*By Request*
Another week, another WrestleMania-related column request. I’m sorry, AEW diehards, but your company’s time to be my subject is returning again soon. We just happen to be in WrestleMania season, so that’s where the minds of many a wrestling fan are at the moment.
This week’s request was a simple one. A longtime reader of mine knows about my love for the NFL Draft, and for looking at the future of several sports to predict new stars and things of that nature. My track record with those sports speaks for itself, and you know all about it if you’ve been reading my work for years. This week, I have been tasked to look ahead as many years as I want and talk about wrestlers who will be future WrestleMania main eventers. No catches, no twists, no rules to follow. Just people who have never been in a WrestleMania main event that will do so at some point in the future.
The first thing I need to do is make it clear that the only match I consider to be a main event is the last match. We’ve all seen WWE promote “double” main events, “triple” main events, and so on. If it isn’t on last, I don’t count it as a main event, no matter how big the match is, and no matter how good the match is.
The next thing I need to do is point out the people who are already WrestleMania main eventers, so they won’t be included here. Here’s the entire list, in chronological order:
Hulk Hogan
Mr. T
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper
“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff
King Kong Bundy
Andre The Giant
“Macho Man” Randy Savage
“The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase
The Ultimate Warrior
Sgt. Slaughter
“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair
Bret “The Hitman” Hart
Yokozuna
Bam Bam Bigelow
Lawrence Taylor
“The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels
Sycho Sid
The Undertaker
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
The Rock
Triple H
Big Show
Mick Foley
Chris Jericho
Kurt Angle
Brock Lesnar
Chris Benoit
Batista
John Cena
Edge
Randy Orton
The Miz
Daniel Bryan
Roman Reigns
Seth Rollins
Ronda Rousey
Charlotte Flair
Becky Lynch
AJ Styles
Drew McIntyre
Sasha Banks
Bianca Belair
Kevin Owens
That’s it so far. A grand total of 43 names can say they have wrestled in the main event of WrestleMania.
From there, we have to look at WrestleMania 39, less than three weeks away. A few weeks ago, I predicted the WrestleMania card in a column, and the two picks I made for main events are still in play. If those two matches happen, we’re going to be adding four more names to the aforementioned list. I have The Usos defending their titles against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn as the main event of night one, which would add Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Sami Zayn to the group. The next night, I have Roman Reigns defending against Cody Rhodes as the main event, which would add Cody to the group, giving us a new total of 47 names.
Now… finally… it’s time to have fun with this. Is there anyone out there that I can see being added to that list of 47?
Of course there is.
The first name I’ll mention is someone I’ve already said will be a future WrestleMania main event player, and it could happen as soon as next year. He’s someone that is still young (he turns 26 this year) and learning the business (his debut match wasn’t even two-and-a-half years ago), but he has already accomplished a lot in his brief time in the business. Whether it’s as a face or a heel, I don’t know, but Bron Breakker is going to be a major star for years to come, barring injuries or any sort of unforeseen circumstances. We’ve seen the rumors that WWE may or may not be trying to force the NXT fans to turn their backs on Bron, perhaps in an attempt to manufacture a heel turn, and if we’re being honest with each other, a heel turn would be great for him. Even if it doesn’t happen soon, it would be a good way to get him to branch out a bit and do something other than the same character he’s played since making his NXT debut. It’s not that I don’t think he’ll be a main roster main event guy if he remains a face. I just think that a heel turn gives him a much better opportunity to shine.
The next name I want to mention might not even need to be mentioned here once WrestleMania rolls around next month. If The Usos vs Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens doesn’t get a main event spot this year, there’s another match I could certainly see getting the honor. One of the wrestlers in that second match already has a WrestleMania main event under their belt, but their opponent has made a steady rise, reaching the top of NXT and then being in every possible area of the main roster, from singles work to tag success, from shining as a face to doing great things as a heel. Even if I’m right about The Usos, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn this year, I don’t think Rhea Ripley will be denied for much longer. She has been on fire since joining The Judgment Day, finding the perfect balance between being a serious badass, capable of getting physical with the men, and being in a comedy role with a Dominik Mysterio “relationship” of some sort. After winning this year’s Royal Rumble, she didn’t choose the champion many of us expected her to, but if you’re in any sort of feud with Charlotte Flair at this time of year, you’re automatically in contention for a WrestleMania main event spot. We’ve seen Rhea and Charlotte square off at WrestleMania before, with Charlotte winning the NXT Women’s Title three years ago at 36, but this new version of Ripley’s character is miles ahead of where she was back then. She’s definitely deserving, but it’s something she’ll be rewarded with very soon if the main event spot doesn’t happen this year.
Let’s have some fun with the next name. This is someone who isn’t currently under WWE contract, but very well could be before 2023 comes to a close. When you ask for opinions on this wrestler, it seems like they’re either loved or hated, with no real in between. If they were to sign with WWE, a path to the top is something I could see happening, partly because they’re talented enough to do it, but also because I can’t see them signing in the first place without some sort of assurances put in place that it would be worth their time. If you haven’t figured it out already, I’m talking about none other than Kenny Omega. There is plenty of speculation floating around, but the closest thing we have to “facts” on the situation are as follows… Kenny’s contract with AEW was set to expire when the clock hit midnight on February 1st of this year, but he had some time added to his deal because of how long he was out with injuries. He missed nine months, so a maximum of nine months could be added, but there has been no word on just how much time the company tacked on. Of course, there has already been a ton of “he’ll sign with WWE at the end of the year and be a surprise entrant in the 2024 Royal Rumble” talk. No matter what, he probably isn’t going to WWE without some sort of guarantees, similar to how Cody Rhodes wasn’t going to return to WWE without some guarantees that he would be better off than he was in the days of Stardust. Can you imagine Kenny leaving the “security” of AEW and his Executive Vice President role to sign a WWE contract and lose random matches to Tony D’Angelo and Duke Hudson on episodes of NXT? I know I can’t. By the way, this isn’t me predicting that Omega WILL be heading to WWE when his contract with AEW expires. This is more of me saying that it is certainly a possibility, and if it does happen, expect him to be treated as a really big deal, which might mean reaching the top of the mountain.
Next, let’s look at the current Smackdown roster. There, you will find someone who has been successful all over the world. Germany, England, Japan, the United States, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Canada… all places that this man looked dominant, and that was before he was ever under WWE contract. Since making his debut under the WWE umbrella in early-2019, all he’s done is break modern company records and has been a larger-than-life horror movie villain. My clues, of course, are pointing at the current Intercontinental Champion, Gunther. He continues to be counted on to have Match Of The Week contenders every single week, against opponents of all shapes and sizes. His current run as the Intercontinental Champion is currently at the nine-month mark. When this column goes live to the world, it will be the 276th day of his reign, making it the longest Intercontinental Title reign since Mr. Perfect had a 280-day reign from November 19th, 1990 to August 26th, 1991. By the time WrestleMania rolls around, the reign will also have beaten Greg “The Hammer” Valentine’s reign from September 24th, 1984 to July 6th, 1985. If Gunther drops the title at WrestleMania, it will be the fifth longest reign in Intercontinental Title history. That just tells me how much the company believes in him. The man moved to America, got himself into the best physical condition of his career, and he is reaping the benefits of it. By this time next year, I fully expect Gunther to be involved in a major, upper-tier marquee WrestleMania match, if not a main event match outright.
The final name I want to mention here is a popular pick for something like this. Even though he has been a tag team wrestler for 99.99% of the time he has been under WWE contract, it sure seems like people think a singles breakout could happen much sooner than later. It’s pretty easy to picture Montez Ford being an absolute star as a singles competitor. He has that “star aura” surrounding him, and he carries himself as such. His in-ring work continues to be among the most fun of anyone on the WWE roster, with his otherworldly athletic ability on display regularly. As I said, it’s easy to picture tremendous singles success for Montez. It’s also easy to picture WWE running with a “power couple” story with Montez and Bianca Belair similar to what we’ve seen recently with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch, with both at the top of their divisions at the same time. If you’re not sure of his singles future, look no further than Elimination Chamber and his performance there. He had a huge spotlight on him, and he did an amazing job, with that live crowd enjoying every minute of it. Sometimes, the simple options are right there in front of you.
While I do think there are more than five names that can be mentioned, I’ll put the cap on it right here. Now, it’s your turn. What do you think of the chances that any of the five names I mentioned make it to a WrestleMania main event one day in the future? Are there other names out there that you can see in that role? As always, hit me up in the comments section below, or on Twitter (@HustleTheSavage), and let me know what’s on your mind.
Weekly Power Rankings
Jey Uso’s Decision: For what seems like the millionth time, we saw something happen with The Bloodline that we KNEW was coming, but it still made us react emotionally nonetheless. Every rumor out there has said The Usos will be facing Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at WrestleMania this year. Yet, there we were, marking out when Jey Uso walked away from his real brother and hugged his new brother on Raw. Yes! A minute later, Jey hit Sami with a superkick, and we were upset all over again! The storyline is taking us on a ride like no other story in wrestling history has been able to do. Even after Raw, there are conspiracy theories and speculation about whether or not Jey really “turned” on Sami, and if it’s just a ploy and part of a plan to destroy The Bloodline from the inside. Everything said and done by these guys is studied, rewatched, talked-about, and broken down like it was a Zapruder film. Time will tell what the next plot twist is.
Bryan Danielson’s Post-Revolution Promo: A masterfully done backstage promo that saw a very emotional Danielson, minutes after his loss to MJF, discussing what was going on in his head at the end of the match and just what kind of toll things are taking (and could potentially take in the future) on him and his family. It was raw, but what made it work was that it was probably rooted in the truth, at least somewhat. We’ve heard Danielson make comments like that in interviews through the years, and we know the history he has with injuries that could possibly affect him for the rest of his life.
Rey Mysterio: He was officially announced as the first member of this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame class. We’ve seen people enter the WWE Hall Of Fame while they’re still active in-ring competitors, but that “active” tag is just a technicality. Sure, they might wrestle once a year for WWE, but that’s it. Even someone like Titus O’Neil, who was the recipient of the Warrior Award in 2021 (for the Class Of 2020), hadn’t wrestled more than ten times on television or pay-per-view since 2018. Rey is still a regular performer for WWE, so it’s wild to see him get the call this soon. He’s one of the greatest, and most influential, in-ring performers in the history of the business, so he’s more than deserving. As an added bonus, Konnan has been chosen to induct him, and giving Konnan a live microphone could be quite the roller coaster ride.
Kevin Owens vs Solo Sikoa: A nice, hard-hitting affair that continues the story of Kevin Owens going after The Bloodline. Works for me.
Jey Uso’s Explanation: After Jey attacked Sami Zayn on Raw, there was a lot of excitement surrounding Jey’s appearance on Smackdown. What would he have to say? He started things off by saying what we all know. Above all else, he is loyal to his twin brother. He said that he didn’t want to do what he did, but that he had to. One thing he never mentioned, however, was any sort of loyalty to Roman Reigns. This, of course, made the aforementioned speculation and conspiracy theories go even further into overdrive. Exciting times.
Bron Breakker & The Creed Brothers vs Jinder Mahal & Indus Sher: Three big, beefy dudes on one side of the ring, with three big, beefy dudes on the other side of the ring. No frills. Just people beating the hell out of other people and trying to throw them all around the building. Fun stuff here.
John Cena’s “Burial” Of Austin Theory: It sure seems like social media was torn on this. On one hand, Cena eviscerated Theory in his promo, completely tearing him to shreds. It was entertaining, especially to those who are big fans of John Cena and/or big haters of Austin Theory. On the other hand, there’s the line of thinking that “burying” your opponent on the mic, whether it’s a work or a shoot, isn’t beneficial. You know the deal… it’s not a big deal if you beat an opponent that sucks, but it’s a terrible look for you if someone who sucks defeats you. The general thought here is that Theory will beat Cena at WrestleMania in something of a “passing the torch” moment, so this could end up backfiring on Cena. What matters now is that this was a fun promo segment.
Sami Zayn vs Jimmy Uso: Fun match, but the match itself won’t be remembered in the grand scheme of things because of everything that happened when it was over. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because every single step takes us to our destination, even though some steps are bigger than others.
Legado Del Fantasma vs The Judgment Day: It’s a fun twist to see LDF working on the face side of the fence. I wish it would lead to more wins, but it’s not like they were winning a ton as heels, either. The story being told of the level of respect that Santos Escobar has for Rey Mysterio is a good one. Sure, it might end up being some sort of swerve, and a lot of people seem to think that’s the case, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.
Drew McIntyre vs Xavier Woods vs LA Knight vs Karrion Kross vs Sheamus: The match was given a good amount of time to work with. It featured five very motivated workers with something to prove. A big reward was on the line, with the winner getting an Intercontinental Title shot at WrestleMania, and the losers having an uphill battle to even make it on the WrestleMania card. It ended up being a really good match. Funny how that works.
Orange Cassidy vs Jay Lethal: I don’t care what they change the name of the All-Atlantic Title to, nor do I care about why they changed it. This is your weekly mention that this title continues to mean nothing, even though Orange Cassidy continues to be on a hot streak with his matches and performances.
Roxanne Perez vs Meiko Satomura: If you liked the post-match stuff, that’s fine. I won’t hate you for it. Personally, I really dislike those types of angles, as they continue to make real injuries mean less and less. At least the match was really good. Beating one of the greatest women’s wrestlers of all-time is quite the feather in Roxanne’s cap, building her NXT Women’s Title reign up. It’s good creative, and easy to do, which makes the fact that it doesn’t happen often enough baffling to me.
Riho vs Nyla Rose: No matter how many times these two face each other, I can’t help but think back to their first match. October 2nd, 2019. It was the debut episode of Dynamite, and it was an electric night that made pro wrestling history. Riho and Nyla work really well together, and this match was no different.
The Waller Effect: Good promos from both Grayson Waller and Shawn Michaels, which the live crowd ate up. Common sense should’ve told us all that HBK wasn’t coming out of retirement (again) for a match on NXT programming, but a lot of folks still bought in, perhaps simply because they want to see Michaels again. Instead, we’ll be getting Johnny Gargano returning to NXT, and I love that. One, 2023 Johnny Gargano is going to have a much better match than 2023 Shawn Michaels. Two, there’s the built-in story of Waller ruining Gargano’s “goodbye” to NXT in December of 2021. I’ll take it.
Johnny Gargano vs Finn Balor: While some of the writing and stories behind Gargano’s return to WWE haven’t always been the highest quality, his matches continue to be a lot of fun. He could be a major player on the main roster one day, but again… some of that writing… sheesh. I’m not close to throwing in the towel or anything, because there’s still plenty of time for things to change, but change is exactly what needs to happen.
“Reach For The Sky” Ladder Match: After the passing of Jay Briscoe, it was only natural to eventually speculate on what would happen to the RoH Tag Team Titles that he and his brother, Mark, held. What we got was just about as perfect a solution as there could possibly be. The Briscoes have had some incredible Ladder Matches in their careers. Throwing in Jay’s “reach for the sky” catchphrase was a beautiful touch. Putting some of the top tag teams in the game today in the match is only going to make things better. The Lucha Brothers being the first announced team in the match immediately makes me happy, because I also know what those two are capable of when ladders are involved.
Big E, One Year Later: Would I love to see Big E make a return to the ring? Of course I would. However, I love seeing how seemingly at peace he is with everything. He has made it very clear that he would like to return to the ring, but also that he won’t be angry or bitter if that isn’t in the cards. There are a lot of retired wrestlers who just seem so unhappy with their lives, taking shots at the business that left them behind and the names they once worked with. It’s very refreshing to see someone like E with a lot of love and joy in his heart and soul.
Powerhouse Hobbs: After Wardlow won the TNT Championship at Revolution, I complained about how often the title has changed hands in its brief history, saying that there was a good chance it would change hands again on Dynamite. Sure enough, Hobbs won the title, marking the 18th (counting an interim) total reign in less than 34 months. Starting with Sammy Guevara’s first reign as champion in September 2021, there have been 13 overall reigns in 15 months, which is ridiculous. Congratulations to Hobbs, who is deserving of this push. Just don’t get used to seeing him with the title, as he’ll probably lose it by Double Or Nothing in May, if not even sooner.
Blackpool Combat Club: When William Regal left AEW, it really did a number on this group, especially with the weird way his exit was put together on-screen. Claudio Castagnoli and Wheeler Yuta were doing their thing in Ring Of Honor, while Jon Moxley and Bryan Danielson were doing theirs in AEW. Then, it’s like Danielson was quietly removed from the group. He hasn’t wrestled a match with any of his stablemates in over two months now. Something needed to happen with the group, and that something is apparently a heel turn. I’m not sure if it can save them, but it does make them more interesting than they’ve been in a long time. I’m very interested to see how a heel Moxley is unleashed on the AEW roster, that’s for sure.
The Great Muta: According to the rumor and innuendo, Muta is going to be a member of this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame class. I’m going to need all of you mouth breathers to stop the “Wut tytul did Moota win in WWE agen?” nonsense because you sound like you should be pushed down a flight of stairs. You know damn well that type of thing is completely irrelevant for this particular Hall Of Fame, and that the “WWE” part of “WWE Hall Of Fame” is more of a marketing thing. Keiji Muto is one of the greatest pro wrestlers that the country of Japan has ever given to the world, and his nearly 40-year career has seen him become one of the most influential names the business has ever seen, too. He’s more than worthy of being inducted. Quit crying.
This Week’s Playlist: “Standing Room Only” by Tim McGraw… “MOTTO” by NF… “Action” by G Perico… “Ask G4” by G Perico… “Lifestyle” by G Perico… “Mind Body Soul” by G Perico… “Everything Is Fine!” by Periphery… “Through The Depths” by DevilDriver… “The Ghost Of You” by The Veer Union… “Killing Time” by Devour The Day… “Outset” by Solitaris… “Hand Of God” by In Gloom… “Scummy” by Crucial Conflict… “2 Bogus” by Crucial Conflict & Three 6 Mafia… “Often” by The Weeknd… “Welcome To America” by Lecrae… “Sh!t” by Future… “Ice Cream Paint Job” by Dorrough… “Never Scared” by Bone Crusher, T.I. & Killer Mike… “Hood Hop” by J-Kwon… “Sinister Mob” by E-40 & Nate Dogg… “100 Bars Of Crack” by Ya Boy… “The One Time In Houston” by Wale… “The Need To Know” by Wale & SZA… “The Matrimony” by Wale & Usher