WWE WrestleMania 33: 10 Post-Show Predictions for 2017

Rob Wolkenbrod

With WrestleMania 33 over and done with, what do we think could happen next?

WrestleMania 33 has come to an end. The show had been built up for a year, with feuds coming to a head and matches taking place. We saw 13 bouts go down at the show, including eight championships being on the line, Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker, Triple H vs. Seth Rollins and more.

With all these matches being over with, we can now look at the future of WWE in 2017. That includes future World champions, who will feud with who next and potential big moments to take place on Raw or SmackDown.

So, what’s next for WWE programming? Let’s get into 10 predictions for after WrestleMania 33.

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10. Sasha Banks Holds a Title Longer Than 27 Days

Sasha Banks is a three-time Raw Women’s Champion, something only Charlotte can say. However, all three reigns lasted 27 days or less, which places her total time on top at just over two months. She continually won the belt from the Nature Girl on Raw, but lost at SummerSlam, Hell in a Cell and Roadblock.

After WrestleMania 33, Bayley is still Raw Women’s Champion. We saw hints of a Banks heel turn before the show, including helping her best friend retain over Charlotte with dirty tactics. The Boss has also cut some aggressive promos, which have made her come off differently.

If Banks and Bayley do feud, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the former get a title run out of it. We would probably get a long run out of these two, as it’s something fresh that hasn’t been seen on the main roster. So, maybe Sasha wins at the Raw pay-per-view in April and goes into this multi-month war with the Hugster. They wouldn’t need to trade the title, but it can be extended over a few months to at least make a fourth reign meaningful.

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9. John Cena Returns for SummerSlam, Faces Roman Reigns

John Cena potentially finished up this latest WWE run at WrestleMania 33. This saw him in a mixed-tag match with Nikki Bella, facing the Miz and Maryse. Cena may be moving on to do more movies, commercials, TV shows and any other outside media projects he has, so it may be a while before the Face That Runs the Place returns.

Well, if he’s going to come back for the next big WWE show, then that would be SummerSlam in August. He could show up on SmackDown Live in July and begin his feud for the show.

With WWE not knowing how much they’ll get out of Cena anymore, they should start giving him opponents that are big names, ones he can potentially put over. If there’s a choice, then the best option may be Roman Reigns.

Reigns, billed as the “next John Cena,” has seen a meteoric rise to becoming WWE’s top babyface. He’s main evented three WrestleMania events, facing Brock Lesnar, Triple H and the Undertaker. It’s arguably better than what Cena did in his first three singles bouts at the Show of Shows.

A collision of Reigns and Cena would represent the future and the past, respectively, of Vince McMahon’s company. It’s as polarizing of a bout as it gets, something we hope they decide to do.

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8. Goldberg Won’t Come Back Again

At WrestleMania 33, Goldberg defended the Universal Championship. He lost it to Brock Lesnar, seemingly ending his WWE run that was a surprise to begin with. The company brought the former WCW star back after the release of WWE 2K17, which he played a significant part of the promotion for.

Well, we ended up getting three matches from Goldberg, not including his 2017 Royal Rumble appearance. He was made to be the big deal he was in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, recreating some of his old magic. It was good while it lasted, but don’t expect it to happen for the rest of 2017.

It’s difficult to think Goldberg would come back for another extended WWE run for a while. If anything, if the company wants to bring him in second time, then waiting for WrestleMania 34 may be for the best. It keeps him around for the biggest show of the year, taking a spot that The Undertaker usually has (he might be done after WrestleMania 33).

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7. AJ Styles Wins Another WWE Championship

AJ Styles’ excellent 2016 featured him winning his first WWE Championship. This took place at Backlash, defeating Dean Ambrose in the main event. Styles went on to hold the belt through the 2017 Royal Rumble, losing in an instant classic to John Cena.

Well, at WrestleMania 33, the Phenomenal One got a big win back by defeating Shane McMahon in the opening match. It marked the end of a streak of losses, which dated back to the Royal Rumble. He, of course, didn’t lose everything along the way (he defeated Luke Harper to seemingly get a WWE Championship chance at WrestleMania), but fell in most of what he was involved in.

Now, there’s a chance for Styles to get right back into the WWE Championship picture. Maybe not the night after the show, but soon. If so, banking on him winning another title isn’t the craziest thing. He’s going to be placed at the top of the match card and main event SmackDown shows for a while, especially with John Cena potentially gone for a little while. So, if WWE doesn’t think Randy Orton can have a long reign, then they can put the title back on styles and let him run with it.

Source: WWE.com

6. That Triple H Stable Never Comes Together

For a few months, it looked like Triple H, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe were coming together to form a stable of some sorts. It seemed like Evolution 2.0, maybe adding a fourth member in the process. However, after losing at WrestleMania 33, does it make sense for the Game to still do this?

Like the fallout of WrestleMania 32, it’s possible we see Triple H disappear after Seth Rollins defeated him. It was the successful babyface story of him conquering the heel mentor that turned on him, so why else should they continue this and have him stay around? The Cerebral Assasin lost and may need time off TV. Even if he doesn’t go off, they may first address him accidentally knocking Stephanie McMahon through a table.

As for Joe, it makes more sense for him to go after Rollins in a one-on-one situation, maybe saying he needs to get revenge for his employer. That continues the feud, which had been set up for Fastlane.

With Owens, he’ll probably be around Jericho for a little while longer, and then move on to something else. Does he really need another partner to turn on, though? We just saw him in an alliance that appeared together on WWE TV for eight months. While he can have a loose working relationship with Triple H and Joe, maybe nothing more than that coming about is for the best.

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5. Tag Teams Are Officially Back in Business with Two Call-Ups

At WrestleMania 33, we saw Matt and Jeff Hardy return to the WWE after being away for seven-plus years. It marked for a wild moment, as the fans at Camping World Stadium exploded in excitement for these two brothers, who eventually won the Raw Tag Team Championship.

The bigger picture with the Hardys is they’re going to add to a tag team division that needs help, and that goes for both Raw and SmackDown. They’ll not only be a veteran presence, but a top act among the duos, something lacking on both shows.

However, not only will the Hardy Boyz be part of making tag teams great again, but so will teams from NXT. There are two that fit this profile for 2017 — the Revival and DIY.

Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are ready for the main roster. They’ve gone through two NXT Tag Team Championship reigns and put on some of the best matches in NXT over the past few years. Their feuds have all been with the top teams of developmental, too, so it’s time to get them to the main stage and see what they can do on SmackDown or Raw, both of whom could use them.

DIY haven’t been talked about as much for a call-up by the fans. However, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa have shown the ability to put on excellent tag team matches. It makes it a distant memory of them being part of the Cruiserweight division, which never came to fruition in the fall of 2016. So, if WWE calls them up, they can be a fresh force to put on either main roster show and put on potential Match of the Year candidates, something we don’t often get outside of NXT.

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4. Shane McMahon Steps Down as SmackDown Commissioner

Shane McMahon’s WWE run has been interesting since returning in February 2016. He went from wrestling for and losing the right to have control of Raw, only to be given the power the following evening. That one-off has turned into 14 months of him having an authority role, eventually transitioning to being the SmackDown Commissioner role for the brand split.

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As we’ve seen with all WWE authority figures, their time on top always ends. That happened with Mick Foley just weeks before WrestleMania 33, with Stephanie McMahon firing him as Raw General Manager. While Shane may stay around as Commissioner for another day, month or five months, his time will still be ticking, especially after his loss to AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33.

What it will take for Shane O’Mac to no longer be SmackDown Commissioner remains to be seen. He may have to wrestle for his role, maybe against someone like Styles or the next Superstar that decides to barge into him. Having multiple talents complaining about his work, only to step down, could be an option, too, unless Vince McMahon comes out from backstage to fire his son.

At some point, the Prodigal Son will no longer be SmackDown Commissioner. It may not be tomorrow, but by the end of 2017, we expect him out.

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3. Finn Balor Finally Forms Balor Club

Finn Balor being away from WWE since the night after SummerSlam has hurt. He had won the Universal Championship, but was forced to give it up after injuring his shoulder. It marked the stalling of a promising run as a top babyface on Raw, as Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins have since taken their spots back in the driver’s seats.

With Balor potentially being back on WWE programming soon, it only makes sense to bring him back with a bang. If the company wants to amplify this, they’ll create the long-awaited Balor Club.

When the Demon King first arrived to the main roster in July 2016, a rocket was attached to his back and allowed him to take off as Raw’s top babyface. While that plan seemed to be working, the injury stalled it. The landscape of the WWE has changed since, so why not go in another direction?

Balor forming the Balor Club would be with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, whom he has a documented history with from NJPW. They can bring WWE the Bullet Club stable they never had, which wouldn’t be full of gun references like the group overseas, but something to test out and see if fans eat up merchandise sales and how popular they become.

Balor being a heel in WWE hasn’t been tested before either, as he became the face of NXT for about one year. Can he succeed in this role as a villanous leader?

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2. Kurt Angle Competes at SummerSlam

Kurt Angle is only back with a WWE as a member of the Hall of Fame — for now. He hasn’t been confirmed to appear on Raw or SmackDown, as well as a potential role on TV if he were to show up. WWE wouldn’t just have one of their greatest Superstars back after 10 years for no reason, right? There has to be more to this, whether it’s an authority position or to be wrestling part-time.

Maybe Angle comes back as the Raw General Manager, since there’s a spot open after Mick Foley got fired. It makes sense and offers the fans the prospect of seeing the Olympic Gold Medalist appear on WWE TV for the first time since 2006.

However, if Angle is stepping into an authority role, you’d have to think he gets into the ring. If so, we’re predicting that it’s by SummerSlam.

Waiting for WrestleMania 34 may be too long, unless there are specific plans for Angle. So, what if they had him in for the Show of the Summer in August? It would be difficult to predict who he feuds with, but the roster is just about fully turned over from the time he left, so there are fresh matchups all over the place.

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1. Brock Lesnar Loses the Universal Title Before or at SummerSlam

Brock Lesnar and Goldberg went to battle for potentially the last time at WrestleMania 33. After losing to Goldberg twice during his WWE career, Lesnar managed to overpower him with suplexes, F-5’s and a flurry of other moves. It wasn’t a technical matchup, but provided entertainment for the five minutes it lasted.