That really surprised me, they actually let Kane go over Orton at Wrestlemania! Wow, it was a reasonably good match too!
Big Show new IC Champ...I guess we are in for an unpredictable night. I guess they're going to let the triple main events go on for a lengthy period of time.
That match was spectacular. I have genuine tears in my eyes right now. I'm marking out big time. Better than last year's.
Well I'm leaving for dinner now, won't be able to see the rest of the event. Was weird seeing Ric Flair in a WWE arena while he is under TNA contract lol.
Well, CM Punk won as I had first thought - this signals that WWE has a lot of confidence in Punk as champion and it's possible that he could go right through to Summerslam with the belt.
Wow! The Rock beat John Cena! I don't think anyone was expecting that to happen and there was no sign of Lesnar either. So what did I think of Wrestlemania 28? To begin with, I can say that this was the best Wrestlemania since Wrestlemania 24 - which also happened to be held in Florida. With the exception of Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus, every match was solid (hell, even the Divas match was at least better than what we've come to expect from the division). I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Kane vs. Randy Orton match and the decision to book Kane over Orton. The Undertaker vs. Triple H match absolutely blew me away! It was so much better than their other encounters and really told a story, furthermore the involvement of HBK in the match served to greatly enhance it. You honestly wouldn't think that Undertaker had been out of the ring for a year and had undergone surgery in that time. The main event was very much like Rock vs. Hogan at Wrestlemania 18, even the coreography of the match was similar. Nonetheless, Rock took the shock victory following a heelish act by Cena (he went for a mock People's Elbow) and a Rock Bottom. Of course, Cena probably won't turn "technical" heel, but the booing is likely to continue, especially given the fact that Cena acts as if he doesn't take his conflicts seriously (smiling and making faces as his opponent cuts a serious promo). That's enough for many fans to boo Cena - given that the suspension of disbelief and the emotional investment in the characters are key to professional wrestling and WWE in particular (where the entertainment and dramatic factors are emphasised).
So who's joining me in the Danial Bryan support group? I'd have thought you were shitting me if you claimed Sheamus was going to win in a one minute squash match...but that would've been three times longer than what we got. Save that crap for Brodus Clay on Raw, not the biggest PPV of the year for the championship. Looking forward to seeing the fallout from the rest of it, which didn't sound too bad from what I've heard in the recaps. Looks like they're saving Lord Tensai, Lesnar and possibly Batista for Raw tomorrow.
Regarding Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan - I had a bad feeling that it would happen and it did to the letter. I actually stressed it as a possibility in my predictions post in this very thread! I don't know whether this result will affect Daniel Bryan's status as a main eventer, but one would think so, given that most ultra fast losses take away a performers credibility with the average fan. I have no doubt that the IWC will be fuming about such a result and it will probably trump discussion about the rest of the card, which is pointless because Wrestlemania could have been dreadful (last year's was like a feature length episode of Raw).
Oh no! Right, so. It was mostly shite. That overbooked Taker match was like a fucking episode of Eastenders with the amount of talk going on. Presumably they all left together to share a hotel room, and HHH had to take the shafting for losing. Considering the main appeal of a scene like that is for the same dullards who bleat on about the Attitude Era, that was the least Attitude Era scene ever. Sheamful taking the title like that in a squash is very disrespectful to Bryan. The only upside is not having to put up with a Sheamus match. Kane going over Orful was so unexpected I wondered if I'd be waking up soon. The dark match was aiight, with a very good move by Justin Gabriel being memorable. The divas rubbish wasn't as rubbish as I expected. Punk vs Jericho was a fantastic match. The best of the night and of the year so far (that I can think of anyway). That'll be one to rewatch. Really gripping. The Team Johnny vs Team Teddy match was ok. The main thing is the result, which gets a big thumbs up from me. Laurinaitis is amazing. Rhodes vs Big Show was pretty forgettable bar the result. One lazy fat punch and the slovenly podge has the white belt. Can't he even be bothered to do a chokeslam any more? Rock vs Cena was surprisingly good. Better than I expected. Cena brought his A game. The Rock...well, he won. Most of the usual schtick from him. It was wrong that he won though. Maybe he demanded it for his return. Disappointing. With Cena being the undefeatable superman of the company, it devalues everyone a bit. Shame.
@Admiral M if you look back in the thread I said multiple times that Rock (in his home town? Come on nothing else makes sense)would beat John and the match would resemble Hogan/Rock, and would be designed similarly as well. Punk winning wasn't a surprise, and I factored in his popularity into my decision. I wanted Jericho to win but picked Punk. He has a month to tie Mike's reign as longest current WWE Champion. I'll have to see the other two main events that I missed, but Undertaker/Trips was magnificent and borderline five star and as you guys know I was completely uninterested in it. Just the raw emotion and beautiful story telling in the ring was spectacular. I guess the only result that surprised me was Big Show becoming IC Champion. Not really surprised that Kane beat Orton (I picked Randy just because of habit I think) he lost to Cena so they probably needed to book him strong against Orton. Raw is going to be interesting for once tomorrow.
I can honestly say that I really enjoyed myself tonight. Even if some of the matches didn't go the way I wanted them to, there wasn't a single result or match that I was disappointed by, which cannot be said of the last 'Mania I watched (WM 26 two years ago). I'm even willing to go so far as to say that it might've actually been better overall than WM 21 back in 2005, which was the first 'Mania I ever saw. I don't think.anyone was expecting Sheamus vs. Bryan to last only 18 seconds, but I liked what the WWE did because it was unexpected and actually gives some added intrigue to their eventual rematch. I was expecting Orton to win, but didn't have any problems whatsoever with the actual result of Kane going over. People might pooh pooh the Divas match, but I really liked what the WWE and the Divas involved gave us. Maria was way more involved than I was expecting given the fact that she is injured, and I honestly believe she deserves major kudos for being willing to go out and work as much as she did. Even if there is more that the WWE could be doing with the Divas division and some of its members, such as Beth, I have no complaints with what they gave us tonight. Somebody used the word 'epic' to describe HHH vs. 'Taker, and I can't think of a more fitting adjective. I knew that 'Taker was going to win in the end, but he and Hunter pulled out all the stops to give us a match that I think will be a seminal moment in both of their careers. HBK's officiating was much more unobtrusive than I was expecting, but I liked the moments where they let him get involved. I am not a fan of John Laurinitis AT ALL and really wanted Teddy's team to pick up the victory, but even if I was disappointed with the result, I liked the tag match itself overall, although I did find it interesting that David Otunga never actually stepped foot in the ring despite being the captain of Kaurinitis' squad. I'm not that high on Cody Rhodes or The Big Show (although I do like the latter), but I really liked theory match. Cody got in some decent offense, futile and ineffective though it might've been, and Big Show's win was handled perfectly CM Punk vs. Jericho was, quite honestly, the match I was looking forward mote than any other, and it did not disappoint. I wanted Jericho to win and think he should have, but the result allows for their fued to continue and also let's Punk head into his hometown as champion without hurting him or Jericho's status as main event talent. I'm a huge fan of The Rock and loved what he and Cena were able to do in terms of their match. OT was outstanding from top to bottom and was definitely worthy of the lengthy build-up and hype that surrounded it. I was fully expecting Cena to go over in the end, and was therefore pleasantly surprised when the opposite occurred. The Rock didn't look like he'd missad a beat, and whatever the real-life issues between him and Cena may or may not be, you could clearly tell that both of ygm were bound and determined to steal the show and put on the match of a lifetime, something at which they succeeded with flying colors.