10 Signs That WrestleMania 36 Could Be A Crushing Disappointment

1. We're In For Another Slog

Red Flag
WWE.com

Seven and a half hours is too long to endure any event, much less a wrestling show that by internal policy (as opposed to fan complaint) does not offer a plethora of unique styles.

Five hours is too long. The first, pre-Dynamite wave of All Elite Wrestling pay-per-views were plagued with timing issues to an extent that saw the main events performed to a straining arena crowd. Full Gear and Revolution effectively solved the issue, while in terms of sustained, raucous crowd reaction, the NXT TakeOver formula remains the benchmark.

WrestleMania 35 degenerated into a hush the very second Kofi Kingston reached his career pinnacle at, including the pre-show, the perfect four-hour mark. To the minute, that audience sent WWE a message: this new Network one-day festival thing is bullsh*t; the compact PPV run-time of old, enforced by providers, worked far better. Triple H Vs. Batista didn't get over, but that's probably because it was a Triple H match at WrestleMania. Roman Reigns' first singles match in a year didn't get over. Becky Lynch didn't receive a huge reaction, which is insane, given how hot she was.

At least WrestleMania won't feel like it's ten hours long, because Triple H isn't scheduled to work it, but it will still last seven and a half actual hours.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!