I struggled as a fan this Wrestlemania season.
What has often been one of my favorite times of the year - isn't it for all wrestling fans? - I found myself clinging to a word that often doesn't fit into the Wrestlemania hype - uninspired.
Uninspired by the buildup. Uninspired by the stories. Uninspired by the overall aura.
In my opinion, the road to Wrestlemania doesn't require twists and turns. In fact, the best Manias often have a road that is indeed predictable, steady, and consistent. Fueds. Promos. Builds.
Heading into Wrestlemania 42, I only found that in CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns and in Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi. Everything else felt manufactured and manipulated.
No juice. Again, uninspired.
Having written this review a full day after Wrestlemania closed, like many, I found night two of the event to have saved the entire Wrestlemania 42 from being one of the biggest disappointments in the company's history.
I thought Ariel Helwani did a great job of summarizing and capturing my feelings:
Again, Sunday was awesome. But overall, Wrestlemania unveiled a bigger issue facing the WWE, and that is growing mistrust of what is one of the most loyal fanbases...of anything! Pro wrestling fans.
I do wonder how I will feel about this Mania a few years from now. The beauty in this event is that it carries emotion and replay value for so many. We all have our favorite moments. And we all feel specifically about each addition. Will I fire up Wrestlemania 42 in the future?
The answer is yes. Again, for night two. But will I remember it for being as uninspired and "soulless" as it felt? I don't know. I really don't. However, for the here and now, it did.
Other quick thoughts on Wrestlemania 42:
- I typically love the Wrestlemania stages. Man, I don't like saying it, but it's how I feel - this one wasn't all that moving. Cool setup, I guess. But overall, "Wrestlemania 'Vegas'" never had a consistent theme or feel from the beginning.
- What was the official song? I honestly don't know.
- It's been said, and it feels like an overwhelming consensus - what is with the commercials?
- John Cena needed to go away longer - much longer - so we can miss him. The dude looks great, though.
- I enjoyed Danhaussen. I really, really did.
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WRESTLEMANIA NIGHT ONE
The Usos and LA Knight vs. IShowSpeed and The Vision
- I'm old. My son was completely into iShowSpeed. To me, Speed is one of the lesser cringy celebrities who gets involved.
- Solid opener. Nothing special. This felt more about the ESPN audience with the simulcast than anything else.
Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre
- My hill to die on for this Wrestlemania season? It should've been Drew vs. Cody Rhodes. But ehhhhh.
- Not a bad match at all.
Brie Bella & Paige vs. The Irresistible Forces vs. Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley and Lyra Valkyria
- The Paige return was pretty cool. A nice surprise for Mania.
- The Demolition nod by Lash Legend and Nya Jax was awesome.
- I sometimes want more for Bayley.
- I sort of wish the ladies in this were given more time, it could of been really good. But again, we got commercials.
Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee
- I had a tough time really buying into this one heading into this event - just being honest.
- All I remember is the weird attempt of a lip-sync performance by the Wonder Years. Becky deserves better.
- Also, that likely would have never happened at Vince McMahon's Wrestlemania.
Gunther vs. Seth Rollins
- An absolute banger as expected, despite the wonky storyline to get to it.
- Breakker returning was cool. The long run spear was cooler while he was running with the overhead camera shot - awesome stuff. The actuall spear was, ehh.
- Did someone mention this was Rollins' 15th Wrestlemania??!
- Am I that old?
Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer
- Ok, so this was one of the matches I was totally behind heading into the show, jusssssssst for it to go six minutes.
- Not all great matches have to go long, but well, this one felt like it did.
- Hmmmffff, okay?
- Morgan has a new banger of a theme..."Trouble, Trouble, yeah that's me!"
- Her entrance was cool; she totally killed it. However, it also just felt weird considering how enraged she was with Vaquer heading into the match with pull-apart brawls and calling mothers "Whores" and all sorts of stuff.
- Then we dance..."Trouble! Trouble!"
Admittedly, again, it's a bop.
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
- Everything in the Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton match was actually fine - but the entire thing already disconnected me emotionally once Pat McAfee was involved, and Jelly Roll, and the consistent "save the business" chat. Most importantly, all of it does not make any sense.
- Genuinely, I didn't care. Cody getting punted after the match felt, well, weird as well. The Cody/Orton storyline was organically built over twenty years. Just let that ride.
- Then again, as stated above, I thought Drew vs. Cody would've been fire.
It also felt like the creative team thought that we, as the audience, wanted to see Pat McAfee get his ass kicked. Maybe a few did. I just wanted him gone. Ditto for Jelly Roll.
- Did we just see Wrestlemania end on a downer, with a...continuing (??) storyline.
WRESTLEMANIA NIGHT TWO
Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar
- One of the best four-minute matches you will ever see.
- The beauty in this is that everything meant something.
- Small tidbit is Oba's selling to the F5 - it wasn't just a pop-up, but a slow, shaky sell of him getting back to his feet. That made the whole match. Simple. Subtle.
- Brock's retirement is wild. Again, am I that old?!!!
- There were a few true Wrestlemania moments this year - this was likely the one.
- There will never be another Brock Lesnar.
Penta vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rusev vs. Rey Mysterio
- An absolute car-wreck, and it was beautiful and so much fun. My second favorite match of the night.
Trick Williams vs. Sami Zayn
- I'm a huge Trick Williams guy. Loved how he evolved in TNA last year. Big time win for Trick Willy!
- Like Cody and Randy, poor Sami Zayn had to make the most out of shitty creative.
"The Demon" Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
- Very odd that this was a street fight, suddenly. Especially considering all of the weapons and tables already (or expected to be) used in the coming days.
- The Demon's entrance is still so cool. Kudos to them for keeping it rare, fresh, and special.
Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill
- Jade's entrance attire was absolutely awesome!
- This one fell much longer than it really was. A great match, with an awesome ending. That reversal got a pop out of me at home. Night Two, baby!
Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk
- Absolute magic. All of it. My words - any of it - won't do this justice.
- This match is Wrestlemania 42. And in answering my question above, this is the sole reason for going back and watching this event a few years from now.
- I'm not a huge CM Punk guy, but it was awesome to see him finally get his Wrestlemania main event.
- Roman Reigns continues to show why he is leagues above everyone else (in kayfabe and in real life). Reigns is generational, and might just be this generation's Mr. Wrestlemania.
Here comes the critics! But aren't we all.
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All in all, Wrestlemania Sunday is Wrestlemania. Saturday was something else. Collectively, it was uninspiring, and in many ways - commercials, advertising, and storyline-build and hype included - it felt all felt, yes, soulless.
Wrestlemania 43 is in Riyadh...oh boy, this Wrestlemania stretch run in history is definitely shaping up to be interesting.
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Photos courtesy of wwe.com