‘WWE WrestleMania 33’: Best ‘SmackDown’ Match: John Cena, Bray Wyatt, AJ Styles?
While the Monday Night Raw brand will provide marquee matches for WrestleMania 33 with the likes of Brock Lesnar, the Undertaker, and Roman Reigns, SmackDown Live will look to WWE Superstars like John Cena, Bray Wyatt, and AJ Styles to prove that they aren’t the inferior brand. It is expected that the show will end with Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. If Roman Reigns defeats the Undertaker, as rumors suggest, it will likely be the most talked-about match of the evening. And with Triple H and Seth Rollins returning to the ring in a non-sanctioned match, the blue brand will have to fight for any attention they receive at WrestleMania 33.
Just as Roman wants to take the reigns from the Undertaker, Bray Wyatt can confirm his place as the dominant force on SmackDown with a title-match victory over a future Hall of Famer and veteran like Randy Orton. John Cena will steer clear of the WWE Championship scene, as he teams up with Nikki Bella to face The Miz and Maryse in a Mixed Tag Team Match. And while many feel that AJ Styles deserves to be in the main event of WrestleMania 33 after the incredible year he has had, he will instead face Shane McMahon in a match that involves no titles or special stipulations.
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
Bray Wyatt has had one of the most interesting rises in recent WWE history, going into this year’s WrestleMania as the WWE Champion. After building The Wyatt Family, dismembering it, rebuilding it and watching it fall apart yet again, it would seem as though he’ll face Randy Orton in a match that is truly one-on-one. While Randy Orton hasn’t made a big deal about the New Era of WWE Superstars like John Cena has, this is certainly a case where one of the absolute best wrestlers in WWE history faces off against someone who could be just as big a part of the WWE’s future.
The internet has been buzzing recently about Bray Wyatt’s interview with Sports Illustrated in which he said his dream opponents for WrestleMania would be Mick Foley, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and Shawn Michaels. He also talked about hoping to one day form an on-air alliance with real-life brother Bo Dallas. However, if Bray Wyatt can defeat Randy Orton at WrestleMania 33 in a match that truly steals the show, the Eater of Worlds and The Viper could have the best match of the night, putting to shame the title match between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg.
John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse
Undoubtedly, John Cena is still the biggest name on the SmackDown Live roster — he’s the biggest name in the entire industry. But with Nikki Bella preparing her exit from full-time in-ring competition, Cena finds himself working a program with his real-life girlfriend against another real-life WWE couple. John Cena and The Miz have put on great matches in the past — including the main event match at WrestleMania 27 — and both Nikki Bella and Maryse are former champions themselves. But no one expects this Mixed Tag Team Match to be the best bout of WrestleMania 33.
However, as Comic Book reported, the latest WWE rumors are that John Cena may propose to Nikki Bella at WrestleMania 33. Whether or not the engagement would be legitimate or just for storyline purposes, the way Nikki Bella has been teased about it on WWE programming would seem to indicate that a proposal is coming soon. If that’s the case — and there aren’t any spectacular matches or major swerves — John Cena and Nikki Bella could be the hottest topic after WrestleMania, as fans and analysts try to decipher what’s kayfabe and what’s legit.
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
There’s no question that WWE had several options that would have allowed AJ Styles the opportunity to be involved in this year’s greatest in-ring performance at WrestleMania 33. If Shinsuke Nakamura had been called-up from NXT, a match with The Phenomenal One would have had the Internet Wrestling Community ecstatic with anticipation. Inserting him into the WWE Championship Match with Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton could have taken that match to an entirely different level.
Instead, AJ Styles finds himself in a match with Shane McMahon, who has only wrestled one match in the last decade. While Shane McMahon is always willing to put his body at risk to pull off a big spot — like he already did on last week’s SmackDown when he crashed through the announce table — he’s never been known to put on matches that are memorable in their entirety. Shane can usually depend on taking a huge bump to give his match some buzz, but without any special stipulations, it will be up to AJ Styles to make the SmackDown Live commissioner look like he belongs in the ring with the company’s greatest wrestler on the company’s biggest night of the year.
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Updated WWE WrestleMania 33 Card
- Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar — Universal Championship Match
- Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton — WWE Championship Match
- Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax — Raw Women’s Championship Fatal 4-Way Match
- Alexa Bliss (c) vs. all available SmackDown Women — SmackDown Women’s Championship Match
- Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Enzo & Big Cass vs. Sheamus & Cesaro — Raw Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Match
- Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kevin Owens — United States Championship Match
- Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Baron Corbin — Intercontinental Championship Match
- Neville (c) vs. Austin Aries — Cruiserweight Championship Match
- The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns
- John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse
- AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon
- Big Show, Mojo Rawley, Apollo Crews, Curt Hawkins, and TBD — Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
- Seth Rollins vs. Triple H — Non-Sanctioned Match (unconfirmed)
- The Usos (c) vs. American Alpha — SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (unconfirmed)
With less than a week before WWE WrestleMania 33, it seems like the only match that could possibly be added on this week’s WWE SmackDown Live is American Alpha’s rematch for the SmackDown Tag Team Championship against The Usos. WrestleMania 33 will air live on Sunday, April 2, from the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. As more information is confirmed, it will be updated at WWE’s official WrestleMania 33 preview page.
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Where To Watch WWE
WWE WrestleMania 33 airs live on the WWE Network on Sunday, April 2, at 7/6c. The WWE WrestleMania 33 Kickoff will begin at 5/4c and can be streamed live on all of WWE’s digital platforms, including the WWE Network, YouTube, WWE.com, and the WWE App. The WrestleMania Kickoff will be hosted by a panel consisting of Renee Young, Booker T, Jerry Lawler, and Shawn Michaels.
WWE SmackDown Live airs Tuesdays on the USA Network at 8/7c. Replays of WWE SmackDown aren’t made available on the WWE Network until several weeks after the original air date. However, a replay of SmackDown Live is available to stream on-demand Wednesdays via Hulu. WWE Talking Smack begins at 10:45/9:45c on the WWE Network and is immediately made available to stream on-demand.
[Featured Image by WWE]
