WWE WrestleMania 33 preview: Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton

Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt will be one of WrestleMania 33’s top matches, as they are battling for the WWE Championship.

The WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 33 looked to be in flux for weeks after the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber pay-per-views. However, after the dust settled, Bray Wyatt defending the belt against Randy Orton became official.

Since WrestleMania 29, the WWE Championship match has main evented WrestleMania. On just about every episode of SmackDown Live, WWE has stated this will be the headliner of the show, despite Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar being given a large spotlight. So, we probably won’t know if Wyatt vs. Orton will close the event until the first of the two title matches goes on.

Orton and Wyatt’s build goes all the way back to last summer, so it has taken a while to get here. How did it all begin, though? What got us to WrestleMania 33? Let’s take a look.

How did we get here?

Remember when Orton main evented SummerSlam 2016 with Brock Lesnar, only to be busted open and lose via TKO, something you never see happen in WWE? Well, if you don’t, then it’s because Orton has come leaps and bounds from that moment of making Lesnar look like 10 million dollars after his UFC 200 win.

The Viper’s follow-up feud turned out to be Wyatt, which was supposed to take place at Backlash. It seemed like a way to make up for the SummerSlam loss, but it actually only hurt Orton because he didn’t get cleared for the September pay-per-view. They wouldn’t get the opportunity to go head-to-head until No Mercy in October.

Orton and Wyatt didn’t exactly put on a great match. They received the main event spot after WWE chose to counter a Presidential Debate by putting the real headliner — AJ Styles vs. John Cena vs. Dean Ambrose — as the show’s opener. It featured a slow, sluggish pace that never really got off the ground. Luke Harper returned, though, and helped the Eater of Worlds win.

Then came the part few saw coming — Orton joined the Wyatt Family; someone who didn’t fit the creepy, backwoods profile of this stable. He didn’t have the long beard or looked like he hadn’t showered in weeks. Instead, the Apex Predator went down a type of dark path we hadn’t really seen from his character since the late 2000s. He had the Wyatt Family entrance, seemed sucked into the cult-like mentality of the group, and bowed down to Wyatt.

For months, Orton and Wyatt gelled. However, once they lost the SmackDown Tag Team Championship, things started to break down. It resulted in Harper being ousted from the group, with a little help from Orton. That set up the inevitable between the two remaining Wyatt Family members, but with a twist — the 2017 Royal Rumble match would see Orton win and guarantee himself a WWE Championship opportunity at WrestleMania 33.

At the time, John Cena held the title. It seemed obvious where this would eventually head toward, though, as he and Orton have feuded however many times before, and the storyline with Wyatt was already in place. So, at Elimination Chamber, Wyatt won the WWE Championship and successfully defended it two nights later.

After this title defense, Orton told Wyatt he wouldn’t target his belt, setting up an opportunity for someone else to go after it at WrestleMania. It ended up being Harper and Styles battling, leading to the latter seemingly winning the chance for a WWE Title match. That didn’t last long.

Orton popped up on the big screen to close an episode of SmackDown and revealed he had no intention of sticking with Wyatt anymore. He didn’t like the nature of what the current WWE Champion was doing, so action was taken. What kind, you may ask? Well, he sort of committed arson by burning down Sister Abigail’s resting place. But that’s neither here or there, right?

As a result, Orton wanted his WrestleMania opportunity back. He had to go through Styles, and as expected, he did so to confirm himself as Wyatt’s opponent.

What to expect?

We should expect something better out of Wyatt and Orton in their second go-around. No Mercy’s match did nothing to get the action off the ground, so we should get something more productive on Sunday.

What also goes in favor of this match is the build behind it. Unlike most on the WrestleMania card, this has received seven months of hype. There’s a backstory to this that had months of planning, something WWE finds a difficult time of doing anymore. That should lead to more fan investment to see these two foes-turned-friends-turned-foes square off again. Having the WWE Championship as an added incentive will only make this better.

As for what goes on in the ring, expect an evenly matched contest. These two have been red-hot throughout 2017, and one hasn’t proven to be more dominant than the other. They’re winning matches and have stayed strong throughout the build, which is unlike plenty of Raw‘s WrestleMania matches.

The biggest question of what to expect from Orton vs. Wyatt, is if it will main event WrestleMania 33? This is not just being “one of” the WrestleMania main events, but the actual closing match.

As of Mar. 28, we still don’t know if this will be the case. WWE hasn’t specifically said whether this or Goldberg vs. Lesnar is going on last. Just based on everything we’ve seen through the past three months, though, expect RAW’s Universal Championship match to close. While the case can be made for Orton vs. Wyatt deserving this spot, WWE will look for the mainstream attention of having a former UFC star and former NFL player going head-to-head in the main event. This will disappoint some, but it’s a business decision.

Predicted winner

Matches like Goldberg vs. Lesnar and Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho are predictable, but Wyatt vs. Orton is not. These two, as noted, have looked strong throughout the build to this match, something that can’t be said for plenty of other WrestleMania 33 programs.

What also goes in favor of the WWE Championship match, in terms of unpredictability, is neither are part-time stars. Fans will see both after WrestleMania, so deciding on a winner is more difficult than the Universal and United States Titles.

I don’t think WWE will put Orton vs. Wyatt on last. If that’s the case, then there won’t be a title change. That will be saved for the main event, with Lesnar winning the Universal Championship and getting the WrestleMania moment he really doesn’t need.

While Wyatt ending WrestleMania standing tall would do wonders for his career, that’s just not in WWE’s nature to do in 2017. There are two mainstream names colliding with each other, which WWE has and will continue to sell the event on. It doesn’t help that WWE will want to close the show with a title change either, as it would be the fifth consecutive year of this being done.

Next: Best match from every WrestleMania in history

So, Wyatt will walk out of WrestleMania 33 with the WWE Championship, and move onto something else. Maybe it’s still Orton? Maybe it’s Styles? Could it be someone completely different?