I’m going to skip the usual pleasantries and cut down to the chase. Kue’s gone home ’til Thursday. This is Jonah talking. We’re all feeling a backlash (no pun intended) from last night’s event (Editor’s note: obviously, WrestleMania). Most have had a negative response based on a sense of disappointment they had with it. I admit, I found it a bit lackluster myself. The one thing that seemed to trigger the nerves of so many fans is the lack of finality that usually is characteristic to the storylines in most ‘Manias. Of course, my nerves were triggered by this as well. At first.
I think a broader scope is necessary for this all to fit into place. Since the arrival of the Nexus (the original, not PuNexus), the ‘E has been going through a transitional phase. We’re no longer in the phase we’ve been in through the past 5+ years. Cena, Batista, HHH, Orton dominating the main event scene had began to run its course. The fans began to rebel against the recycled stories, rivalries, and characters. So, the ‘E finally took notice and changed a few things with their established stars. Batista became a heel. Orton completed his organic face turn. HHH was nowhere to be seen. But Cena…..what to do with this kid? He was the posterchild for what the company was for, more or less, the past decade. . So, why not let the new school kids be the ones to target him? Hence, the Nexus angle.
The fans were clamoring for new stars to be pushed. Barrett, Del Rio, Sheamus, Morrison, and especially the Miz gained pushes from this movement. However, it seemed that the same fear of pushing new stars that was established in Vince via Lesnar, Lashley, and the like was still lingering. Sheamus fizzled out after his feud with Morrison. Morrison was caught up in the mess of the Road to ‘Mania. Del Rio gained much exposure, but lost his title match last night, which made it seem like the last few months of build were for nothing. Worst of all, the most riveting story that wrestling has had in awhile, the Nexus, was buried to nothing by Cena. The Miz came out of it still on top, but not unscathed, as we’ve seen through his not-so-dominant title run.
But even with these start and stop pushes, no one can deny we’re going through an era transition in the company, whether it be a fan, a worker, or the company itself. Vince and friends are attempting to navigate through this transition, but they’re hitting rocks and storms through the ride. And Wrestlemania was the most difficult to navigate. Since we are in this phase, how does one continue to build the future leaders of the new era, but still make the biggest show of the year the biggest draw of the year? Simple. Nostalgia. And so, with that, they applied a heavy dose of the Attitude Era into ‘Mania, assuring the buyrates, while allowing them to keep cultivating the storylines to push this transition.
Now, as a “Wrestlemaniaâ€, this year failed to live up to the hype of what Wrestlemanias have traditionally established themselves to be. As a PPV, this was fine. You had decent matches amongst the not-so-decent ones. But in the heart of it all, ‘Mania succeeded in pushing forward with this transitional phase. With the great Orton/Punk match and feud, they’ve established the torch carriers through this phase. Call these guys the placeholder top face and heel until the transition has finally ended and we fully enter the new era we’re headed towards. I know many are a bit upset at the results of the World Heavyweight Championship match, but with the Edge/Del Rio feud bound to continue, they can really push Del Rio’s win to mean something. Giving a heel who’s basically had an unstoppable run while he’s been in the company the title is rather anticlimactic, no matter how good the match is. With Del Rio losing this match, he’d be a more legitimate new school leader of Smackdown when he eventually wins the title. Cody Rhodes’ accomplishment and future implications are obvious, and he’ll come into his own as leader of the midcard very soon, if he’s not there already.
Though this shifting period from era to era has its difficulties, the hardest obstacle to overcome is definitely the purple shirt and jorts. With Cena holding the position of top face in this recent era, it’s difficult to maneuver his character change. The most effective way, of course, is to turn him heel. But how do you turn the boyscout character of Cena into a heel? What do you think the Rock is doing right now? It stands to reason that the fans will side with the Rock in this feud. All it takes is for Cena’s character to get to the brink of hating the fans for turning their back on him, despite his tenure and dedication to the company. And that’s what last night’s rage-inducing main event angle was set to do: perpetuate the feud between the Rock and Cena to further perpetuate Cena’s heel turn, and in turn, perpetuate the evolution of the company.
Now, I’m not excusing the fact that ‘Mania had its fair share of mistakes to say the least (Bryan/Sheamus being left off the card, the placement of some matches, the unnecessary promos, the way the Miz was portrayed in the main event). I’m giving you a reason for the booking from a perspective of the big picture. This may seem far-fetched, and it may in fact be. But ask yourself this: if the ‘Mania buyrate was already set with appearances by the Rock, Austin, Trips, and ‘Taker, why not just make the fans happy with a Cena win? They achieved their PPV goals by getting people to buy. But the main goal? The main goal was to get the eyes that were sick of the era of repetitive matches between Cena/Orton/HHH/Taker/Edge to tune in, not just on ‘Mania night, but tomorrow night, and if they play this card right, the following nights as well.
Just a thought.
Adieu.
