WWE's biggest PPV of the year, Wrestlemania 34, is quickly approaching, and this year's event is going to be jam-packed. As of this writing, there are 13 matches on the card with at least two more to be added between now and Sunday, April 8 when Wrestlemania comes to the WWE Network and PPV.
New Orleans will host this year's event at the Superdome, and already, there have been some huge surprises going in, like Smackdown general manager Daniel Bryan being cleared to wrestle at the show. In addition, actor Macaulay Culkin answered Rusev's open challenge for Wrestlemania, and while that sounds like a blast, we don't think anything will come out of it, but you never know.
Wrestlemania 34 starts at 7 PM ET/4 PM PT, with a Kickoff Show more than likely starting two hours prior--WWE has not announced specifics for the Kickoff yet. Last year's event went for six and a half hours, so hopefully, you are watching the event somewhere really comfortable.
Obviously, there is still a match that will be added to the card--John Cena vs. Undertaker. However, we're only delivering the 100% confirmed matches for the upcoming event. Aside from this potential (but basically guaranteed) match, there could be even more surprises, if some of the WWE rumors floating around the 'net come true.
Wrestlemania 34 Match Card
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns (For the Universal Championship): Detailed prediction here
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (For the WWE Championship)
Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey vs. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka (For the Smackdown Women's Championship): Detailed prediction here
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Bálor (For the Intercontinental Championship)
Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev (For the United States Championship)
The Bar (c) vs. Braun Strowman and unnamed partner (For the Raw Tag Team Championships)
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax (For the Raw Women's Championship)
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (For the Cruiserweight Championship)
The Usos vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers (For the Smackdown Tag Team Championships)
Women's Battle Royal
The Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Make sure to check back with GameSpot for live coverage of Wrestlemania 34 on Sunday, April 8.
NEW ORLEANS -- The Road to WrestleMania began, as usual, back at the Royal Rumble event in January, and we have finally reached the end. WWE WrestleMania 34 takes place Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, and the loaded card set for the event could be one for the ages.
WrestleMania 34 gets underway on Sunday night with a special two-hour kickoff show beginning at 5 p.m. ET, with the main card going down at 7 p.m. It is expected to last for seven total hours, ending at midnight. Of course, you can watch all the action play out live on the WWE Network, but you can also follow along live with CBS Sports, which will be covering the event in tremendous detail throughout the evening.
We have been onsite in New Orleans for a full week of coverage, and with the anticipation building as WrestleMania is set to go down in a few hours, let's have a look at how this card has shaped out as we journeyed down the Road to WrestleMania.
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WWE WrestleMania 34 matches
Universal Championship -- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns: This one has been coming for 365 days ever since Lesnar beat Goldberg for the title and Reigns beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. Reigns won Elimination Chamber to earn the spot as he will put his spear against Lesnar's F5. With Lesnar rumored to be heading to UFC, we shall find out whether Vince McMahon's year-long plan will culminate in the face reaction he wants for Reigns.
WWE Championship -- AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: After winning the 30-Man Royal Rumble, Nakamura had his choice of WrestleMania opponent and immediately called out Styles. The two will rekindle their rivalry from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a match in which Nakamura won to hold a 1-0 lead on the series with Styles. This should be a "smart" fan's dream, and while it is unlikely to main event the show, it may very well be the match of the evening in New Orleans.
Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: Perhaps there is a reason WWE is promoting the Mixed Match Challenge so hard. This is a call-back to the WrestleMania 31 incident between Rousey and The Rock along with McMahon and Triple H ... but with Angle in The Rock's place. It also wraps up the Angle-Triple H storyline that started at but never progressed following Survivor Series. Rousey makes her in-ring debut here, and WWE sources have told us she has been exceedingly impressive training for this match.
John Cena challenges The Undertaker, again: While it is not on the formal WrestleMania 34 card, T-shirts being sold by WWE around New Orleans have Cena challenging Taker listed as part of the events of the evening. It is expected that Taker will indeed show up after weeks of Cena calling him out, but whether they fight -- or have a formal match -- remains to be seen.
SmackDown Women's Championship -- Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka: Flipping brands to SmackDown (hence the Royal Rumble winner stipulation added at the last minute) is a great move for Asuka , who challenged Flair in a match of arguably the two best female workers in the company. Continuing her undefeated streak by beating Flair would be an even better development for Asuka, or WWE could use this as a means to elevate Flair even further.
Raw Women's Championship -- Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax: With Asuka choosing to switch brands and compete against Flair, Bliss needed another Raw-brand opponent. Real-life best friend Jax is the choice as WWE has worked the on-screen frenemieis into what amounts to a bullying angle with Bliss teasing Jax over her weight, among other things.
Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: With Owens and Zayn now "fired" from SmackDown after beating up McMahon -- and then Bryan two weeks ago -- a tag team match was made on SmackDown with their SmackDown careers on the line. Owens and Zayn will be reinstated if they win or remain fired if they lose. Whether McMahon will be able to go for the match, however, remains to be seen as he is battling diverticulitis. It is being promoted as if he will participate.
Intercontinental Championship -- The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor: It looked like Braun Strowman might take on The Miz, but he is now otherwise occupied. This should be a fantastic match making great use of two superstars in Rollins and Balor that have been caught without legitimate singles pushes in 2018. There should be a title change with either Rollins or Balor winding up on SmackDown at some point after WrestleMania.
United States Championship -- Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev: A match that should be on the kickoff show but probably will not be. The storyline is lackluster and uninteresting considering Orton has already won the only WWE singles title he had not held at Fastlane. At least WWE added Rusev at the last minute.
SmackDown Tag Team Championship -- The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers: The top feud in WWE this past "season" gets its deserved spot at WrestleMania ... though the addition of the Bludgeon Brothers -- while telegraphed -- is unnecessary. The good news is that BB is a team of two good workers, and this could be a sneaky match-of-the-night candidate.
Raw Tag Team Championship -- The Bar (c) vs. Braun Strowman & TBD: In a fun twist, Strowman won a tag team battle royal on earn a WrestleMania shot at the tag team titles. In storyline, WWE is forcing Strowman to choose a partner. Personally, I think it would be incredible to see a 2-on-1 handicap match for the straps.
Cruiserweight Championship -- Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (Kickoff Show): The finals of the tournament to name a champion will be held at WrestleMania 34 on the kickoff show. It once looked like Alexander would be the clear winner, but Ali has been getting a tremendous push as of late.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff Show): The winner will receive a trophy and not much else. There is usually some celebrity involvement in this match. The 28 (of 30) announced participants include Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Matt Hardy, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Elias, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, R-Truth, Sin Cara, Titus O'Neil, Apollo, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Tye Dillinger, Scott Dawson, Goldust, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Zack Ryder, Primo Colon, Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, Aiden English, Curt Hawkins, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Mike Kanellis.
WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal (Kickoff Show): Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT will compete in the event, which one should expect to be held on the kickoff show. The 13 (of 20) announced participants include Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Mickie James, Natalya, Lana, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella.
WWE’s biggest event of the year is taking place in New Orleans this year and WrestleMania is shaping up to be one of the most fun cards in recent memory. WrestleMania has evolved from one event to an entire week’s worth of matches and bouts. But no matter how much the festivities evolve, the main focus will be on Sunday’s stacked WrestleMania card.
Though the main event has not been announced (WWE likes to consider multiple matches co-main events) the bout that most speculate will close the show is Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Championship. Lesnar, the current champion, is reportedly looking to get back into the octagon for the UFC. UFC’s Dana White recently commented on the rumor, saying “Yeah, Brock Lesnar’s coming back,” White said. “I don’t know when, but yes he is.”
Because of this, Roman Reigns seems to be a lock to win back the WWE Universal Champion. But these two have faced each other at WrestleMania before and fans were given a surprise ending with Seth Rollins entering the match and winning the championship instead.
Ronda Rousey will also make her WWE in-ring debut. The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion will be in a mixed tag team match. Kurt Angle will team up with her as they take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a grudge match. The feud began when Kurt Angle revealed that Triple H and Stephanie, two members of WWE’s real-life management, only hired Rousey to manipulate and embarrass her after their confrontation at WrestleMania 31.
The men’s WWE Championship and SmackDown Women’s Championships have similar trajectories and either of these matches can be the quintessential moment fans will be talking about for years to come. Shinsuke Nakamura won the Royal Rumble back in January and chose Smackdown’s AJ Styles as his WrestleMania opponent. Many consider this a dream match since both of these competitors are regarded two of the best wrestlers in the word. They have faced each other before when they were in New Japan Pro Wrestling, but now fans want the general audience to witness the athleticism and in-ring storytelling that happens when these two meet.
For the Smackdown Women’s championship, Asuka will face Charlotte Flair in a one-one-one match. Asuka won the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble and chose to face Smackdown’s champion, Flair. Flair is already considered one of the best female competitors of all time, holding seven titles in her five-year career. Asuka, on the other hand, is undefeated in WWE since debuting in 2015. Will wrestling royalty break Asuka’s streak or will there be a new Smackdown women’s champion in New Orleans?
Even with all the matches set for WrestleMania, there is still one question mark leading up to it — will The Undertaker appear and accept John Cena’s challenge for a a legendary matchup of two legends? For months, Cena has been pleading for an answer but has gotten no response. The Undertaker had a farewell moment in last year’s WrestleMania, but New Orleans is the city where his incomparable WrestleMania streak was broken by Brock Lesnar four years ago.
WrestleMania matches
Preshow:
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal
Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali - Cruiserweight Championship
Main card:
AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura - WWE Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs Finn Balor - Intercontinental Championship
Cesaro and Sheamus (c) vs. Braun Strowman and TBD - Raw Tag Team Championship
The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers - Smackdown Tag Team Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev - United States Championship
Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax - Raw Women’s Championship
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka - Smackdown Women’s Championship
Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon and Triple H
Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns - WWE Universal Championship
John Cena vs. The Undertaker (rumored)
Stream WrestleMania on the WWE Network
5pm ET - WrestleMania preshow
7pm ET - WrestleMania Main card
