Six Wrestlemania 34 Mistakes

Hello everyone and welcome back to talk wrestling world, I hope you are all well and good and of course have had an awesome weekend. The past few days have been jam-packed with all things pro wrestling thanks to Wrestlemania weekend. Kick-starting with NXT takeover this past Saturday the standard was set high for the men and women of the main roster to follow and what we got was one damn interesting Sunday night. Full of shocks, surprises, interesting booking decisions, and title changes it was a WrestleMania to remember, however, for the right reasons may raise questions. Throughout the next two weeks, I'm going to be taking an in-depth look at both Wrestlemania and NXT Takeover kick starting with a look at some of the disappointing moments from Mania. We do have a lot to talk about today and I hate that we are starting on a negative note but there will be a highlight and best of later in the week! For now, any recent blog posts will be linked below and you can get involved and tell me what you thought of both Wrestlemania and NXT Takeover by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.

Cruiserweights on the kick off show

One of the biggest issues with Wrestlemania thirty-three was the booking of the cruiserweight division. While the match itself was very strong and in fact, one of if not the best match of the night the simple fact it was booked to take place on the kickoff show and not added to the DVD caused nothing but further problems not only for the superstars involves but the cruiserweight division. At last night's Mania event we saw history pretty much repeat itself. Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali competed in what was hands down one of the best contests of the night battling it out to be crowned the new Cruiserweight champion however, it was once again held on the kickoff show. Now, I will be talking about this match I'm far greater detail later In the week because it easily was one of the best of the weekend but the issue remains the same. The division had been doing so well on 205 live with brilliant match quality but when are fans truly given the time to watch properly? When do these guys get to showcase their talent in fantastic matches like this in front of a fill crowd on a main show? The crowning of a new champion Here was a big deal and the WWE really did miss out on yet another opportunity to push the division into the direction it deserves.

Stipulation Match in tag Team Division

I know I have been that person to complain about overdoing ladder matches at times especially at Mania I have to admit that I damn missed one on last nights show and I do believe it was the year where it was actually needed. The Smackdown LIVE tag team championship match was an interesting one. Far shorter than I expected, however, the end result saw the right team walk out as champions the issue I had with the match was the fact it lacked a stipulation it clearly needed and was suited to. If you wanted a ladder match on the card here was the time to do so. There were bodies all over the place anyway and so it would have made sense to have turned this into a ladder match. Everything was there for that stipulation to be added and I do strongly believe the match would have been a heck of a lot better, stronger, and memorable if the WWE had gone down that road. 

The end of the streak

Now, this is a topic I did not think we would be discussing in today's blog post or in fact any time soon; the end of Asuka's undefeated streak. Easily the biggest mistake or the night, fans were left in pure shock after the empress of tomorrow was left tapping out to Charlotte Flair following what was actually one of the better matches of the night. While the match again was strong the booking decision was an odd one. No one saw the end result coming as fans deemed it perfectly clear that Asuka's reign of dominance will continue as will her undefeated streak and therefore walk out of Wrestlemania the new Smackdown LIVE Women's champion. And so there was a bitter taste left in the mouths of fans around the world as the WWE sent out a very interesting message. Why the decision was made to have Asuka lose I don't fully understand as of yet. I have seen a lot of comments touching on the issue of race and while I would like to believe its unrelated it does appear to be impossible to do so. With Charlotte making it clear she was ready for Asuka it does put to bed the rumors of the empress of tomorrow taking on Ronda Rousey in next years Wrestlemania main event and instead putting the Queen in the position. Now, if last nights match between Asuka and Charlotte had a better build then maybe the WWE would have seen a slightly different reaction but it was evident that regardless Wrestlemania thirty-four was not the right now for Asuka's streak to end.

Everything with Braun Strowman

I get it, the tone of this blog post today has been extremely negative but let's not pretend there was a lot wrong with this pay per view. The biggest issue I had without a shadow of a doubt was everything the WWE has done with Braun Strowman. The fact he was even competing for the tag team titles was a bad move in the first place but to have him walk out of the biggest show of the year with the titles alongside a child is easily the dumbest thing I have seen this year so far. Where things went wrong with Strowman I can't quite pinpoint. Confidence that the original plan was going to focus on Strowman and Triple H (possibly) means it's crazy to see what it was he actually ended up doing. I would have loved to have seen him do literally anything but this and it's such a massive shame seeing the change in direction the WWE is going with Strowman. At this point, the best move for him is switching brands the moment he is no longer attached to the RAW tag team titles. 

The Dead Man

Over the past few hours, I have seen a lot of people comment on the matchup between the Undertaker and John Cena with many not liking the idea of a squash match but actually I wasn't surprised with what they did here and while I would have loved to have seen the pair go at it in a lengthy contest that would go down to be one of the best of all time this did seem to work with the story, the build, and where the two talents are right now in their careers. The problem I did have, however, was the fact we got the dead man gimmick and not the return of the American Bad ass. This really did surprise me and while there were many surprises throughout the show this was one I didn't like. It would have been perfect if that was the last time we saw Taker as the dead mean was at last years Mania following his loss to Roman Reigns. Everything pointed to the American Bad ass return and it would have been the perfect direction and gave the match the edge and extra excitement it actually needed in order to change some fans opinion of the short time slot. 

Main Event Decision 

And finally, we have to touch on the main event decision. Now, before we dive in too deep I want to quickly mention that I actually enjoyed watching Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar and the decision to keep the Universal Championship on Lesnar however, the fact that was the booking decision is one of the main reasons I was disappointed with the placement of some matches on the card. I did feel as though there was more being told between Styles and Nakamura and the ending of their match made for a better way to close the show than what we saw between Brock and Roman. Not to mention that throughout the past few months I have been stressing non stop both here on my blog and on social media about the importance of the WWE Championship main eventing Wrestlemania for so many reasons including the fact Nakamura was the Royal Rumble winner and the blue brand needed that slot. 

And those where my top six disappointing moments from this years Wrestlemania pay per view. In tomorrows blog post I'm going to be taking a look at the biggest surprises while on Friday I will be looking at the highlights and best decisions of the night. Remember that Thursday we will be diverting our attention to NXT Takeover! For now, however, any recent blog posts will be linked below and you can tell me what you thought of both shows this weekend by leaving a comment below or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.