WWE WrestleMania 34: Predicting The Quality Of All 14 Matches

12. KICKOFF: Mustafa Ali Vs. Cedric Alexander - Cruiserweight Title Match

Aj Styles Shinsuke Nakamura Wwe
WWE.com

Almost a mirror image of last year's Cruiserweight clash, this will only suffer as a result of its inconsequential card placement.

Though fans last year were invested in Neville's excellent heel character, and firmly expected a great match opposite a great opponent, its placement on the inconvenience that is the Kickoff portion of the show rendered it, if not pointless, then profligate. Only half of the Citrus Bowl had squeezed in, doubling down on the sentiment. It was an excellent match - Neville's prior refusal to hit the Red Arrow really put Aries over as a worthy threat, creating anticipation for a rematch, for once - but it was impossible to escape the notion that it did not matter. That is the stigma of the Kickoff portion. To date, only the Usos and the New Day have broken the curse.

Similarly, Ali Vs. Alexander has been built wonderfully over a fabulous tournament that put over more men than merely the finalists. Ali's story in particular is inspiring, the reaction to his winning babyface act even more so. Alexander meanwhile is an equally great in-ring talent. Their sportsmanship-driven exhibition of state-of-the-art wrestling will be very good.

It could have been even better than that.

Predicted Star Rating: ***1/2

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential 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 former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current 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!