With SLTD Wrestling turning five years old this past Saturday, I figured there was no better opportunity to write a piece and do what we do best here, and that’s talk wrestling. WrestleMania season is, after all, a time for fans all over the world to come together in preparation for the biggest wrestling event on the globe, and if there’s any community that truly embodies the concept of wrestling fans coming together with one common goal, it’s us.
Let’s talk about WrestleMania 32, shall we? Namely, a couple of the matches that will be the biggest on the card, including The Undertaker’s return to the ring after a good run in 2015, the monumental clash between Bray Wyatt and Brock Lesnar, and the first title defence of new champion, Triple H against Roman Reigns.
Last week, we witnessed the 29th annual Royal Rumble, and although the outcome of the PPV’s eponymous main event was predictable, fans rejoiced that Roman Reigns was not, once again, forced down their throats in the hopes of getting him over. He’s a talented cat, but the previous three Rumbles proved that in this generation, it takes a lot more than “overcoming odds” to get fans behind someone they’re not in abundant favour of.
Instead, after fourteen years, Triple H won his second Royal Rumble match and became a fourteen-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, solidifying his position in the main event of this year’s WrestleMania event, one that could potentially break records for the most attendants in the spectacle’s history.
Though I would have bet good money that the predictable victor would be booed out of the arena due to taking a spot from the likes of Kevin Owens, Dean Ambrose or the WWE’s newest acquisition, AJ Styles, my pessimism was met with pleasant surprise, as the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida came unglued for the arrival of ‘The Game’.
That has to come as good news for the new champion, both as a performer and from a business standpoint, as they can rest easy knowing that Triple H is still incredibly over as an in-ring competitor, and will make for a big draw for WrestleMania 32. I’m sure anyone could call the result of the main event between Reigns and Triple H, but all that matters is the two go out there every night and raise hell, building some good buzz for the title match.
Though that bout seems to be set in stone, let’s turn our attention to a match that seems pretty likely, despite only being suggested a few weeks ago. I’m talking about the inevitable clash between ‘The Beast’, Brock Lesnar and ‘The Eater of Worlds’, Bray Wyatt. Though Lesnar still has an opportunity to bag himself a championship match at Fastlane, you can bet your ass that Wyatt and his goons are going to be right there to snatch it from him.
Last year, Wyatt’s slogan in life was “anyone but you, Roman”, but as we’ve seen with The Wyatt Family’s rather unceremonious removal of Lesnar from the Royal Rumble match, his new lease on life seems to be something more along the lines of “anyone but you, Brock”. Expect him to prove this once Fastlane comes passing by.
The match itself should be incredible, and unlike anything Lesnar has come across since his return in 2012. The thing that has plagued each of Lesnar’s opponents in the past, with the exception of The Undertaker, was fear. Fear that Lesnar is going to rip your throat out and suplex you to the middle of next year. Bray Wyatt, however, is ‘The New Face of Fear’, and is not going to be intimidated. Their contrasting personalities and approaches in the ring will most certainly create an intriguing dynamic during the build to WrestleMania.
One match that seems completely up in the air, however, is The Undertaker’s. There are hopefuls out there that think the prospect of seeing Finn Bálor debut in the build-up to WrestleMania, to take on The Deadman, isn’t all that unlikely. Personally, I’d pay the price of admission for that match alone, but it’s just not happening.
With Bálor main-eventing NXT Takeover: Dallas two nights before, I just don’t see him pulling double duty that weekend, in two extremely high stakes matches, one of which on the biggest show of the year. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing I’d love to see more, but this year, I think you can count Bálor out of WrestleMania.
Kevin Owens should also be a front-runner, but unfortunately, it’s looking very possible that the newest member of The Wyatt Family, Braun Strowman is going to be taking on The Undertaker. You won’t find many people past Vince McMahon that are happy with this, but you win some, you lose some. Let’s hope that Strowman surprises us and goes all out at WrestleMania. Either that or he bombs and has his push completely derailed.
Aside from these three main bouts, the card could be tremendous in other aspects too. Along with The Rock, and the likely return of Steve Austin, the WWE Universe may be witness to the WrestleMania debut of AJ Styles against someone like Sami Zayn and/or Kevin Owens, the instant classic that would be Dean Ambrose vs. Chris Jericho, and potentially one of the best Divas matches in history involving the likes of Becky Lynch, Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Paige. Sounds to me like a WrestleMania that anybody can get on board.
Thanks for joining me, folks. Keep doing what you do, supporting the fantastic group of people here at SLTD Wrestling, who do a great job of keeping things going. We just celebrated our fifth birthday, and having been in the loop for three and a half of those, I thank everyone involved from the bottom of my heart.
I know Tybo will be over the moon with the tremendous progress the site has made since then, and I’d like to wish him all of my congratulations. You’re a true champ, mate, and I’m incredibly happy for you due to this and other exciting things you’ve got going on in your life right now. Happy Birthday, brother.
If you enjoyed this brief preview of the likely WrestleMania 32 card, do me a solid and share it across all forms of social media and leave your thoughts below. You can also check me out on Twitter @AdamOB_UTS, and read some of my outside work right here at WhatCulture.
Thanks for stopping by, folks.
Self-Professed Conversational Wizard.
Admin, Editor and Writer for SLTD Wrestling.
Creator of 'Under the Spotlight'.
Studying Computing in Games Development.
Recent Comments