wrestling / Columns

The Magnificent Seven: The Top 7 Potential WrestleMania 34 Main Events

September 18, 2017 | Posted by Mike Chin

It’s very, very early to start pegging the card for WrestleMania 34. A lot remains to be seen about where storylines are headed, who might get injured, whom WWE might sign, and who might prove themselves as worthy main eventers in the months ahead. On the other hand, over a half year out, the field is open and it’s an interesting time to speculate about what might happen over the next half year to lay a foundation for WWE’s biggest show of 2018.

So, this week’s column looks at seven potential WrestleMania 34 main events. My rationale here wasn’t just about picking the best match possible, but also gave consideration to marketability, the likelihood of WWE going all in on a match, and WWE’s long-term booking intentions. So, for example, while AJ Styles vs. Sami Zayn would have five-star potential, I’m very skeptical that WWE would push Zayn enough to be credible as a headliner for a show of this magnitude in a half year’s time, and on off the chance they were to try, Styles is, himself, not established enough as a tip-top star to be the other half of that particular main event equation. On the flip side, like it or not, Triple H has the credibility to main event again, and with the long term mission statement of making Roman Reigns the man, he’s definitely a potential main eventer. Thus, revisiting Roman Reigns vs. Triple H—while an awful choice, to me, from a creative perspective—would get more consideration for this list.

For the purposes of this countdown, I considered only active talent signed to WWE. So, for example, I didn’t speculate that CM Punk might re-sign with WWE; that Daniel Bryan might be cleared to wrestle; or that Kenny Omega will make the leap to WWE somehow, sometime in the interim and headline ‘Mania. I did, however, consider part timers and people who have teased WWE involvement but are far from sure bets to be possibilities, including The Rock and Ronda Rousey.

To sum up, this is a countdown of the top seven somewhat realistic prospective main events WWE could put on at WrestleMania 34, ranked in order of what’s best for WWE’s business—for match quality, for drawing power, and for long-term implications. As always, my personal opinion weighs heavily.


#7. The Shield vs. The Brothers of Destruction and The Big Show

This is, admittedly, probably my most out-of-left-field pick. The Undertaker is likely already retired, The Big Show may be retired by the time the next WrestleMania goes down, and if Kane wins his bid for mayor he’s probably as good as retired himself. On the opposite side of the ring, this match would mean WWE putting three top players into one team for one match that could arguably feel like regression, particularly for Reigns.

On the flip side of all of this match’s limitations, with both Brothers of Destruction and Big Show knocking on retirement’s door, there’d be no grander send off than one last WrestleMania main event, and announcing the retirement of all three, or having them put their careers on the line could make the most out of their prospective retirement drawing money. Given the many intersections between Show, The Undertaker, and Kane, including all three men winning tag titles with each other in different permutations at different times, they’re a fairly realistic team, not to mention that their size and name value make them credible threats. Meanwhile, WWE could take the next step from Rollins and Ambrose’s emotional reunion this summer in bringing Reigns back to the fold for at least one match, maybe after recruiting his old buddies to fend off a challenge from the returning Dead Man, out to avenge what Reigns did to him at WrestleMania 33.


#6. Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar

Were Strowman vs. Lesnar not already booked for this coming Sunday, I’d probably rank it higher as a prospective ‘Mania main event. As it stands, if their No Mercy match is anything less than decisive, or if Strowman were to win, I could imagine this rematch being a fair enough WrestleMania level draw between Lesnar, as a proven ‘Mania main event property, and Strowman, arguably the best built star of the last year.

The funny thing about this match is that, as much the spectacle of these two powerhouses going to war is the draw, it actually does have the promise of being a darn good match, too, between Lesnar’s tremendous talents and Strowman’s still developing and underrated skills of his own. The biggest limitation of this match may well be what it would mean for WWE’s future—either standing in place with a Lesnar victory, or more or less ceding the spot earmarked for Roman Reigns to Strowman.


#5. AJ Styles vs. Jinder Mahal

Make no mistake about it—I don’t want to see Jinder Mahal in the main event of WrestleMania 34. I don’t think he’s a good enough wrestler to carry off a match of that caliber and I don’t think he’s a big enough star to really draw in viewers. Least of all do I want for him to hold onto the WWE Championship straight through to WrestleMania.

There’s a flip side to each of my arguments against Mahal main eventing, however. WWE has already had Mahal survive Randy Orton’s rematches, a challenge from Shinsuke Nakamura, and a Money in the Bank cash-in. It’s not beyond reason that he could hold onto the strap up to WrestleMania. WrestleMania itself is a big enough brand that that there’s a fair argument it doesn’t need a bona fide star in the main event to make it a draw, and particularly with most viewers tuning in via the Network now, there’s been no better time to gamble on an unproven draw in the main event spot. And then, for the matter of match quality, while Mahal is a lackluster champ, there is no better star today, and have been few better stars in wrestling history to pull the best out of a performer and drag a four-star match out of a two-star talent, than AJ Styles.

Styles vs. Mahal—and particularly the prospect of Styles winning a world title in a WrestleMania main event—has its appeal in rewarding the best in-ring performer the company has and making smart fans and marks alike happy with Styles defeating the long-standing and much maligned heel champ.


#4. The Rock vs. Brock Lesnar

In the build to WrestleMania 31, there were rumors that Vince McMahon favored a Rock vs. Brock Lesnar match, over a Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar match, to get the absolute most out of his top two part-time draws.

There’s no guarantee that Rock’s movie schedule would allow him to work this WrestleMania match, or that his representation or other professional partners would sign off on it. On top of that, there’s a legitimate question as to whether he, at this point in his life and career, would be interested in enduring the physical abuse a high profile match with Lesnar all but guarantees.

If WWE could put this match together it would be a heck of a draw. Whether the Universal Championship were involved or not this is a match between a pair of crossover stars—Rock transcending wrestling to truly make it Hollywood, Lesnar having crossed over to the legit sports world in his decorated MMA run. There is an expiration date on this potential match, in regards to each man’s physical shape, if not maximizing their drawing power. For as great as Lesnar has by and large been since returning to WWE in 2012, there’s always a question as to how long his mystique will last, or how many times WWE can refresh it. WrestleMania 34 may be the optimal time to get one last main event (and main event-level performance) out of The Great One, and for The Beast Incarnate to finally take a great big, decisive loss that’s still reasonably protected for coming at the hands of a part-time legend.

On top of all these considerations, as each man conceivably enters the late stages of his time in the ring, there’d be a nice sense of symmetry here in Lesnar squaring off again with the megastar he beat for his first world title, and Rock trying to get his win back to recapture that sliver of his legacy.


#3. Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

OK, I openly admit that this entry feels like a cop out because it is the presumed main event that WWE has been widely rumored to be building toward. There are certainly more interesting options, however, WWE could also do a lot worse, particularly if we operate under the assumption management is still aiming to wind up with Reigns as the company’s top star.

Reigns vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, like most of that year’s ‘Mania, exceeded expectations, arriving at a fun, hard-hitting slugfest that was a worthy upper-middle-of-the-pack addition to the catalog of WrestleMania main events. The trouble was that WWE had booked itself into a corner. If Lesnar won, it would satisfy smarks, but also feel at least a little deflating for the past year’s dominant heel champ to go on to dominate some more. And the alternative? While Reigns winning may have seemed like a feel-good moment on paper, and as much as he had held up his end of the bargain in the match, actually pinning Lesnar was still likely to make the crowd turn on him all over again. Rollins cashing in was a nice option C to protect both Lesnar and Reigns, take a raincheck Reigns’ first world title win until he was more ready, and provide an electric enough moment for fans of all persuasions to go home happy.

Three years later, this would be Reigns’s fourth WrestleMania main event and, barring something wacky happening in between, it would mean him pursuing not his first, but his fourth world title. While fans are still largely against him, he’s settled into a more Cena like role as the establishment guy, not to mention that he’s proven himself more consistently as a guy who can work a rock solid WWE style main event. So Reigns-Lesnar: The Roman Empire Strikes Back checks all the boxes for having enough star power to draw reasonably, a high enough quality match to justify itself, and fitting well in the grander scheme of WWE’s plans.


#2. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

When it comes to star power, this match is a bit of a dubious fit. No question, the combined star power of Styles-Nakamura could headline a B-PPV, and it wouldn’t be out of place as a featured attraction at WrestleMania. But the main event of the biggest event of the year?

The reason I included Styles-Nakamura on the list, and the reason it inched its way up the countdown the more I thought about it, is that this clash of top-tier workers who have already proven they have chemistry, a match that hasn’t happened in a WWE ring yet, and a match that has the potential to be the greatest WrestleMania main event of all time. Moreover, if it were to occur at a WrestleMania, I don’t know that any match could really hope to follow it, so it probably ought to go on last.

The main drawback, of course, is that neither of these guys are necessarily household names for the kind of casual fans who only tune in to watch WWE for WrestleMania, and neither are great enough on the mic to tell this feud the WWE would ideally want the them to. This is a unique case, however, in which the match would be left to speak for itself. When WWE had Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage, there wasn’t yet five-star vocabulary to lean on, and no one necessarily expected Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker from WrestleMania 25 to be as good as it was (and when they did try to cash-in on that credibility, the re-match at WrestleMania 26 was very good, but not knocking on the door of five stars in quite the same way). By calling on the history of Styles vs. Nakamura from Japan, putting each man in the position to thrive in great matches leading up to this match (let’s please revisit Nakamura vs. Sami Zayn on the main roster), and putting the world title at stake, this match could work. All the more intriguing, while I envision this as a terrific face vs. face match, Styles has proven his ability to excel as a heel, too, or Nakamura might naturally slide into that role as well if WWE chooses, and particularly if they pair him with a suitable mouthpiece manager in that case.


#1. Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

All right, so I’m going out on a limb here in suggesting that the first ever women’s match to main event WrestleMania is the best option for 2018. Let’s look at the factors, though.

If you want star power and the ability to draw, this match has it. Ronda Rousey has the potential to be a huge crossover star for WWE. While, of course, she would have been even more over back when she was a dominant MMA fighter, her back-to-back losses have simultaneously knocked her down a peg to take a WWE run seriously as her primary vocation, and given WWE a built in story of her getting knocked out before, and thus being of jeopardy of it happening again in a WWE ring. Add onto all of that that Rousey has made no bones about being a wrestling fan, and you have a match made in celebrity heaven.

On the other side of the ring, you have Charlotte Flair. It’s rumored WWE could be angling toward Rousey wrestle Stephanie McMahon or Flair. If WWE is just looking for an undercard spectacle, I get the impulse to cast a McMahon in this spot, as there’s a fair argument she’s still the most recognizable female name in the company based on longevity and her family—not to mention the fact that she proved herself competent enough in the ring to put on a stellar match with Brie Bella in 2014. Flair, however, justifies the main event status. She stands alongside the other WWE Horsewomen as one of the top in-ring female performers today, not to mention having the credential of being the only woman to ever win a WWE PPV main event. Add on the Flair family pedigree, and she has the star power to bring her to the dance and the skill to be entrusted not to fall on her face with this opportunity of a lifetime.

If I’m going to fantasy book, here’s the build. The rumored WWE Horsewomen vs. MMA Horsewomen match at Survivor Series goes down. Heck, I say give them the main even spot there, too. WWE’s Horsewomen largely dominate and go up 4-1 on Rousey (maybe 3-1 on if WWE wants to protect Shayna Baszler and have her choke out Becky Lynch). With her back to the wall, Rousey goes on the rampage, armbarring everything that moves and making quick work of everyone but Flair, before Flair steals the roll up pin or maybe cheats to win if you want to recast her as a straight up heel. In either case, the stage is set for Rousey to want revenge one on one, and for Flair to be able to claim to a victory over Rousey already—all of that without having exposed Rousey in the ring much and maximizing her time to prepare before a WrestleMania showcase performance.

And who goes over? Maybe it’s Rousey, in a throwback to a Lawrence Taylor-style feel-good, stand-alone celebrity performance. Or maybe it’s Rousey and, in the process, she wins a championship to make her a part of the women’s roster, probably working a Brock Lesnar-esque schedule. Then again, maybe it is Flair, overcoming one of the greatest legit athletes of her era to further her own legacy in a hard-fought war, and perhaps to even set up Rousey to come back looking for redemption either by re-challenging Flair down the road, or progressing to McMahon or Asuka or Sasha Banks or Baszler.

Rousey vs. Flair wouldn’t likely be an all-time great WrestleMania main event, but it would have the potential to be good and I’d argue it’s uniquely situated to be the first women’s ‘Mania main event, particularly in a year when there are few to no potential men’s matches that would necessarily deserve top booking over it.

Which matches would you add to the list? Let us know in the comments.

Read more from Mike Chin at his website and follow him on Twitter @miketchin.