The actual proper Wrestlemania 29 Thread

[The Total Package]

Spot on there Stanton. I don't think WM was crap, but the booking of it absolutely was. I kept expecting the Diva's or some kind of skit between the big matches, but that never happened. The show took a nose dive after the Punk/Taker match. The crowd were dead. You've got 4hrs and you come up with that? Just amazing really. I don't really watch RAW or WWE much anymore, but always comeback for WM season. WWE's lack of star power (outside the part-timers) is quite obvious. I'll piss some CM Punk fans off by saying this, but I don't think he is the next Stone Cold at all, he has talent, but reminds me more of a younger Jericho. Perhaps WWE and us as fans, have taken for granted that we would always have a Hulk Hogan, Austin, Cena etc. Maybe Cena is the last of that for some time.

[Mr Butternut Squash]

[fraserbee]

Spot on there Stanton. I don't think WM was crap, but the booking of it absolutely was. I kept expecting the Diva's or some kind of skit between the big matches, but that never happened. The show took a nose dive after the Punk/Taker match. The crowd were dead. You've got 4hrs and you come up with that? Just amazing really. I don't really watch RAW or WWE much anymore, but always comeback for WM season. WWE's lack of star power (outside the part-timers) is quite obvious. I'll piss some CM Punk fans off by saying this, but I don't think he is the next Stone Cold at all, he has talent, but reminds me more of a younger Jericho. Perhaps WWE and us as fans, have taken for granted that we would always have a Hulk Hogan, Austin, Cena etc. Maybe Cena is the last of that for some time.

That's a very pessimistic view. At the time of Hogan's popularity beginning to dip in 92, Austin was a talented mid carder feuding with Barry Windham over the WCW TV title. He was being talked about as a future prospect but nobody would have predicted what he became. Sid, Luger and Diesel all had their shot at being the next mega-star first. Maybe there is a guy just needing the right moment and a bit of luck and things will begin to shift.

[SpursRiot2012]

I needed a shit as Brock was coming to the ring and didn't return until after the end of that match so I'll have to watch it back.

 

See a doctor.

 

[Statto]

I've now watched back virtually all the show in chunks, and the one major point that sticks with me is that P Diddy should have 100% gone on just before the main.

 

I'm no great fan of his particularly, or his style of music but if he had done exactly what he did - a relatively energetic set of about 7 or 8 minutes tops beginning with that Wrestlemania history video set to whatever song of his it is that uses the Rocky music, a couple of minute-long snapshots of some recognisable (to me, even) hits, then a verse & a chorus of the Wrestlemania 29 theme song, punctuated with pyro then a biggish pyro display at the end - then they had hit Cena's theme immediately like they did after the attendance announcement pyro display, it would have made a world of difference.

 

It would have given fans that short breather they so desperately needed at that point, and made the main event/entrances seem like a big deal all in one go. As it was, he seemed to go on as a "the lower card bit is over, here come the main events" break which served no purpose to the actual pacing or construction of the card other than wasting 10 minutes.

[iMPACt!]

From WWE.com

 

'Few matches in WWE history have elicited such a response from a crowd as The Rock vs. John Cena at WrestleMania 29.

 

From the moment Cena entered MetLife Stadium to square off against WWE Champion The Rock in the historic main event, the Cenation leader was met by a wall of sound. Emphatic boos from one corner of the arena bounced off equally ardent cheers from another

[IANdrewDiceClay]

What Mania were they actually watching?! lol

The one that's just paid for all the website staffs kids college funds lol

 

What do you expect them to say? "Main event was passable, should have only went 12 minutes. Cena applied the NPSTF late on. 2 stars".

[Sphinx]

- I wonder if people will appreciate Punk on here now. As Ian said, some of his fans are mongs. A lot are just casual fans. But regardless, he's proven himself as a heel without a doubt and should be credited with that.

- Ryback vs. Henry was woeful.

- Cena vs. Rock should have ended with the sequence starting with Cena mocking a People's Elbow. Pointless to have that as a near fall and then have an anti-climatic, run of the mill finish like they did a minute or so later.

- I'm glad Cena and Rock got booed holding hands at the stage. Fuck that, no one cares for nicey nice. Was waiting for a Cena heel turn that never came to fruition. Would have made sense and been perfect timing too.

- There's a big thing about Cena being a role model for kids and this false notion that kids will only be interested in a hero like him. He's a great face, but he's overdue a heel turn. He does a massive amount for charities, Make A Wish and PR but I wish they wouldn't hold back solely because of that. I know the show is targetted towards kids rather than us (though more adults watch it), but I can't imagine they're all going to revolt if Cena turns heel. Fuck, have you seen how many kids play Call of Duty? Kids from about 8 and up like watching things that aren't catered towards their age group. They want to feel older and less patronised. I was listening to 2001 when I was that age and downloading poor quality porn about two years later. Kids will be invested in characters that aren't as squeaky clean so long as the characters and stories capture their imagination.

- Did Triple H vs. Lesnar go on longer than intended?

 

EDIT: I came away liking the event overall. I agree with the pacing issues though.

[DJM]

I've now watched back virtually all the show in chunks, and the one major point that sticks with me is that P Diddy should have 100% gone on just before the main.

 

I'm no great fan of his particularly, or his style of music but if he had done exactly what he did - a relatively energetic set of about 7 or 8 minutes tops beginning with that Wrestlemania history video set to whatever song of his it is that uses the Rocky music, a couple of minute-long snapshots of some recognisable (to me, even) hits, then a verse & a chorus of the Wrestlemania 29 theme song, punctuated with pyro then a biggish pyro display at the end - then they had hit Cena's theme immediately like they did after the attendance announcement pyro display, it would have made a world of difference.

 

It would have given fans that short breather they so desperately needed at that point, and made the main event/entrances seem like a big deal all in one go. As it was, he seemed to go on as a "the lower card bit is over, here come the main events" break which served no purpose to the actual pacing or construction of the card other than wasting 10 minutes.

They should have had the 8-person mixed tag after Taker/Punk and before HHH/Lesnar and had Diddy just do the WM29 song (between HHH/Lesnar and Rock/Cena) leading into the main event intros. There was no need for Diddy to have such a long amount of time on the show, whilst the rest of the show had to have minutes cut away here and there.

[Chest Rockwell]

For everyonbe saying Diddy should have been on later -

 

I actually thought that he came on at the perfect time. I'm not sure how long it had been dark for, but when the lights were killed for his build up was the first time I noticed it. And then it built up and it signified the change in tone to the serious big matches well.

 

Not to say they didn't need to break it up a bit later with something though.

[Astro Hollywood]

Not to say they didn't need to break it up a bit later with something though.

 

Last night proved how important variety is in wrestling. The pacing of po-faced match after match after match, with no backstage interviews or skits, or piss-break comedy/women's/celebrity matches was fucking brutal. By the time the main event finally rolled around, I'd have killed to see Koko B Ware catching Mean Gene and Mae Young in a broom cupboard, or whatever passes for WWE's nostalgia hijinks. Other than that 90 second "Hall of Famers waving" bit, the lack of any old faces really detracted from the big show feel. According to Meltzer, they realised close to showtime that they'd fucked up the timing, so a bunch of stuff got cut (the Rhodes Scholars/Brodus & Albert match, Swagger's entrance), but even the ditching of the National Anthem knocked it down a peg on the 'event' stakes for me, as much as I hate that nonsense.

 

I don't care that Cena didn't turn -- I don't see what that would achieve anyway, when 50% of the crowd boos him constantly. If he turned, it's possible those two groups would just switch sides and the effect would be the same. But there's nothing going in to Raw that makes me want to watch it. Everything got neatly wrapped up. Wrestlemania is effectively the WWE season finale, but there's no cliffhanger reeling me in for what's next. Punk was fucking great though.

[DJM]

I enjoyed parts of the show (mainly the last three matches), but it was an underwhelming Wrestlemania on the whole.

 

The 6-man tag was a good opener and The Shield came out of it still strong (even if it was their weakest PPV match so far). Not really looking forward to more Orton/Show or Sheamus/Show matches though and where Shield go now other than Reigns fighting Cena for the title (probably still way too soon for that though) will be interesting to see.

 

The less said about Henry/Ryback the better. It was bad. Really, really bad, with it feeling like half the match consisting of a bearhug from Henry. The chance of Ryback being a strong main eventer is now finally gone and the thought of Henry/Cena fills me with nothing more than disinterest. I had very low expectations for the match, but still how they managed to make it so poor is unbelievable.

 

The tag title match was fine but very rushed and Ziggler is just a waste of talent now (they should just re-package him or have him lose the case).

 

Jericho/Fandango was alright but didn't really show much of what Fandango can do. It also felt like Jericho was carrying Fandango through the match (there were times when it was obvious Jericho was calling the spot for them to hit). Miz/Fandango feud next for the IC title?

 

Del Rio/Swagger was good towards the end, but a little average for the most part. The look on Swaggers face after the match made me feel he is either going to be let go soon or will be stuck back in the mid-card again.

 

- Everything upto this point was pretty forgettable.

 

Undertaker/Punk was a great match and the best of the show. Much better than I ever expected it to be and now Punk can take a well deserved rest for a few months.

 

I really enjoyed Lesnar/HHH. Just a lot of fun seeing them beat the hell out of each other and the end few minutes were very good. Would have liked to have seen Lesnar win, but HHH winning made sense.

 

Cena/Rock was a strange match. It wasn't terrible or anything and you could see they both were doing their best, but they seemed off at times and some of the sequences felt a little forced. The ending seemed to come out of nowhere & felt flat and the post match was poor. Ending the biggest show of the year with the crowd booing your two top stars is really, really bad for WWE.

 

 

 

Edit: Has anyone got a list of the length of each match/segment on the show?

[CTXRussomark]

According to Meltzer, they realised close to showtime that they'd fucked up the timing, so a bunch of stuff got cut (the Rhodes Scholars/Brodus & Albert match, Swagger's entrance), but even the ditching of the National Anthem knocked it down a peg on the 'event' stakes for me, as much as I hate that nonsense.

How did they fuck the timing up that badly?? I mean it wasn't just a case of cutting one segment, they pretty much rushed from one match to the next the whole night and that was after cutting an entire match plus some other stuff. Though having said that the post-match Cena/Rock stuff felt like it lasted an eternity.

[Astro Hollywood]

According to Meltzer, they realised close to showtime that they'd fucked up the timing, so a bunch of stuff got cut (the Rhodes Scholars/Brodus & Albert match, Swagger's entrance), but even the ditching of the National Anthem knocked it down a peg on the 'event' stakes for me, as much as I hate that nonsense.

How did they fuck the timing up that badly?? I mean it wasn't just a case of cutting one segment, they pretty much rushed from one match to the next the whole night and that was after cutting an entire match plus some other stuff. Though having said that the post-match Cena/Rock stuff felt like it lasted an eternity.

 

It must have been an 11th hour thing too. After the show had already started, the Bella Twins tweeted a photo of them, Sandow and Rhodes in a group hug, "getting ready for our match!"

 

Is this the place for potential Raw spoilers? I post so frequently outside of Off Topic I don't even know anymore

 

Anyway, pinched by someone from WO, tonight's Raw sounds like one of those wild car crash episodes.

 

<-- click on 'spoiler' to show/hide the spoiler

According to wrestlingobserver.com, there is panic backstage at Raw right now. The show was scheduled to build to a segment where Brock Lesnar beat up Rock to set up next year's WrestleMania main event. The problem: Rock is not there and has reportedly gone home. Vince McMahon, the writers and producers are in the process of redoing the show, evidently believing the angle has been nixed. Nobody knows any details as to what happened past that. As of this time, the belief is that Rock is not appearing.

 

[close spoiler]

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[Ric Flair's Divorce Lawyer]

I cant disagree with what the rest of you guys have been saying about mania. It wasn't as a good as last year but it was better than 27. Punk v Taker was definitely the MOTN, it had an intensity that the other matches didn't have. The false finish when Taker tombstoned Punk the first time had me going but there wasn't one point I thought Punk would win. In contrast the Ryback vs Henry was the worst match. I don't want to see a rematch between the two, so it struck me as odd that Henry won.

 

Onto the other rematches - I did enjoy The Rock vs Cena match and I thought they kicked out of each others finishers too many times. It would have been better by shaving five minutes off the match. Meanwhile the HHH vs Lesnar match was boring for me. I wasn't wanting to see a second match as I wasn't impressed with the first at Summerslam. The other question I thought of was what was the point of HBK being there at ringside?

 

As far as the rest of the show goes, I enjoyed the layout of the Tag Title match and glad to see Bryan win at mania after last year. I also loved all the crowd celebrating with him at the end. I was glad that the Shield won and the match was fine but needed another five minutes. The World Title match didn't seem to go anywhere for me. Finally Jericho did a good job with Fandango but he should be doing something more meaningful than that.

 

Overall, this mania made me realize how important the filler matches and segments are to cool the crowd down. The main matches needed more crowd heat because it makes a very good match into a great one.