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Wrestlemania XXXI - The Greatest Show Ever


Big Fresh

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Will need to rewatch the show before posting my full thoughts on the show But I'm surprised there wasn't more love for John Cena's version of a springboard O Face (Stunner).

 

Good call. Forgot about that. Made me chuckle aloud, same for Triple H's entrance.

 

Also:

 

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Jesus, HHH's entrance plays so perfectly into everything Landis said about him.

And he used DX as a shield again to get another victory over someone he's not better than.

Hey, if it gets another $5 "Dick Sucker" shirt on some kid's back, at least he'll think it's worth it.

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It does seem that from now until the end if time, every Triple H feud will start with his opponent talking about how H has lied, stolen, double dealt, manipulated and backstabbed his way to power... and end with them shaking his hand out of respect for his toughness. Even though he hasn't actually exhibited any toughness at any point. Although the RAW opening segment halfway through Wrestlemania did prove once more, not that proof were needed, that H is not (and never has been) as big of a star as the Rock is*.

 

As far as Ronda Rousey's level of stardom, I think lots of people in the American Sports media really love her, and have been pushing her as a super big deal at every opportunity even since before she was in the UFC. How many members of the public have bought in and decided they love her too, that's unclear. We won't really know until she loses, but I don't see anyone (who can make 135) who's beating her any time soon. I like Bethe Corriea** as a fighter, but I wouldn't lay odds on her winning.

 

* I don't like the Rock as a Wrestler. He's a far bigger asset to the Wrestling business as a movie actor who used to be a Wrestler, than he ever was as a Wrestler who wrestles. And I never really got into his Pro-Wrestling interviews ever... I like him. I like some of his movies (Not just Fast and Furious ones; I'm the only person I know who liked Doom). Never could stand his Wrestling Character, or his moves, or his matches. Great guy though.

 

** Rousey's next opponent in UFC. In like August or something.

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So how long does Rollins actually hold on to the belt? He couldn't beat Brock or Cena when he had a fair shot at the Rumble. He has to deal with Orton, Reigns, Lesnar, and possibly Ambrose all chasing him and MITB winner does not normally hold the title long enough for him to make it to SummerSlam

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OK, here we go.

 

I fell asleep during the IC match. I've never been a fan of the big multi-man prop matches. I'll go back and watch it today probably. Glad to hear that Bryan won.

 

Orton and Rollins was meh, Cool finish but there is nothing, not one thing in the universe, that could make me give a shit about Randy Orton. He's as exciting as a glass of 1% milk.

 

Sting/Triple H was an overbooked ego stroke for Trips and felt masturbatory. The "you hit me with a sledgehammer so I respect you" handshake was eye-rollingly bad. Also, Terminator H was dopey.

 

The ladies match wasn't bad at all. The NXT ladies are still far more entertaining though.

 

Cena/Rusev was a BLAST. Rusev is sooo goddamn good and when you look at how young he is, it's exciting to know that we get to watch him just get better. Also, FUCKER RODE IN ON A TANK!

 

I'm in the minority I guess, and maybe it's because I remember "evil devil worshiper" Kevin Sullivan but I really like Bray. With this said, I'm hoping the WWE has a plan for him to eventually be the "godfather of darkness" because they've booked him to eventually be that guy and putting over a 50 year old Taker is a big ass roadblock.

 

Roman and Brock. Holy fucking fuck...  I'm one of the few that actually DOES like Reigns, but also acknowledges that he wasn't ready to be "the man." With that said, he hung with the beast incarnate and even smiled as he was getting his ass kicked in. Brock pushed Roman half way up the mountain all by himself. I was loving the match until the fuckery with the cash in. That match didn't need it. Brock could have kicked out of the spear and finished killing Roman and the match would have still worked. I'm just not a fan of almost finishes.

 

Over all the show was WAY better than it I expected it to be but not as great as some folks here are declaring it.

 

Oh, and I'll pay cash money to see Ronda Rousey "shoot" on Stephanie McMahon. Steph, might I add, is easily the best heel on the roster.

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I thought the show was awesome. I have no prior opinions on these guys though. I just started watching wrestling again in the last few months after not watching it for about 15 years.

The ladder match was good but I think you could have taken at least a couple of those guys out of the equation in the buildup. I thought Ambrose might have died in there. Glad Bryan won. There are a lot of good matches to be had between these guys.

I enjoyed Rollins/Orton especially the finish. Seems like everyone hates Randy Orton, not sure why. I've missed his entire career so I have no frame of reference.

HHH's entrance was a fucking stupid commercial. The match was really tedious and slow at the start and both guys looked pretty bad until the run-ins started and Sting seemed to get a little life back. What was really stupid to me though was how NWO was there to basically keep things legit for Sting, even taking the sledgehammer away from HHH's grasp at one point but they all just stand there and watch HHH hit Sting with the hammer and get the pin while they do nothing. They were all back up at that point. The handshake was beyond stupid.

The Rock/HHH/Steph/Ronda thing was awesome. It could have been much shorter and not dragged and would have been nice if Ronda could have actually hit a throw on Steph as well but it was still great. And yes it's a way bigger deal than the Battle Royal or the tag match and way bigger than if it would have happened on Raw. If you can't see this you're beyond blind.

Taker/Bray was okay. I wasn't as into it because I knew it was going to be slow and also it was a one man buildup. I'm fine with Taker only wrestling at Mania but at least show up to build your match.

Cena/Rusev was really good also but not as good as their interactions and other match in the buildup. The backwards stunner was awesome. I don't know what they will do with Rusev now. They could drag this Cena/US Title thing out a while longer I suppose since they have other options at the top. At some point they need to get Rusev involved in the heavyweight title.

The main was great because of the ending. Before that it was just a one man beatdown. And I was waiting for one of them to go overboard and actually hurt the other. It was building like a textbook lame comeback win for Reigns and I was dreading it, and then here comes Rollins. That was such an awesome way to end that match. I've become a pretty big Rollins fan as well.

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I guess I'm the only one for whom Rollins walking out as champ was the worst possible outcome. I am emphatically opposed to chickenshit heel champs except as transitional champions. I literally would rather watch Reigns spend the summer defending against Kane and Big Show than Rollins racking up Authority/J&J-aided title defenses.

 

Anyway, given all the times I've patted myself on the back for making correct predictions, I should note that I wrote the following during March Madness:

 

Does anyone think that Brock would be half as over as Bryan is if WWE actively conspired to kill his heat like they do with Bryan? Or that Brock/Reigns will be anywhere near as good as Bryan/Reigns?

 

Consider this me eating my words. I will never doubt Brock again.

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I guess I'm the only one for whom Rollins walking out as champ was the worst possible outcome. I am emphatically opposed to chickenshit heel champs except as transitional champions. I literally would rather watch Reigns spend the summer defending against Kane and Big Show than Rollins racking up Authority/J&J-aided title defenses.

 

Yes, this. All day long, this.

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I think they are trying to make Rollins' more complex than whatever the fuck his real name is can handle. Not a strong promo and doesn't give good facial expressions and can't be subtle enough get the little things over.

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Thing is, I don't think Rollins is long for a lengthy title run right now.  He's got too many guys coming for him:  one crazy guy, another crazy guy, a fighting machine designed to separate opponents from their vital organs, and a powerhouse who may be the only guy to laugh in the fighting machine's face and somehow will live to talk about it.  Rollins will be toast, and likely pretty soon.

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Thought the show was a blast overall. Only one objectionably bad result (Cena over Rusev), but they protected him about as well as you could ask for and the commentary actually didn't play up this being his first loss. That said, there's way too much mileage with the Rusev/Lana act to even consider ending it yet.

 

The main event was fucking brilliant and kept EVERYONE strong without a single turn. Brock stays strong by being a beast and not dropping the fall. Reigns gets elevated by taking an absolutely horrific beating from Brock, yet coming back and clearly dominating him... sure he dropped the fall, but he has an out because Rollins was fresh as a daisy. Rollins gets elevated by outsmarting everyone else and waltzing out with the title. And yet, heavy is the head that wears the crown because he's got 3-4 guys with beefs against him who will gun for the title now.

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I'm sorry, but "Rousey is a bigger star than LT" is the most absurd thing in this entire thread.  Yeah, in 95 he was pretty much done, but you could go out on street and ask 100 people who LT was, and 90 would know him.  Do you REALLY think you could say the same for Ronda?  Yeah, she's a big deal, but let's reign it in a little.

 

Also, while HHH/Sting was easily my favorite match on the card, it was nearly ruined by JBL(Vince) constantly burying WCW, as well as the finish being all wrong.  I really wish someone would tell Vince that the war ended 14 years ago.

 

One thing that crossed my mind last night.  I felt bad for Roman.  He had the match of his life, let Brock beat the absolute dog piss out of him, and he probably still won't be anymore accepted than he is now.

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Man, Maffew is going to have a blast during his next Botchamania with the commentary on the show. There were so many screw-ups. JBL thinking it was Harper who superplexed Stardust. JBL not recognizing the zig-zag off the ladder. Cole confusing the NWO and The New Age Outlaws. Cole tried to say dog in Taker's match and it came out "dern."

The tag match was what it was. If one of the Usos was legit injured before the match, couldn't the spot have gone to The Ascension or the PTPs?

Whatever luster the battle royal had was quickly washed away when pretty much everyone from the tag match that occurred 20 minutes prior joined. The crowd loved Mizdow. They were pulling for Mizdow. And he lost. I'm hoping this means Big Show is retiring soon and this was a going away present.

The ladder match was fine. The right guy won. Was the ladder Ambrose went through pre-cut? It snapped in half immediately. The use of the rung as a weapon was clever. Ziggler messed up and thought they were going to the finish so he had to awkwardly fall off the ladder untouched.

The two things I took away from the Rollins and Orton match was how contrived the double DDT off of the apron onto J&J security looked (why did they both crawl back onto the apron?) and how great the finish was executed.

So not only did HHH get a more elaborate entrance, but he also went over Sting. What was with Sting's entrance? Why was there that one old guy who was not wearing the Sting face paint? Other than his bald spot, I thought Sting looked fine. His flurry before the Stinger splash was cool. Sting was a member of the Wolfpack, so I didn't have a problem with the NWO coming out to even the odds. Prior to their music hitting, I actually thought Flair, Double A, and Malenko would come to the rescue, but that would have made less sense.

I knew Cena was going to win, so I wasn't angry. Rusev is so good at the little things. He was so frustrated he couldn't put Cena away that he started talking to himself in Bulgarian. The Accolade looks like it hurts. Cena's STF does not.

I hate evil Stephanie McMahon. Was there any reason why she didn't back down from the baddest woman on the planet? Ronda's not a WWE employee. Steph doesn't have that power over her yet she spoke to her like Ronda was one of her subordinates. Segment was too long.

Taker vs Bray exceeded expectations. I don't understand the hate for Bray here. He is really good in his role. Taker is in good shape although facially he is looking more and more like Mike Ehrmentrout from Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul.

The main event match was was superb until the finish. How many times has Brock been busted open hardway? No way that was a blade job. My feelings on Reigns changed during the match. He won me over. Also, the kick out on that last spear may have been one of the best false finishes I have seen. I thought for sure it was over, especially because Brock was not watching the ref's hand in order to coordinate his kickout.

I hate that the main event magically became a triple threat match when Rollins cashed in the MITB. I hate even more that the champion was not pinned.

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The worst thing about HHH-Sting is that it completely invalidates the story they were telling. HHH kept saying it was about WWE vs. WCW, taking all kinds of dumb shots that he gets away with because "he's a heel." Sting finally comes out and says it has nothing to do with WCW, he's just sick of seeing HHH cheat and manipulate to stay on top. Good story, especially if Sting wins and HHH realizes that even his Cerebral Assassinitude has limits. Instead, the match happens...and it's 100% about WWE vs. WCW, from the run-ins to the announcers, and when HHH cheats and manipulates his way to another WrestleMania victory, Sting goes "Hey man, nice work - guess WWE rules and WCW does, in fact, drool." So, so fucking dumb.

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If this is one of the best shows of all time, wrestling must be really bad.

 

People are only saying it was an all-time great show because they are used to seeing such bad shit and forgetting how good things used to be.

Once the nonsense cools off, like it always does, people are going to see this for what it was. Wrestling wise, it doesn't compare to 19, 17, 3 or others. You had one good main event without a true finish, compared to 17/19 which had multiple good matches. Entertainment/All-around fun, I thought 21 was more fun and made more sense. The right people also won then, whereas multiple right people didn't win here - Sting, Axel/Itami/Mizdow in the Battle Royale, Rusev and Brock.

I've watched very little wrestling in the last two years, but the Tokyo Dome show was much better and at least two of the NXT specials of late were better. If I can come up with better stuff after seeing most of ONE Tokyo Dome show and a few of the NXT specials, then you know this wasn't that great.
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I'm sorry, but "Rousey is a bigger star than LT" is the most absurd thing in this entire thread. Yeah, in 95 he was pretty much done, but you could go out on street and ask 100 people who LT was, and 90 would know him. Do you REALLY think you could say the same for Ronda? Yeah, she's a big deal, but let's reign it in a little.

A lot of folks in the wrestling bubble ITT.

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I guess I'm the only one for whom Rollins walking out as champ was the worst possible outcome. I am emphatically opposed to chickenshit heel champs except as transitional champions. I literally would rather watch Reigns spend the summer defending against Kane and Big Show than Rollins racking up Authority/J&J-aided title defenses.

 

I'd have to think the plan is to have Rollins be the transitional champion. History says Rollins will be an ex-champion by Money in the Bank.

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Jesus, HHH's entrance plays so perfectly into everything Landis said about him.

And he used DX as a shield again to get another victory over someone he's not better than.
Hey, if it gets another $5 "Dick Sucker" shirt on some kid's back, at least he'll think it's worth it.

I can now picture Haitch calling Landis after the match to gloat;

H:Hey Mark Landis its HHH, how do ya like them apples?

ML:My name is actually Ma....

H:heh heh heh suck mah dick

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