10 Ways WWE Is Killing WrestleMania

4. Time Allocation

Goldberg Mania 33
WWE.com

Apportionment of time has been a critical problem in recent years - and the problem persisted in Orlando.

Shane McMahon Vs. AJ Styles was exhausting at twenty minutes, and it conveyed a curious message - basically, non-wrestler Shane McMahon had more in him than effectively half the roster. The RAW Women's Title match badly needed an extra five minutes. Every elimination after Nia Jax was rushed.

A very promising match could not live up to itself. Randy Orton Vs. Bray Wyatt was truncated. Ditto the SmackDown Women's Title six-pack challenge. It's telling that the exhausted crowd still found the energy to go apesh*t over everything Goldberg and Brock Lesnar did. They knew they were getting a match that was guaranteed not to outstay its welcome.

Shane McMahon received more screen time than any one of the full time wrestlers under his charge - and, pre-Kurt Angle, he was meant to be the least loathsome and least inept authority figure on WWE television. SmackDown is meant to be the "land of opportunity".

That feels like a rib now.

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!