5 logical outcomes at WWE WrestleMania 38
The Road to WrestleMania has nearly reached its final destination. For two nights, WWE will take over Arlington, Texas for WrestleMania 38. The event will air live on NBC's Peacock app on Saturday, April 2, and Sunday, April 3, 2022.
WrestleMania is not only WWE's biggest event of the year, it's the most prestigious and historic spectacle in all of professional wrestling. With that being the case, it also serves as the climax to the year's biggest feuds and storylines.
This year, there's even more at stake than usual. In Night 2's main event, Roman Reigns will face Brock Lesnar in a winner-takes-all match to unify the WWE and Universal Championships.
Meanwhile, Bianca Belair looks to finally get revenge on Becky Lynch, Stone Cold Steve Austin will step into the ring against Kevin Owens, and Cody Rhodes might make his highly-anticipated return to the company.
With so much history and so many moving parts at play, booking the culmination of WWE's year seems a Herculean task. However, WWE has done well in guiding all of these storylines to their logical destinations at The Show of Shows.
In this list, we'll explore five logical outcomes at WrestleMania 38.
#5. Bianca Belair wins the WWE RAW Women's Championship
In the conclusion to a feud that began at last year's SummerSlam, Becky Lynch will defend the WWE RAW Women's Championship against Bianca Belair.
Lynch has been running through the RAW women's roster since winning the title last August. WWE even had to bring in Lita as an opponent for Becky to get her to The Show of Shows as champion. She's also come into her own as a heel, which many thought impossible considering how over she is with the crowd.
Meanwhile, Belair has had to build herself back up after essentially being squashed at SummerSlam. She's faced off against Lynch since then but lost due to shenanigans each time. Belair had to go through five other women in the Elimination Chamber to get this match.
The outcome of this match should see Bianca Belair finally recapture the WWE RAW Women's Championship. One of the biggest criticisms of WWE is that they don't do long-term storytelling, but they can change that perception here.
Whether this is what they had planned to do from the start or not is unclear. But Belair finally getting her redemption after months of coming so close will be long-term storytelling done right.
This outcome is the culmination of a classic pro wrestling storyline. The build-up to this match has seen Becky avoid Bianca at every opportunity. Becky knows Bianca can beat her and now there is nowhere left to run.
#4. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Kevin Owens brawl on the Kevin Owens Show
In one of the most intriguing storylines heading into WrestleMania 38, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin will make his return to the company as a guest on the Kevin Owens Show.
This angle is interesting because the initial rumors of Austin's return revolved around an official match. This rumor also came out around the time Kevin Owens started bad-mouthing the state of Texas. As a result, Owens vs. Austin went from speculation to likelihood very quickly.
Owens and Austin having some type of fight seems to be the logical direction WWE is heading in. WWE have put a huge emphasis on Austin's last match being 19 years ago. This is noteworthy because he has appeared many times since his last official bout at WrestleMania 19.
He even appeared at the last WrestleMania event that was held in Texas. Austin himself mentioned in a recent promo that he doesn't care if this is the KO Show, a match, or a brawl:
OH HELL YEAH!
@SteveAustinBSR has accepted @FightOwensFight's #WrestleMania 38 invitation! https://t.co/7x5t41nDBg
With the build around this storyline being so open, WWE has its pick of directions to go in. Few things are certain, but the most logical outcome here is Austin stomping a mudhole in Kevin Owens and walking it dry in his home state of Texas.
#3. Ronda Rousey wins the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship
After winning the 2022 Women's Royal Rumble Match, the question was which former rival Ronda Rousey would go after. Many fans were anticipating Rousey vs. Lynch, but Ronda chose WWE SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair and the match was set.
The main focus of this match has been that Charlotte believes Ronda is a one-trick pony. She thinks that Rousey can only tap her out by using the Armbar. Rousey has pulled out the Ankle Lock in the past few weeks to refute this.
The other focus has been that no matter what Charlotte has done, Rousey has not tapped out yet.
This bout will likely end with Ronda Rousey as the new WWE SmackDown Women's Champion. As mentioned before, the main focus has been that Rousey has yet to submit to Charlotte. The logical outcome here is to have Ronda tap Charlotte out in order to fully refute The Queen's claims.
With Rousey now back in the company, she may look to have a lengthy title reign. If that's the case, fans could see a showdown with Becky Lynch at next year's WrestleMania - and perhaps even another title unification.
#2. AJ Styles defeats Edge at WrestleMania 38
AJ Styles will go one-on-one with Edge for the first time, and it will take place on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
It was a dream match that seemed impossible until Edge's return in 2020. When AJ answered The Rated R Superstar's WrestleMania challenge, that dream became a reality. What no one saw coming was Edge turning heel.
Edge has been a super babyface since his return, with only a slight shift during his feud with Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan last year. Despite his reputation as The Ultimate Opportunist, it was legitimately shocking when he laid out Styles with two conchairtos in the build to this match.
WWE cemented this heel turn even further by changing his theme song. Every time "You think you know me?" hits, it gets a big pop from the crowd. To match his new darker character, he now has a new song called "The Other Side" and his new phrase is "You think you know me? You never did."
With that said, the logical outcome for this match is AJ Styles emerging victorious. If WWE wants to extend this angle beyond 'Mania, Styles winning does two things. For one, it adds to his already impressive WWE resume with a WrestleMania victory over a WWE Hall of Famer.
It would also make Edge go crazier and drive him into an even darker place. A win for Styles could lead to a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash with a stipulation attached to it.
Edge winning here would do nothing for him as he has won almost every feud since returning in 2020. He is one of the few guys on the roster that can afford to lose and not come out looking bad.
#1. Roman Reigns defeats Brock Lesnar to unify the Championships
In the main event of Night 2, WWE Champion Brock Lesnar will go one-on-one with Universal Champion Roman Reigns. This will be a winner-takes-all match that will crown a new WWE Unified Champion.
This is the culmination of a feud that began back at SummerSlam when Lesnar returned to confront Reigns. The two had a match last autumn at Crown Jewel, which ended with Reigns winning after interference from The Usos. They were scheduled for another at Day 1, but it was canceled due to Reigns contracting COVID-19.
This will be the third time that Reigns and Lesnar have faced off at The Show of Shows. At WrestleMania 31, their match did not have a decisive finish as Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. At WrestleMania 34, Lesnar shockingly defeated Reigns in a bout that was heavily rejected by fans.
This should be the best of their three encounters. Not only are they in the correct roles with Lesnar being the babyface and Reigns being the heel, the stakes of the match are huge and will have major implications moving forward.
Winner Take All. Championship Unification.
The Biggest #WrestleMania Match of All-Time is set for @WrestleMania Sunday! @BrockLesnar @WWERomanReigns @HeymanHustle
#SmackDown https://t.co/WGiJfhbPVW
However, the logical outcome of this match is the most obvious of the show. In all likelihood, Roman Reigns will defeat Brock Lesnar and unify the company's top titles.
Reigns has been so dominant since 2020 that it would be a major disappointment for him to lose to Lesnar. That honor should be reserved for up-and-coming stars such as Bron Breakker, who has been tagged as a potential future face of the company.
It's also important to note that Lesnar may disappear from WWE again after WrestleMania Backlash, which he is currently being advertised for. It would make no sense for Lesnar to win the titles and drop them a month later. This feud, more than any other, needs a conclusive end.
And most importantly, Reigns has accomplished many things in his career, but the one thing he hasn't done is defeat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. This is the WrestleMania for Roman to add that accomplishment to his belt.