WWE WrestleMania 35: Booking Most Intriguing Stars Not Yet Announced for Event
One look at the WWE Superstars not currently announced for a WrestleMania match on April 7 is a who's who of former world champions, one or two of which are synonymous with The Showcase of the Immortals.
Sure, there are bouts that have been hinted at and teased, but there is still a wealth of competitors whose role on the most important pay-per-view extravaganza of the year are uncertain just two weeks out.
With time ticking away and pressure on WWE Creative to get as many stars on the card as possible, these are a few booking scenarios befitting those Superstars with uncertain paths to The Grandaddy of Them All.
Kevin Owens
Owens has been the victim of poor timing, as his return to television coincided with the ascent of Kofi Kingston to the top of the SmackDown Live roster. As a result, The Prizefighter's quest to capture the WWE Championship has taken a back seat.
Unlike others, his journey to relevancy at WrestleMania is unclear. There are no obvious opponents for KO. Owens even made light of it on Twitter when interacting with a fan.
With that in mind, the best approach to take is one in which Owens can lend credibility and legitimacy to another Superstar or concept.
The Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal has become a mess of midcard mediocrity with few genuine favorites and its fair share of deadweight. We found out Monday on Raw that Braun Strowman will compete in the match. What better way to bolster the lineup and enhance the significance of the annual afterthought than by including Owens and giving fans a second, realistic option to win?
Owens can even claim victory and catapult himself forward, building momentum for himself as he enters the post-Mania months in WWE.
The Undertaker
WrestleMania has not been without The Phenom since 2000. That should not change this year.
That does not necessarily mean he has to wrestle, though.
To say The Deadman has appeared a step or two slower every time we have seen him in the squared circle recently would be an understatement. He is not the same guy who tore the house down with Shawn Michaels in 2009 and '10. He is older, his body is affected by years of bumping, and it is almost unbelievable that he could beat any of the younger, faster, stronger Superstars of this generation at this point.
What Undertaker does bring to the table, though, is star presence and big-event aura. It still feels like a monumental deal when he steps through the curtain, so rather than trotting him out for a match that would almost certainly expose his weaknesses, the best way to book Undertaker is in a special cameo of sorts.
For weeks, WWE Creative has booked interruptions during Elias' musical performances, to the point that The Drifter has grown increasingly frustrated and angry. Imagine him sitting in the middle of the ring on wrestling's grandest stage, ready to serenade the WWE Universe, when Undertaker's music plays and The Deadman walks the aisle one more time.
He comes face-to-face with Elias and proceeds to drop him with a chokeslam and tombstone piledriver, playing all the hits before leaving to a thunderous ovation. Undertaker gets his moment, and his fans are sent home happy. No one looks bad, and Elias gets to share the WrestleMania stage with a Superstar as closely linked to it as anyone.
In 2002, Cena walked to the ring and confronted Kurt Angle, telling the Olympic gold medalist it was ruthless aggression that made him special before nearly upsetting the former WWE champion in his debut match.
What better way to utilize Cena than to have him confront Angle one last time, insisting the most celebrated real athlete in WWE history reconsider his decision to have his retirement match against Baron Corbin and instead, go out with a bang by battling the company's franchise star?
Cena has not had a legitimate WrestleMania match since 2015, when he defeated Rusev to win the United States Championship. Filming schedules and injuries have kept him from those memorable in-ring performances, robbing fans of the latest additions to "Big Match John's" highlight reel.
A showdown with Angle in such a significant match not only rights that wrong, it gives Angle the farewell match of significance that he deserves rather than a throwaway match with Corbin that serves no real purpose and will not elicit the emotion he deserves for his last dance at WrestleMania.
Dean Ambrose
Last fall, Ambrose underwent a heel turn based on the idea that he did not need his Shield teammates and could succeed in WWE all by himself. The unexpected return of Roman Reigns on this road to WrestleMania has affected many a booking plan, none more significantly than Ambrose's. Gone is the heel turn, and in its place was a reunion with his fellow Hounds of Justice.
After news of his impending departure, he was utilized to put over Drew McIntyre in preparation for The Scottish Psychopath to battle Reigns at WrestleMania. Not yet booked for any match on the show, Ambrose could shock the world with a swerve that alters the outcome of that match sets up one last great month of television in his WWE career.
After being beaten down and having Reigns and Seth Rollins stand up for him, Ambrose could express disgust that his "brothers" are treating him like the weakling of the faction. Again dismayed by his treatment, he makes his way to ringside at WrestleMania and betrays Reigns, costing him the match and setting up one last go-round in the form of a high-profile run with The Big Dog.
It would be more significant a role for Ambrose than any lesser spot on the card or entry into a Battle Royale ever could be, and more importantly, it would jumpstart an angle the likes of which someone of his stature deserves before departing a company he has been very good to.
