Our Once a Year Ode to the WWE -- Wrestlemania 27

[Mass Haas]

Best and most entertaining preview I've seen thus far.

Maybe I consider it well-written because I agree with so many of the points.

I wish I had been paying more attention to the Smackdown Mysterio-Rhodes feud, seems like that will be a blast.

Love Del Rio.

Can't believe John Morrison's year-long buildup led to a match involving Snooki.

Please let Miz retain despite any antics between Cena and Rock.

The blog writer referred to what is considered the best Wrestlemania ever, 17, in which Taker and HHH had their first mania matchup. For a reminder what that was all about, here's the Wikipedia summary (Test, Benoit, and Guerrero all fought within two back-to-back matches, and of course, are now all gone).

Chime in, fans!

[brettac1]

I've actually been watching old stuff lately for some reason, mostly boredom. Probably about 10 'Manias this past week. I think X-7 or XIX is my favorite, though I wasn't actually even watching anymore at the time those happened. Also have a big soft spot for XIV, since when I was 13, Stone Cold was where it was at (along with the nWo).

 

I might check this out, but the last time I tried (maybe a year ago?), the WWE product was so terrible it lasted about an hour before I turned it off. So, it might be via a stream, I think. I guess I just miss the Attitude Era and the Monday night wars and all that good stuff when it comes to wrestling. Everything's so watered down, and they're getting kind of back to the stupid gimmicks that were around when I was a small kid watching. Where's the edgy? A McMahon is never going to hold a Senate seat (or any political office), so let the blood flow, would ya?

[Invader3K]

Every once in a while I'll flip over to RAW on a Monday night in between other stuff, but I don't follow it religiously like I did when I was in high school and college.

 

Is Rock going to wrestle again eventually, or is his appearance at 'Mania just a one shot thing?

[jerichoholicninja]

Rock apparently "has the itch" to get back in the ring. We'll have to wait and see but I would guess he has a match probably at SummerSlam this year.

[brettac1]

I hope whatever he does, it involves taking the strap off one of those guys that has no mic skills, or no skills at all (Cena).

 

I'd probably watch if Rock did a heel turn at Mania - is he the guest referee, or just some kind of ambiguous "host"?

 

EDIT: Also, the Jerichoholic stuff was one of the best angles ever. I loved the JPS, especially Ralphus.

[jerichoholicninja]

I hope whatever he does, it involves taking the strap off one of those guys that has no mic skills, or no skills at all (Cena).

I hope you're not referring to the Miz. He's been cutting the best promos in the company since he won Money in the Bank.

[brettac1]

I moreso meant Cena. That guy is like Hogan or something (as far as being a worker goes, especially), without the unintentional hilarity that Hogan had.

[Raw Biz]

I usually start watching every year about a month before Wrestlemania but then give up shortly after because the product just isn't what it used to be. My favorite days were the Attitude Era and the Monday Night War. Now it's all PG stuff and while that isn't necessarily a bad thing, I think most of the wrestlers now are garbage. Or at least the characters are. I actually miss the days of over-the-top gimmicks and that kind of stuff just doesn't exist anymore. Everybody is more or less "normal." I'd love to see some more face-paint or crazy costumes. I also don't like how tag teams are basically non-existent. And the ones that do exist are basically just singles guys teaming up. I loved the themed team tag teams (L.O.D., Rockers, Smoking Gunns, Demolition, etc.).

I will say that I am pumped for this weekend though. I made a Double Power Hour DVD of all Wrestlemania matches (1 minute clips) and we're doing that Saturday night. Sunday is Wrestlemania and Monday is opening day. Can't wait!

[RockCoCougars]

I stopped watching wrestling for the most part at some point in the 80's. That said, how can you top Wrestlemania III?

[patrickgpe]

predictions (in order of likeliness)

 

Taker over Triple H

Lawler over Cole

Cena over Miz

Snookie / morrison/ stratus over Laycool and Zigler

Del Rio over Edge

Orton over Punk

Corre over Kane, Big Show, Santino, Koslov

Mysterio over Rhodes

Shemas over Bryan

 

 

last 3 matches I really have no idea what they will do as I don't know where they want the storyline to go. I doubt Taker will loose and the streak will atleast go to 20. HHH wants to do more backstage so this is a swan song for him so he can go back to being a producer. I feel Orton will win for the same reason Cena wins. I finally don't see the wwe bringing in snookie to fight unless its to win.

 

It seems to me that the way the storyline has been going Cena will get the belt. Del Rio has been getting a big boost and loosing the heavyweight belt allows the Edge and Chrstian take team storyline moving.

[TracyThom]

I haven't ordered a Wrestlemania PPV since Wrestlemania VII. I was going to order this year upon anticipation of Undertaker vs. Sting. Instead, Sting chose to resign with TNA and is now wrestling a drugged-up Jeff Hardy in a 90 second main event. I'm sure HHH and Taker will have a great match, but I can't help but think what could have been.

 

I think Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan can steal the show if they are given enough time. I have a feeling that Sin Cara will show up at some point during the Cody Rhodes/Rey Misterio matchup. I'm a huge Mistico fan. I used to have a mini Mistico mask hanging from my rear view mirror.

[patrickgpe]

won't throw 60 bucks for it either, thinking about going to one of the bars that show it though.

[radman12484]

I watch every Monday and catch every PPV. WWE seems to be pushing younger talent lately, but not sure if they will do the same at Wrestlemania.

 

My Picks:

Randy Orton over CM Punk

Rey Mysterio over Cody Rhodes

Sheamus over Daniel Bryan

The Corre over Show/Kane/Santino/Kozlov

Del Rio over Edge

Jerry Lawler over Michael Cole

Undertaker over HHH

Morrison/Trish/Snooki over Ziggler/Laycool

Miz over Cena

[PrinceEatMeat]

Mysterio hand-picked Rhodes for their feud, so I think he'll job to him to put him over. I think the Orton/Punk feud will continue, so I think Punk wins and Orton finishes him off later. Sheamus will beat Bryan clean to continue his push after they buried him for awhile. The Corre will obviously win, although they booked the old Nexus horribly, so they might not. Del Rio is a slam dunk to beat Edge, that's almost as sure of a thing as Taker beating HHH to continue the streak. The streak will never end, although they have built that match very, very well without much effort. The King will beat the crap out of Cole, kind of like the Hart/McMahon match last year. The Snooki match will suck, but the faces will obviously win. I hope Miz beats Cena, and I think he will with involvement from The Rock. I really hope they do a Rock/Cena match at Summerslam in LA or at next year's Mania in Miami. It would be great to see.

[JimH5]

I've been away from the WWE for a few years, but am back into it a little bit. . .I don't mind the change to PG so much. They get to showcase microphone skills over chairshots to the head, which is fine for me.

 

I love CM Punk on the mic. He's a pretty captivating guy, and it makes up for Orton being such a dope. I suspect Punk will win that match, perhaps with some outside interference from one of his Nexxus guys. Orton's wind up, where he pounds his fist into the mat, etc. is pretty stupid.

 

I also love the Miz, which is pretty amazing. I used to hate him, though he's also a good guy with the mic. He'll probably retain, with some Rock v. Cena action setting up the opportunity.

 

Sorry that Trish had to return to such a dopey match. I like Vickie, I hate Ziggler. LayCool is irritating. Morrison is being wasted, and Snooki will cover Layla for the win. I hope Trish sticks around for awhile, to add some spark to the Divas--though I suspect she'll be gone in a couple of weeks.

 

Lawler is going to beat down Michael Cole, with Austin taking out Jack Swagger. I can't see it going any other way. We'll see what they do with the announcing team afterward.

 

I'm disappointed that Big Show and Kane are in a crappy match. Maybe Koslov turns heel and beats up Santino. . .Why am I even contemplating this one?

 

I have no feel for the Sheamus/Daniel Bryan match. They'll probably use the twins to provide a distraction, but Sheamus should win handily.

 

Mysterio and Rhodes should be a good match. Do they debut the new Luchador during this one? If Cody Rhodes doesn't win, then what for him? So I have to assume he's going to get the win. . .

 

Undertaker will win. . .I have a friend who is a big Undertaker guy, but I just don't get it. I haven't been a big fan, really ever. . .Maybe because his matches seem to take forever. . .RIP Triple H.

 

And I love the Alberto Del Rio introduction. . .I don't know how the match is going to play out. Edge's set up for the spear is pretty tiresome, but I like him otherwise. I've been a big Christian fan for awhile. . .I suspect that Del Rio will win, as there doesn't seem to be anything else for him if he loses.

 

I've always been too cheap to pay for WWE PPV, so I'll check out the results online, and then wait for Raw the next day. Maybe one of these years I'll spring for it, though with the MLB Extra Innings package, I spend enough on tv programming.

[patrickgpe]

jimhs sescoops.com will do a live play by play. still thinking about going to bw3's or center court to watch it on sunday night.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I'll be watching it at home on my 55" HDTV like I do every year with my buddies. Wrestling is great in HD. Especially Wrestlemania. Can't wait!

[PlayerHader]

I'll be ordering a WWE pay per view for the first time in years this weekend along with a few other guys. The Rock being back really seems to elevate guys like The Miz and even Cena. If Jericho was still around I'd be completely ecstatic.

[brwrsfan]

I'll probably wind up ordering it with some buddies, though none of us are that into it any more and in my opinion, the card really blows.

 

Anyone know why they got rid of the money in the bank match?

[patrickgpe]

they moved it to its own ppv.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Dumping the Money in the Bank from Mania is a mistake imo, but with it's own ppv it had to be done. The one at Mania was always a great match, plus it could be cashed for either title, which made it better. With the 2 MITB matches at the ppv, one is for each title, which makes it more predictable when someone cashes it in. Oh well I guess.

[BrewCrewForever]

Just 5 or 6 years ago I was as into wrestling as I was baseball. But it just wasn't the same anymore. It seems when a lot of the guys I loved watching in the late 90's and early 2000's starting retiring or going to lesser promotions the product was not as good. Every now and then I will turn on Raw or Smackdown and I am just not impressed with most of the talent they have now. I mean the Miz is the champ? John Cena is still being pushed to the moon? When Michaels and HHH were still around I cared a little, but with them pretty much gone now it just isn't for me. I do still enjoy Edge and if The Rock comes back as a full-time wrestler, especially if he is a heel that could draw me back to at least be a casual viewer/follower. I was also super disappointed with the WWE's handling of the ECW product when they brought it back. That could have been something and they totally dropped the ball on it. Vince should have hired Paul Heyman to be the head booker for the ECW brand and it would have been a hit.

[PrinceEatMeat]

What you don't understand is that the whole point of Vince bringing back the ECW brand was so he could bury it. It was just like he wanted to do with WCW. He wanted to take it over, and then bury it, and he did. He made WCW look bad in the whole invasion storyline by just putting his top WWE guys in the alliance, and then buried the alliance. Then he brought back ECW just so he could make it the worst brand, and eventually bury it. That's how Vince runs his business, he wants to be the best. There was no way in heck he was gonna allow the ECW brand to be successful, even if it was still under control of WWE. I agree, it's bad business, but that's how Vince thinks. I knew ECW wouldn't last in WWE, and it sure as heck wouldn't be booked like the original ECW. Vince has one way of booking, and that's his way. There was an original plan to have WCW be a separate brand also when he bought it, but he didn't like the way that they booked matches and did things, so he took the WCW guys and changed him in his way to the way he likes. That might seem bad, but really if you listen to what guys say that used to be in WCW, it was horribly run, and no one knew what they were doing. The way WWE does things is the right way. I recently read Jericho's new book, and he really brought this to light. You gotta hand it to Vince though. He set out to bury his opposition, and he did just that. TNA will eventually fail also, because that's just the way it is. No promotion will ever draw close to the way WWE does. WCW did at one time, but the company was run into the ground due to bad management. Vince's product will always be the best.

[PrinceEatMeat]

To follow up on what you said about it not being the same anymore though, I would agree. However, there is no way they will ever match up to the attitude era. The guys they have now need to create there own product. There will never be another Stone, another Rock, another HBK, etc. That's just the way it is. For me, it is interesting to watch the new talent come in and pave there own way. The Miz is really developing in a good heel. He is still on his way, but he can hold his own on the mic and his ring work has improved a lot. He's got a ton of heat, and that is good. The whole Cena thing is definitely played out, but Cena sells so that's the way it is. It would be bad business to stop pushing Cena. He doesn't have to be in the title picture, but he has to be over as a face. Guys like Barrett, Morrison, Del Rio, and Ziggler make me believe that the WWE will be ok. These guys have a lot of potential to bring this promotion into a new era. But, they have to be booked the right way, and time will tell if that will happen or not.

[jerichoholicninja]

Vince has little interest in wrestling anymore. Heck, he just changed the name of the company from World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. to WWE, Inc. It's sad to say but the best thing to happen to pro wrestling would be for Vince McMahon to step down/die.