WWE WrestleMania 33: Smart Builds for PPV's Top Feuds

Rage and revenge must be the cornerstones of the stories that comprise WWE WrestleMania 33.

The card for the April 2 pay-per-view spectacular is coming together as Bray Wyatt is set to defend the WWE Championship against Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar will challenge Goldberg for the universal title. It looks as if Roman Reigns is headed for a showdown with Undertaker just as it's clear AJ Styles and Shane McMahon are poised to collide.

With those marquee matches in place, it's time to start amplifying the hype and energy surrounding them.

In many cases, that process will come down to funnel enemies' fury onto the screen. Fans should watch pull-apart brawls, sneak attacks and all-out destruction in the weeks ahead.

The following is a look at smart ways to tell those stories and create those moments en route to WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Florida.

Seth Rollins vs. Triple H

A hobbled Seth Rollins finds himself battling a man of great power ahead of WrestleMania.

WWE has already hinted at what Triple H is capable of with that power in the past few weeks. Triple H brought in Samoa Joe from NXT and sicced him on Rollins. The Game now has a destroyer at his command.

Kevin Owens and Joe worked together to pummel Chris Jericho on Monday's Raw. That stirred up speculation that a heel faction is in the works. Simon Miller of WhatCulture Wrestling broke down the biggest reasons to go that route in a YouTube clip, noting "Now is the time to use Triple H as a catalyst."

That's the absolute right direction to go with this feud.

WWE can create great pathos for Rollins if he's outnumbered and running uphill in his quest for revenge. Triple H can thrive as the cold leader of this powerful crew. The stable would be a good way to welcome Finn Balor back to the group should he sell out and join The Game.

En route to WrestleMania, Joe, Owens and Balor could swarm Rollins at every step, preventing him from getting his hands on Triple H.

The Architect would then have to go through each man, one by one. This way, WWE can stretch this narrative well past WrestleMania, giving Joe and Balor direction in the months to come. 

Bayley vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Sasha Banks

The Raw Women's Championship has a number of moving parts to play with.

For one, Sasha Banks and Bayley's friendship has to be exploited. Banks has hinted at a more aggressive side of herself emerging. With the pressure of a looming championship match, she should crack and emphatically break up with Bayley.

In addition to The Boss attacking the champ, we should see Nia Jax get involved.

Jax was seemingly in the title hunt in the past few weeks only to go unmentioned when it came time to announce the Women's Championship match for WrestleMania. She should be angry about her exclusion and demand in.

Raw's authority figures could repeat their strategy from Monday night—have Bayley fight Jax in a match where if the powerhouse wins she gets added to the title match.

Bayley could then survive to keep Jax out only to suffer a post-match attack.

Charlotte Flair should send her protege Dana Brooke after both Banks and Bayley, trying to soften up her foes before the big bout with steel chair shots. Brooke could fail to finish the job, leaving Flair enraged enough to start smashing her with a chair instead.

AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon

After losing out on a chance at the WWE Championship, Styles was livid. After earning the No. 1 contender's spot the week before, he lost it to Orton on Tuesday's SmackDown. Styles charged backstage and barked at McMahon. 

That anger is the key to this story.

Styles feels slighted, that he was unjustly asked to jump through hoops. He clearly blames the SmackDown commissioner for that.

The Phenomenal One should look to ruin McMahon's show from this point on in retaliation. 

Styles can refuse to wrestle, taking a count-out loss. He can cause chaos in other matches, forearming everyone in the opening tag team match, for example. And when his fury reaches its boiling point, he can start to dismantle the announce table and the ring itself one night.

Eventually, Shane O'Mac would demand this all end, stepping up for the SmackDown brand by challenging Styles.

Kevin Owens vs. Chris Jericho

Jericho vs. Owens will be best off if Y2J provides the comedic elements of the story and KO plays a bloodthirsty beast.

Too often during Owens' time as universal champion, WWE presented him as a jokester and more of a jerk than a monster. He is at his best, though, when he's allowed to be vicious and dominating. We have seen flashes of that, most recently when he pounded the hell out of Zayn on Monday's Raw.

In response to that match, WrestlingInc.com tweeted, "This Kevin Owens? Probably should have been booked this way as champ. His reign would have felt completely different."

Jericho should joke around, poke fun at his former best friend and anger Owens with one-liners. He can play a prank or two on him to leave him seething a la Dean Ambrose during his 2014 rivalry with Rollins.

In response, Owens would go on a rampage.

Jobbers, midcarders and maybe even Byron Saxton would suffer powerbombs on the entrance ramp or ring apron. Owens should hurt people, barking that Jericho will suffer the same fate at WrestleMania.

Roman Reigns vs. Undertaker

WWE would be insane to keep Reigns a babyface in his battle with Undertaker. Opposite an icon, Reigns will get booed mercilessly. 

This feud is the perfect opportunity to allow Reigns to evolve, for him to move toward a darker character. He should be presented as cocky and brash, showing little respect for Undertaker. Reigns should list off his accomplishments while dismissing The Deadman's.

Undertaker will promise to teach him a lesson.

The dynamic should be that of a young, defiant punk trying to push aside a beloved veteran. Reigns could push Undertaker's face with his hand at one point and later interrupt one of his entrances to mock it on the mic.

In addition, to prove that he's on Undertaker's level, he could take on some of The Deadman's old rivals, from Mark Henry to Big Show.

And when it comes time to do battle at WrestleMania, an unjust win over Undertaker would generate all types of buzz for Reigns. Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross wrote on his blog, "I'd likely put Reigns over in Orlando via cheating to gain an unfair advantage as it would facilitate Reigns leaving WM with immense heat and bragging rights to carry Roman farther down the road."

This is the exact way to go in order to turn around Reigns' story and make him a less polarizing figure.

Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton

No feud will allow WWE to experiment like Wyatt vs. Orton.

The unique nature of Wyatt's character and the strangeness of this story has to be explored. Contract signings have to be tossed out. The same goes for appearances on in-ring talk show segments.

Instead, Wyatt should up the stakes of this rivalry. To pay Orton back for burning down the Wyatt Family compound, The Eater of Worlds should have a returning Erick Rowan kidnap him. We could later see Orton tied up in some swamp shack where a cackling Wyatt lectured him about loyalty.

Later on, Wyatt and a swarm of mystery men in sheep masks could surround Orton during one of his matches. The Viper could clean house, punching out the attackers until only a grinning Wyatt remained. 

The basic story is set—Orton turned on Wyatt so he could go after the WWE Championship. The focus now should be on creating eerie moments and lasting images.  

Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar

The formula for Goldberg vs. Lesnar should be simple: lots of brawling, lots of Paul Heyman.

Neither Goldberg nor Lesnar are mic masters. And this isn't a complicated story. WWE would be best off pitting the two titans against each other in a series of wild, physical confrontations.

Lesnar could come out to boast about flooring Goldberg the last time they met. Goldberg could charge to the ring through the crowd and deliver a massive spear. A brawl would then erupt that sent both men into the stands, against the announce table and up the entrance ramp.

Following up a few weeks later, Goldberg and Lesnar should collide again, this time in the arena parking lot.

As Goldberg gets out of a limo, The Beast Incarnate would be waiting for him. Dented cars and bowled-over security guards would soon lie in their wake.

In between this chaos, Heyman will be key to adding narrative depth to the match. He can sell fans on how important this bout is to Lesnar's legacy, relay how torn up his client has been after losing to Goldberg so many times.

Throw in a recorded interview of Lesnar promising to eat Goldberg's innards and you have a marquee meeting of behemoths ready to go.