“Welcome to WrestleMania!” That’s right, folks, WrestleMania Season is upon us once again, which means it’s time to speculate on the feuds, storylines and matches that we could be seeing at WrestleMania 35. There are many questions regarding who will win the men and women’s Royal Rumble, who will face Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, and what the main event of WrestleMania will be? The WWE Universe will have these answers by April 7 in New Jersey, but with the event still four months out, that still leaves plenty of time for us to compare our WrestleMania 35 dream card versus the probable WrestleMania card of WWE.
In preparation for WrestleMania, we’ve compiled our ideal WrestleMania card and compared it with WWE's. In doing so, we find that both of our cards share some similarities. The norm of a WrestleMania event is to be a quarter of a day long and that allows for plenty of matches. Both our card and WWE’s will start with three “pre-show” matches followed by a “hot opener” to officially kickoff WrestleMania 35. While our respective cards include a Cruiserweight Title match, an Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal and a women’s match for our pre-show matches, the similarities between our cards pretty much end there.
While the format between both cards may be similar, the participants, matches and winners, in most cases, are drastically different. Our card will appeal more towards the desires of the fans and include less part-time superstars, whereas WWE’s card will cater more towards Vince McMahon and load up on returns that include The Rock, John Cena and Batista. With WWE’s bloated roster, our card may shove superstars in the Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal or leave them off the card completely, whereas WWE’s card will cram everyone into unnecessary title matches.
Regardless of which card you prefer or whichever card comes the closest to fruition, WrestleMania Season is the best time to be a wrestling fan and should bring much excitement throughout the wrestling world. Without further ado, here’s what our ideal WrestleMania 35 card will be versus what WWE’s WrestleMania Card will actually be.
30 Ours: Hideo Itami Vs. Buddy Murphy (c) - Cruiserweight Championship
Like the two previous WrestleManias, the Cruiserweight Title will find itself on one of the three pre-show matches. However, our card pushes someone different in the obligatory Cruiserweight match.
Hideo Itami has been riding a hot streak lately, and it would be nice to see the man formerly known as “KENTA” get the spotlight. Very few people have been standing out lately on 205 Live, and Buddy Murphy appears to be moving away from his feud with Cedric Alexander. Our card gives Hideo Itami a WrestleMania title match and a title win.
29 WWE’s: Mustafa Ali Vs. Buddy Murphy (c) - Cruiserweight Championship
It’s almost certain the Cruiserweight Title will be on the pre-show if not opening for the entire event. However, who will be getting the title shot is not quite set in stone.
Mustafa Ali has received a surprising amount of attention on SmackDown Live. He’s gone toe to toe with the WWE Champion and even pinned him in a tag match. With Mustafa Ali looking strong on the main roster, it’s likely WWE is setting Ali up for a Cruiserweight Title shot against Buddy Murphy, and in all honesty, he’s not a bad opponent for the Cruiserweight Champion.
28 Ours: The Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal (With Elias Winning)
Another one of WrestleMania’s pre-show matches has been normally reserved for the Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal. This match will include many of the superstars that didn’t make it onto the rest of the card.
However, unlike the WWE card, our winner of the Battle Royal will be Elias, who could win it and then serenade the audience with a song afterwards. The Battle Royal itself, and the winner for that matter, is often an afterthought, but with WWE wanting to push Elias in 2019, this could be the year the Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal winner actually amounts to something.
27 WWE’s: The Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal (With Apollo Crews Winning)
Winning The Andre “The Giant” Battle Royal has been more of a curse than an accolade, but it does get the rest of the roster onto the show. The participants in our card versus WWE’s card will obviously be different do to the differences between the cards, but the winner will definitely be someone the company wants to push in 2019.
With that being said, Apollo Crews will win WWE’s Battle Royal. WWE is high on Apollo, and this is a way to give him the spotlight. Unfortunately, for Crews, this win will likely be forgotten in a week, which is why these Battle Royals are normally reserved for the pre-show.
26 Ours: The IIconics Vs. Bayley & Sasha Banks - Women’s Tag Team Titles
No one knows how the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles will be decided or who will win them, but our card has the deciding match occurring at WrestleMania 35.
With Sasha Banks and Bayley constantly hyping tag team titles, it would be silly not to have them competing for them. However, The IIconics really need some love since coming to the main roster. Our card has The IIconics battling Sasha and Bayley, and giving them the surprising win. This will also set up a long overdue push for The IIconics and a split between The Boss and The Hugger.
25 WWE’s: Asuka (c) Vs. Mandy Rose - Smackdown Women’s Title
There’s no question that the women superstars are going to see a pre-show match. However, WWE’s card will feature the Smackdown Women’s Title in that unfortunate distinction, because, let’s face it, Mandy Rose versus Asuka isn’t exactly WrestleMania material.
WWE will feature the Women’s Tag Team Title match on the actual WrestleMania show because of who will be participating in the match, and that will leave Asuka versus Mandy Rose off the official WrestleMania show. Mandy Rose is a favorite of Vince McMahon, which is why she’s getting this match in the first place, but expect Asuka to pick up the win, with The Golden Goddess also looking strong in the loss.
24 Ours: Kevin Owens Vs. Dean Ambrose (c) - Intercontinental Championship
The fourth match of the night will actually be the first official match of the WrestleMania show. Normally, this match is a hot opener, and Kevin Owens and Dean Ambrose can definitely deliver that kind of match.
Kevin Owens has been out of action and is set to return for WrestleMania season. When he returns, it’s believed he will be a babyface and could be one of the better options to challenge The Lunatic Fringe for his Intercontinental Title. This match could actually steal the show, and a title win for Owens could reset his poor credibility since returning to Raw as well.
23 WWE’s: Rusev (c) Vs. Andrade Almas Vs. Samoa Joe Vs. Jeff Hardy Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura Vs. Rey Mysterio - United States Championship
The United States Title match will likely be the hot opener for WWE’s card, but look for it to be a chaotic mess. Much of Smackdown’s mid-card doesn’t seem to have much direction at the moment which is why WWE will simply slop everyone together into one giant “Six-Pack Challenge.”
No one in SmackDown’s mid-card is really standing out at the moment thanks to 50/50 booking. However, as jumbled as this match will be, it could be an opportunity to finally give Samoa Joe a well-deserved title win and a strong push for 2019.
22 Ours: The Revival Vs. AoP Vs. Bobby Roode & Chad Gable (c) - Raw Tag Team Titles
The Tag Team Division on Raw is a bit of a mess which is why this match would make a good bathroom break after the hot opener. No one looks credible enough to win the Raw Tag Team Titles, but it looks like WWE might finally be giving The Revival a chance.
Bobby Roode and Chad Gable will head into WrestleMania as champions, but they’re really there just to eat the pin. The Authors of Pain will be added to the match to give them their (no longer mandatory) rematch, but The Revival will get the titles.
21 WWE’s: Sanity Vs. The Bar Vs. The Club Vs. The Usos Vs. The New Day - SmackDown Tag Team Titles
Unlike Raw where no one looks credible, SmackDown has more tag teams than they know what to do with. Any one of the SmackDown tag teams looks like they could win the titles, and because of this, WWE will likely place them all together in one giant match much like the U.S. Title match.
The kind of match these teams would have is up in the air. It could be a battle royal, an elimination match or a gauntlet match of some sort, but every SmackDown team will likely be involved. The Club definitely deserves to win the match, but with their contract coming up, Sanity winning would be totally appropriate as well.
20 Ours: Samoa Joe Vs. Rusev (c) - United States Championship
Unlike WWE’s cluster of a United States Title match, our card will feature two superstars that are still mostly over in Smackdown’s mid-card. Rusev is still super over and will head into WrestleMania as champion, but Samoa Joe needs a big profile match considering his unwavering support.
Despite some rough losses, Samoa Joe is still over and could look strong after a feud with Jeff Hardy. Rusev could come away from Shinsuke Nakamura looking strong as well setting up a collision course between two credible mid-card superstars of Smackdown. Joe can then take the U.S. Title while Rusev can move up the ladder to WWE Title contention.
19 WWE’s: Kevin Owens Vs. Bobby Lashley
Kevin Owens is set to return soon, but instead of putting him in an interesting feud for a title, he’ll probably return to feud with Bobby Lashley. The Almighty Bobby Lashley was the one that put K.O. on the shelf, leaving Kevin Owens and Bobby Lashley with unfinished business.
With Bobby Lashley having since turned heel, look for Kevin Owens to return as a babyface to face Lashley at WrestleMania. Unfortunately, this really isn’t a match fans are dying to see, and that’s why WWE is almost assured to go forward with it anyway.
18 Ours: Drew McIntyre Vs. Braun Strowman
WWE sees both Drew McIntyre and Braun Strowman as the future of WWE, and may be afraid to give either of them a loss. However, both The Monster Among Men and The Scottish Psychopath could use some credibility and the timing might be perfect for this match.
These two behemoths battling each other is a money making match, and it would do wonders for both if they tear each other apart in a blow for blow slugfest. McIntyre should win as Strowman will be coming off of another loss to Lesnar anyway and wouldn’t be hurt by losing as much as Drew would be. McIntyre needs the win moving forward, and a huge win over The Monster would be a great start.
17 WWE’s: Triple H Vs. Batista
Triple H. versus Batista was expected since the start of 2018. Batista has shown interest in returning for a feud with The Game, and that match was virtually set in stone for WrestleMania 35. However, Triple H’s pectoral tear has put that match in jeopardy.
Despite the injury, Triple H will make a surprisingly quick recovery to make this match happen. WWE loves its part-timers and considers Triple H versus Batista one of their draws for the show. Look for this match to happen with Triple H getting his win back against The Animal.
16 Ours: The Club Vs. The Bar (c) - SmackDown Tag Team Championship
WrestleMania 35 is quickly approaching, and WWE seems lost as to what to do with the SmackDown Tag Team Division. WWE has between now and Mania to set one team apart for the pack, and that team should be Gallows and Anderson.
The Good Brothers have been neglected since coming to WWE. They can change that by having some sort of four way match prior to WrestleMania to determine the number one contenders for the Tag Team Titles, and The Club should win it. In a perfect world, Gallows and Anderson should be the ones to dethrone Sheamus and Cesaro at WrestleMania, re-sign with WWE and receive the push they should have gotten almost three years ago.
15 WWE’s: Dolph Ziggler Vs. Drew McIntyre Vs. Finn Balor
Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre and Finn Balor have been feuding with each other with Ziggler and Balor getting upset singles victories over McIntyre. With these victories tainted by interference, however, WWE will finally end this three-way feud at WrestleMania with a triple threat match.
WWE sees McIntyre as the future but also wants to give Balor a push. With that being said, WWE will conclude this feud with Drew McIntyre getting the win. Dolph Ziggler is guaranteed to take the pin to protect Balor, and McIntyre’s win will set up big future push for 2019.
14 Ours: Asuka (c) Vs. Charlotte - SmackDown Women’s Championship
While WWE’s WrestleMania card puts Asuka in the pre-show, ours does not. With the exception of Ronda Rousey, all of the women WWE wants to push are on Smackdown. Because of this, a Smackdown superstar will win the Women’s Royal Rumble and challenge Ronda Rousey, while the other two will face each other for the Smackdown Women’s title.
With Becky poised to win the women’s Royal Rumble, Asuka and Charlotte will be the only two superstars credible enough for a SmackDown Women's title match. Our card has The Empress and The Queen tearing the house down, with Asuka getting her win back.
13 WWE’s: Dean Ambrose (c) Vs. Elias - Intercontinental Championship
Dean Ambrose versus Elias may not be a match fans are itching to see, but the WWE Universe would enjoy walking with Elias as he wins the Intercontinental Title. WWE sees Elias as a future superstar and had originally planned on Elias winning the Intercontinental Title imminently if he had not already.
With Seth probably moving onto Brock Lesnar, the Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose will need an opponent. Hopefully, Dean will move past Apollo Crews and set up Elias for a WrestleMania feud and title win against The Lunatic.
12 Ours: AJ Styles Vs. Randy Orton
AJ Styles and Randy Orton could be main-eventers on either brand, but on our card neither The Viper nor The Phenomenal One will be in title contention. However, both will be coming off of feuds, Jeff Hardy for Orton and Daniel Bryan for Styles, and both need opponents for WrestleMania.
AJ Styles and Randy Orton have been staples for SmackDown since their draft to the blue brand yet have never feuded against each other. This feud could start now and culminate at WrestleMania with two of Smackdown’s top stars feuding once and for all.
11 WWE’s: Braun Strowman Vs. Baron Corbin
Acting General Manager Baron Corbin almost became “permanent” General Manager Baron Corbin after taking out Braun Strowman before their Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at TLC. However, with help of the Raw roster, Strowman would win the match, leaving Corbin out of power.
This undoubtedly will set up a Baron Corbin versus Braun Strowman match at WrestleMania. Corbin may even cost Strowman his match against Brock Lesnar (again) at the Royal Rumble to start this feud. Either way, Baron Corbin will definitely “get these hands” at WrestleMania, with Strowman picking up a much needed win.