Wrestlemania 33 fallout thread *spoilers*

Bounty Hunter

So what did you all think?


I felt I had to DELETE DELETE DELETE a thread earlier because it was specific to one thing and considering it is still the morning after mania and many would not have watched it yet even with *spoilers* in the title it could easily give it away for those still to view the show but that person was right that no doubt the biggest talking point coming out of mania is...

The Undertaker is retired!

Roman Reigns made it 23-2 at Mania for the deadman who left his hat & gloves in the ring to signify calling it a day even if it was not officially said. Reigns may go on to face the only other man to defeat taker at Mania next year in the same local that the streak was ended but Undertaker will no doubt be heading to the Hall of Fame then.

That may be the biggest talking point but it certainly wasn't the only one....

Are the Raw tag team titles now OBSOLETE?

The Hardies are officially back and the WWE didn't shy away from the term Broken.

Obviously on a 17hr show there are lots more things to talk about even if Hulk Hogan The Rock and co didn't show up this year like how Bray Wyatt & Goldberg both dropped their world titles or how good old JR called the main event but i'll leave it at that for now and a Poll will be added shortly.

DM_7

10

Raw Womens match was great. Nia was out early but looked strong with how they started the match. The team up moved were differant for a womens match. Some nice spots, especially Charlotte and her dive to the outside. Each pinfall was smartly done and whover decided to have no finshers leading to pins was a genius (considering how the rest of the show went) and deserves a raise.

mrkiscool2

9

Whoever gave this a one has some serious issues. I'll go into detail but highlight was definitely Shane vs AJ (who woulda thunk it?) and biggest let-down (there weren't many) was Orton beating Wyatt for the title. Man, Wyatt is too good, he was building momentum, Orton is youngish but come on.

Pre-show: No surprise that Neville went over Aries, needed to do it really. He is a very strong heel and no harm having Aries chase the title. I enjoyed the match and it didn't outstay it's welcome!
Rawley winning the battle royale was a shock. Neither good or bad, just meh but shocking. Honestly thought for a minute Jinder was going to go over once Gronk came in and didn't eliminate him! Still, nicely paced match, good craic seeing all the lads trying to eliminate Show and Braun and then succeeding in eliminate Braun.
I love Ambrose, but man he did not need to go over here. Corbin had a head of steam and losing clean to a single finisher is going to hurt him a lot.

Styles vs Shane-O-Mac. WHAT. A. MATCH. I know people will put this all down to AJ (who deserves a heck of a lot of credit) but my glob Shane is severely underrated in a ring. I fully expected AJ to win in the match but the more the match went on, the better it got and the more I doubted the result. Some of the counters were good (some botched, like the Styles Clash that Shane was lucky with, but still awesome) and the story-telling was amazing. Also, the way Shane sells is ****ing awesome. After missing the Shooting Star Press he was literally twitching on the floor, you'd swear he had actually broken himself in half! Right result in the end though.

Owens vs Jericho: I enjoyed this match but I felt it dragged a little at times. The package as Owens made his entrance was annoying (if you are going to go until 5am anyway, why not just let us enjoy Owens music?) but apart from that solid match

Bayley vs Charlotte vs Sasha Banks vs Nia Jax: It's like WWE have copped that maybe everyone should gang up on the biggest, strongest person and get rid of them early? Cause that's what happened here. Jax taking the first fall due to the three NXT horsewomen does not hurt her at all, she still looked super strong. She should have being trying to kick out when all three piled on her, but that's my only complaint. Banks went out too early IMHO, should have been in longer with Bayley and Charlotte but that's how it goes I suppose! Bayley channeling MachoMan was pretty awesome, she looked amazing flying through the air! Really good match!

Raw Tag-titles ladder match: I expected the Hardyz to show up, just not to compete! A very quick match (it was 11 minutes long, but felt like 3) where all 4 teams were constantly involved. WWE have got very good at booking ladder matches and this was no different. Just hope Cesaro is okay, he took the brunt of Jeff and cracked that ladder. Cracking match and the Hardyz winning was a great moment, as was hearing their music hit! Also, New Day coming out in their ring gear to announce it was a fatal-fourway had me convinced they were entering and going to win! Nice little swerve from WWE there!

John Cena and Nikki Bella vs Miz and Maryese: Meh. Nothing special, nothing bad. It was, as we all suspected, just a way for Cena to "propose" (obviously they would have talked about this and done it with WWE's permission) so Nikki could get a "wrestlemania moment" (as if she doesn't have some already). Like, don't try and force moments, they just happen naturally most of the time!

Seth Freaking Rollins vs Triple H: Action wise, it wasn't as good as AJ vs Shane. Storytelling? Oh. my. fcuking. Glob. Absolutely amazing! The whole knee thing, Rollins wanting to finish Trips with the pedigree, Seth putting his career (in a story sense) on the line, Stephanie constantly informing HHH what Rollins was doing when he was down, the use of weapons (teased a lot, rarely used, really added to it). Amazing. Stephanie taking a bump was awesome and seeing the anger come over Trips face, forcing him into the mistake that cost him the match. Spectacular. Also, those entrances were pretty awesome!

Randy Orton vs Bray Wyatt: Alright, so the match was decent. Some good action, the ring having weird images illumnated on it was pretty cool too. But what was the point in it all? Like honestly? Why have a star, who is rebuilding momentum, loved by the crowd, plays his character to perfection lose to a guy who has been around for years, is kind of face again (I dunno who is face and who is heel in this feud), has had his wrestlemania moments go over? It just made absolutely no sense and is short-sighted by the WWE. I hope this doesn't damage Wyatt's momentum but I fear it will.

Lesnar vs Goldberg: I really enjoyed the match. High octane action, pretty cool seeing Goldberg spear Lesnar through the barricade, both guys dominating each other. 5 minutes of great action? Yes plox. Also, Lesnar reacting to the crowd as they all chanted 10 and hitting another suplex was pretty awesome. Best match they've had. Reigns or Balor will go over Lesnar either tonight or at Payback though!

Smackdown Women's match: Was nice to see this go from being on the pre-show to being the co-main event (technically, it was really a breather between Lesnar vs Goldberg and the main event). Decent match, decently paced, all the superstars got a good showing. Naomi is such a weird choice for champion though, she literally has no charisma, her entrance is the best thing about her. Oh well.

Reigns vs Undertaker: "If you're going to go out, go out on your shield" that JBL quote was the whole thing about this match. A mortal man, his body aging and failing him after giving years of himself to a business he loves being outdone by a younger, stronger, faster man but not going down without a fight. People complained about the match online, I disagree. Sure, it wasn't great but it was good and Reigns got the best out of Taker I think. Some great kickouts and seeing Taker refuse to die at the end was amazing. Also, Reigns acted a bit heelish too at the end so hopefully that is a sign of things to come. Result was what it is, I actually have no complaints about it. But the end, man, what a way to go. Everything about it was beautiful. WWE realising that this was his last Hurrah made the right call in having this as the last match and it will be an image for the ages of the gear in the ring, Taker looking back and raising his fist as he was lowered down, the Wrestlemania sign being on full show for the audience to see as he made his final descent. A fitting way for a legend to bow out. Also, extremely fitting that JR called his final match, those two are absolute legends and friends, they both deserved to be a part of that history, they are so intrinsically linked

I gave it an 8, it deserved it

Bounty Hunter

9

I gave it an 8 personally. I think it was probably a very good show but like with Raw's the length really hurt it for me

more images like the two in the OP to illustrate the big moments of the show

can't find a WM33 gif yet but it's essentially this

KKkitty

8

I don't know about any of you but I'm sure The Undertaker went out the way he wanted. The way he left his gloves, hat and coat in the ring was poignant. It's the end of an era. Good ol' JR coming back to call The Undertaker's last match even after what he's been through lately was remarkable.

Looper007

8

A great first half then a so-so second half with another dud Main Event. Taker/Reigns was a sad end to Taker's career, he deserved a better ending (still think he should have retired at WM 30) and poor Reign's will get even more crapped on now. Although it was a nice ending after the match.

Orton/Wyatt was such a nothing match, felt more like a Smackdown match. The fans clearly didn't care for it.

Goldberg/Lesnar did it's job, neither man had to work hard and they got the belt off Goldberg. Nothing special really.

HHH/Rollins, was very hit and miss to be honest although the ending saved it from been a miss. Too slow and the fans were clearly tired by then.

Smackdown Women's match, was a cluster really, Naomi probably only won it cause it was her hometown. Still don't understand why Becky doesn't get a second run with the belt.

Cena/Nikki vs Miz/Maryse, was when the show started to go downhill for me. It did exactly what it set out to do, get Cena to propose to Nikki. But after such a great build up, the match should have been better.

Raw Woman's match, was fine. Got rid of Nia first was smart. Didn't like the way Sasha went. Loved Bayley retaining, as much as I like Charlotte she's had a few title reigns already and needs a few months away from the title picture or maybe a move to Smackdown. Still would have preferred Bayley winning the title at Mania.

Jericho/Owens was a good solid match nothing more nothing less. Can see another match on the next PPV before Jericho heads off with Fozzy. Did love that one finger touch of the rope thing.

The Ladder tag team match, split between this and AJ/Shane for MOTN, just give it to this for the Hardy's return. Great little match with some nice spots.

AJ/Shane, was great, and I doubt no one saw that coming. Shane held his own, while AJ does what he always does, makes people in the same ring as him look amazing. Great opener and AJ's run of great matches continue.

Ambrose/Corbin was meh, both men deserved better but the crowd weren't into it. Ambrose really is so up and down the card it's not even funny. Corbin not winning didn't make any sense.

Andre the giant battle royale, along with the main event, worse match on the day. Just used to get some publicity with an American Footballer. Doubt Mojo Rawley will get a push out of it.

Aries/Neville, a very good match with both men coming out strong. Great start to the day.

I gave it a 7/10, only two real stinkers on the card. Some so/so matches. Two great matches, one very good one. Better then WM 32 anyway.

ricero

9

One of the best manias in years. A solid 8 out of 10.

One thing that pissed me off though is that strauman has been getting a huge build and push for months yet is seen for less than 5 mins on the pre-show in a jobber battle royale which he doesnt win. Baffling stuff.

Looper007

8

ricero wrote: »

One of the best manias in years. A solid 8 out of 10.

One thing that pissed me off though is that strauman has been getting a huge build and push for months yet is seen for less than 5 mins on the pre-show in a jobber battle royale which he doesnt win. Baffling stuff.

Don't understand why not keep a Big Show/Strauman match until WM, give it 10 minutes and have Braun look like a beast, instead of misusing him. The same with Corbin, after all the build they put him on pre show and have him lose :rolleyes: They probably have him win on the Smackdown on Tuesday. Some of the decision making with anyone that isn't Reigns is very questionable.

KKkitty

8

Will Taker be at Raw tonight? Kinda hope he gets the farewell he truly deserves.

mrkiscool2

9

KKkitty wrote: »

Will Taker be at Raw tonight? Kinda hope he gets the farewell he truly deserves.

Highly doubt it, he wouldn't want it and he really wouldn't get better than that to be honest. It was the perfect way to bow out!

SlickRic

Reigns will get booed out of the building and Vince will rationalise it by saying it's the post-Mania crowd and that if he's being booed 'at least he gets a reaction'.

I believe he honestly thinks it's just the same as Cena, and he can just power through forever.

Also, this is likely Vince's final coronation of a new face of the company as he is getting on now. He will not want to admit he's wrong. And he doesn't care. He can be as lazy as he wants because with TV deals, and the current business model, he can do whatever the fúck he likes. Wrestling addicts will keep the network, will endlessly hope for a change and/or continue to invest in NXT to keep them plugged into the product.

He is under no pressure to not power through with Reigns.

beakerjoe

8

I gave it a 7.

I felt there was nothing ultra-negative about the show and it had a few great moments, but it could have been so much more and boy am I tired today.

Aries v Neville was a great opener. It was a nice well worked match and both men looked well. The pace was a little slower than what both are capable of, but that’s WWE style rather than any slight on them. I would have liked Aries to win though as a loss probably kills his momentum.

The Battle Royal was just awful. Delighted for Big Damo to appear but apart from that it lacked any interesting. Apart from Sami and Braun, once they exited it ran out of deserving winners. Mojo could use it more I suppose than those, but he just doesn’t have an appeal as a face and he is highly annoying, plus your man Gronk just waltzing in was horribly booked. The majority of fans outside of the US will have no clue who he is. Jinder being in the final 2 was mad too, as it more or less confirmed who was winning once Damo went.

Corbin and Ambrose was fine for what it was, but the wrong man won. Dean does nothing for the IC title and doesn’t need it, a young growing talent like Corbin would make more sense surely. The finish was nice, but apart from the entrances and the finish, the crowd couldn’t care less.

Felt sorry for the New Day not even getting a lick of action.

AJ vs Shane was grand for what it was, both men worked hard but Shane looked too good for me here. It was a nice story they told, but Shane out wrestling AJ wasn’t believable. I found it funny how Davey Otunga was mentioning right after the first exchange how AJ would never tire out Shane only for Shane to look gased very quickly. But thankfully the right man won.

Jericho v Owens was fine too, but the Angle lacked a bit of heat for me. Both men worked hard and I liked how the announcers put over the reversals and counters by saying they knew each other inside out, nice subtle things like this go a long way.

The Womens match was grand but it went too fast. I felt the eliminations came too quickly and without enough build to each elimination, plus the finish seemed rushed and it didn’t seem like as big of a deal as it should have. Charlotte has come on leaps and bounds from last year, character wise and in-ring.

The tag match was a nice spot fest with the nice addition of the Hardys. The logic in New Day adding another team to the match while they joked around made little sense, I feel the booking of The Hardys return could have been better introduced. I feel WWE missed a trick not playing more to the Broken Matt gimmick but it was a nice moment when their music hit. Cesaro and Sheamus are a joy to watch as a team, both compliment eachother so well.

The mixed tag match had easily the most heat in any match after a tremendous build. It’s a pity that it was never really gonna deliver in ring due to those involved but I liked it for what it was.. I loved The Miz early on and doing his heelish spots.

The proposal was so contrived yet Cena did a good job of making it seem genuine. Really hope its legit happiness cause he seemed genuine despite it being so obvious considering its been common knowledge for months that it was happeneing.

Rollins v Hunter was meh after a good build. I feel they told a great story, but I just think Hunters pacing of the match sucked the life out of it. It was at this point I started to die, I feel the show was going downhill fast from this point, I felt burnt out as did the crowd and this match went on far too long. Nice to see Steph get her yearly comeuppance but she needs more throughout the year. His entrance sucked compared to last year also

Wyatt/Orton was a catastrophe. Pathetic. Poor Bray and Orton were hindered by the unneccasary “visual aids”. It ruined what could have been a decent match. It plunged the PPV further into burnout.

Brock v Goldberg was great for what it was and got a bit of life back into the crowd. It felt fresh due to the realism it had as it seemed like a shoot fight in some respects. Brock as champ…. Lets see where this goes. Not a fan of part timer champs.

The womens match did ok considering it had the death spot but the crowd had already ran out of gas.

The main event was a fine match but I was done and the crowd were done. It suffered badly because of this, and because of how limited Taker is now. I felt Roman did a grand job but it was a feud that had very little heat, didn’t have enough of a build to get the fans more invested and at the late stage in the night, everyone was burnt out.

Overall I enjoyed it. Most of the matches were fine, but it lacked any stand out match. Poor build ups to the matches, particular in the latter half of the show, as later matches lacked a decent amount of heat to keep the crowd from burning out and thats down to poor booking in the weeks leading up to the show.

DM_7

10

mrkiscool2 said it better than I could.

Gave it a 9 as the only serious mark against it was Orton v Wyatt. For a 6 hour show I think they got it right, placed the matches well. Owens and Jericho sufferred a little but something had to I guess.

Main event was not pretty, as usual the sense of doom from the crowd knowing Reigns is going over takes away from the match as it happens but, the real ugly thing was seeing Taker so beat up. I found it difficult to watch.

In the end, as a story I think they got there, showed Taker's day was done but he fought to the end and got his mania goodbye moment. He deserved it as the main event as he is a major reason Mania became a big stadium event.

KKkitty

8

Whatever happens with Roman Reigns the most amazing moment for me was The Hardy Boys coming back. I felt a tear coming along with smiling from ear to ear. Hearing their entrance music took me right back to a younger me. I fancied Jeff and even after all he's been through over the years I still would So glad they came back to win and not put the other tag teams over.

Blue_Dabadee

8

I am going to give a light 7 for WrestleMania this year. This WM will be mostly remebered for moments rather than in ring action for each match. I really liked production values of entrances and the stage.

Ben Gadot

8

I'd give it a 7.

It would have been higher but I wasn't thrilled with some of the finishes. For example Jax and Charlotte were the stars of the Raw women's title match and after the momentum the latter had built up, it felt like Bayley was just kind of there to win.

Still not mad about Rollins using the pedigree and would have preferred something more fresh as a finish but the way he is right now I suppose last night wasn't the time to get innovative.

Thought they could have done more with Cena and Miz and the women. Orton and Bray was fine, the finish just wasn't.

Gas seeing Angle and Hardys get the biggest pops and can't say they didn't deserve it.

DEFTLEFTHAND

8

Feel a bit sorry for Reigns tbh, it certainly wasn't his fault the match sucked. What can you do when your opponent is over 50 and out of shape.

Taker just went on that year or two too long. Like others have said, he should have pulled the plug at 30.

ricero

9

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Feel a bit sorry for Reigns tbh, it certainly wasn't his fault the match sucked. What can you do when your opponent is over 50 and out of shape.

Taker just went on that year or two too long. Like others have said, he should have pulled the plug at 30.

In fairness to taker i thought he looked good against lesnar at summerslam and then hell in a cell a couple years ago but he looked in a bad way last night.

Still though i enjoyed his exit and the emotion of it all last night. Loved him leaving the hat, gloves and jacket in the ring

briany

Are the Hardys still "Broken" or what? Matt had the blonde streak in his hair and had a bit of the wide-eyed expression, but Jeff didn't have the contacts in and they came out to their old music. Fans will pop huge for any kind of Hardys return, but they will surely want to see the Broken gimmick carried over, and that can happen because Matt owns the trademark.

Emotional to see Taker retired but Roman was absolutely the wrong guy. If there was a guy to retire Taker, I think it was Kane, given their history. Roman won't get any major rub from this in the sense of looking strong because Taker obviously looked broken down. He will get booed to f*ck, though. However, I fear that heel heat will gradually just add to the general resentment and dislike he's already accrued.

Nice moment in the Bray/Orton match where the cockroaches were superimposed onto the ring while Bray did his spiderwalk. Cool and quite creepy.

Charlotte had the best entrance of the night with the way she looked in front of the set while the wind blew and the fireworks went off.

Owens/Jericho was a decent match, but it wasn't really Wrestlemania great. It was more just a good RAW match. Great build, but so-so payoff.

Lesnar/Goldberg was probably the match of the night, even though it was quite short. Had the crowd hot. Glad to see Lesnar as champ again. Don't care if he's a part timer - he is by far the most credible guy to be holding the belt and everyone knows it.

Crowd didn't come across too well. Could just have been how they were mixed, but they were annoyingly quiet on the TV.

Insect Overlord

9

There seems to be a lot of talk on Twitter that Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry, and Goldberg are all retired now as well.

Is it more likely that it was the final Wrestlemania for each of those guys, rather than their last night as wrestlers?

Pentecost

8

I'd say WWE are still figuring out what they can or want to do with the 'Broken' gimmick even if Matt owns it the WWE mightn't want the hassle of TNA taking action against them. Matt was shouting 'Wonderful!' when they came out and they gave a YouTube promo afterwards where he threw in some 'DELETE's. Plus Cole saying "things are about to become broken".

SureYWouldntYa

10

I gave it a 9, because I bloody enjoyed it when it was on and didn't give 2 sh1ts about who should win for story or smarky things like that which I might normally do

Nights like that remind me why wrestling is awesome

KKkitty

8

An File wrote: »

There seems to be a lot of talk on Twitter that Kane, Big Show, Mark Henry, and Goldberg are all retired now as well.

Is it more likely that it was the final Wrestlemania for each of those guys, rather than their last night as wrestlers?

Goldberg put up a photo on Instagram of his post Mania breakfast with the hashtag who's next so I don't know if he's retired yet.

D.Q

If they are going to be doing 6hr shows, they would want to make sure the last hour and a half are red hot feuds.

Itssoeasy

8

How are we lads ? I'm fairly tired and thankful I'm off today.

It seems like taker is done judging by Michelle McCools twitter account. I know he's big on not breaking character but he did it last night so would he not do it tonight if the wwe do want to give him a good send off. I mean if taker doesn't deserve one then no one does.

Necro

9

I stopped posting in the live thread before the Taker/Reigns match as I could just feel it was the last hurrah for Undertaker. The feelings on this are mixed. As a match it was very poor and it's clear the clock had run out for Taker in the ring. Reigns did what he could but he's never going to get over as a face after this. It had to be someone and I'm not that upset it's Reigns but whoever essentially retires Taker is going to have some serious blowback.

I know a lot of people are saying that Reigns needs to have a 'Die Rocky Die' moment tonight on RAW but to be honest it's not the time. They need to give Taker the Flair treatment times 10 - having Reigns involved tonight would draw attention away from who we should be focused on.

I gave the event as a whole an 8. Some brilliant moments and matches.

Styles/Shane and Rollins/HHH were the best singles matches for me - for different reasons.

Styles and Shane combined to produce a very exciting match which totally surpassed my expectations - Shane was brilliant and nailed his big three moments like a seasoned veteran. Was a bit concerned his arm was broken after the Styles Clash didn't seem to get hooked fully but thankfully it was just good selling. The right result and a fantastic way to start the main card.

Rollins/HHH was just excellent story telling as said before. The selling of the knee injury, Steph screaming advice to her husband, the repeated and innovative counters to the Pedigree before Steph goes through a freaking table - and Rollins gets the win he needs.

The Ladder match was brilliant too. Great swerve by WWE with the New Day coming out and I legitimately nearly fell out of my seat when their music hit. That return at Mania will go down as one of the best ever and I'm excited to see what plans are in place for them going forward.

Wyatt/Orton really annoyed me. I never particularly liked Orton as a character - sure he has the look, but he bores me to tears - so I'm not exactly thrilled he's champ again. I'm not sold on Wyatt as champion either, I think the ship sailed for his character long ago but at least it was fresh and a Wyatt/Styles or - dare I say - Wyatt/BROKEN Matt further down the line is more exciting to me than Orton running through his promos in typical monosyllabic tones has me thinking I might be fast forwarding these segments for the forseeable.

The mixed tag was a real let-down. After arguably the best build on the card the match itself was a damp squib and I'm not sure what it accomplishes. If as expected Nikki and Cena head off into the sunset for at least a few months then they didn't need the win - particularly after Cena burying Miz and Maryse on Smackdown last week. You can still do the proposal after a loss for crying out loud! All that momentum Miz had built up comes to a halt now and where does he go next? A win could potentially have pushed him into the WWE title picture but now... he can't go back to the IC Title picture - maybe he gets traded to RAW?? I honestly don't know.

Corbin losing to Ambrose also annoyed me. Ambrose has been phoning it in for almost 6 months at this point and I'm sick to death of him. Why not give the fresh heel with a decent look a big rub at the grandest stage of them all. I get he'll probably win the title in the next month or so but why let Ambrose keep hold of it now - he might actually be interesting chasing it again.

Owens and Jericho was great, but it could have been so much better. The right result at least. I just think this would have been epic for the Universal Title and after carrying RAW for the last half a year they deserved more.

GoldBrock did exactly what it needed to do, but they didn't need the championship to build this match at all. Lesnar had been embarrassed by Goldberg repeatedly beforehand, this was his chance of redemption. Leave the belt on the full timers and then the crowd don't **** all over this match unnecessarily. Credit to Goldie for taking 10 German Suplexes in fairness, and the right result as Brock gets his big win.

Neville/Aries was great too. Shame it was so far down the card but they gave it their all and I think Neville retaining was the right result. The Red Arrow is truly a thing of beauty.

I'm gonna toss both women's matches together here as I feel both results should have much better payoff than they actually got. Had this been Bayley's maiden title win at Mania, beating Charlotte clean to end her PPV streak this is a huge moment for the RAW women. Instead WWE shot their load and gave Bayley her big win on RAW in a heelish fashion, then do the exact same three weeks prior at Fastlane meaning the PPV streak and Bayley's win are both underwhelming. Just makes no sense to me.

Naomi - ditto. Give Becky or Mickie James the match against Alexa at Elimination Chamber, and save this moment until in front of her hometown crowd. I'm not gone on her to be honest. I think someone said already she has absolutely zero personality so I hope this a short and sweet reign for her. Send Alexa and possibly Mickie to RAW in the draft with one of Bayley/Sasha/Charlotte going in the opposite direction to change things up.

I think overall it was a good to great show which should have been so much better had a little thought been put into the build of more of the RAW card. Reigns/Taker as a main event was desperate but I think Taker's retirement will hopefully gloss over that when we look back at it.

PTH2009

9

enjoyed the event

Sad to see Undertaker go but he had too someday. Hope they go full cocky heel with Reigns

The cena proposal thing was cheezy

amazing to see the Hardyz back but i wonder is it a short or long term deal

Triple H hitting off Stephanie and putting her through the table was funny. Really annoyed that Samoa Joe didnt appear all night

Brock and Orton winning the titles were meh

Shane is mad man but Aj Styles can sell almost any move

Bayley got her mania moment

KO vs y2j was ok

So onto the future hopefully they start all new storylines and fueds

Bounty Hunter

9

Here's wrestlings scoops McKenzie's tak on it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0g4NvOgPnU

edit: actually doesn't have too much to add this time

A Brad Maddox Guy

8

I went to bed when Pitbull came out and watched the rest this morning. The first three hours was much better than the final two imo which edged the show closer to a 7 than 8 for me. In saying that I still really enjoyed it - Styles vs Shane was really entertaining, AJ's class & Shane's mental so it was a nice combo. I thought Rollins vs HHH was great and Stephanie going through the table was fantastic. Surprised Joe didn't make an appearance but the match didn't need it. Matt & Jeff returning was epic and I'm delighted WWE didn't spoil it (just a shame the Dudleys left already, that's a nostalgia match I want to see), Sheamus & Cesaro are also a very good tag team and I think they sometimes don't get the credit they deserve, plus Enzo didn't kill himself or anyone else so that's a bonus. Brock vs Goldberg was pretty cool too as it felt like it could end at anytime.

Orton vs Wyatt was poor with a rubbish ending that only served to put over the RKO once again. I also think this was a waste of the WWE Championship as it was a side prop to all the Sister Abigail stuff. I also felt both women's matches were a letdown; RAW: I don't like Nia Jax, she doesn't look menacing for someone her size and I can't take the way WWE push her seriously. I also don't care for Bayley's character & find Sasha to be very inconsistent and a fairly poor face. Charlotte is the only one that comes across as a big deal so I just found it hard to get invested in this one. Smackdown: I much prefer the Smackdown division, Becky & Alexa are my two favourite women since AJ Lee left, Mickie James is great too. I don't care for Natalya but at least her character has improved recently; the Sharpshooter was hilarious. I don't like Naomi, athleticism is well and good but there's nothing tying it together imo. But her entrance is great and I've no issue with her winning aside from the fact she shouldn't have won it a few weeks ago. Carmella is awful and I don't know why they called her up, Ellsworth is the only entertaining thing in that package. This was never gonna be a classic but it didn't have enough Alexa or Mickie but it was a cooldown match so what do I expect

I agree with Necro about the mixed tag, it had the best build and Miz arguably had more momentum than anyone on the card but Cena winning was unnecessary. Give Miz & Maryse the win, let Cena propose to Nikki afterwards and then Miz can come out on Tuesday complaining about Cena yet again stealing his limelight. You can even have him insinuate that the only reason Cena proposed to Nikki at all is so Cena's name would be all over social media and to distract from the fact that Miz has beaten Cena at WrestleMania for the second time. It would have given Miz a lot of scope to push further up the Smackdown card.

Watching Reigns & Undertaker all I could think was that any casual fan watching this thinks Reigns is a heel. He looks like a heel, trash talked like a heel and even had heelish mannerisms like when Taker is trying to hold onto him near the end & Reigns slaps his hand away. The only way you know he's not a heel is because commentary is telling us he's not. I almost feel sorry for him.

DM_7

10

On the mixed tag.

Cena and Nikki are the feel good/ showbiz story from the show. The build required the faces to go over.

The match was all about Cena and Nikki getting back at Miz and Maryse for all the jibes, piss taking. Job done imo.

Miz can bounce back easily, like AJ did last year after losing to Jericho.

Pentecost

8

I didn't really have an issue with Cena and Nikki winning as that was how it has been built to. I thought the match itself was worse than I was expecting though, and I wasn't expecting a lot. Did Maryse even do anything in the ring? It's not like she's never wrestled before. Maybe it's because Nikki isn't able for much.

KKkitty

8

You have to feel sorry for Roman if he appears at Raw tonight. He better not have a promo organised because the fans will boo him out of it.

A Brad Maddox Guy

8

DM_7 wrote: »

On the mixed tag.

Cena and Nikki are the feel good/ showbiz story from the show. The build required the faces to go over.

The match was all about Cena and Nikki getting back at Miz and Maryse for all the jibes, piss taking. Job done imo.

Miz can bounce back easily, like AJ did last year after losing to Jericho.

They go over with the proposal, that's the feel good story. Whether Cena & Nikki win or lose the match they win the feud with the proposal since that's what a big crux of the story was; that Nikki wanted commitment but Cena didn't want to get married. I've no doubt Miz can bounce back easily, for all I know Miz could win a Fatal4Way #1 contender's match tomorrow and this is forgotten immediately. I just think it would have been an easier transition if they won while it wouldn't detract from the proposal at all.

nacho libre

7

Shane O Mac is brilliant. I thought he and AJ stole the show. The Jericho- Owens match was a let down. The Goldberg v Lesnar match was better than expected. It was good to see the Hardy Boys back. Incredible that Jeff is still doing those crazy spots at his age. As the commentator said he is a maniac!

I felt sorry for Big show if the Battle Royal was his last match. Also what were they doing booking Braun Strowman like this, he had so much momentum built up in the last couple of months. I would have had a three way match between him, Reigns and Taker, if only to let the two young bucks do all the work. As last night Taker was suffering badly even with Reigns carrying him. However i guess taker is old school and wanted to put over the man Vince sees as the future main attraction of the company. I was a bit sad watching the end as he was my favourite wrestler. I first started watching him way back in his WCW days. I wonder will he get an official send off tonight on Raw.

... reliving some of my favourite Undertaker moments this afternoon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBr_Kz2MCrk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyANgDSO2DM

PTH2009

9

going to remember this for the rest of the my life. Only CM Punk returning would beat that

Lord TSC

8

Just finished.

Gave it a seven.

I thought it was grand, but I don't know if it was special. And I feel for Wrestlemania, it should be more than "grand". I don't know if there's a specific moment, bar Taker at the end, that will be remembered in years to come. There were some nice moments, some cool moments, but I don't know if there were historic moments, outside of Taker's retirement.

Mind, there wasn't anything bad at all. I agreed with 99% of the booking decisions over the night.

Raw tonight, though, is where the smarks get their biggest show of the year :pac:

CastorTroy

9

Ok, I'll get teh important comments out of the way first.
I enjoyed Nikki's Baywatch audition when she was running to the ring alongside Cena.
I also appreciated the views from the back of HHH's bike. Steph looked great. If she dressed like that every week for Raw, she could be more tolerable. Wind blowing her hair also helped.

Now for the rest of the show.
For the preshow I'm not sure Booker T or Shwan cared enough about the SD women's match to know who was in it. When asked about who they think would win, they just said the current champ. How hard is it to say her name if they knew it.
Are Luke Harper and Dean Ambrose wearing the same ring gear now?
Think the last 3 for the battle royal made sense in a brand fairness way with a Raw, SD and NXT guy, but when it came to the final 2, it would work better if they could start a feud from it. But since Jinder and Mojo are different brands it wouldn't work. And I think this is a problem with a lot of Battle Royals these days. It's a way to start feuds but it rarely happens. Did like the security botch though.

On the main show, Shane and AJ was a much better match than expected. On paper it should've been over right away with AJ's ability compared to Shane's, but they made it work. Even got the coast to coast.
Hardys return was a great surprise and winning was great. Wonder how much of their TNA stuff they can do. I mean tthe whole Delete thing will need to be explained. TNA are probably seeing everyone doing the Delete gestures and all and thinking it would be great if all those people had actually watched their show.

Really don't think Cena/Nikki should've won. They didn't need it. Especially with how over Miz clearly was. Even Miz seemed surprised.

Great to Steph go through the table, in a comeuppance way.

The SD women's match was far too short. Wonder if they were told to cut it short or if it was gonna be that length on the preshow as well. Was Becky dressed as the main character from Horizon Zero Dawn?

The Taker match was not good. A lot of botches. That apparent tombstone reversal mess seemed to be caused by both guys. Taker for not being able to get his legs up and Reigns for not being able to lift him. I've seen instances before where Reigns has bitten off more than he can chew with regards lifting. He's not as strong as he or whoever teels him to do it thinks he is.
I didn't like how Reigns was in the corner looking at Taker as if he couldn't believe what was happening and couldn't understand. It's the kind of thing that's usually reserved for veterans fighting the less expereinced guys. Like Taker fighting Shane and Shane not giving up and Taker getting respect for him. It doesn't work when the new guy is the one doing it.
I agree Taker retiring now is a bit late but at the same time, I'm half thinking he left the coat and hat in the ring because he's going back to his American Badass gimmick.
I would prefer him to be on Smackdown for any kind of send off he gets. But I know it'll be Raw and there's also a chance he'll tell Roman it's his yard now.
There is also the possibility that he'll be the kind of guy he's known to be and just leave without wanting to break character by having such a send off and maybe turn up fo rHoF next year. Though kissing Michelle last night was breaking character anyway.



One thing I really disliked about the long ramp was people in multio person matches having their entrances cut short. Just doesn't feel right. Like look at the SD women. All got cut short, but then Naomi comes out and gets hers all the way to the ring and beyond. Even went longer than planned since she seemed to be improvising at the end.

thesultan

Very good mania, some great matches and how great was stephanie looking on her entrance with HHH?

Ali Bomaye

9

Overall, I thought it was a very enjoyable show, and the first couple of hours of the main show absolutely flew by.

Neville vs Aries was very good. I'm a big fan of both guys and thought the build was excellent. Pity this wasn't further up the card.
Hated the finish to the battle royal, but at least we had that moment with the security trying to stop Gronk getting to the ring. Ambrose vs Corbin was just okay, glad it was on the pre show.

Styles vs Shane was great. Before the match I hated the thought of Shane getting a lot of offense against AJ, but my god what a performance by Shane. That Shooting Star Press attempt was insane.

Owens vs Jericho was very good, though it was in a difficult position on the card. The raw women's match was fine. Some nice spots but would have been so much better if it was Bayley and Charlotte one on one with Bayley stopping the PPV streak.

I marked out like mad when the Hardy's music played and had a grin on my face from then until some point during the Rollins/HHH match. Incredible to see them back in the WWE. I hope they don't play up the Broken stuff too much. In TNA there was a long story arc that led to that character, and it reached its natural conclusion when they won the tag titles over there. I'm so happy to see the Hardy Boyz back, just not really interested in the Broken stuff anymore.

The mixed tag was fairly poor. I liked the Miz playing up to the crowd early on and doing the Daniel Bryan kicks, but then Cena and Nikki just hit their moves and that was it.

The HHH/Rollins match was decent, but it went on way too long. Found myself checking the time a lot during this and realising how late this thing could run. Typical HHH mania match really. Steph looked unreal.

Wyatt vs Orton was an absolute disgrace. I hated their match at No Mercy, yet was still looking forward to this given the build. But this was a complete dud. Maybe the worst WWE Title match I've ever seen. A farce.

Lesnar vs Goldberg was tremendous. Really this whole feud has been brilliant, and this was a great finish to it. I legit jumped out of my seat when Goldberg hit that first spear. It had the aura of a big time title fight and it delivered. Two proper stars.

Smackdown women's match was fine. Was cool to see Naomi get to do her entrance. Bit of a nothing match really.

The main event was sad to watch. Undertaker just can't go anymore. I'm a big fan of Reigns but this was a huge failure as a match, and Reigns looked like he knew it.

Andersonisgod

I'm not gonna go into too much detail so I'll sum it up with:

Things I liked: Neville vs Aries was the best match tonight (I'd go 4.15). The set was spectacular and the production created a typicallyincredible spectacle. The Hardy's return was great, as was that massive pop. Kurt Angle appearing in front of the live crowd. The layout of the Goldberg vs Lesnar match. The post match Undertaker stuff.

Things I didn't like: I can't remember the last time I hated the layout of a match more than Styles vs Shane (though a recent Thatcher vs Cobb match ran it close), the action was quite good but the layout of that match was the dirt worst for obvious reasons. Triple H vs Rollins sent the live crowd into a slumber from which they never really recovered. Orton vs Wyatt was insultingly bad and embarrassing for anyone who calls themself a wrestling fan. The booking of Reigns is either the dumbest booking of a top guy in a major company, or it's a continued attempt to turn him into the next "love him or hate him he provokes a reaction" main man but we've just seen 10 years of that with Cena and I'd really like something different. And, including the pre show, a 7 hour show is ridiculous, total overkill for even the most loyal WWE fans.

All in all I enjoyed the show. Some good things, some bad things, 2 moments that cracked the mainstream (Cena's proposal and Taker's retirement) and ultimately, that's what Wrestlemania is really about so WWE will consider this a creative success.

Ben Gadot

8

Ali Bomaye wrote: »

The main event was sad to watch. Undertaker just can't go anymore. I'm a big fan of Reigns but this was a huge failure as a match, and Reigns looked like he knew it.

He shouldn't be too hard on himself as I think most wouldn't have done much better the way Taker is now. If he really was in tears backstage then I think Vince needs to cop on and do what's best for the bloke rather than what he thinks is best for his company.

Lithium93_

9

Pentecost wrote: »

I'd say WWE are still figuring out what they can or want to do with the 'Broken' gimmick even if Matt owns it the WWE mightn't want the hassle of TNA taking action against them. Matt was shouting 'Wonderful!' when they came out and they gave a YouTube promo afterwards where he threw in some 'DELETE's. Plus Cole saying "things are about to become broken".

Please, WWE will go all in with the Broken gimmick, if they run with it, do you really think TNA if they kicked up any fuss could pose any threat to WWE in a courtroom, and besides Matt himself tweeted that the whole Broken gimmick is his intellectual property AND NOT TNA's.

BMMachine

8

exactly my feelings on Pitbull

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHGN7Q7fKlA

Chip Whitley

8

I thought it was a good Mania, at times verging on very good so I gave it a 7.

The 2 things I felt they got really wrong were:
Orton winning. The commentators were putting over that Wyatt has become more powerful since Randy burned down the compound but Orton didn't realise it and underestimated Wyatt early on. The visual projections were great I thought and should have spooked Randy more, to the point of distraction and a loss. That way their overall story would have been; Wyatt converts Orton, Orton comes to his senses, Orton plays the long game and earns Wyatts trust, Orton makes sure he's the only 'family' member left before the betrayal, the betrayal weakens Wyatt, but Wyatt uses it to becomes stronger, Ortons plan backfires and he loses. Then we have a stronger Wyatt going forward as champ.

The other thing from last night that I felt was wrong was not having Reigns actually completely dismantle and destroy Taker. To the point of the match being called off. The problem is they won't turn Reigns heel, which means (imo) they've watered down Takers last match, Reigns is neither over as a heel or a face now and Taker has finished off his career in a match that never felt like an all out war yet they were both reacting to each other like it was.

Happy to see the Hardyz back, but Matt was himself in all the post-match stuff, not Broken Matt, so I hope WWE haven't already ruined what was one of the most entertaining things in wrestling.

KKkitty

8

How would ye have booked The Undertaker's last match?

johnnysmack

8

Chip Whitley wrote: »

Happy to see the Hardyz back, but Matt was himself in all the post-match stuff, not Broken Matt, so I hope WWE haven't already ruined what was one of the most entertaining things in wrestling.

He seems broken in this

https://youtu.be/UVz71YzHvw0

CSF

4

Last night might have been the final nail in their ever being able to get Reigns over as a face.

He's going to make such an effective heel, in that people are going to be so eager to see faces get one over him. But I can't see the heel turn being the end of people complaining endlessly about how ridiculously strong he is booked.

Their best bet may well be to use Reigns going forward as the HHH to your Austin/Rock. So really they need to figure out who that's going to be.

Somewhere down the line, he may get some nostalgic sentiment in the way that Cena has over the last year (up until this tagging with Nikki thing at least), but if they actively use a heel run to get him over as a face (and they almost certainly will), then people will reject that completely.

D.Q

CSF wrote: »

Last night might have been the final nail in their ever being able to get Reigns over as a face.

He's going to make such an effective heel, in that people are going to be so eager to see faces get one over him. But I can't see the heel turn being the end of people complaining endlessly about how ridiculously strong he is booked.

Their best bet may well be to use Reigns going forward as the HHH to your Austin/Rock. So really they need to figure out who that's going to be.

Somewhere down the line, he may get some nostalgic sentiment in the way that Cena has over the last year (up until this tagging with Nikki thing at least), but if they actively use a heel run to get him over as a face (and they almost certainly will), then people will reject that completely.

Reigns Balor?

CSF

4

Balor is definitely a reasonable shout if they're willing to go all-in with him. They booked him very strong on his arrival but they also booked Kevin Owens very strong at the beginning before taking some of the steam away, so it'd be interesting to see where he'd be now if he hadn't gotten injured.

Kind of scary that it's hard to see too many obvious alternatives for the future face of the company. Like you know in Vince's head he's looking at someone like Big Cass but that's kind of repeating the mistakes that gave Reigns no real hope of ever being what they wanted.

Loughc

8

Couple of things I fear, I don't think we'll ever see a Reigns heel turn. Vince sticks to his guns when he wants to make a new Cena mega face.

I also fear Vince won't push Balor as strong due to him getting injured. Vince always believes the smaller wrestler get injured more that's one of the reasons he always gravitates towards the bigger guys.

kopite386

8

I would give it a 7.5 as I felt it was more than a 7 but not quite an 8 but seeing as the poll didn't do halves I gave it a solid 7.
I didn't see the preshow so can't comment on that but what a let down for Dean Ambrose after being a main event last year with Lesnar to be put on the preshow this year
AJ V Shane - was much better than I expected it to be and for me was the match of the night. That coast to coast and then the attempted shooting star press wow. Thought at times the match could go either way

Raw Women's Championship - I have to agree with what others said it would have been more special if Bayley won the championship for the first time at wrestlemania and thus ending her undefeated PPV streak as a solo wrestler but still happy Bayley retained and i think we now need Charlotte to step away from the championship scene for a while

KO Vs Y2J - was meh for me after all the build up I was expecting more just wasn't that great for me in all honesty not that it was bad either

Tag Team championship match - I avoided all spoilers so it came to a complete shock to me that the Hardy Boyz were back what a moment that was especially after thinking we were going to end up the New Day in there. And Jeff Hardy with that jump off the ladder onto Cesaro along with Shane they are two of the maddest men in WWE fearless jumping off anything. Vintage Jeff Hardy going to the top rung of the ladder and jumping off onto someone.

Goldberg Vs Brock - Right ending good match for the length of time haha all they did was produce their finishing moves - what was it 5 minutes

Cena & Nikki Vs Miz & Maryse - I actually enjoyed the match the mind games from Miz at the start and then Nikki setting Maryse up for the double nuckle shuffle then the rack attack 2.0 AND I also enjoyed the proposal, I do wonder though if it was a complete shock but either way it was a nice moment

Randy V Bray - Another meh match for me it just wasn't a great match at all

Smackdown womens championship - I knew from the moment Naoimi got that long entrance that I felt just wouldn't end that she would end up winning and with it being her hometown hopefully she doesn't hold it for long - I was hoping Becky would win it but heres hoping they push her for another championship run

HHH Vs Rollins - good decent match Rollins really sold the knee problem which will probably be fine tonight, sorry to say it but Steph going through the table was the highlight for me - I just found it so funny

Taker V Roman - Sad to see Taker retire and I agree he should of retired when his streak was broken. I know he was only a part timer that came out every​ wrestlemania season but still he will be missed. And for him to break character. I wonder if he will be given a farewell tonight for if last night was it. I was thinking before the match Jesus its going to take him the length of the match just to walk down the ramp but smart to have him walk halfway and have the stage lift thing haha