WrestleMania 33 will take place April 2, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Twitter)
WrestleMania 33 is right around the corner, and the match card for the professional wrestling spectacle continues to take form.
With plenty of storylines ongoing on both RAW and Smackdown Live!, there has been plenty of speculation about what matches will take place on April 2 in Orlando, Florida.
Here are the latest matches that are rumored for WrestleMania 33 live on the WWE Network:
Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar
When Goldberg announced that he had returned to the WWE, it was Brock Lesnar who picked a fight with the legend. But Goldberg lived up to his words and made quick work of Lesnar at Survivor Series in November.
The two would see each other in the ring again a few months later at Royal Rumble, with both entering the over-the-top rope rumble match.
Goldberg had the edge again, eliminating Lesnar right away when he entered the match.
The challenge for a rematch was sent out by Lesnar, and Goldberg accepted it on RAW on February 6.
With the match set in stone, we found out that Goldberg isn’t just out for Lesnar’s blood. He wants Kevin Owens’ WWE Universal Championship, too. He issued a challenge to Owens for a title match at Fastlane on RAW, and Owens reluctantly accepted.
With the way things ended up between Owens and Jericho, it seems logical that Owens will lose his title at Fastlane, thus making the WrestleMania match-up of Goldberg and Lesnar for the title belt.
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon & Aj Styles are both being advertised for special appearances for WWE’s live event at Madison square garden in March #WWE
Shane McMahon, who took a death-defying leap from the top of the Hell in a Cell structure at WrestleMania 32 against The Undertaker, is reportedly fully expected to compete once again at this year’s WrestleMania. The question is, who will be his opponent?
AJ Styles lost his WWE Championship at Royal Rumble to John Cena in January and couldn’t get it back in a match at Elimination Chamber on February 12.
According to CadesideSeats.com, Styles is “being forced to compete” in next week’s No. 1 contender battle royal on Smackdown to build the storyline with McMahon heading into the PPV.
To add fuel to the rumor, as PWMania reported, both Styles and McMahon are advertised for a WWE Live event at Madison Square Garden on March 12.
It looks like there may be some merit to this rumor heading into WrestleMania 33.
Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker
The Undertaker is looking at Roman Reigns the way Scar looked at Simba when he returned to Pride Rock
Reigns and The Undertaker’s feud started at the 2017 Royal Rumble when Reigns “shockingly” eliminated Taker after five minutes in the ring. It seems likely that Taker will look for revenge against Reigns at the biggest PPV of them all, an event the veteran has become known to wrestle at every year.
Reigns will face Braun Strowman at Fastlane on March 5, and if he’s able to conquer the giant, there’s no reason that The Undertaker wouldn’t be next.
It seems that more than likely, Taker against Reigns is a go for WrestleMania, and the storyline between the two will continue to build following Fastlane.
Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton
With Randy Orton walking out the victor at the Royal Rumble and clinching a title match at WrestleMania, it seemed as if the Orton and John Cena rivalry would be renewed with a title match at WrestleMania.
But that speculation was shot down when Bray Wyatt stunned fans by winning the Elimination Chamber match at the February 12 PPV. Wyatt dethroned Cena of the WWE Championship and walked out with the first title belt of his career.
After the match, Orton appeared on the entrance ramp and stared at Wyatt in the ring, symbolizing that he is going to use his title match right against Wyatt at WrestleMania.
But then on the February 14 episode of Smackdown, Orton forfeited his title match against Wyatt, leading to Daniel Bryan announcing that there would be a No. 1 contender match to face Wyatt at WrestleMania. This figures to be all smoke and mirrors.
As PWMania.com reported, WWE is trying to throw people off and still fully intends on having the Orton/Wyatt match at WrestleMania. The reason for the No. 1 contender match on the February 21 episode of Smackdown is to “fill the storyline” for the next month, PWMania wrote.
There are also talks about having a triple-threat match at WrestleMania between the three members of the Wyatt Family.
Count on this match going down April 2.
Seth Rollins vs. Triple H
It seemed almost too obvious that Seth Rollins was going to seek his revenge on Triple H at this year’s WrestleMania. He’d been talking about going after Triple H ever since he returned from his knee injury.
But those almost-certain plans were thrown for a loop when Rollins re-injured his knee on the January 30 episode of RAW at the hands of a debuting Samoa Joe.
The injury doesn’t seem as serious as initially feared, thankfully for Rollins. But he hasn’t yet been cleared to return to ring action, and it seems unclear when that will happen.
WrestlingRumors.net reported that as of now, the plan is still to go ahead with the match — assuming Rollins will heal in time and be cleared nu doctors for action. But if that doesn’t happen, the backup plan is reportedly to rely on Joe to be thrust into the WrestleMania spotlight, though it’s unclear who he would face in a match.
That answer seems to be coming clear, though. On the February 13 episode of RAW, Joe said in an interview that he doesn’t need help when asked by Michael Cole about Triple H. A Joe and Triple H match would likely be the replacement if Rollins is unable to go, according to Wrestling Observer Radio.
Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens
It seemed as if Chris Jericho and the WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens were getting along fine. They constantly referred to each other as “best friends” and always seemed to have each other’s back, no matter the circumstances.
That all changed on the February 13 episode of RAW when Owens turned on Y2J during the duo’s “Festival of Friendship.” Owens beat Jericho up badly in the ring and outside of it, powerbombing him onto the ring apron. The beating ended after he threw Jericho through the TV monitor in the ring, leaving him motionless.
Owens will fight Goldberg for the Universal Championship on March 5 at Fastlane. With the new developments to Owens’ and Jericho’s “friendship,” count on Y2J playing a big role in the Fastlane match.
It would seem as if Jericho will cost Owens the match against Goldberg, with KO seeking revenge for the incident at WrestleMania.
Barring injury, it’s almost 100 percent that the battle of former “best friends” will take place at WrestleMaia.