Wrestlemania 25

[BloodRaven]

The HBK vs Taker fight was insane...

Anyone catch it?

[Wacko4Zacko]

I did.....I ordered it....Cant believe cena won....But w/e....Hopefully Punk takes it from him.

[theFRANCHISE]

I watched it last night, and it was pretty good. Virtually every matched delivered or exceeded expectations.

The only one that I was truly disappointed in was Triple H-Randy Orton, because the build-up was so intense for it and the match itself was a little too basic for me; it was better than a regular TV match, but it seemed like a run-of-the-mill pay-per-view match. In retrospect, the wrong match closed the show -- if anything, 'Taker-HBK should've ended the show, with all of the drama that the match provided.

I don't think I've ever seen so many liberal uses of finishing moves and near-falls in a match in a while. Not only that, but there were a couple of scary moments where I thought they botched a few moves and someone got legitimately hurt; 'Taker's big suicide dive where he landed partially on his head had me thinking that the match would've ended with him legitimately being stretchered out.

The Money in the Bank Ladder match was INSANE. I'm just a little disappointed that CM Punk won again, and the crowd seemed disappointed too since they were rooting for Christian all night (I was, too). I'm glad that JBL-Mysterio's title match was quick because I don't know how many times I can stomach seeing them wrestle each other. The Divas Battle Royal was better than I expected, but still nothing too special; Santino's little celebration dance at the end was HILARIOUS, though.

The Jericho-Legends match was A LOT better than I expected, but only because of Ricky Steamboat, who was definitely in much better wrestling shape than his tag-team partners last night. I wouldn't be surprised if Steamboat comes back and does a little Ric Flair-like stint as an active wrestler again. Mickey Rourke's little fight with Jericho at the end was a nice little moment, too; I wasn't surprised to hear that Rourke actually wanted to wrestle, but was told by his agents not to because it would hurt his acting career.

The Hardy-vs.-Hardy match was OK. I mean, there were a lot of great spots and all, but it just seemed to be a little too run-of-the-mill compared to the Money in the Bank match earlier. If anything, this match should've came on BEFORE the ladder match, seeing as how both involved the use of weapons, and both were your typical spotfests. There was no real wrestling involved in this one, and there wasn't much of a story being told in the ring other than Jeff getting revenge on Matt, only to take a big risk and then lose because of it. Too simple for me.

The Triple Threat World Heavyweight Title match was better than I thought it'd be, but it still didn't feel right. It wasn't anything that we haven't already seen in a regular TV match, but it was the finish that made it PPV-quality. My only issue was that this match still felt like it was thrown together sloppily, and it's hard to say where the storyline will go.

Overall, it was a good PPV and worth the money if you ordered the webcast online (like I did) because of the free month's worth of WWE.com Legacy subscription (the online version of WWE 24/7). But, this probably wouldn't rank in my Top 5 WrestleManias.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='Wacko4Zacko' post='177108' date='Apr 6 2009, 09:07 AM']I did.....I ordered it....Cant believe cena won....But w/e....Hopefully Punk takes it from him.[/quote]
I felt like they put the belt on Cena because: 1) it wouldn't make sense to put it on Big Show since he doesn't really have any direction right now; and 2) Edge has been champion (WWE and World Heavyweight titles) for a while now and everyone chasing his title is getting a bit stale.

I just wish that they could've done something different than put together a triple threat match at the last minute. Maybe think outside the box and make it an elimination tag team match, with the last two men (regardless of teams) squaring off for the title? I don't know. Either way, surprisingly this match may have had a better storyline payoff than the Triple H-Orton match. But that remains to be seen, I still don't fully know how to feel about that one.

[JonM229]

Wrestling is fake

[MKdave]

[quote name='JonM229' post='177139' date='Apr 6 2009, 03:26 PM']Wrestling is fake[/quote]

But less so than your reproductive organ.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='JonM229' post='177139' date='Apr 6 2009, 10:26 AM']Wrestling is fake[/quote]
So's your nose. But I don't see you acknowledging it.

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='MKdave' post='177140' date='Apr 6 2009, 10:28 AM']But less so than your reproductive organ.[/quote]
I wanted to go there, but more explicit.

[MKdave]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' post='177141' date='Apr 6 2009, 03:28 PM']So's your nose. But I don't see you acknowledging it. [/quote]

So you went nose? Interesting...

[JonM229]

How long before these posts get deleted?

Place your bets!

[MKdave]

... But in all seriousness, it annoys me when people look down on wrestling because it's 'fake'. So are movies. What's really the difference, except for wrestlers are ACTUALLY putting their bodies on the line. There aren't stunt doubles in wrestling.
I'm not even really a big wrestling fan. It's just a modicum of ignorance that frustrates me.

[JonM229]

I don't look down on it cause it's fake. I look down on it cause it's watched by pre-adolescents and WT...and Franny, who (oddly) doesn't fit into either category

[JO_75]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' post='177113' date='Apr 6 2009, 09:16 AM']I watched it last night, and it was pretty good. Virtually every matched delivered or exceeded expectations.

The only one that I was truly disappointed in was Triple H-Randy Orton, because the build-up was so intense for it and the match itself was a little too basic for me; it was better than a regular TV match, but it seemed like a run-of-the-mill pay-per-view match. In retrospect, the wrong match closed the show -- if anything, 'Taker-HBK should've ended the show, with all of the drama that the match provided.

I don't think I've ever seen so many liberal uses of finishing moves and near-falls in a match in a while. Not only that, but there were a couple of scary moments where I thought they botched a few moves and someone got legitimately hurt; 'Taker's big suicide dive where he landed partially on his head had me thinking that the match would've ended with him legitimately being stretchered out.

The Money in the Bank Ladder match was INSANE. I'm just a little disappointed that CM Punk won again, and the crowd seemed disappointed too since they were rooting for Christian all night (I was, too). I'm glad that JBL-Mysterio's title match was quick because I don't know how many times I can stomach seeing them wrestle each other. The Divas Battle Royal was better than I expected, but still nothing too special; Santino's little celebration dance at the end was HILARIOUS, though.

The Jericho-Legends match was A LOT better than I expected, but only because of Ricky Steamboat, who was definitely in much better wrestling shape than his tag-team partners last night. I wouldn't be surprised if Steamboat comes back and does a little Ric Flair-like stint as an active wrestler again. Mickey Rourke's little fight with Jericho at the end was a nice little moment, too; I wasn't surprised to hear that Rourke actually wanted to wrestle, but was told by his agents not to because it would hurt his acting career.

The Hardy-vs.-Hardy match was OK. I mean, there were a lot of great spots and all, but it just seemed to be a little too run-of-the-mill compared to the Money in the Bank match earlier. If anything, this match should've came on BEFORE the ladder match, seeing as how both involved the use of weapons, and both were your typical spotfests. There was no real wrestling involved in this one, and there wasn't much of a story being told in the ring other than Jeff getting revenge on Matt, only to take a big risk and then lose because of it. Too simple for me.

The Triple Threat World Heavyweight Title match was better than I thought it'd be, but it still didn't feel right. It wasn't anything that we haven't already seen in a regular TV match, but it was the finish that made it PPV-quality. My only issue was that this match still felt like it was thrown together sloppily, and it's hard to say where the storyline will go.

Overall, it was a good PPV and worth the money if you ordered the webcast online (like I did) because of the free month's worth of WWE.com Legacy subscription (the online version of WWE 24/7). But, this probably wouldn't rank in my Top 5 WrestleManias.[/quote]

I thought the overall PPV was decent. It definitly didn't have the Wrestlemania feel that past Mania events have had. Now to the matches:

Money In the Bank: It definitly didn't live up to the expectations from other MITB ladder matches. Kane and Mark Henry didn't make sense, well Kane did as he needs some kind of push before he retires. Mark Henry well I read he REPLACED Evan Bourne! WWE was going to put Bourne in the event but decided Henry would be "better." Punk Winning, sucked, I'd much rather seen MVP or Christian win.

Diva Battle Royal: Much rather have seen Trish Stratus vs Beth Phoenix. For Santino to win, made it terrible. Again, Trish Stratus vs Beth would have been a whole lot better.

Intercontinental Title: Very dull, I think they could have done something different. For them to have a 20 second match, was dumb. Glad Rey won, but what happened to the whole "historic" thing JBL would do. WWE definitly missed out on a big chance to swerve the WWE fans (well only if JBL's back wasn't bothering him again and he wasn't going to "retire" this year), have JBL "buy out" Punk to get the MITB(of course do this without nobody knowing) and have JBL come out and attack Triple H (since this was the main event or even attack Cena) and all of a sudden win the title. So that the historic thing would be taking MITB and cashing in at Wrestlemania since it has never happened. Big Missed opportunity here. Go from IC Champ, to Quitting to World Champion or WWE Champion.

Jericho vs Legends: Great to see Jericho win, the only thing that would have worked for Jericho to lose was for Jericho to become a face again but its great to see him continue as a heel. Hopefully Jericho gets a push toward the WWE Championship (rumored to go to SD in the draft) after this. Micky Rourke I wasn't too happy, I mean for Jericho to win just to get punched at the end, pointless. They should have had Rourke punch Jericho during the match and Steamboat pins him and Jericho kicks out and still ends up winning.

Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy: Decent match. For it to be extreme rules, and have no blood (Stupid PG Rating) killed it. Plus there was a part in the match that killed it for me, Matt started to bleed, and not even switching camera angles, you see people running over and wiping the blood away. With Matt winning, it seems they will continue, they did enough last night to make it continue past Wrestlemania.

Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker: Show Stealer. Entrances were very cool. I think everybody knew coming in, this would be the match that would take the show no matter how good the other matches were. For Taker to perform all 4 of his finishers with HBK kicking out after made the match. Add in the fact Taker kicked out of a Sweet Chin Music made it even better. I wish they could do a feud after Mania, I wouldn't mind seeing these two face off again.

Triple Threat Match: Pretty boring to me. Cena's entrance was pretty cool. Like the person said, it was sloppy from the beginning to end. I don't know what Cena's world title count is but it has to be close to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's record. Like stated above, JBL getting MITB and beating Cena would have made this a whole lot better. Take Cena out of the picture for a while. That's why MVP should have won MITB, MVP is ready to become Champion. (Waiting for John Cena vs The Rock! It Will Happen!!)

Triple H vs Orton: Pretty good. But I gotta say the build up was better than the match. The whole match was built around the McMahons and we didn't see Vince, Shane or Stephanie come out at all. Not even Rhodes and Dibiase. I think it could have added flavor to the match and made Triple H winning even more better if we knew he had to overcome Legacy coming out. Again, WWE missed out on the perfect swerve. Have Vince and Shane come out beat up on Rhodes and Dibiase and get them out of the ring. Than out of nowhere have Vince and Shane turn on Triple H and help Orton win the title. I mean Orton said he was going to do something that would change the landscape of WWE, and Vince and Shane joining up with Legacy would definitly would have changed the landscape and made for one hell of a post Mania storyline. Triple H/Stephanie against Vince, Shane, Legacy would have made WWE must watch TV.

Well sorry that's a little long but I have been a wrestling fan all my life and just wanted to go in detail about the matches. Of course, with my ideas of JBL getting MITB from Punk, and Vince/Shane turning on Triple H is something I can't believe WWE couldn't think of those swerves. Jeez, maybe I should be a WWE Creative Writer instead of a Sports Broadcaster. HA!

[Sizzle]

Who the hell watches wrestling? I stopped watching when i turned 12.

[The Deadman]

ok, so that means ppl have to judge? this IS the offtopic board....anyways Takers match stole the show...the rest of the ppv just sucked

[BloodRaven]

I have to give props to the Cena double lift, picking up the Big Show and Edge at the same time was pretty beast mode. He was getting a lot of boos...

[The Deadman]

[quote name='BloodRaven' post='177495' date='Apr 7 2009, 04:12 AM']I have to give props to the Cena double lift, picking up the Big Show and Edge at the same time was pretty beast mode. He was getting a lot of boos...[/quote]

because hes a bad wrestler, thats why. also, the 25 divas battle royal and the 25 minute kid rock concert coulda been used for the tag titles and possibly a ECW title match

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='The Deadman' post='177610' date='Apr 7 2009, 01:10 PM']because hes a bad wrestler, thats why. also, the 25 divas battle royal and the 25 minute kid rock concert coulda been used for the tag titles and possibly a ECW title match[/quote]
It's not necessarily that Cena is a bad wrestler (he's actually a pretty decent worker, IMO), but it's just that his character is stale and it's the same ol', same ol' with him. His promos are corny, and he has no edge to his character (no pun intended). He's too "safe" of a character -- which I understand, since he's supposed to be the company's big mainstream money-maker, but he doesn't really have any direction other than "Chase the title, defend the title, lose the title, repeat." Cena borderline NEEDS a title program to get over, while guys like Triple H and the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels have shown that they can go months without a title and still get over.

The Battle Royal could've been much better, as they had a lot of good female workers but the commentators made a mockery of it all. If it would've been taken more seriously, the actual WRESTLERS of the group could've carried the match and made it good. (Yes, there is such a thing as good women's wrestling in WWE. See: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria/Lita/Mickie James, Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James, etc.)

The Kid Rock medley was a complete waste. It didn't seem like the crowd wasn't into it until the end, and I could tell that the performance was everyone's big bathroom break. If they were to do a live performance, why not someone FROM Texas, considering it was in Houston? At least the crowd might've shown interest.

[The Deadman]

[quote name='theFRANCHISE' post='177614' date='Apr 7 2009, 01:23 PM']It's not necessarily that Cena is a bad wrestler (he's actually a pretty decent worker, IMO), but it's just that his character is stale and it's the same ol', same ol' with him. His promos are corny, and he has no edge to his character (no pun intended). He's too "safe" of a character -- which I understand, since he's supposed to be the company's big mainstream money-maker, but he doesn't really have any direction other than "Chase the title, defend the title, lose the title, repeat." Cena borderline NEEDS a title program to get over, while guys like Triple H and the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels have shown that they can go months without a title and still get over.

The Battle Royal could've been much better, as they had a lot of good female workers but the commentators made a mockery of it all. If it would've been taken more seriously, the actual WRESTLERS of the group could've carried the match and made it good. (Yes, there is such a thing as good women's wrestling in WWE. See: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria/Lita/Mickie James, Beth Phoenix vs. Mickie James, etc.)[/quote]

so Cena + 5 moves of doom = decent worker?

[theFRANCHISE]

[quote name='The Deadman' post='177621' date='Apr 7 2009, 01:43 PM']so Cena + 5 moves of doom = decent worker?[/quote]
His matches with Edge have been pretty good, and he's put on decent matches with Triple H and Batista.

And let's face it, he's not exactly the worst talent on the entire roster...

[The Deadman]

no Khali is lol, but HHH had to carry him, and Batista isnt the best wrestler either. he injured Undertaker in 07 after all

[theFRANCHISE]

Speaking of Cena...check out Dwayne Johnson's response to Cena's "challenge" when asked about it recently: (skip to 1:45) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tErXMLVHF8E"]YouTube[/url]

[The Deadman]

i could care less what the Rock says lol, he probably denied the wrestling challenge and issued a challenge to make a ****ty movie

[BloodRaven]

[quote name='The Deadman' post='177761' date='Apr 7 2009, 07:44 PM']i could care less what the Rock says lol, he probably denied the wrestling challenge and issued a challenge to make a ****ty movie[/quote]

Another one?

[MKdave]

what are you talking about? Rock's movies are always, always great.

[The Deadman]

lmao they are? his best movie was Doom

[MKdave]

[quote name='The Deadman' post='178027' date='Apr 8 2009, 05:37 PM']lmao they are? his best movie was Doom[/quote]
Nah it was Scorpion King.

[macbrak]

Not "Be Cool"?

[The Deadman]

[quote name='MKdave' post='178222' date='Apr 8 2009, 04:53 PM']Nah it was Scorpion King.[/quote]

no, no it wasnt. Rundown was better then Scorpion King

[BloodRaven]

Ever notice that ladder matches are always full of embarrassing botches?