We’re on the road to WrestleMania 36 as the “granddaddy of them all” goes down on Sunday, April 5, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Several matches are confirmed, while others are all but official due to budding feuds on television.
Online reports, rumors, and speculation cited massive changes to the card over the last few weeks. Let’s take a look at the WrestleMania lineup, confirmed and otherwise.
-Officially Confirmed Matches
WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE Universal Championship: Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns
NXT Women’s Championship: Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte
John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
-Matches that are all but confirmed
Raw Women’s Championship: Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Bazler
The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
Edge vs. Randy Orton
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
-Speculated/Rumored Matches
SmackDown Women’s Championship: Bayley vs. Naomi
Intercontinental Championship: Braun Strowman vs. Sheamus
Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler
If all of these matches come to fruition, along with the event’s annual Andre The Giant and Women’s Battle Royal, that will make for a total of fourteen matches.
Here’s where I make some people angry.
While it’s a nice sentiment to have every wrestler on the roster appear on the show, you don’t need every single wrestler to appear on the show. Yes, that means a lot of wrestlers wouldn’t get their moment to shine. WrestleMania is too long as it is (two-hour pre-show/four-hour main card). If the above card stands, there are already several notable names that will be relegated to a battle royal spot such as Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, The Miz, and more.
Looking at the star power of the first eight matches, that’s a stellar card with more than enough star power to excite the masses. Those eight matches also represent all of the major storylines that will play out on television between now and April 5th. Instead of squeezing as many people on the show as possible, just give us the premium goods. That way, all of the big matches will have plenty of time to tell a great story.
Ok, ok, I’ve climbed down from my soapbox. I’m done being mean. What do you think? Should WrestleMania be reserved for the most significant attractions, or should everyone get a chance to play? Make your thoughts heard in the comment section below.
