Booking the Card: Looking at the possibilities for Wrestlemania


2017 is well underway, and we are on the road to the Royal Rumble, and that will officially kick the WWE fans off on "The Road to Wrestlemania".  Speculation has already started on what Wrestlemania's card will be.  A few matches seem like locks...

Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar

Seth Rollins versus Triple H

The Big Show versus Shaq 

But the real question is...what fills out the card?  There is speculation that A.J. Styles will face Shane McMahon, and judging from this past weeks Smackdown, and what's occurred the weeks before, that seems like a good bet.  Another question is who are going to be the Universal and WWE Champions by the time we get to "the grandest stage of them all"?  It almost seems like Roman Reigns and John Cena will win their respective brands top championships at the Rumble, but if so, who will they face?

Could that answer be the Rumble winner?  Past instances have pointed to that being a yes, but the WWE verbiage this year might mean otherwise.  If you notice, they never say "the winner of the Royal Rumble gets a title shot at this years Wrestlemania."  Instead it's "the winner of the Rumble gets to main event Wrestlemania."  This could mean several things...

-WWE has no idea what the Rumble winner will do once he wins.  Does the winner from one brand challenge for his respective top title, or does he get to choose?

Or

-Is it as they say, the winner just gets to main event "the show of shows"?  I don't like this scenario as it degrades the value of the top titles, but I wouldn't put it past the WWE thinking that the Wrestlemania brand is more important than the Universal and WWE Championships.

But of Cena and Reigns, or hell, Kevin Owens and Styles have their brands top titles who could they face?  If it's Owens as Universal Champion, I'd say Chris Jericho, as it does seem like this "friendship" will explode once Wrestlemania hits.  Titles or not, that seems to be Owens and Jerichos trajectory.  If the Universal Champion is Reigns, I'm almost certain his challenger will be Braun Strowman.  Being one of the better pushed talents this year, Strowman seems to be on path to eventually be fed to "the Big Dog".  Although, I believe the Wrestlemania fan base in Florida will crap all over that match.

What about Smackdown and the WWE Championship.  If Styles is the champion, I don't really see any Wrestlemania worthy challengers, unless they bring in someone from NXT like Samoa Joe or Shinsuke Nakamura, or they can manage to snag Finn Balor away from Raw.  They would be a good story, as both former Bullet Club leaders square off.  As I said earlier, Cena is my pick (begrudgingly) to be Champion by 'Mania and I see Styles facing off against Shane.  So who does Cena face?  Going through all the options, only one makes sense...The Undertaker.  Supposedly this was planned, but has been recently scrapped, but I'm hoping that's just false reporting.  The only match that makes sense for Cena to have is a title match at Wrestlemania with The Undertaker.

Speaking of The Undertaker, if he doesn't face Cena, who will he face?

I've heard everything from Braun Strowman (No!) to Randy Orton (Yuck!),  but neither is appealing.  With "the streak" broken, the only hook for Undertaker matches are the ones with a strong story behind it.  Strowman and Orton do not provide the backdrop for strong enough feuds with The Undertaker.

So what fills out Wrestlemania after all the top matches are booked?  Judging from the past, there will probably be some 6 Way Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship.  WWE likes the Ladder Match spectacle at 'Mania and with Money In The Bank having its own show, the IC Ladder Match seems to have taken its place.  I also believe the Orton/Bray Wyatt feud will culminate at Wrestlemania, with before then Orton finally turning on Bray. 

On the Women's side, unfortunately Smackdown will get the short end of the stick as I think their Women's match will be a place holder.  Even with that being said, I see both brands having a Four Way Women match for the titles.  The WWE brass obviously enjoys the Raw Women much more, and their match will be higher on the card.  I see Charlotte defending the Women's Championship against Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax.  Smackdown will be whomever the champion is at the time, and I'll predict it still being Alexa Bliss defending against Becky Lynch, Mickie James and Nikki Bella.  All because WWE can't focus on one feud, but they need to involve everyone.

Obviously you'll also have your Tag Team and Cruiserweight Champions involved in the event, wether it be on the pre-show or on some quick match on the card.

So who will win the Royal Rumble?  My money is on either Braun Strowman, or The Undertaker.

What will Wrestlemania look like this year?  Here is my predicted card:

-John Cena defending the WWE Championship against The Undertaker

-Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman

-Goldberg versus Brock Lesnar

-Seth Rollins versus Triple H

-The Big Show versus Shaq

-A.J. Styles versus Shane McMahon

-Chris Jericho defending the United States Championship against Kevin Owens

-Six Man Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship with Dean Ambrose defending against The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Baron Corbin, Samos Joe and Kalisto

-Alexa Bliss defending the Smackdown Women's Championship against Becky Lynch, Mickie James and Nikki Bella

-Charlotte defending the Raw Women's Championship against Bayley, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax

-Plus random Tag Team and Cruiserweight Championship matches, with the Andre the Giant Battle Royal

As you can see, it's a long, stacked card.  Seeing how last years Wrestlemania went, I don't see WWE shying away from it due to how many matches are listed.  None-the-less, even with the length, it's up to WWE to book it correctly.  There are enough marquee matches that the show should not end with Reigns, or Strowman.  If that match is indeed booked, then it's going to be a rough one for the fans.  Also it's up to WWE to book proper outcomes...unlike last year.

The Rumble, and the Road to Wrestlemania will be an interesting one, and the WWE can book it well enough that people will get generally excited, but the question is "Will they?"

Only time will tell, and whether good or bad...I'll be watching and critiquing.