Tonight was Wrestlemania right? I mean I knew I was watching Wrestlemania because huge letters said so but I have to say this felt like a bad RAW episode. The matches were short and felt very forced. I don’t know if its the fact WWE is more interested in entertainment then wrestling nowadays but this Wrestlemania is on par with Wrestlemania 9 and 11 as one of the weakest cards in history, well maybe not that bad but at times it was close. Don’t believe me? Read on.
Before I begin I have to say having The Rock back in WWE, even for a short period of time, has reinvigorated my passion for the business that was once called pro wrestling. I enjoyed his opening promo although it did dragged on a bit but it was classic Rock and it pumped me up. The issue I couldn’t get over was the fact that the crowd was dead for most of the promo. I thought to myself if the crowd doesn’t get excited for The Rock, what could? Well, it didn’t get better after that.
I was shocked to see that the opening match was the World Heavyweight Championship match. I mean I know titles have been devalued by WWE but they should still hold SOME merit. I am of the believe that titles should always close the show unless a match has major implications like last year’s HBK/Undertaker match, but I digress.
As for the match, it was roughly what I expected as they had a solid match with good back and forth action. The sequence they had with near finishes via submissions at the end of the match was well done and I have to say that Alberto always locks on his armbar beautifully. I was really hoping Alberto would be crowned champion but I have no problem with Edge continuing his first legitimate title reign and this is his first legitimate title reing that was not based on cheating or lasted only a couple of weeks.
Not a great way to start the night but it also wasn’t horrible. The next match would continue that trend.
I have no idea why WWE decided to end the Dashing gimmick. It felt it was finally starting to get over and Rhodes was playing the character very well. His new bizarre character, however, has no direction as I don’t see where he could go after the Mysterio feud. Staying with Mysterio, I know he has slowed down after various knee surgeries but this match seemed very slow in pace even for him. Rhodes is not bad in the ring but he still needs to improve in the ring. The match near the end did get better and I am glad Rhodes got the nod. I hope he gets a push in the coming months as I think he can be a good IC Title holder.
If you have been reading my blogs you know I don’t sugarcoat things and I will not start now. The segment with Snoop Dogg was dreadful. Apart from William Regal and Beth Phoenix, who actually looked and sounded wonderful, the segment was the reason why WWE is losing my interest. Believe it or not I do have a sense of humor but the American Idol parodies have been beaten to death and I really dislike Hornswaggle.
The statement I am about to make will take longer than The Corre Vs. Show/Kane/Santino/Kofi match… the match was horrible. I’m glad the guys got Wrestlemania bonuses but it doesn’t take away the fact that the match offered nothing. Why not have a Wade Barrett/Kofi match? Instead of Smackdown the IC Ttile could have been saved for Mania. I guess it makes too much wrestlingsense. Moving on.
I loved The Rock/Austin stare down in the back. It brought so much memories of their Wrestlemania trilogy. Better days gone by. Days that we may never see again in wrestling, oh wait I mean “Entertainment.”
There is no greater wrestler I love more, besides The Undertaker, than CM Punk. The way he carries himself in and out of the ring is vintage heel. I thought this match had the chance to steal the show, I have been critical of Orton’s recent work but there is no question that when he wants to, he can put on a great match.
With that being said. It was just another typical Orton match. Very deliberate, sluggish and Orton using the only 5 moves he seems to know. The end was predictable, Orton wasn’t going to lose at the biggest pay per view of the year, but I have to give Orton props for never botching an RKO. I do hope CM Punk gets his due credit and contends for the WWE Title later in the year. With his mic skills and actual wrestling ability the WWE Title would propel him to higher heights.
Great to see JR back in the announce booth. Wrestlemania just isn’t the same without him. He still looks and sounds great. I hope this isn’t a one shot deal but only time will tell. I do have to say that while my expectation were low for the match Micheal Cole was great on the mic and his attire was actually very funny. When Austin finally brought the crowd to life when he made his entrance, for a second I forgot this was the Cole/Lawler match.
The match was boring and don’t take my word for it, even the crowd started to chant boring. The GM’s decision to over turn the match was pointless and it just served for cheap heat on Cole and Swagger. The Booker T spin-o-roonie was great and the stunner afterwards cracked me up so honestly, the aftermath was better than the actual match.
HHH and Undertaker. Two man who were so imperative in the Attitude Era. The last two man of an era now so distant away. My expectations were really high for this match, not as high as the last two streak matches with HBK but none the less I knew these two were going to put on an epic match.
Well, I wasn’t wrong but I wasn’t right either. The match was OK, a little too spot heavy for me, but still it got the job done. On the bright side the spots they did were really well executed and the crowd was actually into the match for a change. The bad side was that no matter how hard they tried to capture the magic of the HBK/Undertaker matches it just wasn’t the same. The near finishes were there, a little too many, but deep down anyone who knows about wrestling knew Undertaker wasn’t going to lose. The other negative aspect I found is that the match had no flow. It was just finisher after finisher tied together by a chair shot or the aforementioned spot. I do have to comment on the chair shot to the head Undertaker took. Now we all know about the dangers of concussions and clean shots to the head should be banned but I think a head shot while putting your hands up should be used more often. Your hands take the shock and it still looks believable. Getting back to the match, the finish was kinda anti-climatic but it did tie in the fact that Triple H pretty much incapacitated Undertaker so I will give the booking props for that.
All in all the match was decent and the aftermath was something we have never seen before, the Undertaker in a stretcher. It would have been nice for some sort of interaction between the two superstars but I am not going to nitpick. Now the real challenge is for WWE to find a suitable opponent for Undertaker’s possible last match at Wrestlemania 28. I just hope is not Jon Cena.
I have to say that I love Dolph Ziggler and John Morisson but the addition of LayCool and…(sigh) “Snooki” was awful. Why not give Ziggler and Morisson room to shine at Wrestlemania. They have the ability to tear the house down but I guess WWE is just more concerned in branching out to “entertainment” than giving two young, talented wrestlers a chance.
Now, with the risk of contradicting myself, I do have to give Snooki props for executing the cartwheel and splash. There were 70,000+ eyes on her waiting for her to screw up and she nailed the move beautifully. I was impressed and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t either. I still don’t respect what she does on television but tonight she got the job done. As far as John and Dolph are concern, I am pulling for you guys to finally get that main event push. You guys deserve it.
For all the shortcomings WWE has had lately one thing they always do right is their promos. The Miz’s promo before the main event was great and it really sold you on just how far he has come in the business. Cena’s promo was less than stellar though. The production was there and all but how much does WWE try to portray Cena as the ultimate good guy? Not even Hogan tried that hard. To add to Cena’s over bloated character why is he coming out second? The champ Miz should. He is the WWE Champion after all.
The match itself was really stale. Miz held his own and Cena was well, Cena which means he brought all his usual moves to the match. The only time I popped was when Miz kicked out of the Attitude Adjustment. I didn’t see that one coming and I think it took everyone off guard. The end saw a double count out which was different but we all knew there was no way it would end that way, I mean this isn’t TNA after all folks. When The Rock came out and ordered the match to continue I think we all knew what was coming next. It still didn’t take away my joy as I relished seeing Cena get rock bottomed and FINALLY not get the strap at Wrestlemania. I imagine this will set up a Cena?Rock match and it’s one I will be looking forward to.
In the end tonight was a night that may serve WWE good. The crowd was obviously not enjoying the product. Anyone who tells you the sound was affected by the size of the stadium, please, don’t believe them. The crows was dead for the most part and we really can’t blame them. There was also a boring chant in the Cole/Lawler match and I defy you to point to another time we have heard a boring chant at Mania. Maybe at Wrestlemania 20 when Lesnar took on Goldberg but we really couldn’t blame the crowd either in that instance.
My point is that WWE needs to very careful in not over playing their hand. The card and matches were weak and just because it’s Wrestlemania doesn’t mean the masses will accept whatever product you put out. They have to remember that they are a WRESTLING company first. WWE is not as popular in the mainstream as they think and to alienate real wrestling fans, who are some of the most loyal fans on earth, is a mistake. Mr. McMahon, please give me my wrestling back. Leave the entertainment to others who focus solely on that. Don’t forget what gave you everything you have: Wrestling.
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