9 Ups And 11 Downs From WrestleMania 32

10. A Forgettable Title Bout

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Maybe this is WrestleMania€™s fault itself, being a five-plus hour event. But the first match of the night, the United States Championship match between Kalisto and Ryback, was largely forgotten even by the time Mania proper began (what with three matches on the pre-show card).

It really is a shame, because Ryback and Kalisto tried, but the two were fighting against a terrible buildup (shunted to the background in the name of the other marquee matches) and a terrible slot (80 minutes before the official start of the PPV, with the stadium barely half-full). With no story and a sparse crowd, it was only natural that the crowd was dead throughout most of the match.

Perhaps it would have been better if the United States Championship match €“ a signature bout at Mania last year €“ just was left off the card altogether and took place instead on Raw the next night. You hate suggesting something like that, because the match wasn€™t offensive or anything, but it certainly didn€™t leave a lasting impression either.

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Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.