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Official DVD/Match/Show Discussion Thread

1M views 12K replies 618 participants last post by  Yeah1993 
#1 ·
#8,882 ·
You know what's funny about this conversation? All three of these guys--Sheamus, Barrett, Del Rio--have been victims of bad booking and bad writing. And all in extremely different ways.

Sheamus: Simultaneously overpushed and underpushed. They threw him the WWE Championship before anyone had gotten used to seeing his pale frame. Then, it seemed like he was given three minutes out of a 2-hour show while WWE Champion. He was also booked like a standard coward heel even though he looked like he could eat about 1/3 of the roster if he wanted to. The whole thing was just an incredibly strange affair, his first world championship reign, that is. Then they finally granted him some sound footing: and that was the feud with Triple H. From there on, he was always at least decently over as a heel. Which tells you a lot about how beloved Triple H is, and also that Sheamus was able to capitalize on the storyline. Beyond that, though, he was given a very standard "big bully" push that was nothing spectacular, creatively-speaking, but allowed him a second world championship reign. And, in late summer/early fall 2010, just as the fans seemed to finally accept him as a main event talent...

They pulled the rug out from under him. Suddenly, it was his job to get Morrison over as a face. A guy who had just started to get fully over as a heel in the main event scene vs. guys like Cena and Orton was now being inserted into the midcard and was essentially placed as the doormat for Morrison. Sure, he beat Morrison in the KOTR finale, but Morrison won at Survivor Series and at TLC, and it was at that time that Sheamus became plagued by the "KOTR Curse," which saw his booking turn to a rotten tomato. By the time Triple H Pedigreed Sheamus through the announce table that Raw last February, it seemed like a mercy killing because a full-out feud would not have worked based on how Sheamus had been booked going into that timeframe. They then started to grant him some credibility within the midcard with the feud over the US Championship with Danielson (and I'm still waiting for their pay-per-view match, dammit), and just as soon as he seemed to be doing okay as US Champion, he dropped it to Kofi Kingston. Then, he was shipped to Smackdown.

But since moving to Smackdown, he's been on a tear, putting on terrific matches with guys like Orton and Christian, owning a huge segment of the SD MITB match and having a solid big man match with Henry at Summerslam. The face turn was naturalistic. At first I wondered if it was too subtle, as it seemed like it took a little while for the fire to take off and start to rage, but I was wrong, they booked it just about perfectly, honestly. Now he's drawing huge ovations and cheers and name chants, even. It would be great if he were allowed to continue with the consistent booking for once in his WWE career beyond three or four months, so we'll see what happens, but I have to completely agree with Starbuck that he's just about as close as you're going to find among the "newer talents" to being a total package figure. He may not be a 10 in anything but he's at least an 8 (in my opinion) in just about everything. He's honestly one of their better main event workers nowadays, and seemed to take to the WWE style most when he started his feud with Orton over a year ago (they have sweet chemistry).

Barrett's bad booking has been everything since The Corre failed to get over, just about. The thing with Barrett is, he was the opposite of Sheamus. Never holding gold but his character was deeply fleshed out and allowed to blossom. Moreover, he was positioned as the Lex Luther to Cena's Superman. A ruthless, sadistic, practically Satanic supervillain of sorts who could outwit, out-battle (because of his little personal army) and outmaneuver (based on his psychological ripping apart of Cena which came after most of the physicality toward him). You'd think, based on that, that there was nothing WWE could do to screw this up. Well...

The problem was, anything lower than that exalted height would just about look like crap in comparison. You go from feuding with John Cena--literally owning Cena, in fact--to squabbling with CM Punk about who controls Nexus to taking some guys with you to Smackdown to beat up The Big Show to disintegrating and having a little Intercontinental Championship program with Ezekiel Jackson to a whole lot of absolutely nothing and the inescapable impression is just how far you've fallen. You could look at it from multiple vantage points. On one hand, you could say that Barrett's character circa one year ago right now was, in a way, unsustainable--that is, if they weren't willing to go absolutely all the way with it and crown him world champion and let him become the hegemonic superpower of heels in opposition to the superheroes of Cena/Orton/Rey/Trips, et. al. And apparently they weren't. Which may very well have been because of his greatest weakness, which was his in-ring work. The matches with Orton at Bragging Rights and Survivor Series are downright blandly bad. They aren't so bad that they're kind of comically good, and they aren't disjointed, fun messes, they're just utterly pedestrian, rote, dull. And it did hurt Barrett, because the supervillain getting his hands dirty wasn't entertaining. Of course, you could issue complaints about the whole storyline. Having Orton as the MacGuffin was a questionable move. It's definitely true that Cena/Barrett worked better at last year's HIAC than Barrett's subsequent matches with Orton. Orton, especially at that time as a new babyface, had difficulty working with a lot of guys on the roster very well (save for Sheamus), so I'm willing to cut Barrett some slack. But his weakness was still quite evident.

Barrett is, therefore, the anti-Sheamus. Sheamus was a nobody who was thrust upon us, and in about a year and a half, we grew to love him. Barrett was given the Darth Vader role in the first two films and by the middle of the third film has become just another stormtrooper. He's the incredibly shrinking superstar. He has been diminished, almost infinitely. One had a weak start while being introduced to the fans, which slowly but surely went upward, the other had a strong start that, some would argue, could only go downward.

The issue of "presence" is indicative of the way they're pushed. WWE would be wise to treat its more notable prospects like actors who need to be correctly cast. Sheamus was cast correctly: charming, funny, slightly goofy, yet still capable of being taken very seriously, Irish lug who can start off as a thuggish heel and gradually shift into his more natural role as benevolent face. Barrett, too, was cast correctly: nasty, evil, remorseless villain. Problem is, one is by its nature more versatile than the other and can withstand more garbage thrown its way. Diminish the supervillain to the point where he goes from running SPECTRE to running a street gang of hooligans, to no longer running anything but just kind of wandering the streets at night, looking for a car to steal or a gas station to rob, and you've made him very rote, exceedingly quotidian.

Alberto Del Rio is the hybrid. And, in a way, he's the more dryly traditional approach to pushing. You just start strong (defeating Rey Mysterio in debut match), you keep it up, you let it cool off a little bit, then you pour on the gas with reckless abandon (Royal Rumble victory, Wrestlemania main event program, angling for a World Championship, Money in the Bank, Summerslam cash-in, feuding with John Cena, and perhaps now CM Punk). The reason why the booking has let Del Rio down, to an extent, at least, is because, despite having such a truncated timeline, his push is nevertheless remarkably familiar. Not in actualities. Only Brock Lesnar comes into the company and wins The Royal Rumble in less than a year's time, along with a world championship, as well as a main event spot at Wrestlemania (granted, Lesnar's main event was actually the main event, not the opener--but I'm not going to spend time on that head-scratcher). But just in the general way the soup was being stirred. And the worst part was WWE's determination to simply push this guy to the point that the fans--casuals and smarks alike--simply grew kind of ill with him. Raise your hand if you wanted to smack Del Rio across the face this past spring/summer as he droned on about "destiny" on Raw. Yeah. They overdid it, while not really doing much with him, necessarily. And that's never good. It's like the push that never was. It would be like having Hamlet literally only talk, and do nothing, ever (which, I grant, is almost how Hamlet feels at times... was Ricardo modeled on Horatio?), except seem important. That was how WWE pushed Del Rio: every feud he had that had promise (Rey Mysterio, Edge, Christian, Big Sh--never mind) was cut short for one reason or the other (can't blame them with the Edge one, I guess) or, in the case fo the feud with Rey, was simultaneously extended beyond its expiration date and cut short. He had no purpose like Barrett, and his actions didn't speak for themselves as was at least the case with Sheamus, even when he was poorly-booked. Sure, he took out Rey early on, went after Bourne, but his routine needed to be given some more sizzle, his character needed to be developed, and, though they've teased doing that here and there, he's more or less just the same guy he was when he first debuted, only with a "destiny" catchphrase along with "My name is Alberto Del Rio, but you already knew that" (which I like, by the way).

Of the three pushes, Del Rio's was the safest, most conservative. Sheamus--that took guts. Or madness. You throw your most prized championship on a guy nobody knows? Everything in pro wrestling stands against it, but people were so sick of the Cena-Orton-Triple H Axis of Sameness in late 2009 that many of us, whether we admitted it or not, kind of liked it. At least it was sort of different. Barrett, again, an outrageous push, and creative. Del Rio's push needs some of the luster of the Barrett push in terms of character connective tissue (they seem to inch toward it from time to time, and whether we like it or not, the recent experiment of having him drop the championship only to reclaim it two weeks later seemed to get him more over because it at least allowed the audience to see him in a state of loss followed by outlandish extremes in resourcefulness with the finish to the Cell match) and the brazen, go-for-broke quality of the initial Sheamus push. Del Rio's push has allowed the main character to seem so static, and that's too bad because I think he has the talent to do more with it. Having him lose big match after big match while chiming in that it was his destiny anyway seemed to rob him of his inherent forward momentum, of which he at least had some going into Wrestlemania.

I like all three of them. The most limited--because of his stereotypical casting, which worked so wonderfully as leader of Nexus, but will probably never allow him to be a very successful face--is Barrett. Yet he could be the most effective of the three when it comes to playing a particular role on one side of the heel/face equation. Del Rio spent ample time playing babyface and I'm sure he could do it again in the United States. Sheamus is such a likable guy with such an obviously kind soul that try as he might, he could never draw truly wicked, nuclear heat as a heel. But he was still a solid heel. He's just a better face. The issue of "presence" being debated here, chiefly between Sheamus and Barrett partisans, displays just how different these guys are from each other in reality. I don't think Sheamus could have pulled off all the nuances of Barrett's performance as Nexus mastermind last year, but where Barrett is a King in one area, Sheamus is able to float around and be largely successful in more fiefdoms of performance. There's no question that Sheamus has a lot of presence, though. It's simply the case that he remained at least fairly over from the beginning of the Triple H feud all the way through his face turn to today, even when he was given aimless angles, utilized as enhancement for another project (which Barrett finally was for Ezekiel, and it should be noted here that ring performance does matter, here most of all, when you're tasked with putting another guy over: Sheamus, with his performance in the Ladder Match at TLC, had the next night's Raw audience chanting John Morrison's name--a first? an only once?--whereas Barrett, who had storyline kayfabe history with Zeke, could not do much of anything to get him over... Granted, Zeke is a limited in-ring performer himself, and the matches were never going to be even decent, but based on storyline history, at least, you'd think Barrett would have been able to at least get Ezekiel a few pops for a little while, but it never seemed to materialize beyond the actual heat of the face-turning moment).

As single entities, I'd say Sheamus has to be considered the most impressive figure insofar as he was able to resist either typecasting or the necessity to be continually pushed to remain over/relevant, whereas Barrett's stock dropped the moment he left Raw, or perhaps even when he took the big loss to Cenat at TLC, and in the case of Del Rio, he's been pushed consistently ever since he first showed up, and has clearly been in need of all the pushing he can get to draw substantial reactions. Sheamus did have the one ace of the feud with Triple H, but he was on course to being at least a decent heel even without that merely by his placement against other figures (they used him as the de facto unknown heel to allow the audience at the Royal Rumble 2010 root for Orton, who was being poised for a face turn). He drew loud "YOU SUCK!" chants for powerbombing Jamie Noble and roughing up MVP in the first couple of months of being on Raw. So, there was some kind of intangible star quality there, even if it was admittedly unfocused and needed some honing.

Anyway... Congratulations if you read more than three sentences of this.
 
#3,926 ·
WrestleMania 27 2011

Its very rare I review a full show these days, but I make sure to do it for the RR and WM. Amazing how little I was actually interested in the event this year due to the build up. And then how little I cared for the show AFTER I watched it live. Hoping a rewatch for this review will change my opinion on things...


Sheamus Vs Daniel Bryan - US Title

No real build for this match, but I'm a massive Danielson fan due to his in ring work, and Sheamus has improved a ton in the last year. Nice to see the US belt actually getting defended as well.

So, the PPV kicks off with this match and... wait... no it doesn't. This match doesn't make it on the show AT ALL. It got put on the pre-show (so we'll most likely see it on DVD)... AND TURNED INTO A FUCKING BATTLE ROYAL THAT KHALI WON. Why did this happen? Oh yeah, because the guest host of WM, The Rock, had to cut a 15 minute promo.

BULLSHIT.

Makes it even worse that the promo was fucking shit and UTTERLY POINTLESS. It added NOTHING to the show in the slightest. I did not pay for this PPV to see no wrestling for the first 20 minutes, and certainly not for a fucking Rock promo.

Rating: BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLSHIT


Edge Vs Alberto Del Rio - World Heavyweight Title

So, after Rocky's pointless and shit promo, we finally get a match... and its the WHC match? The fuck?

As soon as they announced this was the opener, I had a feeling that Del Rio wasn't winning. Maybe I thought a big title change like this simply wouldn't happen as the opener, but honestly I can't really say the exact reason I got that feeling. Turned out to be right though...

Gotta love how Christian, one of the most talented wrestlers in the world right now, is stuck on the outside doing nothing...

Del Rio quickly goes after the injured arm, which is of course a smart move. The only real potential I saw for this match was the arm work and Edge's selling of it and fighting to come back, so it made me a little happy to see that neither man was retarded enough to ignore it (hey, it has been done before lol...).

With Del Rio working the arm, Edge really has to use his veteran instincts to create openings for himself, which we see fairly early on when he moves out of Del Rio's way, and Rio goes flying through the ropes to the outside. Then the importance of leaving WM with the WHC is made perfectly clear when Edge lands a top rope dive to the floor in an attempt to keep his opponent down.

And with Edge creating all these openings due to being the veteran, Del Rio does equally as well by going back to the injured arm to control the match whenever Edge gets some offence in.

Rather loved the spot with Del Rio hitting that big kick on Edge, going for the cover, only for Edge to get his foot on the rope and Rodriguez running past to take it off before the ref sees him. Great to see someone on the outside actually doing more than just standing around these days.

When Brodus smashed Edge's shoulder into the ring post and Del Rio went for the Cross Arm Breaker, I thought it was over, but alas, it was not to be. And a few moments later... Del Rio gets hit with a running hug and for some reason Edge actually retains the belt. Bah.

Match had a lot going for it, I gotta admit, but outside of a couple of spots, there was nothing that we wouldn't see from lower card guys in a Superstars match. It was just totally underwhelming for a WM match, and even more so for a WHC match. It wasn't until the very end when things seemed that important and they went into a higher gear either. A little better than I expected tbh, but as I predicted, Christian/Del Rio on SD a couple of weeks back was WAY better than this. Sucks balls that Edge is still champ too. Guy's boring and stale beyond belief.

Rating: **1/2


Cody Rhodes Vs Rey Mysterio

Totally looking forward to this match! Great build up, and both men talented enough to give us something great.

Why does Rey always have to look like a retard at WM?

After the beatdowns the last couple of weeks, Rey wastes no time going after Cody, and tries to take that protective mask off too. Not to embarrass Cody, but to remove the potential weapon.

Cool to see someone in a feud with Rey NOT caring about the mask or taking it off. This time its CODY'S mask that is the focal point over Rey's mask, and its Rey's KNEE BRACE that is the target of his opponent.

Tremendous sequence from Cody where he spins Rey around in the ropes, headbutts him with the mask, then does that leaping kick (I'm sure it has a name, but I forget these things) to Rey's head. Makes a great sound and looks amazing.

Again Rhodes looks awesome when he counters some Rey Rey offence and utilises some BOB HOLLY offence to try and put him away.

Since Rey and the knee brace injured Rhode's face months back, Cody does a wonderful job of trying to get the knee brace off, and when Rey keeps fighting back so he can't do it, goes after the face of Rey to gain some revenge.

Like Del Rio going back to the arm of Edge in the previous match, Cody keeps using the protective mask to headbutt Rey whenever Rey might be making a comeback. All in all just some great work from Cody.

After some great offence by Cody, he finally has Rey down and almost out, enough to take off that knee brace and hopefully avoid getting injured again. But once this happens, Mysterio is pissed and makes sure to take the mask off of Cody and land a 619!

Cody is resilient though, so Rey goes one step further for retribution, and puts on the Cody mask! A few headbutts with it and Cody looks to be out, but nope, he still fights back! So how does Cody react to having his face attacked with his own protective mask? He grabs the knee brace that he took off of Rey, and smashes him in the face! One finisher later, and Cody picks up the big win!

Fucking great how the knee brace came into the finish, and actually HELPED Cody, after ruining his life for so many months prior to WM. Shocked to see Cody get the win, but extremely pleased. Great match, awesome storytelling, and perfect finish.

Rating: ****


What's this? A Pointless segment backstage and The Rock isn't involved? I AM SHOCKED! Something about Snoopy the Dog and people trying to be funny but not really achieving it. Except for Regal. Oh, and how many of us wish that Piper would hit the real singer of "Friday" in the head with a coconut? Not just me I'm sure!


The Corre Vs The Big Show, Kane, Santino Marella & Kofi Kingston

So, Vlad was taken out during Axxess and Kofi takes his place. Don't care for either man so it doesn't matter to me which one of them is here or not.

In my predictions I said that Corre will probably win, since 3 of the 4 are holding titles, but WWE are stupid enough to make them lose.

Man oh man, if only I knew then that WWE were even MORE stupid than I could possibly imagine. Not only do the Corre lose... but they lose in a grand total of about 2 minutes (actually, more like 1 and a half). Again, I have to bring up the fact that Rocky cut a 15 minute pointless promo at the start of the show, and a match gets cut and another gets cut so short it might as well have been cut. Thanks Rock!

Its weird though, I'm pissed that it was so pointlessly short, but at the same time I wasn't interested in the match anyway. Perhaps with 10 minutes or so it could have been a nicely worked match, or perhaps it could have sucked and making it less than 2 minutes was the best thing for it. We will never know. The minute and a half it DOES get is entertaining as hell at least, so that's... you know, something. I mark for Show's right hand.

Rating: 1/4*


Snoopy had his chance for a pointless backstage segment, and now The Rock gets to do it. Yey. LOL at him talking to Eve and saying how great it is that she is the Divas champion... and yet she isn't even on the WM card. Did I mentioned already that this is pointless? They had the chance to do something decent with it when Austin showed up... but they just said hello basically and left. I bet Sheamus and Danielson just LOVE Rocky for probably getting paid a couple of million to be here and taking their WM match away from them.


CM Punk Vs Randy Orton

This one has potential to be good, but based on Orton's terrible babyface match formula, it also has the potential to suck more balls than The Rock.

So we have another match where the story can revolve around a particular thing; first it was Edge's arm, then we had Rey's head and knee brace along with Cody's mask, and now Orton's leg. Its all simple stuff, but done right can really make a match. Edge/Del Rio didn't go beyond the basics, Rey/Cody worked all aspects in their match extremely well, and now we just have to see how Punk and Orton work with the leg.

Punk goes after the leg the moment the bell rings, so I guess we can expect the leg to be the main focus, which is exactly what it should be. Punk's offence is tremendous, and Orton shows that he can sell really well too. I know he can, but some people out there seriously don't think Orton can do anything except for an RKO...

RKO countered into a kick to the face by Punk was epic. In fact, Punk has some tremendous kicks throughout the match, especially the sequence of kicks that ends with a sweep to knock Orton down into the Anaconda Vice.

Despite some good selling by Orton, Punk's offence seems to be really up and down after a while. We get bursts of greatness from him, then periods of "meh" offence where it looks like he's just wasting time. Maybe that's not the best way to describe it, but I'm struggling to really think of what it is I'm trying to say lol.

Orton failing the hit the Punt because of his leg, but leaping up for an RKO was pretty fantastic. I would have preferred that to have landed and be the finish rather than Punk getting away and then jumping into another RKO.

Some good stuff here, but some of it seemed a little dull to me and I wasn't a fan of the finish. Like I said, should have ended with the attempted one rather than the "catch off the ropes" one. Disappointed with this one, but at the same time it wasn't as horrible as it could have been either.

Rating: **1/2


What's that? More pointless backstage Rock segments? WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Hey looks, its Pee Wee "I'm a children's entertainer and I got caught masturbating at a movie theatre" Herman. Great for PG WWE!

And this is followed by the usual HOF segment where they are all introduced and only a couple of them get reactions lol. Sunny looked hot as hell, and poor Drew Carey got booed. And Shawn got his own huge entrance while the rest were already on the stage. I guess it helped save time, I mean, they needed that extra 15 minutes for The Rock at the start!


Michael Cole with Jack Swagger Vs Jerry Lawler - Guest Referee Stone Cold Steve Austin

LMFAO at Michael Cole. Me and my brother just cracked up when we saw what he was wearing. Awesome that JR was on commentary. When Booker was announced I was pissed because he sucks, but then JR came out too and I was happy again.

Amazing to think that this feud was the major reason for me buying this event... and the match ended up being god awful. I knew it wasn't going to be a classic, but they just went about the whole thing completely wrong and it turned into a shit fest on par with Hart/McMahon (except Cole didn't need to rest half way through the match lol).

It started off great; Lawler takes out Swagger while Cole cowers in his tool box before Lawler finally gets his hands on him. Then Swagger attacks Lawler from behind while Austin is distracted, and Cole is in control.

And then it gets shit.

Cole starts to work over the leg and ankle of Lawler. In such a shitty way. And takes WAY too long to do it. WAY TOO LONG. Take 10 minutes away from this match, and the 15 minutes from Rocky's promo and we have an extra 25 minutes that could have been spread across Danielson/Sheamus and the 8 man tag or something.

I'm not one of those fans who thinks that WWE needs blood to make it more awesomesauce (you know, like TNA!), but this match could have perhaps been saved at the end had Cole bladed and was covered in blood following some huge rights from Lawler. But since that wasn't possible in the slightest... how about just a fucking Piledriver to end it? Bah.

Lawler getting to take out Cole at the end was a nice payoff, and the Raw GM reversing the decision and giving it to Cole was great too... as long as they don't go into overkill with Cole's character on Raw because of it. Still, it NEEDED to be way shorter and Cole should have gone a completely different way with his offence. Disappointing as FUCK and really really bad for the most part, but it did have its moments where I was entertained.

Rating: 1/4*


The Undertaker Vs Triple H

Without a doubt the BIGGEST match on the show... and really the ONLY big match on the show. Despite my seeming man love for The Undertaker, I wasn't too interested in this one. Based on their previous matches over the years I had a lot of reason to doubt it. And watching it live didn't do much for me.

However, after sitting through 20 minutes of Lawler/Cole and numerous other disappointments, and the fact it was around half 2 in the morning by now, I was tired and a little bored and probably didn't pay as much attention to it. Hopefully this rewatch will do some good. I mean, back at WM 25 I wasn't THAT impressed with HBK/Undertaker when I saw it live. Adored it when I reviewed it the next day.

"For Whom The Bell Tolls" plays and out comes HHH for a rather unspectacular WM entrance. Nobody this year really had an entrance worth mentioning, including Undertaker right afterwards. Though I always enjoy Undertaker's entrance no matter what lol. Oh, and his new coat was awesome too. Maybe one of these days I'll look into getting a coat like that, always really wanted one.

No time wasted here as HHH takes the fight right to The Undertaker with those big lefts and rights. No need to feel his opponent out; he's been in the ring before, plus he just wants to end the Streak at any cost, so going for the big bombs right away makes sense. Undertaker just kinda shrugs him off though, launching him out of the ring. HHH throws more bombs at Undertaker on the outside, but Undertaker again shrugs him aside and sends him into the steel steps. Undertaker wants to control this match and go at HIS pace, regardless of what HHH wants to do. So HHH charges at The Undertaker and sends him crashing through the tool box, which leads to a great visual of Undertaker getting up almost DBZ style when someone is knocked into a mountain or something and they just stand back up and let the rocks fly off them lol. He stares at HHH almost as if to say "fine, we'll do it YOUR way".

HHH is really determined to take out Undertaker here, and as a result Undertaker takes a bump into the barricade that someone of his age and condition (hip surgery a year or so ago I think) really shouldn't be taking. But its WM and he'll do everything he can. The fight goes onto the announcers table, and HHH takes a huge bump with a back body drop off the table to the floor, and perhaps legit injures his left arm which he favours for the rest of the match, but not in a way that prevents him from doing anything if you get me.

Knowing that he is truly in for the fight of a lifetime, Undertaker knows he has to really bust out everything in his arsenal. After WM 25 when he landed on his head, I didn't think we would see it again, especially since he didn't do it at WM 26 and his condition has got to be worse a year later... but dammit, Undertaker continues to prove that he is still the best in the world when he wants to be, and he dives over that top rope as effortlessly as he did a decade ago when he was in way better shape.

The big bumps keep coming, and Undertaker again puts his body in more risk than he should when he attempts to put HHH through a table but ends up taking a AA Spinebuster through it instead! DAMN!

Watching live, and feeling how I did (bored, disappointed and tired due to the time and rest of the show so far lol), I just saw this as one giant finishing stretch from the get go with no psychology or anything. Watching it again in a much better mood, I can see it for what it really is; awesome. The match is all about HHH wanting to end the streak or die trying, and Undertaker wanting to prove to HHH that is ISN'T his time to go yet. So HHH does what he does best; be a ruthless cunt who will destroy his opponent at any cost, while Undertaker continues to fight back and kick out of anything The Game throws at him. If they had started slow, locking up and "wrestling" at the beginning, it really would have been dumb given the context of the feud, so I for one am glad that they went all out from the start. Helps that they are executing everything so well too.

At some point Undertaker gets a Chokeslam in, but nobody in their right mind believes that its over lol. A Pedigree shows up too, and it too isn't that great as a false finish, just because of what Undertaker and HBK did the last 2 years.

The Last Ride spot, while again not the best false finish, was still cool because it was a great throwback to WM 17, as Undertaker defeated HHH that way 10 years ago at this very event. Undertaker getting frustrated was great to see. His character as the last outlaw might not look too different on the surface, but he really is been shown as more "human" than usual, and given the feud with Undertaker not accepting HHH's statement that he's done, getting frustrated like this at not being able to put HHH away really adds to the story of the match. If a Last Ride, and then a TOMBSTONE can't put HHH away... can Undertaker do it? Can he hold on to his streak? DRAMA~!

The second Pedigree is a way better false finish than the first. Like the Tombstone, its one of THE most protected finishers in the entire industry really (though other companies tend to use the Tombstone every now and then and NOT finish a match with it...). So seeing 2 of them not work, and then a THIRD in a very short period of time after the second one also not work was just amazing. I always go into these matches expecting Undertaker to win, but every so often a certain spot in certain matches over the last few years really makes me think that the Streak might end this time. That third Pedigree was one of those moments along with the last Superkick in WM 26 before Undertaker eventually won.

MOAR Throwbacks in the match (which I LOVE btw) with HHH using the steel chair similar to how Austin used it on The Rock at WM 17 when Rocky kept kicking out of the Stunner, and then the "stay down" which was a throwback to WM 26 when Undertaker told HHH's best friend HBK to stay down. Makes the match that much better that Undertaker actually finished HBK off after telling him to stay down and he didn't, so with HHH saying it maybe he would actually get the win!

Undertaker's selling in this match NEEDS to be talked about too. The man really is one of the better sellers IN THE WORLD today, and has been for a number of years, even with the Dead Man gimmick. He can make things believable while still being able to be the "other worldly" character. Here he comes across as more human, as I mentioned earlier, and his selling is just impeccable. You really get the feeling that he's at death's door and the next big move could end his streak, and his life (kayfabe of course).

And then there is the Tombstone. From HHH. Good GOD. I'm struggling to decide which is better; Tombstone kick out by HBK at WM 25, or this one. The crowd has been pretty shitty most of the night, but picked up for this match, and when Undertaker kicked out of that Tombstone they went ballistic. Almost as if THEY, like me, believed that it was over. And then it wasn't. And it was awesome.

Just as Undertaker was getting frustrated with HHH kicking out of shit, HHH begins to get that same feeling, and resorts to bringing out the Sledgehammer. He drags Undertaker to the centre of the ring, and informs the Dead Man that "Its time". And Undertaker sticks him in Hells Gate! What a struggle this is too, with HHH trying to hang on, trying to escape. At one point he grabs that Sledgehammer, and we know that just one shot from that and it could be it for The Undertaker... but HHH is fading fast, and the Sledgehammer drops. The hammer hits the mat, and then The Game taps out. I would have preferred for HHH to simply "pass out" to really put over the "die trying" mentality that he had going into the match, but its a minor complaint really.

Damn. Definitely, DEFINITELY enjoyed this more on this rewatch. A LOT more. A fucking TON more. This is fantastic. Truly epic. The storytelling is off the charts, the action is incredible, and the finish (while not 100% perfect) is great. This was one hell of a battle, and the selling from both men, but especially The Undertaker, is out of this world. Hell, I've been reading all day from numerous sites that a LOT of people believed that Undertaker was legit hurt and out of it. I just have to wonder what's next for Undertaker after the way he was taken to the back.

Rating: ****3/4


John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Snookie Vs LayCool & Dolph Ziggler

Urgh. Jersey Whore. As long as the guys get some decent time to work in the ring, and Trish does the majority of the diva work for her team, this should be ok.

Trish and McCool start things out, and they work pretty well together, especially by diva standards. Chick Kick early on almost had me believing that this match was gonna just randomly end, but WWE wouldn't be that stupid, would they? Of course not... Dolph breaks it up and the match continues...

FOR ABOUT 1 MORE MINUTE.

Snookie gets the tag, does a handspring elbow and then a shitty splash... and gets the win.

And that's it.

So ummm... why were Dolph and Morrison even in this match? Seriously, what the FUCK was the point of them being here?

Trish/McCool at the start at least prevents this from being the worst thing on the card.

Rating: 1/2*


The Miz Vs John Cena - WWE Title

Miz gets a great video package... while Cena is made to look like some sort of messiah or something. The fuck? I guess "Cenation" will be a religion by the end of the year...

I went into this match with low expectations... and they did nothing to exceed them. This is just bad.

Dull. Best way to describe this one. Only thing I can say positive about it is... ummm.. the F-U kickout from The Miz. As far as the F-U goes, being a fucking shitty move and all, it was probably one of the best Cena has done in terms of impact, and Miz kicking out of it was a shock.

The double countout thing was shit, but if ANYONE honestly expected WWE to end the main event of WM like this, then you must be a TNA fan.

Rock comes out (because, you know, he hasn't taken up much time on this show yet) and talks again... Raw GM says something. Rock ignores it and somehow gains the power to make matches because he's the guest host of WM, and the match restarts. Rock Bottom to Cena. Miz wins. I am shocked at the outcome. Miz celebrates. Rock beats him up. WM ends with Rock celebrating.

WAY TO RUIN WM FOR ME ROCK!

Rating: 1/2*


Final Thoughts

Well... for a WM this is BAD. Really fucking BAD. Undertaker/HHH was awesome, but aside from Rey/Rhodes, there is NOTHING you need to see on this show at all.

Rock talking for 15 minutes instead of the ADVERTISED US Title match was beyond bullshit. Some of the booking decisions for the matches were stupid and shitty. Just left a bad taste in my mouth. On paper, I wasn't expecting much from this show at all, and unfortunately it didn't surprise me in a good way. When I buy the DVD (for my collection), I'll rewatch Rhodes/Mysterio and Undertaker/HHH... and the rest will probably never see the light of day from me lol.

Overall Rating: 4/10
 
#7,926 · (Edited)
Getting up to speed, or at least trying to.

Rey Mysterio vs. John Cena - RAW 07/25/11
Wow, this was all I expected and more. I always liked the concept of a Rey/Cena WWE Title match, for two guys who’ve barely wrestled eachother, they have crazy chemistry. The opening stages with Rey trying to take Cena’s legs out like a rabid terrior was brilliant. That clothesline on the floor was great, Lawler was actually good selling it too. For once, Lawler seemed genuinely excited about the product. For me, the absolute best thing was Cena looking like a cripple stumbling to his knees after the STF from Rey. It was just so unexpected and awesome in every sense of the word. The finishing stretch was tasty enough, Cena’s leg drop looked like it legit hurt, I think Cena landing on the opponents chest with the leg drop rather than the back of the neck looks SO much better. Definitely one of the best WWE TV matches I’ve seen in forever. I could watch this shit 24/7.

****

John Cena vs. CM Punk – RAW 01/17/11
So I understand this was the first meeting between these two? Oh no wait, I’m wrong. My bad. For the first match of their feud, it did it’s job in making Punk look like he’s on Cena’s level. But it didn’t really accomplish much else. The early stages were pretty good but I thought both guys seemed to be going through the motions, almost like they weren’t quite sure what to do next. I thought the finisher teases came too early and the match didn’t really feel above average until the Koji Clutch spot, and I must say that was a swank-as-fuck spot, didn’t appreciate Cole calling it the Anaconda Vice though. The Cena leg-drop felt like a really big deal here, which I wasn’t expecting at all, but I’ll take that over a million FU counters leading to one succesful FU. The finish wasn’t exactly pleasing, but it’s not like I was expecting a clean finish anyway. Pretty good TV match that set the bar nicely for their future encounters.

***1/4

Editing to avoid double-posting...

John Cena vs. CM Punk – RAW 02/07/11
I can’t say this was anything special. It’s pretty much just Punk beating on Cena for like 6 or 7 minutes, with the odd Cena hope-spot here and there. One thing that really pissed all over my dog was that the match lacked any real structure, it’s like they completely skipped the beginning and went right into the middle section of the match, rushed that and ended it just as the finishing stretch was starting. One little thing I did like however was Punk going right on offence from the bell, last time he trash-talked beforehand and got his ass handed to him, this time he knew better, it was a really nice touch actually. The ending didn’t really do anything for me, CENA DEFIES THE REF?! WUT?!! The execution of it just seemed so out of the blue. I expected better but I guess this was nothing more than the typical RAW main-event that we’ve seen a thousand times.

**1/4

John Cena vs. CM Punk – RAW 02/14/11

Wow, this was a vast improvement on last weeks match. It was given around the same amount of time, but the use of that time was like 100x more efficient here. Things started off hot, with a flying clothesline off the apron within the first minute or two. The middle portion of the match was entertaining enough, just a lot of back and forth shit that oozed swag. Also, Punk was being booked like a sly fox here, the amount of times he escaped finishers was just ridiculous. Some of his facial expressions were priceless too, he’s probably one of my favorites to watch simply because of the little nuances he adds to matches like these. The finish was unique enough, definitely my favorite finish up to this point in their series, probably the best match in their 2011 stuff so far too. Check it out, it’s not like it’s a gazillion hours long or anything.

***1/4

The Miz vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Alberto Del Rio – 05/09/11

This was a fucking blast. Just complete nonstop balls-to-the-wall action which made for a brisk but superb 12 minutes. Miz, in particular looked seriously good here, I’ve never been a huge fan of the guy but he really impressed me here. Rey took most of the punishment in the match like a boss and was perfect in his role as the sole babyface here. Del Rio seemed to just drift in and out but anything he did was really good, there was one spot where Miz is stuck in the ropes and Del Rio just chucks him to the floor by the legs, I thought that was pretty awesome especially since he didn’t just leave Miz lying there, he floored the fucker with a lariat. For once, the 3-way exchanges were fresh and worked really well. The finish wasn’t what I was expecting but it’s nice to be surprised sometimes. I normally love the shit out of 3-way sprits and this was no exception. Top notch stuff.

***3/4
 
#11,083 ·
Top 25 Favourite Undertaker Matches

1. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: WM 25
2. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels HIAC: BB 97
3. Undertaker vs Triple H: WM 27
4. Undertaker vs Kurt Angle: NWO 06
5. Undertaker vs Bret Hart: ONO 97
6. Undertaker vs Randy Orton: WM 21
7. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: WM 26
8. Undertaker vs Mankind BRB: SS 96
9. Undertaker vs Triple H: WM 17
10. Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar HIAC: NM 02
11. Undertaker vs JBL Last Ride: NM 04
12. Undertaker vs Randy Orton/Bob Orton Casket: NM 05
13. Undertaker vs Bret Hart: SS 97
14. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: GZ 97
15. Undertaker vs Kurt Angle: SD 06
16. Undertaker vs Randy Orton HIAC: ARM 05
17. Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar BCM: NM 03
18. Undertaker vs Diesel: WM 12
19. Undertaker vs Kane: WM 14
20. Undertaker vs Randy Orton: SD 05
21. Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels Casket: RR 98
22. Undertaker & Batista vs John Cena & Shawn Michaels
23. Undertaker vs Randy Orton: SS 05
24. Undertaker vs JBL: SD 05
25. Undertaker vs Kurt Angle: SD 03

DAMN. This was originally going to be a top 10 list, but when I reached 10 I realized I would be leaving many, many matches out. While Doing this list I came to three conclusions:

1. Undertaker Turned Randy Orton Into A Credible Main Eventer. Seriously, think about it. His first run as a face failed, but instead of burying him lower on the card, they put him in an almost year long feud with the Undertaker, making him one of the top heels in the company behind Triple H. After his feud with Undertaker, the plans were apparently for him to win the royal rumble and main event WM 22 with Batista, but of course plans change. He still got a title match at WM though, mainly because of his great work in the Undertaker feud.

2. Undertaker And Shawn Michaels Have The Greatest In-Ring Chemistry Of All Time. It's not even close either. Can you name another 2 wrestlers who have wrestled in 3 MOTY matches ? And I mean, its not just that. Because of the excellence of those 3 matches, I find that people overlook the smaller matches, such as the severely underrated Royal Rumble 98 and Ground Zero 97 matches. Couple THAT with the end of the 2007 Royal Rumble match, and the NWO 07 tag match, and the proof is there: Undertaker and Shawn Michaels blow everybody else out of the water with their chemistry.

3. Undertaker Is Probably The Most Entertaining Wrestler Of All Time. I went back and watched the Undertaker's deadliest matches DVD the other day. Now, I'm aware alot of you will say "THAT DVD IS SHIT", and technical wise, it probably is. But I find that even the One and Two star matches the Undertaker has, are still highly entertaining, and as a matter of fact, I would go out on a limb and say Undertaker has the lowest percentage of BORING matches in history. Even his early 90s matches with the likes of Yokozuna,Kamala,Kama, etc I found to be highly entertaining. This is a point ALOT of people will disagree with me on, but at the end of the day, it's just my opinion. Besides, save for Triple H, I don't think there is another wrestler that I enjoy watching OVERALL than the Undertaker.

And there you have it. I'd like to see you guys do a top-whatever Undertaker matches list, and it dosen't have to be as ridiculously long as this, but if you want it to be, especially Cal, that'd be cool too.
 
#3,622 · (Edited)
Watched SummerSlam 2009 over the weekend and was a little disappointed with parts of the show I expected to be good but I was also surprised by a few things.

SummerSlam 2009

Rey Mysterio vs Dolph Ziggler: Actually really enjoyed this match and Dolph looked really strong in it plus Mysterio can usually put on a good match with anyone given time. Really thought Ziggler did a great job in this match and proved himself as a legit contender in the WWE. I remember earlier that year he was still a joke. Great match and very well paced. - ***1/2

MVP vs Jack Swagger: Really surprised that MVP won this one but I remember Swagger was on a decline at the time. Decent match for what it's worth but it didn't really seem like it fit in with the PPV. Pretty short match with some decent parts but nothing special. - **1/4

Jerishow vs Cryme Tyme: This seems to me as one of the few times Cryme Tyme actually got tag title matches and they were fairly impressive. I loved the gimmick Cryme Tyme has but I question their in ring ability at times. This match was actually pretty good though. I remember enjoying this feud and Cryme Tyme didn't look weak up against two big time superstars and Jericho always puts on a good show. Wasn't any exceptional tag match but they did a good job. - **3/4

Kane vs The Great? Khali: Matches like this irritate me. Kane, against the right opponent can have a solid match but Khali honestly can't. He can't move around, he used to live off of that awful brain squeeze move and his matches are just boring. This match was very boring, little to no crowd reaction and thankfully it ended quick. I could see Khali putting on an actual decent match under extreme rules with weapons and such but his plain wrestling matches are awful. - 3/4*

Degeneration X vs Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase:
I really enjoyed this match. I thought Rhodes and DiBiase had great chemistry together and I really enjoyed this feud as a whole. Unfortunately it didn't elevate Legacy as high as I'd have liked but this match did not make them look like pushovers at all. DX won in the end but Legacy still looked strong in the effort and this led to two matches that made Legacy look even better. Solid match between the four of these guys. - ***1/2

Christian vs William Regal:
Couldn't have been more disappointed with this match. Give Regal and Christian ten minutes in the ring (which I'm sure happened a bunch of times on ECW) and they'll put on a very good match for you. I wish this match legitimately happened, especially over Kane/Khali. I think segments like that need to be saved for TV events and not one of the top PPVs on the year. - No Rating

Randy Orton vs John Cena:
This match was so cluttered with restarts and ridiculous parts that I just couldn't enjoy much of it. Cena and Orton's feud never really clicked much for me. I enjoy much of both of them but together I haven't been that impressed although I haven't seen their HIAC or Iron Man match. The restarts in this match seemed ridiculous, especially the third one when Orton used the ropes. That gets overlooked 9/10 times and although would've been a bad ending but three restarts is enough, we get the point. I had absolutely no idea (and I'm assuming the crowd didn't either) who that was that ran into the ring and saved Orton. Strange ending but I didn't exactly hate it. Not a bad match, but once again seemed like something that would main event a Raw. I liked their match from two years before a bit better than this one. - ***

CM Punk vs Jeff Hardy - TLC Match: Absolutely loved this match and I'd put it as my favorite of the matches I have seen from 2009. (haven't seen Taker/HBK yet, arggh) Some nasty spots in this match and Punk fits in perfectly in a TLC environment. The Swanton off the ladder thru the announce table was breathtaking and it made alot of sense for Jeff to be more hurt than Punk. I thought the ending was really well done because in a way Hardy screwed himself out of the victory by going extreme which led Punk to hobble on up the ladder. Hardy made one last attempt which I thought was good before Punk grabbed the gold. Great to see Punk main event a big show, must mean WWE has a good amount of faith in him.The ending with Undertaker chokeslamming Punk came as a huge surprise to me and made for a good cliffhanger as to what would happen next between the two. Great match and great end to SummerSlam. - ****1/4

Overall I'd say my two favorite matches were Punk/Jeff and Mysterio/Ziggler. Cena/Orton and Christian/Regal both disappointed me but both tag matches were better than I expected. Show had it's high points and it's low points but I enjoyed it. - 7.5/10
 
#3,937 ·
I just finished watching WrestleMania, and the show was, uh, a huge night of Raw with WrestleMania as the theme. In essence, it was a WrestleMania themed WWE PPV. :confused: None of the matches would crack anything over the three star range for me. Punk/Orton was okay-ish and Rhodes/Rey was decent for what it was. None of the matches deserved to be showcased at WrestleMania.

But then, there was one match. There is ONE match. Yes, the one, as in 18 and 1 or, let's 19 and 0. The match left me speechless. It blew me away completely. I cannot believe that wrestling (fuck off Vince) can still leave me speechless and it can still blow away the "analyst" in me, and transform me into the wrestling fan--the casual wrestling mark. Undertaker and Triple H, what a match! What a performance! What a showdown between two of WWE's ultimate legends. The match moved me. The match drained me when it was over. I had all of my energy invested in this one match. I was shocked when the match ended. I was speechless when it concluded. I just kept on staring at the screen when it was over because even after it ended, the match wasn't over. The emotions Hunter and Undertaker displayed filled my mind with one word: passion. When Undertaker crawled out of the ring only to fall back again, it was so emotional to see Hunter step forward in an attempt to hold the Phenom. THAT is what THIS match is all about: the Streak. If there is any match in the long-storied history of, "the Streak" that defined "the Streak," it's this match. It is Undertaker vs. Triple H at WrestleMania XXVII.

It doesn't even matter that the rest of the show sucked because this one match was worth it. The Undertaker vs. Triple H (No Holds Barred) at WrestleMania XXVII is a match that had me emotionally so invested that at the start, I was rooting for Hunter, but when I saw the tremor that was the Undertaker; when I saw, how Undertaker was just getting up and not "dying," I realized what the Streak was all about. Kayfabe caught me. I felt Undertaker's tremors and I could visualize Undertaker's desire to retain the Streak. In fact, the facial expressions of Triple H told the whole story. WHY, WHY can't the Undertaker just stay down? WHAT is wrong with the Undertaker? Wow. That's all I have to say. Wow.

Scrutinizing the match from a workrate perspective, I can see why some people thought the entire match was a saga of finishing/signature moves. Essentially, that is what the match is. It's a match with an exceptionally well-told story--executed in form of big spots, whether they are finishing moves or huge bumps. Talking about bumps, it's insane to think Undertaker taking such bumps. Triple H can take bumps because he is in a better physical condition than 'Taker is but, the Undertaker? That's what WrestleMania means to him. Both men were top-notch in their games. The lying down phases may have bothered many, and I'm sure, it has, but that is what added to the drama, personally. It's called selling the effects of the previous sequences. Both men did that brilliantly. Undertaker's selling was unmistakable. I have never seen Undertaker sell in the way he did at WrestleMania XXVII. Undertaker was on top of his game. For that one night, Undertaker was indeed the Game (no pun). For Triple H, this match was a must-win and that's the reason he went directly after Undertaker. After seeing Shawn Michaels fail "out-wrestling" Undertaker to a victory at WrestleMania, it was cent percent cerebral to beat the holy hell out of the Undertaker and go from there on. That's what he did. That's what Undertaker did: trying to survive the Triple H onslaught.

The match completely sold the aura, value, and invaluable commodity that the Streak is. After the Shawn Michaels classics last year and the year before, Undertaker needed this match and Triple H and him went out there and told a story in 30 minutes that defines WrestleMania and the Streak for both Triple H and the Undertaker. In those 30 minutes, Undertaker and Triple H proved to the world that they are two of the best of this era, no questions asked.

I had doubts in them. I doubted the abilities of both, especially Triple H--considering Hunter hasn't had a bonafide classic for such a long period, but for the second-time, Triple H proved me wrong. The first time was Vengeance 2005. I also didn't like the "No Holds Barred" stip, at first, but they justified it because of the way they built and executed the match. So, I am proud to say that I was wronged by Hunter and the Undertaker. Figuratively, this match might be the new Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin match from WrestleMania 13. It reminded me so much of that match and this time, Undertaker was the theme of the match.

The ending was golden for me. I've read some criticism there, but personally--it was precise. Triple H had thrown everything to the Dead Man, yet the Dead Man kept ticking back. You could see it in Hunter's face. After the chair-shot onto Undertaker's head, when he "retired" on the corner only to see Undertaker crawling back up, Triple H's expression, the debunked, stressed, confused, and helpless expressions revealed everything. Then the Tombstone angle, which I may add is one of the most stunning events to happen in a wrestling ring, and even that didn't get the job done. Subsequently, Hunter tried using his hammer, which Undertaker reversed into the Hell's Gate and Hunter fought for as long as he could. He even nearly pulled the trigger with the hammer, but the mental agony, physical toll, and the defiant figure of the Undertaker not "dying--" killed whatever desire Hunter had at the start--to end the Streak. At the end, Hunter gave up. Hunter "called the day," signifying that nothing and nobody is good enough to beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania. No grave can hold my body down, right Phenom? Well, no wrestler can hold Undertaker down at WrestleMania! Undertaker nearly "died" to keep the Streak alive but he didn't let it slip from his hands...

At the end, this was Undertaker's moment. WrestleMania XXVII is perhaps the highest point for the Streak because no match has ever put the Streak at the pedestal that this match placed it in. I'm not saying it from a "match quality" perspective, but in a way of promoting and sealing the Streak as THE STREAK. From a workrate standpoint, last year's match is untouchable, but this year's match is better than WrestleMania 25 between Undertaker and Michaels. WrestleMania 25 was more of a grand drama, while WrestleMania 26 is wrestling (fuck off, Vince, again :p) at its finest. WrestleMania XXVII carries on from the grandeur of WrestleMania XXV and adds its own story and drama.

Damn, I wasn't even planning in writing a review for the match. It was supposed to be a WrestleMania mini-opinion thingy, but it seems, I "reviewed" the match. Hahaha :p

Never mind, it gets 5-stars from me. Hands down. It's not 5-stars for the wrestling but it's the definition of 5-stars for the story Undertaker and Triple H told at WrestleMania XXVII.

The Undertaker vs. Triple H @ WrestleMania XXVII ~ ***** (all the way!)

Comparing it to the Michaels matches, I'd say, WrestleMania 26 > WrestleMania 27 > WrestleMania 25.

Oh, and the rest of WrestleMania sucked! :p
 
#3,959 ·
4-3-11 Triple H vs. The Undertaker No Holds Barred

The match, thus far, has received very mixed reviews. The marks and wrestling columnists love the match while died hard smart marks dislike the match as much as the other group loves the match.

The entrance for Triple H was incredible. Justin Roberts is a good ring announcer and all, but he is so underwhelming sometimes. Buffer is where the goods are. The WWE has really established themselves as the sharpening stone of big stage entertainment with their setup, be it lighting, music, video packages, or the workers themselves. From a fan standpoint, I am slightly upset that HHH and The Undertaker got that long of ring-entrances while so many other workers were not even on the card (Daniel Bryan) or were in very short matches.

Hunter wastes no time going right after Taker with his trademark heavy right-handed punches. Taker tosses HHH over the top-rope to the floor with a double-armed choke toss. Taker takes more punches on the floor before tossing Hunter into the ring-steps. Taker clears off the Spanish announce table, but before he can utilize it, Hunter spears Taker into and through the Cole Mine. Taker looks pissed and storms into the ring where they exchange right hands before Taker does his flipping clothesline. Hunter counters old-school by Flair tossing him into the middle of the ring. Hunter clotheslines Taker over the top-rope and Taker bumped hard into the barricade. Hunter then Irish whips Taker into the barricade and Taker hits the barrier really hard and really fast. HHH clears the American announce table and wants to Pedigree Taker through it, but Taker counters with a chokeslam attempt, which Hunter counters with another Pedigree attempt, which Taker counters again, this time by back body dropping Hunter off the table and onto the floor. Hunter hit the floor extremely hard. That was a painful bump for a man of his medical history, age, size…it’d hurt anyone. He certainly damaged his left wrist/forearm for him to be selling it more than his back. Taker does his no-hands plancha and lands on his shoulder more than on Hunter. Taker with a sick head butt on the ring-steps and then…ouch he got spinebustered through the Spanish announce table. Both men are legitimately injured right now. Hunter eats a chokeslam for the first pinfall attempt of the match and a nearfall. Taker wants the Last Ride, but Hunter drives him into the turnbuckle and unleashes some nice right hands. Hunter does the mounted punching in the corner but Taker counters with the Last Ride, but Hunter slips out and lands awkwardly, Pedigree is blocked, HHH eats snake eyes, and Taker takes a second spinebuster for a nearfall (after the ref told Taker to move his hand back in). That was an explosive amount of prime spots. Hunter retrieves a chair and goes to use it, but Taker boots him in the face. Taker drills Hunter with the chair in the upper back. Taker attempts to hit Triple H in the head with the chair but ends up getting Pedigreed instead for a very close nearfall. Hunter picks Taker up for the superplex, but Taker slips out and hits the Last Ride for a nearfall. Taker is very unhappy with Hunter kicking out. Taker hits the tombstone piledriver, does the arm cross thing, and Hunter kicks out for a huge nearfall. Hunter slips out of another tombstone attempt and DDT’s Taker on the chair instead. Both men are down and the crowd is building in anticipation. The buzz is definitely here for this match. They are selling like the professionals that they are. Hunter hits a second Pedigree, this one though, was the spike looking version – but The Undertaker kicked out at the last moment for another huge nearfall. Hunter immediately Pedigrees Taker for the third time and once again…The Deadman kicked out and for another huge crowd pop. Hunter swings the chair into Taker’s back once, twice, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine times with that chair. Hunter has an expression on his face as Taker starts to stir far too soon after that type of beating that says, “I’m really going to have to kill this man to beat him.” And a chairshot to the head (hand) and the crowd popped for that one. Hunter sells frustration like the Space Marines from Aliens. Taker suddenly comes to life and grabs Hunter’s throat, but Hunter shakes his head no and easily pulls his hand away. Taker puts his dukes up like Terry Funk after he has been beaten up severely. Hunter hits the tombstone, does the arm cross, tongue out, and Taker…kicks out for another huge pop. Hunter brings out his favorite weapon, the sledgehammer. Oh snap, Taker out of nowhere locks on the Hell’s Gate submission move. Hunter fights hard but submits.

This was an incredible match. If I were a finicky person I would have probably an easy time tearing this match apart, but I’m not, and I’m not going to tear something down that was as marvelous as this match. I got some strong Misawa vs. Kawada/Kobashi vibes from this – the amount of punishment it takes to beat one another. I didn’t find the three Pedigrees to be too excessive, but it was slightly excessive. If Hunter had paced the covering a little better, it would have come across a lot better, but to me, that’s like nitpicking the botched super-hurricanrana in the 1994 Super Junior Tag League. I dug the hell out of the superb selling and in-match storyline of Hunter looking legit scared of the beating Taker was taking and still coming at him.
*****
 
#8,449 · (Edited)
I'll explain it so that you can enjoy the match and not go WTF. WWE might have something different in mind (or nothing at all, bleh), but everything's there to make sense of it.

The match began with a complete throw of bombs. After what he did to Taker at Mania, Trips comes in with the feeling that Punk is gonna see little more than the bottom of his boots. Punk knows how much Trips has underestimated him and does everything possible to frustrate the Game. He goes blow for blow with 'H and even gets the better of him from time to time. It was a brawl. And whatever wrestling we got in the match was actually self-contained, guided to the point and nowhere close to being catch-as-catch-can. You knew 'H got serious when he took to attacking Punk's leg. Punk was completely content trading bombs with him, but the match was slowly slipping from 'H's grasp. Punk sold the leg LIKE A FUCKING CHAMP throughout the match, even when it wasn't factored in (OH THE MATCH HAD TECHNICAL ASPECTS? YOU DON'T SAY..)

I'm not going to pick out each move and explain its purpose and significance to the story taking place. BUT. That elbow off the top rope was stiff as hell. This was the transition spot from where the weather would change for the men, but the move in itself didn't feel like it was there to highlight Punk's horizontal leap or draw a "holy shit" chant. Genuinely, Punk caved into his craziness because he wanted to hurt the game. The grin on his face, seeing Triple H almost served up to him on a platter was satisfying (as a Punk fan; if you're a Triple H fan, you'd probably curse him to hell). Now, here's where 7459265956726 stories intertwine. Okay, not quite so much but one for each character involved. I'm not naive enough to say WWE had all this in mind when booking this, but that's rarely the case with anything. With wrestling more than anything else, things just seem to fall into place, especially when explained/reviewed by a prisoner of the moment.

The Miz and R-Truth show up to make a huge impact. Ending Triple H's reign as COO is the biggest possible impact they could make. So they beat up both parties and try to execute it so. This reeks of desperation and when it doesn't pan out, they get cross with the referee. Scott Armstrong standing up for himself was a feel-good moment. The importance of referees could be asserted again because Triple H just over a month ago refereed the "biggest match in company history" and make a crucial error. THESE REFS DESERVE SOME DAMN RESPECT! Trips and Punk eventually come to and clear the battlefield so that they can continue to TERRORIZE EACH OTHERS' SOULS.

Oh looky, it's John Laurinitis, "Mr. Future Endeavours" :)lmao). He doesn't look too happy that Punk and the Miz got there before he did. We could get some best of luck in your future endeavours soon. Anyway, Trips and Punk catch each other unawares and deliver their finishers. John tries to foil 'H's attempt at victory b/c well, he wants to be COO and he can do that with Triple H still in charge. He jumps at the chance to secure Punk the victory (actually, secure Hunter the defeat but the result is the same). Insane as R-Truth is, he still has enough sense to know that if Punk beats Triple H on his own, then him and the Miz will continue to float aimlessly as noise in the background for eons to come. He pulls Punk out so that can recreate the plot. Punk eliminates the 'noise' and returns to war with the Game.

It's this 'continue to kill each other despite whatever else happens' mentality that drew me so into this match. These guys are so focused on each other, at least up until this point. Before that, let me just say that Punk's kickout of the second Pedigree drew an ENORMOUS reaction. They played the crowd to near perfection in the final moments of the match.

Did someone say Kevin Nash? He's obviously joined forces with Laurinitis here. His primary focus is on Triple H. He doesn't go for Punk unless he's in the way. In the deep down, Nash just wants to stay relevant in the industry. How can a straightedge tattooed "skinnyfat" guy whose half his size be a bigger name than he is? HOW? SOMEONE TELL HIM HOW! Why have I digressed to a Kevin Nash memoir?

By this point fatigue has taken its toll on both Punk and Game. Punk gets even worse when hit with the Jackknife, and 'H is forced to turn to a sledgehammer to save his hide. The environment has completely been highjacked. Triple H cannot do what he promised he would do. He can't prove anything anymore. Too many damn things have happened that him and Punk can no longer settle their differences as they need to. What he can do is pin CM Punk and remain COO of the company. That's exactly what he does. At this point, Punk can barely stand. The third Pedigree is just for insurance. Some sense of false closure in this atmosphere of anarchy. The last thing Triple H feels is satisfaction. 'H didn't beat Punk. He's just still the COO. His eyes don't come off of Punk. "What the fuck happened to my match?" is what both these guys are thinking.

In the end, Triple H is the last man standing. That accounts for some joy, I guess. The match fucking ruled high heavens.
 
#52 ·
The Goldust-Regal match is definitely good (I was at the tapings). Lots of very sound psychology throughout, just as you'd expect.

Also, the McIntyre-Masters match is about 50x better than the Swagger-Masters match. I saw both in Bakersfield and Fresno, respectively, and the McIntyre-Masters match was one of the best match of the whole Fresno tapings session. McIntyre is such a great seller and his psychology is becoming increasingly outstanding, he's really clicking on all fronts right now in the ring. His series with Christian on Smackdown has been fantastic, his series with Kofi a few months back was fabulous... McIntyre's really turned this corner this spring and summer as a WWE grappler. (I liked his work with Morrison last winter, but not as well as everything he's done since.)
 
#1,877 ·
Just wanted to pass along that the Flair vs. Perfect loser leaves Raw match on the Raw Beginning set is shown in its entirety, unlike on the Raw 15th Anniversary Set. And to boot, there are none of those annoying fact popups during any of the segments.
 
#2,161 · (Edited)
Going to be reviwing some old school shows and some DVDs in here.

WCW Nitro 7/8/96

This was my favorite time in WCW as it was the beginning of nWo and the Nitro following Bash at The Beach and the infamous thrid man angle. It was what truly made me a wrestling fan :)

I for some reason got a laugh out of hearing EB say that he got complaints from parents saying their kids were up all night crying and destroying thier Hogan merchandise.

Dean Malenko © vs Rey Mysterio - WCW Cruiserweight Championship ***

-One thing WCW had was an awesome cw division and they always delivered great matches, this one was no different. I really like Rey's old school mystery look with the ? on the tights, would be totally awesome if he wore them as a throwback sometime.

William Regal and Dave Taylor vs Dungeon of Doom * 1/4

Eddie Guererro vs Psichosis ** 1/2

-Another great matchup, I loved WCW and their mix of great highflying amd technical action, they had it all going for them which is what made me such a big fan back then. I for some reason got a laugh out of Bischoff talking about how he got complaints from parents saying their kids were up all night crying and destroying their Hulk Hogan merchandise.

The Steiner Bros vs The Nasty Boys * 3/4

-Not a big fan of Nastys, I liked them as a kid for some reason though haha. Ok tag match I guess, The whole Col. Parker and Sherri was the strangest thing ever to me lol. Never quite got that. I also gotta say I prefer Heenan/EB over Tony/Larry on commentary.

Ric Flair © vs Jimmy Powers - WCW United States Championship **

-Ok little match, its a shame Powers did not ever make it very far because from what I saw from his few televised matches with several companies, he was a pretty talented guy. But as always I loved seeing Nature Boy make him tap with the figure four though, WOOOOOOO!

Chris Benoit vs The Pitbull * 1/2

-Teddy Long threw in the towel for Greg lol.

Sting vs Arn Anderson ** 1/4

-Long time fan of both men, was a good encounter between the two and this was also the first appearence of The Outsiders after the PPV, was very cool to relive the "fear" they brought when they arrived in the arena.

Overall:I am excited to keep watching more of these, its been so long since I have seen alot of this stuff. Usually just watch some old matches but never sat down and watched all the shows again. Planning to go all they way up to the end of WCW in Nitros and PPVs. Some Thunders and Saturday Nights probobly once in awhile too, looking forward to the nostalgia.
 
#2,252 ·
Top 50 Superstars of All Time - Disc 3

WWF Championship Match - 10/12/1992
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair(c) vs. Bret "Hit Man" Hart
Looking at this match on paper you have to think to yourself it's insane that this hasn't made it onto the many Bret Hart or Ric Flair or WWE Championship dvds. But then you watch it and you realize it's not all that great. By both men's standards it was an average match. A lot of random limbwork that would lead to nothing and lots of early submissions that you knew weren't going to end the match. It's a nice addition for historical purposes but that's about it really. A lengthy matchup that will disappoint most.
**3/4

WWF Championship Match - Empty Arena, Falls Count Anywhere - Halftime Heat 1/31/99
The Rock(c) vs. Mankind
I actually enjoyed this. An incredibly fun brawl that went all over the arena of course. Vince did the commentary but it wasn't needed considering Rock's comments and actions were entertaining enough. The ending was pretty goofy to say the least, but there was a lot of goofy shit in the attitude era. I'll rate it high for sheer entertainment purposes.
***

WWF Championship Fatal Four Way Match - Smackdown 12/7/2000
Kurt Angle(c) vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin vs. The Rock vs. The Undertaker
Here's the entire match in one sentence. Everyone beats up Kurt, Triple H comes out and smacks everyone around with a chair, match over.
1/4*

Raw 4/23/2001
The Undertaker, Kane, & The Hardy Boyz vs. Triple H, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Edge, & Christian
Great action from start to finish, fun match. Like half these matches, nothing memorable.
**1/4

Smackdown 5/16/2002
Edge & Triple H vs. Kurt Angle & Chris Jericho
Read above statement.
**1/2

Smackdown 4/15/2004
Eddie Guerrerro vs. Big Show
Apparently Big Show's career was on the line in this match. No clue where that came from. Pretty solid match with your normal beatdown and comeback story with some cheating thrown in. If they were gonna put this on the dvd, where a portion of the match was cut out due to commerical, why not just put the match the two had at No Mercy '03 for the U.S. Title on instead?
**1/2

World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match - Wrestlemania 22
Kurt Angle(c) vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton
For 9 minutes there was some great action and nice spots, but it still could've been much better with more time. Mysterio's win was kinda random and nowhere near as memorable as Benoit's.
***1/4

No Way Out 2007
John Cena & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Batista
Something that actually makes sense to be on the dvd. Unfortunately it doesn't deliver. Considering the talent involved and also being the main event of a ppv, it was another disappointment. But then again none of the 4 are tag team wrestlers and you knew someone was gonna turn on their partner anyway. The pace picked up halfway through and it was getting good but then it awkwardly slowed down. Michael Cole was sick that night so he just kinda quit commentating halfway through the match, leaving JBL to just ramble on about how much he likes this. "This is what i like Michael!" And Cole would say nothing. decent match.
***

World Heavyweight Championship Match - Wrestlemania 24
Edge(c) vs. The Undertaker
FINALLY. A great match that ultimately deserves a spot on a DVD with such a bold title. The match was great throughout but what I really loved were the final several minutes. With the ref bump and the camera shot and everything else it legitimately looked like Taker's streak could end. I mean, you know it wasn't going to happen but the booking of the match just made you think in the back of your head it was possible. Excellent match with a much different ending than most of Taker's mania victories.
****1/4

Overall Disc Score: 6.5/10
A slight improvement over disc 2 but not by much.

Overall DVD Score: 6.5/10
This set really could've been something special but instead of just giving us great matches from great superstars they took the shitty route and tried to stuff as many people on the list into a match as they could. The documentary is a decent watch but the matches fall very short. Not recommended.

Best Matches
Edge vs. The Undertaker (Wrestlemania 24) ****1/4
Ricky Steamboat vs. Rick Rude (MSG 1987) ***3/4
Jerry Lawler vs. Curt Hennig (AWA 1988) ***1/4+​
 
#2,274 ·
I hope they include a doc for the Big Show DVD. He's had a fairly interesting career and I would love to hear about him really being the first guy to jump of the sinking ship that was WCW. Not to mention I'm not sure if I would want to see 3 full discs of matches by the Big Show....



WWE Greatest Superstars of the 90s Review


MSG House Show 11/30/91
Ric Flair w/Mr. Perfect vs. Hulk Hogan

Now it needs to be pointed out that when this was happening these guys being in the ring together actually meant something. It wasn't their 50th match against each other in WCW. This was happening at a house show and they just gave the fans what they wanted to see, and they wanted to see Flair get his ass kicked. It was actually a really fast paced match considering Hogan was in it and Flair was such a good seller that it was entertaining to watch him get squashed early on. Flair was hit with the Leg Drop and nearly pinned before he finally managed to take control of the match when he went after the leg. Actually Flair's offense was pretty much perfect for what they were trying to do. Hogan was the unstoppable force and Flair needed to either cheat or go after the leg to stand a chance.



The ending was hilarious where Flair actually pins Hogan after using Brass Knuckles but then Dave Hebner runs out and tells his brother what happened and the decision gets reversed. Of course we get the priceless expression from Flair before Hogan cleans house.

I really liked this. Nice and short and just fun to watch. Very old school but everything they did made sense. Not so sure of this was a main event quality match but a good stand alone match none the less. The MSG crowd was also great for the match. I also want to give Hogan some credit because he sold his leg well and was even limping around after the match when he was celebrating.
**3/4


Survivor Series 1992 WWF Championship Match:
Bret Hart(c) vs. Shawn Michaels

Good to see these guys wrestle each other at a time when I don't think they hated each other at all. Right from the start I really appreciated some of the little things that they were doing in the match. I loved how Michaels would go for the hair of Hart when he was in a hammer lock. The ref would admonish him so then Shawn adapted his strategy and would position himself so the ref couldn't see him grab the hair. It was really early on in the match and something very subtle but I really think it shows how much smart they tried to wrestle the match. I also noticed that just about every move they did, especially early on meant something. I could have picked dozens of small moves that they did and decided to go and explain why they did it.



The only part about the match that I didn't like was this stretch of the match where it was almost entirely Shawn holding Bret in a headlock. It was smart wrestling in that Shawn wearing down Bret for such a long period of time made sense but smart doesn't always mean entertaining to watch. Once they got out of that move the match got even better and they had the crowd hanging onto their every move. Bret did a great job of making Shawn, who was only the IC champion and more of a midcarder at time, look like he belonged in the ring with the WWF Champion.

The ending did a lot to make Shawn look good as well even though he tapped out in the middle of the ring. It was one mistake that he made that cost him the match. He was doing a good job of fighting through the comeback that Hart was starting and just made one bad decision and Bret caught him in the Sharpshooter to end a fantastic match. It was entertaining and the psychology of the match was perfect. It's something that people learning how to wrestle need to see because they got the crowd behind them and had a fantastic match without any really big spots. A pure wrestling masterpiece, aside from those couple minutes that were kind of boring.
****1/4



King of the Ring 1993 WWF Championship Match
Hulk Hogan(c) vs. Yokozuna

This was Hogan's first defense after his classic match with Yokozuna at Wrestlemania 9... This was much longer and I felt the booking was a lot better. This was Hogan's last match in WWE for quite some time and this is the closest he's ever come to actually putting someone over. He did let Yokozuna kick out of his Leg Drop which was a pretty big shock, even though the crowd didn't seem to react to it all that much. Pretty surprising ending, maybe not a good one but still surprising. A camera exploding in Hogan's face is not something that you would have expected to happen.

The match was pretty bad really. Other than Hogan putting someone over I can't really think of anything positive to say about this match. Yokozuna was good for someone his size but a guy like Hogan is one of the worst opponents you could put him in the ring with. I would say that Bret Hart should have been in the match but he only had the best single night performance ever.
*


Wrestlemania X
Bret hart vs. Owen Hart

One of the greatest Wrestlemania matches ever and just a perfect performance from Owen Hart. I would venture to say that he might have been better than Bret in this one because he had more important role to play than Bret. He had to seem confident that he was really better than his brother but he also had to show that he needed to beat Bret. And he got all that across. It's a really simple feud that was so believable just because of how successful Bret had been in the WWF and Owen hadn't really come close to reaching that level.



The execution of every single move was perfect. Flawless is the only word that I could use to describe every single move they hit. Without any type of crazy spots you could feel the intensity between them. There aren't that many matches that I've seen as many times as this and the match just never gets old. It's pretty much the perfect wrestling match. They did everything right, I can't say a single bad thing about this match so I don't see how I could possibly give it anything other than a perfect rating.
*****


Superstars 4/13/94 Intercontinental Championship Match
Big Daddy Cool Diesel w/Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon(c)

Really awesome TV match. It was like 6 minutes long and they just went all out. I loved the type of face that they had Hall playing where he took it right to Nash and never backed down. Michales took some crazy bumps as well and just added more to the match. The short match length let them work at a really fast pace and I was really impressed at how well Nash was moving around. I didn't see the ending coming at all and now that I think about it the ending was great for both long term storyline advancement as well as the immediate feud between Shawn and Razor.

As far as short matches go you really can't make them much more enjoyable than this. Great addition to the DVD.
**3/4


Slamboree 1994
Sting vs. Vader

Hey WCW finally gets a match on the DVD. This was also for a belt but I'm nit sure if it was for the WCW Championship or the International Championship or some other random belt. This match is also further proof that Vader is one of the best big men ever. I saw him wrestle a match from the same year in Japan and he wrestled it like an MMA shoot fight and in this they have a much more standard wrestling match but Vader still played the monster so well. A lot of it had to do with all the non power moves that Vader was able to do. The guy can actually wrestle down in the mat, he didn't rely on some bear hug the whole time to wear Sting down. He would go from hitting this stiff Japanese like kicks on Stong's legs to wrestling him down to the mat and applying all sorts of great holds. And of course all the power moves and strikes he would hit looked devastating as well.

Sting is a really good face character. He took all the offense from Vader really well and his comebacks really would get the crowd into a frenzy. He also hit a vertical suplex on Vader, twice, which was pretty damn impressive. The ending was a little too screwy for my likes with a lot of interference from Harley Race and a ref bump. It was still a very exciting ending so I won't be too harsh on it. Solid addition to the DVD as it's always good to have a rare WCW match in on DVD.
***1/2


Royal Rumble 1995 WWF Championship Match

Big Daddy Cool Diesel(c) vs. Bret Hart

Vince may have had an orgasm while Nash was making his entrance, he was just so damn happy and excited on commentary. I liked how they had Bret take more of an aggressive approach. He usually isn't someone to use the ring post as a weapon but he went to it early on so he could quickly take out the leg of Nash. Listening to the commentary I was surprised they went this way with the match since apparently a Scott Hall/Jeff Jarrett match happened prior where the leg was worked. I'm sure they did it better though. I would almost say that Hart was playing the heel in this match in the way that he disregarded a lot of what the ref said and would just go all out to take out the leg. I really would have liked to see Nash sell the leg a little better as he seemed to shake off any damage to it rather quickly. In all fairness though it would have been really tough for him to work the whole match while selling an injured leg. Nash did better later on in the match when Hart went back to the leg.

Shawn Michaels almost ruined the match when he wasn't there in time for a run in to break up a pin. Thankfully Bret knew enough of what was going on to kick out of the Power Bomb, which I'm sure Nash was thrilled to have happen. The run in was awkward and too and didn't add a damn thing to the match. Also Shawn was in the ring for a good minute attacking Nash and the ref just didn't stop the match. Owen Hart later made a run in and the match didn't end. I'm sure it must have been awesome to see happen live since both instances were more than enough to warrant a DQ but it really didn't make that much sense for the ref to be like, "Fuck it, someone's winning this."

The wrestling was great but the booking of the match just left me a little confused. I mean the ending involved 2 gangs of heels just beating the hell out of Nash and Hart. I don't understand why they would have Hart essentially work the match as a heel. The runs in why just bizarre and disrupted the flow of the match. I would have just preferred to let them wrestle instead of all the extra crap they through in. Still a great match but nowhere near as some of the matches they would go on to have.
***1/2


Raw 4/2/95 Women's Championship Match
Bull Nakano(c) vs. Alundra Blaze

Well for what it's worth this was better than any Women's match I've seen in the WWE in years. It reminded me a lot of an indy match, or a the finishing sequence of a puro match, and it was pretty awesome to see. Didn't think Alundra Blaze, or Madusa to you WCW fans, could have a match like this. They pretty much went all out with the limited time they had.



Bull Nakano looked like a monster with some of the things she was doing in the ring. Another fun, rare match that was a great addition to the DVD.
**1/2



In Your House 9/24/95 All Titles on the Line

Yokozuna and British Bulldog (Tag Champions) vs. Shawn Michaels (IC Champion) and Big Daddy Cool Diesel (WWF Champion)

Very interesting dynamic in the match with Bulldog taking Owen Hart's place in the match. Throw in the fact that pinning Nash was the big prize and only Bulldog or Yokozuna could walk out with a second title made this very interesting because you were expecting some type of double cross or conflict between the tag champions. It didn't really happen but it had me thinking about it the whole time. The actual wrestling was good both nothing all that special really. Shawn did a great job of selling and just generally getting his ass kicked a lot. Bulldog's power was what really impressed me. I'm just not used to seeing someone that can hit Nash with a vertical suplex.

While watching this it really had me thinking how much I liked the whole Nash/Michaels thing that they ran with for so long. I would have liked for them to have picked up the pace a little bit and maybe look Nash look a little more vulnerable but I get that Nash was THE guy at this time so they had to keep him looking strong. Good addition to the DVD.
***


In Your House 2/18/96
Owen Hart vs. Shawn Michaels

So Shawn put his Wrestlemania XII title shot on the line. They were also working a concussion (well they didn't call it that but it's what it was) angle with Shawn. They fit all of it into what was a relatively short match. One of my favorite moments of the match had to be when Owen had Shawn in the sharpshooter for a lengthy period of time. The way Shawn sold it was just screaming of desperation since what Shawn had just described as "His destiny, hopes, and dreams" were all on the line in the match.

They did a great job with the concussion angle too. At one point Shawn was kicked in the head and it looked like the match was over. It didn't finish him so Owen went for it again, which made a lot of sense given his condition. But Shawn ducked the kick and hit Sweet Chin Music for the win. I really liked this a lot. I'm always a fan of a shorter match that can do everything it needs to do.
***1/2


Summerslam 1996 WWF Championship Match
Shawn Michaels(c) vs. Vader w/Jim Cornette

So I thought I knew exactly how this match was going to work out, Vader would just beat the hell out of Shawn for most of the match. Well they went the opposite direction with this as we saw Michaels taking it right to Vader early on. The fact that Vader took a huricanrana at the start just speaks volumes to how good he really was. After the initial ass kicking on Vader we got the match that I was expecting, plenty of great selling from Shawn; He's one of my favorites to watch get thrown around the ring. The crowd was electric too when Shawn would get in any type of offense and tease a full fledged comeback. The match ended for the first time when they had brawled to the outside and Shawn ended up getting counted out. Cornette took the mic and said he wanted Shawn to get back in the ring and restart the match; Shawn did it.



When the match starting up again the ass kicking from Vader resumed. Shawn ended up hitting the elbow but used the tennis racket when Cornette unsuccessfully interfered in the match. Shawn agreed to restart the match again. This time he came out swinging and even hit the Sweet Chin Music which Vader kicked out of to the shock of everyone. After a failed moonsault Shawn hit his own for the win.

All the crazy stuff that went down was pretty crazy but I don't think it was needed. These 2 are really really good and I think they could have puled off a great match without the ref bump and two match restarts. Everything that went down still made for a good atmosphere and a very enjoyable match. Shawn looked pretty damn tough when the match ended
***1/2


Summerslam 1997 Cage Match
Hunter Hearst Helmsley w/Chyna vs. Mankind

I don't think these guys are capable of having a bad match with each other. Well this doesn't stack up to some of their classics it was still pretty damn good. Triple H played a fantastic heel, I loved how he went from being terrified of Mankind when the match started but when he had control of the match he actually could have won but went back into the ring to go after Mankind and hurt him. Mankind was just a crazy bastard the whole time. Chyna played her role to perfection, she ended up getting involved in the match a lot but the way she went about it was pretty clever. I would be pretty surprised if she didn't give Mankind a concussion when she slammed the door on his head.



I love the old blue cage, everything looked and sounded so good when it was used. The match also had a very cool moment where Foley dove off the top of the cage, clearly paying homage to Jimmy Snuka for his famous spot. I'm sure everyone knows the story of how he had to hitchhike to MSG to see the show and I'm just happy that he got to have that moment. Everyone involved brought their A Game for this. At this point I think just about every significant match they had is now on DVD somewhere. And that's a good thing.
***1/2


WCW Championship Match 8/4/97
Hulk Hogan(c) vs. Lex Luger

Some serious nostalgia here for me. I was 6 years old when this match and I still remember it pretty well, or at least I remember how happy I was when Luger took the belt off Hogan. What they did in the match was not in the least bit impressive from a physical standpoint. There really aren't any wrestlers out there that couldn't go and do all the same exact moves. This was still a good match though. It may have mostly been a brawl but the psychology and story telling were there. I really have to say that Hogan was a better heel than I ever realized. I really liked all the trash talking and just the all around asshole that he was during the match.



I'm really not a fan of Luger's work but he worked as a baby face good enough for the match to work. A lot of the fans really wanted that belt off Hogan and the atmosphere was just electric. Watching Luger beat up Hogan and than kick the NWO's asses before putting Hogan in the torture rack and winning the match.

Very old school match but it's proof that you can entertain people in the ring without having to do all that much with good booking. Sting making his return to the ring aside Luger was the WCW's top guy in the fight against the NWO. He was the one guy that you always though would be able to overcome whatever the NWO threw at him. This was his defining moment, just a shame that he would only hold the title for 6 days... Still a fun match.
**



Summerslam 1998 WWF Championship Match
Steve Austin(c) vs. the Undertaker

I loved the selling from Austin early on. He took a shot to the head and he just seemed off for a while after that. It wasn't that he was barley conscious or anything but he just seemed really confused and dazed in the ring with Undertaker. They kept it slow but when they get the little things like the way Austin sold right I was fine with it. You also had the always smart back and neck work on Austin from the Undertaker. It didn't end up leading to anything big but it wasn't done for all that long and it's something that made a lot of sense for Undertaker to try.

The whole story of this match was that you had the two toughest guys in the WWF going for the title. Undertake had refused help from McMahon and Kane made an appearance during the match only to be sent away by Undertaker. I also need to point out that at one point in the match the Undertaker did a leg drop from the top rope onto the announce table. I had no idea Taker was even capable of doing something like that.



That the end of the positives of the match and everything I said was in the most optimistic way I could. I could just as easily have said that this was a really slow brawl with one big spot and a finish that came out of nowhere. The complete lack of a finishing sequence at all was also disappointing. Undertaker had total control of the match and the next thing I knew Austin hit a Stunner and the match was over.

The match had it's highs and low but considering the magnitude of the show and how good both guys were I was expecting more. Good but not great.
***


Halloween Havoc 1998 WCW United States Championship Match
Sting vs. Bret Hart(c)

Scummy Wolfpac Sting with red face paint around his scummy beard is hilarious. And this match was soooooo slow. I'm really having a hard time thinking about anything positive to say about this. Both Sting and hart were really really good but this just wasn't their night. I know Hart didn't have that many great matches in WCW but I was expecting a lot more than this and I even knew that a lot of people weren't fans of this match.

Fairly basic set up where Hart kept it slow and tried to wear down Sting. This seemed to be the entire match though as once Sting started his comeback he ended up making a mistake and hitting his head on the turnbuckle. The ref was down (this was WCW afterall) and hart proceeded to beat Sting over and over with the bat until the ref got up and called for the bell when Sting was put in the Sharpshooter.

Easily the biggest let down on the entire DVD. It just wasn't any good.
*1/2


Fully Loaded 1999 Strap Match

The Rock vs. Triple H

So they decided they were going to change things up a little bit. Instead of these guys having the typical Attitude Era brawl they were instead going to be strapped together and.... wait for it..... have the typical Attitude Era brawl. I feel like I've seen this same match without the strap at least a dozen times. You had all the fighting up and down the entrance ramp, they went into the crowd for a little, and they threw each other into a bunch of stuff. Oh and it had the mandatory interference and screwy ending. Pretty much everything you expected it to have, it had. There wasn't a table spot but I'm guessing they saved that spot for the main event...

It was still a good match and they incorporated the strap into the match very well. Whipping someone in the face with a leather strap in a match is pretty badass. Solid match and it's good they were able to get a match with the Rock and Triple H onto the DVD.
***

Overall it was a good DVD. At this point WWE has the tough job of putting DVDs together that have great matches and rare matches. I think WWE did a good job of finding that balance. There are some amazing matches on the DVD and there were a good amount that I had never seen before or at least hadn't seen since they first aired. Not to mention I think there are a ton of matches on here that aren't on any DVDs. I watched the doc a while ago so I really can't comment on it and in all honesty I just don't want to watch it again. The matches are why you would want to buy the DVD anyway and I think I can safely say that the quality is good enough to warrant a purchase.
 
#2,638 ·
Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (Career Threatening Match) - WrestleMania XXIV

Last time I watched it: March 30, 2008. Today, I watched it again for the first time since then. At that point, it was Mr. WrestleMania, Shawn Michaels against Nature Boy, Ric Flair in what was one my most anticipated matches of all time because it was quite obvious that it would be Naitch's last match. Today, I looked at that event as Mr. WrestleMania's third-last WrestleMania match, and Ric Flair's last match in WWE. As I started watching it again, I was unimpressed the first few minutes. Both guys did the basic stuff, and I really couldn't get into the atmosphere. Slowly, the match started developing into something much deeper, much intense. It did feel like a career threatening match, especially after the announce table spot. They needed a way to put Ric Flair in the driver's seat, and that was the best possible way to insert Flair into the driver's seat, with Shawn Michaels missing a high-risk move--a Shawn Michaels specialty.

The match progressed and I started getting into it, every passing second. The middle portion with Flair focusing on Shawn's sternum was basic but very necessary, as that was Michaels' weakest link for the moment. The tide would again shift to Shawn Michaels after an arbitrary work on Michaels' back by Naitch. The moonsault on the outside was a travesty because for a match of that magnitude, it's a shame the move didn't connect, yet everybody sold it as if it had wrecked Flair, which is only fair in the context. Shawn Michaels' in-ring selling was very precise, until that point, and his facial expressions along with his body language, it spoke volumes about the magnitude of the match. The most touching moment thus far came when Shawn Michaels hesitated to hit the sweet chin music on Ric Flair. It was one hesitation by Michaels, and that was Flair's opening again--into a move that is a Flair trademark, the figure four leg lock. By this point, I was filled with excitement. Yes, it did seem as THE match, after all.

The sequences following the F4 leg lock, and subsequent sweet chin music only added to the over boiling drama in the match. The F4 sequence followed by the rushed sweet chin music by Shawn Michaels pulled the meter notches higher because one knew, business was about to pick up. No pun intended. Another brilliant moment followed the first sweet chin music when Shawn Michaels went on to urge Flair to wake up--to eat another sweet chin music. The vulnerability inside Shawn Michaels was apparent because he was pleading rather than commanding. The fan inside Shawn Michaels started to reveal itself, but this--oh Goodness--was Ric "The greatest ever" Flair: the dirtiest player in the game. The same tactic that had won Flair many of his World Titles, and it nearly worked. At that age, Flair had to bring all the stops, and Flair did bring most to the dance. The reversal of duties was a nice way of working the fans, thereby adding some more drama when Shawn Michaels used the inverted F4 on Naitch. I must say, JR was golden here with his commentary. It added so much to the anticipation of the finale. Then the moment came after the second sweet chin music; perhaps the ultimate moment of the match. That was the very moment, which sealed the match; which, sealed Flair's in-ring career; which, sealed what this match meant for Shawn Michaels: the interval between the second sweet chin music and the third. The emotions Shawn displayed: his look, his expression, his hesitation, his words, and most importantly, how Flair got up on his feet--demanding a fight from the Heartbreak Kid, demanding the kick into his chin--spoke about the entire career of Ric Flair and the fanboyism of Shawn Michaels for his idol and a dear friend, Ric Flair. "I'm sorry; I love you..." BAMN! 1-2-3... Ric Flair's career was over at the hands of Shawn Michaels. What a showdown by two of the best ever! What a show--from two of the best ever.

How do you evaluate such a match? Even after three years, it felt as a nostalgic and emotional feast. Considering the fact that Shawn Michaels is no longer an active wrestler, and witnessing the end of Flair at the biggest wrestling event in history against the greatest big match performer, ever, in history, this match holds a special place in wrestling artwork. Shawn Michaels once said that whenever Undertaker and he did it in the ring, it would be "piece of art." This wasn't the Undertaker but THIS was art. This was exhibition of a wrestling genre that has to be digested in totality because we get wrestling matches every day, and there are some nights--those rare nights--we get to see the story of a career told in a wrestling match; WrestleMania XXIV was such a night. Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair was such a match.

Since then Ric Flair has gotten back in the ring from what I have heard. I don't watch TNA or any of wrestling, bar WrestleMania anymore. However, that doesn't ruin the moment for me. That doesn't taint this match because everything these two said in this match and through this match is what wrestling is. The way they wrestled, despite some botches and missed moves and some rather disjointed segments at the start/middle, they spoke through the match. It was a biography of the old Lion, and watching that biography was the young (not so...) Lion. Both Flair and Michaels did perfect justice to the match, and the hype revolving around this match. As I stated, there are wrestling matches and there are wrestling biographies, Flair and Michaels didn't have a match that night. They just wrote a biography on a perfect wrestling career at the greatest event, and needless to assert--they stole the damn show again.

So many flaws, so many moments that didn't lubricate--yet what counted the most: WRESTLING. I was so glad to hear JR and Jerry Lawler refer to what Michaels and Flair did, as wrestling. It was that: a career summarized in a wrestling match. I don't remember how many matches of this kind have actually occurred, but this; Undertaker/Michaels, Rock/Hogan, and Rock/Austin III are matches that are beyond matches. They are not just wrestling. They summarize wrestling.

For the year 2008, this is my match of the year. On a star rating pedestal, I have the Ladder match between Jericho and Michaels higher than this one, but as a 360 wrestling showdown, this beats all.

Rating: **** 1/2
 
#4,195 · (Edited)
I can tell say this about the match - it was about Flair and Michaels telling the story of a career - "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's storied career. Flair's career was on the line and this was his opportunity to "Be The Man" on the grandest stage of them all against a man who grew up idolizing him. There are so many remarkable moments in this match that I adore. You had Flair doing his "dirtiest player in the game" tactics, Shawn flying all over the place like only Mr. WrestleMania does, Flair actually hitting the flying cross body after years of missing it more often than not, the vertical suplex, the chops, the chain wrestling and the figure fours made for an amazing showcase. And then they had one of the greatest finishes of all time that would lead to dramatic finishes/moments in three other big matches.

The poster Razor King actually wrote my favorite review on the match and you can look too:
 
#3,422 ·
Wrestlemania 23: The Ultimate Edition DVD Review

I'm going to Wrestlemania this year and I'm starting to get really excited. So naturally I'm going to try to watch as many Wrestlemanias as I can before the actual show.




Raw 3/26/07
Undertaker and Batista vs. Shawn Michaels and John Cena


So this chapter was 14 minutes long, over 7 minutes of that was spent on entrances.... So this was the Monday before Mania and going in Cena and Michaels had been working really well together while Batista and Undertaker had been ready to kill each other for weeks. They kept with that the whole match, which was really exciting to see despite being nothing spectacular. Batista and Undertaker were unable to work as a team and it looked like it would cost them the match. That is until Shawn finally turned on Cena and cost them the match. Very fun match that I thought did a good job of getting everyone excited for Wrestlemania.
**1/2


Lumberjack Match:

Chavo Guerrero and Shane Helms vs. Carlito and Ric Flair

Nice of WWE to let everyone get a chance to do something at Wrestlemania. The match was solid but nothing all that memorable.
*3/4


Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Edge vs. CM Punk vs. King Booker vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Finlay vs. Randy Orton



This was a lot of fun and I was impressed with how they involved all sorts of storylines in it. You had Edge and Randy Orton who had just broken up as a team (I still say that they should have had a match against each other on this show), you had the Hardy's reuniting, and they really played up the heat between Edge and Matt Hardy. Throw in a bunch of cool spots and you have a great match. I also liked that there weren't many, none that I can recall actually, logic defying spots. Everyone seemed focused on actually winning the match which hasn't always been the case in these matches. Jeff Hardy's jump of the ladder cost him the match and could be considered one of those stupid spots but it came from Jeff Hardy. And going for the big move at all costs was Hardy's character flaw during his entire WWE run. Great ladder match.
***3/4


Great Khali vs. Kane

About as good as you could have hoped for. Simple story with Kane being built as a monster but not as big a monster as Khali. I liked that they paid homage to Wrestlemania 3 with Kane slamming Khali. Rest of the match was what you expected. Khali's offense is slow and boring and it wasn't all that much better than it normally is. Kane did his best but he wasn't able to make this into a good match.
*1/4


United States Championship Match

Chris Benoit(c) vs. MVP

Despite that fact that Benoit would wind up winning the match he did everything he could do to make MVP look like he belonged in the ring with Benoit. The match they wrestled was incredibly smart and focused on MVP getting in as much offense as he could and working the arm of Benoit. Most of the match was a slow pace but I loved how during the match he would take the slightest opening and nearly win the match, It was one of those quick bursts that eventually allowed him to get the win. I love when a guy is able to come out looking better in a losing effort.
***1/4


World Heavyweight Championship Match:
Batista(c) vs. Undertaker

I love it when these two wrestle each other. I've yet to see a bad match between them. Granted they just seem to throw bombs at each other the whole time but I don't think it would work better any other way. They kept a great pace the whole time and they never let up. The crowd provided a great atmosphere and they were really believing a lot of the near finishes.
****1/4




New Breed vs. ECW Originals

This reminded me a lot of a match that I would see on Raw, which is a shame since this had been built for a long time on ECW. It's tough to put on a good match when you have 8 guys and less than 7 minutes but they did there best. Good to see all the ECW guys get a chance to wrestle at Mania and it was also nice to see the guys on the New Breed all get a Mania match. Solid match.
**1/2


Trump's Hair vs. McMahon's Hair
Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley
Special Referee: Steve Austin

This was a blast to watch. The wrestling between the guys in the match really wasn't anything special but it was just the general craziness of the whole match that made it work. so well. When you have Donald Trump hitting Vince McMahon with a clothesline, Shane McMahon going coast to coast, and Austin giving out Stunners you know you're in for some fun. Post match was one of the more entertaining head shavings in recent memory. Vince played his role perfectly. Not a wrestling classic but it really added a lot to the card.
***




Lumber Jack Match for the Women's Championship

Melina (c) vs. Ashley

It was short and bad. Ashley had no business being in this match other than having just posed for Play Boy. Post match was absurd, Melina won cleanly yet all the faces acted like it was this big injustice that she lost. Naturally there was than a big fight with all the Divas. I stopped watching there and put in disc 2 before it ended but I would bet my life that the faces beat up the heels and celebrated in the ring together...
1/2*


WWE Championship Match
John Cena(c) vs. Shawn Michaels

This was amazing. I haven't seen it since it first aired and I don't remember it being nearly this good. The last 10 minutes or so was some of the best stuff I ever remember seeing. What made it so great was that they didn't rely on hitting finishers over and over on each other. I mean Shawn kicked out of an FU but it took Cena a long time to make the cover and when Cena kicked out a Sweet Chin Music it was because it took him too long to make the cover. The counters that they were hitting had the crowd in a frenzy. They had people with their hands on their heads shaking, and from personal experience it's only when I'm marking out like crazy that I find myself doing that. A Wrestlemania Classic.
****1/2



I loved this show. Both title matches were amazing, MITB delivered, and Lashley/Umaga as well as MVP/Benoit were really good to. Easy to sit through show and I was impressed with the crowd the whole time. There are also a ton of bonuses on the DVD as besides the bonus matches that I reviewed here.
 
#3,431 ·
Hunter: Hey, dude, you have the streak, right?

'Taker: Yeah, man, but got nobody to wrestle this year.

Hunter: How about the "Next Big Thing" Sheamus?

Undertaker reminds Hunter of kidnapping Steph.

Hunter: <Calls Michaels> Well, Shawn... I've got three words for ya... "Are you READYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?" Shawn hangs up.

'Taker: Nobody to face at 'Mania. Undertaker cries.

Hunter: Let's get Sting, dude. <IWC jizzes>

Vince interrupts: How about me, dude?

Undertaker gives Vince a fuck-off look.

Hunter: Alright, so how about me and you at WrestleMania? <IWC bitches>

Undertaker thinks about it, and: But I've beaten you at 'Mania already.

Hunter: So, you want Big Bossman or Giant Gonzalez again?

Undertaker stares at Hunter and slashes his throat!

Match is on.
 
#3,498 ·
Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham (World Wide Wrestling, 01/20/1987)

It's been like 10 years since last watching, and holy shit, it's still a five star match. They go balls out in this 30 min draw. Total nonstop action literally. Young Schiavone and especially Dusty are magnificent on commentary, the crowd is red fucking hot, and Windham is incredibly over. Story telling, technique, mind games, you have it all right here. One of the best matches ever, but their BOTB clash is still better. *****
 
#3,502 ·
:agree:


Somebody?
It's the greatest Iron Man Match in history. Period. Second best match of Rock's career. Amazing old-school stuff from both guys and that is how you wrestle for one-hour. The most entertaining hour-long match of all time. You have many technical masterpieces that went for an hour but you'd still find it difficult to sit through it not matter how *great* it is. Not with Hunter/Rock. It's amazing, entertaining, and dramatic in all respects. **** 3/4 for it. A sheer classic.
 
#3,541 · (Edited)


Wrestlemania 26 DVD Review


26-Man Battle Royal


I wasn't looking forward to this very much until I realized I had no idea who would win this. I have to say that they really scraped the bottom of the barrel in this one. So many people in this match that aren't with the company any more. The match had a few nice moments but it was pretty boring for parts of the match. One thing I did learn though is that Mike Knox very well might do the coolest looking cross body ever. I was thrilled with the winner, not because I
m a huge fan of Yoshi Tatsu but because I love his music so much...
*1/2



R-Truth and John Morrison vs. Big Show and The Miz



They kept it quick but I thought it was still pretty good. Everyone got involved in the match and most of the exchanges were kept quick. Big Show played the role of lofty veteran really well in the match, he got himself involved at all the right times.
**


Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase Jr. vs. Randy Orton



This was really good. Great story telling in the match with Cody and Ted really trying to work together but not being able to let the other guy win. My favorite moment of the match was when Cody and Ted were fighting each other while Orton was down. As Orton began to get back to his feet they looked right at each other and just stopped fighting to attack Orton again. I would have liked to see a little more of all 3 guys going after each other but they were limited in time and had to make the decision between having more false finishes and cool moves or telling a good story. I think they made the right choice.
***1/4



Money in the Bank Ladder Match:

Kane vs. Christian vs. Kofi Kingston vs. MVP vs. Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Evan Bourne vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Jack Swagger vs. Dolph Ziggler



More guys does not make for a better match. WWE really needs to learn this lesson with MITB matches. The amount of time spent selling certain moves was shocking. I think McIntyre fell asleep waiting for his cue to get back in the ring. And the amazing thing is that I don't think anyone even noticed. I'm not even sure what move was supposed to have incapacitated him for so long. He was just the worst example of insanely long selling but there were plenty more. They simply had too many people in the match for this to work well. At least they edited out the part at the end where it took Swagger forever to get the briefcase. I'll give it a decent rating for the spots but this is probably the worst MITB I've ever seen.
**3/4



Triple H vs. Sheamus

Another very good match (maybe not the classic that Jerry Lawler claimed it was but still really good). Sheamus was trying to prove that he belonged in this match. He had just lost his title and wasn't exactly booked as the strongest champion. This was really his chance to show that he belonged in the ring with a top guy. I think he did as well as he could have hoped for. Triple H let him control for a good portion of the match and Sheamus was really looking strong for the whole match. The ending was very clever. Triple H appeared to me knocked unconscious but as Sheamus was picking him up Triple H hit the Pedigree out of nowhere for the win. I liked that is just looked like Sheamus made a single mistake rather than him really getting his ass kicked.
***



CM Punk w/The Straight Edge Society vs. Rey Mysterio




I would have liked this to go a little longer but for what time it got it was amazing. CM Punk was such a good heel in this. From the devastating moves he was hitting on Rey to his evil grins whenever he thought he had the match won CM Punk was the perfect heel. Rey very well might be the best underdog babyface ever and this performance was no exception. If they had 10 more minutes this would have been a classic. Can't ask for anymore though, favorite match on the card up to this point.
***1/2


No Holds Barred:
Vince McMahon vs. Bret Hart

This was a lot of fun at first but they really needed to cut this in half. I mean let the hart family beat Vince up, have Bret hit a few moves and slap in the sharpshooter for the win. Everyone is happy and Bret gets his nice moment with his family. Instead they just kept going with it. It got to the point where I was actually feeling bad for Vince. Far too long.
1/4*





World Heavyweight Championship Match:

Chris Jericho(c) vs. Edge



This is proof enough for me that edge can still have a great match. Jericho really brought his A game to this one and his heel actions fit his character to perfection. You see Jericho really has a huge ego and believes that he is the best no matter what. So at first he didn't cheat or even attempt to go after Edge's recently healed ankle. It wasn't until Jericho couldn't put Edge away that he attacked the ankle and it wasn't until that failed that he outright cheated. The match got plenty of time to develop and there isn't much I can complain about. Cool post match spot too.
****



Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Eve, Gail Kim, and Beth Phoenix vs. Michelle McCool, Layla, Alicia Fox, Maryse and Vickie Guerrero

This wasn't too bad. I mean most of the match was just a long sequence of the Divas hitting big moves on each others. Vickie did OK early on, she made the fans really want to see her get beat up, but it was embarrassing at the end. Bad ending aside it was kind of fun.
3/4*



WWE Championship Match:

Batista(c) vs. John Cena



This really shows you how much a storyline can add to a match. I mean if I watched this without any knowledge of the back story between these two and the commentators never mentioned any of it I don't think this match would have been all that great. Take a DDT that Batista hit early on in the match to take control of things. Yeah it looked cool but without context it's just a move but when you know that Batista broke Cena's neck last time they had a match together (or at least that's what they claimed in the build) that one move meant so much. The end of the match could not have been any better. You had the top guys in the company in the ring, they hated each other, there was an awesome storyline about why they hated each other, and they went all out against each other. It wasn't very long but it didn't need to be. They told a complete story in a limited amount of time. Incredible match.
****



Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker

Perfection. I really cannot think of a single thing that is wrong with this match. It was captivating from bell to bell. I'm still not sure if the Undertaker injured his leg or not in the match. Regardless the leg work was done so well. I loved the facial expression from Michales when he realized Undertaker hurt his leg. The spot where Shawn hit a moonsault from the top rope through the announce table but he hit his legs instead of his chest might have been my favorite moment of the match.

From the beginning with Michaels getting his ass handed to him in the match that he had wanted for a full year to the final act of defiance from Shawn where he slapped Undertaker in the face this was truly amazing. The way that they spaced out all the finishers worked really well. I think Undertaker might have hit a chokeslam before the midway point in the match. It created a feel that this could end at any time. I feel like I'm all over the place with this review but I just keep finding different things to praise about this match. Shawn Michaels ended his career with his best match ever and one of the best matches by anyone that I've ever seen.
*****



This is one of the best Wrestlemanias that I remember watching. The undercard was really enjoyable and the main events delivered. I feel like all the big matches had really compelling stories to them. If MITB had been on par with some of the other ones they've had I'm not sure which if any I would be putting ahead of WM 26. The production value was impressive as well. I was loved some of the camera shots that they were able to get during certain matches. It made me feel like I was almost inside the ring with them.


 
#3,620 · (Edited)
Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker

Perfection. I really cannot think of a single thing that is wrong with this match. It was captivating from bell to bell. I'm still not sure if the Undertaker injured his leg or not in the match. Regardless the leg work was done so well. I loved the facial expression from Michales when he realized Undertaker hurt his leg. The spot where Shawn hit a moonsault from the top rope through the announce table but he hit his legs instead of his chest might have been my favorite moment of the match.

From the beginning with Michaels getting his ass handed to him in the match that he had wanted for a full year to the final act of defiance from Shawn where he slapped Undertaker in the face this was truly amazing. The way that they spaced out all the finishers worked really well. I think Undertaker might have hit a chokeslam before the midway point in the match. It created a feel that this could end at any time. I feel like I'm all over the place with this review but I just keep finding different things to praise about this match. Shawn Michaels ended his career with his best match ever and one of the best matches by anyone that I've ever seen.
*****



This is one of the best Wrestlemanias that I remember watching. The undercard was really enjoyable and the main events delivered. I feel like all the big matches had really compelling stories to them. If MITB had been on par with some of the other ones they've had I'm not sure which if any I would be putting ahead of WM 26. The production value was impressive as well. I was loved some of the camera shots that they were able to get during certain matches. It made me feel like I was almost inside the ring with them.


Good job with these WrestleMania reviews man! I had the privalige to go to this WrestleMania and it was absolutely awe-inspiring being their live for Shawn's last match and possibly Undertaker's greatest performance of his career. I got to see their match at WM25 live too but I couldn't really put one over the other. Both are all time classics and my top 2 favorite matches/moments as a wrestling fan. WM25 had a better electric aura surrounding it and was more of an epic, imo. WM26 was some of the absolute best storytelling in a match you could ever ask for, and again, Taker's performance was legendary. Both are definitely matches of perfection.

Here's my review for WM26 match. I need to watch it again:


STREAK vs. CAREER
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

"If I can't beat you, I have no career!"

Defiance is what Shawn Michaels has brought to Undertaker to make this rematch happen. Shawn was told “there are plenty of other guys” he could face at WrestleMania XXVI but Shawn responded almost prophetically, “Not for me.” Last year, Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels needed to happen for the fans but this year I believe it needed to happen for Shawn Michaels.

Everything Shawn has gone through from Ric Flair’s retirement to the injuries and the obsessions have fatefully built to this final larger-than-life encounter. This time Undertaker's phenomenal 17-0 winning Streak is on the line but so is Shawn Michaels' incredible 25 year career.

The conditions here were ideal: Shawn was on a “relentless pursuit for perfection” and the Undertaker is the only one for him to create that ultimate WrestleMania moment. The only way to win this match is by pin-fall or submission because Shawn wants a definitive winner – no excuses or escapes.

This match has been called “the most anticipated match in WrestleMania history.” Personally, last year was the most anticipated match of all time for me but anytime it’s The Deadman vs. The Heartbreak Kid the excitement is astronomical. This has to be one of the Top 5 biggest WrestleMania matches of all time.

People said they had the greatest WrestleMania match ever at WrestleMania XXV. I made that statement myself. After their classic performance at WrestleMania XXV I couldn’t have asked for more as a wrestling fan. People also said it would be impossible for them to top or even match the year before. Yet, one year later, Shawn and Undertaker are at WrestleMania again giving us more and then some!

I want to point out something I loved about their entrances this year - they are perfect! Shawn didn't zip line over the crowd or ascend from the heavens this year. No, he came out just as the regular SHAWN MICHAELS which is much more special for a lifelong fan like me.

Undertaker, however, rose from the depths of Hell dressed like the Grim Reaper of Souls coming to put Shawn’s career to rest. Simple things like that put the match on another for me before the action even begins. Shawn's throat cut gesture is absolutely the perfect way to start this epic rematch because he's figuratively slapping death right in the face.

Shawn and Undertaker are here to END IT and they have to take the other man out as quickly as possible before any mistakes are made because as we saw last year, Shawn's one mistake cost him the match. Neither man can afford that this time so I appreciate how they both brought the fire out from the opening bell.

Unfortunately, Undertaker made a HUGE mistake in delivering his Old School which injured his knee in the opening moments of the biggest match of his career. This only puts me on the brink of uncertainty more because it would be a believable story if Shawn beat an injured Undertaker to break the Streak and save his career.



I loved Shawn’s focused attack to Undertaker’s knee. We see brilliant psychology at play from Shawn when he feigned a Sweet Chin Music attempt to expose the severity of Undertaker’s injury. Once Shawn knew Undertaker was hurt it was like blood in the water and he viciously attacked. From the stiff kicks to the knee to Shawn applying the Figure Four leg-lock and Ankle lock, we see that Shawn’s determination but also adaptation he’s learned. Shawn used weapons of past WrestleMania opponents which tell us on a beautiful piece of his storybook career. It’s a case of what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, but you also can use what almost killed you to damage another.

This isn’t just a match for the ages but it’s a match of their careers. They not only incorporated callback spots from Shawn’s WrestleMania 21 and XXIV matches but I saw things that go back even further in their own rivalry together. Spots such as Undertaker driving Shawn’s back into the steel post with intentions of reinjuring Shawn’s back and also putting the match on an even plain field since his knee is injured in such a high stakes contest. I couldn’t believe Undertaker again would risk crippling himself with the suicide dive but Shawn intervened again by torpedoing his body into The Deadman’s knees. This is an absolutely fine wrestling match.

There are several spots in this match I love such as Shawn’s kip up straight into the Chokeslam and Undertaker sacrificing his knees to block the diving elbow drop. But one I really marked out for was the play on their WrestleMania XXV finish mixed with a callback from Undertaker’s WrestleMania 8 match with the Tombstone Piledriver on the floor! Now that was sick! It also looked like a move of desperation from Undertaker considering he was almost at a loss of breath after.

That brings me to Undertaker’s selling overall in this match which is nothing short of flawless. Undertaker sold his injury like his leg was hanging to his body by a thread. It may be the best selling I’ve ever seen in a wrestling match. The two Last Ride attempts were awesome. In the first attempt Undertaker’s knees gave out. In the second attempt I thought Undertaker sold his injury exceptional well when he spun around with Shawn in his hands so that his knees could get under him enough to hit the Last Ride with as much force as possible!

It felt like Undertaker was working with a legit injury the entire match. The pain on his face, the strain in his voice as he yells and the heavy breathing all sold to me that this may be not only one of the most physically enduring matches of his career but the toughest test of his life! But I still can’t get over what may be Undertaker’s best performance selling the knee. I find all of his limping, striking his leg and grabbing the ropes just to stand up to be such an incredible showcase of the man’s greatness.

Shawn was great too. I swear when Shawn has a pained, emotionally frustrated look on his face with his arm stretched forward in the air almost searching for an extra source of strength, it is one of the most powerful things for me in some of his matches. That is one of the reasons why I have always gotten so emotionally wound up in his matches. I am still amazed at Shawn’s showcase of athleticism.

What I call the Moonsault of Death has to be one of the most amazing sights I have ever witnessed live. Shawn landed on Undertaker’s knees and may have snapped them. Much like the suicide dive Undertaker took at WrestleMania XXV, the move may not have hit the way it was intended to hit but the results fit the story of the match. The story naturally came together and they are able to create art from it because of their extraordinary chemistry together. You would think Shawn wanted to obliterate Undertaker’s knees they way he landed on them with so much rage.

I totally bought into the false finishes at the end. Shawn gave Undertaker one of the biggest Sweet Chin Musics ever and I swear I had flashbacks to WrestleMania XII at that point only this time I wasn’t cheering for the match to be over. I was in the crowd shouting, “NO! NO! NO! KICK OUT!!!” The guy in front of me turned around with a smile on his face when Taker barely kicked out. Now that I think about it he should have been too busy marking out hard too. I was freaking losing my mind for everything they did and I’m still fascinated with the match and not with how the crowd is reacting.

When Undertaker caught Shawn for the Chokeslam after another SCM attempt, he looked like he was about to cry as he struggled to go over and hit him with another Tombstone! Every time I get to this point in the match I say to myself this is one of the most beautiful matches I’ve ever seen. I thought the second Tombstone was it too much like last year it took two Tombstones to put Shawn away but it wasn’t. I don’t know if everyone caught it but Undertaker kicking Shawn in the head was so bad ass! This match is the quintessential showdown in the desert between, in my opinion, the two greatest ever!



The closing moments are once again excellent storytelling in a dramatic finish reminiscent of two years ago when Shawn retired Ric Flair. That is where Shawn's road to this point began and now the career of the greatest performer ever ends in the most dramatic way. Within the context of the storyline of the match, it was definitely a case of Michaels earning Undertaker's ultimate respect. The streak is important to Undertaker, but he was just exasperated that Michaels wouldn't stay down and wasn't sure he wanted to end it all. Michaels never wanted Undertaker to go easy on him.

Shawn demanded Undertaker give him everything he had even if it meant Shawn had to signal the finish himself because as Shawn profoundly and prophetically stated if he couldn’t beat Undertaker he doesn’t need to wrestle any more. Hell no to Shawn staying down, Undertaker HAD to be the one to end Shawn Michaels’ career and Shawn made sure the end happened.

The slap to the face certainly reassured Undertaker to lay the nail in. Shawn was defiant until the end with the cut throat gesture and slap, and Undertaker was defiant in sacrificing his knees and maybe Shawn’s neck in a jumping, SPIKE Tombstone Piledriver from Hell! For the love of God what a masterpiece!



It is inevitable for comparisons to be made between the WrestleMania XXV match and this one so I’ll tell you what I think. WrestleMania XXV had an electric aura to it that made every second essentially EPIC. The crowd was without question better too which made for a better atmosphere. This match isn’t as polished as WMXXV. It’s a little rougher, there’s an extra emphatic statement in every move. Because of the added stipulations and the break-neck pace from the start, there is a sense of urgency here so intense that makes the entire match feel like a 24-minute finishing stretch.

As for which match is the better of the two? Honestly, I can't give you a definite answer. Both matches completely captured my imagination and indeed represent everything I love about wrestling. WrestleMania XXV is an absolute thrill ride and XXVI is an enduring, emotional story for the ages. I hold both as the two greatest WrestleMania matches ever.


THE ULTIMATE WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT

My eyes did tear up when Undertaker opened up for Shawn and the world to see more of his emotions as if we hadn’t seen enough in his enduring performance. I respect and admire these two men more than any other wrestlers and here they created the ultimate WrestleMania moment.

The story of Shawn Michaels’ career these last couple of years has almost been biblical. Shawn has never hid his faith from us. He devotes his life to submitting himself to a higher cause. This is difficult for any man to accomplish - religious or not – and I believe Shawn wanted that to be showcased the final stretch of his career . His obsession of tarnishing Taker's undefeated WrestleMania streak was Michaels' way of encouraging us to forego our selfish and often materialistic goals in favor of having faith and hope. At least that’s what I want to believe.



Shawn Michaels stripped himself bare of any self-centeredness - from his standard entrance to the ring to a pyro-less walk back up the ramp - all of which allowed every fan to not be distracted from the beautiful performance that he and Undertaker put on. Shawn simply said, "This is all I can offer," and he humbly gave us his best work, and for that wrestling fans will always honor him. The emotion and the beauty of these moments will be preserved in my mind forever.

THANK YOU SHAWN ... GOODBYE
 
#3,731 ·
Elimination Chamber 2011

Alberto Del Rio VS Kofi Kingston
A solid opener with both guys looking pretty good. It is sad that this was ADR's first singles match on PPV. Some good false finishes and I loved the arm breaker to S.O.S combo near the end.
10:30 ***1/4

Kane VS Drew McIntyre VS Wade Barrett VS Big Show VS Rey Mysterio VS Edge
I can't say enough positive things about this match which may be the best Chamber match ever. It never got slow and never left me wishing the next guy would come out to inject some excitement. McIntyre was very impressive and I wish they would let him do that more often. Mysterio took some nasty bumps as well and after seeing his head rammed into a pod a few times I actually started to wonder if he would get a concussion from that. Edge/Mysterio had some fantastic near falls and I thought it was done a couple of times before it was and the super spear was a great finish.
31:28 ****1/4

Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov VS The Corre
Typical match from these two from their other PPV bouts. Nothing to great but not bad by any means either.
5:10 **

The Miz VS Jerry "The King" Lawler
This was obviously not going to be a classic due to King's age but they did a good job with what they had. Michael Cole was really annoying at times though and detracted from the match.
12:08 ***

Randy Orton VS R-Truth VS CM Punk VS John Cena VS Sheamus VS John Morrison
This match was not as good as the Smackdown chamber but I still enjoyed it a lot. The false elimination spot for Punk came across as really stupid and became even dumber when Sheamus attacked Cena in his pod a few minutes later. R-Truth had no business being in this match and it was obvious and his quick elimination only made it more ridiculous. Danielson or even Mark Henry would have made more sense. I still enjoyed it though and a big part of that was Morrison who did a lot of cool transitions with the chamber.
33:11 ***3/4

Overall 8.5/10
I would say to watch the whole thing but make sure you see the Smackdown Chamber match if nothing else.
 
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