WRESTLEMANIA 41

[xrodmuc316]

This thread is for anybody who wants to post about Wrestlemania 41 come May 8th or whenever the next time the Forum is up :cool:

[Mr. Nerfect]

I’m looking forward to WrestleMania weekend. Even tried watching Bloodsport. Stand & Deliver should be good if the talent aren’t sleep-deprived zombies.

[Mr. Nerfect]

Night 1 was pretty good. The spectacle itself was the most impressive part, which is never the world’s best sign. The worst thing was probably Naomi vs. Jade, which was better than I expected. But nothing really got up to a classic level.

Best was probably Jacob/LA Knight. But boy is that El Grande Americano something. Where did they find that guy?

[Mr. Nerfect]

I did well in my predictions. Only thing I got wrong was the main event because I thought that outcome was too obvious. I hope it makes for some interesting TV.

[Lock Jaw]

https://i.imgur.com/fqZy2az.jpeg

Lyra: "They are not responding to the pageantry at all!"

[Lock Jaw]

My thoughts copy and pasted from the other boards:

Anyways, watched night 1 and night 2 today... just finished up night 2.

My thoughts:

Night 1

Jey Uso vs Gunther was kind of a dud. lol @ Gunther tapping out in 2 seconds to a freaking sleeper hold. Jey was always gonna win, but at least just have him pin the dude. My sentiments about Jey Uso or Gunther haven't really changed. Gunther is still a midcard dude who was playing world champ (although I guess the title itself is a midcard title playing a world title), and Jey has been kind of undercut by becoming a cartoon character. He's over, but his matches and moments just can't have the same kind of weight and emotion behind them.

New Day vs War Raiders was a match. Two real duds to start the show, really.

Jade vs Naomi turned out to be the first interesting match on the card, and I ended up liking the match for what it was. Jade's ring gear was weird.... someone in here was making comments about her messed up spine, and I was thinking the exact same thing until I noticed she was wearing a bodysuit. Like.... why? It just looked odd.

Jacob Fatu vs LA Knight was enjoyable. Fatu winning is cool, cause I feel like LA Knight is kind of "over". Not as in "over with the fans" but like that his flash in the pan has come and gone already.

Enjoyed El Grande Americano's Wrestlemania debut and was pleasantly surprised that he pulled out the win. I hope he goes to AAA and wins their highest title.

Tiffany Stratton vs Charlotte Flair I wasn't hyped for at all... but I ended up really liking the match. Also pleasantly surprised that it didn't end in Charlotte winning. This was the second best match of the night right behind....

The main event, Punk/Rollins/Reigns. I don't watch week to week so I don't know the exact specifics and moments, but I did say to myself shortly into the match "I bet Paul Heyman turns on both Punk and Reigns and joins Rollins". Even though I saw it coming, it didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. A real good brawl between the three of them, and the end was a standout WM moment. Glad that Heyman is a bad guy again, him being a face is just weird.


Night 2


Opening women's match turned out real fun! I have been real vocal here about how it should have saved the big Liv/Rhea moment for WM.... but Triple H and Co have proved why they are in charge and not the fans. Was a great match for "setting the tone" for the women's division coming up for the next year. Bianca seemed to embrace being booed and being the heel, and Iyo actually managed to win the match, which kind of solidifies her from "lol why are they randomly giving this braud who isn't even in the conversation the title right before Mania" to "Ok, she's legit I guess. Great! Having one more legit braud opens up more possibilities!"

Drew McIntyre vs Damien Priest.... my initial thoughts on this one was it seemed like kind of a demotion from Drew's past couple of Manias... but the video package they aired did a good job of creating some sort of beef/drama to where I was like "Ok, I get it, I guess". Match wasn't anything special, but I was happy that Drew won. Hopefully onwards and upwards for him.

Intercontinental match was another fun little throw-away match. People seem to really like Dominik Mysterio now.... when the heck did that happen? Last I saw he was getting mercilessly booed. I have liked him though, so I'm glad to see him get the shine and a big Mania moment and win.

Randy Orton's mystery opponent being Joe Hendry was weird. I guess it is a "big stage" appearance... but it made Hendry and TNA look super weak, so not sure why either one would agree to it. Orton was always going to win, but at least let it be competitive. I'm sure if it was whoever the NXT Champion is, they would have been sure to make it a competitive match.

Logan Paul vs AJ Styles was pretty good. Logan Paul is so damn great at what he does. Don't think we've seen someone take to pro rasslign this naturally since Kurt Angle... and Angle of course already had the amateur wrestling background. Paul just has the... ummm... asshole background. The ending was a bit weird with Karrion Kross, who no one cares about. Wish that AJ Styles would get another serious main event run before he hangs things up.... feel like he hasn't been taken seriously ever since he lost the title and stopped being "the face of Smackdown Live". Which was like a decade ago.

Women's tag title match was a nice little match. I like Lyra Valkyria's Birds of War tribute. Good to see Becky Lunch back. I thought the injury to Bayley was legit, but if what people here are saying is true and they just decided to pull her in favour of Becky......... well, I guess that sucks for Bayley, but undeniably Becky is the better choice. The best choice would have been to pull Lyra and give the belts to Becky/Bayley. Liv Morgan was looking HOT. Raquel Rodriguez looking like a giant Mexicool Juvi. Also, I guess after my complaining about Liv losing the WM spotlight by not being in the singles title match... she ended up being higher up in the card anyways, and got a good spotlight and still got a moment of "getting comeuppance". Was a fun little match.

Main Event was pretty bad and felt like it had "no life". Would have been a thousand times better with a still face John Cena who wasn't deliberately working in slow motion. It did pick up a little bit, but I don't know if it is Cena working heel, or Cody not having the chemistry with him... but it was kind of a stinker. Then the end with the random rap dude taking ages to get to the ring, and then the referee being knocked out longer from getting pulled outside the ring than he did from actually getting hit in the corner was pretty lol. I guess storyline wise, it was a good moment to have the crux of the match coming down to Cody losing because he didn't want to do anything dastardly, while Cena has embraced it...... but really the whole storyline has just fallen flat and taken what should have been a huge moment, Cena winning 17, and sucking all the energy out of it.


Overall

Overall night 2 was the better night because it didn't really have any big duds. Best match of the two nights was easily the night 1 main event of Punk/Rollins/Reigns. Top three probably rounded out by Rhea/Bianca/Iyo and then Tiffy/Flair.

[Big Vic]

Only saw night 1, The main event triple threat was the only one I wasn't just hoping it would be over ASAP. It was a very cool match, I liked the faux sheild spot where Roman punched Rollins and powerbombed Punk anyway as well as the ending.

[xrodmuc316]

It was kind of weird how the fans hijacked the show. Booed Bianca and Cody, cheered Dom and Cena.

How they book the night 2 main event the way they did if The Rock wasn't going to be involved is bonkers. The guy who finally overcame everything to beat Roman, and it ends up back with John Cena??? Cena Wins LOL

Other thoughts, Drew is awesome. I dont think it hurts Hendry to lose to Orton because, well it is Randy Orton. Jade catching Naomi in mid air and turning it into a jackhammer was incredible. AJ Styles has been evil various times including within the last year, but he takes a moral stand now, nonsense!

[Big Vic]

Saw the time of the Orton match, is Hendry like a joke of a Champ like Jinder? Or is he pretty established in TNA?

[Destor]

Isnt Hendry working hurt right now? I thought he tore his rotator cuff?

[Mr. Nerfect]

I thought it was a work for his Rebellion match. He “injured” it when his partner-of-late Elijah pulled him off Frankie Kazariab in a brawl. Thought it was a really clever angle.

[DAMN iNATOR]

This year's show was just MID. Huge dropoff from last year and generally a letdown.

Wild decision to write Bayley off the show just to what, create a story nobody asked for so she can "BLOODFEUD" with Becky?

Also, Backlash card seems pretty lame right now too.

[Destor]

I thought it was a work for his Rebellion match. He “injured” it when his partner-of-late Elijah pulled him off Frankie Kazariab in a brawl. Thought it was a really clever angle.
That makes sense. I saw a headline and spent no time looking into it