WWE WrestleMania 37 is scheduled to take place on March 28, 2021, live on the WWE Network.
WWE WrestleMania 37! WWE has a long term booking issue, but there are some storylines that would be fitting for next year’s WrestleMania card. Considering that the WWE is four months away from this event, it is highly improbable that any current rivalries will continue to this event, but it’s worth a shot to predict what rivalries could spur about on the road to WrestleMania.
With that being said, it’s now time to preview and predict the matches and storylines that will occur at WrestleMania 37. The following will make some key presumptions about how the storylines will be built as well as how they will end. To kick things off, let’s predict all of the mid card championship matches and their victors.
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Keith Lee [United States Championship]
On the November 23, 2020 episode of WWE Raw, Keith Lee and United States Champion Bobby Lashley went to war in what was a bloodbath to determine the next number one contender for the WWE Championship. This match ended inconclusively after Lee was the first superstar to break the ‘Hurt’ Lock and MVP apprehensively attacked Lee to protect Lashley from defeat. The fact that MVP was scared of Lashley losing is a sign that Lee is the one to dethrone Lashley down the line.
The WWE should call back to this match whilst building up this feud to Mania. It’s obvious that Lee will lose his WWE Championship match to Drew McIntyre on WWE Raw Legends Night and that Lashley will retain the United States Championship against Riddle, who already has other plans for the Raw Tag Team Championships with Jeff Hardy. After losing to McIntyre, Lee will need a consolation prize and the United States Championship would be ideal as he moves up the card.
Prediction: Keith Lee
Big E (c) vs. Seth Rollins [Intercontinental Championship]
Since Vince McMahon has reportedly not penciled in Big E as Roman Reigns’ opponent at WrestleMania 37, Big E will have to retain his Intercontinental Championship against a superstar that would elevate or enhance his credibility for the main event scene. It would be suitable to book Big E to retain the Intercontinental Championship against Seth Rollins, a former Intercontinental and Universal Champion, at WrestleMania 37.
In a similar manner to how Seth Rollins built himself back up as a main event player with his memorable Intercontinental Championship run in 2018 before slaying Brock to win the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, Big E will have to do the same here in his similar pursuit to win the Universal Championship from Seth Rollins’ Shield brother, Roman Reigns, and finally put an end to Roman Reigns’ reign of terror.
Prediction: Big E
Hurt Business (c) vs. Hardy Bros [Raw Tag Team Championships]
Once Riddle loses his United States Championship match against Bobby Lashley, he will team up with Jeff Hardy to battle for the Raw Tag Team Championships against Hurt Business’ Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin at WrestleMania 37. It is clear that the WWE is building up this makeshift tag team for tag team gold. Other than The New Day, the Hardy Bros is the only other babyface tag team in the Raw Tag Team Division who has sufficient momentum for a title match.
It is foreseeable that Hurt Business will lose all the gold at WrestleMania 37. While Keith Lee will dethrone Lashley for the United States Championship, Hardy Bros will dethrone Hurt Business for the Raw Tag Team Championships. While fresh talent who were recently called up from NXT take center stage on the flagship show within the mid card and tag division, Hurt Business will advance to the main event scene after losing gold that they made prestigious.
Prediction: Hardy Bros
Street Profits (c) vs. Usos [SmackDown Tag Team Championships]
Street Profits have held the tag team championships for almost a year now and have run through the majority of the heel tag teams in the Tag Team Division. However, a top heel tag team from SmackDown that would undoubtedly dethrone Profits is the Usos. Once Jimmy Uso returns from injury in January or February to reunite with Reigns and Jey Uso, the WWE will build up this dream tag team match for WrestleMania 37.
Street Profits passed their first test against The New Day at Survivor Series and will have to pass their ultimate test against The Usos at WrestleMania 37. Roman Reigns will command Usos to win tag team gold in order to prove their worth in the family’s bloodline. That way, Reigns and Usos will have all the gold on SmackDown with the exception of the Intercontinental Championship, which Big E will be holding to elicit a big match with Reigns down the line.
Prediction: Usos
Shayna Baszler & Nia Jax (c) vs. Riott Squad [Women’s Tag Team Championships]
Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax will inevitably win back the Women’s Tag Team Championships from Asuka and Charlotte Flair. Asuka and Charlotte Flair’s tag title reign was only temporary to build up their feud for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37. With that being said, Baszler and Jax should defend the tag team championships against Riott Squad’s Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott, who are the ideal candidates for those championships.
On the October 5, 2020 episode of WWE Raw, Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax retained the Women’s Tag Team Championships against Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott. This match was originally scheduled to take place at Clash of Champions but was later translocated to free television. This match needs a rematch and a bigger stage. WrestleMania 37 is the place for Riott Squad to redeem themselves and achieve their goal of becoming Women’s Tag Champs for a good-feel moment.
Prediction: Riott Squad
Edge vs. AJ Styles (w/Omos) [Grudge Match]
WWE has a proclivity to book AJ Styles against legends or part-timers at WrestleMania when he is not involved in title matches. At WrestleMania 32, he battled Chris Jericho. At WrestleMania 33, he battled Shane McMahon. At WrestleMania 35, he battled Randy Orton. At WrestleMania 36, he battled Undertaker in a memorable Buried Alive Match. Since Styles has delivered phenomenal matches with all of these part-timers, the WWE will likely book him in a match against Edge.
In fact, AJ Styles wants a match with Edge, especially since he was injured following a spear from Edge at Royal Rumble 2020. Although Edge did not really cause the injury, there is storyline that can built from this moment because Edge was also the superstar who eliminated Styles from the Royal Rumble. Styles needs his payback and he should be able to get it with help from Omos at ringside. Edge already got his return victory against Orton, so he can take a loss here.
Prediction: AJ Styles
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn [Grudge Match]
Kevin Owens is on the verge of losing his Universal Championship feud with Roman Reigns, and Sami Zayn is on the verge of losing his Intercontinental Championship feud with Big E. It is clear that they will be out of the singles title scenes after the inevitable occurs, so it would be a good idea to team them up again for good times sake. However, before they do team up, they still have one more match left in them and it should occur at WrestleMania 37.
In a similar manner to Bayley and Sasha Banks, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have the ability to be a two-man power trip and future tag team champions. However, in order to avoid turning on each other in the future, they need to beat the respect out of each other on a grand stage like WrestleMania, an event where none of their matches have taken place. As the babyface, Owens needs to win so that he can make amends with Zayn after the match and reunite as a team.
Owens has expressed his frustrations with himself for continually turning on his tag team partners in the past. He can redeem himself by teaming with his best friend in the long term and possibly targeting the Usos for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships as revenge for his gruesome rivalry with Universal Champion Roman Reigns. Although Zayn has nothing to do with Reigns, tag team gold is enough of an incentive for Zayn to cooperate.
Prediction: Kevin Owens
Bray Wyatt & Alexa Bliss vs. Randy Orton & Nikki Cross [Mixed Tag Match]
Although Orton and Nikki Cross have nothing to do with each other, it would make sense for Randy Orton and Nikki Cross to coalesce due to their common enemies in Bray Wyatt and Alexa Bliss respectively. Cross is still trying to get her friend back from under the control of The Fiend, while Orton is doing everything in his power to kill The Fiend for good. Orton knows that Alexa Bliss is The Fiend’s weakness, so he could put his head together with Nikki Cross to get Alexa Bliss back to reality and take her away from The Fiend once and for all.
However, this storyline will be building up to a mixed tag victory for Wyatt and Bliss, especially since Orton has already burned The Fiend to a crisp at TLC. Wyatt and Bliss will manipulate Cross into joining them so that Orton is left alone and loses due to a vast disadvantage in the numbers game. Cross will join them because her loyalty to Bliss comes second to nothing. This match will be used to establish Bliss and Cross’ reunion as a heel tag team who can once again go after the Women’s Tag Team Championships in what would be a dream match against The Riott Squad.
Prediction: Bray Wyatt & Alexa Bliss
Asuka (c) vs. Charlotte Flair [Raw Women’s Championship]
Asuka and Charlotte Flair dethroned Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to become the new Women’s Tag Team Champions at TLC, allowing Charlotte to reach grand slam status. However, this title reign won’t last for long since it is clear that Charlotte primarily wants to target Asuka’s Raw Women’s Championship. She will turn on Asuka to cost them the championships in what would be the spark to the build up of their WrestleMania 34 rematch at WrestleMania 37.
Indeed, Asuka lost her undefeated streak to Charlotte Flair in a SmackDown Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 34. Asuka can now redeem herself against the superstar who ended her streak three years ago. Asuka has never won a match at WrestleMania, so a WrestleMania moment should be in store, especially after the valuable performance she delivered in 2020 as one of WWE’s MVPs.
Prediction: Asuka
Io Shirai (c) vs. Rhea Ripley [NXT Women’s Championship]
Rhea Ripley is a betting favorite to win the Royal Rumble. If she wins, she will have the opportunity to battle for the NXT Women’s Championship in a rematch against Io Shirai. Ripley’s momentum and confidence have suffered ever since she lost the NXT Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair at last year’s WrestleMania. Her title reign was very short because of this loss and she could redeem herself by winning it back on the same stage where she lost it.
There have also been speculative rumors about Ripley getting called up to the main roster. Indeed, there is a possibility that Ripley could challenge for the Raw or SmackDown Women’s Championships if she won the Rumble. Although she is more than ready to take center stage on the main roster, she still has unfinished business when it comes the NXT Women’s Championship and that should be her primary pursuit, come WrestleMania 37.
Prediction: Rhea Ripley
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair vs. Bayley vs. Carmella [SmackDown Women’s Championship]
Sasha Banks’ WrestleMania opponent should solely be Bianca Belair because it is a dream match in the making that is of higher demand than any other possible match up in the SmackDown Women’s Division right now. However, Banks and Belair are both top babyfaces in the SmackDown Women’s Division. Due to the main roster’s tendency to maintain babyface-heel dynamics, this match won’t happen, unless one of these superstars turns heel.
It would be ill-advised to turn either superstar heel since Banks is now a mega movie star and has to be the top babyface after Bayley, the top heel, betrayed her months ago and Belair has been repackaged as a future babyface star who has been adored by the mainstream fanbase since getting called up to the main roster. Since the WWE booked itself into a corner here, the only way to avoid a heel turn from either superstar is by booking a fatal four way with two other heels.
Bayley and Carmella are the only two other heels that come to mind since they have been directly involved in the title picture with Banks in the past few months. The WWE could make this match a fatal four way elimination match so that Banks and Belair are the last two standing after eliminating Bayley and Carmella. As for the winner, Banks needs to win since she has never won a match at Mania and needs to solidify her reign as SmackDown Women’s Champion.
Prediction: Sasha Banks
Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sheamus [WWE Championship]
Drew McIntyre’s opponent will be Sheamus. They have been teasing their feud far too many times on Raw for it not to be the WrestleMania match. Every time Sheamus is the clear contender for McIntyre’s title, he has been losing number one contender’s matches to other superstars on the Raw roster because the WWE is saving him for Mania. Sheamus’ moment to become number one contender will come once he wins an Elimination Chamber match to battle McIntyre at Mania.
A victory over a former WWE Champion and Royal Rumble winner would do wonders for Drew McIntyre’s title reign as he kickstarts another momentous road to WrestleMania. During his long title reign, McIntyre had defeated many former world champions, including Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, and more recently AJ Styles and The Miz. Sheamus is next on the bucket list and this victory will be even more meaningful since it’s against his best friend.
Prediction: Drew McIntyre
Finn Balor (c) vs. Karrion Kross [NXT Championship]
The story is simple here. Karrion Kross relinquished his championship due to injury and Finn Balor became the interim NXT Champion. Since Balor experienced the same with the Universal Championship on the main roster, he understands how big this match will be for Kross. Many fans expect Kross to just win back the NXT Championship, but it would be more interesting to see Balor bring back the Demon and retain the NXT Championship for a shocking WrestleMania moment.
When Balor is in NXT, he is a cat that watches the mice play. When Balor is on the main roster, he is a demon that is ready, willing, and able to eat his prey. Since the ‘Demon’ is undefeated, Kross will not look weak in defeat. This will actually be a gateway for Kross to get called up to the main roster. He is already a big star in his own right and does not need to spend more time in NXT than necessary. Balor retains. Kross gets called up. Book it.
Prediction: ‘The Demon’ Finn Balor
Roman Reigns (c) vs. Daniel Bryan [Universal Championship]
Ever since Jey Uso ‘injured’ Daniel Bryan in storyline, Bryan has made it an oath to defeat Jey Uso decisively beyond a small package to get his redemption before battling Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Now that he has that decisive victory, he has the momentum to battle for the title and had made his intentions clear on Talking Smack when talking with Paul Heyman. The first step is to win the Rumble and the ultimate step to beat Roman Reigns.
Clearly, these two superstars will have an impeccable feud, but Reigns will inevitably retain the Universal Championship against Bryan, who is merely trying to put the SmackDown stars over as much as possible. As the top heel, Reigns needs to topple a top babyface, and Bryan fits the bill. Bryan has been a popular babyface for a very long time and is probably only one of a few who can put Reigns over as a megastar.
While Goldberg also makes sense as a challenger to Reigns since he did not get the opportunity to face him at last year’s WrestleMania, he never main evented WrestleMania and is not a fan favorite, like Bryan, to be in that spot. Quite frankly, he could hurt Reigns’ momentum as a heel since so many fans would boo Goldberg, instead of Reigns, due to his burial of so many superstars, especially Bray Wyatt, upon his return.
Prediction: Roman Reigns