***EDITOR’S NOTE – This article was written BEFORE the outcome of WrestleMania 30 on Sunday night/Monday morning***
By the time you read my article this week, the dust will have settled and WrestleMania 30 will be resigned to the history books.
However, as I write this merely hours before the start of the biggest PPV in the WWE calendar, I can’t help but wonder what the card for WrestleMania will look like in years to come?
As you look at the key match-ups on this year’s card, it’s not hard to notice that most of the matches feature WWE’s seasoned veterans – The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, Batista etc – all guys who have been around the business for many years and more importantly, all guys who are now working on a part-time schedule, with Batista being the only current exception.
As important as the Streak has become to WrestleMania, no-one can deny that the clock is running down on The Undertaker’s career.
Nobody knows for sure just how long Mark Callaway can continue to step into the ring, even if it’s just for one match a year on the Grandest Stage of Them All. His match-up against Brock Lesnar this year is mouth-watering to say the least, but Brock himself is only back on a short-term basis, apparently looking to earn a few big pay days while he still can.
The Streak is one of WrestleMania’s main selling points every year, and those in charge at the WWE realise that, so they’re doing everything in their power to keep it going. With that being said, I just hope it’s not at the expense of the Undertaker and his body!
Inevitably though, we’re going to have to face up to the fact that, one day, there won’t be an Undertaker match at WrestleMania, and that’ll leave a giant hole to fill.
Let’s also consider Triple H – a man who’s also working a massively reduced in-ring schedule now as he pursues his interests behind the scenes.
It appears that Triple H wants to make a return at WrestleMania each year, which allows him to work with new talent, much in the way he’s doing with Daniel Bryan this year. I just hope that it’s being done to give Bryan the push and the elevation he deserves, instead of feeding Triple H’s ego and putting him into the main-event!
When it comes to that very main-event, Triple H may face another veteran – Dave Batista. There’s no doubt in my mind that Batista thought his return to the WWE would have crowds going crazy, cheering his name in adoration.
In reality, he’s received quite the opposite reaction, with “Boo-Tista” chants ringing out loud every week and the unpopular reaction amongst fans when he won this year’s Royal Rumble. I don’t envisage Batista staying in the WWE for too long this time around, which is why I question his position in the WrestleMania main-event this year.
With all of that being said, you start to wonder what the line-up for WrestleMania will look like in as little as five years’ time?
Sooner rather than later, the WWE are going to have to start investing heavily in the development of some of its current roster if they are to sustain the prestige that a WrestleMania card brings. Guys like Roman Reigns, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan and (hopefully) CM Punk – these guys are the future of the company. They need to be given the push they deserve now, rather than further down the line when it may be too late!
I hope you all enjoyed WrestleMania 30 from New Orleans. I’ll give my thoughts on what happened during the PPV next week.
– Tommy
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