In his latest piece, PWP Nation’s Eron Ramadanov examines the evolution of grandest stage and questions the disappearance of the WrestleMania classic match.
WrestleMania represents many things to every individual wrestling fan. For some, it’s the only wrestling show they watch all year. And for others, it’s like Christmas morning, as they’ve waited all year for that lonely day in April. Which ever person you are, WrestleMania is special for all types of reasons, which is why it has become the global event it is today.
From the fireworks, to the scenery of thousands of passionate wrestling fans coming together as one, to see all the entrances from their favorite superstars, WrestleMania has evolved into a spectacle like no other. It seems like Vince McMahon and WWE up the ante every year, with bigger and better set designs and a longer match card.
But for this wrestling fan, I always looked for one thing in specific from WrestleMania: that one classic, bell-to-bell wrestling match. The match that blows everyone away, and as it’s happening and before it’s over, you know you’re watching something special. But what’s happen to that? Where has that match been lately?
In my opinion, the last time WrestleMania produced a classic, bell-t0-bell wrestling match was WrestleMania 26 between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker. Since then, WrestleMania has been thirsty for a classic like that.
The inspiration behind this piece came after I watched, for probably the 10th time, Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21. This classic is one of the most personal, emotional, awe-inspiring matches I’ve ever seen and one of my favorite matches of all time. To this day, I don’t think I’ve seen two men sell the way these two did. The suspense and emotion that came out of this match is what WrestleMania has been lacking for years.
When I was done watching this match, I paused and asked: why haven’t I seen something like this recently in a WWE ring? Today, WrestleMania has become a spectacle of a different kind. But it begs the question: what happened to the classic WrestleMania WRESTLING match and will it ever return?
The quick answer is yes. But to be honest, it will not be a regular occurrence anymore and I don’t believe it will be by design. Of course in the next 10 or 15 years, we’ll see a hand full of classic, bell-to-bell singles matches that will forever be held in high regard, but that’s not what WrestleMania or WWE is about anymore. It has become very clear that WrestleMania isn’t for wrestling. It’s for mainstream attention and “WrestleMania moments” and for WWE, those emotional, heart-wrenching, psychological singles matches that go 25+ minutes without the use of a stipulation or weapons doesn’t fit the mold of WrestleMania anymore.
Isn’t that mind-boggling? Let’s take the last two years as an example. With WrestleMania 32 and 33, with over 15 hours of wrestling content and over 20 matches, not one of them was a HBK/Angle caliber match. How is that possible? Obviously the players have changed and the faces are different, but the ideas are still there and the talent can perform. Is it possible that WWE can no longer produce a classic WrestleMania match without all the smoke and mirrors surrounding it?
The answer is yes.
But I believe that’s by design. I don’t think Vince McMahon and WWE necessarily want those wrestling classics that take up 30 minutes of time and overshadow the rest of the card or I don’t think he has the faith in his current crop of talent to do so. As I said above, the main goal of WrestleMania in today’s age is to grab headlines and make “moments,” not to “wrestle.”
This makes me sad. I grew up on guys like Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Triple H and so many others putting on wrestling classics for me at WrestleMania, and the void of those classics for this generations isn’t a good sign for where things are heading for WWE. In closing, I’d like to see WWE readopt their dedication to giving us a wrestling classic at the grandest stage of them all. A match that steals the show because of how great it is between the ropes. A match that captures our attention because of the emotion and passion between the two competitors under the brightest lights imaginable. That’s what WrestleMania should be about.
We can dream, can’t we?
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