Official Wrestlemania review thread

[markmeout]

I see no threads that are set up for everyone to review wrestlimania so I will start one. I will be reviewing every match and giving my rating and i'm asking all of you to do the same.

Match 1- Unified Tag Championship showmiz vs r truth and morrison
I liked this match as a start off match. Could of been better could have been much worse. Big Show has turned into a great tag team wrestler and put in one of the best performances he has in years. The ring work in this match was typical fast speed from rt and jmo and a strength game from showmiz. No major botches occured in this match and it got the crowd jumping. I loved the finish because it wasn't as predictiable as the rest of the match, for once big show's knockout punch was actually fresh. I give this a 7 out of 10.

Match 2- Orton vs Rhodes vs Diabiasse JR
Okay this match was one of the better tripple threats I've ever seen. No one looked like the weak link. Everyone was sound and had a spotlight moment. Cody's alabama slam looked fierce and I was happy to see orton's punt to return since he hasn't used that move in quite some time. Diabiasse didn't look like Rhodes leader they both looked like equals. If anything Rhodes looked better in this match. Orton like awalys was great and I have to say one of his better matches and the best all year. Overall this match was better then expected and made me glad that the long legacy build actually paid off. I give this 8.5 out of 10

Match 3- Money in the bank
What can I say this was the best mitb match ever. First off no was was expecting swagger to win. I loved how they built christan and hardy and kane as dominate vets and gave then all a time to shine. I was shocked that Evan Bourne got as much ring time as he did but he didn't disapoint. His airbourne of the ladder was the spotlight of the match. The way this match was set dolph ziggler and shealton was not needed they seemed to have no purpose. Kofi looked good in the match and so did drew. This match stood above last years because it had more athletic people in it and no fat and slow wrestlers. Also this is the first year that you didn't know in advance who would win. Overall I give this match a 9 out of 10 (took off one because ziggler wasn't featured as much as he deserved to be)

Match 4- HHH vs Sheamus
Overall this match was to be expected. Nothing special. Both guys brought it to the table. The intensity was off the hook. Would have been nice if HHH layed down but he dosn't do that. Overall this match was nice length and enjoyable. I give this one a 6.5 out of 10.

Match 5- Rey Mysterio vs Punk
This match proved to me why punk is the future. He put on a perfect in ring match. Both of these guys had the right energy and emotion. This match was better then the summerslam match bettween punk and hardy. Overall I give this match a 9 out of 10

Match 6- Bret hart vs Vinnie Mac
Overall I thought this match was a waste. We all know Bret suffered from strokes and couldn't be at full capacity. The hart family fought this match and not so much Bret. When Bret fought it was sloppy. Not to mention seeing bruce hart again was not enjoyable since he is in no shape to walk in the ring. I expected him to have a heart attack in the ring thats how bad shape he was in. Vince also is in no shape to be in the ring competing anymore. Overall I give this match a 4 out of 10 only the hart dynasty saves this match.

Match 7- World title Jericho vs Edge
I have t say this match was standard, predictable, and rushed. Both of these men are tallented and did allot in the time given to them. It is obvious that these men are great at what they do and they proved that they can take shit and turn it into something watchable. I give this match a 8 out of 10.

Match 8- Divas
Do I even have to waste my time reviewing this. It was a waste of my time. Hog splash enough said. 1 out of 10 thank god it was short

Match 9- World title Batista vs Cena
Bad match both of these men proven they don't have wrestling abilty. It was all energy and no substence. I was actually praying for big show to face cena instead which says allot. 4 out of 10

Match 10- HBK vs Taker
THIS MATCH WAS EPIC. I am the biggest HBK and TAKER hater and I have to say I hated last years match. I was expecting to hate this match as well. They proved me wrong. Hopefully HBK retires because going out on this match which is one of the top 5 matches ever will make him one of the greatest wrestlers ever. I want to see this match again over and over because it was perfection. I would give this match a 100 out of 10 but I could only give it a 10 out of 10.


Overall I liked this mania. I think it ranks in the top 10 manias of all time. Not the best and not the worst. It had it's bad spots but produced 5 extradonary matches and 2 good matches I have to give this ppv a 9 out of 10. If the HBK Taker match wasnt on this ppv it would of been a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

I've only seen about 75% of the PPV so far. I haven't seen the first two matches and went for a smoke during the Divas, so i'll review what i saw.

MiTB

First of all, i was so embarrassed listening to the commentators hyping Kofi's ******ed decision to use the ladder frame as a pair of stilts, as if it were an ingenious manouvre. There's no way he'd have been able to reach the briefcase and unhook it, while maintainng his balance at the same time.

Best spot in the match was Ziggler getting chokeslammed on the ladder, but no one even thought it was worth mentioning until after the bump had happened, no instead they'd rather talk about Ziggler bouncing off the ropes.

And dear God why does Cole still have a job? Christian gives Matt a reverse DDT off the ladder and Cole shouts "TWIST OF FATE!" Fuckin' moron.

Anyway, i thought this MiTB was a clusterfuck tbh. There was no need for 10 men in this match, they could have easily not put Kane, Shelton and Matt in and still would still have had an awesome match. It seemed each guy had one big bump to take each and the rest was up to Kane, Christian and Matt, to fill the remaining time.

I'm so not looking forward to a MiTB PPV.

Sheamus v HHH

Decent match, Sheamus put on a strong performance at the big dance, and hopefully, doing the job won't hurt his momentum too badly, and personally i'd expect him to be getting a win over HHH in the next month. He does need to vary his moveset a little bit and maybe make a couple of additions because you can only pull off so many uranagi backbreakers and bicycle kicks before people start chanting 'You Can't Wrestle!'

Punk v Mysterio

Great match. Apparently it only lasted 6 minutes, but it didn't feel like 6 minutes, it felt like 10 at least. Some wonderful counter wrestling, and that is the first time i've ever seen somebody even attempt the springboard moonsault DDT. This years' most impressive spot at WM for me, was that spot right there. A historic event people! Rey Mysterio actually impressed The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh!

I hope these two go on fueding for a while. Let them have a similar fued to Rey/Y2J and we may start to forget those 2 horrific World title reigns that Punk was subjected to.

Edge v Y2J World Title:

Solid match although i have to asy i was expecting better, but i guess Edge's leg isn't 100% so they wanted to hold off from going all out straight away. I'm personally glad that Jericho remained champion. Although i'm sure this reign won't last any longer than his previous ones, it's good to know he'll be in the final segments on Smackdown for a while.

Bret v Vince

Well it was exactly what we wanted to see, but at the same time it was also what everyone feared it would be. We all wanted to see Bret Hart kick Vince McMahon's ass, but we were afraid it'd be a 40 yr old stroke victim beating up a 60 yr old business man for 15 minutes. This match was kind of like Taker v Vince, except Vince bled like a pig after the opening punch, and when Taker hit him, he actually hit him. Like full blast in the face with a shovel for example. The crowbar was just stupid. The chair shots were more convincing, but by then the damage was done.

Cena v Batista WWE Title:

Ooooo, don't remember much. Had a little snooze during this to ensure i'd stay awake for HBK/Taker, but from what i remember it was solid. Not as solid as the Summerslam one imo, but to be fair i should really watch it again before making a final judgement.

HBK vs Taker II: Career vs Streak

I am the biggest HBK and TAKER hater and I have to say I hated last years match. I was expecting to hate this match as well. They proved me wrong.

How can you say you hated last years and loved this one's?

Apart from the Tombstone on the floor, the moonsault through the announce table, the counters to Hell's Gate and The Last Ride, how exactly was this match any different from last years?

The begininning of the match seemed very, very, rushed. Taker was going all guns blazing as if he was legitimately pissed off that Shawn mocked him, and suddenly HBK is getting chokeslammed in the first 5 minutes. The things slowed down and it got better, but in the exact same style as last year's match. Then things started getting crazy again. The moonsault through the table obviously didn't go properly. Why Shawn didn't do an Asaiee moonsault so that he landed parallel to Taker instead of launching himself at a 45 degree angle so that all he got was Taker's legs, i'll never know. Then he jumps up and starts flailing around because he knows he cocked up and was pissed at himself for it, and then flumped back down on the table, which kind of ruined that whole spot even further imo.

Personally i feel that they rushed the second match because they set the bar so high last year that they were desperate to top it. Personally, i don't think they did top it. It seemed like the first match again, except slightly sloppier and rushed. The table spot was a good addition, even if it didn't go properly. The extra counter wrestling was also a welcome addition, but i found myself sitting there watching and going, 'right, Shawn's going to wait until they're both stood up, then he'll jump back and hit SCM, and the announcers will hype it as being out of nowhere' and then 3 seconds later, TA-DA! That's what happened.

Still an awesome match, but didn't top the first one imo.

Didn't think this Mania was particualrly awesome, but that's mainly due to certain matches not living up to expectations and others being a total waste of time, but then again at least there was no Kid Rock this time around.

 

[HatchetMan84]

I was hard on the Bret vs. Vince match, but thinking it over and watching it again, Bret did the best he could. His condition obviously prevented him from being hit or worked over in any way.

He had trouble moving around the ring, looked out of breath, and i'm not sure why he even agreed to do this match, other than for the feel good moment of putting Vince in the sharpshooter. I thought the 13 chair shots were excessive....Bret bordered on turning heel with his actions, but overall it was fair.

There has been some speculation that Lloyds of London (Bret's insurance company that paid him a settlement for his career-ending injury) placed some limitations on the match which affected the physicality of it. But, even if Bret wanted to wrestle a little bit, i'm not sure it would have been much different, based on how he looked and moved...

 

[Takerfan93]

To most of us, Wrestlemania 26 was dissappointing. Going into the event, we had some awesome matches lined up and on paper it seemed it would be a very good show. I mean, Batista vs. Cena, Chris Jericho vs. Edge, Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk, MITB ladder match, the Unified Tag Team Championship match, and although we knew it wouldn't be a good match, we were all looking forward to Bret vs. Vince because of the story behind it alone.

But when it started, we got a 3 minute tag team match which was very entertaining and fast paced from beginning to end. it had the most momentum out of any match (except Taker-HBK) because it was the first on, yet the quick ending ruined the momentum the show had at the start.
Next, the triple threat match I found very boring. I was expecting a good match because all three in it are very capable wrestlers. But, the alliance between Rhodes and DiBiase hurt it because it couldn't possible have that exitement and adrenaline when it was practically a handicap match. The implosion between Rhodes and DiBiase should have happened before the Wrestlemania match, not during it. That way it would have been a much better match.
Triple H vs. Sheamus was a pleasant surprise in my opinion, but some of the matches time should have been given to the other matches like Mysterio/Punk or the Tag Team match.
The Divas match, AWFUL. This should not have been on the card. Don't get me wrong, I want the womens division to become as much of a sucess as it was in the early 2000s, but if their match is going to be like that, it just shouldn't be on the card at all. A women's championship match would have been a much better option. The time this match and the entrances used up could also have been given to other matches which were hurt by the short time they were given.
The Money In the Bank ladder match was good, but not as good as previous years. I just felt it lacked the CRAZY spots which the match has been known for the past few years.
Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk was a very good match but much too short. It could have been amazing, but the time it was given was shocking.
Bret vs. Vince was awful too, but I tolerated it because of the story behind it. I know Bret can't do much in the ring, but they could have given Vince SOME offense. Bret could have taken some things, he took punches from Batista a few weeks back and fell when Vince kicked his crutch. But they treated it as if he couldn't be touched without hurting himself. The match, given it's limitations should have been much shorter, it was 11 minutes, five of which should have been given to other matches. Nevertheless, it was historical and the sharpshooter on Vince was an amazing sight to see.
I'm not going to speak much on the world title matches because they were good and therefore don't have anything to do with the thread. But they were also too short, and definately did not like Cena making Batista tap....or Cena's entrance.
Same for HBK-Taker because it was one of the best wrestling matches I have ever seen, and it does not apply to this thread.

The title matches were good, but not enough to saved the whole show. However, The Undertaker vs. Shawn did save the show from being a practical failure in my opinion. Awe-inspiring.

THEREFORE, I am just wondering, how on earth did WWE go into Wrestlemania with that booking, because they obviously must have thought it was good? And watching the matches, I was just wondering, did they really think that a 3 minute tag match, a 6 minute singles match, and an 11 minute eye sore would be a good thing to do. I mean when they were booking Wrestlemania, they must have somehow thought it would be good, but HOW!?!? Because other than HBK-Taker and the title matches, everything was either horrible or forgettable. It is hard to word what I am trying to say, but basically I want to know how WWE actually thought Wrestlemania would be good since they knew the booking of the matches going into it. If I was them, I would have no way let most of those matches go on the air the way they were

 

[Ferbian]

But when it started, we got a 3 minute tag team match which was very entertaining and fast paced from beginning to end. it had the most momentum out of any match (except Taker-HBK) because it was the first on, yet the quick ending ruined the momentum the show had at the start.

Actually I must admit, even though it's quite obvious that The Miz and John Morrison is gonna be the future super, superstars of WWE, I didn't care too much for this match, basically because it seemed like something that was put together, for the sake of putting together a match, and especially because I don't really like the mix of Morrison and R-Truth, so I didn't mind it not being too long, besides it did fine for a 3 minute match.
And the ending was actually well handled if you ask me, the fist to the face came off perfectly.

Next, the triple threat match I found very boring. I was expecting a good match because all three in it are very capable wrestlers. But, the alliance between Rhodes and DiBiase hurt it because it couldn't possible have that exitement and adrenaline when it was practically a handicap match. The implosion between Rhodes and DiBiase should have happened before the Wrestlemania match, not during it. That way it would have been a much better match.

I couldn't disagree more with you, I absolutely loved this match, certainly it had a little "meh" feeling to it at the very start with the obvious thought that "well here goes the "triple threat" *cough* handicap *cough* match" but the breakup of Legacy when Ted tried to pin Randy behind Cody's back was brilliant, certainly it wasn't the greatest match of the night, or even close, but I liked how Randy got the end and absolutely "destroyed" Legacy only to solidify his complete face turn, although I expected Ted to go over wildly in this match and win it all.
And to top it off, the pose returned.

Triple H vs. Sheamus was a pleasant surprise in my opinion, but some of the matches time should have been given to the other matches like Mysterio/Punk or the Tag Team match.

It was a good match, in my opinion Triple H and Sheamus needed to have a rather long match, because it really solidified Sheamus as a guy to be reckoned with, and a true powerhouse, even though he didn't finish off Triple H, he gave him a fight to the finish, and a overall surprisingly good match, I was impressed with Sheamus, and I will be enjoying to see where it goes from now on.

The Divas match, AWFUL. This should not have been on the card. Don't get me wrong, I want the womens division to become as much of a sucess as it was in the early 2000s, but if their match is going to be like that, it just shouldn't be on the card at all. A women's championship match would have been a much better option. The time this match and the entrances used up could also have been given to other matches which were hurt by the short time they were given.

I agree with you, it wasn't exactly something you'd want to remember, yet it was funny to watch Vickie try to do a frog splash, and it payed tribute to Eddie Guerrero, which I found nice, so I looked past the awfulness of the match, and took a little time to remember Eddie.

The Money In the Bank ladder match was good, but not as good as previous years. I just felt it lacked the CRAZY spots which the match has been known for the past few years.

True, but it had some good spots still though, like the hip toss from Evan off the ladder, the shooting star press, and even if it wasn't handled more brutally and spot filled as last year, and we didn't get to see as much of Shelton Benjamin as many would've probably liked to, I still found it solid enough for me to like it.
Plus I was absolutely shocked when Swagger won the match, I thought it was another spot like the one with Matt Hardy struggling to get the briefcase off.

Rey Mysterio vs. CM Punk was a very good match but much too short. It could have been amazing, but the time it was given was shocking.

I wouldn't exactly call 9 minutes short, it'd count as a long television match really, and I liked it a lot, it had some awesome spots, some good technical wrestling, and overall I think it showed off both talents as Rey a guy that can still do amazing stuff (which I know some has wondered if he could) and CM Punk as a truly talented guy that will definitely be up among the legends one day (at least I hope so)
Only problem I had with the match was the spot where Rey holds onto CM Punks arm and does a back flip off the top rope, and knocked CM Punk out cold, it really seemed like a botch since he didn't seem to hit the head but only fall on top of him.

Bret vs. Vince was awful too, but I tolerated it because of the story behind it. I know Bret can't do much in the ring, but they could have given Vince SOME offense. Bret could have taken some things, he took punches from Batista a few weeks back and fell when Vince kicked his crutch. But they treated it as if he couldn't be touched without hurting himself. The match, given it's limitations should have been much shorter, it was 11 minutes, five of which should have been given to other matches. Nevertheless, it was historical and the sharpshooter on Vince was an amazing sight to see.

Surely it wasn't what could've been expected, yet Vince could've gotten some offense in, but as one of my friends said when we discussed the match, he said he'd much rather watch Bret beat the living shit out of Vince, and that is what we saw, or well the whole Hart family, which I think in the end is what the common fan would've much rather wanted to see, than a straight out old-man back and forth brawling.
Yes sure it went 11 minutes, but It was handled good, giving the whole family time to get some revenge, and Bret to really get the vengeance he needed in a wrestling way (cause I believe Bret and Vince settled it backstage the legitimate part of it, any else I really have my doubts that Vince would've let Bret have a match with him, if the chances were that Bret could legitimately beat the living shit out of Vince)

I'm not going to speak much on the world title matches because they were good and therefore don't have anything to do with the thread. But they were also too short, and definately did not like Cena making Batista tap....or Cena's entrance.

Cena making Batista tap was just fine, I'd much rather watch him do that than an Attitude Adjustment, cause there's so much more behind making the bad over the top tough ass guy tap out in the "middle" of the ring, only to the next night have the whole crowd chanting "you tapped out" which was absolutely golden, no matter how much I don't like the Cena character, and how much I love the current Batista character, I absolutely loved Cena making Batista tap in an all out surprisingly good match.
And I'm not gonna comment on the World Heavyweight Championship match, cause neither did you really.

So in the end, I don't think WWE booked it badly, I must admit I absolutely loved Wrestlemania 26, everything about it, and the small things as the awful Diva's match, as I mentioned above, I lived with it, because of small points in the match that made it somewhat memorable or acceptable that it wasn't handled brilliantly like a Wrestlemania should be.

And as you say in the start, "To most of us, Wrestlemania 26 was disappointing" I couldn't disagree more, as I said, I loved Wrestlemania 26, and I would definitely rank it as one of the best ever, hell I might even rank it as my favorite of all time (yeah I know I'm gonna get some people screaming "You idiot, why would you say it was better than 16, 17 etc." well, my opinion thank you. )

 

[Takerfan93]

Actually I must admit, even though it's quite obvious that The Miz and John Morrison is gonna be the future super, superstars of WWE, I didn't care too much for this match, basically because it seemed like something that was put together, for the sake of putting together a match, and especially because I don't really like the mix of Morrison and R-Truth, so I didn't mind it not being too long, besides it did fine for a 3 minute match.
And the ending was actually well handled if you ask me, the fist to the face came off perfectly.

Of course the build up wasn't good and it was just thrown together, but the match itself was exiting for the 3 minutes it lasted. And when I said the quick ending I didn't mean the punch, I meant the match ended quickly as in only 3 minutes. I believe it could have beem much more entertaining if given atleast 3 more minutes.

I couldn't disagree more with you, I absolutely loved this match, certainly it had a little "meh" feeling to it at the very start with the obvious thought that "well here goes the "triple threat" *cough* handicap *cough* match" but the breakup of Legacy when Ted tried to pin Randy behind Cody's back was brilliant, certainly it wasn't the greatest match of the night, or even close, but I liked how Randy got the end and absolutely "destroyed" Legacy only to solidify his complete face turn, although I expected Ted to go over wildly in this match and win it all.
And to top it off, the pose returned.

Strongly disagree with this, Orton was already hugely over as a face (crowd has been very behind him on Raw recently) and DiBiase or Rhodes would have bennefited from a win much, much more. Having Orton destroy them hurt their "push" I believe

It was a good match, in my opinion Triple H and Sheamus needed to have a rather long match, because it really solidified Sheamus as a guy to be reckoned with, and a true powerhouse, even though he didn't finish off Triple H, he gave him a fight to the finish, and a overall surprisingly good match, I was impressed with Sheamus, and I will be enjoying to see where it goes from now on.

Judging by crowd reactions on television, Sheamus doesn't get much of a reaction at all, he's not over with the crowd as a heel. I must say, I don't even think he has the "it" factor. You can see when they do, I can see it in Ted DiBiase, I can see it in Kofi Kingston, and in Dolph Ziggler and John Morrison, but I'm afraid I can't see it in Sheamus. And I stick by that this match should have been shorter because it was never going to be a fantastic match, unlike Mysterio/Punk which could have been

I agree with you, it wasn't exactly something you'd want to remember, yet it was funny to watch Vickie try to do a frog splash, and it payed tribute to Eddie Guerrero, which I found nice, so I looked past the awfulness of the match, and took a little time to remember Eddie.

True, it was nice to see a little tribute to Eddie, but I didn't find her frog splash funny because I feel Wrestlemania is the time when it gets serious, and the one time we should be spared from these matches

True, but it had some good spots still though, like the hip toss from Evan off the ladder, the shooting star press, and even if it wasn't handled more brutally and spot filled as last year, and we didn't get to see as much of Shelton Benjamin as many would've probably liked to, I still found it solid enough for me to like it.
Plus I was absolutely shocked when Swagger won the match, I thought it was another spot like the one with Matt Hardy struggling to get the briefcase off.

Yes I agree with you that it had some good spots, but they weren't as good as previous year's spots. Don't get me wrong it was a good match, just didn't live up to previous ones IMO. But Swagger was a nice surprise to win

I wouldn't exactly call 9 minutes short, it'd count as a long television match really, and I liked it a lot, it had some awesome spots, some good technical wrestling, and overall I think it showed off both talents as Rey a guy that can still do amazing stuff (which I know some has wondered if he could) and CM Punk as a truly talented guy that will definitely be up among the legends one day (at least I hope so)
Only problem I had with the match was the spot where Rey holds onto CM Punks arm and does a back flip off the top rope, and knocked CM Punk out cold, it really seemed like a botch since he didn't seem to hit the head but only fall on top of him.

This match was not 9 minutes long, it was SIX minutes long. If it was 9 minutes I would not have been as annoyed about it. And yes of course it was good wrestling, but it could have been so much more if given more time. And yes, it was a bit botchy, but not as noticable as most botches because it was so extravagent that we were a bit more distracted from it

Surely it wasn't what could've been expected, yet Vince could've gotten some offense in, but as one of my friends said when we discussed the match, he said he'd much rather watch Bret beat the living shit out of Vince, and that is what we saw, or well the whole Hart family, which I think in the end is what the common fan would've much rather wanted to see, than a straight out old-man back and forth brawling.
Yes sure it went 11 minutes, but It was handled good, giving the whole family time to get some revenge, and Bret to really get the vengeance he needed in a wrestling way (cause I believe Bret and Vince settled it backstage the legitimate part of it, any else I really have my doubts that Vince would've let Bret have a match with him, if the chances were that Bret could legitimately beat the living shit out of Vince)

I'm sorry but I disagree, it was not handled well at all. The crowd would have atleast been much more lively when he applied the sharpshooter had it not gone on as long. And the Hart family was a nice touch, although the part when Bret spoke leading up to that they were not turning on Bret was a bit cringey. But nevertheless this right was historic and fantastic.

Cena making Batista tap was just fine, I'd much rather watch him do that than an Attitude Adjustment, cause there's so much more behind making the bad over the top tough ass guy tap out in the "middle" of the ring, only to the next night have the whole crowd chanting "you tapped out" which was absolutely golden, no matter how much I don't like the Cena character, and how much I love the current Batista character, I absolutely loved Cena making Batista tap in an all out surprisingly good match.
And I'm not gonna comment on the World Heavyweight Championship match, cause neither did you really.

I would have much preffered the F-U (sorry I can't bring myself to call it the new name). The submission made Batista look more weak, although we knew one way or another they would make Cena look like Superman. And the crowd chants the next night were good, but not worth the tapping out I don't think :/

So in the end, I don't think WWE booked it badly, I must admit I absolutely loved Wrestlemania 26, everything about it, and the small things as the awful Diva's match, as I mentioned above, I lived with it, because of small points in the match that made it somewhat memorable or acceptable that it wasn't handled brilliantly like a Wrestlemania should be.

And as you say in the start, "To most of us, Wrestlemania 26 was disappointing" I couldn't disagree more, as I said, I loved Wrestlemania 26, and I would definitely rank it as one of the best ever, hell I might even rank it as my favorite of all time (yeah I know I'm gonna get some people screaming "You idiot, why would you say it was better than 16, 17 etc." well, my opinion thank you. )

I'm glad you enjoyed it, I truly wish I could have enjoyed it as much as you. But I don't regret ordering it or staying up until 4am in the morning (I live in the UK and that was the time difference for the live show) because of the Undertaker-HBK match alone. That was something to see and I'm so happy I saw it live. But, unfortunately, I think it was a dissappointment to most of us. Here's hoping next year pleases most of us eh?

 

[Ferbian]

Of course the build up wasn't good and it was just thrown together, but the match itself was exiting for the 3 minutes it lasted. And when I said the quick ending I didn't mean the punch, I meant the match ended quickly as in only 3 minutes. I believe it could have beem much more entertaining if given atleast 3 more minutes.

As I said, I didn't really care enough for this match, so I didn't mind it ending quickly, even though as I mentioned its the future stars we're talking about here, but it's the future stars in a match that I must admit I could've managed without, I would've much rather see The Miz put on his United States championship against someone, instead of a tag team match, but that's just me, I'm not really into the whole tag team match as of late, at least not between these two teams, because as I said, too much of a "put together for the sake of putting a team together" team, which ruins it for me, because of the names of the teams, now I didn't mind a team put together like Edge and Jericho, or Jericho and Big show was, but I guess that's also because you knew that they were going to be holding the titles, having John Morrison and R-Truth win at Wrestlemania would've done nothing to either of the 4 people's careers, basically because 1. Big Show and The Miz, at the top of their game (in my opinion) as of late, would get hurt from loosing the titles. and 2. John Morrison and R-Truth doesn't need a tag team title reign at this time of their careers.

Strongly disagree with this, Orton was already hugely over as a face (crowd has been very behind him on Raw recently) and DiBiase or Rhodes would have bennefited from a win much, much more. Having Orton destroy them hurt their "push" I believe

Certainly Orton was over as a face I agree with that, but the final pose at Wrestlemania pushed him over the edge for the face turn, and having Orton loose, and not have that pose, would've ment that WWE in my opinion dropped the ball on a potential HUGE face turn, as you noticed Orton got like one of the biggest pops of Wrestlemania 26 with that pose, why would you kill the potential to capitalize on that?
But as I said, yes Ted could've used the win much more, but to a certain extend, Randy needed that win for the turn to be of any significance.

Judging by crowd reactions on television, Sheamus doesn't get much of a reaction at all, he's not over with the crowd as a heel.

Are you crazy? Sheamus isn't getting a reaction at all? what show have you been watching? Sheamus got quite a nice reaction at Wrestlemania as far as I recall, and the you suck chant yesterday was quite obvious to me that Sheamus is getting over as a heel, and he's doing fine with it if you ask me, I must quite honestly admit I got legitimately pissed at Sheamus for interrupting Triple H's speech to Shawn last night.

True, it was nice to see a little tribute to Eddie, but I didn't find her frog splash funny because I feel Wrestlemania is the time when it gets serious, and the one time we should be spared from these matches

Not all Wrestlemania needs to be seriousness and "oh boy we're all business and no fun" of a night, looking back, there has been some moments that had a little bit of fun in it, as Shawn Michaels' entrance at Wrestlemania 14, for his championship match, I found it a little fun, hell I always fin Shawn's struts to the ring funny the way he's shaking around.
And Chris Jericho's promo at Wrestlemania 16 about how he was gonna walk away with both belts, and Kurt's reaction when he realized he lost both belts.
But yeah the frog splash was a little meh, but as I said, it was a tribute, not supposed to be funny, and it didn't try to act funny if you ask me.

Yes I agree with you that it had some good spots, but they weren't as good as previous year's spots. Don't get me wrong it was a good match, just didn't live up to previous ones IMO. But Swagger was a nice surprise to win

Now that's true, there weren't as many jaw dropping spots, but not all matches needs to have that "oh my god" moment to be good, I found last night's match to be solid, and served it's purpose, without the risk of risk taking matches, lets remember, some of these guy's were in their first Wrestlemania, hell their first ladder match, can't expect them to be instant dare devils like E&C and the Hardy's

This match was not 9 minutes long, it was SIX minutes long. If it was 9 minutes I would not have been as annoyed about it. And yes of course it was good wrestling, but it could have been so much more if given more time. And yes, it was a bit botchy, but not as noticable as most botches because it was so extravagent that we were a bit more distracted from it

My bad, must've misread something somewhere that made it come off as you saying it was a 9 minute match.
Anyway, I must admit looking at the number it doesn't seem as long as it could've been, but I must also admit it did seem longer if you just watch, and doesn't count the time, because it continued to have good spots and action which made it come off as quite a match without having to resort to calling it too short, or a bad match because of it's length of time, because even though it's 6 minutes, I believe these 2 talented guys put on a great showing of talent, and I think where as Rey probably isn't gonna be going to the top or going 10 years more, I think CM Punk still has a long way to go, and he will be huge in the main event some day.

I'm sorry but I disagree, it was not handled well at all. The crowd would have atleast been much more lively when he applied the sharpshooter had it not gone on as long. And the Hart family was a nice touch, although the part when Bret spoke leading up to that they were not turning on Bret was a bit cringey. But nevertheless this right was historic and fantastic.

The crowd went insane whenever Bret acted like he was gonna apply the sharpshooter, and yes it did take too long and draw out, but the fact that it came off as Bret wanting to punish Vince properly served the purpose and made it acceptable to sit back and watch.

I would have much preffered the F-U (sorry I can't bring myself to call it the new name). The submission made Batista look more weak, although we knew one way or another they would make Cena look like Superman. And the crowd chants the next night were good, but not worth the tapping out I don't think :/

Batista tapping out was just fine, lets remember he fought quite a match with John Cena for 13 minutes (yeah not exactly the length of Shawn and Undertaker, but do we really give a damn in the end?) and he had already been in the submission hold once and made it to the ropes, I think this match made Batista look strong, and it was very good, even though none of them needed to come off strong, because they are already over and established enough.
Besides, did Triple H come off weak at Wrestlemania 22? did Shawn come off weak at Wrestlemania 23? no they didn't, because just like Batista and Cena this year, they put on a good match that made everybody come out looking great if you ask me.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, I truly wish I could have enjoyed it as much as you. But I don't regret ordering it or staying up until 4am in the morning (I live in the UK and that was the time difference for the live show) because of the Undertaker-HBK match alone. That was something to see and I'm so happy I saw it live. But, unfortunately, I think it was a dissappointment to most of us. Here's hoping next year pleases most of us eh?

We can't all enjoy it as much as the next person though, so it's all a matter of opinions, which is another reason for a forum like this, to share opinions and discuss a matter.
And I don't know if WWE will be able to make a repeated success for next year's Wrestlemania, I'd like to see them try though, but in the end I don't really mind if they don't, cause I think this year's Wrestlemania is gonna be a tough one to top.

 

[markmeout]

How can you say you hated last years and loved this one's?

Apart from the Tombstone on the floor, the moonsault through the announce table, the counters to Hell's Gate and The Last Ride, how exactly was this match any different from last years?

The begininning of the match seemed very, very, rushed. Taker was going all guns blazing as if he was legitimately pissed off that Shawn mocked him, and suddenly HBK is getting chokeslammed in the first 5 minutes. The things slowed down and it got better, but in the exact same style as last year's match. Then things started getting crazy again. The moonsault through the table obviously didn't go properly. Why Shawn didn't do an Asaiee moonsault so that he landed parallel to Taker instead of launching himself at a 45 degree angle so that all he got was Taker's legs, i'll never know. Then he jumps up and starts flailing around because he knows he cocked up and was pissed at himself for it, and then flumped back down on the table, which kind of ruined that whole spot even further imo.

Personally i feel that they rushed the second match because they set the bar so high last year that they were desperate to top it. Personally, i don't think they did top it. It seemed like the first match again, except slightly sloppier and rushed. The table spot was a good addition, even if it didn't go properly. The extra counter wrestling was also a welcome addition, but i found myself sitting there watching and going, 'right, Shawn's going to wait until they're both stood up, then he'll jump back and hit SCM, and the announcers will hype it as being out of nowhere' and then 3 seconds later, TA-DA! That's what happened.

Still an awesome match, but didn't top the first one imo.

I think the fact that I knew it was HBK's last match made it special for me. Last years was just another wrestler vs streak match with no consquences. The match was rushed allitle but what I hated about last years was its length since it was so so slow. Overall it was predictable but you can't deny both men had put in some of the best ring work in their carrer. It is not better technically then last years match but because of all finnality of this match it will awalys be known as HBK's last match and the match were taker retired micheals something taker has never done in his mania carrer so it was fresh.

 

[Takerfan93]

Certainly Orton was over as a face I agree with that, but the final pose at Wrestlemania pushed him over the edge for the face turn, and having Orton loose, and not have that pose, would've ment that WWE in my opinion dropped the ball on a potential HUGE face turn, as you noticed Orton got like one of the biggest pops of Wrestlemania 26 with that pose, why would you kill the potential to capitalize on that?
But as I said, yes Ted could've used the win much more, but to a certain extend, Randy needed that win for the turn to be of any significance.

He didn't need that win at all really. The final pose at Wrestlemania didn't do anything for his face push. He could have gotten just as over as a face had he lost because it was basically a handicap match, making him the underdog which is always a good role for a face. WWE would not have dropped the ball at all had he not won, he already did his face turn a while back. And his loss wouldn't have made the pop he got mean nothing, it would just put extra heat on DiBiase and Rhodes, which is good. And they should have rather chosen to give DiBiase or Rhodes the win so it would cement them as heels since the crowd was so behind Orton. Orton is already one of the top guys, he always will be for the rest of his career. If they had given DiBiase or Rhodes the win it would have helped them get nearer to the top themselves. If you ask me, getting two big stars out of this match rather than giving the already established star the win is a much better option. But fair enough it's your opinion.

Are you crazy? Sheamus isn't getting a reaction at all? what show have you been watching? Sheamus got quite a nice reaction at Wrestlemania as far as I recall, and the you suck chant yesterday was quite obvious to me that Sheamus is getting over as a heel, and he's doing fine with it if you ask me, I must quite honestly admit I got legitimately pissed at Sheamus for interrupting Triple H's speech to Shawn last night.

No I'm not, he hasn't been getting much reaction on Raw when he enters. Wrestlemania is hard not to get some sort of reaction at because of the sheer atmosphere and exitement there. Plus he was against a crowd favourite HHH, so it was hard not to get heat of facing him. Sorry, I just don't even believe myself that he has the "it" factor.

Not all Wrestlemania needs to be seriousness and "oh boy we're all business and no fun" of a night, looking back, there has been some moments that had a little bit of fun in it, as Shawn Michaels' entrance at Wrestlemania 14, for his championship match, I found it a little fun, hell I always fin Shawn's struts to the ring funny the way he's shaking around.
And Chris Jericho's promo at Wrestlemania 16 about how he was gonna walk away with both belts, and Kurt's reaction when he realized he lost both belts.
But yeah the frog splash was a little meh, but as I said, it was a tribute, not supposed to be funny, and it didn't try to act funny if you ask me.

I didn't say it couldn't be fun, I said Wrestlemania is the time to get serious with the in ring action and not put on these awful "comedy" matches such as the Divas match. Wrestlemania should feature good matches, not ones like that which are shown on Raw regularly (and shouldn't even be on that). I'm all for women's wrestling getting a spotlight, but not when it is made to look like that. The Wrestlemania 24 tag team match with Snoop Dog was quite entertainign, not great but atleast it was some wrestling and not a mess. I never said Wrestlemania couldn't be fun at all..

Now that's true, there weren't as many jaw dropping spots, but not all matches needs to have that "oh my god" moment to be good, I found last night's match to be solid, and served it's purpose, without the risk of risk taking matches, lets remember, some of these guy's were in their first Wrestlemania, hell their first ladder match, can't expect them to be instant dare devils like E&C and the Hardy's

True, I just felt that with the standard this match has set the past few years, this one didn't seem to try to live up to it.

My bad, must've misread something somewhere that made it come off as you saying it was a 9 minute match.
Anyway, I must admit looking at the number it doesn't seem as long as it could've been, but I must also admit it did seem longer if you just watch, and doesn't count the time, because it continued to have good spots and action which made it come off as quite a match without having to resort to calling it too short, or a bad match because of it's length of time, because even though it's 6 minutes, I believe these 2 talented guys put on a great showing of talent, and I think where as Rey probably isn't gonna be going to the top or going 10 years more, I think CM Punk still has a long way to go, and he will be huge in the main event some day.

I never said it was a bad match, I just said it could have been so much better given more time. The match was entertaining but I was really exited for this one and I was upset that it got only 6 minutes. I guarentee, given more time it could have been the second best match.

The crowd went insane whenever Bret acted like he was gonna apply the sharpshooter, and yes it did take too long and draw out, but the fact that it came off as Bret wanting to punish Vince properly served the purpose and made it acceptable to sit back and watch

Yes they did, but they were the loudest the first time. When he actually did it, they weren't as loud because I think their exitement had been lowered by then after the long match. But I will admit that perhaps most of us were expecting too much. None of us were expecting a good match, but I thought it would be more than it was atleast. And you're right, the ending made it acceptable because it was such a historical sight to see that no one 13 years ago would have ever imagined could happen.

Batista tapping out was just fine, lets remember he fought quite a match with John Cena for 13 minutes (yeah not exactly the length of Shawn and Undertaker, but do we really give a damn in the end?) and he had already been in the submission hold once and made it to the ropes, I think this match made Batista look strong, and it was very good, even though none of them needed to come off strong, because they are already over and established enough.
Besides, did Triple H come off weak at Wrestlemania 22? did Shawn come off weak at Wrestlemania 23? no they didn't, because just like Batista and Cena this year, they put on a good match that made everybody come out looking great if you ask me.

This is just one of those split opinion things I guess. I didn't have a problem with the time much, just the ending. I guess it is more the Super Cena thing WWE have going on than the fact that Batista tapped out. I just am so tired of him winning constantly, I think he is in desperate need of a heel turn, it did wonders for Batista. And yes you have a point there, they didn't come off as weak, but I'm sure most were annoyed when they did tap because Cena is hardly known as a submission artist.

We can't all enjoy it as much as the next person though, so it's all a matter of opinions, which is another reason for a forum like this, to share opinions and discuss a matter.
And I don't know if WWE will be able to make a repeated success for next year's Wrestlemania, I'd like to see them try though, but in the end I don't really mind if they don't, cause I think this year's Wrestlemania is gonna be a tough one to top.

Very true. But I believe if it was not for Undertaker vs. HBK and Bret vs. Vince (angle and sharpshooter only), this Wrestlemania would not have enough to be remembered. I felt Wrestlemania 23 was a pleasant surprise as was Wrestlemania 24. This one I was looking forward to so much because of the card, but I felt so dissappointed

Anyway, sorry I keep quoting you back, I just find this really interesting to discuss

 

[Ferbian]

He didn't need that win at all really. The final pose at Wrestlemania didn't do anything for his face push. He could have gotten just as over as a face had he lost because it was basically a handicap match, making him the underdog which is always a good role for a face. WWE would not have dropped the ball at all had he not won, he already did his face turn a while back. And his loss wouldn't have made the pop he got mean nothing, it would just put extra heat on DiBiase and Rhodes, which is good. And they should have rather chosen to give DiBiase or Rhodes the win so it would cement them as heels since the crowd was so behind Orton. Orton is already one of the top guys, he always will be for the rest of his career. If they had given DiBiase or Rhodes the win it would have helped them get nearer to the top themselves. If you ask me, getting two big stars out of this match rather than giving the already established star the win is a much better option. But fair enough it's your opinion.

I agree with you, as I've said before Ted Dibiase needed that win more than Randy Orton, but giving the win to Randy Orton last night served a purpose of the good guy once more coming out on top, and with the veterans (real veterans) on the verge of retiring, Shawn just retired after all, and giving Randy Orton a win would help cement Randy as THE star of WWE.
But yes, a Ted Dibiase or Cody Rhodes win would've served better from a establishing kind of way, and as you see on the Wrestlezone prediction contest I voted for Ted Dibiase, so it's not because I'm against a Randy Orton loss.

No I'm not, he hasn't been getting much reaction on Raw when he enters. Wrestlemania is hard not to get some sort of reaction at because of the sheer atmosphere and exitement there. Plus he was against a crowd favourite HHH, so it was hard not to get heat of facing him. Sorry, I just don't even believe myself that he has the "it" factor.

I'm not saying Sheamus has the "it" factor, I'm saying Sheamus is getting heat, yes he's working with a hugely beloved over guy, and that automatically transfers to heat, but lets face it, he's been with WWE for less than a year, give the guy a chance, he's getting some great heat even if you're considering the guy he's working with, but it brings for the crowd to care for him being there, even if in a negative way, because the crowd will ultimately in the end tune in to watch Triple H, or X guy beat the living shit out of Sheamus who will guaranteed at some point be WWE or World Heavyweight Champion once more, remember, Sheamus feuding with Randy Orton pushed Randy Orton to the face situation a little more because they wanted Sheamus to be beaten, and do you remember the match between those two at Royal Rumble when they would strike each other? the switching of boos and cheers? now if that's not an reaction (outside of Wrestlemania) I don't know what it is.

I didn't say it couldn't be fun, I said Wrestlemania is the time to get serious with the in ring action and not put on these awful "comedy" matches such as the Divas match. Wrestlemania should feature good matches, not ones like that which are shown on Raw regularly (and shouldn't even be on that). I'm all for women's wrestling getting a spotlight, but not when it is made to look like that. The Wrestlemania 24 tag team match with Snoop Dog was quite entertainign, not great but atleast it was some wrestling and not a mess. I never said Wrestlemania couldn't be fun at all..

You said it yourself, you're all for the Divas getting some spotlight time, and seeing as there's no really good heel diva that could make a proper singles match alongside a good face diva (i'm talking wrestle abilities) being a girl like Mickie James most likely, Michelle McCool would've been the closest I could name to a good in ring ability on the heel side, and lets remember, Mickie just got back from injury, so a tag match put a lot of divas on the card, giving them their needed paycheck, and it gave us a divas match.

True, I just felt that with the standard this match has set the past few years, this one didn't seem to try to live up to it.

Well we can't expect anyone outside the body of Shawn Michaels to be putting on great matches year after year after year, and as I said, I found the match solid considering the amount of ladder match rookies we were facing, so I can't blame the match, it didn't have the greatest spots of ladder match history, but it was solid.

I never said it was a bad match, I just said it could have been so much better given more time. The match was entertaining but I was really exited for this one and I was upset that it got only 6 minutes. I guarentee, given more time it could have been the second best match.

Every match can be better giving more time, Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker could've been better too had Shawn kicked out of the Spike Tombstone too, but it didn't, and WWE had to fill in time for 9 matches, the world championship matches of course "has" to have a longer air time than others, because it's the main event matches, and Shawn needed a proper send off match, so some match had to suffer, and considering the time it was given, it was great.
And I actually doubt it could've been the 2nd best match, cause I was hugely impressed by each and every main event match, Batista vs John Cena and Edge vs Jericho and Shawn vs Undertaker, in that order, 3rd to 1st.

Yes they did, but they were the loudest the first time. When he actually did it, they weren't as loud because I think their exitement had been lowered by then after the long match. But I will admit that perhaps most of us were expecting too much. None of us were expecting a good match, but I thought it would be more than it was atleast. And you're right, the ending made it acceptable because it was such a historical sight to see that no one 13 years ago would have ever imagined could happen.

Thats right, I actually expected WWE to have Vince at least bounce 1 or 2 hits back at Bret without him constantly falling down, but looking at the age of these men, can we really blame them? also considering the physical situation of both, Bret with the stroke, and Vince, being Vince, yes he's pumped as hell, but that doesn't always mean he's athletic enough to run the proper course of a long drawn match.
Besides, even if there was no history behind it, just a legend returning to fight Vince, it's still great to watch him being put in a submission hold, or hit by a finisher, never gets old.

This is just one of those split opinion things I guess. I didn't have a problem with the time much, just the ending. I guess it is more the Super Cena thing WWE have going on than the fact that Batista tapped out. I just am so tired of him winning constantly, I think he is in desperate need of a heel turn, it did wonders for Batista. And yes you have a point there, they didn't come off as weak, but I'm sure most were annoyed when they did tap because Cena is hardly known as a submission artist.

John Cena winning at Wrestlemania most of the time serves a purpose, no matter what we cannot deny that the crowd loves this guy to the moon and back, 5 freaking times or more (yes exaggerating proves a point) and yes the hardcore Smark fan would love to see a John Cena turn, but would the kids? the average viewer? the actual rating power behind Monday Night RAW? I doubt it, I really do, they will eventually, but they don't now.
And yes John Cena isn't exactly known as a submission artist, but he has a submission finisher, thats good enough, cause John Cena isn't known as a high flying guy, yet he still climbs the turnbuckle every now and then to jump down onto people, so why not have him apply a submission hold here? it's proved in the past to be an absolutely great way to put out the biggest baddest sum-bitch, and it did yet again. (yes I know, scripted, but I got carried away, sue me)

Very true. But I believe if it was not for Undertaker vs. HBK and Bret vs. Vince (angle and sharpshooter only), this Wrestlemania would not have enough to be remembered. I felt Wrestlemania 23 was a pleasant surprise as was Wrestlemania 24. This one I was looking forward to so much because of the card, but I felt so dissappointed

As I said, I've ranked this as the best Wrestlemania of my experience, and I'll continue to do that, it may come off as if my opinion is biased for my love towards this pay per view, but it's only loved because I think it was great, both wrestling wise, storyline wise and with a great card, where all matches served it's purpose if you ask me, and ultimately, Jericho actually retained, which made me mark out like I haven't for a while (looking past the fact that Shawn got to face Undertaker again, and Jericho actually winning the title in the first place)

Anyway, sorry I keep quoting you back, I just find this really interesting to discuss

You're very, very welcome to continue, I don't mind, I like discussing stuff I feel strongly about, plus this raises my post count

 

[Takerfan93]

Ah, thank you, will do then

I agree with you, as I've said before Ted Dibiase needed that win more than Randy Orton, but giving the win to Randy Orton last night served a purpose of the good guy once more coming out on top, and with the veterans (real veterans) on the verge of retiring, Shawn just retired after all, and giving Randy Orton a win would help cement Randy as THE star of WWE.
But yes, a Ted Dibiase or Cody Rhodes win would've served better from a establishing kind of way, and as you see on the Wrestlezone prediction contest I voted for Ted Dibiase, so it's not because I'm against a Randy Orton loss.

Well, I still would have preferred to give Ted DiBiase the win because Orton is so over that a win over him would get him tremendous heat as a heel. And yes, I guess the win did help to cement him as THE guy, but the thing is, he's never going to be THE guy to WWE, that's Cena in their eyes unfortunately. I am a huge Orton fan and I believe he should be the name and face of the company if anyone, not Cena. Here's hoping this win does what you said, but I doubt it sadly

I'm not saying Sheamus has the "it" factor, I'm saying Sheamus is getting heat, yes he's working with a hugely beloved over guy, and that automatically transfers to heat, but lets face it, he's been with WWE for less than a year, give the guy a chance, he's getting some great heat even if you're considering the guy he's working with, but it brings for the crowd to care for him being there, even if in a negative way, because the crowd will ultimately in the end tune in to watch Triple H, or X guy beat the living shit out of Sheamus who will guaranteed at some point be WWE or World Heavyweight Champion once more, remember, Sheamus feuding with Randy Orton pushed Randy Orton to the face situation a little more because they wanted Sheamus to be beaten, and do you remember the match between those two at Royal Rumble when they would strike each other? the switching of boos and cheers? now if that's not an reaction (outside of Wrestlemania) I don't know what it is.

I just can't get into Sheamus no matter what. I know this will sound harsh, but with his accent I can't take him as seriously, it just makes it seem as if he is bad on the mic. Maybe it is because most of the other guys have American accents and sound good on the mic. And I'm from the U.K myself so it is not a knock against his nationality. And his look, I just don't think he has a look that will sell. I look at others like Ted DiBiase, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger to an extent and think their look can be sold. I look at ones like Sheamus, Drew McIntyre and Yoshi Tatsu and I can't see it at all. They just don't have that charisma I can see in the others, I don't know why but they don't. And lastly, I'm just a bit tired of this "monster" type thing which has been given to so many guys and failed eg, Gene Snitsky, The Great Khali, Mike Knox, Mark Henry. And I think the reason the crowd wanted Sheamus to be beaten was because none of us wanted him to be WWE Champion at the time, it was too early. I couldn't understand it because Kofi Kingston's push was just dropped when the crowd loved him, but Sheamus got a huge push when he hadn't got much reaction up until then.

You said it yourself, you're all for the Divas getting some spotlight time, and seeing as there's no really good heel diva that could make a proper singles match alongside a good face diva (i'm talking wrestle abilities) being a girl like Mickie James most likely, Michelle McCool would've been the closest I could name to a good in ring ability on the heel side, and lets remember, Mickie just got back from injury, so a tag match put a lot of divas on the card, giving them their needed paycheck, and it gave us a divas match.

Well, there are some face divas who can wrestle like Gail Kim (who deserves to have the Divas or Womens title) and Beth Phoinex. I'm sure we all would have actually liked to see a match with Beth, Gail or Mickie (but she was injured) in it or even Michelle. They could have had Beth vs Michelle as that has been building up during the "Piggy James" angle, personally I would have much more enjoyed that as it would feature wrestling

Well we can't expect anyone outside the body of Shawn Michaels to be putting on great matches year after year after year, and as I said, I found the match solid considering the amount of ladder match rookies we were facing, so I can't blame the match, it didn't have the greatest spots of ladder match history, but it was solid.

We don't need one great wrestler like Shawn Michaels to make this particular match amazing (MITB ladder match) because it has 10 people in, the quality of the match is a joint effort, and depends on the booking of the match. I just felt it was a lazy attempt and that the match which is usually one we can rely on to be good let me down.

Every match can be better giving more time, Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker could've been better too had Shawn kicked out of the Spike Tombstone too, but it didn't, and WWE had to fill in time for 9 matches, the world championship matches of course "has" to have a longer air time than others, because it's the main event matches, and Shawn needed a proper send off match, so some match had to suffer, and considering the time it was given, it was great.
And I actually doubt it could've been the 2nd best match, cause I was hugely impressed by each and every main event match, Batista vs John Cena and Edge vs Jericho and Shawn vs Undertaker, in that order, 3rd to 1st.

Agreed strongly, every match could have been given more time, and they SHOULD HAVE. Look at Wrestlemania 20, there were quite a lot of long matches and that card and it featured 12 matches. This one had 10, two of which were only 3 minutes and one which was only 6, they had plenty of time to make the matches longer but just didn't. Undertaker vs. Shawn was quite long, but still I would have preffered it to be 30 minutes, although I think the ending was perfect the way it was with the Spike piledriver to finish. And I still believe Mysterio vs. Punk could have been the 2nd best match because of the two wrestlers in the match and their in ring chemistry. Given time, that match could have been a show stealer up until HBK-Taker.

Thats right, I actually expected WWE to have Vince at least bounce 1 or 2 hits back at Bret without him constantly falling down, but looking at the age of these men, can we really blame them? also considering the physical situation of both, Bret with the stroke, and Vince, being Vince, yes he's pumped as hell, but that doesn't always mean he's athletic enough to run the proper course of a long drawn match.
Besides, even if there was no history behind it, just a legend returning to fight Vince, it's still great to watch him being put in a submission hold, or hit by a finisher, never gets old.

I know, but Vince is definately in good enough shape to have so offense. Neither of them is in the position to run a long match, which is exactly why they should not have made it so long. That way, even if Vince had no offense, the match would not have lost it's momentum. But in the end, as you said, the ending was worth every second. I loved the build up, but even without any of it, the sight of Bret putting the sharpshooter on Vince was historic.

John Cena winning at Wrestlemania most of the time serves a purpose, no matter what we cannot deny that the crowd loves this guy to the moon and back, 5 freaking times or more (yes exaggerating proves a point) and yes the hardcore Smark fan would love to see a John Cena turn, but would the kids? the average viewer? the actual rating power behind Monday Night RAW? I doubt it, I really do, they will eventually, but they don't now.
And yes John Cena isn't exactly known as a submission artist, but he has a submission finisher, thats good enough, cause John Cena isn't known as a high flying guy, yet he still climbs the turnbuckle every now and then to jump down onto people, so why not have him apply a submission hold here? it's proved in the past to be an absolutely great way to put out the biggest baddest sum-bitch, and it did yet again. (yes I know, scripted, but I got carried away, sue me)

That's the thing, the only ones in the crowd who love him are some women and all the kids. And the kids don't know a thing about wrestling, they couldn't even appreciate the true significance of Bret vs. Vince because they don't know the history, they think John Cena is the idea of a terrific wrestler, but HBK is who they should be looking at. And yes, a Cena turn would be great for absolutely everyone, including the kids. It worked with Hogan in WCW, it can work now. I know it would not be as big, but still would be a huge shock to the kids, and a relief for us. I just can't stand that Cena constantly goes over at Wrestlemania, it's ruining the suspense of his matches.

As I said, I've ranked this as the best Wrestlemania of my experience, and I'll continue to do that, it may come off as if my opinion is biased for my love towards this pay per view, but it's only loved because I think it was great, both wrestling wise, storyline wise and with a great card, where all matches served it's purpose if you ask me, and ultimately, Jericho actually retained, which made me mark out like I haven't for a while (looking past the fact that Shawn got to face Undertaker again, and Jericho actually winning the title in the first place)

The pay per view was undoubtedly great storyline wise. Which is why I am so dissappointed with it. The Cena-Batista rivalry was so great, mainly because I believe it had true aspects to it, such as that Cena was made the face of WWE rather than Batista. The whole rivalry was so heated and intense, so I was expecting a brawl at Wrestlemania, something which really showed the intensity of the rivalry. It reminded me a bit fo HHH vs. Orton last year, because many were expecting big things from that due to the storyline, but felt let down. Chris Jericho vs. Edge was brilliant, but the crowd let them down a bit, took them too long to come alive. Bret vs. Vince, the best storyline going in by far, and obviously I don't even need to explain why because we all know. HBK - Taker was perfect, I just wish it had been given more time, although I am happy with what it was, I actually thought it was better than last year. But overall, apart from that match, I was dissappointed about Wrestlemania.

 

[Ferbian]

Ah, thank you, will do then

Well, I still would have preferred to give Ted DiBiase the win because Orton is so over that a win over him would get him tremendous heat as a heel. And yes, I guess the win did help to cement him as THE guy, but the thing is, he's never going to be THE guy to WWE, that's Cena in their eyes unfortunately. I am a huge Orton fan and I believe he should be the name and face of the company if anyone, not Cena. Here's hoping this win does what you said, but I doubt it sadly

Sure, we've agreed about a Ted DiBiase win for how many posts now? but quite honestly, I don't think giving Ted the win would've brought much heat to the fella, to me it would've been more of a "fair enough, he got put over, that's what was expected" and then shrug it off, an Orton win came surprising for me, and the final pose did it for me, saddened me that we officially lost one of the top heels to the face side (while I didn't mind him staying tweener, hope WWE puts that in there somehow).

I just can't get into Sheamus no matter what. I know this will sound harsh, but with his accent I can't take him as seriously, it just makes it seem as if he is bad on the mic. Maybe it is because most of the other guys have American accents and sound good on the mic. And I'm from the U.K myself so it is not a knock against his nationality. And his look, I just don't think he has a look that will sell. I look at others like Ted DiBiase, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger to an extent and think their look can be sold. I look at ones like Sheamus, Drew McIntyre and Yoshi Tatsu and I can't see it at all. They just don't have that charisma I can see in the others, I don't know why but they don't. And lastly, I'm just a bit tired of this "monster" type thing which has been given to so many guys and failed eg, Gene Snitsky, The Great Khali, Mike Knox, Mark Henry. And I think the reason the crowd wanted Sheamus to be beaten was because none of us wanted him to be WWE Champion at the time, it was too early. I couldn't understand it because Kofi Kingston's push was just dropped when the crowd loved him, but Sheamus got a huge push when he hadn't got much reaction up until then.

I actually must admit I hated the accent at first too, and thought it would keep him down somehow, but knowing he has the ultimate back-up really, I knew it wasn't gonna keep him down, but I thought it would keep him down through the crowd, but lately it shows, that it hasn't neither, Sheamus is getting over as a heel slowly, no matter what people say, it's an inevitable verbal proof if you listen to the crowd.
And the problem with those big men you mention, they failed because first of all, Gene Snitsky had like the worst gimmick ever of a maniac toe-licker, Khali is just.. Khali.. Knox is boring to the end of the world and back, twice, because all he does is try to seem big, has a beard and talks about stuff only a surgeon would be able to follow him on, Sheamus has back-up backstage, he is understandable, he talks about stuff people would pay attention to rather than any of the others, and he's feuding with one of the freaking corner-stone wrestlers of WWE.

Well, there are some face divas who can wrestle like Gail Kim (who deserves to have the Divas or Womens title) and Beth Phoinex. I'm sure we all would have actually liked to see a match with Beth, Gail or Mickie (but she was injured) in it or even Michelle. They could have had Beth vs Michelle as that has been building up during the "Piggy James" angle, personally I would have much more enjoyed that as it would feature wrestling

Beth to me isn't the greatest wrestler, she's an somewhat overrated modern Chyna with blonde hair if you ask me, and they make her out to be that, except that she's nobody's bodyguard, hasn't been in playboy, and has yet to hold a male championship.

We don't need one great wrestler like Shawn Michaels to make this particular match amazing (MITB ladder match) because it has 10 people in, the quality of the match is a joint effort, and depends on the booking of the match. I just felt it was a lazy attempt and that the match which is usually one we can rely on to be good let me down.

I believe I've said it before, we can't count on every match of them being good, I believe the only match type I've seen that was good every time would have to go ahead and be the Iron Man Match.
And once again I'll say it, this year's MITB match was filled with Wrestlemania and ladder match rookies, at least half of them, which I think is the key point to this match being a smaller failure as opposed to last year because if you ask me, it had to reassure that their future stars (all being the rookies) was coming out alive and well without any broken limps.

Agreed strongly, every match could have been given more time, and they SHOULD HAVE. Look at Wrestlemania 20, there were quite a lot of long matches and that card and it featured 12 matches. This one had 10, two of which were only 3 minutes and one which was only 6, they had plenty of time to make the matches longer but just didn't. Undertaker vs. Shawn was quite long, but still I would have preffered it to be 30 minutes, although I think the ending was perfect the way it was with the Spike piledriver to finish. And I still believe Mysterio vs. Punk could have been the 2nd best match because of the two wrestlers in the match and their in ring chemistry. Given time, that match could have been a show stealer up until HBK-Taker.

While I still think Shawn and Undertaker got a fine amount of ring-time considering it was only like what, 5 minutes short of the 30 minutes mark?
And I still remain unconvinced that just because it's Punk and Mysterio in the ring, that it's an instant classic match of pure awesomeness, because as I mentioned, I would still place a match like Edge and Jericho as the 2nd, because certainly they haven't had the biggest amount of matches against each other, and certainly not over the last few years, but they still have an amazing chemistry and knowledge about each other, lets try to remember the fact that they trained to become wrestlers together? that alone makes for these two people to have more ring chemistry than Punk and Mysterio who hasn't met in the ring before this feud as far as I know, and therefore isn't guaranteed to know each others in-ring styles to the fullest.

I know, but Vince is definately in good enough shape to have so offense. Neither of them is in the position to run a long match, which is exactly why they should not have made it so long. That way, even if Vince had no offense, the match would not have lost it's momentum. But in the end, as you said, the ending was worth every second. I loved the build up, but even without any of it, the sight of Bret putting the sharpshooter on Vince was historic.

Vince didn't get any offense into the match because, even though there's been much discussion whether Bret could even handle getting any offense in on him, I still think Vince shouldn't have gotten any offense in on him, partially because of taking that risk against Bret, and especially at Wrestlemania, we won't want to see him collapse legitimately if the risk did take a step too far, on the other hand, the true fan would probably rather see Bret beat Vince than Vince beating on Bret.

That's the thing, the only ones in the crowd who love him are some women and all the kids. And the kids don't know a thing about wrestling, they couldn't even appreciate the true significance of Bret vs. Vince because they don't know the history, they think John Cena is the idea of a terrific wrestler, but HBK is who they should be looking at. And yes, a Cena turn would be great for absolutely everyone, including the kids. It worked with Hogan in WCW, it can work now. I know it would not be as big, but still would be a huge shock to the kids, and a relief for us. I just can't stand that Cena constantly goes over at Wrestlemania, it's ruining the suspense of his matches.

Thing is with the Hulk Hogan turn (now I'm not very strong on WCW material, so excuse me if I drop the ball somewhere) it worked to shock the world, where as a John Cena turn wouldn't be that very shocking, and it wouldn't have the same impact on the wrestling world, besides Hulk Hogan (here comes the potential ball-drop) turned heel on a show that was more directed towards the more mature crowd than WWE is today, and today I doubt a beloved guy of Hulk Hogans caliber would work with the same success, because it would probably confuse the hell out of the kids.
But yeah, Cena constantly going over at Wrestlemania becomes predictable, yet he didn't go over at Wrestlemania 24, a nice change to be honest, but that's not the point, the point is that John Cena going over and winning at Wrestlemania means fans in the crowd and at home who obviously mainly loves John Cena, will get their moneys worth, rather than having the kids watch (in this case) what they have watched for the past months time, Batista standing victoriously above John Cena's broken and battered body.

The pay per view was undoubtedly great storyline wise. Which is why I am so dissappointed with it. The Cena-Batista rivalry was so great, mainly because I believe it had true aspects to it, such as that Cena was made the face of WWE rather than Batista. The whole rivalry was so heated and intense, so I was expecting a brawl at Wrestlemania, something which really showed the intensity of the rivalry. It reminded me a bit fo HHH vs. Orton last year, because many were expecting big things from that due to the storyline, but felt let down. Chris Jericho vs. Edge was brilliant, but the crowd let them down a bit, took them too long to come alive. Bret vs. Vince, the best storyline going in by far, and obviously I don't even need to explain why because we all know. HBK - Taker was perfect, I just wish it had been given more time, although I am happy with what it was, I actually thought it was better than last year. But overall, apart from that match, I was dissappointed about Wrestlemania.

You know what, I completely agree with the things you said in this paragraph, except for the part where you said you expected an all-out brawl between Batista and John Cena, because I didn't, I expected something mediocre at best to be honest, knowing these two aren't even 20% the abilities of Shawn, Kurt and Benoit, but the match came off so well, so shocking to me that "holy shit, they actually wrestled a good match" which made it absolutely awesome for me, because while I do enjoy a brawl, I also enjoy a good technical / counter filled match, which this match provided, and it showed that no matter how few holds these two wrestlers know, you shouldn't count them off when it comes to putting on a show.

 

[Tastycles]

WrestleMania XXVI

There has been a lot of shit written about this event, but in all honesty, I really enjoyed it on first watch, so let us see how I view it once the dust has settled. In the build to the event my main thought was "it can't be as bad as last year", so hopefully it won't disappoint.

R-Truth and John Morrison vs ShowMiz (Unified Tag Titles)

The math starts out with Tru-Mo on top and they get in just about all of their signature moves in early on. Morrison misses Starship Pain and Show throws Truth into the ring post. The match continues a bit more after that, but Morrison gets punched by Big Show and the whole thing is over as quickly as that.

This wasn't exactly a top draw tag match, but in all honesty, I much prefer this sort of thing to seeing Truth getting beaten down for five minutes until we get a hot tag and then see what we saw. It wasn't a world beating match, but it set the scene well and it served its purpose, so I give it 7.1 out of 10

Ted DiBiase vs Cody Rhodes vs Randy Orton

Glad to see that they were in different attire, even if Rhodes only looked like he was wearing socks, and came out to different music, which is important, as it stops this from being a three way clone match.

The booking was clever. Legacy were beating down Orton, but he did some classic face comebacks to prevent it from being dull, though there was a botched high and low. Eventually, DiBiase tries to pin Orton, and it turns into a proper triple threat.

Orton then Hulks up and starts taking it to both of them, but he is pulled from the ring by DiBiase. He gets backinto it and hits a double second rope DDT, which looks cool. He kicks DiBiase out of the ring, then in a feat of excellent ring acting, decides instead to punt Rhodes.

DiBiase just kind of watches, which is a bit weird, but he returns and gets RKO'd for an Orton victory. I don't like any of these three wrestlers, but this was a good triple threat match. They didn't kick the arse out of the handicap segment, and when it became a threeway, there wasn't anyone inexplicably on the floor or out of the ring at any stage. Not a classic, but entertaining and I give it 7.8 out of 10

Kofi Kingston vs MVP vs Evan Bourne vs Jack Swagger vs Shelton Benjamin vs Matt Hardy vs Dolph Ziggler vs Drew McIntyre vs Kane vs Christian (Money In The Bank Ladder Match)

It appears to be a bit of a fashion parade as we see about half the competitors wearing new attire. We start off with the usual kind of shit of everyone trying to climb the ladder at the same time.

However, whether it was for the sake of avoiding blood or something, I don't know, but there wasn't much aerial innovation. It was mostly people using the ladders as a weapon, which is fine, but it isn't very riveting. Eventually, however, Hardy and Christian introduce a bit of innovation, sandwiching Swagger before Bourne hits an Airbourne. However, Hardy throws him off, but he is then pushed away by Swagger, who falls on a ladder.

MVP and Shelton show up and Shelton ends up giving MVP a hurracanrana out of the ring. Ziggler gets knocked off the ladder by Kane, then chokeslammed onto the ladder, and sandwiched until the ladder breaks before Kofi returns and gives Kane the Trouble in Paradise. Kingston uses the broken ladder as stilts, which isn't as good as he looked last year on the single ladder, and he loks like David Lee this time around. McIntyre shows up, but he gets crotched by Matt Hardy.

Hardy, Christian and Kane canoodle on top of the ladder, but Christian comes up trumps, but Swagger removes him to win, after about 40 seconds of trying to open the clasp.

This was a decent enough match, but defo a case of too many cooks spoil the broth. Guys like MVP and Benjamin did hardly anything, and the thing that removed them from the match was a complete nothing move. A return to 8 men next year would be a huge improvement. Not bad, could have been better, so I give this 7.2 out of 10

Sheamus vs Triple H

The match begins with some classic one upmanship from both men before Triple H starts to dominate, locking in the figure four at one point. Sheamus goes apeshit and throws Triple H into the stairs. Sheamus then begins to dominate, beating down on Triple H, and I have to say he is doing what he does best, which is annhilate somebody without making it too boring.

Eventually, and before it gets too dull, Triple H breaks into all of his signatures, but the Pedigree is reversed and Sheamus hits a big boot for a two count, before being spine bustered himself. Sheamus manages to knock Triple H down, but as he lifts him, Triple H pulls a pedigree from absolutely nowhere and wins.

This was a good match. The feud will go on, and although I think Sheamus should have probably won, he certainly doesn't come out of this looking bad. The ending seemed a bit abrupt, but I think that was supposed to be the point, Triple H is supposed to be the wily veteran. Still, it didn't come across that well on first watching, so I give this match 7.9 out of 10

CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio

Rey comes out dressed as the lovechild of Lister from Red Dwarf and the dog off Blue's Clues. The match starts off with Punk trying to ground Mysterio, but eventually he breaks out and starts hitting the flying moves. However, Punk appears to have him scouted, and he counters just about everything that Rey does about two moves into a chain.

However, Rey does manahge to hit a mean springboard DDT, but he gets caught mid 619, and crashes during an attempted Frog Splash. Serena blocks one 619, but Mysterio counters a GTS into a hurracanrana that hits Gallows off the apron and then a 619 for the win. Solid match, and they got so much in you didn't realise it was short, though I wish it was a bit longer, as what there was really good and I'll give it 8.5 out of 10

Bret "The Hitman" Hart vs Vince McMahon (No Holds Barred Lumberjack Match)

The match starts off well, with Bret giving Vince a bit of a beating. He throws him out of the ring, and then the Hart Dynasty start to beat down on Vince. That served well to get them over, and was nicely done, why Smith Hart felt it necessary to take centre stage is beyond me, but what ever. We later get him back in the ring, and a bit more of an onslaught from Hart.

Hart throws him out again, but Vince gets a crow bar and goes back into the ring with it. Hart wrestles it off him and then hits Vince with it repeatedly. This should never have been a short match because it would ruin the believability of Hart wanting to exact revenge. However, they continued the match a couple of minutes after the point when they should have and it lost steam. It picked up again with the chair, but I think they should have omitted the crowbar section of the match.

Hart wins with the sharpshooter in the end. Like I said, take three minutes out of the middle of this match, and you probably have the most fitting match possible. As it was, it lost momentum, and it only picked back up when Hart used the chair. The Hart Dynasty got over as a result of this, and there was a nice image in the ring. I give this match 6.8 out of 10

Chris Jericho vs Edge (World Heavyweight Championship)

The match starts off quite tentatively as each man performs holds and very basic wrestling moves. The match is a textbook example of a momentum builder. The run of the match switches from person to person, and then we get interspersed big moves as the match goes on.

The match really reaches its apex when Jericho hits the Walls. This is followed by a spear attempt of his own, countered into a big boot by Edge, who has his spear turned into a Codebreaker for a two count. They continue at a high workrate until Jericho hits the Walls again followed by a single leg crab, which actually looks like it might work at one stage.

Jericho gets the belt after Edge reaches the rope and hits him with it after the ref momentarily goes down. Edge pinned for a two count, but a codebreaker later and he is the winner. A really well built match this, and it might not have had a real wow factor to it, but it was as solid as they come, and I give it 8.4 out of 10

Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, Alicia Fox and Vickie Guerrero vs Eve Torres, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix

This was a lot of screaming and not much else really. They all got their finishers in, and all executed them well except for Gail "the only one who can wrestle" Kim, again. Face facts, she's shit. Not as shit as Vickie though, who did a Hog splash soon afterwards. That being said, it was a nice touch to let her salute her husband, and as shit as this was, they kept it short, and everyone worked within their limitations. Not a good match by any stretch of the imagination, but it was about 40 times better than the divas match last year, so I'll give it 3.8 out of 10

Batista vs John Cena

The match starts off with a lot of mat wrestling. I don't know where that fits into the five moves bullshit, but it seems to me like they set out to prove the moronic members of the IWC wrong with this match. They then get up and start with the power stuff, but it was unfortunate to hear Cena tell Batista to knee him in the back.

They momentarily return to the mat, but then Cena starts to build momentum, and attempts to hit a 5 knuckle shuffle, but it turns into a huge spinebuster. Cena counters a Batista Bomb attempt into an STF, but he reaches the rope.

The match gets more and more large scale, and Cena hits the 5 knuckle shuffle from the top rope. However, Batista hits a Batista bomb, but Cena Kicks out. After a series of counters into the Attitude Adjustent, Cena gets a two count, then Cena kicks out of the move that levelled him at Summerslam 2008, but he eventually manages to get Batista into the STF, countering from a second bomb attempt, and we have a believable submission, much like that of Triple H at the last PPV, which doesn't happen enough in wrestling.

This was a brilliant match, and had this been the main event, this would have been an all time classic in the vein of Hogan vs Warrior. Two huge stars facing off, and Batista had the match of his career. I give this match a well deserved 9.3 out of 10

Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (No DQ, No Count-out Career vs streak match)

I thought last year's match was good, but they were both lying down on the floor for copious amounts of time. This match was 7 minutes shorter, and it eliminated that, as did the fact that they didn't come out of the stocks at 200mph.

After a series of holds, and punching battles, we get in a few huge signature moves from the Undertaker, culminating in a tombstone outside the ring. Taker had been selling a knee injury throughout the match from a very early old school, and this manifested itself in a change of momentum when the knee buckled in a last ride attempt. Michaels' elbow drop is countered, and the Hell's Gate is locked in but he reverses it into a pin attempt, before hitting a Sweet Chin Music.

This was only good enough for two, but they had an excellent balance between selling and lying down. He tries a second kick, but it is reversed, a little sloppily into a last ride for two. Out of the ring, Taker clears the announce table, but his attempt to powerbomb Michaels through it is foiled, and what follows is another Sweet Chin Music and then a moonsault through the table.

However, when they get back to the ring, another SCM isn't enough, and Taker kicks out again. Taker hits a chokeslam, but it still isn't enough. Taker doesn't want to hurt Michaels, and refrains from taunting, but Michaels keeps fighting, brilliant emotional interlude, before Taker tombstones him and wins the match.

There is a tendancy to subscribe to the belief that multiple finishers make a good match. This match was very good, but except for the very last minute or so, much of the second half was just kicking out of finishers. That's fine once, but that is all you need to symbolise the magnitude. Taker is a man with 4 finishers, and he used all of them at least twice. There must have been about 5 SCM attempts at least. That's not a bad thing, but it does mean that the match ends up lacking in innovation.

This is by no means saying this match wasn't good or even great, but people are talking about it as if it was the greatest of all time, and there wasn't enough variety to justify that. That being said, it was a fitting end to Michaels' career, and the emotion really was drawn to the surface. The best match of the night, not the best match in history, so I give it 9.5 out of 10

Production and Extras

We begin with the flypast and seeing inside the arena before Fantasia murders America The Beautiful over a montage of of shots of America. It was awful, but it didn't last very long and it was good for the patriotism. We then go into a very well produced montage of WrestleManias past that simultaneously builds the present one, very good.

The arena is very well designed, and I don't subscribe to this myth that the atmosphere went out through the roof. I was at a football match with about a third of this crowd in open air on Thursday night, and it was significantly louder than this audience, just wasn't a very rowdy crowd. That being said, it can't have been good for the people with the sun in their eyes. We're introduced to our commentary team of Striker, Cole and Lawler who are getting better together. There was problems with silence before, but they appear to have a chemistry developing.

We get a package showing all that has been going on in Phoenix over the last couple of weeks. The philanthropy of the WWE is underestimated, it really is. After the Legacy match, we get a backstage interview with the divas which turns into an actually amusing advert for Slim Jim with Santino. Short and moderately amusing, I liked it.

We later get a hall of fame segment, where we see the inductees introduced by The Fink after a highlights package of the ceremony. Very tasteful, very fitting. We get our first video package of the night before the Sheamus match, and it sets the tone of brilliant packages working in the emotion, magnitude and story of the feud brilliantly. We get a similarly good one before the Rey and Punk match. Why is Dominick taller than Rey Mysterio and his wife put together? Maybe it is Eddie's after all. That's a recycled joke, but that's what I do. Punk cuts a classic promo before the match, well done. Rey takes a week to come out, apparently there were some technical issues.

Before the match between Hart and McMahon we get another brilliant video package, before introducing Vince, who has paid the Harts off. What follows is the most obvious double cross in history, and then we get into the match. After that match we get yet another top rate video package, this time for the WHC match.

After the WHC match, we see Jericho beat down Edge before Edge gets a huge spear through the barricade. This was a good way to prolong the feud, and it is good to see the Spanish announce table return. At some point around this time we had adverts for WrestleMania XXVII, Extreme Rules and a highlights package of the battle royal won by Yoshi Tatsu. Well done Yoshi. After the divas, we get another great video package for Cena and Batista, but we get a lacklustre entrance for Cena compared to recent years.

Before the main event match, we get yet another brilliant video package, probably the best of the evening. This event probably had the best build up to each match that I have ever seen, and had they had one for Legacy, it would have actually been perfect. After the main event, they had the perfect combo of glitz and letting Michaels go gracefully.

The sum total of the production of this event was first rate. The packages were great, the timing of most of the matches were great, the few promos there were were great. The only thing I'd change is not dragging out the Hart segment and instead giving Punk and Mysterio a bit longer. The entrances weren't overstated, but it always felt big going to the ring. They should have closed the roof if not doing so meant putting the sun in people's eyes unecessarily. The commentary was adequate, but not brilliant, but still, all these extras give the event 9.4 out of 10

Overview

This was a really good show, and the score I'm giving shall reflect that. All but the divas match were decent enough, and I have very few qualms about it. After the abomination of last year, this was a refreshing improvement, and undobtedly the best PPV anywhere to date.

I give this event 80 out of 100

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

These are my thoughts on the WrestleMania XXVI PPV:

Opening: While fantasia was fairly underhwelming, the opening video package highlighting WrestleMania moments was very entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the beggining of a career (MITB) to end of a career (HBK/Taker) comparison.

ShoMiz vs. R-Truth & John Morrison: While this match was way to quick I felt it was fun. It's major point was to get these four guys on the card and it served it's purpose. But again too fast. I give it: 2/5.

WrestleMania Week Recap: God Michael Cole is such a phoney. Not much to talk about here except Big Show with a small black child which was a tad strange.

Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase Jr. vs. Cody Rhodes: This match was predictable, but once again fun. It didn't bury anyone and managed to get Orton even more over as a face. The pop at the beggining of the match was huge. I give it: 2.75/5.

Heel Diva's/Santino Promo: This was umm...interesting? Santino was funas always but it was memorable for one reason and one reason only: gene Okerland in a dress.

Money in the Bank: The enterances were quickly out of the way but furthered the point that Savanah is a piss-poor ring announcer. Anyway this was another fun match filled with ouch moments. Some of the most memorable ones were Kofi's stilts, Swagger getting destroyed by Christian & Hardy, Bourne's Shooting Star Press and Matt Hardy being pushed off by Swagger. The result was a suprise but an excellent one at that. I give it 3.5/5.

Hall of Famers: The recaop video was fun and it was good seeing the Fink at Mania'. DiBiase got a massive pop but other than that nothing too interesting here.

Triple H vs. Sheamus: That video package was bad-ass. Sheamus impressed me here. I believe this has been his best outing to date and that he and HHH actually had some chemistry with one another. I was dissapointed in HHH picking up the W but he gets the benifit of the doubt because of the performance. Overall I give it: 3.25/10

CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio: Punk's promo was excellent at the start of this match but too short again. Mysterio as that Avatar guy was just stupid in my opinion. Overall a solid outing but they should hava had five minutes more. I give it 3/5.

Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon: The 'twist' was pretty obvious but enjoyable. It was fun at the start and the end. The slow middle some-what made it stale but I don't really care, it's Bret kicking the crap out of Vince. It doesn't need a rating becasue it did what it needed to do.

Chris Jericho vs. Edge: The build was poor but it was an enjoyable outing from both men. Edge did well for a guy who isn't at 100% yet. jericho was solid as always. The Jeri-Spear never happened but it never was going to. Overall a good match. I give it: 3.75/10.

Post Match: Well the fans got to see their Spear. Feel good moment for most (apart for Y2J). The replays made that spear look brutal.

Divas Tag: Less said the better. I give it: 1/5 (for Vickie giving tribute to Eddie in her own way).

Batista vs. John Cena: Suprised this wasn't the main event. The Cena Haters are always good value for money. The video package made Batista look like a beast. Cena's entrance was meh compared to previous years (so Michael Cole overselling it wasn't particularly wonderful). Batista's spotlight entrance is great for his character better than his old machine gun style one. Similar to their SummerSlam outing this one was a bit slower. Batista working on the back was fine and some of their stuff was very good (The 5 Knuckle AShuffle into the Spinebuster was pretty brutal). I give it: 3.75/5.

Post Match: Cena spends some time with his two biggest fans: The Kids and the Haters. Great stuff here.

The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels: You knew almost immediatley after Shawn came out to his regular entrance that something was up. Taker came out in his new hoodie style cloak thing which was fairly cool (especially with lasers they're always fun). This match in my opinion was better than last years. I said it. Shawn working on Taker's leg was interesting especially with taker selling like mad. The Tombstone on the outside was vicious as was that moonsault. The end was booked to perfection with the slap/throat-cut. Great finish to a legendary match.

Post Match: The respect shown post match was amazing. With Taker leaving, letting Shawn have the spotlight was a wise-move. His slow walk up the ramp was brilliant and the King summed it up perfectly with his closing comments (which for the life of me I can't remember now dammit!).

Overall Show: This was a very good show from the WWE with an instantly classic match in HBK/Taker II. Most did a good job with shout-outs going out to The King (who was on form), Undertaker, Vickie Guerrero, Sheamus, Triple H, Evan Bourne, Matt Hardy, Jack Swagger, CM Punk, Vince McMahon, Batista, John Cena, Chris Jericho and of course Shawn Michaels. we'll miss you. Overall I give it: 8/10.

 

[Takerfan93]

Sure, we've agreed about a Ted DiBiase win for how many posts now? but quite honestly, I don't think giving Ted the win would've brought much heat to the fella, to me it would've been more of a "fair enough, he got put over, that's what was expected" and then shrug it off, an Orton win came surprising for me, and the final pose did it for me, saddened me that we officially lost one of the top heels to the face side (while I didn't mind him staying tweener, hope WWE puts that in there somehow).

Yes I see your point, I gues the win could have been that way, and the Orton win did come as a surprise. But, like you I am saddened that he has turned face because he was such a great heel, tweener would have been so much better if they really NEEDED to turn him. I hate it when any good heel turns face; Edge I'm not so into anymore now that he's turned face, he was such a fantastic heel. Same goes for HHH, I really hope he turns heel soon. But that's for another thread.

I actually must admit I hated the accent at first too, and thought it would keep him down somehow, but knowing he has the ultimate back-up really, I knew it wasn't gonna keep him down, but I thought it would keep him down through the crowd, but lately it shows, that it hasn't neither, Sheamus is getting over as a heel slowly, no matter what people say, it's an inevitable verbal proof if you listen to the crowd.
And the problem with those big men you mention, they failed because first of all, Gene Snitsky had like the worst gimmick ever of a maniac toe-licker, Khali is just.. Khali.. Knox is boring to the end of the world and back, twice, because all he does is try to seem big, has a beard and talks about stuff only a surgeon would be able to follow him on, Sheamus has back-up backstage, he is understandable, he talks about stuff people would pay attention to rather than any of the others, and he's feuding with one of the freaking corner-stone wrestlers of WWE.

Either way, I still don't see him as main event caliber, certainly not Wrestlemania caliber. I just feel there are much more talented up and comers who could have had his spot in Wrestlemania against HHH. But obviously that was never going to happen considering his back up. I just feel that Sheamus doesn't have a look, a moveset, the mic skill or any of the components to make a main eventer sadly. For me, that was what held this match back, it didn't have that "BIG MATCH" feel as they were making it seem. Nevertheless it exeeded my expectations and was good, although it should have been shorter IMO.

Beth to me isn't the greatest wrestler, she's an somewhat overrated modern Chyna with blonde hair if you ask me, and they make her out to be that, except that she's nobody's bodyguard, hasn't been in playboy, and has yet to hold a male championship.

I believe she's a fantastic wrestler. And yes, she is sort of a modern Chyna, but as you said she's not at the level Chyna was. But they should take advantage of what they have with Beth, she COULD be the next Chyna. I believe if they capitalise on her, it could help the Womens division as a whole and make it worth something again. We all know WWE need to fix the womens division, and I think that by pushing Beth to Chyna's heights, it could cause people to take notice of the Womens division and then they could also put focus onto the other Divas. We would have all loved to see Chyna vs. Beth Phoinex but it will never happen. But Beth vs. Gail Kim would have been very good as well. Atleast better than the tag match or the "pile almost all our divas into one match".

I believe I've said it before, we can't count on every match of them being good, I believe the only match type I've seen that was good every time would have to go ahead and be the Iron Man Match.
And once again I'll say it, this year's MITB match was filled with Wrestlemania and ladder match rookies, at least half of them, which I think is the key point to this match being a smaller failure as opposed to last year because if you ask me, it had to reassure that their future stars (all being the rookies) was coming out alive and well without any broken limps.

But this COULD have been good, for some reason they just didn't put any crazy spots in this year. I absolutely LOVED that it had all the rookies in the match, which is why I would have preffered Kane, Matt Hardy and Christian atleast not to be in it. I would have preffered to have put Christian in the World Heavyweight title match against Edge and Chris Jericho in a triple threat. That match would have been terrific and how fitting would it be to have Edge, Jericho and Christian in the match, 3 Canadians who have such a history together in and even before WWE. Then Kane and Matt Hardy could have been a 3rd tag team in the Unified Tag Team Championship match. Yes it would be a random team, but it was random anyway with R-Truth and John Morrison so why not. And atleast if it had 3 teams in it may have been a longer match.

While I still think Shawn and Undertaker got a fine amount of ring-time considering it was only like what, 5 minutes short of the 30 minutes mark?
And I still remain unconvinced that just because it's Punk and Mysterio in the ring, that it's an instant classic match of pure awesomeness, because as I mentioned, I would still place a match like Edge and Jericho as the 2nd, because certainly they haven't had the biggest amount of matches against each other, and certainly not over the last few years, but they still have an amazing chemistry and knowledge about each other, lets try to remember the fact that they trained to become wrestlers together? that alone makes for these two people to have more ring chemistry than Punk and Mysterio who hasn't met in the ring before this feud as far as I know, and therefore isn't guaranteed to know each others in-ring styles to the fullest.

It was 7 minutes short of 30 minutes, which yes does seem like nothing on paper, but it's a much longer time than it seems and would have made a huge difference. Punk and Mysterio have such a strong chemistry in the ring together though, and it could have been a much much better match than it was, but sadly I don't think it was given the chance. And Edge and Jericho did have chemistry in the ring, but as I said before, I also would have liked to see Christian in the match because he deserves a main event push (about time) and because lets not forget he also has a long history with Edge and Jericho. All 3 are Canadians, trained together, Edge and Christian are even kayfabe brothers. The background behind the match would be terrific and the match itself would be a classic.

Vince didn't get any offense into the match because, even though there's been much discussion whether Bret could even handle getting any offense in on him, I still think Vince shouldn't have gotten any offense in on him, partially because of taking that risk against Bret, and especially at Wrestlemania, we won't want to see him collapse legitimately if the risk did take a step too far, on the other hand, the true fan would probably rather see Bret beat Vince than Vince beating on Bret.

But Bret could have got offense off him, remember he got some gut punches off Batista a few weeks back? But yes, if it was going to be a big risk, it is good they didn't do it. And now of course it was reported that the reason Vince got beat so bad was to "wipe out" the Mr McMahon character, so that makes sense. Although I will be devastated if this is true, because I love the character, he is such a great heel. And I will say it again, I feel honoured to have witnessed the conclusion of the whole Montreal Screwjob fiasco. I will never forget it, truly historic moments.

Thing is with the Hulk Hogan turn (now I'm not very strong on WCW material, so excuse me if I drop the ball somewhere) it worked to shock the world, where as a John Cena turn wouldn't be that very shocking, and it wouldn't have the same impact on the wrestling world, besides Hulk Hogan (here comes the potential ball-drop) turned heel on a show that was more directed towards the more mature crowd than WWE is today, and today I doubt a beloved guy of Hulk Hogans caliber would work with the same success, because it would probably confuse the hell out of the kids.
But yeah, Cena constantly going over at Wrestlemania becomes predictable, yet he didn't go over at Wrestlemania 24, a nice change to be honest, but that's not the point, the point is that John Cena going over and winning at Wrestlemania means fans in the crowd and at home who obviously mainly loves John Cena, will get their moneys worth, rather than having the kids watch (in this case) what they have watched for the past months time, Batista standing victoriously above John Cena's broken and battered body.

Yes, a Cena turn would not be much of a shock to the wrestling world. But Hogans fan base was directed towards kids a lot, the whole "eat your vitamins, say your prayers", he was the kids hero, much like Cena now. So it would shock the kids, and relieve the rest of us. And while he didn't go over at Wrestlemania 24, it was a triple threat, so it won't be remembered as a definitive Cena loss, if it was a loss in a singles match it would be more significant. I'm just tiring of this Cena era, god knows how long it will go on. I don't want there to be A GUY, I want there to be a group, that way no one would be over emphasized.

You know what, I completely agree with the things you said in this paragraph, except for the part where you said you expected an all-out brawl between Batista and John Cena, because I didn't, I expected something mediocre at best to be honest, knowing these two aren't even 20% the abilities of Shawn, Kurt and Benoit, but the match came off so well, so shocking to me that "holy shit, they actually wrestled a good match" which made it absolutely awesome for me, because while I do enjoy a brawl, I also enjoy a good technical / counter filled match, which this match provided, and it showed that no matter how few holds these two wrestlers know, you shouldn't count them off when it comes to putting on a show.

Thank you. But what I meant by the Cena-Batista brawl, was that I expected them to fight much more agressively. I did not expect them to try put on a technical match, I expected them to play it out as more of a fight than a wrestling match considering the intensity of the feud. Overall, I just hope next year the card has a complete overhaul as I want the main events to not have a rotation of the same guys, I want to see different guys in the title matches now. I would partially like to see Undertaker-Cena as I believe Undertaker can get a good match out of him, but I also partially don't because I'm worried WWE will make Cena go over Taker seeing as he's their "Superman". And I am completely against that happening.

 

[Ferbian]

Oh boy here we go again..

Yes I see your point, I gues the win could have been that way, and the Orton win did come as a surprise. But, like you I am saddened that he has turned face because he was such a great heel, tweener would have been so much better if they really NEEDED to turn him. I hate it when any good heel turns face; Edge I'm not so into anymore now that he's turned face, he was such a fantastic heel. Same goes for HHH, I really hope he turns heel soon. But that's for another thread.

Yeah Orton should've stayed a definite tweener, but it seems WWE doesn't want it that way, I guess we'll have to see where it goes.
And yeah Edge is kinda boring now that he's a face, he could work it alongside Christian cause they were funny, but not as a singles guy, he doesn't have that E&C attitude anymore that made him funny.
Although I do actually like Triple H as the current face character he's playing, he's doing good and while I would completely mark out for a Triple H heel turn, I don't mind what he's doing currently, but that's for another thread, this is Wrestlemania review..

Either way, I still don't see him as main event caliber, certainly not Wrestlemania caliber. I just feel there are much more talented up and comers who could have had his spot in Wrestlemania against HHH. But obviously that was never going to happen considering his back up. I just feel that Sheamus doesn't have a look, a moveset, the mic skill or any of the components to make a main eventer sadly. For me, that was what held this match back, it didn't have that "BIG MATCH" feel as they were making it seem. Nevertheless it exeeded my expectations and was good, although it should have been shorter IMO.

Sheamus is not main event caliber for Wrestlemania just yet no, and he didn't main event, so there I don't really see a problem, Sheamus I think will come out of the feud with Triple H as an incredible dominant force and will make himself noticed in the main event scene quite firmly.
And while you may not think he has the look, we all know that Vince thrives on big guys, and Sheamus is big in a big way, the mic skills is getting there, lets remember he's still a rookie, and I would still say he's mic skills is better than a guy like Morrison who's been around for years, and people love Morrison, but that's mainly because of his moveset I believe, which Sheamus will be putting forth some time in the future, again, he's a new guy, his moveset and momentum building moves will become clearer with time.
And certainly they didn't have that big match feel to it, but that's cause it's not for a title or a definite main event, and Sheamus is not a veteran in any way just yet, but he shows potential I believe.

I believe she's a fantastic wrestler. And yes, she is sort of a modern Chyna, but as you said she's not at the level Chyna was. But they should take advantage of what they have with Beth, she COULD be the next Chyna. I believe if they capitalise on her, it could help the Womens division as a whole and make it worth something again. We all know WWE need to fix the womens division, and I think that by pushing Beth to Chyna's heights, it could cause people to take notice of the Womens division and then they could also put focus onto the other Divas. We would have all loved to see Chyna vs. Beth Phoinex but it will never happen. But Beth vs. Gail Kim would have been very good as well. Atleast better than the tag match or the "pile almost all our divas into one match".

Beth being the next Chyna wouldn't do much to me, because I've never found much interest in Chyna, no matter how you twist and turn her character, the only time she ever made any sense to me was with D-Generation X when she would be a focus point for some of Shawn's promos, and quite honestly I feel the same way with Beth, absolutely no interest than an slightly above average attractiveness, which Chyna couldn't brag about in my eyes.
And yes a big tag team match wasn't the same as a one on one match would've been, but that's probably mostly because no matter how you mix it, a 5 on 5 tag team match is never good, only time I ever found a good tag team match is legit tag team vs legit tag team, but this match put all the divas of relevance on the card, and just looking at money in the bank, that's obviously what they wanted.

But this COULD have been good, for some reason they just didn't put any crazy spots in this year. I absolutely LOVED that it had all the rookies in the match, which is why I would have preffered Kane, Matt Hardy and Christian atleast not to be in it. I would have preffered to have put Christian in the World Heavyweight title match against Edge and Chris Jericho in a triple threat. That match would have been terrific and how fitting would it be to have Edge, Jericho and Christian in the match, 3 Canadians who have such a history together in and even before WWE. Then Kane and Matt Hardy could have been a 3rd tag team in the Unified Tag Team Championship match. Yes it would be a random team, but it was random anyway with R-Truth and John Morrison so why not. And atleast if it had 3 teams in it may have been a longer match.

Certainly it could've been better, but as I've said all the time, it was solid, and made sure that the rookies of the ladder match didn't get completely killed out there.

And I don't see how they would've done that, certainly you could argue that Batista and Cena was on two cross brands and so was Shawn vs Undertaker, but that's cause they mixed themselves into each other, where as opposed to Christian he wouldn't have been able to really interfere in the business of Edge and Jericho, and while I think a Triple Threat could've been absolutely golden, I don't see how they could build the feud properly, because Christian would be stuck on RAW building it with himself slowly while Jericho and Edge build it on Smackdown, where Christian basically isn't allowed to appear.

It was 7 minutes short of 30 minutes, which yes does seem like nothing on paper, but it's a much longer time than it seems and would have made a huge difference. Punk and Mysterio have such a strong chemistry in the ring together though, and it could have been a much much better match than it was, but sadly I don't think it was given the chance. And Edge and Jericho did have chemistry in the ring, but as I said before, I also would have liked to see Christian in the match because he deserves a main event push (about time) and because lets not forget he also has a long history with Edge and Jericho. All 3 are Canadians, trained together, Edge and Christian are even kayfabe brothers. The background behind the match would be terrific and the match itself would be a classic.

Certainly 7 minutes extra would've made a big difference, but it wasn't needed for Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, and really, would you have wanted 7 extra minutes of it? would've probably come off one of the other matches, and that would've probably been one like CM Punk and Rey Mysterio would've lost at least 2 minutes to fit it in, or completely thrown off the card.
And while yes Christian deserves a main event push, it doesn't make sense to throw him right into the World Heavyweight Championship match cause on RAW he's clearly in the mid card, not even with a championship, he has no momentum build or roster power to elevate himself into the main event surrounding a world title, as opposed to Kofi Kingston for example being elevated around Orton who wasn't champion at that time, Christian would need to be elevated through one with no championship, or be shot directly into a main event, which I don't see happening, and certainly not at Wrestlemania.

But Bret could have got offense off him, remember he got some gut punches off Batista a few weeks back? But yes, if it was going to be a big risk, it is good they didn't do it. And now of course it was reported that the reason Vince got beat so bad was to "wipe out" the Mr McMahon character, so that makes sense. Although I will be devastated if this is true, because I love the character, he is such a great heel. And I will say it again, I feel honoured to have witnessed the conclusion of the whole Montreal Screwjob fiasco. I will never forget it, truly historic moments.

Certainly the Mr McMahon character was great, one of the better heels quite obviously, and while I do think the character in itself and it's "evilness" has faded over the years of the PG rated show, I do agree it's a shame to put it out like that, but as I believe has been mentioned in that report, it started with Bret, and ended with Bret, perfectly fitting.

Yes, a Cena turn would not be much of a shock to the wrestling world. But Hogans fan base was directed towards kids a lot, the whole "eat your vitamins, say your prayers", he was the kids hero, much like Cena now. So it would shock the kids, and relieve the rest of us. And while he didn't go over at Wrestlemania 24, it was a triple threat, so it won't be remembered as a definitive Cena loss, if it was a loss in a singles match it would be more significant. I'm just tiring of this Cena era, god knows how long it will go on. I don't want there to be A GUY, I want there to be a group, that way no one would be over emphasized.

Certainly a Cena heel turn would come off devastating to the kids, but it would most likely also damage business, cause John Cena is the biggest draw, while (again not good with WCW) I think Hogan's turn in WCW had the fans around him in an later state of their life, where it didn't kill business for a Hogan heel turn, cause the kids that grew up watching him in the 80's were in their late teens / early adult years and would therefore be interested in a heel Hogan, where as the fans of John Cena could most likely still be in their early teens even if they've followed his whole career, and it would still be devastating for those kids I bet, right now I don't see the need to take the risk of turning Cena, as many many people say.. why fix it when it's not broken?

Thank you. But what I meant by the Cena-Batista brawl, was that I expected them to fight much more agressively. I did not expect them to try put on a technical match, I expected them to play it out as more of a fight than a wrestling match considering the intensity of the feud. Overall, I just hope next year the card has a complete overhaul as I want the main events to not have a rotation of the same guys, I want to see different guys in the title matches now. I would partially like to see Undertaker-Cena as I believe Undertaker can get a good match out of him, but I also partially don't because I'm worried WWE will make Cena go over Taker seeing as he's their "Superman". And I am completely against that happening.

I bet the main event next year won't be an complete overhaul, while it may have some changes in the overall card and a potential add to the main event, I still see guys like John Cena, Edge and Jericho being there, their not that old, and could easily go on for quite a few years, remember Triple H, while he's not been in the main event all those years, he has still been at 14 Wrestlemania's ( at least I believe they said 14.. pardon me if I'm wrong)
And I agree, a John Cena vs Undertaker could be fun to watch, while I don't quite see it yet, unless there's a championship in there, and I still think and hope Undertaker will go out on top.

 

[Bilawal]

Showmiz vs Killings and Morrison: 2/10

Blinked and it ended

Orton v Dibase v Rhodes: 4/10

Boring, predictable etc

Money in the Bank: 8.5/10

Great, great match. Massive surprise with Swagger winning it, and alot of high flying shit.

HHH v Sheamus: 8.0/10

Better than I expected, it was a good match. It had pace, flowed nicely, this match made me believe that Sheamus could be a decent main eventer.

Rey v Punk : 8.8/10

This would have stolen the show if it wasn't so short, all the action, the wrestling, high flying; overall a great match and if it had gotten enough time would have been second best show of the night. Can't wait for Extreme Rules rematch.

Hart v McMahon: 3.2/10

Terrible match, I was expetcing a street fight across the backstage or a "brawl", but instead the gave me this shit.

Jericho v Edge: 9.3/10

Started slowly, and if it wasn't for the begining, would have gotten a much higher rating but after it was the best match of that night thus far, and it had memorable moments.

Divas Match: null

Was too busy trying to stay awake

Batista v Cena: 9.0/10

It may have been too short, but it was action packed and I like that. My only beef is that it didn't feel like a Wrestlemania ending, when Dave tapped out, and it was too short but a great match.

Undertaker v HBK: 10/10

Nothing less, was it better than last year? I don't know but what I do know is that you won't find a better match this year. The reason to watch this year's Wrestlemania.

Overall: 9.2/10; it was a rollercoaster of a Wrestlemania, but a few great matches made sure it was great. But with such a heavy-handed card in terms of Stardom, it didn't live up to its expectations only the taker match did.

 

[Lionheart_Y2J_fan.]

To tell you the truth. I thought Wrestlemania 26 was just very okay. It was way way way way over-hyped. I thought the unified tag championship was gonna be the stand-out match of the night but it was way to short. The Orton vs. Rhodes vs. DiBiase was alright. I wanted DiBiase to win though. The MITB was cool and had some exciting moments like evan bourne's star press off the ladder and Jack Swagger winning. IMO there were too many people in the match. They should've just stuck with 6 people. The Punk vs. Rey match could've been SO MUCH BETTER. The HHH vs. Sheamus match i knew was gonna be boring. Hart vs. McMahon WAS THE WORST WRESTLEMANIA MATCH EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! all it was, was hart beating up vince with a crowbar and the hart dynasty attacking vince then bret faking the sharpshooter a million times. I already knew it wouldn't be anything special but c'mon!!! The divas match was just a piss break for me lol. Jericho vs. Edge was good. Mostly because JERICHO WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOHOO!!!! and edge spearing jericho through the barricade was cool. good mania moment. Cena vs. Batista wasnt that bad. everyone knew cena would win. HBK vs. Taker was a VERY GOOD MATCH. ending sucked though. WM25 match was better.

The stage was very cool, but what was up with the tube thing that kept coming down???? When you saw it you were just like "okay???"
and the crowd SUCKED!!! never have a wrestlemania in phoenix again vince!!!!

wm26 i'll give a 3 out of 5 stars

 

[whatalife1683]

Wrestlemania 26 was a good PPV but not great. It was better than Wrestlemania 25 IMO. I would give the whole event an 8.5/10. I think the booking was wrong in some matches and some matches were too short.
The Taker vs HBK match was match of the night. If Punk vs Mysterios was given more times, then I believe it would have been match of the night. I think the Batista vs Cena match was an excellent match. I did not mind Cena making him tap. I have read some people say the match was terrible. I would like to know what these people were watching. However, I think some people will hate anything Cena or Batista does.
I was happy Swagger won MITB, but this year's MITB was not all that. I think it had way too many particpants. This is why 21 and 22 had the best MITB. They had limited wrestlers, so the match is able to flow better without so many wrestlers just laying there. Edge vs Jericho was alright, but it needed another 5 to 7 mins. They were building things up nicely, but then the match just ended. I think Edge should have done the ending sequence during the match. These are little booking problems which could have made the match better.
I was not expecting a lot from the Vince vs Bret match, but I thought it was horrible. We got the satisfying finish, but the swerves could have been saved forlater in the match. HHH VS Sheamus and Orton vs Diabase vs Rhodes were both good. Again the triple threat was kind of short, and I thought it could have went 15 mins instead. It was right for Orton to win since he is so over with the fans. HHH should have put over Sheamus, but he did make him look strong in the match. Sheamus came out of the match looking like a force to be reckon with; however, Sheamus is not getting much of a reaction. WWE will realize this one day and stop pushing him. The tag match was short but good short. I thought it could have went on longer, but this is what you got at Wreestlemania 26 bad booking and time management. The diva match was well a diva match. It was funny seeing Vickie Guerrero try to do the frog splash.
Overall, I did give it a 8.5 and would recommend watching it if you get a chance.