WrestleMania 33 is going to be a big event. Is that the most obvious statement of all time? Possibly. But it has multiple meanings.
Yes, the Show of Shows is going to have about 70,000 people in attendance. Yes, it will be broadcast to millions of homes worldwide. And yes, it will feature some of the biggest WWE superstars of all time.
But perhaps the biggest thing of all? The match card itself.
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There are currently 13 matches scheduled for WrestleMania 33, and there could be more coming. That leaves plenty of room for upsets. And before you go around thinking any of this year’s matches are predictable, just take a look at some of the results at WrestleMania 32.
A hastily thrown together stable beat one of the hottest acts in the company when the League of Nations beat The New Day. Chris Jericho defeated AJ Styles despite it being Styles’ first WrestleMania. And most memorably, Zack Ryder climbed the ladder and became Intercontinental champion.
So which matches could evoke the same sense of shock out of the WWE Universe this time around? Here are the biggest possible upsets for WrestleMania 33.
#5 The Miz and Maryse defeat John Cena and Nikki Bella
Not all fans keep up with the leaks and rumours of potential WrestleMania plans. But some did catch wind of this match months ago, and most were upset, to say the least.
In general, the sentiment was that John Cena and The Miz deserved better. They’ve been two of the MVPs of SmackDown since the brand split, and pairing them up with their wife/girlfriend just for the sake of a mixed tag team match didn’t sound like it would do them justice.
But the way everything has shaped up, this match looks like it should be pretty good. It’s had some awfully good buildup considering how good Cena and Miz are on the mic. And in fairness, Nikki Bella and in particular Maryse have been pretty solid too.
This match is going to exceed the expectations, but it also has a clear favourite. Cena and Nikki are two of the faces of the company, and Miz and Maryse have been slandering them nonstop. There are also rumours that Cena may propose after the match. So it seems pretty inevitable that the “It Couple” is finally going to get what’s coming to them.
It would be shocking to see anything other than Cena and Nikki standing tall at the end of the match. But as we know in WWE, anything can happen.
#4 Eva Marie wins the SmackDown Women’s Championship
The SmackDown Women’s Championship will be defended in a multi-woman match at WrestleMania 33. But curiously, and suspiciously, General Manager Daniel Bryan did not specify how many women would be involved in the match. Rather, he simply said it would involve “every available woman on the SmackDown roster”.
This leaves a lot of possibilities open. Will Naomi be ready to compete in her hometown of Orlando by then? Could someone from NXT be added to the SmackDown roster prior to the match?
But most importantly, could All Red Everything make her triumphant return at WrestleMania and win the Women’s championship?
Eva Marie has been gone ever since she violated the company’s wellness policy back in August, meaning she has been eligible to return to WWE TV since September following a 30-day suspension. But for some reason, she has yet to appear on our screens.
It would be an emphatic return if she showed up out of nowhere to win the Women’s title. But it would also be considered a major upset since she’s not even advertised for the match right now, and she might be the least qualified woman in WWE to actually be champion.
#3 Goldberg defeats Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship
When the rumours of Goldberg’s return to WWE first surfaced, nobody could have expected what has happened thus far. When we found out he would be facing Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series, no one anticipated what was one of the biggest shocks of 2016: Goldberg destroying Lesnar in just a minute and 26 seconds.
That was followed up by Goldberg swiftly eliminating Lesnar from the Royal Rumble. Now, the two of them are set to face off yet again, this time for the Universal title at WrestleMania. And it’s tough to see Lesnar coming up short yet again.
Also read: 5 Reasons why we are still excited for WrestleMania 33
Lesnar has been WWE’s monster, essentially their final boss, for years now. That’s what made it so shocking when Goldberg decimated him, but at the same time, it didn’t hurt Lesnar’s reputation that much because of the pedigree he’s built. But if he loses again? That would be a different story.
Lesnar having this one blip on his resume, this one foe he cannot conquer, would be damaging to his character. That is why it would be such a major upset to see Goldberg come out on top yet again despite what happened in their last two encounters (or even three if you count WrestleMania XX).
#2 Triple H defeats Seth Rollins
This is the only match on this list that isn’t officially confirmed for WrestleMania 33 yet, but it is certainly going to be.
When Seth Rollins initially re-injured his knee, his WrestleMania status was in doubt. But as soon as he came out two weeks ago and brawled with Triple H, everything became clear. They wouldn’t pull that kind of spot unless he was cleared by the doctors.
They’re continuing to play up the injury angle, which makes sense. And now the match is expected to be an unsanctioned fight because Rollins won’t be cleared to compete in time per the storyline. That means this is going to be a brutal match, one that does justice to this slow-burning yet intense feud.
Rollins has been the student looking for revenge on the master for months now, so it would be a shock to see The Game walk out of Camping World Stadium victorious. But we’ve seen Trips come out on top in some questionable ways in the past, so the door is always open for it to happen again.
#1 Shane McMahon defeats AJ Styles
All of the potential match results listed here would be major upsets because of circumstances surrounding each of them. But the one thing that is constant for all of them is that the competitors are at least evenly matched as far as their careers, accomplishments, and skill sets are concerned.
That’s not the case here, which is why Shane McMahon defeating AJ Styles is the biggest possible upset for WrestleMania 33.
Shane is not a bad performer. He has always captivated crowds with his willingness to perform death-defying stunts as well as his ability to look like he belongs in a WWE ring. He holds his own, but Styles is on an entirely different level.
Styles is arguably the best technical wrestler in the world. This match should be a good one because both men are such great performers, but Shane should have absolutely no business coming anywhere close to winning this match. He’s not on the same tier as Styles. In fact, he’s not even close.
Plus there’s the fact that Styles already lost at last year’s WrestleMania, his first one ever. It’s tough to see WWE handing him a second straight ill-advised loss on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
This year should feature AJ Styles’ first WrestleMania victory. Any other result would be utterly shocking.
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