The Tired Road to WrestleMania

Is it them or is it us?

OK folks there are always people going online and saying that this year may be the worst Road to WrestleMania ever, and you should ignore like 99 percent of them all the time. This year has been no exception, but it does feel a little off sometimes and in some places. That doesn’t mean the show won’t be great, but there’s a real good chance we won’t be in a hurry to rewatch much of what led there. Now while it’s easy to blame it on creative or the wrestlers themselves I can’t help but wonder if we brought some of this on ourselves. So I thought it over and came up with some things we can blame them for, along with some things that maybe we should look in the mirror about.

Them: The Calendar

If it feels like everything is taking forever this year it’s because it is. The Royal Rumble happened around the same time it usually does, but the Elimination Chamber wasn’t until March 1, and WrestleMania is on April 19 and 20, a full two weeks later than last year. The seven weeks between Chamber and Mania is the longest gap between the PLE before Mania and Mania itself since they went to monthly PPVs/PLEs. This is also the latest in the year WrestleMania has ever landed. Staying locked in and focused for this long is a pretty big ask, and you shouldn’t feel crazy if you’re crawling towards the finish line. Let’s hope they never do this again.

Us: Expectations based on last year

Last year was an all time sugar rush (or cocaine binge depending on your tastes), from the Rock coming back on January 1 to him getting involved in the story to him getting in the ring on night 1 for the first time in 8 years (and maybe for the last time) to Cody finishing the story to all the run ins….it really was like Avengers Endgame (h/t to my podcast cohost Jason for the reference). Of course that would make the aftermath like Phase 4 and 5, which in a lot of ways it has been. There have been some really good shows, matches, etc since but there’s also been plenty of stuff that was just ok.

So in other words, it’s been like a lot of years between two Manias.  Are there things to criticize?  Yes, and I will here.  But looking at the big picture is this the worst Road to WrestleMania ever?  Puh-lease.  If it feels that way to you it’s gotta be at least a little bit because of what we got last year.  This is like comparing peak Lebron to 2025 Lebron.  The former could carry a team to first place and at least the conference Finals whereas the latter can lead, but not carry, you to the playoffs.  Which leads me to my next point.

Us: The chattering

As somebody who both writes for a website and does podcasts I gotta say…..that there are too many websites and too many podcasts.  And too many social media takes.  There are just too many takes, period.  From former wrestlers.  From self proclaimed reporters. From randos with YouTube channels who saw they could build an audience by saying awful, stupid things.  And from us who think we’re level headed people. I do realize that I am in essence telling myself to shut up here, but if it meant all of us having a better time then I’d gladly doodle my notes in a journal and talk about other things. I can be as much a part of the problem as everyone else sometimes.

Takes are like drugs; they’re addictive, and it’s real easy to find yourself reaching for them.  Whether it’s that you think you need to hear somebody say something about that match or that promo or that segment, or you feel like you have a take yourself, if you’re not careful you can find yourself being more concerned with the takes than just sitting down and watching the show and having a good time.  That’s not HHH or the company’s fault.

There’s no way to keep talking about this stuff without eventually going negative.  Nothing is perfect but as time goes on we take the good things for granted and focus more on the things we don’t like.  And you make this a damn near daily operation then you crank that up to 11.  It should come as no surprise that the casual fans who just watch the TV show then occasionally go see it live, while partaking in a million other hobbies, are much happier about this than us who spend hours a day thinking about it are.

(For more on that, check this out: You’re Watching Wrong )

Them: The build to the women’s matches

On the one hand there are four women’s matches this year, including the first non title singles match since 2020.  (Note: A lot of people of wrongly saying that the last women’s non title singles match was in 2006) That’s good and should be commended.  On the other hand the way three of those four matches have been built leaves a lot to be desired. Naomi vs Jade has been done as close to perfect as you could hope for. It has benefitted from having two women who have been working together for a year and have gotten to know each other, thus giving both them and the creative people time to figure out the best way to present everyone involved.  But the others……

The women’s tag title match was slapped together through a gauntlet match of teams that either just got together or have been booked like jobbers for months.  The triple threat has been one recurring scene with a slight variation each week but ending the exact same way, with some puzzling kayfabe behavior from Rhea Ripley to say the least.  And Charlotte vs Tiffany has gone like nobody actually wrote anything until the day of each show and they just sent them out there, two women who have never worked together before one of whom is still learning and figuring out who she is as a character and the other who is coming off being out for a year with an injury.  They really should have waited another year to do that one.

But this sums up my criticisms of the women’s division creative issues in a nutshell.  Not enough is done to make us care about the matches or to make them be as good as they can be.  This is the third year in a row when the build to the women’s matches has been mostly forgettable and it needs to be called out until they do better. The big men’s matches have been built as if the fate of the world is riding on them, with characters who have been established over several years and whose issues are easy to explain. On the women’s side there is an assortment of characters that have not been built much at all or have taken stark unexplained turns on a dime, and the established history that does exist is mostly omitted from their current feuds. That’s no way to build a division or WrestleMania match.

Us: Fatigue

Look guys and gals, a lot of us have been operating at maximum attention capacity since HHH took over creative.  Some of us longer than that.  It’s been two and half years and over that time they’ve been adding more and more content, and more and more people, while the day remains 24 hours long and we have jobs, school, families, and other interests to look after.  There’s no way to keep up with it all and not wear yourself out.  Being a WWE fan who follows everything they do is a full time job for real. It requires that much commitment.

RAW, Smackdown, NXT, LFG, Evolve, Speed, WWEID, and now TNA thanks to their partnership.  And that’s just the in ring stuff!  There are more documentaries, TV specials, YouTube content, and God knows what else.  And don’t be a fan of any other wrestling companies too because good grief.  If you’re getting burned out it’s totally understandable. There’s just so much stuff now.  Even if you stick to RAW, Smackdown and NXT it’s still a lot.  I also watch AEW and some TNA stuff, and other things on TV that are not wrestling related.

And it’s a lot.  Sometimes I just have to let a episode go, or not pay full attention to it, in order to keep up with the other things I watch and do.  Some stuff I just don’t get to unless it involves my favorite people or others I am specifically interested in. And sometimes, like this year so far, it feels more like I’m getting through it than watching it.  But while some of that is a reflection of what they’re doing that’s also on me, and us.  I think to a certain extent those of us in the bubble are a little exhausted and would be better off dialing it back a bit.

Them: Too much commerce

Look, the goal of any company is to make as much money as you can.  But how you present yourself while you chase that goal matters.  Apple is every bit as money hungry as TKO but their most loyal customers sure don’t see them that way.  There’s a fine line between looking like you’re just offering new products and looking like you’re squeezing people for more money.  And right now it feels sometimes like they’re falling on the wrong side of the line. The prices are higher for WrestleMania tickets, way higher than just last year, the meet and great prices are high as hell, and there are all these other events that they are running during the week. None of this stuff is free of course.

But it’s even bled over into the TV shows. RAW and Smackdown have parts that are presented as if they are very important and then the rest is treated like filler during which they advertise other stuff – shows, events, merchandise, you name it. There are the million logos and sponsorships on and around the ring. None of those things on their own are so bad but there’s been like a tidal wave of it since the year started and it’s a lot to digest. Shows and movies are obviously used to sell products but you shouldn’t feel like you’re watching a commercial when the show is on. RAW and Smackdown’s pacing and show layouts this year definitely make it feel that way for me sometimes.

Conclusion

Is it them or us? Both! I think we have burned ourselves out somewhat and made some loftier expectations than anyone could hope to reach, but they’ve definitely made some missteps themselves. I don’t know what lessons they are taking from this year’s Road to WrestleMania but I would tell them that next year it would be good to change the presentation at least. Perception matters and this year the perception in a lot of corners is that they’re crushing our pockets instead of crushing the competition, at a time where there’s a lot of uncertainty in people’s lives right now. Ultimately it’s gonna come down to the receipts and how they stack up, of course.