Exposing The Modern Myth About WWE WrestleMania

When did the WWE's "Grandest Stage" become the company's biggest lie?

by Michael Hamflett
WWE

The March 1st 2021 edition of Monday Night Raw will only ever be remembered for one thing, and it's to the immense fortune of future WrestleMania opponents Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman that that's the case.

Bobby Lashley's emphatic WWE Championship victory was a significant moment for the new titleholder's character, building on a remarkably careful push that started the moment 'The All-Mighty' reunited with old Impact Wrestling pal MVP. Together, the two of them built The Hurt Business brand and rebuilt the Bobby Lashley to the point where the act as a whole was undeniable.

Having dethroned The Miz with just a month to go before the 'Show Of Shows', Lashley can confidently prepare to wrestle in one of WrestleMania's major matches, very probably against Drew McIntyre. The pairing would be a fine exhibition of WWE's once-rigid schedule still showing itself to be functional - Lashley and McIntyre had fabulous 2020s, and we as fans have always been sold on WrestleMania being as much about rewarding the year's work as it is about settling the biggest grudges.

It's with those long-respected and understood parameters in mind that we mournfully return to Shane McMahon and Braun Strowman's segment, with a premise as imbecilic as its key players, and a wholly different Road To WrestleMania that circumvents self-respect and singular success entirely.

Or - because McMahon keeps telling us Strowman wouldn't understand any of that - why any of this f*cking sh*t is about to feature on one of the most important shows in WWE history.

(CONT'D...)

Advertisement
Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for 10 years. Alongside the production of daily written, audio and video content covering WWE and AEW, he also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot on the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 10,000 episodes and 70,000,000 total downloads. He also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House!, Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast, and has guested on long-running Sunderland AFC podcast Wise Men Say. With WhatCulture, he has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. He has also been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.