Questionable booking sours WWE Wrestlemania 23
The Troublemaker
Wrestlers Ramblings.com wrestling news
The sight and spectacle that was Wrestlemania 23 proved with little doubt that sometimes it’s who is booking the card that counts - as opposed to who is actually donning the tights and boots. With a roster stacked higher than a double order of hot cakes at the corner greasy spoon, the backstage powers-that-be rolled out a puzzling match poster scant with secondary title bouts if not less-than intriguing story lines. Wrestlemania is, after all, the New Years Eve of WWE events, a card that is supposed to tie up loose ends and perhaps create some new plot twists. As a critic who always demands excellence when paying exorbient prices for live or PPV events, I must say the WWE dropped the ball on many fronts Sunday at Ford Field.
To hold any PPV - much less Mania - without including a World Tag Title match is a travesty in the booking department that should force heads to roll. In a company that numbers far too many employees on the payroll to begin with, the WWE needs a diversion for nearly half the roster to take part in. As of now it sometimes resembles a bloated operation whose excess employee’s mill around the water cooler waiting to punch their time cards.
As a critic, the above comments may lead you to believe that the card was a downer for your favorite masked fatalist. On the contrary, I actually had the time of my life simply absorbing the vibes and atmosphere from the time we parked the car to the post event radio show that recapped the night’s festivities on our way home. With victories notched by Cena, Taker’ and Mr. Kennedy . . . K-e-n-n-e-d-y, I couldn’t have picked more favorable results had I tried. Still it was the less than stellar moments that make me question the direction the WWE is heading as we embark on the new mat season.
What were they thinking? – The Khali vs. Kane bout shaped up as a snoozer from the failed Kane pyro to the first collar and elbow. With a smattering of b-o-r-i-n-g chants (rumored to have been started by two masked men) wafting through the crowd this one mercilessly ended with Khali getting the duke with merely his right foot executing the cover. Strange. It was the type of ending I remember Mid-South’s Bill Watts employing when one of his stars were about to fly the coup to New York. I may be jumping the gun here but in my opinion Kane’s career has been irreparably damaged.
Bad hair day – Bobby Lashley (representing Donald Trump) vs. Umaga (with Armando Alejandro Estrada, representing Vince McMahon) - This match was pin-drop dead until Shane and Daddy Dearest saved the day at the midway point with some timely interference. I like both
Lashley and Umaga; they just don’t play well together in this writer’s opinion. Let me just say here and now that The Donald finished first by a whisker in the race for least charismatic performer. Second place went to the less–than-Great Khali. Here’s hoping we never have to endure Trump in wrestling circles ever again. Unless of course he would like to reprise Pete Rose’s roll in the chicken suit.
Not fair to Flair (or Carlito) – Relegating the greatest wrestler of all time and the man he is taking under his wing to a two bit dark match is about as close to a slap in the face as you can get. Considering that Hulk Hogan would probably only settle for a headlining roll in any comeback, you have wonder how hard up the Nature Boy is for money. It’s the WWE’s loss though if you ask me. Judging by the number of whoo’s I heard before, during and after the show I wouldn’t say it’s too much of a stretch to envision Flair walkin’ that aisle with ten pounds of gold around his waist just one more time.
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