WrestleMania 33 is under a week away and the card has been set. Many people were hoping for more, but WWE obviously tried their best this year and the final match list reflects that fact.
The only championship not being defended at the Show Of Shows are the SmackDown Tag Team Titles. The Usos snatched those pretty blue belts from American Alpha a couple of weeks ago, and it looks like they’re going to hold them through Orlando. Since The Usos and American Alpha are now in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal, that addition doesn’t seem likely.
The current and final card is below, and we’ve also thrown in some insight where we felt it was needed. Please enjoy, and remember whatever happens in Orlando, won’t stay in Orlando. Because it might go on to reflect a much bigger picture for the WWE Universe for years to come.
Kickoff Show:
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Participants: Mojo Rawley, Apollo Crews, Big Show, Curt Hawkins, Braun Strowman, Goldust, R-Truth, Primo, Epico, Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas, Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn, Fandango, Tyler Breeze, Dolph Ziggler, Rhyno, Heath Slater, Jason Jordan, Chad Gable, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Mark Henry, Sin Cara, Titus O’Neal, Konnor, Viktor, Kallisto, Aiden English, Simon Gotch
We’ve already covered why this year’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal Match is such a big deal. But, let’s break it down a little bit more here. Sami Zayn had to fight in order to secure his spot in this match and Dolph Ziggler has also made a big deal about not having a WrestleMania moment either. Dolph had an amazing “Raw After WrestleMania Moment” but close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
The obvious winner of this one is probably Braun Strowman. He’s been hand picked for a while to be a big deal and get a nice push and it would only stand to reason that he’ll be walking away with the win here.
Neville vs. Austin Aries (Cruiserweight Championship)
Fans have been pining to see Austin Aries on the main roster for quite some time now. To be honest he was ready for Raw even before his stint in NXT, and his time on the commentary booth was a great use of him during his injury. But now that he’s back in action, he’s going straight for the top. It would be nice to see A-Double win this one and get the Cruiserweight Championship, but you never know what kind of tactics Neville might use to keep his pretty purple title.
Six Pack Challenge: Alexa Bliss vs. Mickie James vs. Natalya vs. Becky Lynch vs. Carmella vs. Naomi (SmackDown Women’s Title)
[This match has apparently been moved to the main show]
Little Miss Bliss got her title right back after losing it to Naomi at Elimination Chamber due to The Glow’s untimely knee injury. The fact that Naomi is back in action probably points toward her walking away with the title in her hometown. It will be nice to see and Orlando will love it (even though many of the people in attendance won’t be from Orlando because WrestleMania is very much a destination event at this point).
Main Show:
Dean Ambrose vs. Baron Corbin (Intercontinental Championship)
The Lone Wolf and the Lunatic Fringe have been going at it in recent weeks. Corbin nearly killed Ambrose with a forklift after throwing Ambrose into some production equipment. Baron Corbin has pretty much done all he can to kill Dean Ambrose before the event. They’re booking Corbin to look very strong against an almost passively violent Ambrose. It is an interesting program. Word is Baron Corbin is due for a big push and he’ll be on the top of the card soon so he’ll probably take this one.
Ladder Match: The Club vs. Enzo and Big Cass vs. Sheamus and Cesaro (Raw Tag Team Championship)
It’s time for everybody’s favorite kind of WrestleMania match: a ladder match. These three teams have been going back and forth for a couple of months now. On the go-home Raw before Mania, The Club introduced a ladder into the equation. If the titles are going to change here, Enzo and Big Cass might as well take them. However one thing you can probably bet on is Enzo taking some sort of sick spot off a ladder.
Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens (United States Championship)
The Festival Of Friendship might have meant the end of The Kevin And Chris Show, but it was only the beginning of their rivalry. We all saw it coming, but we still hated to see these two split up. Since they’ve been feuding it’s been great television though. Kevin Owens would make a fine United States Champion, and it’s likely he’ll be taking the gold here, but Jericho isn’t leaving immediately after WrestleMania. He’s been booked for house shows and Raw appearances for the rest of April. Y2J is taking a breather away from the ring in May because he’s got a ton of Fozzy dates planned. But this match is going to be a toss-up. One thing is for certain that it has “match of the night” written all over it.
Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match: Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax (Raw Women’s Championship)
This fatal four way is now an elimination match. There have been reports saying Bayley was expected to pick up the title at Mania, but they obviously popped on that early. They also popped early on Charlotte’s first pay-per-view loss so if she loses here it won’t make that much of a difference really. But everyone needs to lose every now and then, it builds character. Bayley is expected to come out on top of this one only because the next Raw pay-per-view is Payback and it’s in San Jose, Bayley’s hometown. WWE likes having champions come in to their hometown with a title. It makes for good media appearances after all.
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
The Face That Runs The Place is taking on The Boss’ Son. This feud got the most people heated to be honest. If anything it was because they thought AJ Styles could have been used better in his second WrestleMania. But, at least he might pick up a win here. He lost his first Mania match to Chris Jericho, but was rewarded with a #1 contenders spot the next night on Raw. So, who knows what they’ll pull out here. Hopefully it’ll be good, and since Shane and AJ rarely disappoint it most likely won’t be the “pee-break match” some think it will be.
John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. Miz and Maryse
It is almost unbelievable that this match has so many people excited for it, but we can’t wait. They have had an amazing build to this match, to say the least. Every week on SmackDown, John Cena and Miz have brought fire to their promos and we often wondered if it was a work or a shoot. The babyface team is expected to win, of course and we wouldn’t be surprised if John Cena got on one knee to top it all off. After all, they have rubbed Nikki’s face in the fact she’s not married to Cena so many times during this feud it would only stand to reason she get some kind of payoff in that regard.
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H (Non-Sanctioned Match)
This is the match that almost didn’t happen, and technically it’s still not happening, or at least WWE isn’t recognizing it. Some people are saying Finn Balor will make his long awaited return during this match. One thing is for sure, if Samoa Joe has a moment in Camping World Stadium on April 2nd, it’s going to be during this match. The fact Joe doesn’t have a match kind of sucks really, but odds are he’ll be used here. Let’s just hope they don’t go overkill in the match. But in the end, if Seth Rollins takes a loss or wins he will still come out on top in some respect at least.
The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns
Could this be The Undertaker’s last match? That will be the question on everyone’s minds during this encounter. Roman Reigns won’t go easy on The Dead Man, that’s for sure. One spear a couple weeks ago reportedly caused The Undertaker a lot of pain and he wasn’t moving around backstage very well afterward either. If there is a match on the card that goes shorter than expected, it will probably be this one. Roman will get booed out of the building either way though, because the WrestleMania crowd is a passionate bunch of people who are incredibly savvy. Still, it would be nice to see The Undertaker take care of Roman Reigns. But, The Undertaker is a company man and an old-school professional so if he is going out, he’s leaving while looking at the lights. It would only be fitting that the same building would retire Ric Flair and then The Undertaker 9 years later. It would be even more fitting to see Taker be inducted in the WWE Hall Of Fame next year in the same city where he lost The Streak.
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton (WWE Championship)
He’s got the whole world in his hands, and he’s currently got the WWE World Championship too. Randy Orton might have swerved some in the build-up for this match but we all knew he was taking the title shot. Besides, who turns down a chance to win a big title at Mania? These two will probably have an outstanding match, that is for sure. The fact Luke Harper has been ignored in the WrestleMania card might mean he could appear in this match, and he needs to as well. Erick Rowan is also medically cleared to return, so don’t be surprised if you see a very different kind of Wyatt Family reunion in Orlando.
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar (Universal Championship)
This match was built up because of a video game, and now it’s a reality. But WrestleMania 33 will most likely be the end on it. Goldberg changed his life around in order to come back and he’s promised a “blood fest” with Brock Lesnar to cap off WrestleMania 33. This match will get much more time than their previous conflicts, then again anything would be longer than their Survivor Series match, including a CM Punk UFC fight. Brock Lesnar will probably reign supreme in the match though, because Goldberg has hinted that he’s done with WWE at this point.
Whatever happens, please remember to bet responsibly, drink responsibly, and have a good time. WrestleMania only happens once a year, so you better enjoy it.
[…] Related: Full WrestleMania 33 Card, Breakdown And Match Analysis […]