So it’s been 4 years since Shawn Michaels went into retirement and even after that, we still get our share of HBK appearances, especially when it comes to Wrestlemania season. However, he doesn’t seem to be involved in Wrestlemania in any for the first in a very long time this year. This realization made me wonder if there will ever take up the “Mr. Wrestlemania” mantel and who might it be? Of course, that individual doesn’t necessarily have to take up the actual moniker itself but serve as that figure on a yearly basis.
So what am I looking for? Excitement in all aspects, mostly. That person that’s almost completely dependable year after year to have a good or at least exciting match. To the point where it could be a complete lame and boring WM but this person’s match is always guaranteed to give everyone a high point to remember. Of course, it’s easy to go with a scrappy, charismatic “smaller” guy just because it’s the template HBK put in place and you might want to avoid the menacing yet quiet big guy that’s dominating at WM at least a few years after Undertaker finally walks away for good. So that automatically takes Roman Reigns out of the equation but believe me, that guy will have enough accomplishments to hang his hat on over the course of his career, he’ll be fine.
The obvious first name that comes to mind is Daniel Bryan. He doesn’t matchup with HBK in terms of mic work but he can still hold his own and contribute a great deal to interesting story lines. The biggest thing is his matches and the excitement they generate. DB matches are almost guaranteed to become match of the night contenders almost regardless of his opponent. He’s a guy that’s going to have such a huge fan reaction for a long time and it would be so easy to take advantage of at WM. His previous WM experiences weren’t great but then again, he’s only had two matches. Of course, everyone thinks of the infamous 18 second match against Sheamus. But it was hugely memorable, fitting for the heel character he was portraying at the time and, to top it all off, began this whole yes craze that expedited his journey to the top of the company. The following year was a lot better for his win-loss record while also being part of an exciting tag team match that the crowd was incredibly into (him plus Ziggler in the same match tends to do that). And then there’s the potential this year of him being in two incredibly high profile matches, easily putting him in the upper echelon of Wrestlemania performers. If there was anybody that had the potential the match the Wrestlemania career of Shawn Michaels, it just might be his former student.
Dolph Ziggler is possibly the most gifted entertainers WWE has on their roster both physically and on the mic. His concussions really came at the worst time last year and I understand WWE’s reluctance to put a lot behind a guy prone to concussions BUT they’ve got to find a way to harness Ziggler. They’re missing out on a lot by not featuring him in prominent positions on weekly programming and pay per views. He’s got the personality and ring ability to be the guy that delivers at each and every Wrestlemania he’s a part of, clearly the fans already believe so given the reaction he’s gotten over the past couple of years. He’s absolutely a guy that can pull this off if he can stay healthy enough for WWE to be convinced to get behind him and rebuild his momentum.
Bray Wyatt could possibly be the heel version of Mr. Wrestlemania. I’m sure with his incredible mic skills that he could be a great face at some point but he really wouldn’t need to. He’s going into his first Wrestlemania and he’s actually making me excited for a Cena match. That alone should convince people to give him all of the accolades. And no, he doesn’t exactly fit into my “small guy” criteria but they’re my rules and I can easily bend them in order to include guys that I like. So suck it. But seriously, if Bray’s career continue to go the way it has been, he’s still really young and we could possibly be looking at the next Undertaker figure. Most likely, Bray won’t have the streak but he’ll definitely be that dark, opposing figure that we can also count on during Wrestlemania (possibly…hopefully…we’ll see).
Cesaro, he could easily turn tomorrow and become one of the biggest faces in the company. Honestly, I’m kinda wonder why WWE hasn’t pulled that trigger already but they’ve seemingly done away with the Real American breaking up teases. He has that Daniel Bryan factor in that he’s match is almost always assured to be a match of the night contender regardless of his opponent. If harnessed the right way, he could be a huge WM asset for WWE for a long time because it seems like it’s more and more difficult for fans to boo Cesaro in spite of his close proximity to Zeb.
Honorable Mentions:
I’d put CM Punk on this list if he didn’t despise the idea of working with HHH so much.
So the Shield are technically faces now, right? I’ll put Dean and Rollins on here because either/both would fit perfectly in this role but, honestly, I just want Shield to last forever.
Is Evan Bourne even alive?
Kofi Kingston could possibly pull it off if WWE didn’t put that 5-inch thick glass ceiling over him.
Cody has his chances. I’d be interested in seeing him take one more swing at a single career after CoDust is over but I’m not holding my breath. He’s a great tag team wrestler, perhaps he should stick to that.
Big E has a great personality if WWE ever decides to let him show it off. Still needs some work in the ring but I still very much dig him.
I’m positive WWE can do something with Sandow. We saw a brief glimpse of what an inspired Sandow can do when he was up against Cena last year. He plays a great snob character, WWE just needs to actually find an interesting feud for him because I think he’s only had like 2 or 3 during his tenure.
I still haven’t completely given up on Drew McIntyre even though all logic is telling me that I should. I just chalk it up to him joining the main roster at a very young age and was instantly in a high profile situation. Drew just hasn’t found the character yet.
Honestly, the Hunicara change has made me enjoy Sin Cara matches now that they have a more dependable guy playing the character and can work with people not named Alberto Del Rio (even though they’re still booking them together). WWE might actually get the payoff they were hoping for when they hired the original.
Odds are that nobody will be able to live up to the legend of Mr. Wrestlemania and that’s completely fine, I don’t think we really want a carbon copy of HBK because where’s the excitement in that? All I know is that is that Undertaker is closer to the end than the beginning and when he’s gone, he’ll be the last of all the things we look forward to every year at the showcase of the immortals. When that time comes, WWE will need somebody to step up and fill the impossible void of HBK and Taker and become the dependable figure for their biggest show. Daniel Bryan is the clear favorite right now but my column would be boring if I just left it there. Who knows who it will be or if that person is even in the company yet.
For the record, I still think WWE will find something for Shawn to do on April 6th. Just surprising plans haven’t been made public yet.
Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do twice,
Chris
The Answer: Coheed and Cambria did a cover of Somebody that I Used to Know and *spoiler alert* sucked way less than the original.
