Should The WWE Annually Book A Wrestlemania Match A Year In Advance?

[PlayTheGame]

As you know, right around Wrestlemania 27, the Rock/Cena main event was booked a year in advance for Wrestlemania 28, which led to a year's worth of anticipation, some of it being good, some of it be being bad and dragging on. A lot of people here on WZ are speculating that the WWE might do this type of uncommon year-long buildup again in the future, maybe even for the next Wrestlemania (people are speculating Austin/Punk, among other matchups). Now, while all of that is mere speculation, we definitely could see another year-long buildup for another matchup. The WWE loves to recycle ideas, so who knows, this may become an annual thing.

So that's where this thread comes in. Would you like to see the WWE annually book a match a year in advance for Wrestlemania, and hype it all year long? Would it be realistic? Would you like to see it?

Here's my take on it: The only way I would want them to do it again is it were featuring two BIG stars (like Austin/Punk) that could truly carry the feud for an entire year. Very few superstars can do that. So, if it were to happen, it'd have to be of a very, very, very high caliber. Otherwise, DEFINITELY not, especially considering all the risks that could blow it up throughout the year, such as injuries. High caliber match? Yes. Just to do it? No.

What do you think?

 

[Aberle4Life]

I don't think it's a good idea to book a match a year in advance. I think WWE did it with Rock/Cena so people wouldn't get too upset with the fact that the Rock would be gone again so fast after last year's Mania. People have known all year to expect the Rock back, so for that reason it was a good idea to announce it last year.

It's something that, if done regularly, would put too many shackles on the writers and the wrestlers. For instance with John Cena this year, he's had to work all year the safest he's ever had to work and the quality of his matches basically sucked because of it. Not bashing Cena here--and he's been great on the mic lately--but his matches for the past year have not been good. I think a big reason for that is because WWE has been playing it safe so he wouldn't get hurt for WrestleMania and the Rock. They promised their fans Rock/Cena, and not delivering on that would have been a HUGE hit against them. Cena's work with others suffered because of it.

A year out is just too much time. Like you said, injuries could happen so that alone should be enough reason not to do it. The Rock having not wrestled in years justified the announcement for the match with Cena, but most matches won't have that aura to it. Even if Steve Austin decides to wrestle next year, it wouldn't have the same impact to be announced this soon because they just did it for Rock.

Any match, no matter how big, shouldn't be announced for WrestleMania until at least Royal Rumble is over.

I say even for the big BIG matches, it shouldn't be announced any sooner than February (maybe January if I'm in a good mood ).

 

[Mark Henry's Beard]

Absolutely not.

They should consider themselves lucky that John Cena is still healthy. Not to say that he isn't durable (he obviously is), but injuries are a part of the business. Every time they go out to the ring, they're risking serious injury and if they continued booking matches a year in advance, it would eventually bite them right in the ass.

Not to mention that knowing Cena was facing the Rock at WrestleMania made his character quite predictable over the course of the past year. It felt like he was just running out the clock until Mania and nothing he did in the interim really meant jack shit.

This isn't something the WWE should do on a regular basis. It worked this time, but trying it again is tempting fate.

 

[HBKperfect23]

Thought it was a great idea with Rock/Cena. Booked perfectly thus far. That being said I wouldnt make it annual but Id like to see them start building towards the main event/a main event 8/9 months out.

 

[Last Outlaw]

I personally hated the idea and I've hated the Cena/Rock build up so far with littered with video packages and whatnot. These 4 weeks can at least redeem the feud but in general, it seems like a terrible idea.

 

[ringthebell]

It was a horrible idea to book Rock/Cena a year in advance. Good thread by the way. This feud has dragged on and on and on. The Rock can carry something for a year but Cena has kind of failed along with the WWE. I swear to God I remember when they announced this match last year, they said it would be for the WWE title, well how in the hell is that going to happen? It's not!!!! I guess WWE just pulled another on on their fans and a ton of fans have forgotten, I may be wrong, but I am not willing to admit it, I promise I heard that announced when this match was revealed last year.

 

[taylor360unc]

I don't think it would be a good idea, now having a year long feud with a big time person and a WWE superstar would be cool as long as it is not the wrestlers main feud the entire year. It could be something like a twitter war which goes on for a long time until something big happens close to Wrestlemania time which leads to the match.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

It isn't generally a good idea as there are too many unknowns.

Lets say that Punk beats Jericho at Mania this year. Next night on Raw he comes out and is cutting a promo and in the middle of it *glass break* crowd goes ape shit, its Stone Cold. He wants to congratulate Punk with a beer, some hilarity ensues, one insults the other, they decided that at Mania 29 they will have a match. Well for a whole year you have to hope Austin doesn't hurt himself filming a movie or on his ranch and mess up his neck again. You have to go a whole year hoping that Punk doesn't suffer a serious injury. Could you imagine if in November, Austin is out hunting and has an accident and they have to call off the match? Even worse, if Punk breaks his leg or something at EC, just a few weeks before Mania and they call it off.

Even if you book two active guys you still run the same risks. Plus its hard to keep people interested in a feud between two active guys for an entire year. Even if you took Cena and Orton, arguably the two top guys and booked them a year in advance its hard to keep that relevant the entire time

 

[The Iowa Contact]

Personally even a year after it was announced, I have zero interest in the Cena/Rock saga. I don't like either of them, and this so called build up has been irritating. Id like the idea of building to a mania match a year or so out, without actually announcing it as such. Having the Rock/Cena match announced last year has made it tiresome because Cena has basically been feeding with absolutely nobody.

It could work if it was built between two guys (or divas) who are in the WWE full time but wad only officially announced a couple months before Mania, ala Kane vs. Undertaker from Mania 14.

 

[SyndicateSaint]

I'm all for it, but only if they have backup plans. I don't know how many people out there today know this, but in the 80's Wrestlemania used to get booked a year in advanced. It wasn't announced for the most part, but they would book Wrestlemania to Wrestlemania. I know with all the PPVs and shows that happen now, this is really unlikely. Also, the injury rate is a lot higher now then it was in the 80's. So it's kind of a lost art. But, do I like the idea? Only if the participants are part of the active roster. Booking a person not on the roster is irritating.

 

[JJ15776]

It was a horrible idea to book Rock/Cena a year in advance. Good thread by the way. This feud has dragged on and on and on. The Rock can carry something for a year but Cena has kind of failed along with the WWE. I swear to God I remember when they announced this match last year, they said it would be for the WWE title, well how in the hell is that going to happen? It's not!!!! I guess WWE just pulled another on on their fans and a ton of fans have forgotten, I may be wrong, but I am not willing to admit it, I promise I heard that announced when this match was revealed last year.

I can guarantee that you heard nothing, absolutely not one word, even hinting at that from the WWE. What you heard was John Cena saying it would be for the title, and what you saw was the dirtsheets continually reporting that the WWE planned for have the match be for the title despite the fact that the opposite was true. I don't know how to say it any more strongly that you are absolutely wrong and the WWE never, not once, said it would be for the title.

To answer the OP, doing this annually wouldn't make any sense. Rock/Cena was a perfect storm of circumstances that made it a brilliant idea to book it a year in advance, and they're extremely lucky that it played out so perfectly. Austin/Punk is the ONLY other match that they should even consider doing this with. Their situation is very similar to Rock/Cena...Austin's not a regularly active wrestler anymore and Punk and Austin have sort of had a simmering feud(much of it offscreen, such as on Twitter). Perhaps WrestleMania will go to Texas in a few years, like they went to Miami for Rock. And like Cena, Punk is pretty durable so they can trust that he will stay healthy and relevant.

Doing it with just any two guys doesn't make any sense. And doing it with two active wrestlers definitely doesn't make any sense.

I would do it with Austin and Punk if/when that match happens, preferably when WrestleMania goes to Dallas (likely 31 in 2015), and that would be it. Maybe do it again if a simliar situation presents itself in a decade, but it's not on the horizon.

 

[Rckstrtmmy]

I really didn't like the idea of the year long build up at first, but as WM approaches, I'm getting pretty damn excited for Rock/Cena. Yea it got a little stagnant for a few months but what do you expect when there's that much time to kill? I think you need to have two special guys to make it work however. Cena and Rock are two of the all time greats and they know how to keep fans interested in what they're doing. All I know is that if I hear that glass break during CM Punk's opening promo about retaining his title at WM 28, I would mark the fuck out like a 9 year old kid. I'm pretty sure everybody would.

 

[legend killer 93]

I wouldnt have it as an annual thing, but maybe at Survivor Series announce a Wrestlemania match, or at least hint towards one..like they used to do. I remember Survivor Series 2003, and there was the first confrontation between Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, which lead to their match at Wrestlemania 20. If they did it that way then I'd be all for it, but not an entire year again. Rock/Cena has been dragging on, and to me their arguments have been a bit repeative. Dont get me wrong though, I have enjoyed the feud, but I wouldnt like to see the year long feud happen again.
The only way I could see it work, as many people have said, is if its for Punk/Austin, but again it would just become repeative and would be basically a mirror image of Rock/Cena. And also, they are lucky that Cena hasnt suffered a serious injury. If it was up to me, I wouldnt risk tempting fate, because next time they might not be as lucky.
The only other feud that could work this way, with a year long build however, would possibly be a Lesnar/Taker match, although with talks of Taker retiring this year, thats probably out of the picture now.

 

[Rowdy Robby Piper]

Simply put: No.

WWE is trying to do a slow burn, a'la WCW with the Sting-Hogan storyline that lasted 18 months.

Only problem here is that Dwayne (aka "The Rock") has only made the occasional appearance here-and-there (Team Bring It....via satellite/pre-tape), with only one real solid appearance (in-ring-wise) at Survivor Series (not counting this past Monday in Portland, OR). Other than that he's been phoning it in at best. Only now because WWE's on the whole "Road to WrestleMania" kick is this becoming serious business.

Sorry to say, this whole thing has been one big FAIL. Yet, I'll still shell out the $64.95 (or whatever it is for the HD-version of WrestleMania) just because it is The Super Bowl of Professional Wrestling...err, Sports Entertainment just to see the torch being passed from The Rock to John Cena....

 

[WWEvsJosh]

Absolutely not.

They should consider themselves lucky that John Cena is still healthy. Not to say that he isn't durable (he obviously is), but injuries are a part of the business. Every time they go out to the ring, they're risking serious injury and if they continued booking matches a year in advance, it would eventually bite them right in the ass.

Not to mention that knowing Cena was facing the Rock at WrestleMania made his character quite predictable over the course of the past year. It felt like he was just running out the clock until Mania and nothing he did in the interim really meant jack shit.

This isn't something the WWE should do on a regular basis. It worked this time, but trying it again is tempting fate.

I agree 100% with both of your points. Every time Cena is in the ring i just think to myself what if he gets hurt would that mean no Cena vs Rock?
Also I hate that fact it was a year in advance because we knew Cena would never be fired when he faught punk because we knew he had to come back to fight the rock

 

[TomBradyWoot]

As someone else stated.. WWE never promised it being for the title. John Cena said he would do his best to make it be for the championship - but then WWE realized (smartly) that would be stupid since everybody would know Cena would win the match (or Rock would win via DQ or countout) because we all know Rock isn't ever going to be a full time performer again, thus ruling out the ability for him to hold a belt. At least now there's some question on who will win. Is it Cena since he's actually in WWE? Or will it be The Rock since would he really come back to lose in his hometown? Everybody's got an ego and these two are no different. It will be interesting how it plays out.

But to answer the original question.. I dislike the year long build up. However, I wouldn't mind - as one poster mentioned - for a Survivor Series to WM style build up if you had to go that route.

 

[SomeAreSet]

I don't think so. To be honest,there is little difference between booking a match a year in advance and booking a match a month in advance. I mean,when you look at it,the Rock/Cena feud only began to heat up last week. From April of 2011 to January,they've just been floundering about,throwing ideas and hoping they stick. First they have the idea where two men want the match because it will be the biggest match of all time. Then they want Cena to defend the WWE Championship against The Rock. Then they come out with video packages and promos showing the ideological differences between the two men,and now they just straight up hate each other.

The WWE can come up with an idea for a match a year in advance,but publicly announcing won't be in their best interests. They can take the 10-11 months to plan the angle and everything,then announce it a month or two before WrestleMania. Also,Murphy's Law. They're lucky Cena didn't get injured,or at the very least is still healthy enough to compete,because had he torn his pec muscle or blew his knee out,they would have been in really bad shape.

The company changes all the time. I don't think they expected Daniel Bryan or Sheamus to be in the SmackDown main event a year after jerking the curtain. They probably didn't expect Punk to be a top face in the company either. If they booked matches a year in advance,the World Heavyweight Championship match for WrestleMania 28 would probably have been Rey Mysterio vs. Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio,and the WWE Championship match would have been Miz vs. Randy Orton. You sure as hell wouldn't have expected Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan,or for Jericho to return. Booking a match a year in advance = bad call. It's like the NFL going (hypothetically) "We want the New England Patriots to play the Dallas Cowboys in next year's Super Bowl because they're the two best teams." only to end up with egg all over their faces when one or both teams get knocked out because the Panthers have a monster year or because God personally intervened in every Broncos match. When the company changes constantly,the booking has to be fluid enough to adapt. Booking a match a year in advance means they would have to go out of their way to make sure nothing happens which would force the plan to change. Maybe The Rock could get pissed off because he doesn't get enough air time,so he reneges on their agreement,or Cena is pissed off because he's supposed to lose,so he quits in a huff. Shit happens,so it's not in their best interest to book a match a year in advance. (Again with the NFL analogy!) It would be like painting the end zones of the Super Bowl field at the start of the regular season.

 

[I Heart Cena]

Absolutely not. Booking a year in advance is a terrible idea. Rock-cena has turned out to be garbage. I have lost interest.

In the 80s, there were always tentative plans a year in advance, but they wouldn't come to fruition. WM3 was gonna be Hogan-Macho. WM4 was gonna be Hogan-Dibiase. WM7 was gonna be a Hogan-Warrior rematch. But things happen, better ideas come along.

WWE has to take it as it comes, then reevaluate it all come Royal Rumble time. WM2000 was gonna be Austin-Big Show. Things happen, then you gotta change it.

 

[My Couch Pulls Out But I Don't]

Do I want to see it done again? Not really, definately not only a year later.

Will they do it again? I highly doubt it. I really do.

The WWE has been very lucky that this has worked out thus far. There are so many ways for Cena or The Rock to have gotten injured and totally screwed plans for WM28. All it takes is a slip walking to the ring, walking in the back, hell, walking out to get the morning paper and you get a blown out knee. Or what about travelling and getting in an accident.

WWE likes to make sure they can control everything and went waaaay out on a limb in setting up this fued and trying to pull it off.

Like I said, they are very lucky it has worked and really shouldn't test fate again.

 

[Cookie14]

You can't get away with having a year long fued between two people that are going to be on WWE TV every week, that would become stale and predictable within 2 months. So it needs to be between a regular superstar and a celebrity or retired wrestler.
I wouldn't be interested in a celebrity match at WM so that just leaved retired guys. And, really, how many of them are there that would be ready, willing and able to step into a ring and make us care about them having a match? I can only think of three, Rock, Austin and HBK. And, sorry to disappoint, but I can't see Austin or HBK ever wrestling again.

 

[mb47]

I'm going to say that yes they should book a match a year in advance but only under certain circumstances.

The big one in my opinion is not to let us, the fans, know that a match is booked in. Have 2 guys feud it out for 6-7 months then start building it towards Wrestlemania.
Also you need both guys around for it to work correctly IMO.

For example, if they had SCSA vs. Punk.

Something happens at WM or Raw the night after between the two. Most logical choice is have SCSA become the GM of both shows or some on-screen managerial role in some aspect. Then make him and Punk have an altercation or a confrontation beginning the feud.

From here for a few months you have both guys around creating a feud with Punk being the heel and just getting on SCSA's nerves until eventually Punk tries running at Austin and he hits him with the Lou Thesz press and follows it up with a Stunner.

Total time - 4 Months (at most!)

You now have Punk pushing Austin to get back in to the ring and have a match. Austin keeps declining so in the end Punk "takes him out". This allows the feud to die down for a couple of months as not to make it boring and too drawn out. Punk in this time can win the title and hold it until Austin returns and costs Punk the belt.

Total time - 3 Months

Punk is now fuming, Austin is fuming and both are after blood. They continue to attack each other for a couple of months until RR. At RR you can have Punk and Austin brawl in the back and that takes Punk out of the Rumble match.

Total time - 2 Months

We're now on the RTWM. This is when the match should be made, some point between RR and EC. All that's needed is increase the intensity between the two men and the match will be highly anticipated.

Obviously that's just an example but Austin would be on screen almost all the time, he wouldn't need to wrestle a match until WM and if an injury occurs to Punk (most likely as he'll be in matches still!) then nothing is really lost as the match at WM hasn't been announced until after RR.

 

[Shotaro]

I don't think it's a good idea; the WWE took a huge risk a year ago and it could still not happen because of any number of factors. Imagine if they'd booked Barrett, Mysterio, Sin Cara or anyone else on the injured list currently for a WM match, even guys who are probably gonna be back for mania like Christian and ADR can't be on tv every week to promote their matches right now and Orton had his injury been worse would've missed mania too.

Imagine how bad it would look if they booked something like Stone Cold v Punk for WMXXX tomorrow and then stone cold picked up another neck injury in training for the match

 

[IHW]

I think it worked this time. But it may not everytime.
Think of the risks of this? What if one of the stars are injured? They can't rely on these one year feuds. It worked for Cena and Rock, but that chance was cut in half because one only wrestled once.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I don't think they should do it again anytime soon due to two very important factors to consider. The more often they book a match a year in advance, the less significant it seems. They also would run the risk each year of either guy suffering an injury. They are centering this show around Cena & The Rock. What if Cena had suffered an injury that prevented him from competing? The Rock only worked 1 match in the past 5+ years, but injuries happen all the time. Either Cena Or The Rock could have gotten injured. Then there's things that happen outside of the ring that we have no control over. If the worst were to take place, there goes several months, if not an entire year, of hyping.

WWE would need to have back up plans in place. For instance if they planned to do Punk VS Austin next year but Punk gets injured, then guys like Randy Orton would need to be ready to step up to fill in. What if Austin was not able to work the match? A back up legend is MUCH more difficult to find than a back up main eventer. They could bring Michaels out of retirement if such an emergency came up, but it would not be the same. Sometimes things do not work out the way you plan them. Even if everything fell into place and we did get Austin VS Punk next year, would enough people care to buy the show? There's no way they would outsell Cena & Rock this year. Then, how in the world would they ever be able to follow it up the following year?

With John Cena VS The Rock they have been lucky so far. The fans are eating up this epic feud and heavily anticipating the match. WWE would be smart to have every potential outcome thought of and have plans in place just in case. Dream matches like this one are the only time a match should ever be booked a year in advance because so much can happen in 12 months that you have no control over. WWE would be in massive trouble if for whatever reason this match cannot take place, therefore they really shouldn't do it again for quite some time and making it annual would be a huge mistake that can potentially do more harm than good.

 

[xavyer]

I don't think is a good idea, ok, booking Cena vs The Rock a year in advance wasn't bad, but i think the WWE was lucky on this one, but if you book a match with a year in advance and something goes wrong and for some reason that match doesn't happen, then what? Ok, there's allways a plan b, but that's not the point, the point is that a lot can happen in a year ( injurys, bad contract negotiations, etc.)........