WrestleMania 35: Is WWE Afraid of the Pay Off?
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent SportsKeeda's stand on the same.)
With Red Bull cans littered across the floor and eyes weary after an eight-hour ordeal, to an already packed and confusing (here's looking at you Ring of Honor) WrestleMania weekend. The question arises watching the beautifully convoluted ending to a convoluted Becky Lynch coronation.
Is WWE afraid of paying off angles?
Okay let's be fair, WWE did the impossible this year. It managed to take three big babyface matches in an era where for some odd reason Vince and his booking team hate all the heroes winning at WrestleMania, and it let each of them win.
Regardless of what one thinks of the build to these matches, or the matches themselves. Regardless of how many times WWE shoves Baron Corbin down our throats, or of how many times WWE insists on ruining the mystique and genuine love for Roman Reigns. WWE delivered on its promise, at least pertaining its three most important matches by listening to fans and giving us the winners we wanted.
Yet the questions still persist, doesn't it? It wouldn't be WWE without making few minor cosmetic mishaps that can collapse a whole match and end result. It might sound like a fan whining despite getting all they wanted, so let's then get the good out-of-the-way.
In the Kofi Kingston-Daniel Bryan match, WWE found an organic out of nowhere angle that luckily they didn't ruin with overbooking (though they were close to it by the last week on the Road to WrestleMania). A perfect match with the right emotion hit the right notes and surprisingly placed well enough on the card to get the crowd roaring.
There was absolutely no disaster hear, but there rarely is in this type of matchup. Unlike the other two career-defining babyface wins we'll discuss later, Kofi Kingston's match was about a veteran finally winning the big one. When it comes to this kind of contest, WWE often goes all guns blazing in paying tribute to its loyal superstars and it works wonders. Unlike others though Kofi has a long career ahead of him still and the likely opportunity of repeating this feat multiple times over.
That's what made this such a perfectly lovable arc, we, of course, cannot deny though that it fell in WWE's laps in the first place. Their booking was still on point, to the fact many felt this might have been the best way to main event WrestleMania.
Why is that so? Is a question that is answered by the most deserving main event of the night and an unbelievable opening match as the choice for WrestleMania 35.
In its first big babyface win of the night, kudos to WWE by the way on spacing it out perfectly and reasonably; WWE had Seth Rollins miraculously go over Brock Lesnar. Yet how this happened, could court controversy. Not only that, later down the line it can become a discussion point when Rollins will inevitably feud with his former SHIELD brother Roman Reigns. When that happens WWE might pull the trigger on a Rollins heel turn, that could ruin Roman once more. This, however, is all speculative.
What isn't, is that it took Rollins both a superhuman resolve and unfortunately a low blow telegraphed on last weeks RAW to slay the Beast. It cheapens the win, a win nonetheless that puts Rollins back at the top of the mountain.
It's great that after years of being unsure when and how Brock will sign and whether he really is an asset to a company and its premier brand sinking in oblivious, WWE gave back to its full-time roster member. Yet the manner in which they did, once again begs the question whether WWE really has faith in its full-time roster over its part-time members. Something that has seen a horrifying escalation this past decade.
It furthers the angle for another match between Rollins and Lesnar, yet that could have been easily accomplished in a manner of ways. Rollins pulling off a shock win, in the kind of fashion which his smaller peers (Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles and Finn Balor) came so close to might have been a better way to pull this off.
Those three gave Brock some of his best matches in this WWE run, breaking a piece of him by wearing him out and Paul Heyman projected this through the tepid build to the match hence the pre-match attack on Rollins. The attack which one may say justifies Rollins going for the low blow, but it also proves Rollins needed to go as underhanded as Lesnar to even have a shot at winning.
A slick match notwithstanding, this method is once more an example of WWE's inability in booking its babyfaces in a proper manner. The long form storytelling nature of pro wrestling, allows WWE to pull such angles to further narratives but it chips away from the great moment at large. It wouldn't be a problem if WWE knew how to follow through, but history isn't on the company's side.
History is what brings us then to WWE's historic first-time women's main event. Many are calling this a sloppy match with a botched ending. Yet if you know WWE, this ending was far from botched as one can tell. The little details from the referee's too obvious positioning to Ronda's reaction in the aftermath shows WWE has played the long game in furthering this feud and possibly the idea of Becky Lynch being both undeserving and needing to fight the system for her big win.
It was a shocker of a pinning combo, to an already hastily produced slobber knocker of a match. Many fans are up in arms over the match quality, most of them surely incels incapable of comprehending the pressure and power put through by these three women in another excessively booked contest.
Yet one can see their reasoning too, with WWE's spiel about making history more often than not WWE places extra pressure on the resurgent women's division to deliver more so than the men would have to. Had this been another men's main event like for the past decade or so the same pressure to make it click wouldn't be there, though the disappointment at the end might be the same. WWE and wrestling fans are equal opportunity critics after all.
Regardless of the quality or the much-wanted end result, WWE's booking of the main event is an indictment of the companies inability to see WrestleMania as the perfect endpoint for certain angles even if they have legs in them. Those narrative legs are pushed through by the next night, but WrestleMania is meant to have the big payoff. It's the show of shows for a reason.
While WWE managed that on the basis of its result, it once again leaves the door open for the story to move forward rather than taking a rest stop for one special night. Not only does by this definition is WrestleMania losing its luster, but the winning party, in this case, Becky Lynch also looks like a bit of a chump.
While Rollins can boast of having chipped at the credibility of his own accord, propelling him later down the line for a heel turn if need be. Becky Lynch looks not like a savvy performer but rather a dope, the very thing she's accused her opponents of being.
It's these little things that make or break a performer in the eyes of an increasingly unforgiving and fickle (Thank you Daniel Bryan) viewership. The onus of responsibility in reading its crowd is on WWE.
They thankfully managed to do with the result, but once more as they have done in the past decade they botched it all with a tiny too obvious mistake eating into a performers credibility to draw for them on the long-term. It is then, that they need such part-time spectacles of excess indulgence that sink WrestleMania for the next year and the year after (here's looking to you Batista and Triple H).
Don't believe me?
Then look at the Summer of Punk, or the follow through to Daniel Bryan's fairytale win at WrestleMania 30. Look to the before and after of Roman Reigns rushed push atop the mountain or his resurgence around 2015-2016.
Or you can just follow on from this Monday Night and see how once again WWE pays off an angle a little too late for their own good.