8 Ups & 3 Downs From Last Night's WWE SmackDown (Mar 20)
2. The Magic Number?
It's been noted with some consternation just how many triple threat/multi-person matches there are currently booked for this year's WrestleMania, which brings to mind some uncomfortable truths considering the company will also promote a 30-man battle royal on the pre-show.
To spin it positively, the card suggests that the roster is so stacked with over talents that certain performers simply need to be on the card even if a singles feud hasn't fallen into place for them. The rather darker alternative is that the bloated roster is more overloaded than before, with bi-annual NXT raids simply filling cards instead of fulfilling creative concerns.
The second is truest reflected in what's almost certain to be one of the sleeper matches of the night at WrestleMania - that is to say, your nap break - as Randy Orton, Jinder Mahal and Bobby Roode trade chinlocks for a title of little value in front of a crowd with little care. Roode's babyface act already looks past its sell-by date without a more dynamic heel, Mahal remains completely improvement-free despite one of the most bizarre career years in wrestling history, and Randy Orton has (almost understandably) turned into some sort of Zack Morris figure that can't (or can't be *rsed to) escape Bayside High.
It would be one thing if the United States title had Kelly Kapowski's value to give 'The Viper' a believable reason to fight, but even the way he walks to the ring suggests the 'secondary' strap is merely an airport inconvenience.