Randy Orton enters the ring at the WWE SummerSlam 2015 at Barclays Center of Brooklyn on August 23, 2015 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/JP Yim)
The road to WrestleMania 33 has been filled with many surprises, like Randy Orton earning his spot at the main event by winning the 2017 Royal Rumble, and with expected events as well, like Brock Lesnar challenging Goldberg to a third fight in their rivalry. Despite the fact that it seems like "the grandest stage of them all" will already be stacked with high profile matches, there are a number of superstars still yearning to earn their spot at the prestigious event.
For starters, Charlotte Flair is set to defend her Raw women's championship on the show's upcoming episode, according to Sky Sports. Her upcoming title defense will be against fan favorite Bayley, who interestingly enough, has already failed in her previous attempt at dethroning Flair back at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event last month. To add more flair to the WWE women's division, Emmalina, formerly known as Emma, is finally set to make her debut on the upcoming Raw.
Roman Reigns will be looking to seek revenge against Braun Strowman on Raw, after the latter cost him his match against the debuting Samoa Joe. Speaking of Samoa Joe, the former NXT superstar is currently wreaking havoc in the main roster and may well feature in another match come Monday night.
In other news, both Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton are expected to come out of WrestleMania as champions based on the current betting odds for the marquee event, according to Smart Bets, as cited by Wrestle Zone. Currently, the plan is for Goldberg to beat Owens for the Universal championship at the Fastlane pay-per-view, then subsequently lose it to Lesnar at WrestleMania. A similar plan is set for Orton, as he is SmackDown's highest earner and it would only make sense for him to hold the top prize there as well.
While fans have criticized Goldberg and Lesnar for being part-timers, they maintain their status among the top draws of the promotion. Speaking of part-timers in the WWE, Nikki Bella is set to become one after it was revealed that her recovery for her recent neck surgery has not gone as planned. The change will come into effect after the upcoming WrestleMania, where she will reportedly team up with John Cena to take on The Miz and Maryse.
Watch the highlights of Samoa Joe's main roster debut here:
