WrestleMania 34 Predictions

Wrestling

Apr 7

Oh it's time, it's time it's WRESLTEMANIA TIME!

As Wrestling fans, WrestleMania week is our favourite time of the year. Every promotion around the world turns it up a notch, from NJPW and WWE to an indy show with 50 people in the crowd, it's the best time to be a wrestling fan.

This year's Mania on paper looks like it's going to be a stellar one, but who's going to win? Well here's a comprehensive break down of who in my opinion will be walking out of New Orleans as victors.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, despite having a huge namesake, isn't really a priority match on the WrestleMania card. The sheer number of competitors in the match makes it a difficult one to call, you've a 1 in 30 chance of being right.

Despite this I have a feeling, the winner of the AMBR will most likely be either Matt Hardy, with the assist of 'Woken Wyatt' or it'll be a name that hasn't been announced, so a return from injury or an NXT call up

Women's Battle Royal

The first ever Women's Battle Royal (Not including the Battle Royals with 'Diva' in the title, which had winners such as AJ Lee and Santina Marella, that's right, Santina Marella...) is a historic event for women in the WWE, however as it's a battle royal, it does sit on the pre-show.

Unlike the men's Battle Royal, this match can probably be whittled down to 1 of 3 winners. Bayley, Sasha Banks and a SmackDown Superstar (in my opinion Becky Lynch). For Bayley or Sasha, a win by eliminating the other would keep their feud going, and add some heat to it. In Becky's case, I think she deserves a 'high profile' win as she is severely underused, and a win would set her up as a Contender for the winner of Charlotte v. Asuka (which we'll get to soon!)

Cedric Alexander v. Mustafa Ali - Cruiserweight Championship

We all know that this match deserves to be in the main-card. Sure it's an honour to be able to compete at WrestleMania, but being on the pre-show isn't quite the same thing. You don't have the full crowds attention and the atmosphere just isn't the same. However the match is going on the pre-show, and in my opinion, it's going to be the match of the night. If HHH say's to these two 'go tear the house down' you know they certainly are going to do so.

Being 100% transparent I want Ali to win this match. We share the same heritage, so I connect with him on a personal level. However, I do also think as of late he's been killing it both in and out of the ring. Putting on amazing matches and beautiful ' self-taped' promos.

It does seem that Cedric has been destined to win this belt since the Rumble, but that idiot Enzo messed it all up. Yet I'm going to go with my heart here, despite Cedric being a great wrestler in his own right, I think Mustafa in the past month or two has really elevated his game, and makes him deserving of being the new Cruiserweight Champion.

Orton v. Roode v. Mahal v. Rusev - US Championship

IT'S RUSEV DAAAAAAAYYYYY. This match is probably going to open the main card, and we need a feel-good moment. Rusev has worked his butt off to get this over with the fans and totally deserves this title. And to be honest, despite how often WWE gets stuff wrong, they are usually good at rewarding wrestlers for selling a ton of merch (see the New Day).

I think Rusev is going to 100% turn face by winning the US Title, giving the audience what they want, which is Rusev getting the recognition he deserves.

However, I do still hold the tiniest bit of doubt in my optimistic prediction, that Bob Roode, may just pick up the title again, and then have a heel run, with Rusev chasing the gold. This with fill the lack of heels on SmackDown, and will give Rusev the satisfaction of having a proper singles feud to win the title, as opposed to being a late addition to a multi-man match.

The Miz v. Seth Rollins v. Finn Balor - Intercontinental Championship

This is the other match I think has potential to steal the show. It has 3 of the best superstars in the company and has had one of the best builds of WrestleMania. Personally, I don't have too much to say about this match, as the build has been so good, I can't do the build justice with words, one simply should watch the promos and matches these three men have been in.

My prediction is that The Miz will go over. He is such a great worker and so deserves a huge WrestleMania moment (WrestleMania 27 absolutely does not count). I feel he should pick up the title, probably by throwing out one of the two other competitors and stealing their pin.

This would result in The Miz being challenged to a title match the next night and either Seth or Finn picking up the title. Thus giving The Miz some well-deserved paternity leave to spend with his wife and baby.

Usos v. New Day v. Bludgeon Brothers - SD Tag Team Championships

I surprisingly like the looks of this match. As Mr Tag-Team Wrestling, I’m usually a man who favours traditional tag team wrestling. However, in this case, I really like all three teams in this match. The Usos and New Day obviously are the best teams on the main roster right now, and the Bludgeon Brother, well despite their obvious foam hammers, are great big men.

I see the Bludgeon Brothers going over here, SmackDown needs a strong heel tag team, especially with the slight chance that Sanity or AoP may come up to main after Mania. This may also lead to the Usos or the New Day moving over to RAW to bolster the tag team division over there.

Braun and Mystery Partner v. The Bar - RAW Tag Team Championships

Those titles are gonna ‘GET THESE (Braun’s) HANDS!’ This match isn’t really about who will win the match then it is more about, who will be Braun’s partner?

My top pick of Elias is rumoured to be in a segment with the Rock or if failing that may have a segment with Jeff Jarrett (AIN'T I GREAT), therefore I’ll go with my second. The Inter-Gender Champion, James Ellsworth.

It'd a big feel-good moment for the crowd, it’d bring Braun’s story full circle from Ellsworth being his opponent to being his partner for his first title.

And finally, it’d give Ellsworth a well deserved Mania moment as a competitor.

Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H

This is probably the biggest match on the card, from a financial standpoint. Ronda Rowsey’s first match in a WWE ring, at the grandest stage of them all… damn.

This match has gotten so much mainstream media attention, all eyes are going to be on it. The amount of attention this match has gotten proves it was a pretty great idea for the WWE to bring Rousey in and just goes to show the creative genius of Vince McMahon.

My prediction is that HHH and Kurt are going to take one another out of the match. This would leave Stephanie in the centre of the ring with Ronda, who locks Steph in a vicious armbar, causing her to tap.

Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

Let's be honest, if Daniel Bryan doesn’t go over, New Orleans will riot.

There is the slightest of chances either Daniel or Shane will turn, but that seems unlikely. Sure the stipulation of Kevin and Sami being fired if they lose may suggest they’re going over. But it wouldn’t be the first time WWE just ignore a stipulation and have them turn up on RAW the night after Mania.

If we were to play with the idea of a turn, I'd have to go with what makes the most sense (although WWE usually doesn't care about making sense). It would be to turn Daniel Bryan heel, and have him align with Kevin and Sami. This would lead to them creating an amazing faction on SmackDown and hopefully bring eyes to the product. Hopefully...

Alexa Bliss v. Nia Jax - RAW Women's Championship

Please please please have Nia win. Having Nia go over here will in part make up for the terrible WrestleMania 19 result of HHH going over Booker T. Good wrestling booking would dictate that the face that has been bullied and mistreated should go over, giving the heel what they deserve.

I've not been completely comfortable with the way the story has gone, with many hateful/shaming comments being thrown around. However, I can say that both women (as well as Mickie James) have played their roles extremely well.

I simply hope and pray Vince does the right thing and lets Nia go over.

Charlotte v. Asuka - SD Women's Championship

If you ever want a Women's match to main event WrestleMania, this would be the one! Charlotte and Asuka are in the contention for best wrestlers int he company, male or female. Although the build has been lacklustre, mostly because of the placement of the Fastlane PPV, the match itself is probably one of the most anticipated matches on the card.

Unfortunately for Charlotte, I'm going with Asuka going over. The streak has been such a big part of the Women's division since Asuka came up, I don't see Vince throwing that away so soon. At the very least, Asuka is going to carry that streak to WrestleMania 35.

It's going to be a bitterly contested match. I feel the best way to protect Charlotte (and this is a long shot) is for Carmella to pull a Rollins and cash in her MiTB, to make it a triple threat. This would allow Asuka to pin Carmella and protecting Charlotte for the foreseeable future.

AJ Styles v. Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE Championship

This is a difficult one to decipher. The build hasn’t been that amazing, mostly because of the awkward placement of Fastlane between WrestleMania and the Rumble.

On the one hand, it seems as if WWE is set on making Shinsuke the Champion, booking him strong (since the terrible Jinder feud), and probably using him as a route to secure a market in Japan. It would make sense, as Shinsuke as a character is so confident that he is going to win the title.

On the other hand, AJ is so damn good, it would be a shame to see him lose the title this soon. Giving AJ a win at WrestleMania would cement him as a champion the people can stand behind, and be a sold face for the company if need be.

However, I’m going to go with Shinsuke picking up the title, and AJ possibly moving on to an ‘above belt’ feud after WrestleMania.

Brock Lesnar v. Roman Reigns - Unversial Championship

Two words… BIG DOG. Roman Reigns is 100% picking up the title at WrestleMania. Vince has been building to this for years. For Roman to finally vanquish Brock and position him as the top guy in the company. Furthermore, the recent news from Dana White (although this is contested by the Wrestling Observer himself Dave Meltzer) that Lesnar will definitely be signing for UFC, almost confirms 1 million percent that Roman Reigns will be going over.

Although this might not go over too well with the crowd, it seems the most logical decision to make. Brock is getting up there in years, and quite frankly, it’s boring to have a champion who is barely present at your shows.

Hopefully, with Roman winning the title, we can move on to having a more enjoyable and diverse main event scene on RAW. Give me a Curt Hawkins feud for the title!

Sulaymaan Iqbal