Smark Out Moment

The WWE WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view is presented by Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live and scheduled for April 8, 2018 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Follow along here for spoilers and information on the event's card, lineup of matches and news regarding the pay-per-view.

The following are my predictions for the 2018 WWE WrestleMania XXXIV PPV. Check back for WrestleMania 34 results and review coverage here when the time comes.

WWE WrestleMania 2018 Spoilers

Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns

I've hated this idea since the moment it seemed possible around the 2017 Royal Rumble, but it's clearly what we're getting. It didn't work the first time, so why in the hell does WWE think it's going to work when it's a rematch and LESS people like Reigns now?

I hope it not only blows up in WWE's face, but I hope it does so in spectacular fashion to make a statement where they think twice about doing anything similar to this again. They're trying their hardest to make this appeal to the IWC audience by turning the feud into an anti-Lesnar "he's not here often" argument, but two wrongs don't make a right and the fact that the fans still chanted "you deserve it" for Reigns being stretchered out proves that WWE is underestimating how much influence they have over telling people that they have the wrong opinion.

Keep in mind, my intense disappointment in WWE booking this for the entire year comes with the knowledge that I LIKE Brock Lesnar being a top draw and I LIKE Roman Reigns!!! I just don't appreciate how WWE officials refuse to acknowledge that their preferred option and game plan isn't what everyone else is willing to get on board with. That refusal of the fans is what bothers me, and the fact that I've already seen this exact same thing before.

PREDICTION: Roman Reigns takes the title and spends months headlining to boos.


WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

This is now official, save for any kind of injury taking place to prevent it, or some twist/swerve with another person getting involved, but I doubt either of those are going to happen. (Note: I typed that out before the AJ Styles injury became a thing, so....)

With AJ Styles as champion, there's no better challenger on the SmackDown brand than Shinsuke Nakamura, despite how Nakamura hasn't been built up as much as he could have been. This match will be a stark contrast to everything Reigns vs. Lesnar represents in pretty much every fashion. This will be "the smark match" while that will be "what Vince wants" and the main event. This means Nakamura won't be closing the show. Then again, there's another match that might be the main event no matter what, even with Lesnar/Reigns on the card.

PREDICTION: A new champion is crowned as Shinsuke Nakamura takes the title.


SmackDown Women's Championship Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka

Well, WWE didn't really have a lot of time to build this up, but I'm turning around on the idea that it would be too rushed.

oesn't have much time to really set this up outside of hoping fans are purely behind it because of the names attached. I'll add more of my perspective of how this is going once they add more to the program other than the two of them looking at it each other breathing heavily. To be perfectly honest, I think Asuka is overrated as an in-ring performer (she's fine, but she's no Shawn Michaels, she just has a streak) and while I like Flair more now than I ever have before, I'm not certain that I'm going to love this match as much as I'm supposed to. Still, that's something up in the air, and I have to be willing to give it a chance and be proven wrong.

PREDICTION: Asuka takes the title.


Mixed Tag Team Match: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

Basically, this is Kurt and Triple H trying to do the bulk of the work, while Ronda gets in the ring and does publicity and tries not to botch too much with Stephanie, who is also not a ring general by any means. The idea of having two legitimate non-WWE athletes teaming up against the husband/wife combo is something that can appeal to a market WWE won't be able to get with something like Styles/Nakamura. Despite this, it will get significantly more attention just because Rousey is involved. I don't disagree with that happening on a business standpoint, but I do disagree with seeing that footage a million times as a fan who isn't interested in seeing repetitive "wasn't this great even if you didn't think it was?" type promotional material.

PREDICTION: Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey win.


Intercontinental Championship Triple Threat Match: The Miz (c) vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

This is a much better option than just having Braun Strowman squash The Miz, and I think this will be a damn good match, too. I hope it is given enough time. I can see them all having solid chemistry together and it's one of those matches where I'm totally cool with any of the three walking out with the title, instead of particularly rooting for one person over another. I'm personally hoping for either Rollins or Balor to win, but I can't quite decide between the two which one I would prefer. This is also keeping in mind that The Miz is one of my absolute favorites on the roster and the guy I like the best out of these three, but it's just time that he drops the belt.

PREDICTION: Finn Balor wins the title.


United States Championship Fatal 4-Way Match: Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev

A few months back, I was calling for Roode to win the title and to face Orton. To an extent, we're getting that, but there's also the added element of Jinder Mahal. Since Orton just won the title, I don't think we're seeing it change hands again here. I do see him pinning Mahal this time, instead of Roode, though. This is starting to look like a potential kickoff match in my mind, as very little true effort has been put into it. They've just had countless segments of the three of them saying they're better than the other and then brawling in the ring with nothing more. Now, Rusev has been added to this. I'm not sure why they decided to do that, instead of putting him in the battle royal, but okay.

PREDICTION: Randy Orton retains.


Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn

This stipulation where Owens and Zayn either remain fired if they lose, or get rehired if they win, is kind of perplexing to me. I sort of can't imagine either scenario necessarily happening. Obviously, I expect Owens and Zayn to remain in WWE, but I don't expect them to beat Bryan. Then again, maybe the way around this is to have Bryan and McMahon win and for Owens and Zayn to make their way onto Raw with the Superstar Shake-Up that is supposed to be happening soon after Mania.

PREDICTION: Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon get the win.


Raw Women's Championship Match: Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax

Alexa Bliss is definitely fighting Nia Jax. The only question is whether Bayley and Sasha Banks are included in the match, or if WWE really tries to squeeze them into a separate singles match. I doubt the latter is going to happen, unless the game plan is for Jax to steamroll through Bliss so quickly that their match is less than a minute long and Bayley/Banks essentially makes up for it. However, with the Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal, this might just be straight up Jax/Bliss very quickly.

PREDICTION: Nia Jax takes the title.


Cruiserweight Championship Match: Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali

This is the finals of the Cruiserweight Championship tournament that we've been building toward for weeks, and I'm really hoping this isn't on the pre-show, but I have no doubts that it will still be a kickoff match.

With the way the brackets were positioned, I was thinking Alexander vs. Ali looked like a definite possibility, and I don't doubt that this is at least partially inspired by the great matches that they have had together in the past. WWE probably saw those and figured they should be rewarded with a spotlight at WrestleMania. If that's the case, I honestly don't know which person I'd go with for the favorite to win, as I wouldn't be shocked at all if Ali were to take it, but Alexander makes the most sense.

PREDICTION: For now, I'm going with Cedric Alexander taking the title.


WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal

Confirmed participants = Bayley, Becky Lynch, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lana, Liv Morgan, Mandy Rose, Mickie James, Naomi, Natalya, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Sasha Banks, Sonya Deville

Still eligible but not announced =  Alicia Fox, Aliyah, Bianca Belair, Billie Kay, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Ember Moon, Kairi Sane, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross, Peyton Royce, Shayna Baszler, Tamina, Taynara Conti, The Bella Twins, Vanessa Borne

So in the interest of being fair, they've added a women's equivalent to the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (despite how there hasn't been an announcement of that, yet) and originally went with the name of the Fabulous Moolah Memorial Battle Royal. Within a few days, enough people made enough of a stink to get WWE to acknowledge the bad things Moolah was responsible for in the past, and it's now just being referred to as "the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal" as there isn't enough time to figure out an alternative person to name it after and get a different statue commissioned. I applaud WWE for listening to those people and not just ignoring everything for the sake of their preferences. Anyway, as far as the match itself goes, I imagine the most likely winners are going to be Bayley, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Natalya, or Ember Moon. I had thought Mickie James stood a chance, but not anymore. I'd LOVE to see The Iconic Duo win this instead by last eliminating Bayley and Sasha Banks, who can't get along.

PREDICTION: Right now, let's just go with Bayley, who turns heel on Sasha, but I'm rooting for Peyton Royce and Billie Kay.


5th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Confirmed participants = Aiden English, Apollo, Baron Corbin, Bo Dallas, Chad Gable, Curt Hawkins, Curtis Axel, Dash Wilder, Dolph Ziggler, Elias, Fandango, Goldust, Heath Slater, Kane, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Matt Hardy, Mike Kanellis, Mojo Rawley, Primo Colon, R-Truth, Rhyno, Scott Dawson, Shelton Benjamin, Sin Cara, Titus O'Neil, Tye Dillinger, Tyler Breeze, Zack Ryder

Still eligible but not announced =  Big Cass, Big Show, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Epico Colon, Jason Jordan, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, The Ascension + all cruiserweights, all injured stars, all NXT stars

Per usual, this is where everybody will be if they don't have any other match or they're sitting it out due to an injury. Rumor has it Goldberg is winning this, but I don't buy into that. History has shown that you can never count out anybody in this match, though, so I have no idea who the best possible options will be until we have more of the field established.

PREDICTION: I have no idea yet, but I feel like I will have a shortlist very, very soon.


Raw Tag Team Championship Match: The Bar (c) vs. Braun Strowman and TBD

Braun Strowman is supposed to be having a tag team partner for this match, so the full weight of this hasn't been established. Will it be Elias? Big Show? The 1989 Denver Broncos?

PREDICTION: Braun Strowman takes the titles with or without a partner.


SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers

I figured this was the direction they were going after the past few weeks, but it was sold even more by the attack at Fastlane. Now, it's just a matter of confirmation and simultaneously excluding other teams from getting into the mix, too.

PREDICTION: The Bludgeon Brothers win the titles.

Elias Musical Segment

At this point, I don't think Elias is going to be in a match unless he's participating in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, which may or may not even happen. Instead, I think we're just getting a promo from him and Jeff Jarrett will hit him with a guitar, or him doing something with Kid Rock, or all three combined. He's been saying that he has a performance, but they aren't officially advertising it, so...

PREDICTION: Elias does his thing and gets humiliated as a result of it.


John Cena vs. The Undertaker

It's not official, but let's be honest and just admit that it is.

PREDICTION: The Undertaker is victorious.