9 Ways WWE Failed Miserably On The Road To WrestleMania 32

2. Roadblock

I'm not taking exception to the idea of the show itself. Traditionally there hasn't been a show booked between The Royal Rumble and WrestleMania in many years, and that's actually been a positive because it gives the angles for the event time to breathe and create anticipation rather than cycling through feuds and matches at a much faster rate than what would be ideal to necessitate an effective build. But with the advent of the WWE Network there's a little more freedom when it comes to presenting smaller special cards. The problem with Roadblock lies in the booking of the main event. By giving Dean Ambrose a shot at Triple H and his WWE world championship, after a well-executed set-up, no less, did more harm than good to Mania and specifically Roman Reigns. The match itself felt like way to placate the fans who are vehemently opposed to The Big Dog in the top spot by throwing them a bone and letting their preferred choice have a brief run in that particular spotlight. Very people within the wrestling audience actually expected Ambrose to walk out with the title but there was the overly optimistic among us who thought it a sign that WWE had woken up from their stupor and would be changing directions for the annual extravaganza. Even more puzzling was the decision to have The Lunatic Fringe score a visual pinfall on the champ, only failing to win the title because Triple H allegedly had his foot just beneath the ropes. The match itself took a while to get cooking but eventually the two men connected and closed out with some intense drama. The end result of the show was that the fans witnessed the man they'd much rather see in the title bout at WrestleMania challenge Triple H in the main event of a show just a few weeks prior, appear to dethrone him with a convincing false finish and end the match elevated as a wrestler and even more elevated than he was before the bell rang. But the most detrimental of all was that it served as a reminder that the crowd will not be getting their wish at WrestleMania 32, contrary to Vince's mantra of "sending them home happy".