Grading the Booking of Every WWE WrestleMania 42 Feud Thus Far
WWE's biggest show of the year, WrestleMania 42, is right around the corner on April 18 and 19.
With just two weeks to go until The Show of Shows, WWE is trying to make sure every storyline is intriguing, but sadly, it has fallen short in several areas.
Here's the lineup for 'Mania as it currently stands:
Let's go through each feud and grade the buildup heading into WrestleMania 42.
Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk
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Roman Reigns has been vocal about his hatred for CM Punk since the Chicago native returned to WWE, and they will finally square off in the main event of WrestleMania 42.
The Tribal Chief won the Royal Rumble to earn this match, but he and Punk have made the feud more personal by taking jabs at each other during segments.
Reigns is upset because Punk brought up his deceased family, and The Straight-Edge Superstar is upset because The OTC called him old.
While the physical moments in this feud have worked, the verbal insults have fallen completely flat, which is a shame because Reigns and Punk are both known for their promo skills.
Monday's encounter was better than the previous week, but it was Reigns being put through a table that got the crowd excited, not the talking part of the segment.
Grade: C+
Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton
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Randy Orton earned a shot at Cody Rhodes' WWE Championship by winning this year's Elimination Chamber, so WWE made it seem like we would be seeing two good friends fight over the biggest prize in the company.
The Viper had other plans and dished out a brutal attack on Rhodes that left him a bloody mess and cemented Orton as a heel once again.
In a short span of time, WWE made this feud feel far more personal, but bringing in Stephanie McMahon to issue a warning to Rhodes about what he was getting himself into didn't hit the way WWE wanted it to.
Then, Friday's SmackDown revealed that Orton has been talking to Pat McAfee this whole time. Making him the "Mystery caller" completely cooled off this feud, especially since his whole speech was about how bad WWE is and how Orton will save it.
Rhodes and Orton have a lot of history between them, so it would be wise for WWE to focus on that between now and WrestleMania.
Grade: C+
Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer
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Liv Morgan won the Royal Rumble and chose to challenge Stephanie Vaquer for the world title.
This was an easy feud to book right out of the gate. Morgan is already well-established as a heel, and Vaquer has become a popular babyface since joining the main roster. WWE barely had to do anything to make this work.
Unfortunately, whoever has been writing Morgan's promos for this feud has dropped the ball. Fans online were quick to call out racial undertones in a line Morgan delivered about Vaquer having come up in the business wrestling in "mud huts," as she put it.
The Rumble winner followed that up by insulting Vaquer in her own language this week, which prompted the champion to come out and initiate a brawl that led to Roxanne Perez returning to help Morgan.
This could have been an easy slam dunk of a feud, but hopefully, Morgan and Vaquer make up for it with a stellar match at WrestleMania.
Grade: D
Jade Cargill vs. Rhea Ripley
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Rhea Ripley won the Elimination Chamber to earn a title shot against Jade Cargill, but over the last couple of weeks, it has become a three-on-one fight.
B-Fab and Michin have been fighting Cargill on and off for quite some time, but they recently aligned with the champion to create a new group.
Together, the three of them took out Ripley and immediately took this feud in a new direction, which was sorely needed.
Not only does this make Ripley feel like more of an underdog, which is rare due to her physical dominance, but this also gives Michin and B-Fab more to do.
Whether the title changes hands or not, this new alliance could be great for all three members.
Grade: B
Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
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The feud between Brock Lesnar and Oba Femi has, up until this point, been booked perfectly.
It started with their initial confrontation in the Royal Rumble with Lesnar eliminating Femi following an impressive run of eliminations from the newcomer.
When The Beast issued an open challenge, The Ruler immediately answered the call and established his dominance by taking Lesnar out with a powerbomb. The following week, he sent the former world champion over the top rope with a clothesline.
This past Monday, Triple H prevented them from having a third fight. Between now and 'Mania, WWE needs to make sure Lesnar comes out on top in one confrontation so it looks more even heading into the PLE.
If WWE actually has the guts to put Femi over Lesnar clean at WrestleMania, a new star will be born. It will be a simple but effective way to build The Ruler into the next main-eventer.
Grade: A+
AJ Lee vs. Becky Lynch
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The feud between Becky Lynch and AJ Lee has been dominated by Lee. She won at WarGames, she won in their mixed tag match with Punk and Seth Rollins, and she won again when she challenged Lynch for the intercontinental title.
AJ has had one successful title defense against Bayley, and with her match against The Man already booked, that may end up being the only one.
Lynch has to win at 'Mania. Lee beating her a fourth time would be the most boring and uninspired booking decision possible.
This should feel like a bigger deal, but WWE has failed to make this feel like an epic encounter.
Grade: C
Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams
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Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams was only made official following Zayn's U.S. title win over Carmelo Hayes, so WWE has barely had any time to build this feud up.
Zayn and Williams have had some encounters before, but this will be a chance for them to step in the ring one-on-one for the first time.
Hayes attempted to regain the belt on Friday, but he was unsuccessful. A lot of fans online have speculated that he will be added to the match to make it a Triple Threat, but that has yet to be confirmed by WWE.
In a short time, WWE has managed to do the unthinkable. It got a crowd to boo a babyface Sami Zayn on SmackDown. Whether you see that as an isolated incident or not is up to you.
Grade: B-
Finn Balor vs. Dominik Mysterio
8 of 12
Finn Balor's exit from Judgment Day has been a long time coming, but now that it has finally happened, he is looking to take out the man who betrayed him.
Dominik Mysterio has become the default leader of Judgment Day after ousting Balor, but he also lost his IC title, so he is on a bit of a downward swing.
This feud is also relatively new, so it's tough to judge based on so little time, but what we have seen so far is pretty textbook stuff.
Balor and Dom have been planting the seeds for this for a long time, so it shouldn't be hard for WWE to make the story interesting.
Grade: B-
Seth Rollins vs. Gunther
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Seth Rollins and Gunther literally just entered into this feud on Monday, so it feels unfair to judge it based solely on one quick attack from The Ring General.
With Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed both out with injuries, it put The Vision in a bad spot once Rollins returned from his injury, so it feels like this feud was WWE scrambling to find something for him to do.
Regardless of what WWE does to tell the story, Rollins and Gunther will put on a great show at WrestleMania.
Grade: Incomplete
Intercontinental Title Ladder Match
10 of 12
Penta winning the IC title from Dirty Dom was a great moment for him, but WrestleMania will be even better if he successfully retains his title in a multi-man Ladder match.
While this could easily steal the whole weekend, it's not exactly a feud or storyline. WWE had nothing for Penta to do since Dom immediately entered into a feud with Balor, so booking the title to be defended in this kind of bout is the next best option.
Je'Von Evans, Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh and Rusev are all talented competitors, so there is little doubt that this match is going to rock, but WWE took a cheap route to get to it.
Instead of booking actual qualifying matches, WWE retroactively made four bouts from Main Event into qualifying matches to justify why they were included. Two of those bouts didn't even take place within the past month, but WWE knows nobody watches Main Event anyway.
Grade: D
Women's Tag Title Fatal 4-Way
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Nia Jax and Lash Legend will defend the tag titles against Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss, Lyra Valkyria and Bayley, and The Bella Twins.
All four of these teams have had several segments and matches together in recent weeks, so this feud has been properly built up so that all four teams feel justified being included.
We can't say this storyline has been amazing, but it hasn't been bad either. All eight women are working hard to make those tag team titles mean something, and that is what has made it entertaining.
Legend and Jax have not held the belts for very long, but it wouldn't be surprising to see a title change booked with this many teams involved.
Grade: B-
Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu
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Jacob Fatu and Drew McIntyre have been at each other's throats for several weeks, and they will finally have a chance to settle their differences unhindered in an Unsanctioned match.
This stipulation means we will get a definitive winner, and hopefully, an end to this feud so both men can move on to other things.
The animosity has been built to a boiling point in this feud thanks to Fatu and McIntyre selling everything with as much intensity as they can muster.
This could be one of the most entertaining matches of the night if it lives up to the build.
Grade: B+
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