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10:58 - The story they seemed to be pushing as the show closed was that Cena had the match won and got overconfident. Problem is, I don't think he DID have the match won. I would have preferred that they went a little further with that, and showed that Cena could've won but instead opted to add insult to injury by mocking Rock with the Rock Bottom, and that ended up being his undoing. I would've gone with Cena winning, but Rock winning can work if they decide to either turn Cena heel or at least have him give up the nice guy act. He's been so over the top in interviews outright saying that he won't turn heel that I sorta expected him to tonight. Maybe that's waiting for us tomorrow night.
Overall, I thought it was a really entertaining show. The first hour was bad.....with Daniel Bryan losing in 18 seconds and the Divas match. Plus there was the unspectacular Rhodes/Big Show match that may have had the wrong ending. But things picked up significantly after the great Undertaker/Triple H match. And while there were slow moments, the momentum really lasted until the end of the show. Highlights were Punk/Jericho, Rock/Cena, and Triple H/Undertaker. Which was probably expected.
10:55 - I guess I spoke too soon. That was a very abrupt and unexpected ending. With 5 minutes to go, do we see a Cena heel turn?
10:54 - Only about 5 minutes left and it doesn't feel like they're close to the end.
10:41 - I'm not sure I would call that top rope legdrop "picture perfect."
10:30 - A bit of a heelish twinge to Cena's behavior tonight.
10:25 - I'm sorta shocked we're hearing "Let's Go Cena/Cena Sucks!" instead of "Let's Go Cena/Let's Go Rocky!"
10:12 - I kinda love the fact that the redo John Cena's entrance video every time he gets a new t-shirt.
10:09 - So is Diddy the Ricardo Rodrigues of MGK?
10:04 - So is this new GI Joe movie a reboot or sequel to the one that came out a couple years ago?
9:56 - That match arguably got off to a slow start, mostly hampered by the focus on the DQ stipulation. But that entire end sequence was brilliant. It was just two guys who genuinely wanted to win. Realistic wrestling with some fun, innovative reversals. And you really didn't know who would win. Overall, I'm glad Punk won. That was a really great match.
And does somebody want to tell WWE that WrestleMania is in NJ (and not NY) next year?
9:37 - Jericho yelling "hit me in the head!" is great.
9:34 - Yowza, I'm not really a fan of Punk's trunks. Is he mixing red and green? He looks like Xanta Klaus. But I do love that they gave him a true Champion's entrance, with some cool pyro as he came out. And what's with the lack of in-ring intros for the World title matches?
9:27 - Looks like Jericho added some snazzy red lights to his ring jacket. Looks like I was wrong about adding the lights to his trunks as well. BUT I was right about it needing to be dark for his entrance.
9:20 - I've got no problem with Ryder eating the pin as it was shown that he was on fire and clearly in control before outside factors ruined his momentum. I also don't really have a problem with Eve low blowing him. They showed that Ryder was pissed, so it wasn't like he was some puppy dog she put down.
9:15 - Here's a fun little typo. According to WWE.com, Undertaker's undefeated streak was almost "91-1":
9:04 - Some attire discussion!! First off, Miz has a new ring jacket. Pretty cool. Second, I was right about Ryder bringing back his ring jacket! Third, love that Kofi brought back the warm up pants/jacket for his entrance. Fourth, love the sunglasses on the back of the head for Ziggler. Actually, looks like EVERYONE in this match has new tights/trunks. Bravo to all 12.
9:02 - Johnny Ace is looking awfully Lex Luthor-esque tonight.
9:01 - Wow, they really are trying to get everybody on the show!
8:58 - And hey, Flair appears on camera! Is this the first time that somebody contracted by a competitor of WWE appears, by name, at WrestleMania? And awesome moment for Edge, who you could see was savoring it. He's always been one of my favorites, since his debut, and it's great to see him so nicely acknowledged.
8:52 - Three great characters from a great era. And it was a great moment. Another reason not to do Triple H/Michaels. Why sully that moment, like Flair has done with his post WrestleMania career?
8:50 - The visual of Undertaker and Shawn Michaels assisting Triple H out of the ring was awesome. Those three characters -- and all they represent -- stand for so much of their era. Great sight.
8:48 - I enjoyed that moment of respect between Shawn and Taker. The Undertaker is so established in his character by this point that he can have moments where he acts human and it won't ruin his mystique. REALLY hope this doesn't lead to Triple H/Shawn Michaels, though. Shawn's my favorite, but I'm glad he's stayed retirement and found happiness post-wrestling. And if he does ever come back, why do it for a match we've seen countless times before?
8:45 - The welts on both of their backs were sickening. These guys went all out and had a great, entertaining match. I was a bit surprised by how decisively Undertaker won. And I was a little disappointed that the announcers didn't bring up the fact that this match ended almost identically to the match that retired Shawn Michaels (from crawling up Undertaker's leg's, to Undertaker giving the throat slit). Great job by all three pros.
8:41 - Undertaker stepping on the sledgehammer just as Triple H grabs it, and then shaking his head "no" and hitting him with the chair was great.
8:37 - I really do like the story they're telling here with Undertaker, Triple H, and Shawn. All three characters are playing their roles great. Shawn is particularly interesting.
8:30 - Interesting that the actual Hell in a Cell structure isn't playing into the match at all. Couldn't they have done no DQ and not obscured the vision of the top few rows?
8:26 - And am I mistaken, or is Triple H bleeding above his eye?
8:24 - That spinebuster on the stairs looked BRUTAL.
8:16 - How did the cameraman not get in the way during that?
8:14 - He kinda has a mohawk going on there. And is Shawn going to tuck in that shirt or what?
8:12 - Actually, that's a pretty nice haircut.
8:09 - That's a pretty bad ass jacket Undertaker is wearing.
8:06 - Neat entrance for Triple H. And I like the new design on his trunks. Is anybody else's reception getting messed up with these close up entrances?
8:04 - I enjoyed Shawn's salute to JR. He seemed genuinely happy to see JR at the announce booth.
8:03 - Since this match is in Hell in a Cell, does that mean no annual Undertaker Plancha? And am I mistaken, or was there the sound but not sight of pyro for Shawn Michaels' entrance?
8:00 - Ever since I heard that they're allowed to just make up these attendance numbers, these announcements have always seemed like a waste to me.
And hey, I was right! JR returning to commentate for a match. And wow, Cole paid him a compliment. "It wouldn't be WrestleMania without Jim Ross."
7:55 - Wait, was the ref actually aligning Maria in place as Eve prepared for the moonsault?
7:53 - Nearly an hour into the show and they're STILL chanting "Daniel Bryan." But nobody cared about that match, right?
7:43 - Not surprised to see Big Show win, but I'm disappointed. Cody was doing fine with the title (even though he rarely defended it) and he was only a few months away from breaking Honky Tonk Man's record. Big Show didn't do great with the US title (he defended it even less), but let's see how he does with the IC title.
7:35 - Well, I was part right. Rhodes did break out a new color scheme -- red and white instead of white and black. But the IC title is still on the white strap (still matches). Not sold on the long vest, though. Hope Big Show isn't sporting that awful camouflage singlet.
7:32 - Seriously? A Deadliest Catch commercial on WrestleMania? After paying over $50 for the show? And it lasts noticeably longer than the World Heavyweight title match? Despicable.
7:30 - Wow, I'm actually pretty surprised by the result. Good to have some surprises, I guess.
7:22 - Here's an interesting factoid for you: The live audience at WrestleMania has many "YES! YES! YES!" signs out there. They were chanting it when Bryan entered the ring. And they got 18 seconds. And now we have Kane vs. Orton -- going well beyond that, and Orton claimed more people were looking forward to their match anyway -- and the crowd is chanting for Daniel Bryan.
7:17 - I'll give partial credit to Kane. Believe it or not, I do think those are new tights. Still a little annoyed by Sheamus/Bryan, though. They could have had a really fun match.
7:11 - Hmmmm, I'm not a huge fan of that. I get what they were going for. But these two both deserved better. Opening with the World Heavyweight Championship is questionable enough (yes, I know there's a certain honor, but still). But then to end it after one move? Sheamus has received a strong push and Bryan has been a great heel act. Why not give them something a little more special?
Although I must say, AJ's concerned look after it happened was adorable.
7:06 - Really awesome opening video, but a bit of a bummer that it didn't make ANY reference whatsoever to either of the World title matches. Focusing on Cena/Rock was obvious, but so much attention on the Triple H/Undertaker match seemed unusual.
By the way, it looks like we are opening with the World Heavyweight Championship match. Two years in a row. Bad news: Sheamus isn't debuting new attire, which is a big a no-no to me. And they're using white ropes, which is a bit of a letdown as well. It's WrestleMania, not Raw or an ordinary PPV.
Good news, though: D-Bryan has an AWESOME new ring robe. And it looks like he might have new trunks, too. And AJ. Damn. Damn, gotta love AJ.
7:00 - So in addition to having company over, my Internet is also having severe issues tonight. HOPEFULLY this doesn't get in the way of my LIVE thoughts. I'm still able to connect through my phone, so check my Twitter page if I'm MIA for an usually long amount of time.
Check back at 7 for my LIVE thoughts, but as I said they'll be a bit sparse over the next hour as I have family over. Eager for the show to start!
4 comments:
Overall thought it was a great show.
Very much not happy about Bryan/Sheamus. I was really looking forward to that match too.
The other 3 midcard matches to start the show were whatever. I gotta say, I actually didn't like Orton losing there. I'm about as far from an Orton fan as you can get, but he might actually be losing too much. And if he was going to lose clean to another guy, I'd rather see someone like Del Rio, Barrett, Rhodes, etc. beat him clean as opposed to Kane.
HHH/Taker was awesome. Just a great story and a pretty brutal match. So glad JR called the match, really wish he had called Rock/Cena too. And yes, there was pyro noise for Shawn but nothing happened. Unless it was above the arena like most of the pyro and the cameras just never showed it, but it sounded loud like it was supposed to be in the usual Shawn spot by the entrance.
Punk/Jericho was very good but started out too slow. It felt like a 30-40 minute match based on the amount of time until they got into their groove. Once they did it was fantastic, and I marked out big for Jericho putting the REAL Liontamer on Punk, even momentarily. Right finish too, with Punk getting a huge clean win over a top heel second from the top.
I thought Rock/Cena was very good and obviously I thought it was the right finish. I don't know if Cena will turn heel or not, my guess is no, but I DO hope that Cena will use this as a reason to get more "serious". I do agree that it didn't feel like "Cena had it won" and perhaps they should have gone that route...say, Cena hits the AA but DOESN'T pin Rock, instead going for the Elbow, which Rock counters for the win. On the other hand that AA was a huge near fall.
I also still think this will eventually lead to Rock/Cena 2 at some point, with Rock not wanting another match (once in a lifetime!) and Cena NEEDING one to prove he can do it, with Cena eventually going over Rock. Plus, I still say there is nothing wrong with the fact that for the first time in a very long time (HHH maybe?) Cena lost 100%, no outs, no interference, no foot on the ropes, clean. It makes me think the guy is capable of being pinned and it helps my enjoyment of future matches, as Cena doesn't necessarily appear to be unstoppable. And if there's a rematch, Cena can ACTUALLY BE THE UNDERDOG FOR A REAL REASON, and not the usual BS reasons they come up with as to why Cena is a massive underdog against "random midcard heel".
Kyle,
Great analysis of Rock/Cena and you do have some great points. I'm okay with Cena losing as long as it actually goes somewhere. Like a heel turn, or, as you suggested, a reassessment of his actions and behaviors.
Somebody brought this up on Twitter, but when was the last time that John Cena, Randy Orton, and Triple H all jobbed clean as a whistle on a PPV?
Probably never! I talked about this with someone last night...I watched wrestling until about 2005 when Jericho left (almost primarily Raw though, I didn't watch Smackdown except rarely). Then I came back about a month before Wrestlemania 25 (I saw a few episodes here or there during those years, such as Jericho's first return). So keep in mind I'm not saying it didn't happen, but I'm saying I never saw it.
In all of my time watching wrestling, I have seen John Cena job 100% cleanly three times in a one on one match, in my life. Once was in his first match ever to Kurt Angle (which I watched even though it was on SD because I wanted to see the new kid coming up). I think I saw him job clean to HHH once on a DVD from sometime in 2007-2008 or something like that. And last night against the Rock. That's IT. So it is perhaps no wonder that I can't buy Cena as ever being vulnerable to anyone, and why I'm happy to finally see the guy lose 100% clean with no outs (aside from getting cocky which is his own fault, unlike the slight outs of "Ace and McMahon came to ringside and Cena attacked them" or "his foot was under the ropes"). Now I've seen him pinned clean and maybe I can believe that Punk or Henry or someone like that could do it.
It's gotta be the first time, I would think, that those three have ever all lost clean. Because I truly cannot remember John Cena losing 100% clean to anyone EXCEPT HHH in a very long time.
Also, I do agree that I hope Cena losing goes SOMEWHERE. And I do think it will, even if it's only an eventual rematch with Rock (I hope it's more than that, I don't expect a heel turn but just, something, maybe a little less goofy smirk and a little more serious Cena).
You're missing perhaps the best clean Cena job ever....his one hour Raw match with Shawn Michaels. If you haven't seen that match, you need to watch it. It's a classic and definitely THE match that made people realize that Cena could bring it in the ring.
I believe he also jobbed clean to Batista at SummerSlam a few years back. Actually, the period between him returning from his pec injury and leaving for his neck injury, he lost a fair amount of time (almost too much). I'm not sure all were clean, but he was definitely paying back the victories he had during his year plus reign.
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