Re: WWE Road to WrestleMania starts tonight!
Agree.
Though, I do almost feel bad for Batista. He's just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. I think he'd be over (or at least more over than he is currently) if the Daniel Bryan movement wasn't going on.
Couldn't agree more. I do think the WWE overestimated the casual fans interest in Batista returning, but the WWE has only themselves to blame for his return being the bust it has been so far. Having Batista come back a week before the Royal Rumble, and winning it to become the #1 contender after being gone 4 years and not even having a singles match yet, was a little much. Especially over the likes of guys like Bryan and Punk (before he left) who are more deserving of a Wrestlemania Main Event. They should have known better than that.
All that being said... I do like how the Wrestlemania card is shaping up so far.
Undertaker vs Lesnar is years in the making from what I've read, has a built in story if WWE choses to go that route, and will be fun to watch their different styles clash. Both are part timers and won't need to hog much TV time to promote/build the match. It honestly sells itself.
Triple H vs Bryan may not be what everyone wants, but it does make the most sense. Trips has been screwing Bryan over since Summerslam in August. It's a match that has 6 months of build to it. I honestly think this match has more meaning and purpose behind it than the original rumored HHH-Punk match before Punk took his ball and went home.
Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena is just intriguing to me. It has that classic superhero vs. villian angle, and Wyatt has been booked stronger than any heel recently with wins over Kane, Bryan, and The Shield to be a realistic contender to beat John Cena on the grandest stage of them all. Alot of us want to see The Wyatt's vs. The Shield Part II, and I'm one of them, but I'm definitely not overlooking this match and the promos/build that will lead up to it.
Batista vs. Randy Orton... sighhhh. As long as it doesn't main event to close the show I can live with it, unless they add Bryan by some sort of stipulation to make it a triple threat. Batista has 6 weeks to become a full blown heel, which it looks like he started showing signs of last night. It's best for WWE to capitalize on the fact the fans hate him and run with that. Overall, it just reeks of a slow and plodding match to me, but I'm willing to give it a chance assuming it's lower on the card. Orton and Batista need to work their asses off in and out of the ring for the next month to sell us all on this one though.
Right there are 4 matches that are all but confirmed. Essentially half the card is already booked. Some fans will find a reason to hate on it, but so far I'm mostly intrigued and impressed. We have 4 main event caliber matches and still 6 weeks to build them up, along with the mid/lower part of card to put together. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the card shakes out with guys like Cesaro, Sheamus, The Shield, Goldust & Cody, The Uso's, New Age Outlaws, RybAxel, Big E, Mark Henry, Del Rio, Ziggler, Miz, and potential returns from Jericho and RVD.