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[BobTheFork]

Nah, after Sting stinking up in TNA for years I have no faith in Sting being able to work a good match. The match needed stuff like that to be enjoyable.

I would argue he was in good shape and he didn't get a chance to show up a good finish. I think he can go for one or two more good matches. The man got into shape for this (or he looks like it). At least don't bring out the nostalgia arc in this specific match. At least give us a simpler finish. At least don't get punked, shake his hand, and then have HHH act smug about it later. It was a big moment, but not the right moment.

 

[The Albatross]

For my first WM in ... 10 years, something I've had to get used to is that a finisher is not a finisher anymore. Almost every match had someone kicking out of a finisher. That used to be saved for truly major spots.

It does build a lot of drama though, but I long for the day when a finisher can put a guy away... Instead, they introduce a finisher 4 or 5 minutes into a match, the guy kicks out, and then they use another finished 5 mins later and it -- hopefully -- finishes him.

 

[Masquerader]

I do not think Bray is worth it.
Bray will not be this monster, he is good on the mic but he will not be that in the ring.
He is Kevin Sullivan of this age. He will not be in the World Title picture in a serious sense ever, at best he will have a stable who will have a contender. Him losing to Taker would have been a joke to all that Taker has been in the last 23 years.

People seem to forgot how crap a wrestler Taker was to begin with. He got better. But still.

 

[jmdajr]

For my first WM in ... 10 years, something I've had to get used to is that a finisher is not a finisher anymore. Almost every match had someone kicking out of a finisher. That used to be saved for truly major spots.

It does build a lot of drama though, but I long for the day when a finisher can put a guy away... Instead, they introduce a finisher 4 or 5 minutes into a match, the guy kicks out, and then they use another finished 5 mins later and it -- hopefully -- finishes him.

Cena only needed one attitude adjustment!

 

[Toki767]

For my first WM in ... 10 years, something I've had to get used to is that a finisher is not a finisher anymore. Almost every match had someone kicking out of a finisher. That used to be saved for truly major spots.

It does build a lot of drama though, but I long for the day when a finisher can put a guy away... Instead, they introduce a finisher 4 or 5 minutes into a match, the guy kicks out, and then they use another finished 5 mins later and it -- hopefully -- finishes him.

Finishers were dead long before 10 years ago. Kicking out of them just used to only be saved for the main event rather than every match.

 

[KefkaPalazzo]

Guess i'll give my quick rundown.

- Tag match. Fun, nothing great. Too bloated and all the spots were too slow. 2 stars

- Battle Royal. Fucking horrible. The spots were lame as fuck and the Mizdow face turn felt like an hour. And then he loses, so yeah. Big Show in 2015. Jesus. Half star

- Ladder match. Nothing great. Kinda disappointed to be honest. Too bloated like usual and the power bomb spot wasn't even that great. they do it nearly every ladder match. BUT the head butt clash was neat and Bryan wins and continues to prove he's the most over talent. 3 stars

- Orton/Rollins. It was ok but again nothing amazing. RKO spot was neat but i kept on thinkin Rollins is just too good for Orton. He sticks to his 10+ year old move set. 3 1/2 stars

- HHH/Sting. Loved the cheesy ridiculous entrances ( Sting could have been better if daylight was't killing the mood). Sting was in great shape, NWO/DX was fun to watch, that pop for Scoot was awesome. Was it 14 years to late? Sure but still fun to watch. I REALLY thought DDP was going to pop up and give the cutter to HBK. Would have been epic. Fucking HATE H won, but hey if Sting is hanging it up, then at least the crowd gave him a damn great reaction. Still hoping for Taker/Sting next year. 4 stars (solely based on entertainment)

- Divas. Honestly missed like 90% of it. But from what i saw it was horrible. Half star

- Cena/Rusev. 5 star entrance. Half star match. Cena matches have been on repeat for 10+ years. I don't get how ANYONE including kids can find a Cena match entertaining. Talked too much, his STF was god awful, his ONE new move (evolution of Cena LOLFUCKUVINCE) was dumb, and of course CenawinsLOL in the most boring way they can think of. Seriously this match was horrible. But since the entrance was dope i'll be nice and give it 1 star

- Taker/Bray. Eh the day light killed any atmosphere i was looking for in this match. Taker actually looked in great shape compare to 28-30. But Bray was not a good match up. No chemistry, the build wasn't good, looked too much like biker Taker which again kinda killed the mood, and overall the match was identical to 90% of Taker Mania matches. 2 stars (1 star is for the cool sit up spot)

- Rock/H. The fuck? The segment went like 15-20 min. That's insane. No Rock bottom or Elbow either. 0 stars

- Lesnar/Reigns. I loved it. Pretty much perfect. Reigns got the shit beat out of him, the Superman punch spot was dope, crowd was hot, and that mother fucker Rollins wins it. The false finishes were fun too. 5 Stars (again solely based on entertainment)

- Other notes. The stadium is beautiful but the set and lighting was extremely weak this year. It actually looked pretty neat for the 5 mins of night time they had. Not sure if they really fully thought the west coast thing out clearly. 1 star for production

All in all it was a fun show. Had enough moments to make it feel like Wrestlemania but nothing lived up to what could have been besides the main event and to some degree H/Sting. Also a massive decline compared to WM30 but that was expected. 3 1/4 stars

5 stars for the main event? One star for the Rusev match?

...What am I reading? Agreed about the Ladder match though.

 

[v0yce]

Can everyone stop with this intellectually dishonest line of thinking? How many moves did lesnar exactly use? Hell, how many moves has Lesnar used since summerslam? F5s, Germans, and strikes?

Nothing dishonest about it. Not everyone is equal. Brock's various suplexes and strikes all look super violent and painful (F5 sucks though). I could watch him do that to people all day.

Reigns' limited moves, many of which feel the same (s punch, spear), are decidedly less impressive to watch.

 

[Mengetsu]

Can anyone tell me if Brock bladed or was legit busted open? I saw some people say they saw a blade but the comments were moving to fast here to keep up and if so when?

 

[BFIB]

Trading finishers is the new thing.

 

[Striker]

People seem to forgot how crap a wrestler Taker was to begin with. He got better. But still.

He wasn't a bad worker. He was working his character and did it well. IWC would be wanting him booted to the bottom of the card nowadays.

 

[Mahonay]

I'm still on a high from that ending last night.

 

[The Albatross]

Finishers were dead long before 10 years ago. Kicking out of them just used to only be saved for the main event rather than every match.

Yeah, definitely longer than 10 years ago, maybe closer to 15 years, I just hadn't watched a WM in 10. But, yeah, it used to be reserved for the main event, Austin v. Rock, where they both kicked out of and performed each others finishers, but now it was really almost every match. I think someone had a running count of 7 or 8 finishers kicked out of.

I think it worked for Reigns last night, who also had a smile on his face whenever he had a major move performed against him. Added a bit more of a sinister side to him, like a pain-loving side that could work for his character.

 

[BFIB]

Stings bald spot made me sad.

 

[Masquerader]

He wasn't a bad worker. He was working his character and did it well. IWC would be wanting him booted to the bottom of the card nowadays.

I... Suppose so. But at the same age, Wyatt's already better than he was. Why are people saying that he's terrible?

 

[gatisimo]

Just when we think we have a new champion, in comes Seth Rollins to cash in his Money in the Bank contract, winning the title.

I totally missed on Undertaker going heel and costing Brock, but I called Rollins cashing in and winning! I thought the show was a lot of fun, and as my kids' first WM, it sucked them right in. We had a lot of fun watching, though they went to bed before the title match.

When they asked me who won, I said Seth Rollins. They gave me the Guardians of the Galaxy WHOOO? face, to which I responded, "the guy whose intro I use as my alarm clock" -- they love that alarm!

 

[Deleted member 59090]

Having not watched any wrestling for the past 15 years up until last month I have to admit it was nice to see NWO and Sting again.

 

[mreddie]

Fell off when watching the IC Ladder Match and I just got stuck for the rest of the night sans the concert and the Rock/Ronda stuff.

But overall, the weakest road to Mania led to a pretty impressive Mania.

I think XXX edges it because it had less filler but man, I had a smirk with Seth cashed it in and won.

This Mania had a lot moments that we'll be talking about all year, hope fully it won't be like last year where everything just stopped once after Payback.

 

[Simon Belmont]

Having not watched any wrestling for the past 15 years up until last month I have to admit it was nice to see NWO and Sting again.

I'm in the same boat but it's been the last two months. I gotta admit, wrestling is a lotta fun to watch. I grew out of it as a teenager but I guess I'm just comfortable with my immaturity in my thirties.

 

[BobTheFork]

He wasn't a bad worker. He was working his character and did it well. IWC would be wanting him booted to the bottom of the card nowadays.

Yeah, it's hard to be a no selling 'deadman' and be a good wrestler. I remember things like OG taken getting a low blow and they didn't even know how to sell it based on his characters. There was a point where he was a decent wrestler with a good gimmick still (big evil). Sting even said he would do another match if it were Taker. At this point, it's really just about the amount of respect they all have for him.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

So is this UFC girl actually in WWE now or was that segment just cause?

 

[Mahonay]

So is this UFC girl actually in WWE now or was that segment just cause?

I think it was just for that segment.

There had been interest floating around in having Rousey involved for about a year now, Ronda is an actual fan of wrestling, and I think Steph and her are legit friends in real life.

 

[Fox318]

So is this UFC girl actually in WWE now or was that segment just cause?

It was a promo for Rock and Rhonda's new movie

 

[Toki767]

So is this UFC girl actually in WWE now or was that segment just cause?

Dana White's probably been on the phone all night answer this stuff lol.

I don't believe UFC has a clause that prevents fighters from participating in non-real fights.

 

[TimeEffect]

Crazy year with what 5 matches? while i got bored of Cena, i respect him more than Brock he was always willing to wrestle for the fans every week....

Lesnar is a legit athletic freak. He has a presence that is untouchable right now. No one on that roster can be a Brock Lesnar kind of guy.

His limited appearances make his PPV events special. His in ring work and selling is highly respectable. Him ending the streak was best for business.

And he's still undefeated, so whoever does beat him will be much more credible than anyone who would have beat Taker. Taker is old. Beating Lesnar is going to be a big deal. The feud, build up, and match will all be huge for whoever beats Lesnar. With Taker, you get some yawnfest of a buildup with fans convincing themselves that Taker is scary/legit. Lesnar's energy supersedes Taker's, and now that he's signed back on, we can see Lesnar continuing to act as the special attraction that he is

With all the bets locked in on Reigns, I've never been on the edge of my seat more in life when Lesnar brutalized Reigns and then Reigns did his shtick and two spears.

Lesnar is the man. I have no problem with him taking the title for hostage for even longer. He's special.

 

[Data West]

So is this UFC girl actually in WWE now or was that segment just cause?

WWE couldn't afford Rhonda. She's just a wrestling mark.

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

In that case that segment being that long makes no sense. I still enjoyed it, but yeah.

 

[Toki767]

In that case that segment being that long makes no sense. I still enjoyed it, but yeah.

They supposedly had interest in possibly doing a Stephanie vs Ronda match down the line a few months back. This is probably just the set up for it. Though I wonder if they're leaning towards a mixed tag match instead. Possibly for Mania 32.

 

[Hex]

People seem to forgot how crap a wrestler Taker was to begin with. He got better. But still.

Oh I agree fully.
I am just talking about what he represents.

 

[TimeEffect]

Inserting Ambrose into a Shield triple threat would be a seriously great angle for tonight.

 

[Hex]

Stings bald spot made me sad.

Man that was out there, it was ...it was sad.
You could not stare away.
The bad comb over stepped aside to reveal the horrible truth and refused to let it hide again no matter how hard he tried to sweep that hair back.

 

[Striker]

I... Suppose so. But at the same age, Wyatt's already better than he was. Why are people saying that he's terrible?

'Taker was around 27 when he was wrestling Hulk Hogan, who was a megastar. Pretty incredible.

As for Wyatt, it's different. I compare him to Mankind and Foley's career. He's definitely going to have to adjust and change up his character a bit. Mankind was the deranged one feuding with Undertaker, teaming with Vader, etc. was not around for several years. He's already had feuds with Cena and Bryan. Outside Reigns, what other top faces could he conceivably work with?

 

[The Albatross]

In that case that segment being that long makes no sense. I still enjoyed it, but yeah.

I think they were trying to buy time for it to be dark(er) out before the Taker v. Wyatt match as well. All in all, I thought it was a good segment and they pulled one over on me. Not being aware that there was a female MMA star in the crowd, I thought "Rock has nowhere to go here..."

Steph was also awesome.

 

[Masquerader]

Oh I agree fully.
I am just talking about what he represents.

He's the king of wrestlers and deserves recognition as such. I'd even go so far as to say that he's simplt the most loved wrestler ever. I just... Don't get why or how Wyatt cannot be the next mythological monster. If anyone could replace Taker, it'd be Wyatt, who clearly pours his heart and soul into his character. I'd love for these two to meet again, although I will concede that while Wyatt may be in better condition by then, Taker will probably not. Also, loads of people would complain about a rematch.

... I'm kinda disappointed by the result. This'll probably not be good in the long run.

'Taker was around 27 when he was wrestling Hulk Hogan, who was a megastar. Pretty incredible.

As for Wyatt, it's different. I compare him to Mankind and Foley's career. He's definitely going to have to adjust and change up his character a bit. Mankind was the deranged one feuding with Undertaker, teaming with Vader, etc. was not around for several years. He's already had feuds with Cena and Bryan. Outside Reigns, what other top faces could he conceivably work with?

My original point is that Wyatt is currently better in-ring than Taker, who did improve. All I'm asking is as to why people believe Wyatt won't get better? To be fair, it seemed impossible for Taker to evolve into the most popular wrestler of all time. He was stiff, in an era stuck in the mentality of good always wins in the end. Who's to say that the sky isn't the limit for Wyatt?

... Hmm. Speaking of Hogan... There's some parallel to Taker and Wyatt's careers. At almost the exact same age, they got fed to Hogan/Cena.

I doubt that Wyatt will remain heel throughout his entire career. It'd be weird having him as a face, but possible. He could make it work. He'd be a great motivational speaker...!

 

[Adam Scott Aukerman]

They supposedly had interest in possibly doing a Stephanie vs Ronda match down the line a few months back. This is probably just the set up for it. Though I wonder if they're leaning towards a mixed tag match instead. Possibly for Mania 32.

Given how devastating her UFC wins have been, can you really imagine a match between her and Steph (that doesn't involve Steph being bloody annihilated in seconds) working? It would be laughable, even for wrestling. I feel even the WWE acknowledged that last night by having her take down HHH at one point in that promo.

 

[The Horror the horror]

Sting looked awful. In fact, his whole gimmick in the WWE has been awkward.

1.) Mixing crow-sting with pre-crow sting created some confusion. Either be the mysterious, bat-wielding dark avenger, or the all-American boy. It's silly he kept toggling between the two personas.

2.) He was out of shape. This is understandable, he's an old man who hasn't put in any serious wrestling work in almost 20 years. He's not had to train as hard ever since being crow sting back in WCW since hanging out on rafters and beating up random NWO members with a bat required very little wrestling skill or training. From that point on, he's barely demonstrated the same in-ring performance that made him the WCW icon.

3.) I didn't think it was true, but you could tell his knees are shot. He couldn't apply the scorpion deathlock all the way and he fell down when his legs finally went parallel. Triple H had to lift himself up to help Sting regain his posture. It was both sad and pathetic.

4.) Sting needs to shave his ridiculous goatee and his hair off. That bald spot was awful. Good god.

 

[Mr.Swag]

Watched Cena rusev again, great match, fast paced.

 

[Officerrob]

They supposedly had interest in possibly doing a Stephanie vs Ronda match down the line a few months back. This is probably just the set up for it. Though I wonder if they're leaning towards a mixed tag match instead. Possibly for Mania 32.

That thought of Ronda selling for Steph makes me ill

 

[spindashing]

Can everyone stop with this intellectually dishonest line of thinking? How many moves did lesnar exactly use? Hell, how many moves has Lesnar used since summerslam? F5s, Germans, and strikes?

Lesnar doesn't need an arsenal of moves: He's entertaining. I, as well as many others, look forward to Lesnar almost literally beating the shit out of his opponents. His various suplexes all look brutal as hell, and he did not use only Germans if you want to be precise about it. It makes his F5 look tame in comparison.

Other than Roman's spear, none of his moves wow me. I do like his ring apron dropkick but he did not even use that move last night.

 

[Ravager61]

I went in to Wrestlemania ready to shit on the show but I was actually extremely entertained by it. Great show.

WWE always seems to do this. Wrestlemania makes me optimistic about the product going forward and then WWE manages to squash my optimism quite quickly. But hey... maybe that won't happen this time

Spoiler

lol

 

[Mahonay]

Watched Cena rusev again, great match, fast paced.

While I was watching it I was thinking to myself that it was the best match to that point.

Rusev was brilliant from start to end. Dude is a megastar.

 

[Killing_Joke]

5 stars for the main event? One star for the Rusev match?

...What am I reading? Agreed about the Ladder match though.

In terms of entertainment i don't know how that can be wrong. Cena/Rusev was the same typical Cena match for the past 10 years.

- 5 same dull looking move set
- Disastrous looking STF
- Gets beat up 90% of the match
- 1 new random move that never goes right
- CENAWINSLOL

Also the fact that Rusev looked like a pussy. Sure he's a heel but he's supposed to be a monster. Losing to 1 finisher after dominating the majority of the match is fucking horrible booking.

Main event was no different in terms of wrestling but was WAY more entertaining. The crowd was hot, they were working stiff, the spots/false finishes were nicely timed, and most importantly the right man won. Only thing missing was a goofy Lesnar laugh. If i was basing this on wrestling, then yea would probably get a 0.

 

[spindashing]

1.) Mixing crow-sting with pre-crow sting created some confusion. Either be the mysterious, bat-wielding dark avenger, or the all-American boy. It's silly he kept toggling between the two personas.

Correct me if I am wrong but hasn't that been Sting's problem as soon as he began speaking as Crow Sting even in WCW? I always remembered him as having an intense look but always being cheesy on the mic.

 

[Cybit]

Lesnar doesn't need an arsenal of moves: He's entertaining. I, as well as many others, look forward to Lesnar almost literally beating the shit out of his opponents. His various suplexes all look brutal as hell, and he did not use only Germans if you want to be precise about it. It makes his F5 look tame in comparison.

Other than Roman's spear, none of his moves wow me. I do like his ring apron dropkick but he did not even use that move last night.

I think part of the issue with Roman is that he's a power guy...who has been working purely with people bigger than him (Big Show, Kane, Lesnar). It's not surprising he looked super good when facing people who don't outweigh him by a significant margin (or, in Brock's case, is the Destroyer of Worlds). I think 2015 will be the year where they build Reigns up though; while Rollins / Bryan / Cena / Lesnar carry the torch.

 

[Deleted member 47027]

In terms of entertainment i don't know how that can be wrong. Cena/Rusev was the same typical Cena match for the past 10 years.

- 5 same dull looking move set
- Disastrous looking STF
- Gets beat up 90% of the match
- 1 new random move that never goes right
- CENAWINSLOL

Also the fact that Rusev looked like a pussy. Sure he's a heel but he's supposed to be a monster. Losing to 1 finisher after dominating the majority of the match is fucking horrible booking.

Main event was no different in terms of wrestling but was WAY more entertaining. The crowd was hot, they were working stiff, the spots/false finishes were nicely timed, and most importantly the right man won. Only thing missing was a goofy Lesnar laugh. If i was basing this on wrestling, then yea would probably get a 0.

1 star for Rusev...

 

[OriginofHysteria]

- Orton/Rollins. It was ok but again nothing amazing. RKO spot was neat but i kept on thinkin Rollins is just too good for Orton. He sticks to his 10+ year old move set. 3 1/2 stars

Rollins is too good for Orton? Orton is one of the best in ring workers on the roster. I mean he carried Reigns last year in their match to make it even bearable. Those two imo absolutely nailed it.

 

[FlammableD]

I went in to Wrestlemania ready to shit on the show but I was actually extremely entertained by it. Great show.

WWE always seems to do this. Wrestlemania makes me optimistic about the product going forward and then WWE manages to squash my optimism quite quickly. But hey... maybe that won't happen this time

Spoiler

lol

*shrug* I'm going to watch WrestleMania and Raw, they've got that long to get the hooks in. That's the way to do it, don't beat yourself up about it when they disappoint you, just drop in every so often when something piques your interest to see how they're doing, if you still don't like it, go right back to ignoring them for another 6 months.

 

[Data West]

Correct me if I am wrong but hasn't that been Sting's problem as soon as he began speaking as Crow Sting even in WCW? I always remembered him as having an intense look but always being cheesy on the mic.

Yep. As soon as Sting started talking again in WCW he was just Surfer Sting with black and white facepaint.

Crow Sting was all Scott Hall. As soon as Sting had reigns with it, he just went back to surfer Sting

 

[I Wanna Be The Guy]

At some point I want Lesnar to just pull a shooting star press out of nowhere. That finish would have been so badass without the fuck up. I don't know if Lesnar is capable of that shit anymore but still.

 

[Trojan X]

Lesnar is a legit athletic freak. He has a presence that is untouchable right now. No one on that roster can be a Brock Lesnar kind of guy.

His limited appearances make his PPV events special. His in ring work and selling is highly respectable. Him ending the streak was best for business.

And he's still undefeated, so whoever does beat him will be much more credible than anyone who would have beat Taker. Taker is old. Beating Lesnar is going to be a big deal. The feud, build up, and match will all be huge for whoever beats Lesnar. With Taker, you get some yawnfest of a buildup with fans convincing themselves that Taker is scary/legit. Lesnar's energy supersedes Taker's, and now that he's signed back on, we can see Lesnar continuing to act as the special attraction that he is

With all the bets locked in on Reigns, I've never been on the edge of my seat more in life when Lesnar brutalized Reigns and then Reigns did his shtick and two spears.

Lesnar is the man. I have no problem with him taking the title for hostage for even longer. He's special.

Here here!

 

[The Albatross]

My original point is that Wyatt is currently better in-ring than Taker, who did improve. All I'm asking is as to why people believe Wyatt won't get better? To be fair, it seemed impossible for Taker to evolve into the most popular wrestler of all time. He was stiff, in an era stuck in the mentality of good always wins in the end. Who's to say that the sky isn't the limit for Wyatt?

... Hmm. Speaking of Hogan... There's some parallel to Taker and Wyatt's careers. At almost the exact same age, they got fed to Hogan/Cena.

I doubt that Wyatt will remain heel throughout his entire career. It'd be weird having him as a face, but possible. He could make it work. He'd be a great motivational speaker...!

In many ways, Wyatt is far beyond Taker at their respective eras. Takers' feud with Hogan was really an auxiliary to a Feud between Hogan & Ted Debiase, and Jake Roberts & Macho Man. Taker only got involved with Hogan because of a setup between Jake Roberts and Macho Man. Throughout the Hogan/Taker "feud," Debiase, Brother Love, Paul Bearer, and Jake Roberts served as the "heels" while Taker just acted on their diabolical wishes.

Taker didn't evolve into his own talent until his feud with Kamala (or, really, Harvey Wippleman and his stable of strong men).

Wyatt is capable of handling a feud on his own. He can work the mic, he really puts a lot into his character, and its a good character for the time. I don't actively follow wrestling every month, but I was surprised by the Wyatt character last year when I watched a little, and it seemed really well timed with HBO's True Detective and a lot of other pop-culture shows that are depicting cultish swamp people.