Did you guys know that WrestleMania is coming up this weekend?
Well, probably. Certainly if you’re reading this website, you have something of an idea of when major wrestling events are taking place. WrestleMania is typically the biggest event of every wrestling year. Things are different in 2020. Royal Rumble 2020 will most likely have the biggest attendance of any wrestling show this year. We don’t know the next time 40,000 people will be allowed to gather in one place.
With everything going on, it’s easy to fall into a state of apathy towards pro wrestling. WrestleMania doesn’t have the same level of buzz this year it typically does. Nobody can deny that. There’s other things going on of greater importance. However, there are still reasons to look forward to this weekend. Here are five of mine!
5. Finding out if Edge still has it at WrestleMania
We’re all excited for Edge. He’s back in the ring doing what he loves most. Whether you’re a fan of his work or not, you have to appreciate that on a human level. Of course, there’s an important question concerning this that we don’t know the answer to yet…
Will Edge be good in the ring?
This will be Edge’s first singles match since WrestleMania XXVII. Sure, he was in the Royal Rumble for twenty-three minutes, but Royal Rumbles and singles matches are two different games. It’s easy to hide your flaws in a Rumble with a lot of other people moving around. When it’s just you and one opponent, even if your opponent is really good, you can get exposed real quick. After Edge’s match with Randy Orton, we’ll have a better idea of what to expect from the 2020 version of the Rated R Superstar.
4. Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania
This is the kind of thing that brings me a bit of joy as a longtime fan. Years ago, I used to travel up to Dayton, Ohio for Ring of Honor’s shows at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds. I got to see many of today’s top stars years before they got their chance to shine on the grandest stage of all. Bryan had many classic matches I got to see live. I also saw Zayn’s mentor, El Generico, have several tremendous matches live & in person. Bryan & Generico had several quality singles matches in ROH & other independent promotions, and it’s cool to see them on the WM card battling for the Intercontinental Championship. I also saw Seth Rollins & Kevin Owens back in the day, so there’s two matches featuring people I saw before they were famous.
It won’t reach the star ratings that those early meetings on DVD got, but it’ll bring back some good memories. Sometimes that’s all you need.
3. Dolph Ziggler hopefully getting his comeuppance
The simplest storylines are often the best. We all wanted Otis to have a relationship with Mandy Rose. It would have brought joy to Otis, and Mandy would surely have been treated well by the big lug. That didn’t happen, thanks to that no-good Dolph Ziggler. Dolph’s been a known cretin for years, and we all know he doesn’t have the best intentions for young Mandy. Otis is heartbroken, and he gets his chance at revenge at WrestleMania.
Had the world not fallen apart during this feud, one could imagine fans in attendance crying tears of joy after Otis gets the win & the girl at WrestleMania. It surely would have been a Moment. Will it play the same way now? Will we go a different direction? I’m interested to find out.
2. Going to the Boneyard & the Firefly Fun House
To be honest, WWE’s track record of cinematic-style wrestling matches hasn’t been great. They typically skew more towards “corny” than “cool” and aren’t artistic successes. With that all being said, aren’t you a little curious about what a Boneyard Match is? AJ Styles & Undertaker will wrestle in a cemetery or something. We don’t know what the rules are. Do you win by putting somebody in a casket? Do you have to bury them in a grave? Or do you have to break all of their bones? I don’t know, and that’s a big part of the fun. Every good WrestleMania has something like this to stand out.
The same thing applies to John Cena’s trip to Bray Wyatt’s Firefly Fun House. Will all of Bray Wyatt’s characters be there? Could we see multiple Bray Wyatts? Will the theme song play the whole time? I have no idea, but there’s all kinds of potential for hilarity here. Sure, it could end up being bad, but we won’t know until after it happens. Maybe it’ll be fun? It should be, it’s a damn Fun House after all.
1. Will the big title changes happen at WrestleMania?
Most WrestleManias have featured monumental title changes at the end. Steve Austin’s first WWF Championship victory. Shawn Michaels’ boyhood dream coming true. Daniel Bryan overcoming the odds. Seth Rollins cashing in. These were all legendary moments that were made better by the reaction of the fans.
We know there won’t be live fan reaction. Will there still be legendary moments? Is Drew McIntyre going to win his first WWE Championship? Will somebody beat Goldberg for the Universal Championship? Or does WWE stick with the status quo and save these moments for another time? As a long-time wrestling thinker, the outcome here intrigues me.
