On the 7th of April, tadalafil the 29th annual Wrestlemania will take place in the MetLife Stadium, New Jersey. Most readers will remember the WWE for its ‘Attitude Era’ from 1997 to 2002, where superstars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin wowed us with their edgy and controversial character driven storylines. Looking at the stand out matches on the 2013 card, it’s becoming increasingly evident that WWE is somewhat reliant on a nostalgic appeal to increase its pay-per-view sales.
In a repeat of last year’s main event, bonafide Hollywood movie star/WWE part timer, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will go one on one with the divisive character of John Cena. The rematch has received criticism in some quarters due to last year’s version being (now comically) dubbed “Once in a Lifetime”. The WWE has come under further heat for installing The Rock as its current WWE champion. Due to his busy movie schedule, The Rock has only been appearing sporadically on WWE television. Fans argue that the Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (the worst in-flight movie I have ever watched) star’s inability to show up regularly on WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, removes prestige from the championship belt itself. In an attempt to add an additional layer of drama to the already highly charged showdown, Cena’s real life divorce is being pushed in promotional videos as an example of how the leader of Cenation’s life went into a downward spiral after his defeat last year.
Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated match on the card is the legendary Undertaker’s annual Wrestlemania match against indie circuit turned mainstream star, CM Punk. The Undertaker remains unbeaten in 20 Wrestlemania matches, and at age 47, one cannot help but feel this will be one of his last appearances. This match has coincided with the untimely passing of the Undertaker’s once manager/kayfabe (google it) stepfather, Paul Bearer – a small, rotund man who used to follow the Undertaker around with a golden urn screaming “Ooooh yeeeesss!!!”. The WWE, never likely to miss the opportunity to capitalize on current events, has worked this into the storyline with CM Punk finding various ways to disrespect the memory of The Undertaker’s mentor.
In another example of the WWE’s reliance on its past, an aging Triple H, who now has a buzz cut, will face off against wrestler-turned MMA fighter-turned wrestler-again Brock Lesnar, accompanied by his personal mouthpiece Paul Heyman of ECW fame. In recent months Lesnar has kayfabe (seriously, google it) broken the arms of both Triple H and Shawn Michaels, and the hip of Triple H’s father-in-law and WWE chairman, Vince McMahon. Triple H will attempt to gain revenge for these actions but if he loses (pause for dramatic effect) he has agreed to retire from in ring competition…indefinitely (gasp).
In the final match of note, World Heavyweight champion, Alberto Del Rio, takes on the newly repackaged Jack Swagger, accompanied by his xenophobic Vietnam veteran manager, Zeb Colter. Colter condemns immigrants like Del Rio and demands they leave America to ‘Real Americans’ like Jack Swagger. Amusingly, conservative Fox news political commentator and general whack job, Glenn Beck, recently took this ridiculous character seriously and condemned the WWE on his radio show. The WWE responded by inviting him to RAW for a live 15-minute debate, which Beck declined, denying us of a potentially golden television moment.
Wrestlemania is the epitome of human spirit and the embodiment of the American dream. Some wrestlers have described a match at Wrestlemania as “free-falling from a plane for 20 minutes” and others have refused to rule out it one day being broadcast from the moon. This writer asks where will you be on April 7th?
Roll on Wrestlemania, roll on “Once in a Lifetime…. again”. It was that or “Twice in a Lifetime”. I couldn’t pick.
-Harry Moylan
