With TLC coming up on Sunday, we’re basically on the road to the Road to WrestleMania, and that means it’s WrestleMania 35 rumor time! Joe Peisich, Giancarlo Aulino, and Steve Carney’s Barnburner podcast, No Holds Barred, recently delivered some interesting tidbits from inside sources.
According to Peisich (via Ringside News), AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton is currently in the cards for the Grandest Stage Of Them All, which I’m guessing would have the dynamic of seeing if this Southern boy with a farmer’s strength was man enough to feel the pain caused by the recently super-sadistic Viper. Triple H is also expected to wrestle a big match against an unknown opponent.
The plans for the United States Championship match are still vague, but sound promising.
“I spoke to a few sources as well and right now Rey Mysterio is being penciled in for a United States title match, but they’re still working on who is going to go into WrestleMania with the title. Three names being discussed: Shinsuke Nakamura holding it until then to face Rey Mysterio. Samoa Joe is another one or Andrade Cien Almas… I’m hearing too that two of the three names of whoever doesn’t walk into WrestleMania with the United States Title, they will be in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. So there’s going to be plenty of star power in that match.”
Mysterio and Nakamura wrestled the lucha libre icon’s first match back in WWE and had a little showdown at Starrcade, so it’s easy to imagine them going in a program together. With the match Almas and Mysterio already had on SmackDown, the idea of an extended feud between them is exciting from an in-ring perspective as well, and, of course, Joe would provide that good vs. evil, little vs. big guy dynamic often associated with Mysterio. It’ll be interesting to see which of these directions the SmackDown men’s midcard goes as WrestleMania approaches.
