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WWE kicks its Wrestlemania season into fifth gear this week with Saturday night time’s Royal Rumble. Even those that have soured on the product New York has been placing out come again in for the Rumble — for probably the most half — as a consequence of its uniqueness and penchant for surprises, and establishing what the construct to Wrestlemania will probably be (aside from final 12 months, which sucked). And additionally to make enjoyable of all of the sign-pointing and presumably some drunken playing.
And WWE has a chance, for the primary time shortly on the boys’s aspect not less than, to make its greatest occasion in its greatest occasion, the principle occasion at Wrestlemania, the end result of the perfect story it’s had in years, as a substitute of simply making it an empty spectacle constructed round names and hype. Sami Zayn should win the Royal Rumble.
Recent ‘Mania main events
Going back through recent WWE main events, they have lacked any sort of story to pay off. There’s been no catharsis, there’s been no end result, there have simply been dudes wrestling. Last 12 months was Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, as a result of Vince McMahon was decided to make us eat that matchup and have everybody settle for it for some seven years. It was constructed solely on their earlier encounters, which everybody just about hated which had been additionally constructed on nothing. 2021’s primary occasion on the second night time noticed Reigns in a triple risk with Edge and Daniel Bryan, which was an excellent match however all felt very pressured and jammed collectively. Which it type of was, and most if not all that construct nonetheless got here within the Thunderdome period.
We can ignore the 2020 occasion because of the pandemic and the abnormality of a Mania and not using a crowd. While 2019 noticed, deservedly, Becky Lynch in the principle occasion, the opposite memorable match from that night time was Kofi Kingston lastly claiming the Smackdown title over Bryan. Kofi had develop into the fan’s favourite after a string of heroic performances, his historical past with the New Day and past, and the sensation that if there wasn’t a surge from the followers, he was the precise type of wrestler that McMahon would screw over again and again. It was natural, and it paid off, with no little assist from Bryan attending to play the alternative function to his very related push to the highest in 2014.
Honorary Uce and The Bloodline
It is sort of clear to everybody that the perfect story entering into WWE proper now, and presumably in all of wrestling, is Sami Zayn, Reigns, and Zayn’s function in The Bloodline. Zayn with the ability to take this story, which began out as simply goofy lap-dogging to Reigns merely to be on tv, to the heights it now occupies is a testomony to him and his character work in addition to his capacity to always join with followers whether or not enjoying the heel or face.
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From just simple comedy vignettes to being the absolute center of Reigns’s world, this has been the gravitational force for WWE for months now. Zayn stole the show at War Games, which has made him the talk of the company, and it is clear that Reigns does not know how to keep Zayn’s momentum and popularity at bay. There are already fissures in the relationship starting to show, but seeing as how Zayn has used this story and placing to become perhaps the most popular wrestler on the roster, there is no bigger match that WWE could put on right now than Zayn-Reigns. That is to say, there is no bigger wrestling match that they could book.
Sports entertainment vs. wrestling
But WWE hasn’t always been interested in wrestling matches, so much as just moments and events and whatever gets them talked about in non-wrestling circles. It has been no secret that WWE’s dream scenario for this April is to bring back The Rock to face Reigns in L.A., which would certainly feel like a major event but wouldn’t be built on anything that’s been happening week-to-week on TV. Sure, there is the whole familial connection that the company would likely harp on for a couple of months to give the match a foundation. But fans would know it’s simply The Rock’s celebrity that the company is banking on. Emphasis on “banking.”
The Rock reappearing has looked increasingly more unlikely as we get nearer to the occasion, so WWE is pivoting. Cody Rhodes getting the intense video vignette therapy main as much as the announcement that he’ll return at The Rumble appears to place him because the probably challenger to Reigns. It may all the time be setting us all up for a swerve, however actually, Triple H desires us to consider that Rhodes is the favourite.
And that’s…high quality. I’m in all probability not the one to remark, given my considerably understated takes on Cody prior to now. Rhodes flipping to WWE from AEW, the corporate he helped create, is certainly one of 2022’s greatest tales, and purely on that, he’s certainly one of New York’s greatest stars. He’s actually the largest face WWE has, however that isn’t actually primarily based on something match-related given how a lot time he’s missed. It’s nonetheless principally simply primarily based on his return eventually 12 months’s Mania. Which is type of skinny.
Cody combating for the honour of his father and wrestling as a complete, one thing he’s by no means been shy about claiming, towards the evil power of Reigns and The Bloodline actually works as a large conflict on the trade’s greatest coming collectively.
But it’s so rote. Shiny face towards the brooding heel, with WWE making some type of wink about placing Rhodes of their greatest match when AEW couldn’t or wouldn’t discover a place for him on the prime of the cardboard anymore. And given the best way each Reigns and Cody work, the match may take 12 minutes earlier than the primary lock-up. It’s two huge names for positive, however with no layers.
More than only a easy face vs. heel dynamic
Zayn has layers taking pictures out of his ears! The promoting out of his rules to hitch The Bloodline, his both naivety in not realizing how he’s only a instrument for Reigns, or his underhanded brilliance in utilizing Reigns himself to propel up the roster. He has Kofi/Bryan vibes, on condition that he’s a lifer who has by no means actually been given a run on the prime of the cardboard although few can match his in-ring work. And then how he’s both turned his again on that to hitch up with Reigns and The Usos or it’s the ultimate act in taking all of that to the highest of the trade.
Having Sami flip again face, win the Rumble, and setting him as much as face Reigns provides WWE all that Cody noise, with a heavy pinch of that Kofi buzz it had in 2019 and Bryan in 2014. And he’s a greater employee than Rhodes, by a long way. It is the perfect wrestling story they’ve and it’s not even shut. Sami presumably being the primary to topple Reigns in a canine’s age is the largest attainable second WWE may have at SoFi stadium. Imagine that pop. It would repay a 12 months’s value of story, and reward followers who’ve been watching week to week. Putting Cody in that spot would simply be enjoying in any respect of it. Putting The Rock there would simply be empty headline chasing.
Will Triple H make WWE extra about wrestling along with his first Mania construct in cost (if he’s in cost?)? We know the reply is in fact no. But even Trips can’t ignore what’s the greatest reply right here.