5 changes WWE could make to Big E's match at WrestleMania
Big E suffered a broken neck following a botched belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland outside the ring on WWE SmackDown on Friday night. The former WWE Champion was teaming up with Kofi Kingston against Holland and Sheamus at the time, in order to set up a WrestleMania six-man tag team match.
The match wasn't officially announced at the time of Big E's injury, but WWE will likely still go ahead with the plans by either replacing the former champion in the match or changing the match to allow it to still take place.
There are a few options that WWE has for the match if they decide to still go ahead with the current feud.
#5. Elias could make his WWE return and be added to the WrestleMania tag team match
Elias hasn't been seen on WWE TV for almost a year and it's been made clear in recent weeks that the company has no plans for the former champion to return.
Elias isn't injured and is just waiting for an opportunity to make his return to WWE TV and this could be the perfect time. The Drifter could step into a feud against Sheamus and Ridge Holland in the coming weeks and establish himself as a face before being added to the match to ensure it remains a six-man.
Several WWE Superstars are not on the card for WrestleMania as of yet and may be set to miss out on being part of the biggest event of the year. There are many performers in the back who would jump at the chance to be on the card, including Elias, and this would then allow him to create a feud following his return.
#4. Mansoor could be called upon to team up with The New Day
Mansoor is another WWE Superstar who hasn't been seen on TV in a while and wasn't even part of the company's trip over to Saudi Arabia last month. This is the first time Mansoor has missed a show in the Middle East since he is seen as a hometown hero, but there was no explanation given for his absence.
Ahead of WrestleMania, Mansoor is expected to make his return to be part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He could be called upon to be added to this match instead. SmackDown currently has a distinct lack of babyfaces so someone like Mansoor would be a good name to call upon and would work well with Kingston and Woods if added to their WrestleMania bout.
#3. Tommaso Ciampa is called up to align himself with The New Day
During his time in NXT, Pete Dunne teamed up with Ridge Holland and was part of a feud with Tommaso Ciampa. WWE changed Dunne's name to make it clear that he's not the same character moving forward but still aligned him with Holland to continue their working relationship on the main roster.
Ciampa was the man who was pinned in the NXT Championship match to allow Dolph Ziggler to take Bron Breakker's title last week, which means that he would now be free to make the jump to the main roster and continue his feud with Holland and the newly named Butch.
Ciampa has been working backstage for several weeks and even appeared on RAW as part of the feud with Dolph Ziggler, could he be called upon to align with The New Day?
#2. The match is made a tag team match instead
The obvious solution here would be for Ridge Holland to be sidelined and for Sheamus and Butch to take on Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods instead. Holland was at fault for the injury, so he seems the most likely candidate to be taken out of the match in favor of the debuting Butch who was formerly known as Pete Dunne.
There is also the option that Butch is used as an enforcer for the team in the coming weeks. This could allow WWE to make it Sheamus and Holland versus the two remaining members of The New Day instead.
Pete Dunne was a popular member of the NXT roster before his call-up. Now he's been renamed Butch, making it clear that the company has new plans for him. Given that Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal is set to be on SmackDown instead, this could be his only opportunity to wrestle on this year's WrestleMania card.
#1. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston could wrestle the match as a handicap instead
There are a number of options for WWE when it comes to arranging this match without Big E. This isn't the first match to be altered or changed at the last minute and it's likely that the creative team will be working overtime to ensure that there is a plan B.
The likelihood is that there won't be anyone added to the match and now that Xavier Woods has made his return to the ring, he could be added to the match and it could become a three-on-two handicap instead.
Woods could return to SmackDown this week and Big E's injury could become part of the storyline, with Woods and Kingston agreeing to wrestle a handicap match in order to gain some revenge for their friend.