WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII Discussion Thread

[King Pitcos]

He's done that a few times now, has he not? I'm sure Ryder did it to him when they met on PPV as well.

 

Yeah, he does it every time he takes a monkey flip. I think 400 of his 423 matches with Kofi have featured that bump.

[ShortOrderCook]

I think 8,127 of your posts may have mentioned repeated matches.

[Superplex]

Gotta love those who recommend people stop watching WWE if they didn't enjoy Wrestlemania. How about this for an idea, respect other peoples opinions and try and understand why they might hold that opinion.

 

The matches were fine but the event continued a trend towards a hollow spectacle in comparison to earlier WM's. I would liken it to Hollywood sequels where the lights the fireworks, the sounds have to be bigger, brighter and louder but the subtlety and substance gets lost in all of that.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

Didnt Jericho once tell people to take up bowling if they didnt like his match with RVD? That was a strange one. RVD's an acquired taste at the best of times.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

Do not understand the outcome of the rock cena match at all. Makes no sense to have Rock go over their biggest name who is full time.

Can only imagine that this was the contracted finish by Johnson in order to put this thing together.

Cena looks so weak now, be interesting to see where they go now... Was convinced we would seel a heel turn at mania ala Austin at mania 17, so think they dropped the ball there.

Not sure what a heel turn reaction would get at the moment. It would almost be a face turn, as would likely be met with cheers.

 

Couple of possible reasons:

 

- Give something for Cena to strive for. When you've beaten the best you have nothing to accomplished. Now he still has something to prove.

 

- To move the overall story. We don't know what that is, and this could be part of the overall arc.

 

- To do something unexpected. Now next time we have a dream match, people won't nessesarily presume that the long term guy will win "because The Rock won at Mania 28."

 

- Gives the heels ammunition to throw in Rock's face. You just know the Miz, Del Rio and others are going to throw this into Cena's face for at least a year.

 

Don't think there was a "right" or "wrong" result for this show. However I don't agree that Cena looked weak. The Rock only JUST beat him.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

Begs the debate: Why does nobody get pissed off when it happens in MMA or boxing? Yes, pro-rasslin' is scripted and thus you can decide to build a 40-minute match if you so desire, but why do people not feel ripped off when the exact same thing happens in a real fight?

 

Personally, my initial reaction was, 'Aw, fuck. I wanted to see a match.' but narrative-wise, it was perfect.

 

Exactly, that's what I've been thinking ever since the match took place.

 

Warrior demolishing Honky? Awesome

 

Diesel destroying Backlund? Ditto

 

Sheamus killing Bryan? Complaints. And why? Because now we are all really "smart", that's why.

 

Ah! The old anti-smart comment. Classic.

 

Here are some reasons why people are down on it:

 

- After years of hearing people high up in WWE complain that talent don't get themselves over, they pull the opportunity away and then wonder why.

 

- We feel bad for them because these are two REALLY talented guys and we wanted to see them deliver their best performances on one of the biggest stages of all time.

 

- The likelihood is that having the match go under 20 seconds wasn't because of a conscious decision (like with Warrior / Honky) but because they ran out of time and it was deemed a "sacrificial match."

 

- It's sad to see the world title, and Rumble title shot, be consistantly used in such a flippant way. It clearly devalues both when management don't seem to consider its importance anymore.

 

- It was a really anti-climatic unemotional and unsatsifying (IMO) end to Bryan's title reign and will therefore result in his title reign being nothing more than a footnote on wwe.com's title histories page.

 

But then... I guess I'm just "smart" huh?

[WWFChilli]

But then... I guess I'm just "smart" huh?

 

Well... yes.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

But then... I guess I'm just "smart" huh?

 

Well... yes.

 

 

Fair enougth. But my point is that even though we are internet fans (and we're living in a world now where the majority of wrestling fans are 'internet fans') dosen't mean our opinions are less valid.

 

Dismissing someone's opinion because you view them as "smart" is incredibly cliche.

[Dirty Eddie]

But then... I guess I'm just "smart" huh?

 

Well... yes.

 

 

Fair enougth. But my point is that even though we are internet fans (and we're living in a world now where the majority of wrestling fans are 'internet fans') dosen't mean our opinions are less valid.

 

Dismissing someone's opinion because you view them as "smart" is incredibly cliche.

 

 

And the thing is, it's fair enough if people genuinely enjoyed the 18 second match, but most of the defense of it is coming from a "smart" point of view; it's all OK because it's great ammunition going forward and clever character development for Bryan.

 

That's irrelevant for a lot of people, who just wanted a satisfying match at mania between two great wrestlers.

[Jason Mayhem]

But then... I guess I'm just "smart" huh?

 

Well... yes.

 

 

Fair enougth. But my point is that even though we are internet fans (and we're living in a world now where the majority of wrestling fans are 'internet fans') dosen't mean our opinions are less valid.

 

Dismissing someone's opinion because you view them as "smart" is incredibly cliche.

 

 

And the thing is, it's fair enough if people genuinely enjoyed the 18 second match, but most of the defense of it is coming from a "smart" point of view; it's all OK because it's great ammunition going forward and clever character development for Bryan.

 

That's irrelevant for a lot of people, who just wanted a satisfying match at mania between two great wrestlers.

 

All fans over the age of about 10 are "smart" now. There are 1000s of people who buy WM alone, so throwing this match away basically says to all the people that bought mania but didn't know who Sheamus and Bryan were that they basically shouldn't care about them, because they are not worth the time at Mania. They are basically throw away characters.

[twelve_grand]

I was disappointed because I was looking forward to a great match. It also sucked for Sheamus because his title rein is being shat over by the crowd. And it must have sucked for both of them to essentially be bumped for a second year. They've both worked so hard despite being knocked back. As Bryan said post Raw - WM was the worst night of his wrestling life and you could tell that wasn't just storyline.

[Guest]

I was disappointed because I was looking forward to a great match. It also sucked for Sheamus because his title rein is being shat over by the crowd. And it must have sucked for both of them to essentially be bumped for a second year. They've both worked so hard despite being knocked back. As Bryan said post Raw - WM was the worst night of his wrestling life and you could tell that wasn't just storyline.

I think d Bryan has had a lot worse nights in his wrestling life. Or his tune will change when he gets his cheque for mania

[twelve_grand]

I think d Bryan has had a lot worse nights in his wrestling life. Or his tune will change when he gets his cheque for mania

 

I'm not sure. The WO did an article about why the WWE can't create stars any more - comparing back to the era Edge, Hardys, Jericho etc were constantly pushing to get through the glass ceiling. And one of the things was that most of the roster are so battered by the booking they don't strive in the same way to break through. Punk (enjoyed the fact he was watching Smoky Mountain wrestling tapes on his tour bus to get ideas) and Bryan are two of the people that just keep on coming no matter how they are booked and have that drive to do their best and perform at the highest level. So yes I can genuinely believe it was a pretty terrible night being essentially bumped for the second year running.

[The King of Old School]

I think d Bryan has had a lot worse nights in his wrestling life. Or his tune will change when he gets his cheque for mania

 

I'm not sure. The WO did an article about why the WWE can't create stars any more - comparing back to the era Edge, Hardys, Jericho etc were constantly pushing to get through the glass ceiling. And one of the things was that most of the roster are so battered by the booking they don't strive in the same way to break through. Punk (enjoyed the fact he was watching Smoky Mountain wrestling tapes on his tour bus to get ideas) and Bryan are two of the people that just keep on coming no matter how they are booked and have that drive to do their best and perform at the highest level. So yes I can genuinely believe it was a pretty terrible night being essentially bumped for the second year running.

i'm guessing walking out in front of 80,000 folk and further enhancing his character/storyline in the biggest wrestling company in the world is much better than putting on a 20 minute clinic in front of 80 people in a high school gym for ROH.

[Polish Dad]

Think I might be the only person who enjoyed the Bryan/Sheamus match straight away. I love D. Bryan but I was dying to see him get his head kicked in at Mania and the way it happened was just awesome. Was watching it with my brother and two friends, none of whom watch wrestling regularly anymore, and we were all howling. Thought it was brilliant.