WrestleMania 29 Needs a Great Undercard to Succeed

[LG]

WrestleMania 29 is shaping up to be the most star-studded event in WWE history, and the company is mostly relying on a few big matches to sell the card.

While WrestleMania is known for having epic matches that masterfully tell stories, they still need to have solid wrestling to make the event memorable.

The big matches are what sells a card, but the undercard can be what makes an event memorable.

Storyline is an important part of pro wrestling, but the wrestling is the meat and potatoes of the business and WrestleMania will not succeed if they do not include their best workers.

Some of the best matches in WrestleMania history have taken place on the undercard, and part of the reason for that is that the younger guys feel like they have more to prove.

Some of the big matches on the card will be enough to make people buy WrestleMania, but there are plenty of fans who might skip this year if they feel they know too many of the outcomes and do not see many possibilities for great matches.

We already know of seven matches that will take place, but only half of the titles in WWE are on the line so far.

The World, WWE and Tag titles all have matches, but the Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett, US champion Antonio Cesaro and Divas champion Kaitlyn have yet to find a spot on the card.

Luckily for them, WrestleMania is four hours long and the pre-show is being extended to an hour, which gives them plenty of chances to make the card.



The undercard at WrestleMania can make a Superstar into a Megastar if they pull out the performance of a lifetime.

When you go back and look at some of the great Superstars who got their breakout moment at WrestleMania, it is a list of current and future Hall of Famers.

• Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat stole the show in an IC title match at WrestleMania III.
• Many of the Undertaker's matches took place on the undercard before the streak was such a big deal.
• Roddy Piper and Bret Hart had an epic match for the IC title at WrestleMania VIII.
• Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels fought in one of the most well-known ladder matches for the IC title at WrestleMania X.
• Goldust and Piper had a brutal Hollywood Backlot Brawl at WrestleMania XII.
• Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart switched roles as heel and babyface during their bloody WrestleMania 13 showdown.
• The Hardys, Edge and Christian and The Dudleys all found major boosts to their careers following their WrestleMania 2000 match.

This is just a small number of matches that helped launch the legendary careers of some of the Superstars involved.

A Main Event is not always what sells the show



Sometimes it is actually the main event which fades from people's memories in favor of a solid undercard match.

I've seen Rock vs. Cena before, and I am pretty sure I know how it will turn out, so that match is not what would make me buy the card.

WrestleMania is a night when every match should feel like a big match, because it is. Millions of people are watching, and that kind of grand stage is what some of today's younger Superstars need to break out and become major stars.

Having a great main event is great for the poster and selling PPV buys, but WWE needs great matches throughout the night for it to be a memorable event.

What WWE needs to do is pack the undercard with their top performers. Guys like Kofi Kingston, Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett and Chris Jericho need matches at WrestleMania because they have been some of the more solid performers every time they enter the ring.

We all know who is going to win many of the top matches, even if that seems arrogant, but we do not always know who is going to win the undercard matches, and that can make them infinitely more entertaining.

For me, the best shows are the ones that I go into not knowing what will happen and come away from being surprised, and it is usually the undercard which fulfills those feelings the most.

WWE only has two weeks left to fill out the rest of the card, so they need to make sure that they use the best talents possible to make sure the five hour show is entertaining from beginning to end.

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[LionDen]

Here is what appears to be the finalized Wrestlemania lineup, barring any last minute changes:

*WWE champion The Rock vs. John Cena.

*World champion Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger.

*CM Punk vs. The Undertaker.

*No Holds Barred, Triple H's Career on the line: Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman vs. Triple H with Shawn Michaels.

*WWE Tag Team champions Daniel Bryan & Kane vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston.

*The Shield vs. Big Show & Randy Orton & Sheamus.

*Mark Henry vs. Ryback.

*Chris Jericho vs. Fandango.

*Tensai & Brodus Clay & Naomi & Cameron vs. Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bellas.

*Pre-Game: WWE Intercontinental champion Wade Barrett vs. The Miz.

*P. Diddy performing.

*The 2013 WWE Hall of Fame class will appear.



I find it surprising they are having the Intercontinental Title match as a undercard but lets remember what they did with the World Heavyweight Championship last year where Sheamus won in 18 secs lol unbelievable. The Intercontinental Title deserves more respect IMO.