From the WWE Rumor Mill: Surprise name set to be Braun Strowman's tag-team partner at WrestleMania?
What's the story?
The mystery of who will be Braun Strowman's tag team partner in the RAW Tag Team Title match at WrestleMania rages on, but Sports Illustrated have reported that one of the names being heavily considered is Rey Mysterio.
In case you didn't know...
SI are the guys who initially reported that Rey Mysterio was going to wrestle John Cena at the event, but that turned out not to be the case given John Cena's recent storyline programme, calling out The Undertaker for a 'Mania match.
Mysterio, on the other hand, recently made a NJPW appearance at their Strong Style Evolved event, where he was due to wrestle Jushin 'Thunder' Liger but couldn't due to an injury, however, Mysterio did mention he would be back and would wrestle for the promotion.
The heart of the matter
Given that Mysterio's injury status is currently up in the air and that he's committed to working dates for another promotion it seems that Mysterio appearing at WrestleMania would be somewhat unlikely, but still, here's what Sports Illustrated had to say.
Permitting Mysterio can work, two sources close to WWE confirmed that Vince McMahon is strongly considering using Mysterio as Braun Strowman’s tag team partner against Cesaro and Sheamus.
SI go on to elaborate that the idea of teaming the biggest Superstar with the smallest Superstar could appeal to Vince McMahon, making a Team Little Big 2.0 something we could actually see.
The idea of the biggest and smallest working together is right in McMahon’s wheelhouse. If Mysterio only works a short-term deal, the partnership also works as he can take the pinfall instead of Strowman.
What's next?
There's only one RAW left before WrestleMania so we could either find out Braun's mystery partner there, or the WWE will keep it a secret until the event itself. I'm not sure which one I prefer but I'm leaning more towards keeping it a total surprise until the match starts.
Author's take
The initial reports for Mysterio's Rumble appearance did state he was hoping to return to WWE with a similar deal to Jericho so the fact he is doing NJPW dates doesn't mean he won't be at 'Mania.