I absolutely loved this Wrestlemania. Granted, there were no 5* classics, but it delivered as a Wrestlemania. It had that special feel to it, and frankly everyone delivered what you would expect (and more) than originally set out.
Missed the Tag Match (gotta get snacks at some point) but one of the few major wtf points was the not changing of the titles onto Masters and Carlito....but hey, its not exactly the end of the world.
Enjoyed the MITB match, not as much as last years, but it was good. Shelton Benjamin is a god. I don't need to say this to everyone here, you already know.....a fucking springboard onto a vertical ladder??? That is insane. Some neat spots, with nothing overly crazy, its the best way to redifine ladder matches, and at the end of the day the right outcome (roll on One Night Stand
)
Was genuinely moved by the HOF stuff, wasn't expecting Bret to be there, and in essence it was a good thing, as it may have taken away from the moment.
Enjoyed the JBL/Benoit match. Loved the entrance, Love the character, Love Jillian Hall's legs.....what? Decent enough wrestling match, could have been good given more time, but what the hey.
Edge and Foley....what can I say?? Edge is a fucking star, and Foley got his Wrestlemania moment, this match was everything it should've been and more. This is how these sorts of matches should be done, not like the crap you see in CZW. This had the right facials, the right spots at the right time, a story. This was great. Lita did her part brilliantly, and the pair of those guys have got bottle, I don't think many would believe Edge would be diving into fire at Wrestlemania, but he did, major props to him and the Mickster, my second favourite match of the night.
The walk of freaks had me ROFL, Booker and Sharmell are brilliant, Ted DiBiase had me laughing, the old chemistry between Booker and Goldust and Snitsky.... you just can't hate the man.
That said the match was atrocious, and probably the low point of the PPV. But hey, lets do the WWE thing, scrub over the negatives and move to the positives.
Trish and Mickie....loved it. One of the best womens matches I've seen in the WWE since the Trish/Victoria fued a while back, and I think like many people, I'm in love with Mickie James. On a serious note, I think the crowd in Chicago were telling the WWE something important in this match and I hope they take notice. I honestly believe that the reason they were cheering Mickie and booing Trish (outside of Mickie being a hot psycho lesbian, which is good in my books) was simply a case of saying, this is the amount of effort you should put into your storylines and the development of your characters. Ok, maybe not in so many words, but I think you get my point. This had a great build, and with the exception of the botched finish (which could be explained by "Trish's leg gave out after the punishment it had taken") delivered on the hype. I think Mickie has the potential to be the next huge star of the womans division, and what can I say....she's hot.
Taker/Henry....meh, wasn't as awful as it could've been and a nice old school Taker dive, so it was passable.
Vince/Shawn, technically was never gonna be great, but like every Vince match, it had a great compelling story, Shawn pulled one out of the bag and it turned into a great story, rather than a great match, and was certainly what you'd expect from this sort of match at a Wrestlemania. The seeds perhaps of a new Shawn character, not neccessarily as a heel, not neccessarily a new DX, but certainly a new edge.
I enjoyed the triple threat match, albeit too short. I wanted to mark out for Rey winning the title, but I just couldn't. Granted, the guy has earnt it.... but I just don't buy him as a champion. With the ratings already in the shitter, it'll be interesting to see if the fans do.
Gloss over the Pillow Fight into....
THE MATCH OF THE NIGHT. I didn't think I'd be saying this, but I absolutely LOVED the main event. Firstly bhfngbjiwdhfui CM PUNK
bhjhiuewhfo but what the hell was going on with those entrances. I mean.... I think they gave the match what it needed, a huge feeling, but....they were just plain strange. After that though. What a great match. Triple H was on fire tonight, brilliant job. This match started to have the same feel (and in some respects the same format) as Hogan/Rock from Mania 18, but it surpassed that. It did the exact thing it should've of in my eyes. It drew people into the match. At first I was content just sitting and watching the inevitable, but I actually started to edge forward and become exceedingly interested in the match. It was one of those few times when I was watching with awe/disbelief, because I had no idea what was coming next. The finish was unexpected. The match built slowly into a crescendo and was just....fantastic. Props to both guys for an absorbing match, with a crowd that was just brilliant, I did notice that it was the men who were chanting Cena can't wrestle and Cena sucks, and the women and kids chanting for Cena, the dynamic worked, Triple H did everything perfectly. I just thought it was a great, great, old school style brawl with a great story. Plus the ending leaves so much for them to work with in terms of Cena's character. He's proved himself, he won with a wrestling move, he beat the best etc..... the crowd reaction tonight is gonna be the key with where to go next and I do get the feeling the double turn somewhere down the line is inevitable.
Fantastic Mania, not in the top 3 I would say, but it had the Mania feel, and I enjoyed it regardless...... to coin an oft use phrase on Observer Feedback.... THUMBS WAY UP!