What's up my wrestling geeks! Today, I am reviewing a new video set that has quickly become one of my favorites of all time and definitely top 5 when it comes to WWE documentaries - The True Story of Wrestlemania. This video was released about a week before Wrestlemania 27 and it has become an instant hit, for many different reasons. In the main part of the program, WWE gives us an outstanding 2-hour documentary about how Wrestlemania was created and little stories about every WM from behind the scenes, truly giving a view point that we haven't had a chance to see in the past. The video goes into how much Vince really put on the line for the first WM all the way up until talking about the Undertaker's streak at Wrestlemanias. I loved hearing about Wrestlemania 8 in particular, the event that was supposed to have Flair vs Hogan but it never materialized and when you see the video, youll completely understand why that is.
Outside of the documentary, there are classic Mania matches (with 4 more on the Blu-Ray format) that we have all seen before, but its nice to have them in one collection) that cover Wrestlemania I to 26. Note though that the matches are not remastered for the HD but the matches from 24 on are in HD quality.
If you are a fan of wrestling and have watched any amount of Wrestlemanias in the past, this is a great documentary set to have in the collection that shows a different side of wrestling that most fans don't ever get a chance to see. The interviews with the producers and agents that really control the day to day operations of WWE are interesting and truly make for a unique and entertaining documentary.
10/10.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wrestlemania 27 Review
Wrestlemania 27 was held 2 weeks ago in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. While the event was always entertaining and it definitely showed that WWE is back to spending big money on everything involving the show, the wrestling was solid, the matches that we were supposed to be all about entertainment lived up to that, and Taker kept the streak. All in all a pretty good night.
I personally thought the match of the night was Undertaker vs HHH (no surprise right?). The match was the only match of the card where the guys were literally able to go out and call their own shots after they were given the permission to actually write out their own storyline for the match, which always ends up working out in the favor of the fans' entertainment value (see the Y2J/HBK feud of 08). The match was hard hitting but the end was very much climatic and you could truly believe that Taker was truly out of it and out of gas at the end of the match.
I thought the lowest part of the night was honestly, the fact that Sheamus and Daniel Bryan's US title match couldn't make it onto PPV. With all of the celebrity highlights in the back throughout the night, one of those couldn't be cut to have a solid wrestling match with 2 guys who have worked their butts off to get onto the card for the biggest show of the year?? Come on WWE, youre better than that. You gotta give the people what they want for Mania - entertainment and solid workrates and Bryan and Sheamus would give that.
Overall, the show was solid and entertaining and the BluRay and DVD set will be outstanding with the Hall of Fame and the Raw and Smackdown episodes from the week before!
Take care everyone!
I personally thought the match of the night was Undertaker vs HHH (no surprise right?). The match was the only match of the card where the guys were literally able to go out and call their own shots after they were given the permission to actually write out their own storyline for the match, which always ends up working out in the favor of the fans' entertainment value (see the Y2J/HBK feud of 08). The match was hard hitting but the end was very much climatic and you could truly believe that Taker was truly out of it and out of gas at the end of the match.
I thought the lowest part of the night was honestly, the fact that Sheamus and Daniel Bryan's US title match couldn't make it onto PPV. With all of the celebrity highlights in the back throughout the night, one of those couldn't be cut to have a solid wrestling match with 2 guys who have worked their butts off to get onto the card for the biggest show of the year?? Come on WWE, youre better than that. You gotta give the people what they want for Mania - entertainment and solid workrates and Bryan and Sheamus would give that.
Overall, the show was solid and entertaining and the BluRay and DVD set will be outstanding with the Hall of Fame and the Raw and Smackdown episodes from the week before!
Take care everyone!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Leave Snooki Alone!!!
I have been reading on various online sites over the last few weeks that people are not supportive of Snooki being booked for Wrestlemania. Those people defintiely do not truly know showbusiness and marketing. Yes, Snooki can be considered a complete screw up. Yes, she is the girl who got socked good in the face and had her fame grow from there. Yes, she is drunk 3/4 of the time on MTV's "Jersey Shore." But she is a moneymaker and she brings in eyes, if for no other reason, to see what she will do.
Wrestlemania was build on the idea of having great wrestling, compelling stories and integrating celebrities into the show to complement the in-ring action and performers, and that is what she is doing by coming on the show and bringing a group of eyes who wouldn't have taken the show as seriously as a true entertainment event. Wrestlemania is one of the biggest entertainment shows all year, sports or not. Wrestlemania can actually HELP Snooki with her career and image as well. By her being on the show, fans who may not be into the Jersey Shore will keep their eye on it because they will have that action connection now and MAY consider her one of the "group." Snooki is showing that she had better marketing skills for herself and her image than her former Jersey Shore housemate Angelina who is training to become a wrestler in TNA and making little to no impact in the company and not being used in a relevant storyline (and no, I don't count Robbie E and Cookie relevant, sorry TNA lovers).
Snooki will be a one shot deal in WWE. Fans know that she is not a wrestler or has any connection to the business, and that's a good thing. She will not be doing a ton of action, hence why she can be hidden in a tag match. But I can bet you will watch her and her antics, and that's what the whole point of the show is - with the keyword being SHOW.
Take care and get some marketing lessons to the haters out there!
Wrestlemania was build on the idea of having great wrestling, compelling stories and integrating celebrities into the show to complement the in-ring action and performers, and that is what she is doing by coming on the show and bringing a group of eyes who wouldn't have taken the show as seriously as a true entertainment event. Wrestlemania is one of the biggest entertainment shows all year, sports or not. Wrestlemania can actually HELP Snooki with her career and image as well. By her being on the show, fans who may not be into the Jersey Shore will keep their eye on it because they will have that action connection now and MAY consider her one of the "group." Snooki is showing that she had better marketing skills for herself and her image than her former Jersey Shore housemate Angelina who is training to become a wrestler in TNA and making little to no impact in the company and not being used in a relevant storyline (and no, I don't count Robbie E and Cookie relevant, sorry TNA lovers).
Snooki will be a one shot deal in WWE. Fans know that she is not a wrestler or has any connection to the business, and that's a good thing. She will not be doing a ton of action, hence why she can be hidden in a tag match. But I can bet you will watch her and her antics, and that's what the whole point of the show is - with the keyword being SHOW.
Take care and get some marketing lessons to the haters out there!
Wrestlemania 27 Preview
What's up everyone! As many of you know (and if you don't know, where the hell have you been????) but the biggest sports entertainment event of the year is taking place this Sunday night - Wrestlemania 27. While every 'Mania has its special moments and events that make it stand out - I firmly believe that this Wrestlemania can and will go down as quite possibly one of the best wrestling events of this generation.
Wrestlemania 27 is one of the first times that the die hard wrestling fan and the average fan will see a complete blend of eras that define today's wrestling and how it is produced, shown, and interpreted by the rest of society. The "attitude era" is represented with Stone Cold, The Rock, HHH, Undertaker and Trish Stratus - the superstars that truly set the standard for what sports entertainment is today. The "attitude" era had the same impact on fans who began watching in the mid to late 90s that the stars of the 80s had on pop culture (and more specifically, the MTV generation with the rock and wrestling connection). "Attitude" is being combined with what I like to call the "PG" era of the WWE. The "PG" era is the group of guys like John Cena, Edge, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, The Nexus, The Corre, etc., who have been able to make a stand and still be impactful in storylines and telling a compelling story to the audience while being family-friendly and not using aggressive language or blood or weapons that could be considered over-the-top to the child audience. With that said, here is how I see the Wrestlemania key points breaking down:
- The young stallions will show their medal.
This will be an event where the new generation of superstars should be put over the established legends. Over the last year, the new superstars have truly taken the firm initiative and have shown that it doesn't take years to become truly impactful and to get over with the wrestling audience. Its about having passion and being believable, and its now time for these young rookies and younger talents to truly have the stage they deserve and I believe Creative will see that as well.
- Triple H and the Undertaker will have a Wrestlemania classic.
When this match was announced, the first thought in my head was "instant classic." The question I had was how so. Trips does not have the technical prowness that his BFF Shawn Michaels had in his classic encounters with 'Taker. This match should be a street fight with 2 guys who don't have a ton of frills and can have great classics through wrestling holds or just brawling. I see this being similar to their match in 01 at Wrestlemania 17, but I believe that Undertaker will keep the streak in tact. I do believe that there is one man who will end it and he keep talking about how we can't see him............Ill let you put that one together.....
- The WWE title will be forgotten in the grand scheme of the event.
This is the first year that the WWE championship has taken a backseat to a feud involving an outsider (Rock) and one of the participants (John Cena). I do give WWE credit for booking Miz as a credible champion, especially through his mic skills, but I think he still has some wrestling skills to work on, but he gets better day-by-day. Miz can only get stronger with the WWE championship as there are so many possibilities for what can take place with him, Riley and other contenders in the WWE. This feud has clearly centered around the Rock and Cena with Miz being sprinkled in. I feel that there is a blockbuster match coming with Cena and Rock, either at Summerslam in LA or WM 28 in Miami next year, a night that can truly solidify Cena as a legend if the match goes over well. For now, I see the Miz continuing to be awesome and build on his championship reign.
- We will slowly start to see Edge take a step in a different direction in terms of needing championships to be recognized as great.
Since he made TLC matches famous and cool to watch in the attitude era, Edge has become one of the greatest stick men and in-ring performers in the history of the business. Yes, he is the World champion, but right now, I don't feel that the title can make or break him. Edge needs a fresh feud or time away, or a bit of both. I see Christian and Edge having some kind of feud this summer to lead into a match at Summerslam, but its the time of Alberto Del Rio to be the champ. Del Rio is a key part of the youth initiative that is taking place in the WWE today, and his mic and in-ring skills are at a higher level then even some of the veterans are at. He is over as a heel as good as anyone in the company (with the exception of Michael Cole) and with Mysterio starting to noticeably slow down, Del Rio will begin to dominate the Latin market and I can see him going into some great feuds in the future with Sin Cara and those two can and would tear the house down with some phenomenal matches.
The other matches on the card will be strong from top to bottom, but when its all said and done, I think the developments mentioned will come directly from this Wrestlemania. This is a must watch event. This is a collector's Wrestlemania for sure.
Enjoy the card! :)
Wrestlemania 27 is one of the first times that the die hard wrestling fan and the average fan will see a complete blend of eras that define today's wrestling and how it is produced, shown, and interpreted by the rest of society. The "attitude era" is represented with Stone Cold, The Rock, HHH, Undertaker and Trish Stratus - the superstars that truly set the standard for what sports entertainment is today. The "attitude" era had the same impact on fans who began watching in the mid to late 90s that the stars of the 80s had on pop culture (and more specifically, the MTV generation with the rock and wrestling connection). "Attitude" is being combined with what I like to call the "PG" era of the WWE. The "PG" era is the group of guys like John Cena, Edge, Alberto Del Rio, Sheamus, The Nexus, The Corre, etc., who have been able to make a stand and still be impactful in storylines and telling a compelling story to the audience while being family-friendly and not using aggressive language or blood or weapons that could be considered over-the-top to the child audience. With that said, here is how I see the Wrestlemania key points breaking down:
- The young stallions will show their medal.
This will be an event where the new generation of superstars should be put over the established legends. Over the last year, the new superstars have truly taken the firm initiative and have shown that it doesn't take years to become truly impactful and to get over with the wrestling audience. Its about having passion and being believable, and its now time for these young rookies and younger talents to truly have the stage they deserve and I believe Creative will see that as well.
- Triple H and the Undertaker will have a Wrestlemania classic.
When this match was announced, the first thought in my head was "instant classic." The question I had was how so. Trips does not have the technical prowness that his BFF Shawn Michaels had in his classic encounters with 'Taker. This match should be a street fight with 2 guys who don't have a ton of frills and can have great classics through wrestling holds or just brawling. I see this being similar to their match in 01 at Wrestlemania 17, but I believe that Undertaker will keep the streak in tact. I do believe that there is one man who will end it and he keep talking about how we can't see him............Ill let you put that one together.....
- The WWE title will be forgotten in the grand scheme of the event.
This is the first year that the WWE championship has taken a backseat to a feud involving an outsider (Rock) and one of the participants (John Cena). I do give WWE credit for booking Miz as a credible champion, especially through his mic skills, but I think he still has some wrestling skills to work on, but he gets better day-by-day. Miz can only get stronger with the WWE championship as there are so many possibilities for what can take place with him, Riley and other contenders in the WWE. This feud has clearly centered around the Rock and Cena with Miz being sprinkled in. I feel that there is a blockbuster match coming with Cena and Rock, either at Summerslam in LA or WM 28 in Miami next year, a night that can truly solidify Cena as a legend if the match goes over well. For now, I see the Miz continuing to be awesome and build on his championship reign.
- We will slowly start to see Edge take a step in a different direction in terms of needing championships to be recognized as great.
Since he made TLC matches famous and cool to watch in the attitude era, Edge has become one of the greatest stick men and in-ring performers in the history of the business. Yes, he is the World champion, but right now, I don't feel that the title can make or break him. Edge needs a fresh feud or time away, or a bit of both. I see Christian and Edge having some kind of feud this summer to lead into a match at Summerslam, but its the time of Alberto Del Rio to be the champ. Del Rio is a key part of the youth initiative that is taking place in the WWE today, and his mic and in-ring skills are at a higher level then even some of the veterans are at. He is over as a heel as good as anyone in the company (with the exception of Michael Cole) and with Mysterio starting to noticeably slow down, Del Rio will begin to dominate the Latin market and I can see him going into some great feuds in the future with Sin Cara and those two can and would tear the house down with some phenomenal matches.
The other matches on the card will be strong from top to bottom, but when its all said and done, I think the developments mentioned will come directly from this Wrestlemania. This is a must watch event. This is a collector's Wrestlemania for sure.
Enjoy the card! :)
Friday, January 14, 2011
WWE Wrestlemania 26 Blu-Ray (First Review)
Hello everyone!
First off, thank you for coming and viewing my new blog. This will be a fun one as I will be reviewing my extensive library of wrestling dvds from the past, present and future. I hope you have fun with it and if there are DVDs or Blu-Rays that you want me to review, comment here and let me know!
Today's review is about the "biggest blu-ray of the year" as the WWE likes to tell us in their advertisements around May-June, Wrestlemania 26.
This set was released in both a 3-disc DVD set and a 3-disc Blu-Ray set, which is a change from many of the early WWE Blu-Rays which were typically 2 discs with a ton of information on each disc. The blu-rays break down as such:
Disc 1 - The entire Wrestlemania 26 event from start to finish
Disc 2 - The entire 2010 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony with matches featuring each inductee
Disc 3 - The complete Raw and Smackdown episodes from the week before the event
The Wrestlemania 26 event itself was a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
Now I know WWE has had events held while it was still daylight, but Wrestlemania should not be one of those events. With all of the massive sets and pyrotechnics that are used at Wrestlemania, having the night atmosphere creates an amazing ambiance that gives the entire event more energy and luster. In Phoenix, the local time was 4:00 p.m. when the show began......absolutely too early for a Wrestlemania. The crowd was a bit reserved for most of the show until the main event and, even with great speakers on a blu-ray, you can't replace the sound of a crazy audience and it looked as though some of the people were still having their Sunday nap. Ok, since that is off my chest, lets start with the event.
The tag team title match is on first. I know this because since this is Wrestlemania and there is a longer ramp and longer time for everything, someone in Stamford decides that R-Truth needs to sing "whats up" for what seems like an hour coming to the ring. After I have gone to get a sandwich, heal some babies, and fly to China and back, he is finished and his partner, John Morrison, finally comes down, with the normal entrances by the opponents, Big Show and The Miz, the tag champs. The match was a good, solid curtain jerker to get the crowd excited for the event, but Show and Miz end up winning in about 3-4 minutes after Show goes Mike Tyson supersized and clocks Morrison with the right hand. Game. Set. Match.
WWE then shows us how they pretty much took over Phoenix for the week. (Side note: If you get a chance to go to a Wrestlemania weekend, please do. Its an amazing atmosphere and the company treats everyone first class. Highly recommended.)
Its then time for Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) to go up against Randy Orton in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Its not supposed to be a handicap match, but the build up was so crazy coming into the match that it seemed that the creative team just decided to roll with the handicap idea with a little bit of Ted and Cody getting in each others' way every once in a while. OK match, Randy wins over Cody, but it was not of Wrestlemania quality. Great RAW or Smackdown main event though but this should be not on a 'Mania card nor should Orton be working against young bucks like these guys and so early in the card.
EXCUSE ME! I SAID EXCUSE ME!!! Sounds like Vickie Guerrero wants to have a little chat with Josh Matthews about how her hot diva teammates are gonna beat up the other hot divas later on tonight.........Slim Jim references to Mean Gene, Mae Young and Melina. Yay for seeing even an injured Melina saving that segment.
This is about the time I get some more food and drink to get me ready for the rest of the night.....
I see a lot of ladders around the ring, time for the Wrestlemania tradition (and many times the best match of the night) - Money In The Bank. This match was a little bit different this year because there were 10 men in the match, the most in the history of the match. When I first started seeing who was going to be involved in the match. I could pretty much figure out who had a legit shot of winning:
Kofi - Decent shot, but has to work on his mic skills some more before a world title reign
MVP - No chance unless he brought the championship to his player's lounge segment and made it fun again
Evan Bourne - Young guy plus still earning stripes in the WWE world.......NEXT.
Jack Swagger - Good chance, but young.
Shelton Benjamin - The most talent in the match but has little personality, even when they brought in Thea Vidale to be his mother. NEXT.
Matt Hardy - Great performer but has never been looked at as anything more than a US or Intercontinental Champion. NEXT.
Dolph Ziggler - Great talent and is the future, but the future is not right now. NEXT.
Drew McIntyre - Young man but is still honing his art and the craft of wrestling. NEXT.
Christian - Umm............yeah........NEXT.
Kane - The guy who I thought was going to be the man who was going to win this match. He has the tenure, is believeable as champion and can do well with a storyline, if its tailored to his skills and abilities.
That being said, the match was very entertaining, as all of the MITB matches are, but it was hurt a bit due to the amount of people in the match and each person didn't get enough time to hit their signature moves and offense. Great spots with Bourne and Shelton but Kofi was truly amazing with his walking of the broken ladder and using it as a stilt. I have had to do stilts for a show and let me tell you, NOT easy at all so major props to Kofi. In the end, Swagger wins and on the Blu-Ray, the ending was edited to not show Swagger taking forever to unhook the belt from the top. Give the editing staff a bonus.
Hall of Famers come out to the top next. Great moment, as always, to recognize the past and be thankful for the present. And..........when are we going to get an actual, physical hall of fame??? I know I would visit every year, maybe more if the lady will let me! :)
Now we start to get into the major part of the card with the Triple H/Sheamus match. This is the match where we really see why Wrestlemania can't be held in the daytime no matter what part of the country you live in. Triple H comes out and there is pyro that shoots up into the sky in the retractable roof at University of Phoenix stadium............we can't see it on TV and even on the Blu-Ray we can't see it! WWE, remember that this is a visual HD world we live in and if we don't see it, we are lost on it. The match was decent, Trips wins, walks out like "what's left for me to do? Im the King of Kings, the game, ive whooped everybody in the history of the business. Im going to go chill and enjoy my hot wife and make a movie. Peace."
Next up is Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk. The build up to this match was really strong on Smackdown! over the last few weeks leading up to Mania, and any pure wrestling fan knows that if these guys get some legit time in the ring, they can pull off a 5-star match. Well, as I go to call up my girlfriend and say some sweet nothings to her while I am getting ready to watch this, the match is over in the blink of an eye. Umm.....what?? You have this amazing buildup, storyline, fly Rey's family to TV, Punk just verbally owns everyone in the ring, including Rey himself, get Rey all mad, and you don't allow for a true struggle on the biggest event of the year??? Bad move. The match was great for the time given, but if it had 10 more minutes, it would have been one of the classics.
There is a ton of Pink and Black on the screen and its not a promo for Playboy, but its the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon match promos. This match was one of the main reasons why I wanted to watch this event live and get the Blu-Ray of the event. The entrance for Bret was amazing and looks amazing in HD with the pyro in the ring. When Vince comes out, Vince decides to give us a swerve and have the entire Hart family vs Bret until we see that Bret double-crossed Vince and Bret is going to actually go through with the match.
(Side Note - Bret had a massive stroke after Goldberg kicked him in the head in WCW. A stroke everyone!!!!! Its amazing that he is able to function, let alone wrestle a match, but WWE is going to go through with it.)
The match was absolutely horrible. Im gonna keep the details minimal on this. Bret hits Vince. Family hits Vince. Bret hits Vince with chair. 9000 times. Bret forgets sharpshooter. Bret remembers. Bret wins.
Next match is Jericho vs Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match was strong but the crowd in Phoenix was so dead that it made the match seem like it was horrible and both guys weren't working hard in the ring. Jericho wins but if the crowd had been hot, this match could have been a classic.
Next up is the 10-diva tag match. When I watched this event at the bar with my boy Geno and watching it at home on Blu-Ray, I watch the entrance, then I go to do something else productive for 3 minutes.
Next is the WWE Championship between John Cena and Batista. The promotion for this match was absolutely amazing, as Batista, week in and week out, cut some of the most amazing promos on Cena that I have ever seen done by Batista. I hate that he left the WWE because he was just starting to really get back to being the monster again.
The entrance was a little bit tame this year for Cena as he had a local Armed Forces squad play him to the ring. While it was cool to see, when you get used to marching bands, 100 Cena-look-a-likes, and cars through glass, I expect more. Again, personal rants.
The match itself was very solid. It had a great workrate, the crowd seemed to wake up a bit for the match and Cena becomes the champion.
The main event. The match that all of us wanted to see ever since Wrestlemania 25. The match that could pit the 2 greatest superstars in history against each other. Undertaker. HBK. HBK's career vs Taker's streak. Build up was awesome. Crowd was great. The match was as good as, if not better than their classic at WM25. HBK lost, but the reaction from the crowd as Shawn was walking out, will leave you with goosebumps and proud to be a wrestling fan and makes the entire event worth watching.
I would give this Wrestlemania 3.5/5 stars. Solid matches, some down moments, dead crowd, possibly the greatest match ever. If you are going to get this at a local store, get the Blu-Ray for all of the extras as well.
Save me an appetizer at the next wrestling bar night.
First off, thank you for coming and viewing my new blog. This will be a fun one as I will be reviewing my extensive library of wrestling dvds from the past, present and future. I hope you have fun with it and if there are DVDs or Blu-Rays that you want me to review, comment here and let me know!
Today's review is about the "biggest blu-ray of the year" as the WWE likes to tell us in their advertisements around May-June, Wrestlemania 26.
This set was released in both a 3-disc DVD set and a 3-disc Blu-Ray set, which is a change from many of the early WWE Blu-Rays which were typically 2 discs with a ton of information on each disc. The blu-rays break down as such:
Disc 1 - The entire Wrestlemania 26 event from start to finish
Disc 2 - The entire 2010 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony with matches featuring each inductee
Disc 3 - The complete Raw and Smackdown episodes from the week before the event
The Wrestlemania 26 event itself was a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
Now I know WWE has had events held while it was still daylight, but Wrestlemania should not be one of those events. With all of the massive sets and pyrotechnics that are used at Wrestlemania, having the night atmosphere creates an amazing ambiance that gives the entire event more energy and luster. In Phoenix, the local time was 4:00 p.m. when the show began......absolutely too early for a Wrestlemania. The crowd was a bit reserved for most of the show until the main event and, even with great speakers on a blu-ray, you can't replace the sound of a crazy audience and it looked as though some of the people were still having their Sunday nap. Ok, since that is off my chest, lets start with the event.
The tag team title match is on first. I know this because since this is Wrestlemania and there is a longer ramp and longer time for everything, someone in Stamford decides that R-Truth needs to sing "whats up" for what seems like an hour coming to the ring. After I have gone to get a sandwich, heal some babies, and fly to China and back, he is finished and his partner, John Morrison, finally comes down, with the normal entrances by the opponents, Big Show and The Miz, the tag champs. The match was a good, solid curtain jerker to get the crowd excited for the event, but Show and Miz end up winning in about 3-4 minutes after Show goes Mike Tyson supersized and clocks Morrison with the right hand. Game. Set. Match.
WWE then shows us how they pretty much took over Phoenix for the week. (Side note: If you get a chance to go to a Wrestlemania weekend, please do. Its an amazing atmosphere and the company treats everyone first class. Highly recommended.)
Its then time for Legacy (Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase) to go up against Randy Orton in a 2-on-1 handicap match. Its not supposed to be a handicap match, but the build up was so crazy coming into the match that it seemed that the creative team just decided to roll with the handicap idea with a little bit of Ted and Cody getting in each others' way every once in a while. OK match, Randy wins over Cody, but it was not of Wrestlemania quality. Great RAW or Smackdown main event though but this should be not on a 'Mania card nor should Orton be working against young bucks like these guys and so early in the card.
EXCUSE ME! I SAID EXCUSE ME!!! Sounds like Vickie Guerrero wants to have a little chat with Josh Matthews about how her hot diva teammates are gonna beat up the other hot divas later on tonight.........Slim Jim references to Mean Gene, Mae Young and Melina. Yay for seeing even an injured Melina saving that segment.
This is about the time I get some more food and drink to get me ready for the rest of the night.....
I see a lot of ladders around the ring, time for the Wrestlemania tradition (and many times the best match of the night) - Money In The Bank. This match was a little bit different this year because there were 10 men in the match, the most in the history of the match. When I first started seeing who was going to be involved in the match. I could pretty much figure out who had a legit shot of winning:
Kofi - Decent shot, but has to work on his mic skills some more before a world title reign
MVP - No chance unless he brought the championship to his player's lounge segment and made it fun again
Evan Bourne - Young guy plus still earning stripes in the WWE world.......NEXT.
Jack Swagger - Good chance, but young.
Shelton Benjamin - The most talent in the match but has little personality, even when they brought in Thea Vidale to be his mother. NEXT.
Matt Hardy - Great performer but has never been looked at as anything more than a US or Intercontinental Champion. NEXT.
Dolph Ziggler - Great talent and is the future, but the future is not right now. NEXT.
Drew McIntyre - Young man but is still honing his art and the craft of wrestling. NEXT.
Christian - Umm............yeah........NEXT.
Kane - The guy who I thought was going to be the man who was going to win this match. He has the tenure, is believeable as champion and can do well with a storyline, if its tailored to his skills and abilities.
That being said, the match was very entertaining, as all of the MITB matches are, but it was hurt a bit due to the amount of people in the match and each person didn't get enough time to hit their signature moves and offense. Great spots with Bourne and Shelton but Kofi was truly amazing with his walking of the broken ladder and using it as a stilt. I have had to do stilts for a show and let me tell you, NOT easy at all so major props to Kofi. In the end, Swagger wins and on the Blu-Ray, the ending was edited to not show Swagger taking forever to unhook the belt from the top. Give the editing staff a bonus.
Hall of Famers come out to the top next. Great moment, as always, to recognize the past and be thankful for the present. And..........when are we going to get an actual, physical hall of fame??? I know I would visit every year, maybe more if the lady will let me! :)
Now we start to get into the major part of the card with the Triple H/Sheamus match. This is the match where we really see why Wrestlemania can't be held in the daytime no matter what part of the country you live in. Triple H comes out and there is pyro that shoots up into the sky in the retractable roof at University of Phoenix stadium............we can't see it on TV and even on the Blu-Ray we can't see it! WWE, remember that this is a visual HD world we live in and if we don't see it, we are lost on it. The match was decent, Trips wins, walks out like "what's left for me to do? Im the King of Kings, the game, ive whooped everybody in the history of the business. Im going to go chill and enjoy my hot wife and make a movie. Peace."
Next up is Rey Mysterio vs CM Punk. The build up to this match was really strong on Smackdown! over the last few weeks leading up to Mania, and any pure wrestling fan knows that if these guys get some legit time in the ring, they can pull off a 5-star match. Well, as I go to call up my girlfriend and say some sweet nothings to her while I am getting ready to watch this, the match is over in the blink of an eye. Umm.....what?? You have this amazing buildup, storyline, fly Rey's family to TV, Punk just verbally owns everyone in the ring, including Rey himself, get Rey all mad, and you don't allow for a true struggle on the biggest event of the year??? Bad move. The match was great for the time given, but if it had 10 more minutes, it would have been one of the classics.
There is a ton of Pink and Black on the screen and its not a promo for Playboy, but its the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon match promos. This match was one of the main reasons why I wanted to watch this event live and get the Blu-Ray of the event. The entrance for Bret was amazing and looks amazing in HD with the pyro in the ring. When Vince comes out, Vince decides to give us a swerve and have the entire Hart family vs Bret until we see that Bret double-crossed Vince and Bret is going to actually go through with the match.
(Side Note - Bret had a massive stroke after Goldberg kicked him in the head in WCW. A stroke everyone!!!!! Its amazing that he is able to function, let alone wrestle a match, but WWE is going to go through with it.)
The match was absolutely horrible. Im gonna keep the details minimal on this. Bret hits Vince. Family hits Vince. Bret hits Vince with chair. 9000 times. Bret forgets sharpshooter. Bret remembers. Bret wins.
Next match is Jericho vs Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match was strong but the crowd in Phoenix was so dead that it made the match seem like it was horrible and both guys weren't working hard in the ring. Jericho wins but if the crowd had been hot, this match could have been a classic.
Next up is the 10-diva tag match. When I watched this event at the bar with my boy Geno and watching it at home on Blu-Ray, I watch the entrance, then I go to do something else productive for 3 minutes.
Next is the WWE Championship between John Cena and Batista. The promotion for this match was absolutely amazing, as Batista, week in and week out, cut some of the most amazing promos on Cena that I have ever seen done by Batista. I hate that he left the WWE because he was just starting to really get back to being the monster again.
The entrance was a little bit tame this year for Cena as he had a local Armed Forces squad play him to the ring. While it was cool to see, when you get used to marching bands, 100 Cena-look-a-likes, and cars through glass, I expect more. Again, personal rants.
The match itself was very solid. It had a great workrate, the crowd seemed to wake up a bit for the match and Cena becomes the champion.
The main event. The match that all of us wanted to see ever since Wrestlemania 25. The match that could pit the 2 greatest superstars in history against each other. Undertaker. HBK. HBK's career vs Taker's streak. Build up was awesome. Crowd was great. The match was as good as, if not better than their classic at WM25. HBK lost, but the reaction from the crowd as Shawn was walking out, will leave you with goosebumps and proud to be a wrestling fan and makes the entire event worth watching.
I would give this Wrestlemania 3.5/5 stars. Solid matches, some down moments, dead crowd, possibly the greatest match ever. If you are going to get this at a local store, get the Blu-Ray for all of the extras as well.
Save me an appetizer at the next wrestling bar night.
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