It’s finally here. The Granddaddy of them All. The Grandest Stage. It’s WrestleMania, and it’s arrived. The time we’ve all been waiting for. All the hype, all the build-up leads to this Sunday. We’ve got the rundown of the whole card, and what a great card it is. It’s sure to be a great WrestleMania and has plenty of matches that could steal the show.
With all the great matches slated and the spectacle that is sure to take place, this WrestleMania will be one we won’t soon forget.
Buddy Murphy (c) vs. Tony Nese – Cruiserweight Championship
On the March 19 episode of 205 Live, Nese defeated Cedric Alexander in the finals of an 8-man tournament to give him the shot to face Murphy for the Cruiserweight championship at WrestleMania. Since then, the two have been trading barbs and brawling on the purple brand leading up to this clash.
Nese claims that “the pressure is all on Murphy” and that if anybody could beat Murphy, its Nese.
Although Nese is confident, I expect Murphy to retain and continue his 180+ day reign. With this match most like kicking off the night, it will hopefully be a great match and a great way to kick of WrestleMania.
Prediction: Buddy Murphy
Usos (c) vs. Black & Ricochet vs. The Bar vs. Nakamura & Rusev – SmackDown Tag Team Championships
This match was just made this past Tuesday on SmackDown and will feature a couple of veteran tag teams and two newer teams. Up to this point, the Usos 6th title reign has lasted only 45+ days. Before the recent title win in February, It had been more than a year and a half since the Usos had held any tag titles and I don’t think the WWE would take the belts away after just giving them to them.
As far as the rest of the field goes, Black and Ricochet should be split, Nakamura and Rusev aren’t good enough and the Bar is just the Bar. Although it should be a great match, by process of elimination I expect the Usos to retain.
Prediction: Usos
The Revival (c) vs. Zach Ryder & Curt Hawkins for the Raw Tag Team Championships
This match was made on YouTube with no build leading up to match. The Revival has held the championship for 51+ days after beating Bobby Roode and Chad Gable on an episode of Raw in February. In recent months, rumors about The Revival’s desire to leave the WWE have been swirling. This would be the perfect time for them to say goodbye and lose the titles to the hometown boys Ryder & Hawkins.
Prediction: Ryder & Hawkins
Boss n’ Hug (c) vs. Natalya & Beth Phoenix vs. Nia Jax & Tamina vs. IIconics – Women’s Tag Team Championships
The newly formed women’s tag division is on display in this fatal four-way tag match. The champions won the titles 42+ days ago at Elimination Chamber in February. There’s no real experience advantage as all the teams have been semi-teamed up for a couple of months.
Although all these teams are good together, I think the team with the best chemistry will win this match and that team is the IIconics. The Aussie duo has been a fan favorite and will prove to be the better pair and make the Grandest Stage of them all even more Iconic.
Prediction: IIconics
Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Finn Balor – Intercontinental Championship
On the March 25th episode of Raw, Balor defeated Lashley and Jinder Mahal in a handicap match to win a shot at Lashley’s IC title. Before that, Balor beat Lashley and Lio Rush to win the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber, only to lose it back to Lashley 21 days later on Raw. Lashley has now held the title for 25+ days.
With all the title flipping back and forth in recent weeks, Lashley will hold onto the championship at WrestleMania defeating Balor. Although Balor has promised to “show Lashley the demon at WrestleMania,” he’ll lose due to some underhanded tactics by Lashley and Rush.
Prediction: Lashley
Samoa Joe (c) vs. Rey Mysterio – United States Championship
Although this match is up in the air and may not happen depending on the health of Rey Mysterio, the match promises to be a great one if Mysterio is cleared to compete. This feud started when Joe made Mysterio pass out to the Coquina clutch at Fastlane. The next SmackDown, Rey pinned the champion and the next week the match was made.
This is Samoa Joe’s first United States Championship reign and he’s only held the championship for 30+ days. If this match is still taking place, the best option would be to stick with Joe as the champion, let him carry the championship for a while and let Rey heal.
Prediction: Samoa Joe
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
The next match is going to be on the pre-show and will probably be an okay match, with some guys who should be on the main card and a lot of wrestlers who are used to fill out the field. There are a few contenders who could possibly win this match like EC3, Ali, and Andrade.
However, with the angle the WWE have been working the last couple of weeks with Braun Strowman and the guys from SNL, it leads me to think that Strowman will win.
Prediction: Braun Strowman
Women’s Battle Royale Match
Although the men’s battle royal only has a few absolute contenders, this match has a plethora of women who could win. Based on the talent in-ring, this should be a better match than the men’s. From Asuka to Zelina Vega, Carmella, Nikki Cross, and Naomi, there are some really talented wrestlers all possible winners.
However, there can only be one and I think fan favorite Nikki Cross will come out on top. Hopefully, a win by Cross will help push her into the title scene where she belongs.
Prediction: Nikki Cross
Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin – Angle’s Farewell Match
This match is supposed to be Kurt Angle’s last match, and although there are a lot better candidates available for Angle’s last match, it’s going to be Baron Corbin to send off the Olympic great. That being said, I expect Angle to win handily in what could be considered a squash match. If this really is Angle’s last match, we should see Angle’s greatest hits and an ankle lock to quickly end the match. After the match, a standing ovation for Angle as he walks off into the sunset.
Prediction: Kurt Angle
Shane McMahon vs. The Miz – Falls Count Anywhere
The next match sees former SmackDown Tag Team Champions going head to head. When Shane McMahon attacked Miz at Fastlane, the two had just failed to re-gain the tag team championships. Later on SmackDown, Shane said he wanted to beat up the Miz again and scheduled this match. The Miz responded and challenged Shane to a falls count anywhere match. So, here we are and after Shane attacked the Miz’s dad a couple of weeks ago, you know these two are ready to go at it.
With all that being said, this match is bound to be a good one and the Miz will end up on top, humbling the “best wrestler in the world.”
Prediction: The Miz
Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre
After Roman Reigns returned to the ring after battling leukemia, you would think people would take it easy on him; apparently not. It didn’t take long for Drew McIntyre to start to harass and attack Reigns upon his return. Even with the Shield on his side, Roman hasn’t been able to best McIntyre. This match will be Reigns’ first televised singles match since before his leave of absence.
For that reason, Roman Reigns will win his first singles win since Oct. 1 on the grandest stage and it will be a great feel-good moment for all watching.
Prediction: Roman Reigns
AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton
The next match is one that is sure to be a good one. This feud has been going on for a couple of months, with Styles and Orton continually trying to one-up each other in the ring. It started at Elimination Chamber when Orton pinned Styles in the chamber match, eliminating him. It picked up steam when Styles attacked Orton from behind at Fastlane, and since then the two spat verbal hatred, both claiming the other didn’t work as hard to get to this point.
That’s how we got here and although Orton could hit an RKO from anywhere, Styles is still the phenomenal one and should come out on top. Whoever wins, however, it should be a great match filled with some exciting action.
Prediction: Aj Styles
Triple H vs. Batista – No Hold Barred and if Triple H loses, he must retire from in-ring competition
One of the most anticipated matches on the card, this one is sure to be a great one that fans will love. It’s a no holds barred match and if Triple H loses, he has to retire from in-ring competition. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone gets involved. This feud started on the 1000th episode of SmackDown when Batista issued somewhat of a challenge to Triple H, saying there’s one thing “The Game” hasn’t done in his career, which is beat The Animal. The animosity between the two has only grown since then with the two trading vocal and physical attacks
Prediction: Batista
Daniel Bryan (c) vs. Kofi Kingston – WWE Championship
The match that some people may be looking forward to the most, it’s the original underdog vs. the new underdog on the block. Although Bryan has been trying to shake Kingston, he hasn’t been able to, despite a long elimination chamber match and an even longer gauntlet match. Despite going through those matches and being forcibly removed from the match, Kofi has stuck on and will face his greatest test yet.
The match is sure to be one of the best matches on the card, and although Kofi is the underdog and fan-favorite going in the match, it makes more sense for Bryan to continue to hold the championship. It would be great to see the love for Kofi grow to unstoppable levels and see him win in the coming months or even at Summerslam. But for now, the championship is staying with Bryan
Prediction: Daniel Bryan
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Seth Rollins – WWE Universal Championship
When Seth Rollins won the 2019 Royal Rumble, he sealed to his fate to fight for a championship on the Grandest Stage of them All. Since then, he’s proven he’s more than capable to take the championship from “The Beast” Brock Lesnar. Speaking of the champ, he’s got 149+ day under his belt into his 2nd Universal Championship reign. Lesnar is on a roll and has only lost two championship matches in four years; to Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
I expect Rollins to make a repeat of his WM31 title win over Lesnar this year.
Prediction: Seth Rollins
Ronda Rousey (c, Raw) vs. Charlotte Flair (c, SmackDown) vs. Becky Lynch – Winner Take All
The historic main event is next, the match that will undoubtedly be one of the best matches on the show. The feud kicked off before Survivor Series when Lynch was supposed to face Rousey at the November PPV, but Lynch was injured days before and rendered unable to compete. Since then, the rivalry has escalated with the three sharing Twitter beef, brawling and even getting arrested.
With all three women ready to rip each other heads off, this match is sure to be a fantastic one and a possible match of the year candidate. With both titles being on the line, the pressure and hype are elevated to an all-time high. Only one can walk out the winner though and there’s no other option to go with than The Man, Becky Lynch.