Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Note: Some people said they had a problem reading this column so here it is again!
***
With WrestleMania 36 in the bag, it’s time to look back on the weekend that was. Obviously, this was a Mania unlike any that preceded it due to the extraordinary circumstances that the world is facing right now with the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the usual kvetching about minutia just doesn’t seem appropriate to me this year so I won’t get into that kind of thing. Everyone involved was working under such draining and suffocating circumstances that, in my opinion, even those that live and die by rating wrestling matches on a star grading system should kick that practice to the curb this year. You can’t fairly grade a match without all of the variables being in place and clearly this year, they were most certainly not in place. So with that said, let’s look at the three major areas of WrestleMania 36 weekend.
Highlights of the weekend
I give WWE a lot of credit for going through with the show under extremely trying circumstances. Some people that (kind of) read the site incorrectly stated on social media that I was against WWE doing the show. Reading comprehension being what it is for some, it’s not surprise that they got that wrong. Reading only a headline and then forming an opinion based on what you read is a primary way that stupid people get even dumber. What I was actually against was WWE doing the show at Raymond James Stadium, in front of tens of thousands of people. I was against them not canceling the show in that building when every other venture that ran in front of crowds had already done so. It was about following the norms that would keep people safe. Once they announced the show would be done in front of no one at the PC, I had no issue with it at all. In fact, I even said I respect them trying to give people a much needed diversion and they did just that. Whether you loved the show or hated the show, at least it gave you new content to watch for two nights, and that is an awesome thing. I commend WWE for that.
The talent, on the whole, worked extremely hard under very trying conditions. I nothing but respect for the work ethic of every single person that worked this weekend. For example, I have heard people say they loved the ladder match and other that said they hated it. Me? I say I was in awe of the abuse those men put their bodies through in front of absolutely no one. And pretty much every performer gave everything that they had as well. As I said above, rating anything this weekend is just wrong to me. If I were to do so, I would give every single performer five stars. They were all fantastic.
Drew McIntyre’s rise to the top was a feel good way to end the weekend. I highly recommend that you all watch the chronicle show that they did on Drew on the WWE Network. It was great peice. I have always enjoyed his work, but when you consider the journey he made to get to where he ended up last night, that is a feel good story that is written for Hollywood. Here was a guy who seemingly had it all, had it taken away and then declared he would get to the top of the mountain, and did. He didn’t whine or complain or blame other people. He looked in the mirror and said, “We got this, let’s do it.” I think that Drew McIntyre the wrestler is fantastic. I think Drew McIntyre the person is inspirational. He sets an amazing example. It was your usual fast Brock match but I also loved that when it was over, Brock sold the finish for minutes. That’s the way it should have been.
Charlotte vs. Rhea Ripley was the match of the weekend. And second place wasn’t even close to me. When this started the show last night, I was legitimately fired up for the first time all weekend. They tore down the house and I loved every minute of it. They figured out exactly how to make their match work in that environment and I have nothing but respect for both of them. It was probably Rhea’s best match of her young career and he was 100 percent Charlotte’s equal. I can’t give her higher praise than that. My hunch is that Charlotte won so she can be a regular on NXT for a while (with their goal being to help the ratings) and the loss didn’t hurt Rhea due to how it was booked, but I want to see them fight again and for Rhea win down the road. That is what the wrestling business is all about.
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins was the match of night one. KO jumping off the Mania sign, in front of no one, was insanely awesome. These two had one of the bigger issues going into the weekend and they had a match representative of that. They went to war and it was really good.
I was so happy to see how great Edge looked. It really sucks in life when something you love dearly is taken from you. Obviously, that happened to Edge when he had to retire. But last night, he was back. He was in great shape and wrestled over a half hour, so any concerns of him holding up should be put to rest. I was happy to see him back doing what he loved. It sure seems like he will be able to do it again in the future, probably on a limited basis, and that is a great thing.
Mania over two nights was a lot better on my body. I hated the circumstances that made WrestleMania a two night event, obviously, but I did thoroughly enjoy the much more manageable broadcasts. A three hour PPV beats a six hour version every day of the week and twice on Sunday for this old codger. While I never want us to be in this situation again, and I did miss seeing Takeover, the sliver lining of the weekend was the shows were much more manageable at the allotted amount of time they were given compared to the marathon events we usually get.
It was fun to do the post game shows. Hey, these are trying times. I have friends living in the hot spots in this country. Hell, Mike Johnson (who believe or not is my friend) is stuck in the belly of the beast, New York City. Doing the post game show with the guys, and bringing Jess McGrath and David Jakielo back out of mothballs, did my heart good. It was great being with my friends and talking WrestleMania. It was a little bit of normalcy in an anything but normal time and I truly enjoyed and appreciated it.
Lowlights of the weekend
For many, the shows were an escape from the sad reality we face today. For me it was just the opposite. As I mentioned above, many people told me that they loved the shows because it gave them a break from reality. I appreciate and respect that they felt that way. I am glad they felt that way. In fact, I wish I felt that way. But for me, watching 8 plus hours of wrestling in an empty building was the exact opposite of an escape for me. It was a constant reminder of where we are now and it was a real bummer to see those talents busting their ass to entertain us in front of no one. I do believe we will get past this stinkin’ virus. We always overcome. But right now is not a pleasant time and I was constantly reminded of that on Saturday and Sunday night. I truly hope that we are never, ever in a situation where WWE has to do this again.
Wrestling just isn’t the same to me without a crowd. I know sometimes I rant about the antics of the crowd. Today is usually the one day I do it the most since it’s the Raw after WrestleMania. But what became crystal clear to me over the weekend was that wrestling just isn’t wrestling to me without fans and ambient noise. I know some people feel hearing crowd noise without seeing fans would be ridiculous. Well, maybe it would be but I still think it would be much better than hearing nothing at all. They put laugh tracks on comedies for a reason. We saw what that reason was over the weekend.
At some point, they have to address social distancing. On my local news this morning, they showed a clip of Rob Gronkowski winning the 24-7 Title. The announcer then made the point of saying how bad WWE looks by having people wrestle when we are supposed to keep six feet away from each other (a point I have been making for weeks now). Some MENSA candidate sent me a nasty email yesterday saying it was the wrestlers’ choice to do it and I should shut up. OK, right off the bat I can tell you that not everyone who appeared on WrestleMania wanted to do it. I know that for a fact. They knew it was what they had to do so they did it. But they certainly were cognizant of the risk they were exposing themselves to. And even if everyone wanted to do it, if you watched the New Jack episode on Vice last week, it was a shining example of why the promoter sometimes needs to protect the talent from themselves. The Wall Street Journal had a story today about young, fit healthy people that got the virus and they still aren’t right a month later. It affects everyone differently but do you want to take the chance that your talents will be the ones that get it the worst and may never be the same again? I sure don’t. It’s a ridiculous risk to take at this point, with the disease spreading the way that it is. People ask me, “Would no wrestling be better”? It’s not about better, it’s about smarter and doing the right thing. If I don’t see live wrestling for a month (and I do think it’s ambitious of them to be promoting Money In The Bank for May 10), but it means talents will be safe for the long run, it’s a deal I would make every time. And speaking of Gronk…
Get the Title off of Gronk asap so he can go away. I will be the first to say I thought Gronkowski was an amazing football player. In his prime, he helped me win a Fantasy League Championship almost singlehandedly. He oozed charisma on the field so I get why FOX hired him and WWE wanted to use him. Well, what I see now is his charisma just doesn’t carry over off of the field. In fact, he’s kind of a goober actually. He’s where cool goes to die. Let’s move on from him WWE.
The forays into filmmaking. I expected to see some different things on Mania due to the circumstances. I hoped for a sound track during matches. I got the Boneyard and whatever the hell the acid trip of the Firefly Funhouse was last night. On Saturday, I wondered what the hell I was watching with The Undertaker. By last night, I was longing for whatever the hell it was I watched Saturday night. I have never taken LSD but I am 100 percent positive that if I did, the trip wouldn’t be as weird as what I watched with John Cena and Bray Wyatt last night. I know some people loved it. I wasn’t in that group. They were mini-movies, not wrestling matches (especially last night). I get why WWE thought outside the box and did them. I hope it’s out of their system now.
The length of Edge and Orton. As I said above, Edge is in great shape and clearly could go a long time. I know that because he went at least three hours in his match last night, or it least it sure seemed that way. I admire the intent there, and think Orton and Edge worked really hard. But this was an Energizer Bunny match to me, it kept going and going. 37 minutes was way too long. 15 minutes? It would have been fantastic.
With Mania over, it’s time to answer the question where do we go from here? I put this in the lowlights because it was kind of easy to not make the hard decisions as to whether WWE/NXT should continue producing live TV in the pandemic environment while the focus was on Mania. But, there is also a reason that they taped their biggest show of the year, and tonight’s Raw, well in advance. The uncertainty of the next month or so, as the number of cases of the virus continue to rise and more and more places are making it harder for people travel and assemble, puts WWE in the position of deciding what do we do next? Decisions will be made this week and Friday’s Smackdown needs to be dealt with in some shape or form because unlike Raw and Wednesday’s NXT, it’s not in the can. As I mentioned above, MITB has been announced, but will it happen? And if it does, where? Will Baltimore allow it to take place, especially at a time when the President said over the weekend after a call with sports owners (and Vince McMahon) that he hoped the NFL season could start in September in front of fans? It seems highly unlikely that WWE will run their next PPV in Baltimore. Will they even run it at all in May? That is the big question. We will know more later in the week.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
