Wrestling...thats right, Wrestling!

[slash666]

i really think that the US Title Match should have opened

[Hammy]

so will an apparent 'dance contest'.

Londrick, TWGTT, Nitro, Carlito and many more missed out but they still have room for a Dance Contest! The only positive is the inclusion of a certain manager from the past, who is totally awesome, i'll not spoil it by mentioning who it is though if you have seen the spoiler i did you'll know who it is (His theme music better be used though, it's a classic)

[Borat]

i really think that the US Title Match should have opened

yes that would probably have been my choice, and benoits music is a good one to hit first (quite important little detail i think).

[slash666]

Due to the fact that tonight?s WrestleMania PPV is the ?Super Bowl? of the wrestling business, both fans and WWE management would expect billionaire Donald Trump to be enthusiastic and dedicated to his role in tonight?s show. However, that does not appear to be the case.

Several people in the WWE locker room see Trump as being very distant backstage, acting as if professional wrestling is beneath him. There?s a certain amount of resentment for Trump due to him stressing on more than one occasion that the reason he agreed to do the angle is because Vince McMahon has promised to make a sizeable donation to a charity of his choice.

The revealing factor of Trump?s feelings came when he failed to mention tonight?s WrestleMania pay-per-view this past Friday night when he made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.


now i want Trump to get his head shaved even though it will be Vince

[Borat]

Due to the fact that tonight?s WrestleMania PPV is the ?Super Bowl? of the wrestling business, both fans and WWE management would expect billionaire Donald Trump to be enthusiastic and dedicated to his role in tonight?s show. However, that does not appear to be the case.

Several people in the WWE locker room see Trump as being very distant backstage, acting as if professional wrestling is beneath him. There?s a certain amount of resentment for Trump due to him stressing on more than one occasion that the reason he agreed to do the angle is because Vince McMahon has promised to make a sizeable donation to a charity of his choice.

The revealing factor of Trump?s feelings came when he failed to mention tonight?s WrestleMania pay-per-view this past Friday night when he made an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman.


now i want Trump to get his head shaved even though it will be Vince

Not really surprised at that, expcept not mentioning it on letterman, i bet vince werent too happy about that. However on screen and at the press conference he has been fine and i expect a good 'performance' tonight.

[Evolution]

MVP
Ken Kennedy
The Great Khali
Melina
The New Breed
Lashley
John Cena
The Undertaker

Can't wait to see the huge crowd and special set they have planned 

[slash666]

fuck me! did you's see Edge!?!?!?! thats gotta hurt!

[Malcolm]

Well the winners so far

Khali
Benoit
Melina
Kennedy
Originals
Lashley/Trump
Undertaker
& ?

[w.axl.rose]

fucking john cena 

...i hope edge is alright, that had to hurt 

[Borat]

Well it's 3.56 am and before i go off to dreamland i thought id post my thoughts whilst its all still fresh...

I can't imagine that there will ever be a 'bad' wrestlemania again, there hasn't really been one since 2000 and even that had 2/3 standout matches. The way the event is set up with huge crowds, sets and marquee matches, the atmosphere and the general big event feeling mean it will always be worth a watch. This year was no different, although far from perfect and a long way from reaching the dizzy heights of manias xseven and xix the 23rd enstallment of the granddaddy of them all was still a hugely enjoyable and entertaining event.

Held before an incredible indoor crowd of 80,103, the second highest attendance for an american wrestling event of all time next to wm iii, WrestleMania 23 'all grown up' got off to a fantastic start with goosebump making video packages, aretha franklin cleverly introduced by vince's own introduction from 20 years previous and more pyrotechnics then you'll ever likely see again.

The MITB was a well worked and surprisingly organised affair with a good choice for winner, an incredible spot which saw jeff hardy nearly kill himself, edge and snap a (propped) ladder in 2 was the highlight, edge obviously still not fit enough to fully work a match and that was a good way for him to get out of it. One question...what happened to Orton I hardly saw him in the whole thing. Anyway Finlay, Kennedy and Punk had great exchanges at the end before Mr K picked it up.

Kane/Khali was about as good as could be expected

Terrible skit with Eugene/Cryme Time/Dusty/Slaughter/Mae/Moolah/Slick/Simmons and others was almost saved by an appearance from Ricky the Dragon Steamboat

MVP looked REALLY good in his match with Benoit, which was telling a great story before being cut off at 10 minutes, hopefully a longer rematch is planned for backlash.

HoFamers got a nice round

Then the brilliant surprise of the night, after Teddy Long strangley did the ring introductions and the undertaker had the best entrance of all time (truly stunning) Big Dave and Big Mark somehow proceeded to pretty much steal the show by putting on what was essentially a brilliant spotfest including the now very rare taker dive over the top, a fabulous running powerslam from one commentary desk through another and a great finisher sequence at the end. The crowd went mental for this one. Great stuff.

Originals beat the new breed in a good effort considering what they had to follow.

I really did not know what to make of Donald Trump, at some points it looked as though he was totally oblvios to it all and really didn't give a shit but then at others he got really involved. He really didn't realise that putting two fingers up at the camera and giving Shane the thumbs up is not the way to play face! But this one got really entertaining due to some great booking reminiscent of the vince/shane match at Xseven, Shane o mac even went coast to coast before austin stunned everyone, vince got shaved bald and austin stunned trump! Very good.

Then the blunderjill match - only unwatchable match of the night, they looked pretty good though.

Finally the main event, cenas entrance was interesting, hbks performance was mindblowing, the match was very good, not sensational by any stretch and maybe they should bhave ended with taker but still a great match which featured a couple of superb spots and one unbelievabe sequence near the end, if anything the finish was a bit anticlimatic, exactly the same as last year when maybe they should have gone for the f u off the top that they teased. The highlight of the match was by far hbk who cleverly played heel which almost neutralised the crowd who would have otherwised murdered cena, they were still partisan to shawn but his tactics threw them a bit and it worked - the only man who has managed this feat, not angle, not hhh, no one, shows why hbk is the best.

A quick note, i though JBL and Cole were great and JR and the King who should be rejuvinated after their inductions were a total mess, last year i praised jr after the way he handled the main event this year he was terrible.

Finally, huge props to the production team who put together an incredible set, video packages, ring entrances, pyrotechnics, an incredible presentation which i doubt could be matched in any sport or event anywhere in the world.

Sorry i have garbled on a bit but thought i would share my immediate thoughts. As i said earlier I haven't watched WWE since survivor series and then mania 22 before that but i am fucking delighted i stumped up the 15 knicker for this and will be doing the same next year, and the year after....

[Sober_times]

I just got back from watching wrestlemania in a packed sports bar with about 300 other wwe fans. It was great to be in that environment I loved starting a hbk chant during the last match. The crowd was about even as was at its loudest with half chanting cena and the other half chanting hbk. It was cool.

Wrestlemania as whole, I thought, was a good ppv. The Money in the bank match to start it off was very entertaining and I was laughing my ass off when kennedy took the midget from the top of the ladder. That was great. I wish there would have been more of Ortan also but I think the right man won the match, hopefully they let Taker go on a nice run and than have Kennedy get his shot and take the title at summerslam.

Speaking of Taker, the batista vs. taker match was the best of the night. I couldn't believe that these too could bring the house down as they said they would but they did it. It was one hell of a match and one I will watch over again.

The MVP vs. Benoit match was ok, it was just too short. I was surprized Benoit won, I thought they would give it too MVP. Hopefully they will have a good fued before benoit jumps too raw.

Kane vs. Khali was pretty crappy, but one would expect it too be. The womens title match sucked the big one too.

The hair match was ok, better than i thought it would be. I loved it when shane came down, it makes me miss him. I always liked shane and I hope he comes back for a match soon. Stone Cold giving the stunner to Trump was a shock, i would not have expected that, but i'm glad he did it.

New breed vs. old breed was better than expected also. It was a filler match but it was entertaining, I'm glad the old breed won and also was a little surprized by that. I did not think they had a chance to win that one.

Cena vs. HBK was a good match and i loved the last 5-10 minutes of it. Once hbk stopped working over cena's leg the match got so much better. I was dissappointed that cena won, but maybe i'll get my wish and HBK will take it at backlash. One can hope even if that hope is an unreleastic one.

Like i said I enjoyed this wresltemania, and I really love how this past January I found a bar that shows the ppvs. It makes really cool when your with 300 other fans watching it on tv. Its kinda like being live with the whole place going nuts, escpecially during the taker vs. batista match and hbk vs. cena. It was great experience and a wrestlemania that had memorable moments.?

[D]

Top matches in order

1.Undertaker vs Batista  WOW, this match was the best of the night, Unbelievable job by both guys. I hope Batista can get some respect now. That wasn't just a product of taker carrying him, Batista worked his ass off in that match.  The match had excellent flow, excellent spots and an excellent finish.

2.Lashley vs Umaga hair vs hair  Granted Lashley and Umaga the match wasnt bret hart vs Shawn micheals but this match was entertaining as fuck and when Shane came in I actually wondered *FUCK IS TRUMP GONNA LOSE?* I dont know why everyone is hating on Trump just cause he didnt mention the fuckin thing on Letterman.  Trump was into it, he was cheering Lashley on the whole time, HE tackled Vince, Actually got his hands dirty and shaved Vince's head and THEN took a Stunner. I think people are taking heresay from the internet sites and running with it. Trump did an excellent job in my opinion.

3.Shawn Micheals vs John Cena   I hate matches where one guy dominates the entire match only to lose at the end. I am concerned about Shawn or whoever mapped out this match cause he reminded me of Hulk Hogan in this match. I will let u win but I am gonna kick your ass 90 percent of the match. The quick spots at towards the end were excellent and this would have been the match of the year had Shawn WON the title with that small package after he backflipped out of the FU and then got out of the STFU with the roll up but of course Cena had to kick out.

The match was almost number 1 on my list but the finish dropped it to 3rd. Cena winning with a stupid fuckin STFU after all the shit they went through in that match? Finish could've been better.

4.MITB  Great match, not the best I've seen, Hardy's move off the ladder was sick and they put on an entertaining match. I personally think 8 men are too much for a ladder match. A guy would get hit and disappear for 10 minutes. I think I rank this lower cause it was pretty much in the bag who was winning.

5. MVP vs Chris Benoit  nice solid technical matchup

6. Kane vs Great Khali  I actually enjoyed this match. Seeing Kane slam Khali was great and the way Khali was able to manhandle Kane was a spectacle. Once again it could be cause I had extremely low expectations, but I didnt get bored during this one.

7.ECW vs New Breed   blah it was ok

8.Melina vs Ashley  Pointless although I am grateful Melina won me my 2nd championship.  Id rather have seen Carlito and Flair though.

[sweet616]

my thoughts on the show is that it was awful the card was fucked up and the only spot i even want to remember is Jeff Hardys leg drop to edge (no such things as props in wrestling borat)

No way in hell do you open a show with a huge draw possable spot fest like a MITB the crowd popped more for it and it killed the crowd for the rest of the night theres a reason why the main event is at the end of the card

[Hammy]

Wrestlemania, the stuff that dreams are made of.....mmmm.....overall i felt a bit let down, it was a solid event but seemed to be lacking that classic Wrestlemania moment, for me at least (And cool as it was i don't count the Jeff Hardy jump off the Ladder).

I think i must be the only one who hasn't gone crazy about Taker vs Batista, i found it to be fair decent but certainly not the match of the night.  Firstly i'll get the crap out of the way.  The Women's Title match & Khali vs Kane did not deserve to be on the card they both sucked, thankfully they did not go long.  What i found strange was how they jobbed Kane out clean, he really is being buried these days.  MVP vs Benoit was good but as mentioned before it needed to go longer dammit!  The MITB match was good but flawed.  The Hardy spot, and Kennedy's performance were great i loved seeing Kennedy and Hornswoggle interact is was pretty damn cool.  There were though too many in the match, i HATE the take a move and play dead on the outside for 10 minutes routine, sometimes less is more and i think these matches would be more effective with 4-6 people.  The ECW match was one of the better filler matches, guys got to get their moves in and it was kept short and fast paced, good to watch and a good yet surprising result.  Lashley vs Umaga was a really good match, i was surprised, these 2 had great chemistry in the ring and even without all the extra stuff i think they would of entertained.  Austin played his role well, it was great seeing Shane doing the Coast to Coast, Trump got involved, and Vince mannerisms, this guy needs to star in the next WWE Film he is so good.  Before the match when he was talking to his Grandaughter i was laughing so much it was great, but yeah this whole thing was put together well i was extremely impressed.  The Main Event was great to and easily match of the night, some good back and forth stuff to really get you on the edge of your seat, the only thing i would of changed is instead of having HBK tap i'd of had him pass out, ya know, for the effect, solidies the STFU a bit more and makes HBK look tougher, saying that both guys were made to look very good, as they were in the Hair vs Hair, they did a great job of protecting Umaga as a monster.  But overall it was solid but i felt it was missing that special something....

[BlowUpYourVideo]

The quick spots at towards the end were excellent and this would have been the match of the year had Shawn WON the title with that small package after he backflipped out of the FU and then got out of the STFU with the roll up but of course Cena had to kick out.

I thought that's what was going to happen but  . As soon as Cena locked on the STFU in the middle of the ring, you knew that was it.

I was surprised by the way the US Title match ended. I don't remember Benoit ever winning with the headbutt before (or at least, not recently).

Loved the bump Hornswoggle took. Oh, and Edge. Midgets are funnier though.

And did anyone notice in the Battle of the Billionaires they rung the bell when Austin counted 2?

Overall, I liked it.

[Axl4Life]

Well just watched Wrestlemania last night and was pretty impressed with all the matches, although for only 8 matches on the card I feel that some of the matches could have lasted a little longer, especially MVP vs Benoit. Anyways, heres my thoughts on the matches.

MITB Ladder Match:

A very good effort by all men. Usual high spots as you would expect. I was expecting a little more from Jeff Hardy, than just that Leg drop, although that was amazing, he has done alot better things in the past involving ladders, and I was dissapointed that him and Edge (although Hardy just lay on the floor for the rest of the match) were takin out of the match so early on. Everyone was given their chance to shine in this match up, even the veteran Finlay, who did that impressive dive at the start of the match. CM Punk, Orton, Finlay, and Kennedy all entered stellar performances. Enjoyed the RKO to Punk off the Ladder, as Punk, was well postioned for it, and Kennedy with the Greenbay Plunge on Hornswoggle was very entertaining, although it could of killed him. Couldn't have been a better finish, with Kennedy winning, and CM Punk looking strong. (he was the only guy in the ring trying to prevent Kennedy from grabbing the case) Overall, decent matchup, only dissapointment was the exit of Edge and J.Hardy very early on, but I guess helped to build the hype of the match, and keep you interested.  9/10

Kane vs Khali:

Not too bad of a match up. The MITB helped being before this as many (including myself) were still feeling the effects of those crazy stunts. Ended a bit quickly, and was suprised to see Kane lose cleanly to Khali with just a chokebomb thing. Kane was full of charisma in this matchup, which helped throughout the match against the dull and very boring Khali. Enjoyed the huge scoop slam on Khali, which in my opinion was by far the highlight of this match. Overall better than you'd expect from a Khali match. Kane deserves better, and proved in this match that he is a decent worker and has charisma. 6/10

Benoit vs MVP (United States Championship)

Really enjoyed this one, and could've been ALOT better if they had given it more time. I honestly believe that MVP outclassed Benoit in this match, although I don't want to admit it. I really hope there is a rematch as I really enjoyed this and couldn't look away. I am now a firm believer in MVP and will admit that the guy is talented. Give Benoit a run for his money and was suprised to see him lose. I was also suprised that Benoit pinned him after the headbutt, as that hardly ever finishes the match for him. Very good match, and 10 times mores than I had expected but you were given a sense of "is that it" at then end, (I for one certainly did) as I really wanted to see some more of the superb fast-paced wrestling action that this match had. 7.5/10

ECW New Breed vs Originals

Very dissapointed with this match, especially for all the brillant talent that it had. Was obviously rushed, and if they actually cared about it, should have made it an elimination match. No weapons ect either. New breed or originals - this WAS an ECW match wasn't it? 5/10

Ashley vs Melina (Womens Championship)

Don't think anyone cares about this match. Was obvously a filler, and the lumberjills idea was obviously just a way to get all the Divas to appear on the card. All they did was throw Melina back into the ring once. Next... 3/10

McMahon w/Umaga vs Trump w/ Lashley (Battle Of The Billionaires)

Ok, I'll give it, it's dues, I personally thought this match was going to be a disaster. McMahon was obviously trying really hard for everything to work out and Im glad it did for him. Although there wasn't much Umaga/Lashley interactions, I'll take that as a good thing. (although I did enjoy the pull apart brawl on Raw) Loved Shanes Coast to Coast, Trump clotheslining McMahon, and Austins angles, which is probably the closest we'll ever see to Austin working another wrestling match. Loved the way he was badass and pulled Umagas hair and the likes. Any yes everyone was right in their predictions: the match was worth watching for Vince's facial expressions alone at the end of the match when he got his head shaved. This match was all Austin (in my opinion) and all involved tried very hard to make the match a success, and im sure they'll all be glad to know it was. 8.5/10

Undertaker vs Batista (World Heavyweight Championship)

My favourite match of the night. Have to give it it's dues, Im not very keen on Taker or Batista and wasn't fussed about the outcome of the match beforehand, but throughout the match I was on the edge of my seat. Absoulutley awesome matchup, with Undertaker putting on another superb Wrestlemania performance, including his yearly mad dive out of the ring. I also think BY FAR this was the best match of Batista's career, and proves without a shadow of a doubt that the guy can work if he puts his mind to it. I think everyone notcied that Batista was trying hard last night. (even my father who watches wrestling noticed as he said ("Batista seems to be alot more focussed tonight") Overall, a crackling Smackdown main event, which should have been last on the card, had fast paced action from the get go, and momentum changing rapdily.  Awesome. 9/10

Shawn Michaels vs John Cena (WWE Championship)

Very strange match is probably the best way of describing this, at least at the get go anyways, very boring at the start with HBK working on Cenas leg, but I don't think anyone cared because this match was LIVING on hype and the outcome, and most people (especially me) thought it was HBK's night to finally relieve Cena of his year long Title reign. This match reminded me of Rock/Austin at Maina 17, were the other just wouldn't stay down. This wasn't a wrestling matchup, it was an all out fight. Very violent, and we seen the old HBK as he was vicious, and was playing the heel in the match, although, the majority was rooting for him. Loved the spot on the steel steps with Michaels hitting that spike piledriver on Cena (which I thought was banned?) Loved the way the momentum of this match kept changing, as it had everyone on the edge of their seat. Didn't like the way Cena went for the F-U like 5 times and we only saw the sweet chin music (on Cena) once. Was INCREDIBLEY dissapointed with the finish with HBK tapping out to the STFU. Was so pissed I got up and walked out. It's a fucking disgrace. Who the hell is going to take the fucking title off Cena anyways? He's plowed his way through every worthy challenger. (HHH, Edge, HBK, Umaga, Jericho, etc) I sure hope to God HBK gets the title at backlash. This should have been HBK's night, and it ruined the whole match for me to see Cena win yet AGAIN. 8/10


Overall, a decent card but with Cena winning in the main event, honestly ruined the main event for me. HBK carried him through it. Batista and Taker had a superb match and worked well as did the guys in the Trump/McMahon match. Would have liked to see MITB and MVP/Benoit go a little longer, but overall it was a great PPV. Although I can't help but feel that it was a little rushed. Still a huge improvement from last years

Overall 8/10

Hope you enjoyed the read. 

[Malcolm]

I cant stand Cena....I hope they give the belt to HHH when he returns or give it to HBK and then setup another HBK/HHH fued?

[Borat]

my thoughts on the show is that it was awful the card was fucked up and the only spot i even want to remember is Jeff Hardys leg drop to edge (no such things as props in wrestling borat)

No way in hell do you open a show with a huge draw possable spot fest like a MITB the crowd popped more for it and it killed the crowd for the rest of the night theres a reason why the main event is at the end of the card

What a bizzarre statement, all items used in professional wrestling, especially 'weapons' are props in the same way they are in any other scripted form of violence or any other entertainment for that matter. The ladder in question was clearly a propped ladder designed to 'snap' on impact to a) stop edge breaking his back and b) make the spot look more effective which it did.
As for the match opening the show, I too was sceptical but in the end it seemed like a good decision, it got the crowd into life (didn't 'kill' them as you state - did you not see/hear the world title match?) and the spacing of the 'marquee matches' throughout the night gave the event a much more balanced feel. The crowd were never gonna get into kane v khali if it were first or last in the same way they would go mental for the MITB match.

[sweet616]

it wouldnt be specialy propped to snap on impact any impact on any ladder would of resulted in it snapping...ive felt ladders used in wrestling...i neely broke my toe thinking kicking it wouldnt hurt...the crowd where dead for Mania standerds they put the biggest spotfest match on at the beggining which brings a crowd to its peak so they have to come down hence the rest of the card and basicaly the whole show been the worst wrestlemania i have ever seen and if it wasnt for it been wrestlemania it would of barly been on par with december to dismember and the only thing that kept me watching the whole show was that i spent fucking ?15 on it.

MITB poor compared to other ladder matchs that have past, only a few points stand out from watching it Jeffs spot which he could of done better with. CM Punk been RKO'd and if it wasnt for Hornswoggle i would of givin it 3/10 but as he was there its a 4/10

Kane V Khali broke kayfabe with a fucking scoop slam! thanks to that 0/10

Benoit V MVP i kept drifting off to sleep during this but iam not a huge benoit fan to beggin with but from what i saw soom nice technical 4/10

Originals V NB was a WWECW match 2/10

Trump V Mcmahon best match on the card simply because of the cost to cost had a nice bit of action i hate Umaga and Lashley but it did what it did 4/10

Undertaker V Batista Undertaker won thats all i cared about it match was kinda weak nice dive out of the ring by taker tho 3/10

Ashley V Malina piss poor shouldnt of been on RAW never mind mania if it wasnt for maria 3seconds on cam it would get 0 but its a 1/10

HBK V Cena lovly wrestling from HBK totaly embarressed Cena in my eyes that he was capable of winning despite not been able to wrestle. cena's entrance was pathetic and if it wasnt for the asia moonsault and a nice superkick i would of been depressed 3/10

[Borat]

You really must be depressed if you got that little entertainment out of that show? Why the hell did you spend your money on it when you were obviously not gonna enjoy it and jut rip it apart, the things you have critised are all common knowledge and because you have these pre conceptions you cannot see past them. 2 matches that could have been poor (world title/botb) were far better than im sure anyone would have expected. Funny you enjoy the spotfest at the beginning but not the batista/taker spotfest. It seems the only way you would have enjoyed the show would have been is there were 8 wrestling classics on the card, something you knew would be impossible. All the big matches (except the very end of the main event) were booked superbly. I really cannot understand why you would buy something you knew you weren't going to enjoy.

The crowd was hot for all 4 big matches and at its hottest for the world championship match, which was on well after the mitb match which apparently killed the crowd. No event in an arena as big as that is gonna produce a constantly hoit crowd due to the size of the place, the sound excapes more than in small arenas. The decibel reading in small arenas with small crowds would be far higher than that of a large one.

I don't care what you say that ladder was clearly rigged.

And your idea of kayfabe is stuck firmly in the 1980's, maybe you actually thought you were watching WrestleMania III!