The Official Wrestlemania 29 thread: #PrayingforTPWWServers

[BigCrippyZ]

Was it the worst WM ever? No, probably not, but it definitely was one of the weaker ones in the last decade or so. I'm actually glad they put the emphasis on wrestling and cut out any backstage segments, etc.

One of my problems with the show was there was no "Holy shit! This is Wrestlemania. Damn, I'm glad I ordered this PPV!" moment. Undertaker winning AGAIN adds a little of that feel to it, but that in and of itself is not enough of a moment anymore. With the exception of the Lesnar/HHH match, every match was practically the same, a basic match with no stipulations or gimmicks, with little to no build up or reason for it.

The other problem I have is that, when you really get down to it, nothing really interesting happened, especially when it comes to the WWE title scene. Wow, Cena won and celebrated. Great, now what? Why the hell should I tune into RAW? I'm planning on watching, but I'm not looking forward to it or anything. I'm not going to waste my DVR space on it and if I happen to miss it for some reason, oh well.

[whiteyford]

Was kinda hit and miss for me, enjoyed Punk/'Taker, tag match and Del Rio/Swagger but everything else was kinda meh.

[Schlomey]

God i wish I could shin kick half of you guys.

[Keith]

God i wish I could shin kick half of you guys.

Easy there, Kevin Ware.

[Schlomey]

on a dare, i pulled your hair, while on a stair, while you scream this isn't fair!

[Savio]

Finally...............

Wrestlemania time baby!!!!!! I came to watch Dean Ambrose kick some ass tonight.
How did this go unnoticed?

[Cool King]

I think WrestleMania was good but it wasn't as good as WrestleMania XXVIII.

Personally, I think that the match of the night was Undertaker/Punk. I also loved Punk's attire colour.

The Shield winning was great. I really like The Shield, especially Roman Reigns. Ambrose is slowly growing on me with most of my love for him being due to his mic skills. Orton tagging himself in looked to be going the way I thought the match would end, with an Orton heel turn. I actually thought Orton would be pissed that Sheamus got pinned and then hit him with an RKO. But Big Show knocking both guys out pretty much places him back as a heel.

Mark Henry/Ryback was good though the end was pretty meh and it does leave open a rematch at Extreme Rules which I think will be good.

Team Hell No/Ziggler & Langston was a really good tag team match. Langston still hasn't won me over yet and he just seems like a normal guy. Nothing really stands out with him other than his constantly moving tongue, which by the way, is highly irritating. I know something is supposed to make him stand out as I'm told this whenever I watch Raw, but when I watch him, I just see a heel Bobby Lashley, but with hair. Bobby Lashley was boring.

Fandango's Entrance was fantastic. I expected him to win and I'm pretty happy he did. Even if it was at the expense of Jericho. There were some "sloppy" moments from him but I'm putting that down to nerves on Fandango's part.

Del Rio/Swagger surprised me. I was so sure Swagger would win. I really wanted him to win. I didn't like the fact though that Swagger got a jobber entrance at WrestleMania. Judging by the photos on WWE.com, Swagger's entrance looked like it would have been cool to see. Instead, he just suddenly appears in the ring, though at least he/Zeb got some mic time. I don't know why but I actually laughed a bit when Zeb said "and something called Yiddish". Also, the "Angry Zeb" reaction was great/comical.

I get the feeling Swagger didn't get an entrance because of P. Diddy. Who, by the way, was pretty bad. Living Color on the other hand were awesome. I really enjoyed listening to them play, which is rare for me to do when watching WrestleMania.

Speaking of all that, Undertaker/CM Punk was great. Once again, Undertaker's match steals the show at WrestleMania. It was easily the match of the night for me and judging by what I'm reading on the interwebs, it's not just me that thinks that. Some small things I liked were the entrances, though Undertaker's did come across as a little bit "90's" to me but was still good and Living Color was awesome, as said before. Undertaker getting his own personal name graphic was cool along with Punk's attire.

Triple H/Brock Lesnar was meh. Some good moments, but other than that, it didn't really stand out much. Though the right hook to Michaels from Lesnar was great. Judging by the end of the match, it actually busted his nose.

John Cena/The Rock wasn't really that great either. Personally, I think their first match was better. This match just seemed like it was mostly reversals and them trying to do each others moves but failing as they would be reversed.

Overall, WrestleMania was good. I enjoyed it and I'm happy I ordered it. I look forward to Raw tonight and to SmackDown to see what the aftermath is. Also, I'm curious to see what will happen with the 8-man tag guys.

Finally, it was weird not having any backstage segments at WrestleMania. It was just match, advert, match, advert, match, P. Diddy, match and so on.

[Poit]

It was a good WrestleMania. It just didn't have any moment that will be forever ingrained in your mind until the end of time.

Finally, it was weird not having any backstage segments at WrestleMania. It was just match, advert, match, advert, match, P. Diddy, match and so on.

This pretty much sums up my opinions. There was no "holy crap, look who's here" moment. There was no big "Wrestlemania moment", though the throng of damned souls reaching up toward the Undertaker was close.

[Team Sheep]

Finally, it was weird not having any backstage segments at WrestleMania. It was just match, advert, match, advert, match, P. Diddy, match and so on.

Wrestlemania is just becoming a stage for Vince to show off to his sponsors and potential sponsors. We had the Sandy relief video, the special Olympics thing, the half a million dollars to the troops thing. Was never ending. I always enjoy a few cool backstage segments at Mania.

I think it's also partially why we never see any storyline development at Wrestlemania anymore, because these once a year viewers wouldn't have a clue what the fuck is going on. No heel/face turns, no cash ins, no interferences, no returns, etc. Those are saved for lesser shows as Wrestlemania sells itself. I can understand that but it's a shame sometimes when the golden opportunities for it are there screaming at you in the face.

[#1-norm-fan]

Felt weird not having a National Anthem. It really showed how much of a "This is event is a national treasure" feel it adds to it.

[DAMN iNATOR]

No “America The Beautiful” or military flyover either...

Pretty fucking awful show overall.

[BigCrippyZ]

God i wish I could shin kick half of you guys.

Why? Because we have opinions and express them in a public forum on the subject? Seriously, why?

[Juan]

Kinda baffled that people are complaining that there was no America The Beautiful or backstage segments.

[#1-norm-fan]

I thought the end with Cena and Rock, while predictable, was pretty perfect. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice the ability to surprise in favor of going with what wraps things up in a nice little bow.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>One of the dirtsheets said the 8 person tag, America the Beautiful, and several backstage skits all got cut in the afternoon. It was determined the top 3 matches needed more time. But really, I always assumed the top 3 matches were going to get at least 20 apiece. Hell, Lesnar/HHH got 24 minutes and I actually think it would have been better if 5 minutes were chopped off of it, not that that would ever happen.

Also if that report is true that they knew all that shit was going to be cut really early on - the least they could have done was throw the 8 person tag on the pre-show as well. Probably would have been nice to put everybody else left off as lumberjacks for the IC Title match since I'm sure a skit cut was a comedy segment involving Santino, 3MB, PTP, etc. but at the very least let the people there are told they'll be wrestling in front of 80,000 people actually get the chance to do so.

Or, you know, not end the PPV at 10:45 PM. They easily could have put that extra 15 minutes to use.</font>

[#1-norm-fan]

A crazy turn would have been a great shocker but apparently that's not the direction they wanna go long-term. So as it stands, Cena's story gets a happy ending and his fans got the moment they had been waiting 2 years for PLUS the title to boot.

[Schlomey]

That's funny cuz I thought Cena/Rock had about 10 minutes too long.

[#1-norm-fan]

<font color=goldenrod>

Or, you know, not end the PPV at 10:45 PM. They easily could have put that extra 15 minutes to use.</font>

When has a PPV ever ended right at the hour though? They do it to prevent any chance of an over-run which would be a disaster as the cable companies would shut off the PPV prematurely.

[Keith]

Yeah, WWE doesn't need to pull off a Halloween Havoc.

[Evil Vito]

<font color=goldenrod>They used to get way closer to 11 than they do now. I can understand 10:55 or something...but ending the show 15 minutes early and then blaming time constraints seems like weak reasoning to me.

A couple years ago they actually ended a show at like 10:30</font>

[#1-norm-fan]

lol. Yeah, I think it was the ECW PPV that ended a half an hour or maybe more early.

But the thing is it's probably a pretty delicate process, getting the time right. You cut, cut, cut, see if you can throw something else in, then leave time for the main event. If things are going slow and then need to hurry up and go home, you leave plenty of time and whatnot. Better safe than sorry.

[Keith]

It's kinda weird WWE couldn't work everything into a 4 hour show, considering they now run a 3 hour show weekly.

But whatever. Diddy needed his on-air time, I guess.

[CSL]

Kinda baffled that people are complaining that there was no America The Beautiful or backstage segments.

especially when every year you see "goddd another backstage segment, they could have used to that to give more time to the ________ match" or "why is this culturally relevant singer at WrestleMania" and so forth. There will always be complaints, no matter what

[CSL]

I thought the end with Cena and Rock, while predictable, was pretty perfect. Sometimes you gotta sacrifice the ability to surprise in favor of going with what wraps things up in a nice little bow.

Absolutely. If people want unpredictable for the sake of unpredictable, they should go and download the WCW Russo era

[Team Sheep]

Why's the timing so strict for PPV? Why can't they have a 15 minute flexible over run like Raw does?

I think I remember 27 going right up to the hour pretty much. They had to rush the Cena/Miz ending like crazy.

[#1-norm-fan]

America the Beautiful at the beginning of WrestleMania is fucking awesome to me. Oddly enough, this discussion was had in another thread a week or so ago.

[#1-norm-fan]

Why's the timing so strict for PPV? Why can't they have a 15 minute flexible over run like Raw does?

Think of it as a 2 and a half hour PPV. Then you always have a flexible overrun.

[#1-norm-fan]

If they over-run the hour, the cable company would shut it off before the PPV ended.

[VSG]

Still cant get over how huge and fit Brock was last night.

[CSL]

WrestleMania vitamins

[VSG]

New side plates already on the WWE championship:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IFUVXA1ZMaU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Tazz Dan]

Kinda baffled that people are complaining that there was no America The Beautiful or backstage segments.

It just felt weird having no backstage segments, and to me felt there was no break in the show because of it. Like CK said it was match, video, match etc.

I also agree with what CSL said, yeah some people complain about them when they're pointless and overkill with them, but to have none at all kinda seemed dumb to me. They could have dropped one of the video packages surely?

[Team Sheep]

If they over-run the hour, the cable company would shut it off before the PPV ended.

Do American PPV channels not have humans at hand to keep it on an extra 5 minutes?

[DAMN iNATOR]

New side plates already on the WWE championship:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IFUVXA1ZMaU?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Cena just has to ruin everything doesn't he?

[ron the dial]

Do American PPV channels not have humans at hand to keep it on an extra 5 minutes?
they are at hand to make sure that it doesn't overrun.

[James Steele]

Yes.

[James Steele]

I hate the gimmicky side plates. The belt still struggles to look like something worth dying over.

[James Steele]

http://belttalk.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/UZy7m.jpg

I can see why two men would fight to the ends of the earth with broken bones and blood all over them for that.

[CSL]

only for them to then spell yr name wrong

[Cool King]

Cena just has to ruin everything doesn't he?

What has he ruined?

[James Steele]

What has he ruined?

Almost every WrestleMania I've ordered for the last 7 years. :p

On a serious note, I'm over the whole "CENA WINS!" thing but I can't bring myself to like him as a main event babyface. I don't like seeing him win. I get that he is a nice guy, he is a great PR guy, and is the top draw. I just am tired of him. Even after almost 2 years without the belt, I still don't like seeing him in the main event winning as the plucky babyface. There has been no real growth or development in the character. He gets super serious a handful times a year, but nothing is a sustained change in the character. I have the same feelings toward his character that I do toward TNA - total apathy. I've given up hope that they will ever do anything meaningful with the character other than what they have done since 2005. FFS, even Hogan had to change after awhile and Cena is nowhere near the star Hogan was as the #1 vanilla good guy.

It is also borderline insulting as a viewer when they push the idea that if Cena lost to The Rock again he'd forever be known as the guy who couldn't win the big one. Any fan whose been watching for more than 2 years would know otherwise. It gets worse if you consider the fact Rocky lost the belt to Austin TWICE at WrestleMania. I loved how Rock talked about that, failing in the CFL, etc. when Cena said Rock never had to deal with failure. As over the top as The Rock is, he was still more grounded in reality than Cena. Cena seems to be in this perpetual bizarro world where he is both invincible and insanely vulnerable at the same time. It is an inherent fact that a guy like Cena will only be the underdog in 2% of his matches based off his 10 years in WWE. That was what made Rock/Cena, Brock/Cena, and even Punk/Cena so damn intriguing. They FELT like legitimate threats to Cena instead of just token attempts at making him the underdog or getting sympathy.

The way the WWE books the Cena character almost feels like they are taunting you for watching him since he became WWE Champion at WrestleMania 21. Which is why 90% of fans with hairy testicles who aren't just casual fans boo the fuck out of him.

[whiteyford]

I could take him more seriously if he sold, some of his recoveries just completely ruin it for me, I get its scripted but c'mon act like you actually took a beating 30secs ago.

[James Steele]

That said, Cena has put on great matches, had great moments, and all that good stuff. It is just the aura they have put around Cena that doesn't work for real long-term wrestling fans in the modern era.

[Cool King]

I could take him more seriously if he sold, some of his recoveries just completely ruin it for me, I get its scripted but c'mon act like you actually took a beating 30secs ago.

That just reminds of the time he got DDT'd on to concrete and was up walking about the ring like nothing happened, five minutes later.

[teamXtremist]

cena rock was good not sure if better than last season.of course everyone knew cena was going over.

couldnt get into taker punk knowing full well punk never had a chance.21-0


brock hhh was great even though we knew hhh was getting his. while worse match of the night goes to fandangsuck whos only offense was repeated leg drops from the top rope

[VSG]

This looks even worse with Cena's plates on it now:

http://www.pwmania.com/artman/wp-content/gallery/cena-wwe-belt/004.jpg

[James Steele]

What has changed from when Cena got boo'd versus Angle in 05, boo'd versus Triple H in 06, boo'd versus Shawn Michaels in 07, boo'd versus everybody in 08, boo'd versus Edge in 2009, boo'd versus Batista in 2010, boo'd versus The Rock since 2011, etc? Nothing. He is the guy who is pushed as the eternal underdog despite never being the underdog. Even when he didn't have the title for over a year and had the worst year of his life - he still headlined most PPVs, beat Brock Lesnar, won Superstar of the Year, and ended up winning the Rumble and vanquishing all is foes 3 months into 2013.

It isn't illogical hate, it is a shitty and shallow character that fans who actually are invested in the product emotionally and not in the 3rd grade have decided they are tired of. Luckily, Cena is a good enough worker and works with other characters who are way more interesting to allow them to find a way to get into the Cena character and his matches - mainly by rooting against him. Just like most people hate the Yankees but they always get good ratings.

[James Steele]

In many ways, it shows Vince's brilliance because he has found a way to make money off of marketing to kids by giving them the ultimate good guy hero and still finding a way to maintain the 18-35 demographic that stuck through the post-Attitude era by giving them the anti-heel heel. Austin was the anti-hero hero and Cena is the anti-villain villain. Cena has arguably been the top heel and top babyface simultaneously since 2006.

[teamXtremist]

exactly people are tired of cena hes stale, boring and lame.old school fans want to vomit at his sight.

[James Steele]

Basically, it all boils down to the fact that Vince McMahon has been mindfucking us for decades and is still doing it better than ever despite us all thinking he has lost his fucking mind.

[James Steele]

exactly people are tired of cena hes stale, boring and lame.old school fans want to vomit at his sight.


To most long-term fans, yes. I can see the appeal of Cena to casual fans and kids. It makes sense. Cena is pretty likeable if you just watch RAW once in awhile. If you watch WWE year round for years, Cena is stale.

[whiteyford]

That just reminds of the time he got DDT'd on to concrete and was up walking about the ring like nothing happened, five minutes later.

Or the cage match with Dolph where he just sprinted up the cage.

And fuck me if that STF isn't the weakest looking submission ever.

[mike adamle]

Just finished watching. Whilst predictable, this was the most fun I've had watching a wrestling show since WrestleMania XIX. Feel like Taker-Punk was the best match of the streak. I feel like I'm the only one who loved Brock-HHH. And I thought Rock-Cena was awesome and much better than last year. Awesome show. Dunno why you guys weren't entertained, but I had a blast.

[teamXtremist]

i also enjoyed the shield getting the w at mania

[Tommy Gunn]

So basically, Cena is Hogan in 1994.

[whiteyford]

With hair.

[Volare]

....and hand away from the ear and put in front of the face...

[Shadrick]

...brother.

[rob11]

The whole Rock walking out thing assuming it is not a work obviously means he was pissed about something. We can agree he didn't mind jobbing to Cena but I wonder exactly what got him to walk out because a wrestler doesn't walk out because he just disagrees with an ending. This was something that really pissed him off.

[Lock Jaw]

weird that I was rooting for them to kiss there?

http://i.minus.com/ivaVh5TmWixJK.gif

Hot.

[Lock Jaw]

http://i.minus.com/i2ztug70XJIIv.gif

[Corndad]

http://i.minus.com/i2ztug70XJIIv.gif

Best moment of the night. Bryan was Legit smiling walking back after that.

[Cool King]

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/6780/1365418204574.gif

[Cool King]

http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/7746/1365400014662.gif