Guest Blog: A Casual Fan's Defense of WrestleMania XXVII

I've written so many words about WrestleMania so far, and why not? It's THE event on the calendar. I'm also a total wrestling geek, plugged into everything wrestling and probably overanalytical to the point of superfluousness. To provide a counterweight to that, friend of TWB and a guy I've known for about ten years or so now, Bill Dempsey, is going to weigh in on the card. As the title of the blog says, he's not so much a hardcore fan anymore, but like many people who used to watch, his one big wrestling event each year is WrestleMania. Plus, he's looking forward to the card more than usual. Here's his defense of the card, match-by-match, and why it's shaping up to be one of the best big events ever:

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I stopped watching WWE programming on a regular basis about 3 years ago. It was around WrestleMania 24 that I just decided to stop watching RAW and SmackDown on a weekly basis and stopped ordering Pay Per Views (with the exception of my yearly WrestleMania buy). I also stopped talking about wrestling online for the most part. I still read results online and I’ll flip past RAW on Mondays when I’m home or there is nothing else on, but for the most part wrestling is no longer appointment viewing for me and I am far less invested in the product than I was a few years back. So while I may not be the die-hard fan that this blog caters to I am exactly the casual fan that WWE hopes will purchase WrestleMania and help make it the biggest show of the year. Once again, I’m planning on buying the show this year and I find that I am looking forward to the show more than I have in a while (although for the most part I think it has consistently delivered over the past decade or so). I think the card on paper is one of the stronger ones they have presented in years and while it may not be hitting the smart fans in the sweet spot, I think that there is a lot to be said in defense of the line up for Sunday, which I guess is the whole point of this blog.

Alberto del Rio is a key to this card... but you already knew that.
Photo Credit: WWE.com

In that spirit, off we go in defense of the WrestleMania 27 card.

The Corre vs. The Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov

This is probably the least interesting match on the card, as well as clearly being the least hyped. It’s beyond obvious at this point that the WWE has no interest in a tag division and as such the tag titles are a complete joke and should just be retired. That said, I don’t feel a tremendous loss at not seeing the titles defended as they haven’t mattered in ages and I’d honestly rather see a multiman match like this than a weak title defense against a team cobbled together at the last minute like R-Truth and John Morrison. The only real drawback here is that the IC title once again isn’t being defended on the show, but again, that hasn’t happened in ages and the significance of a title match on the big show is nil. So why not have the current champ stand with his stable mates with the goal of getting The Corre over as a unit rather than pushing him as a clear leader with a match on the show at the expense of the rest of the group? I’m guessing The Corre goes over here as no other outcome makes sense, unless they are planning to kill the group already, which wouldn’t really be a bad idea either, except what else are these guys gonna do? No harm in letting a guy like Koslov take a fall after 6 minutes or so, which would be my best guess with this car-wreck (if it even makes the PPV broadcast).

Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus – US Championship

It’s sort of strange how the past few years have featured US Title matches at WrestleMania at the expense of the home-grown belt. For years I was a proponent of keeping the titles and the brands separate, but that is such a joke at this point that they ought to unify everything, starting with the US and IC belt (which it sort of looked like they were going for with a Sheamus/Kofi match on this show). Bryan vs. Sheamus could be great, but I think it will end up being a lot like Mysterio/Punk from last year with all the potential in the world undercut by the fact that this one isn’t going long. Nor should it with all they have to cram into the show entertainment-wise. WrestleMania, despite the name, isn’t about the wrestling (except for the co-mains) and the job here is to set up a rematch where they can really tear it up without having to take time away from other priorities. We can argue about whether or not it SHOULD be this way, but it doesn’t matter because nothing is going to change it at this point (and a 70,000 paid gate gets tougher and tougher to argue with every year). So this match will likely disappoint Bryan fans, but I think the fact that he’s even on the show, especially this year when so many over acts have been passed up, should be celebrated and enjoyed for what it is.

John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Snooki vs. Dolph Ziggler & LayCool

This seems to be the match that is drawing the most criticism on the show for a couple of reasons. People feel like Snooki is stealing a spot on the card from a more deserving performer while simultaneously feeling that John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler are being wasted in an intergender match. The first argument is ridiculous. If Snooki is stealing a spot from anyone it’s Kelly Kelly (who was originally penciled in for this match), and I find it pretty suspect that anyone wants to see Kelly Kelly wrestle in this match to the point where it upsets them that she’s not. I’m not arguing that I want to see Snooki wrestle, but honestly, outside of Beth Phoenix, Nattie Neidhart and Gail Kim she’ll probably be about as good as any of the other divas available, and the bottom line is, she will get more of a reaction from the crowd than any of them. The Dolph/Morrison argument I can sort of understand (in the case of Dolph anyway) but the fact is, this match has him in a more high profile position on the card than he would be otherwise unless they decided to give him Del Rio’s push, which would have been a crime. He’ll recover from this just fine and in fact it’ll most likely be a boost to his career considering the alternative. Put it this way I guarantee you that 90% of the people that watch this show will remember this match more than they remember which spot took place in any of the previous half dozen interchangeable and ultimately meaningless Money In The Bank matches.

Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes

I don’t really feel much one way or the other about this match except that it evokes a certain nostalgic element in me. It feels like a very old-school Mania match where they just kind of plop two guys on the card to give them something to do. Rhodes is a much better choice for the show than a guy like DiBiase, so that’s good, and I expect Ray will be up to the task too. A perfectly fine match that does a great job of making the main events feel bigger than they are simply because this match means very little. That might sound like a knock, but in the end it’s two guys who can work, so it will be a perfectly good use of 7 or 8 minutes.

Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole

In the past I have been vocally against matches like this. I don’t know if I’ve changed (probably) or if they’ve done such a great job with the build to this, but this match doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, it’s miles ahead of the Hart/McMahon, Trump/McMahon, Big Show/Mayweather “attraction” matches that they have booked recently. Cole is a great heel and while at first I thought this was a cop out as Jerry Lawler’s WrestleMania moment, I don’t think there is a single guy on the roster that would be a better fit for him to go up against at this point. This should be incredible and the heat is going to be off the charts. Perfect for this card.

Randy Orton vs. CM Punk

Another great upper card feud that doesn’t tie up the titles while simultaneously feeling like an important “WrestleMania-worthy” match. Punk has been off the charts this year and deserved a title match at this show, but in the interest of keeping those matches one on one (always better than a multi-man match) this is a fine substitute, especially as I think they are going to get some time to this one as a payback for Orton’s awful three-way match last year. Look at this as Taker/HHH from WrestleMania 17 – not the main event, but two guys who could have been booked there who go out and work a main event style match. Bonus – it keeps Orton away from a title belt for the time being (which isn’t to say he sucks or anything, but he is boring both chasing and holding the title for whatever reason).

The Undertaker vs. Triple H – No Holds Barred

The stip should have gone to Orton/Punk, but ultimately these guys need it more, so there you have it. This is miles beyond what we would have gotten from a UT/Barrett or HHH/Sheamus match, so that’s good. Plus, the real story here is the streak and it will be until UT retires (I can’t see them ever ending it at this point), so they need to pick his opponents carefully (outside of Triple H, Cena and Punk are about the only guys they have right now who will fit the bill with Lesnar being the best choice of guys outside of the fed). I think the Michaels matches are hilariously overrated, but I can’t deny that UT knows how to make these WM performances count. HHH is less trustworthy (his past few Mania matches have been pretty terrible and more importantly – forgettable) but he and UT have great chemistry (their match at WM17 is arguably the best on that show) and I think he is going to hold up his end of the bargain. Just too damn bad Michaels is going to end it with sweet chin music on HHH.

Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge – World Championship

As tired as Edge is as the World Champ he is sort of the perfect guy to help make Del Rio (although I can’t for the life of me shake the idea that this match sells so much better with Mysterio defending). He’s a perfectly acceptable wrestler who can carry his weight when in there with superior guys, of which Del Rio unquestionably is, and with like a dozen reigns or whatever he won’t ever be hurt by losing. From what I have seen Del Rio is THE guy they have been waiting for and when I see him I feel like I’m watching Ric Flair. I don’t know that he would ever work as a face (it would probably neuter him like it did with MVP), but I don’t know if WWE has a better heel right now, including Cole and Vicki. Just incredible and he deserves to win this belt on this show. Terrific match up for SmackDown and again, the only way it could have been better would be with Mysterio in the place of Edge. Although the Christian/Clay dynamic here gives this a tremendous old-school NWA feel with both guys having their seconds watch their backs. Love that.

John Cena vs. The Miz – WWE Championship

As tired as I am of seeing Cena win titles at WrestleMania, I gotta say that this is just about the best match they could have put in this slot (although Cena/Punk would have been immeasurably better). I give them a lot of credit for giving The Miz the ball to run with or fumble and despite the fact that he is ultimately vanilla in the ring. The bigger picture is that he is a character that people are 100% buying into and I’ll enjoy seeing him ping pong for Cena. The addition of The Rock into this angle has been genius. Here we get to see Miz headline the big show (assuming this goes on last, as it should – no reason for HHH/UT to main event this thing) before he is really ready to do so, but also with the benefit of him not having to do all of the heavy lifting. Some can argue that he is being overlooked as the champion, and I can understand that aggravation but the bottom line is that he is simply not on the level of Cena or The Rock yet and he is being given an opportunity to study two of the best while grooming himself as the undeniable future of the company. WrestleManias to follow will benefit greatly from this match, and even on it’s own it should be completely watchable and a satisfying finish to the biggest show of the year. Let’s just hope that somewhere down the line The Miz finds a better Hogan to his Piper (not a knock on Cena, but one of his big problems is he just doesn’t have a signature opponent and thus far I don’t see that being The Miz).

So there you have it. My casual fan’s defense of this year’s WrestleMania card and the reasons I’m looking forward to the show – or at the very least, reasons why I can overlook some of the weaker aspects of it. In years passed I have bitched and moaned about wanting a more wrestling-centric product and less focus on the fluff and more on the competition, but as I get older I realize that sometimes a broader stroke works better, especially when you’re trying to reach as many different people as possible. It’s not a wrestling show – it’s a sports entertainment show.

And really, I’m just fine with that.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!