As the Royal Rumble looms over our heads, WrestleMania season grows more and more pertinent. Every angle currently in process has a little bit of extra weight behind it because it keeps us guessing what WWE will do with it in time for the biggest event of the year. And Dolph Ziggler is…gone?

WrestleMania 34 is back in the Mercedes Superdome and it’s shaping up to be a huge event. The Universal title match has been somewhat set in stone since last year though – Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. Now I’ll let Vince McMahon run amok and I look forward to the corral of boos over this match, but I’m really much more invested in the WWE title picture.

The Champion

AJ Styles should hold the title at least until WrestleMania. There is some room for concern because of the handicap match Styles has against KO and Sami Zayn at the Royal Rumble, but I believe that is just a placeholder for now. In my opinion, that match is bound to go awry for the heels and see AJ pull out the win in favor of the continued management storyline between the “Yep!” movement and Shane McMahon/Daniel Bryan. Although it seems like a great pivot based on a hot storyline, I think that AJ is too big right now to lose here.

AJ Styles needs a viable opponent at WrestleMania, and that could range anywhere from Kevin Owens in a one on one contest to Shinsuke Nakamura in a Wrestle Kingdom 10 rematch. The candidate pool on SmackDown however is not as strong as one would think.

The Candidates

Let’s talk about the possibilities here. Since RAW’s main event is decently clear based on recent booking decisions (keeping Roman and Lesnar away from one another), SmackDown has the element of surprise. As of right now it seems like a SmackDown star is more likely to win the Royal Rumble match because the opportunity to headline WrestleMania is a bit out of reach for everyone on the blue roster. Let’s go through a few options for the winner here.

Randy Orton

Not everyone’s first pick because he won last year and has kind of fell off the radar after losing to Jinder Mahal, but I can still see WWE going with this. A heel Orton against a face AJ is something we haven’t really seen yet. The two clashed on SmackDown in opposite roles, but Orton works best as a heel. If Orton is given his first heel run in a good while, this match could work. I’m not saying to have Randy win the rumble, but if he did it may not be terrible for an impending Mania match.

John Cena

Groans all around here, but Cena is a likely candidate as any to win another Royal Rumble. Recent reports across sites such as the Wrestling Observer though note that Vince is planning “something bigger” for Cena than just a title match, so I think it’s not in the cards this year. John Cena is also technically a free agent so even if he did win, it’s uncertain if he would use his Mania match to rekindle a feud with AJ Styles.

Shinsuke Nakamura

Now here’s the match of a lifetime. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura is a money match for hardcore fans everywhere. This is an easy option for a show stealer at the grandest stage of them all, as the two have spectacular chemistry and history, not to mention that they’re two of the most talented active in-ring workers today. The only gripe I have with this though is that I’m not sure if Shinsuke is at that level or rank in WWE yet. He is certainly a main event caliber star, but his booking since he debuted on SmackDown has been quite underwhelming. I can honestly see the possibility of him being in another big match come Mania (maybe an interpromotional contest?), but the best course of action for Shinsuke may be to garner some more big matches in the next year and challenge a game AJ Styles at WrestleMania 35.

Kevin Owens

Surprisingly, I do not think this is a viable match either. KO and AJ had a decent feud with some fun matches over the US title in the summer, but I doubt we really want to see the same feud repackaged for WrestleMania. Something tells me KO will have another WrestleMania where he is involved in some sort of grudge match. Maybe he has another lapse of best friend loss and ends up combating Sami Zayn at Mania? If they threw together a feud with KO and AJ I’m sure they would do great, they just need to steer clear of using recycled material.

Dolph Ziggler

Now here is my big pick. I think that Dolph Ziggler will enter and win the Royal Rumble to challenge AJ Styles at WrestleMania. After being out for a little while, I can see Dolph being a surprise entrant in the rumble in order to win and get the respect he deserves. Dolph has a great motive set in place to be “the man” in the company like he never could be. If WWE wants to really go all the way with this storyline, what better culmination then to have him fight for the WWE title at WrestleMania? Dolph vs AJ could very well be a show-stealer and it could see a heel Ziggler (maybe with his career on the line…again?) defeat AJ Styles for the title he’s never held. Or Ziggler could lose and not resign with WWE, but I doubt they’d let him main event WrestleMania right before he leaves to work somewhere else.

The Verdict

Overall, there are a few good candidates to fight AJ at WrestleMania (assuming he keeps the title). Most of them however are shaky and not fully fleshed out, but I think that Dolph Ziggler really has the most going for him within this pool of contenders. Either way, since RAW’s main event is basically set in stone, that leaves someone to grab the brass ring over on the blue brand, and I’m very excited to see who it is.