World Wrestling Entertainment

Friday, 24 March 2017

Shane McMahon vs AJ Style

AJ Styles got what he wanted — a big-time match at The Ultimate Thrill Ride, WrestleMania 33. But after resorting to extreme tactics, he may be in for a fight he’s not expecting.

Over the course of a wild week, The Phenomenal One went from having no WrestleMania match, to having no job, to having a WrestleMania match against the man in charge of SmackDown LIVE, Shane McMahon.

Fueled by his belief that management was working against him, Styles ambushed the Commissioner of Team Blue in a parking garage on the March 14 edition of SmackDown LIVE, viciously slamming his head through a car window. SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan fired Styles, but that didn’t deter McMahon from limping his way into the arena to demand a showdown with his assailant.

Whether Styles’ claims of upper management not supporting him are true (for the record, Bryan says McMahon was a consistent advocate of Styles as The Road to WrestleMania was being paved), The Phenomenal One is intent on taking out his anger. To hear the newly reinstated Styles explain it, unleashing a WrestleMania beatdown on the Commissioner is something he is very much looking forward to.

McMahon, however, is not one to be underestimated. Though not an in-ring competitor by trade, Shane-O-Mac is notoriously courageous any time he steps through the ropes. Factor in his now-undisguised contempt for Styles, and The Prodigal Son is ready to go all out at WrestleMania. That was obvious on the March 21 edition of SmackDown Live when McMahon flew through the air and elbow dropped Styles through the announce desk.

The Undertaker vs Roman Reigns

Only one Superstar can run the yard in WWE, and at The Ultimate Thrill Ride, WrestleMania 33, the world will find out whether that distinction belongs to The Undertaker or Roman Reigns.

The showdown between The Phenom and The Big Dog, now confirmed for Sunday, April 2, brings into conflict the most dominant force in WrestleMania history and arguably the most powerful competitor in recent memory.

The Undertaker has been WWE’s unofficial gatekeeper, enforcer and overseer for more than a quarter-century, regardless of his championship status at any given time. However, after Reigns ousted The Deadman from January’s Royal Rumble Match and then told the imposing legend that WWE is now his yard on the March 6 edition of Raw, it became clear that The Undertaker took issue with Reigns’ emboldened outlook. The evidence came in the form of a ring-shaking chokeslam that nearly put The Big Dog through the canvas.

Universal Champion Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar

As if the long-awaited mega rematch between Goldberg and Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 wasn’t already big enough, the stakes have been heightened following Goldberg’s triumph at WWE Fastlane.

Now, The Beast Incarnate is out for not only redemption on Sunday, April 2, but also Goldberg’s newly won Universal Championship.

Despite his world-beater bona fides, The Conqueror has never defeated his decorated opponent. Indeed, Goldberg has had Lesnar’s number since the first time they locked horns, at WrestleMania XX. After more than a decade away from WWE, Goldberg returned last fall and destroyed Lesnar in shocking fashion at Survivor Series, thrashing The Conqueror in one minute and 26 seconds.

Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, chalked up the loss to The Beast taking Goldberg too lightly and nothing more. Yet at Royal Rumble, Goldberg enjoyed the upper hand again, eliminating Lesnar from the event’s eponymous 30-Superstar brawl.

Universal Champion Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar

WWE Champion Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton

At WrestleMania 33, WWE Champion Bray Wyatt will collide with his former “blood brother” and Wyatt Family follower Randy Orton with the title on the line.

Wyatt and Orton first waged war in fall 2016, playing mind games and exchanging fisticuffs in equal measure. However, after weeks of conflict, The Viper shockingly pledged his allegiance to The Eater of Worlds shortly following No Mercy 2016.

The two formed an unholy bond and achieved great success as a new-look Wyatt Family, with Orton winning the 2017 Royal Rumble Match and Wyatt claiming the ultimate prize, the WWE Championship, at Elimination Chamber.

The Apex Predator then declared that he would not face The Reaper of Souls for the title at WrestleMania as long as Wyatt was the master and he was the servant. However, that statement proved to simply be part of a larger plan, as The New Face of Fear would soon find out.

After Wyatt granted him the keys to the kingdom, Orton burned the infamous Wyatt Family Compound, and the soul of Sister Abigail, to the ground. This unbelievable act absolutely terrorized Wyatt, and when the brazen Orton defeated AJ Styles to reclaim his place as No. 1 Contender the following week, it became clear that Orton’s master plan was taking shape.