This year's Wrestlemania was certainly a mixed bag - excellent matches, throwaway matches, non-existent matches, bad booking... somewhat disappointing, but made worth it by some quality wresting. Let's have a look at my predictions:
"1 Edge (with Christian) (c) vs. Alberto Del Rio (with Brodus Clay) Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
This has a lot of potential, I predict Del Rio will win, and I’m hoping it will be a clean win. At worst, this will be a decent match, though I worry that with the inclusion of Brodus Clay at ring-side, there will be some bullshit booking... or maybe not, I forget that this is WWE and not TNA, so I’m optimistic."
Man, DelRio was buried in this one. It was a great match, especially the last couple of minutes. Good opener, shame DelRio didn't win though. For a world title match on PPV a though, there was nothing out of the ordiary. I was very suprised that this was the opener.
Match rating: ***
"2 The Miz (c) vs. John Cena Singles match for the WWE Championship
Does anyone really give a shit about this match? I’ve written on this blog before that Miz is not a convincing champion. On last weeks Raw he said something along the lines of “I’m more imposing than Andre the Giant, I’m a better technical wrestler that Bret Hart, I’m a better athlete that Shawn Michaels...” etc. I’m pretty sure that the reaction they wanted from this promo wasn’t a universal “are you fuck”. If I were to book Miz as a champion, I would have have him say the opposite, that he’s not as good as any of these guys, but that he will keep hold of the title because he’s smart and will bend the rules to keep it. He could win by count-outs, getting himself DQed, etc. Granted he would lose the matches, but he would keep the title, which to him would be the most important thing. Over time, this will lead to fans really wanting to see a top babyface like Cena kick his ass and win the title. It’s an old school way of booking, but it would create a heel who is lamentable, and not just an after –thought. Should be a decent match though. Cena will win, and I am sure the Rock will raise his hand and Rock Bottom the Miz."
The booking of this match was terrible, it felt like a bad TNA PPV ending. Replace the Rock with Bischoff and picture what happened again - it's bullshit booking and you know it. This was a bad match, Cena was booed out of the house and the crowd hated the ending. Miz won because of a screwjob courtesy of the Rock. They then had the Rock bear the shit out of the Miz, just to make him look like the biggest pussy ever - exactly what you want in your champion.
"3 Triple H vs. The Undertaker No Holds Barred match
I can’t wait for this match, not because it will be a brilliant match (I’m sure it will be very good), but because it will hopefully mean the end of long boring promos from Triple H. Undertaker to win."
This was an awesome match, and was by far the best match of the evening. Taker won, but my God he earned it. This match was intense, the selling and ring psychology alone made this absolutely compelling to watch - the younger guys on the roster could learn a lot from watching this. The story of this match was fantastic, and the ending was brilliant, I even thought for a split second that Triple H was going going to win. When Undertaker kicked out of the Tombstone, I couldn't believe it. This was the only match on the card that felt like an awesome Wrestlemania match. Going into this, I wasn't sure how good it would be, but I'm glad it supassed my expectations. A classic.
Match rating: *****
"4 Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole (with Jack Swagger) Singles match with special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin.
This is a classic Wrestlemania style match, and I can’t wait to see it. It’s not going to be the best wrestling match, but it’s going to be entertaining. There’s no way this can be as bad as the clusterfuck of a Bret Hart match last year, and the build up has been spectacular. Lawler to win, Cole to get a Stunner."
This match was far too long. Cole clearly couldn't wrestle, the match was funny and Michael Cole look ridiculous, but it wasn't promoted as a comedy match. This should have been a five minute squash match with Stone Cold stunnering Cole. Then there was a screwjob and Cole won. This will no doubt lead to a second match... I think this match has killed the feud for me. It was better than the Bret Hart match of last year, but it was still pretty bad... Booker T got stunnered at the end, so that was good.
Matchrating: *
"5 Randy Orton vs. CM Punk Singles match
This feud reminds me of TNA style feud, and I’m pretty sure that this match was meant to be CM Punk versus Cena. In basic terms, a heel wants to get revenge on a babyface who kicked him and his friends in the head, and had cost Punk his title. Unless this match ends with a double turn, I’m not sure who the fans are meant to cheer for. I will, of course, be cheering for Punk, though I predict a win for Orton... boo!"
Again, this was a good match, but it felt a bit like a rerun of the spots they did on Raw. Again, this didn't feel like a Wrestlemania match, but it was solid.
Match rating: ***
"6 Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes Singles match
The build-up to this match has been the highlight of Smackdown. Though much of the feud has been lifted from the El Generico/Kevin Steen feud, it has still be great and Rhodes’ new persona is great. Let’s hope they keep it going and never go back to him being “dashing”... because that sells PPVs, right? Mysterio to win, and I’m pretty sure it will be a very good match."
This was a really well-worked match, but again, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It was a very good match, but still it didn't have that Wrestlemania feel to it... it was almost as if they had been told not to steal the show... I really liked the finish to this one, but it wasn't a blowaway match.
Match rating: ***
"7 Trish Stratus, Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler and LayCool (Layla and Michelle McCool) (with Vickie Guerrero) 6-person mixed tag team match
Another classic Wrestlemania style match. I can’t wait to go and get a drink while this is on. I hope that most of the match will be Morrison and Ziggler going at it. I’m sure the match will end with Snooki getting Vicky G to tap out."
Short but sweet, Snooki did some crazy-ass flips and got the pin on Michelle pretty quickly. Throwaway match, but entertaining.
Match rating: **
"8 Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan Singles match for the United States Championship
This is the match I want to see. I can see Sheamus winning, but it will be an excellent match. I can’t wait!"
FUCKING HELL - I was really pumped for this match, they were even advertising it on the pre-show, and then, erm, nothing. They'd apparently had it as a dark match, a fucking dark match! I'm furious about this. This was the tipping point for me actually buying this PPV. If they were injured, fair enough - but they weren't. If they ran short of time, cut the skits with Hornswaggle, and the video packages, and John Cena's choir entrance, or the throwaway Kame match... grrr...
9 Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov vs. The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater) 8-man Tag Team match
Who gives a shit? This will be awful. I’m pretty sure that Kane et al will win... and no one will care.
Short but shit - waste of time.
Match rating: *
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