An Honest Look At WrestleMania 33

Hi, I’m Justin Watry. You may remember me from such classic columns as March 2012’s “WWE WrestleMania 28: Sheamus Should Defeat Daniel Bryan in Less Than a Minute” and October 2015’s “WWE NXT: Bobby Roode, You’re Next.”

Backstory

After gushing about my upcoming WrestleMania 33 trip for the past few months, it is time to get down to some serious business. What do I *really* think about the card? No over the top praise and yapping about Orlando. My actual opinion on WWE as of late with no hyperbole…

The Matches

Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens – At last check, Chris Jericho is the United States Champion, You’d never know without paying very close attention. Outside of the initial story line where Kevin Owens wanted to take away the title that belonged to Chris Jericho, it has basically been ignored…

…and you know what?

I’m fine with that. I really don’t care that much about the U.S. Title, and if all of you are honest, you don’t care that much either. This is all about Owens getting a nice credibility boost and earning some heel bonus points leading into the post-Mania season. Jericho having/losing the belt is just a part of the deal. Since the breakup, this has been entertaining. Before the breakup, meh. Glad we are finally getting the payoff; it deserved to be at WrestleMania.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal – Just filler. The fact that only four or five people have been announced so far tells you all you need to know. Most just assume Braun Strowman is going to win this. However, I don’t know. Big Show, Shaq, that whole thing is still out there. Who knows what this is all for?

RAW Tag Team Titles – I wrote about this on another website last week, but the entire tag team title scene (for both shows) has been a mess. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson beat Sheamus and Cesaro, who defeated The New Day. The tag division suffered greatly during the Honky Tonk Man record breaking run of The New Day. It has not recovered since. Simple solution: WWE should put the belts on a heel team, and then build up Big Cass and Enzo to dethrone them in NXT Country, Orlando. Easy, right? Well, not quite. A three way is fine but not the best option. If anything gets dropped to the Kickoff Show, this would be it.

Cruiserweight Championship – Speaking of potentially getting moved to the Kickoff Show! I believe Neville vs. Austin Aries is the way to go for the cruiserweights right now. WWE got this one right, 100% dead on. A prediction is pretty tough because the strap has changed hands enough. As for the feud though – a home run!

Smackdown Womens Championship – Imagine a well built up feud leading to Naomi beating Alexa Bliss in Orlando for the title. Imagine a cool breakup story line between Bliss and Mickie James leading to the veteran getting the title. Imagine Becky Lynch putting up her career (or something else) in a gimmick match for one last shot at the belt. That would be awesome. Instead, WWE is playing the mystery trick. Who will show up? Past, present, or even the future – all women can face off against Bliss. Interesting concept but has to deliver on a surprise or two in order to work. I like it on paper…on paper.

IC Title – No complaints here. Dean Ambrose is the established face. Baron Corbin is the up and coming heel WWE wants to push up the card. Have them battle, with the newcomer winning and getting the belt. Big battle royal victory last year in Texas, IC Championship in Florida. Two thumbs up on this scenario.

RAW Womens Championship Match – Ugh. Why is this not Sasha Banks vs. Bayley? Why? I am ALL for rewarding Charlotte. She has been the star of the division for the past year and should absolutely have a prime spot on WM33. No doubt. It just feels like this isn’t it. Adding Nia Jax to the mix and elimination rules certainly doesn’t help things either. Just for her to get pinned first? Okay, what was the point then? I always talk about how Mania feuds are best in one on one situations, and this is a perfect example. The heel teases from Sasha are a plus. However, you can’t tell me a single’s bout against Bayley isn’t money. That’s what Mania is all about. Luckily, the two are probably going to have many classics in the months to come.

Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles – Love it. I wrote about this in depth two weeks ago. Smackdown LIVE has done a marvelous job with these two. Styles will win and go right back to the WWE Title picture afterwards. Until then, let him and Shane O Mac work their magic for 20 minutes.

Power Couples Collide – Yeah, “Power Couples Collide” is what the official WWE website says. That is the tagline. Kinda blah but makes sense. Like the Shane/Styles matchup, I have defended this controversial bout. Check out my column from last week on the topic. Even if it does goes the predictable route, it’ll be worth it. Instant WM Moment.

Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker – Once we all get by the idea of another year without The Undertaker vs. John Cena battle, this is the next best thing. If Shane/Styles does not steal the show, this is my pick to do so. The Orlando crowd should be HOT for this showdown. Rabid. I am expecting big things from this one and have enjoyed their mini-feud. Just two guys going at it with a loyal fanbase. No heel turns. No good guys speeches. Simply a battle to see who’s yard it is. I’ve made it very clear on Twitter that I think Reigns will win, and really…he should. If it were ANYBODY else on the roster in his exact same position, you would all say the same too. Roman over Taker. Retiring him for good may be a different story though.

WWE Championship – Well, the WWE Title has been ignored. That sucks. I really think this whole rivalry stalled out when Luke Harper, AJ Styles, and all the title controversy started up out of the blue. No use in doing all that junk. Orton wins the Royal Rumble, Bray wins the title –
BOOM! Start the build. KISS Method as its finest. Really makes you question why the title switch was done in the first place. Feels like a means to an end to get the belt on Randy Orton. Bray Wyatt has been bust wiping down on his face and crying about Sister Abigail. You almost forget he is the title holder of the richest prize in the industry. The official WWE website has this match on top of the page, but come on…this can’t main event. It just can’t.

I mean, it did last year on a random Smackdown LIVE pay-per-view. Maybe the two will get a re-do? Before the build began, my thought was actually that Bray would retain and get a lengthy run. Now? Just flip it to Orton and give us some AJ Styles matches before the WWE Draft in the summer.

Universal Championship – The Universal Champion Bill Goldberg is in position to headline WWE WrestleMania 33 in Orlando. Unreal. It is no surprise that Brock Lesnar is in a marquee spot. After doing nothing with Dean Ambrose last year, it is only right that returns to his rightful spot – the main event. Also, good for the Universal Title getting some recognition because it needs that extra spark to be seen as a top title. Like I did after Fastlane, I am okay with the belt being involved with a final Brock/Goldberg showdown. We already saw the non-title bouts at WrestleMania XX and the quick shocking bout at Survivor Series 2016. WWE HAD to do something to give their last clash a top billing at Mania. Thus, the new coveted title from Raw was added. The only real debate here is if we get another quick match, should it headline the biggest event of the year? Certainly explains why Orton/Wyatt is on top of the WWE website. Heck, I could argue Reigns/Taker would be the true main event with the hottest crowd, especially if The Deadman is retiring. We’ll see what the company has in mind…

Summary

There you have it. I love the main event matches and how they’ve been built up. However, the womens/tag bout leave a lot to be desired when you consider the simple/easy/best options were RIGHT THERE! Still, WrestleMania is WrestleMania, and it is a bucket list item for yours truly to attend live. See you all Sunday night in Orlando!

My Upcoming Schedule

Next Monday, look for my countdown of the greatest Shawn Michaels matches in WrestleMania history.

Next Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on how tired I am), look for my entire WrestleMania 33 weekend review – live look from Orlando!

Then later in the week, my reader feedback column for March 2017 will go up. Always fun.

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