OFFICIAL WrestleMania 28 Review Thread - Spam Zone Version

[Big Nick Dudley]

I figure instead of each and every poster creating a new thread, this works better. Here's mine:


-I have no idea why Sheamus and DB went nowhere. Maybe someone was hurt, not enough time, whatever. Honestly, I don't care. The build was shit anyhow.

-Orton did his best to bring a great match out of Kane, and it worked... sort of. Really good match given the limited build and time, but I don't get Orton losing. He was in a worst spot from last year, and didn't even win the fucking match. I don't care if he wins at Extreme Rules or not, that was fucking stupid. Stop shitting on this guy, seriously. It's getting fucking old.

-Big Show and Cody ended the way it should have ended. Cody shat all over Show for more than a month, and got what he deserved. The older guy shouldn't always lose. Get the fuck over it. It made sense given the story. Decent match.

-I pissed and grabbed a drink during the female fest. No one cares.

-The Undertaker/HHH match was fucking fantastic, best of the show easily. However, I must say one thing here - Shawn nearly fucking ruined it with his insane acting and weird actions. Fucking idiot. I love the guy, but he has a tendency to do this. He looked ridiculous, but then again, he shouldn't have been there in the first place. However, not even his asinine behavior could ruin this. On par with HBK/Undertaker I.

-The 12-man tag was what it was. Entertaining, solid finish. I'm sure it's not over.

-Jericho and Punk put on a nice show. I wouldn't call it a classic, but it was really good. I thought Punk was even sloppier than usual, but that's something I've come to expect. Honestly, I thought Jericho looked better and more ready, oddly enough.

-Rock and Cena blew the roof off. Listen - if you were looking for Bret vs. Shawn, you were never going to be happy. This was a glorified Hogan/Warrior scenario - two brawlers wanting to know who the tougher guy is. Period. It worked. Second best match of the night, in my opinion.

I don't care who won, it doesn't matter. I wouldn't have cared had Cena won. However, given this outcome, they're definitely wrestling again, which is more than fine with me. If this is the kind of match these two can give us, they should main event WM 29.

Great show, overall. I'd put it in the top ten, possibly top five, I'll have to see it again. Much, much, much fucking better than last year. Felt like a big event, something missing last year. Loved it.

 

[xoxo French Kiss xoxo]

Sheamus vs Bryan should have got that 15 minutes of time that was wasted on the two rappers that performed before Cena vs Rock, because they were complete shit. The squash was a nice swerve but I can see it leading to a longer feud with more matches between the two and Bryan recapturing the title at some point.

Orton vs Kane - I fully expected Orton to walk out victorious but Kane stole it from him, it wasn't the best match these two have had, and I'm certain it wont be the last.

Show vs Rhodes - as much as I dislike Big Show, the story between the two did need to finish this way. It takes a lot to get something decent out of Show and Cody managed well.

The Tag Team Diva's match- Maria Menounos did well selling her rib injuries, and boy is she hot. Eve should stop wearing so much makeup because it ended up on Menounos's ass after the stink face. It was as full of bullshit as to be expected but luckily it was quick.

Taker vs Triple H - I actually enjoyed this match more than I thought I was, but it could have been shorter. I'm still uneasy about the three way circle jerk hug they shared at the top of the ramp but I'm glad its over.

12-Man-Clusterfu.... Tag Match - typical swerve, I wonder where this will all lead now...

Jericho vs Punk - Jericho proved he was better than Punk in the ring, and overall as an entertainer. It would have been nice to see the title change hands in this match to have this feud continue. I still don't buy into Punk as the main guy in the WWE, or as the face of Raw. Solid match between the two, glad it got a decent amount of time

Rock vs Cena - WTF ! Hated the 3 song concert before the match started. The crowd ruined what could have been a great match. Due to the WWE shoving the Rock down our throats, Cena didn't even get a good 50/50 reaction. This match could have been better if the crowd was split better. At one point a "same ole shit" chant (or something along those lines) broke out, when Cena went for an FU and a pin, I find it funny because Rock did the same shit he did 7-10 years ago the entire match.

As I suspected the WWE was banking on the Rock, Rock vs Cena and Triple H vs HBK so the rest of the card suffered. I'm glad they backstage segments were kept to a minimal and the focus ended up being on the actual in ring action.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - World Heavyweight Championship
Some fans will complain about this, but you need to look at it from a character perspective, this will give D. Bryan a lot to work with, bit like Christian when he lost the World Championship five days after winning it, bad things can create greater things.

Kane vs. Randy Orton
Match was very physical and I forsee a rematch at Extreme Rules, Kane looked very good and deserved to pick up the win. Orton seemed slightly sluggish, whether that be the idea or just him, would be interesting to know, usually he is smooth as they come but he wasn't on par. Great ending with the Chokeslam to Hell.

Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show - Intercontinental Championship
Rhodes losing will probably be a disliked decision, but Big Show winning seems like it could be this years feel good moment. He seemed actually emotional after the match to have won. Cody will either attempt to regain the belt or move forwards. Very few heel contenders are on Smackdown, so Rhodes could have his eyes set on Sheamus in the near future.

Kelly Kelly & Maria Menapause vs. Beth Phoenix & Eve
Lets be honest, who actually gives a shit? Worst match on the card, produced the worst match in-total, no point to it and when WWE want to bring a celebrity in bring someone in who has a clue or some athletic capabilities, not this one from Extra and not Snooki. Of course the celebrity pinned the WWE Divas Champion for the victory, Fabulous Moolah rolled over in her grave.

Undertaker vs. Triple H w/ Special Referee Shawn Michaels - End of an Era
Fucking epic. It was a brawl, a fucking fight and I loved it. They were beating the holy hell out of one another and it was showing, Triple H's cut eye, Taker's back; the entire story was excellent and I finally got what the title mean't, it was the End of an Era! The closing with all three on the ramp was a brilliant image, don't see a Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels match anymore, as was rumored, cause it isn't needed. Great fucking match. Fuck those that said it wasn't needed or shouldn't happen.

Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy
Johnny Laurinitas (It's not John anymore, it seems!) the new General Manager of both Monday Night RAW and Friday Night Smackdown, so now he'll be saying... "My name is Mister John Laurinitas, I am the Interim General Manager of Monday Night RAW and Friday Night Smackdown and the Executive Vice President of Talent Relations..." ...Mr. Excitement, gotta love 'em. Oh, and Eve kicked Ryder in the balls, which was a pleasure to see. This Ryder Revolution isn't going so well, which pleases me greatly.

Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk - WWE Championship
Great match. This is what people expected and both guys showed they are two of the best wrestlers in the world. Jericho looked great throughout, everything he did was basically flawless, Punk didn't connect with everything, his Roundhouse Kicks especially didn't seem to get much connection so took away from the realism; general observation, but fans didn't care and neither did I, they weren't into much at the start but when we got half-way they blew up and it was a great wrestling match, Michael Cole saying it was a great thing to hear. Pleased with the ending, couldn't care who won or lost, I could have watched them go at it all day. Now I hope people see why this was my personal Wrestlemania Main Event!

Once In A Lifetime - John Cena vs. The Rock
Overall, match was very good, nothing technically on Punk and Jericho, or as a brawl like Taker vs. HHH, but it was a meeting of the two, both were shown to be equally matched. The Rock getting the win is a huge surprise, but chances are Once in a Lifetime may not ring so true in the future. The Rock got the win, I'm fucking ecstatic, Cena's character will be hurt by this and It'll be interesting to see how they bounce back.

Overall
My favourite Wrestlemania since Seventeen I think, definitely most enjoyable. This wasn't a wrestling event, this wasn't an entertainment event, it was a meeting of the two and they got the mixture just right. Some of the stuff got a laugh, some of the stuff got you excited and the Divas match made you take a piss break, but overall it was exactly what it said on paper and that is how it turned out.

Ignoring the Divas match, the biggest disappointment, and in-truth it wasn't much of a disappointment, was Bryan vs. Sheamus. Last year dropped off the card, this year it ends in 18 seconds. However from a character perspective it fits Bryan so much that they couldn't not have done it. They'll have a rematch at Extreme Rules I'm sure anyway.

Match that stole the show for me was easily Punk vs. Jericho, and I don't say easily because other matches suck, I say that because they did such an awesome job of putting on such a great match. Angle will continue for at least another month anyway, and when they allow Punk to let his anger towards Jericho's comments come out things will get violent, but for what it was tonight, it lived up to expectations.

Biggest surprise is easily The Rock defeating Cena. I wanted it to happen, didn't see it though from a realistic standpoint, but fuck realism, Rock winning was awesome! Chances are It'll set up something bigger, they need a rematch because if the match can draw half the hype it did tonight, It'll still draw 4x what any other WWE match not involving Jericho, Taker, HHH or Punk would.

Great PPV, more than worth the money. And if you think it was a poor show and you want your money back...

Anybody that says tonight was poor or that they want their money back can kiss Vince McMahon's ass. I hope he personally takes the money from their account, eats as much Mexican food as he can in the space of two hours, takes the money of those that are complaining, goes to his diamond encrusted toilet, pulls down his pants, takes the sloppiest, dirtiest, millionaire shit that God has ever gifted a millionaire and then proceeds of wipe away the shit from his anus with the money of those who say that was a poor show.

Fucking ******s.

 

[Harthan]

Sheamus vs Bryan - Royally pissed about this shit. Fucking garbage unless someone was hurt or whatever. Otherwise, fuck everything about it. -*****

Kane vs Orton - Good enough stuff. Felt kind of weird, like "Why are we having this match" but they did a good job with it. ***

Rhodes vs Show - Good enough. Probably the best match these two could realistically have. Show winning is good for now but I hope he drops it quick. Not really the kind of guy I like titles on long term. **1/2

Divas Tag - Total shit, Maria looked awful and like she couldn't care less. Eve was sloppy as fuck. Beth was Beth but Jesus, what is she supposed to do with the garbage they give her? *1/2

Undertaker vs Triple H - Instant classic, amazing match with wonderful support from HBK here really tying together everything. *****

Team Johnny vs Team Teddy - Not bad. Good match especially down the stretch. Sheer number of people and lack of real interest in the outcome hurt. But good enough. ***

CM Punk vs Chris Jericho - I loved everything about this match. It's my MOTN and tentative MOTY so far. Absolute instant classic that was perfectly done. The counter wresting was practically orgasmic. *****

John Cena vs the Rock - Love the ending, everything about it signals a Cena heel turn which is desperately the right direction for him and I really hope they execute the storyline they've given themselves. Match itself was very good, perhaps a little too much in the way of sitting around - something that was masterfully covered up in HIAC by Shawn, part of what makes that match so much better than last year's HHH/Taker match, by the by. For a match that was basically this generation's Warrior vs Hogan, it ran a bit long for my taste. I dunno. Not that that really hurt anything. Heck of a match, had me on the edge of my seat and I sure as hell marked out for Rock winning. ****1/2

 

[PlayTheGame]

First, some general comments about the event. Alotta people are hailing it as one of the best Wrestlemanias ever. I disagree. While very solid, and a good show, I wouldn't put it up there with one of the all-time greats. People generally overeact when something just happens. Let's give it some time before we make those kinds of statements and not get ahead of ourselves. Because there were certainly some glaring flaws. Such as the fact that the promos absolutely sucked. I mean, terrible. Heath Slater and Flo-Rida? Are you kidding me? Mick Foley eating crab legs? Is this really the best they could put together? I think people are hailing it as such because Wrestlemania 27 largely sucked. So while it may have been the best in a few years, I don't think it's one of the best of all-time.

DB/Sheamus- I called this one. I mean, shit build, so it was probably more entertaining this way. They sort of cut their losses by just making this a surprising squash, something the WWE really gets off on for some reason at Wrestlemania, as they're always doing this shit it seems.

Kane/Orton- Surprising ending after a mediocre match. It's a shame they had nothing else for Orton other than losing to Kane after the year he had...

Rhodes/Show- I really thought Rhodes should have beat Show in order to further cement his IC title reign. Not sure what's really gained from this. I think it should've gone the other way, but I guess Show finally gets his 'Mania moment. Now he can go back to jobbing next year to celebrities.

Diva's Tag Match- Not awful for a Diva's match. Maria was passable, and they worked her injury fairly well. Kelly Kelly's move off the top rope almost made up for her sloppy ring work. Almost. Kinda shitty way to end it though, having Maria pin the champion of the Diva's division. But I guess it's dead and buried anyway.

Undertaker/HHH- Was it a good match? Of course it was, you got 2 of the best ring workers ever that command so much respect. But I just didn't like it, and I think HHH/Taker from last year's Mania was better due to the fact that it was more original. They took a lot of spots and the same overall feeling from that match and just stuck it in a Cell (which wasn't even utilized) and hastily stuck HBK as the guest ref. Now, let me get to that. HBK nearly ruined this match. First off, he was uncharacteristically jittery, and seemed to be scared to death of these two guys beating the hell out of each other. I guess you can explain it by saying he didn't want HHH to end the Streak, doing something he couldn't do, and he didn't want Undertaker hurting/beating HHH, his best friend. But still, it was bad. His involvement was really poor and distracting, and it added an unnecessary element, but most of us knew this from the start. I don't get why it's called the "end of an era", either. I guess the WWE doesn't really know either, because they tip-toe around explaining it. Is HHH retired? Undertaker? I doubt it, so what has really ended? Besides my respect for HBK. Actually, that's not even ended either. Last few notes: while I liked the blood, I was underwhelmed by the cell-usage. Why even make it a cell match? Oh, for drawing power. And don't even get me started on the hugfest at the end. Get a room, ******s. I hoped they kissed each other's boo-boo's in the back.

Hall of Fame- I wanted to include this because two things stood out to me. 1. Ric Flair was really shunned, it seemed, and for good reason. 2. I genuinely feel so bad for Edge. One very small, touching moment happened with Edge breaking down when he was inducted. Not because he was inducted (but I'm sure he's glad that he was of course) but because he knows he still wants to be performing and simply cannot due to his neck. No acting- you could see it in his agitated body language and the welling up of his eyes that the emotion overwhelmed him when his music hit- the nostalgia of it all, the desire to still be doing the only thing he ever wanted to do. He's missed, and he certainly misses it. If were to ever come out of retirement by the slimmest of chances, I'd have no problem.

Team Johnny/Team Teddy- Ugh, more JL. Booker T should still be wrestling. Miz deserves better, but was good in this match. Cool spot near the end with those 3 going over the top rope. Lastly, I don't know what they're doing with Ryder. He's looking more and more stupid with this Eve situation.

Punk/Jericho- good match, no doubt. I had no problem with Punk's work, and Jericho was amazing. Good way to end it, as it gives the feud some legs to keep going. The match could've been spectacular though, as the two have the talent. But still good.

Cena/Rock- As people have been saying, there's no way this match could've lived up to the hype, so they had a surprising finish. I really think Cena should have won. Kinda defeats what most thought was the purpose of this match, but it does set them up to fight in the future, where Cena will probably come out on top. This does not mean Cena will turn heel. They could go that route. But certainly it doesn't mean that. It'd be extremely hypocritical of Cena to just give up his current attitude and "way of life" after 1, albeit devastating, loss. It may only further motivate him, not break him. The match itself was pretty good, although the finish was kinda abrupt, but still okay.

Decent 'Mania, horrific promos, beautiful set, decent matches with some surprises. Solid show, but probably won't stand the test of time.

 

[Vega]

Bryan VS Sheamus: -*
When it happened, I was furious. However, that was partly because of bias and seeing it in the context of last year where those two got their match stolen as well. Before the show I made a joke about the match not happening, but I didn't expect to be almost right. The crowd was very hot when it started, but was dead after for the three next matches. The fans wanted to see the match and Bryan perform, proven by "Bryan"- and "Yes"-chants during the first half of the show. That means the match failed its purpose as the opener, however it fits Bryan's character to be honest. The feud was forgettable anyway and a five minute match wouldn't have been better.

Kane VS Orton: **1/2
Again, the feud was lame, but the match was okay. Crowd didn't care and neither did I. Good back and forth though.

Rhodes VS Big Show: **
Okay little match and story, not much to say.

Divas: *1/4
Another match without much heat and sloppy as most Divas' matches. Whatever.

HIAC: ****3/4
This brought the crowd back to live and almost exhausted it in the process. Another great performance by Undertaker who delievers year after year. This much, much better than last year, with great storytelling and no boring spots. Shawn was too oversensitive for my taste and the ending missed a little buzz, that brings it down a tiny bit in my opinion. Still, another masterpiece and almost on par with the HBK-Taker matches. Liked the aftermath as well, I'd love them to go out like this. 20 is a nice number, Taker looks really old and HHH has done all there is to do too.

Johnny VS Teddy: *1/2
It was what it was, expected winner and most people got their faces on the card. Not much to complain about, but nothing interesting.

Punk VS Jericho: ***3/4
I think the feud could've been handled better since it wasn't really something to remember and felt forced. Basing it on insults doesn't work when the insults are weak, and basing it on Punk's background doesn't work when there's not much to reveal. After Jericho tried to get Punk disqualified there wasn't much to see and the pace was rather slow for a while, but it picked up very well and became a nice exchange of skills with a great ending sequence. The stipulation was a nice touch: adding to the match without giving it away. Very good match, but not a classic that has to be remembered.

Rock VS Cena: ****1/4
The build and feud are historic, but in the beginning I didn't feel it as being as huge as I should have. I didn't like the rapper intros and needed a while to warm up. However, they meshed rather well and the test of strength came off very nice. Both men were presented as being equal and a smidgen of arrogance emerging in Cena costing him the match was a nice touch. I don't get the ending though. Cena has almost never lost clean in eight years and a rusty one-off guy is better than him? That doesn't just put Rock above Cena, that puts him miles above anyone else on WWE's roster. We have guys fighting for championships, but in the end there's a guy in Hollywood who is just better than all of them and could defeat them if he just wanted - that's the message. Overall, it's a very huge match, but feels more like Hogan - Rock than Hogan - Andre.

Summary:
We have a great match, a memorable match and a very good match. The first half was pretty weak with a dead crowd and aside from the main event the stories leading up to the show were rather random and uninspired. Comparing to other Manias I'd place around top 5 to 10. For me, 26 is still by far the greatest Mania of this era, but this show is light years better than 27. Very good Mania overall.

 

[Thriller Ant]

I haven't seen it, but I would say that the Danielson/Sheamus match was actually decent booking. I mean, think about it. Bryan has been the most cowardly of the cowardly heels for most of his reign, hiding behind AJ, using belt shots, anything to unfairly keep winning. Sheamus comes in and does the one thing he can to ensure Bryan can't cheat: knock him out immediately. The coward gets what's coming to him, and the built-up face gets the belt.

 

[Ming]

Why are people pissed off about Sheamus and Bryan? It made sense that Bryan got embarrassed from a booking perspective and let's be honest, the build was so predictable and boring. It's good that they didn't take up too much time, we all knew who was winning that match.

I was a little surprised at Kane beating Orton but I suppose it means continuation for their feud. Match wasn't all that bad. That Chokeslam was damn cool.

Is it me? Or does Eve seem way more hot since her heel turn? Anyway, the divas match sucked but honestly I'm just happy that it didn't take up too much time.

Team Johnny winning was funny, their match was a bit boring apart from that spot with Hornswoggle. The celebrations from Laurinitus was funny, seemed genuine. I wonder what this means for Teddy Long? Hopefully not an actual sacking. Ryder's lost a lot of momentum...well, all of it actually. Santino's better anyway.

Brodus Clay's appearance was unexpected and a bit funny. Anytime I see Naomi & Cameron, I'm happy

The performances from MGK & Flo-Rida sucked but that was to be expected. I was so fucking happy that The Rock won. It's reasons like that why I'm still a wrestling fan, it was shocking and brought back great memories. Hopefully, Cena will be a lot less smug from now on and hopefully...The Rock will wrestle again.

I didn't really care for the title; "An End Of An Era". I thought it was just an exaggerated label chosen for the match, afterwards however. When Undertaker, HHH and HBK all stood together on the ramp, it hit me...they may never compete together again. It truly was the End Of An Era, quite sad but still one of the greatest moments in the history of wrestling. The match itself was masterful, not technically but for storytelling.

CM Punk and Jericho was great. A little overrated by some but still an awesome match. Technically, this was probably the match of the night. Jericho was good, like really damn good. He's still got it. CM Punk's had better nights depending on how you interpret things. Still, it was good enough and the ending was fantastic. So happy that my second favourite wrestler won this match. If you told me before WrestleMania 28 that Undertaker, CM Punk and The Rock were all going to win clean, I wouldn't have believed you. Actually, I'd have disliked you a little for trying to get my hopes up.

A very good WrestleMania overall. One of the best actually.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Why are people pissed off about Sheamus and Bryan?

I know no more than 100 people bought this PPV for the sole purpose of watching Daniel Bryan and Sheamus, but to those 100 people, it was awful. I get that, actually. You pay to see a match, and nothing happens. Great or poor booking goes out the window at that point - they wanted a match, and I get that.

 

[The Man They Call WMD]

I know no more than 100 people bought this PPV for the sole purpose of watching Daniel Bryan and Sheamus, but to those 100 people, it was awful. I get that, actually. You pay to see a match, and nothing happens. Great or poor booking goes out the window at that point - they wanted a match, and I get that.

Speaking as someone who attended last night, here is my take on the match. Wrestlemania draws the most hardcore fans who travel accross the world to see it. Hardcore fans love Bryan, it's just a fact. Before the show started, from what I observed Bryan chants were the loudest and most common occurance. From around 6 :15 to 6:30 fans were chanting Yes,Yes,Yes. It was pretty much the whole stadium. I know it sounds moronic, but with the crowd lastnight he was as over as anyone. We were cheated. Their is no reason ten minuites couldn't be found by removing Brodus Clay and the rappers. I'm positive time could have been found. I just feel it was an awful way to start a show.

 

[ABMorales787]

Don't worry. Last year, it got snubbed off the card. This year, at least you got it. Maybe next year, it can go 10 minutes.

 

[Kenny Powers]

We had five underwhelming matches and three incredible ones so I can't say WM 28 was a bad show at all. I can't even remember one good match from WM 27 except maybe Triple and Taker. It was one of the best Manias I have seen in years. I don't know if I would say rank it as the one of the best of all time but it is certainly up there. The first hour fly by and the matches weren't bad but they seemed very rushed. Kane and Big Show got their Wrestlemania moments I guess.

I guess WWE wanted to break a record for the WHC match. I would by lying if I said I was interested in the match, but I did actually want to see these two have a few minutes since they weren't even on the main card last year. Sheamus was the 2012 Royal Rumble winner, if that means anything. I would think him and the WHC would have more then 18 seconds, but the WHC has meant less then nothing for years now.

Undertaker vs. Triple in the hell in a cell was a great sendoff for the end of an era. I'm satisfied with the match and the ending with all three men showing each other respect. If it is Taker or Triple H's last match then I think they made it a memorable one.

Punk vs. Jericho was probably one of the best championship matches I have seen on Mania in years. Punk had his Wrestlemania moment with the win over Jericho. I'm just curious where it goes from here since Jericho tapped out.

Rock vs. Cena didn't live up to my high expectations. It wasn't a bad match but it was so over hyped that by the time these two locked up it wasn't as special. I still enjoyed it and I'm glad Rock won because now Cena will be looking for revenge and potential rematch will probably be set up. Cena winning and the Rock shaking his hand would have been such a boring and predictable outcome in my opinion. I'm glad WWE went the other way. Cena is such a big star he doesn't need to beat Rock, Austin, or even Hogan at this point in his career.

Enjoyable show. The first hour could have been better with a longer WHC match and maybe an actual Money in the Bank ladder match instead of the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny match.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Bryan/ Sheamus: Decent booking decision but again understandable why fans of DB may be upset. But this may lead to better things for DB a la Christian in 2011.

Match rating: NR

Orton/ Kane: Decent match. Great finish. Orton was good but Kane really had his wrestling boots on here.

Match Rating: **1/2

Cody/ Show: Correct booking decision. Cody has done as much with the title as he possibly can and is ready to move up the card. Big Show is someone whom Cody had tormented for the past few weeks and he finally got his revenge. Again, despite the loss, this will lead to better things for Cody. Match was as good as it could possibly be

Match Rating: **1/4

Divas match: I think that they are all pretty, especially Maria.

HIAC: Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Loved the sledgehammer headshots by Undertaker and the SCM/ Pedigree combo which I thought was the finish. Had my heart in my mouth there. They drew on the match they had last year and told a story accordingly. Only silly part, as Nick has pointed out, was Shawn acting like Stephanie McMahon when they were really going at each other post the SCM/ Pedigree combo. But still, it was good for a laugh.

Match Rating: ****1/2

Team Johny vs Team Teddy: Honestly, did not see this. Did not care about any one involved.

Jericho vs Punk: Very good match but not great. I agree with what Sly said in the LD. The first part of the match was about Jericho trying to get disqualified. The second part was a very good technical wrestling match. Both parts were individually good but there was little connection between them. Still a very good match, possibly should have been a bit more intense due to the story but definately WrestleMania worthy.

Match Rating: ***1/2

Rock/ Cena: What an awesome result man. Like I have said before, makes me feel like a little boy watching the Attitude Era again. Match was very similar in style to Hogan/ Warrior and Rock/ Austin at Mania 17 though not as intense as the latter. Fast paced match for most part. Rock looked gassed here and there. Last ten minutes were fantastic.

Match Rating: ****

Solid WrestleMania which definately belongs to the top 10 of all time and the best WrestleMania in a while.

Show Rating: 8/10.

 

[shattered dreams]

The only matches I watched in entirety with full attention were Taker-HHH and Rock-Cena. Both were highly enjoyable.

 

[¡Roján!]

Divas Tag - Total shit, Maria looked awful and like she couldn't care less. Eve was sloppy as fuck. Beth was Beth but Jesus, what is she supposed to do with the garbage they give her? *1/2

I don't understand the slating of this match. It was pretty great for the Diva's division. Menounos didn't look disinterested to me, seeing as she had 2 broken ribs yet still showed up. Eve was sloppy, but so was CM Punk. I'd put it down to nerves. Really, though, if you went into the match expecting a shit match, you'll trick yourself into thinking it was one, when in reality it was one of the most entertaining women's match since the Mickie James era. Give it another watch, mayn.

 

[Blizz]

Daniel Bryan/Sheamus - N/A

Orton/Kane- ***

Big Show/Cody Rhodes- **1/2

Divas- **

HHH/Taker - ****3/4

Team Teddy/Team Johnny - ***

CM Punk/Jericho - ****1/4

John Cena/Rock- ****

Overall: A
Simply incredible show tonight. The opening match was entertaining, even if it was an 18 second squash. Hopefully Danny goes ape shit on Raw or SD this week. This could help his character. Orton/Kane was a solid match, the tag match was a lot of fun, and the Big Show/ Rhodes match was, well, as expected. Nothing great, but not bad at all. The Taker/Trips match exceeded my expectations. I'd place it as just a tad behind the two Shawn Micheals/Taker matches but far ahead of the last Trips/Taker match. Punk and Jericho was pretty fucking amazing. Punk seemed to be a bit sloppy at some parts but it wasn't super noticeable. The first half of the Cena/Rock match was pretty dull but it picked up VERY quickly in those last 8-10 minutes or so. Rock seemed to be the one slowing down the match and seemed pretty sloppy at some points. Ring rust, I suppose. Certainly not a classic, but a fantastic match, nonetheless. Amazing show and the best Wrestlemania since 17. Top 5 all time.

 

[shattered dreams]

when in reality it was one of the most entertaining women's match since the Mickie James era

I don't see how this excludes the possibility it was shit.

 

[¡Roján!]

I don't see how this excludes the possibility it was shit.

If you read on, you might.

 

[Y-2-Jay]

Don't know if anyone brought up the crowd I must say they was a high point of the night. When Rock got the 1 2 3 they pop'd fucking crazy loud.

 

[shattered dreams]

How does "Give it another watch, mayn" change that?

 

[Shocky]

- Sheamus v. DBD: I really hate these matches. This is the third in the last 4 years. It's stupid, and it's not funny. Cody Rhodes vs. Big Show could have done the same exact thing. The World Heavyweight Championship is pretty much useless at this point.

- Orton v. Kane: About what was expected. Nothing fancy, just two dudes beating the hell out of each other. Solid match.

- Big Show vs. Rhodes: Predictable outcome, but really questioning why Show has the IC title. I know it gets Rhodes into the main event picture in the long run, but still.

- Divas: Still don't give a shit. Stupid time filler.

- Hell in the Cell: Undertaker does it once again, best match on the card at Mania. Dude is fucking timeless. The three stars of this match made this thing fanfuckingtastic. Not quite as good as WM 25, but it's pretty phenomenal. If these three were to retire for good, this was the perfect way for them to go out. Shit on the streak all you want, the Undertaker just does what he does, puts on damn fine matches.

Big Team Madness: I suppose this was the only way this match could go. Wasn't expecting much, and it delivered about what I was expecting.

- Punk v. Jericho: Another excellent match. Doesn't touch the cell or the main event, but still two guys wrestling that type of match you would expect. The ending sequence was fantastic.

- "Once in a lifetime, until next time". I'm questioning the outcome as of now, only because I'm not sure where the story goes. The match itself, not too bad. Definitely became more of Warrior v. Hogan type of match. Felt the match tried to hard at first to be Hogan vs. Rock, but developed into it's own thing.

Norcal and I were texting during the match, and it looked like Rock was gassed about ten minutes into it. Cena was definitely dragging Rock around the ring for a while. Now I'm not shitting on the Rock, he's a 40 year old guy who hasn't wrestled a singles match in 9 years, and he went out and wrestled the 2nd longest match of his career last night. He did a damn good job all things considered, but Cena easily led the Rock to a great match.

There has to be some sort of payoff though. Most people assume Heel turn, unfortunately it's probably going to be a best of three series. The match was good, but not good enough to get my money again. Much rather see both men move onto something else.

Overall, damn good show. Wouldn't put it top 5, but easily top 1/3 of Manias. The concert and Brodus Clay really killed the momentum the show was building.

Don't be surprised if we get Rock vs. Taker for next year.

 

[Diet Soda]

Well...

Bryan vs. Sheamus annoyed me before it even started. 2 years on the trot that the Royal Rumble winner challenging for the WHC opens the show. And when it was over in 18 seconds I thought to myself, Oh boy, it's going to be one of these Wrestlemanias, prepare for clusterfucks.

Fortunately, Orton vs. Kane delivered an entertaining enough ten minutes, and we'll most likely see these two meet again at Extreme Rules (even though I went on record and said that the feud had nowhere to go). Weird as hell seeing Kane in daylight, though.

I didn't know which way Show vs. Rhodes would go to be honest, but it ended up being a standard Big Show match, only about 4 minutes longer, that is. Saying that, Cody came off looking good in the ring, and is ready to progress up the ladder.

Didn't bother with the Divas match as it was probably irrelevant to everything that has happened in the universe ever.

The Heck in a Ceck itself didn't actually add anything to what was undoubtedly the most enjoyable match of the night. Got a rush when the hood came down; glad they didn't bring too much attention to the haircut other than King arbitrarily making up factoids on the spot. My interest waned a little in the middle with the incessant chair shots, but the ending brought me back in. Loved the finish with Trips' face resigning to the fact that he could not beat the Deadman. And the walk-off will be remembered as one of the greatest moments in Wrestlemania history - manly tears were shed.

The 12 man tag was as expected. Utterly pointless having Booker T there if he didn't do a god damn Spinnerooni. Ryder and Ziggler really shined in the match. Swagger's entrance was the funniest thing I've seen in a while. Eve causing the distraction finish pissed me off, but I guess it keeps the story going. Overall, probably the best you'd get from only ten minutes; really needed double that to make it stand out, or even seem important.

Punk vs. Jericho delivered, but I never felt that Jericho was in with a chance, the match was 75% Punk. Jericho's tweet today about losing to the better man and moving on totally undermines his character, not that it matters as he'll be buggering off again before Summer.

Fantastic reminder of how great a worker the Rock is. Him winning suggests a rematch a lot more than if Cena won. I don't think they went all out this time around, the match didn't feel like it had the whole 12 months of hype behind it. Still, did not see Cena losing, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

Marks out of ten?
I could go for an 8 honestly. Three solid half-hour matches with brilliant storytelling behind them. The undercard was generally impressive, except for getting ripped off by the WHC match. Bit of time wasted with the music performances. The entrances of Cena and the Undertaker were subpar, which was a bit disappointed, as they're usually something to look forward to.

 

[.]

I'll involve the tag title match in this review:

Primo and Epico(c) (with Rosa Mendes) defeated Justin Gabriel and Tyson Kidd and The Usos
This was a great short match and really showcased the talent in WWE's current tag division. The match kept the crowd alive and they were way into it. As a fan of all men involved it was pretty damn satisfying to see them on the Wrestlemania card. The action was quick but kept short and that did it justice. I was a little unhappy with Primo & Epico winning as i felt it would've been much better for the Uso's to win after inducting their uncle.

Sheamus defeated Daniel Bryan(c)
Short match. Botheres me. Yeah it could help Bryan's heel persona & yeah it was an obvious result. Why make it an obvious result though? Why not have both men push each other to the limit & make it seem like Bryan had a chance to win? The fans were in support of Bryan and were chanting his name during the Orton/Kane match.

Kane defeated Randy Orton
Surprisingly good match. I was genuinely surprised by the result as Kane is a company man and Orton bitched about his position last year. Yeah some people will be mad because Orton didn't win. It suited the story though, Kane's a monster again sans the humanity he got. What does Orton lose here? Nothing so Shut the fuck up. Kane was on his game here and the moment Orton kicked out of the chokeslam i assumed the match was all over for Kane.

The Big Show defeated Cody Rhodes(c)
Short, dull match. That being said, the end was definitely suitable to finish the feud. Cody mocked Show and called him a joke and a choke artist, if he won what happens to Show? People can be as sad as they want but screw that, Cody's reign was lackluster. Show's will probably be no better but at least he might defend it more regularly.

Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos defeated Beth Phoenix and Eve
Maria was really good in this match for someone with little experience. Beth was great and Eve was..... Eve. K2 was her usually horrible self there was a pretty nice bulldog by her. The fact that Maria wrestled with two broken ribs, took shots to the ribs, sold the offense she took & managed to finish the match bumps it up in my opinion.

The Undertaker defeated Triple H
FANTASTIC MATCH here. Everything about this match was leaps and bounds above everything else on the show in terms of Storytelling, delivery, wrestling and emotion. The match was great with the brawls looking painful and the entrances being awesome. Truly the end of an era.

The A(ce) Team defeated Team Long
This was fun and it was something that i enjoyed. I loved the treble dive spot but the ending has me torn. I love Ace and I don't wanna see him go anywhere but at the same time, I adore Teddy and the mark in me just wanted to see the good guys win. Still, Eve getting involved has gotta lead to something right? RIGHT? RIGHT!!?!!??

CM Punk(c) defeated Chris Jericho
From begining to end, I could go on and on about why this match was great, but it would just be a hyperbolic rant with the overuse of words like awesome. Jericho's psychological torture was truly something to be marvelled during the early moments of the match with him trying to win by DQ by doing very little in typical heel fashion like Christian. I’m not going to lie, it kind of dragged at times. It did, it wasn’t perfect. But, the 5 minute go home sequence with all the submission transitions made me stay on the edge of my seat, and subsequently fall off 3 times...

It was great. It was really really really great and if you didn’t enjoy it than I’m sorry for you. I respect your decision, but I’m sorry for you, and you can’t make me not be.

Concert & the Brodus stuff
I feel this needs to be reviewed. I feel dirty about the Brodus thing. MGK's male singer looks like the whitest thing since *some metaphor* & did Cena no favours whatsoever. They'd be massacred if not for Diddy. Flo Rida was ok. Who was the chick? Was that Sia?

The Rock defeated John Cena
There was a lot that was against this match. For one, it had an immense amount of pressure surronding it and and for another, I was not a fan of the ending. I feel that Rock's victory does nobody any favours other than Rocky himself. Will he be at RAW tonight? Probably not. He won after all.

Overall: I'll give it a 9.3/10, One of best WM's of all time.