WrestleMania 33 is right around the corner and as such, things are starting to pick up in the WWE. Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT are all knocking it out of the park right now and it's the first time that's happened on all fronts for quite a few years. The brand split has proven itself to be one of the best moves the company has made in a long time, and as such there's a great deal of excitement heading into the showcase of the immortals.
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With that being said, there's still a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to the big matches on the card. After a long period of skepticism heading into the biggest show of the year, people are genuinely curious as to what's going to happen in the next few weeks when it comes to setting up main event matches. In short - it's fantastic being a wrestling fan right now.
But we here at Sportskeeda do feel as if we can pinpoint a few things that are likely to happen, even though we'll probably look back on this in a few months time and cringe beyond belief. But hey, that's the fun of fantasy booking right? Exactly. From speculated bouts to championship winners, we've got a whole bunch of ideas heading into Orlando.
So without further ado, here are 10 of our early WrestleMania 33 predictions.
Reigns turns heel
Yes, we know - this one makes us sound like a broken record. But when you really think about it, the seeds have already been planted for Roman to finally turn over to the dark side. After all, you can't come in at number 30 in the Royal Rumble and eliminate The Undertaker if there isn't a bigger picture. Even WWE aren't that stupid despite what many people will choose to believe.
It seems all but certain that The Big Dog will indeed take on The Deadman at the Citrus Bowl, with many believing that it'll be Taker's final match. Whether that's the case or not, this feels like the perfect stage and the perfect moment for Roman to give in once and for all - by cheating to beat The Undertaker. It may not have as much of an impact now that the streak is gone, but it'll still do wonders for his character development.
Moving on to a man who caused quite a stir in WWE last year.
McGregor appearance
Once again, this feels like a fairly obvious point but it's one that has to be mentioned. Conor McGregor has supposedly been on the verge of appearing on WWE television for well over a year now, with a portion of the WWE Universe being desperate to see the Irishman finally cross over to the world of professional wrestling.
Unfortunately that hasn't quite taken place as of yet, but Mania 33 feels like as good of a location as any to make it happen. He doesn't need to get physical or interact with any superstars, and he can instead take the Bobby Roode approach of sitting in the front row whilst not really disturbing anyone. He may take a bit of the spotlight, but it'll be worth it in the long run.
Back over to the superstars now with a match that's tipped to end the show.
Lesnar vs Goldberg isn't main event
When Goldberg takes on Kevin Owens at Fastlane, everyone is going to be expecting him to walk away with the Universal Championship. Whether that happens or not, one thing we know for sure is that he has a date with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 - title or no title. With that in mind, it seems as if the majority of fans are expecting this to be the main event in Orlando.
That kind of makes sense if the title is involved, but either way, it just feels like WWE are smarter than that. Whether or not they want to make the Universal Title feel more important is irrelevant, because at the end of the day two part-timers should not be main eventing the biggest show of the year. We believe they'll see the error of their ways and instead opt for a different show closer.
Speaking of a show closer, just how long is Mania going to last this year?
Mania goes over seven hours
In our minds, WrestleMania 33 is destined to last over seven hours including the pre-show. We saw it happen at WrestleMania 32 at the AT&T Stadium, and when you look down the proposed card there doesn't seem to be a way in which they can avoid running over once again. It's not necessarily a bad thing so long as they pace it properly, but it won't be ideal for fans who were left wondering "how much longer?" in Dallas.
With so many potentially high profile matches in the pipeline the fans in attendance may not get a chance to breathe, but at the same time some people said they didn't know last year's event went on for so long as they were so engrossed in what was happening. If that's true, then we needn't worry about the length as WM33 already feels like it's going to be a better show.
Now onto a match that many people tend not to care about.
Strowman wins Battle Royal
The Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal has been a WrestleMania regular ever since WM30 in New Orleans, and during it's three appearances at the showcase of the immortals it's had varying degrees of success. Cesaro and Big Show didn't really gain much from their victories, however Baron Corbin used the win as a stepping stone towards becoming a solid upper midcarder on SmackDown Live.
So this year, why not try and keep that streak going by having Braun Strowman run through everyone and win the Battle Royal. He's certainly got to be considered the favourite if he doesn't have a singles match at Mania, and there aren't too many other candidates that would have a realistic chance of dethroning him. Keep the momentum rolling, WWE.It's time to talk about a match that not too many people are interested in seeing.
Shane & AJ steal the show
It's no secret that Shane McMahon vs AJ Styles isn't the most popular idea that WWE have ever come up with. From an outsider's perspective looking in it may be a fun match-up, but in reality there are alot of issues with the fact that Styles will be working with a guy who averages two matches a year. With that being said, WWE always seem to pull the wool over the eyes of fans when it comes to the quality of these contests.
AJ is more than capable of dragging Shane to a good bout, and if you add a stipulation on to this then both men have the room to create magic together. The big spots will be dramatic and the story between the two is already starting to manifest, leaving the door open for a number of different plot twists throughout the match. It could be a disaster, but in our minds it'll steal the show.
From the men over to the ever improving women's division on Raw.
Charlotte retains
As we all know Bayley is the woman walking into Fastlane with the Raw Women's Championship, but it seems highly unlikely that the WWE would choose to end Charlotte's pay-per-view streak on a B show. For that reason alone, we can see Charlotte regaining her belt once again and going one further by retaining the championship on the grandest stage of them all.
It just feels like the right thing to do for a performer that has done so outstandingly well since debuting on the main roster. Sasha will have her moment one day but it feels like she'll be turning heel soon, and that'd make a win over fellow heel Charlotte at WrestleMania feel a bit odd. Let's keep the hype train going for Flair and the way through to WM34 in New Orleans.
Onto a man who hasn't helped his reputation in the last few years.
Hulk Hogan returns
The Hulkster is coming back and there's really no two ways about it. Sure there's been a lot of controversy surrounding him as of late, but that's never been something WWE have struggled with when it comes to bringing back big stars. They know that Hogan will bring in a lot of casual fans, they know that he'll make an impact and they know he'll get one of the biggest pops of the night.
We aren't sure what the capacity of his appearance will be, but there's no doubt in our minds that people will be talking about it Monday morning. It doesn't even have to be anything fancy or overly dramatic, and Hogan can instead just come out for a quick back and forth with a group like The New Day. Just try and tell us you wouldn't want to see that.
From one of the biggest stars in history to something entirely different.
Sunny WrestleMania
Look, we know that we can't predict the weather or anything like that - but this is going to be a sunny WrestleMania. Well, for the pre-show it will be. Back at WrestleMania 24, the grey clouds were gathering over the Citrus Bowl as the big event got underway, but this time round we can't see anything standing in the way of the sunny skies in Orlando.
It just feels like one of those shows that is going to have the sun shining through and whilst that may seem ridiculous, it isn't too far outside the realms of possibility. Plus, it'd make the pre-show and the first match or two feel even grander due to the fact that we rarely see WWE matches like this take place outside. Weather gods - do your thing, please.
We conclude with a match that has a great deal of history behind it.
Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe
For months on end Finn Balor and Samoa Joe fought for the NXT Championship, and now seems like the perfect time for the two to renew that rivalry once again. Joe has been running through everyone on Monday Night Raw and appears to be unstoppable, which opens the door beautifully for Balor to finally return from injury in an attempt to put a stop to his reign of terror.
The story truly does write itself and we all know that Balor is fit and healthy following his recent appearance at the NXT tapings. Joe needs a big opponent for Orlando and it would be criminal to leave Balor off the card, so why not continue to make things feel even bigger? All things considered, this could help Mania 33 on it's way to becoming one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time.
