WrestleMania 33 takes place on Sunday at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Ahead of the event here are the predictions on who will be coming out on top in the 13 scheduled matches.
Randy Orton to win the WWE Championship against Bray Wyatt
This feels like the start of the feud, rather than the end of it, after Orton, the Royal Rumble winner, turned on Wyatt following an affiliation with him for a few months. Orton has never truly had a WrestleMania moment. Allied to the fact he missed WrestleMania 32 due to injury, was brutalised by Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam in August, and this simply screams that Orton finally gets some joy. Expect Orton to triumph and win his 12th world title, but for the rivalry with Wyatt to run deep into the summer.
Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Universal Championship against Bill Goldberg
One safe prediction for this is it’s not going longer than 10 minutes at the very least. Goldberg shocked Lesnar by beating him in just 86 seconds at Survivor Series in November. If the WWE were looking to create a shock they certainly did that, considering Lesnar had been booked as being almost invincible for the past couple of years. The WWE’s goal is now to get that level of aura back on Lesnar, and expect Lesnar to dominate the bout and win quickly with a few suplexes and a F5 sending Goldberg back into retirement.
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Roman Reigns to beat the Undertaker
Probably the hardest match to call. The crowd in Orlando will be rooting firmly for the Deadman, but after moving very slowly during the Royal Rumble in January, expectations on just what the veteran can achieve in the ring should be kept very limited. Reigns will be the workhorse in this match, and it would add an extra dimension to his character if he can beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania, something that only Lesnar in 2014 has done. I do not expect to see Reigns go heel in this match, maybe hint at it, but Undertaker does not need the win, and if this is his last WrestleMania, as has been rumoured, then it would be fitting if he put over the man the WWE plan to be the backbone of the company for the next decade.
AJ Styles to beat Shane McMahon
Styles has had an amazing first full year on the WWE roster, and while he is no longer in the WWE title picture, a match with McMahon, the commissioner of SmackDown, gives him the chance to steal the limelight. The action will be unpredictable, but the result will not be. Styles is one of the biggest stars WWE has right now, who can feud with anyone and make them look good, and he needs to be kept strong and that means winning here.
Bayley to retain the Raw Women’s Championship in a Fatal 4-Way against Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Nia Jax
Ideally Bayley should be going into her first WrestleMania looking to win the title for the first time. Instead she is champion, but now she needs to retain it. The narrative is that she needed help to win the championship, then subsequently lost to both Banks and Jax, so now she needs to prove she is worthy. She wins here, setting up a post-Mania feud with Banks, who will turn on her in the coming months out of jealousy.
Seth Rollins to beat Triple H in an unsanctioned match
The unsanctioned element to this means anything goes and this should mean weapons are used, and also interference is possible, and potentially lots of it. Samoa Joe, and possibly Kevin Owens, will likely come to Triple H’s aid. But expect Rollins to have help from Sami Zayn and potentially Mick Foley, with the fired Raw General Manager returning to get a final revenge on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. It will be chaotic but the important thing is Rollins has to stand tall here. He has been booked poorly since his return from injury last summer and he badly needs a big victory here.
Kevin Owens to win the United States Championship against Chris Jericho
The Festival of Friendship last month that saw Owens turn on Jericho in violent fashion was superbly done, and set the ball rolling for this encounter. Jericho got some revenge by causing the distraction that led to Owens losing the WWE Universal title to Goldberg in only 22 seconds, so for that reason, and given the fact Owens needs the win more, I expect him to go over.
John Cena and Nikki Bella to beat The Miz and Maryse in a mixed tag match
This should be a lot of fun. The Miz and Maryse have enjoyed the upper hand in the verbal jousts with Cena and Bella, but come the big night it will be the latter pair who stand tall. Given Maryse’s lack of recent action in the ring, the majority of the action will involve Cena and Miz, with Bella in all likelihood getting the decisive pin to end the feud.
Dean Ambrose to retain the Intercontinental Championship against Baron Corbin
I expect this match to be relatively short, due to the high number of matches on the card, so this may not have the time needed to be the real heated brawl that the build-up has hinted at. Corbin will have a run with the belt undoubtedly, and he may win it at the next SmackDown event, Backlash, but expect Ambrose to retain for now to allow the storyline to proceed and gain more heat so that when Corbin goes over it means more than it would if it happened on Sunday.
Braun Strowman to win the Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Strowman has been excellent over the last year and he needs to keep his momentum up, especially after his first televised loss, at the hands of Reigns last month. He will eliminate Big Show last to triumph.
Naomi to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a match involving every available woman on the brand
The main surprise is that the WWE gave away the fact Naomi was back to full fitness after she had to vacate the title in February due to injury. WWE may have a couple of shock entrants up their sleeve, but this is effectively a two-horse field between Naomi and current champ Alexa Bliss. A Naomi win should bring some early cheer to the fans in the Camping World Stadium given she is an Orlando resident.
Neville to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries
Neville has been sensational as the dominant heel champion of the division, and while Aries could well be the man to give him his comeuppance, that does not happen here, with the Briton retaining, possibly in nefarious circumstances, to ensure the rivalry goes on.
Enzo Amore and Big Cass to win the Raw Tag Team Championship against Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and Cesaro and Sheamus in a triple threat ladder match
Cesaro and Sheamus have been great as an unlikely tag duo, but they don’t need the win, while Gallows and Anderson have never been booked strongly, even as champions. The WWE will give Enzo and Cass their big moment in front of what should be a receptive crowd, and hopefully it will give them some heat back with their act threatening to have got stale.
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