Wrestlemania 26: Quality and Money

Posted in Xtremeview by Jack at 02:56, Mar 28 2010

The Xtreme View

Two years ago I wrote a column about the mishandled and sloppy build to Wrestlemania 24. Luckily for the WWE Wrestlemania 24 was successful. Most in part to Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels wrestling a match that made many forget the terrible build up for there match and Mayweather vs. Big Show being a much better match up then anyone could of predicted. Regardless the build to the event probably in the long run hurt the show. Then last years Wrestlemania was an epic disaster in terms of building up the show. The title match between Triple H vs. Randy Orton built was just hit or miss one week you loved it and the next week you lost all momentum you just built. Then the John Cena vs. Edge vs. Big Show build was built around who wanted to bang Vickie Guerrero. No that's not a typo they really built a main event feud for the biggest show of the year around who was banging Vickie. The rest of the card wasn't much better in terms of logical build with the exception of Chris Jericho taking on the Legends. However again luckily for the WWE the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels tore the house down and have made many forget about the build for the rest of the show. However Wrestlemania 24 and Wrestlemania 25 build up did end up hurting the bottom line of both shows. Wrestlemania 24 loss 130,000 from Wrestlemania 23 and to make matters worst Wrestlemania 25 ended up losing 98,000 from Wrestlemania 24. So to sum up the bottom line while both shows drew Millions of dollars of revenue for the WWE with better build and matches they probably could of made a couple of million more.

Now we are less then 24 hours away from Wrestlemania 26 and I can thankfully say WWE has righted the wrong of the past two years. Two years ago I said WWE was more concerned with money and not quality but two years later with this Wrestlemania I believe they have realized to gain the most money you need Quality. Wrestlemania 26 hands down has been one of the best built shows in the past couple of years with every match seeming to be a big deal and a reason. Up and down the card you have probably one of the best built cards in years with most of the WWE's big players having a serious roles. I realize over the years the majority of my columns tend to focus on the negative but this time I

Lets start out with the match 12 years in the making when Bret Hart comes back to the Wrestlemania stage for the first time since Wrestlemania 13. Now most of the fans would of never for a second of thought this was going to happen but tomorrow night it will when Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon No Holds Barred. Now the build to the match is the perfect example of making things unpredictable. Halfway through this feud it seemed like this was doomed to be a disaster Bret was walking around with a Broken Leg seeming to be struggling to keep momentum in the angle. That was all until two weeks ago on Raw when it was revealed that Bret Hart set Vince McMahon up by faking the car accident that broke his leg just to sucker Vince into signing a contract to face him at Wrestlemania. I think this match will be short but sweet I wouldn't expect a five star classic and if you are your an idiot. However just wait for the pop when Bret puts Vince in the Sharpshooter I guarantee the crowd will explode.

Then next on the card you have CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio with the stipulation being Rey must join the Straight Edge Society if he loses. Straight up this match alone is worth paying to see but the built has made this match personal. CM Punk has been messing with Mysterio for the better part of two months after Mysterio eliminated him from the Elimination Chamber. Then a couple of weeks ago Mysterio brought his whole family out on Television to sing happy Birthday to his daughter which was interrupted by Punk. After Interrupting, Punk went into a promo that anybody could relate to Rey Mysterio as Punk embarrassed Mysterio in front of his whole family. Now you have the added stipulation that if Mysterio loses he must join CM Punk's Straight Edge Society there will be a lot going into this match up. Also with the great heel heat Punk has generated with his Straight Edge gimmick I'm sure the crowd will be into this match up.

In a match that when I first heard was going to happen I had no interest Triple H will face the rookie Sheamus. However the built to this match has been simple yet strong you have the up and comer challenging the huge star. The promo that Triple H cut made the focus of this match very clear which is Sheamus could be embarrassed and lose all of his career momentum. Triple H has even brought up the lost to Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 12 and how Triple H had to completely rebuild himself with years of Wrestlemania victories to get where he is today. However this year WWE has been smart and allowed Sheamus to continually get the upper hand on Triple H and has left him down in out multiple times. Now like I said I wasn't interested before this build began but now I am excited for this match up and hope they can deliver a career changing match for Sheamus.

Speaking of building up the young talent I think that is what has set Wrestlemania 26 apart from the previous two where they seem to truly be trying to build up the next generation of talent tomorrow. Look no further then the Triple Threat between Legacy. This feud has been building now for the better part of a year and while I think at times they've been just a little off I think this match could move Dibiase or Rhodes into the next rung of Superstars with a victory. Also if WWE handles this match and the coming weeks well Randy Orton could become the next big face inside of the WWE. Fans have really taken to Orton and if Orton plays his cards right he might see another run on top. This could be a dark horse match up to be honest because there are low expectations here and if these three handle things the correct way it could launch the career of two of them and expand on the career of Orton.

Then you have the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Now I'll admit I'm not really big on having 10 men inside of this match up but WWE has done something very smart heading into this match up that has grabbed my attention. That is the use of Drew McIntyre who lost two qualifying matches to Kane and Matt Hardy and then was given a 3rd opportunity against a jobber and pretty much was handed his opportunity. This is good booking for two reasons. One it gives someone for everyone to hate no matter if there heel, face, fan, or announcer. Two there is an actual storyline heading into this match up for the first time since Wrestlemania 23. Better yet there is another huge reason to care about this match up and that is 9 out of the 10 have never been Worlds Champion and this could really be a real chance for a younger star to step up.

Now were down to the three main events of the show which should all be very interesting lets start off with Chris Jericho vs. Edge. I know some have not found the build up very interesting but I have and I'll tell you why. Simple WWE has put over the face that with one split second move Edge could have Jericho beat and its simple as that. Then on the other hand you have Chris Jericho pushing the fact that Edge might not be 100% and he could injure Edge for good. You have two reason to watch this match and regardless of what you think about the build up the match should tear the house down.

Then you have another Title match between the two biggest stars of this generation and that's Batista and John Cena. Now obviously this isn't going to be a mat classic but I think again this will be a dark horse match up that could again deliver more then expected. Batista has proven time and again when motivated he can have a great match up and lets not forget Summerslam 2008 these two had a strong match up. Better yet that match in 2008 has led to a reason to watch this match up since John Cena injured his neck. Now you have the two top stars fighting out to see who is the true dominate star of this era. Also with Batista's heel character at his best this match has a lot of hype going into it.

Finally you have in my opinion the true Main Event of this show with Shawn Michaels putting up his career against the Undertaker's Undefeated streak. This match has been built up well and has really made people care about the out come. Also I guarantee you the majority isn't sure who is going to win. It could go either way and quite frankly I'm excited to see who wins. Which is surprising considering I said on the message board I didn't want to see this match up but luckily WWE was smart enough to add the stipulation of Shawn's career on the line and unlike the Ric Flair stipulation of Wrestlemania 24 they have made Shawn Michaels look like a big deal. So who will win? End of the day it will be the fans because this match should steal the show.

Also you have the Undisputed Tag Team titles on the line and a 10 Woman Tag Team Match which should be interesting. All and all I'm excited for Wrestlemania and I think this show should deliver one of the best shows in the past couple of years and I think at the end of the night you won't be sorry you paid for it. Regardless its been reported WWE is expecting this show to break records and if build has anything to do with it they will. Also I would like to add before I sign off for this column if anyone deserves an MVP awards for Wrestlemania build up its the production staff of the WWE. They have created some of the best promo videos I've seen in years to set up these matches and feuds and have added some real interest in these matches.

So fans regardless what many of the IWC marks will tell you this should be a good show and if you aren't excited to see it then you might just be crazy.

I'm Jason "Xtremefalls" Simmons and that's my opinion