4 Ups & 7 Downs From WWE Raw (30 March - Results & Review)

4. An Insta-WrestleMania Match

On the night, Gunther versus Seth Rollins could be a really good, intriguing match at WrestleMania 42, but that does not justify the absolutely horrendous “build” to make that match, which unfolded over the course of about ten minutes of television time.

Rollins had laid out Paul Heyman with a steel chair – again – and was preparing to stomp him – again – when Gunther pulled Seth out of the ring and slapped a sleeper on him. Moments later, Raw GM Adam Pearce announced that it was official that the two men will face off at 'Mania.

And that was it. No build, no story leading up to this. Gunther was probably Raw’s biggest heel from December through February before disappearing from television, and he resurfaced to attack someone who he has not been involved with in any way. (Their only singles match came in 2019, when Gunther was still in NXT UK and went by WALTER.)

WWE apologists will point to the unfortunate injuries that have wreaked havoc on the Rollins/Vision feud. They will argue that WWE has time to fill in the story during the last two weeks before WrestleMania 42.

Telling a story in reverse after you’ve made the match is ridiculous. Maybe Gunther can cut a cocky promo about wanting to end Rollins’ career and it’ll somewhat work, but it’s going to be a far cry from a meaningful or memorable story. And the injures are unfortunate, but WWE knew about them months ago. They’ve had plenty of time to work out a plan B, plan C, and plan D.

This couldn’t feel more stapled-on to WrestleMania if it tried. The lack of crowd reaction to Pearce’s announcement was a good indicator of how abrupt this “feud” came about. WWE has some heavy lifting to make this work.