Topic: WrestleMania XXVIII: Predictions, Live Discussion etc

[Little Jimmy]

I think people are harder on WM because they build it up forever as the end all be all, and they get all hard to please and shit.

This is the correct answer. The show was good and worth illegally streaming... I mean ordering.

[Niall]

I enjoyed it.  Undercard was average but the three main matches delivered really well and were worth the cost of the show.  I'm delighted for Punk that the WWE Title match was high in the card and they made it seem like a big deal.  So much of a big deal that is it wasn't for Rock being there, it probably would have headlined.

[KoppoKick]

So, happy you ordered it or was this 2 crap Wrestlemanias in a row?

More positives than negatives.  What was supposed to be good delivered with the exception of them going in a different direction with Bryan/Sheamus.  Just don't go into it expecting anything the caliber of Richards vs. Elgin.

[TH]

I thought the show was mostly outstanding, outside of the first match, the Divas match and the Brodus Clay segment.

[KoppoKick]

I'm sorry. I just don't agree with that assessment. In the buildup, Cena said this match meant everything to him.. And that if he lost, everything would be gone, his whole life. After making the statements he made, he cannot just come out and do the typical Cena "oh well no biggie" and shrug it off unless they want to seriously pull him out of character.

The solution is to have Cena end The Streak next year.

[Prime]

I would expect that UT is done, but that's just me.

[Pebble.2.0]

ok everyone just left

First match, bullshit
Divas, bullshit
Orton match, no one cares
Show's match, good stuff
Punk's match, great stuff
Rock's match, great stuff
Funkaloser, waste of my fucking time
tedd v. johnny, as good as expected...is it me or did Otunga not wrestle one second in that match?  Ryder looked great in his part.
Hell in a Cell, great match...but could have been done without the cell really

[Torgo]

ok everyone just left

First match, bullshit
Divas, bullshit
Orton match, no one cares
Show's match, good stuff
Punk's match, great stuff
Rock's match, great stuff
Funkaloser, waste of my fucking time
tedd v. johnny, as good as expected...is it me or did Otunga not wrestle one second in that match?  Ryder looked great in his part.
Hell in a Cell, great match...but could have been done without the cell really

LF speculated that the cell was there simply so UT could throw the weapons out of the ring without worrying about where they landed in the crowd. 

[freud mayweather]

everything except the db match and the taker match was awesome. good wrestlingmania. would order again.

[The Big Don]

Didn't care for the show at all, but honestly it might have been partly due to the atmosphere of watching it in a recently revamped bar, with shitty seating. Opener immediately pissed me off and was made worse by the tons of feces that was to follow.Orton v. Kane was as good a match as it possibly could have been and actually had a couple of sequences that I really liked. But it's Orton v. Kane - there's not a match on the roster involving "top" guys I could have cared less about.I thought Show v. Cody was pretty bad. The dosey do shit to set up the weak finish was just...not good. Cody really came across like the Cody that I thought looked really lost v. Booker T on the house show I went to in Dec.Divas tag was comically long and just odd all around. At this point I thought there was no question that the first hour was the worst opening hour I could recall on a Mania.From there the show got better, but there was nothing that really knocked my socks off or even came close.HITC is a match I probably would have liked live, but on tv it didn't connect with me at all. I thought last years match was decidedly better because it was a match about HHH v. Taker. The first half of this match had the feel of an old gay couple trying to make a touch decision about putting down a beloved pet. Just lots of hammy stuff that I didn't like at all. The match had bigger "build" than last year, but I liked the bomb throwing nature of last years match better as it fit the two guys involve. Also - and I know I'm probably in the minority - there wasn't a single near fall I bought in this match. Last year the tombstone fall really was a kickstarter to the match and made me believe. This year there was nothing even close to having that feel. It was laid out as well as it could have been and for WWE bioepic style matches it was hardly bad. But I just didn't buy any of it.Team Teddy v. Team Johnny was pretty weak for the first portion, but I did like the stretch run a lot as it had that sort of Smackdown/Raw main event vibe which is what I wanted out of the match. Henry and Ziggler were a lot of fun in the match and even though the shit with Eve was annoying and undermined it, Ryder actually came across like a fairly big deal to me.Punk v. Jericho was good, but the camera angles were horribly unflattering for a lot of the shots, making numerous spots look far worse than they would have otherwise. When my daughter is sitting next to me saying "fake" every third spot there is a problem. I liked Jericho's back targeting, though I didn't think much of Punk's selling of it. Still this had some really big bumps and the finishing stretch was about as good a multi-reversal submission stretch as you are going to get. That's not something I'm a huge fan of, but it was well done.I like the main event, but Rock winning just felt wrong. Granted Cena winning would have felt wrong too, but that's the problem with a match like this. Cena heeling in a variety of ways was pretty cool. Not sold that the bearhug was the right base to work and there was a point where it really felt like a match where Rock was just trying to get his shit in, but by that point in the night I was pretty cranky so who knows how true to form that was. I did think the finish worked pretty well and over all I really thought Cena put in a heck of a performance. But as a whole I didn't think it approached being a great match.Kind of funny really that I thought the build for the show sucked but was still really looking forward to the show in terms of in ring stuff. As it stood there wasn't a single match I would "nominate" in a MOTY thread.Oh..and Rock calling the DDT spot on camera was the most amusing thing of the night

[EDGECRUSHER]

I think people are harder on WM because they build it up forever as the end all be all, and they get all hard to please and shit.

Well, yeah. If you spend a year building to a match and months before it building it up extra hard AND charging out the ass for it, you better deliver. That 18 second title change was probably the worst way to ever open a wrestling show, let alone a Wrestlemania.

[freud mayweather]

i forgot about the kane match. that shit was god awful, but at least it was shorter than the hitc match.


the johnny ace match was great. everything from santino's spots to david otunga's tiny shirt to zack ryder's run were all awesome.

[Chus-Kay]

I thoroughly enjoyed the card.  Totally worth it.  I was there live last year so I don't judge that show as harshly as many do either.

agree.  overall it was very entertaining.

[Zandrax]

Just got home. Watched it with a group of about a dozen fans. Missed the first hour, came in during the Divas match. Previous posts were done on my phone.

Great show overall. Loved HHH/Taker, and I'm somebody that hated the concept of Shawn as the ref. HHH realizing he was beat but not giving up was an awesome end. And the post match put closure on the last four years.

Punk/Jericho had a slow start, and I hated the sudden stip, but it finished strong.

Cena/Rock was alright, but a bit of a letdown given some of the holds were clearly not being applied convincingly.

[Pebble.2.0]

I NEVER go there, but during the Brodus segment I turned to everyone and said "this is like really racist".  25 Aunt Jemima's dancing?  yikes

[Torgo]

Well, yeah. If you spend a year building to a match and months before it building it up extra hard AND charging out the ass for it, you better deliver. That 18 second title change was probably the worst way to ever open a wrestling show, let alone a Wrestlemania.

I agree about the first match.  There is simply no justification for it.

[Niall]

I thought Cena vs. Rock was great.  They stuck to the formula well, considering their limitations.  A modern day Warrior vs Hogan.  The STF and Sharpshooter looked quite weak, but then Rock isn't going to flex (pardon the pun) any more than he has to with a movie career to look after.  He was pretty blown up too.

For match of the night, it's probably between Punk/Jericho and Trips/Taker.  Hard to decide, but I loved the pacing of Punk/Jericho and at the moment, I'm swaying more toward that match.

[Leatherface]

Has anybody brought up the fact that HHH tried to murder Taker in the Cell match with the sledgehammer, but Shawn Michaels saved his life at the last second?  And maybe that's why Shawn was so emotional?  Taker never knew, that's why he hugged Hunter at the end.

[Torgo]

I thought Cena vs. Rock was great.  They stuck to the formula well, considering their limitations.  A modern day Warrior vs Hogan.  The STF and Sharpshooter looked quite weak, but then Rock isn't going to flex (pardon the pun) any more than he has to with a movie career to look after.  He was pretty blown up too.

For match of the night, it's probably between Punk/Jericho and Trips/Taker.  Hard to decide, but I loved the pacing of Punk/Jericho and at the moment, I'm swaying more toward that match.

Rock's Sharpshooter has always been terrible, long before his movie career.

[jerseyboy]

I thought this was a very good, top-ten all-time WM.  HIAC is a legit MOTY candidate, Punk/Jericho would've been best match on many WM's.  Rock/Cena was great for the building, although I question the logic of having Rock go over unless it's leading to a Cena heel turn.  Other than the women's match and the 20-second World title match, everything else on the show was perfectly acceptable where either the right guy won or the finish really didn't matter.
 

[Torgo]

Didn't care for the show at all, but honestly it might have been partly due to the atmosphere of watching it in a recently revamped bar, with shitty seating. Opener immediately pissed me off and was made worse by the tons of feces that was to follow.Orton v. Kane was as good a match as it possibly could have been and actually had a couple of sequences that I really liked. But it's Orton v. Kane - there's not a match on the roster involving "top" guys I could have cared less about.I thought Show v. Cody was pretty bad. The dosey do shit to set up the weak finish was just...not good. Cody really came across like the Cody that I thought looked really lost v. Booker T on the house show I went to in Dec.Divas tag was comically long and just odd all around. At this point I thought there was no question that the first hour was the worst opening hour I could recall on a Mania.From there the show got better, but there was nothing that really knocked my socks off or even came close.HITC is a match I probably would have liked live, but on tv it didn't connect with me at all. I thought last years match was decidedly better because it was a match about HHH v. Taker. The first half of this match had the feel of an old gay couple trying to make a touch decision about putting down a beloved pet. Just lots of hammy stuff that I didn't like at all. The match had bigger "build" than last year, but I liked the bomb throwing nature of last years match better as it fit the two guys involve. Also - and I know I'm probably in the minority - there wasn't a single near fall I bought in this match. Last year the tombstone fall really was a kickstarter to the match and made me believe. This year there was nothing even close to having that feel. It was laid out as well as it could have been and for WWE bioepic style matches it was hardly bad. But I just didn't buy any of it.Team Teddy v. Team Johnny was pretty weak for the first portion, but I did like the stretch run a lot as it had that sort of Smackdown/Raw main event vibe which is what I wanted out of the match. Henry and Ziggler were a lot of fun in the match and even though the shit with Eve was annoying and undermined it, Ryder actually came across like a fairly big deal to me.Punk v. Jericho was good, but the camera angles were horribly unflattering for a lot of the shots, making numerous spots look far worse than they would have otherwise. When my daughter is sitting next to me saying "fake" every third spot there is a problem. I liked Jericho's back targeting, though I didn't think much of Punk's selling of it. Still this had some really big bumps and the finishing stretch was about as good a multi-reversal submission stretch as you are going to get. That's not something I'm a huge fan of, but it was well done.I like the main event, but Rock winning just felt wrong. Granted Cena winning would have felt wrong too, but that's the problem with a match like this. Cena heeling in a variety of ways was pretty cool. Not sold that the bearhug was the right base to work and there was a point where it really felt like a match where Rock was just trying to get his shit in, but by that point in the night I was pretty cranky so who knows how true to form that was. I did think the finish worked pretty well and over all I really thought Cena put in a heck of a performance. But as a whole I didn't think it approached being a great match.Kind of funny really that I thought the build for the show sucked but was still really looking forward to the show in terms of in ring stuff. As it stood there wasn't a single match I would "nominate" in a MOTY thread.Oh..and Rock calling the DDT spot on camera was the most amusing thing of the night

Not really.  I've had this happen to me before with other people, and I say "If all you do is point out how fake everything looks you're not going to enjoy it."

Seriously, watch just about any WWE match with a THAT LOOKS FAKE mindset and tell me I'm wrong.

[The Big Don]

If you can't convince a 9 year old your wrestling is convincing than you aren't very good

[Torgo]

If you can't convince a 9 year old your wrestling is convincing than you aren't very good

Your 9 year old is too smart for this shit. 

[RealMarchHare]

Finall at a computer after leaving watching it with Z.

MotN for me was DB/Seamus 

Ok well it was actually Punk/Jericho.  I ended up 6/8 with my predictions for the night which only one other person had better predictions than me out of everyone we watched with.

DB/Seamus: I understand everyone's hatred at it but I honestly liked it.  I have not liked DB at all since this Heel turn.  I got exactly what I wanted which was Seamus just squashing his Vegan ass.  Would've been nice to go for a bit longer but at the same time the 18 second victory seemed right.  DB's look of shock was priceless

Kane/Orton: Wasn't really looking forward to it.  Story was weak in my mind for why they were feuding.  Plus, with the two of them being big brutal people I would've excepted a No Hold's Barred match or something along those lines.  Had some good moments but it was Meh overall to me.  First match I mis-predicted as well

Cody/Big Show: Ended like I thought it would.  Glad to see Big Show finally get that victory and now hold every belt he could from WWE and WCW

Divas: Really?  This was the longest match at this point.  WHY!  Waste of time.

HHH/Undertaker: Was actually a lot better than I expected and I think for me it was because HBK just spent most the match trying to figure out what to do.  HHH/Undertaker just kept throwing him out of the way.  Glad that his interference didn't end it either.

Teddy/Johnny: Should've been an elimination tag match.  Kali did as expected which was absolutely nothing.  Was Otunga even there?  For what it was it wasn't to bad til that Man Hands retardedness at the end.

Punk/Jericho:  Started slow which upset me as I was really looking forward to it.  Ended really strong though which was nice.  Called the Anaconda Vice finisher for the victory before the match started.  Glad to see that Punk still doesn't submit.  Overall best match on the card for me.

Rock/Cena: Only other match I got wrong.  I wanted Rock to win but fully expected Cena but for a variety of reasons.  1) As I live in Chicago we had Extreme Rules commercials during Smackdown last week and Punk vs Cena is on the bill so had a feeling if Punk keeps the belt Cena will be getting a title shot because he beats Rock.  2) With the HHH/Taker end of the era match and Punk/Jericho match being a passing of the torch kinda story I fully expected Cena to win to continue the theme the night seemed to have of ushering in a new era.  3) I just don't trust the WWE to not make Cena out to be a golden god.  Anywho, I was disappointed by the match in general.  As Z pointed out some of the holds like the bear hug were just poorly sold.  The "Concert" leading into it broke up the momentum build up from the Punk/Jericho match.  Part of it might have also been the idiocy of some of the people we were watching it with came out in full force at that point so I was a bit distracted trying not to break them.  Also, as I doubt WWE will turn Cena heel that makes the ending make even less sense.  This is the perfect ending to set up a Heel turn for him.  If they do then this match retroactively becomes better to me.  Again though I doubt they will.

Overall, it was a good Mania.  Compared to last year I'd say better.  Overall felt kinda average to me though.


Oh and Brodus Clay was hilarious as it cleared the room of everyone for his little Troll segment 

[The Big Don]

Your 9 year old is too smart for this shit.

My 9 year old wrote a letter to WWE headquarters to get Mark Henry banned because he was too dangerous and then wrote another letter supporting HHH losing the Raw GM position because he refused to fire Mark Henry.


She understands this is serious business.