By Jason Powell, Prowrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
These predictions were made with no help from the betting lines because I’m not a dirty, rotten, filthy, stinking, cheater. In other words, I’m guessing just like you are. Join me for live coverage of WrestleMania 34 beginning with the Kickoff Show at 4CT/5ET. Dot Net Members will have exclusive access to the Dot Net Triple Threat audio review that Jake Barnett, Will Pruett and I will record after the show.
Finally, a strong WrestleMania card that doesn’t leave fans thinking of what could have been. You can’t please everyone, but by and large it seems like most fans feel as good about this year’s lineup as I do. This has the potential to be a strong WrestleMania event. I also like that I feel uncertain regarding many of the outcomes, which isn’t always the case heading into the biggest show of the year. This one feels less predictable than usual and that’s a good thing as far as I’m concerned. Let’s give it shot.
John Cena vs. Undertaker? Will they or won’t they? That’s the question that WWE wants us to be asking about a potential match between John Cena and Undertaker. I have no doubt that we will get something from, but I have no idea whether it will be an actual match or a big brawl. I also have no idea if we will see American Badass or The Deadman persona. Personally, if there’s any chance this is Taker’s final WrestleMania match, then I’ll take The Deadman, though I suspect those hoping for BikerTaker are going to get their wish. If there is a match, I’m going with Taker to win. John Cena has lost constantly lately and he can get a high profile win over Triple H later this month. Taker has been called a coward and all sorts of other things by Cena lately, so it would be odd if he returned and ended up taking the loss.
Undertaker wins if there’s an actual match.
Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship: Vince McMahon has been obsessed with using Lesnar to coronate Reigns has champion since their last match at WrestleMania 31. He’s even gone so far as to make sure fans believe that Lesnar is returning to UFC with the hope that it will lead to WWE fans taking offense and siding with Reigns. Of course, this approach also creates the potential for another WrestleMania 20 scenario where the fans simply turn on both men. My guess is that the vast majority of fans who supported Reigns and those who booed him six months ago have not been moved either way. Meanwhile, Lesnar has already fought for UFC while under WWE contract. And while this could be a farewell for now moment, there’s no reason to think that Lesnar couldn’t do both or simply return to WWE somewhere down the road. As much as WWE has attempted to make it seem like Lesnar is the bad guy for turning his back on WWE, I don’t think it’s going to cause the WrestleMania crowd to suddenly shift their allegiance to Reigns. The actual match should be very good if WrestleMania 31 is any indication. Speaking of that show, I’ll mention the same thing that I was saying back then. It would be awesome if Paul Heyman turned on Lesnar and sided with a heel Reigns. Seeing is believing. Vince has been stubborn this long and there’s no reason to believe he will change now. If nothing else, it will be nice to get back to a level of unpredictability once we get through this match because the last year has been way too predictable once it became common knowledge that they were going with Lesnar vs. Reigns on this show.
Roman Reigns wins the WWE Universal Championship.
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship: The match I would close the show with, yet I fear there’s a better chance of it opening the night than closing it. This is the big dream match showdown that we’ve been waiting to see since both men arrived in WWE. The build was nothing special, but this has the potential to be great once the bell rings. WWE hasn’t done a great job with Nakamura since he debuted on the main roster. They gave him the Royal Rumble win, but now they need to solidify that. Jake Barnett predicted in Dot Net Weekly that Styles will be moving to Raw in a Shakeup. He sold me. By the way, if you want a preview of this match then check out their previous match from Wrestle Kingdom 10 right below my prediction.
Shinsuke Nakamura wins the WWE Championship.
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon: This feels like the easiest outcome to predict that doesn’t involve Roman Reigns. WWE should want their new crossover star to be featured all of ESPN winning her first match.
Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle win.
Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (Owens and Zayn will be reinstated if they win): One would think that WWE would want to create a feel good moment with Bryan winning his first match back. However, this is trickier to predict because of the stipulation attached. Sure, Owens and Zayn could technically move to Raw if they are fired or even stay on Smackdown under masks, which would be a lot of fun. I mentioned earlier this week that my guard is up for a possible Shane heel turn, which would help explain why he’s working this match despite his medical issues. WWE had a lot of success with Bryan vs. The Authority and I could see them trying to replicate that on the blue brand, so I’ll take a shot in the dark.
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn win.
Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka for the Smackdown Women’s Championship: WWE had Carmella tease Money in the Bank cash-ins on Smackdown leading up to WrestleMania. As much as I hope this isn’t the finish, my guess remains that she cashes in during the match and is pinned by Asuka. Charlotte loses the championship without being pinned or submitted, Asuka keeps her streak, then the women are split up via the Superstar Shakeup with the plan of getting back to this match next year. If Carmella stays out of the way, I still like Asuka to win since Charlotte can absorb the loss and has been spinning her wheels ever since they moved her to Smackdown.
Asuka wins the Smackdown Women’s Championship.
The Usos vs. New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers in a Triple Threat for the Smackdown Tag Titles: A potential threat for match of the night if they don’t go overboard on the giant f’n Thor hammers. It’s great to see the Usos get on the main show and I’m sure all three teams will be motivated to deliver a memorable outing. WWE has done a nice job of establishing Bludgeon Brothers. They would be my straight up pick if this were a singles match, but the involvement of three teams makes it a little tricker since one of the other teams can win without the Luke Harper or Erick Rowan factoring into the finish. It’s something to consider, but I’m still going with Bludgeon Brothers.
Bludgeon Brothers win the Smackdown Tag Titles.
The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Championship: The question no one seems to be asking is whether The Demon will show up at WrestleMania. There haven’t been any hints to that possibility, but if we do get that Balor persona then I like Balor to win the title. If there’s no Demon, then my guess is that Miz’s nice guy routine over the last week was a setup for him doing something dastardly to keep his championship.
The Miz retains the Intercontinental Title (unless the Demon shows up).
Randy Orton vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev in a four-way for the U.S. Championship: The addition of Rusev to the match breathed some life into this. It’s a tough match to predict. WWE loves the big RKO at WrestleMania. That said, perhaps we’ll get one only to have someone else steal the pin from Orton. Rusev defeated Mahal on Tuesday and it was tough to tell whether that was a case of WWE showing that they are over the Mahal push or if they fell into their usual booking pattern of having a guy who is going to win a championship lose during the build to the match. I’m going with the foreign menace U.S. Champion, who then swap spots when Miz and the Intercontinental Championship are moved to Raw in the Shakeup. After all, it will be disappointing if we don’t get Miz and Daniel Bryan on the same brand.
Jinder Mahal wins the U.S. Championship.
Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Braun Strowman and a partner of his choosing for the Raw Tag Titles: I love that they are waited to reveal Strowman’s partner. There have been reports that it will be Rey Mysterio. Then again, there were also reports that Mysterio was going to face John Cena on this show. Fan speculation has involved Elias, Samoa Joe, Big Show, James Ellsworth(!), Big Cass, and anyone else who doesn’t have a WrestleMania match. I just hope it’s not Hornswoggle, who was sporting a Strowman style beard this weekend. I don’t know who it is and thus I have no clue regarding the outcome. I would actually like to see the tag champions retain since that would avoid keeping Strowman in the tag division where he’s already singlehandedly destroyed everyone.
Sheamus and Cesaro retain the Raw Tag Titles.
Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax for the Raw Women’s Championship: My initial thought was that Jax would steamroll Bliss and win the championship. However, Jake once again made a good point in Dot Net Weekly about it feeling premature in terms of where the storyline is at. I can’t tell if Jake is right or if this is just rushed storytelling. I’ll stick with my gut and regret it later.
Nia Jax wins the Raw Women’s Championship.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff Show): Of the advertised entrants, Elias strikes me as the most likely winner. That said, I’m taking “the rest of the field” approach, meaning I expect someone unadvertised to win. It could be Bray Wyatt, Big Cass, Jeff Hardy, Jason Jordan, an NXT talent, etc. However, I’m going with a guy who was left off WrestleMania 33 last year and deserves to be spotlighted this year.
Samoa Joe wins The Dre.
The WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal (Kickoff Show): The only story told in the build has involved Sasha Banks and Bayley. I continue to hope that Banks is the one turning heel because she was so damn good at it in NXT. The heel turn could occur when she somehow cheats Bayley to win, but it could just as easily occur when she snaps after Bayley eliminated her fair and square to win the match. I like the latter scenario so I’m changing my Sasha pick from Dot Net Weekly (it’s usually best to go with your first instinct, so this will probably backfire).
Bayley wins (and Sasha attacks her afterward).
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali for the vacant WWE Cruiserweight Championship (Kickoff Show): Flip a coin for the match that is likely to have a bunch of flips. I just hope Neville returns soon to give the division a strong heel.
Heads: Alexander wins the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
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