Glenn Beck May Have Saved Wrestlemania

Two items right off the bat, I’m not saying WrestleMania wasn’t going to be a success or this piece will be anything remotely connected to politics but I hadn’t seen to many people as excited about WrestleMania this year, as in years past. With that out of the way, Glenn Beck has unexpectedly changed how we viewed a major storyline and turned a pretty stale title match into something else. Glenn Beck recently called out the WWE, specifically Jack Swagger and Zeb Colter, for their current anti-immigration storyline. That has since started a war of words between the WWE and Beck, including tweets and incredible YouTube recordings. Question now becomes, what this will eventually lead to and what effect this has on wrestling biggest event.

Before this little mess with Glenn Beck began, Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio was more about building Swagger’s resume than showcasing these two main-event characters. WWE dropped the ball in this regard, let’s just be honest. You don’t build someone’s resume at WrestleMania, you cement it. However everything appears to have changed now and it should only get better, weirder depending on how you feel about this angle. This storyline is something that has played out many times, in many different incarnations, most famously in the JBL/Eddie Guerrero WWE title feud. Not sure what the issue is here, considering the WWE is PG now; this version will more than likely be much tamer than those of the past. Regardless, what Beck’s criticism has done is galvanized the WWE and this story all together.

I’m not going to discuss what Beck said or his criticism because that’s going to turn this into a political post and I’m not informed enough or completely bias on this topic to get into that discussion but I will let you read about it here. This aspect of society, however, still shocks me a great deal, especially for those with the power of the microphone. WWE is a novella or movie, it was made to entertain and used to shock but so often over the past 20 years, individuals try to make it about so much more. In the process, however, instead of taking the spotlight away from the WWE, it makes it shine even brighter. Now, the WWE will do what they do best, run with a story and thrive. Glen Beck has just made the World Heavyweight Title match into something of importance and relevant, who knew.

One of the more fascinating aspects of this newly created debate between fiction and non-fiction, is the character of Jack Swagger. Remember, Swagger is the heel and the WWE hopes he develops into a main-event heel but Glenn Beck’s’ comments have made Jack and Zeb Colter the martyrs in the eyes of the people. Let’s remember, most WWE fans realize this is all a gimmick and within a year or two Swagger will suddenly turn face with a new gimmick and forget all about “We The People”.  Beck has picked a fight with the WWE and its audience, is Beck is the heel now and Swagger the face? Admittedly, the WWE will keep Swagger’s character heel but very often the crowd dictates the character; see Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Rock. Not saying, Swagger is at that level yet but if the WWE audience feels that thru Swagger they are being attacked, they will use him as their extension to fight back.

I haven’t even mentioned Swagger’s recent arrest because Beck’s comments and ongoing feud have completely overshadowed that incident and probably saved the gimmick/match at WrestleMania. The road to WrestleMania just got a whole lot more interesting and with a planned rebuttal coming Monday Night from the WWE and Beck’s decision to decline the invite to discuss, rest assured something is brewing. As the famous Jim Ross always liked to say, “business is about to pick up”.