I'm all for an underdog story, but as a fan I have a hard time ignoring that this was the Mustafa Ali story featuring Kofi. Maybe if this Mania didn't already have 2 other underdogs overcoming the odds in Seth and Becky I'd at least be into it. My fear is that we will have so many "Overcoming the odds" moments during Manias 15 hours that by the time we get to the end with Becky people are going to be burnt out on it and sit on their hands. I also think maybe I'm just over the underdog story, WWE just goes back to it more then I'd like.
I love memorable title runs and this heel Bryan run is fantastic and for me, Kofi is a Christian style transitional champ at best and that is a waste to be the guy to knock off this version of Bryan. I would rather see Bryan retain til after the brand split and if you are going to do a title change you bring over Finn Balor or Drew and you really put one of them over big. Kofi doesn't fit what the WWE loves in a champ, as in a guy that can go out and open a show and ramble on for 15 minutes and sell a program, so unless the buildup is yelling Bay Bee loud Kofi doesn't bring alot more to the table verbally.
I fully agree with you on the HHH/Batista thing. Talk about a feud that literally only Batista wanted. The build is bad, and there is literally zero reason for this feud to happen. If you want HHH to really hate and want that match, at least have Dave take out Shane and Vince to finally push him over the edge and accept the challenge, or come out and ruin a main event or two. Do something!
I feel like that's not the only feud though that is just kind of coming out of nowhere without good build. Randy/AJ also fall in there, along with Womens Tags and Asuka will just be made in a week with no build at all. If guys can just decide they want a match at Mania why isn't Zack Ryder coming out and challenging somebody to have a Mania match?
Different strokes, I guess-and that's perfectly fine! I don't watch Raw or Smackdown as it broadcasts, I catch the highlights and the clips--perhaps that's why I feel a bit less burnt out by the WWE's storylines.
The underdog stories that I remember fondly are Austin (because he's up against the company boss, regardless of how badass Austin was, Austin was the underdog in my view) and Bryan, and those worked because you felt like there was actual disdain between the boss/authority and the underdog; with Becky and with Kofi, it feels not like disdain/animosity, but a forced scenario made to portray them as underdogs. The reason I feel different about Kofi is entirely subjective, I guess--I am a sucker for the storyline that invokes family and the responsibilities of being an adult, perhaps because I'm a father of a young son. When Kofi emphasized "11 years" and trick-or-treating, it came at me on a more personal, down-to-earth level. I understand that's a highly subjective viewpoint.
Randy/AJ I'll personally give a pass, as it is the ultimate form of fantasy booking--the career WWE guy who views everything else in the wrestling industry as inferior, versus they guy who's done virtually everything under the sun in that same industry before coming to the WWE and killing it. Their promo showdown was pretty good, I thought--subtle digs between two proud guys who know that they're damned good. It definitely could have used a bit more buildup, but I think with those two, they can make something magical out of it.
On a side note, I loved Jessie McKay's look (now Billie Kay) when she was on the indies--WWE really needs to lay off the makeup gun on Billie. Also, I can kinda force in my head that of the Tag Teams in the WWE, the IIconics were the only "real" team--the others were singles competitors just kinda thrown together. You could make an argument that the Riott Squad and the remnants of Absolution also fit the bill, but the IIconics are the legitimate "team" in that division. They've targeted tag gold all along--so I can see them seeing the scenario as "this is our domain".
Asuka......no comment. They dropped the ball on that one hard.
