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For the first time in over four years, I purchased a WWE PPV. And for the first time in over three years, I went into WrestleMania caring about it. They did a very good job setting this event up, and I'm happy to say it lived up to WrestleMania expectations. Was this the best WM ever? Far from it. But it was a definite WrestleMania-quality WrestleMania. There were no dog matches on the show (and I'm including the women's match in that equation because it served its purpose. After all, we all have to pee eventually, right?) The Money in the Bank match was the expected and fun spotfest and showcase, and it was fun to go into it really not sure who would win the thing. Kane-Khali was a decent big man's match, and Khali's certainly come a long way. He seems competent and confident in the ring now and his moves look like they have impact. Benoit and MVP was a good match too, and I don't think the loss hurts MVP at all. He looked like he belonged and he really looked like he matched up well with Benoit. He has a great gimmick and a great presence, and there's no reason to think in 2-3 years that he can't be a major player in the company. Undertaker-Batista was very good; it was good to see Batista hold up his end and this was the best showing UT has had in years at the big event. The worst thing about this match was Michael Cole, but I'm not blaming Cole for that. I know the producers are in his ear feeding him lines, and the whole routine with screaming stuff like "The streak is over!" and "New champion!" automatically tells us before the count even starts that it won't be a 3-count. It's tired announcer booking! The ECW match was no better than a TV match, but it was still fine, and it was very nice as an "ECW Original" myself (being one of the early jumpers-on) to see the triumphant arms held high by the winners for what will be the first (Dreamer, Sandman, Sabu) and likely only/last (RVD and the earlier list) time at WrestleMania. The Battle of the Billionaires was a fun match that was booked just enough to not be overbooked. Trump was a hoot, beating up Vince and even taking the Stunner afterwards (and taking it CORRECTLY!). Finally, Cena-Michaels was a damn good main event with lots of drama, some nice blood and a good story told. I found Cena's car crash ring entrance more weird than anything else, but it was certainly different. The show was solid, a definite thumbs-up. It was great to see WrestleMania in a stadium again, the pyro and lighting and overall look of the event really felt like something huge for the first time in years. I spent fifty bucks on this and I'm satisfied.
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I thought Wrestlemania 23 was a good show. I don't think it will go down as one of the best ever Manias but it's certainly not one of the worst. I felt the big matches delivered which, for me anyway, made it well worth watching. Here's my thoughts on the matches:
The Money in the Bank match was carnage as expected and it had some really cool spots. I must admit though I'm pissed off that Edge's undefeated streak at Wrestlemania is now over. Undertaker vs Edge should have been a future Wrestlemania match. Still, a good match.
Khali vs Kane was what we all feared - and worse. Brutal stuff. Can't believe Ric Flair missed out on Wrestlemania but Khali made the show. Unbelievable.
Chris Benoit and MVP had a nice match. Benoit brought out a good bout from the young man and I was pleased Benoit retained.
The backstage bit with Trump and Boogeyman was pretty dumb. I wonder how Jim Cornette would have reacted to Trump showing no fear in front of Boogey?
Undertaker vs Batista was way better than I expected. Undertaker going through the table was crazy and Batista looked motivated for once. I guess these guys were determined to make a point after missing out on the main event. I'm very happy that Taker's streak continues and that he finally has the title once again.
Lashley vs Umaga was a nice, solid match. The result was predictable but the finish was still entertaining. Vince is great in these sort of situations. Vince now looks a lot like Bob Backlund wouldn't you say? I was shocked to see Trump take a stunner and I popped for that even though it wasn't a great stunner in fairness. Still better than the one Linda took though.
I must admit I got up to get a snack for the Ashley/Melina match. I'm pleased Melina retained.
The main event between Cena and Michaels was my favorite match of the evening. Cena's entrance was very stylish. I felt HBK took Cena to the best match of his career tonight. Cena had a nasty gash on the back of his head but it just made the match more compelling. The reversals were awesome and Michael's facial expressions really added to the contest. Little things like the look of desperation on his face as he crawled over to Cena after hitting the Super Kick, and the look of panic as he was about to get locked in the STFU really drew me into the match. Very good performance tonight from both men. I don't know why people are so hostile towards John Cena as he has improved dramatically in the last couple of months.
Overall a very satisfying show in my opinion. The good definitely outweighed the bad.
Gerard Doyle, Dublin, Ireland.
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Wrestlemania was spectacular this year! It was well worth the price of the Pay Per View. The size of the crowd was amazing.
Money in the Bank was a crazy match, as expected. There were some serious “Holy Crap†moments. Breathtaking stuff all around in this outing.
Benoit and MVP had a good mat based match. Classic Benoit material with lots of suplexes and old school hard hitting chops.
Kane and Khali had a first-rate battle of giants. The power of these two is amazing. Khali and Kane are superhuman.
The ECW match was high-quality with RVD looking strong, but the match seemed rushed. I never thought I would see Sabu and Sandman wrestle in front of such a huge crowd. I guess that's what you call a Wrestlemania Moment.
Melina and Ashley tried to work hard, but they weren't clicking as wrestlers. On the other hand, they are both gorgeous so everyone wins in that regard.
Batista was right… he did have the match of his career. The only problem was that Undertaker carried him through 90% of the endeavor. Oh well, at least Undertaker is 15-0 and the NEW Heavyweight Champ!
The Battle of the Billionaires exceeded my expectations. I figured Vince would end up bald, but I was expecting a crappy match. What turned out was that Lashley and Umaga had a long, competitive match with both guys showing lots of effort and guts. Austin made the post celebration hilarious with his Stunner on Trump. Vintage Stone Cold Steve Austin.
The main event was a really solid effort. The spike pile-driver was wicked looking. I’ll be amazed if Cena didn't suffer a concussion. Shawn Michaels was really good in putting Cena over, although I had expected Michaels to win. I guess I can’t predict everything in WWE.
Sean
Baltimore, MD
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Sadly the WWE dropped the ball with the ending of this year's Wrestlemania. First, when you have people pay $50 for a four hour ppv it should be a four hour ppv. This thing ended almost thirty minutes early. Secondly, at WM22 Cena beats HHH with the STFU in the middle of the ring. Tonight at WM23 Cena beats HBK with the STFU in the middle of the ring. Is WWE creative that bad or is there something up with that?
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This show was AWESOME! It was worth the 50 dollars!
Cena and HBK had slow dull match and it only picked up in the last 5-6 minutes. They were laying down for over half the match. Every time they hit each other they would fall down and take a break!
The MITB was okay! Some good spots but all the wrestlers looked sloppy to start the match but then they picked it up later.
The match of the night by far was Undertaker and Batista. This was an AWESOME MATCH and the crowd was really into it. This should have closed the show for sure. It was nonstop action and BOTH guys worked really hard. Everyone says how Batista does not bust it anymore well he busted it tonight and silenced his critics.
A two THUMBS UP SHOW!
Jim Vencel,
Ontario Canada!
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All in all I thought it was a good pay per view, worth $50.00 maybe. I would have changed the order of the matches, Battle of the Billionaires and World Title matches should have been last. I don't know why they had one title match half way through and then four matches and then the women's title right before the main event? Other than that thought it was pretty good.
Patrick O'Neal
Zillah, WA
