Predicting Wrestlemania 35 at the halfway point

Now that we are closing in on the halfway point to Wrestlemania 35 with two more major PPV's in sight, Survivor Series and Royal Rumble, we are at a safe point to take all the existing storylines within WWE and fast forward to April 2019. So how is the card going to look in about 6 months?

How will Wrestlemania 35 fair and how will it change 2019 as we further approach a new Money in the Bank winner. The KliqPodcast takes a deeper dive based on possibilities in this comprehensive card lineup on how we think Wrestlemania 35 will play out.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Enter captio — Andre the Giant Battle Royal

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It is hard to predict who all will participate in this match but when you think of who have won this contest in the past a pattern appears. Cesaro being the inaugural winner, The Big Show, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley with Matt Hardy finishing out the list. Most of these men are fairly imposing physically.

Cesaro being one of the more physically gifted in strength, Big Show...being Big Show. Mojo a big guy and Corbin pushing 7 feet tall and 300 pounds, with Matt Hardy being more mentally imposing rather than physically.

When we think "imposing" there are a lot of names that come to mind, but one sticks out more than the rest - Bobby Lashley. It's pretty clear WWE wants Lashley to be a big player during his second run with the company. The biggest issue being that there are some overdue championship runs for others that push Lashley in the back of the line.

This would allow Lashley to keep momentum moving further into 2019 where he certainly will get his fair share of title opportunities.

Winner: Bobby Lashley

#2 Raw Tag Team Championships: The Shield's Rollins and Ambrose vs. Beer Money

It's hard not to add Beer Money to the card with all of the ensuing negotiations between Impact Wrestling and former TNA World Champion James Storm. It is too coincidental that the two rumors have been communicated simultaneously.

When thinking of the current storyline and suitable candidates to feud with, one team comes to mind, The Shield. At this point, we are assuming that Rollins and Ambrose will house the titles to defend against Bobby Roode and James Storm.

At this point Rollins, Ambrose and Roode don't have anything to gain with a World or Universal Championship run, there is no story to support it. However, since Rollins and Ambrose are already in the Tag Title hunt by default, it would work perfectly to have the two classic tag teams face off for the first time ever, and how awesome would it be to see James Storm drive a beer cooler scooter to the ring on those long Wrestlemania ramps.

Universal knowledge says that if you aren't WWE through and through, you have actively wrestled with another company competing against WWE, that you are likely to lose on the big stage.

Winner: The Shield's Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose

#3 Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match:

Finn Balor

Another hard match to predict considering there are 6-8 participants involved, usually split even among each brand. Here is our list.

Elias versus Dolph Ziggler versus Velveteen Dream versus Adam Cole versus Randy Orton versus Finn Balor versus Jeff Hardy versus Bray Wyatt.

With this much star power, we have effectively removed a lot of options at the top making the remainder of the card difficult to predict. That being said there is something about this grouping of men I really like on paper including the current NXT stars.

Assuming Adam Cole and Velveteen Dream will be debuting, and Bray's new character, this can shape up to be match of the night. Our only reservation was Finn Balor. You wonder how many times they will pass this man up for another championship opportunity. Also how hard do you push a guy like Elias or really even Orton who has nothing to gain.

Bray's new unknown character is an interesting addition, depending on how strong out of the gate it sells, he could have a shot. You just cannot take away from the value of Finn Balor. He may not be World or Universal Championship material now but he deserves to have a long run.

Winner: Finn Balor

#4 Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn

These two have been forever connected at the spine throughout their wrestling careers. From Kevin Steen and El Generico in Ring of Honor to Kevin Owens debut in NXT only to stab Sami in the back, to their main roster rivalry. They are like the mid-card Stone Cold and The Rock. They are electric together and it is time to put them on the big stage.

Kevin Owens current storyline against Bobby Lashley stems largely in part to Zayn's injury suffered at the hands Lashley earlier in the year. It would be a great comeback for Zayn to appear in the 2019 Royal Rumble after Kevin Owens has already entered, only to turn on his best friend and eliminate him. Thus setting up the match everyone knows is Wrestlemania worthy.

No stipulation needed here. It is simply a great story no matter how many times these guys go in the ring together. There is only one way this can be successful, we need to see them go at the level they are used to which usually results stealing the show. We can make the argument that WWE prefers to keep the main event as the bout that steals the show. Hard to say what level they can compete at based on restrictions but it would be a barn burner.

Winner: Kevin Owens

#5 Smackdown Live Women's Championship: Charlotte vs. Shayna Baszler

Enter c — Queen of Spades Shayna Baszler

Yes, one glaring issue with this match - where is Becky Lynch? Our prediction is that Becky will be competing for the Raw Women's Championship against Ronda Rousey, quite simply because of the impact her heel persona has created.

Naturally, before Charlotte can start to set her eyes on Ronda, Shayna the uber-heel, needs to set the tone for the Horsewomen vs Horsewomen match at Survivor Series in 2019. Also, the sound of Queen vs Queen is awesome.

Assuming they will be sending Charlotte into the match as a face to the WWE crowd, expect the sparks to fly throughout the whole match. This is one of those competitions that each individual can push the other to be better and to do that you need your heel to go into the Series with the strap.

Winner: Shayna Baszler

#6 United States Championship: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Daniel Bryan

Originally we had Daniel Bryan in the Intercontinental Ladder Match, however, there is too much risk to Bryan's health. Assuming Bryan will lose to the Miz at this coming special event The Super Show-Down. Bryan is set to have a breakdown with his loss to the Miz and a long road of losses.

He will come close in the Royal Rumble to win it but will fall short again, prompting him to contemplate leaving the WWE until Shinsuke Nakamura brings him back to his former glory. At this point, it would be more of a benefit to Nakamura to lose the US Belt and give Bryan momentum for Shinsuke to move on to bigger and better championships.

Winner: Daniel Bryan

#7 Smackdown Tag Team Championships: Uso's vs. Sanity vs. New Day vs. Undisputed Era

You have to figure with the momentum that Undisputed Era has they will continue the winning formula of Adam Cole leading with one belt and Kyle and Bobby/Roderick to compete for the tag titles. That and the given show stealer of a four-way tag match last at WrestleMania 33, its bound to happen again. It needs to happen again.

Uso's have been compared to the best tag teams in professional wrestling today. New Day will always be on the radar in the tag division and Sanity needs an opportunity to prove how they perform in high-pressure situations...NXT War Games.

Sanity is an interesting pick to win this match but this may be Uso's last run at the titles before the possibility of a split or going to Raw. New Day has nothing to gain from winning. So that leaves one tag team, the tag team that will win and go on to feud with Sanity for the months after Mania.

Winner: Undisputed Era

#8 D-Generation X vs Brothers of Destruction

It is already rumored that at WWE Crown Jewel this match will take place, and whether anyone would be willing to admit it, it is a WrestleMania-worthy match as well. When you think of the all-time great moments in April and putting names to those moments, you would have a surplus of Triple H, Shawn Michael, The Undertake and Kane.

These four men arguably dominated that last 20+ years of professional Wrestling. At their age they can certainly put an entertaining match on for the WWE Universe. Will it be the best match of the night? Not by a long shot. Will it be fun to watch? Of course, no matter who wins.

Winners: Brothers of Destruction

#9 WWE Championship: The Miz vs Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles

At this point, we are assuming that Samoa Joe has held the WWE Championship for about a month or two while the Miz is the current holder heading into April. With AJ Styles winning the Royal Rumble and Samoa Joe waiting to announce his rematch.

Samoa Joe and AJ Styles alone on paper is a show-stealing match. Adding a new depth with The Miz makes it a possible match for the ages. However, in order to get this right and for it to be considered one of the best matches in history, it has to mirror that of TNA's 2005 Unbreakable triple threat with Styles, Joe and Christopher Daniels.

This coupled with the heightened drama of the night and the ramifications for an ageing AJ and Joe, this could be a game changer.

Winner: Samoa Joe

#10 WWE Universal Championship: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns

It's hard to envision any PPV main event being anything but Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Their heated rivalry has lasted a long time and consider it lasting longer. It is a slow build to Mania for these two. Expect Roman to only defend his title 2-3 more times in the next 6-7 PPV appearances before Wrestlemania. Each defense he retains and moves on to the next story.

The next story could be Dean Ambrose moving on from the Shield and competing against Roman or a random returning competitor. Hell, you never know if Kurt Angle could be a returning heel GM in action. It is hard to say, but this time around look for Braun to finally secure his first WWE Universal Championship win on the grandest stage of them all.

Winner: Braun Strowman

Edited by Nishant Jayaram