WWE WrestleMania 34 is in Need of Personal Issues To Build Drama
By John Brown
The current WWE landscape is missing personal issues between those facing each other in the ring. WrestleMania should bring scripted personal issues to a head, but there are only those that are still developing at the moment.
I have often jokingly referred to WrestleMania as being “My Christmas”. It is a GUARAN-DAMN-TEE that I’m calling of work the next day because I’m scrambling to get ideas on paper to write about, tweet, post, and whatever other social media-related verb I am forgetting to mention.
This year’s card is stacked, and has even been sweetened with the in-ring return of Daniel Bryan. However, there is something missing from this year’s event that may find me in my office chair instead of my mattress (or couch…whatever) the Monday morning following WrestleMania 34.
It is still going to be an all-day event for me, but let’s just say that I may be glancing at my IPhone….or my laptop….or at a book….or at my wife’s TV that is featuring one of those God-awful Real Housewife shows upstairs. Upon setting out to write this article, I came to the realization as to what is missing from the WrestleMania 34: there are no long-standing personal issues in a business that is run on the perception of existing personal issues.
Think of the WrestleMania main events that are constantly being shown in highlight reel after highlight reel, WrestleMania Rewind after WrestleMania Rewind (what are they calling it this year? WrestleMania rehash? Remix? Reflux? Regurgitate?).
At WrestleMania 3, the legendary Hulk Hogan/Andre the Giant main event stemmed from Andre turning on Hogan on Piper’s Pit after being tired of Hogan taking his spotlight. That same event featured what is, arguably, the greatest match in the history of the business in Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, which took place months after Savage had crushed Steamboat’s larynx.
Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels battled over who was going to be the future of the WWF(E).
Photo by WWE.com
The Rock was the Corporation’s chosen soul to dismiss “Stone Cold” Steve Austin from being the face of the WWE.
Kurt Angle wanted to prove his was the WWE’s best pure athlete, but lost to Brock Lesnar.
Ric Flair knew that his next loss would be his last, and no longer wanted to continue with his legendary career if he could not compete with the best.
The same went for Shawn Michaels at the end of his career, as he did not want to continue if he could not silence The Undertaker’s WrestleMania undefeated streak.
Daniel Bryan wished to dismiss The Authority’s notion that he could not be the face of the WWE while being a bearded every-man.
Photo by WWE.com
WrestleMania should serve as the culmination of personal issues so that those involved in said issues can move on with the rest of their lives. Looking at this year’s card, the only existing feud being confronted that is older than January 1, 2018 is the one between Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn, and that feud is being overshadowed by the addition of the returning Daniel Bryan to the match.
AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura have history, but that history was spawned outside of a WWE ring, so that history is a non-factor. There are budding feuds all over this year’s card, but none are reaching their culmination on this year’s show, and none of them have reaching the point of intrigue to believe that defining moments are going to be matriculated from them.
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Maybe things just did not time out right this year. Maybe Brock Lesnar is leaving and somebody needs to get the belt off of him. Maybe Vince McMahon does not see money in any possible feuds among the members of his roster. Whatever the reason, the fact of the matter is that the lack of personal issues coming to a head at WrestleMania 34 leaves the event absent of some possible intrigue. One can only hope that this year’s card generates some recognition of possible feuds to develop and have their finales be showcased on a deserving stage.