WrestleMania 35 takes place this Sunday at MetLife Stadium, yet the excitement for the show has been underwhelming for a professional wrestling event WWE markets as the "Grandest Stage of Them All."

With Kofi Kingston's rise to the top of the card to challenge Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship, Batista returning to face Triple H and the Winner Take All main event between Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey and Becky Lynch for both the Raw & SmackDown Women's Championships, this year's show has the potential to be a long, but entertaining affair.

However, the potential isn't always realized and this year's WrestleMania buildup is a great example of this very point.

Though fans are looking forward to some of the matches on the show, the road that leads to a lot of these matches was convoluted and random heading into an event of this magnitude.

WrestleMania always has at least a few great matches and moments, but there doesn't seem to be as much hype as there usually is.

So, to get a feel for what type of show will take place on Sunday, this article will be ranking and grading the build-up of the WrestleMania card.

Note: The Andre the Giant Battle Royal and the WrestleMania Women's Battle Royal will not be included in this list. Nor will the SmackDown Tag Team Championship match, which was confirmed this week.

#12 Daniel Bryan(c) vs. Kofi Kingston - WWE Championship

The New Daniel Bryan vs. New Day's Most Accomplished Veteran

Kofi Kingston's incredible story began on the SmackDown before Elimination Chamber where he gave one of the best performances of his entire career.

Kingston would follow the gauntlet match performance with one of the greatest Elimination Chamber matches of all time that helped chart his course to his first-ever singles match for a WWE World Championship against The New Daniel Bryan.

Everything about this storyline has been entertaining with Vince McMahon attempting to interject other wrestlers into Kingston's spot, The New Day confronting The Chairman and demanding the chance for Kofi to succeed and the support and love of the fans who want Kingston to ride the wave of "KofiMania" to become the first African American WWE Champion since The Rock.

This feud not only hit home with the wrestling fanbase but it flipped the "B Plus Player" angle that Bryan had to overcome five years ago, which was a really nice touch.

The only part of the storyline that could've been better would've been Kingston earning his opportunity rather than Big E & Xavier Woods, but that is a minor issue compared to the excellent segments and matches heading into this year's title match.

Grade: A+

#11 Triple H vs. Batista - No Holds Barred [Triple H retires if he loses]

Leave it to the members of Evolution to have a great WrestleMania program without ever laying a finger on each other.

The storyline for this match dates back to SmackDown 1000 when Evolution reunited and Batista said that "Triple H has done everything in this business...except beat me."

Triple H brushed off the line and enjoyed the festivities, but Batista would make sure to get his point across months later when he attacked Ric Flair.

The two would exchange words a few weeks later and would agree to a No Holds Barred Match for their final confrontation.

Triple H and Batista are fantastic promos and this feud has been amazing and the fact they haven't had a physical interaction makes the match that much more interesting.

The intensity both men display will be amazing to watch play out this Sunday and will hopefully be a match that Batista can be proud of as he looks to hang up his boots and return to Hollywood to resume shooting for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

The biggest issue with this storyline is that it has a lot of similarities to Triple H's feud with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29, but the execution was much better this go around and will hopefully be a fun match to watch.

Grade: A-

#10 AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton

The Phenomenal One vs. The Apex Predator

AJ Styles and Randy Orton are two of SmackDown Live's biggest stars, so it was only natural that a program between the two would make for a great WrestleMania match.

The two former world champions had been interacting since January, but The Legend Killer's victories over The Phenomenal One in the gauntlet match and the Elimination Chamber set their feud in motion.

After another altercation at the Fastlane pay-per-view, Orton and Styles would have a war of words where they talked about their different paths to get to the top of WWE.

The TNA vs. WWE angle seems somewhat contrived considering that Styles is one of the top 10 longest reigning WWE Champions of all time...and is the cover star for WWE 2K19.

Aside from that, this looks to be one of the show-stealing matches that nobody's talking about for some reason.

Styles and Orton are two great wrestlers who never had a pay-per-view match against each other until now, so we're expecting great things this Sunday.

They had a good match two years ago heading into WrestleMania 33, but nobody believes either man was wrestling to the best of their ability, which means the WrestleMania 35 match will be both men wrestling at their best with no restrictions.

Grade: B+

#9 Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre

The Big Dog's first singles match since 2018

The reunion of The Shield lead to Roman Reigns facing Baron Corbin, Drew McIntyre and Bobby Lashley in the main event of Fastlane, but it would also lead Reigns to his first singles match since 2018.

After The Shield's victory at Fastlane, Reigns was scheduled for a singles match against Corbin but was interrupted after a savage beatdown by McIntyre.

McIntyre would defeat both Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose heading into WrestleMania and issued a challenge to Reigns to avenge his loss and face someone who was "tougher than cancer."

This feud has been very basic with nothing too special or out of the ordinary, which is a great change of pace for The Big Dog considering that WrestleMania 35 will be his first time out of the main event scene in four years.

Reigns has had three mediocre WrestleMania main events in a row with Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and Triple H, so his match against McIntyre will be his first time having a singles match against someone who's just as athletic and young as he is.

The worst aspect of this storyline has been the continued use of Reigns' leukemia for heat and hopefully, this is the last wrestling program its mentioned in with this purpose.

Grade: B

#8 Ronda Rousey(c) vs. Charlotte Flair(c) vs. Becky Lynch - Winner Take All

The Two Women's Champions and the Royal Rumble Winner clash in the main event

The road to the first women's main event at WrestleMania has been the literal definition of a mess.

Their feud started around Survivor Series 2018 when Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were scheduled to face each other. Lynch suffered an injury just before the pay-per-view and allowed Charlotte Flair to wrestle in her place.

Ronda Rousey clearly had issues with both women and Flair and Lynch spent most of 2018 at each others throats, so it seemed like an easy road to WrestleMania 35 after the Royal Rumble.

Unfortunately, WWE would waste everyone's time with an unnecessary injury angle and the McMahons injecting themselves into the story weeks after they promised to stop injecting themselves into stories.

Eventually, the match was made a triple threat at WrestleMania, but WWE decided to wait until the last minute to have Flair win the SmackDown Women's Championship from Asuka so that all the belts could be defended in the main event.

The winner of the triple threat will be the Undisputed Women's Champion, but WWE could've easily taken the title off Asuka earlier instead of two weeks before WrestleMania, which deluded fans into believing The Empress would be given a match at WrestleMania.

The fact that this women's main event comes at the expense of another top star in the women's division is ironic because rather than enhancing the match, the winner takes all stipulation comes off as forced.

This feud has been overbooked to an outrageous level, but hopefully, the wrestling can make up for it.

Grade: C+

#7 Shane McMahon vs. The Miz - Falls Count Anywhere

Who would've thought Crown Jewel would come into play for WrestleMania?

Surprisingly, the match between Shane McMahon and The Miz has a story that goes back to November where the WWE World Cup trophy set their feud in motion.

Unfortunately, their feud feels like it was rushed after they won the SmackDown Tag Team Championships and lost them to The Usos in less than two months, which lead to Shane turning on The Miz.

There is no real heat on this match aside from Shane O'Mac hurling insults at The Miz's father and that's one of the reasons this feud feels so uninteresting.

An aggressive babyface version of The Miz was something most fans didn't expect to see, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out in their match.

Hopefully, the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation helps make the match better because the story is okay at best.

Grade: C+

#6 Buddy Murphy(c) vs. Tony Nese - Cruiserweight Championship

An Unstoppable Force meets The Premier Athlete

The Cruiserweight Championship will be defended for the third year in a row as Buddy Murphy looks to defeat his old training partner and former associate, Tony Nese.

Murphy had no issues with Nese until The Premier Athlete won the Cruiserweight Tournament to determine the next challenger for the title, which ended their alliance.

Since winning the title at Super ShowDown, Murphy has been on a roll as the Cruiserweight Champion having amazing matches at every turn.

Nese showed his talents throughout the Cruiserweight Tournament and will now have the opportunity to defeat his former friend in New Jersey, the place he grew up and cultivated his wrestling skills.

This storyline is very basic and most fans wouldn't be aware of Nese's alliance with Murphy prior to WrestleMania if they don't watch 205 Live, so that detracts a lot from the story they will tell.

The wrestling will be what carries this match and make it the highlight of the WrestleMania Kickoff Show.

Grade: C

#5 Sasha Banks & Bayley vs. Tamina & Nia Jax vs. The IIconics vs. The Divas of Doom - WWE Women's Tag Team Championships

Sasha Banks & Bayley won the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships months ago, yet have looked the least dominate out of all the teams in this match.

After defending the titles against Tamina and Nia Jax at Fastlane, the Samoan Duo laid waste to the champions and the Divas of Doom, setting up the third-ever women's tag team championship match for a WrestleMania debut.

The heart of the story was between the teams of Banks & Bayley, Tamina & Jax and The Divas of Doom and the story would've been much better if those teams were the focus.

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce's inclusion in this match have felt the most random since they didn't have much involvement in the story prior to the past two weeks.

Yet, the biggest problem with this storyline is how weak the champions have looked heading into their biggest title defense.

Bayley & Banks should've looked strong heading into WrestleMania and challenged all the teams at once after a few big victories, but WWE seems to insist on making any champion who isn't a heel look incompetent.

The storyline isn't too strong and the match expectations are low. Not much else to say about this match.

Grade: C-

#4 Samoa Joe(c) vs. Rey Mysterio - United States Championship

The Samoan Submission Machine vs. The Ultimate Underdog

NOTE: At the time of this writing, Rey Mysterio's status for the show is currently unknown due to an ankle injury he suffered on the final Raw before WrestleMania, so this match may be cancelled or Mysterio may be replaced by this Sunday.

A match between Rey Mysterio and Samoa Joe sounds like any of the matches on the old TNA versus WWE cards fans used to make, except this one has become reality.

Joe took the United States Championship from the previous owner, R-Truth, back in March and defended it against Mysterio, R-Truth and Andrade at Fastlane.

This feud should have a similar feel to AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton with two top guys from different companies finally getting a singles match on a big stage. Unfortunately, this match has not been built up and feels like another rushed match on the WrestleMania card.

Evident by the fact that this match was booked as a result of a tag team match and was announced in a backstage interview.

WWE could've done a lot better with the build to this match, but the actual match itself will be what carries this feud.

Grade: C-

#3 Brock Lesnar(c) vs. Seth Rollins - Universal Championship

A match between a world champion and a Royal Rumble winner should feel like a big deal, yet this match feels like a complete afterthought.

Brock Lesnar has held the Universal Championship on and off for two years and the story has been the same each time he fights - unstoppable champion, courageous challenger and the inevitable outcome.

Seth Rollins is the latest challenger to face Lesnar for the title, but the only part of the buildup that gives this match a big fight feel are Paul Heyman's words in this video package.

After winning the 2019 Royal Rumble, Rollins was hit with multiple F-5s and their match at WrestleMania was confirmed. Unfortunately, that would be the last time Rollins and Lesnar would have a physical altercation until the final Raw before WrestleMania.

If that wasn't bad enough, WWE decided not to focus on the history Lensar and Rollins had competing for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, but instead focused on the part-timer champion vs.full-time future champion angle. Which, in case you forgot, was the exact same storyline for last year's Universal Championship match.

The buildup has been uninspired and the only thing that can save this feud is the quality of their match.

Grade: D

#2 Bobby Lashley(c) vs. Finn Balor - Intercontinental Championship

The battle between Bobby Lashley and Finn Balor for the Intercontinental Championship was dead on arrival and the past few weeks haven't helped its case.

Lashley won the title in a triple threat match a few months ago and was immediately pushed into a program with Balor, which lead to The Irish Young Gun winning the title for the first time at the Elimination Chamber by pinning Lashley's manager, Lio Rush.

Yet, for some unexplained reason, the company decided to put the title back on Lashley and set up their rematch for WrestleMania.

Balor earned his rematch last week on Raw and has promised that The Demon King will make his debut on the Grandest Stage of Them All, but nobody's interested.

Lashley and Balor have wrestled so many times since 2018 that this feels like a never-ending feud. And sadly, the matches haven't been worth it either.

Grade: F

#1 Kurt Angle vs. Baron Corbin - Angle's Retirement Match

The announcement of Kurt Angle's retirement at WrestleMania 35 means the career of one of the all-time greats will come to an end, but it doesn't feel as special as it should.

Angle made the announcement in the second week of March, leaving less than a month for fans to see the Olympic Gold Medalist in action before he hangs up his boots.

Yet, the biggest disappointment to occur heading into WrestleMania was the revelation that Baron Corbin would be Angle's last opponent.

The story behind the match was that Angle and Corbin still have unfinished business stemming from their time as authority figures, but fans could care less.

John Cena and Chad Gable were among several wrestlers people were hoping to see Angle face at WrestleMania, while Corbin probably wasn't even on the list.

Some people are suggesting that this could end up being a swerve, but that would mean the company purposefully wasted time with Corbin just to give us another opponent at Mania - which would actually be worse.

Angle is an all-time great and deserves much better than this.