Let’s try something new, a format that I’ve been meaning to
give a go in some form or other: relatively rapidfire rundowns of shows divided into sections representing what was good, what was not, and what was weird, which
in the pro wrestling game can translate to anything from transcendent to terrible. It
is hard, after all, not to comment on the
rather memorable show that was this year’s Wrestlemania.
THE GOOD
Kidd and Cesaro VS
The Usos VS Los Matadores VS The New Day
This was an OK way to start the show, and by that I mean kick off the pre-show. There was noticeably less production on this than during Wrestlemania
proper. There were a lot of well put-together spots and Cesaro really looked
impressive with very strong looking offense (no Giant Swing though), picking up
the pin for his team.
7 Man Ladder match
for the intercontinental Chanmpionship
There were no problems here as everyone worked cohesively to
put together a match filled with impressive spots. Cody Rhodes is really coming
to own the Stardust gimmick and knows how to work the over the top spaceman
character. I am coming to see the case for him being distanced from Gold Dust
and taking over the role. After weeks
and weeks of damage, Bad News Barrett finally got a good showing, batting opponents
around with a broken off part of an outside ladder and later, landing
impressive looking Bullhammer forearm shots to knock Bryan and Ziggler off
course from picking up the belt. The end sequence of Bryan being faced by a possessed Ziggler that had raced up the ladder to engage the fan favorite in an intense
headbutt battle (inspiration from Ishii, Makabe, and Honma of NJPW?) was quitethe amazing visual. Bryan
coming out on top felt just right, in a move that will hopefully give some
stability and stature to the title.
Randy Orton VS Seth
Rollins
This was an extremely athletic exhibition. The first big
spot of the match was one of my favorites, in which Orton performed a double
draping DDT onto J and J Security from the ring apron onto the floor. Rollins’
aerial maneuvers were second to none. The final spot in which Orton popped up
from a Curb Stomp attempt and RKO’d Rollins in the air for the win was amazing,
but almost looked too unreal for me. While it was good, I thought the bout with
the most pent up aggression leading up to it should have been longer and filled with
more grueling exchanges between the two opponents.
AJ Lee and Paige VS
The Nikki Bella and Brie Bella
This was an OK match that I didn’t have much to say about.
It was good to see AJ and Paige stay on the same…you know, as they make more
sense as allies than opponents. Not much time was given to this match and it
still paled in comparison to the hard fought battles being shown in the women’s
division of NXT. On the other hand, it
seemed like there could be a tease of some tension between the Bellas, with
Brie being knocked to the floor and unable to make a save when AJ put the Black
Widow submission on Nikki and got the tap out victory for her team.
John Cena VS Rusev
This was a good match. There were a lot of impressive moves
and the pacing was better than some of the other big matches on the card. Lana
worked some subtle comedy heel moves with her high...heels being tossed in the vicinity
of the wrestlers as Cena had a submission locked on Rusev. Rusev’s entrance
props were great, particularly the tank. The video before Cena came out was
pretty ham-fisted and the fact that Cena still couldn’t shake the widespread
boo’s despite the patriotic backdrop seemed to discourage him before the match,
or maybe that was just my imagination. I really think it’s time for WWE to
start thinking of moving him out to a lighter schedule, special occasion status
as other wrestlers move up the roster. In the meantime, his win over Rusev with an FU after Rusev collided with Lana who was up on the ring apron teases at the possibility of Rusev going solo, perhaps taking on a more serious demeanor while Cena could also bring some stability to the US championship.
The Rock and Ronda
Rousey confront Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
This was a fantastic exchange. Matches should, as I’ll get
into later, be serious for the most part. The bonus material is the chance to
let it all hang out. Nobody is better at doing that than The Rock. I would much rather
see The Rock in a periphery role that emphasizes his dynamic talking skills
than a high profile match situation with current wrestlers who ought to be able
to beat him. The involvement with Rousey was also great. As a non-follower of
real fighting, I had not been all that familiar with the UFC star. She
completely blew me away with her poise in the ring. Stephanie also played up
her obnoxious ‘talk herself into a predicament’ persona and the interplay
between her and Triple H was also very natural. Credit to Hunter, he seems to have a
knack for this role where he plays the worn down, reluctant fighter who has to
stand up for his wife even though he wishes she would stop getting them into
these jams wit her unrelenting trash talk, although it may be a bit stereotypical. This opened the
door to many future possibilities, including Triple H VS Rock at next year’s
Wrestlemania, which would be just fine with me. Keep Rock out of an incredulous
program with Lesnar and guarantee some great promos along the road to WM 32.
Bray Wyatt VS The
Undertaker
This was good. Undertaker’s limitations are apparent,
though. I don't think it was necessarily bad for Wyatt to lose, it all depends
what they do with him afterwards. He needs a solid feud with a substantial back
and forth in the main event picture. Something that extends beyond him doing
abstract promos. As far as in-ring work, I feel like many have given up Wyatt
but I still find him to be compelling in the ring as well as outside of it.
Those quickly snapped off Sister Abigail’s looked just great. The Tombstone
finish was a bit clunky but a decent enough finish. Perhaps a stiff looking
punch before hitting it might’ve made it come off a bit more convincingly. I
think the highlight of the match, aside from the Sit Up VS Handstand moment,
was the exchange of punches between the two; looked very high impact.
Brock Lesnar VS Roman
Reigns
The physicality in this match did not disappoint. Brock
tossed Reigns around with the brutality that only he could bring. Reigns did a
very good job in his own right selling an enormous beating and coming back in
convincing fashion with a flurry of kicks and punches, plus the well placed
Spears. I would have been disappointed with a Reigns victory but I would have
taken it too after this display. I still think Reigns’ expressions are awkward.
The laughing for instance…I get the idea, that the beating is so bad that all
he could do is insanely laugh at the pain, but it looked detached. I didn’t
really buy it at first. Now there is a chance to rebuild Reigns with a
character better suited to him; hopefully the crowd pleasing jokester path is
abandoned. The blood pouring from Lesnar’s head also added immense dramatic
effect. As for Rollins’ involvement? A surprise, absolutely. Questionable for
sure. But it did make for a compelling story with a very talented performer on
top in the end and many possible programs coming out of it. I will talk about
that a bit more below.
THE BAD
Not a lot to put in this category, which is a sign of a good
show, but I will put one blatant offender squarely in this category.
Triple H VS Sting
This in my opinion was the worst! I am unwavering in my
disappointment with this match and had an admittedly whiny twitfit about it
right in the middle of the match. I will also acknowledge this match got a huge
positive response with many in the crowd, but I will still break down why it
had so many earmarks of bad wrestling.
- This match was
established long ago as the result of Sting playing the role of vigilante
avenger, stopping Triple H and the Authority from abusing power and firing
several wrestlers. This was completely ignored in the course of this
match.
- When Sting
finally spoke, he disregarded the notion of this being about WWE against
WCW, which truly is a dated and silly basis for a match. It was completely
about WWE and WCW in the course of this match.
- Convenient made
up stipulations = they are just making this shit up as they go along.
That’s my sentiment when DX shows up and the announcers play it off like
‘oh yeah, this is a no DQ match.’ Since when? I’m not sure, but I am
fairly certain there had been no talk whatsoever of this match being no
disqualification up until that point.
- Characters who
are great friends both in kayfabe AND storyline suddenly had a need to
fight each other. People who don’t like each other are suddenly pals. When
DX came out to support Hunter, it made sense. The NWO arriving made zero
sense. Here comes the group that tried to run WCW into the ground out to
stand in support of it, fifteen years later. Here’s Hogan who has been red
and yellow since I don’t know how long suddenly just happens to be wearing
his NOW t-shirt and hanging out with Hall and Nash. I understand the role
of nostalgia, but not at the cost of any logic whatsoever, including the
logic the match was initially built on.
- Sting lost. I
would actually be OK with this if it was a decent match. But he loses
after a joke of an interference-filled match and now you can do what with
him? Plus he shakes the hand of the victor who blasted him with a
sledgehammer. This may be viewed as an ode to WWE defeating WCW to please
the megalomaniac Vince McMahon, but in fact it embodied the worst elements
of WCW’s shoddy booking.
THE WEIRD
Andre The Giant
Memorial Battle Royale
This was OK but was peppered with some odd decisions. The
sudden inclusion of all of the wrestlers who had JUST fought in the 4-way tag
team match for one. Couldn’t six other guys have been found to put in this
match, instead of making the tag team match seem like it was completely
insignificant? It was great to see Hideo Itami in there. Even if he didn’t go
all the way til the end, I was able to isolate him in the ring and see him pull
off some tremendous kicks on several other entrants. Seeing him square off with
Cesaro at the start hinted at a great potential match. The showdown between Miz
and Mizdow was no surprise; it’s timing was what landed the match in this section.
Why would they break down right before a final showdown with a huge obstacle
like the Big Show? Well, OK, belief suspended, sometimes emotion overtakes
logic. And Mizdow coming close to eliminating Big Show but not quite getting
the job done was realistic. But why give Big Show the win among all these guys
when he has not been doing anything noteworthy lately? Again, it’s disingenuous
to suddenly tack on this story of The Big Show striving for his first battle
Royale win when there was no mention of it on RAW or elsewhere leading up to
the night. This could have been an opportunity to add prestige to a new star.
Oh, and putting Big Show over Cesaro in the same spot as last year, only this
time, Cesaro can’t lift up Big Show for the body slam? Sure, it may seem like a
clever call back to last year’s battle royale, but it’s depressing when you
think about it. Feels like we only go backwards.
Brock Lesnar VS Roman
Reigns VS Seth Rollins (in Triple Threat Match after Money in the Bank
briefcase is cashed in DURING the main event)
Although this was mentioned before as a highlight, the
transformation of the match into a triple threat competition in the middle of
it definitely wasn’t 100 percent kosher. In my last post exploring different possible outcomes of the main event, I mentioned this as one of them, kinda,
imagining Rollins cashing in and taking title froma beaten up Lesnar after he
had defeated Reigns. I suggested it could happen because of the novelty of
being the first Money in the Bank cash in during a Wrestlemania, but considered
it very unlikely because of it potentially devaluing the status of the
Wrestlemania main event, and possibly the win itself. I guess WWE went with the
former of those two thought processes. I could not foresee the briefcase coming
into play during the match, and for good reason. It had never been done before.
And in previous cash-in’s, the referee has checked on the champion to make sure
they had some semblance of awareness before ringing the bell. That brings into
question whether interrupting a match with the Money In The Bank Contract
really makes sense. I think in the end, I could allow some room for creative
license.
There are some other reasons the decision works for me. The
way things are going for Rollins, it is conceivable that he will have more
Wrestlemania main events in his future where he will be able to score a legitimate
win. It also serves as a very crucial save from what seemed to be a very
calculated campaign to put Reigns at the very top of the company, a position
which he truly doesn’t seem cut out for, at least not yet. I acknowledge that
WWE can’t come right out and say ‘we screwed up and we are going to change’
when these sorts of missteps take place, so I always appreciate seeing course
correction when it is needed. This also keeps a very hot Brock Lesnar, whom
fans have been bursting at the seams to get behind as an aggressive babyface,
as a highly sought after attraction. He still has not been pinned and now he
has been unjustly dethroned. This puts him on a path toward vengeance that
fans, myself included, will absolutely clamor for. And without breaking up this
very effective pair of Lesnar and Heymanm
So there it is. Let
me know what you think and throw down your own good, bad, and weird choices in
the comments below.
twitter: @Mondocurrymark
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