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With Summerslam now over, WWE's focus now shifts to their next mega PPV, Wrestlemania. Granted both Royal Rumble and Survivor Series are between the two, Rumble is basically the start of the Road to Wrestlemania and Survivor Series has lost its uniqueness. With the roster filled with stars, WWE has several options to create dream matches for the event. Several potential returns are also on the cards as quite a few legends have returned to appear at the show of shows in the past years.
The last few Wrestlemania's were marketed mostly around Roman Reigns with The Undertaker, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar being additional major attractions. WWE will likely market Mania 35 around Roman again but in the off chance Vince actually listens to the fans, I'll hopefully list 5 possible ways WWE can sell out Mania. Returning legends, Dream match ups and awesome story lines. Without further ado, let's jump in.
#5 Shawn Michaels returns for one last hurrah
Shawn Michaels is one of the all-time greats. There won't be anyone like the Heart Break Kid ever again. An amazing worker in the ring, an amazing talker and overflowing with charisma, Shawn Michaels can still sell out arenas easily. His last match was at Wrestlemania 26 when he lost to The Undertaker in a Streak vs Career match. The match was universally praised and was cited as one of the greatest moments in WWE history. The man who earned the moniker of Mr. Wrestlemania has main-evented Wrestlemania 5 times (1996, 1998, 2004, 2010) Michaels main-evented Manias 14 years apart.
Also read: 5 things Shawn Michaels can do when he returns next week
It is a safe bet that HBK is still in shape and can steal the show easily. Recently some rumors arose that Shawn Michaels was ready for another run with the company. His potential match ups are numerous. But the most likely matches are against Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and AJ Styles. Michaels, however, recently told in an interview that he won't fight someone half his age. Rollins is the youngest among all 3 at 32 years old. That makes him 21 years younger than HBK. The fans probably would enjoy a Rollins-HBK match the most, but given Rollins is in an angle with The Shield which is likely to continue for a long time, we can rule Rollins out. Ziggler vs Michaels would have worked but Ziggler has been booked way too poorly for that match. Someone of a greater presence must be facing Michaels.
That leaves, AJ Styles. The match between AJ Styles and Shawn Michaels is a true dream match. Two of the trailblazers in the business. Michaels did in the 90's what AJ is doing today. The two are of similar style and can pull off an incredible match with almost anybody. Their match is certain to be iconic. They can individually carry anyone to a good match. Imagine them fighting each other.
An HBK-AJ match will probably be in the middle of the card but it will be THE match to see. Casuals are all too familiar with HBK and they have come to know AJ as well. The hardcore will pounce on the chance to see two of the greatest of all time clash with each other as well.
#4 Daniel Bryan returns to the Main Event
Wrestlemania 30 saw one of the best stories in WWE history come to an end. The night ended an almost 10 month pursuit of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by Daniel Bryan. Daniel Bryan was fresh off a break up with Kane who was his tag team partner for the better part of a year. He was handpicked by John Cena for a WWE Championship match at Summerslam to a huge ovation. However, at Summerslam Triple H, the Special Guest referee for the match, screwed DB over after he won the title which allowed Randy Orton to cash in his MITB contract and become Champion.
This saw a surge of support for the bearded superstar as fans began hijacking shows after shows with "Daniel Bryan" and "Yes" chants. WWE made the fatal mistake of booking Bryan to lose to Orton on PPV which increased the support even more. A feud with Bray Wyatt was well received but fans wanted more than that. As a result, the returning Batista was booed out of the building upon winning the 2014 Royal Rumble. After the booing of Batista and every other main event level superstar became overwhelming, WWE finally let Bryan take his place. He was booked to fight Triple H in Mania's opening match the winner of which joined Randy Orton and Batista in the Main Event. Bryan won both matches creating one of the best moments in WWE history. Such was his popularity, Roman Reigns and The Rock was booed the next year after Reigns won the Rumble with Rock's help.
Bryan formally retired in January 2016 but returned to the ring in early 2018. Currently, Bryan is in what should be the most personal and heated rivalry in all of WWE. Miz and Bryan had built up their rivalry for almost 2 years and finally, they had a match which Miz cheated to win. The logical decision should be for these two to have rematches. If WWE books Bryan in the main event scene after that and somehow makes Miz a heel Champion during the time, they can have the rematch at Wrestlemania for the WWE Championship. If WWE can properly book an underdog storyline with Daniel Bryan, hardcore fans from all over the world are sure to get invested. Also, the man thoroughly deserves it.
#3 Braun Strowman finally reaches the pinnacle
The Monster among Men is easily the best part of Raw. He has been so for almost 2 years. Ever since he became a singles star he has proved that he possesses that X-Factor needed to succeed in WWE. Reaching almost Stone Cold levels of Crowd connections, Strowman was awarded the Money in the Bank briefcase couple months ago. He teased a cash in at both Summerslam and the Raw after Summerslam but failed both times. To give proper competition to Braun, The Shield even reunited to battle him.
Braun has had 3 Wrestlemanias in his resume. His first Mania, he did nothing and got beat up by Cena and The Rock in a throwaway segment. In his second, he was wasted in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. In his third, he was again wasted. But this time a bit more hilariously. He challenged Sheamus and Cesaro for the Tag Team Championships with a mystery opponent. The opponent was revealed to be a 14-year-old kid picked by Braun from the crowd. Together, they won the titles making Nicholas, the kid, the youngest Champion in WWE history.
If WWE just pulls the trigger on him and gives Strowman a one on one match against Universal Champion Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania, people will come to see that in hordes. The casuals already know about Braun. They know about Roman Reigns and The Shield. The hardcores are already a 100% behind Braun. They should also add a stipulation which won't allow The Shield to interfere. They will anyway, but a Hell in a Cell or Steel Cage just adds to the match's aura. If Braun Strowman was unleashed at Mania 35, WWE surely will create a massive star for the company to invest in for years to come.
#2 The Undertaker vs John Cena II
The Undertaker is supposed to be retired. But is he though? After apparently retiring at Wrestlemania 33, Taker had had 3 matches. He beat Cena at Mania 34, Rusev at The Greatest Royal Rumble and Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin and Elias in a tag team match with Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman as his partners. The last match was a Madison Square Garden special house show. With him scheduled to face Triple H at Super Showdown, every single sign points to yet another match at Wrestlemania 35. The simple fact is that Undertaker is too big of a star for Vince to let him just retire.
Taker is one of the all-time greats. Even non-wrestling fans will know exactly who Undertaker is. The man has been playing this gimmick since 1992 and even after 26 years he has the respect and admiration of all fans and peers alike. If he does return for yet another match at Wrestlemania 35, the choice of match should be against John Cena again. Cena had spent a month hyping a match against Undertaker at Mania 34 only for the Deadman to no-show him over and over again. This reached a point that Cena went into Mania without a match booked for him. An impromptu return and match happened where Undertaker beat Cena in 2 minutes and 45 seconds. Fans are desperate for closure regarding their feud as under 3 minutes of action is simply not enough.
How WWE will book their rematch is anyone's guess as Cena hasn't appeared on WWE TV since the loss. He will make his in-ring return at a live event in Shanghai and is expected to make it back for Survivor Series or at least The Royal Rumble. Undertaker returning and costing Cena a Rumble victory or a World Title match can set up their feud perfectly although it won't make much sense. The feud will have to be initiated by Cena. If it does happen, Casuals will flock to the arenas and turn all their attention to their monitors. The hardcore won't be as impressed but it's John Cena and The Undertaker. They are going to invest in it no matter what.
#1 The Rock
The Rock is the single biggest superstar in Hollywood right now. I don't think anyone alive can beat The Rock in popularity. Dwayne Johnson was one of the pioneers of the attitude era. Between 1997 and 2003, The Rock won 7 WWE Championships, 2 WCW World Heavyweight Championships, 2 WWE Intercontinental Championships and 5 Tag Team Championships. (3 with Mankind, 1 with Undertaker and 1 with Chris Jericho) He also won a Royal Rumble match in 2000. He had a second run starting in 2011 and ending in 2013. He and John Cena headlined Wrestlemania 28 which remains the highest grossing Pro Wrestling event in history.
After leaving WWE in 2004, Rock went on to pursue a movie career in Hollywood. He already had a few mainstream movies in The Scorpion King and The Mummy Returns. Over the next 6 years, he would feature mainly in comedy oriented movies. His movies would do well in the box office but not necessarily sit well with the critics. But in 2011, he was cast in the 5th Fast and Furious Movie. This changed everything as Rock's transition from a comic actor to an action hero turned him into a superstar. He went on to star in Box Office Blockbusters such as Furious 7, Fate of the Furious, Baywatch, Skyscraper and Jumanji. He was named the highest earning Hollywood actor of 2018 by Forbes which cemented his status as the biggest superstar in Hollywood.
Rumors have been circulating of an impending return from The Rock. If he does indeed come back, there is absolutely no doubt that millions (pun intended) will turn on the TV whenever he is on. His merchandise sales will go through the roof and any superstar he feuds with will instantly gain a superstar status. If The Rock does return for a Mania match it probably will main-event the show. Even if that decision sits sourly with the hardcore fans, more than enough casual fans will be investing in the show for WWE to get a huge profit. Given the current situation, a feud against Roman Reigns should literally print money for WWE.
