WWE’s biggest show of the year, WrestleMania 33 , is roughly six months away, and while there haven’t been any matches officially added to the card, we have a rough idea of what it’s going to look like next spring.
Guys like The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Triple H will almost certainly have a match on the card, while legends like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Shawn Michaels, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and maybe even Hulk Hogan will have non-wrestling roles on the show.
We also could see a few NXT stars get their shot on the main roster, as both Shinsuke Nakamura and Samoa Joe should be up on the main roster by the time WrestleMania 33 happens.
There are some matches that, barring injury or a change of plans, will happen in Orlando next spring. However, we could also be hit with a few surprises as well, which is what we’re going to start off with.
- The Undertaker vs. Sting
This is a match that Sting clearly wants to have. In fact, he’s even putting off neck surgery because he’s hoping that he’ll get the call to wrestle The Undertaker next spring.
Before he was injured at last year’s Night of Champions , WWE was planning to have Sting wrestle Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 32 . They were also planning to have Undertaker wrestle John Cena at the event, so at no point were they ever planning to do Sting vs. Undertaker.
Sting officially retired from pro wrestling during the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony earlier this year, but in recent months, he’s made it quite clear that he’s unhappy with the way his career ended and that he wants to have one final match.
In a recent interview on the WWE Network, Sting implied that he wants to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 . As of right now, there’s really nobody else — other than John Cena, of course — for Undertaker to face. Maybe we’ll finally get to see the Sting vs. Undertaker match in the spring of 2017.
- Brock Lesnar vs. Shane McMahon
#SDLive ‘s @ShaneMcMahon has seen enough of this assault on @RandyOrton ! #SummerSlam @BrockLesnar #BrockvsOrton pic.twitter.com/9869QJfUk9
— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) August 22, 2016
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , Brock Lesnar vs. Shane McMahon is happening at WrestleMania 33 .
Before this past Monday’s Raw , most were hoping that Lesnar was going to face the returning Bill Goldberg next spring, but WWE made it quite obvious that Goldberg vs. Lesnar is going to happen at next month’s Survivor Series show in Toronto.
The Shane vs. Lesnar feud began at this past August’s SummerSlam show, and it’ll probably continue following the Lesnar vs. Goldberg match next month. The match itself will probably end up being a no-disqualification match, which would allow Shane to do his usual crazy stunt. What will it be? Who knows? However, it’ll be hard for him to top what he did at WrestleMania 32 .
- Chris Jericho vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
Chris Jericho vs. Shinsuke Nakamura happened earlier this year at a live event in Tokyo, Japan. Since the event wasn’t televised, a vast majority of the WWE audience still hasn’t seen them wrestle, and it’s definitely a WrestleMania -worthy match.
Nobody really knows when Jericho is going to take his usual hiatus, but he’ll presumably be around for WrestleMania 33 . He welcomed AJ Styles to the WrestleMania stage earlier this year, and he could end up welcoming Nakamura to the WrestleMania stage next year.
Of course, it would only make sense for Nakamura to beat Jericho if the two wrestled each other at WrestleMania 33 . Regardless of who wins or loses, it’ll be a heck of a match if it happens.
- John Cena vs. AJ Styles [WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match]
He may not have become 16-time World Champion at #WWENoMercy , but @JohnCena STILL made history as part of the #TripleThreat main event! pic.twitter.com/HUntBnD5Jv
— WWE (@WWE) October 13, 2016
John Cena’s quest to tie Ric Flair’s record for most world title wins will likely be drawn out until WrestleMania 33 . Sure, we’ve seen Cena and Styles wrestle each other quite a bit over the last couple of months, but the matches are always great.
According to Cageside Seats , John Cena is scheduled to take yet another hiatus from WWE, and he’ll likely be returning towards the end of the year. He and Styles will be away from each other for quite a while before he returns to the ring in December.
As previously mentioned, John Cena was originally scheduled to wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32 , but he ended up suffering a serious shoulder injury that prevented him from wrestling. There is a rumor going around that WWE is planning to do Undertaker vs. Cena at WrestleMania 33 , but that rumor hasn’t been confirmed.
If Cena doesn’t wrestle The Undertaker, he’ll probably end up in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match, where he’ll likely tie Ric Flair’s record. Of course, AJ Styles may not be the champ by the time WrestleMania 33 happens, but he has pinned Cena in all of their recent encounters, which suggests that Cena is going to get his win back at some point.
- Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Sasha Banks [Women’s Championship Triple Threat]
There’s a chance that this match could end up just being a singles match between Bayley and Sasha Banks, because, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , the current plan is for Charlotte to wrestle Dana Brooke at WrestleMania 33 . However, it’s quite clear that Dana Brooke isn’t ready to be on the main roster, and she’s certainly not ready to be in one of the big matches at a WrestleMania show.
WWE did a women’s triple threat at this past year’s WrestleMania , but there’s nothing wrong with doing another one, especially if Bayley ends up winning the WWE Women’s Championship for the first time. Whether or not it’s a singles match or a triple threat, the plan should be for Bayley to walk out of the biggest show of the year as the new Women’s Champion.
- Roman Reigns vs. Bill Goldberg
It drives @HeymanHustle CRAZY that @Goldberg is still “one up” on his client @BrockLesnar … #RAW pic.twitter.com/2Cuea5lMSF
— WWE (@WWE) October 12, 2016
After being away from wrestling for 12 years, Bill Goldberg is scheduled to make his return to WWE at next week’s Raw show in Denver, Colorado. It’s expected that he’ll accept Brock Lesnar’s challenge and that the two will wrestle at next month’s Survivor Series . Right now, Goldberg isn’t scheduled to wrestle at WrestleMania 33 , nor has he expressed interest in doing so. Of course, that could change if he enjoys his experience at Survivor Series .
There are a ton of guys that Goldberg could come back and face, but Roman Reigns is the only guy who really doesn’t have an obvious opponent at WrestleMania 33 . Sure, WWE could put him back in the title picture, but the fans would likely reject that idea, much like they have over the last two years.
Before it was made clear that Goldberg would be returning to WWE, his manager hinted at a match between the ex-WCW megastar and Roman Reigns, saying that Goldberg needs to come back and show Reigns “what a Spear is supposed to look like.” So, he may get the opportunity to do just that at WrestleMania 33 .
- Triple H vs. Seth Rollins
This match was supposed to happen earlier this year, but Rollins ended up blowing out his knee, which forced WWE to change Triple H’s opponent to Roman Reigns.
WWE is clearly building towards Seth vs. Triple H , and while it could happen before WrestleMania 33 , it’ll probably be saved for the biggest show of the year, as Triple H isn’t expected to return to WWE television until February.
Of course, another serious injury could force WWE to change their plans again. While this match is pretty much confirmed, there’s a chance we may not see it next spring. But, if all goes well, and if both Rollins and Triple H stay healthy, we’ll be seeing it next year in Orlando.
- Finn Balor vs. Kevin Owens [Universal Championship Match]
Finn Balor and Kevin Owens had great matches with one another during their time in NXT, so there’s no reason to believe that they wouldn’t have a fantastic match if they main-evented next year’s WrestleMania 33 .
Right now, Balor is recovering from shoulder surgery, and he’s hoping to be back in action before WrestleMania 33 . If he does achieve his goal, there’s only one match for him to be in, and that’s the WWE Universal Championship match.
Balor was forced to relinquish the WWE Universal Championship back in August, so he’d be coming back to regain the title that he never lost. Also, WWE loves to end WrestleMania with a happy ending — and Balor regaining the title that he never lost would certainly be a happy ending.
[Featured Image by WWE]