WrestleMania features great matches, but fans can only see Batista vs. the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena so many times.
The Undertaker wins the World Championship, John Cena retains the WWE Championship, and Donald Trump shaves Vince McMahon’s hair, but what happens next? Does WWE just roll over and let fans walk away after the biggest show of the year, will the Undertaker retain his fifth World Title for any significant amount of time, and has WrestleMania gave rise to a whole new set of feuds and “angles.” Without question, the WWE’s next Pay Per View titled Backlash answers the majority of these questions.
Undertaker vs. Batista
All too often, WWE commits credibility suicide by featuring WrestleMania rematches of lesser quality for the next several months. How can the Undertaker-Batista match at Backlash even begin to compare with their April 1 showdown? Undertaker defeated the former champion in a classic physical contest between two of WWE’s biggest titans, but unfortunately the proverbial buzz has already been killed. Do fans really want to see this rematch or would they rather see the Undertaker commence his title reign by facing somebody else. Many Smackdown superstars could perform in wonderful contests against the Undertaker or Batista instead of pitting these two men against each other again so soon. Imagine either of these men in matches against Matt Hardy, Chris Benoit, Chavo Guerrero, or even Gregory Helms. Perhaps the style of the Undertaker and Batista contrast the styles of these other men, but what more could a wrestling fan ask for?
John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge
The other WWE Heavyweight Title currently held by John Cena after a successful defense against the nearly twenty year WWE veteran, Shawn Michaels, also gets placed in the center of a WrestleMania rematch, but at least this Backlash match consists of a few extra characters. Two losing participants of the Money in the Bank Ladder match somehow find their way into the WWE title hunt. Even though the match doesn’t completely rip off everything sacred about WrestleMania, it certainly doesn’t offer anything new for wrestling fans. The feud between these men has dragged on for the better part of the last year, so again something needs shaking up. What about any of these men facing some of the other Raw superstars like Jeff Hardy, Carlito, or Johnny Nitro.
Simply put, WrestleMania cannot drag on for months and months after the fact. Wrestling fans grow tired of the same old thing day after day and month after month. In the words of the late Owen Hart: “Enough is enough and its time for a change!” With wrestling fans continuously watching the same matches every time WWE goes on TV, soon fans will start valuing opportunities to watch the Great Khali in action. Ok – well maybe it can’t ever get that bad.
