Wrestlemania XXVI vs. All the others
 

I was wondering how you guys felt in terms of this years Wrestlemania card compared to those of previous years. I'm kind of sour on it. Even the star studded matches don't do it for me. Some of the promos have been amazing (Punk, HBK, Batista) but I don't think the actual matches will deliver.

Remember: It's just my opinion, so go easy.

MITB: I know they're only adding two more participants, but I still feel like it's going to be one big clusterfuck. Plus, unlike the winners the past few years with CM Punk, Edge, and RVD, I don't really see anyone in the match getting a substantial push out of it. Christian sure as hell deserves it, and I would love to see him vs. Edge or even Jericho in some type of long term program, but other than him I don't give a shit who wins because none of them (except Christian) are guys I think can take the ball and run with it.

Unified Tag Team: I hate the tag division and how it's pretty much become two random guys who are over paired together. I like the Miz v. Morrison aspect, but I'd rather see a singles match between them than this. Big Show's knockout punch is fucking ridiculous and they've turned Truth back into K Kwik.

Triple H v. Sheamus: I see where they're going with Sheamus, and wouldn't be surprised if he went over, but at the same time I just don't care about the guy as a character and in the ring he's bland. HHH is pretty predictable too and it wouldn't be Wrestlemania without Sledgehammer making an appearance.

Legacy triple threat: I think this would be the best match on the card.... if Cody wasn't in it. I guess after 3 months straight of trying to take Randy out they're going to turn on each other at Wrestlemania with no incentive?

Bret v. Vince: 10 years ago I'd be a mark for this. Now, physically looking at Bret it's obvious he's just a shell of himself. Which bothers the hell out of me personally, because I remember meeting the guy as a kid and actually getting to shake his hand and thinking this guy was larger than life. Now seeing him in jean shorts with a XXL tee to hide his gut is a let down. Plus, he had a fucking stroke. How much can he really do?

HBK v. Taker: No way in hell they top last year's match. I think that's why they added this shitty gimmick of streak versus career. We all no damn well Shawn will be back if he loses, and I always hoped Taker's last match would be a casket match at wrestlemania, streak on the line against a young guy coming up so he can get the rub, and all the people he defeated came out to screw him over (yeah I know it's happened already against Yoko, but still). If HBK does snap the streak, where the hell do you go with Taker who has done it all.

Batista v. Cena: Great promos.... but it's a Batista match.... with John Cena as the opponent.... I'd rather take a shit with no toilet paper than watch that match.

Punk v. Rey: Sorry... I've just never bought into Rey. He does some phenomenal stuff, but the 619 is played out. Punk should carry it though.

Edge v. Jericho: They better put this on last because in terms of an entertaining match, this is the best WWE can offer. Both of these guys can go and no how to work the crowd although I like Edge better as heel.

best card since WM 20

I think instead of the Unified Tag Match they should of kept the IC title on Morrison then have had him fued with the Miz and have a match for Wrestlemania.

At least we know there will be a great headliner match with Jericho and Edge instead of having that lame stinker between Orton and Triple H.

The WWE will miss you watching a stream of this.

I had my doubts about the card but almost all the feuds are being developed really well which is helping making Wrestlemania sound like an amazing show for this year.

MITB is always meant to be a randomly booked match since the biggest benefit of being the winner of the match is how easily it can be used to create a mega-heel such as CM Punk "ruining" Jeff Hardy's title win based on crowd responses alone. Also gives some long term booking for the winner since unlike the Rumble, no need to waste the opportunity by the next PPV.

Isn't it rumored that the winner might cash it in that night? With the Money In The Bank pay per view I would think they would at least have the winner cash it in quick to make way for that pay per view.

I'm so pumped about this PPV. Seriously, I can't believe how crazy excited I am. I usually get excited about all Wrestlemanias, but the last five have all had a mixture of good and bad (although WM24 was all-round a solid PPV), but this one I really feel they have a great card. Even Batista/Cena and Triple H/Sheamus look good.

The card looks great. I just hope things aren't too rushed to cram it all in to the 4 hours. Could easily do with an extra half hour or so.

This is EASILY the most anticipated WM for me in the past 6 WM's... I think every match is booked very solid with great storylines... I don't see many of these matches failing and a bunch of them continuing fueds for the near future, i.e. Jericho/Edge, Cena/Bats, Tag Titles...

Will it be the best Wrestlemania ever? No.
Will it be the worst? No.
Will it be better than the average? Yes.

However, the key is that it has the POTENTIAL to be the greatest WM ever..... MITB has the potential to be great, as does Punk/Rey, Jericho/Edge, even Bret/Vince can be great if it is done correctly.....

Other matches like HHH/Sheamus, Cena/Bats, Legacy Triple Threat & The Tag match all can be great as well, but IMO will be wound up considered to be "average"

Long story short, I am rather excited for this years WM, moreso than many in the past, and hopefully they blow my mind.....

Im looking forward to this year's edition. I'm a little concerned how they will keep a 4 hour show interesting. Maybe some special guests that haven't been announced yet.

KID ROCK CONCERT II!

Every year, why do people react to the 4 hour thing like it's new? Mania's been 4 hours since 17.

WM 20 was five hours. Yeah why would Mania NOT be 4 hours, if not MORE? The average PPV is 3 hours, so obviously WrestleMania will need an extra hour for HOF stuff, entrances and big matches.

It could easily go 5 hours every year.

I thought Wrestlemania 19 was extremely underrated for its card. Not alot of people mention that show but it featured.....

Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (WWE Title)
Triple H vs. Booker T (WHC)
Chris Jericho vs. HBK
Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon
The Rock vs. Stone Cold (Awesome Match, and Austin's last)

Plus one of my favorite looks of any stadium in WM history, awesome use of pyro and entry stage.

We did a favorite Wrestlemania thread a couple weeks ago and Wrestlemania 19 was probably the most mentioned and acclaimed event, aside from Wrestlemania 17.

Fun fact: WrestleMania XIX sells really well over here even to this day. Most events from 2003 aren't stocked, but WrestleMania still is because it still sells really well. A very great PPV, and I'd put it just behind WrestleMania X-7 and WrestleMania XX as one of the best Manias of all-time.

WrestleMania XXVI may not live up to that legacy, but as Nicky Fives said, it has the potential to do so. Obviously the WWE will make some poor booking decisions and such, but I feel this has the potential be one of the most memorable Manias of all-time, and really stand the test of time.

Only things I didn't really care for about Mania XIX were Hogan v. McMahon and the GOD-AWFUL Main Event, Triple H v. Booker T for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Firstly, that's not the main event.

Secondly, it's not god awful.

Good ol' rasslin' fans with no confidence in what they love at all.

Good on ya, champ.

This is easily one of the best 'Mania cards in a long time. I think every match has potential to be great. Not so excited for the Unified Tag Title match though. It should have been The Miz vs Johnny Morrison for the US Title.

Wrestlemanias 21 and 22 are underated in my opinion.

Is it just me or do they focus too much on the whole grandeur and spectacle rather than the card when it's taking place at a stadium. Since WM 23 it's seemed that way to me. Not that they've been bad shows, just that a lot of time and focus is put on the entrances and pyros rather than just getting on with the matches. I guess it all depends on how desperate they are to fill time. With 9/10 matches planned this year, the entrances need to be more slick.

Just a nerdy observation.

Nah, I love what they can do with it. Plus, it ties in Big Show being eliminated from the Royal Rumble by R-Truth if you think about it.

I haven't seen 23-25, so I can't comment on the actual shows. But something about those 3 shows just didn't interest me at all. Except for Flair/HBK and HBK/Taker, I was not impressed with the feuds and cards at the time.

Card does look awesome. Def best since XX.

I'm pumped about WM 26 and haven't been this excited about a WM since 21.

I would check out 24. 23 was fucking terrible (easily one of the worst Wrestlemania's ever IMO) and 25 isn't worth watching other than Taker/HBK and the parts where Jericho/Steamboat wrestle. 24 was pretty good though. Flair/HBK obviously, Edge/Taker was really good and a few other matches were really entertaining to say the least. The atmosphere was awesome, such a great set (I think my favorite of all-time) and a very "Wrestlemania feel" which is one of the reasons I think I hated 23 (felt like a Smackdown with 70,000 people for some reason to me :-\)

Even Big Show/Mayweather at 24 was entertaining.

This year's seems great on paper. I'm looking forward to it.

Oh fuck how could I forget that! Loved that match and Floyd's crew

"He can't be doin that!" :D

I loved Mayweather's entrance, too. Something about him pointing his finger and moving his hand with all that pyro going off behind him was just cool as shit.

Yeah it was pretty cool. I really liked Cena's entrance too, the whole band doing his song sounded rad. I love Mania 24. :love:

Far more excited about this WM than last few years i know that much.

Wrestelmania 24 is the only Wrestlemania I own on DVD.

To me this looks like the best card they have ever made for Wrestlemania, hopefully it will deliver!

This thread is now dedicated to Wrestlemania 24

Fucking loved Mania 24. Probably in my top 3 manias, ranking only behind 17 and 19

The Cena/HHH/Orton triple threat was underrated too, I felt. Definitely not on par with Edge/Taker, or HBK/Flair, but still a great match.
Better than the normal triple threat title match.

Everything with Mayweather was a great time.

Money in the Bank was probably the most exciting of them all, and although it's lineup wasn't as star studded as some of the earlier ones, it was probably the most well suited for the match type.

The Finlay vs JBL street fight was actually a great opener too.

Wrestlemania 24 is a show that did a lot with a little. On paper, it's card isn't really any better than some of the more lackluster Wrestlemanias. The show was just executed really well though.
I think Edge/Taker being able to tear down the house and put in what is arguably a 5 star match is really clutch. It left the show on a huge high note, which is hard to do considering they had to follow HBK/Flair.

Edge/Taker was the best non-gimmick match of Edge's career I reckon

The crowd was kinda dead for the start but REALLY got into it by the end. I knew Taker was winning but of all the matches where I almost certain Taker was winning, that was his best Mania match (I think HHH, Orton and HBK all had a decent shot at breaking the streak)

And of course the EPIC ref run in was amazing

Yea that was hilarious. So funny that it's actually a Wrestlemania Moment to me.

The Spear into Hells Gate finish was awesome. I won't lie, I started to believe Edge could snap the streak during that match. His whole ultimate oppurtunist thing, and all of the attempted cheats going on had me on the edge of my seat.

I'm going to see if I can find it cheap on Blu Ray this week. I don't own it, and I should. It's so visually awesome, that it's probably the only wrestling dvd I would ever really care about getting the Blu Ray format for.
I'd like to give it another watch before this years Mania, since I love watching the other Wrestlemanias every year before the new one.

I'm looking forward to Mania this year... Love the card.

anybody like mania 22? i think it was one of the best ever, tho its impossible to beat wm X-7
Foley vs Edge was insane & violent and we finally got to see a table on fire in wwe
Cena vs HHH was so good cos the crowd never shut up once, they could have stood in the ring facing off for 20 mins and the crowd woulda eaten it up. the FUCK YOU CENA chant was so loud
HBK vs Vince was awesome too

WM, will suck.

you should spend your ppv money on sour grapes and during mania you can sit under a tree and munch on them as you lie back and urinate on your own face

I didn't actually get to watch it, but caught a lot of it on youtube and thought it was pretty good, especially the chant...

i rarely buy wwe ppv dvd's but got this one...
wwe ppv dvd rvd hbk hhh iwc tna etc

rofl

It was an entertaining show for being so poorly built but I don't think it has much lasting value. The only match I would go back and watch again is Cena/HHH and that would be because of the crowd. I think WM 22 is a prime example a crowd drastically improving a show.

Absolutely but i think those three matches were very good too, a really hot crowd can make a poor show look 5 star and i dont mind that one bit.
Kinda unrelated but that piped in fake crowd noise they do on smackdown (in ireland anyway) is absolutely disgusting, its beyond fake and it sounds like 35 women shouting 'owwww' it'd be much better to hear utter silence than that piss

lol yes. I went to Smackdown in 2005 or something and then when I watched it on TV the pops and boos were SO much louder. It was ridiculous

Wrestlemanias today aren't the same as Wrestlemanias long ago. Up until about 1997-1998 (Wrestlemania 13-14), the show was pretty much just about building up the biggest main event possible and then filling out the card with matches between mid card and main event guys that rarely wrestled each other (on TV) because the television programming was filled with squash matches.

Once 97-98 hit, Raw stopped being about squash matches and mid card and main event guys started to wrestle each other on a weekly basis. Thus, the Manias began to feature bigger and, more important, matches throughout the entire card.

Could be a reason why many of 'newer' fans, on and off this board, think the first 12-15 Wrestlemanias don't stand up to the ones from the Attitude Era through today.

redoneja is definitely right on that. I think "era" has to factored into alot of stuff in wrestling. But honestly, I started watching wrestling religiously in 97/98 and I remember being more excited for WM 14 (Austin vs HBK) simply for the main event than many of the Mania's from this decade. I guess being a mark played a big part in that but I can see people being really excited for The Ultimate Challenge or Hogan/Slaughter despite the undercard being shit.

Wrestlemania 15 stands out to me as a really unique Wrestlemania, since it was at the height of the attitude era.
It came after those Wrestlemanias redonjea talks about, but before the modern day ones with stacked cards.

It didn't really have any big or great matches aside from the main event, but the card was all about advancing storylines.
You had the second biggest match on the card dedicated solely to who would referee the main event, and within it featured a face turn for Big Show.

The hell in a cell was done purely to advance and highlight the up and coming Ministry angle. The match was a huge dud, but it was definitely all about the Vince/Taker storyline.

You also had a HHH/Kane match that existed solely to make it seem as though Chyna had rejoined DX, only for HHH to turn heel later in the night. Kane also turned face.

So on the biggest show of the year, you had a huge main event, but aside from that it was like the year's biggest Raw or something. None of the other matchups were huge, or a long time coming, and none of them were particularly heavy on wrestling.
But you had two face turns, two heel turns, a public lynching, and the split of the biggest stable in the WWF.

It actually seems like a lot to do, but it came off well. It's a great example of Russo stuff being good when filtered by Vince.

That is a good plan.

Except for the part while you lay back while eating.

That's not really good for you.