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I thought that the money in the bank match was a let down with them relying too much on spots, which soon became little more then repetitive time fillers, but I thought that Kennedy deserved the win. Also what's up with the ref doing the X sign with his arms when Edge went down, I thought that was a bad thing to due, seducing the audience into believing he's genuinely hurt to get some concern . . . not cool. I was surprised at how much this match burned out the audience, Edge delivered about 8 spears in quick succession, which quickly killed the audience, there were very rare occasions where a worker built up what they were about to do, and this hurt the match for me. Too much far too fast.
I was shocked by the mat based match between Benoit and MVP and felt that they could've gone a lot longer then the time allotted although what they were given they shone far more then i expected.
'Taker's entrance in of itself sent shivers down my spine, but why was this match so low in the card ? I felt that Batista's heel play was good and just shows how bad he is at playing face, he needs to turn heel to save his character, in my opinion. Undertaker deserved the win and I couldn't see any other outcome coming from that match.
Cena v Michaels blew my mind, this match proving that a) Michaels still has it and b) that Cena is an excellent worker, who can work with the best. I felt that they both handled the face v face match well, both taking their turns playing heel and beating the other. Their series of reversals towards the end of the match had me on the edge of my seat, 3 or 4 times I was thinking the match was over there and then.
A great match to round up a great Wrestlemania, this match saved the show.
Cheers guys,
Chris Fisher, England
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All I know is that the next time I hear anyone complain that Triple H doesn’t put anyone over I’m gonna go postal. Cena winning 3 main events in a row is a bunch of garbage. Would it kill him to put someone else over for a change. Also I would have rather seen Carlito and Flair rather that the Women’ title match or Kane and Khali (God they were brutally bad). Undertaker and Batista and Money in the bank were easily the best of the night along with a solid effort from Benoit and MVP.
Joseph A. Smith
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Hey All!
I will try to keep it as short and simple as possible, so here we go.
1. Money in The Bank
As usual MITB ladder match was match of the night (IMHO) I can’t say about Edge but I think he was really hurt, or maybe because of his previous injury they did the high risk spot to take him out as well as an excuse to keep his Wrestlemania winning streak. All participants did very well. CM Punk and Mr. Kennedy both were highlight of the match and maybe Punk is FINALLY going to get a decent push. I was expecting Kennedy or Punk to win and Kennedy went over.
2. Kane vs. Khali
As expected, toilet break match. Enough said.
3. Backstage (Legends Dance Party)
Just an ok segment, happy to see legends.
4. Chris Benoit vs. MVP
I was not expecting too much but an OK match. But I was surprised that Benoit put MVP over big time, and MVP also showed he can hang in the ring with someone like Benoit, and it also reminded me last week’s RAW, Benoit vs. Cena (not in a good way) ------ 2nd Best Match of the night (IMHO).
5. Backstage (Boogeyman and Trump)
Why it was there on the first place?
It was good to see HOF Inductees again
6. Undertaker vs. Batista
Again surprisingly a good match and crowd was ALL into IT which made this match more fun to watch. Both men did very well and I think Batista really had his BEST match so far. I was expecting Undertaker to win but still I had some doubt because after all everything goes through Vince and anything can change in seconds. ------ 3rd Best match of the night, again (IMHO). But I am really pissed off on Vince because this match had WINNER OF ROYAL RUMBLE (yes CAPS LOCK ON) and it was suppose to be Main Event, not a mid-card match, hell it was World Championship match and it was BEFORE f’in Lumber Jill, WWE Championship and ECW Originals vs. New Breed matches. This tells us that what Vince thinks about SmackDown.
7. ECW Originals vs. New Breed
Crowd’s response told the story about it. Thanks Vince for first burying ECW name and making Originals nothing but a bunch of fools, and than giving them victory over new Breed. So they can keep jobbing every other week on TV. I really DID NOT expect Originals to win but as J.R. often says, “Strange things happen in Double – Double – E (WWE).â€ÂÂÂ
8. Hair vs. Hair Match
Again, crowd’s response told the story here too. No one was expecting Trump to lose but still it was GOOD (or mix feelings?) to see Vince goes bald. Interesting to hear crowd popped at the very start of hair job and suddenly went into silence. It felt just like somewhere there something is wrong. Maybe WWE fans didn’t want to see Vince goes bald because after all he is the one who appears almost every single week on WWE TV, not Trump.
9. Women';s Championship Lumber Jill match (or whatever the F you want to call it)
I wish I could’ve fast forward it, but at least I got a chance to go for a toilet break
10. Cena vs. Michaels
I would LOVE to say a LOT about it but I will keep it short. Firstly, why in the blue hell it was the main event? Secondly, I remember HBK being the Mr. Wrestlemania and The Showstopper, so what happened in this match? I felt like watching a movie in SLOW f’in MOTION. Where was that HBK who doesn’t give a little chance to his opponent for a small breath? If you take out Kane vs. Khali and Lumber Jill matches, IMHO this was THE WORST MATCH of the night. Only at the end they added some excitement but overall it was really down. Here’s a quick review of Cena’s last 2 WM Main events.
WM-22
1 – HHH makes fun of Cena to tell him on his face that he is better than Cena as WRESTLER.
2 – HHH put some WRESTLING holds on Cena and POOR Cena goes to ropes to escape.
3 – Cena starts his MOVES OF DOOM but after 2 or 3 moves, HHH does a comeback.
4 – HHH gets little more serious and tries to pull out a decent match out of Cena (but eventually FAILS)
5 – Cena and HHH do some OK stuff and try to do some pin falls back and forth AND than
6 – Cena starts doing his MOVES OF DOOM again and this time he successes, but he can’t pin HHH 1-2-3.
7 – Finaly Cena put STFU and HHH taps out (Was anyone shocked!!?)
Now just copy n paste the same under WM-23 heading and you have got another wonderful WM Main event. Only this time there are some more pin fall attempts than last year.
BTW Cena’s entrance sucked BIG TIME. Also what more would you say about Cena when J.R lost words to describe his GREATNESS. I remember him saying something like this, when Cena enters. “Cena has dominated in WWE for past couple of years …. Pause …. Well he is champ for 18 months out of 24.†And that’s all. Come on J.R. I know how hard is your job and I can understand why you can’t find some good words to support Cena. Although he tried his best to keep putting him (Cena) over during the match but it was nothing special.
And now John “The Superman†Cena is OFFICIALLY the winner of 2 MOST PATHETIC WM MAIN EVENTS, that’s being WM-22 and WM-23.
I will watch this week’s RAW only to see what’s next with Mr. McMahon, and then NO MORE RAW. I will keep watching SmackDown though.
Waseem A. Zahid
Melbourne, Australia
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I was there live, and everything was great, right up until I had deja vu and seen the exact same finish in the main event that we did the year before. Only difference was instead of Triple H, it was Shawn Michaels.
Good to see Kennedy is going to get a good push being Mr. Money In The Bank.....Bank, plus the match was good itself.
Undertaker is Undertaker........completely awesome and then some.
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Am I the only one who felt there was 2 storylines going on in the Cena/Michaels Main Event? The Wrestlemania storyline and the personal storyline. Was there a bit of actual problems between the 2. One thing I am trying to figure out and even if I do it may have the same meaning either way. After the fan jumps in the ring and Michaels sits on the turnbuckle he makes a statement. You see him mouth something like "Lets get this sh*t show going. I've got to job to you Cena". Now the more logical statement may have been "Lets get this sh*t show going. I've got a job to do Cena" and then they pan over to Cena and he looks actually ticked off. In fact after watching the show a 2nd time with the thought that their MAY be heat between the two I started to question many of the actions that took place in the match. Whichever statement Michaels made it may have had the same meaning. Just one way would have been more blatant than the other.
Scott Slade
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From Josh G. in Old Bridge, New Jersey
WrestleMania 23 was pretty much what I expected it to be this year. Heading into it I kinda had an idea as to what was going to happen and what WWE was looking to accomplish this year. Kicking it off with Money in the Bank was a smart way to get everyone into "Mania Mode" with some nice spots by all 8 participants. I have to give both Jeff Hardy and Edge credit for the one spot that will be remembered more than any other. Edge being hurt with a broken jaw and all, you shouldn't have been too surprised with him being carried off and later on will help him in saying "he never lost" the match. I loved the Hornswoggle spot as well and I remember saying that at one point he was going to interfere and it would cost him. I love that little guy. Anyway, ending MITB with Punk and Kennedy was a good touch especially that these two will hopefully be apart of the WWE for years to come. Just wished Orton would've had a better chance then he did, poor guy I don't think WWE knows what to do with him anymore.
*Kane and Khali was exactly what JR called it: Bowling Shoe Ugly. It's obvious WWE uses Kane to put over these new monsters like he did with Umaga, but Khali makes Giant Gonzalez look like Rey Mysterio in terms of mobility in the ring. Who knows what WWE is thinking with this one.
*Benoit and MVP was solid and once MVP didn't tap out to the Crossface to end the match, I knew what was in store for the main event sadly. This match could've used another 5 minutes or so because these two have been tearing down the house show circuits and I watched them have a 30 minute match earlier in March. MVP is real deal even if he may be an Under Armor/ Power Ranger ripoff. Liked that Benoit won although I was kinda surprised by it; but glad nonetheless.
*The World Heavyweight Title match was definitely an enjoyable match, I just wish WWE would have booked it to be later in the card to give the match a little more "big time" feel. I understand that Cena and HBK was going to headline but 4th match of the night? Well as pissed as Batista and Taker probably were, they didn't let it stop them from putting on a well paced action packed good ol fashioned brawl with the conclusion we all knew would happen with Taker becoming World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. I'm glad he won and hopefully he'll keep up his weekly appearances on Smackdown like he has instead of resorting to his usual "after mania sabbatical" where all we get is promos via the titan tron. For all the negativity that Batista has gotten as of late, he really did put in more than a solid effort and it makes me wonder had he put this much effort in all of his matches, would he and Taker be in the main event position instead? Let's hope for Batista's and Smackdown's sake he's learned his lesson and will work harder to improve and stick to it so that next year Smackdown's main match won't be thrown on half-way throughout the show.
*Watching the ECW Originals-New Breed match I started thinking to myself if this will be the last WrestleMania that RVD competes in. I seriously hope not but at the same time hope that WWE realizes that we all make mistakes and they shouldn't continue to hold his summer incident over him anymore. He remains one of the most popular guys still and in my opinion is the face of ECW so if they want to keep it around, he needs to be a focal point hands down. Other than those thoughts, the match was what it was short and simple and in another shock I was amazed the New Breed didn't pick up the W in this one but still it was great seeing Dreamer, Sandman, and Sabu get their WrestleMania moment along with the whole F'n show, RVD in what I hope starts a new push for him in the future.
*Battle of the Billionaires was the most hyped and publicized match that I've seen in recent memory. When you add Trump to the mix, you should expect to garner a lot of attention from everywhere and that's why McMahon wanted to do this. For the past 3 years, Mania was in 20,000 seat arenas. To jump into a 70,000 seat arena but which turned out to be 80,100 something fans, you better be putting on something big and I believe WWE accomplished that. Having Vince McMahon strapped into the barber chair and seeing his facial expressions with Austin holding him in while Trump and Lashley shaved his head was priceless. It's what you come to expect from him since he will do almost anything for his company. Lashley got the big time rub being in the big match situation although he's starting to suffer from Cena syndrome so that is something that will need to be addressed, Umaga got his Mania spot which was a great one for him. It didn't matter what two guys were in this, the match wasn't about them anyway. Austin was great throughout the whole match breaking apart the two after failed attempts with the 5 count and did a good job selling the spike making Umaga look like a big deal. How about the Shane-O-Mac run in with the Van-Terminator he's made famous? I don't know if anyone else caught this but we've become used to seeing Stone Cold come out, drink a beer, stun somebody and that's it but tonight.. what he did to Shane after the match made me think Austin's got more in his tank then he lets on and sooner rather than later I hope we get to see him in the ring for one more match. Great job by everybody in this one.
*Women's title match was short and simple like Kane and Khali. Nobody really expected much and all WWE accomplished was getting all the divas out for one match this way they all made the PPV. Fine by me, great to look at but glad it was kept short.
*The WWE Championship had that WrestleMania feel to it and the video package leading in made this match just a little more special than any other tonight. HBK was HBK and I was definitely not disappointed at all. Every year, he manages to up the anyone more time and put on a showstopping performance unlike any other. For John Cena, better entrance this year but still booed out of the building again. As the match went on it seemed just like last year, everything he did he was booed for and everything HBK did, they loved it but deep down we all knew HBK was not walking out of Mania champion. Whether we like it or not, Cena is the man in the WWE now and the match helped him cement his status in the company more than it would for HBK. Would I have loved to see Shawn walk out champ? Of course, but Cena is the new phenomenon and with his in ring skills improving little by little and being able to take the audience on a emotional roller coaster story telling wise throughout most of his matches, people are starting to see what WWE has already known and has been trying to force us to understand. He may not be Austin or the Rock because there can only be one of each but he's the future of the business and the man that's been given the ball and asked to take the company on his back and do his best. Tonight, he did just like most nights and while I personally am not a fan of his character because to this day I'm still confused whether he's a Marine or a rapper, I appreciate his willingness to improve and his understanding of his position and the fact that he takes it as serious as he does and doesn't take it for granted. This guy has to be the busiest man in the business today and while he's making money selling merch and being the champ, he's definitely been the biggest draw for the company hands down because even the haters pay to come out and boo him. All in all, this was the perfect choice to be the main even although Taker won the rumble and usually by tradition, his match should have headlined. This match reminded me of what WM14 should have been had HBK been healthy. Now while Cena is no Austin by any means, his style is very similar and the opening sequence of the match brought me back to WM14 with HBK getting the upper hand earlier on by out wrestling the brawler in this case being Cena. While it started a little slow, it picked up and the crowd remained quiet due to the fact they hada know Cena was winning along with them being there for 4 hours; after a while it gets to be a little tiring. Glad HBK got to headline and HHH wasn't in a main event this year although I wish he would have never been injured. Things this year had a better feel without him being featured in a main event and we all were reminded that HBK can still be the man and hopefully will get one more chance to prove it sometime down the line but for now John Cena is on top of the mountain for reasons some of us will never accept but also in knowing it is what it is and he's the man and will continue to be because WWE is all about creating new stars and while it hasn't been a complete success, they aren't going to stop trying so we should all just accept that this is the way it's going to go and enjoy being "all grown up". WrestleMania comes only once a year and every year I feel like a little kid again, this year was no different and I can't wait till next year.
