I was nervous when I had the idea to do these monthly WrestleMania card predictions because I figured that, by the time February rolled around, the matches would be set. But thanks to injuries and bad planning, there’s enough last-minute booking to go around. WrestleMania is in six weeks and we still have a good bit of uncertainty about a lot of the matches left on the card.
So, let’s look at some of the question marks, as well as the matches we think we know about and see what’s what. Trying to make sense of everything is a beautiful headache. I’m glad you’re here with me.
The “Main Event”
Welp. WWE did it. Against their better judgement, they went with the obvious Roman Reigns vs. Triple H bout for the big title match at ‘Mania. This has been the obvious call for a while, but the fact that this match was booked says a lot about what’s going on with the rest of the card. For starters, I don’t think this match is ending the card. I guess it’s possible, but WWE doesn’t really seem to want to have their big babyface booed out of the building to close the show. The fact that this match is still happening seems to indicated bigger plans for the Undertaker match, which I’ll get into a bit later.
As for Triple H vs. Roman, there are a ton of options going forward to add to the match. Namely guest referees or people in corners. Here are a few names of people who could referee:
The Rock – I’m not sure if the company trusts The Rock to pull of refereeing a match. His frantic, off-script RAW appearance a couple of weeks ago might have ruined any chance of Vince and co. trusting him with the outcome of the biggest match of the year. If anything, he’ll be in Roman’s corner, wondering why his cousin is getting booed out of Dallas.
Daniel Bryan – This could also be a disaster. Daniel Bryan as a reminder of what Roman Reigns is not could derail the match, too. But if WWE wants someone to bring in some more eyes and cheers, Bryan might be the guy.
Randy Orton – I could see Orton popping up as a Triple H ally who eventually turns and helps Roman win. That depends on if counting to three will shred his arm even further.
Seth Rollins – Samesies for Seth. Can he get down and count? Can he move? If so, I think he finds his way in this match some way and this is the way to go. Maybe him turning on Triple H sparks his return in a few months.
Undertaker vs. Shane McMahon For Control Of Monday Night Raw
Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I see zero chance of this match actually happening. The way it was set up was very weird and I don’t think Shane actually comes through as The Undertaker’s opponent. That’s just a match I want no parts of, as well as a risk that it’ll actually take place without someone looking like a damn fool.
I also find it hard to believe Undertaker will just be okay with being Vince’s representative for a WrestleMania match. We have six weeks until ‘Mania, and I have to believe this match changes between now and then. Here are a couple of options:
— Undertaker says “screw you” to Vince and sides with Shane, forcing Vince to find a replacement. That replacement: John Cena. Vince could force Cena to wrestle using some sort of villainous ultimatum and put Undertaker’s career on the line for betraying him. Maybe a reluctant Cena turns into a happy-to-help sentinel for the company who goes on to feud with Roman in the following few months. We get heel Cena against The Undertaker for The Undertaker’s last match.
— So, let’s say Undertaker stays “heel” and wrestles for Vince McMahon. Shane needs someone to fight Undertaker (maybe they run an injury angle to keep him out of the match). So Shane, as Vince’s heir, appoints The Undertaker’s successor to replace him, too. And we get *drumroll* Finn Balor vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania with Shane introducing Balor and maybe some Bullet Club cronies to bring in a new more radical reign of terror on the company going forward.
Either way, I’ll eat my shoe (I won’t, really) if we actually get Shane vs. Undertaker in a match.
Brock Lesnar vs. Dean Ambrose
This match is happening and it’ll be awesome. Brock is going to make Dean look like a million bucks. I’m here for it.
The Divas Match(es)
I have some good news: I think we’re going to get two Divas matches at ‘Mania. We’ll either get Charlotte, Becky and Sasha in a triple threat match or Sasha and Charlotte will have a singles. Either way, it’s my dark horse to steal the show.
In other Divas news, there’s probably going to be some sort of battle royal or tag match to get more women on the card. I’d love to see it just to see Naomi. She’s been on a tear as of late (again, her match with Sasha on Smackdown! a couple of weeks ago was the best main roster Divas match of the year so far). I want to see this new, constantly improving Naomi get a WrestleMania spotlight.
The New Day
It looks like babyface New Day might be a thing, as indicated by Edge and Christian making it rain on them and them having their worst night since coming together at Fastlane. The aforementioned event seemed to point towards a New Day vs. League of Nations showdown for whatever reason. But this all could just be something that brings the Wyatts and Big Show/Kane/Ryback crowd into the mix and it all settles in the Andre the Giant invitational. As I mentioned last month, Francesca should win.
My dream for 2016, not that you asked, is for Big E to win MITB and cash in on the Shield triple threat at SummerSlam for the belt. Then we get New Day vs. a reunited Shield for Mania 33.
Fight Owens, Fight
I guess we’ll have to wait a bit before we get Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn like I thought after the Rumble. Instead, it’s possible we’re getting Owens vs. AJ Styles. They teased this at the Royal Rumble, and with Styles beating Jericho, he’s in prime position to want an IC title match. This could all end up as a ladder match with Styles, Owens, Ziggler, Neville and even Kalisto if they want to unify the belts.
All in all, that’s seven matches so far. That’s right around the ballpark of WrestleMania matches these days. Like I said, New Day could be moved out to a match outside of the Andre the Giant invitational against either the Wyatts or League of Nations to give us a solid eight. We still have time and there’s a lot to flesh out. This should be a crazy six weeks.
