Was this a taste of a Vince-less Wrestlemania?

[punchline]

Now the quality of this years Wrestlemania has already been talked about to death and we all agree that it could have been better. But one thing I noticed was the very format of the show itself was vastly different than what we're used to and, in a way, was what people have been asking for for ages (though it could have been executed better).

Last nights Wrestlemania was just bell-to-bell matches. There were no convoluted finishes or random illogical swerves, no backstage interviews, no random promos, no comedy sketches, no celebrity pandering (besides a quick concert by Diddy), no 10 minute grand entrances, and no quick squash matches. Again, it could have been better, but this PPV was the purest Wrestling WWE has put on in years.

So what do you think? Was this a taste of what the WWE will be when Vince has relinquished all control? Or was this just a one-time failed experiment?

 

[The Warlord]

I dont think theres such thing as a Vince-less Wrestlemania. If he's alive he's going to be the man in control.

As far as the lack of skits and interviews...I think thats the result of time constraints. There were matches knocked from the show and entrances cut short. Thats what happens when you try and book a super event with 3 huge main events. Even a 4-hour show isnt enough.

 

[MCMG]

Vince still had an input. This is still his child, his show and although HHH and Steph had their say it is still Vince who finalised everything. To be honest, I think that will be the case until health or death has an effect. I don't see Vince ever letting his family completely take over. Yes, their ideas will become more apparent but he will still be the guy to decide everything. He is the man who made WM what it is.

 

[HBsam31]

As MCMG said, Vince definitely still had input, but this year seemed to really focus on bell to bell wrestling. I am sure HHH had more influence this year than ever before, and as far as pure wrestling matches go it was a good show. I am sure Vince will still have his hands in it in some way until he dies. That being Mania definitely had a different feel to it this year, and I haven't yet decided if it was good or bad.

 

[Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.]

WrestleMania was awesome. A couple curveballs and some top notch wrestling. The entrances all had sick fireworks / pyro and the entrances were very well produced.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

There won't be such a thing as a Vince-less WrestleMania until Vince either completely steps down as Chairman of WWE.

I do agree, however, that this year's show had a different feel to it. For instance, this is the first WM in a long while in which WWE didn't go out of its way to promote celebrity appearances & presence at the show. For that matter, it seemed as though WWE didn't really even seem all that interested in having gobs of celebrities running around all over Raw or SD! to promote the show. P Diddy's brief concert medley was much shorter than I expected, and it certainly didn't garner the type of hype that Flo Rida got for his appearance last year, nor was it nearly as long. Maybe it's because The Rock & Brock Lesnar were on the show and Vince felt that was all the mainstream celebs that they needed?

At any rate, while I agree that the extreme predictability did take away from the show, I do like the fact that it was the wrestlers who got all the attention this year. In many past WrestleMania shows, Vince has gone whacky in catering to celebrities and spending more time on them than in promoting some of the feuds & matches on the card. That didn't happen this year and, frankly, I applaud that decision. From an overall perspective, the top matches & the undercard had the most overall even build than just about any WrestleMania I can remember. The top matches still got the most attention of course, but the undercard got a lot more build than it has in previous shows. Maybe it's what some people expect from WrestleMania but, me personally, I get no special thrill out of seeing P Diddy or Snookie or Flo Rida on a wrestling ppv.

If Vince wasn't right there sweating over every little detail until it matched up perfectly with what he felt should go on, believe me, it'd be all over the internet by now.

 

[Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D.]

My statement for those who are concerned with predictability, is stop trying to predict it and just enjoy the show. It's wrestling; it's fun, it's light, and it goes down best with an ice cold beer and not really caring or thinking about what's going to happen next.