Latest WrestleMania 33 rumors - UPDATED in Post 817

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From the newest Wrestling Observer

Samoa Joe made his main roster debut in the final segment of RAW doing an attack on Seth Rollins just when it appeared Rollins and HHH were going to go at it. The plan was to set up Rollins vs. Joe at the Fast Lane PPV (2/22 in Milwaukee) and for that to lead to Rollins vs. HHH. Joe threw Rollins around outside the ring and more inside the ring. The injury, believed to be a torn MCL, happened as Joe took Rollins down to deliver his choke finisher and Rollins legs were flailing around rather than planted and his right knee went out. That was the same knee that he had reconstructive surgery on in 2015, which caused him to miss his scheduled 2016 WrestleMania match with HHH. Rollins was getting an evaluation on the knee on 2/1 in Birmingham and the early word was that he’d be out about eight weeks, meaning that Mania was possible but not definite. Obviously he’ll want to do it under any circumstances when it’s that close of a call but WWE these days, for legal reasons, is far more cautious about throwing talent back into the ring before they are ready than has been the case historically. So this is the current WrestleMania lineup with notes: *Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar for the Universal title. Goldberg should win the title at Fast Lane, the next show he’s appearing on. WrestleMania is the final match of Goldberg’s current contract, but given that he’s been a big success so far, there is no reason that can’t be renewed. Nevertheless, given the way the build has gone, one would expect Lesnar to come out as champion. And if that’s the case, the speculation would be on who he loses it to, with the latest pushes indicate Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman leading the pack. *Undertaker vs. Reigns. They shot the angle in the Rumble, where Reigns eliminated Undertaker. As noted before, Reigns will be booed out of the building against Undertaker. It was noted to us that Vince McMahon had been wanting to make this match for some time. With Undertaker’s condition the way it is, this could have been the last chance to do it. There is the idea of a generational passing of the torch. That could mean a Reigns win and a heel run with the idea the fans turned on him, since long-term the goal is still to be the face of the company. It could mean an Undertaker win as a way to humanize Reigns, and get endorsed by Undertaker (which also could come if Reigns wins and they are dead set against the heel turn even though the crowd reactions at least on TV’s and PPV’s will continue to be strongly negative). Undertaker was clearly not in shape in the Rumble. From what we understand, even though he did very little in the match, his hip was hurting badly after his recent surgery. He needs hip replacement surgery, but he’s been putting it off until he ends his career. Hopefully with two more months he can be in good enough shape to be able to do a solid lengthy singles match. *HHH vs. Seth Rollins. Obviously this is in jeopardy right now. Plans for an alternate feud for Triple H were discussed earlier today. When we have more information about those discussions we will share the information. *Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title. The first part of the planned set up came through with Orton winning. Wyatt is scheduled to win the Elimination Chamber match and win the title at this stage I can’t see that changing. Orton is to be the babyface in this program. Either way, it’s likely the two will continue their program after WrestleMania, which also takes A.J. Styles out of the title picture for now. *Chris Jericho vs. Kevin Owens. No word if the U.S. title will be at stake. Jericho’s run was supposed to originally end a long time ago, but things worked out well for him and he’s inked new short-term deals. He does have some concerts scheduled for 5/27 to 6/9, but that’s it, so it’s not a lock he’s leaving after WrestleMania as it once appeared. *John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse. This is notable in a lot of ways. When this match came out, a ton of people internally were rolling their eyes about it. On one hand, it does feel like a waste for Cena, who was originally to face Undertaker, and there was also talk of Samoa Joe and others. But there is also a lot of talk that it would be Nikki Bella’s last match (there are reports of that but nobody we’ve asked about it internally either had any knowledge or confirmed it). If so, you can see her wanting to go out with her boyfriend at WrestleMania and see him maybe wanting that as well. Miz has done a great job of late and the Miz & Maryse couple are a near main event level act. With the storyline where Natalya pushed that “John will never marry you,” I keep thinking this could lead to a proposal, and if that’s the case, in the big picture, this match makes sense. I don’t know that’s the case. That would be a far bigger thing as far as something memorable than anything, even a great match with A.J. Styles, that Cena could be to the majority of fans. *Big Show vs. Shaquille O’Neal. It really doesn’t matter what they do here. O’Neal should lose since it’s not like he’s coming back and Show is, but in these types of situations, the rule of thumb is to put the celebrity over because it’s all about the post-show coverage, and to the real world, clips of Shaq winning play better than Show winning. Show is 45 years old and his winning or losing means nothing in the long run. *Charlotte vs. Bayley vs. Nia Jax vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title. They are pushing the Charlotte PPV winning streak hard. WrestleMania would be the time to lose it. Bayley is obviously the person to win it. To me, that’s actually too soon for the story, but WrestleMania is so obviously the place to do it. Plus it would enable a Bayley vs. Banks match at SummerSlam in Brooklyn. But given the work Charlotte has done in building up the value of the title in recent months, and her presence on interviews which none of the other women have, it’s hard for me to see her out of the title picture for any length of time. The other match that is rumored that looks likely, but not confirmed is A.J. Styles vs. Shane McMahon. That pretty much takes care of most of the show. There could be an IC title match with Dean Ambrose. With Miz in the Cena match, that puts either Baron Corbin or Dolph Ziggler as the leading contenders for it. There are also both brand tag team titles and the Smackdown women’s title. Corbin also makes sense in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal, where Braun Strowman, at one time scheduled to win it last year, would be the favorite. As far as top guys go, with the exception of Finn Balor, that seems to take care of everyone. credit - Dave Meltzer