I think it was a good show. It was clearly booked by a crazy person in terms of what went where, but the matches themselves were all satisfying. I
like that the focus was on the matches, and not on backstage stuff. It's WrestleMania. I'd rather watch a six-man ladder match than Pete Rose in a chicken costume.
Although, having said that, the skit with Booker T and the "freaks" was hilarious. As soon as I saw Eugene with the basketball, I just started laughing my ass off. My friend (who's only been a friend since the Attitude era) looked at me like I was nuts. Nice nod to the old-school fans. Something they...well...NEVER do.
The last hour of the PPV was poorly planned, though. You should
always end WrestleMania by sending the crowd home happy, so Rey Mysterio overcoming the odds to win the World Title should have been last. So why was it before the pillow fight (which was actually better than I expected)? And why on
earth did they end the show with perhaps the least-over babyface champion in a decade getting a submission win with his secondary finisher over Conan The Barbarian?
When the match was over, everybody started to get up to leave our table, but I said "Wait a minute. No way they're ending it like this. They're building to something." And then the montage rolled. Big disappointment on that front.
But the show itself was very good.
MITB didn't disappoint (although I would have liked more offense from Finlay). I loved the triple powerbomb spot on Lashley. Makes him look like a beast. RVD's splash was a little weak, but it was all he could do with Finlay so close to the ladder. The right guy absolutely won that one. And
at Shelton's two big spots (the running somersault plancha and springboarding onto the ladder). I don't care if they never defend the IC belt at Mania again, just keep putting this guy in this match.
The hardcore match was excellent. I expected it to be a lot of fun, but those two went waaaaaay over the top. As soon as I saw the lighter fluid, I knew the table spot was coming and, when Lita took the bottle, I knew the spear was coming. Although I expected a shoulderblock-type spear, not a tope through the table! And Edge did a phenomenal job selling being in shock at the end of the match.
If they hadn't botched that one spot at the very end of the Women's Title match, that would have almost been the perfect diva match. Trish and Mickie complement each others' styles so well and Trish's knee injury gave the match...GASP...psychology.
I was a little disappointed that we didn't get a Carlito face turn with Masters turning on him after the opener, but they're teasing a breakup again. I can't believe I'm saying this, but that would be a good feud for Masters.
I didn't care much for the ending of the Benoit/JBL match. I don't mind necessarily that JBL won, but it just seemed really sudden. Those two could have gone a lot longer. Ah, well. Still an enjoyable match.
I don't care for Undertaker or Mark Henry, but the casket match was pretty good. I still can't believe that UT can still jump that far. I really expected that to end badly when he took off.
But, yeah, overall I really enjoyed it. If they'd rearranged the last three matches (and, preferably, put the pillow fight before HBK/Vince and Edge/Foley), the show would have been just about as good as it could be.