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It is the time of the year that wrestling fans count down to, WrestleMania season. The most electrifying month of the year is about to close with one thing missing…the buzz.

There have certainly been better cards than other in recent WrestleMania seasons but there has always been excitement around the big event. The Rock has turned WrestleMania season, specifically March into one of the most fun months of the year the previous three years. Before that you had Shawn Michaels for a few years, Ric Flair, Donald Trump, etc, etc. This year is just not the same.

It didn’t dawn on me until I was a guest on a recent Between the Ropes with Brian Fritz and we started talking about the event. He asked me if I was excited and I had to think about it for a second. I’m not. It is a one-match show. Even that one match doesn’t have the Mania feel to me that crosses over from hardcore to casual fans. There is just something missing about this year’s show.

The event is more of an investment into the future in my eyes than your typical big match Mania card. This year’s event is about elevating Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt and nothing more. It’s a risk that the WWE could never take in previous years. The WWE Network has changed the business model and now that the WWE no longer has to rely on buyrates, they can be less adverse to risk with the lineup.

Let’s be honest. Does anything excite you like the way you were excited in recent years for big events? Don’t misunderstand me. I am looking forward to Daniel Bryan and Triple H. I think it is going to be a fun match, a lot of fun in that environment. But, it’s not the kind of a match you are going to use to grab a casual fan’s attention. The angles have been great but is this really the kind of a match that is going to crossover? The pictures on the WWE ad banners throughout the Internet feature The Undertaker, John Cena, and Hulk Hogan so even they aren’t positioning this match as a draw.

I know a lot of you reading this are probably saying Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena. I don’t agree. Wyatt is a great character and has potential to be the next big heel in the WWE for years to come. I just feel like this match is coming too soon and out of nowhere. The angles have been interesting but I am still looking for a compelling reason to sink my teeth into this program. I can’t find it.

The storylines for The Undertaker’s Mania matches have not been well executed in recent years. This year’s angle with Brock Lesnar is a step up from last year’s angle but the storyline is still very vague. It boggles my mind that there hasn’t been an emphasis on the Taker-Lesnar confrontation at a UFC event a few years back. Getting fans to believe that there is real heat here could have generated that Mania buzz that is missing.

This has to be the first Mania where every championship is defended in multi-person matches across the board. That is fine for one or two but it just seems a bit odd not to have one singles championship match. The Triple Threat WWE world title match will give fans a nice ending but it will be a far cry from title matches that have taken place in recent years. Even with Miz vs. Cena you had The Rock involved which gave it some intrigue.

I hate to rain on the parade but I am just not feeling it. Maybe it’s me but I think that big punch that comes along with WrestleMania is just not there this year. I hope it’s an exception and not the start of a trend.

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