WrestleMania 34 is in sight, but don’t think that means WWE Superstars are playing it safe and leaving one of their biggest paydays of the year to chance.
On the January 29, 2018 edition of Raw, Sasha Banks and Asuka engaged in an instantly memorable matchup one night after each woman’s stock was elevated at the 2018 Royal Rumble. The match stood out because of how good it was, but it was equally memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Not only did Sasha Banks land dangerously on her head during a botched suicide dive, Asuka one-upped the former Raw women’s champion with a diving butt-bump to the outside of the ring.
“Oh my god! Sasha may be out!” said a concerned Michael Cole after a moment of stunned silence from the broadcast booth.
“Another nasty fall!” he remarked following Asuka’s dive.
That very same night, the Sasha Banks trend continued when Apollo Crews took a nasty looking powerbomb from Sheamus, landing on the back of his head. Crews was reaching for the top rope before he landed, but appeared unable to pull off the high-risk stunt.
“He landed hard, on the back of his neck!” said Cole.
“How is he still moving?!” added Corey Graves.
Last Monday on Raw, Cedric Alexander continued the unsettling trend of scary landings when he took a clothesline from the top rope and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. Graves feared Alexander “might have separated his shoulder,” upon landing.
Though WWE makes every possible effort to get as much talent on the WrestleMania card as possible, it appears that WWE Superstars on the fringe of the annual spectacular in New Orleans are taking their destinies into their own hands.
Though Sasha Banks is one of WWE’s biggest stars in an era where women’s wrestling is having a moment—and then some—the only female WWE Superstars with a guaranteed spot on the card are the two world champions, Asuka—who won the women’s Royal Rumble—and Ronda Rousey.
The finals of the ongoing cruiserweight tournament is scheduled for WrestleMania, however, there’s a good chance the Cruiserweight Championship Match will be moved to the WrestleMania pre-show for the second consecutive year. This was reportedly a point of contention for the exits of both Austin Aries and Neville, who missed out on DVD royalties for WrestleMania 33 as a result. Both top cruiserweights went on to leave WWE in controversial fashion.
As far as Apollo Crews is concerned, the ceiling for the otherwise talented WWE Superstar seems to be in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal.
According to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, WrestleMania was the top-selling sports DVD of 2017 as home entertainment grossed $3 million during Q2 2017 when the pay-per-view was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Part of these proceeds go to WWE Superstars who appeared on the main card of the show.
From a numbers standpoint, and arguably talent-wise, WWE has its deepest roster in history with limited spots on a pay-per-view despite the fact that it’s expected to last over six hours.
With elevated physicality and more unwarranted risks in the past few weeks, WWE Superstars with less assurance to appear on the main card of WrestleMania seem to be treating every match like an audition. Thus far, disaster has been avoided. Hopefully, it stays that way.
With just over 50 days still left until April 8, you kids be careful out there.
