Last Looks
I know I'm a nerd but I have always been a huge professional wrestling fan. I don't care if its fake its real to me damn it! Really I think there is a great amount of athleticism and performance capabilities to this grappling art and I have a great deal of respect for sports entertainment. It's Wrestlemania season but for some reason it feels like Christmas in July. The special aura for the showcase of the immortals has just not been there this year. Mostly due to a lackluster build with rare appearances from part time talent who will be in main events this year has prohibited this Wrestlemania from being must see. There are matches I really want to enjoy such as Sting vs HHH and Taker vs Wyatt, but honestly up until Brock Lesnar broke the news he had signed a new contract earlier last week I wasn't excited to see the World Heavyweight Championship match. I knew it had been predetermined that Roman Reigns was winning this match since last years Wrestlemania and WWE had went all in on trying to put Reigns over and making him the next face of the company. I am a huge Reigns fan and think he has the "It Factor" but creative has not done him any favors by shoving him down our throats and writing him awful fairy tale promos. Now with the news of Lesnar's new contract it at least puts the doubt in our minds that Reigns is actually going to lose. A lot of different scenarios and I'm pretty much ready for anything at this point. Lets get Ready to Rumble!
Ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship
Wade Barrett vs Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper vs Daniel Bryan vs R Truth vs Dean Ambrose vs Stardust
The spot fest we all thought it would be. I hope that with all of the participants going after the belt it adds some prestige to the title. Even though I wanted Bryan in the main event I think it was the right call giving him the title because I think WWE would have lost the the crowd had they not done so. Its crazy how much the reaction of Bryan dictates so much of the story lines. I think Bryan having the belt will add instant credibility to a championship that was once very prominent.
Winner- Daniel Bryan
Style Points
Stardust's jacket
Wade Barrett bull hammering every one
Ziggler with the zig zag off the ladder
Luke Harper powerbombs Dean Ambrose through a ladder
Ziggler and Bryan headbutting each other to finish.
Rollins vs Orton
Good match and everything I expected from two stellar workers. Orton has been my favorite wrestler for some time now and even though I think he is a better heel he can tween and be face if needed. The only issue I had was I felt Rollins should have won. This Wrestlemania had newcomers vs veterans and I thought if one of the younger guys were to win it should have been Rollins being that he had the MITB briefcase and should be booked very strong. Still solid match between the two.
Winner-Randy Orton
Style Points
Orton double ddt off the apron on the floor to J and J security
Rollins moonsault to the outside
Orton with a rope ddt to Rollins
Rollins attempts a curb stomp and jumps 10 feet in the air and Orton counters to an RKO
Nose Candy
"The greats make it look easy"
Sting Vs HHH
This match stole the show and to me was the best of the night. Some may say it was too gimmicky but who cares. Thats the special aspect only sports entertainment can provide and did so to perfection. It was everything you could imagine. I marked out when DX and NWO faced off. Sometimes you just need two big names and the rest will take care of itself. I hope this is not Sting's last match because he worked at a very high rate and can still go. A classic match between two legends. I didn't like the handshake at the end because I don't think the chapter in this rivalry is over and HHH had to use the sledgehammer but outside of that this was pretty much a perfect match
Winner HHH
Style Points
Sting's awesome drum entrance
The fact Sting didn't wear a T-shirt
HHH terminator entrance was awesome the bromance between Hunter and Arnold Schwarzenegger lately is kind of strange
Sting with a cross body on DX from the top rope
Nwo and Dx face off
The HBK superkick was great!
Unanswered Questions
How did DX win full custody of Xpac?
Nose Candy
"You can go down with the ship but nobody remembers the name of the captain of the Titanic"
Backstage Promo
This was great to see. Legendary Intercontinental champs chanting yes with Daniel Bryan. This was a little cheesy but the geek in me was chanting too. Like I mentioned earlier having Bryan with the title adds instant credibility.
Paige and Aj vs the Bella twins
Give divas a chance has sparked a change in the way the women have been booked for the past few weeks. I'm glad to see the ladies get a chance to show what they can do on the grandest stage. This was a pretty good match it was a little short but I think they told a good story in the amount of time they were given. I know the Bellas get a bad rap for just being reality show stars but they have greatly improved and Nicki I think deserves the title because of how over she has gotten as a heel and she can work a quality match. Great outing from these 4 gals!
Winners -Paige and Aj
Style Points
Vertical suplex from the Bella twins on Paige
Paige flip off the apron
Nice black widow by Aj for the the win
Nose Candy
"Two great individuals always beat a good team"-JBL
"The Bellas have been twins for most of their lives"- JBL
Rusev vs John Cena
Wow Lana is gorgeous. My WWE crush never looked better. Ok now that I got that out of the way very good match here. Cena does so good at performing in front of hostile crowds. Its become "cool" to sing John Cena sucks during his entrance. Cena has always been a favorite of mine and has so many high profile matches to prove he does not suck. Really great outing from him and lets not leave Rusev out as he showed up big time too and displayed he can hang with a big star in a high profile match. I agree with Cena winning even though it is a risk to ruin an up and coming star. But this will help Rusev in character development as this was the first time he was pinned and can stop utilizing the "Im the big bad evil undefeated russian" character. Now we can see what Rusev can do without those elements and gain a lot more depth. As for Cena similar to the Intercontinental title I hope he adds relevance to the US championship.
Winner-Cena.....but Rusev still has Lana so technically he never loses.
Style Points
Rusev on the tank
John Cena sucks being sung by the crowd
Rusev rollover suplex
Lets go Lana chants
Rusev jumping knee.
Rusev headbutt from top rope
Cena rope spring board to a stunner
Nose Candy
"If Rusev hates every thing about America why is he here?"
Segment: The Authority vs The Rock and Rhonda Rousey
Nobody knew the Rock was going to be there and the place became unglued when he came out. Always glad to see the great one. Stephanie was the star of this segment because she is so great in her role as the rich princess who always gets what she wants and owns everything. Rhonda Rousey was great mainstream promotion. Very cinematic but genius because that picture of Stephanie in Rhonda's hold is going to be on the front page of every media website. This segment kind of dragged but was worth it for the press WWE is going receive.
Nose Candy
"I would say the Rock just blew the roof off this place but there is no roof" -King
"Left your balls in Stanford Connecticut" -The Rock
"That look means that Rhonda Rousey is going to reach down your throat rip out your Aretha tube
and play jump rope with it"-The Rock
Bray Wyatt vs The Undertaker
That awkward moment when you have a lantern in the daytime. Bray's entrance with scarecrows didn't do much for me. Meanwhile that guy who got caught on stage during the Undertaker entrance is going to be in the unemployment line next week. Good match here I thought Bray carried this match but Taker showed up big here. Taker has that aura where you want him to win and do well. That mark comes out of you the moment he walks out.Taker proved he can still work at a high level and I hope he comes back next year.
Winner-Taker
Style Points
Taker goes old school
Bray slamming Taker and hitting the splash
Taker hitting the choke slam and tombstone made me feel like i was 10 years old again
Taker sit up vs the Wyatt hand stand crawl
Nose Candy
"The gunslinger still runs the town"
"I don't care why the Undertaker is back I am just glad that the
Undertaker is back"
Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar
Wow Roman took a beating. Lesnar is really stiff but Roman smiled through it. Roman has more than earned my respect as I do feel a lot of the boos and negative reaction are unwarranted. I get that he is the "chosen one" but Reigns is very talented and has that It factor. Lesnar does his normal suplex repeat sequence when Roman finally makes it interesting by fighting back and nailing a couple of spears. With both men laid out Seth Rollins decides to cash in his money in the bank briefcase and gets a pinfall on Reigns becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. I love this ending. One it was unexpected for me especially with Rollins losing earlier in the night to Orton but was the first time the briefcase was ever cashed in at mania. Rollins has come so far and I think he has what it takes to be a great champ. For Lesnar I think he still is a special attraction but 2 title defenses in over 200 days is unacceptable and I believe there should always be a full time champ because that is the face of the company. Lesnar announced he had signed a new deal and think he is still is a once in a generation athlete. He also can be used as a big name to sell out a pay per view. I can't help but feel bad for Reigns but I think now he finally has the monkey off his back. But does that mean the circus has left town? I wonder if fans will finally start to rally behind Roman now that he didn't win the big one and now its safe to like him. Whatever happens I think Reigns has a bright future and will soon hold the title and become the next man in WWE for years to come. But for now that man is Seth Rollins a great match with the right outcome. The finish could not have been executed any better.
Winner-Seth Rollins
Style Points
Roman walking down to the ring with security and matrix shot of fireworks
Lesnar being very stiff especially the clothesline to the outside
Suplex city
The Seth Rollins cash in and celebration
Final Score
What can I say Wrestlemania was spectacular far exceeding my expectations. I have to give credit where credit is due. From top to bottom the show was incredible. It is no wonder why the biggest show in sports entertainment has become such a global phenomenon. I know the PG era of WWE gets a bad rap for being too corny and unoriginal and plain out of touch at times. Not for this years Wrestlemania. It's shows like this that make me proud to be a mark! Vince McMahon is a genius and still has the vision to lead WWE. Much respect. Now where do we go from here? WWE really set the bar high and it will be tough to keep the momentum going but I have new found faith in WWE. They have plenty of storylines to capitalize off of such as the elevation of the US and Intercontinental titles, the give divas a chance hype, the Rhonda Rousey mainstream tie in and Rollins with the belt with an array of hungry challengers. Being a wrestling fan is very difficult at times. But it's. shows like this why you can never "count" me out as one.
-Raves
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