WWE WrestleMania 2015: Most Underwhelming Moments on Road to Event So Far
Even though anticipation and excitement is building for WWE WrestleMania 31, there have been a few moments along the way that haven't quite lived up to their billing.
Randy Orton's sensational dismantling of Seth Rollins was majestic, and the work done by WWE in creating a buzz surrounding the Intercontinental Championship has been admirable.
Yet there are other aspects of the card which have proven to be tremendously underwhelming, leaving people feeling a little flat about some matches booked for WrestleMania.
Thankfully, with a couple of shows left before the pay-per-view, there is some time to rectify things. But there's no escaping there have been some moments that have flattered to deceive.
A Visible Lack of Direction for the Divas
1 of 5
With all the star power on the WrestleMania card, it was perhaps natural that the Divas would suffer when it came to placement.
However, while few would complain if the Divas division were placed low on the card, the lack of direction the division has at the moment is extremely concerning.
A tag team match between AJ Lee, Paige and The Bella Twins seems like a rushed booking decision, without any clarity or thought. It means that the Divas Championship hasn't even really been given a spot at WrestleMania at all, which just really doesn't seem right.
Had WWE invested a fraction of thought and interest in its female wrestlers, we could have had a much stronger prospective match than this one, which will ultimately fall flat.
Bad News Barrett's Constant Losses
2 of 5
With so many participants involved in the Intercontinental Championship match, it was perhaps expected that from time to time the champion would suffer an unfortunate moment or two.
However, Bad News Barrett has been losing too much and too often in recent weeks, leaving him in a position of vulnerability heading into WrestleMania.
This is Barrett's fifth reign as IC Champ, and yet again it feels like WWE has dropped the ball with him a little.
His return offered much in the way of promise, but losing to guys like R-Truth (no offence) just doesn't really seem to have given him much momentum heading into WrestleMania.
It's still possible that Barrett could retain the title at WrestleMania, but with the negative curve he seems to be heading down, it's unlikely.
It will be a real challenge for WWE to pull him back after he loses the title.
The Rhodes Brothers' Feud Being Dropped
3 of 5
Many thought that when The Rhodes Brothers split as a tag team after a good period together, they would naturally be thrown into a rivalry.
It seemed to make sense, after all. Goldust vs. Stardust is a decent midcard feud for any pay-per-view to have, not least WrestleMania. And the shouts of encouragement appeared to be there when Stardust turned heel last month, with his brother and father trying their best to make him see sense.
Yet with hopes high for an interesting and intriguing family feud, WWE have dropped the ball.
Stardust was inexplicably thrown into the Intercontinental Championship match, while Goldust has entered the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
That just seems like a huge error, robbing WWE fans of what could have been a fascinating mini-feud. Two brothers dueling against each other always makes for interesting storylines, but instead the rivalry has been canned.
Hopefully the two brothers will get to feud at least once before Goldust hangs up his boots.
Roman Reigns' Stuttering Momentum
4 of 5
Ever since Roman Reigns triumphed in a majorly disappointing Royal Rumble match, it's been a tough road to WrestleMania for the Samoan.
As a result of some pretty timid booking from the WWE, they turned Reigns, who used to be supremely over among WWE fans, into someone people find frustrating.
Therefore, his run toward the main event against Brock Lesnar has been filled with hurdles, the bulk of which seem to be coming from WWE's fanbase.
There's an element of apathy toward Reigns, and unless he pulls something incredible out of the bag in the final week or so before WrestleMania, there's a danger the main event could fall flat on its face.
Of course, there's always the potential for a swerve in the match itself, perhaps with Reigns aligning with Paul Heyman. But in terms of the build toward this match, you couldn't find a more striking difference between the main event of this year's WrestleMania and that of last year.
Not Quite Enough Build for Sting vs. Triple H
5 of 5
This isn't a criticism of WWE's usage of Sting, because in fairness, the company got that pretty much spot-on when closing Raw this past week.
However, given how this is Sting's first match at WWE, it just doesn't really feel like there's been enough hype invested into it. That's a statement that could apply to a bulk of the matches on the WrestleMania card, but this is the biggest example.
We've not seen enough of Triple H bigging up the match with those classic heel promos he cuts. Nor have we heard enough from Sting himself, although that is naturally down to the amount of appearances he's booked for.
When we did get some build a couple of weeks ago, it used a voice over a promo that sounded nothing like Sting's, leaving fans disappointed.
Thankfully, this is a scenario WWE can save in the final week before WrestleMania. With Sting likely to appear and confront Triple H, it should hopefully leave fans salivating for what's to come next Sunday.
.jpg?w=600 "WWE Raw Results & Grades 🔠")
