5 things WWE got right on the road to WrestleMania 37: Reason for fewer part-time legends, Major mistake avoided
There has been a bit of criticism for the two-day WrestleMania 37 event this weekend. One of the big arguments made is that the card simply isn't "WrestleMania-worthy" enough and that the build has been relatively poor.
While this isn't the first year we've heard those complaints about WrestleMania (nor will it be the last), there are a lot of things that WWE did right on the road to WrestleMania 37 and it must be acknowledged. Here are five examples:
#5. The lack of part-time legends at WrestleMania
WWE is hardly utilizing part-time legends for WrestleMania in 2021. This year, there are only two part-time legends who will compete at WrestleMania - Edge and Shane McMahon.
It's a big change from the usual norm of WrestleMania. Last year, Edge, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and Goldberg were the part-time legends utilized. For the last eight years, WWE has been using part-time legends in big spots to sell WrestleMania match cards.
One could argue that "WrestleMania" is a name that sells itself, but that doesn't stop WWE from pulling out all the stops every year to have some of the biggest available legends in the industry.
It's an interesting situation this year, and although a part-time star in Edge is headlining WrestleMania, nobody is complaining. One could argue that the only other part-timer who would have truly added to the card is Brock Lesnar.
With Bobby Lashley winning the WWE Championship, fans hoped to see a dream clash between The Almighty One and Lesnar. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and WWE opting not to bring Lesnar back for empty arena shows, it meant that The Beast Incarnate would miss out on the whole year.
Brock Lesnar technically isn't even on a WWE contract, as it expired in the summer of 2020. While there were likely different reasons for WWE not utilizing part-time superstars, one thing seems certain - there's an understanding that part-time legends are simply not needed for this year's WrestleMania card.
While WWE is likely aware that WrestleMania now sells itself, this year, in particular, doesn't have any requirement of legends on the card. WWE is going to have 45,000 fans attending both days, and they don't need to put out their strongest card.
We don't expect that to happen in 2022, however. WWE has to sell 100,000+ tickets at the AT&T Stadium for WrestleMania 38 - assuming that COVID-19 restrictions continue to ease.