| Mr. Nerfect |
12-27-2014 08:59 PM |
This one is probably one of my more controversial views, and I never see anyone on the same boat as me with this, but I honestly believe that the WWE should really stop trying to put all its eggs in the WrestleMania basket.
Over the years, WrestleMania has become so big that after your big stars come in for the paychecks and attract the big buys, you have enough for a credible 31-man Battle Royal with several World Champions competing in it. Then the top stars often fade away, and you expect fans to latch onto performers that often aren't even featured on the big show. And, as a sidenote: When you have guys like Daniel Bryan, Cesaro, Bray Wyatt and The Shield all featured in "changing of the guard" moments, come next WrestleMania, the stories of what happened to all those men need to be addressed. It's just a little belief I have -- there should be a WrestleMania-to-WrestleMania story told if you are going to try and make it a SuperShow that attracts your largest casual audience of the year.
That's why, in my opinion, regardless of his political standing, Cesaro should be in a major match at WrestleMania this year. If he's not, what was the point of being invested in that Battle Royal last year? What will be important this year? Why go back and re-live moments on the WWE Network if they mean nothing over time? That's the same reason it should really be Daniel Bryan challenging Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania this coming year. That he's not medically cleared is a shame that cannot be avoided, but Bryan should be in a major marquee match at Mania, or else what was the point of that Cinderella story?
Now, these might seem like dichotomous points, but the whole "it's all about WrestleMania" thing seems to water down the rest of the WWE's calendar year and mainstream appeal, in my opinion. I remember when the inevitable conversation of CM Punk vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin came up a few years ago (just after Punk's heel turn in 2012, I believe), I threw out the idea that instead of building up to WrestleMania with the match, the WWE could market an entire PPV out of the idea. A stand-alone event that they could just call "WWE Presents: CM Punk vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin". Jim Ross and Paul Heyman could have been used to do commentary for the show. You could have an undercard with wrestlers that were sort of "sponsored" but Punk and Austin. Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler or something. Give a guy a trial match on there. Book Colt Cabana for the show. Give it a whole different feel, structure-wise.
People scoffed at the idea and said "there's no way it doesn't happen at a WrestleMania." This is where I have to ask "Why not?" Why can't the WWE do a big return at a Survivor Series, promote the hell out of it, and try to get some buzz about their product at a time that isn't WrestleMania season? Remember when Shawn Michaels made his WWE return after four years? It happened at SummerSlam 2002, and the event stands out for big reason because of that. Brock Lesnar also captured his first WWE Championship at said event -- not every major star needs to win their first title at WrestleMania. Winning it at SummerSlam, Money in the Bank, TLC, or even Payback after a certain amount of build can help those moments stand out and general a buzz about your product.
Back in 2013, Shawn Michaels gave Daniel Bryan the Sweet Chin Music in Hell in a Cell and cost him the WWE Title to Randy Orton. There was nerdy internet chatter about the possibiltiy of Michaels coming out of retirement to work Bryan at WrestleMania XXX. How about the possibility of HBK coming back to work one match with Bryan at Survivor Series '13? There's your PPV sold to every single wrestling fan right there. At the time the other money match with Triple H vs. Big Show. Neither of those matches happened, because the WWE wanted to keep them in their back pocket. Ultimately, the PPV felt like filler. Imagine if the WWE had gone with Big Show knocking Triple H out and Bryan making Michaels submit at that PPV -- their build heading into WrestleMania would be fantastic. You'd also have Randy Orton free to work a WWE Title match against someone like CM Punk.
My rant is going a bit broad, but basically I don't see why some things are "too big" for certain PPVs. I feel that the WWE would benefit by trying to make every show huge in its own way. Instead of having filler PPVs, make every one a "can't miss" event. I guess I feel that the WWE just keeps too much in its back pocket for WrestleMania, and that the rest of the product can suffer because of that.
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