As we head into the twilight of another winter season, the twenty-first installment of the proverbial über-hyped road to WrestleMania has crept upon us as craftily as a Ric Flair poke to the eye. Who would have ever believed in the early 1980s that Vince McMahon would have spearheaded this grand wrestling and popular culture spectacle for 21 years, that the Iron Sheik would be inducted into a professional wrestling Hall of Fame, and/or that there ever even would have been a Hall of Fame for the Iron Sheik to be inducted into?
With that said, this year’s Road to WrestleMania, which is thus far marked by its admittedly savvy promos and vignettes, seems to fall short in terms of the actual marketability of current storylines that do not involve Triple H and Batista. And even that match still remains in question as WWE contemplates a Batista switch to Smackdown! to inject a little life into Thursday night programming after the preliminary UPN discussions about cancellation.
Undoubtedly, Smackdown! still remains a fledgling commodity with a WWE Champion who just will not generate the buzz needed for a successful WrestleMania title defense. JBL and his assorted Cabinet is not the type of gimmick that will fill seats, sell T-shirts, and create PPV-like interest. Not only that, but I personally enjoyed the gimmick more when it was the Corporation, D-X, or even the Factgeme.
Meanwhile, the fact that Raw has caught the knee injury bug must have thrown a few wrenches into WWE Creative’s plans, especially in the tag team and women’s divisions. Losing Eugene and Lita at a crucial time is definitely more than a mere glancing blow to the mid-card. Throw in a botched Royal Rumble ending and Maven sucking up face time and you have a serious problem that just might not dissipate by March this time around.
That’s all for now … PEACE.
Chris Biscuiti writes exclusively for Inside Pulse.
