I didn't think WM 31 was a very good show
Mar 29, 2016 0:26:17 GMT -5
Jimichiro Likes Erick Rowan, Paco S. Loco, and 7 more like this
Post by HMARK Center on Mar 29, 2016 0:26:17 GMT -5
yet I'm wondering if that show will serve as a template for WWE going forward.
Couple of quick preface comments: I'm not much of a WWE fan, I don't watch regularly (do keep tabs so I can discuss things here without being an utter tool), it's just not my cup of tea and really hasn't been since around the end of the Hulkamania era and a couple moments here and there afterward. In addition, my thinking last year's show wasn't very good doesn't mean you have to agree with me, if you liked it that's entirely fine and reasonable.
That said, here's my feeling on it: most people here seem to agree that the build to last year's Mania was historically bad, with the only saving grace being the "snowed out" Raw sit down interviews that generated some interest. Given how low expectations were, many people were pleasantly surprised at the outcome of the show, many feeling that WM 31 was a pretty solid Mania.
Again, while I'm speaking as a WWE non-fan, I couldn't agree with that. I did see the show, and I've seen the last handful of WM's at a friend's house. I thought WM 30 the year previous was a pretty damn good one (Bryan turned in maybe the best single night performance at a 'Mania in history, the Lesnar/Taker shock, Cesaro looking primed for a push, etc.), but last year's was just...I don't know, "blah", I guess. Don't get me wrong, the matches themselves weren't bad, but I thought back to the show the other day and realized I barely remember anything about it. I remember Rollins eating the RKO off a Curb Stomp counter, I remember how stupid it was to have Sting and Trips shake hands after their match, had a foggy recollection of Rusev in a tank, then remember feeling like I had aged 40 years in the time it took for Trips, Steph, and Rock to do their mid-show promo with Ronda Rousey. Yes, I do recall Rollins winning the main event, but there's little about the actual matches themselves that stood out to me, and I had to look the card up to jog my memory. By the end, I was just sick of it.
(Reading up on this show also reminded me that Ricky Steamboat can't do a "YES" chant. Thanks, Wiki, for dredging up that repressed memory.)
Anyway, long story short, what occurred to me is that expectations for that Mania were absolute dirt level low; the show, at least in my own opinion, didn't wind up being anything special, but it was at least wrestled competently, so the fact that it wasn't a disaster (and the fact that Rollins sent the crowd home happier than they would've been with a Reigns win) might have made it seem like a much better show.
Given that expectations for this year's show somehow seem even lower, I feel pretty confident that the matches you will get will be wrestled pretty well, that WWE will pull out all the stops for big fancy stage effects and special entrances, and that a lot of people will simply be enamored of the huge venue and the general "every show all year feels exactly the same, but Mania looks/feels different" aura of the day, and the general consensus on the show may well wind up being "That wasn't so bad." Maybe I'm wrong and a Roman title win will just make the audience die a death and the aftershow consensus will be "get the pitchforks", but I can't help but think people will be totally into it...and that we'll get to the build to 'Mania 33 and go through the whole rigamarole again - crappy build, heatless feuds, still a sold out show that's at least done competently and people going "Hey, that was fine!"
Again, maybe I'm wrong, and again, you're free to say "bruh, Mania last year was great", but just a vibe I'm getting, it's 1:20am and I felt like sharing it.
This concludes our post-casting day.
Couple of quick preface comments: I'm not much of a WWE fan, I don't watch regularly (do keep tabs so I can discuss things here without being an utter tool), it's just not my cup of tea and really hasn't been since around the end of the Hulkamania era and a couple moments here and there afterward. In addition, my thinking last year's show wasn't very good doesn't mean you have to agree with me, if you liked it that's entirely fine and reasonable.
That said, here's my feeling on it: most people here seem to agree that the build to last year's Mania was historically bad, with the only saving grace being the "snowed out" Raw sit down interviews that generated some interest. Given how low expectations were, many people were pleasantly surprised at the outcome of the show, many feeling that WM 31 was a pretty solid Mania.
Again, while I'm speaking as a WWE non-fan, I couldn't agree with that. I did see the show, and I've seen the last handful of WM's at a friend's house. I thought WM 30 the year previous was a pretty damn good one (Bryan turned in maybe the best single night performance at a 'Mania in history, the Lesnar/Taker shock, Cesaro looking primed for a push, etc.), but last year's was just...I don't know, "blah", I guess. Don't get me wrong, the matches themselves weren't bad, but I thought back to the show the other day and realized I barely remember anything about it. I remember Rollins eating the RKO off a Curb Stomp counter, I remember how stupid it was to have Sting and Trips shake hands after their match, had a foggy recollection of Rusev in a tank, then remember feeling like I had aged 40 years in the time it took for Trips, Steph, and Rock to do their mid-show promo with Ronda Rousey. Yes, I do recall Rollins winning the main event, but there's little about the actual matches themselves that stood out to me, and I had to look the card up to jog my memory. By the end, I was just sick of it.
(Reading up on this show also reminded me that Ricky Steamboat can't do a "YES" chant. Thanks, Wiki, for dredging up that repressed memory.)
Anyway, long story short, what occurred to me is that expectations for that Mania were absolute dirt level low; the show, at least in my own opinion, didn't wind up being anything special, but it was at least wrestled competently, so the fact that it wasn't a disaster (and the fact that Rollins sent the crowd home happier than they would've been with a Reigns win) might have made it seem like a much better show.
Given that expectations for this year's show somehow seem even lower, I feel pretty confident that the matches you will get will be wrestled pretty well, that WWE will pull out all the stops for big fancy stage effects and special entrances, and that a lot of people will simply be enamored of the huge venue and the general "every show all year feels exactly the same, but Mania looks/feels different" aura of the day, and the general consensus on the show may well wind up being "That wasn't so bad." Maybe I'm wrong and a Roman title win will just make the audience die a death and the aftershow consensus will be "get the pitchforks", but I can't help but think people will be totally into it...and that we'll get to the build to 'Mania 33 and go through the whole rigamarole again - crappy build, heatless feuds, still a sold out show that's at least done competently and people going "Hey, that was fine!"
Again, maybe I'm wrong, and again, you're free to say "bruh, Mania last year was great", but just a vibe I'm getting, it's 1:20am and I felt like sharing it.
This concludes our post-casting day.
