10 WWE Directions Following Fastlane 2017
2. Laying The Smackdown
Despite some promising plot-threads, Smackdown LIVE’s WrestleMania main event is in danger of getting a whole lot worse in the next few weeks. It seems likely that Randy Orton will beat AJ Styles for the chance to face Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania, despite AJ having already jumped through hoops to earn his spot. This would then lead to an Orton/Wyatt rematch, while AJ faces Shane McMahon (which is heavily rumoured to be pencilled in for Mania) as a protest against his management decisions. This is absolutely the wrong way to go.
Few people will cheer for Shane McMahon (a character who is clearly in the wrong here) over AJ Styles, one of the most popular figures in the company, nor will he be a substantial threat to someone of AJ’s calibre. Similarly, rehashing Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton, a match which thoroughly underachieved at No Mercy, will probably fall on deaf ears on the same night as Goldberg vs Lesnar. While their feud has taken on new life since then, it has also taken on new characters: AJ Styles and the recently ostracised Luke Harper.
What should happen instead, is the build-up to a Fatal 4-Way.
Luke Harper interferes with Orton vs Styles, and lays both men out. Daniel Bryan once again reassesses the situation, and arranges for a tag team match. If the team of Styles and Harper can work together to beat Orton and Wyatt, they earn a spot in the title match at Mania. All four men hate each other, so watching them attempt to coexist in service of a common goal would be really intriguing, and a loss for Wyatt and Orton would make sense, considering their now-dissolved relationship.
While people have an instant distaste for multi-man Mania matches, in this instance it makes sense. All four men are very popular with various subsets of the fanbase, each one has a strong motivation to fight the others, and they can all easily outclass Goldberg and Brock Lesnar if given the chance.