Smark Out Moment

WrestleMania is in less than two months and we are already on …sigh… the Fast Lane to the biggest show in sports entertainment of the year. While everyone is focused on the probable matches of Sting vs Triple H and Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns, I was thinking about the possible matches on the card and it looks to be one of the better midcards for WrestleMania in recent memory. While nothing is set in stone, here are some of the more likely matches that could be on this year's card outside of the main event matches.


I'm not putting in a match for the tag team titles on this list since I think they'll be put on the pre-show just like last year, but the division hasn't been great as of late so if one were to be put on the actual card, I would still put it inside of honorable mentions.

Goldust vs Stardust

We've been expecting this match for a long time and it could finally take place at WrestleMania.

I chose this match over a possible Miz vs Sandow match because of how much history the brothers have between each other. Goldust has been a part of the Attitude Era and was a pretty prominent part. He's had a very long career and is still going strong even at 45 years old, but at some point it will be his time to hang up his wrestling a boots and what better way to finish your career at WrestleMania against your own brother.

As for Miz vs Sandow, that match doesn't need a WrestleMania slot. Sandow winning would be a nice little moment for the former Mr. Money in the Bank's career, but his current beef with The Miz could be resolved at the Fast Lane PPV and not that many people would have that much of a problem. Goldust vs. Stardust is more deserving of WrestleMania.

Sami Zayn vs Adrian Neville/Tyler Breeze/Kevin Owens

As someone who enjoys watching NXT every Wednesday and believes that WWE's developmental territory is the best hour of wrestling the company has to offer, this would be a great way to prep the new generation of what to come when they are pushed to the main roster in a few years.

If WrestleMania is to showcase a match featuring NXT superstars, they definitely have to put Sami Zayn, the top babyface down there. He's someone that can almost do no wrong in almost every match. As for his opponent, it can be any of the aforementioned since they were/are Zayn's most notable rivals since the WWE Network launched last year. It doesn't really matter, since Zayn has had great matches and is capable of producing a good enough match to draw some new subscribers to the Network.

I would put this match on the actual list, but if this match were to happen, I could see this match getting only 6-8 minutes being put low on the card.

5. Bad News Barrett vs Dean Ambrose for the Intercontinental Championship

This development was a bit of a surprise for me, but it does make sense. Despite a lengthy losing streak on PPVs, the Lunatic Fringe is still pretty popular amongst fans and no doubt an Intercontinental Championship would keep fans interested in Ambrose.

I love this match for multiple reasons. This could be a nice little gem of a match between two very physical wrestlers if given at least 10 minutes and it gives Ambrose a huge audience to showcase his talents as a singles wrestler (he made a Lumberjack match very enjoyable, something that seemed very hard to do).

If Ambrose wins the Intercontinental title at Mania, his second reign as a singles champion in WWE won't be marred by long periods of inactivity in defending the title. Plus, with him no longer being in a faction like he was with the Shield when he was the U.S. Champion, the title will be of value as Ambrose mentioned previously on Raw.

4. John Cena vs Rusev for the United States Championship

I may get some heat for this, but not only do I want this match to happen, I also want Cena to win and capture the United States championship, but not for American pride (I'm Puerto Rican by the way). For far too long, the U.S. Championship has been nothing more than a paperweight on WWE's championship value period. Even when Dean Ambrose was U.S. Champion, his reign felt empty because he didn't defended all that often. Even his now-former Shield members poked fun at Ambrose about it and even brought up the 30 Day rule, where, if you do not defend your title within 30 days, you are stripped of said title.

What better way to bring back the prestige of this championship and make it worth having than the man who was the face of the company for about a decade. Cena's star power alone gets eyes on a title that isn't a world championship and it's a great for younger talents or guys that come up through NXT to make their presence known. Beating John Cena for a championship, even for one as minute and insignificant as the U.S. Title still holds a lot of weight.

Despite Cena being arguably the most popular active wrestlers in the world, it's not unthinkable to put him in the midcard against a younger guy for the second straight Mania in a row. His match against Bray last year in New Orleans was one of my favorite Cena matches ever and it's a great storytelling match for those that haven't watched it yet.

3. Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker

This match could have been at the top of the list but questions on whether or not he's healthy enough to wrestle still linger. But if he is able to compete, then WWE would be hard-pressed to put him in the midcard even without the allure that was The Streak.

However, even if Taker were to compete at Mania, it is a possibility that he may not be placed in one of the two or three main event matches (as WWE sometimes does with WrestleMania and SummerSlam) in favor of putting guys like Sting, Triple H, Seth Rollins, or Randy Orton.

This match is very appealing and I thought that Wyatt would be one of the people that could have had a chance to break the Undertaker's streak. A few months ago, it seemed like there was no sense of direction or evolution of Bray's character, even with the feud with Dean Ambrose. It seemed like Bray was starting to get repetitive when interacting with other superstars.

However, his recent push, coupled with a strong performance at this year's Royal Rumble match has made it clear that the company has something big for Bray and a match with the Undertaker could be imminent. But if the future Hall of Famer is unable to compete, then that leaves Wyatt in a bad position since it appears that the company higher-ups are wishfully thinking this match happens.

2. Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton

This one seems to be the murkiest to predict since Orton hasn't been on television for several months. Rollins does not appear to be feuding with anyone other than Daniel Bryan (more on him a little later), but a return from the Viper as a babyface going after Mr. Money in the Bank and setting up at match at WrestleMania feels like the natural thing to do.

Rollins is already the top heel in WWE and even though he can still cash in his briefcase at the PPV, but it isn't unthinkable to think that he would have a big match against the former world champion earlier in the evening.

Plus, if Rollins wins, it makes that much more of a credible world champion if he successfully cashes in. At this point in Orton's career (as well as Cena's career), his role is slowly starting to be of one to put over younger guys. He already did it with Roman Reigns back in SummerSlam in what was a pretty decent match.

Rollins vs Orton may appear to be more of a main event type of match, but with the top card possibly stacked, this may end up being the top match of the midcard and it has the potential to be one of the best matches of the night.

1. Dolph Ziggler vs Daniel Bryan

In case you don't follow dirt sheets, not a smark, or follow Twitter, then you probably don't about this potential contest between the two. After a Twitter conversation between the Yes! Man and the Showoff, people have started to fantasize about these two getting in the ring together in the grandest stage of them all, so much so that WWE wrote about it back in late January.

I don't think many people will argue that this potential match would not only be the best match on the midcard, not only the best match at this year's WrestleMania, but the best WWE match in 2015. They are no strangers, as they had a fantastic Champion vs Champion match at Bragging Rights in 2010.

Outside of a possible Undertaker match and a possible Sting match, no other match will have more people and wrestling purists excited in this year's potential card. It may not be on the main event, nor would it be for a title belt, but it would be one of the most entertaining matches we've seen in a long time.

The one thing I do think could work against this potential match is the fact that if this match does happen, it may not have a great buildup or a proper storyline. As of this writing, there seems to be no indication on television that these two are on a collision course and as two very popular babyfaces, there is no real reason for them to be feuding unless one of them turns heel and I cannot see either of them happening just for the sake of making this match a reality.

Even though this match will probably be in the midcard, WWE would be foolish to not give them at least 15 minutes. At the very least, it'll make people forget, at least for one night, that Ziggler and Bryan weren't given a shot at WrestleMania.

This year's WrestleMania could be the one where we'll be talking more about the undercard than the man event matches. What do you think? Are these matches going to happen and if so, which of these matches are going to be memorable? Sound off in the comments below.