Credit: WWE.com
WWE TLC is now in the books, and it was a strange yet fun pay-per-view. Looking ahead to WWE WrestleMania 34, how could the final card shape up?
How great was it to see Kurt Angle back in a WWE ring? It got me thinking. Now that he’s competed once, the odds of another match are surely rising. WrestleMania season isn’t far away, and there a number of directions the Raw general manager could go in. Will he return to the ring at WWE WrestleMania 34?
TLC was an interesting pay-per-view. The last-minute shuffle to replace Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt made it all the more intriguing. How would Angle hold up in a TLC match? Could Finn Balor and AJ Styles deliver? The answer to both questions was yes.
But how does TLC potentially impact plans for WrestleMania 34? Based on what we know now, I did a little fantasy booking in attempt to predict the match card for next April’s super show.
How will Braun Strowman factor into plans? What’s next for Asuka? Who will challenge for championships? As we continue to digest what took place at TLC, I made some predictions for the WrestleMania 34 card. Let’s begin.
Photo by WWE.com
Kurt Angle vs. Triple H
Kurt Angle made a surprise return at TLC, which indicates he could be in line for more matches down the line. Nobody could have predicted this time last week Angle would performing in the main event at TLC, but he played a key role role in the match, which went over half an hour.
With time to prepare, Angle could get back in the ring against a veteran like Triple H. And it makes perfect sense from a storyline perspective. The Game wants to regain control of Raw, but he’ll need to beat Angle to make it happen.
Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton
Will Jinder Mahal still be in the WWE Championship picture come WrestleMania? I highly doubt it, but that doesn’t mean he has to be relegated to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Far from it.
Instead, the soon-to-be former champ picks up where he left off with Randy Orton. These two have unfinished business. Orton pinned Mahal clean the last time they met, but Jinder cheated to beat The Viper on three occasions prior to that.
The championship picture at the top of SmackDown could be in line for a shakeup once Mahal loses the title, but these two can still battle on the grandest stage.
Credit: WWE.com
Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
Tag teams don’t tend to last for long in the WWE. The Shield have already broken up in the past due to Seth Rollins betraying his brothers. This time it’s Dean Ambrose turning on Rollins, going heel in the process.
Ambrose took some convincing that Rollins could be trusted. But maybe The Lunatic Fringe has been stringing his partner along the whole time, wanting to get the ultimate revenge for what Seth did three years ago.
Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe
Did Braun Strowman turn babyface at TLC? There’s no reason why The Monster Among Men couldn’t become one of the top good guys in the company. Samoa Joe should be healthy by WrestleMania season, potentially setting up a huge showdown between two of Raw’s biggest stars.
Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte & Becky Lynch
The Four Horsewomen are currently split between Raw and SmackDown, and they are all babyfaces. Bayley and Sasha Banks are best buddies, and Charlotte and Becky Lynch share a similar friendship on Tuesday nights.
Now imagine the two babyface teams colliding at WrestleMania. The reason? All four wrestlers have been celebrated since arriving on the main roster, and they each played a key role in the Women’s Revolution. But who is the best? This is a way of finding out. It’s also a battle of the two brands, making for an interesting matchup.
Source: WWE.com
SmackDown Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. Benjamin & Gable
It’s been the year of tag team wrestling in WWE. From the return of The Hardy Boyz, The Shield reuniting, the rise of The Bar and the breakup of Enzo & Cass, so much has happened. But no team has reached the level of The Usos, who could have a weekly WWE Network show featuring their top matches of 2017.
Their dance partners over the summer, The New Day, have been on fire since switching to SmackDown. The newly-formed team of Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable also has the potential to be special. Put these three teams together at WrestleMania and watch them steal the show.
Raw Tag Team Championship
The Bar (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz
Over on Raw, The Bar have been great for the tag team division. As soon as The Shield is ready to implode, it should be Sheamus and Cesaro who take back their titles and carry them into WrestleMania.
Awaiting them are The Hardy Boyz, assuming Jeff Hardy is fully healthy after shoulder surgery. These two teams put together some good matches this past summer. And what better way to end their rivalry than on the grandest stage of all, the place they met for the first time a year earlier.
The Revival would also be candidates to enter this match.
Raw. Photo by WWE.com
United States Championship
John Cena (c) vs. Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn is officially on the rise. His heel turn has provided the spark his career needed, while also aligning him with one of the company’s biggest stars, Kevin Owens. What better way to maintain this momentum through WrestleMania than to pair him with one of the all-time greats?
John Cena’s role in the company has changed. He’s not retired, but we’re going to see less and less of him as time goes on. When Cena does return, he should recapture the United States Championship. Enter Sami Zayn, who steps up to the challenge.
Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Finn Balor
Finn Balor got a much-needed win against AJ Styles at TLC. Balor has been treading water for much of 2017, yet to regain the momentum he had before he got hurt last summer.
The Miz is one of the top heels in all of the WWE. He’s like a fine wine, simply getting better with age. He also happens to be one of the great Intercontinental Champions in history.
Balor hasn’t held a championship since injury forced him to vacate the Universal Title, but now he finally gets an opportunity. At some point Raw’s top prize will be around his waist again, but until then he should challenge The Miz.
WWE.com
Raw Women’s Championship
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Asuka
Asuka’s arrival at TLC was a good one. Predictably, her undefeated streak continued on to the main roster, and it should remain intact for some time. Between now and WrestleMania, Asuka should run through everyone on the Raw roster. Bayley. Sasha Banks. Nia Jax. Mickie James. She should beat them all.
Alexa Bliss has knocked down just about every challenger standing in her way since arriving on Raw last April. Bliss should remain the champion all the way to WrestleMania, where she meets the undefeated Asuka for the first time.
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Natalya (c) vs. Paige
Paige’s return to the WWE is reportedly imminent, and there’s no reason why she shouldn’t immediately rise up the SmackDown ranks and capture the Women’s Championship. Standing in her way at WrestleMania is the current champ Natalya.
These two have history dating back to NXT. On the biggest stage of all, they could put on an excellent one-on-one match for the title. And with The Four Horsewomen busy in their tag team match, the stage is set for Paige and Natalya to meet again.
But don’t forget about Carmella. Oh yeah, she hasn’t cashed in Money in the Bank just yet. Maybe it’ll happen at WrestleMania. Perhaps The Princess of Staten Island will pull a Seth Rollins and make it a triple-threat midway through the match.
Source: WWE.com
WWE Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kevin Owens
Talk about dream matches. AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens are the biggest stars on SmackDown Live. They’ve battled all over the world, but never before have we seen them all compete against each other in a WWE ring. With the company’s most prestigious title on the line, this would make for one of the most must-see matches in some time.
It’s a match fitting for a WrestleMania main event. The Styles-Owens feud over the summer left a lot to be desired. But with Nakamura included and the prize the WWE Championship, this would be a fitting headliner for SmackDown.
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
Everything has been building to this. Roman Reigns’ time is coming.
He’s retired The Undertaker, pinned John Cena and reunited with his Shield brothers. Every step he’s taken this year has been another piece of the puzzle that ultimately leads to capturing the Universal Championship.
Lesnar’s reign will end at exactly one year. He defeated Goldberg to win the championship at WrestleMania 33, and has since seen off Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman in one-on-one competition. Once Reigns is finished teaming with The Shield, we’ll be entering the home stretch of his race to Raw’s top prize.
Next: Ranking All 28 WWE Survivor Series Main Events
Whether fans like it or not, WrestleMania 34 will end with Reigns on top.