Hello everybody! First off, I would like to apologize for last week’s missing column as Wrestlemania week was in full swing and I lost power in my Colorado home due to a storm. I am back this week with a fresh column and like many others; I plan to talk about Wrestlemania. Why? Because Wrestlemania is the grand-daddy of them all, what other reason is needed? But before I even mention all of that, for anybody who has not seen the show, I am instructing you to buy the replay, download it, do whatever you have to do in order to see this show because it was amazing.
The message boards have been buzzing with differing opinions on the show and while nobody called it the greatest Wrestlemania ever, many people agree that the show was very good. On the other side, others have claimed that it was a complete disappointment. I will agree that there were a few disappointments on the show such as Bret Hart’s endless beating of Vince McMahon or the fact that the CM Punk versus Rey Mysterio match got a measly 6 minutes. Those pale in comparison to just how amazing Undertaker/Shawn 2 and Cena/Batista was. Differing opinions? The comments section is looking barren.
But the biggest surprise would be the Money in the Bank win of Jack Swagger. Before the show, not a single person would have anticipated the WWE pulling the trigger on a Jack Swagger win and run with the prestigious Money in the Bank. Even looking back on it, the only two names to be considered as winners by wrestling fans were Drew McIntyre and Christian. To be honest, Christian was one of those fantasy booking winners as everybody has been dreaming of some sort of Edge/Christian interaction since Christian’s re-signing to the company and McIntyre is being touted as a WWE golden boy by the inner circle of wrestling journalists although I have my doubts.
Jack Swagger, though? Nobody saw it coming so it seems like the WWE did their job in creating a surprising finish. Now the question is can Swagger live up to the Money in the Bank stardom like Edge, RVD and CM Punk? Or will Swagger officially be the first flop in the Money in the Bank lineage? Personally, I think the WWE are trying to make The All-American American into their pure athlete main eventer which hasn’t been seen in a number of years. A hybrid of Brock Lesnar’s looks and Kurt Angle’s outfit, Swagger had an awesome match with John Cena during the last draft show which shows that he can go but when the trigger is pulled on a possible main event push the question will arise, can Swagger handle the limelight?
I am still on the fence about Swagger. He has an interesting move set but his lisp will not do him any favors and the awkward style he comes to the ring gives him no favors. Then again maybe he just needs some sort of mouthpiece to counteract that and I see no reason why he could not be a main event player. Receiving the initial Brock treatment with the mouthpiece and monster push could very well be what Jack Swagger needs to become a big-time player in the WWE.
Looking back on the Money in the Bank, was there anybody deserving of one of the big titles in the match? Of course there was but would the WWE really give it to any of the guys in the match? No matter who you look at, the WWE didn’t have a real main event guy in there that could take the Money in the Bank briefcase and convert it into a title win. In years past there was an array of guys you could see as World Title material but this year didn’t have that feel. It seemed like they just combined the mid-card together in order to give them a Wrestlemania payday for a few crazy spots and an enjoyable match. But maybe that is actually a good idea in retrospect as it could lead to the elevation of guys who would otherwise never receive it. This could have been any of those guys in that match getting this shot and if any one of them skyrocketed into the main event and made an impact, it would be a success for promoting a meaningless mid-carder into the spotlight.
Kudos to the WWE for actually surprising its fan as this is something that doesn’t happen much. Do you think Jack Swagger deserves the shot? This is where the discussion turns to the fans. I have already given my opinion but there are thousands of you out there reading this who have opinions as well. So what do you think?
