Let’s be honest. Wrestlemania is a show that often hangs its hat on the moments, not the matches. While there have been some classics in the past like Savage-Steamboat, Undertaker-Shawn Michaels, and even Stone Cold-Bret Hart, the moments are what we all remember most.
Hulk Hogan body slamming Andre the Giant. Shawn Michaels telling Ric Flair ‘I’m sorry. I love you’ before super kicking him and ending Flair’s career. Brock Lesnar ending Undertaker’s undefeated Wrestlemania streak. Daniel Bryan winning the WWE title after beating three men in one night. Edge spearing Jeff Hardy in mid-air. These moments are some that define WWE and the sports entertainment business as a whole. So when it comes to Wrestlemania 33, while we might have a potentially great match or two on the card, the moments are going to be what makes this event great.
Beginning on Friday night with 2017 Hall of Fame ceremony and culminating on Tuesday evening, there’s almost a necessity for the WWE to put out some great stuff for everyone to enjoy over Wrestlemania weekend. You can’t just continue to roll out some of the same old stuff with a lack of surprises. WWE essentially did that already for the Royal Rumble, and it didn’t go over too well.
The easiest and possibly most effective way WWE can help moments happen is bringing someone new into the fold. WWE usually brings someone up from their NXT developmental territory, or they bring back a star who has fully recovered from an injury or they have a big name from the past come back and get some of that nostalgic love they once had in their era.
We’ve seen the WWE use this platform of Wrestlemania weekend to elevate superstars before. X-Pac completed his return to WWE with a new and improved character as he officially joined the iconic DX stable in 1998. Goldberg finally made his long-awaited WWE debut in 2003 and hit The Rock, the biggest heel in the company at that time, with a spear. Brock Lesnar made his WWE debut in 2002 on the Monday night RAW after Wrestlemania X8, and after a brief hiatus, he returned to the company ten years later. After Wrestlemania 28 in 2012, the former UFC heavyweight champion Lesnar came down to the ring and hit John Cena with an F5.
But the surprises on RAW arent’t limited to just returns. Debuts also happen on this special show. Paige debuted in 2014 and went on to win the Diva’s title from A.J. Lee, and she was joined by the Lucha Dragons tag team and high-flyer Neville. Even last year we got a handful of surprises on Wrestlemania and the RAW after it. Baron Corbin made his WWE debut at Wrestlemania 32 and won the ‘Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.’ Cesaro returned from a shoulder injury, plus NXT stars Apollo Crews, Enzo Amore, and Big Cass all debuted on the main roster on that same show. The pops on Raw alone make Wrestlemania weekend worthwhile. Plus, for the first time ever, we get five straight days of live WWE entertainment centered around Wrestlemania with Smackdown Live airing on Tuesday. It adds a whole new twist and brings us another day to potentially bring in some new talent or have once forgotten legends return.
Honorable mention
Tye Dillinger
On of the most ‘over’ wrestlers in the NXT domain right now is without a doubt ‘The Perfect 10’, Tye Dillinger. He’s been with the company for almost a decade under his developmental contract, and he’s been a good soldier for them as they built the developmental brand. But let’s not kid ourselves, Tye is only getting older. While guys like Bobby Roode, Shinsuke Nakamura or Eric Young are older than the 36-year-old Dillinger, Tye has been with the company longer than all three combined. It’s almost a miracle he’s been with the WWE for so long without a call-up until earlier this year. He was, of course, the tenth entrant in the 2017 Royal Rumble, the only relative ‘surprise’ in the match and the fans erupted. To this day, you can hear fans chant ’10’ whenever there’s an opportunity to count during WWE events. He could be a surprise entrant in the ‘Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal’ on Sunday. Especially since he’s in an eight-person tag team match at NXT Takeover: Orlando so it’s not like he’s going to be doing a 30-minute technical bout. The Smackdown brand has Tye’s name written all over it as a possible surprise debut on the first Smackdown Live on Tuesday following Wrestlemania.
Emma
Where does one begin with Emma? She was off television for a while and started to show vignettes about her makeover into ‘Emmalina.’ After 17 weeks of video packages, “Emmalina” finally showed up on Raw and said he would not be doing the Emmalina remake and promised that she’d be back as Emma. Here we are just a few weeks later, and we’re still getting these teaser videos. There have been reports that the company wasn’t sold on Emma becoming Emmalina and that could be a reason for her going back to her original gimmick. But we haven’t seen her on WWE television for about a year now, and her last pay-per-view performance was at Wrestlemania 32. Could we see her playing a part in either of the women’s matches on Sunday at Wrestlemania or possibly on RAW or will we just get more video packages? I pray for the former as opposed to the latter.
Tyler Bate
The first ever WWE United Kingdom champion Tyler Bate is currently in Orlando, the home of Wrestlemania 33, participating in indie events for different promotions. He reportedly put up his WWE UK title in a match on the ‘Progress’ promotion card earlier in the weekend. So he’s out there, along with fellow WWE United Kingdom tournament participants Pete Dunne and Trent Seven. The 20-year-old Bate could join fellow international talent Tian Bing as one of the WWE’s foreign developmental talents that could enter into the ‘Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.’ It’s unlikely we see Bate this weekend, and the WWE is probably holding his debut until the UK tour which usually happens in June. But beyond him, Pete Dunne is someone you should keep your eye on. Dunne shined during the tournament, and his role as a heel is so just so good that they might just give him a shot, even before the champ.
This one's for you, @TripleH
With love, from @PeteDunneYxB @trentseven @Tyler_Bate #ProgressOrlando pic.twitter.com/8Voz2dcpmX
— The Tag Rope (@tagropemag) March 31, 2017
Elias Samson
In kayfabe storyline, ‘The Drifter’ was recently ‘fired’ after losing a ‘loser leaves NXT’ match to a newly returned Kassius Ohno. While Elias Samson is mostly likely not done with the company, it could mean we get him to make a debut very soon. But the interesting wrinkle to this possible call-up is his signature guitar was destroyed by Ohno following their match on the recent episode of NXT, which was reportedly recorded on March 8th. So he’s had some time to plan. Elias could undergo a re-packaging into a new character or even just get a new guitar. Either way, anticipate Elias Samson to pop-up on your screen in some capacity this Wrestlemania weekend. If not, stick to the reports of his debut coming later in April.
(Minor note. Could the much maligned Hulk Hogan come back? Who knows. The legend himself denied the rumors recently on Twitter but some reports state Hulkster is returning.)
Maniacs I have no plans to be at WM33,I will be at Hogans Beach Shop Orlando on International Dr,March 29/April 3D-? See u at HBS! BrotherHH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) March 17, 2017
Possible surprises for Wrestlemania 33
10. Kelly Kelly
The former Diva’s champion debuted in 2006 and lasted about six years with the company, highlighted by her title runs in 2011. She was released in 2012 citing a neck injury as the reason she wanted to step away. In February of this year, she returned to the company and officially signed on as an ambassador adding that she would be interested in getting back into the ring for a ‘mini-run.’ She will be in Orlando for Wrestlemania events, signing autographs at WWE Axxess and also attending the Hall of Fame ceremony. You could almost guarantee she’ll pop up in some way, but the length of what she does will be up in the air. Will her mini-run start now on Raw or Smackdown following ‘Mania? Only time will tell.
9. The Revival
The heel duo of Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder have been kicking ass and taking names in NXT for over a year now. They’ve gone toe to toe with their longtime rivals #DIY, including a match of the year candidate at NXT Takeover: Toronto, and also chopped it up against Enzo and Cass, American Alpha and held their own against the makeshift tag team of Samoa Joe and Finn Balor. Since October 2015 NXT Takeover: Respect, The Revival have been on every NXT special in some shape of form. Besides Asuka, they are the only two NXT members from that card that have yet to get called up to the main roster.
They do have a Wrestlemania weekend match at NXT Takeover: Orlando against #DIY and the Authors of Pain in a triple threat tag team championship match. But it’s about time for the team formerly known as ‘The Mechanics’ to take their talents to the main roster. RAW seems like a good place to put them given the group of solid tag teams on the Smackdown roster already that are underused like ‘Breezango’ or even former NXT tag team champions, the Ascension.
8. Erick Rowan
Erick Rowan has not been on WWE television for months now due to a real-life injury. He basically departed as soon as the Randy Orton and Bray Wyatt feud started to get going. He hasn’t been on television, and it appears Wrestlemania is when he’s poised to make his return.
Rowan has been posting very cryptic, or downright creepy, videos on his twitter and youtube pages possibly alluding to a potential return coming soon.
— Erick Rowan (@ERICKROWAN) February 28, 2017
Hide and Seek… pic.twitter.com/ttTjBChnkq
— Erick Rowan (@ERICKROWAN) March 29, 2017
Long-term, Rowan coming back won’t be shaking up the roster in any major way long-term. But his possible Wrestlemania interference during the Wyatt-Orton WWE Championship match could change some things going forward for all parties involved. He is cleared to return to action, and he’s expected to re-join the Wyatt family, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer newsletter.
7. Asuka
The reigning NXT women’s champion has been dominant since she won the title nearly a year ago. Her top feuds were against Bayley, Mickie James and Nia Jax but the three have been called up to the main roster over the last year. The women in the NXT developmental territory are nowhere near the level that Asuka is and mostly due in part to her pre-WWE career. So what could be next? A possible NXT women’s title vacancy and debut on Wrestlemania or Smackdown to challenge for a women’s title there could be her next move. It legitimizes her as a dominant champ in NXT, probably the best NXT women’s champion of all-time, and then validates the reasoning behind her getting a shot to the top of the division. Asuka’s talent is among the best in the company right now, male or female, and much like other NXT superstars on this list, it’s beyond time for her to take that next step.
6. Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin was originally slated to come back to WWE television in July of 2016 following the brand split, and he was going to make his return to Smackdown. Benjamin, a former WWE Intercontinental and tag team champion, had many fans anticipating his return. He made his mark as a very technical wrestler, notably when he was a member of ‘Team Angle’ alongside his partner Charlie Haas and leader of the stable, Kurt Angle. Benjamin is a fantastic worker even though he is 41 and his athleticism is still top of the line. But he suffered a shoulder injury and announced he wouldn’t be returning to WWE at that time. Just about eight months removed from his injury, Benjamin said that he had been cleared.
After 9 of the hardest months of my life, I'm happy to announce I have been OFFICIALLY CLEARED to return to action. Effective Immediately!
— Shelton J. Benjamin (@Sheltyb803) March 30, 2017
Benjamin is in Orlando doing some events, and it’s expected that he will be at the show. Could he possibly do a surprise return during the Andre Battle Royal to maybe start a feud with Dolph Ziggler or Apollo Crews? Only time will tell, but Benjamin could be poised for a potential title run if the storyline is played out right.
5. Finn Balor
The Demon King left New Japan Pro Wrestling and came into WWE white-hot dating back to his time with NXT starting in 2014. He won the NXT Championship and had some classic battles with Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens. Some have regarded Balor as the greatest NXT superstar of all-time, so his debut on the main WWE roster was heavily anticipated.
His debut finally came in July of 2016 after he was drafted to the RAW brand following the WWE brand split. Immediately he shot up the card and on his debut episode of RAW, which was also his birthday. Balor first defeated Rusev, Cesaro, and Kevin Owens in a Fatal 4-way match and then defeated Roman Reigns all in one night to earn the right to compete for the WWE Universal title at Summerslam against Seth Rollins. Balor won the inaugural WWE Universal title match, but during his pay-per-view debut, he suffered a torn labrum that would force him to relinquish the title.
Balor finished his rehab earlier this year and had been popping up at different events ever since, including an epic staredown with Triple H at a house show in New York during a six-man tag match which saw Balor, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn take on Triple H, Samoa Joe, and Kevin Owens.
Thank you #WWEWhitePlains…
One week until @WrestleMania #Creator #Destroyer pic.twitter.com/h6ofCy06gy— Triple H (@TripleH) March 27, 2017
But as Balor pops up on different WWE and NXT events over the last two months, everyone just stares at ‘Wrestlemania’ for his potential return. At this point, it’s up to WWE to decide what they do with Finn, but he could potentially do a ton over the weekend of events. Everything from making another surprise appearance at NXT to help out his friend Shinsuke or pop-up on the Wrestlemania card in some capacity to intervene in one of the matches but ultimately, Monday night might be the direction for him. A RAW after Wrestlemania appearance is most likely the direction for Balor’s return.
4. Shinsuke Nakamura
Just about one year ago, Nakamura debuted in NXT with an exciting match against Sami Zayn at NXT Takeover: Dallas. The ‘King of Strong Style’ moved on from superstardom in Japan to the developmental territory of the WWE but it was apparent that Nakamura was going to be the next star. He won the NXT title after going through Zayn, Tye Dillinger, Austin Aries, and Finn Balor eventually getting to Samoa Joe and having an excellent program with the former TNA talent.
Shinsuke started the year as NXT champion and lost to another TNA legend in Bobby Roode, but he does have his rematch during Wrestlemania weekend. This is a perfect time to eject Nakamura from the NXT realm and send him up to the main roster. While there might not be a sensible spot for him to interfere on the Wrestlemania card, either RAW or Smackdown would be immediately boosted with his addition. For Nakamura, after going through the best of the best in NXT, it’s time for him to have some envisioned ‘dream matches’ that fans have wanted for a long time.
3 & 2. Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy
Broken Matt Hardy and Brother Nero, or better known as Matt and Jeff Hardy, are the two biggest names expected to re-join the WWE right now. The Hardy Boyz were probably the most popular tag team in the WWE at the tail end of the ‘Attitude’ era going into the ‘Ruthless Aggression’ era. The duo along with the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian revitalized the tag team division in wrestling and ushered in the first TLC matches in the company. Over time they split, and Jeff was poised as the future, but some drug issues derailed him on more than one occasion, but he still captured the WWE title. Matt, on the other hand, never quite reached the same level of success as Jeff in the WWE. But then Matt changed the perception of himself forever with one new idea.
Matt Hardy issued in the ‘Broken’ universe to TNA and almost immediately the wrestling world knew this would be a hit. Hardy was fully changing the game and bringing a new, creepy but funny theme to a secondary product. The Hardys dominated TNA over the years with both of them winning the Heavyweight title at different times. But nothing has been as big as the ‘Broken’ universe.
Their TNA contracts expired, and they are currently reaching the end of a program with the indie tag team heroes ‘The Young Bucks’ in Ring of Honor. Their short ROH contract is expiring before Wrestlemania, and they’ve reportedly been offered contracts with the WWE. Jeff Hardy recently shot down the notion of them returning to WWE but we could all be getting worked by a veteran of the business who is known to enjoy a surprise or two. One final great WWE run from the Hardy’s could solidify their case to be bonafide Hall of Famers.
1. Kurt Angle
Kurt Angle is going to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during Wrestlemania weekend on Friday night. The WWE’s first and only Olympic gold medalist joined the company in 1998, and immediately skyrocketed to the top of the company. He won a litany of awards during his time with the WWE and later on in TNA and was recognized as the best professional wrestler in the world on multiple occasions. As Kurt Angle returns to the company to be inducted as the headliner for the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame, the rumors around him coming back to the company full-time beyond the Hall of Fame run rampant.
Angle himself has been tepid on a possible full-time return to the WWE stating that the current plans only include him through the Hall of Fame ceremony. Wrestlemania, Raw, and Smackdown, a show he popularized in the mid-2000’s, all come after the induction and could use a new injection of Kurt in some way.
What could Angle do? The possibilities are endless. In the past decade, Wrestlemania often has legends come back at a random spot to show they still can do some things in the ring against some random superstar or two. Monday Night Raw currently has an opening for the kayfabe general manager position and has a past with Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. Smackdown has a young tag team in American Alpha who channel much of Angle’s gimmick as a pair of former wrestlers and Olympians who wrestle in singlets. It seemingly is a match made in heaven.
