Wrestlemania 34’s Card is Stacked
A little over a week out, almost every match at Wrestlemania is locked in:
- Men’s Battle Royale
- Women’s Battle Royale
- Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali – Cruiserweight Championship
- Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss – RAW Women’s Championship
- Charlotte vs. Asuka – Smackdown Women’s Championship
- AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura – WWE Championship
- Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar – Universal Championship
- The Miz vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor – Intercontinental Championship
- Orton vs. Roode vs. Mahal vs. Rusev – United States Championship
- The Bar vs. Braun Strowman and ???? – RAW Tag Championships
- The Usos vs. New Day vs. Bludgeon Brothers TLC – Smackdown Tag Championships
- Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle vs. HHH and Stephanie McMahon
- Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn
- John Cena vs. The Undertaker
Now that pretty much every Wrestlemania match except Cena vs. Undertaker is officially confirmed, we can start getting a sense of what the even is going to look like as a whole. But Wrestlemania can feel long, especially with the preshow. Cramming thirteen matches into one event is… delicate. Wrestlemania 32 felt like it took an eternity, and not just because it was bad.
This show is stacked.
Honestly, top to bottom, purely looking at talent and stipulations, this is one of the best surface-level Mania cards in years. Alexander and Ali are part of the young Mr. Rushmore of 205 Live. Charlotte vs. Asuka is something of a dream match. Styles vs. Nakamura has been the most anticipated WWE match for over 2 years now. Reigns vs. Lesnar is finally getting over with and will at least be a good fight. Seth and Finn are in an IC title match. Rusev is up for the US title in the bright spot of one of the night’s few expected stinkers. Braun is going to make a spectacle of himself, with a possible humorous return for his partner. Usos/New Day/Bludgeon Brothers wasn’t too special until the TLC stipulation was announced and now it could be a MOTN contender. Rousey. Bryan. Cena vs. Undertaker.
What I’m saying is, it’s going to be hard to find a “piss break match” come Wrestlemania.
I definitely don’t think that’s a bad thing, especially when we might have Kid Rock or Hulk Hogan show up and give us an excuse to stretch our legs. The entire structure of an event needing a cooldown match is something I’ve gotten a new perspective on, paying more attention to New Japan. No bathroom breaks, no half-assed match separating Taker from Bryan like at Wrestlemania 30. Just build from the least important match steadily to the most. It’s not what we’re used to in the states, but it works. Is WWE going to pace Mania this way? Unlikely. But it’s an indication that wall-to-wall bangers don’t have to be an exhausting ordeal.
Image courtesy WWE
Also read: Wrestlemania 35 returns to NY/NJ