WrestleMania is looking like a hell of a show as the pieces of the puzzle come together. Daniel Bryan return? Check. Bayley and Sasha Banks feud? Check. AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura? Check.
For once it seems WWE is finally not only listening to its fans but making the right moves in booking these matches.
While there are still some question marks with storylines and forced matches *cough* John Cena and Undertaker *cough*, much of what is happening is hitting the mark.
For instance, last year’s Mania build-up left little to be excited about. I mean John Cena and Nikki Bella vs. Miz and Maryse or how about Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg when everyone knew Leaner would go over?… I will say for that match, however, they jam-packed a hell of a lot into less than 300 seconds.
But this year, the WWE has the “dream matchup” (that most of us have already seen if we watch New Japan at all) and they won’t let us forget it.
As annoying as it is, I don’t blame them one bit. This could be one of the best Mania matchups I’ve ever seen and I’m thrilled it’s happening. The mind-games Nakamura has been playing on Styles, while a bit unconventional, are splendid. Most recently when he pulled back on what could have been a killer Kinshasa, I literally busted out laughing.
What I think will be a thriller of a match could be the start of either a really awkward friendship or a historic rivalry. My only issue is the fact WWE hasn’t tried to slant Styles towards being a heel.
As for Daniel Bryan making himself Shane McMahon’s partner against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn? Yes! The only problem I have, and it was to be expected, was that the match is for the jobs of Owens and Zayn which means they’re almost required to win.
However, WWE could pull the plug on their SmackDown Live careers if they wanted to throw the pair over to the Monday program. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of match the four have since Bryan hadn’t had any in-ring action for over two years prior to getting manhandled a week ago on SD Live.
The final feud to discuss which is one that should have been introduced to main roster fans sooner is the beef between Bayley and Banks.
While WWE made a decision, which I don’t agree with at all, to throw the two into the Women’s Battle Royal instead of in a singles match, the fact that the two are finally on each other’s bad side is spectacular. Another interesting notion WWE has toyed with is deciding who is to be the heel in the feud.
So far it’s seemed to go back and forth between the two with Sasha turning on Bayley for her own glory and then Bayley leaving Sasha when she needs her most.
The way this feud plays out will be huge for both stars since neither has been near the Women’s title in some time now. Although the storyline lacks what their feud in NXT had (a belt) it’ll still be one of the bigger storylines at Mania and can become one of the top products on RAW.
Featured Image: 2018 Topps Now WWE #18