WRESTLEMANIA 34 Pre-Show/Live Show Thread (Spoilers)

Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali (Kickoff Show): The finals of the tournament to name a champion will be held at WrestleMania 34 on the kickoff show. It once looked like Alexander would be the clear winner, but Ali has been getting a tremendous push as of late.

Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Kickoff Show): The winner will receive a trophy and not much else. There is usually some celebrity involvement in this match. The 28 (of 30) announced participants include

Kane, Dolph Ziggler, Matt Hardy, Baron Corbin, Mojo Rawley, Elias, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, R-Truth, Sin Cara, Titus O'Neil, Apollo, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Tye Dillinger, Scott Dawson, Goldust, Heath Slater, Rhyno, Zack Ryder, Primo Colon, Shelton Benjamin, Chad Gable, Aiden English, Curt Hawkins, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Mike Kanellis.

WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal (Kickoff Show): Superstars from Raw, SmackDown and NXT will compete in the event, which one should expect to be held on the kickoff show. The 13 (of 20) announced participants include

Sasha Banks, Bayley, Becky Lynch, Mickie James, Natalya, Lana, Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, Liv Morgan, Naomi, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Carmella

John Cena challenges The Undertaker, again: While it is not on the formal WrestleMania 34 card, T-shirts being sold by WWE around New Orleans have Cena challenging Taker listed as part of the events of the evening. It is expected that Taker will indeed show up after weeks of Cena calling him out, but whether they fight -- or have a formal match -- remains to be seen.

SmackDown Women's Championship -- Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Asuka: Flipping brands to SmackDown (hence the Royal Rumble winner stipulation added at the last minute) is a great move for Asuka , who challenged Flair in a match of arguably the two best female workers in the company. Continuing her undefeated streak by beating Flair would be an even better development for Asuka, or WWE could use this as a means to elevate Flair even further.

Raw Women's Championship -- Alexa Bliss (c) vs. Nia Jax: With Asuka choosing to switch brands and compete against Flair, Bliss needed another Raw-brand opponent. Real-life best friend Jax is the choice as WWE has worked the on-screen frenemieis into what amounts to a bullying angle with Bliss teasing Jax over her weight, among other things.

Intercontinental Championship -- The Miz (c) vs. Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor: It looked like Braun Strowman might take on The Miz, but he is now otherwise occupied. This should be a fantastic match making great use of two superstars in Rollins and Balor that have been caught without legitimate singles pushes in 2018. There should be a title change with either Rollins or Balor winding up on SmackDown at some point after WrestleMania.

Daniel Bryan & Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn: With Owens and Zayn now "fired" from SmackDown after beating up McMahon -- and then Bryan two weeks ago -- a tag team match was made on SmackDown with their SmackDown careers on the line. Owens and Zayn will be reinstated if they win or remain fired if they lose. Whether McMahon will be able to go for the match, however, remains to be seen as he is battling diverticulitis. It is being promoted as if he will participate.

United States Championship Randy Orton (c) vs. Bobby Roode vs. Jinder Mahal vs. Rusev: A match that should be on the kickoff show but probably will not be. The storyline is lackluster and uninteresting considering Orton has already won the only WWE singles title he had not held at Fastlane. At least WWE added Rusev at the last minute.

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. The Bludgeon Brothers: The top feud in WWE this past "season" gets its deserved spot at WrestleMania ... though the addition of the Bludgeon Brothers -- while telegraphed -- is unnecessary. The good news is that BB is a team of two good workers, and this could be a sneaky match-of-the-night candidate.

Raw Tag Team Championship The Bar (c) vs. Braun Strowman & TBD: In a fun twist, Strowman won a tag team battle royal on earn a WrestleMania shot at the tag team titles. In storyline, WWE is forcing Strowman to choose a partner. Personally, I think it would be incredible to see a 2-on-1 handicap match for the straps.

Ronda Rousey & Kurt Angle vs. Stephanie McMahon & Triple H: Perhaps there is a reason WWE is promoting the Mixed Match Challenge so hard. This is a call-back to the WrestleMania 31 incident between Rousey and The Rock along with McMahon and Triple H ... but with Angle in The Rock's place. It also wraps up the Angle-Triple H storyline that started at but never progressed following Survivor Series. Rousey makes her in-ring debut here, and WWE sources have told us she has been exceedingly impressive training for this match.

WWE Championship AJ Styles (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: After winning the 30-Man Royal Rumble, Nakamura had his choice of WrestleMania opponent and immediately called out Styles. The two will rekindle their rivalry from New Japan Pro-Wrestling, a match in which Nakamura won to hold a 1-0 lead on the series with Styles. This should be a "smart" fan's dream, and while it is unlikely to main event the show, it may very well be the match of the evening in New Orleans.

Universal Championship -- Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Roman Reigns: This one has been coming for 365 days ever since Lesnar beat Goldberg for the title and Reigns beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. Reigns won Elimination Chamber to earn the spot as he will put his spear against Lesnar's F5. With Lesnar rumored to be heading to UFC, we shall find out whether Vince McMahon's year-long plan will culminate in the face reaction he wants for Reigns.