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With WrestleMania 32 officially in the history books, the early speculation begins for WrestleMania 33. To be frank, the show isn't for nearly twelve months (obviously) and it will not even enter storylines until very late this year or in early 2017, but it's still interesting to consider what might go down on April 2 2017 at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida (which also hosted WM 24, which I attended).
I will base my predictions on the current roster and the most likely special guests at this point in time, since one cannot obviously not predict 100% who will be active a year from now (who imagined in early 2015 that AJ Styles would appear at the 2016 Mania?). So, here it goes ...
Main Event: The Undertaker vs. John Cena - Undertaker's retirement match
The match originally planned for WM 32 is bound to occur at Mania 33. By then, Taker will be 52 and even Cena will be almost 40. Therefore, this is probably the last realistic chance for a rarely-seen battle of headliners to occur. What's more, Undertaker has virtually nobody else to face now that Sting has retired, and given this and his age and physical condition, it's unfathomable that Undertaker will wrestle beyond WM 33. In fact, had Cena not been injured, it's entirely possible that Undertaker would have bowed out at AT&T Stadium.
The fact that this will be Undertaker's landmark final match ensures that it will be in the main event spot, and will be based on respect rather than a true grudge. I envision Undertaker announcing that he has nothing left to prove, only for Cena to come out and say "you've never beaten me at WrestleMania", or words to those effect. (Taker has beaten Cena in the past, but their last match was a Raw bout in 2006 which went to a non-finish; they last fought with a proper conclusion before Cena even won his first WWE Title in 2005.) Undertaker could win, but Cena winning wouldn't be a terrible result by any means given that Taker is bowing out after the match.
After the match, Taker and Cena will shake hands, with Undertaker giving his goodbyes to the audience whilst ever-so-slightly staying in character. The following night on Raw, Undertaker will get the big send-off with the entire locker room, the McMahons and many past faces coming out to give him an unforgettable farewell (in the same place where Ric Flair received such a ceremony, coincidentally). That will bring a fitting end to the incredible career of Undertaker, with Taker being the star inductee in the 2018 Hall Of Fame class.
WWE Title: Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
The long-anticipated Shield three-way will go down at Mania for the WWE Title. By this point, I foresee that Roman Reigns will have turned full-on heel, and with a now-babyface Rollins and Ambrose both earning a WWE Title shot (perhaps by co-winning the 2017 Royal Rumble) to face Reigns and invoke a Shield implosion.
As for other potential options: I can see the long-awaited matches pitting Reigns against Brock Lesnar (in a rematch from WM 31) and the returning Seth Rollins against Triple H both occurring at SummerSlam 2016. And assuming that Reigns remains in the title picture for years to come, I predict that WWE will actually save Reigns vs. John Cena for WrestleMania 34 in 2018, which will be the official passing of the torch by Cena and by which point Reigns might have been accepted as a headline babyface following his expected 2016-7 heel run.
The Rock vs. Triple H
With HHH vs. Rollins occurring at SummerSlam, that frees Tripper up to face his old rival The Rock at WrestleMania 33. This was originally meant to happen in some form at WM 32, before film commitments prevented this occurring. Hopefully, WWE and Rock will have this one agreed on paper long before Mania 33 (if they haven't already) so that the match which was originally teased back in 2014 and at WM 31 will finally happen in 2017.
Brock Lesnar vs. Batista
This all leaves Lesnar without an opponent based on the current main event scene. I imagine that the Suplex City gimmick and Lesnar in general will feel stale by this point (I personally feel that this effect has already begun), so Brock will require an adversary who will force him to bring more of a fight. This is a quandary which could be resolved by bringing back Batista for a blockbuster showdown, a fitting description considering how Batista's movie career has been blossoming in recent years.
AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle
If Kurt Angle is ever going to have that one final WWE match, it surely has to be at WrestleMania 33. Orlando is an appropriate location, given Angle's long tenure in TNA. And AJ Styles would be a perfect opponent for Angle to deliver a classic match against an opponent with whom he is familiar, yet feels fresh for the WWE audience. Angle returning is not a guarantee by any means, but given Angle's age and physical condition (this is turning into a theme here), WM 33 is the last chance for it to realistically happen. And I bet Angle would jump at the chance, so it's up to WWE to make this a reality.
Women's Title: Sasha Banks vs. Bayley
As good as Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Paige are, to me there is only one option for a major, show-stealing Women's Title match at next year's WrestleMania, and that's Sasha Banks vs. Bayley, reigniting their classic women's matches at NXT Takeover events in 2015. Bayley will have debuted long before Mania, but this will be the stage for her to defeat Sasha and win the championship on the grandest stage of all.
Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens
The Viper appears to be ever-so-slightly winding down his career, although he is by no means finished just yet. He may wrestle further down the card, though, meaning that an up-and-comer could be his Mania calling card. I'm going for Kevin Owens, who I see winning Money In The Bank in 2016 and cashing it in on Raw the night after Mania, or even after the Shield 3-way at Mania, to win the WWE Title.
Finn Balor w/ The Balor Club vs. Bray Wyatt vs. The Wyatt Family
Finn Balor's future looks to be on NXT for the foreseeable future, but he will surely be on the main roster by 2017. And given his somewhat dark Demon persona that he occasionally unleashes on the NXT audience, a possible opponent for his first Mania is the even darker Bray Wyatt, with both backed up by their future/current factions of the Balor Club and the Wyatt Family. Finn will win here, and will begin working towards a main event spot after Mania 33, leading to a truly big match for Balor at WM 34 in 2018.
Intercontinental Title Ladder Match
The IC Title Ladder tradition will continue after successful bouts at WM 31 and WM 32. Predicting the entrants at this point is virtually impossible, other than to speculate that an NXT call-up will probably be entered and might just win the title (Samoa Joe and Shinsuke Nakamura are possibilities, or the recently called-up Sami Zayn). I also predict that, by Mania 33, the IC Title will have finally been unified with the United States prize since there is no currently no need whatsoever to have both titles.
Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Another tradition that will continue at Mania, WWE this year did the smart thing of using this to both launch a new star and deliver some surprise entrants, meaning that we'll probably get the same formula at WM 33. An NXT call-up will probably win this one too, and along with expected entrants like Big Show and Kane (who both must surely be approaching their final Manias, perhaps in 2018), there will be some surprises too. Could this match host a surprise comeback by Hulk Hogan in a match named after Andre, thirty years after the two titans met at WrestleMania III?
Miscellaneous
Any other matches would likely occur on the Kick-Off Show and/or would be impossible to predict at this point (e.g. the WWE Tag Team Titles held by The New Day could be around anyone's waists by Mania 33, possibly the American Alpha combo of Chad Gable and Jason Jordan from NXT). A tag match, a match involving the other women on the main roster and some sort of filler bout will complete the line-up from a match standpoint. As for legend combos, how about for Rock vs. HHH if we get Mick Foley and Shawn Michaels in the respective corners with Stone Cold Steve Austin serving as special guest referee?
Hall Of Fame 2017
As for the 2017 Hall Of Fame class, it's impossible to fully predict the group at this point. I do see The Rock and/or Daniel Bryan leading the way, and surely inductions are due for The Honky Tonk Man and Demolition, the longest-reigning Intercontinental and Tag Team Champions respectively in company history. As for the others, I predict Sable as the female inductee, Floyd Mayweather as the celebrity inductee (Mayweather's WM appearance was also in Orlando), and who knows who else will be in it? That being said, it would be great for Owen Hart and/or the British Bulldog to finally get the posthumous inductions that they have long deserved.
WrestleMania 33 could certainly have the potential to be a landmark show. From the retirement of a true icon to the (hopefully) injury-free roster to the new stars getting their Mania debuts to possible reappearances by former greats, WM 33 could end up being the biggest and most memorable Mania of them all. It is obviously too early to make accurate predictions, but all of the above matches (especially the triple main event) are more than feasible. And with WWE looking to deliver a momentous show to follow the record-breaking WM 32, this line-up would ensure that WrestleMania 33 stands out as one of the greatest Manias ever, if not the greatest.
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