WWE WrestleMania 34: Predicting The Quality Of All 14 Matches

11. Triple H & Stephanie McMahon Vs. Kurt Angle & Ronda Rousey

Aj Styles Shinsuke Nakamura Wwe
WWE.com

Two conflicting concerns and comforts render this difficult to gauge.

WWE dazzles with smoke and mirrors, and tends to deliver - with mainstream eyes focused on it - impossibly good matches involving celebrities on the Grandest Stage. Structured and rehearsed meticulously, months in advance, WWE will maximise the inexperienced resource that is Ronda Rousey with the veteran tricks of Kurt Angle and Triple H to create something better than the sum of its parts.

Conversely, Angle himself required flimflam at TLC to appear as something approaching the Wrestling Machine of old. That Machine is ravaged by rust in 2018, perhaps necessitating a dull period of protracted Triple H control. The strange story behind Angle's TLC cameo saw him enter the match at short notice, so really, a stellar performance was a long shot. The Angle of late 2016/early '17 entered creditable performances on the Independent circuit, which is some cause for optimism. The foreshadowing of Stephanie's sell job - Ronda, ICYMI, has threatened to remove her arm from its socket - may itself act as a form of deception to obscure a shocking Triple H tap out.

That would make for a genuine WrestleMania Moment (™).

Predicted Star Rating: ***

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!