LG
04-10-2013, 02:51 PM
For as much as the WWE's creative team is criticized, there are definitely lot of things that they do right. At the same time, they are far from perfect and tend to make some puzzling decisions at times, which is something that was on display at WrestleMania XXIX.
Despite what many fans have said, most of the booking was quite logical. Sure it was predictable in many cases, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. With that said, there are a few things that have left me scratching my head now that 'Mania as well as the ensuing Raw have come and gone.
Here are the three strangest decisions that the WWE should have shied away from during its biggest showcase.
The Miz Defeats Wade Barrett
When The Miz beat Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship during the WrestleMania XXIX pre-show, it seemed like a perfectly logical move on the WWE's part. A little more than 24 hours later, however, Barrett exercised his rematch clause and defeated The Miz to become Intercontinental Champion for the third time. If that was the plan all along, then why not give Barrett the victory on the 'Mania stage?
The entire feud was thrown together for no apparent reason a few weeks ago and neither man really benefited from it. Miz winning the title at WrestleMania wasn't a big deal because he has already held the belt and didn't do anything with it. Losing the strap didn't really matter to Barrett as he has been booked terribly, but losing a WrestleMania match didn't do him any favors either. It almost seems like the WWE had no clue what to do with either of them.
Since fans complained so much about predictability in the aftermath of WrestleMania, it's as if the WWE went out of its way to be unpredictable by doing things such as having Barrett win and Dolph Ziggler cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Miz winning at 'Mania was fine in a vacuum, but now it makes no sense with Barrett regaining the title.
Mark Henry Defeats Ryback
Mark Henry's victory over Ryback at WrestleMania makes a little more sense now after what happened on Raw, but Ryback still should have prevailed regardless of what the future plans were. Ryback was a fairly heavy favorite heading into 'Mania, but Henry thoroughly dominated the match and ultimately won when Ryback couldn't complete Shell Shocked. After the victory, Henry came back for more, but Ryback had a WrestleMania moment of sorts by executing Shell Shocked successfully.
On Raw, Henry challenged Cena to a match and if he had won, he would have become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. Cena prevailed via a countout, but Henry attacked him afterward. Ryback made the save, but he followed that up by hitting Cena with Shell Shocked and offering him a royal salute. Raw closed with Ryback holding the WWE Championship high, which seemingly signaled a heel turn.
The WWE will probably roll with the story of Ryback being fed up with losing at pay-per-views, and that is fine, but he would have a lot more momentum had he beaten Henry at WrestleMania. The heel turn still could have happened and it would have been equally important had he won. It will be interesting to see where Ryback goes from here regardless, but he is still a guy who hasn't won a real pay-per-view match despite his dominance otherwise.
Eight-Person Tag Team Match Gets Cut
One of the most interesting revelations to come from WrestleMania XXIX was the elimination of the eight-person tag team match. Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls were supposed to face Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins. Their match had been built for a couple weeks and it was never said that it would be left off the card. The popular thought seemed to be that it would act as a buffer between Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar and The Rock vs. John Cena, however, that didn't happen.
Rather than discussing what had happened in the main event between The Rock and Cena, many of the fans filing out of MetLife Stadium were wondering what had happened to Brodus Clay, Sweet T, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and their female counterparts. It obviously wasn't a big deal since the match would have only been a quick filler anyway, but it didn't make a lot of sense.
There were a good 10 minutes left when the card came to an end, so there was definitely room for the match. Also, it's unfortunate for the likes of Clay, Sandow and The Funkadactyls as none of them have had a WrestleMania match before. Maybe it won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but it was an odd decision nonetheless.
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Despite what many fans have said, most of the booking was quite logical. Sure it was predictable in many cases, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. With that said, there are a few things that have left me scratching my head now that 'Mania as well as the ensuing Raw have come and gone.
Here are the three strangest decisions that the WWE should have shied away from during its biggest showcase.
The Miz Defeats Wade Barrett
When The Miz beat Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship during the WrestleMania XXIX pre-show, it seemed like a perfectly logical move on the WWE's part. A little more than 24 hours later, however, Barrett exercised his rematch clause and defeated The Miz to become Intercontinental Champion for the third time. If that was the plan all along, then why not give Barrett the victory on the 'Mania stage?
The entire feud was thrown together for no apparent reason a few weeks ago and neither man really benefited from it. Miz winning the title at WrestleMania wasn't a big deal because he has already held the belt and didn't do anything with it. Losing the strap didn't really matter to Barrett as he has been booked terribly, but losing a WrestleMania match didn't do him any favors either. It almost seems like the WWE had no clue what to do with either of them.
Since fans complained so much about predictability in the aftermath of WrestleMania, it's as if the WWE went out of its way to be unpredictable by doing things such as having Barrett win and Dolph Ziggler cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase. Miz winning at 'Mania was fine in a vacuum, but now it makes no sense with Barrett regaining the title.
Mark Henry Defeats Ryback
Mark Henry's victory over Ryback at WrestleMania makes a little more sense now after what happened on Raw, but Ryback still should have prevailed regardless of what the future plans were. Ryback was a fairly heavy favorite heading into 'Mania, but Henry thoroughly dominated the match and ultimately won when Ryback couldn't complete Shell Shocked. After the victory, Henry came back for more, but Ryback had a WrestleMania moment of sorts by executing Shell Shocked successfully.
On Raw, Henry challenged Cena to a match and if he had won, he would have become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. Cena prevailed via a countout, but Henry attacked him afterward. Ryback made the save, but he followed that up by hitting Cena with Shell Shocked and offering him a royal salute. Raw closed with Ryback holding the WWE Championship high, which seemingly signaled a heel turn.
The WWE will probably roll with the story of Ryback being fed up with losing at pay-per-views, and that is fine, but he would have a lot more momentum had he beaten Henry at WrestleMania. The heel turn still could have happened and it would have been equally important had he won. It will be interesting to see where Ryback goes from here regardless, but he is still a guy who hasn't won a real pay-per-view match despite his dominance otherwise.
Eight-Person Tag Team Match Gets Cut
One of the most interesting revelations to come from WrestleMania XXIX was the elimination of the eight-person tag team match. Tons of Funk and The Funkadactyls were supposed to face Team Rhodes Scholars and The Bella Twins. Their match had been built for a couple weeks and it was never said that it would be left off the card. The popular thought seemed to be that it would act as a buffer between Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar and The Rock vs. John Cena, however, that didn't happen.
Rather than discussing what had happened in the main event between The Rock and Cena, many of the fans filing out of MetLife Stadium were wondering what had happened to Brodus Clay, Sweet T, Cody Rhodes, Damien Sandow and their female counterparts. It obviously wasn't a big deal since the match would have only been a quick filler anyway, but it didn't make a lot of sense.
There were a good 10 minutes left when the card came to an end, so there was definitely room for the match. Also, it's unfortunate for the likes of Clay, Sandow and The Funkadactyls as none of them have had a WrestleMania match before. Maybe it won't make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but it was an odd decision nonetheless.
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