The Super Bowl of pro wrestling, sports entertainment, whatever you’re supposed to call it, is tonight: WrestleMania 34. What to watch for on the biggest show of the year.
Will Undertaker answer John Cena? Assuming yes, then, which one?
Yes, we will get an Undertaker match, though, oddly, it wasn’t pre-announced. John Cena has been calling out ‘Taker for weeks on WWE TV, without a response.
This will be our surprise of the night, or at least the biggest surprise of the night.
We don’t know if it will be an actual match with a referee or a confrontation setting up something for later on.
We also don’t know if it will be Dead Man ‘Taker or Biker ‘Taker.
I’d bet on Dead Man ‘Taker, personally, though it makes sense for it to be Biker ‘Taker, given the conclusion to his match at ‘Mania last year.
Any other surprises?
There has been speculation that we may see The Rock involved in a segment with Elias, which would make a lot of sense, given that Elias didn’t get a match on the card, despite being one of the more over performers on either roster.
Imagine Elias coming out for a live performance, and getting interrupted by Rock, and a back-and-forth ensuing. That would be a nice addition to the push for The Drifter.
Hulk Hogan return?
Not betting on it.
Who will Braun Strowman’s tag partner be?
One idea that could intrigue is having Strowman walk out to the ring alone, work the bulk of the match by himself, then when he gets in trouble, with The Bar about to finish him off, we get music for Big Show, and The World’s Largest Tag Team takes the belts.
Show has been on social media of late posting photos and videos from the gym, and he’s looking as good as he’s looked in years.
OK, now the important stuff. Is this really it for Brock Lesnar?
I think so. WWE has done a good job getting us to think otherwise, with Paul Heyman acknowledging on the air the Lesnar-to-UFC rumors, which has the effect of giving us reason to think that the rumors aren’t true.
Dana White going on and on about Lesnar also feels a bit workish, for my liking.
That said, Lesnar is done with WWE. His job is to give the ball to Roman Reigns and let The Big Dog run with it.
Should we expect much from Ronda Rousey?
No. She’s green. And she’s working with Stephanie McMahon. Which is nice in terms of PR buzz, but will do nothing to give us any sense of what kind of worker Rousey can be in a wrestling ring.
Her job will be to avoid looking like she doesn’t belong. I’d put the odds at even money that she can meet even that low bar.
Best matches of the night
My money is on AJ Styles-Shinsuke Nakamura, but I’d put the multi-member matches for the U.S. and Intercontinental titles a close second and third.
Finn Balor and Seth Rollins should have been feuding for the Universal title two years ago, before Balor’s injury, and IC champ The Miz is the hottest heel in the company. Rusev is the cult hero of Smackdown, and you have three solid workers in Randy Orton, the U.S. champ, Bobby Roode, who isn’t being used right as a face, and Jinder Mahal, an underrated former WWE champ.
Anything else?
Charlotte will end Asuka’s undefeated streak.
Preview by Chris Graham
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