10 WrestleMania 32 Mistakes WWE Must Avoid This Year

On the subject of match order, a lot of WWE’s 2016 Pay-Per-Views were marred by shoddy pacing, and this was largely down to poorly structured match cards.

This is often something that becomes more apparent in hindsight – it’s obviously difficult to plot out a seven hour show that will keep everyone interested at all times – but there are definitely ways WWE can correct last year’s structural wobbles.

For example, the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal is a great pre-show warmup, since it’s designed to build someone up without actually giving them a title, and generally involves a bunch of Superstars who are currently going spare. But last year, the battle royal was rushed out second to last (third if you count The Rock vs Eric Rowan), with each wrestler just kind of bungling into the ring all at once. It was a lukewarm lead-in to an even more lukewarm main event.

After the multi-man Ladder match and Jericho vs Styles, the show seemed to drag, with the Women’s Triple Threat and Shane McMahon’s incredible Cell jump serving as the only pick-me-ups.

It’s impossible for Mania 33 to really be the non-stop ‘thrill ride’ it’s being advertised as, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a well-paced show with carefully paced peaks and valleys.