wrestling / Columns

A Tale of Two WrestleManias

April 3, 2015 | Posted by Len Archibald

WrestleMania 31 has come and gone and the event has gotten mainly positive reviews. I felt it was one of the better WrestleMania events – not one that will fall into the all-time greats of III, X-7 and 19, but it definitely was not a one-match show like 13 or 29, or a near-stinker like IX or XI. The event itself had its moments where it focused on newer performers in the main event scene, established or furthered the mystique of certain WWE superstars and made honest-to-goodness strides towards legitimizing its secondary titles (WHAT?!)

The event also made some oddball creative decisions, continued to cannibalize its future stars for the status quo and part-time stars, suffered from poor timing choices and at times made strides to make the event feel more like a glorified RAW than – well – WRESTLE F’N MANIA. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. This is a tale of two WrestleManias – during the same event, and it was a satisfying, frustrating ball of sports entertainment. The event seemed to struggle between presenting a great event for its fans and balancing the ego stroking of its corporate ownership. Such an uneven turn of events deserves an analysis.

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara was the location of the latest WrestleMania and while the atmosphere created something unique that was fitting of WrestleMania, I could not help but feel whomever outlined the event suffered from some major time management issues. We have had all daylight WrestleManias before (IX), but there was something a little off about this particular event.

While seeing the opening IC Title Ladder match in the daytime was a great novelty at the start of WrestleMania 31, I think several fans believed that by halfway through the show, Levi’s Stadium would be engulfed in the night skies. Well, California in the spring, with a 3pm Pacific start time did not do many any favors.

The elephant in the room to address this was the promo segment between Triple H, Stephanie, The Rock and Ronda Rousey. While the idea of trotting the Great One and the most dangerous woman in the world out to create a “moment” and even set up proceedings for next year’s WrestleMania, the segment dragged and wound up feeling less like a Triple H victory lap and means to plant seeds for a potential Rousey/Stephanie confrontation and more like a glaringly transparent ego stroke disguised as a time-waster. As much as I love The Rock – and I LOVE him, and as much as the moment with the four was more on the sweet than sour side, I concede that it definitely dragged out for longer than it needed to, with Lord of the Rings-like pauses and long-winded staredowns that make Meet Joe Black and any Nicholas Spark-inspired film wince in its cheesiness.

It became terribly obvious that there was some stalling in attempts to have the arena dark enough by the time The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt faced off. That did not happen. While Bray Wyatt’s scarecrow entrance was mesmerizing and innovative, having it take place in broad sunlight hindered its full effect. Same with The Undertaker’s legendary entrance; one of the reasons Taker’s daylight entrance worked like gangbusters at WrestleMania IX was because he was accompanied by a raven – an accessory that alluded to his dark nature. Something along those lines, or even a callback to his WrestleMania 22 entrance where the illusion that The Deadman “floated” to the ring would have added something significantly special. The normal five-minute walk to the ring left me a little flat.

While I was super stoked for Sting’s debut at WrestleMania, I had the same feelings for his daylight entrance. While I appreciated the Japanese – almost Akira Kurosawa-inspired live drum set, the Stinger’s whole mystique since 1996 has been that of a man shrouded in darkness. Seeing Sting casually make his way in broad daylight was just as surreal as seeing him at a WWE event at all. It lead into Triple H’s Terminator-inspired OTT entrance that just did not have the same impact it would have had if the same scenario was at night. The animatronic Terminators looked more hokey and less intimidating as the daylight clearly made everything come off as more a craft project from a beginner trying out for Face/Off than the sight of malice it should have.

STUNG BY A KING

This brings us to Sting vs. Triple H in what was billed as a “dream match” – a confrontation that pitted the loyalty of WCW’s franchise against the manipulation of one of WWE’s constant players. Even though Sting blatantly said that it would be “ridiculous” to make the fight about WWE vs. WCW and the Stinger’s main motive was simply to take down Triple H and The Authority, the booking of the match said the complete opposite with mixed results.

Sting dominated the majority of the bout and seemed to have things in hand until D-Generation X’s Billy Gunn, Shawn Michaels, X-Pac and Road Dogg rushed the ring to interfere on Triple H’s behalf. Things looked to be back in H’s favor until the familiar porn-riff of the New World Order blared and Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash and Scott Hall made their way to even the score. It was a truly special moment in time in my opinion, the proper “InVasion” we should have had in 2001. It was overbooked, contrived and in the grand scheme of things, made no sense – yet for the fans at Levi’s Stadium, was a truly cathartic moment.

But then questions were asked: why would the NWO interfere on Sting’s behalf? Sting, the man whose venom and entire character was based around the NWO and making their lives hell. Why would Kevin Nash, who just one night previously was inducted by Shawn Michaels, would wear NWO black and white? For that matter why would Hollywood Hogan, who just last year was bleeding WWE and his red and yellow colors – and who suffered one of his biggest losses to Sting – would come out to aid him? Why would Scott Hall have anything to do with attacking his own Kliq brethren? Why wasn’t X-Pac – who was involved in both factions – not riddled with internal conflict over the matter?

Then we got to the ending, where Triple H won. I want to say, the result of the match isn’t what was confusing – it was the aftermath. After months of saying his sole purpose was to end The Authority – Sting….Shakes Triple H’s hand in a show of respect? This is a match, while worked smartly in its OTT overbooked chaos, is going to be debated and analyzed over the next few years. Each moment brought more of the live crowd to its feet. I was reminded of Hogan vs. Rock at WrestleMania X-8, which I attended. The match was not a workrate classic, but the resurrection of Hulkamania was akin to a religious experience. I always remember telling people in the 411Mania Wrestling forums how this was my new favorite match and was nearly run out. On television, the match seemed pedestrian to some. Live, though – it was everything professional wrestling is – an interactive physical affair that is dictated by the vocal and emotional investment of its audience.

Sting vs. Triple H had a hot crowd that got hotter as the overbooking came in – and once it kicked into gear, for me, it was pretty glorious. A friend of mine texted me with glee saying he’s thirteen years old again. The match carried that feeling of nostalgia for those whose favorite acts were DX and the NWO and had clamored to see them clash.

DEAD MAN RISING

The match between The Undertaker and Bray Wyatt may perfectly serve as a cross-section of this uneven WrestleMania. Wyatt had served as the focal point in the feud, calling the Deadman out from exile after Brock Lesnar broke his WrestleMania winning streak. Fans heard the Undertaker in short spurts and caught glimpses of the now familiar mind game laden special effects show, complete with lightning to burn down Wyatt’s infamous rocking chair. The major question coming into the match was: What will The Undertaker’s physical condition be? After WrestleMania XXX, Taker looked old and broken down, a shell of the “Phenom” that had ruled the roost at WrestleMania for 21 events prior. The other question was how well could Wyatt and Taker adapt to each other’s style.

The match was criminally short and displayed glimpses of brilliance. In my opinion, there is a definite chemistry between the two performers but we did not get a true chance to see it fully shine. The pairing made the most sense as Taker’s supernatural harbinger of justice is the natural precursor to Wyatt’s grounded cult leader. The expected crab-walk/zombie sit up occurred and it was just as pleasing as the imagination allowed and brought the crowd to its feet. Allowing Wyatt to kick out of the Tombstone is an accomplishment reserved for very few people, so seeing the Eater of Worlds able to take it to The Undertaker in that manner and show resiliency.

At the end, The Undertaker went back to his winning ways with a second thunderous Tombstone on Wyatt to get the crowd to its feet. Taker got to do his crowd pleasing spots, Wyatt got to dominate and it was a match. It could have been so much more, though.

MID-CARD SHUFFLE

So here we are, the culmination of years of crappy decisions and treating the WWE Intercontinental and United States Titles and the title holders as jokes. These were belts once held in high esteem – held by some of the very best in professional wrestling history: Steamboat, Flair, Race, Austin, Booker T, Michaels, Jericho, Windham, Blanchard, Guerrero, RVD, Savage. It was about time that the lineage of those titles went back full circle to wrap themselves around the waists of those who lend instantaneous credibility and harkens back to the days when the performer made the title and not the opposite.

John Cena and Daniel Bryan are now United States and Intercontinental Champions, respectively. I understand – at least in Cena’s case – there are some grumblings about his placement or, more specifically the decision to have Cena be the man to break Rusev’s undefeated streak. Personally, I felt this was a necessary step to take as we all have complained (validly) about the credibility of the U.S. Title. Not knocking Rusev and his title reign has been great and help bolster the U.S. Title’s lineage, but John Cena was the title holder needed to wash away years of STANK and fan-based cynicism the title had built up.

The Cena/Rusev match itself was a good-to-great affair as the two have a unique chemistry that works. It reminded me of Cena going head-to-head with Umaga in 2007. I have to give a shout out to whoever it was that came up with the idea of Rusev entering in a TANK. Rusev’s entrance was pure spectacle and perfect for WrestleMania, giving the match itself that little extra bit of pageantry needed to make the bout feel important. Cena works best with monster heels who can dish out an asswhipping and look good doing so, while The Champ always brings an extra bit of intensity and urgency when he competes against a foe who can match Cena’s power. The two had an even back and forth affair, breaking out of each other’s submission maneuvers to showcase the story of two competitors who are equals when it came to strength. One Attitude Adjustment later and that was all she wrote for the Bulgarian Brute. As good as the match was, the ending did feel a bit on the anticlimactic side as since it’s WrestleMania, I expected a Rusev kick-out. Still, though – Rusev looked terribly strong in defeat, which was becoming a theme for the evening.

WrestleMania 31 opened proper with the Intercontinental Title Ladder Match that had enough anarchy to make Dean Ambrose smile…Until he got destroyed on top of a ladder on his back by Luke Harper. Like the great car crash matches of the day, such as the Triangle Ladder Match, TLC II and Money in the Bank Ladder Matches from WrestleManias past, this stood out as a potential showstealer. Each competitor went out of their way to utilize the environment to their advantage (shout out to Luke Harper for channeling Terry Funk.) Once it evolved to the finishing stretch, the action became fast and furious, ending with Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler fighting over the title in a HEADBUTT BATTLE~! that is usually reserved for something out of New Japan. The moment was wild and different enough, though – to stress how badly each wanted to grab the Title, as well as how much damage The Show Off and the G.O.A.T. were willing to do to themselves for championship gold.

Daniel Bryan received the title and for the third straight WrestleMania in a row, walked out a champion. This was by far the right call in my opinion as 1) similar to the John Cena situation, having someone the caliber of Bryan holding the IC Title instantly raises its stock; 2) The IC Title has a lineage of being known as the “workhorse” title, and who better than to represent that than arguably WWE’s best in-ring performer and; 3) Bryan is arguably the most over competitor in WWE, so any IC Title match will have at the least some sort of storyline attached to it and at the most, nuclear heat and emotional investment from the crowd. Here’s hoping for a year-long reign by Bryan, taking on all comers before dropping the strap at WrestleMania 32 in Dallas.

Bryan and Cena’s presence as secondary titleholders may be WWE’s answer to Shinsuke Nakamura. Nakamura, as the IWGP Intercontinental Champion singlehandedly raised the stock of that title through hard work and great title defenses in such a way that at Wrestle Kingdom 8, fans voted for his match to go on last compared to the IWGP World Title match. I can see situations where the IC and/or U.S. Title match main events a Pay Per View just because of the stature of the men who hold them. Allowing more space and expanding the perception of those titles as main event caliber will go a long way on bringing them back to the status they deserve to have based on their history.

THE FALL OF ROME TAKEN TO THE BANK

The Main Event of WrestleMania 31, I feel will be talked about for years as ground zero for a) Roman Reigns’ official ascent to the WWE main event; b) Brock Lesnar’s unstoppable-face mystique and c) Seth Rollins breaking his own glass ceiling. The main one on one match between Lesnar and Reigns that transitioned to a triple threat once Rollins cashed in was a modern classic, a tale that actually culminated in a year-long storyline for all three involved.

I have seen some criticisms about the brutal punishment Roman Reigns took and “smiling it off.” I have read the criticisms of Reigns taking four F-5’s and still being in the match. I would have under normal circumstances felt these criticisms were sound until watching the match again and realizing how absolutely brilliant, logical and full of *gasp* continuity the match had. To place the events of Lesnar/Reigns in context, one would have to understand the psychology of Brock Lesnar’s three major matches in 2014-2015 leading up to the WM Main Event.

When Brock Lesnar broke the Undertaker’s undefeated streak, it took three F-5’s to do so. Roman Reigns took four F-5’s and was still in the match in some capacity. This is not saying that Reigns is “better” than the Undertaker, but simply that Reigns is in a different place physically than The Undertaker is now. It also calls back to Lesnar’s own psychology – three F-5’s broke the streak; four should break Reigns to keep his title. The fact that Reigns survived that speaks volumes towards the character of Roman Reigns and his resiliency.

Speaking of which, Reigns’ defiant smiling at Brock at certain intervals of the match is a plain callback to Lesnar’s match with John Cena at SummerSlam. Similar to the opening of the SummerSlam bout, Brock Lesnar took Roman Reigns out with an F-5 within seconds to display his dominance. The main anomaly going into the match (that even I have stressed) is that Roman, until now – had been untested in the ring. John Cena took sixteen suplexes and never recovered as a fifteen-time world champion. No one really knew how much punishment Roman Reigns could take, or how he would react to that kind of punishment – because he had never been placed in that situation. Cena crumbled miserably in his match against Lesnar. Reigns was defiant, knowing that Brock would feel his opponent would be a walk in the park, even compared to John Cena. Brock’s frustration grew during the match when he realized the obvious: Roman Reigns is NOT John Cena. Again, that does not place Reigns on a different “level” than Cena, just that Roman’s approach was entirely different than what anyone – including the former champion expected, and it took Lesnar off his game. Roman took a man-sized beating and took a page from Mick Foley vs. The Rock at the 1999 Royal Rumble: if Brock was going to defeat Reigns, he would have to kill him – which Brock may have been obliged to do if he didn’t get posted and…

…Seth Rollins broke his glass ceiling. The first ever WrestleMania Money in the Bank cash-in may go down in history as the best one ever because of not only the unpredictability factor, but the genius of actually doing mid-match – something that had never been done before. This is the final culmination of Seth Rollins’ turn and dismantling of The Shield. Just as Seth fired the first shot with a chair shot to Roman Reigns’ back, Rollins has taken it to Reigns again, this time by costing his former Shield brother not only the WWE Title, but a WrestleMania moment. Seth Rollins is now 3-0 at WrestleMania and for my money is slowly starting to make a case to take the mantle of “Mr. WrestleMania” that Randy Savage and Shawn Michaels is known for. Rollins, deservedly – has been rewarded for his efforts in 2014 emerging as WWE’s biggest heel with his first of many WM moments, along with being only the third (fourth if you consider Austin) heel to close WrestleMania as World Champion. Not too shabby for the former Tyler Black.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

There is some talk that WrestleMania 31 may go down as one of the best of all time – which is a feat in itself because of the card’s less than stellar build. I haven’t made up my mind. The only match I have gone out of my way to watch again is the main event – and that is just because Brock Lesnar is the only competitor other than CM Punk that compels me to observe his every move in the current era. As years progress and hindsight rears its head, I do believe that this WrestleMania will be considered as a turning point and historically significant event.

As much as fans griped about the part-timers once again taking up time or CENAWINSLOL booking, the follow up – as always – is key. If Seth Rollins flounders as WWE Champion, or if Roman Reigns finds himself more on the end of Mark Jindrak instead of Batista, this event will show WWE’s future failing in the face of opportunity. If they shine and improve – if the secondary titles are given ample opportunity to be booked as well as the men who hold them, WrestleMania 31 may wind up being the turning point for WWE Creatively. We are slowly transitioning out of the Vince McMahon WrestleMania era as WWE takes baby steps to progress into the Triple H/Stephanie McMahon WrestleMania era. Some of the shifts we have seen with our own eyes in regards to the presentation (NXT, #GiveDivasAChance) are starting to come to fruition. If some of these bright spots begin to spill into WrestleMania season, we may be in for a great ride – but for now, I will concede that getting there is going to be bumpy and uneven in how the wrestling is presented until then.

Len Archibald is the former Executive Director of the Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival, and is a current movie reviewer for WLIO in Lima, Ohio.

Agree or disagree with me? Let me know on Twitter!
Follow @THELenArchibald

ADAMS & ARCHIBALD AT THE MOVIES: PLAYLIST

Film enthusiasts David Adams and Len Archibald share their thoughts on all the good, bad and UGLY of the latest movies from Hollywood! Copyright Your Lima Hometown Stations.

Adams & Archibald at the Movies on Facebook

W.A.R.: WRESTLING & RESPECT on Facebook

FOLLOW US ON 411!!!
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma

article topics :

WrestleMania 31, Len Archibald