Good versus evil. Bully against underdog. Badass against coward.
These are the conflicts that drive sports entertainment. Without storylines and rivalries, pro wrestling would be just another sport.
WrestleMania is the year long culmination of major storylines and with keen booking, the beginning of new ones.
But as in recent years, the matches set at WWE’s Show of Shows have developed anywhere from the Royal Rumble to a week before the big event.
Short-term booking is not smart. Most often, it does not work. But then again, it is hard to judge how long WWE has certain feuds in the works. Take Shane McMahon’s return for example.
This year’s card is still being filled out. Some spots may remain blank until the latest notice as big-name injuries such as John Cena and Cesaro could make returns — the former being unlikely.
This week’s Monday Night Raw did give us two new matches for the Grandest Stage of Them All. But the lines between babyfaces and heels are being blurred.
Let’s go through the matches.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship
TRIPLE H VS ROMAN REIGNS
Reigns will be entering his second consecutive main event, this time against the Cerebral Assassin. This storyline has been building for months since the Authority screwed Reigns over at Survivor Series, as Sheamus cashed in his Money in the Bank contract after Reigns defeated Dean Ambrose for the vacant WWE World Heavyweight title.
One month later, Reigns would viciously attack Triple H post match at TLC to vent his frustration on the Authority’s constant impeding influence in his quest for the title. The next Raw started the feud between Vincent McMahon and Reigns, eventually leading to the Royal Rumble, where he was forced to defend the championship in the Rumble match with Triple H winning at the number 30 spot — like you couldn’t see that coming.
But many people railing against the decision to put Roman in the main event once again forget that last year’s main event was marvelous. Although the booking is confusing.
In the last two weeks, Reigns has gotten a collection of boos as the face while The Game has garnered the most cheers since his match with Lesnar at SummerSlam 2012.
In fact, the crowd fueled the King of Kings attack on Reigns. As cool as Reigns attack on the 14-time champion was at TLC, I think Triple H’s calculated skirmish was a tad better. What do you think?
So this is a really inverted conflict that is not going as planned as the face is being heckled and the supposed heel is getting cheered like a face.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lDeqh261nQ]
DEAN AMBROSE VS BROCK LESNAR (STREET FIGHT)
Coming off of Fastlane, it is clear that Lesnar and Ambrose’s chemistry is off the charts. Dean’s sometimes unrealistic resurrections from certain moves can be a little mind-numbing. (I mean the Undertaker is hanging up the hat and coat soon, maybe Dean should be the new Deadman).
But in all seriousness, Dean has been a fan favorite since his first post-Shield booking against Seth Rollins. And his parabolic rise and fall into the main event spotlight has not demonized his popularity with fans. One could argue that Dean is the most well-liked Shield member while Rollins is the most technically sound and overall gifted. (#SorryNotSorryRoman)
Ambrose is fighting like a babyface continuing to take a beating and giving all he’s got to pierce the armor of the Beast Incarnate. And in the process, he is gaining more cheers as he gets the rub from Lesnar.
Consequently, Lesnar is so well-received because he is an ass-kicking machine. The guy ended the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak and fans got over it. So the only reason for this booking has to be to elevate Ambrose to a main-event player.
The two will be battling for fans’ cheers come April 3 at the Showcase of the Immortals.
SHANE MCMAHON VS THE UNDERTAKER
In what could be a retirement match for both participants, this match really does (and doesn’t) make sense. First, to put this booking into perspective, this was not the original plan. Most speculation had the Undertaker’s swan song match against John Cena in his home state of Texas in front of the largest crowd in WrestleMania history. But Cena got injured and we may or may not get the chance to see that dream matchup at W23.
Enter Shane McMahon. The 46 year-old son of the chairman made his sensational return Monday night on Raw. He wasted no time in making an impact, wagering his opportunity to take control of Raw by wrestling “one match, one night.” Judging by the extraordinary reaction Shane-O-Mac received from the Detroit crowd and around the world on social media, he may have become the biggest face in the company overnight (next to A.J. Styles).
The only problem is that the man he will be wrestling at the biggest event of the year is also over just on name alone. And seeing that WWE has already booked the Undertaker in a face-face rivarlry in the last year against Lesnar, I’m not sure this is the smartest booking.
In fact, it may have made more sense to have had Shane return for a match with Triple H. But maybe that is just wishful thinking.
Another rumored match is The New Day (supposed heels) versus The League of Nations (depressing heels). Need I say more.
Presently, the card at WrestleMania is filled with a lot of faces and not many heels. And that is not best for business.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzDP3ltd8tA]