10 Overlooked Positives From WrestleMania 32
We needn't be so callous about Dallas.
WrestleMania 32 has been and gone, and the fallout has been a mixed bag to say the least. The hype for the 'biggest WrestleMania ever' may have been stretched to the limit, with the final show proving massively underwhelming thanks to a combination of questionable booking, a lack of real surprises, and matches that whilst passable were nothing particularly special.
However, after so much build up, the mammoth sense of disappointment makes it easy, even cathartic, to focus on the negatives - especially when they're so prevalent.
Yet buried within this mountain of disapproval there are a number of hidden silver linings. As a wrestling fan, these clandestine up-shots are not always easy to locate. But look hard enough and they can be found - and here's ten such of these overlooked positives from WrestleMania 32.
10. Ryback Isn't The US Champion
WWE's roster were summoned a day before the show and given assurances that every superstar, no matter their position on the card, was a part of the full WrestleMania experience. That is to say, those whose matches were relegated to the two-hour kick-off show were no less important than wrestlers on the main presentation.
Try telling that to poor Ryback and Kalisto, who contested their US title battle in front of a half-empty AT&T Stadium - eminently noticeable in a venue with a capacity of 80,000 (or over 100,000 if WWE are to be believed, which makes things even worse).
Of all the matches on the card, this was deserving of its curtain-jerking spot (if it can be called as such, occurring an hour and a half before the event actually started). After all of John Cena's stellar work throughout the year elevating the United States Championship beyond the level of even the WWE title, seeing the unbearably limited but undeniably massive Ryback challenge for the strap at the biggest stage of all was especially galling.
But in rank defiance of expected McMahon booking conventions, 'the Big Guy' lost, and in thankfully short order. There's every chance he will claim the belt the next night on Raw, though at least for 24 hours we can be grateful that a weekly Ryback US Open Challenge isn't on the cards.