After the Royal Rumble's main show was approximately 5 hours, there's no way that Wrestlemania won't be just as long.
I'd like to see them place several matches on the pre-show (and start early so that the East Coast doesn't get done watching it at Midnight) so that it's not such a chore to sit through.
Anything over 5 hours and it's bordering leg cramps, people going home from viewing parties so they can get up for work the next day and losing interest.
So how would you book Wrestlemania?
To be honest there aren't a lot of matches I'm really looking forward to seeing. There are some matches I'd like to see happen but I know they're not going to.
I have a dream card, but, realistically, it probably won't happen. For example, I think this year would've been a great time to do The Undertaker vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. I can say with 99.9% certainty that it's not going to happen.
So, when coming up with this, I tried to base most of the booking in reality.
The main card:
Ronda Rousey vs. Becky Lynch
This should be the main event. Becky Lynch is at an all-time career high. Ronda Rousey is a star.
Rumors are that Ronda Rousey is going to be taking time off to spend time with her husband and possibly become a mom.
There's no better time to let two women main event Wrestlemania than this.
WWE will likely keep Charlotte in that mix (making it a triple threat), but I'd let her sit this one out. Let Ronda and Becky tell their story without that additional element.
WWE Universal Title Match:
Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar
I don't know if I'm excited for this or not. I'd say give Rollins the win, but he's got some nagging injuries so maybe not? Still, it's time for Brock to lose the title. Seth is a safe babyface candidate to win the title and lead the Raw brand for a couple of months before losing the title to someone else.
Whoever wins, I expect it to be a 10 - 15 minute Brock Lesnar match. I don't think there's much of a reason to spend more time on it than that.
Daniel Bryan vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
WWE just did an Elimination Chamber match with 6 competitors, but they've booked themselves into a corner here. Unless they have several one-on-one matches without titles on the line (and they'd need to build up the feuds pretty quickly to make that happen), they're going to have to do a multi-man WWE Title match.
Give Kofi the shot since fans want it to happen. Randy is reliable and seems to be entering a feud with Styles, so may as well throw them in there. Rey and Samoa Joe are two good additional options.
You could put Jeff Hardy or Mustafa Ali in there too, but why rush Mustafa. He could main event Summerslam if need be. Wait on him a little bit.
Smackdown Women's Title Match
Asuka vs. Charlotte (the rematch)
Instead of inserting Charlotte into the Becky Lynch / Ronda Rousey match, I'd give her and Asuka a good amount of time to work another great match for the Smackdown Women's Title. Asuka needs a win and the Smackdown Women's Title needs some credibility after all the focus has been on Raw's Women's Title. A memorable match is just the thing to revive some interest on the blue brand.
Sasha Banks and Bayley vs. Nia Jax and Tamina vs. The IIconics vs. Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville
I'd prefer Sasha and Bayley vs. one tag team from each brand:
- Nia Jax and Tamina (good heel team from Raw)
- The IIconics (from Smackdown)
- Io Shirai and Kairi Sane (representing NXT)
You could remove Nia and Tamina to throw NXT UK's Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley (who are feuding) in for their brand, but Nia and Tamina are big and could probably take more of Io and Kairi's aerial offense.
I realize that the match I want to happen probably won't, so let's just make it a 4 corner bout with Mandy and Sonya in there instead of Io and Kairi.
I don't think I'd make a title switch just yet.
Save that for after Wrestlemania.
Cruiserweight Title Match:
Buddy Murphy vs. ???
I'm not sure who will end up facing Buddy Murphy. WWE has done zero to get fans interested in 205 Live. They just released a couple of their main roster guys, too.
I'd turn Murphy face (he's got the moveset to make it work) or at least make him a tweener and have him go up against Noam Dar. Or maybe Noam Dar and Cedric Alexander in a triple threat.
The cruiserweights always get the short end of the stick so they'll probably end up on the pre-show, but I'd love to see them on the main card this year.
4 Corner WWE Tag Team Champions Match (no titles on the line):
The Usos vs. The Revival vs. The War Raiders vs. James Drake and Zack Gibson
Not sure how to get the tag team champions on the card, so I figured may as well do a champion vs. champion thing. WWE actually has 4 sets of male tag team champions between all of their brands, so may as well throw them all out there to make it a little more interesting.
The Usos vs. The Revival would be a good match by itself too.
I'm not interested in this feud. I'm not interested in Shane McMahon wrestling (at the big shows or on weekly TV). I know I'm stuck with it though.
Miz will turn on Shane before 'Mania and they'll have a big match there.
It's not that I don't like Shane. I do. It's that he's not a wrestler and he's taking up a spot that someone else could have. This can be the one non-title match they have on the card.
Let's not give them 25 minutes for it though, huh? 15 is more than enough.
Finn Balor vs. Lashley (with Lio Rush)
Finn hasn't really had an interesting feud for most of 2018. Going for a rematch here is easy but may as well do it. Either that or Drew McIntyre vs. Finn vs. Lashley? Or Drew vs. Finn?
Raw has a lot of guys who are floating right now --- ready to main event but not being given the opportunity to do so. Braun, Drew, Lashley, Finn and even Elias could all be main eventing Raw each week.
Remember in 1999 when Mankind, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H and The Big Show were all main event ready and could step up as a challenger on any given night?
WWE has that same kind of situation here. The only difference is that Lesnar has the WWE Universal Title.
I'm a fan of the guy, for sure. But it's time to take it off of him and then let the new crop of guys emerge.
They can still use Brock at their big events. He doesn't need the championship to be an attraction though. He is an attraction all by himself.
Pre-show:
Not much to say about this one. It gets the other women on the card. Naomi could win it two years in a row.
If WWE is going with Charlotte vs. Becky vs. Ronda, then put Asuka's title on the line, put this on the main card and let her dominate the thing.
If Asuka is not involved in this match, then it's a pre-show match.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Put Braun in this match and let him destroy everyone. I'm talking 12+ eliminations.
WWE needs to build him up as a monster again. This would at least be a step in the right direction.
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