On equal footing are the two Triple Threat matches, as they both represent the same idea: quality in-ring action with enough of a storyline to keep the audience engaged, but not so much of a story behind it that it’s more about the characters playing around than it is the outcome itself.
The most important aspects are who walks out with those two titles and since both stand a very good chance of seeing new champions crowned, it’s smart to start the show with a title change.
I’d go so far as to say between the two, since both Seth Rollins and Finn Balor are crowd darlings while The Bludgeon Brothers aren’t babyfaces by any stretch of the imagination and have a better shot than The New Day at winning those titles, it would be more advantageous to begin the night with a babyface pop, putting the Intercontinental Championship match as a good opener.
However, what if WWE wants to start things off with even more of a bang? Instead of having a match like one of those two at the front, leading up to something more important to come at the end of the first hour, what if those two are in the same boat as the United States Championship match and will be midcard matches?
Well, that’s where the other two matches come into play, as they are certainly marquee selling points, but they’re unlikely to be treated the same as the other three main events of Reigns, Rousey and Asuka.
Here’s a conundrum: do you start the event off with Daniel Bryan’s in-ring return and run the risk of the fans reaching their peak volume of happiness from the very start, with some letdowns to follow just because you want to have the beginning of the night seem amazing?
Alternatively, do you go with the title change of Shinsuke Nakamura defeating AJ Styles in what is most likely going to be one of the best matches of the evening, hoping The Phenomenal One doesn’t have more supporters who will boo the new champion? Also, what happens if that, too, creates a scenario where the best match of the night was the first one and everything that followed was worse in comparison?
The more I weigh the options, the more I think the tag team match with Daniel Bryan, Shane McMahon, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn has too much potential to be something that wakes up the audience and it would be better served midway through the event.
NEXT PAGE: Which Match Should Start WrestleMania 34? (Cont.)
