WrestleMania 34 is fully behind us, the rosters have officially been shuffled and a handful of NXT superstars have arrived to new homes on Raw and SmackDown. There's plenty to look forward to in the year to come, and though there's likely to be more movement throughout the year -- and co-branded pay-per-views tear down certain walls -- the bulk of what Raw and SmackDown likely will look like heading into WrestleMania 35 is now in place.
What better time to look ahead and try to figure out what these newly reshuffled rosters will produce over the next 12 months? No one knows for certain where the next year, or even the next month, will lead, but the early seeds of what will become some of the biggest matches and stories at next year's WrestleMania already have been planted. The rest will come together over time.
With history and potential alike in mind, the WWE on ESPN staff tried its best to predict matches on the WrestleMania 35 card. These predictions won't all be right in the end, and some undoubtedly will be a wild swing and a miss -- but attempting to put the limited pieces of the puzzle we have at our disposal together makes for a lot of fun, and serves as a useful tool in trying to make sense of how the long-term booking will work out.
Universal championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Dean Ambrose
There are a ton of ways to go looking at potential matches for WrestleMania 35, but I think that WWE rightfully will go back to the well one more time with this one -- Seth Rollins vs. Roman Reigns vs. Dean Ambrose for the Universal title. Listen, The Shield reunion fell apart for reasons well out of the company's control. Illness and injury halted the immediate progress leading up to this year's WrestleMania, and the result was a silent dissolution of the faction, as Ambrose ended up on the shelf and Rollins and Reigns went their separate ways.
When Ambrose comes back later this year, there's another opportunity to bring them together and try to rekindle what they had. There's still the fact that Roman was being cheered for those few weeks and that, my friends, is a substantial win -- and a valuable tool to play with. The inevitable turn needs to happen again to close the door on this for good (or at least for a few years). Let Roman do the dirty work this time around and bring the boos out for real. Let Ambrose be Ambrose and run wild. Let Rollins lead the company with the Intercontinental title for a while and then let the three of them really build toward a mega-confrontation next April with the biggest prize in the WWE at stake. (Andrew Feldman)
Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens may be best friends again for the time being, but we all know how that eventually will turn out given their long history together. After moving to Monday nights during the Superstar Shakeup, they likely will see a successful run together, and perhaps even become Raw tag team champions at some point. What they didn't have the last time they faced off -- an established period of peace and coexistence -- will make any future breakup that much more heartbreaking.
Eventually, Owens will stab his best friend in the back (yet again) and reignite their bitter rivalry, this time on the grandest stage of them all. If they could produce in a non-sanctioned match on the level of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa from NXT Takeover: New Orleans, they would steal the show. (Nick Irving)
... Inside Hell in a Cell
The feud between Zayn and Owens in Ring of Honor was recognized as the 2010 feud of the year by the Wrestling Observer newsletter. They've had plenty of matches, and even an extended rivalry in WWE, but it's time for a deeper story and a chance to recreate that magic on the grandest stage of them all.
Sometime after SummerSlam, Zayn should make a preemptive strike on Owens and cost him a chance at winning the Intercontinental or Universal championship, reversing the course of every other betrayal to this point in their relationship. This would kick off four to six months of vicious promos and matches leading to a final showdown at WrestleMania 35. Given the lengthy history between the two of them, and that they reunited at the event bearing its name, it makes sense to have them battle it out in the demonic structure of Hell in a Cell. (James Emanuele)
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Of all the unimaginable matches that could happen inside of a WWE ring that suddenly became possible with Samoa Joe's move to SmackDown in the Superstar Shakeup, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe has to be the most enticing. For 18 and 16 years, respectively, Styles and Samoa Joe honed their craft outside of the walls of WWE and made big names for themselves despite the odds. Their matches against one another, as well as matches featuring Christopher Daniels, single-handedly took TNA Wrestling to its peak in the mid-to-late 2000s. They took different paths to "making it" in WWE, but they're finally together on the same show and in position to go to war once again.
Styles and Joe have been in the ring with each other well over 100 times to this point, and beyond their astonishingly complementary styles, their familiarity has led to some incredibly special moments inside of a wrestling ring. The history between the two men has been both adversarial and complementary since they first met in September 2003, and it would be truly fitting to find this match on a WrestleMania card. (Tim Fiorvanti)
Universal championship: Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns
Braun Strowman is a star already, and pairing him once again with Roman Reigns in a match that could easily be for the Universal Championship would be a top-three match on the card, and possibly the main event of the whole show. We saw how well these two work together -- imagine running back this rivalry on the biggest stage of them all. If WWE makes this happen, it won't need to worry about the boos and beach balls because this match will be must-see TV. (Pete Ferlazo)
Brock Lesnar vs. Bobby Lashley
The wild card for WWE for the next year is Bobby Lashley, as it'll be interesting to see where he settles into the Raw roster following his initial reintroduction after a decade away. With a proper slow build, I'd like to see Lashley take on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35, but with a twist. For the past couple of years of Lesnar's run, we've seen him as an unstoppable force, but that act and the subsequent matches have grown stale.
Why not give Lashley a year to be the unstoppable one, as Lesnar loses the Universal title, another match or two and eventually fades away from the WWE picture. Lashley's position grows, he becomes a figure threatening Lesnar for the title of the best MMA-WWE crossover, and Lesnar returns to try to recapture the crown against one of the very few who can match physiques and prestige with him. (Matt Willis)
SmackDown women's championship: Asuka (c) vs. Charlotte Flair
It goes without saying that Asuka and Charlotte's match at WrestleMania 34 was a certified showstopper. While Charlotte's signature submission, the figure eight, managed to end Asuka's unprecedented winning streak, it's likely just the start of an epic saga. Asuka's debut on SmackDown Live this week places both superstars on the same roster for the first time and tensions are likely to heat up. I expect a role reversal coming into this match -- Asuka, the defending SmackDown women's champion, and Charlotte as the No. 1 contender after winning the Royal Rumble. As the two clear top female performers in the WWE right now, a rematch at WrestleMania 35 between Charlotte and Asuka is a main event in the making. (Meghan Tobin)
Career vs. Career / world title match: The Undertaker (c) vs. John Cena
John Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 never felt right. Undertaker not showing up to build a WrestleMania feud isn't uncommon (he never appeared on Raw before facing Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 31), but not even answering Cena's call until the night of was a real head-scratcher. No one knew what to expect the night of WrestleMania 34, and what they got was a three-minute match built to make Undertaker look as dominant as ever. Having Cena come off as so weak only makes sense if he's getting his rematch next year at WrestleMania 35.
The build is simple. Taker, coming off dominant wins against Cena and Rusev at Greatest Royal Rumble, wins the WWE or Universal title at Royal Rumble and enters WrestleMania 35 as a world champion. Cena wins his third Royal Rumble (or the Elimination Chamber match) and chooses to face Undertaker at WrestleMania, and lays it all on the line -- career vs. career.
WrestleMania 35's main event sets up several historic moments all at once, and it puts enormous stakes on the line: Cena wins his record-breaking 17th world title while simultaneously ending Undertaker's career. That match would be hard to top and would help fans quickly forget any negative feelings they have toward the three-minute squash match. (Michael Wonsover)
Ladder match for the United States championship: Jeff Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Rusev vs. Killian Dain vs. Andrade 'Cien' Almas vs. Tye Dillinger
Jeff Hardy's presence on SmackDown means a ladder match is inevitable. And you know how these things go on the big stages: the more performers, the more compelling the spots can be. Hardy will lead a stalwart group in a ladder match for the United States championship. The dynamic of Hardy's pure athleticism, along with the hulking presence of guys like Rusev and Dain, will make this one of the most anticipated matches on the WrestleMania 35 card. But don't be surprised if an underdog, like Tye Dillinger, walks away with the title in tow. Hey, if Zack Ryder can have a championship Mania moment, then anything is possible. (Matt Wilansky)
United States championship: Andrade 'Cien' Almas (c) vs. Chris Jericho
With one year to work with, my prediction is a stretch. Yes, I know it's a fool's errand trying to guess when Y2J will return to WWE for more than a one-off appearance, but this matchup makes sense to me. Almas and manager Zelina Vega will have been on a yearlong quest to establish El Idolo as the star of Smackdown Live, when Chris Jericho shows up next spring to start a feud among the two. This story will tap into the "megastar" side of Chris Jerico's character, and will set up some intense verbal sparring between Jericho and Vega. (Sach Chandan)
Raw women's championship: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
The evolution of women's wrestling has taken flight over the past few years. These talented women have reached milestone after milestone, from Hell in a Cell matches to Elimination Chamber matches and even the first-ever Women's Royal Rumble match. There's a chance that they'll take the next monumental step at WrestleMania 35 -- one of the biggest leaps remaining.
Not only is it possible that Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair battle at MetLife Stadium -- they briefly locked eyes during Rousey's Royal Rumble debut, which may or may not carry any significance -- but, should it happen, there's a chance that blockbuster match could turn out to be the first-ever female WrestleMania main event. Of course, that depends on how Rousey performs over the course of the next year, and a number of other circumstances, but her performance at this year's WrestleMania was certainly promising. While they aren't on the same show, as Rousey climbs the ranks on Raw and Flair as a dominant force on SmackDown Live, there are plenty of ways around that in the year to come. (Coyle)
These two had arguably the best pair of matches in WrestleMania 34 and could justifiably end up as the first women's main event in WrestleMania history. (K.C. Joyner)