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" The Gravel Pit "
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Wrestling
Wrestlemania XX Preview
Posted by Nik Johnson on Mar 12, 2004, 21:37
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Welcome to WrestleMania, the grand daddy of them all. Wrestlemania XX is the grand-daddy of all grand daddies, with more hype going into it than any other pay per view in history. Tickets sold out for the event within minutes last year, before a single match had been announced. This truly had to be the "greatest sports entertainment spectacular of them all". Except, well, it isn't shaping up that way...
The build up has been mediocre at best, with matches thrown together at the last minute and little to no regard for prior storylines and the roster split. Let's take a look...
First of all, the show was being sold on the name alone as far back as last June or July, when the WrestleMania logo was unveiled. That logo has appeared almost as much as the WWE scratch logo � it's on the back of several WWE DVDs that I own, and was present as a huge banner at nearly every televised event since then. WWE are spending $5 million on advertising the show (mostly on Turner owned stations as part of the WCW deal). From the start, they hoped the name value alone would carry the show. You can look at the last few years, and Mania ALWAYS gets the highest buyrate. WWE have done a fantastic job of making it seem special, and with Wrestlemania XX, they've pushed the "anniversary" aspect enormously.
The problem is that they have left a substantial amount of the build up to the last minute. This really stems from them having a Pay Per View every single month � SmackDown! had a full (albeit lacklustre) PPV a month ago, the Royal Rumble was two months ago, and Armageddon was only three months ago. Each of them required feuds to be built up and to some extent issues need to be closed. Of course this isn't always the case and feuds do continue over multiple PPVs (for example the recent HBK / HHH feud), but by and large, people won't pay to see the same match over and over any more.
Onto the card itself:
Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Benoit
I've already written about why the angle itself is ridiculous here, but in short:
1) It makes no sense for Benoit to care about HHH's title.
2) It makes no sense for HBK to be entered into the match due to the silly contract signing.
It's stupid to have a three way main event at Wrestlemania. Funny how Shawn was opposed to having a triple threat main event at Wrestlemania 15, but has no problems with it here. The feud itself has been bland and uninspiring, with people's support being split between Benoit and Michaels, giving both of them smaller reactions, while HHH is allowed to get all of the heel heat. The whole feud has been nothing � no storyline at all, just a series of attacks and a great match between Benoit and Michaels. There's been no real reason to care about any of it, since really where's the issue between Benoit and anyone? Michaels and HHH obviously have the history (which is grossly overstated � it just goes back to HHH assaulting Michaels for no real reason before Summerslam 2002), but this just doesn't have the feel of a Wrestlemania main event.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle
Again, where's the issue? Eddie totally deserves to be champion at this point, but the whole deal with Angle getting pissed at Eddie's "lie, cheat and steal" mentality and him turning heel has all happened within the last three or four weeks. No real build up whatsoever. Again, this has been another bland feud � Angle gave a couple of speeches and kicked Eddie's ass a couple of times. Exciting stuff. And exactly the same as most other feuds.
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg , with Stone Cold Steve Austin as Special Guest Referee
I'll give credit where it is due � they have managed to keep this relatively within the boundaries of the roster split, but some crossover was inevitable. This dates back to (I think) the Survivor Series, where Brock and Goldberg interacted briefly backstage. Brock then got in Goldberg's face at the next possible opportunity, which was the Royal Rumble. This kept the roster split working well, as there was no reason for it to be broken at that point.
The whole deal with Goldberg being given a ticket at No Way Out was silly, but the lesser of two evils, inasmuch as it was preferable to him running in unexpectedly. It's a shame that the hype for the match was on Brock and Eddie, with Goldberg at ringside, as it took away from Eddie, showing that the Mania feud was seen as much more important, and that Eddie was less of a threat to Brock. Had Eddie lost that match, it would have been death for him.
The last few weeks has been all Austin and Brock, while Bill goes off to film his movie. Great idea having him not show up at all in the last few weeks of big build. His contract for wrestling has only one match left on it (the Mania match), but I don't know where he stands in terms of appearances. Still, not to have him on Raw AT ALL is pathetic, and having Brock feud (somewhat) with Austin is counterproductive � what's the point of a guest referee favouring the face? The point is to have the face go up against the odds.
As for Brock's apparent quitting, (assuming it isn't a work), this throws a huge spanner in the works for the match. Why put either man over when it will be their last match? One guess as to who's left standing in the middle of the ring, after stunnering everyone else...
Undertaker vs. Kane
Nobody can say that this build-up has been too short. This originated back at the Survivor Series, when Kane helped Vince McMahon to defeat the Undertaker in a buried alive match. Since then, the Undertaker hasn't appeared onscreen, but instead has performed a bunch of laughable magic tricks, including burning crosses, making it rain, stopping Kane's pyro and most recently (and most ludicrously) causing the ring to levitate. This shit belongs, well it doesn't belong in wrestling at all, but it's most suited to 1998, when it last happened. Not six years later. Let's face it, the match is being sold on "OMG teh deadman is back", so all of this was just a prelude to that. But why make it so intelligence insultingly fucking stupid?
And let's not forget one thing: Two weeks after the Deadman look stops being novel, it'll be the same old no-selling, everyone squashing shit that we've put up with for years. Just ask Brock.
Mick Foley & The Rock vs. Batista, Randy Orton & Ric Flair
Another match with a long build up, but then a rushed finish. It's like they just planned on having Foley / Orton, and threw everyone else in at the last minute. Foley vs. Orton has been brewing since Foley took over as General Manager after the Survivor Series. The issue built up, with Orton causing Foley to lose his job, and then Foley made his return at the Rumble to eliminate Randy. Since then, things have built up to a head. Then, last week, just two weeks before the PPV, the Rock gets involved, Flair gets involved and Batista gets involved. All in one segment. The whole thing with Foley and Orton could have been sped up considerably, and had the Rock come back a few weeks earlier. Still, it is a feud with a fat ex-wrestler, a part time movie star facing a 55 year old and two unover guys that WWE are desperate to "make". The tag match takes away greatly from Foley's return (although it does allow the Rock to compensate for Foley's newfound shittyness [his 1999 shittyness + 4 years doing nothing]).
Big Show vs. John Cena
Another nothing feud. They too have had "issues" since November, with Cena beating Show in non-title matches, and Show not defending his title. They've interacted here and there, but there's not been any "big" moments or anything truly defining about the feud. Okay, I'll admit there was the great F-U on Show, but that should have been saved to the end � would Hogan / Andre be remembered if the Bodyslam of Doom was done at the start of it?
Chris Jericho vs. Christian
A strange climax to a feud that originated with the two of them making a bet over who would score first. This angle has dragged on and on and on with so many twists and turns, and the trigger never quite being pulled on Jericho's face turn, so now nobody really cares. This match is pure midcard, and Jericho could and should be doing better.
Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Ultimo Dragon, Shannon Moore, Akio, Jamie Noble, Tajiri, Nunzio, Funaki
"Right, we need a Cruiserweight match"
"Just one?"
"Yeah, it's all we ever have"
"Okay, who faces Chavo?"
"Ah, who cares, let's just throw them all out there. I can't tell them apart anyway."
"Great idea"
Booker T & Rob Van Dam vs. Jindrak & Cade vs. La Resistance vs. The Dudleys
It's sad how the tag team division has fallen from great matches between long lasting teams to having Popular Teams Of The Moment, and two singles guys that have nothing to do being thrown together. The former includes Billy and Chuck, La Resistance, etc etc. The latter features Rhyno + Benoit; RVD + Kane; RVD + Booker etc. This is another "where's the issue?" match, designed to fit as many people on the card as possible. (fun fact: This PPV features 50 people in matches, more than any other WM ever.) None of these teams are particularly over (Booker and RVD are as individuals, and the Dudleys WERE, but are beyond stale now.) Again, I ask: Why?
Victoria vs. Molly
The head shaving stipulation is totally out of nowhere, and is pretty silly. Humiliating the heel for a cheap laugh seems to happen quite a bit now, instead of humiliating the face who then goes on to get revenge. It's a shame Victoria hasn't had more of a face run to build her up more going into the match, especially since Molly's coming off of a 9 month title run.
Torrie & Sable vs. Miss Jackie & Stacy
I've already seen Torrie and Sable's cunts, why do I care about this?
The Bashams vs. Too Cool Two vs. TWGTT vs. The APA
How many of these teams are over? One � the APA
How many of these teams can wrestle? One � TWGTT
How many of these teams should go back to OVW? One � The Bashams
How many of these teams were amusing four years ago? Two � The APA and Too Cool Two
How much do I care about this match? Zero.
So there you have it. It's obvious which feuds are the ones that WWE seriously cares about � Brock and Goldberg, HHH, Shawn and Benoit, Undertaker and Kane � since they are the ones that have been consistently built upon for some time. Others have been thrown together at the last minute, since they are essentially meaningless and will probably be forgotten sooner rather than later. This has become an all too common thing with PPVs, care about one or two matches, and let the rest just� whatever. No Way Out in particular was a one match show, and the buyrate suffered as a result.
Will Wrestlemania suffer the same fate? Of course not. It'll sell, and Vince knows it. But they need to look beyond that, and into Backlash, and Judgment Day and the future. Because people won't buy those based just on the name value.
Remember this, though: Wrestlemania X-7 was booked 50% at the last minute, and look how well THAT turned out.
Nik
Send me feedback: [email protected]
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