WrestleMania is coming! It’s less than a month away, and it seems that the card is starting to shape up. Let’s look at the developments that took place on Raw this week.
First of all, I think it’s important to look at the Daniel Bryan/Triple H feud. Bryan came out and occupied Raw by bringing a number of “fans” to the ring. He demanded that Triple H accept his challenge to WrestleMania, otherwise, he’d hold Raw hostage.
A sea of people wearing Daniel Bryan t-shirts both in (and out of) the ring refused to move until The Authority appeared. And boy, did they come out. They were mad for once and dropped their pretentiousness. It’s about time! They wanted Bryan out. He said no. It continued until Bryan got the match with Triple H with the caveat that, if he wins, he gets a spot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match later in the night.
So…one would assume that Triple H loses and Daniel Bryan walks out of WrestleMania as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion – the feel-good moment that everyone’s pretty much been waiting for since SummerSlam. But it’s never that easy. Or simple.
I’m not saying it won’t happen (in fact there’s a very good chance that it might just happen), but WWE have done so many screwy finishes in the last few months that I don’t even know what to expect. They’re planning something one day, and it goes out the window the next. There’s no continuity in their pushes or planning, so it’s hard to determine what’ll happen at WrestleMania.
What I do know is that if they put Batista vs Orton on last and Bryan isn’t in the main event, the reaction is going to be hideous, worse than Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg from 10 years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long).
I do feel bad for Batista because although I felt there could be better matches, I was OK with him main-eventing WrestleMania. But he’s just the wrong person in the right place at the wrong time. No-one was really clamouring for him to return, but there he was – a returning babyface star who suddenly wins the Royal Rumble to get a title shot at WrestleMania. A lot of people resented that.
I don’t know if it’s because they wanted someone new, or because they just don’t like Batista, I don’t know. But the whole situation around the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is weird now, especially considering a lot of the build has been between two guys who aren’t fan favourites.
Hulk Hogan came out this week and announced that the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal will take place at WrestleMania 30. The winner of the match will be given a trophy that I guess they can put in their house or something? I dunno…
Entrants already announced include Big E, Dolph Ziggler and Ryback – who promised that he was going to win and would therefore be known as the best big guy in the WWE. I LOL’d at that one. There are some slots open for either some names from the past to return, or even some NXT guys may be brought up to compete. I don’t know who’ll win, or even if it matters, but at least more people will get a pay-day for competing at WrestleMania!
The teased break-up between Cesaro and Jack Swagger looks imminent. I wonder if they’re going to have a singles match, or be in the battle royal. It’s been hinted that they may be in the battle royal, which I think would be the best option.
If Cesaro wins the battle royal, people might remember that more than a squash win over Jack Swagger. I mean, who hasn’t squashed Jack Swagger in the last year? The guy had potential at one point, but his run with the World Championship killed his momentum. He was booked like a geek, and once he lost it, he was never able to get it back. It sucks, but that’s what the business does.
Talking of break-ups, The Shield’s one is on hold. Maybe. I’m not really sure. After teasing it for weeks, they settled their differences on SmackDown and now all of a sudden, they’re feuding with Kane for some reason. Things might change, but we’ll see. They may end up in the battle royal, where Reigns would have a good chance of winning. He’s rumoured to be getting a big push after WrestleMania too…
Season 2 of Total Divas starts soon, so that’ll probably mark the start of the build towards the Divas Championship match at WrestleMania. It seems like WWE don’t have a clue how to push the Divas. Their matches are quick and they don’t really do anything, so it’s hard to get into their matches. Nikki and Natalya seem to be focused on taking AJ’s title, so they may be her next contenders.
It seems like there’s a good bit of WrestleMania sorted already. We’ll likely get a tag-title match, but nothing’s developed on that front yet. The card looks more intriguing than it has done in years, probably because of the Daniel Bryan situation, which has resonated with the fans.
I think there were a lot of factors that led to this match, especially since they appeared to blow Bryan’s push off after Hell in a Cell. But with Punk gone now, it’s Daniel Bryan who’s going to get the biggest pops every night – along with John Cena. One would think that’s enough to qualify him for the clean wins that he should’ve had a long time ago, but only time will tell.
Next week is New Japan Cup finals, which I’ll be covering here on SLTD. So until then…
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