WrestleMania has come and gone for another year, so it’s time to take a look back at the 27th offering of the sports entertainment extravaganza. What was good? Bad? Confusing? Was it one of the greatest WrestleMania events ever? Or perhaps the worst? Read on to find out what I thought…
Dark Match
Before the PPV began, the advertised US title match between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus was pushed to the dark match, presumably to make room for video packages or something. I think its poor form pushing a title match off the main card… I raged a couple of years back when they moved the Tag Team Championship Unification match to before the show. I raged again here. Anyway, they were wrestling (lumberjacks were also ringside) until things got out of hand (as these things often do). They turned it into an over-the-top-rope battle royal, which The Great Khali won. OK then…
The show opened with The Rock making his way to the ring, in his role as the host of WrestleMania. He got the crowd going like no one else could. While I would have preferred to see a match with plenty of energy start the show, I see why they did this, and it worked well.
World Heavyweight Championship Match- Edge d. Alberto Del Rio to retain the Championship
Two things that really surprised me here- firstly, why was the World Heavyweight Championship match the opener to the biggest PPV of the year? Alberto Del Rio, love him or hate him, won the Royal Rumble and the right to main event the show. Yet, they were the first match. Secondly- what’s up with Edge winning? It seemed logical for Del Rio to win, after all the effort that has been put into his character. He told us it was his destiny, yet he didn’t get a win, even via shenanigans. Nothing against Edge though, he deserves a good ‘Mania win. The destruction of Del Rio’s car seemed a little “eh” as the match ended, as Christian helped his brother/close friend smash some windows and scratch the paint work. The belt should change hands at the next PPV, perhaps it is there where we’ll see Christian turn on Edge, giving us the feud that everyone wants to see.
Cody Rhodes d. Rey Mysterio
Really good to see Rhodes get the victory here. In the preview, I wrote that the only thing stopping a Rhodes victory was Rey’s ego, and it seems that he did the right thing and put Cody over. Maybe he isn’t as selfish as we are told. The evolution of the Cody Rhodes character is outstanding, and we’ll see him in main event matches soon enough. This feud is far from over though, and I look forward to where it’ll take us next. In terms of the match itself, it was quite good from a technical standpoint, and the mask/knee brace stuff was very well done.
The Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston d. The Corre
No no no no no! Here’s what I wrote the other day:
“Well I guess they need to get these guys on the card now that there’s no Money in the Bank. I think anything other than a Corre win would be stupid.”
I stand by that comment. Maybe because it was such a short match, they just wanted the faces to hit all their spots, and finish quickly. It was a let down, anyway. Especially considering how well the Nexus/Corre guys have been handled this past year.
Randy Orton d. CM Punk
This one was a little strange. There was nothing particularly bad about it… It was just… average. From a work rate and ring work perspective, but there was nothing memorable about it. I really think the Nexus guys need to come back into the fold, and I hope that it’s not the end of the group. The Super-RKO to finish the match was a cool spot, but even though it was technically FROM OUT OF NOWHERE, we knew it was coming. Expect the feud to continue throughout the (US) Summer.
Jerry Lawler d. Michael Cole via Submission
Oh lord. How they managed to screw this up I do not know. What should have been the easiest thing to put together ended up being the most confusing and overbooked match of the night. Jerry Lawler had Cole in the ankle lock, Cole tapped out, Stone Cold calls for some beers, celebrate. That’s where it should have finished. But the Anonymous Raw GM had to buzz in and reverse the decision. Also, at some point, Booker T (who was on commentary for the match) got in the ring, celebrated, and then received a stunner for his troubles. Then Josh Matthews got a stunner as well. I lost track of what was happening. Now they’re playing up the fact that Cole is undefeated at WrestleMania… Speaking of which, what’s doing with Cole’s tattoos?! The dude looks like he’s been in gaol or something. JR was on commentary for this and the rest of the show. Was it any coincidence that the show was far better after this match? I’ll let you be the judge!
No Hold Barred- The Undertaker d. Triple H via Submission
This match really saved the PPV. I liked how they didn’t bother with a slow build, and pretty much got straight into the action. Spinebuster through the Spanish Announce table bought a tear to the eye- it wouldn’t be WrestleMania unless they destroyed the Spanish Announce table at some point. The finishing sequence was sort of weird… When Triple H was yelling at The Undertaker “Just die!”, I’m not going to lie, I felt slightly uncomfortable. The straight chair shot to the head was a little sickening as well, especially in the post-Benoit era. Undertaker got the win with his gogoplata hold, the pyro went off, 19-0 was projected on the Titantron, as both men lay in the ring. Undertaker was driven from the ring on a black medical truck. Would have been way cooler if the Druids learned to drive and came and got him themselves. Just sayin’. I guess the story they telling was that Triple H took Undertaker to the limit, and proved he was just a man. Fair call. A possible rematch at next year’s WrestleMania is on the cards… Retirement match? Would be epic. This was a fantastic match, perhaps something you have to re-watch without the rest of the PPV to truly appreciate.
Snooki, Trish Stratus and John Morrison beat Laycool and Dolph Ziggler
I didn’t have high expectations here, but I thought it would be fine considering the calibre of talent involved. A lot of people criticised Snooki before she even got to work at the PPV, but I was one that was supportive of having her there in a match, and she didn’t let us down. Love it or not, Jersey Shore is a big show that garners a lot of mainstream press. Even though I don’t really understand what it is or what it involves, it is well and truly part of today’s pop-culture- the kids love it. Trish looked fantastic, and can still go in the ring. Laycool are arguably the top Divas in the business today (where were Natalya and Beth on this card?!), and Morrison and Ziggler are two stars on the rise. I would have loved to have seen the guys mix it up a bit more, but I guess time was limiting. Snooki did some flips, hit a few moves, and got the pin. Did anyone else pick up on the gimmick infringement of Kelly Kelly?! I guess I was the only one. At any rate, fun match, and the Brunette Mafia took the win!
WWE Championship Match- The Miz pinned John Cena to retain the Championship
Oh yeah. Picked this one, and thought it was a seriously good move. Questionable execution, however. The Miz is now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a legitimate WWE Champion and future face of the company. I don’t think anyone can deny this. He’s entertaining, charismatic, and his ring work has improved greatly. When he kicked out of the AA… that was a big moment. I’m a big Cena fan, always have been. He didn’t need the win like Miz did, so I’m glad common sense prevailed. As to the events at the ending of the match, the Draw was such a lame finish. What happened to double count outs, anyway? The Rock came out, restarted the match with new stipulations- no DQ, no count outs. Anything goes, essentially. He hit the Rock Bottom on Cena, Miz scrambled to get the pin. But the show was never going to end with a heel celebrating, right? The Rock laid the smackdown on Miz, giving him the People’s Elbow and began posing for the crowd as the show went off air. Not a fan of the finish… As, well, it was sort of… Eh. Nothing necessarily bad and I know they want to finish the show on a positive note, so I understand why it was done, but it could have been better.
Overall
I think that last line really sums up the whole show for me. It was alright, not horrible, but it was disappointing. It seemed to be lacking something, and I think that no Money in the Bank was perhaps one of the most noticeable omissions. Triple H/Undertaker was a shining light… Maybe I just hyped the show up too much? Also, the main event of your biggest show of the year shouldn’t really be used to set up a match for next year’s show, regardless of who the competitors are.
That leads us to…
Yep, it’s happening at WrestleMania XXVIII. Twelve months of build! That’s huge, but puts an incredibly amount of pressure on next year’s event. Not only is it a dream match, but now it’s going to have over a year’s worth of hype around it. Can they deliver? Only time will tell. I hope there are no injuries in the lead up to next year’s ‘Mania for either of these gentlemen. That would just be damn unlucky.
Do you agree? Disagree? What did you think of the show? You know what to do- leave a comment. Thanks for reading, and to our regular visitors who aren’t wrestling fans… sorry!
