WrestleMania Build-Up Divides the Universe

By AmplifiedtoRock

As the behemoth tumbled from the precipice, the momentum of his massive frame expelling him, a divisive chain of events was set in motion.  It was proceeded by an unholy cacophony of noise from witnesses of all ages, colors, and creeds.  Some roared their approval whilst others rained down the sort of hatred and vitriol one might expect to find only behind the shroud of anonymity provided by the internet.  The victor stood tall, hands in the air, taking it all in and savoring every last bit of it.   John Cena was on his way back to the pinnacle of the sports entertainment mountain.  He was on his way back to the WWE Championship.

Cena’s triumph in the Royal Rumble led naturally to what a great number of well-read wrestling fans suspected might occur:  The Rock, returning to the WWE ring after months away starring in Hollywood films, defeated the longstanding defending champion, CM Punk.  If the WWE creative team stays the course, one would expect The Rock to successfully defend his title against Punk at the Elimination Chamber pay per view.  Then the stage would be set for a rematch with Cena, who declared on Monday Night Raw the night following the Rumble his intention to challenge the WWE champion in the main event at WrestleMania.

As this series of events has unfolded, and likely continues to unfold, the division within the ranks of what has come to be known as the WWE Universe is widening.  

On one hand you have the fans I will refer to as the “marks.”  These are the wrestling fans for whom the only wrestling that exists is that which appears on weekly television:  WWE and TNA.  For many of the marks, the latter is not something that is viewed with any consistency and, in some cases, neither is the former.  They tend to love the babyfaces and despise the heels, their loyalties lying wherever the storyline dictates.  They are vociferous in their love and support for the wrestlers they like and are not shay about booing or jeering those they dislike.  In regards to the road to WrestleMania XXIX, they are longing for the day their beloved John Cena once again raises the WWE championship belt above his head in time to a crescendo in his theme music.

On the other hand you have the fans I refer to as the “smart marks.”  These are your rabid wrestling fans, the ones who scour the internet to follow small independent wrestling promotions.  They attend their local wrestling shows, they read wrestling blogs and listen to wrestling podcasts and their subjectivity defines who their favorite wrestlers are.  They base their judgments on not only a wrestler’s physical abilities, but their ability to cut a promo.  The smart marks tend to be just as passionate and vocal in their support of their favorite wrestlers, but they also have a tendency to be equally as vocal when something displeases them.

Of course, the division goes deeper than that.  The WWE has developed a habit in recent years of shoving certain wrestlers down the throat of its audience, in some cases pushing them harder the more resistance they encounter.  John Cena is the poster child of this marketing tactic.  After winning the WWE Championship for the first time in 2005, Cena began a push that would eventually make him the face of the company.  During his rise Cena had fueds with HHH, Edge and Rob Van Dam which made clear the divide Cena created within the company’s fanbase.  In October 2007, he suffered a torn pectoral muscle which was originally thought to have put him out of action for seven months to a year.  To a large percentage of the WWE Universe, Cena’s absence was going to be an opportunity for some under-appreciated members of the roster to seize the vacated spotlight.  Instead, he made a surprise return as the final entrant in the 2008 Royal Rumble, eliminating HHH and earning a championship match.  Though he did not immediately regain the title, his quick return to the main event fold provided his detractors with fuel for a fire that had already been burning hotter than the flames of hell.

CM Punk has driven a wedge between factions of the WWE Universe as well.  His no-nonsense approach to wrestling and his self-righteous attitude combined with his “pipe bomb” promos, have made him an internet darling to many smart-marks who followed from his humble beginnings as and independent wrestling superstar whilst alienating the young marks who dislike the way he picks apart their heroes.   He routinely breaks “kayfabe,” the fictive story-driven world the WWE writers create, and focuses his verbal attacks on his opponents, oftentimes with pinpoint accuracy.

This has been exactly the case in his criticism of The Rock.  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was one of the icons of WWE’s “Attitude Era” of the late 90’s and early 2000’s, during which time the company’s content shifted away from family friendly entertainment and into a much edgier realm.  His fueds with Mick Foley and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin are legendary in wrestling circles and he was beloved by many wrestling fans before leaving the company to pursue a career as an actor in Hollywood, during which time he actively distanced himself from the wrestling industry.  Though this left a bitter taste in the mouths of many fans, it did not sour his much heralded return to the WWE on Monday Night Raw on Valentine’s Day of 2011.  On the show he declared he was never leaving the WWE Universe again, a claim he has technically backed up despite month-long sebbaticals to continue his film career.  Still, CM Punk and a number of wrestling fans hold a grudge against him, considering him a “part-timer,” and resenting the fact that the company would put the title belt on a man who wasn’t going to work the grind of the full WWE schedule.  Of course, many still love him.  His talents on the microphone are unequalled by any member of the current roster, the silver-tongued CM Punk included.  His title reign also presents an opportunity for the WWE to gain a level of positive publicity that no other superstar could possbily deliver.  During press tours for all of his films scheduled for release between now and WrestleMania, he’ll almost certainly be trotting out the WWE Championship and answering questions about his big rematch with John Cena, potentially attracting an enormous number of viewers who would never normally watch professional wrestling.

It is the intensity of emotion on both sides and the very polarizing figures of John Cena, CM Punk and The Rock which make the current path of the WWE storyline so compelling.  The marks are incredibly excited, watching eagerly as Cena inches his way back to the title.  The smart marks are despondent, angrily bemoaning WWE creative for giving them something they’ve already seen and allowing a part-timer like The Rock to hold the company’s most prestigious title.  Where the marks are watching to see their guys succeed, the smart marks are watching with the hope that WWE might give them a swerve and alter the storyline, pushing one of their under-appreciated heroes.  Then there are the curious outsiders, drawn in by the star power of the WWE Champion.

The bottom line is this:  they are watching.  All of them.  They are buying the pay per views, tuning into WWE television in remarkably large numbers and coming to the live events.  Regardless of their opinions on how WWE is building to WrestleMania, they are participating and that, no matter what side of the line they stand on, is good for business.