Which Would You Rather for WrestleMania 39?

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As always, WrestleMania season tends to lead to rumors abounding of what there will be on the show, from which superstars may make an appearance and/or compete in a match, who will go over in each match, and what the massive WrestleMania moments that will last forever will be. This year, there will be no shortage of things that will likely shake up the WWE Universe comes the most fun time of year as a fan, and today we will dive into the many possibilities that we may have come our way on the card for the grandest stage of them all!

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Last year, the world was treated to the long-awaited return to the ring of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Austin, who had retired in 2003, seemed unlikely to ever compete in a WWE ring again. Then, it happened. Austin got to main event WrestleMania one more time against Kevin Owens, someone who is more than deserving of that major opportunity. They had a really fun match, and Austin, understandably slower than he was in his prime, made sure the match was very unlike much of what we have seen from various returning legends over the years, and gave it his all in a fun and entertaining performance. Rumors have swirled on social media that WWE offered Austin another opportunity to return to the ring again when WWE goes to Hollywood for WrestleMania next April. They have only been fueled by the fact that Austin himself has posted numerous videos of rigorous training on his social media in that same timeframe. Whether or not Austin does return to the ring is to be determined, but there are lots of intriguing options for him to handle if he does. Two of those options will actually be discussed here, but we will circle back to the possibilities in a bit.

John Cena

The 16-Time World Champion made a one-off appearance on Raw earlier this year to celebrate his 20th anniversary in WWE, but he even said then that he is not returning to the ring anytime soon but assured he will be back at some point. While that eliminated any chance of him having his highly anticipated match with Austin Theory at Summerslam this year, recent rumors could revive that match possibility for Hollywood’s spectacle in April. Cena has a long list of possible opponents, both past and present, and any one of them would draw on his name alone, some off of the names and star power of both men, should the perfect stars align. Cena against either the aforementioned Theory or GUNTHER would serve to be wildly entertaining clashes of generations, while some other “dream match” scenarios will be discussed a little later. Either way, things seem to point to Cena once again marching down that long WrestleMania aisle to the trumpets once again.

Cody Rhodes

When the American Nightmare returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38, the world lost its collective mind. One of AEW’s founders had left the company and returned to the land of the giants known as WWE, and it was a sight to behold, one that will never, ever be forgotten. After his intense and wildly entertaining rivalry with Seth Rollins, everyone figured Rhodes would soon find his way to Roman Reigns and be the guy who finally dethrones the Tribal Chief after many years of dominance. That was only furthered when Cody’s injury timeline allowed for a potential Royal Rumble return of epic proportions, which many assume will indeed happen and lead to Rhodes and Reigns in Hollywood. But, the emergence of a certain “Honorary Uce” has created such a caveat to that plan that there is no set guarantee. This now leads us to…

…Sami Zayn

If you were to tell me after WrestleMania 38 that by the year’s end, Sami Zayn would be the most over man in the company AND the smartest candidate to dethrone Roman Reigns as champion, I would have called it laughable. This is not because Sami doesn’t deserve it or because he isn’t one of the most talented men in the business, but because his role in WWE has been largely comedic for years now. However, in just a few short months, Zayn went from being the court jester of the Bloodline to an honorary uce to a certified member of the family. The fans have gone absolutely ballistic for Zayn, and War Games this past weekend only further solidified how much love and support they have for him. The man is naturally and genuinely over, and he is reaching levels only ever seen by Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, and Becky Lynch. Just like those 2 instances, Zayn could crash into any existing WrestleMania plans for Roman Reigns and the Undisputed Universal Championship. One of those existing plans lies in the hands of our final person to discuss.

The Rock

For almost the entirety of Roman Reigns’ main roster run with WWE, this match has seemingly always been a plan for a certain moment in time, when the stars aligned perfectly. Everyone thought it would happen this past year in Dallas, with Survivor Series 2021 kicking it off (that night was the Rock’s 25th Anniversary celebration which he notably never physically showed up to celebrate). That didn’t happen though, and all eyes then pointed towards WrestleMania 39, which is in Hollywood and has the most symbolism for Rock’s post-WWE ventures and what likely will be Roman’s eventual post-WWE ventures as well. With that in mind, the question of whether Roman would be champion in that match was the next topic of discussion, as it does not need the title to be box office and to be the main event of one of the nights. With Roman outlasting the likes of Brock Lesnar, Drew McIntyre, and Logan Paul this year, all signs of that being possible have since been erased, and Roman seems poised to carry all the gold straight through to yet another WrestleMania. This provides such a conundrum as to what can be done now and creates awe as to how many options there are to choose from.

3 Possible Challengers, But Which One Should It Be?

If the best-made plans are to be ruined in any year, this one would be the one WWE would not have wanted to happen. The Rock is never a guarantee to have nailed down to work an extensive program that would be required to work with Roman Reigns, but it’s absolutely the most sensical match on paper if you were to book this show. If Rock isn’t available, Cody Rhodes would be the next-most sensical choice, as his return was so massive it would then become the biggest draw for fans all around the world, especially ones who only became Cody fans during his time away from WWE. However, as mentioned, Sami Zayn somehow naturally came into this equation a la Daniel Bryan and Kofi Kingston. The difference between those two previous examples is not that they are any less important than this one, but none of them have to do with disrupting a genuine once-in-a-lifetime match opportunity with Rock or a strike while the iron is hot match with Cody, nor are the surrounding the single greatest championship reign of a generation in Roman Reigns’ over 800 days as champion. If Rock is available this year and they don’t capitalize on this chance to run Rock vs. Roman with these stakes and variables, there most probably won’t be another opportunity to do so, and while Cody could theoretically be moved back ever so slightly, would a win for him be as hot coming off a second surprise and massive return to WWE TV in under a year be lessened if it doesn’t happen now? Who knows, but anyone other than Sami may receive the same treatment Batsita did in 2014, that Kevin Owens almost did in 2019, and that Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair also received in 2019, loud and unexpected boo’s for a supposed babyface who should, in any other respect, be the one people want to see end Roman’s title reign more than anyone prior. Yes-tlemania, Kofi-mania, and the rise of “The Man” are phenomenons that will be talked about for generations, but will Sami Zayn get his own version? Every day, it leans more that way.

So, what could we do, in theory (no pun intended) to help this workout? Well, here are the options:

Rock vs. Austin 4 OR Rock vs. Cena 3

The Rock has a vastly extensive WrestleMania resume, filled mostly of matches with “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and John Cena from 5 of the titular events that he has competed on. Rock and Cena still own a 1-1 tie after WrestleMania 28 and WrestleMania 29, so you could run the rubber match this year to allow Hollywood, the home of the event, to watch WWE’s two greatest exports to their world compete in their original world one last time. Similarly, Austin and Rock’s rivalry is marked down as one of the best in the history of the industry, with 3 industry-shaping matches. The first kicked off the Attitude Era into overdrive, the second is regarded as one of the best matches in all of WWE history period, and the third served as Austin’s original retirement match and the match that sent the Rock off to Hollywood almost for good, marking the end of the last pieces of the Attitude Era. Running it back once more for nostalgia may take away from another possible match with more full-time stars in either of these cases, but it shouldn’t be a hindrance to the card on either night and would definitely keep fans invested simply for nostalgia alone, if not allowing a window for Zayn to get into the World Title Match.

Austin vs. Cena and Rock vs. Brock 2

This first of these two matches right here is possible no matter what happens with the Rock, and honestly, I don’t think anyone would be mad if it happened. A match that was not possible just due to a generational gap, Austin vs. Cena could truly be the Rock/Hogan of this generation, and maybe even bigger than that. The title “face of WWE” has been thrown around for years, but only a few people have ever held the mantle as THE top draw and THE main star. Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. These are the ones who carried the flag for WWE through its different generations and were the reason they were successful within them. Never before have we been able to see any of those men mentioned cross paths, except for Cena and Reigns, whose careers were able to parallel for a few years. Austin vs. Cena would break down that barrier and create a moment forever etched in time that would also still be able to deliver in the ring, granted that window is likely closing. As for Brock/Rock 2, this is yet another way to keep Rock away from Reigns but still give him something hugely meaningful on the card. Brock’s aggressive style is likely too unsafe for Rock’s body with the rigorous movie schedule he has, but it would really be fun to run back the main event of Summerslam 2002 one more time!

Rhodes vs. Rollins 4 OR Rhodes vs. Cena

One more time. This time, to determine the number one contender to the Undisputed Universal Championship. There isn’t much to say here other than they’ve made magic before and they surely can do it again, and I would be so here for it all. I want them to stay apart and for Cody to do something else, but if all paths need to lead to an alternative, here is your safe and reliable option that fans will still buy every second of. Running Rhodes vs. Cena is a way to capitalize on Rhodes’ AEW antics with a WWE story that can blur the lines of kayfabe and reality, and who better to wave the WWE flag than John Cena? A match that has never been seen at the level Cody is at now, a win over Cena propels Cody towards something bigger down the road (an eventual WWE Title Match) while still keeping him hot, and keeping fans cheering him as he waits his turn for the world title sometime soon.

Reigns vs. Zayn

I’ve drank the Kool-Aid and I’m hooked line and sinker as well, but WWE has made the entire wrestling world go all in on Sami Zayn right now, and everyone wants him to dethrone Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, ending the legendary reign at what will likely be closing in on 1,000 days at that point, pinning Reigns for the first time in 3 and a half years, and completing one of the most naturally born, if not the most naturally born, storylines in WWE history. In my eyes, it would eclipse the magical stories of Bryan, Kingston, and Lynch, and would forever go down as one of the most legendary climaxes to a story there has ever been. There can really be no way around this, and the build (which has been nearly perfect, reaching an almost fever pitch already inside of War Games) will become even more perfect in time. Here’s how: Zayn wins the Royal Rumble, and when he does it’s almost a given San Antonio will lose its mind that night. As the Bloodline tries to ensure Sami will not cash in that opportunity against Reigns at WrestleMania, and Zayn swears that he won’t, he accidentally costs the Uso’s their record-breaking tag team title reign (to the Brawling Brutes, please). After that, Reigns will maintain that Zayn didn’t mean it while he allows him to remain a part of the Bloodline. Reigns will then retain his title inside the Elimination Chamber in Montreal against some of his greatest enemies over this historic reign: Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Karrion Kross, and Seth Rollins. After the match, when the Bloodline arrives to help Reigns up and celebrate then boom there’s the turn, in Sami’s hometown of Montreal. There is no better place to do this, as the heat would be MASSIVE, and Zayn will be solidified as the top babyface in WWE without question. Zayn invokes his title match at WrestleMania, finds a way to overcome interference from Paul Heyman, the Uso’s, and Solo Sikoa, and Zayn leaves night 2 of WrestleMania as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion to what will surely be one of the loudest ovations the world has ever heard, alike to Daniel Bryan, Kofi Kingston, and Becky Lynch.

Which of these options would you want to see most? Is there another option that you would like to see instead of them? It’s all up for debate right now, but one thing is for certain: WrestleMania 39 may very well be one of the best ones we have ever seen!

What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.

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