WrestleMania: Part II
By John Pitroff
The idea of WrestleMania being the one show where the wrestlers seem to really give their all is quite true. I realize that a lot of the wrestlers take pride in always working their best and giving their all, no matter the show, but it just is a little different at WrestleMania. There is a different feeling, a different atmosphere. There is more of a drive to compete, to outdo your peers, to have the best ‘Mania match of not only the year, but of all time. With this whole mystique over WrestleMania, there is no doubt it gets into the minds of referees, wrestles, commentators, and anyone else involved in WWE. WrestleMania sets a high standard for all involved, so there is always that need to want to live up to what is being touted as such a great show.
I can only imagine what it means to perform at WrestleMania in any capacity. The WrestleMania name has grown so big over the last 26 years that backstage there must be a feeling in the air. That whole magic of ‘Mania subconsciously makes one want to do the best they can. When you do something amazing at WM, it is seen by the world. In the opposite thought, when you mess something up, that goes down in history. Therefore, everyone is looking to look, do, perform, act, and be their best when late March, early April arrives every year.
With all this being said, every year around WM time, I start getting really excited for the show. I am not immune to the magic of ‘Mania. Both performers and fans alike can both enjoy that feeling of a special time of the year. Sort of like Christmas to the Christians. No Xanta Klaus joke here. My yearly excitement for WM used to start around Survivor Series. I’m an old school fan, folks, back when there was such a thing know as Survivor Series. But, Survivor Series is when, as a fan, you could start to see where angles were headed and you had somewhat of an idea of what matches you could be seeing at ‘Mania. With so much talent, so many PPVs, and so many television shows, the build for WrestleMania seems to start a bit later now. It isn’t until a bit after The Royal Rumble where you can start to get a picture of where things are going. With PPVs so close to one another, it is tough to see where WWE is headed creatively for the biggest show of the year since they need to book the PPVs before hand as well, and still make them seem important. But, even though the build starts a bit later now, WWE does still seem to try to put in place angles in advance for their biggest show of the year. I always liked that about “The Granddaddy of Them All.”
Back in the days of high school when I was into wrestling and nothing else, I used to keep files written about what angles were developing for WM, what matches were likely to take place, and whatever else was bound to happen. I tell you this not to prove that I had no friends, but to show you just how involved fans can get in a show like WrestleMania. I mean, I wasn‘t keeping a file in my computer written up about what was going to happen at Backlash. See the difference? No? I‘m not sure there is a difference but the fact is that wrestling is still on my mind too much. WrestleMania always is a special time in the eyes of the fans.
As I mentioned the previous column, even if I ever stopped watching wrestling I would make sure to catch WrestleMania every year just to see where the company is at. The show might be amazing, it might be decent, but WrestleMania is a sort of spark notes version of where WWE is at. ‘Mania is the time where WWE puts on their biggest matches and biggest feuds. So, when you tune in and see a new wrestler who is really over, even if you haven’t been watching, you can sort of pick up on things.
I remember watching WrestleMania one year when John Cena came out and did a rap about how he would be main-eventing WrestleMania one day. I doubted it. But, within a few years, there he was, main-eventing WM, just as he had rapped about. That would have been fun to follow once a year to see how much a star had grown. Brock Lesnar is another example of this. At WrestleMania X8, he hadn’t even debuted yet. There was no sign of him. He debuted the next night on Raw. By WrestleMania XIX, he was in the main event. If you look at it as a once a year spectacular, WrestleMania just shows you where WWE is at, where they are headed, and where they have been. It shows you who has made something of themselves and who has fallen down in the car.
The Showcase of the Immortals shows fans if WWE is attempting to change, or if they are staying the same. If you watched X-Seven, and then X8, you could see just how much WWE had changed. Hogan was back, Scott Hall was back (if you consider what he did actually “being there“), Triple H won the title again from Chris Jericho. Edge and Booker T were fighting over a shampoo commercial. Things were changing (not always in a good way – next toiletries WrestleMania storyline that develops – god help me – I‘m out). And, by the time XIX came, things had totally changed again.
I still consider X-Seven the end of the Attitude Era to this day. I mentioned big things happening at WM that change the history of wrestling as a whole in Part 1 of this column, but if you really think about it, WrestleMania changes eras in wrestling history. WM is where eras begin and end. It is where stars start, where dreams do come true. Torches are passed. Titles are won. A company is defined yet again. Shawn Michaels won his first title at Mania. Austin started a new era when he beat Michaels at XIV. The so called big change in WWE in the names of Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit at XX was more of a sentimental idea for a new era in WWE, as it never amounted too much for either champion. But, it happened. It was a nice attempt at passing a torch, but that didn‘t happen until the next year when both Cena and Batista left with the belts. Another change of an era.
What other show of the year would I spend all the money I had at the age of 16 on and drive 8 hours in a van to go see it? Only WrestleMania is worthy of that type of dedication. It is the only show where people come from all over the country to see it. It is the only show where people even come from all over the states to see a wrestling performance. People travel far and wide to attend WrestleMania, and it shows in their attendance numbers and figures every year.
What other show would make me cry at an opening vignette? I hate to admit this, but after giving everything and investing a lot of myself into getting to WM X8 and somehow finding 21st row floor seats, I bought both the VHS and DVD. When I popped it into my computer and listened to The Undertaker describing what the show meant to the himself and the wrestlers in the back, as well as the fans, it hit something in me personally because I had made it all a reality for myself. See, WrestleMania does special things.
What other show gets Roman numerals? I mean, that is the mark of importance right there, folks. Once you are identified with the Romans, you know you have something historical going on. Vince McMahon did end up taking this idea too far with the WrestleMania IX Roman themed show. Seriously, I never want to see Jim Ross in a toga again. Or Giant Gonzales on PPV. Or, Hogan return for a hotshot title win.
What other show would get me to write two lengthy columns about it and still have enough material to write two more if I didn’t feel like boring my audience to death? The thing with WM is that every year, I still find myself being excited even though the last year I didn’t think it would happen again. Somehow, nearly every year, WrestleMania has me thinking, “They have somehow done it again and come up with something that is really worth checking out.” I’m not so sure of how WWE continues to do it in an era of so many TV shows and PPVs, but once again, this year, I am excited to see what is to come.
I would have liked to get into more of the matches for WrestleMania in these two columns, but I will cover them in the upcoming weeks in other columns. Here is my look at Chris Jericho vs. Edge:
This match had a storyline in place the day Edge got injured while Jericho and himself were the Tag Team Champions. Many people figured that when Edge returned, he would feud with Jericho. The only problem was that the return date of Edge was past WrestleMania originally. See, that is just another reason that WM is seen as such a big thing in the eyes of the fans as well as the talent. Injured wrestles attempt to get back so in time for the biggest show of the year so they can showcase their talent in front of the biggest audience. It also helps that WWE gives out pretty good bonuses for appearing and performing at ‘Mania. Money is always important, and WrestleMania makes the most of it.
With the surprise return of Edge at The Royal Rumble this year, people new something big was up. Edge healed quicker than expected, and that meant that his feud that was already in place with Jericho once he left could be picked up and used for the big show. Both Jericho and Edge had great reasons to dislike each other per the storyline.
Even though this feud really didn’t start picking up until the Raw after Elimination Chamber, it still has a lot behind it. With Edge‘s Royal Rumble victory and Jericho‘s title win, it set it all up perfectly. Great booking by WWE here.
I didn’t even mention how good these two are in the ring. I’ll let that speak for itself come March 28.