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When did the "rule of thumb" to start the day after Wrestlemania to begin new feuds and get the ball rolling toward next year's Wrestlemania stop?

 

In previous years the build for the Wrestlemania main event for that year would get it's first legs in January or even December.

 

Who knew what any of the main events for this year would be following the Royal Rumble?  Wait, who knew what they would be following No Way Out?  Wrestlemania is being thrown together this year in a matter of 5-6 weeks.  What a waste for the biggest show of the year.  Where's the planning?  Where's Plan B or C?  Is it too much to ask for each plan to be made, set in stone and have a backup or two?

 

WWE has gotten way too confusing for me lately.  When Mike Adamle got fired, Steph and Shane argued over who would run the show and then, apparently, since Steph got the last word in she became General Manager?  Was she interim until they found someone else, because she started off as Vice President?  So was that a demotion?  Oh, but then she got RKO'd and now Vickie is GM of both RAW and SmackDown?  And poor little Teddy Long, who was SmackDown GM until his assistant Vickie took over and he got demoted to ECW.  Now, RAW, SmackDown & ECW are supposed to be 3 separate business units that are controlled separately, however employees cross the line and work on all 3 shows weekly (not just on special occasions where it is explained anymore).....I'm sorry, in the "real" business world, do things like that happen?  Nope.

 

So why did I just go on a rant about Wrestlemoderate's poor booking and the confusion that is the brand extension?  Simple.  The brand extension needs to be over.  It does.  It's run it's course and it needs to come to a close.  Ringling Bros Circus has different touring groups that sometimes come together for one big show, but that is a different entity.  The circus sets up shop in a town for a week and runs multiple shows in the area, then moves on.  WWE runs one show in one town then moves on to the next town.  Could they still have multiple touring groups?  Yes.  Do they need 3 World Titles, 2 Mid-Card Titles, 2 Women's Titles & 2 Tag Titles?  No.

 

Here's my thoughts......Wrestlemania this year is the 25th anniversary.....supposed to be the biggest show of all.  Where is the drama?  The intrigue?  The promotion?  Lost in the shuffle, that's where it is.  Why not take this opportunity to end the brand extension and have Champion vs Champion Unification matches to make the best of the situation.  That's right, I said END the brand extension.  RAW and SmackDown both have not had the best ratings lately and ECW is an after-thought.  Combine RAW & SmackDown into one WWE entity and have ECW be the proving ground for the young talents.  The "on-air farm club" of WWE, if you will.  This gives WWE an hour of developing new talent per week, while giving established stars more time to further their storylines.  This way you get RAW-only viewers watching SmackDown and vice-versa.

 

WWE could have had Vickie propose the idea and run with it (because she wanted Edge to be the champion of ALL of WWE, not this lame love triangle story).  The card for Mania could have been great.  Here would be my proposal.

 

- HHH (WWE Champion) vs Edge (World Champion) vs Randy Orton (Royal Rumble Winner) for the Unified WWE Championship.....I'm sorry but here, I would keep the Big Gold Belt as the Unified belt because I have hated the WWE belt since the day Cena introduced it and the Big Gold Belt is just famous and historical, plus it's very popular with celebrities (ex: all the NBA & NFL players who have purchased them and worn them).

 

- Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker vs JBL (the streak still on the line and the first time Undertaker had a Triple Threat match at Wrestlemania, the dynamic of losing and not being pinned would be intriguing)

 

- Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy

 

- Shelton Benjamin (US Champion) vs CM Punk (IC Champion).....this could've been a great match for the Unified Intercontinental Championship (that US Belt is just awful looking, plus WWE came up with the IC Championship and the belt has a lot of history)

 

- Maryse (Divas Champion) vs Melina (Women's Champion) vs Michelle McCool vs Beth Phoenix in a Fatal Four-Way for the Unified Diva's Championship.  Actually the Diva's moniker makes more sense to keep to me, even though the lineage is tied to the Women's title....the lineage can be combined though.

 

- The Colons (WWE Tag Champions) vs Miz & Morrison (World Tag Champions) vs Rhodes/DiBiase in a Triple Threat Tag Team Turmoil for the Unified WWE Tag Championships.

 

- Money In The Bank Ladder Match (still gotta keep this because it's a great concept):

Rey Mysterio, Christian, MVP, Kofi Kingston, Kane, Finlay, R-Truth, Umaga

 

- Jack Swagger (ECW Champion) vs Tommy Dreamer because they could've built it well and Tommy still gets pops for being the ECW Original that wants one last shot at glory.
 

Chris Jericho vs A Surprise Opponent (have Flair, Piper, Steamboat & Snuka pick.....when it looks like they can't decide which of the 4 of them to choose, have them say they all decided on someone else.....it could be RVD, Sid Vicious, Terry Funk or Stone Cold.  They could make compelling stories for why for each of those and it would give a surprise element that Mania needs this year)

 

That would be a Wrestlemania I could get behind.  Thoughts?