On Sunday 3/29/15 WWE will present WrestleMania 31 live on the WWE Network, and I have a feeling that this year’s WrestleMania results will lead to a Dead End at best. We will not be getting a ***** classic of any kind and the biggest storyline crescendo that WWE has going for them as I write this — Damien Mizdow vs. The Miz — will not even be a WrestleMania match and will likely be reserved for a segment during the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
This is a FAR cry from WrestleMania XXX, where TWO main event worthy Daniel Bryan matches carried the show (and delivered) and Brock Lesnar shockingly ended THE STREAK.
It is also a far cry from the installment of WrestleMania that I just revisited and watched on the WWE Network over the weekend that just so happened to be WrestleMania 21. Ten years ago, this WrestleMania card had the following matches and results:
Battle of Tag Team Champions
Rey Mysterio def. Eddie Guerrero
First Ever Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Edge def. Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Christian and Kane
Legend vs. Legend Killer
Undertaker def. Randy Orton
Women’s Championship Match
Trish Stratus def. Christy Hemme with Lita
Kurt Angle def. Shawn Michaels IN THE BEST MATCH I’VE EVER SEEN
Sumo Match
Akebono def. Big Show
WWE Championship Match
John Cena def. JBL to win his first WWE Championship
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Batista def. Triple H to win his first World Heavyweight Championship
Sumo wrestling match aside, WrestleMania 21 was filled with the right combination of solid matches, a multiple-person showcase that MEANT something, huge firsts, and Veterans vs. upstarts.
And just like Daniel Bryan’s matches at WrestleMania XXX, the likes of Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels absolutely carried this PPV was so outstanding that you can forgive the greenness of the two winners in the title matches.
The biggest problem I have with WrestleMania 31 is this: There will not be ONE match on the current proposed card that is for the WRESTLING fans, and all of the storylines — including Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns — just seem to lack organic builds that are reaching their pinnacles at the Grand Daddy of Them All.
Meanwhile, unlike Money In The Bank, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal — while a fun special attraction — ultimately means nothing for the winner’s progression. Just ask Cesaro.
Also, in the two special attraction matches — Bray Wyatt vs. The Undertaker and HHH vs. Sting — you have a road to WrestleMania that is being completely taken up by promos that are starting to repeat themselves because only one of the characters in both storylines are being allowed to speak. With Taker likely being kept out until Mania and Sting doing nothing more than bat-pointing, we are already getting long-winded and redundant vignettes from Wyatt and Triple H that will only get more annoying over the next 4 weeks.
Ultimately, all signs on the Road to WrestleMania 31 are pointing to a Dead End for virtually everyone involved and while this isn’t earth-shattering news at this point, it does remain mind-shakingly troubling that WWE has gone in this direction by choice.
Go back and watch the Angle-HBK match from WrestleMania 10 years ago, and you won’t be sorry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-qF53Mhlro
I can’t say the same for anything that is on the card for WrestleMania 31.
That’s all from me — CB.
