Photo Source: WWE.com
The Road to WrestleMania is certainly heating up all around WWE. What kinds of surprises could be in store this week?
One of my favorite pastimes as a WWE fan is to try and guess what’s going to happen in the future. I don’t go out of my way to spoil myself. But trying to get into the heads of the creative department is a good way to kill some time.
As a pretty impressive WrestleMania card draws nearer, the final pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. The direction for just about every championship is clear – challengers have emerged, matches have been signed. Outside of the title bouts, there’s plenty of fire behind each of the confirmed or speculated matches.
Of course, one match that was highly anticipated seems to be up in the air. As a result of their attack on Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn were fired from SmackDown Live and WWE. Their response to the news? Another vicious attack – this time on recently-medically cleared GM Daniel Bryan.
Over on Raw, Brock Lesnar finally showed up – to beat down a handcuffed Roman Reigns. (One day, WWE will build to a match where the two competitors are actually kept apart before the big fight.) Besides the Reigns/Lesnar drama, we’re still waiting to find out who Braun Strowman will choose as his tag team partner. Oh, and the fallout from the Ultimate Deletion should be interesting.
So let’s consult the spirit world to find out what may be in the cards this week. Here are some bold predictions for the week ahead in WWE.
Help Me, Ronda
When Ronda Rousey first showed up on the scene in WWE, there was some confusion as to just how full-time a performer she was set to be. Was she going to have the Brock Lesnar schedule? Or maybe something more like a Randy Orton – on television every week, but a limited house show schedule.
WWE initially made the proclamation that Rousey would be appearing on every episode of Raw up until WrestleMania. That ended up lasting a whopping two weeks before the former MMA superstar missed a taping. WWE claimed she was “incorrectly advertised” – despite being the ones who made the claim. Since then, she’s only appeared in dark segments or in video packages while she trains for her debut match.
But with two weeks to go before WrestleMania, we may be getting nearer to a Rousey appearance. With Kurt Angle dealing with many other issues on a regular basis, perhaps this week is when Triple H and Stephanie McMahon make their move to gain the upper hand on the general manager. If Angle is outnumbered, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Rousey to run down to make the save.
I fully understand the desire to ease Rousey into her schedule, but with so little time before her debut it’s time to get her going a bit more. Throw her in the deep end, and see if she sinks or swims.
What About the Rest of Us?
There’s a very strong likelihood that WrestleMania will have over a dozen matches on the card – main show and pre-show combined. We’ve already looked at which matches may be bumped to the Kick-Off Show, but we haven’t discussed just who will be on the card at all.
Superstars as high profile as Bray Wyatt, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler, Bayley, and Carmella are currently without a match at the Show of Shows. It’s a little surprising that some of these superstars are most likely going to end up in a battle royal. If you ever need proof that WWE storytelling is uneven at best, look no further than these performers. How does Ziggler get no better than this?
That’s why I think there may be a swerve with another match getting added to the card, or one of the triple threat matches going to a four-way. It worked at Fastlane, right? If anyone is going to be added somewhere, it would have to be Ziggler.
This week would need to be the week where it happens. Could Ziggler be added to the US Title match? Or better yet, could Ziggler inject himself into the Intercontinental Championship match? After WrestleMania, all the pay per view events are co-branded, so that’s a possibility. A four way match between Ziggler, Miz, Rollins, and Balor would be off the hook, so why not?
As for everyone else? Well, it’s time to declare for a battle royal.
Who is That Masked Man?
Last week on SmackDown, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn got the axe as a result of their actions the previous week. After being fired, the duo took out Daniel Bryan, leaving him in a similar state to Shane McMahon from seven days earlier. Owens even changed his Twitter display name to Kevin Steen, which is both his real name and the name he was known for on the independent scene.
More from Daily DDT
- It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
- Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
- Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
- Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
- Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline
Can we take that a step further? Before joining WWE, Owens teamed and feuded with a guy named “El Generico,” a luchador who bears a striking resemblance to Zayn. Well, physique-wise – Generico wore a mask, so there’s no way to know just who he is. Just before Zayn’s debut appearance in WWE, Generico retired to his home in Mexico to help run an orphanage. Generico made one brief appearance in NXT under the name “El Local,” defeating Bo Dallas.
Despite rumors that Generico was unfortunately murdered by the drug cartels in Tijuana, I’m an optimist – he’s still alive, biding his time to make his triumphant return to the wrestling world. With his protegè Zayn being unceremoniously fired, maybe now is the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kevin “Steen” and El Generico made their presence felt on SmackDown this week, trying to get reinstatements for Owens and Zayn.
Next: Ranking All of Triple H's WrestleMania Matches
What do you think will be the big surprising moments on WWE television this week?