I've rarely used this blog to talk about modern wrestling since for the most part I've been having more fun recapping stuff from 22 years ago over the stale product of today, but with Wrestlemania on Sunday, I felt I'd throw my two cents into the main event of this year's event. An event that I honestly feel has been the worst ever. Not so much for the people involved on the card, but from a company that just didn't try with anything. And when they did try with anything, they usually killed all heat for an angle by hot shotting it on Raw. Any storyline with a trace of a chance to get the crowd excited for the biggest event in the industry felt like no effort or thought went into it. And the worst case in this comes with the two men challenging for the company's richest prize.
Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a fan of Roman Reigns. I have no ill will for Joe Anoa'i, the man playing the role. I just don't care for the character, which feels like something the WWE produced, and not something that got over with the fans on their own. Reigns is the prototypical wrestling superstar that Vince McMahon loves. Muscular, good looks, good hair, looks like a bad ass. It doesn't matter if he's not the most technical in the ring, or good on the microphone. All that matters is that people buy that he's the man of the next decade.
Well, unfortunately for Vince, that hasn't happened. In fact, if anything, the road to Wrestlemania has hurt Roman worse than anything could have. Before the WWE handed him a Superstar of the Year award and nearly billed him as an descended god, he was getting over. Prior to the hernia that took three months off his career, he was getting great reactions, and the fans began to get behind him. He was being pushed quickly to the top spot, but it still felt slow enough that the crowd was ready to buy a bright future for him. Hell, when he returned from said injury the crowd was still behind him, and he was getting solid reactions.
Then the Royal Rumble happened. And while one could argue the crowd's disdain was mostly because the returning Daniel Bryan was eliminated, I argue the mess became worse with how poorly everyone the fans even remotely liked was handled. Mainly Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose. Instead of building an interesting final four with three of the top guys, and Reigns, and an ending that could have helped make Reigns look good, they throw Bryan out mid-way, have Kane and Big Show toss out Ambrose and Ziggler like geeks, and have Reigns throw Kane, Show, and Rusev out like nothing. And even the involvement of the Rock didn't help matters. Mistake number one in how badly the company handled this mega push.
Speaking of Kane and Big Show, in the middle of this push to the Rumble and into Wrestlemania, that's pretty much all Roman ever fought on Raw, despite the fact that the crowd has been tired of both men being involved in storylines for years that seeing them get superman punched week after week did nobody any favors. And in the middle of this run to keep Roman strong, they have him get pinned by Big Show. Yes, Seth Rollins interfered, but there should be zero reason that the man who we're supposed to buy into being the man who can defeat Brock Lesnar should be losing to anyone, especially Big Show.
The WWE did do something right in having Reigns feud with Bryan, but even that storyline was a mess, making both men look like petty jerks trying to desperately vie for the love of the fans. Bryan did his best to make Reigns look good in what was a great match at Fastlane, and the first true sign that there is something in Reigns that could work as a major player, much to my own chagrin. So Bryan does the job, and the WWE rewards his making Reigns look strong by dumping him in the middle of the nonsense that is the Intercontinental championship storyline.
So in two months, they've done jack all to fix the problems the writers and Vince have caused. And made things worse by trying to make this Samoan bad ass into a comedy character. Reciting fairy tales, quoting Sylvester the cat, literally comparing himself to Superman complete with whoosh sounds and flying gestures. While he is gaining confidence on the microphone, and slowly improving, trying to make him John Cena just doesn't work. It's further proof that the WWE's reliance on scripted promos doesn't help anyone.
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So with one month left, and Brock Lesnar appearing all of two times on TV before this, how does the WWE handle Roman Reigns? Do they try to do whatever they can to prove to the audience he's as good as they say? Not really. They have him lose again on TV (This time to Seth Rollins), air multiple video packages of him being awesome instead of displaying it, and have him sound like a petulant child whenever someone tells him that he can't beat Brock Lesnar. And while all this is meant to make the crowd get into him, the reactions get silenter and silenter. And you can blame all the internet fans for the dead reactions, but even the most bitter person knows that those crowds aren't all the IWC, and a lot of the dead reaction is from casual fans. Casual fans that don't buy the hype, and don't look to him as the man who can defeat Brock Lesnar.
If anyone actually did a good job in building Roman as something special, as well as making this match come off a a must-see attraction, it's Paul Heyman. Heyman was pretty much given the unenviable task of trying to promote this match to an audience that mostly doesn't buy it, and as Paul Heyman always does, he does a fantastic job. He constantly calls Reigns a bad ass, and someone who has a bright future. He plays into his own history with Reigns' family, and that he knows the lineage Reigns has. And while he guarantees that Brock will administer a "prison beating", Reigns will still take it like a man, and people will respect him when he's carried off. Heyman manages to do everything in his power, and while it has made him look better than both Reigns and Brock in some regard, if anyone did their damnedest to patch the mess, it's Paul E.
I can tell you how easily they could have swayed the crowd somewhat in Reigns favor with that one segment. Have Reigns and Brock stare down for a while, and eventually Brock goes for a cheap shot. Reigns gets in some blows and both men brawl for a couple minutes. Eventually Roman gets caught in a German Suplex from Lesnar. Brock wails on Roman and sets him up for the F5. Roman manages to escape, and shove Lesnar into the ropes. As Brock bounces back, he gets a Superman punch from Reigns. It doesn't fase Brock, so Roman manages to land a second. He gets a third, and it knocks Lesnar down. The crowd starts to finally get behind Roman, as he sets up the spear. As he goes to do it, Brock slides out of the ring. Brock clearly still wants to fight, but Paul is holding him back, constantly yelling to Brock "You have him on Sunday! You have him on Sunday!". Roman stands tall, and for the first time in this whole mess of a feud, looks like the man who may be able to end the reign of Brock Lesnar. But I guess that's just too hard and instead we end on a lame tug of war.
and that's honestly it. They could have done so much to make this match hot, make Roman look like the future, make Brock look like a beast, and they did nothing. Even considering Brock's limited contract, this was still a joke of a build to the main event of the biggest event of the year. And in what should be Roman Reigns' big moment, the writers, bookers, and even Vince himself destroyed every chance they had to turn the crowd in his favor. Sunday will be an interesting night, and while I know the crowd will crap over it, I still expect a better match then we all seem to think will go down. I may not like Brock, I may not like Roman Reigns, but I honestly think both men will put on a fine match. Not a five star classic, but something still fine. It's just the WWE have done everything in their power to ensure that I'm unable to care about it.
Believe that.