411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Will The Hardys Return at WrestleMania 33?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Shawn Lealos and Andrew Hughes!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

1. While it is a disappointment that Shawn Michaels turned down a WrestleMania match with AJ Styles, it is a complete embarrassment for WWE that they had no real plans locked in and had to go to Michaels and then Shane McMahon.

Andrew Hughes: FICTION – It is definitely not an embarrassment for the WWE to be going with Shane against the Phenomenal One, but it is obviously a disappointment that AJ Styles will be relegated to the undercard after the year he just had. Styles carried Smackdown Live on his back and was the highlight of the show week in and week out. He put on show-stealing matches with Luke Harper, Dean Ambrose and even James Ellsworth but finds himself in what should be one of the very first matches. AJ upped his game to a new level in the WWE this past year, delivering compelling mic-work as the cocky heel that knows he’s the best and vying for the WWE Championship, or having the honor of wrestling (potentially) Undertaker’s last match would have been a more worthy reward for his work. Having said that, Shane McMahon is still a big name who draws eyeballs to the product and this is arguably a more important match than his undercard match with Chris Jericho at last year’s WrestleMania. So while it is not exactly satisfying, I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s an embarrassment.

Shawn Lealos: FACT – First of all, this is two different statements – one that I consider FALSE and one that I consider TRUE. Since it is the opening statement that I consider false, I will say true based on the actual gist of the question. Was it a disappointment that Shawn Michaels turned down the match with AJ Styles? No, it was not. Look, HBK is my favorite wrestler of all time and I would love to see him wrestle AJ Styles but I would also love to see Shawn stay retired and don’t want him to return no matter how much I would love to see him wrestle again. Yeah, as it sounds, I am torn on it but I don’t want Shawn to go back on his retirement after everything he has said about ending his career on a perfect note. Now, for the main part of the question – hell yes it was an embarrassment that the WWE had no plans for AJ Styles heading into WrestleMania. No one was better in 2016 than AJ Styles when it came to matches at every pay-per-view and most television appearances. AJ Styles deserves to be in the main event more than anyone. He deserves to be in the world title match more than Randy Orton (although I love that storyline). He deserves a title match more than Goldberg deserves a title. Hell, the WWE has just thrown most of the MVPs of 2016 into meaningless matches for WrestleMania 33 (see: The Miz) and that is a huge shame.

2. Finn Balor WILL NOT appear on the WrestleMania 33 show.

Andrew Hughes: FACT – This year’s WrestleMania is absolutely stacked with big names and will likely see a few surprise cameos from the legends of yesteryear. Finn Balor returning would be a big deal but I think WWE will save his return for the Post-Mania Raw, where the hardcore fans would blow the roof off of the arena after for the return of the Demon. Balor had a great run last Summer before becoming the first Universal champion. He beat Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, Raw’s two top guys, before succumbing to a shoulder injury just a month into his main roster run. WWE would be wise to hold off his return until after WrestleMania, where he can enter a built-in feud with the Universal champion. Balor never lost his championship and “The Beast vs. the Demon” is a showdown that would generate legitimate buzz.

Shawn Lealos: FACT – I am hearing that Finn Balor was a backup to Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 33 but for him to show up anywhere on the show would just ruin his return from injury. Having him show up and compete in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal would be stupid. Having him show up just to show his face and maybe challenge someone would be a waste. The best time for Finn Balor to make his return is the Monday Night Raw after WrestleMania 33 – either as the first man out the gate when the show starts to lay down a challenge or after the “main event promo” when he answers someone boasting about their win at WrestleMania. Finn Balor needs to return at Raw but keep his return until then.

3. Roman Reigns SHOULD defeat Undertaker at WrestleMania

Andrew Hughes: FACT – I actually wrote about this exact topic two weeks ago and I still stand by what I said. In fact, seeing the Undertaker’s interactions with Roman Reigns the past two weeks has only made me believe this more. The Undertaker, while inarguably one of the greatest superstars to ever step foot inside any ring, is simply not the same phenom he once was. He looks older and worn down from age and years of abuse inside the squared circle and is clearly on his last legs. Roman Reigns is a beast of a man who looks like he should wipe the floor with the Deadman. And that is why Reigns should not only handily defeat the Undertaker, but he should beat him into retirement. Reigns retiring Undertaker would make him the most intriguing character in the WWE, especially if it made him even cockier than he has already been.

Shawn Lealos: FACT – Yeah, why not? What the hell, the WWE will push him to the moon no matter what fans chant in the arenas. He was one of the most watched WWE superstars on YouTube last year for the WWE (6 of the top 10 most watched videos) and is top five for merchandise sales. He is like John Cena – it doesn’t matter what will make for a better character because polarizing superstars are in vogue and he sells lots of stuff to the little kids, which is a goldmine for the WWE. With John Cena around less and less, the WWE needs their next John Cena and that man is Roman Reigns. He will beat Undertaker – which yes, he needs to do to reach that next level – and then will probably beat John Cena and Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam and WrestleMania 34. There is no stopping him so the WWE needs to have him beat Undertaker to achieve their plans of Roman Reigns world domination.

SWITCH!

4. Matt & Jeff Hardy WILL appear on the WrestleMania 33 show.

Shawn Lealos: FICTION – Read what I wrote about Finn Balor. Having the Hardy Boyz arrive at WrestleMania would be a huge waste. There is already plenty of “must-see” events at WrestleMania and the Hardy’s would just be lost in the shuffle. They still have the ROH tag team titles (among others) and there is no hurry to bring them back. If the WWE does sign them RIGHT NOW, they should wait until either the Raw or SmackDown Live following WrestleMania to bring them back. I would vote to wait till even later than that to be honest. Let the Impact Wrestling drama work itself out first to see if Matt can be broken and brilliant or not.

Andrew Hughes: FACT – I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the New Day will add the Hardy Boys who may or may not be Broken to the triple threat ladder match for the Raw tag team titles. Matt Hardy has had back and forth interactions with members of the Club and this would be the kind of WrestleMania moment the WWE would replay for years and years. The WWE recently made a “Broken” reference on Twitter when looking back at Matt and Jeff’s WrestleMania 25 clash and I have a feeling the New Day is going to provide the crowd with a few surprises (New Day Pops for everyone!) to keep the live crowd happy. Plus, the Hardys did recently close down their online store. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and where there’s a multi-team ladder match at WrestleMania, there’s usually Jeff Hardy doing a Swanton bomb off of a ladder.

5. WWE bringing in PROGRESS Wrestling and Insane Championship Wrestling to work AXXESS is a focused effort by the company to try and hurt the independent shows that run WrestleMania weekend.

Shawn Lealos: FICTION – I mean, I guess I can see this, but I don’t think that is the reason that the WWE is putting these events on. For one thing, the WWE is surely more concerned about selling tickets to AXXESS than with just trying to screw over smaller indies. The WWE needs to have must-see events at AXXESS and that is just good business. I don’t think they are trying to hurt the indies but are instead trying to get some idea of the interest in seeing these two promotions by WWE American fans. The WWE offered them both spots on the WWE Network, and while they will get strong UK views, it would be nice to have large views from America as well. What better place to judge the ability of these promotions to draw than on WrestleMania weekend at AXXESS?

Andrew Hughes: FICTION – I don’t think the WWE would try and hurt the credibility of any of the indy Feds that are running shows during WrestleMania weekend. If anything, I think the WWE is giving fans a wider array of talent to check out during the festivities since many of the people traveling to Orlando are fans of more than just the WWE itself. Remember, many Ring of Honor and EVOLVE talents end up in the WWE and it’s unlikely the WWE even views any of these promotions as direct competition anyway. I highly doubt this was a spiteful move on the WWE’s part.

6. What Will Be Match Of The Night at WrestleMania 33?

Shawn Leoalos: Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho – Starting at the top, Brock vs. Goldberg will be a spectacle, Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns will be a spectacle, and Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles will be a spectacle. However, for every spectacle match (or three), there will be a Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat that will steal the show and this year that is Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho. I am sure Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton will be good, but we have seen it before. I think that Chris Jericho REALLY wants to put over Kevin Owens strong and this is Owens biggest chance to show his talent on the biggest show of the year. After months of looking like a chump, Kevin Owens can finally turn in a performance to show everyone how freaking talented he really is. Now, if they throw in Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn to interfere and cause a fluke win, I will be very disappointed. If they let Owens and Jericho just fight to the end, I think it could be a Match of the Year contender. It is the one match I am most excited about.

Andrew Hughes: Triple H vs. Seth Rollins – This rivalry has gotten intensely personal and has been building for years. Though Seth Rollins was injured in the lead-up to this match, I believe these two will compensate by beating the ever-living hell out of each other given the anything-goes nature of the bout. The unsanctioned stipulation lends itself to outside interference, and I think we will see a surprise run-in or two (and Samoa Joe who I wouldn’t qualify as a surprise at this point.) Triple H is at his best in an all out brawl and his Summerslam 2002 contest against Shawn Michaels is a fair template for what we should expect. This will be the match we will all be talking about when the show is all said and done.