Why WWE Is Playing A Dangerous Game With WrestleMania 38

Lita Charlotte Flair Twist Of Fate
WWE.com

Lynch's bloodied face and the prospect of her fighting through Ronda busting her open again was always better in the theatre of the mind than the televised apologetic suspensions that Becky endured ahead of WrestleMania 35. With Becky indulging a Conor McGregor caricature - isn't it better to plagiarise the man when he drew money and hadn't lost the plot? - the overhyped dynamic is now completely warped and baffling. Mercifully, then, that match isn't happening: Ronda Rousey Vs. Charlotte Flair is, and, well, lol. Can you imagine either of these performers saying something in even a likeable cadence?

The promise of insufferable car crash TV, while perversely amusing, isn't likely to draw acclaim to "WrestleMania season". Their Survivor Series 2018 match was outstanding - as intense, physical and dangerously, thrillingly close to full impact as a WWE match gets - but Charlotte appears to have simply "gone off" bumping in the years since. She performs the Worm when bumping for Lita's Twist of Fate, which is hardly a good omen ahead of a match that needs to go very hard to get over.

This at least allows Bianca Belair to complete her redemption arc against Becky Lynch, which should be very good, but running back a match that the company did to death the year prior at 'Mania isn't something WWE ever did, historically. But the company was never this historically uninteresting nor blasé about how uninteresting it is.

RAW this week in general was a throughly bizarre experience; in booking Bobby Lashley to defend the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, in a match also involving Brock Lesnar and Seth "Freakin'" Rollins, it was as if something happened to Roman Reigns, necessitating a mad booking scramble. This isn't the case.

CONT'D...(3 of 6)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick (Creative Writing BA Hons) is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over a decade of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential UK institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!