7 Things WWE Need To Stop Doing Every WrestleMania
Cut the music...
Ah, WrestleMania.
The one night of the year when lapsed fans mix with hardcore, the entire wrestling world comes together to celebrate how wonderful the industry is, and WWE spend more money on fireworks than most other promotions spend on talent. It's quite the occasion, and it has been a money-drawing monster for decades. At 'Mania, the biggest matches take centre stage, WWE's major feuds are given the blow-off treatment, and everything has a glossy sheen that elevates it above every other wrestling show on the annual calendar.
Then, some irritating pop-hop git strolls out on stage and sings songs nobody paid to see for 15-20 minutes.
WrestleMania is awesome, but that doesn't mean WWE should rest on their laurels and rely on unwanted musical interludes, ageing stars, a tired post-show format or the idea (as admirable as it is) that everybody deserves a spot on the show.
Even 'Mania, the pinnacle of WWE's calendar, needs some tweaking...
7. The Pre-Show
Last year, WrestleMania 33 clocked in at a colossal five hours, 10 minutes and 52 seconds, and that was just the main card. Add the two-hour Kickoff portion onto it and 'Mania lasted more than seven hours in total. That's unbelievable, and just a bit unnecessary.
OK, so WWE can't be blamed for trying to provide value for money on the Network or making the event feel as epic as possible. They can be taken to task for the never-ending amount of video packages, adverts from sponsors and all that padding from various pre-show guests.
Aside from the matches, which take up less than an hour, the Kickoff is entirely skippable.
Fans tuning into the main broadcast will see the same hype vids again anyway, so it's not as though they're missing anything special. Also, hearing ex-stars feign interest in current feuds is something WWE have struggled with on the regular one-hour Kickoffs, and it's not needed in a longer format at WrestleMania.