Woah Woah WrestleMania - Dis-cussion thread - pump it up, pump it up. *HOF spoilers*

[IANdrewDiceClay]

According to X-Pac, old man Vince sacked a writer on the spot because he put Vince's name in Bret's HOF script. So he went off it and sacked him. He's fucking nuts! Hence why DX went on and kept mentioning his name over and over again. But he wasnt happy.

People wonder why there are no wrestlers who are writers anymore. Can you imagine a star name taking Vince's shit? Having to sit there while he's eating in front of them, after not being allowed to go for their dinner all day? Mad old cunt. Love him, though.

[tiger_rick]

9 hours ago, The King of Old School said:

I personally thought the triple threat was just a huge tired mess, with a horrible finish. Easily in the worst 5 Mania main events for me which is a shame looking at the talent involved.

Thinking quickly, 2, 7, 8, 9, 11 (despite minor miracle status), 13, 18, 27, 32, 34 were all worse. 16 was a mess too. 3 was shit but quality irrelevant. So nowhere near bottom 5.

I didn't love the match. The triple threat thing hurt it and there were liads of really awkward "Wow, a double ... something" moves but it had plenty of nice spots too, good pace and tight work. Plus it was never boring unlike half of the above.

[air_raid]

1 hour ago, tiger_rick said:

16 was a mess too.

It really was. All three of Rock, Hunter and Foley had loads of better matches with each other and the triple threat between Rock Hunter and Show and Raw was even superior. The match drags and doesn't even have the "Rock wins the belt at Mania" ending that they should have done (artistically, not commercially) and I never really want to watch it again.

I'll watch Becky winning quite a few times.

[BomberPat]

It's really clear from how much the crowd wake up when Ronda and Becky square off one-and-one that they would have come alive for that match even with it going on at midnight. 

I know one lapsed fan who's now far more into MMA than wrestling, who watched out of curiosity of Ronda headlining, and his first comment to me was, "what the fuck was that double armbar?". 

[mrtrickio]

11 hours ago, Mr Butternut Squash said:

I still haven't watched the match, just seen the end. I was mad at the finish because the commentary and replays suggested they were working an angle. I thought Ronda was gonna come to Raw the next night and dispute the finish, continuing the worky shoot stuff the angle was leaning into. It looks like her shoulder being up was a genuine botch though. I'm cool with that. Its certainly not WCW shit. I would've liked a bit more of a decisive pinfall, but I get what they were going for.

Becky was never tapping out Ronda Rousey. Not in a million years. If Rousey is ever getting tapped it's to Charlotte Flair, no one else.

Ronnie leaving is such a blow to the division. Hope she comes back sooner than later.

 

 

I read that the finish didn't go down as it was supposed to and the match referee was fined.

[TildeGuy~!]

39 minutes ago, mrtrickio said:

I read that the finish didn't go down as it was supposed to and the match referee was fined.

That was supposed to be the finish to the match but Referees are supposed to call the match like a shoot so he should have stopped the count due to the shoulder being up.

[PunkStep]

57 minutes ago, air_raid said:

It really was. All three of Rock, Hunter and Foley had loads of better matches with each other and the triple threat between Rock Hunter and Show and Raw was even superior. The match drags and doesn't even have the "Rock wins the belt at Mania" ending that they should have done (artistically, not commercially) and I never really want to watch it again.

Yep the main event was absolute dogshit. Should've been Triple H VS Rock. Being more specific, it should have been the Backlash main event- but then again they wouldn't have had the impressive figures for Backlash (the buys were quite massive for a B-PPV, weren't they?).

In fact, the whole show is forgettable. The triangle ladder match was good, but their subsequent TLC matches topped this. The Angle/Benoit/Jericho match was ok, but they've had tonnes of matches with each other better than this and the stipulation was rubbish. There were far too many tag matches, two of which were completely pointless and more suited to Sunday Heat rather than WrestleMania. Also, would it have killed them to have a Kane VS X-Pac blowout match instead of throwing Rikishi and Road Dogg into the mix? The hardcore battle royal was alright.

[BomberPat]

Just now, TildeGuy~! said:

That was supposed to be the finish to the match but Referees are supposed to call the match like a shoot so he should have stopped the count due to the shoulder being up.

I'm on the referee's side in this, though.

Jim Korderas said in a seminar that when it comes to calling it like a shoot, you've got two options - you do that, and you get heat with the wrestlers, you don't do it, you get heat with the office. If there was a "botch", it was the camera angle showing Rousey's shoulder off the mat too clearly, and Graves talking about it - I'd guarantee you there were dodgier pins all night than that one, this one just happened to get caught clearly on camera.

As the referee, "call it like a shoot" always sounds great, until you're in the moment to count the finish, and a shoulder isn't quite touching the mat. Do you count the emphatic, final pinfall regardless, or do you break the flow of the match and risk throwing the wrestlers off their game and confusing the crowd by stopping the count? Throw in someone relatively inexperienced, and unlikely to be calling the match, like Ronda Rousey, and you're even less likely to want to risk throwing things off. Throw in that it's the main event of Wrestlemania, and you can multiply all that anxiety by a thousand.

[d-d-d-dAz]

I liked how in the recap video packages on Raw/Smackers, they cut to black during the 3-counts solely so they didn’t have to reference Becky’s dodgy win.

Also, this is great:

https://mobile.twitter.com/hannbecks/status/1115710219433201664

 

[Accident Prone]

I watched 'Mania at Walkabout in Birmingham. I was sat next to a man in a Kane fancy dress, but he made no attempt to cover up his horrific WBA tattoo. Besides, we all know Kane would be an Aston Villa supporter due to their inept ability to always be around some how.

There were other folk dressed up too, including a cracking Kofi Kingston (complete with a plate of pancakes) and 'Bollywood' Hulk Hogan (imagine Bad Luck Fale in NWO Hogan gear). There was a decent Sasha Banks too and Ric Flair got a big pop by elbow dropping his own robe.

The first half was great. People were alive and well during the pre-show, and the cruiserweight match got some oooohs and ahhhhhs from the audience. Plenty of "Who the fuck are these guys?" remarks during the SNL tripe.

Rollins vs Lesnar was an excellent way to start the proper show and got everyone really pumped. AJ vs Styles was okay despite Orton being his usual, dull self. Really weird that AJ's best 'Mania match to date is Vs Shane McMahon. 

And you could say the same thing about The Miz as that Falls Count Anywhere match was great! Miz's dad is great! The final bump was great! Bit miffed at the commentary not pointing out Shane's extremely dangerous bump off the golf cart. Shane-O definitely went out of his way to beat the previous night's Ibushi/Naito encounter in terms of attempting to break his own neck. Big Ibushi fan is our Shane.

Kofi's win got a massive reaction and I was rubbing my eyes to disguise the tears of joy as tiredness. This is where the night peaked. Loads of cheering and arms flailing. Big atmosphere, big finish, big smiles all round. When Kofi's kid got on the turnbuckle the whole place exploded.

This is the point where the room took a noticeable down turn and people realized that there's still loads more to come. The Joe/Rey match being over in quick fashion got massive sighs of relief from myself and people around me (save for some "UGGHH they're burying these guys" diatribes from a few arseholes).

Then out came Roman to fucking boos from the stadium, and that was like the gears got downshifted to 1st in our venue. The heatless affair killed the atmos and also killed my energy as I proclaimed to my friends that I was pussying out and caught a taxi home at three in the morning. As I got in the cab, I could the wailing tones of "Hello, My name is Ellias..." coming from the bar as I smiled to myself, deep in the warming knowledge that I had made the right decision.

After viewing the rest of the show during a lovely Sunday noon combo of coffee and toast, I was so bloody happy that I left when I did. No way would I have survived the on-coming onslaught of a drawn-out Trips/Dave match, Angle/Corbin, Ellias' comedy routine and a fucking dance break if I hadn't of come home to get some sleep first.

As it happens, I actually quite enjoyed a lot of these negatives due to it being a fresh day. I managed to ignore the quiet crowd (something I can hardly stand at the best of times) and found myself quite into the image of two old blokes trying to imitate all the wrestling GIFs they had come across all weekend. I popped for Angle's moonsault and subsequent exit, I laughed along like a proper twat to Cena's rap and I really enjoyed the rawness of the main event. 

But I knew it was crap at the same time, due to how long the show was and how nobody live was reacting to much. But as I had a kip and some food and a hot mug of Joe and lived a non-wrestling existence for a few hours beforehand, I came into the last third feeling refreshed and excited. This brings me to the conclusion that everyone else has had; make WrestleMania a 2-day affair, for fucks sake.

Even the running order can be simply cut in half at the end of Kofi-Bryan and it works out perfectly. Same goes for the four pre-show matches. It's a simple solution that no doubt as has several logistical, legal and financial reasons for not being considered by WWE. 

So certainly not the worse 'Mania, but not the best due to the sheer length and the apathy of crowd in the final few hours. I have a feeling that sentiment will be similar for WrestleManias in the years to come. 

[Onyx2]

22 hours ago, HarmonicGenerator said:

What did Triple H say about Too Sweet? Whatever it was, he's right.

Along the lines of "I really hate that chant. You guys seem to like it but I think it sounds lame." 

It landed in a way that made them sound really chastened, though that may just be me agreeing wholeheartedly. 

[Hannibal Scorch]

54 minutes ago, Onyx2 said:

Along the lines of "I really hate that chant. You guys seem to like it but I think it sounds lame." 

It landed in a way that made them sound really chastened, though that may just be me agreeing wholeheartedly. 

I think he said we've never ever done that but whatever, it sounds lame referencing the fact that it was stolen as well

[Liam O'Rourke]

SCG Radio returns this week to talk all about the biggest weekend of the year in pro wrestling, covering NXT TakeOver: New York and WrestleMania 35! Breaking down all the matches, the outcomes, the big issues surrounding the shows and the promotion in general, we discuss Kofi Kingston's rise to prominence, the absolute greatness of NXT, formatting a seven hour show, the first women's Mania main event, Velveteen Dream ruling the world, Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole's brilliance, major defeats for Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, and title changes galore. We also dip into some brief thoughts on the G1 Supercard, a true tale of two shows wrapped into one. A lot of fun and a great way to cap off Mania week, check it out~!

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/download/hcxutu/SCG_Radio_150_-_NXT_Takeover_New_York_and_WrestleMania_35.mp3

 

 

[Jazzy G]

I got emailed a digital copy of the Mania program tonight. Is the NXT UK roster just PROGRESS now? Also, World Of Sport may be down on number for their second series. If they get one. It was intriguing to see some of the current roster on that white "Legends" page where they stick the pictures of everybody.

[tiger_rick]

10 hours ago, Liam O'Rourke said:

SCG Radio returns this week to talk all about the biggest weekend of the year in pro wrestling, covering NXT TakeOver: New York and WrestleMania 35! Breaking down all the matches, the outcomes, the big issues surrounding the shows and the promotion in general, we discuss Kofi Kingston's rise to prominence, the absolute greatness of NXT, formatting a seven hour show, the first women's Mania main event, Velveteen Dream ruling the world, Johnny Gargano and Adam Cole's brilliance, major defeats for Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, and title changes galore. We also dip into some brief thoughts on the G1 Supercard, a true tale of two shows wrapped into one. A lot of fun and a great way to cap off Mania week, check it out~!

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/download/hcxutu/SCG_Radio_150_-_NXT_Takeover_New_York_and_WrestleMania_35.mp3

Congrats on the Starrcast gig, Liam. Deserve it after the work that went into your fantastic book.