Which Wrestlemania 34 Match Will Be WWE's Main Event?

There's a great Colt Cabana podcast interview with CM Punk where he discusses an argument he had with Triple H. After hearing that Punk was upset about not main eventing Wrestlemania 29, Triple H told Punk that he was in a main event with the Undertaker. Punk retorted by asking if he was getting paid the same amount as The Rock or John Cena. Triple H didn't have a comeback for that.

The guy had a point. Marketing is one thing, but for all functional purposes, there is only one main event, and that's the match which goes on last. Which leads one to ask: "Which of the matches on the card will main event Wrestlemania 34?"

It doesn't matter from a practical standpoint; this isn't boxing or MMA, where the fans with tickets find their seats ten minutes before the main event. WWE fans, both on the Network and at the Superdome, will be their seats to watch the whole show. But it does matter from a standpoint of principles. CM Punk considered his WWE career a failure because he never got to main event Wrestlemania. Reportedly, Vince McMahon put Mick Foley in the main event for Wrestlemania 2000 because he felt so bad for not having done so earlier.

The main event also demonstrates the company's values: who is Vince McMahon relying on to headline and represent his product? For example, when WWE decided to close the Royal Rumble with the women's battle royal in January, it was a massive deal. It put all the company's lip service about the Women's Evolution into action.

Here are the five matches that are most likely to main event Wrestlemania 34 and our opinion and analysis of each choice. Also, check out the updated match card and all of our predictions for April 8.

Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns

This is the most likely candidate for the main event. It's for the Raw Championship, and Raw is widely perceived as the flagship brand. Lesnar is the most protected WWE superstar in years; nobody beats him cleanly. And Reigns garners a reaction from every fan, be it positive or negative.

It's an obvious choice and a safe choice--ideal for casual fans. It's what the majority of fans expect anyway, so WWE won't be actively stepping on anyone's toes to put this on last. The only problem is that everybody, even the most casual fan, knows the result: Reigns is going to beat Lesnar because there aren't any other opponents left for Lesnar to defeat. The other main event possibilities for Wrestlemania 34 are a bit more unpredictable.

AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

This is the main event that the majority of hardcore WWE fans want. It's two of the finest workers in the company (and AJ Styles is, pound-for-pound, the best worker in the company) going head-to-head. It's a match that's fresh; it's only been booked once before in Japan. Nakamura won that first showdown at the Wrestle Kingdom 10 PPV. But either man could win this rematch, and it would be a reasonable result.

They're fighting for the WWE Championship, which has a lineage dating back to 1963, and unlike the Universal title, it wasn't invented out of thin air. Nakamura is also this year's Royal Rumble winner, which makes this match, technically speaking, the rightful main event. Hopefully, the WWE makes it so. But it's still second in likelihood to Lesnar vs. Reigns.

Charlotte Flair vs. Asuka

This is, personally speaking, the second best option to main event Wrestlemania 34. As with Styles vs. Nakamura, the result is largely up in the air and could be rationalized both ways. Asuka is an undefeated juggernaut with over 265 WWE wins to her name. Charlotte is the most dominant woman to emerge from the first wave of the Women's Evolution. And if their Mixed Match Challenge action is any indication, fans are in for a real physical, violent confrontation.

The only catch is that the first women's main event deserves a lot more hype and PR. If WWE were to go through with a "first ever" scenario, they would probably publicize it on every social media platform they have. There would be video packages circulating the Internet already. Fans haven't heard anything yet, which makes this unlikely.

John Cena vs. The Undertaker

This match hasn't been officially announced, even though it's obviously happening. Cena vs. Taker could main event the show if the company decides to torture its audience for as long as possible. And then, at 11:00 PM EST on April 8, when everyone has given up on seeing The Undertaker, the gong finally hits.

It sounds good on paper, but it might not work as well in practice. The Undertaker could hardly move last year and got gassed halfway through his match with Roman Reigns. Will it be worth a "Wrestlemania Moment" to have a subpar match close the show? It isn't, in my opinion. But that's a call that WWE has to make.

Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H

This is a nightmare scenario.

If Stephanie and Triple H's egos run wild, this mixed tag match could main event Wrestlemania 34. Perhaps they'll remember that Rousey has main evented UFC events, and they'll make the logical leap to assume that Rousey should main event their flagship show as well.

There's a lot of reasons why this is a bad idea, but the major reason is that it will undercut the Women's Evolution. If this match is the main event, then technically speaking (even if they don't market it this way), Rousey and Stephanie will be the first women to main event Wrestlemania. That would be a disgrace--the honor to do that belongs to women who have been on the front lines, defining the women's division, rather than a newcomer and the daughter of the company's owner.

On the bright side, if Rousey does main event Wrestlemania 34, it will blow up Twitter. It'll get mainstream attention from major news outlets, and WWE can put together a highlight reel of all the newspaper headlines for Raw the following day.

Oh no. No, no, no. This is what's going to happen, isn't it?

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