As of the end of the broadcast week for WWE live match programming, this is the current confirmed card for Wrestlemania 33, which will be held in Orlando, Florida on April 2, 2017:
WWE Universal Championship
– Goldberg (c) vs. Brock Lesnar
WWE Championship
– Bray Wyatt (c) vs. Randy Orton
United States Championship
– Chris Jericho (c) vs. Kevin Owens
RAW Women’s Championship
– Bayley (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte Flair
SMACKDOWN Women’s Championship
-Alexa Bliss (c) vs. entire available women’s roster
While not made official, these matches are anticipated to be added to the card: Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker, John Cena & Nikki Bella vs. The Miz & Maryse. The latter match would likely take Nikki out of the mix for the Smackdown women’s title match. The entrants for the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal are being revealed gradually.
Austin Aries made his expected debut on 205 Live and defeated Tony Nese in the main event in dramatic fashion. Aries is involved in a blossoming feud with Neville, which will virtually guarantee that a match for the Cruiserweight Division title at Wrestlemania will be added to its growing card.
“Outlaw” Ron Bass passed away Tuesday due to post surgical complications stemming from a ruptured appendix. He was 68. Ron’s career spanned from 1971-1989, mainly in the NWA. He was a mid card wrestler during his tenure in the WWE, which was from 1987 to 1989. Ron Bass was one of many wrestlers whose career added to Florida’s already very strong roots in the professional wrestling industry in the United States.
Matt Hardy filed a trademark on “The Broken Matt Hardy” character and tweeted to the current Raw Tag Team champions, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson that he would “eat them and delete them”, as reported by Sports Keeda. While it looks like it’s more of a question of when regarding his and or both Hardys’ return to the WWE, or anywhere else for that matter, it likely won’t be without a fight from Impact Wrestling. The contention stems that while Matt is indeed entitled to trademark his gimmick, the new owners of Impact feel they have a stake in it since the gimmick debuted in TNA, as Impact was formerly known. Given the legal issues, administrative instability, exodus of talent, and diminished broadcasting presence that has dogged TNA/Impact Wrestling over recent years, it looks as if the Hardy’s return to WWE won’t be a smooth one as the brand is trying to right the ship by retaining established assets.
Triple H and Finn Baylor are slated to be returning to the ring this weekend, as evidenced by Raw Live events cards, according to Jon Fisher of Sports Keeda. Triple H is expected to wrestle Seth Rollins as part of their feud that began in Wrestlemania 32 after he betrayed Seth and handed the Universal Title to the now former champion, Kevin Owens. Seth Rollins’s health may prevent him from appearing in the ring, however. Finn Baylor is not involved in any feuds and he may be a possible replacement if Seth is not available.
Naomi (Trinity Fatu) rehab is progressing but it’s still unclear if she will be able at Wrestlemania. She tweeted an update but a homecoming performance remains a mystery.
