It's all a very meeeeeh card as well, isn't it. Reminds me a lot of heading into Wrestlemania 32... potential there for great matches, but the sad fact is that people just seem to struggle to perform at Wrestlemania and matches usually just settle for being ok. Nothing on that card is overly exciting.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited as hell for it (yes, I am going again - flying out to New York on Wednesday!) as a bad Wrestlemania is still an incredible experience. As somebody that has sat through the last 4 Wrestlemanias, I actually love how long the shows are as I never want them to end There is no element at all of fatigue or what not, I love the entire experience from when I first get into the stadium (which I always make a point of doing as soon as they open the doors!) until I leave it (which is usually when the staff start to actually kick people out). It's a proper long day for me, but it's usually around about the best day of the year. I'm all for dragging it out.
Though I do understand that if I were watching on TV it wouldn't quite be the same, so I'd undoubtedly be against the monster run times as well.
There is no good reason – no good reason at all – for a PPV being more than 4 hours long (pre-show included). The maddening thing is that WWE do it exactly right with the NXT Takeover shows: all killer and no filler for 3 hours max – and tough shit if that means some very talented people not getting a spot. This dreadful combination of ‘bigger = better’ and ‘all kids must have prizes’ thinking has turned WM into a complete chore.
The main event is the only match this year that feels like a proper WM match, and that owes more to its historic significance than the quality of the build (which has atrocious since February). And I’m certainly not going to sit through hours and hours of B-grade PPV material (Lashley vs. Balor, Women’s Battle Clusterfuck, Angle vs. Baron fucking Corbin!) to get there. I’ll probably sign up for a free network trial on Monday and watch the main event at my convenience. Really sad that I’m thinking that way about the biggest event in the entire pro-wrestling calendar, but there it is.