I just got home from Wrestlemania. Happy sigh. It was goooooood.
The opening match was, sigh, Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan. This match did *NOT* get us off on the right foot. It was an 18 second match that involved a cheap shot and a quick pin. Sigh. I was reminded of King Kong Bundy vs. SD Jones. At least *THAT* match didn’t involve a world title. (My pick was good. I’m 1-0.)
Shake it off.
The next match was between Kane and Randy Orton. Kane came down to the ring and did his pyro. Now, if you are familiar with how Kane tends to do stuff, you know that Kane only does his pyro before the match when he’s going to lose it… if he wins, he does his pyro as part of the match celebration. This did not surprise me. What *DID* surprise me is that Kane actually won. At Wrestlemania, even. Against Randy Orton, even. Good for everybody involved. (I’ve never been happier to have been wrong, wrong, wrong. 1-1.)
Then we had Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes. Big Show won in a fairly short, but fun, match. He held the belt and teared up. It was nice. (Two out of three ain’t bad. 2-1.)
In the women’s match, the guest celebrity team won. I never understand this as it means that someone without training wins against someone *WITH* training. And Maria Menounos is no Lawrence Taylor, if you know what I mean. (I declined to predict an outcome for this match. I stand by my decision. 2-1.)
The Undertaker vs. Triple H (or, as I call him, Triple HHH). It’s weird. The Undertaker is, according to Wikipedia, born in 1965 (hey, a week ago, even!). He consistently puts on the best match at Wrestlemania. Sure, much of that is his ability to pick his opponents (it’s a lot easier to have a four-and-a-half star match against Shawn Michaels than against Chris Masters) but he even put on good matches against Batista and Mark Henry. Personally, I think the best matches he’s had are against Shawn Michaels (with an honorary mention nod to Ric Flair) but tonight’s match with HHH deserves to be mention in the same breath as those. Last year’s match was a bit of a spotfest with time out to rest between spots. This year’s match had psychology, had a good story with Shawn Michaels as the guest ref, had excellent pacing, and really framed that these guys were, once upon a time, the best guys in the company. They were the talent that held the company together. They put on a hell of a match and beat the living tar out of each other with chair shots, stair shots, and sledgehammer shots. Undertaker won… but there were 2 or 3 moments prior that had me willing to bet $20 that the finish was earlier. (3-1. Huh. I was sure I’d be wronger than this!)
Team Johnny fought Team Teddy in a match that was much more exciting than it had any right to be (and Zack Ryder is surprisingly charismatic… they’re giving him one heck of a negative push and he’s running with it like he stole it). Anyway, Team Johnny won and The Miz was instrumental. (4-1.)
Jericho and Punk fought next and, lemme tell ya, as good as HHH and Undertaker brawled, Jericho and Punk wrestled a technical match. Flawless execution of wrestling moves, flawless high-risk stuff (that, if you looked more closely, showed that they were protecting the hell out of each other), and absolutely brilliant storytelling. If you’re a fan of the big guys beating the heck out of each other, you’d prefer the last match. If you’re a fan of the smaller guys putting on a clinic? You fell in love with this one. Punk won and earned it. Jericho earned a rematch, if you ask me. I’d be happy to see these guys fight until Summerslam. (5-1.)
Finally, the Rock had come back to Miami… and John Cena came out in a green and white t-shirt. Let me ask you guys who saw it… was that a *DELIBERATE* attempt to evoke the Celtics? Here‘s a link to the shirt. I immediately said “He’s going for cheap heat” when I saw it but the other folks there didn’t see it… am I crazy? Anyway, as HHH and Undertaker wrestled a brawl and Jericho and Punk had a technical wrestling match, John Cena and The Rock put on a perfect wrestling match in what can only be described as “The WWE Style”. Lots of big moves, lots of playing to the crowd, both of these guys knew that they were wrestling for the deaf little old ladies in the back row and not merely to the cameras. John Cena, of course, *LOST*. (6-1.)
All in all, a wonderful night that reminded me why I watch this stuff.
Dammit, I’m sorry I missed it.
Sorry Fish, I had this posted on Facebook and hoped yuo would see it.
No worries, Dman. I was out of town all weekend.
I am not sure what it was, but I felt something was missing from Westlemania. Maybe the first match just set the tone for me.
The shocker of the night was Kane beating Randy. It was a good match, but felt short. The funny thing was, I felt that about most of the matches. The only one that felt the right length to me was Undertaker v HHH. The rest seemed to end early.
Oh, but it still filled up a full four hours of TV time. Go fig.
The segment where Brodus Clay called his mama did seem to add an hour or so to the program.
Good point, that did take way too long. Did the Daniel Bryant match have to be sacrificed for that?!?
Conspiracy theory of the night: Kane went into his match thinking he’d lose but everyone else conspired to give him the win as a “thanks for being a company man” present.
I like the therory since I swear there was surpise on Kane’s face. Though maybe it was just transferance on my part.
That Cena shirt is totally meant to evoke the Celtics.
And “cheap heat!” I see what you did there.
That’s what it’s called!
It is nice that it was extra-appropriate in this case.
That’s always a nice bonus.