To open Monday Night Raw this past week, WWE chairman Vince McMahon took to the stage and declared that now the Superbowl is over the one event that outshines the Vince Lombardi trophy can take centre stage. That event is Wrestlemania. He also revealed to the capacity crowd in Milwaukee that this year’s supershow would be hosted by a special guest and that guest would be revealed on next week’s Raw.
Let The Rumours Begin
Almost immediately after the announcement of a guest host, one could feel the IWC begin to bubble and fizz with anticipation as to who the person in question could be. Would it be a former WWE star? Would it be a current pop icon?
One thing for sure however, is that the host has to be popular with die hard wrestling fans who make up the majority of the Wrestlemania crowd each and every year. Someone who could command respect from 60 000+ people and entertain the masses for over three hours. Someone who could perhaps fill the gaps when things inevitably go wrong on a live event being aired around the world.
Let the rumours begin.
The People’s Champion
If the guest host is a former WWE star then there are only a handful of names big enough to live up to the expectation of millions of fans around the world. There are even fewer names who would appeal to both the young fans- currently viewing a PG product- and the older audience who have been spoilt by larger than life characters throughout the years. Characters who sometimes pushed the boundaries of television and censorship.
The biggest name that could appeal to a spectrum of wrestling fans would of course be none other than current Hollywood favourite and former “People’s Champion” within the famous WWE squared circle, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Despite being absent from Sports Entertainment since 2004, when The Rock reformed the infamous Rock n’ Sock Connection tag team with fellow WWE legend Mick Foley, the fans of WWE still regard “The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment” as a true great. Someone who entertains without cheesiness and is able to hold an arena of people in the palm of his hand.
It Better Not Be Justin Bieber
One of the strangest rumours to be swirling around the internet wrestling community is that teen singing sensation Justin Bieber could be the person who Vince McMahon has lined up to host wrestling’s premier event. The chairman of WWE is a savvy businessman and is aware that Bieber is the hottest commodity in the US right now, especially with the PG market at whom WWE is currently targeted, so his appointment may not be as odd as it first appears.
However, Vince McMahon is also aware that loyal fans who have stuck with WWE from the 1980s, through the Attitude era and finally into the current age of John Cena and his “Cenation”, are only willing to sit through so much “Micky Mouse” wrestling and corniness. Justin Bieber as the master of ceremonies for the “Grandest Stage of Them All” would perhaps be a step too far for many and could alienate the bulk of WWE’s ticket buyers. Would McMahon take such a risk?
Desired Effect
Even though the guest host is still a mystery and is sure to cause a huge reaction next week on Raw, the rumours and speculation are already causing the desired effect leading up to the Atlanta supershow, and that is the anticipation of the WWE “Universe” who have been left short of surprises in WWE as of late.
Whether the guest host turns out to be The Rock or the more dividing figure of Justin Bieber, Wrestlemania is set to once again change the expectations for a wrestling PPV. Perhaps a master of ceremonies will become the norm.