WWE Wrestlemania 35

At Wrestlemania 35, Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey broke new ground by headlining the biggest wrestling event of the year. WWE’s decision to sanction their match as the main event made a statement that may be more powerful for the continued struggle for gender balance within pro wrestling than any other moment in its history- it said that this year, with all being equal, the match between these 3 women was the most important match in the company. That is the endorsement that comes with every Wrestlemania main event, it is this which drove master politicians such as Triple H and Hulk Hogan to work so hard to position themselves there so often, it is this reason that so many people were desperate for Daniel Bryan to headline at Wrestlemania 30 and the justification CM Punk gave for labelling his own career as a failure, having never competed at that level. It comes with this endorsement because this is WWE’s biggest money event of the year- by a very long way- it doesn’t determine who is in this position lightly because it’s too important to the company for it to fail. At Wrestlemania 35 WWE told its entire roster and staff, and every WWE fan in the world that the biggest draw it had was a contest for the Women’s title belts. This isn’t propaganda, this isn’t some kind of exercise in PR, this is business, as cold, cynical and money obsessed as ever- this year, the women were more of a draw than the men.

WWE Royal Rumble 2012

It’s not very often that a Royal Rumble event comes across as not being of any real significance when you look back at it. Given what is at stake in the main event of the show each year, its status as the most commercially successful gimmick match in pro wrestling and its position in the calendar coming just a couple of months prior to Wrestlemania, the Royal Rumble usually has a major part to play in the shaping of the year ahead- whether it be for the better or worse. In 2012 however, WWE was entering the finishing straight of a 1 year build to the main event of Wrestlemania 28 between John Cena and The Rock and as a consequence, the Rumble would play little, or no part in shaping the match between the two. Of course, there was still the small matter of two World Title matches to take place, and the rumble match itself which would determine a challenger for one of those belts at ‘Mania, but the Rumble’s abiding value was already being undermined by the coming Cena/Rock contest as it was clear that this year’s winner would not be earning themselves a main event spot at ‘The Showcase of the Immortals’.  What’s more, a cursory glance through the field of potential participants for the Rumble exposed just how low on likely winners the match was.

WWE Royal Rumble 2016

It’s difficult to know what was more critical about this year’s Royal Rumble- that we were provided with a much needed boost to WWE’s narrative as we enter Wrestlemania season, or that the Rumble’s reputation was restored with an exciting and satisfying 30-man over the top rope main event. With so many injured superstars who would have no doubt played a part in the key matches at ‘Mania were it not for their respective ailments, WWE’s approach to the Rumble was vitally important- deliver here and it would be a good omen for a period that the company are hoping will lead to the biggest show in their history in Texas, fail to deliver and watch as Raw’s record-low autumn/winter TV ratings evolve into a catastrophe during the normally lucrative January-April season. As important, though less immediately, is that the last few years have seen the Royal Rumble brand take a bit of a pasting- since 2011 the Rumble match, for years the most anticipated contest in WWE’s calendar, has seen a dire mixture of uninspiring victors, lazy booking, poor execution and unpopular decisions. The last 2 in particular have seen mass rejections of the winners, Batista in 2014 and Roman Reigns in 2015- thanks in part to fans preference for the super-over and continuously overlooked Daniel Bryan, but also due to neither man’s suitability as the babyface mega star they were being portrayed as.