Posted February 6, 2021 by Austin Bumpus1 Comment MMA/Wrestling

WrestleMania 37: Ideal card for 2021’s Grandest Stage of Them All

With just a few months to go until the grandest stage that WWE has to offer, fans can officially say they’re on the road to WrestleMania 37.

For the second straight year, WrestleMania will be spread out over two nights, with half of the card taking place on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11. For the first time in what will have been 13 months, however, actual fans will be in attendance for the duration of the event.

Following 2021’s Men’s and Women’s Royal Rumble matches, the puzzle pieces are starting to fall into place, with matches starting to come to fruition for the Tampa-hosted WrestleMania.

With Edge pulling off the marathon to win the Men’s Royal Rumble and Bianca Belair solidifying a title shot with her Women’s Royal Rumble victory, the first two competitors for WrestleMania 37 have been locked in. But, who else will join them, and how will the weekend’s matches come about?

A little more than two months away from the Grandest Stage of Them All, we took a shot at putting together the ideal card for the entirety of WrestleMania 37:

Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Edge

This one may not be the smartest approach, but it’s the biggest match that WWE could create as it relates to Edge’s Royal Rumble win.

The better play may be to have Edge take on Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship and stay on Raw, but the ideal move from a fan’s perspective would be to pit Spear vs. Spear, and put two of the company’s best storytellers in the ring at the same time.

Have this match cap off the entire event, potentially ending Sunday on a high note if you wanted Edge to take out the Tribal Chief for a feel-good story. Or, put it as Saturday night’s main event if you want Reigns to add onto his list of victims on his terrorizing title reign.

Either way, this one seems like the best idea for the weekend’s big-feel match.

WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre (c) vs. Sheamus vs. Keith Lee

This trio has teased a match throughout the last few months on Raw, specifically when Sheamus was a face and wasn’t betraying his best friend Drew McIntyre. Now, there’s a path that could lead them to a main event spot at WrestleMania 37.

It looks like Drew McIntyre and Sheamus may square off for the title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view ahead of ‘Mania weekend. At the same time, the potential is there for Keith Lee to compete in (and win) an Elimination Chamber match to earn a title shot at the Show of Shows.

A controversial ending to McIntyre’s title defense against Sheamus, either by disqualification or a dirty win for Sheamus to win the title, could allow for the duo to want to run it back at WrestleMania 37, with Lee having to be added to the match because of his Elimination Chamber victory.

It may not have the star power to main event either night of WrestleMania weekend, but it would be a solid match between three workhorses for WWE’s biggest prize.

SmackDown Women’s Championship: Sasha Banks (c) vs. Bianca Belair

Having each Royal Rumble winner challenge one brand’s champions may not seem like smart booking, but it would make a lot of sense from a television deal standpoint.

With WWE seemingly putting out its best product on FOX these days, having each Royal Rumble winner choose to take on the Universal Champion and SmackDown Women’s Champion sounds like ratings gold for Vince McMahon and company.

So, going “face vs. face” with Sasha Banks defending her title against a younger version of herself in Bianca Belair would be the year’s equivalent to the star-studded match between Charlotte and Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.

Have Belair’s Cinderella story put an end to Banks’ title reign would open things up in all sorts of ways, whether it’s a feud with Bayley, a heel turn from Banks, or even a heel turn from Belair to help out SmackDown’s faces. Either way, it seems like a lock for WrestleMania 37.

Raw Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss will likely have a greater purpose at WrestleMania 37 in a match that we’ll discuss later on. But, she’s been pulling double-duty for months at this point in both male and female storylines, so it doesn’t seem nuts to put her in the Raw Women’s Championship match against Asuka.

Raw is suffering from a lack of female heels at the moment, with Lacey Evans currently leading the charge in a feud with Charlotte over the love of Ric Flair. So, WWE could give “The Fiend” storyline a two-night spotlight if they wanted to space things out appropriately.

Unfortunately, while it may be the ideal match for the card, there isn’t an ideal outcome.

Bliss with the Raw Women’s Championship is similar to The Fiend with the WWE Championship, and the situation would almost require a triple threat match (potentially with Nikki Cross) at some point to take the belt off of her.

Asuka beating Bliss, however, could kill the latter’s momentum, and impact another match on the card, as well.

It may be a lose-lose, but Bliss in a major spotlight on her own seems like a win in our book.

NXT Championship: Finn Balor (c) vs. Karrion Kross

It looks like there won’t be an NXT TakeOver event on WrestleMania weekend for the second year in a row, but it shouldn’t stop the brand from getting some shine at WrestleMania 37.

As much as they’ve teased Edge competing for the NXT Championship in one of the main events, it would behoove WWE to put Finn Balor in a match against a fellow NXT star, and potentially put Karrion Kross over in the process.

Kross could win back the belt he never lost, and allow Triple H and company to go down the route they planned on before he injured his shoulder in 2020. Then, Balor could get a quick reset after the dust clears, and could work with some young and upcoming stars without the pressure of the NXT Championship.

Firefly Fun House Match: “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

This one seems like a guarantee at this point, though the actual kind of match could change depending on what happens with Bray Wyatt’s character.

WWE has teased a new version of “The Fiend” after Randy Orton literally burned the old version to ashes at the end of 2020. What better way to hammer home the new gimmick than to give it some shine in a cinematic match at WrestleMania 37?

Have Wyatt work his Firefly Fun House magic with Orton like he did with John Cena at WrestleMania 36, and cap off the two’s long feud in one of the biggest matches of the weekend. It could easily main event the Saturday night card like last year’s match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker, or could serve as a highlight in the middle of the Sunday night card.

Intercontinental Championship Match: Big E (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Cesaro

As much as fans would want Big E in a Universal Championship match against Roman Reigns, it seems like WWE has been putting Shinsuke Nakamura and Cesaro over to set them up for a big match at WrestleMania 37.

If none of the three are involved in the Universal Championship match, pitting them against each other as a WrestleMania 37-opening match for the Intercontinental Championship could allow them all to shine in a different way, and spark some fresh feuds in the process.

Any combination of Big E vs. Cesaro, Big E vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, or Cesaro vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is sure to provide fireworks, so this could easily be an underrated candidate for the match of the weekend.

United States Championship: Bobby Lashley (c) vs. Riddle

This feud had been going for a long time even as the Royal Rumble came and went, but it seems like WWE wants to put the United States Championship on Riddle at some point in the first quarter of 2021.

What better way than to stick him in a match with a fellow MMA veteran in Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 37, potentially in a submission match, and give Riddle a Cena-esque moment a la WrestleMania 20 in front of thousands of fans chanting “Bro!”

SmackDown Tag Team Championships: Dolph Ziggler and Bobby Roode (c) vs. The Street Profits

The Street Profits will already have a big weekend on their hand as Montez Ford’s wife Bianca Belair gets her first title shot on the main roster. But, they may have a big match of their own to look forward to as they look to regain the SmackDown Tag Team Championships.

The duo could easily regain the tag team titles ahead of WrestleMania 37, but holding off on the moment could provide for a massive pop in front of fans down in Tampa.

Triple Threat Ladder Match for the Raw Tag Team Championships: The Hurt Business (c) vs. The New Day vs. Retribution

Retribution seems like a failed project at this point, but Raw’s writers seem to be doing their best to keep them in the limelight. If they wanted to put them in a big spot at WrestleMania 37, a triple threat match for the Raw Tag Team Championships is the right way to go.

Get some redemption for the COVID-19-impacted Triple Threat Tag Team Ladder Match from WrestleMania 36, and let athletic guys like Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods show out in a big way to give the fans a show.

Retribution would likely contribute minimally as the match’s muscle, but the team could finally pick up some gold for the first time if they wanted to use the number’s game to their advantage.

Seth Rollins vs. Daniel Bryan

While Daniel Bryan’s mission has seemingly been to put over underutilized talents like Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown, it looks like he may be left without a proper dance partner for WrestleMania 37 as a result.

Enter Seth Rollins, who has a wide variety of options for WWE officials to think about as they go down the Road to WrestleMania. If Rollins doesn’t wind up in an Intercontinental Championship match or against the likes of Cesaro in another feud, pitting him against Bryan could give fans a dream match to open up one of the weekend’s two nights in stellar fashion.

Kevin Owens vs. Jey Uso

Similar to Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens may fall to the undercard as a result of a series of losses in the months leading up to WrestleMania 37. But, like Bryan, hee could still end up in a great match in the process.

Owens’ has had a side-rival of sorts in his battles with Universal Champion Roman Reigns, with Reigns’ cousin Jey Uso serving as a thorn in K.O.’s side for months.

Sticking Owens in a match with Uso could lead to one of the weekend’s underrated gems, like Owens’ battle with Seth Rollins last year, and could allow for a Jimmy Uso return if he gets cleared in time for WrestleMania weekend.

The Miz and John Morrison vs. Damian Priest and Bad Bunny

Vince McMahon likes to feature celebrities at WrestleMania, and it looks like superstar recording artist Bad Bunny will be this year’s special guest when fans take over Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

If Bad Bunny isn’t named the weekend’s guest host like Rob Gronkowski last year, a celebrity match against The Miz and John Morrison with Damian Priest as his tag team partner could give everyone involved a nice boost for WrestleMania weekend.

Charlotte Flair vs. Lacey Evans

There’s still the chance that Charlotte Flair moves on to greener pastures and has a WrestleMania rematch with Asuka for a championship, a few years after their first battle at WrestleMania 35.

But, in this card, Flair gets thrown to the side for Alexa Bliss as a result of The Queen’s feud with Lacey Evans, and it hopefully ends with a Figure Eight victory as a filler match at WrestleMania 37.

What do you want to see at WrestleMania 37? Let us know by following @SOTSports on Twitter or by liking our Facebook page!