Early Predictions for The Rock, Stone Cold and WWE WrestleMania 43 Match Card

WWE's recent announcement that the 2027 edition of WrestleMania would take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was met with harsh criticism, with many wrestling fans viewing the decision as a money grab.

While ditching the United States and the over 100,000 wrestling fans may have soured the WWE's excitement for the biggest Premium Live Event of the year, Saudi Arabia will undoubtedly force the company to book the biggest stars possible.

As a result, the match card for WrestleMania 43 in Riyadh will be the deepest in history. Here are the early predictions for the top matches.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. CM Punk

Over the last several years, it's been a mutual admiration party between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. CM Punk, with both men going on the record about the respect for the other, with Punk going as far as calling Austin his "dream" opponent.

With Saudi Arabia sparing no expense for the event and WWE Creative looking to appease the host city, the dream bout is likely to become a reality. The two men have crossed paths on screen before, but have never had a match.

Wrestling fans remember a verbal battle between the two men ahead of the WWE 13 video game release in which Jim Ross was forced to keep the peace between two fighters ready to square off. The WWE Universe was instantly ready for the bout, but it never came to fruition.

Austin is now 60 years old, and Punk is 46. Time is running out on the in-ring product being worth a return for Stone Cold. With Punk's brittle nature, the two men should save their energy for their match and not lay hands on each other before the show.

A war of words between two of the best talkers ever would be more than enough.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vs. Roman Reigns

While not universally considered a dream match, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson going head-to-head with his cousin Roman Reigns would undoubtedly be a marquee addition to any WrestleMania card.

Johnson and Reigns had aligned in the past, and The Rock has turned on his own blood, so there is ample history between the two combatants. It would be fairly simple for WWE Creative—a team plagued with issues of its own—to rekindle some of the emotions the company built during the two-year-long Bloodline program.

There will be obvious limitations from an in-ring perspective, as Johnson is now 53 years old and has only wrestled seven matches since 2011. Reigns knows how to tell a story in the ring, but is not known for his prowess on the mat.

Similar to Hulk Hogan against The Rock at WrestleMania X8 in 2002, the bout would need to be heavily focused on in-ring storytelling and avoid long periods of lackluster chain wrestling. Let them hit their big spots, limit the time to 10 minutes, and this could be an instant classic.

Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch vs. The Undertaker and Michelle McCool

The WWE Universe was supposed to fall in love with the tandem of CM Punk and his wife AJ Lee, but it has been the tandem of Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch that has shined brightest, which should give WWE Creative the encouragement needed to keep them together.

If Rollins and Lynch stay together as a team and go after other mixed tag teams, it should continue over the next several months, with multiple duos forming to stop the champions, but all falling short.

Eventually, Rollins and Lynch should tout that they can't be beaten by anyone on the current roster, prompting the return of The Undertaker and his wife, Michelle McCool. The resulting war of words would ultimately culminate in a match at WrestleMania 43.

Rollins and Lynch could carry the bulk of the workload, both in the ring and on the mic, and won't mind letting the bona fide legend and his wife win in a meaningless WrestleMania moment.

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