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From the Royal Rumble to the end of Raw the night after WrestleMania, this is – and always has been – my favourite time of the year when it comes to being a wrestling fan. The Show of Shows captures the imagination of fans all over the world with every passing week during the build-up to WrestleMania.
There’s no doubt we all get pissed off at the WWE at some point during the year whenever we aren’t satisfied with the direction of the company. Sometimes we refuse to watch and sometimes we complain on social media sites. However, when it comes to the lead up to WrestleMania, no matter how much I hate the storylines, I have to watch.
I don’t know if it’s just the spectacle of the show that makes me want to tune in every year, but I refuse to miss it. Some years I might not care about half the matches on the card. Some years I might only want to see one match, but WrestleMania isn’t just about wrestling and it truly never has been.
Vince McMahon knew the only way to make the first WrestleMania a success was to make sure it crossed over into mainstream pop culture. By including celebrities, whether they are actors, singers, or TV personalities, it doesn’t matter – the more people WWE can reach out to through other stars in the entertainment industry, the more successful WrestleMania will be.
I love that WrestleMania becomes more of an entertainment show than other WWE PPVs. Yes, I love wrestling as a sport, but the entertainment factor forces the WWE to think more about the show. Regular PPV’s are more about the matches on the card and developing/ending storylines. The storylines at the time dictate whether I’m going to purchase an event.
WrestleMania sells itself to me just through the name. I know that no matter what the final card is going to be, I’m still going to enjoy the majority of the show, even if I don’t like the matches. I look forward to seeing who’s going to sing, the spectacle of the fireworks, the fans enjoying themselves, the video packages and the Hall Of Fame inductees showing up. We get it all at WrestleMania.
I’ve got a lot of favourite WrestleMania moments – seeing Undertaker win the WWF Championship at WrestleMania 13, Austin doing the same at 14, the whole show at 17 and Vince’s bloodied face peering at Hogan from the apron at 19, to name just a few – but there’s one moment that stands out above them all – Hollywood Hogan and The Rock at WrestleMania 18.
I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed anything like that since, simply because of the fans’ reaction. It wasn’t the greatest match, but once the crowd got involved, it didn’t have to be.
At first I wasn’t too interested in it because I never really enjoyed the “Hollywood” Hogan character. I loved Hulk Hogan in his early WWF days, but once he left for WCW, I just wasn’t interested. That might have been because I’ve always been a WWF/E guy and refused to watch WCW!
The crowd at WrestleMania 18 changed my mind though. I ended up praying for Hogan to get the victory because I was on the edge of my seat. I felt like a kid again, jumping and shouting with excitement. I’m not even embarrassed to say that because it was an unbelievable moment in WrestleMania history.
I hope this year’s WrestleMania will live up to expectations, but I won’t hold my breath. The past few years have been saved by The Undertaker’s matches, however it’s the event itself that keeps me watching.
Whether you love WrestleMania for the entertainment or wrestling, there’s always something for everyone. Even if you aren’t a WWE fan, WrestleMania’s something everyone should witness at least once and whether I’m enjoying the current product or not, I’ll always watch the Granddaddy of ‘Em All.
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