Is WrestleMania going down in less than two weeks? Is TNA running a live show the very same week?
I can't really tell. The only promotion that seems genuinely excited about WrestleMania weekend in Orlando, Fla. is ROH. The small company based out of Philadelphia will steal the weekend from an in-ring perspective and perhaps overall if the cards from both nights live up to expectations just on paper. The Dragon Gate stars from Japan add a dynamic to ROH shows that give them an incredible atmosphere and with the March 28 show featuring Dragon Gate vs. ROH matches and the March 29 show featuring a Dragon Gate Six Man Tag match, alongside a slew of other fantastic matches on paper.
What's up with WrestleMania this year?
WWE's flagship show just isn't delivering enough hype. The elements were all in place coming out of the No Way Out PPV in February. Last year Donald Trump generated mainstream interest in the show and prompted people who wouldn't normally open their wallets to the WWE product to shell out fifty bucks to see Trump give Vince McMahon a haircut.
This year there's Floyd Mayweather, the biggest PPV draw in boxing and nobody outside of WWE's regular audience seems to care. Mainstream interest in the Mayweather-Big Show match at WrestleMania isn't nearly at the level it should be. The angle started red hot at the PPV, but the problem is the fans wouldn't cheer Mayweather. WWE tried again and again to make him a babyface until they decided to have both men switch roles.
The switch in roles between Big Show and Mayweather was good, but the follow up this past Monday was strange with Big Show taking on Jericho and both men coming off like heels. The crowd didn't seem to care much for either guy.
The entire Ric Flair retirement angle has been a letdown from the start, which was to be expected, but having Vince McMahon get a visual pin on the Nature Boy, who had to be rescued by HBK, went a long way towards watering down the HBK-Flair match at WrestleMania. I can't see any anticipation in seeing Flair go up against HBK if the dirtiest player in the game can't take out Vince McMahon in a no-DQ match. I'm not saying WrestleMania won't be a good show, but WWE's build towards Orlando leaves a lot to be desired
And then a lonely wrestling nation turns their eyes to TNA. The no. 2 promotion has a big show on March 27. They go live, but you wouldn't know that watching Impact last week. Jim Cornette just said that March 27 was going to be a big show. He didn't mention it was going to be live. He didn't talk about how TNA was going to show wrestling fans that there was more to see than just the WWE that weekend. To make matters worse, the March 27 date wasn't even mentioned again.
Is it really any shock that TNA doesn't care? Each time the company gets a chance to gain some traction, they do what they do best and fall flat on their faces like usual. At least TNA is apparently giving the Samoa Joe-Kurt Angle TNA Title match at Lockdown a serious build, which just might add some buys to that show. After all, at the current pace TNA would be better just getting rid of the ring and going to the afternoon on Spike as a soap opera.
There's still time for TNA and WWE to recover. I'm betting Raw will be strong this coming Monday to really get fans in a frenzy about WrestleMania, but I'd like to see TNA just for once step their game up and be a player. I'm still looking forward to WrestleMania weekend, but I'm not as excited as I should be.
How are you feeling about WrestleMania weekend? What shows are you looking forward to the most? Shoot me an email here.
