WWE
Update: check out our review for Night 1 of WWE WrestleMania 37 right here.
Update: check out our review for Night 2 of WWE WrestleMania 37 right here.
Last year’s WrestleMania 36 was originally slated to emanate from the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL.
But we all know the current pandemic put a stop to those grand plans. But this year, WWE is going out of its way to right that wrong and set up ‘Mania 37 for a grand presentation in front of fans. The pirate theme has returned and the two-night setup is also back. And looking at the landscape of Raw and Smackdown, those two nights are needed since the biggest matches of the year will have to be spread out across both of them. ‘Mania 37 is definitely going big and making sure to return to the normalcy of live wrestling shows before the pandemic hit. To say that we’re excited about that prospect is an understatement.
Without further ado, here is our preview and predictions piece for WrestleMania 37.
Cesaro vs. Seth Rollins
WWE
Predictions & Winner: It’s about damn time! My guy Cesaro is getting a major singles match on the WrestleMania card against someone that’s sure to produce an amazing match with him. This sudden push of the “Swiss Superman” may be a bit too late for some fans to truly care about, but I think Cesaro’s performance here will renew a ton of interest in him for the year ahead. Seth Rollins can do no wrong once the bell rings and that same sentiment applies to Cesaro. I’m expecting greatness here, folks. I’m also expecting a Cesaro win that will parlay him right into a renewed push that will take him further up the SmackDown ranks during the spring/summer months.
Riddle (c) vs. Sheamus (WWE United States Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: So a random backstage encounter and a non-title win from Sheamus over Riddle placed these two into an all-important ‘Mania matchup, huh? Man, the build for some of these matches is severely lacking and gives fans no reason to truly care about them. While I’m sure Riddle and Sheamus will brutalize each other as legitimately as possible and have fans on the edge of their seats, the weak storyline heading into this match will keep most folks from becoming heavily invested in it. Riddle gets the win here so he can get his first ‘Mania win (over a major star to boot) and make his US Championship reign that much stronger.
Bad Bunny and Damian Priest vs. The Miz and John Morrison
WWE
Predictions & Winners: Man, how far the mighty have fallen. The Miz went from cashing in his MITB contract to win the WWE Championship to losing it to Bobby Lashley in mere seconds just two weeks later. Now the man has been slotted into a tag team match against the Latina music superstar that’s been getting on his last nerve since the Royal Rumble.
Miz is really goin’ through it in the worst way possible, I swear. Bad Bunny’s been booked way better than most of the WWE roster these days and that trend will continue here. Bad Bunny’s going over just so WWE can pop a nice headline the next day across all sorts of big-name websites. At least this waste of time gets Damian Priest and John Morrison on the ‘Mania card and both guys a major payday.
Asuka (c) vs. Rhea Ripley (WWE Raw Women’s Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Last year, Rhea Ripley was clearly being set up for greatness. She claimed the NXT Championship from Shayna Baszler and was heading into ‘Mania 36 against Charlotte Flair for a major title defense. Then the pandemic happened and forced her match to take place from an eerily quiet Performance Center. And to top it all off, she took an L to Miss Flair and relinquished her title in the process. From that point forward, it was all downhill for NXT’s breakout women’s star. Throughout 2020, she took some devastating losses and lost a good bit of the momentum she built since coming over to the American version of the yellow and black brand. But ever since 2021 started, Rhea’s gotten back into a prime position to fulfill her potential. Her Royal Rumble performance was super strong and now she’s on the main roster looking to claim the Raw Women’s Championship from Asuka.
Now y’all know I love Asuka. But she’s had nothing worthy of note to do ever since her and Charlotte’s tag team partnership came to an end. Now she’s pretty much reigning over one of the weakest women’s divisions on the main roster, which means she doesn’t have a whole lot of legit foes to take on…until now. Rhea has stepped up to take her on and now I’m extra excited to see both ladies put on a banger on the biggest WWE stage. It’s clearly WrestleMania redemption time for Rhea – Raw’s newest lady wrestler is going to defeat Asuka, claim the belt, and make up for her disappointing 2020 all-in-one fell swoop.
Lana and Naomi vs. Dana Brooke and Mandy Rose vs. The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan and Ruby Riott) vs. Natalya and Tamina vs. Billie Kay and Carmella (Tag Team Turmoil Match; Winners Face Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on Night 2)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: It says a lot about the women’s divisions on both main rosters when I say that I don’t care about any of the women participating in this multi-team affair. Whoever gets the win here will probably end up getting a surprise win over Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler the very next night, then they’ll most likely drop the titles right back to them on the next episode of Raw. I think The Riott Squad will get the random win here just cause. Alright, let’s move on…
Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn (with Logan Paul)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: FIGHT FOREVER! That chant has followed the careers of the men formerly known as Kevin Steen and El Generico ever since they got attached at the hip. Their wars have caused fans to ask for more in ROH, PWG, CHIKARA, and other parts of the indie scene. Both men took their legendary beef to NXT and the main stage of WWE to create even more in-ring magic. Now Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn will finally take their never-ending war to the WrestleMania stage. You just love to see it. If this match is anything like their banger from Battleground 2016, then we might have ourselves a show-stealer here. I truly hope that ends up being the case.
Even though the build to this particular match hasn’t had enough time to truly build it into something truly memorable, both men’s years of unbridled fury should be more than enough to get everyone to care. I think Zayn is going to eke out a win here, which will prolong this feud for a bit longer and give both guys something to get invested in for the next few months. This has happened countless times before, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen these two go at each other. So a renewed rivalry between these indie darlings turned WWE mainstays doesn’t feel overly stale at this point.
The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods) (c) vs. AJ Styles and Omos (WWE Raw Tag Team Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winners: You know, I was actually pining for Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander to head into ‘Mania 37 with the red tag team straps still intact. But to my surprise and dismay, they’ve relinquished the Raw tag team titles to Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods. The fact that AJ Styles and Omos are challenging for the belts here is proof of just how weak Raw’s tag team division is. I figured AJ was getting prepped for another major singles match at the show of all shows (AJ vs. Triple H seemed like a worthy matchup to book here, right?), but he’s sadly being relegated to this tag team affair. I’m sure the match will be halfway decent, but I’m still a bit disappointed to see AJ in this spot on the ‘Mania card.
So the major deciding factor for this match’s outcome is clearly Omos. He’s either going to screw up badly to the point where the champs retain or he’s going to come through in a super clutch moment and help his boy AJ eke out a win. I’m going with the latter result here – Omos is going to clean up house near the match’s closing moments after an AJ that’s depleted of most of his energy tags him in. While The New Day will certainly put up a good fight, they’ll eventually succumb to the damage done to them by AJ’s giant insurance policy. Omos will put the finishing touches on Kingston & Woods, AJ will tag himself back in, and get the win thanks to his bodyguard’s hard work.
Big E (c) vs. Apollo Crews (Nigerian Drum Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship
WWE
Predictions & Winner: WE BETTER NOT GET ANOTHER BOTCHED FINISH HERE! I WON’T STAND FOR IT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN! Crazy how the one match I was really looking forward to at last month’s Fastlane ended up ending way earlier than expected. Seeing as how Big E and Apollo Crews screwed the pooch last time, they’re most likely going to go above and beyond to deliver a classic here. If the Nigerian Drum Match stipulation for this rematch means both men get to bash each other under hardcore rules while drummers furiously play outside the ring, then I’m all in.
This do-over match needs to overdeliver and I’m betting money it will. So who gets the IC Championship here? I think Big E’s going to retain once more. I love Crews, but I think WWE sees more mileage in Big E’s continued championship run. This loss won’t do any favors for Crews and his heel gimmick change, but them’s the breaks sadly.
Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon (Steel Cage Match)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: I didn’t care about this when it was initially announced for last month’s Fastlane and I damn sure I don’t care about it now. Braun Strowman is a complete non-factor these days and Shane McMahon’s TV presence is more of an annoyance than it was during the beginning of his return run. The fact that this match is taking place within the confines of a Steel Cage means we can expect Shane to bring some weapons and his latest cronies into the fray. But it will all be for naught. Strowman’s going to steamroll Shane and his cronies in Elias and Jaxson Ryker. That’s it. Now let’s move on.
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair (WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: As soon as Bianca Belair emerged victorious at the Royal Rumble, everyone and their grandmother knew who she was going to set her sights on. WWE went the predictable route with the “likely challengers turned unlikely partners” storyline to lead into this matchup, of course. But in this case, it’s perfectly fine to me. Any road that WWE chose to go down would pretty much satisfy me as long as these two ladies ended up in the same position. Sasha Banks has been on fire for a good while and now she has the perfect dancing partner for the biggest stage in professional wrestling. I’m beyond excited to see these two ladies put on a contest that speaks to the strength of the women’s division and Black excellence as a whole.
My gut’s telling me these two women will put on one of the best matches of the entire ‘Mania 37 weekend. Banks will most likely turn things up a notch and reach into her bag of dirty tactics to truly push Belair to her limit. Belair will be sure to battle back by using her amazing athleticism to take Banks off her game, of course. This will be one of those matches where shenanigans will be a non-factor – Banks and Belair will squab it out in a balanced manner. At the end of this classic in the making, Belair will finally be crowned as the new SmackDown Women’s Champion and continue getting the push of a lifetime. Banks has held it down for a good while now, but it’s clear to me that Belair’s Rumble win is leading right into a win at the “Granddaddy of ‘Em All.”
“The Fiend” Bray Wyatt (with Alexa Bliss) vs. Randy Orton
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Oh god…you would have thought WWE learned their lesson about putting these two together in the ring after their horrid ‘Mania 33 match. But no, they’ve returned to the well after involving both men in one of the worst wrestling feuds in recent memory. I’ve mentally checked out for everything “The Fiend,” Alexa Bliss, and Randy Orton have been involved in as of late, so I really could care less about this match as a whole. “The Fiend” came back from being burned alive to get his revenge on Orton, which is exactly what’s going to happen here. Bray Wyatt’s monstrous alter-ego wins and hopefully, we move on from this BS forever.
Roman Reigns (c) (with Paul Heyman) vs. Edge vs. Daniel Bryan (Triple Threat Match for the WWE Universal Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: Edge already attained GOAT status before he was forced to retire due to injury. But once he pulled off a miraculous comeback at both the 2020 and 2021 Royal Rumble shows, Edge reached another tier of all-time great. For this year’s installment, the “Rated R Superstar” managed to win the whole thing and slot himself into a major championship match at ‘Mania 37. After previewing his title match options across Raw, Smackdown, and NXT, Edge decided to finalize his decision against the Blue Brand’s “Tribal Chief” Roman Reigns. But after repeated run-ins and battles between Edge, Roman Reigns, and Daniel Bryan, a decision has been made to add the “YES!” man to this Universal Championship encounter.
This is definitely one of the other marquee matches from this show that I’m super hyped about. Edge has been on a roll since coming back, Reigns has been hitting on all cylinders ever since he aligned himself with Paul Heyman, and Bryan never disappoints in the ring. All three men are at the top of their game, so chances are high that they’ll deliver a bonafide classic here. Heyman’s going to be a non-factor here – Reigns is going to handle this career-changing contest all on his own. My gut’s telling me that Edge and Bryan will most likely cancel each other out here due to their immense hatred for one another. Reigns will capitalize on their over-eagerness for each other and destroy one of them with a Spear while the other man finds himself out of the equation. The “Tribal Chief” will prevail here, which will force Edge and Bryan to engage in a singles feud soon after.
Bobby Lashley (c) (with MVP) vs. Drew McIntyre (WWE Championship)
WWE
Predictions & Winner: “The Almighty” Bobby Lashley finally did it! He practically washed The Miz and earned himself his first-ever WWE Championship. Thanks to the incredible rebuilding job done by MVP’s Hurt Business stable, Lashley has become the world-builder he was always meant to be. The Lashley fans witnessed during his strong Impact Wrestling run is now in fine form in WWE. Crazy to think that one of his biggest foes from that long TNA tenure will be standing across the ring from him here at ‘Mania 37. Drew McIntyre is coming back to claim the title he held so proudly during most of the pandemic up until the last couple of months. Based on the quality matchup they produced at last year’s Backlash, Lashley and McIntyre have the chemistry needed to create another in-ring classic.
I adore both of these guys – Lashley and McIntyre are legit larger-than-life superstars that exude the type of aura that’s ‘Mania main event worthy. Hopefully, they get the main event slot on either the first or second night of this two-day extravaganza. Lashley retaining to keep his first WWE Championship reign strong or McIntyre reclaiming his title on the ‘Mania stage are both fine outcomes. But sadly, we can only have one definitive winner here. It’s pretty evident that WWE is all aboard the Lashley train at the moment. Which means they’re in this one for the long haul. I’m predicting a Lashley victory here that will further solidify him as Raw’s current king and our WWE Champion for the months to come. Side note – if we don’t get Lashley vs. Brock Lesnar at this year’s SummerSlam, there’s simply no justice in this world.
