Credit: WWE.com
With Survivor Series officially in the books, let’s move on to speculation for the WrestleMania 34 match card.
Survivor Series was an all around great PPV. There really was not a weak match on the card, and the crowd was hot throughout the entire show.
The end of the show, however, was a bit confusing. We had Triple H turning on his teammate…yet still winning the match for his team. Then, Braun Strowman went ahead and plowed Triple H into the ground twice.
So, that leaves all of us wondering: where do we go from here? Well, we have had some matches that have been apparent locks for quite some time, and there are some matches for WrestleMania we just have to speculate on.
If last year is any indication, it should be a loaded and extensive card, especially with the stacked roster WWE has right now. Also, you have to take into consideration the part timers that will be in the spotlight…and even the possible return of The Deadman, The Undertaker.
With WrestleMania 34 still about five months away, it is hard to get a grasp on what WWE is officially planning for the show, but here are some predictions for what to expect on the match card in New Orleans.
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
WWE Four Horsewomen vs. MMA Four Horsewomen
There’s no arguing that, outside of Nikki Bella, WWE’s Four Horsewomen are the biggest draw when it comes to the women’s division. So, it’s only fitting that all four of them should compete in the same match at WrestleMania.
Speaking of draws, the biggest draw them all would have to be UFC star Ronda Rousey, who has been in talks with WWE for quite some time and has been rumored to appear at WrestleMania 34 in some capacity.
Ronda won’t be alone, though. Her fellow horsewomen, Shayna Baszler, who competed in the Mae Young Classic, Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir could be joining her in a mega match against WWE’s Four Horsewomen.
Charlotte, Sasha, Becky Lynch, and Bayley captained this Women’s Revolution in professional wrestling, while Rousey, Baszler, Duke, and Shafir were responsible to revolutionizing fighting in the octagon. The two groups have garnered a plethora of comparisons, so it was only a matter of time until their paths crossed.
At the Mae Young Classic, the two groups had a a confrontation during one of Baszler’s matches, and they got up in each other’s faces once again in a backstage segment. WWE continues to tease the match, and if they can lock down the MMA fighters for WrestleMania 34, it’s the match we should expect in New Orleans.
Credit: WWE.com
WWE Raw Women’s Championship: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Asuka
But an eight-woman tag match shouldn’t be the only marquee matchup for the women’s divisions at WrestleMania. There’s still plenty of other great superstars who deserve a shot on the grandest stage of them all.
Asuka remains undefeated as she finally got to show the WWE Universe why she is such a monster in the ring. She was able to eliminate three women and looked impressive in the ring.
So, it will only be a matter of time until Asuka gets a shot at the Raw Women’s Championship as she mauls through the women’s division, and what better place for that coronation to take place than in New Orleans at WrestleMania 34.
Alexa Bliss is still the top heel for the women on Raw, and she can fend off a few other competitors on the road to WrestleMania as she prepares for Asuka. With all other Four Horsewomen likely to be busy wit their own match, Bliss will have to be the one to step up and face Asuka.
Nia Jax has also been on a tear lately, aside from that brief absence, and still has to finish up her storyline as Alexa’s best friend, so she is another Superstar that could be added to this match alongside Bliss and Asuka.
WWE.com
Triple H vs. Kurt Angle
If Survivor Series taught us anything, it is that Triple H and Kurt Angle will be the feud that gets Kurt Angle in the ring again as a singles competitor, and it will likely happen at WrestleMania 34.
First, Triple H and Stephanie went over his head to replace Jason Jordan with The Game. Then, Triple H pedigreed and eliminated Kurt, his own teammate, at Survivor Series. It was confusing because it looked as though Triple H just did it so he could get the win himself.
Regardless, Triple H having a marquee match at WrestleMania has been a staple of the card for years now. Kurt Angle is also looking to get back in the ring and put on a great match, so their paths will get to collide at New Orleans for Kurt’s swan song.
Sure Kurt as General Manager is great, but we all just want to see him in a classic match one more time.
WWE.com
Intercontinental Championship: The Miz (c) vs. Finn Bálor
It’s hard to find someone that has done more for the Intercontinental Championship than Miz over the past two years or so. He prides himself in making it the most prestigious title on Raw, and he has been doing just that.
With Brock Lesnar making very scarce appearances as Universal Champion on Raw, The Miz has had to step into a main event level lately, while holding the secondary title. While this has tremendously helped The Miz and his star power, it has hurt the Intercontinental Championship.
The Miz has gone three straight PPVs, SummerSlam, TLC, and Survivor Series, without defending his Intercontinental Championship and probably won’t defend it at the Royal Rumble. So, in order to keep this title relevant, The Miz is going to need a big name for WrestleMania 34, or else it will end up on the pre show like last year.
That big name should be Finn Bálor. Finn, despite still being wildly over with the audience, has lost his way since returning from injury. He has yet to feature in any major storylines aside from his horrid feud with Bray Wyatt that thankfully ended abruptly.
Finn proved he can still put on main event caliber matches with his match against AJ Styles. Finn Bálor just needs to get built back up to that main event status, and winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 34 could be the spark that lights that fire.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
SmackDown Tag Team Championships: The Usos (c) vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
The Usos continue to prove time and time again why they are the best tag team in the WWE. Ever since they turned heel, they have been on fire. They stole the show with every match they had against The New Day and had another classic with The Bar at Survivor Series.
Their wrestling has been outstanding, and when you combine that with the charisma that’s oozing out of them, some fire music, and innate chemistry between the two, you get a natural face turn for the team.
So, now they have can take on heel teams and continue their run atop the blue brand. They can run through some impressive teams like Gable and Benjamin and possibly The Bludgeon Brothers, but come WrestleMania, they are going to need some Superstars to get into the ring with.
Those Superstars should be Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Both are incredible singles performers, but ever since Zayn turned heel, the two have been competing as a team and even faced off against Breezango on the preshow of Survivor Series.
Sure, Owens and Zayn have their problems with Shane McMahon, but Owens already had his match with Shane O’Mac, and they are bound to move away from him come WrstleMania time (hopefully).
All four of these Superstars are incredible in ring performers and deserving of a marquee match at WrestleMania, so if given time, they could tear the house down and steal the show in New Orleans.
Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter
Braun Strowman vs. Samoa Joe
Braun Strowman was at least able to close out Survivor Series on a high note as he powerslammed Triple H to the mat twice. This, of course, should put the thought of Triple H vs. Strowman in people’s heads immediately.
However, I don’t think this is the route they are going to go if the long term plan is to have Triple H square off against Angle at WrestleMania. Although, that feud can still have Strowman intertwined into it.
Even though WWE doesn’t like to emphasize continuity, let’s not forget that Samoa Joe was brought up to the main roster basically as Triple H’s hitman. So, Triple H could try to have Samoa Joe do his dirty work and take care of Braun.
A clash between these behemoths would be an incredible sight to see, and judging by their little spat during the Survivor Series match, the crowd would definitely be invested in it.
Now that Strowman is officially a face, it is time for him to take on these top heels like Samoa Joe, and WrestleMania 34 is the perfect place for these two to showcase their talents.
Raw. Photo by WWE.com
Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins
Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were both treading water on Raw earlier this year. Seth was in a dead end feud with Bray Wyatt that no one was interested in, while Dean Ambrose was a forgotten Intercontinental Champion who eventually lost the title to The Miz.
Although, things turned around for these two once they finally had a semi Shield reunion. They got over with the crowd in a big way, put on incredible matches, and won the Raw Tag Team Championships.
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Then, they finally completed the Shield reunion by adding Roman Reigns to the trio. They weren’t able to compete together at TLC, but The Shield performed in a big way with their match against New Day at Survivor Series.
All three men, even Roman Reigns (!!!) are over with the crowd right now. While WWE may want to milk this nostalgia act for a bit, there is bigger money in their break up. Roman Reigns will go on to main event WrestleMania, while we could finally see a Dean Ambrose heel turn.
When The Shield first formed, many assumed Ambrose would be the one to turn on the trio rather than Seth Rollins. Now, we can have the opposite scenario, and Dean Ambrose can finally let out his wild and gritty side rather than his goofy face character.
Seth Rollins already took the pin for Ambrose and Rollins to lose their Raw Tag Team Championships, so perhaps frustration will build to the inevitable betrayal by Ambrose, which should lead to a fantastic WrestleMania feud between the two.
Credit: WWE.com
Jinder Mahal vs. John Cena
This is an entry I’m struggling to write just because of how unreceptive the crowd is going to be, but I feel like this is a business decision more than anything.
While Jinder’s run as WWE Champion could be seen as a failure, I’m sure Vince would still like to have Jinder as a top guy to capitalize on the Indian market. So, he’ll probably end up with a marquee match on the card.
John Cena is actually the perfect opponent for Mahal in this case. Cena has the star power and experience to carry Mahal in a WrestleMania feud, and their characters line up perfectly. John Cena is all about being Mr. USA and Jinder is all about being an anti-American heel.
The match won’t be spectacular, but it is sadly something we are all probably going to have to sit through.
WWE.com
WWE Universal Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns
We are nearing the end of the calendar year, and it appears that WWE creative still isn’t budging on their initial plans for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34.
Lesnar has managed to retain against two behemoths in the forms of Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman, and he even retained against those two and Roman Reigns in a Fatal Four Way. So, it looks like Lesnar should have no problem walking into New Orleans as the Universal Champion.
Now, as for the challenger, Roman Reigns still looks to be the guy to slay The Beast. Reigns has been getting built up with marquee wins against The Undertaker and John Cena, and he is finally getting over as a face with this new Shield reuninon.
The only question is whether or not Reigns will be able to maintain his momentum as a face once The Shield inevitably implodes. If not, there may be a very poor reception to Roman’s coronation as Universal Champion at WrestleMania 34.
Let’s hope fans are not so hard on the guy that will likely main event his fourth WrestleMania main event in a row. He has put on some great matches this year, and like it or not, he is The Guy.
Courtesy of WWE.com
WWE Championship: AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Thankfully, the era of The Modern Day Maharaja is over. At least, it is for now. AJ Styles was able to dethrone Mahal on an episode of SmackDown Live as WWE Champion, which effectively put an end to the odd Jinder experiment.
Thus far, Styles has been nothing but phenomenal in WWE. He has been Vince’s go to guy as he competed on a Raw brand PPV against Finn Balor, continued to perform on the following episode of Raw, delivered an incredible pop from the crowd when he won the WWE Championship, and went on to headline Survivor Series alongside Brock Lesnar.
There is no question that SmackDown Live is the house that AJ Styles built, so there should be no question as to who will walk into WrestleMania 34 as the blue brand’s champion because the answer is AJ Styles.
Now, AJ’s opponent should be pretty obvious, too. At Money in the Bank, Styles and Nakamura teased a match as they confronted each other and the crowd went crazy. Then, at a house show recently, there was another confrontation between the two, which got the crowd to start chanting “WrestleMania”.
If Vince has been waiting for signs to see if crowds would be receptive to an AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura WrestleMania match, he definitely got them. Now, it’s time to pull the trigger.