Post Wrestlemania 27 Thoughts
Posted by Dom Mucciacciaro on Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Under: Misc.
Wrestlemania 27 just ended roughly an hour ago and if I had to describe
it in one word, I would say "unpredictable." I say that because every
year I get together with some friends and make predictions. This year, I
was sure I would get a clean sweep, but I did awful. A lot of the
matches went in the complete other direction. In some cases, I really
questions WWE's thinking and in others I didn't mind being wrong. The
video packages were well done and the backstage skits were pretty funny.
I liked the one with Snoop Dogg a lot. Regal, Ryder, and Khali made me
laugh really hard. The Hall of Fame segment was nice but it seemed very
rushed. Sunny looked amazing by the way. Rightfully, Shawn Michaels got
some special attention. The set was fairly simple this year, compared to
some of the more recent years, but it was absolutely beautiful. It may
be my favorite Wrestlemania set so far. Let's get to breaking down the
matches...
- Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan.: It was an absolute crime that this match was taken off the card and the pre-show had a battle royal which was won by the Great Khali. Thankfully, it was non title. But still, Khali should not have won that match. He's really only useful as a comedy act so having him go over some legitimate guys is a bad move. By the way, I had Sheamus to win the match. 0 for 1.
- Edge vs Alberto Del Rio.: I was so surprised that this match opened the event. I think this match suffered a little from it's placement on the card. I feel like with the first match, people are still getting settled and they aren't fully into the show yet. For me, it felt like the crowd wasn't into the match as much as they should have been. It was a really solid match, but the crowd didn't really pop for the speak and it seemed kind of anti-climactic as a result. The bit with the car was a good way to keep the feud going. I had Del rio winning this match, but I don't mind the Edge win. 0 for 2.
- Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio.: Some have said this was the best match all night. I wouldn't go that far, but it was up there with the best. Rey's costume was fun. I enjoy seeing what Rey comes up with each year. This match likely did wonders for the career of Cody Rhodes. Last year, they essentially buried Cody, and this year he came up with a big win. I had Rey winning this match. I figured Rey Mysterio winning at Wrestlemania was a lock. Cody got the win and I have no problem with that. It was shocking and unexpected. 0 for 3.
- The Corre vs Santino, Big Show, Kane, and Kofi Kingston.: Easily the worst match of the night. The match was really short and the wrong team won. The time of the match was really disappointing becuase Big Show looked to be more energized than usual and seemed to be hustling around the ring. Also, this match annoyed me becuase we had this instead of Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus. If they had made this an elimination match Big Show and Kane could have been eliminated without hurting their momentum. Kofi has no momentum to lose, so having him lose would be no big deal. Santino is still viewed by many as a comedy character so a loss wouldn't hurt him. The Corre could have really been solidified as a serious group with a win. The have the Intercontinental Title and the Tag Team Titles, yet they got demolished by guys they have been taking out over the last month or so. I had the Corre winning this and I was wrong again. 0 for 4.
- Randy Orton vs CM Punk.: This match was very solid and well wrestled, but I felt it to be a bit lacking. I think it really needed some kind of stipulation. No DQ, cage match, last man standing, something other than a straight one on one match. These two have had so much bad blood leading up to this match and I felt like none of that built up tention was unleashed. The ending spot was pretty cool, but I thought this match would shoulder a good part of the load for the Pay-Per-View and I feel like it was too safe. I had Orton winning in this so I finally got one right. 1 for 5.
- Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler.: This match had some funny moments, but it didn't go over like I expected. The crowd didn't pop anywhere near the way I expected them to when Cole was getting his head slammed into the Cole Mine. Cole's attire made me laugh. I was so happy JR came to take over announcing duties. The crowd finally popped when Swagger got a stunner. I think everyone and their mother had Lawler winning this match, which he did. The decision reversal at the end was stupid and unnecessary. This feud needed to end tonight and it looks like it will be continuing. The beer celebration was typical Austin, but it got weird when Booker T ran in the ring like a fool. The crowd popped again for the stunners to Booker T and Josh Matthews. Obviously, I had King winning this. 1 for 6 I guess.
- Undertaker vs Triple H.: This gets my vote for match of the night. Both men left it all on the table like I expected. Triple H had a really cool entrance which threw me off at first. I heard a gong and saw the lights go out. I was expecting Undertaker. Then, Triple H appeared behind what Chris Jericho referred to on Twitter as "Snitsky's teeth." Undertaker's entrance was fairly modest compared to his usualy Wrestlemania entrances. Undertaker's suicide dive scarred me as he almost dropped on his head again. The chairshot to the head may end up drawing some negative press, but I think it may have been lost in the action. The winner of this match was predictable but the ending was shocking. I would have never predicted that Triple H would tap out like that. The post match stuff was a little weird. I don't know whether or not that was scripted. Triple H seemed to be watching like he didn't know what was going on and it went on for a really long time. The medical staff took forever to get down there, and scripted or not, watching Undertaker get carted off like that was a really sad image for me to take in. 2 for 7.
- John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Snooki vs Dolph Ziggler and Lay-Cool.: This was another pretty disappointing match. It was short and Ziggler and Morrison should have been given more time to show off what they got. Speaking of Showing off what they got, Trish sure showed a lot of what she had. I wonder if WWE was starting to worry about maintaining a PG rating. They did a good job of limiting Snooki's involvement, which actually made her impressive. I had Team Morrison winning this match, which was fairly obvious. 3 for 8.
- John Cena vs the Miz.: Shocker of the night! The match started kinda slow and didn't really pick up all that much. Again, the work was solid but very safe. Cena debuted his new red gear, which I thought was going to burn my eyes out. The pre-match video packages were really well done, especially the Miz one. I liked how they compared him to past champions. The false finish helped give the match some steam when the Rock restarted the match. The Rock Bottom to Cena really made the match end hot. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Cena would win, but WWE had Miz pull out the shocking win. I think this shows WWE's faith in the Miz. Also, if you watch the Hall of Fame, you will notice the Miz sitting next to Linda McMahon. I clearly had Cena winning this and I was wrong again. 3 for 9.
I didn't end up with a good showing on the predictions. Overall, I thought Wrestlemania 27 was enjoyable. However, the matches were really safe and came off kind of mechanical. It seemed like the wrestlers had their scripts and were not going to go off script for anything, except for Undertaker and Triple H. Also, there were too many straight one fall matches. The show could have used some gimmick matches, such as an elimination match, a ladder match, an I quit match, a last man standing match, or a no DQ match. I usually see Wrestlemania as a time to tie all the lose ends on the huge stories of the year and set up everyone to move on to something new. This year I didn't feel like we really got any closure on a lot of story lines. I think that makes the almost seem like a regular Pay-Per-View. If I had to give this match a grade, I would say B-. Very safe and solid, a couple bad spots, above average, but not too spectacular.
- Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan.: It was an absolute crime that this match was taken off the card and the pre-show had a battle royal which was won by the Great Khali. Thankfully, it was non title. But still, Khali should not have won that match. He's really only useful as a comedy act so having him go over some legitimate guys is a bad move. By the way, I had Sheamus to win the match. 0 for 1.
- Edge vs Alberto Del Rio.: I was so surprised that this match opened the event. I think this match suffered a little from it's placement on the card. I feel like with the first match, people are still getting settled and they aren't fully into the show yet. For me, it felt like the crowd wasn't into the match as much as they should have been. It was a really solid match, but the crowd didn't really pop for the speak and it seemed kind of anti-climactic as a result. The bit with the car was a good way to keep the feud going. I had Del rio winning this match, but I don't mind the Edge win. 0 for 2.
- Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio.: Some have said this was the best match all night. I wouldn't go that far, but it was up there with the best. Rey's costume was fun. I enjoy seeing what Rey comes up with each year. This match likely did wonders for the career of Cody Rhodes. Last year, they essentially buried Cody, and this year he came up with a big win. I had Rey winning this match. I figured Rey Mysterio winning at Wrestlemania was a lock. Cody got the win and I have no problem with that. It was shocking and unexpected. 0 for 3.
- The Corre vs Santino, Big Show, Kane, and Kofi Kingston.: Easily the worst match of the night. The match was really short and the wrong team won. The time of the match was really disappointing becuase Big Show looked to be more energized than usual and seemed to be hustling around the ring. Also, this match annoyed me becuase we had this instead of Daniel Bryan vs Sheamus. If they had made this an elimination match Big Show and Kane could have been eliminated without hurting their momentum. Kofi has no momentum to lose, so having him lose would be no big deal. Santino is still viewed by many as a comedy character so a loss wouldn't hurt him. The Corre could have really been solidified as a serious group with a win. The have the Intercontinental Title and the Tag Team Titles, yet they got demolished by guys they have been taking out over the last month or so. I had the Corre winning this and I was wrong again. 0 for 4.
- Randy Orton vs CM Punk.: This match was very solid and well wrestled, but I felt it to be a bit lacking. I think it really needed some kind of stipulation. No DQ, cage match, last man standing, something other than a straight one on one match. These two have had so much bad blood leading up to this match and I felt like none of that built up tention was unleashed. The ending spot was pretty cool, but I thought this match would shoulder a good part of the load for the Pay-Per-View and I feel like it was too safe. I had Orton winning in this so I finally got one right. 1 for 5.
- Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler.: This match had some funny moments, but it didn't go over like I expected. The crowd didn't pop anywhere near the way I expected them to when Cole was getting his head slammed into the Cole Mine. Cole's attire made me laugh. I was so happy JR came to take over announcing duties. The crowd finally popped when Swagger got a stunner. I think everyone and their mother had Lawler winning this match, which he did. The decision reversal at the end was stupid and unnecessary. This feud needed to end tonight and it looks like it will be continuing. The beer celebration was typical Austin, but it got weird when Booker T ran in the ring like a fool. The crowd popped again for the stunners to Booker T and Josh Matthews. Obviously, I had King winning this. 1 for 6 I guess.
- Undertaker vs Triple H.: This gets my vote for match of the night. Both men left it all on the table like I expected. Triple H had a really cool entrance which threw me off at first. I heard a gong and saw the lights go out. I was expecting Undertaker. Then, Triple H appeared behind what Chris Jericho referred to on Twitter as "Snitsky's teeth." Undertaker's entrance was fairly modest compared to his usualy Wrestlemania entrances. Undertaker's suicide dive scarred me as he almost dropped on his head again. The chairshot to the head may end up drawing some negative press, but I think it may have been lost in the action. The winner of this match was predictable but the ending was shocking. I would have never predicted that Triple H would tap out like that. The post match stuff was a little weird. I don't know whether or not that was scripted. Triple H seemed to be watching like he didn't know what was going on and it went on for a really long time. The medical staff took forever to get down there, and scripted or not, watching Undertaker get carted off like that was a really sad image for me to take in. 2 for 7.
- John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Snooki vs Dolph Ziggler and Lay-Cool.: This was another pretty disappointing match. It was short and Ziggler and Morrison should have been given more time to show off what they got. Speaking of Showing off what they got, Trish sure showed a lot of what she had. I wonder if WWE was starting to worry about maintaining a PG rating. They did a good job of limiting Snooki's involvement, which actually made her impressive. I had Team Morrison winning this match, which was fairly obvious. 3 for 8.
- John Cena vs the Miz.: Shocker of the night! The match started kinda slow and didn't really pick up all that much. Again, the work was solid but very safe. Cena debuted his new red gear, which I thought was going to burn my eyes out. The pre-match video packages were really well done, especially the Miz one. I liked how they compared him to past champions. The false finish helped give the match some steam when the Rock restarted the match. The Rock Bottom to Cena really made the match end hot. It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Cena would win, but WWE had Miz pull out the shocking win. I think this shows WWE's faith in the Miz. Also, if you watch the Hall of Fame, you will notice the Miz sitting next to Linda McMahon. I clearly had Cena winning this and I was wrong again. 3 for 9.
I didn't end up with a good showing on the predictions. Overall, I thought Wrestlemania 27 was enjoyable. However, the matches were really safe and came off kind of mechanical. It seemed like the wrestlers had their scripts and were not going to go off script for anything, except for Undertaker and Triple H. Also, there were too many straight one fall matches. The show could have used some gimmick matches, such as an elimination match, a ladder match, an I quit match, a last man standing match, or a no DQ match. I usually see Wrestlemania as a time to tie all the lose ends on the huge stories of the year and set up everyone to move on to something new. This year I didn't feel like we really got any closure on a lot of story lines. I think that makes the almost seem like a regular Pay-Per-View. If I had to give this match a grade, I would say B-. Very safe and solid, a couple bad spots, above average, but not too spectacular.
In : Misc.