WrestleMania 33: 5 horrible booking decisions that were still better than Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker
Every major feud in the WWE, all year long, hovers around the possibility of a WrestleMania spot. Many angles and booking decisions don't make it to Mania while only a select few stick around for the show of shows.
As WrestleMania gets closer, it gets clearer as to who Vince and his writers would want to see at the event. It's no longer a conspiracy theory to claim that Vince and company don't pay a whole lot of heed to fan reactions. A little more apathy than required, one could say.
WWE in 2015-2016 was at a point where only a drastic change could give existing fans a reason to stick around. After Shane McMahon returned before last year's WrestleMania (another desperate yet successful stunt by Vinny Mac), people sensed a visible change in the air that had been missing since the last couple of years. The WWE Universe was again reaching a point where they could not take John Cena anymore.
It goes without saying that Roman Reigns being shoved down our throats instead of Cena wasn't exactly the change people needed.
However, things had started to improve post the brand-split. 2017 came around and the critics began to feel that good wrestling and storylines were back full time in the WWE. Sure, there's still a lot of under-utilized talent on the roster, but it's much less in number than pre brand-split.
But all of that goes down the drain each year at WrestleMania. It's almost as if Vince has a directive for Triple H and Stephanie that they can control Raw and SmackDown, but only Vince will control WrestleMania. Nothing else can justify why Roman Reigns has been given the biggest match of WrestleMania against The Undertaker.
The thing about Roman fighting The Undertaker at WrestleMania is that at this point in his career, The Undertaker can't have a forgettable match. This could easily be his last WrestleMania ever, and to ride into the sunset after having been beaten by Roman Reigns – not Kevin Owens or even Brock Lesnar (in a final standoff) – would be underwhelming for the most legendary career in wrestling.
WWE has screwed up in the past with horrible booking decisions. This one, I believe, is worse than all of them.
On that note, here are five horrible booking decisions that were still better than Roman Reigns vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
#1 Vince McMahon winning the ECW title from Bobby Lashley
Another one of those instances where Vince McMahon's vision got the better of him. What was supposed to be the reincarnation of Mr. McMahon's character ended up becoming a lost memory that fans avoid thinking about.
The thing with this booking decision is that the WWE may have underestimated the hostility of the fans at that point. Not a lot of people forgave WWE for pulling that stunt. This essentially culminated in Bobby Lashley quitting the WWE, and Vince was criticised for doing so little to make him stay.
That the WWE managed to sail past that had a lot to do with the fact that it was the ECW title and not the WWE title, which was already in jeopardy at the time.
Also read: 5 Reasons Roman Reigns is pushed despite all the hatred
Also, the hated performer among the two of them was Vince McMahon, a multi-talented billionaire with the best mic skills on the planet. The hated performer at this year's WrestleMania is Roman Reigns, who's been given way too much of a push for his own loss.
But that's not our concern here, really. Our primary concern with Roman facing The Phenom is the potential of a mediocre and forgettable match at pretty much the end of The Undertaker's career.