Last month, I examined how the WrestleMania puzzle was fitting together. I took a look at five WWE stars whose ‘Mania prospects seemed tenuous with a potential spot on the card not immediately evident. Since then, Gunther made a surprise return after a few weeks off of TV and attacked Seth Rollins, setting up a battle of two former World Champions for the biggest show of the year. LA Knight landed a spot on a team with Jimmy & Jey Uso as they take on Logan Paul, Austin Theory, and internet star iShowSpeed.
Recent NXT callup Je’Von Evans finds himself in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title that has the potential to steal the show this weekend.
There were two other stars on my list that, unless something drastic happens between now and Saturday, will not be competing in Vegas this year. One, and perhaps not a very surprising one, Aleister Black has been a part of multiple stories these past few months since his forever feud with Damian Priest finally ended. His main role since joining forces with his real-life wife on screen has been to torment top babyfaces like Sami Zayn in backstage segments. At this point, his omission from the ‘Mania 42 card seems like the right call.
The other person on my list is a former World Champion and competed in one of the best matches at WrestleMania last year. She was a tag team champion as recently as just a few months ago and in a widely circulated clip from WWE’s Netflix series, Unreal, Triple H famously referred to her as someone he would be able to build entire roster around if he had to start from scratch.
Iyo Sky Likely Won’t Be Competing at WrestleMania 42
Two of WrestleMania 41’s best matches were both triple threats. One was the Battle of Heyman between CM Punk, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins. The other though, and for my money, the match that stole the whole weekend was the Women’s World Title match featuring Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, and Iyo Sky. The Genius of the Sky shocked the world just a few weeks before the big show last year by winning the World Title from Rhea Ripley on an episode of Raw. That twist would begin the chain of events that would lead to the awesome triple threat that kicked off WrestleMania Sunday and would become the first women’s match in WWE history to receive a 5-star rating from the Wrestling Observer.
Iyo would hold the gold throughout much of last summer before Naomi memorably cashed in Money in the Bank at Evolution, ending Sky’s title reign at 132 days. Iyo would have several opportunities to regain the title, notably losing championship matches at both Summerslam and Wrestlepalooza. Late last year, Iyo and her longtime friend and ally Rhea Ripley would win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, elevating the division to heights it arguably has never seen.
If who gets on the WrestleMania card is at all related to achievements and success in the 12 months leading up, Iyo should be a shoe-in for a spot in Vegas. She spent almost all of the time between ‘Manias either holding gold or vying for it, and is widely considered one of the best wrestlers on the planet, much less in the WWE. The idea of Iyo not competing at WrestleMania 42 after the year she had is borderline booking malpractice. It’s possible she could find herself involved with Rhea’s showdown with Jade Cargill, but playing the role of sidekick doesn’t seem like a fitting way to harness Iyo’s undeniable star power.
Booking Precedence
As we head closer to showtime in Las Vegas this weekend and the chances of Iyo being added to the card continued to shrink, I started looking back at stars who headlined a WrestleMania in a World Title match one year only to be left off the card completely the year after. Over 42 years, it has happened. Quite a bit actually, especially for male competitors. Some of the instances of being left off the card were due to injury. Others because the person left the company altogether. The smaller sample size I chose to focus on was the ‘Mania events since the Divas Championship was retired and the Women’s Championship was reintroduced at WrestleMania 32.
Seemingly joining Iyo on the sidelines this year after competing in a prominent title match last year is Tiffany Stratton. Tiffy looked primed for a showdown with Giulia over the United States Title this year, but with rumors that she is competing in a bodybuilding competition around the same time as ‘Mania, her being added to the card this late doesn’t seem likely. For another example, we have to look no further than last year when Bayley was removed from a ‘Mania tag title match after winning the Royal Rumble and the title at WrestleMania just the year prior.
Looking back further, there are some other situations that prevented a title match participant from being on the show a year later. After headlining 39 in Hollywood, Charlotte missed out WrestleMania 40 after injuring her knee. Becky Lynch defended her title successfully at ‘Mania 36, but was busy starting a family and being a new mother the following year. In addition, several competitors who participated in Fatal 5-Ways or 6-Pack Challenges for one of the main titles one year were left off the card the following year.
But this just feels wrong.
For somebody who the commentary team frequently refers to as the best wrestler on the planet and continues to be one of the biggest fan favorites in the entire company to be left off of the biggest show of the year seems criminal. Fellow former World Champion and main eventer Gunther was in a similar spot just a few weeks ago, and they were able to find at least a semi-legitimate reason to get Der Ring General on the card this weekend.
Why not do the same for Iyo, especially when a match with Asuka makes a ton of sense storyline-wise at this point?
As one of my colleagues mentioned in the Cageside “offices” this week, a Kairi-Sane-on-a-Forklift match is sitting right there and would undoubtedly be a great way to get multiple extremely talented women on a card that could desperately use them. Triple H, if you’re listening….. you’ve got one more opportunity this Friday on Smackdown to make this right.
So what do you think Cagesiders? Are you as mad as I am that Iyo doesn’t have a bigger role at ‘Mania this year? Let us know in the comments below!
