Here’s Who’s Winning (And Losing) At WrestleMania 33

We’re mere days away from “The Show of Shows.” "The Grandest Stage of Them All." "The Showcase of the Immortals." It’s WrestleMania 33, where a year’s worth of professional wrestling feuds comes to a head.

As always, there’s a mixture of old and new. There are the veterans, like Goldberg, The Undertaker, and Brock Lesnar, who draw in the casual, nostalgic fans. There are the established stars, like AJ Styles, Roman Reigns, and Sasha Banks, who represent the here and now. And there are the rising stars, like Braun Strowman, Baron Corbin, and Bayley, who represent the future of the company. Here are your up-to-date predictions for an interesting—if divisive—evening, this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

This was added at the last minute because the doctors needed to know, for sure, that Rollins was healthy enough to compete. Finally, Rollins will get his revenge on Triple H for betraying him and handing the universal title to Kevin Owens. Expect to see chairs, kendo sticks, and whatever else the two of them can find under the ring apron.

Who Should Win: Seth Rollins

Who Will Win: Seth Rollins. From a storytelling perspective, Rollins has to win so that he can redeem himself and complete his babyface turn. A win could also kick off a fresh world title pursuit once Rollins is completely healed.

This match has become the catch-all for “wrestlers with nothing to do.” No decent storyline? No time? Stick ‘em in the Battle Royal! And even worse, last year’s Battle Royal winner, Baron Corbin, was barely promoted after his victory. It was only after the brand split, almost half a year after WrestleMania 32, that Corbin became a big star.

Who Should Win: Sami Zayn

Who Will Win: Braun Strowman. The Andre the Giant Battle Royal is traditionally won by a giant, and Braun Strowman is the best, most intimidating big guy on the main roster. Sami would have made for a nice David beats Goliath victory, but this match is probably going to end up being a little more predictable.

AJ Styles is, objectively speaking, one of the best wrestlers on the planet. Shane McMahon, meanwhile, can barely wrestle. But he can perform eye-popping, death-defying (stupid?) stunts, and walk away relatively unscathed. Remember his tumble off the roof of the cell last year? How about his leap onto Big Show at Backlash in 2001? Shane’s latest "match" will result in another clip for the highlight reel.

Who Should Win: AJ Styles

Who Will Win: AJ Styles. This is a no-brainer. If WWE wants to keep AJ in title contention after WrestleMania, the Phenomenal One will score a decisive win. Shane has a lot of guts, but he’s no wrestler. And on Sunday, he doesn’t stand a chance.

This has become the must-see SmackDown feud. We knew that Cena could talk. We knew that The Miz could talk. But the two of them together—not even fighting, just talking—has become the most interesting part of Tuesday nights. Add to that the real-life drama between Maryse and Nikki Bella, and fans have something that is rare in today’s professional wrestling; they have a feud they can believe in. Expect this match to be the fun sleeper hit of the evening.

Who Should Win: The Miz & Maryse

Who Will Win: John Cena & Nikki Bella. The Miz & Maryse have been so disrespectful over the past four weeks, that a win for Cena and Nikki is almost guaranteed. Also, look out for an in-ring surprise at the conclusion of the match. Miz and Maryse have been making fun of Cena for not proposing to Nikki. And it would certainly be a WrestleMania moment if Cena called the bluff, got down on one knee, and popped the question.

Despite having less talented, less experienced wrestlers, the SmackDown women have been putting on a better show than the Raw women. That’s the power of good storylines and good booking; every woman on SmackDown is a contender for the top title. But unfortunately, there isn’t enough room on the card to have multiple 1-on-1 women’s matches. Instead, the women are stuck in a free-for-all like this one. It’ll be up to them to make themselves stand out individually.

Who Should Win: Naomi

Who Will Win: Naomi. She was never supposed to lose the belt to begin with; an injury forced her to drop it. And now that she’s healthy, she’s going to reclaim what was hers. Naomi is also the hometown hero, and WWE will want to get Orlando fans hyped.

This year, Chris Jericho came up with “The List”—the funniest, most enduring gimmick of the year. This, despite being a heel who teamed up with Kevin Owens. So when Owens smashed Jericho’s head through a plate of decorative glass during the Festival of Friendship, it was easy to get the fans on Jericho’s side. Here’s another fight with emotional clout and a title on the line to boot.

Who Should Win: Kevin Owens

Who Will Win: Chris Jericho. Going out on a limb here. After the way he was manhandled on Raw, Jericho needs to get some sort of revenge, and Owens needs to get some sort of comeuppance. Owens could very well beat Jericho into retirement after the match. But a loss would not hurt Owens, and it would be a feel-good moment for the crowd.

Last year, Neville was a babyface superhero, and a boring one at that. But now, with the new Cruiserweight division, Neville is reborn. He’s physically dominant and comparatively bigger than everyone else, a big change from his old underdog storylines. Austin Aries, meanwhile, is a loudmouth with something to prove. Anticipate an acrobatic, pull-out-all-the-stops showdown.

Who Should Win: Neville

Who Will Win: Neville. Aries is a great talker, and his time will come. But Neville is just too dominant to realistically lose. WWE wants to establish him as a top heel, and Austin Aries is loved by the fans, with or without the belt. It’ll be a competitive match, but The Man That Gravity Forgot will eke out a win.

The Raw Tag Team Championship Triple Threat Ladder Match is another result of a roster that is so big, that WWE struggles to give everyone something important to do. All three tag teams are excellent individually. Enzo Amore and Big Cass, specifically, are extremely over with the fans. But six men in a single match can get very messy, very quickly. This match is going to require a lot of teamwork—of switching in and out, of letting the other guy shine—to make it fun and easy to follow.

Who Should Win: Enzo Amore & Big Cass

Who Will Win: Enzo Amore & Big Cass. They have been building toward this moment ever since their main roster debut. They’re universally loved by the fans. They’re extremely entertaining. And WWE has its eyes set on making Cass into a main eventer. There’s no better place to start their dominant run than at WrestleMania, where they’re guaranteed to get a massive pop from the crowd.

Last year, Dean Ambrose complained that his match with Brock Lesnar wasn’t as good or as extreme as he wanted it to be. Lesnar, apparently, had no interest in doing anything too crazy. But this year, Ambrose will be in the ring with Baron Corbin, a hungry wrestler with something to prove. The fans are guaranteed a much better show as a result. Depending on how far the two of them are willing to go on Sunday, this match could be a throwback to the Attitude Era.

Who Should Win: Baron Corbin

Who Will Win: Baron Corbin. The Lone Wolf checks off a lot of boxes. He’s young. He’s massive. And he can talk really well when he’s unscripted and allowed to be himself. Aside from last year’s Andre the Giant Battle Royal, however, he’s never won gold. On Sunday, he’ll change that by scoring the pinfall with the End of Days after kicking out of Dean’s finisher.

Last year at WrestleMania 32, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Charlotte Flair had the best match of the evening. This year, these four women will try to top it. It’s going to be a great contrast in styles; Bayley (the Raw Women's Champion) is the mat wrestler, Sasha is the high flyer, Charlotte is the all-around athlete, and Nia is the powerhouse. All four women know each other from NXT, and have a long, established history of fighting one another. The chemistry should be off the charts.

Who Should Win: Sasha Banks

Who Will Win: Bayley. She’s the most well-liked woman on the roster, after all. The fans are sick of Charlotte, and WrestleMania is all about making the casual fans happy. This is an elimination match, so expect Nia Jax to leave the match first. Then Charlotte. And that leaves Sasha and Bayley as the final two. And after Bayley wins, it sets up Sasha for her inevitable heel turn. The only way Sasha could possibly win this match is if she cheats to do it.

The Dead Man is ailing. He needs hip surgery. He looked pretty fragile at the Royal Rumble. And now, he’s taking on Roman Reigns on a massive stage. This has the potential to go very, very wrong. The two of them need to work a slow, steady match, focus less on ringwork, and focus more on storytelling.

Who Should Win: The Undertaker

Who Will Win: Roman Reigns. A lot of fans are going to be upset. But The Undertaker is losing for the second time at WrestleMania this Sunday. Taker is an old-school guy, who believes that a wrestler’s last match should be a loss, which passes on the notoriety to the next generation. And since Taker is rumored to need hip replacement surgery, he could very well be forced to retire, even if he doesn’t want to. The better question is whether WWE will continue pushing Roman Reigns as a babyface, or finally turn him heel on Sunday... Let’s hope for the latter.

A year ago at WrestleMania 32, Bray Wyatt was getting his ass handed to him by The Rock and John Cena in an in-ring skit; he didn’t even get the dignity of an actual match. One would think that after that disgrace, Wyatt’s career would pretty much be over. But somehow, against all odds, Wyatt is the current WWE Heavyweight Champion. And he’s taking on Randy Orton in what has become a personal feud. Orton burned Sister Abigail’s body! That takes kayfabe to a whole new level.

Who Should Win: Bray Wyatt

Who Will Win: Bray Wyatt. This goes against what Vegas is predicting. But I’m calling it; there’s no way (am I jinxing this?) that WWE will force Bray to go 0-3 at WrestleMania. This is his time to shine after so many false starts and non-pushes. First, Orton doesn’t need the win. Second, it goes against the entire “New Era” that WWE has been promoting for half a year. And third, WWE is not going to have both world titles change on the same night (see below). At the very least, Orton might win by disqualification, allowing Wyatt to keep the belt, even if he "loses."

Here’s the big one. The two biggest powerhouses of their respective generations, squaring off against each other, one-on-one. The last time these two fought at WrestleMania was over a decade ago in Madison Square Garden. Back then, the New York crowd turned on both competitors, because online dirt sheets leaked that both men would be leaving WWE. This time around, there’s no baggage to hold back this Clash of the Titans.

Who Should Win: Brock Lesnar

Who Will Win: Brock Lesnar. If there’s such a thing as a sure thing, it’s this. Goldberg has won every single one of their encounters so far, which means that at some point, Lesnar needs to get a win. After all, he’s the one who signed a long-term contract with the company. And in a recent interview, Goldberg admitted that he was “miserable” due to his rigorous training regimen. He might be as happy to drop the belt as Lesnar will be to win it. Expect a short, clean match, with an F5 and a pinfall in the center of the ring.