What's the story?
An inside source has revealed fresh information about WrestleMania 33. We can now report that John Cena's marriage proposal actually altered the entire face of WrestleMania and resulted in the WWE changing several matches, including scrapping The Undertaker vs John Cena.
This story was broken on the “Dirty Sheets’ Podcast, via our “DS Breaking News” show. You can listen to the Podcast, below (4 minutes and 32 seconds).
In case you didn't know...
John Cena and Nikki Bella faced Miz and Mayse in a Mixed Tag Team match at WrestleMania 33. After Cena and Nikki won the match, John Cena proposed to Nikki in the ring.
The Heart of the matter
The idea for John Cena to propose was pitched to Vince McMahon by Kevin Dunn. McMahon then spent several weeks pitching the idea to Cena, who was initially not in favour of the idea. Cena eventually gave in, and he was rewarded with a short WWE Championship run. Cena was NOT initially set to win the title. The Royal Rumble match was originally slated to be The Undertaker vs AJ Styles, with The Deadman winning the championship.
Also read: SK Exclusive: Plans were scrapped for Shinsuke Nakamura to debut at WrestleMania 33
The Undertaker was then set to drop the title back to AJ Styles at the Elimination Chamber, after being eliminated from the match by John Cena. AJ Styles was slated to defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton, who was always set to win the Rumble. Original plans called for Orton to turn on Wyatt in the Rumble and then defeat him at the Elimination Chamber in a singles match.
The WWE also scrapped plans to have Shinsuke Nakamura debut as Daniel Bryan's surprise challenger for the Intercontinental Championship, against the Miz.
What's next?
The Undertaker has now retired after losing to Roman Reigns, who was chosen as Cena's replacement at WrestleMania. John and Nikki Bella are likely to wed sometime next year, and it will be featured on the second season of Total Bellas.
Author's take
WrestleMania isn't aimed at hardcore fans anymore. It is aimed at the masses, and it's a variety show where the WWE showcases every aspect of what they are about.
Instead of doing the dream match between John Cena and The Undertaker, WWE decided to go with the marriage proposal in order to please the E! network and create publicity. This decision is symbolic of the modern nature of WrestleMania.
Be sure to check out my Podcast, “The Dirty Sheets” for the latest breaking news, along with rumours and in-depth analysis. It is available via iTunes.
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