So, it’s here – WrestleMania 34 is tomorrow and the WWE will (hopefully) put together one of the best cards of the year. The sheer number of matches that are on the card this year (thirteen total matches) and the seven-hour run time of the show means that there is a lot of action to be had with this event. With nine championships on the line throughout the night, two high-profile tag team matches, and two Battle Royal matches, and the card is featuring matches that include no less than six women in these high-profile matches… this year’s WrestleMania is shaping up to be one of the best ever… or at least it has the potential to be when you look at the WrestleMania card at a glance.
WrestleMania 34 definitely has my attention (much to the chagrin of my wife who is trying to survive WrestleMania weekend) as I am excited to be taking in everything that the WWE is producing this weekend. Last night’s WWE 2018 Hall of Fame Ceremony was fun to watch as favorites The Dudley Boyz, Jeff Jarrett, Ivory and Mark Henry got their proper respects for their accomplishments and dedication to the profession. As this is going up, I am settling in to watch NXT TakeOver: New Orleans where the next generation of WWE Superstars prepare to once again steal the show and make the members of the main roster up their game and work even harder.
So, because I am so stoked for this year’s WrestleMania, I want to share with you my predictions for each match that is slated (and may yet be added) on the WrestleMania card.
WWE Universal Championship match
Brock Lesnar (C) vs Roman Reigns
I hate to admit that this match is going to be as predictable as many people are guessing it to be, but I feel that this three-year experiment of Roman Reigns is finally going to come to a conclusion. While I feel that this match may be better than most people may be willing to give it credit, I think that ultimately that this match will end with Roman Reigns beating Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship after landing a few successive Superman Punches to finally put Lesnar down.
Winner: Roman Reigns
WWE Championship match
AJ Styles (C) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
This is a dream match for any true wrestling fan worth their salt. I’ve seen this match before in NJPW at Wrestle Kingdom 10 for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, but this time, this match is at arguably the biggest and most prestigious event in professional wrestling. And I am not afraid to say this this is the match I am looking forward to the most at WrestleMania. In the end, and after a technical clinic in the ring, I think that Shinsuke Nakamura will lay AJ Styles out with the Kinshasa for the win.
Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura
Mixed Tag Team match
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
I don’t expect this match to last very long, but I do think that it will do a lot to tell a decent story – as long as Stephanie McMahon doesn’t get to drunk on the spotlight and actually puts over the debuting Ronda Rousey. And that’s what I think is going to happen. While Triple H and Kurt Angle will work the majority of the match, I think that it will end with Stephanie and Rousey will end up in the ring and Rousey is going to stretch Stephanie into submission… and maybe snap her arm (in storyline) to further her story along.
Winner: Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey
Tag Team match
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
Oh man, there is no way that Shane McMahon & Daniel Bryan don’t win this match, there is no way that I can root for anyone else to win this match over Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn – it’s Daniel Bryan’s return match and I can’t see it ending with Bryan & McMahon eating a loss. And I love Owens & Zayn, but this is Daniel Bryan we’re talking about: to have him come back to WrestleMania and not win… that would be a huge mistake.
Winner: Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon
SmackDown Women’s Championship match
Charlotte Flair (C) vs Asuka
Although the hype for this match hasn’t been as excited as I thought it would be, the fact that Charlotte Flair has a chance at WrestleMania to stop Asuka and her nearly two-year undefeated streak. If she doesn’t, however, it will cost her the SmackDown Women’s Championship and it would mark Asuka’s first reign as champion since joining the main roster last year. I gotta say, I am really excited to see this match, but I don’t think that the WWE is ready to stop Asuka’s streak just yet – even if it is Charlotte in her way. I see Asuka pulling off the victory after a fifteen-minute plus match to become the new champion.
Winner: Asuka
Bonus Prediction: I also think we will see Carmella finally cash in her Money in the Bank contract on Asuka immediately after only to lose the match after trying to catch Asuka off guard.
RAW Women’s Championship match
Alexa Bliss (C) vs Nia Jax
Oh man, as much as I love Alexa Bliss as champion, I really think this is the time for Nia Jax to take the reigns as champion in the WWE. She has the look and build that no other woman in the company has and they could potentially play her up as a sympathetic “monster face” the same way that they are doing with Braun Strowman. Plus, after being on the receiving end of a lot of bullying at the hands of Alexa and Mickie James, it would be illogical for Nia to lose and completely go against the WWE’s whole anti-bullying campaign.
Winner: Nia Jax
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Triple Threat match
The Usos (C) vs The New Day vs The Bludgeon Brothers
The Usos are tearing it up as tag champions over on SmackDown. And their past matches with The New Day have been completely nuts and have been some of the best matches on each card they were on. Add in The Bludgeon Brothers, who I really don’t care for, and I still think that it would be a good match… I just think that the WWE is putting in The Bludgeon Brothers in the match to win the match at a surprise point and leave the other two team laid out.
Winners: The Bludgeon Brothers
Raw Tag Team Championship match
Sheamus & Cesaro (C) vs Braun Strowman & a mystery partner
I think that the WWE has put too much emphasis on Braun Strowman since he won the qualifying Tag Team Battle Royal singlehandedly to not put the belt on him at WrestleMania. Whoever his partner may be, I think that they are going to have Strowman run just run through both men and walk out of WrestleMania with his partner as the new Raw Tag Team Champions.
Winner: Braun Strowman and his mystery partner
Bonus Prediction: I think that Strowman’s mystery partner is either going to be Rey Mysterio or Samoa Joe.
Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat match
The Miz (C) vs Seth Rollins vs Finn Bálor
As much as I hate to admit how much I love The Miz as a heel, I love him even more as the Intercontinental Champion because he has elevated the championship to a level of prestige it hasn’t seen since the late 1980s/early 1990s. But with him recently becoming a father, I think that he is going to drop the title for a short time so he can go be a father. Because of this, I think that Seth Rollins will walk out of WrestleMania as the new IC champ and this will also lead to the heel turn of Finn Bálor and the full emergence of The Balor Club in the WWE.
Winner: Seth Rollins
United States Championship Fatal Four Way match
Randy Orton (C) vs Bobby Roode vs Jinder Mahal vs Rusev
I think that Rusev is finally at a point in terms of his appeal with fans and his standing backstage with WWE creative to finally be given a chance to run with the United States Championship once again. Before he was inserted to the match, I had him winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and Jinder Mahal winning this match over Randy Orton and Bobby Roode, but after Rusev was put into the match, he became my favorite to win this match and walk out of WrestleMania as the new US champ… and on Rusev Day no less.
Winner: Rusev
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal match
In past years, the winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal match hasn’t done much in the company immediately after the win: Cesaro, Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley… all have failed to get over with creative enough and had floundered on the roster after winning. But I think this year will be different as the winner will force a change in how we see the winner of this match and elevate this match to more than just a match that they throw together to get everyone on the WrestleMania card. And that man would be Dolph Ziggler after being the last man standing in the match.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler
WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal match
In this historic new event, we will see the remaining members of the WWE women’s main roster as well as some entrants from NXT to fill out the numbers, but this is another huge move for the WWE and how they treat the women in their promotion. Because of this, I think that the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal match will immediately have more impact than the men’s Battle Royal match as it will reward the woman that I think has made the most impact on the rosters in recent days. And as much as I would love for Becky Lynch to win this match, because she definitely deserves this win, I think that Ruby Riott will walk out of this match as the last woman standing in the ring.
Winner: Ruby Riott
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Tournament Finals match
Cedric Alexander vs Mustafa Ali
The cruiserweight division in the WWE never meant as much in the company as it has the past month or so. Ever since Triple H took over the booking for the division and 205 Live, the cruiserweights have enjoyed a huge bump in both success and the quality of matches. And this tournament to crown a new Cruiserweight Champion since it was vacated has been almost as good as the initial Cruiserweight Classic. Because of that, both Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali deserve to win this belt as they have been the two most exciting performers in the division, but I think that Mustafa Ali will make a surprise roll up and pick up the win to be the new champion.
Winner: Mustafa Ali
And, just in case this match does or does not happen at WrestleMania, here is my prediction for…
Singles match
John Cena vs The Undertaker
WrestleMania already has a stacked card and I think that this match has a 75% chance of not happening at WrestleMania, but in the 25% chance that it does, I want to make my prediction for this match, or even confrontation, here. I think that, for some reason, Kid Rock (ugh) is going to perform at WrestleMania where he will suddenly start playing “American Badass” and The Undertaker will appear at the top of the ramp and ride his bike down to ringside and confront John Cena who will be sitting at ringside. This may be all that happens and we’ll see this match happen at a later date or he calls him into the ring and they have a minor fight. Or, if it blows up into a full match, I see Undertaker winning the match and walking out of WrestleMania and ending his career with a win at the event.
Winner: The Undertaker
