WWE Buy Or Sell: WrestleMania 34 The Most Hyped WrestleMania Yet?
By Josh Raibick
With just a couple weeks left before WWE WrestleMania 34, the card is really starting to take shape. From top to bottom of the show the argument could be made that this is the most anticipated WrestleMania of all-time.
A claim as big as most anticipated WrestleMania in WWE history is one that needs further analysis. To be clear, there have been more anticipated matches in WrestleMania history than the ones offered at WrestleMania 34, but in my opinion that does not automatically make the hype for the entire show bigger.
Also I am not judging the hype around previous WrestleManias based on the final product the show delivered. Remember this is just based around hype, and steal-the-show-caliber matches like Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage don’t have as big of an impact in my grading criteria as Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant.
Another grading factor in the excitement to WrestleMania is part-time superstars and celebrity involvement. When part-time talent like The Undertaker or Kurt Angle decides to lace up their boots, it is a big deal. In the same breath, when a celebrity similar to Mr. T. or Lawrence Taylor has a match, it brings eye balls in that were not there before.
To make the argument that WrestleMania 34 is the most anticipated WrestleMania of all-time, I would have to first find the biggest competition, and then compare both events. According to my criteria, the most anticipated WrestleMania in the 33 years prior was WrestleMania 17.
WrestleMania 17 is remembered for the massive main event between the two biggest babyfaces in WWE in The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. While the 17th edition of WrestleMania was a great show, the build to a majority of the matches was just as great.
WWE SummerSlam 2000 displayed what the Hardy Boyz, Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz could do in a TLC match. This is why the rematch was so highly anticipated for WrestleMania 17.
Moving on to the Shane McMahon vs. Vince McMahon match, this build was similar to a twisted episode of The Young and The Restless. Elements to this match involved the entire McMahon family as well as Trish Stratus.
While the final product had memorable moments, remember, we are just focusing on the build to the match, which was an A+. Another match that had a lot of hype was The Undertaker vs. Triple H.
Triple H was riding high as the top heel in WWE thanks to a big win over Stone Cold in a Three Stages of Hell match at WWE No Mercy 2001. Triple H felt he had beaten every superstar there was to beat and should be in the main event, but there was one man who was not okay with these statements, and that was The Undertaker.
The Undertaker and Triple H was the equivalent of when a UFC pay-per-view has a really big co-main event. What I mean is the addition of Triple H vs. The Undertaker gave fans the feeling that they were getting an extra WrestleMania main event. These two superstars were capable of main eventing that year, but an even bigger feud had to take precedent.
The main event feud was between Stone Cold and The Rock. This was the Attitude Era’s version of Hogan vs. Warrior or Shawn vs. Bret. Most of the WWE Universe were fans of both, but this rivalry forced fans to choose a side.
While there were other matches on the card, those were the ones that had a special feel in the build to that year’s event in Houston, Texas. Which brings us to this year’s WrestleMania.
The first major advantage for WrestleMania 34 is the emphasis on featuring women’s wrestling. While women did take part in WrestleMania 17, there was only one match featuring women wrestling.
This year Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss vs. Nia Jax, Stephanie McMahon and Ronda Rousey in a mixed tag match, and also the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal Match are all expected to be a part of the show on Sunday, April 8th. While it is great that male fans are supporting this, the reason why this is so important is to inspire young female fans.
Photo by WWE’s Twitter
WWE for many years has had a male dominated audience, and emphasis on the female superstars can only further grow the WWE audience. Adding more female fans will make professional wrestling as a whole a much bigger product, and it all starts in New Orleans. This already gives a major reason why this will be one of the most anticipated WrestleManias of all-time.
Another reason might be the number of marquee matches. Previously mentioned Asuka vs. Charlotte has some members of the WWE Universe clamoring for it to be in the main event of WrestleMania. Yes, it is that big of a match!
Another highly anticipated match will be when Triple H and Stephanie clash with Rousey and Kurt Angle. Rousey’s feud with Stephanie and Triple H dates back to WrestleMania 31, add in a beloved fan favorite in Angle and you have something there.
What makes the mixed tag match such a big draw is the lack of overexposure of all four participants in the match. Triple H and Angle have not wrestled in this calendar year, Stephanie wrestles even less than that, oh and this is Rousey’s debut match.
Speaking of Rousey, do you remember that whole celebrity part of my criteria? You can check that off. While Rousey is an official member of the WWE roster, this is her first match, and wrestling is not the reason why she is famous.
Since her appearance at WWE Royal Rumble 2018, mainstream media has been all over Rousey’s WWE career. In fact, Rousey will be on ESPN First Take this coming Tuesday to promote the match.
If you are looking for a main event caliber match, look no further than Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles. The build on WWE SmackDown Live has been slow, because of an injury to Styles.
Yet that does not matter, because the WWE Universe has been begging for this match for almost a year. Nakamura vs. Styles is the wrestling fan’s type of match, and in my opinion is the heavy favorite to be the best match of the night.
Factor in The Undertaker vs. John Cena and Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns, and you have two matches that fans were lukewarm on initially, but have started to get more emotionally invested in of late. This is an example of more part-time talent used to make WrestleMania feel special.
Finally, how could we forget the return of Daniel Bryan. All signs are pointing to Bryan teaming with Shane McMahon to face Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. WWE loves booking matches a year ahead of time to try and build anticipation to a big showdown.
This match is almost three years in the making for Bryan who suffered what was believed at the time to be a career ending injury in 2015. Bryan’s popularity along with the anticipation for his return is why this match is must see.
Next: WWE WrestleMania 34: Match Card Predictions
WrestleMania in recent years has turned into an all day event, and that means there is more to get potentially excited about. I am leaving some matches out unfortunately, but due to the depth that WreslteMania 34 has, the part-time talent involved (conveying the point of how special the event is), and the return of Bryan and The Undertaker, I am BUYING that WrestleMania 34 is the most anticipated WrestleMania in WWE history.