WWE is about to give us one of the most sports-entertainment WrestleManias in its history.
Outside stars, part-time performers and legends have been a part of the event for years. Heck, WrestleMania I featured Mr. T in the main event and celebrity guests including Muhammad Ali, Liberace and Billy Martin. But it feels like overkill from WWE to have Logan Paul, Johnny Knoxville and Pat McAfee in featured matches when days before a two-night, currently 15-match WrestleMania 38, it couldn’t find a way to book the Intercontinental and United States championships at the event. You even had the luxury of not having two separate world title matches with WWE champion Brock Lesnar and Universal title holder Roman Reigns set to clash in a unification match Sunday at the two-night event AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, (April 2-3, 8 p.m., Peacock).
What makes it worse is the once-prestigious Intercontinental belt – which seriously needs another redesign or a return to a more classic appearance – was used as prop in Sami Zayn’s feud with Knoxville. The “Jackass” star’s interference cost Zayn the title in a loss to Ricochet – which I guess is better than the two of them having a match for the title at WrestleMania. Since then on TV, Ricochet has lost to Angel by pinfall, lost to Humberto by countout and was pinned by Austin Theory. Way to make the new champ look strong. The last of those matches now makes the Intercontinental champion a footnote in Theory’s feud with McAfee – giving him an impressive win before their clash. As of now, instead of having a true WrestleMania story, Ricochet will be defending his title Friday at “WrestleMania” SmackDown in a triple-threat match against Humberto and Angel.
At least we are seeing the IC title on television. We can’t say the same for the United States championship. Since Finn Balor ended Damien Priest’s 191-day reign on Feb. 28, the championship has yet to be defended on TV. Balor had a non-title match with Theory on March 21 – with McAfee sitting ringside. Balor, unlike Ricochet, scored a win over Theory, who was too preoccupied with the meddling former Colts punter. A Balor-Priest rematch would have been an easy add to an underwhelming Sunday card, which features both McAfee and Knoxville and still has room for an additional contest.
It’s understandable why WWE wants individuals with large followings outside the company to have roles at WrestleMania. You can do some outside-the-box things that are different than a normal build; it’s great for potential mainstream publicity and to get new eyes on the product. Maybe those people find a performer they connect with and it keeps them coming back to WWE.
Paul is a YouTube sensation and boxer with a huge reach. But unless Paul is going to be a more regular fixture in WWE, do The Miz and The Mysterios need the rub? Knoxville is a pop-culture icon who has a recent hit movie in “Jackass Forever,” and thankfully he and Zayn have made this a pretty fun build. McAfee is at least an employee of the company as an announcer. “The McAfee Show” on SiriusXM is a hit with plenty of attention on it thanks in part to his friendship with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. McAfee, who previously wrestled two matches in NXT during a feud with Adam Cole, is at least being used to put a spotlight on a potential rising star in Theory — which is exactly what interactions like this should be for.
Individually, none of these matches are bad things. But collectively they take up a fifth of the WrestleMania card while two of your champions sit idly by and have been presented as footnotes in these celebrity feuds.
(Some may want to add in here that an announced “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appearance on the KO Show — the likely Night 1 main event — also takes up a spot. Though its presence and prominence on the card is at least a statement on the appeal of WWE’s current product, Austin isn’t an outsider in the truest sense of the word. And who doesn’t wants to see The Rattlesnake kick ass and drink beer in Texas?)
Every so often champions come along who make the United States and Intercontinental belts mean something for a little while, but WWE seemingly finds a way to book those guys into dead ends rather than letting them build new stars, show off the incredible pro wrestlers they have in their company and tell meaningful stories.
The TV and social media time that have been invested in Paul, Knoxville and McAfee over WWE’s two mid-card champions or even a non-title women’s storyline is a further reminder that WWE is as much – and maybe more so than ever – an entertainment company as a wrestling company.
Yes, WrestleMania offers plenty to be excited about on the wrestling side with the long-term stories around Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair and Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar plus a dream match between Edge and A.J. Styles. But surrounding that, you are going to see a YouTuber, an actor and a punter wrestle on the same card. Maybe they all exceed in-ring expectations, as Bad Bunny did at SummerSlam. But those moments should be in addition to time showcasing the talent who deserve to be on the card and who fans will see work weekly on TV, not at the expense of them.