[Gamblor]

Okay, on a re-watch:

Sheamus vs. Bryan- *

I decided to be nice and give this a star, which is great for what it was. At the end of the day it did accomplish two things... 1) It gave Bryan/AJ a bit of heat in their relationship which we could see really start to build up over time and 2) Even though I also dislike this, it's not like Daniel Bryan went from 0 to hero as far as toughness goes when he turned heel like magic. Essentially he's as resilient and as much of a force as he was as a face, maybe even less, but he started using his brain more in matches weasel out of them and keep his World Title. This time however he was caught off guard. Now Bryan in the first place should be a tougher individual all things considered, but it's nice to see they stayed true to what he was from the beginning and didn't all of a sudden magically make him a supervillain because he became champion.

... I hope I explained that as well as I was hoping to.


Randy Orton vs. Kane - ***1/4

Have it at the same rating, and these two did better than I'm sure everyone thought. They had a nice pace, did their move set, had some interesting counters (like Orton flipping out of one of Kane's move) and the ending was a good way to keep Orton looking strong and give Kane a decisive win to keep him looking like force to be reckoned with.

Show vs. Rhodes- *1/2

I'm not happy about Show winning, and the match wasn't very good. I didn't like how basic the ending was and it just felt way too short. Rhodes' reign ending just like that was a let-down, but overall it isn't the worst match I've ever seen... just not good in the slightest.


Undertaker vs. Triple H - ****

I bumped this up to 4 stars. This match was easily better than the WM27 match in my eyes, because it did everything that WM27 did, but better. Better drama, better storytelling, and better action (though the action was still lacking considering it was HIAC at Wrestlemania). I'd actually also put this slightly above their WM17 match, and overall it was a great way for Taker, HHH, or both to go out. I have to admit I also loved Taker absolutely dominating HHH at the end, and it just felt the way it should unlike the WM27 match with HHH dominating Taker. I almost feel the match should've ended with that sledgehammer shot, as if that's HHH's last match, that would've been more appropriate. At the very least though after the sledgehammer shot Taker should've covered, and that would've made a great false finish. But at the end of the day, it all worked out, and the two delivered an excellent match. I don't see it as a classic or even MOTN, but the two went out there and delivered a hell of a match... even if it was slighty disappointing for a Cell match (still the best Cell match easily since Taker/Edge at Summerslam 08). The after-match was great as well, with Taker/Shawn carrying HHH's carcass out and it was a great shot seeing them hug... even if Taker was breaking character a little bit.

Team Johnny vs. Team Teddy - ***

This match was actually fun to watch back... don't really have much to say but... poor Ryder.

CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho - ****1/4

These two went out there and delivered a superb wrestling match. This match had everything a wrestling fan could want. The action was awesome and I loved the build in pace as the match went on. The psychology with Jericho trying to win the title by dq at the beginning was brilliant, and the two mixing it up between wrestling and brawling was a great touch as it mixes the whole "Best in the World" storyline with the personal-reality this feud has gotten to with everything Jericho has said to Punk the last few weeks. Punk making Jericho tap was the perfect way to end it. Nice little subtle things throughout the match as well made it an awesome one, like for example... not sure if anyone noticed, but before Jericho did tap he made one last kick towards the rope in desperation before finally giving into the pain and tapping out, as well as the knees to Punk's head, followed by Punk adapting and leaning away from the leg area. Stuff like that made this quite a fucking match. If the crowd was more lively throughout I would've given it ****1/2, but still overall the two delivered on the grandest stage.


The Rock vs. John Cena - ***1/2

The two delivered a spectacle of a match. The crowd was on fire and it was cool to see Rock using moves like the soman drop, his DDT, the flying crossbody... which then went into the usual Cena lifting him and hitting AA, but it was all good. The ending was picture perfect as well. Cena got cocky and tried to use Rock's own move to finish him, but it backfired and led to a picture perfect finish with Rock rock-bottoming Cena for a second time and getting the 1-2-3. Overall the two delivered a great main event. Will it go down as one of the best of all time? No, but considering Rock hasn't been in a singles match in 9 years and the last match he was in he was only in there very briefly, and that Cena's best days are behind him in the ring (and he was never one of the best to begin with), these two delivered a better match technically than I thought they would. There were some strange landings at times from both Rock and Cena, but overall, much like Rock/Hogan, atmosphere/spectacle made up for the technicality in the match (actually, that's also like Taker/HHH the past two years). Oh, and I marked for Rock winning, even though a small part of me was hoping Rock would lose just to see the uproar on this forum.

But yeah, overall a much better event than last year. The only matches I'd consider bad were the divas match (which I barely paid attention to the first time and didn't re-watch) and Show/Rhodes. Sheamus/Bryan, while not a good result for a World Title match, at least played into Bryan's character perfectly, and the rest of the matches were all at least good, with two ****+ matches. Overall a great Mania. Maybe not one of the best of all time, but I was personally pleased with it.

[mrchrisieclass]

Originally Posted by A-DoubleBaby!

OK I've got to hear this. Pleeeease explain to me how the WORLD CHAMPION losing in one move is great booking.

Originally Posted by sharkboy22

This I would love to know too. Let's hear how clever it was to squash the most over guy in the match.

Ok with pleasure

From a storyline point of view the cowardly heel got his comeuppance and got beaten easily (and created a Wrestlemania momment). Every kid under 10 marked out i guarentee you

From a booking point of view, it gives Bryan a lot of fuel. First he will blame AJ, then he has the embarresment factor to work with. They will use Sheamus embarresing him as the build for the next PPV. Bryan's reaction will be brilliant, I cant wait to see his promo on Smackdown this week.

And it wasn't a 'squash' technically speaking, he got caught by surprise and pinned. A squash would of seen Sheamus kick the living sh*t out of him for 30 seconds and then pin him.

[Word]

Originally Posted by KingCal

Yeah, the bad thing about open air stadiums is how much crowd noise is lost. But at the same time it makes it that much more impressive when during Undertaker/HHH and Cena/Rock you could still hear the crowd go absolutely fucking INSANE. Now just imagine if they took place inside a normal arena. Damn.

I don't feel crowd noise is lost. Watch any major sporting event and there is always an amazing atmosphere is a stadium. There just isn't the passion there from the fans anymore, and I don't blame them.

[GOON The Legend]

The reasoning makes sense for the way Daniel Bryan lost due to how his character has been booked, but it shouldn't of happened at Wrestlemania. If anything, they should have saved it for Smackdown or Extreme Rules. That really isn't the way you open up a Wrestlemania.

[YouThinkUKnowMe]

Originally Posted by Word

I don't feel crowd noise is lost. Watch any major sporting event and there is always an amazing atmosphere is a stadium. There just isn't the passion there from the fans anymore, and I don't blame them.

The crowd noise is definitely lost in stadiums. If you look at the way Sun Life Stadium is laid out, that thing was build more flat than a taller bowl like Met Life Stadium. There wasn't anything to trap crowd noise last night, even from the sides. That sound has no place to go but out.

Watching an NFL football game on TV or other stadium sporting events, that loud reaction you hear on TV has far more to do with how those stadiums are mic'd to broadcast fan reactions. Oftentimes you'll hear quick, distinct audio switches from loud to muted within the span of a second. Having been to NFL games in the past, it hardly ever comes off as loud in person as it does on TV.

Arenas on the other hand, there's no denying when 20,000 people are going bonkers for something. The reaction you hear on TV generally matches the reaction you hear in the arena itself. Arenas built with acoustics in mind are far more exciting places for any event than a stadium. But I get why WWE likes having Wrestlemania in stadiums.

[Makaveli]

Late, but my ratings for last night...

Wrestlemania 28

Sheamus/Bryan - MINUS FIVE STARS!

- Really pissed me off to have the WHC match go 18 seconds. It's an even bigger embarrassment than Chavo's loss to Kane at WM24 for the ECW title because the WHC is a main event title. It just goes to show how badly WWE needs to go back to a one brand company because it's clear they don't give a fuck about half of them. Still, the match had no build to it anyway so it fits.

Kane/Orton - ***1/4

-Solid match. Nothing groundbreaking, but for 11 minutes it was pretty damn good. The finish shocked me, but looking at it now I know why they did it and it makes sense.

Big Show/Rhodes - **1/4

-On the one hand I wanted this match to go longer because I genuinely liked the feud, especially Cody's work, but I understand why it only went 5 minutes. It was nothing more than a filler feud, but it was actually good and I was looking forward to this. Cody took some punishment from those giant chops from Show so I give him props from that. They did what they could with what they had.

Divas Match - Didn't give one fuck. "Check your skidmarks" chant was the best thing about the match.

Taker/HHH - ****3/4

This is where things really started to feel like 'Mania. AWESOME match. Taker took unbelievable amounts of punishment from those chairs. His entire upper back was black and blue and yet he was still able to dash around the ring for those offensive runs. Emotion poured out of all three men, Shawn especially. Him and HHH were dumbfounded at Taker's resilience. I loved it. The ring steps spot was brutal and the Sweet Chin Music/Pedigree spot was ridiculous. We were all jumping out of our seats when it happened, but Taker still kicked out. The ending was great and Taker goes 20-0. We saw glimpses of Shawn turning on HHH AND working against Taker. Ref bumps were fantastic for the lulz and everything just worked. Classic near falls, choreography, bumps, endurance, and emotion. If they had used the cell more it would have been perfect, but nonetheless a fantastic match.

12 Man Tag Match - Not really rating worthy...that and I forgot the entire match. Just a crowd cooler for the double main event. Pretty standard.

Punk/Jericho - ****1/4

Before rewatching it, I walked away with feeling as though it was a rather boring match. Nothing 4 star worthy at all, but then after watching it a second time, it was an awesome match. Back and forth swings of momentum and offense alike, great intensity, Jericho talking shit, and a fantastic finish. I mean the finish really made this match. Back and forth into submissions and pins really worked the crowd until Jericho attempted a Walls of Jericho which Punk then reversed into an Anaconda Vice. Jericho waited for the crowd to peak and right before it would begin to fall, he tapped. Great match.

Rock/Cena - ****1/4

Now I think that Punk/Jericho was the better match, but Rock/Cena get the same rating only because of the crowd, the finish, the stage it was on, and obviously The Rock. The match was nothing special. For this grand finale a year in the making with hype video after hype video and video special after video promo after rap battle after Rock concert after Twitter fights, it fell short. It wasn't Rock/Hogan. It was...ehh. Don't get me wrong, definitely a good match, but the middle portions of the match were really slow and for all the hype it got, it didn't feel like either man REALLY wanted it. It never got to the point where either man had to REALLY push through to get the victory. It just sorta happened. I liked the finish and the crowd went APESHIT. I mean they panned out from the hard camera and you can see EVERY SINGLE FAN with their arms in the air jumping around with lights flashing and everyone screaming. It truly was a sight to behold, but I feel like it fell short.


Wrestlemania 28 - 7.5

A strong show that had a lot of potential, but fell short. Everyone will look back and remember this as a great Wrestlemania because of Rock/Cena, but objectively speaking it looked better on paper. If Sheamus/Bryan had actually been given time it would have been better, but still better than 25-27. LOADS better. I was actually pleased after watching Wrestlemania for the first time in 4 years.

[Big Z]

Originally Posted by GOON

The reasoning makes sense for the way Daniel Bryan lost due to how his character has been booked, but it shouldn't of happened at Wrestlemania. If anything, they should have saved it for Smackdown or Extreme Rules. That really isn't the way you open up a Wrestlemania.

THIS is the problem I have with Bryan/Sheamus. You do not do that fucking bullshit at WrestleMania. Its a fucking disgrace. I PAID to see this match. I PAID to see it last year and they fucked me over too. Can I get a refund for the money I paid for wanting to watch those matches? Last year I only paid to see Bryan/Sheamus and Undertaker/HHH, so that's £7.50. This year was split between 3 matches (same 2, and then Punk/Jericho) so that's £5. WWE, you owe me £12.50 dammit!!!

[Game1778]

I was looking forward to Bryan vs Sheamus WM as whole would have been better if they got more time I thought musical introductions for both The Rock and Cena were completely unnecessary they both took a combined twenty minutes if those were removed from the card we could have seen a good wrestling match

[Kane-UK]

Originally Posted by KingCal

THIS is the problem I have with Bryan/Sheamus. You do not do that fucking bullshit at WrestleMania. Its a fucking disgrace. I PAID to see this match. I PAID to see it last year and they fucked me over too. Can I get a refund for the money I paid for wanting to watch those matches? Last year I only paid to see Bryan/Sheamus and Undertaker/HHH, so that's £7.50. This year was split between 3 matches (same 2, and then Punk/Jericho) so that's £5. WWE, you owe me £12.50 dammit!!!

I agree with you, however, playing devil's advocate here... have you ever illegally streamed/downloaded a WWE-owned show (or match)? If so, then you've probably had more than £12.50's worth of footage from WWE by doing so

[Huganomics]

I have a feeling that a certain poster/Green Day fan was tearing up during the HOF portion of the show.

Anyway, I expect Sheamus/Bryan to kind of play out like Cena/Miz in '09, with Sheamus/Cena squashing in the first match, but then Bryan/Miz are made to look a lot better in the rematch, despite losing again.