The Bland
The Corre vs. ???: Given a few more weeks to work with, and a group of guys slightly more exciting, I think they could pull something decent together with the Corre. But let’s face it, compared to the dominating original Nexus, the Corre is just…boring. Unfortunately their opponents, Kane and Big Show, aren’t the most fresh talent they could go up against. With the Intercontinental Championship win of Wade Barrett and the addition of Kofi Kingston into the fray, I think there’s definitely potential for some solid mid-card work at WrestleMania, but they just don’t have any more time to work with. My hope is that we get to see a 6-man tag team match with both sets of belts on the line. The title gimmick alone would be fun to watch, and may disguise the fact that this angle is being shoved off the line prematurely.
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk: Don’t get me wrong…I’m excited for this. But how many talented guys were sacrificed to make this happen? And when you really look at it, didn’t Orton basically do the exact same thing for a month, but with different members of the Nexus each time? CM Punk is an extraordinary heel, and Orton’s character works really well in this type of situation. But with almost two months of preparation, they could have turned this into so much more! In the past both of these men have been known to get their hands dirty. Why didn’t CM Punk attack Orton’s family last week? I’m betting the WWE is scared to push the domestic violence envelope at the same time as they’re pushing the PG rating back with the return of the Rock.
Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan: This won’t be a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not exactly the exciting, pomp-and-circumstance feud that we’ve come to expect from our WrestleMania title matches. It’s a rematch between two of the mid-cards biggest superstars, and Daniel Bryan does NOT put on bad matches. I’m sure it will be solid and the fans will be happy with it, but there’s really not a lot to get excited about.
The Ugly
Snooki Mania: After re-watching the original WrestleMania events, I have a new appreciate for celebrity appearances. This isn’t the first time a guest has gotten into the ring, and it definitely won’t be the last. People just like Snooki have put as many butts in seats as Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio have over the years, and it’s a method I don’t think the WWE is likely to give up on any time soon. We may have hated the majority of Raw guest hosts, but the whole idea brought a lot of main stream attention to the product, bringing us one step closer to wrestling being “cool” again. So as you can see, Snooki is not the reason I am upset at this match. I am upset that phenomenal talents like John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler are being wasted in a match with a celebrity, a retiree, and two current divas. Both of these men have already put on match-of-the-year candidates for their respective brand, and they’ve both had Heavyweight title matches in the last three months. So what are they doing in a throw-away match at the biggest event of the wrestling year? I would much rather have seen a singles match between these two, not to mention the potential LayCool has right now… Instead of the crap the Divas division will probably throw together at the last minute for WrestleMania, couldn’t we have seen the implosion of LayCool a year in the making? Throw in the Divas title and you’ve got yourself the first WWE women’s match worth watching in over 5 years. Again, I’m not upset at Snooki…I’m upset at the wasted potential in this poorly constructed match.
No Money in the Bank: I get that with the addition of a Money in the Bank PPV, the WWE want to build it up as a legitimate event. Therefor taking the match off the WrestleMania card adds more hype down the road. The idea makes perfect sense…except that we have at least eight guys with huge amounts of talent sitting around doing nothing this year. With Shelton Benjamin doing dark matches, I’m sure they could have brought him in for a classic MITB addition. And how about Drew McIntyre? How about Zak Ryder, Santino Marella, Ted DiBiase, R-Truth, and Christian? How about any of the Nexus members? And where the hell are Skip Sheffield and Michael Tarver? There is so much talent going to waste that could easily be utilized by a Money in the Bank match. You’re telling me that out of ALL of these guys I listed, not one of them could be given a future Heavyweight title opportunity?
Announcing Nightmare: I love Josh Mathews. I think he’s the best announcer the WWE has today. I can’t stand Booker T. I think he’s the worst announcer the WWE has had since Mike Adamle. I don’t understand why Jerry Lawler or even Michael Cole can’t call a few matches before getting warmed up for their big fight…. Even with the rumor that good ole’ JR is going to be calling the Raw main events, that still leaves us with three hours of programing for Booker T to say “wait a minute!” and “I think he’s gonna do it!” I’m just disappointed that the WWE would allow a team like this to call WrestleMania. This is the biggest event of the year, and a good commentary team is half the excitement! The King and Jim Ross have made countless WrestleMania moments with their pure passion and straight-forward match calling. Even with Josh Mathews there, the team needs Michael Cole to function properly. Booker’s anger for Cole and the look of utter defeat on Mathews’ face is what hides the fact that their team is green and Booker is NOT made to call a fight. Bring in JBL. Bring in Vince McMahon. I don’t care who they get, I just want a decent team to call the biggest event in sport’s entertainment.
Again, don’t forget to join me on Twitter (@MJKillam) as I journey to the final Monday Night Raw before WrestleMania to see the confrontation between John Cena, the Miz, and the Rock! And as always, if you’d like to shoot me an email my door is always open, love me or hate me. [email protected].
