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Every so often during Wrestlemania season, I start to receive emails or requests from PWInsider.com readers asking me to reassure them that Wrestlemania won't suck. Sometimes, the card that Vince McMahon and friends have configured doesn't fit into the hopes that some fans wanted for the show. Sometimes, like last year, injuries make it impossible to live up to the hopes of what a Wrestlemania card should be. Sometimes, fans just don't want to see part-timers pushed over full-times. But, usually a month or so before the show, the emails start cascading in. This year is no different.
Now, I can't reassure anyone of anything, because I am personally underwhelmed with the card, but that's all subjective. One never knows how a show is going to go until it gets out there. At Wrestlemania 23, I expected John Cena to have the match of his life against Shawn Michaels. While the two would later go on to have some pretty damn good matches, the Mania 23 bout was underwhelming to me. That same night, however, a match that I didn't foresee blowing me away, Undertaker vs. Batista, did just that, stealing the show.
So, we never know what will happen until it does, but here are some reasons to look forward to watching Wrestlemania 33 unfold on April 2nd.
Bray Wyatt is the WWE champion
For years, one of the driving narratives among wrestling fans is how much they have hated how The Wyatt Family has been used since coming up from WWE NXT. The group was used in a clunky manner lots of times and chances to really make Bray Wyatt a strong, fearsome villain were lost. Over the last year, however, WWE has finally tried to get behind Bray and while for some fans, it's may be too little, too late, at the end of the day, the grandson of Blackjack Mulligan is the WWE champion going into Wrestlemania facing Randy Orton. From an in-ring standpoint, Orton has not looked this good in years and seems to be far more passionate since returning from his shoulder issues than anyone probably expected. The burning down the house was over the top to be sure, but it's pro wrestling so there's always going to be that larger than life madness, especially for a Wrestlemania storyline in a company run by Vince McMahon. When the bell rings, however, it's Bray Wyatt in one of the top matches at Wrestlemania during a time period where fans want full-time guys to be rewarded for their hard work all year. In 2017, Bray is being rewarded - and if he comes out of Wrestlemania with the belt, or better yet, a win, it's a small victory for the guys who take bumps while touring all year.
The Cruiserweights come to Wrestlemania
A year ago, The Cruiserweight Classic hadn't even happened. Now, The Cruiserweights have their own show, short segments on Raw, contracts and hell, Austin Aries vs. Neville on Wrestlemania. It's easy to get disillusioned because these guys aren't getting 30 minutes to put on Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero style shows, but considering a year ago, 99% of them were toiling away on the independents, it's still amazing this has happened. Neville vs. Aries won't just be Aries' Wrestlemania debut but a chance for the Cruiserweight division to continue to establish itself. If, by some miracle, WWE adds a second Cruiser bout at the last second (like, say, a Ladder match!?), even better, but when you look at the fact that a few years ago, Cruisers were an ignored commodity and now they have a title bout at Wrestlemania, it's a victory.
Goldberg vs. Lesnar has to be a war, right?
Remember how insane it was in the aftermath of Survivor Series when Goldberg wiped out Brock Lesnar? I have a theory (which I have stated on PWInsider Elite audio) that the short Goldberg appearances were to hide that he wasn't really ready and were to camouflage him as he got ready for Wrestlemania, which is where the big match would go down. In doing so, it gave Goldberg six-plus months to get ready to have a big match with someone he respects and likes a lot in Brock. Plus, Lesnar has never been someone who has had obstacles to overcome. He's wiped out everyone, including The Undertaker, in his path, so the Goldberg story was a rarity in that Brock has something to chase. I don't see WWE giving us a five minute Wrestlemania main event and this looks to be the show-closing bout, so that means this has to be the war everyone envisioned they were getting at Survivor Series.
Kurt Angle back on a WWE stage.
When Kurt Angle exited WWE in 2006, it was a drastic, fast exit and one that came off sad with Angle claiming he couldn't compete without use of pain pills. Then, he went to TNA and crapped all over WWE in interviews. He's had his ups (great matches with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe) and downs (multiple arrests) over the years before going to rehab and getting himself healthy. Angle's goal was always to end his wrestling career on a Wrestlemania stage. While there are many hoping, including Angle himself, that he'll wrestle again for WWE, whether it happens or not is inconsequential, because he's getting to return to the stage that he always wanted to be back at - the WWE stage. He doesn't need to moonsault off the top of the cage to have his career come full circle. Just by walking out in Orlando as the fans chant "You suck" and cheer for him, Angle's smile in that moment will be the full circle moment. For all the bumps, all the pain, all the surgeries and all the time spent estranged from WWE, Angle gets his moment in the sun, one that is deserved. That's something to be excited for and honestly, it's something I just got chills writing about.
Kevin Owens' first Wrestlemania singles bout.
While Owens made his Wrestlemania debut last year in an entertaining ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental championship. there is a badge of honor among pro wrestlers when they get to have a Wrestlemania singles match. If they were fans growing up, as Owens obviously was, it's a chance to truly live the dream, because no one dreamed of being in anything but a singles match where they get their arm raised. Add the fact that he's in there with Chris Jericho who is in a lot of ways the 21st century equivalent to The Undertaker in terms of coming up with new ways to refresh and evolve himself and his ring work and there's a far better chance of Owens' bout stealing the show. They have a good storyline that led to what has been a very good on-screen rivalry thus far. The only way this one doesn't deliver is if they have all their time cut or something drastically unforeseen happens. But, even beyond that, Owens, who crawled his way out of the Montreal independent scene to snub every critic ever on the way to stardom, will have his first Wrestlemania singles match, pretty much being the guy that he's always been his entire career. That is a hell of an accomplishment and one that should be acknowledged.
Bayley makes her Wrestlemania debut.
I have a confession to make. As a reporter or writer or whatever I am considered to be, I am supposed to be unbiased, but I'm not. My favorite wrestler of the past few years in WWE has been Bayley and while I am not thrilled with the way she has been presented from a creative standpoint in recent weeks, I am thrilled to be in Orlando to see what her Wrestlemania debut will be like. Bayley, to me, is the closest equivalent of the old Dusty Rhodes "common man" character, while presented in a completely different fashion. She's not meant to be the sexy vixen or the conniving woman, she's the girl next door trying to live her dreams and fight the good fight. I love the character, I love the entrance, I love the music and I love her in-ring work. While the women's revolution was being celebrated last year, Bayley was waiting in the wings. This year, she gets to fly - and to fly with Charlotte Flair, Nia Jax and Sasha Banks, who she has had excellent matches with in the past. That I am excited about and I think you should be too.
Last ride for The Undertaker?
I get it. The majority of fans we hear from don't want to see Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker. I would have preferred the original plan of Undertaker vs. John Cena myself, but at the end of the day, Undertaker was telling those close to him last year that his match against Shane McMahon was it. So, considering this match wasn't even in his sights a year ago, fans are pretty lucky to be getting Undertaker vs. Roman. At the end of the day, Reigns can go in the ring and has better matches than he has been given credit for since the moment Daniel Bryan was tossed out of a Royal Rumble in Philadelphia. There's lot of reasons to reject Reigns but considering this really could be it for The Undertaker, someone who helped define what Wrestlemania was over the last decade, I think the way to look at the bout is this - it could be Babe Ruth's last at bat. It might not live up to the days of old, but certainly, it deserves our attention and respect. Plus, who better to cheer for against Reigns?
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon
Another match fans are already rejecting because they would much rather see Styles in a main event position. Hey, I am with you. Dude should still be the WWE champion, but we are where we are. On paper, Styles is the best in-ring performer in the company. Shane McMahon always throws caution to the wind. Remember Kurt Angle vs. McMahon in 2001? I expect something along those lines to be devised, minus tossing McMahon through glass partitions. Styles is so good, he could have a solid match with well, me, and I have no athletic ability. McMahon, despite his age, still does and has been training like a madman. Plus, does anyone really think that after the year Styles has put in for the company, that WWE isn't going to put him in a position to go all out and blow people out of the water? Wrestlemania is about the spectacle and this well, this is going to be the spectacle part of the show. This won't be a conventional bout, but it will be a spectacle that I think will surprise a lot of people, the way Undertaker vs. Batista surprised me at Wrestlemania 23.
You know The Rock is showing up.
The man has a bunch of movies coming out and Wrestlemania is in Florida. There is no way the man isn't showing up to cut a promo and do something silly, perhaps with New Day. Mania is all about the surprises and Rock will be there this year and everyone will love him for it, because he's The Rock and he's awesome. Count on it. Just don't count on another phone call to CM Punk.
At the end of the day, it's Wrestlemania with all the pyro and ring entrances, pomp and circumstance. It's more than just a show - after all there are 75 EVENTS in Orlando that week alone, it's more of a celebration of pro wrestling, something we all love. So, celebrate it. Watch with friends. Watch with the younger kids in your family who *still* believe. Watch it and hate-tweet it all night if you want, but at the end of the day, it's still Wrestlemania. It's the soap wedding for the genre we all love and there's no escaping it. You are going to watch. I am going to watch. Let's all hope that some of the potential positives I've pointed out come to pass...but even if they don't, there's always the next show. That's the beauty of professional wrestling.
Mike Johnson can be reached at MikeJohnsonPWInsider@gmail.com. He will be attending his 20th Wrestlemania on April 2nd.
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