Wrestling with My Fandom - Wrestlemania 42 review

Wrestlemania 42 ended with a very good match, seeing Roman Reigns back on top as champion. He defeated CM Punk, a man I credit with bringing me back to wrestling when it was becoming much more of a casual watch than the appointment television it was for me growing up. Throughout the lead-up, promo battles, and brawls for this feud, I realized just how much both Reigns and Punk made me invested in a match that I wasn't initially that interested in. But why?

After Roman won the Royal Rumble, the long-rumored plan of him vs Punk at Mania was pretty much set in stone before he made the decision on RAW weeks later. On paper, it was the most logical match to make to headline Mania. Predictability is not a bad thing in wrestling. Sometimes it's important to know exactly what you're going to get out of a match or storyline. Going into Wrestlemania XXX, it was all but assumed Daniel Bryan would finally get his Mania Moment. But what I appreciated was how one match in that card flipped predicability on its head (literally) and created indirect uncertainty for the rest of that show. Brock Lesnar defeating The Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak was a genuine "HOLY S**T" moment. The silence from the New Orleans crowd was deafening. While everyone was trying to process what just happened, the craziest thought that crossed my mind was "What does this mean to Daniel Bryan?" There was no way anyone thought he wouldn't leave New Orleans as the champ, which he didn't. But no one really thought we'd see a concussed Undertaker on his back while Brock and an incredulous Paul Heyman celebrated a win that came out of nowhere. It was quite predictable that Oba Femi defeated The Beast Sunday evening. Seeing a humbled Lesnar post-match, seemingly questioning himself and teasing his retirement so explicitly wasn't.

Knowing how to play/manipulate with the expectations of wrestling fans must be increasingly frustrating but even more rewarding today. We, as wrestling fans, love to think or pretend to know what's really going on inside the locker room, creative room, board room, or any room outside of where we watch pro wrestling. This borderline obsession with being on the inside leads to many instances where we ruin surprises for ourselves for the sake of being in the know. A big reason for this uptick of fans wanting to know more inside stuff goes back to a certain Pipebomb that exploded on the wrestling landscape almost 15 years ago, with a crossed leg CM Punk sitting on top of the ramp. That promo came at a crossroads not only for Punk but probably for many wrestling fans, myself included.

John Cena was unquestionably the top guy for WWE at the time and also the most polarizing wrestler in the business. "LET'S GO CENA, CENA SUCKS" chants were a constant fixture on every WWE show. It became far too predictable, much like many of his matches to an extent. Punk during this Pipebomb promo felt like he was truly living out his moniker of being "A Voice for the Voiceless" in that moment. He was saying stuff that we fans either wanted to say or hear. The uncertainty he worked into the business from that moment, leading up to his championship win at Money in the Bank in Chicago(SouthSide Stand Up!), was needed. Punk leaving with the title with no new contract negotiated had fans on the edge of their seats to see what'd come of this. We got our answer a mere 2 weeks with Punk returning after Cena predictably found himself as champion by the end of the episode of RAW, challenging Rey Mysterio Jr, who just won the vacant title earlier in the show. Seeing Punk come out, while quicker than many wanted to see, was still a cool moment. Just like it was still very cool seeing Paige back in WWE after being away for almost 10 years, even if the news of her signing was already widely rumored before her return on Saturday.

Since surprises are so hard to come by currently, it's not shocking to me how WWE often telegraphs but does not blatantly tell us something is about to happen. John Cena being the host of Wrestlemania 42 was an obvious choice given his recent retirement that left fans still wanting to see the Unseeable One. Despite everything he's given the industry, whether we liked it or not, we still want to see Cena now, maybe more than ever. We want to tell wrestlers all the time, "1 MORE MATCH," despite the wrestlers themselves trying to find peace in not wanting to answer our calls. Even if they answer our calls, sometimes it's not good enough because they didn't do it the exact way we wanted/fantasy booked for the last decade. We say we want wrestlers/promotions to keep us on our heels, all while we turn a blind eye to the stories happening right in front of us that are worth viewing. Cena's retirement tour played the hits we supposedly asked for, but we only seem to complain about the sequence of the playlist. So now we want an encore, no matter if we ignore the newer acts we type online about not getting enough opportunities. So, while seeing Cena & Miz together at Mania again, but not wrestling, could have disappointed some, seeing Kit Wilson being TOXIC to someone who's VERY NICE/VERY EVIL is far better than being CURSED.

So what do fans do now, given the lack of true surprises is becoming the norm? Well, we continue to create our own surprises and then be disappointed that creative can't read our minds. We then start to convince ourselves that not only is creative ignoring us, but they're deliberately antagonizing us with some of their decisions. We convince ourselves that Roman Reigns is the chosen one that management has picked for us to cheer. We cheered him instead of a returning Batista to win The Royal Rumble in 2014. We decided he was being forced on us just one year later when he actually won The Rumble. We cheered Roman when The Shield was the most dominant faction running in WWE. But did some of those cheers get silenced once Punk told us Roman was indeed management's pick, not Chris Hero, to be a Shield for Punk? Maybe we convinced ourselves that Roman's ascension up the card was at the expense of Punk, who would leave the company for a decade. Or maybe we'd forget most of that stuff once a Wiseman soon became the voice to guide Roman into his role of becoming the Tribal Chief. For 1,316 days, we saw Roman evolve from the guy who was forced upon who finally turned heel to our pleasure, into an undeniable force that made all of us to Acknowledge him. He also made us acknowledge, against his better wishes, that there was also more than 1 Royal Wrestling Family.

Cody Rhodes might have been lulled into his namesake, a nightmare. He's on top of the world with everyone grabbing at his feet. He's main eventing another Wrestlemania with his mentor, who he gave permission to listen to the voices in his head. The loudest being that of Pat McAfee. A surprise that even the messiest of dirtsheets didn't seem to predict. A dream match that was 20 years in the making was now given a sleep paralysis demon that neither Dirty Dom nor Finn Balor could exorcise in their entertaining street fight. Who wanted this? Who decided that a loudmouth punter should be the spokesman for a 14-time world champ whose punt solidified himself as an all time heel. Who said this main course really needed a Jellyroll for a side? The appetite for an apex predator is only satiated until it finds its next prey. So while kicking McAfee back into his "thunderdome" was nice in the moment, this snake was still salivating for more after the match.

I started writing this blog a few hrs after Night 2 ended. Worked on it some more that Monday before RAW and then left it unfinished throughout the week. Having more time to flesh out my opinions than all of the matches from Night 1 of Mania was needed. I was initially much higher on Saturday overall than most fans. If I were grading it, I'd probably give it a B-. Now, almost a week later, I can only go C+ at the highest, a perfect description of Mid. Night 2 in its excellence still feels like a B+/A- to me. As I try to wrap this up to avoid rambling on too much, I'm thinking about how I will remember this Wrestlemania.

Oba Femi is a MADE MAN, deservedly so. Trick Willy might honestly be the most charismatic wrestler since the Attitude Era. Jevon Evans can be a legit white-meat babyface for however long he wants to be. Becky Lynch is doing some of the best character work I've seen. Jade Cargill showed she can meet the moment. Bianca & Montez might bless us with the EST of athletic babies. IShowSpeed understands kayfabe better than most. Cody Rhodes loves being dramatic, Randy Orton loves being Randy. Penta should be World Champ within a few years. Iyo Sky, the MVP of last year's Mania, is the next Rey Mysterio WWE has been looking for. Roman reminded us why he's main evented 11 Manias. Punk reminded me why he brought me back full-time to wrestling. DanHausen is the funniest Capitalist in America right now.