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**NeanderCarl** · 03-29-2006, 07:58 PM

7.5

It had it's fair amount of crap, just like X-8, but it backed it up with no less than 4 great "WrestleMania matches" (ie, doesn't matter how good the action was, it just felt like a big match. Prime example being Hogan vs Rock from X-8)

Hardy vs Mysterio was a huge letdown, as it was way too short.

Nathan Jones was pulled as Undertaker's partner, making it a handicap match against Big Show, who's okay, and A-Train, who sucks, in a crappy contest.

Typical mediocre filler match for the Women's title, with little to no storyline going in. Man, how they've turned THAT around this year, huh? Big improvement on previous years.

Action was good in the SmackDown tag team match. Not a classic, smelt a bit like one of them "fillers" I keep mentioning, but it got a lot of good stars on the show so it deserved it's place.

Michaels vs Jericho is a classic, in my opinion, the best match on the show, and underrated in the "all-time" stakes. Don't forget HBK hadn't long come out of retirement and was still only working occasionally, and so seeing him wrestle against the newer stars was still a novelty.

Cat fight was a waste of air time that would have been better suited to the Raw World Tag Team champions, Kane and RVD.

Triple H made Booker T look like crap on route to squashing him. There was never a better time for Booker T to become a bonafide main eventer. This SHOULD have been his victory, due to the build-up, due to his popularity... alas, Triple H hits him with a pedigree and then takes about a minute to crawl over to him and pin him. Conversely, on the same night, it took three legdrops to beat McMahon, three Rock Bottoms to pin Austin, three F5s to beat Angle, but only one pedigree to put Booker T down and out long enough for Triple Snail to lazily crawl up the mat and pin him. What a waste of potential.

Hogan vs McMahon wasn't a technical classic, but it was fun, and it had the ol' historical significance, and a half-decent storyline going in. It also had the return of Roddy Piper, which was a mark out moment until the Hot Rod couldn't decide whether he was a face or a heel, and confused the hell out of the crowd. Still a great Mania moment though, and that's what it's all about.

The Rock and Steve Austin had their third WrestleMania main event, and yet still delivered the goods with a match that was better than their WMXV match but not quite up to their X-Seven standards. Still, they managed to keep it fresh, and Rock deserved to finally get the win over Austin, even though he really didn't need it. This match set Rock up for his final prolonged run in WWE, feuding with Goldberg, and we haven't seen him as active since. Austin also hasn't wrestled since, principely because he is injured, although when the most tempting scenario facing you if you come out of retirement is "I know if you wrestle again you could suffer a life-altering injury, but would you mind awfully putting the Coach over on PPV for no reason?" you can't blame him for that decision.

Lesnar and Angle was a match that was long anticipated and it delivered. The concern going into the match was, "will Kurt Angle suffer a serious injury?" as Angle's health was at a low point here. However, it was Lesnar who merited that concern after his botched Shooting Star Press attempt. All credit to Angle, he didn't hold anything back, and despite the naysayers who were knocking SmackDown as the inferior show at the time, the Blue Brand provided a fine main event.

The Safeco Field setting gave the show the perfect "WrestleMania look", much like the Silverdome, Skydome, Hoosier Dome (the old Wembley Stadium, site of SummerSlam '92, would have been a great Mania venue too.) Having various celebrities and bands performing at the show helped the Big Time feel too. Overall, an enjoyable WrestleMania, but lacked depth in the mid-card area, something the WWE hasn't had super-strength in since around the '99-'00 mark. The show was saved by the HBK/Jericho, Hogan/McMahon, Rock/Austin and Lesnar/Angle matches. The rest was take-it-or-leave-it territory for me.

03-29-2006, 07:58 PM	#6
NeanderCarl That's Not My Name Posts: 9,086	7.5 It had it's fair amount of crap, just like X-8, but it backed it up with no less than 4 great "WrestleMania matches" (ie, doesn't matter how good the action was, it just felt like a big match. Prime example being Hogan vs Rock from X-8) Hardy vs Mysterio was a huge letdown, as it was way too short. Nathan Jones was pulled as Undertaker's partner, making it a handicap match against Big Show, who's okay, and A-Train, who sucks, in a crappy contest. Typical mediocre filler match for the Women's title, with little to no storyline going in. Man, how they've turned THAT around this year, huh? Big improvement on previous years. Action was good in the SmackDown tag team match. Not a classic, smelt a bit like one of them "fillers" I keep mentioning, but it got a lot of good stars on the show so it deserved it's place. Michaels vs Jericho is a classic, in my opinion, the best match on the show, and underrated in the "all-time" stakes. Don't forget HBK hadn't long come out of retirement and was still only working occasionally, and so seeing him wrestle against the newer stars was still a novelty. Cat fight was a waste of air time that would have been better suited to the Raw World Tag Team champions, Kane and RVD. Triple H made Booker T look like crap on route to squashing him. There was never a better time for Booker T to become a bonafide main eventer. This SHOULD have been his victory, due to the build-up, due to his popularity... alas, Triple H hits him with a pedigree and then takes about a minute to crawl over to him and pin him. Conversely, on the same night, it took three legdrops to beat McMahon, three Rock Bottoms to pin Austin, three F5s to beat Angle, but only one pedigree to put Booker T down and out long enough for Triple Snail to lazily crawl up the mat and pin him. What a waste of potential. Hogan vs McMahon wasn't a technical classic, but it was fun, and it had the ol' historical significance, and a half-decent storyline going in. It also had the return of Roddy Piper, which was a mark out moment until the Hot Rod couldn't decide whether he was a face or a heel, and confused the hell out of the crowd. Still a great Mania moment though, and that's what it's all about. The Rock and Steve Austin had their third WrestleMania main event, and yet still delivered the goods with a match that was better than their WMXV match but not quite up to their X-Seven standards. Still, they managed to keep it fresh, and Rock deserved to finally get the win over Austin, even though he really didn't need it. This match set Rock up for his final prolonged run in WWE, feuding with Goldberg, and we haven't seen him as active since. Austin also hasn't wrestled since, principely because he is injured, although when the most tempting scenario facing you if you come out of retirement is "I know if you wrestle again you could suffer a life-altering injury, but would you mind awfully putting the Coach over on PPV for no reason?" you can't blame him for that decision. Lesnar and Angle was a match that was long anticipated and it delivered. The concern going into the match was, "will Kurt Angle suffer a serious injury?" as Angle's health was at a low point here. However, it was Lesnar who merited that concern after his botched Shooting Star Press attempt. All credit to Angle, he didn't hold anything back, and despite the naysayers who were knocking SmackDown as the inferior show at the time, the Blue Brand provided a fine main event. The Safeco Field setting gave the show the perfect "WrestleMania look", much like the Silverdome, Skydome, Hoosier Dome (the old Wembley Stadium, site of SummerSlam '92, would have been a great Mania venue too.) Having various celebrities and bands performing at the show helped the Big Time feel too. Overall, an enjoyable WrestleMania, but lacked depth in the mid-card area, something the WWE hasn't had super-strength in since around the '99-'00 mark. The show was saved by the HBK/Jericho, Hogan/McMahon, Rock/Austin and Lesnar/Angle matches. The rest was take-it-or-leave-it territory for me. Last edited by NeanderCarl; 03-31-2006 at 04:55 PM.