Predicting the outcome of a WrestleMania card can often be as challenging as filling out a March Madness bracket, but occasionally, slightly more predictable. And it just so happens that “the most stupendous two-night WrestleMania in history” will conclude less than 24 hours before the Men’s NCAA Tournament final tips off in New Orleans during the first few days of April.
For the second time, ‘Mania will be held inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and for the third time, will take place over the course of two nights. Many of the matches have already been announced and made official so let’s take a look at the most compelling storylines and how they might shake out.
Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
The entire lineup and majority of WWE’s weekly programming is built around this high-profile matchup. Reigns is the Universal Champion while Lesnar holds the WWE Championship. The two will lock horns in the main event on Sunday night in a winner-take-all match that is being billed as the biggest main event in WrestleMania history.
This will mark Reigns’ sixth WrestleMania main event and the third with the Beast Incarnate. The Needle Mover recently surpassed Brock’s longest title reign and has become the longest reigning Universal Champion in company history.
Considering that Lesnar will likely take his annual post-Mania break and the fact that the WWE is grooming Drew McIntryre for another run in the top spot, Reigns should emerge victorious in Dallas and become a unified WWE champion.
Edge vs AJ Styles
This is the most compelling men’s singles match on the RAW side, and for many, a dream encounter. Edge turned heel when Styles answered his WrestleMania open challenge to close out a recent episode of RAW and we’ll see how the story unfolds from there.
There’s no heavyweight title to be fought over on the red brand so you can imagine the resources they’ll invest in this angle, even though the idea of the match may sell itself. Expect the winner to get immediate consideration for a title opportunity if and when the WWE decides to split the championships again, and we expect that winner to be AJ Styles, establishing himself as a top babyface once again.
Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair / Charlotte vs. Ronda Rousey
Both of these matches will take place on WrestleMania Saturday, with one likely closing out the first night of festivities. The Lynch/Rousey one-on-one match still hasn’t materialized, leaving many fans disappointed it wasn’t put together for this show.
However, Becky and Bianca have weaved a compelling tale that began all the way back at this past SummerSlam. We’re fairly confident that the RAW Women’s Championship will change hands, and on the blue brand it all depends how long Rousey intends on performing full-time in her second go-round.
Stone Cold & Cody Rhodes?
Last summer, news broke of Daniel Bryan (Bryan Danielson) and CM Punk’s intentions to sign with AEW on the same day. It was the biggest wrestling news day in recent memory, until the dirt sheets shook the foundation again this past February.
Rumors swirled about Stone Cold Steve Austin’s return to the ring after a 19-year retirement on the same day that it was reported Cody Rhodes would be leaving All Elite Wrestling to rejoin the WWE.
Don’t believe everything you read. Austin will be in Dallas, but only to appear on the KO Show with Kevin Owens. A one-on-one match may or may not have ever been in the cards, but the entertainment value will certainly be sky-high.
Rhodes remains a mystery as of this writing, with rumors picking up steam about a potential course-reversal back to AEW via Ring of Honor. If he does return to WWE, his path to the biggest stage of them all might be… Seth Rollins.
Owens and Rollins lost their tag team title match (and apparent ‘Mania spots) on the March 7 episode of RAW, but may be involved in two of the bigger angles on the show of shows after all.
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