5 decisions that will hurt WrestleMania 31

We’re less than a month away from the biggest show of the year, yet something is odd about this year’s WrestleMania. Unlike the last year’s event, the hype surrounding the biggest professional wrestling event of the year is almost non – existent, and the fans’ expectations of the mega – event don’t bode too well for the WWE. What started as a promising build up during this year’s Royal Rumble quickly fizzled out, and with the current WWE World Heavyweight champion not even booked on RAWs leading up to WrestleMania, the build–up to the main event has been rather lackluster.It isn’t just one match that has killed the momentum on the road to WrestleMania, but the way the entire card has been booked is quite puzzling. Those superstars who were being built as the future of the company till December did not even have proper feuds going into WrestleMania, and the one superstar who has captured the imagination of the fans like no other since Steve Austin has been quickly brushed under the rug. Daniel Bryan’s role since his return has been to put Roman Reigns over to silence the fans, and has been pushed into obscurity once again.In this article, we give you five things that are wrong with the WrestleMania card, and how they will hurt the ‘grand daddy of sports entertainment’.

#1 A predictable main event

Brock Lesnar hasn’t signed a new contract with the WWE, and almost everyone knows that Lesnar’s last scheduled appearance will be on RAW the night after WrestleMania. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to hence deduce that Lesnar will be dropping the WWE World Heavyweight championship to Roman Reigns in the main event, and if the WWE isn’t worried about the repercussions of the match, they might fancy watching the Lesnar – Goldberg debacle at WrestleMania more than a decade ago.

Roman Reigns is the new chosen – one, and the WWE brass has invested heavily in the superstar. No matter how much the fans complained, the WWE has stuck to their guns, and it has been obvious since Royal Rumble that Roman would defeat “the conqueror”. If Royal Rumble was any indication of the kind of reception Reigns would receive, then the WWE should be prepared for Lesnar – Goldberg version 2 at this year’s WrestleMania.

#2 Stingers WM moment A decade too late

I was always a fan of the Stinger. Ever since WCW folded, I have been hoping and praying to see Sting face The Undertaker at WrestleMania, and although it made sense for The Stinger to come to the WWE nearly after a decade and a half since WCW went out of business, it makes little to no sense for Triple H to try and “bury” WCW once again.

The initiation of the feud was well done, with Sting being the ‘vigilante’, trying to stop The Authority from running amok. But since then, the WWE has gone in a different direction, with Sting trying to salvage WCW’s pride, while Triple H seeks to annihilate WCW’s legacy by beating the face of the organization. The only problem with this notion is the fact that it is happening a decade and a half after WCW’s demise.

The Sting – Undertaker dream match doesn’t need a story, while Triple H – Sting feud has been derailed with WWE pushing Sting’s legacy as the face of WCW, 14 years after the company folded.

#3 The lackluster build up to Wyatt Undertaker

The Undertaker has been the marquee name at WrestleMania every year from the past two decades, and the fact that the Deadman lost to Lesnar to give back to the business last year only increases the anticipation of the fans to hear from the Phenom before the mega event this year. WWE finally pulled the trigger on Wyatt – Undertaker feud at Fast Lane, with Bray Wyatt challenging The Undertaker for a match at WrestleMania.

It was also reported that the WWE plans to keep The Undertaker off TV leading to their match, with The Undertaker finally returning to the ring on the night of WrestleMania 31. The build – up to any match is crucial, especially in the weeks leading to the event, and with the Undertaker’s absence, it will definitely kill some interest and hurt their match at WrestleMania.

#4 No big match feel to the event

Every year at WrestleMania, you have that one big match that you know will deliver. Last year, it was Daniel Bryan – Triple H and the triple threat main event, and the year before, it was Undertaker – CM Punk. Sadly, this year’s WrestleMania doesn’t have that one match that will light up the entire card, and with WWE going ahead with a ladder match for the WWE Intercontinental title, they’ve let go of the perfect opportunity to pit two amazing performers against each other in Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler.

It is also underwhelming to see the likes of Dean Ambrose and Daniel Bryan being confined to a mid card match, when the WWE could’ve done so much more with them. Ziggler, who was the sole survivor at Survivor Series last year has been relegated to a jobber’s role since then, as WWE has been focusing only on the top two matches on the card.

#5 Daniel Bryans fall from grace

The fifth and one of the biggest reasons is the fact that the performer who is still the hottest commodity in professional wrestling today, and headlined last year’s WrestleMania has been relegated to a ladder match involving the likes of R – Truth and Stardust. If WWE ever wanted to poke fun at the wrestling fans and take a dig at them, this would be the perfect way to do it.

Daniel Bryan was used to elevate Roman Reigns at WWE Fast Lane, and the WWE brass has once again decided to pull Bryan down the pecking order. Common sense suggests that it would hurt the WWE in the coming months, but with WWE focusing on making Roman Reigns the new face of the company, they can be accused of having a short – term vision. In the end, this will hurt WrestleMania 31 and give the fans another reason to rally against the company over the internet.