Welcome to the latest Roundtable discussion here at iFight365.com where this week, ahead of WrestleMania 25 on Sunday, April 5, we’re asking the question: Is this year’s WrestleMania up to the standard of its predecessors? Do you feel it will appeal to the average fan, or is it a card that lacks something special?

Mark Bright: This is a really tough question to answer. When there is no Hogan-Andre, Hogan-Warrior, Austin-Rock or Hogan-Rock epic main event, no Mr T, Mike Tyson, Donald Trump or Floyd Mayweather celebrity involvement that alone can make the show seem like less of a big deal.

But I look back at last year, which ended up as an awesome show, and besides from the first night the Floyd Mayweather angle was totally screwed up, the Flair angle was terrible up until the Old Yeller promo the last week before Mania, Edge and Taker barely bothered with any angles besides “its title v. streak” and Orton/HHH/Cena was built with a bunch of random matches, including the admittedly awesome Cena & Orton v. 15 Raw midcarders match. In the weeks running up to Mania last year people had much the same thoughts about how it’s not all that special this year. I hear the same complaints every year, but you can’t have Hogan-Rock or Hogan-Andre or Austin-Rock every year so you have to build up the WrestleMania name as the most important event of the year, and make it seem like a bigger than life event – which the WWE have been very successful at.

WrestleMania feels special still, because it’s WrestleMania. The angle with Jericho and the legends has been fantastic. Michaels/Undertaker, while it doesn’t have the mainstream appeal to non-fans or lapsed fans that Hogan/Rock had, it’s probably the best match they can do in terms of making current fans want to buy the PPV – and the build has been both simple and fantastic. HHH/Orton has had its mis-steps, but like Flair/Michaels a year ago, it seems they have delivered the money segments at just the right time, and if Stephanie comes back only to get punt-kicked next week then all the better.

However, the lack of long-time build really hurts the perception that this is THE show, even though come Mania weekend that’s exactly what I’ll be thinking as that’s what I think every year. On paper it’s a great card and I’m totally ready to come online the Monday after WrestleMania and hear everybody talk about what an awesome show it was and how they can’t believe they considered not watching. Mania always delivers, although considering I think the closing scene of the PPV will be a McMahon Family Hug I think in years to come that might mean it’s not looked back on too fondly by the internet crowd, but the average fan will love it.

James Mustoe: To be honest with you I’m not really feeling the build for WrestleMania 25. Apart from the billing error that it’s the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, the problem I have is the total over exposure of the matches being advertised. Normally the matches promoted at WrestleMania feel like unique once-in-a-lifetime moments that you absolutely have to tune in and spend money to watch. In this case we’ve got: -

(I) Randy Orton vs. HHH – They’ve wrestled on PPV at One Night Stand 2008, Judgement Day 2008, Backlash 2008 (in a four way), WrestleMania 24 (!), in a three way, No Mercy 2007, and Unforgiven 2004, as well as multiple times on RAW (three times in a row during the DX/RKO feud in late 2006

(ii) John Cena vs. Edge – They’ve wrestled at Unforgiven 2006, Summerslam 2006, Royal Rumble 2006, had a title change at New Year’s Revolution 2006, and also wrestled multiple times in high profile matches on television including a big cage match in 2006, a Champion vs. Champion match at the Draft RAW in 2007, and a big match on SNME in 2006. More recently they’ve even fought in 2 singles matches on RAW in the last month!

(iii) While Big Show has only wrestled Cena PPV once (WrestleMania XXI), he has wrestled Cena once on Smackdown two weeks ago, wrestled Edge on RAW this week, and is scheduled to wrestle Cena again on RAW next week.

(iv) Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels has not been over-exposed. Bar their confrontations in multi man matches at Royal Rumble 2007/08 and at No Way Out 2007, they haven’t wrestled in a major match since 1997. Still, does anyone really think Michaels has a chance of winning?

(v) When you factor in that the Tag Titles match of the Colons vs. Miz and Morrison has already occurred at least four times on Smackdown this year, it becomes even more obvious how stretched the product is…

(vi) JBL and Rey Mysterio have wrestled on RAW last year, as well as at Judgement Day 2006, and No Mercy 2005….

(vii) The participants in the ladder match have already wrestled each other ad infinitum on television recently, most obviously in big 8 man matches that showcase all of them.

(viii) True Matt vs. Jeff Hardy hasn’t happened since 2001, but again, does anyone really want to see them fight?

I’m not saying that the card will suck from an in-ring stand point. Just that they could have done so much better in actually promoting the show as a big time card, without totally overexposing the talent weeks before the big event. Don’t even get me started on Jericho vs. the pensioners…

Phil Lowe: It certainly doesn’t feel like a WrestleMania to me. In fact, it seems more like just your average monthly WWE PPV. There’s something missing. Perhaps its the lack of celebrity such as Floyd Mayweather. Or perhaps its that very little feels free in WWE this day. It could even be that I’m just disappointed with the way the Chris Jericho storyline has panned out. Or maybe its the fact that there’s a triple threat match near the top of the card that just feels wrong to me.

But regardless of what I think, I still feel that it will do a reasonable buyrate. It won’t set any PPV records, partly due to the lack of celebrity involvement and partly become of the economic problems. I really feel for those of you in the U.S shelling out up to $65 for the show – its bad enough for us Brits paying £15, which works out at around a third of the price.

But there’s enough on there for the hardcore WWE fanbase (THE UNIVERSE!) to part with their cash and I don’t see the buyrate being a disaster providing the final week of television is at least solid. The Triple H-Orton storyline needs a great week on the “go home” show on Monday to follow up on the fantastic closing segment of last week’s edition of Raw. That segment alone made this a match that I’d pay to see (well, if I forget they’ve faced each other a billion times anyway). Aside from Trips and Orton though, just over a week out and there’s only one true Mania quality match on the bill. That of course is The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. In my eyes, that is the true main event of the night, regardless of where it is placed on the card – and right now I think its Orton and Hunter closing the show.

Money in the Bank will still deliver, although there are a couple of questionable choices in there, while the tag team unification match on the show could really get people talking. For me, that match is an opportunity for Miz and Morrison (particularly the latter) to make a name for themselves.

Elsewhere, right now I have little interest in the triple threat match, but there’s still a week to go so we’ll see what they can do on Smackdown next week. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy I’m not completely sold on, but there’s obviously a fanbase who will buy the show because of that match. Their feud has picked up in the last couple of weeks and I’m sure that on the night, their Extreme Rules match will deliver. The rest of the undercard could be decent, if unspectacular, although there’s nothing really there for the casual fan who is on the fence to decide to order the show.

Michael Campbell: WrestleMania 25 had all the promise in the world, a few months back, and around January, there was a tangible buzz, that matched previous year’s events.

Last year we had Floyd Mayweather, and the year prior, Donald Trump, to generate the media interest, and add an extra dimension, and with Mickey Rourke seemingly destined to Wrestle Chris Jericho, WM 25 looked set to follow that trend. In this day and age, that celebrity involvement, on a media-alerting scale seems to be a necessary ingredient to push the event towards the 1 million mark in terms of a buyrate.

Also, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton were both on the hottest runs of their careers, and their presence in the title pictures looked sure to add a needed freshness to the top of the card. Meanwhile, Christian was set to return, and looked sure to feud with Hardy. Although a mid-carder for much of his career, Christian, despite recent Smarky back-talk, is a talent capable of dipping into the Main Event scene, and has done before, to good reaction (Cena vs. Christian captured the public’s imagination in 2005 when the WWE was behind Christian… once they lost faith in him, booking took its toll). The notion of him returning, and entering into an exciting, fresh angle, was very endearing.

However, in recent times, interest has dwindled, and what we’ve got is a card as unappealing as WM 22 was on paper.

WM 25 has no Main Event. Sure, Orton vs. HHH will go on last, but it’s a risky one to deliver, because so many people want to see Orton (the heel), walk out with the strap, which contravenes Mania logic, that it’s a turning point for the promotion, with the babyface emerging victorious. This week’s episode of Raw did a top-notch job of underlining Orton/Hunter’s main event credentials, in an angle that I thought was tremendous (especially when it came to Randy’s character development. But the question remains: Is this a money-drawing angle?

I keep emphasising the point that it doesn’t matter how much the show delivers (okay well, it does… but bear with me…), if no-one is watching. Every match on the card could be a Five-Star classic, and it would be absolutely worthless, if audiences don’t pay up, and order the event. Right now, kids are the ones that the WWE is aiming for, yet they’re not the ones shelling out the cash. Nor are the key 18-34 Demographic, who choose UFC over WWE, are invested TNA or the Indy scene, or worse still, simply download all the shows.

So in terms of in-ring product, I am convinced that WM 25 will be the equal of last year (Orton/HHH and Michaels/Undertaker especially…), however I do not believe they’ve promoted it well enough to sway casual fans, or those on the fence. The lack of media intrigue should tell you all you need to know as to whether it lacks something special. It looks like the WWE’s trigger-happy reliance on Mickey Rourke, will be there downfall on this occasion…perhaps a justified fate for a bunch of band-wagon jumpers.

My estimation for a Mania buyrate, is around 750-800,000 buys, a number the WWE will not be happy with.

Dan Short: Looking at the card to date, I have to be honest and say that I really don’t find this all too appealing. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels match has the potential of being a blockbuster, no doubt. If Matt and Jeff can pull it off, the Hardy’s could have a sleeper match on their hands. But everything else…

Money in the Bank has generally been the most anticipated match of WrestleMania as it generally delivers as being one of, if not the best match on the card. This year, however, it has two names that have no business being involved in the match: Mark Henry and Kane. While Kane participated in the first MitB back in 2005, he was mobile enough to do so then. Now, I just think they were desperate to put him on the card and thought MitB would do. Mark Henry, on the other hand, I cannot understand why the hell he is in there. His appearance alone is more than enough to make this the weakest MitB yet. He does not and should not belong. Punk, Christian, MVP, Shelton, Kofi, and Finlay have a tough task on their hands in somehow making this match work with those two involved.

The Tag Team unification match has the potential of surprising everyone and it’s good that Miz and Morrison get a chance to wrestle on the big stage. I think it would come down to the Colons and if they can push themselves past what they are capable. And they need to. I have no interest whatsoever in the Intercontinental Championship match, even though it is first time in seven years that the belt’s being defended on the show. The Divas Battle Royal has the potential of being a guilty pleasure, but it will largely depend upon the participants. The Chris Jericho angle in intriguing and it might work, but I think it’s one of those “will have to wait until it happens” kind of things.

The two championship matches I have the biggest problems with. And it’s all because of how they’ve been built the last few weeks. I have not been impressed one bit. In fact, each week they present something new that makes me less excited about the matches each time. For as talented as the participants are, the storylines are just not that interesting. I even don’t think they’re WrestleMania worthy. Think about it: The past few WrestleManias, the championship matches generally all came down to if the challenger could beat the champion. Nothing elaborate, just a simple build of “Who’s the better man?” This year, all these plots are thrown into the mix. And I don’t care about them anymore.

The Randy Orton-Triple H program really turned sour when they did the whole Triple H attacking Orton at home deal. It hasn’t been good ever since. John Cena and Edge were building to something pretty good and worthy of their past rivalry in 2006 when they had to go and throw in both Big Show and Vickie Guerrero into the mix. What business do they have in all this? And why all this crap about Vickie being smitten with all three men? I don’t care about that!

So to answer the question, I don’t think this year’s WrestleMania is up to the standard of its predecessors. Not a whole lot of matches are all that interesting to me; in particular the main event matches. The ratings’ falling tells me this show may not appeal to the average fan and that it definitely lacks something special.