Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on Mar 5, 2018 6:17:05 GMT -5
So at this point, we have a general idea of what the top four matches are going to be, those being Lesnar v Reigns, Styles v Nakamura (pending a successful title defense at Fastlane for Styles), Angle/Rousey v Triple H/Stephanie and Undertaker v Cena. But what about the rest of those 9-to-5 ham-and-eggers and their gold of assorted shapes and sizes?
---
RAW Women's Championship - The rumoured match, as has seemingly been rumoured to happen for months somehow, is Alexa Bliss defending against Nia Jax in a pseudo face turn for The Irresistible Force. Given the amount of people and matches that could end up on this card, the possibility of this match being a Honky Tonk Man/Ultimate Warrior-esque squash is there, but given how Bliss has been booked as champion, it could end being just as regular a match as any. Weirdly, the only actual feud going in the division is between Sasha Banks and Bayley. Their one-upswomanship has led to a fraying of their friendship, yet neither of them are expected to be in this match... but maybe they are, who the hell knows? And then there's the question of Asuka, the Royal Rumble winner, who still hasn't decided whether she wants the red belt or the blue one yet.
Likely Participants - Alexa Bliss (c), Nia Jax
Possible Participants - Asuka, Bayley, Sasha Banks
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
SmackDown Women's Championship - Again, the fate of this championship lies with Asuka. If she makes the jump over to SmackDown as has been rumoured, it's going to be a one-on-one title match with Flair, no ifs and/or buts. If she doesn't, that brings Becky Lynch and Naomi into play as the next contenders in line. And regardless of who ends up in the WrestleMania match, Carmella's got a golden ticket into it if she so chooses with her MITB briefcase. If Asuka claims this shot as her Rumble prize, it's definitely on the main card. It becomes less of a guarantee should Flair defend against another challenger.
Likely Participants - Charlotte Flair (c)*, Asuka
Possible Participants - Becky Lynch, Naomi, Carmella
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
Intercontinental Championship - The WrestleMania match for this championship is already taking shape, with Balor and Rollins being directly built as the WrestleMania challengers for The Miz, defeating him in non-title action on RAW last week. However, it's still possible that the Triple Threat may end up having more participants added in the ensuing weeks, with Braun Strowman and Elias top of that queue.
Likely Participants - The Miz (c), Finn Balor, Seth Rollins
Possible Participants - Braun Strowman, Elias
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
United States Championship - This could go bloody anywhere. The current Fastlane feud is centered around a literal locker room popularity contest, for crying out loud. This championship is both the most likely to have the token ladder match stipulation tacked on for a match with multiple contenders (this could involve literally anyone on the SmackDown roster below Styles/Nakamura), but also is the most likely to possibly not be defended at all, as the champion may end up representing someone in a blow-off to the long-simmering Shane McMahon v Daniel Bryan feud. The match that would have the likely WM singles match, Roode v Orton, is already happening for Fastlane, so that will likely not be the WM match now.
Possible Participants - Bobby Roode (c)*, Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Rusev, Tye Dillinger, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Aiden English
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
RAW Tag Team Championship - The fact of the matter is this... The Bar have just about run out of challengers. That's the angle they're pushing on TV, now they're just waiting for a challenger to step up. In spite of the clashing heel alignments, this will be likely be The Revival, getting their first shot at main roster gold at the end of an injury-plagued first year on the main roster. Beyond that, if they go the multi-team route, Gallows/Anderson and The Miztourage are likely next in line. As you'll see based on what's in the next entry, this will likely be a pre-show match.
Likely Participants - Sheamus and Cesaro (c), The Revival
Possible Participants - Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, The Miztourage
Likely Card Placement - Pre-Show
---
SmackDown Tag Team Championship - Another championship with one Fastlane defense to go, what this division has working in its favour is that the fact that current champions The Usos have never made it to the main card of a WrestleMania in their entire run is now an element of the on-screen narrative, being brought up in a promo on SmackDown last week. This year will probably be the year they do it off the back of a career-best run (at the expense of the RAW tag belts), the only question would be who their opponents will be. The Bludgeon Brothers are highly likely, having been lurking around the champions in recent weeks but not actively challenging them. Current challengers The New Day may end up involved as well, returning to active WM duty after being hosts last year. Both teams have had strong outings with The Usos over the last few years, and given time, a triple threat may end up being a show-stealer. Gable/Benjamin may sneak in for one more shot depending on if they want an even four teams for a multi-team match, but that'll likely be their only chance of WrestleMania action outside of the Andre.
Likely Participants - The Usos (c)*, The Bludgeon Brothers, The New Day
Possible Participants - Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
Cruiserweight Championship - The only non-world championship match technically officially on the card at this time, it's currently vacant as a consequence of Enzo Amore's release from the company and being contested for in a single-elimination tournament amidst a soft reboot for the brand. Long-time challenger Cedric Alexander looks to be a lock as one participant in the title match, but the other side of the bracket is more of a toss-up between Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali. It'd be the surprise of the entire year if this ends up on the main card.
Likely Participants - Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak
Possible Participants - Mustafa Ali, Roderick Strong
Likely Card Placement - Pre-Show
---
Remaining Non-Title Matches - Five possibilities here...
1. A blowoff to the Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy feud, hopefully (FINALLY) filled with the kind of shenanigans that made the Final Deletion such a viral hit. May not be a match in the traditional sense, I could see this being shown as vignettes throughout the night. (Main Card)
2. Something to finally put this Shane McMahon v Daniel Bryan thing to bed, be it a big tag match (see the US Championship blurb for possible participants) or, by some miracle, Shane v Bryan himself. Dare we hope for Bryan's big comeback four years after his greatest triumph in the same stadium? (Main Card)
3. Banks v Bayley as a singles grudge match, which could lead to an unprecedented female presence on WWE's biggest stage. (Pre-Show)
4. Andre for the men. If Strowman somehow ends up in here, he'll eliminate literally every person by himself to win it. (Pre-Show)
5. Andre for the women. (Pre-Show)
---
TL;DR: Too many people, not enough time. What to do, fellow kids?
---
RAW Women's Championship - The rumoured match, as has seemingly been rumoured to happen for months somehow, is Alexa Bliss defending against Nia Jax in a pseudo face turn for The Irresistible Force. Given the amount of people and matches that could end up on this card, the possibility of this match being a Honky Tonk Man/Ultimate Warrior-esque squash is there, but given how Bliss has been booked as champion, it could end being just as regular a match as any. Weirdly, the only actual feud going in the division is between Sasha Banks and Bayley. Their one-upswomanship has led to a fraying of their friendship, yet neither of them are expected to be in this match... but maybe they are, who the hell knows? And then there's the question of Asuka, the Royal Rumble winner, who still hasn't decided whether she wants the red belt or the blue one yet.
Likely Participants - Alexa Bliss (c), Nia Jax
Possible Participants - Asuka, Bayley, Sasha Banks
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
SmackDown Women's Championship - Again, the fate of this championship lies with Asuka. If she makes the jump over to SmackDown as has been rumoured, it's going to be a one-on-one title match with Flair, no ifs and/or buts. If she doesn't, that brings Becky Lynch and Naomi into play as the next contenders in line. And regardless of who ends up in the WrestleMania match, Carmella's got a golden ticket into it if she so chooses with her MITB briefcase. If Asuka claims this shot as her Rumble prize, it's definitely on the main card. It becomes less of a guarantee should Flair defend against another challenger.
Likely Participants - Charlotte Flair (c)*, Asuka
Possible Participants - Becky Lynch, Naomi, Carmella
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
Intercontinental Championship - The WrestleMania match for this championship is already taking shape, with Balor and Rollins being directly built as the WrestleMania challengers for The Miz, defeating him in non-title action on RAW last week. However, it's still possible that the Triple Threat may end up having more participants added in the ensuing weeks, with Braun Strowman and Elias top of that queue.
Likely Participants - The Miz (c), Finn Balor, Seth Rollins
Possible Participants - Braun Strowman, Elias
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
United States Championship - This could go bloody anywhere. The current Fastlane feud is centered around a literal locker room popularity contest, for crying out loud. This championship is both the most likely to have the token ladder match stipulation tacked on for a match with multiple contenders (this could involve literally anyone on the SmackDown roster below Styles/Nakamura), but also is the most likely to possibly not be defended at all, as the champion may end up representing someone in a blow-off to the long-simmering Shane McMahon v Daniel Bryan feud. The match that would have the likely WM singles match, Roode v Orton, is already happening for Fastlane, so that will likely not be the WM match now.
Possible Participants - Bobby Roode (c)*, Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Big E, Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, Rusev, Tye Dillinger, Mojo Rawley, Zack Ryder, Aiden English
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
RAW Tag Team Championship - The fact of the matter is this... The Bar have just about run out of challengers. That's the angle they're pushing on TV, now they're just waiting for a challenger to step up. In spite of the clashing heel alignments, this will be likely be The Revival, getting their first shot at main roster gold at the end of an injury-plagued first year on the main roster. Beyond that, if they go the multi-team route, Gallows/Anderson and The Miztourage are likely next in line. As you'll see based on what's in the next entry, this will likely be a pre-show match.
Likely Participants - Sheamus and Cesaro (c), The Revival
Possible Participants - Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, The Miztourage
Likely Card Placement - Pre-Show
---
SmackDown Tag Team Championship - Another championship with one Fastlane defense to go, what this division has working in its favour is that the fact that current champions The Usos have never made it to the main card of a WrestleMania in their entire run is now an element of the on-screen narrative, being brought up in a promo on SmackDown last week. This year will probably be the year they do it off the back of a career-best run (at the expense of the RAW tag belts), the only question would be who their opponents will be. The Bludgeon Brothers are highly likely, having been lurking around the champions in recent weeks but not actively challenging them. Current challengers The New Day may end up involved as well, returning to active WM duty after being hosts last year. Both teams have had strong outings with The Usos over the last few years, and given time, a triple threat may end up being a show-stealer. Gable/Benjamin may sneak in for one more shot depending on if they want an even four teams for a multi-team match, but that'll likely be their only chance of WrestleMania action outside of the Andre.
Likely Participants - The Usos (c)*, The Bludgeon Brothers, The New Day
Possible Participants - Chad Gable and Shelton Benjamin
Likely Card Placement - Main Card
---
Cruiserweight Championship - The only non-world championship match technically officially on the card at this time, it's currently vacant as a consequence of Enzo Amore's release from the company and being contested for in a single-elimination tournament amidst a soft reboot for the brand. Long-time challenger Cedric Alexander looks to be a lock as one participant in the title match, but the other side of the bracket is more of a toss-up between Drew Gulak and Mustafa Ali. It'd be the surprise of the entire year if this ends up on the main card.
Likely Participants - Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak
Possible Participants - Mustafa Ali, Roderick Strong
Likely Card Placement - Pre-Show
---
Remaining Non-Title Matches - Five possibilities here...
1. A blowoff to the Bray Wyatt/Matt Hardy feud, hopefully (FINALLY) filled with the kind of shenanigans that made the Final Deletion such a viral hit. May not be a match in the traditional sense, I could see this being shown as vignettes throughout the night. (Main Card)
2. Something to finally put this Shane McMahon v Daniel Bryan thing to bed, be it a big tag match (see the US Championship blurb for possible participants) or, by some miracle, Shane v Bryan himself. Dare we hope for Bryan's big comeback four years after his greatest triumph in the same stadium? (Main Card)
3. Banks v Bayley as a singles grudge match, which could lead to an unprecedented female presence on WWE's biggest stage. (Pre-Show)
4. Andre for the men. If Strowman somehow ends up in here, he'll eliminate literally every person by himself to win it. (Pre-Show)
5. Andre for the women. (Pre-Show)
---
TL;DR: Too many people, not enough time. What to do, fellow kids?
