Jump to content
DVDVR Message Board

Dolfan Watches Every Wrestlemania On Lockdown


Recommended Posts

Here's how I look at it: The Hardys may or may not have been great workers, match-wise - I can see how that is debatable. However, if you owned a promotion, you positively would want them in it. They sold tickets, they sold merch, they made the card more exciting, they brought in a young/female demographic, they had longevity.  Like most workers, you wouldn't want a whole roster of Hardys, but they served an essential purpose on it, and they were influential in the business. I believe them to be HoFers, for sure.

- RAF

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shawn's "figure four" in that match still boggles my mind. How a ~25 year veteran who idolized Ric Flair botches a figure four that badly baffles me.

Otherwise, while it's not my favorite Streak match (I'd probably put it third) I think it probably is the best match Michaels had in the 21st century, so that's not a bad thing at all. Another fantastic finish, which really was becoming his thing at WrestleMania as his career wound down.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Andy in Kansas said:

It wasn’t a botch. Shawn was incorporating that into his moveset at the time as an “inverted” figure four or something. It sucked. 

I think that actually makes it worse.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DAY 78

So, the crowd is completely spent, because unless they follow WWE shows like the Grateful Dead, they just saw the best match they'll ever see. Needless to say, Vince fucked up badly when he put not one, but two more matches after it.  Especially one with 2009 Big Show and another with 2009 Triple H... not to mention noted fan favorite John Cena.  

And I should note, John Cena is exceptional at his craft.  He is a good storyteller. He can make a sympathetic babyface (which is insane when you think about him looking the way he does). He definitely knows how to pull a crowd reaction.   But this is easily the biggest challenge of his career.  Especially when 50+% of the audience is there specifically to boo him. 

Actually, the entrance is cute because of that dynamic. He gets a bunch of Cena clones (and boy is THAT a sociological rabbit hole you probably want no part of...) that come out to his old (vastly superior) Word Life music. The crowd then viciously turns on a dime when John Cena Sucks.... John Cena Suuuuuuucks or whatever his current music is called, starts.  

Edge is coming in as the World Heavyweight Champion.  However, Cena is always an alpha-level threat to whoever has the championship, and especially here mid-career, Edge was all but considered dead man walking.  And speaking of dead weight... here's The Big Show!   For some reason!

And boy, this match... is NOT great.  Big Show is just there to get double teamed occasionally, and Edge is pretty much getting ragdolled all match. Frankly, Cena dominates roughly the whole match and the entire match is basically built around the final spot.  

Because, at one point, you see Cena is strong enough to give Edge the FU, and later you see he's strong enough to give Big Show the FU.  But is he strong enough to do both at the same time???  Well, as luck would have it, Show and Edge are both tied up in the corner and Cena waltzes over and picks both up in a fireman's carry.  The crowd is actually VERY impressed by this.

And then Edge almost instantly bails.  

God damn it, Adam.  The crowd (and I) instantly goes back to not caring.  FU, FU, and John Cena has his 5th world championship.   

Underwhelming.  Technically sound, but utterly underwhelming. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

John Cena can make a sympathetic babyface

fully disagree. by this point, we'd been in SuperCena's world for well over a year. he dominated every thing and every one. he always won the verbal battles. he never showed ass. at this point, anyone that buys Cena as a sympathetic babyface hasn't watched the WWE Universe in a long time.

maybe i'm just jaded because IMO the SuperCena era is THE lowest point in WWE history. following the previous few years of dogshit booking, Cena on top and overcoming the odds (every. fucking. week!) completely killed my love for wrestling. fuck Cena.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Hall of Fame class of 2009 gets introduced now.  It's the von Erichs, the Funk brothers, Howard Finkel, Koko B. Ware (??), Bill Watts, Ricky Steamboat, and Stone Cold Steve Austin.  Steve celebrates by riding an ATV to the ring and drinking beer.  Charming.

One of the most hilarious angles the WWE has ever run is up next.  Triple H is the World Heavyweight Champion, and we're supposed to believe that he's going to have to fight from underneath... have all the odds stacked against him... and... god.  Seriously, wtf are they doing running fucking *HHH* as a sympathetic babyface. No one, ever, wants to see that. 

Oh, this is a DQ Rule waived title defense, so HHH can lose if he gets DQ'ed or COR'ed. You'll be reminded of this several times during this match because the referee, whoever he is, has a fucking ENORMOUS moral crisis at the thought of counting HHH out and makes a gigantic fucking issue out of HHH breaking (or even thinking about breaking) a rule.  

Oh, right, the challenger is Randy Orton. Who cares. 

The match is long, worked at a fucking snail's pace, and Face HHH is awful. 

There's really nothing I can say about this match that hasn't been said about watching paint dry.   Like, I'm really hoping Tua the squirrel comes back so I have something to write about.  But he is probably off trying to make squirrel babies on someone else's AC this morning.  

HHH punts Orton, thinks about hitting him with a sledgehammer, decides against it after being lectured by the ref, and pedigrees to retain.  

Yow, time has not been kind to this match.  It was an atrocious bore. 

--

This WrestleMania is a prime example of why pacing and match order matters.  I get that your flagship champion should go on last, but there's no argument to be made that HBK-Taker should not have gone on last.  And if you do want that HHH match on last, you put on that stupid Kid Rock mini-concert and Diva Battle Royale on where the Cena match is.   

But that's not what happened.  

And re-watching this definitely drops it down on the last of Manias.  Taker-HBK is obviously the match of the night, but everything else was either actively bad or just... eh.  

Next up...  speaking of one match shows...

End of Day 78.

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

And you have now finished the only live wrestling show i have ever been to. Taker/HBK was awesome and made the show worth it even though most everything else was disappointing or just there. Those last 3 matches are the only ones I really remember somewhat decently. I actually enjoyed the triple threat alright at the time, but I was also a Cena fan. The crowd was actually into HHH/Orton ok, but having anything happen after Taker/HBK was just dumb. I didn't care for the match personally. I liked Orton fine, but kind of hated HHH, face or heel. I was just tired of him at that point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is hilarious. I was reading your review of the three-way waiting in the car earlier and thought "I wonder who HHH is gonna be fighting against. Who'd be bog-standard enough to not raise anyone's pulse? Who's left? Is it Orton?" And sure enough, IT'S ORTON. Yeah, that's your main for Wrestlemania right there -- your Raw main event, I mean. 

Anyway, looking at that lineup, Koko really does stand out like a sore thumb. Just stating the obvious, I'm not one of those jerks that would take his name off the rolls. 

I think Tua might already have some squirrel babies INSIDE your AC unit, or somewhere in the general vicinity. If you have a dog, might wanna watch when you take it out. My mom's dachshund got a baby rabbit a week ago and promptly lost her mind. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've always been a sporadic WWE viewer, but we'd always get together for the Rumble and 'Mania. I remember 'Mania 2009 pretty well; trying to explain Keiji Muto to a normal person. Everyone bit on that near fall, a hell of a match.

That main event though. I was never a full time WWE viewer, I'm really not sure how people did it and I don't know how they do it now. I never really liked Orton that much because I can't stand the way he talks, so I wasn't excited for that main event one iota Bbetween the video package and the whisky, I actually managed to get pretty hyped for it, though. Then the match started and fuck everyone involved in that shit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I miss watching Wrestlemania at my friend's old house.  We'd get together, have some pizza and beer and shoot the shit while the show as going on in the background.  But of the ones I remember this is one where we barely if at all paid attention to anything but the Taker/Michaels match.  We loved the crap out of that one.  But after the main it was basically "Well, gents, that'll be $5"  We shoot the shit some more then it was time to roll out.  The other years had more engagement from us but 25 was just a thing that happened to be one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Koko B. Ware (??)

 

20 hours ago, Curt McGirt said:

Anyway, looking at that lineup, Koko really does stand out like a sore thumb.

 

20 hours ago, odessasteps said:

On the list, Koko would belong more than some of the Von Erichs, but that's about it.

First of all, how dare you. Koko B. Ware is awesome.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, odessasteps said:

On the list, Koko would belong more than some of the Von Erichs, but that's about it. That's a stacked deck full of guys whose best work was not for (either) Vince. 

Yeah its funny looking back at alot of people were questioning whether or not Koko belonged in the HOF considering how many non WWE guys are in now and how many people with less credentials even within WWE is in. Knowing more about his Pre WWF career, he's definitely deserving and even early in his midcard run he was still one of the most over guys even as a midcard. He could've definitely been the next JYD for Vince because JYD was declining by the time he came in in late 86.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Koko was around today, he'd be one of the biggest stars on the indies. Or he'd be one of the top guys in NXT (before getting sent to the main roster to feud with Daivari on Main Event). Heck, AEW might even want to sign him, even though he's black.

Edited by mattdangerously
  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DAY 79

When I started this little project, I honestly didn't know what to expect. I'd largely forgotten about some of the early and/or bad Manias. But we're getting to the era where I do remember the majority of the stuff going on.  And what I remember about this... is that it really wasn't great.

WRESTLEMANIA XXVI

We're in Phoenix, well technically Glendale, AZ.   Hey did you know marijuana legalization is on the ballot this year in Arizona?  I'd certainly want it if I lived there! 

It's a new decade and Vince has a new crop of talent (with some various degrees of usage of that word)... the most notable among them is this guy who'd been plucked from the UK/Scottish indies and a pale Irish guy who was working out at the right time and the right place. 

Edge blew out his Achilles during the year. CM Punk gained and lost the World Championship, and decided to get some backup. And the main event scene continued to be dominated by John Cena & Batista.  Well, let's get this shit show on the road...

The WrestleMania debuts come fast and furious this year... and first out of the gate, are the tag team champions with The Big Show and the WrestleMania debut of The Miz.  (No his dark matches from before don't count.)  More interestingly, their opponents are John Morrison and the Mania debuting(!) R-Truth.  This is his second go around with the company and his biggest program to date.  

Now unfortunately, the Miz isn't really good enough in the ring to handle the heat segment here, so this match is super quick (K-kwik?) and it essentially is just built to have Morrison take a silly bump when Boxing Big Show knocks him out with one punch.  

Yeah, Boxing Big Show was the pits.  I'm guessing it was their way of keeping him around despite him being a LOT more limited than he was 5-10 years ago.  Oh, and another fun fact.... Big Show is *not* retired.  Boy it sure would be silly if he was in any way involved with a main event program today.  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

Yeah, Boxing Big Show was the pits.

1pzinj.jpg

Boxing Big Show was good. In the time between WM24 and WM26 we got an in shape Big Show with the Mayweather match, Jerishow, Show-Miz and probably the best, criminally underrated WWE Big Show match ever at No Mercy 2008 against Taker. 

Like outside of wrestling Meng in 1996 I think it’s the best run of his career.

Edited by For Great Justice
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good lord am I behind in the write-ups.

LEGACY EXPLODES!  Young Randall Orton was in one of his anything HHH can do, I can do better phases. So he got himself a collection of goons to do his bidding. (Seth Rollins is doing this now! Though a certain hashtag mostly dealt with that.) The gimmick was, of course, that he, Ted DiBiase, Jr., and Cody Rhodes were all 2nd or 3rd generation talents and got to be assholes because of it.  I think. 

Anyway, getting shit on by Orton (!) tends to make people resentful, so the not-yet American Nightmare and the not-yet unemployed DiBiase (both in their Mania debuts) turned on Randy.  This somehow made them the heels, because... WWE Logic.  It's like looking at the movie Whiplash and somehow coming to the conclusion that JK Simmons was the babyface of the movie.  (I mean, he was, but that's another debate for another time.) 

This was Randy's first time being a face in roughly forever, so the crowd is quite thrilled to see him.  I should also note, Ted is so generic vanilla milquetoast, I'm shocked the graphics department didn't fuck up and put "David Sammartino" on beneath.  Also, Cody's finally showing the beginning of the invasion of geek culture into WWE as he's wearing white Tri-Force boots, which rule. 

The match is all but an extended squash.  Cody and Ted start out getting their asses beat, then take control for a short heat segment. But since it's technically a Triple Threat match, it's a matter of time before they turn on each other. And when they inevitably do, it's a matter of time.   

Randy gets a double draping DDT in a nice spot.  Cody gets punted back to the lower card. Ted gets RKO'ed into oblivion.  

It's cute to see in the post-match celebration, Orton climbing the ropes and since he hadn't done his arms raised pose in a couple of years.... the crowd is actually palpably tense... Will he do it?   

He does, and gets a huge pop.   

In 2020, Cody goes over here, absolutely no questions asked.  But, hey, it's 2010 and no one even knew what FTR even stood for. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Money in the Bank is on now for the last time at a Mania.  This time around we have 10 men competing, and it's... a lot.   We've got Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Matt Hardy, Drew McIntyre, Kane, Shelton Benjamin, Dolph Ziggler, Evan Bourne, MVP, and Christian.  Drew is in his Mania debut and has just won the Intercontinental Championship. It's weird seeing him here before he got on whatever steroid he's on now. Ziggler's in his Mania debut and I still remember liking him at this point, and I also note he's still playing the exact same character he was in 2010. Evan Bourne's debut too, and he's here in the role of "high flyer that the crowd loves but will languish in the lower card until he's eventually released in 3 years"  (Hi Ricochet!)

And then there's Jack Swagger...  Swagger is such a weird case.  I thought he was decent to good in the ring.  But then... he opens his mouth.  Oof.   Also, I found it extremely odd that HE of all people got a Rage Against The Machine knockoff as his entrance music... it's so... incongruous. 

Anyway, this thing is a fast paced disaster.  I think I mean that in a good way?  Probably not though.  It's the usual spotfest, with Kofi doing the usual awesome creative spot (this time using a shattered ladder as stilts!), but has zero chance of winning.   Evan does get  a few very nice spots in, notably the Air Bourne onto a ladder. 

Well, there's way, way, WAY too much going on here for this to have any kind of coherence.  So it ends with Christian almost grabbing the case, getting kabong-ed by Swagger who claims the briefcase.   

Swagger would cash in two days later and have a wholly unremarkable 2-3 months as champ.  And I guess that really just summarizes Jack Swagger... wholly unremarkable. (I haven't watched nearly enough AEW to disabuse myself of that take.)

End of Day 79. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...