3 current WWE title holders that should lose their titles at WrestleMania 36 and 3 that should retain their belts
Even though the status of WrestleMania 36 on April 5th in Tampa is still in limbo, the current storylines leading up to the show need to have certain outcomes at The Show of Shows. 'Mania has often been the end game of many angles in the past as one star conquers another while others put down their most fierce competitors.
Last year, Kofi Kingston and Seth Rollins slayed their respective dragons in Daniel Bryan and Brock Lesnar. The Beast is once again an obstacle although for a different challenger in Drew McIntyre. Some Champions just won their titles while others, like Bayley, have held on tightly to their belts for a lengthy reign.
A big part of WrestleMania is the potential to crown new Champs. Last year's show saw all but two titles change hands (SmackDown Tag Team titles and US Championship). This year could see a repeat of that result. There are some current title holders who should retain their titles at the Showcase of the Immortals but others that seem destined to fall.
Here are three current Champions that should lose their titles at WrestleMania 36 and three Champs that should retain their belts in Tampa.
#3 Retain title - Rhea Ripley
Once Ripley dethroned former Champion Shayna Baszler, she cemented her status as the face of the NXT women's division. She had previously started that journey by captaining NXT against both RAW and SmackDown as well as by leading a team against Baszler at WarGames.
Booking Charlotte Flair to win the Royal Rumble put the WWE in a corner due to Flair's numerous matches against Becky Lynch and Bayley over the last two years. They didn't want to run those feuds back again so instead they decided to have her do something historic by challenging Ripley.
Ripley is clearly a star of the future and someone that the company will build around. It will be her first match at WrestleMania as well as the first match ever featuring an NXT title at the Show of Shows.
The Nightmare must retain her title for many reasons. One is that she just won it recently. Losing it after one major defense would hurt her title reign. Another reason is that if a main roster star, even one with the standing of Flair, beats an NXT star, it hurts the yellow and black brand more than it helps it.
The third reason is that Flair doesn't need to win the title. As is the case with a lot of other stars (Reigns, Rollins, Cena, Lesnar), she doesn't need a title to maintain her top-dog status. It would be a mistake to take the title off of Ripley just to give it to Flair. Ripley has actually worked her way up over the last year to earn the top spot in NXT. It shouldn't be taken away by anyone just yet and not by Flair at any time.