every match shaping up, there will be those matches that will get bumped down to the Kickoff show. Last year, there were three matches that were contested during the two-hour kickoff before WrestleMania 32. They were the lower priority matches of the twelve match card with one of them being the United States Championship match.
It’s safe to say that this year the United States Championship will be defended on the main card, as it is Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens. As a whole, there has been more of an emphasis on the championship, particularly in the last several months. Owens has been doing fairly well in recent weeks and of course, Jericho is doing some of the best work in his career. Placing focus on the title is something that the Raw brand needed to be addressed, and it looks like that it is indeed being taken care of.
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There will be three matches that will feature the women Superstars this year, which is real exciting for me. The Triple Threat match for the Raw Women’s Championship and the SmackDown Women’s Championship match will be contested plus John Cena and Nikki Bella will battle The Miz and Maryse in a Mixed Tag Team Match. The stakes are high for each woman in their respective matches. Last year, the Triple Threat match between Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch stole the show and was arguably the best match of the night. With that being said, I don’t see all three making it on the main card – one will more than likely end up on the Kickoff show.
Yet another major change is the addition of the Cruiserweight Division. The Cruiserweight Classic was a huge success last summer, and a good bunch of the Cruiserweights have been signed to the Raw brand to carry the division. And of course, with the complete turnaround of Neville, it has put a spotlight on the division. Neville’s career has been revived and with the new addition of Austin Aries, fans will certainly be treated to a great match between those two.
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WrestleMania 33 will be a stellar and packed card; there is no doubt about that. With a card this paramount with the names headlining it, it will be a hard decision as to who goes on the Kickoff show.
Now that the shows are done for the week, who could be on the Kickoff Show? There will be more matches that will be added as the event gets closer. For now, let’s predict the matches that have been announced as of this week for WrestleMania 33.
Photo courtesy of wwe.com
The Usos vs. American Alpha for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship
SmackDown having a Tag Team match on the Kickoff Show may be the most likely thing to appear in the first two hours. It’s not only due to the other bouts that will be on the main card, but how weak their tag division has been. From the lack of depth to not putting them on the show on Tuesday nights, it has been made into a low priority but something the company must improve on.
The Usos picked up a non-title win on Tuesday night, to which they will eventually call dibs on a Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania 33. The great thing about this is that there is history between the teams. The Usos turned heel against American Alpha, putting Chad Gable on the shelf for a few weeks. The win on Tuesday reignites the feud, and I would love to see the focus on their history for the buildup to WrestleMania. But with the lack of focus on the division, I don’t see that happening unless you pay attention to commentary. Mauro Ranallo is great at recalling past events and he probably will point the heel turn out during this match.
The Usos always seem to be subjected to the Kickoff Show. It’s like they can never make it onto the main card. For American Alpha, this will be their first WrestleMania so it’s a bummer for them too because of the Kickoff Show. But the good thing too is that they will make it on the card regardless, so that counts for something. I would love to see The Usos win, but American Alpha deserves more of a focus. Again, the focus is the main issue here despite there is depth within this feud.
Photo Courtesy of wwe.com
Enzo and Cass vs. Cesaro and Sheamus vs. The Club for the Raw Tag Team Championship
The Raw brand has a pretty stacked card on their side with top players and heavy hitters. I think this would be the perfect match to start off ‘Mania simply because the promo magic Enzo and Cass can bring Camping World Stadium to its feet and set the tone for the night. That is what The New Day hosting is for, so I think Enzo and Cass will be precursors to them in terms of promo quality. Like Enzo is Big E’s hype man so to speak.
Enzo and Cass are super, insanely over and they could very well capture the Tag Team Championships during the Kickoff Show. If anything a WrestleMania moment for them would be a great one-year anniversary present for these guys. Can you imagine how Raw will be the next night with the gold around their waists?
The Club’s winning the Tag Team Championships has definitely been a surprise. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have been dominating the Tag Team Division and that has been spotlighted since their title win. If they do lose the championships, hopefully, their dominance isn’t over past WrestleMania. Their history is a major part of their characters and while they can’t exactly replicate their Bullet Club personas, WWE to should them leeway in being the true badasses they really are.
Cesaro and Sheamus’ chemistry as tag partners and foes just works so well. It is so entertaining and good to see that this pairing has helped them stay on my TV. I thought by now that they would be back to tearing each other apart but if it isn’t broke when they are concerned, the company definitely doesn’t need to fix it. Again, this works for Cesaro and Sheamus to which the way the Tag Team Division has played out definitely gets Raw some pointers against SmackDown.
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It will be hard to say which team wins. With Raw promoting the part-timers they will take priority on the main card and I don’t see this making it on there too.
Photo courtesy of wwe.com
Alexa Bliss vs. All Available Women for the SmackDown Women’s Championship
As I said earlier, there will be three matches featuring the Women Superstars on the WrestleMania card this year. Out of the three matches, I see this one being the women’s match to be featured on the Kickoff Show.
With John Cena and Nikki Bella, there is no way they end up on the Kickoff Show. Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Bayley are the top players in the Women’s Division, so it’s difficult to see them on the Kickoff Show either. So it leaves this one, which I think should be on the main card anyway. If anything else it’s a sacrificial lamb for the SmackDown brand.
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This match poses some surprises, which I am excited about. There will be possible returns and debuts in this match – anyone from Naomi to possibly Asuka. The SmackDown Women’s Division has absolutely flourished and created a huge Superstar in Alexa Bliss. Seeing Mickie James return to add to the division has been superior, and there has been some concentration on those such as Natalya in recent months.
If there are any championships changing hands, it’s potentially this one. If Asuka debuts, that’s it, folks. But if not, I could see Naomi or James taking the championship away from Bliss. There is a ton of potential in this match up and it will not disappoint no matter the outcome.
Photo courtesy of wwe.com
Neville vs. Austin Aries for the Cruiserweight Championship
Both Neville and Aries add so much to the Cruiserweight Division and seeing them two tear it up in the ring will be great to see. Despite the odds against the division, adding Aries to it only helps and with Neville absolutely killing the game right now, it is definitely one of the highlights of Raw. They are extremely talented and will bring the fight to each other when it’s ready to go down in the ring.
This was one of my top picks to end up on the Kickoff Show too because of the Cruiserweight Division being a part of the Raw brand. I wouldn’t mind seeing the other Cruiserweights making it on the show, but at this time that is not for certain. However, as far as other Cruiserweights go is that the Cruiserweight Classic was so successful that there should be at least one match that features two guys at WrestleMania. That’s not a knock on Neville or Aries at all. I’d just like to see someone like Cedric Alexander, The Brian Kendrick, or TJ Perkins have a chance to compete on the WrestleMania stage.
I don’t see Aries winning the belt but we shall see. Neville hopefully wouldn’t lose his thunder either in a loss. His heel character has been amazing to watch and the heel turn was definitely the right call for the company and the best thing they have done this year thus far. This saved Neville from the NXT curse he was definitely getting swarmed in until that point. Even though Aries was in NXT for a short time, having him on the Cruiserweight Division isn’t a bad idea either and a great way to get him onto the main roster. Aries’ experience in the ring was definitely a big plus when it came to the opportunity at hand.
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Which matches will end up on the WrestleMania 33 Kickoff Show? Let us know below.