Big Show & Kane vs. Carlito & Chris Masters (WWE Tag Team Titles):
Kane and Big Show win, I could have done with this being a little further in for a comfort break. Carlito can look good with the right wrestlers around him. This wasn't such an occasion. Big Show and Kane win.
Bobby Lashley vs. Fit Finlay vs. Matt Hardy vs. Ric Flair vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin (Ladder Match):
Okay, this was more like it, I would have opened with this. Shelton made some awesome moves here, especially the running senton flip up a ladder. Please put him in a PPV match with Van Dam or Hardy on a ladder, nice easy MOTY candidate there. Flair, RVD, Shelton and Hardy all worked well with what they had here, great spotfest. RVD gets the win and the shot, probably at One Night Stand II.
Chris Benoit vs. John B. Layfield:
A dull Benoit match. Something I don't often say, but this just wasn't the occasion that they would be given the time to do anything of note. As suggested, JBL take the US title.
Mick Foley vs. Edge (Hardcore Match):
If you look at what I wrote as a prediction, I would like to think I was pretty much spot on here. I didn't predict quite how violent it would be (spot of the night for me was the burning table spear by Edge to win). And your lesson in selling was Edge here, especially after the match where he looked like he had been blinded. Stunning work by him.
The Boogeyman vs. Booker T & Sharmell Huffman:
Suckfest. Boogeyman wins
Trish Stratus vs. Mickie James:
There should be some special award for Mickie James costume designer, as I hav e no idea how she stayed in her outfit tonight. This match was also the first sign that the crowd were going to be awkward tonight, as they cheered Mickie all the way through. She played to it beautifully as the psycho heel, acknowledged it in a "Hey, they should cheer me, I'm right" manner. They put on quite a good women's title match, especially considering it looked like Trish's knee gave out somewhere along the line. Bit of a botch finish, due to that injury, but good work here, and interesting to see where it goes from now with Mickie as champion.
Undertaker vs. Mark Henry (Casket Match):
The Undertaker won here, and you all can breathe easy that you don't have to see a picture of my shaved arse.
Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon (No Holds Barred):
They used a whole bunch of run-ins and shortcuts here, to good effect. Spirit Squad and Shane Mac attacked seperately, to help get the old man through. The star, of course, was Shawn, who reverted to "DX Shawn" to win the match, with a massive elbow off the 20ft ladder onto Vince, on a table, inside a dustbin (3 shortcuts in one move there). Better than you'd expect, but no Shane vs Kurt Angle.
Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton vs. Rey Mysterio (Smackdown World Title):
Good match. Kurt and Rey were part of some great matches a few years back on Smackdown, and this really showed. Awesome double-suplex by Kurt on the other two, Rey flew miles. Orton was good, Rey was really good, Kurt brought his A game I felt. Rey won and the tears flew.
Torrie Wilson vs. Candice Michelle :
Biggest suckfest of the night.
John Cena vs. Triple H (WWE Heavyweight Title):
My word, the fans HATED this. Horrendous entrances for both, where HHH dressed as a rubbish Conan, and looked like he was hating every moment of it, and Cena was a Chicago gangster, but looked more like a flasher. No respect for either of the wrestlers, which in my book was fair enought as they put on a very pedestrian match. In their defense, there were so few shortcuts open to them, most having been done up until then. This was almost entirely wrestling, and that isn't really either of their strong points. Cena got the worst boos he has ever had, and every move of HHH was cheered in an ironic manner. Cena got the win, just to make things worse, and finished the evening in tears, possibly at his cruddy reaction.
All in all, more than was expected, a few really enjoyable matched here, where it could have all been bad. Possibly one of the better Wrestlemanias for a while. One to see I say
2 comments:
I'll admit that I didn't watch. As recently as WM XX ("Where it all begins. Again."), I was a HUGE fan. I was in a Hooters during WMXX, screaming at the big-screen TV as Benoit locked the Crossface on HHH, and panicking when they did the 'rollover' spot that led to the Title for Benoit. All of us there that night (the whole place) were very, very into it.
This WM was right down the road from me, less than 70 miles from The Pond. Didn't go, wasn't interested. In some ways, this makes me a little sad.
Sounds like the Chicago crowd upheld its honor, though.
It was actually worthwhile this year, I paid for the PPV, and felt I got my money's worth, which makes a nice change, as recently I've watched PPV for free where I wanted my money back.
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