WWE Wrestlemania 33 Predictions

This Sunday is the grandaddy of them all and in my mind WWE’s season finale (even though there is no off season), Wrestlemania.  This Wrestlemania has been dubbed the “Ultimate Thrill Ride” and considering that it’s taking place in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Flordia which is near Universal Studio makes it a very fitting theme. The card for this event has been received with a ton of mixed reactions. There are people excited about it and saying its the best card they have had in years and many are expecting this Wrestlemania to be a let down. In my mind the WWE will always pull through for their biggest show of the year and my only complaint is that I won’t be there live this year like I was last year. I think this show is full of potential as per usual be spectacle that will leave everyone talking once the show is over. There are three rivalries that have been building for longer than 5 months that have their blow off here which is really cool. There are also a handful of matches that seemed to have been thrown together last minute. However, I think the entire show will deliver. Here are my predictions for this years showcase of the immortals.

This quite frankly could be the best wrestling match on the card but its placed on the kick off show. It’s also the first time the Cruiserweight Championship is being defended at Wrestlemania since 2004 if I’m correct. The match has the self proclaimed “King of the Cruiserwights” Neville defending his championship against the charismatic “A Double” Austin Aries. Neville and Aries have faced each other before in the independents and I believe they really would have had the potential to be a great wrestling match between story-telling matches on the main card but thats not the case. As for my prediction, I think Austin Aries walks out the new Cruiserweight champion and Neville will call it a fluke continuing their feud following Wrestlemania. There is a chance Neville could retain and the rivalry still continues with Neville as champion. Honestly, I would prefer that more because I feel like the Cruiserweight Title has changed hands enough times since its inception for now. Let someone such as Neville have somewhat of a lengthy reign to help the title earn some prestige. Although my gut is telling Aries walks out triumphant and the new champion.
Prediction – Austin Aries

It’s a shame that the Smackdown Women’s Championship match got demoted to the kick off show considering the Smackdown Women’s Division has been booked better to make all the women look strong compared to the confusing booking of the Raw Women’s Division since the draft. I remember looking back and thinking the Smackdown Women’s division was going to struggle but instead it’s the Raw Women’s Division that has struggled and mainly focused around 2-3 women at a time where Smackdown successfully books all 7-8 of their women to feel significant. Anyway, I predicted that Alexa Bliss would retain the title and walk out of Wrestlemania still the champion unless Naomi was healthy. The only other scenario I could see happening was Naomi returning to reclaim her title in her hometown as a surprise. Smackdown however ruined that surprise and had Naomi return on the most recent episode, which I thought was silly because the pop of an unexpected hometown crowd would have been amazing. Now with Naomi officially in the match, I’m going to go with my original prediction that if Naomi was healthy than she’s winning the title.
Prediction – Naomi

The Smackdown tag division doesn’t have a title match they are involved in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal. Therefore expect to find American Alpha, The Usos and Breezango in this match. Also involved in this match are the likes of Apollo Crews, MoJo Rawley, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Big Show, Dolph Ziggler, Jinder Mahal, The Shining Stars and Sami Zayn just to name a few more participants. Its unfortunate to see the likes of Ziggler and Zayn in this match. I Ziggler suffered a drastic downfall since turning heel. Zayn should be wrestling in a singles match against Samoa Joe if you ask me. I don’t know for sure but I also think Joe might be in this match which I find pretty disappointing if thats the case because he made such an impact upon his debut. The prediction of who’s going to win is pretty obvious and thats Braun Strowman. He’s been built as a future top star and top big guy in the company and for him not to have a moment on Wrestlemania is pretty derailing to all the momentum he’s had thus far. I also believe they have big plans for Strowman following Wrestlemania, so him winning this Battle Royal makes the most logical sense.
Prediction – Braun Strowman

I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to this match that much originally because the build didn’t really pick up until this last Monday with the inclusion of Ladders. The moment this match was announced to be a ladder match, they had my attention. Honestly, at this rate it would have felt weird not having a ladder match stipulation match on the Wrestlemania card since there has basically almost been one every year since Wrestlemania 21. I know we’ll be in for some cool spots and close calls which will get the live crowd in the Citrus bowl fired up. I have no faith that Cesaro and Sheamus are going to walk out as the tag team champions. Personally, I think they’re only apart of this match because there was nothing else for them to do, similar to the reason for them being paired up as a tag team in the first place. I do enjoy them as a tag team but I hope they break up following Wrestlemania. Enzo and Cass in my mind are over regardless if they’re champions or not. Even though it would be a happy moment if they won the tag team titles, the heels got to go over in some of these matches and I don’t see Enzo and Cass walking as tag team champions just yet. I personally just think they don’t need the belts yet. The Club to hardcore fans are beloved but to casual fans they might not think so highly of them since they failed to capture the tag titles and lost a lot in 2016 when the WWE was focused on making The New Day the longest reigning tag team champions and putting the Cesaro and Sheamus tag team over. I think the best way to make those casual fans take The Club seriously and help them redeem some credibility is to have them victorious here. The Club doesn’t have to but they need to walk out as the tag team champions at Wrestlemania,
Prediction – The Club

This has to be one the worst booked rivalries on this card. It started out pretty great but in the last four episodes of Smackdown these two didnt appear on two of the them. It was almost easy to forget they were on the card. Ambrose has gotten bit stale but he’s still popular star and former WWE Champion. The company seemed to be grooming Baron Corbin to be one of the big stars of the future and putting him up against Dean Ambrose at Wrestlemania for the Intercontinental Champion is way to give him a rub. Considering the build up has been lacklustre I think this rivalry continues after Wrestlemania and the build up to the next Smackdown PPV between these two will be a lot better. Now with that in mind, I think Ambrose overcomes Corbin here and thats what makes this rivalry continue until eventually Corbin does defeat Ambrose and gets that rub. I think to make Ambrose feel less stale he needs this win to be taken seriously and make Corbin angry to continue chasing the title to prove himself. I predict Ambrose goes over here.
Prediction – Dean Ambrose

This could possibly be the best wrestling match on the main card. I’m huge fan of both guys and admire the fact that they’re both Canadian, considering I’m Canadian. I know the second point is pointless but I’m just being a patriotic Canadian. Anyway, this match had slowly been built up for over a year now as the story goes that these two were the best of friends until Owens turned on Jericho. Jericho spent most of the last year helping Owens stay on top and keep his Universal Championship but got his revenge by costing Owens the championship against Goldberg last month. Now, Y2J has to defend his United States Championship against his former best friend Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens is looking for retribution and Jericho is looking to prove to Kevin Owens that he is nothing without him. Now breaking away from the storyline we know that Jericho will be leaving the WWE for a period of time to tour with his rock band Fozzy and he’s always shared the dates he’ll be on tour on social media. Therefore, for the sake of continuation I think Kevin Owens goes over and it’ll be with the help of Owen’s new friend Samoa Joe. I also think Jericho will be written off TV either at Wrestlemania or the following night on Raw. Jericho will later somewhere down the road after his tour to get involved with Owens, Joe or both of them when he returns. As for Wrestlemania though I see Owens’ somehow overcoming Jericho, most likely with the help of Joe and leaving this rivalry unfinished. Also, Jericho is a giver and I think he would want to put of the best match possible with Kevin Owens and give him this Wrestlemania moment before taking time off for a bit. I think this match is going to be tremendous.
Prediction – Kevin Owens

This is the match I’ve been looking forward to the most. In my mind it’s been building up since 2013 when The Shield were the bodyguards for the Authority. In 2014, The Shield turned on the Authority leading Triple H to reach out to Randy Orton and Batista to reunite Evolution to destroy The Shield. When Evolution failed to do so and Batista quit and left the company, Triple H had to look for a Plan B to destroy The Shield. That Plan B was Seth Rollins. Triple H convinced Rollins to turn on his brothers and buy into the promises Triple H sold him. The rest of 2014 had The Authority do everything to protect and serve Seth Rollins. In 2015, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract that he had won with the help of Corporate Kane in the Summer of 2014 during the Lesnar/Reigns Wrestlemania 31 to become the WWE Champion. This was dubbed the “heist of the century. ” The Authority continued to protect Seth Rollins and helped him remain the WWE Champion throughout that year. However, near the end of the year The Authority started stacking the odds against Rollins and there was a underlying tension brewing between Rollins and Triple H. Before anything could happen, Rollins got injured, had to relinquish the WWE Championship and didn’t return until the Spring of 2016. In the meantime Triple H had to pick up the slack when Rollins was hurt and deal with Roman Reigns himself and ultimately failed losing to Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 32. When Rollins returned, he immediately began chasing the WWE Championship again and reclaimed it at the Money in the Bank only to lose it Dean Ambrose who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract. Rollins failed to regain the title in a Shield triple threat the following month. Rollins was also handed the opportunity to become the first Universal Champion following the brand extension and failed to beat Finn Balor to win it. Balor got injured and had to relinquish the title which led to Rollins to getting another shot to win the Universal Title in a Fatal Four Way match. This is where Triple H appeared for the first time since Wrestlemania and screwed Rollins from winning the match and handpicking Owens as his new chosen one.
This is when everything became clear to Rollins and all he wanted was Triple H. There was months of stalling to get closer to Wrestlemania but in January these two finally picked up their rivalry. Rollins hunted down Triple H and Triple H had Rollins attacked by Samoa Joe. Joe injured Rollins and it was questionable if Rollins would even make it to Wrestlemania and Rollins promises he will. These two are now facing each other in a non sanctioned match and I think this is going to be a vicious brawl. I would love to see Rollins hit one curb stomp and other than that I see this story only ending with Rollins being victorious here. I don’t know if this will close the door of their feud but this match seriously needs to happen so Rollins can move on to the next chapter in his career and get this one match out of the way. I’m really looking forward to this match and think it’ll tell a great story. I think the stipulation is in place to protect Rollins since he might not be at 100% and the brawl means Rollins doesn’t have to hit too many of his high impact moves. Once again though, Triple H will do whats best for business and the future of the company by putting Rollins over at the grandest stage of all sports entertainment.
Prediction – Seth Rollins

On paper this match was unappealing and seemed ridiculous, mainly for Wrestlemania. It still does. However, credit to all four superstars involved but they were capable of gaining my intrigue with the build up which featured great promos, skits and roasts drawing a fine line between reality and scripted television. Ironically, all of them are featured on hit reality show Total Divas, so its very easy for them to draw that line from what people see on WWE’s main programming and from their real-life which people get an insight to on Total Divas and Total Bellas. I really, really want to see The Miz and Maryse go over, mainly because Cena is taking time off after Wrestlemania and this is Maryse’s return match after 5 years. Although, my gut is telling me Cena and Nikki are going over for a happy moment between the power couple. I personally have had instances where Cena and Nikki come off as the heels during the rivalry but these two couples were really good at swaying your emotions during the build up. Even with the build up being so great, I don’t think the match will be that great. I’m actually not a big fan of anyone of these superstars wrestling styles besides maybe Cena’s. On the other hand Cena has his best matches when he’s in the ring with somebody that forces him to step up his game and I don’t see Miz as one of those guys. Its very evident that Nikki is on cloud nine with this entire angle and feud and Cena who I think would rather be facing The Undertaker or someone else seems to be happy about it only because Nikki is and he loves her. Taking in the fact that Cena is doing this for Nikki because he loves her and The Miz and Maryse have brought up multiple times that Cena and Nikki arent married, I almost feel like we’re in store for a proposal at Wrestlemania where Cena proposes to Nikki. I guess we’ll only find out this Sunday but if thats the case, Cena and Nikki are going over.
Prediction – John Cena & Nikki Bella

This match figures to be one of the craziest on the card. Shane always delivers insane spots in his matches. Styles is playing the role of a heel, but he’s still the recipient of more cheers than boos from the WWE Universe. The match has no stipulation which really comes off as shocking because I don’t remember the last time Shane-O was involved in a match that did not have a stipulation. I mean what is he supposed to jump off of or take a crazy bump off of if all the rules are applicable. He can’t get DQ’d or counted so does that mean this is going to be an actual technical wrestling match. I’m a huge fan of both guys and have faith in both of them that they want to send the fans home happy and talking about this match when the show is over but can they pull it off? AJ Styles is incapable of having a bad match and if I didn’t know any better, I would assume Styles had wings. Shane McMahon always feels like he has to go above and beyond to show he can hang with the wrestlers since he’s the boss’s son and I think he’ll find a way to do that here. Even if that does mean they wrestle the match in the ring above the actual ring…anyway, one thing is for sure about this match and that is that AJ Styles won’t and can’t lose. Shane McMahon gains nothing by beating AJ Styles but Shane could gain some respect from Styles if he loses in fighting battle. AJ Styles gains nothing from beating Shane either but it would definitely look horrible on AJ if he loses to him. I don’t know how this match will play out exactly, but I know AJ Styles is walking out victorious. I just pray that this match will be good and surprise us. I have faith that both guys will want to give us a show that we’ll never forget.
Prediction – AJ Styles

Most matches are easy to predict for because usually you have  50% chance of being right. However, in matches such as this when it’s Fatal Four Way Elimination thats not the case and even worse, your choice could be the first one eliminated. I honestly can’t predict who’s going to win this match. I think all four girls have the potential to walk out victorious. I’m also okay with any one of them winning. If Bayley retains, thats totally cool to me and I personally still think they should have built her up and she shouldn’t have won the title until Wrestlemania but thats just my opinion. Obviously that means they must have plans for her to drop it or something big to happen at Wrestlemania. Sasha Banks heel turn anyone? If Nia Jax wins, I think this could be a HUGE moment for her and an official coming out party as a dominant force apart of the Raw Women’s Division. I would be totally fine with that too. If Charlotte walked out victorious for the sake of making moments and memories, if would be historic for so many different reasons. It would make Charlotte champion once again but it would also be Charlotte’s life coming full circle because its the same stadium where she sat in the crowd in 2008 and watched her father retire from professional wrestling at Wrestlemania 24. I would one of the few people totally fine with Charlotte winning at Wrestlemani, although I know that might start an uproar of negative feedback on the internet. I’m a huge Charlotte fan and always will be. Of course though, if my girl Salsa Banks wins, I’m going to mark out like a 12 year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert and be extremely jealous I wasn’t there live to see it. Sasha Banks is my favourite female wrestler of all time to have ever stepped in a WWE ring. Although, this gets some backlash sometimes, I honestly think she’s the Shawn Michaels of the women’s division when it comes to always putting a good match regardless who its against, having that it factor and being smaller and scrappy. Also like HBK, her heel promos are way better than her babyface promos. I’m okay with any of these women walking out as champion and this one is a little bit more unpredictable than other matches. On that note, I have to go with who I really want to win and thats Sasha Banks.
Prediction – Sasha Banks

Our beloved Phenom against the controversial Roman Reigns at the biggest spectacle of sports entertainment. It’s really not most fans ideal match for Undertaker and it’s not mine either but it is what it is and it is intriguing. It’s Undertaker, who years referred to the ring as his yard against the Big Dog Roman Reigns, who has recently been referring to the ring as his yard. I couldn’t help but refer to this as the yard match. It also took me back thinking about this old WWF Sacrifice video package based on Taker’s career where he mentioned something along the lines of “it was going to be his yard until a big dog comes and bites him on the ass and takes it from him.” Is Roman Reigns that guy? There has been word that this could be The Undertaker’s final Wrestlemania and personally I hope its not. I hope he goes for one more year and faces off against Cena or someone next year where he can win and be the one wrestler who’s rides out in the sunset of retirement with a final victory. Its fitting he leaves victorious at the show he helped draw the crowd for in the last decade with the marketing of the streak. Although unpopular, I think Roman Reigns NEEDS to go over this Sunday. If Undertaker wins it does nothing for anyone and he most likely won’t be seen until the Summer or next year around this season. If he loses though, damn will it put heat on Roman Reigns. Reigns could be the biggest heel heading into Wrestlemania next year to the extent that it may be able to turn the fans that are booing him today to cheer him by the time next years Wrestlemania comes around. I don’t love Roman but I definitely don’t hate him. I think he’s had some impressive matches and has the look. Roman’s promos are bad when they’re extremely scripted and they don’t just let him be a cocky badass who says a few words. I personally just don’t like the way he’s booked and the fact thats he’s changed the least from the Shield days in attire and persona but I think this victory could change all that. The Undertaker’s undefeated streak is over. He doesn’t have any reason to win and it doesnt help anyone besides makes us fans who grew up with our beloved Undertaker happy because he’s symbolic of our childhood. This doesn’t help the future though. Its that mentality that leads to us having a main event with Goldberg in it instead of someone young and new like Kevin Owens. I don’t think Reigns can call it his yard unless he beats the Undertaker similar to how I find it silly that Bray calls himself the new “face of fear’ when he couldnt beat The Undertaker. Its better for the future of the business. Roman Reigns needs to win whether we like it or not. I just wish I was in the building when this happened so I could hear the chorus of boos.
Prediction – Roman Reigns

Brock Lesnar has never defeated Bill Goldberg. Goldberg’s current deal with the WWE is up. Therefore, unless Goldberg signs a new deal its almost confirmed that Brock Lesnar is walking out the new Universal Champion. It’s the only way this rivalry needs to end too. Brock needs to destroy Goldberg once and for all to redeem his credibility as the Beast Incarnate who can’t be stopped. The WWE needs to protect their long term investment, which is Brock Lesnar. Goldberg’s run was nostalgic and in the history books now but this nostalgia act is over. Brock Lesnar although a part timer will be around longer and give back more to the company before he leaves than Goldberg will. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of both guys. I grew up with Goldberg and as a little kid who grew up with Goldberg in WCW, I still get chills when he makes his entrance. This Wrestlemania entrance is going to be amazing. I’ll always be a Brock Lesnar fan and being a teenager during Lesnar’s first run, I know he can go and put one quality matches. I mean he put on classics with the likes of Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, The Rock and Eddie Guerrero when I was a kid. Hell, I was in the crowd for his epic Wrestlemania encounter with Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 19. My only beef is that I’m sick of this suplex city gimmick. I realized I was over it last year at Wrestlemania when his match with Ambrose was a huge let down. Every Lesnar match since then has been a let down. Lesnar/Orton was disappointing and Goldberg/Lesnar wasn’t even a match. If the goal was to shock us in those matches it worked but that doesn’t change that they were disappointing. If this match goes longer than 5 minutes I’ll be shocked but I don’t think it’ll make the match any better. However, I’m optimistic and willing to give everything a chance to change my opinion so hopefully these two do at Wrestlemania. It’s definitely a draw for casual fans and it will feel special but as a hardcore fan I have my doubts. The one thing I don’t doubt is that Brock Lesnar will be walking out the WWE Universal Champion.
Prediction – Brock Lesnar

It may be the most cut and dry match on the card but it’s between two multi generational stars and based of a storyline that has been perfectly built for the last 7-8 months. I think this match could definitely headline the show although the crowd may be dead by this point. How do you liven them back up? You either put on a epic match or some voodoo supernatural shit needs to go down on the behalf of Bray Wyatt. I think this match is going to tell a wonderful story and have our attention because of that. I can definitely see Randy Orton just getting a clean victory with an RKO or two or I can see him overcoming the odds and walking out as champion. The only way I see Bray walking out still as champion is for some supernatural stuff to go down which allows him to come off more powerful and overcome Randall which leads to this rivalry continuing for even longer. In the end though I think this match will be better than we expect and the hidden gem on this card. Orton tends to pull out hidden gems on Wrestlemania cards. Take his matches against Undertaker at 21, Legacy at 26 and his match against Seth Rollins at 31 for examples. In the end I’ll be rooting for both men but my gut is saying stick with Orton as the eventual victor in this match.
Prediction – Randy Orton

What do you think about my predictions for Wrestlemania 33? What are your predictions? Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts and ideas of what might happen on the show? Leave your comments and opinions below.