Exposing The Modern Myth About WWE WrestleMania
Shane McMahon gets what he wants at WrestleMania because a) his last name and b) in 2016, his return during an injury-laden WrestleMania 32 build was linked to the sale of around 20,000 extra tickets.
McMahon, like Triple H, The Undertaker, John Cena and few select others became one of those names that goes up on the WrestleMania whiteboard in Sharpie, instead of on a scrap of paper in pencil Vince McMahon loses down the sofa of the private jet. The ones that are given consideration in January because they'll definitely be on the card. This was nakedly transparent in 2014 when CM Punk was to be given Triple H as a replacement for the WWE Championship and/or slot in the main event. And again in 2018 when Daniel Bryan's amazing return was folded into 'Shane-O-Mac's unending feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.
Internally, these performers are viewed as Championships themselves - men that younger or newer talent should be thrilled to face for the size and scale alone. But this philosophy has been badly, badly exposed over the years.
Do people muse fondly on Seth Rollins' well-worked but overlong match with Triple H from WrestleMania 33, or crackle with glee at his WWE Championship win at WrestleMania 31? And on that show, Bray Wyatt didn't exactly become The Next Undertaker after getting squashed by the original. Thanks for all the hard work AJ Styles, we're putting you with Shane McMahon! The story? He's an equal and/or better wrestler than you! Welcome to the biggest night of your career!
In 2016, Rollins fostered a desire to "Redesign, Rebuild, Reclaim" after coming back from a career-threatening injury. Until Triple H Pedigree'd f*ck out of him to plant the seeds for their programme. Wyatt was off the rails by 2014 but christ would something more than a squash loss to 'The Deadman' been good for his recovery. AJ Styles debuted and won the WWE Championship in 2016. Do any of these years feel like they were well serviced by the above matches?
Your writer - and lifetime obsessive fan of this thing - isn't here to sh*t on WrestleMania, but it's time to accept what it's really all about.
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