Best PPV of the year by my standards... start to finish, this was an excellent show that was incredibly well put together. I've seen a few comparisons to Wrestlemania, but during the very first match I remarked out loud, "it's already surpassed Wrestlemania." I just felt like this was a BIG night... not your run of the mill, once a month PPV. This felt different. This is why I'd love to have Wrestlemania in the smaller venues again. The crowd in Chicago was great for everything (not just Punk) and it was jumping all night and comes across much better on TV from a crowd perspective than Wrestlemania and it's 70,000 seat stadiums, but I digress.
Smackdown! MITB: Awesome MITB match. Everyone had a chance to shine, even Slater and Gabriel. The only guy in there that really didn't do anything to excite me was Wade Barrett and while I understand he's not exactly a ladder match guy, I thought he was underwhelming. But regardless of who did what, great MITB match. Sheamus/Kane both looked convincing as powerhouses and had some really good spots between the two. Sin Cara looked great and took a vicious power bomb through the ladder from Sheamus and in the end, Daniel Bryan wins?!?!? A true shocker!
Rating: 4.5/5 (in comparison to other MITB matches, one of the best)
Divas Championship: It did what it was supposed to do. Kelly and Brie tried their damnedest. It was pretty standard divas fair, but a little better than most.
Rating: 2/5 (in comparison to other Divas matches)
Big Show vs. Mark Henry: Surprisingly not terrible... surprisingly decent, better yet. Big Show moved with purpose, which I haven't seen much of lately. He twice left his feet, which I haven't seen much of lately and sold the post-match beat down quite well, which he rarely ever does convincingly (a la Big Show/Del Rio car incident). Mark Henry wins and looks surprisingly dominant. Good showing for the big boys. Not exactly Kane/Taker Mania 14 but not too bad.
Rating: 2.5/5 (in comparison to other Big Man matches)
Raw MITB: Not nearly as good as Smackdown!'s and Del Rio winning was somewhat predictable. The ending was interesting and the Miz's injury bit was great. Still, with all the MITB matches we've seen, the managed to do a few things in this one which haven't been done before, such as when all 8 guys surrounded the briefcase swatting at it like flies ha ha. It looked a little stupid, but I also appreciate it for being different.
Rating: 3.5/5
Orton/Christian: Booked wonderfully. This was all about Orton losing his cool so it's fitting that he got DQ'd. I don't care one bit about Christian winning the title not legitimately. Christian just won the World Title by outsmarting Randy Orton! The match itself could've been a little longer, but was very good regardless and it'll be one I remember. I was expecting Daniel Bryan to come in post match to cash in after Orton laid Christian out, but it's not exactly Daniel Bryan's M.O. and as much as everyone believes Vince hates Christian, he's now a two time champion which is more than most people can say. I don't think Christian will be given a good run. I think this is just a case of nothing else left in the main event, so Christian/Orton is extended through Summerslam, but still a very good match.
Rating:4/5
Cena/Punk: This just felt epic. The match itself, had it taken place anywhere else, even without that wild crowd, still would've been at bare minimum a 4/5. Add everything else to it, the drama they built, the suspense, the crowd, the ending. This is a classic. Watching it, even my dad who is just a casual fan (who only watches the PPVs and never tunes into Raw/Smackdown!) said that this is the best match he's seen in a long time. I agree. I feel bad for anyone who mentions botches on a night like this (there were a few minor hiccups in Punk/Cena as well as both MITB's and the Divas match), but it had a very real feel. If it's a real fight, not everything hits picture perfect. Sometimes it just hits. I also LOVED how the announcers were putting over the WWE title and were referring to WWE as a "sport" again and not just "entertainment." It really is the reason I love "wrestling" for moments like this. CM Punk wins the Gold which is amazing. The wrestling was great and even Super Cena was better tonight than he arguably ever is. I'm glad they went out and gave fans something to remember. Del Rio coming to cash in only to get kicked by Punk was great. And Punk leaves.
Rating: 5/5
All in all, amazing show. Wrestlemania shouldn't have even been mentioned in the same sentence as this. Best show of the year if we're talking PPV's. It's very rare that I enjoy a show more than the Royal Rumble, but I think I enjoyed MITB more this year. I can only hope WWE keeps up the momentum. They're going to need something HUGE at Summerslam to be able to replicate the quality and excitement of this show.
Rating "A"