WrestleMania 28: Why Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny Is a Waste of Time

Numbers are sexy, like a 12-man tag match, but in the case of Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny, it’s nothing but a gigantic waste of our time. 

The match, to determine the sole GM of both SmackDown and Raw, is an effort in futility. Neither winner is a win for the WWE fans. Teddy is far more popular with the WWE universe, and on the secondary show he works well. But as the sole GM of RAW and SmackDown, he’ll flame out much quicker than he’d ever shine.

The bottom line is that an authority figure needs to be a heel most of the time. It works better because it creates disharmony. It screws the face and enrages the fan. Teddy will get a nice pop if he wins, but he won’t sustain that. 

Johnny can win, and that would garner some heat, but you have to wonder what kind of heat Johnny is really getting. There’s the heat that comes from people not liking his character, which is a testament to the work he has to put in. Then there is the heat where they just don’t like him.

This feels like the reality of Johnny Ace these days. 

Yes, he’s a heel, but he’s a heel without real authority. He rose to power without the backing of anyone in the company, without any stake in the business and without any real power. He’s been the “interim GM” for as long as anyone can remember. A true heel—at least in an authority position—has to have his power be the epicenter of his fear. This isn’t the case for Johnny Ace. 

So now the WWE propels these two short-term solutions to the power picture on WWE TV in a gigantic tag match that will most likely be handcuffed by time, and led with no real superstars? That doesn’t sound like the ingredients for the best match on the card, or even the most organized. This was more a power push from McMahon to load the card up with any and everyone who has ever had some drawing power in their life.

He’s done that, and the ending will be a match not nearly worth watching.