10 Things I Hate About WrestleMania
2. It's A Celebration Of Wrestling, Not Just A Wrestling Show
A lot of the previous entries centre around a central thesis: that WrestleMania is the brand that people are coming to see. Not the individual wrestlers, not professional wrestling itself, not even the WWE. WrestleMania is the selling point.
Over the last few years, it's become less and less important who's on the card and what the storylines are. The experience - the whole WrestleMania thing - is the unique feature that consumers are seeking out when they buy a ticket and book travel and accommodation.
As for the people at home well, its not so much a case of voting with your wallet if youre not keen on the WrestleMania card. The days of paying through the nose for the pay-per-view are fast receding in the rear view mirror. Like all of WWEs special events , the show - including the kick-off matches - streams live on the WWE Network, which costs a tenner a month, and many people already have the Network.
Lets face facts: the rationale for complaint about a product changes when youre not being asked to pay any extra for the product. If all you have to do is run a cable from your laptop to your unfeasibly large flatscreen, then youre not really even sacrificing picture and sound quality.
In 2016, WrestleMania is a self-contained brand worth umpteen millions that isnt dependent on the companys current storylines to sell out because the stories being told on the show only started a few weeks beforehand.
We keep treating it like its the feature length season finale of one of our favourite TV shows when the reality is that its a standalone special, a jumping on point for new, casual consumers of the WWE product, and a seismic talking point in popular culture.
WrestleMania isnt just a wrestling show anymore.