10 Reasons WrestleMania 32 Changed Everything
3. Extravaganza Vs. Quality
It may be controversial to suggest but the days of WrestleMania as a spectacular wrestling event concerned with delivering the best in-ring product are over. That is not to suggest that the show will not still deliver the occasional Match of the Year candidate or defining performance. What it is now, and will be for the foreseeable future, is WWE's "look at us" show, a hard pat on the back designed to attract mainstream publicity.
While there has always been a bit of that at the heart of the event, it was still very much a wrestling show.
Not so much anymore.
From The Rock's obnoxiously long entrance to the appearance of Shaquille O'Neal, the show is as much about being an extravaganza as it is a quality wrestling broadcast. The matches themselves almost take a backseat to the spectacle of it all. Entrances are more important than the action in the ring, aerial shots of the massive audience take precedence to closeups of the agony one feels while trapped in a particularly painful submission.
It is the one night of the year where outcomes are essentially meaningless, if for no reason other than the fact that they can be negated in a rematch the following night on Raw. It is incredibly hyped, insanely long and unbelievably polished.
WrestleMania is wrestling in name alone. Like the recent Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice film, it is an overblown spectacle, jam-packed with explosive action that ultimately amounts to an exercise in style over substance.
That is not necessarily a bad thing, but not one that particularly endears itself to wrestling fans who value sensible storytelling and superb in-ring performances.