WWE WrestleMania 36 Predictions: Brock Lesnar Destroys Drew McIntyre
By Mark Justice
Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Naomi vs. Lacey Evans vs. Carmella vs. Dana Brooke [SmackDown Women’s Championship: 6-Pack Challenge]
Only two superstars should win this rumored 6-pack challenge for the SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley and Sasha Banks. They have been booked the strongest in the SmackDown Women’s Division, especially after defeating all of them in both tag team matches and championship matches.
Although Bayley is the best SmackDown Women’s Champion in history and she should solidify her championship run with a win at WrestleMania 36, Sasha Banks should use this opportunity to earn her first WrestleMania victory for she is the only Horsewoman without a victory on the Showcase of the Immortals. She does not even need to pin Bayley to win the championship, but it would be even more clever if Bayley intentionally allowed Sasha Banks to pin her just so none of the other superstars win her championship (similar to how Carmella pinned her best friend, R-Truth, for the 24/7 Championship in September).
Based on how Banks and Bayley have been acting lately, it’s not just Bayley’s SmackDown Women’s Championship. Like LayCool in 2010, Banks and Bayley are acting like heel co-champions who care about keeping the championship in their grasps and maintaining superiority over the women’s division for as long as they can.
At some point, tension, envy, and greed will arise between Bayley and Banks. WWE SummerSlam 2020 can feature the high-demand championship match between Bayley and Banks in Banks’ hometown as a testament to Banks’ ability to retain the women’s championship for the very first time in her career since she has always been known for losing her women’s championship in her first title defenses.
Prediction: Sasha Banks
Sami Zayn (c) (w/Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro) vs. Daniel Bryan (w/Drew Gulak) vs. Braun Strowman vs. Elias vs. King Corbin vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus [Intercontinental Championship: 8-Man Ladder Match]
Since there is no clear rival for the new Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, an eight-man ladder match would suffice. There are many great options in the SmackDown mid card division to win the Intercontinental Championship, but the one superstar who stands out is Daniel Bryan.
Although Sami Zayn’s miraculous success epitomized altruism, Daniel Bryan has a legitimate reason to dethrone Sami Zayn and it all ties back to their significant altercation in October, when Sami Zayn persuaded Daniel Bryan to end the Yes Movement and join his faction with Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro. Bryan rejected that offer and proceeded with The Yes Movement, which failed him in his quest to dethrone Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship.
Ever since then, Bryan has gone on a downward spiral and has been booked in meaningless grudge matches every week with the likes of Heath Slater and Curtis Axel until he got in the ring with Drew Gulak at WWE Elimination Chamber 2020. After defeating Drew Gulak, he noticed that Gulak truly took him to his limits and actually knows the weaknesses in his arsenal well enough to counter them at every moment in the match.
Now, he wants Drew Gulak to teach him how to be less formulaic and more spontaneous in the ring so that his opponents don’t spot his weaknesses, like Gulak did, especially when pertaining to Bryan’s roundhouse kick that is repeatedly countered or dodged in every match (since his opponents always see it coming to their heads after the Yes Kicks are delivered to their chests). Henceforth, Drew Gulak should help Daniel Bryan do what he couldn’t do against Bray Wyatt on two separate occasions: win a high stake championship match.
Arguments can be made for the other superstars quite reasonably: Braun Strowman needs to obtain his revenge from WWE Elimination Chamber 2020 and win the championship back from Sami Zayn, Elias needs to win his first main roster championship since his push is long overdue, for King Corbin to win his first Intercontinental Championship especially after his loss of momentum in his rivalry with Roman Reigns, Jeff Hardy needs to win a championship upon his epic return as a tribute to his brother, Matt Hardy, who left the WWE, and Sheamus needs to win the Intercontinental Championship to become an Ultimate Grand Slam Champion.
However, an Intercontinental Championship victory for Daniel Bryan would be more meaningful from a storyline standpoint. It would be a great deja vu moment from his Intercontinental Champion ladder match victory at WrestleMania 31 five years ago, and he would finally be able to win back the Intercontinental Championship he never lost.
Prediction: Daniel Bryan