Hello! This Wrestlemania Weekend, also known as the "Cost Sam as much Sleep as possible" week is drawing to a close now. Well, yesterday was definitely interesting. I'd said multiple times heading into last night that everyone needed to approach the Mania with an open mind after Takeover and not bury it before it's even happened. Well, while not everything on the show was bad- there's definitely gonna be some burying done throughout the course of this Review.
There's definitely some burying to be done. However, I feel like I need to open by saying this. A lot of people I see on Twitter build up a picture of what should happen in Wrestling in their heads, and then if something doesn't live up to the expectations they've basically set up for themselves they deem it to be bad. That's simply put Wrestling Fans living in a Fantasy World. I'm not one of those fans, I'm very realistic in what I expect from a show. With that in mind, there's 11 matches to Review, and in some cases a lot to be said- so I'm not going to ramble any more and I'll just dive right in.
Pre-Show: Kalisto v Ryback- US Title
It doesn't make much of a difference, because my Predictions were fucking terrible yesterday- but the reason I predicted a Title change in this match was because I thought it would be on the USA Network part of the Pre-Show. I thought they'd want to put over an "anything can happen" type of mentality with a Title change in a bid to get some people to go "Oh shit, there was a Title change for free- I wonder what'll happen on the Main Show". That of course didn't happen, but on the whole I thought this match was alright. It was never going to blow everyones minds, but they did the whole "David vs Goliath" angle pretty well I thought- and Kalisto managed to"slay the giant" in Ryback to give him his Mania moment.
Pre-Show: Team Total Divas v Team BAD & Blonde
I'd reconciled this match in my head by saying, "Emma and Summer have got on Mania". So that's what I'll repeat- however this match played out, Emma and Summer did get on Mania. This match actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be to be honest. In arguably the biggest shock of the night, Eva Marie did a Flying Head Scissors without murdering someone. I thought they were smart to have Paige take the majority of the Heat Segment for obvious reasons, Lana looked good with all of her Kicks- especially for her first Wrestling match ever. As I said in my Predictions though, this match was basically the opportunity for;
a) Giving Brie a Wrestlemania send-off win
b) Have said Brie Wrestlemania win be the Total Divas Finale
In that respect they did their jobs really well, and we were only left with one question at the end of the day. WHAT IN THE FUCK DOES NAOMI MEAN WHEN SHE SHOUTS "FEEL MY GLOW"?
Pre-Show: The Usos v The Dudleys
Once again, this match was pretty much as "by the book" as I thought it would be. It was a pretty standard match, with one could argue Bubba trying way too hard to try and get some heat on himself to compensate for the lack of a build. The Usos won after a little while, and then they put The Dudleys through Tables to end the feud.
You see, this was 100% predictable, but predictable isn't always a bad thing. In fact, I'd argue most of the time it's a good thing. When people are predicting something, they're weighing up the chances of something happening using logic. So, this was by far the most logical choice. This whole Pre-Show was booked with logic and everything made sense. WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED FROM THIS POINT ON?!
IC Title Ladder Match
On the whole, I thought this was quite a fun match. Everyone got their spots in, we had the usual "crash and burn" spots with Stardust going through a Ladder via Sin Cara etc., We got the Sami Zayn/Kevin Owens spots that the crowd were desperate for, and all in all I thought this was a perfectly acceptable 2016 Ladder Match. I say that, basically because there's not an awful lot of Ladder Match spots that haven't already been done. The last Ladder Match spot that blew my mind other than Kalisto's Salida del Sol at TLC was in the Ziggler/Harper match at the previous years TLC- and that was pretty much just because of the sheer brutality of the match.
I'm going to reserve judgement on Zack Ryder's IC Title win until my RAW Review tomorrow. Call me suspicious, but I can't see Ryder hanging on to the Title for long when two or three weeks ago he wasn't even in the fucking match. I knew Zack was winning as soon as he did the Elbow Drop off the Ladder, and it was just a case of "How?" and I thought they did a pretty job making sure Zack won, but still protected- with respect to Zack the much better competitors in Owens and Zayn.
Chris Jericho v AJ Styles
I said in my Predictions that this was one of the easiest matches to predict, and of course went for AJ Styles. You know why? Because it fucking should have. I'll keep bringing this point up as this Review progresses, they either wanted every single Babyface to lose, so in the end when Roman won they thought the crowd would finally cheer for a win. Or, they were basically trying too hard to be "unpredictable" with their outcomes at the expense of any sort of logic or common sense.
I thought the match was okay, without being anything more. To me, there's a different between Jericho working a "Heel" style which is quite slow- and simply being too slow and I'm not sure which side of that line he ended up on by the end of the match. Something just seemed a bit "off" about this match to me, there were times when both guys looked a bit lost and were visibly trying to call spots and it just seemed weird. I don't know if I'd have had a better opinion of the match had they pulled off the finish 100% as intended, but they even managed to make that look messy- which basically summed up the match. Two very good wrestlers, having a really messy match.
Also, I have to laugh at the fact the Styles Clash has been kicked out of 2 out of the 3 times it's been used in WWE. Well Done on killing that move, WWE.
Zack Ryder Backstage Promo
It's all these talks of it being a "dream come true" for Zack and all that stuff that makes me suspect that he's losing the Title ASAP. As someone who'd jumped on the Z! TLIS train pretty early on, I don't know if I just don't want to get burned again- but I just can't see Zack having a proper run.
The League of Nations v New Day/Legends Segment
I have to assume Meltzer had simply heard through the grapevine that Michaels, Foley & Austin were going to be in the ring with New Day when he said that last night New Day were going to be put over massively. That did not happen.
Firstly, as predicted New Day's Entrance was one of the highlights of Mania- and could possibly have been the highlight if Shane wasn't a crazy motherfucker. This whole match just seemed like it had been put together at the last minute to me. It was smart for Xavier to take all of the heat segment because of his size relative to the League of Nations, but that's where my praise for this match ends. Throughout the match, I was getting more and more excited for Big E's Hot-Tag where he'd tag in and just go mental on all of the League for 2 Minutes with Belly-to-Belly's and other shit. Big E should have been a made star coming out of this match. Out of the 7 Guys involved, Big E's the only one with Main Event potential (that hasn't already been squandered). But instead Big E got 1 Belly-to-Belly, did his dive to the outside and thankfully didn't die and that was that. Kofi got taken out, and then Xavier was hit with a Bullhammer- and New Day had lost. Again, where was the logic in this? The whole stadium absolutely loved New Day- and granted the Legends did some to keep the "Hype" meter up, but it just didn't sit right with me.
Speaking of the Legends segment; look I'm never going to complain when Austin, Michaels and to a lesser extent Foley show up. Especially with Shawn in Ring Gear (I'm still not exactly sure why that was necessary). The whole clearing house of the League of Nations was fun, mainly because of Rusev's selling- especially for the Stunner. However, I just can't help but be slightly annoyed that this wasn't New Day's moment. They had the dancing spot afterwards with them, but the segment focuses were in order, Michaels, Austin & Foley, The League of Nations, New Day. New Day are 100% "my guys", and I'm just not happy with that.
Brock Lesnar v Dean Ambrose- No Holds Barred Street Fight
I had a lot of buffering during this match, so I didn't see the whole thing- but from what I did see I think the buffering may have been a good thing.
I'm bored of this Brock Lesnar. Brock is a super-human athlete as Heyman has repeatedly put over. He can do so much more than German Suplexes and F5's. It literally is like a Video Game where you just spam one move over and over until you're charged up enough to hit your finisher and you win. We've had that Brock for nearly 2 Years now, and especially with him showing up to quite a few House Shows and generally having more matches since he's signed his new deal- that's a lot of matches with the exact same formula.
This match just simply wasn't good. It was way too short to feel like the "war" it had been built up as, it was a Street Fight that didn't leave the Ring-Side area- or even go up the Ramp and there were hardly any Weapons even used. This just wasn't "No Holds Barred" or even a "Street Fight" it was standard Brock Lesnar House Show match in front of 100,000 people that just so happened to have a Kendo Stick and some Chairs involved. Ambrose didn't even kick out of 1 F5! As I said in my Predictions, I never thought Ambrose had a hope of beating Brock- but I thought he'd at least kick out of 1, if not 2 F5s. Instead it was a "one and done" deal and Brock earned probably Half a Million Dollars for one of the flattest Wrestlemania "street fights" ever.
Charlotte v Becky Lynch v Sasha Banks- WWE Womens Championship
Yes, that's right- the Divas Title is no more. We've not got the WWE Womens Championship- and above all of the other million reasons I've discussed on here about the word "Diva" it was great to get the new Title just to hear Renee completely bury the old Divas Title on the Pre-Show.
Up until this point of the show, this was without question the Match of the Night- and it was most "Wrestlemania" match of the night in my opinion. This felt like a massive deal, everything from the live performance of Sasha's Entrance with Snoop Dogg, to Charlotte's Robe made from her Dad's, to Becky's... Hat. From the moment this segment started, it was a full-on Wrestlemania moment.
These three women completely deserve all of the praise that's come their way after this match. From the moment the bell rang you knew they'd worked ridiculously hard on this match in working out of the spots and the details of the match. We had Charlotte's Moonsault that'll no doubt be in every Wrestlemania/"Divas Revolution" Video Package ever, and everything surrounding it. This match was just great, and on a Mania surrounded by a lot of mediocre segments- this was one of the ones that stood head and shoulders above the rest.
I don't even care about Charlotte winning. The result of this match wasn't as important as the performance of the three women involved in getting the new Title over and putting over the fact they were putting everything on the line for said Title. Flair's interference surprised me, just because I thought Snoop would hang around to stop it- but I suppose it fits the story and we'll be getting Charlotte/Sasha for the next few months. I just hope Becky's not forgotten about now.
The Undertaker v Shane McMahon- Hell in a Cell
I've seen a lot of people complaining about the outcome of this match, some of the points that have been raised are legitimate- and then others less legitimate. Firstly, the main reason Shane didn't win is because he's not hanging around Post-Mania. He may come back again in the near future, but apart from maybe an appearance tonight he's not going to be on TV for a while. That's the main reason Shane lost. Had he been hanging around I've got no doubt in my mind that Taker would have lost. Yes, there was the whole "last Wrestlemania" thing but they can always bring him back with some plot contrivance.
This match, if it were a legitimate fight- up until when Shane cut the Bolts off the Cell for some unknown reason would have played out exactly the same. Shane trying his best to avoid any hard strikes by Taker, and then trying to just catch him off guard whenever possible. I was convinced someone was interfering once the Cell was smashed open- and I'd also like to point out I was right in saying the Announce Desks were in danger in this match during my RAW Review and point about Shane doing the Elbow Drop. This match was essentially all structured around Shane doing that one "jump off the Cell" spot, and you know what in my book it was worth it. This was the one match where had I bought a Ticket I would have sat down after and gone "that was 100% worth it".
Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for when they set-up Taker/Cena for 33. They may even do it tonight given the obvious size of the match.
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal (Notable Names: Baron Corbin, Shaquille O'Neal, Tatanka, DDP)
This was about as "filler Battle Royal" as you can get. It was fun without a doubt though, and unlike last year with Itami- the right person one in it being the person from NXT. I'm curious to see if that was Corbin's official call-up now. His feud with Aries surely can't be done when the match ended with a roll-up, and for me Corbin still needs a Title run in NXT and just a little more time to polish himself before he goes on the road with the Main Roster.
The Rock, John Cena & The Wyatts Segment
I said I was expecting them to set-up an angle for The Rock wrestling at Wrestlemania 33 tonight. Even with how this segment played out, I still have some hope that it'll be Bray Wyatt. I will always be a Bray Wyatt Fan- so I absolutely marked the fuck out when his music hit and he interrupted The Rock. Let me just remind everyone, the bloke's 28 Years Old. Barring injury, he's got at least 10 Years left in Wrestling should he wish to keep Wrestling. Even with a career ending injury, he could just have the Family wrestle whilst he cuts Promos. He's 28 Years Old, and he's shared a ring with John Cena, The Undertaker and now The Rock in three consecutive Wrestlemania's.
Let me just say this now, Bray Wyatt was categorically NOT buried last night. My opinion of that may change tonight depending on how it's followed up on. However, in the midst of The Rock "wrestling" Rowan and Cena's return (which I never thought I'd be so happy to see) everyone seemed to have forgotten the fact Rock spent a solid minute/minute and a half basically calling Bray the future of the fucking business. That's not a burial. Yes, he insulted them and called them stoners etc. but that's just The Rock being The Rock. As I said, depending on how this is followed up on my opinion of the segment may change. However, for now I'm perfectly fine with it. As I've said quite a few times when it comes to Bray, "Time is on his side".
We of course had Rock beat Erick Rowan, which just confirmed that I'm not crazy when I pitched the idea of The Rock & The Usos vs New Day a while back where I said they'd have Rock begging for a Tag the whole match, enter, hit the Rock Bottom, Peoples Elbow and then they've won. Cena's return was pretty well done on the whole- and I'm interested to see who his first feud back will be. All-in-all this was just a really fun segment, and had Mania ended here on an upbeat note of Cena's Return and The Rock being The Rock I think people would have been a lot happier. I'm also happy this segment ended with Rock and Cena leaving together, because as I said- I thought they'd be setting up an angle for Rock wrestling at 33 tonight. THRICE IN A LIFETIME!
Roman Reigns v Triple H- WWE Championship
I said last night, I'm going to be so interested to see what the crowds reactions are to this match once it's gone through Post-Production. There was of course the muting of the crowd last night which made me laugh, but then of course there was that story of them dubbing boos over Roman on Smackdown so who really knows.
I made reference to the Triple H/Randy Orton Main Event in my Predictions and discussing which match would go on last, and this was basically a worse version of it. Through a combination of there just not being much going for this match, Roman being Roman and the crowd being completely exhausted by the time these two went on after an already 6 Hour Long PPV- this was just such a nothing match.
The crowd still had the energy to boo Roman, and chant for NXT Guys- but that was pretty much it. Everything about this match from the moment Stephanie started her monologue was to desperately try and get some boos on Triple H- and as it's been proven in the entire build for this match, it's impossible to do that with how badly Roman's been fucked up since he attacked Triple H at TLC. I wouldn't call the match bad, it was just completely "meh". With it all being topped off by the "Cerebral Assassin" wildly swinging a Sledgehammer at Roman and eating a Spear to lose.
I said in my Takeover Review that's there's no point comparing the two until after Mania's happened- well, now we can compare the two and Takeover wins by an absolute mile. However, Mania's now in the books and there's nothing that can be done about it. The good thing about Wrestling is, there's never a break. The story just keeps on going, and in a split-second all of the perceived negatives about tonight become a non-issue. We've of course got the Night after Wrestlemania RAW tonight, and I'm massively looking forward to it. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be addressed tonight, and a lot of new feuds that have to be made- and I guess we'll only find out how well they do so by watching.
We've got some NXT call-ups to look forward to tonight, with my money being on Enzo and Cass and Samoa Joe, we have Gallows and Anderson in Texas- so you have to assume they're showing up tonight and there's so much more stuff. In short, Mania was a disappointment without a doubt. They completely abandoned logical booking and it killed it for me. However, and granted it may be because I support Fulham and am therefore a glutton for punishment- I'm still looking forward to tonight.
Whether my excitement is well placed can only be found out on here tomorrow for the RAW Review, where hopefully you'll be coming back here for. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed this Review and thanks for reading as always. Hopefully you'll be tagging along on Twitter, and if you haven't already done so and you want to let me know if you want to join the Fantasy WWE thing I do- with the deadline to sign up being basically once RAW's over and I've gone to bed. Thanks again for reading, and Happy Night after Mania RAW Day!
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