WWE WrestleMania 38: McAfee vs. Theory and Matches That Will Exceed Expectations

AP Photo/Zach Bolinger

A handful of matches on the WrestleMania 38 card have already been tabbed as potential show stealers, but there are other less-heralded bouts with a chance to exceed expectations as well.

Given that WrestleMania is a two-night event on April 2 and 3 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, there could be as many as 14 matches or more announced for the show over the next couple of weeks.

Not every match can be a classic, five-star encounter, but some of them seem to be receiving less recognition and enthusiasm than they deserve.

Here is a closer look at a few of those matches with a chance to be far better and more entertaining than most observers expect.

Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory

Pat McAfee is perhaps best known to wrestling fans now as the energetic color commentator on SmackDown, but there are plenty of reasons to believe he could have an awesome match with Austin Theory.

For starters, McAfee was once an elite athlete, punting for the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to 2016 and earning two Pro Bowl nods and a First Team All-Pro selection during that time.

He also has one of the biggest personalities of anyone in sports entertainment as evidenced by his antics on the Pat McAfee Show and during SmackDown.

On top of all that, McAfee does have some in-ring experience, and in the limited opportunities he had, he knocked it out of the park each time.

McAfee memorably feuded with Adam Cole in NXT and faced him at NXT TakeOver XXX in 2020. Despite Cole being the experienced, seasoned competitor, McAfee was the talk of the match due to how well he performed in his first match.

He followed that up with another excellent performance a few months later when he, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch faced Undisputed Era in a WarGames match.

This time, McAfee will face a supremely talented performer in Theory, who may be WWE’s top star in waiting at just 24 years of age.

Given Theory’s potential, WWE will undoubtedly be firmly focused on ensuring he has a good showing even if he ultimately takes the loss against McAfee.

McAfee vs. Theory may not steal the show, but based on the athletic ability of both men and the chemistry they have already built, it could conceivably be one of the best matches on the entire card.

Queen Zelina & Carmella vs. Sasha Banks & Naomi vs. Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya & Shayna Baszler

It is fair to say that the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships have been placed on the back burner at times during their existence, and that may be the case currently.

Queen Zelina and Carmella are highly talented and entertaining individually and as a team, but they have gotten much of a spotlight since winning the titles about four months ago.

That may finally change at WrestleMania, as they are set to defend the championships against teams comprised of some of the top women’s wrestlers in WWE.

Sasha Banks is already an all-time great and arguably the best in-ring worker of any women’s wrestler in the world, and she will team with another accomplished performer in two-time SmackDown women’s champion Naomi.

Meanwhile, former NXT and Raw women’s champion Rhea Ripley is perhaps the future of women’s wrestling, and she is teaming with the immensely popular Liv Morgan.

Additionally, Natalya is a multi-time women’s champion who will join forces with a multi-time NXT women’s champion and WWE women’s tag team champion in Shayna Baszler.

It can be argued that the build for the match has left something to be desired or that Banks and Ripley should be involved in something more substantial on the Grandest Stage of Them All, but that doesn’t change the possibility of it being a top-notch Fatal 4-Way tag team match.

Recently, RK-Bro, Alpha Academy and the team of Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins tore the house down in a Triple Threat tag team match for the Raw tag team titles on Raw, and the women’s Fatal 4-Way could approach that level if given ample time.

While it is an easy match to overlook given some if the main event-caliber matches already on the card, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship bout has all the pieces in place needed to exceed expectations.

Johnny Knoxville vs. Sami Zayn

Fans are often skeptical of WrestleMania matches that involved celebrities, but there is a long history of those matches actually delivering.

Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor against Bam Bam Bigelow at WrestleMania 11 and boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. against Big Show at WrestleMania 24 are two obvious examples, but there is an even more recent one.

Just last year, musician Bad Bunny teamed with Damian Priest against The Miz and John Morrison. Little was expected of the bout, but it was among the brightest spots on the card thanks largely to Bad Bunny’s performance.

Unlike Taylor and Mayweather, Bad Bunny isn’t an elite athlete, but due to his passion for WWE and the hard work he put in, he was able to do something memorable.

Perhaps something similar could happen this year for Jackass star Johnny Knoxville when he takes on Sami Zayn.

Zayn and Knoxville have been feuding since before the Royal Rumble, so there is already a long-running storyline involved, which is more than can be said for several other matches.

Also, given Zayn’s in-ring ability and status as one of the best heels in all of wrestling, there is every reason to believe he will be able to carry the load during the match.

On top of that, Knoxville has made a living off doing wild stunts, so one can only assume he and WWE have something big planned for WrestleMania.

All of those factors suggest Knoxville is a solid candidate to turn in a Bad Bunny-like performance at the Showcase of the Immortals.