What to Expect During WrestleMania and After by @Grapple_This

To start, the pre-show matches are fluff and should bare no more attention than a passing glimpse where they presumably will have no real impact leading into the draft in June other than to watch the RAW tag team titles be further hot potatoed to Enzo and Big Cass. The same can be said about A Double taking the Cruiserweight title. 

Another kickoff match that will offer little, but could offer much more would be the Smackdown's women division championship free-for-all. With the combined return of Naomi to Smackdown, and WrestleMania being in her home town this year, the odds are heavily stacked in her favor to win. With that being said, what could happen is a stroke of brilliance that the WWE will not come up with -- letting Tyler Breeze as 'Breezey Bella' to compete in the championship match and steal the title.

Let's face it, Smackdown's women division is hitting rock bottom at this point. The only saving grace would be Mickie James. The rest of the women's roster is still very green and unrecognizable to anyone that isn't an avid fan. The juxtaposition here is that Raw's women division is very much in the same boat, yet have someone so talented and courageous enough to take both divisions upon her shoulders in the likes of Charlotte Flair. 

So as hackney as it might be to utilize such an homage to Adrien Street, Gorgeous George, Lodi, Lenny Lane, and Bruce (Bruce having won the women's title back in the NWA TNA), it would give the WWE time between Mania and the draft to build up some of the female stars all the while getting more gym time for others. I agree that it seems crazy, but yes, of all the people to help revitalize the women's division, it comes down to Tyler Breeze.

In spite of the fact that there was no build up for this next match on the going home Smackdown, the fight between Dean Ambrose and Baron Corbin has the potential to set the pace and intensity for the night. Because of which, I like to see Dean retain the title, but without a clean victory. This feud has some meat to it, and is worth exploring maybe up to Summer Slam if it is played right. 

For as bad as it potentially can be due to the involvement of Nikki Bella and Mareyse, this next match pitted John Cena and Nikki Bella against The Miz and Maryse has all the potential to be that show stealing match that will leave people talking about for weeks. The nuclear heat that has been building thanks, in large part, to the Total Divas spoof segments, has provided a must see quality to an otherwise lackluster Mania lineup. Of course Miz has to go over where you are filling vacancies after Mania. Such a move just prior to Cena leaving to film his latest movie, will catapult Miz back into that top one or two spots as your headlining B side. The question remains however, who will step up to take that top A side spot -- Ambrose, Reigns (post draft), Rollins? More on this later. 

If the previous match isn't the show stealer that it could be, the fight between Jericho and Owens for the United States Championship is it, hands down. My concern however, given the thirteen matches taking place on Sunday, is that time per match is going to be a factor. Naturally, Owens and Jericho can pull off a brilliant 15 to 20 minute match, but if matches are getting shortened, it could alter the flow leading into this one, and those that succeed it. 

Next is the Raw's women division 4-way for the title. The only one in this match that is 'big enough' to showcase WrestleMania are Charlotte and Sasha on Raw, and Natalya and Mickie James on Smackdown. I say this where the women's division on both sides have that potential to ignite a revolution within the sport that can carry over into other mainstream vehicles. But to do this, you need a foundation to build from ... Charlotte versus Sasha, but not that where its been done before and needs time to breathe before pouring from that same vintage again. This leaves one of two options available -- either Sasha goes over in a heelish manner allowing for a double turn between her and Charlotte, or Charlotte goes over only to enter into a short program with Nia Jax until Sasha makes the heel turn. Either way, Charlotte has to have a face turn; whether its short, or long term is yet to be determined. 

Granted, there are rumors floating around the twitterverse that Charlotte and Nattie will be swapping places come the draft. This makes no sense where you would take away from the flagship show the one woman carrying both women's divisions. If anything, Sasha would be relegated to Smackdown long before Charlotte, and in spite of how weak the NXT women's division currently is, Aska and the Aussies would be pulled up prior to such an occurrence. 

As I previously reported, this next match could have had some legs to it rather than being a one shot, but clearly the WWE intended this as a means of giving AJ Styles a safe match, and Shane the continued legacy of why-in-the-hell-are-you-doing-this spotfests. Clearly AJ has to go over where and when there's no active program going for him, and Shane has no real dog in the fight beyond kayfabe. So Shane hits a couple high spots and the L in a story line that has no continuity nor vested interest by the fans. 

Dead Man Walking ... In what will hopefully be the final match for the Undertaker, he is going to put Reigns over to further attempt to alter the perception of fans toward Reigns. Will it be successful? Or, will it even be worth the severe risk of injury befalling a man that should have retired when the streak was ended? Probably not by both counts, but hey, we get one more Taker Mania match ... He'll more than likely die in the ring, but whatevs. Its another Taker Mania match, maaaannnnnnnn! 

And to follow a match with no real pay out, you need another match with little reward but great risk of injury to happen as well in the like of Seth Rollins fresh off the injured reserves, versus Its-Time-To-Hang-Up-The-Tights Triple H. God willing, Hunter will put Rollins over where there is no real payout for Triple H to win. That being said, one is instantly reminded of the Triple H versus Sting match, and so on. So this finish is anyone's guess at this point a few days out from the Granddaddy of them all. 

Goldberg versus Lesnar is going to be a redemption match for Lesnar. Because of which, this match will not be polished by any stretch of the imagination, but two big guys bouncing one another around for about 15 minutes or less until Lesnar goes over winning the Undisputed title. However, there was some speculation that such an ending wasn't going to happen if and when Goldberg would have committed to more dates post Mania. The opposite took place where Goldberg instead, hinted at this being his retirement match which makes complete sense now that his kid has seen his daddy wrestle, and Goldberg has landed some lucrative paydays. 

From fantasy to the fanatical, this main event pitting Randy Orton versus Bray Wyatt has been a roller coaster ride through some Timothy Leary type acid trips and then some. With that being said, this one is perfect to regain the lost momentum through the two previous matches, giving fans that takeaway from Mania that they are wanting. Ultimately, I forsee Orton going over though this could be a mistake where Orton remains a tweener at this point when WWE needs to establish their A and B sides (Face and Heel) coming out of Mania that will sustain them until the draft in June. The definite loss of Cena, Jericho, and Rusev combined with the questionability of Goldberg, Balor, and Rollins leaves the WWE in a precarious position where they have to make a massive shift in order to retool the SmackDown brand, and slide some of the top players on Smackdown to Raw. Because of which, NXT presumably will lose Nakamura, Aska, D.I.Y., the Revival, and maybe Authors of Pain in a pinch. I would also like to see Peyton Royce and Billie Kay start the transition to the main roster, preferably Smackdown's in order to give some heft to a women's division that is sorely lacking.