Wrestlemania 39

[Supremo]

I mostly just felt bad for Kevin Owens. Why even bother doing the overbooked, crazy Attitude Era run-ins if Cody isn’t winning?! Time wasted when he could’ve been backstage enjoying another Snickers.

[FLips]

18 minutes ago, Supremo said:

I mostly just felt bad for Kevin Owens. Why even bother doing the overbooked, crazy Attitude Era run-ins if Cody isn’t winning?! Time wasted when he could’ve been backstage enjoying another Snickers.

I think the one thing that stops this from being a complete bummer is that we did get the Owens and Sami win on Night 1 and that was such a worthwhile feelgood moment that will sustain us just a little.

[HarmonicGenerator]

1 hour ago, Supremo said:

Triple Threat Intercontinental Title match was the absolute tits. Phenomenal stuff. Best WWE match of the weekend and a genuine match of the year contender. The ultimate big meaty men slapping meat. Somewhere, Big E’s head was exploding. Also; Titus O’Neil calling matches like someone’s nan, who’s never seen professional wrestling before, losing his fucking mind, is a thing of beauty. Early contender for commentator of the year. By the time this match ended, I was convinced we were looking at a future World Champion in Gunther. The main event finish suggested otherwise though. Can I interest you in another six Roman vs. Brock matches in Saudi?!

...

And then what can even be said about that main event finish. Fucking hell. Even for a company who always drops a bollock, this was the biggest drop of the biggest bollock of all time. This was it. They’d done it. They’d found their man. They just need to stick the landing. And then they bottled it. Unbelievable. Until those last three seconds this was some of the best bit of business in forever. I was fully invested. That earth shattering “WHOOOOOOAAAAOOH!” for Cody entrance. The jacket. The pyro. Cody hugging his daughter and giving Brodie Junior his belt? I was filling up already. And then they had a fantastic match, the crowd were going apeshit…and then suddenly we all Quantum Leaped back into reality after six months of thinking they knew what they were doing. WWE was WWE again and you were left with that similar sense of crushing disappointment and bewilderment as to why you ever invest in these idiots.

Gunther vs Sheamus vs Drew was my favourite match in ages. I loved it and it'll definitely be on my MOTY list. My favourite WWE match since the glory days of NXT.

And Supremo has summed up my thought re the main event. I too was filling up when Brodie Junior was given the belt, and just felt deflated at the end. Watching this WrestleMania I was starting to wonder whether WWE might be for me again, but after that final result ... yeah, no, I'm good. Maybe next year.

 

Other thoughts:

John Cena. Megastar. What a guy.

Battle of the Mysterios probably my favourite match of night 1 but loved the ending of the tag title match too.

Loved all the big big entrances across both nights.

If they hadn't fucked the ending of night 2 this could have been an all-time great Mania contender.

Edited April 3, 2023 by HarmonicGenerator

[air_raid]

I’d stick a quid on Ronda & Shayna winning the tag belts tonight.

[WyattSheepMask]

Didn’t think they’d actually bottle it, but there you go. 
Actually that’s not strictly true. I did get a feeling watching Night 1 that there were a lot of faces going over, almost as if they were setting up for Roman to get the win. 
But then you had that promo video, Cody’s massive entrance, the crowd completely with him, hugging his family- the triumph was there for the taking. 
But no, onto Saudimania we go

Definite step down from Night 1, but it was always going to struggle as Night 1 was fucking great. Imagine if they were still trying to do all of this in one go, it would’ve ended up being a bang average Mania.

Triple Threat was awesome and I was surprised they kept the belt on Gunther. Surely he’s breaking the record in a few months time.

Other than that, Brock/Omos was OK for what it was, Belair/Asuka was alright. Popped like an idiot for ‘South of Heaven’, but the Hell In A Cell match was pretty poor. Even if Balor hadn’t had his head torn open, I still think it would’ve been pretty poor. It says something when the biggest heel in the match is the ad for The Pope’s Exorcist. 
Fucking Kendo Sticks (and colour coded ones at that) though, I’m fucking sick of them.

”Shane’s still got it!”, Cole says as Shane crumples into a heap unable to stand 😆

Edited April 3, 2023 by WyattSheepMask

[Merzbow]

Yeah the threesome between the German slapper and the Banger Bros was easily my match of the weekend, it wasn't pretty but that's the whole point. Just meat on meat.

[I Bent My Wookie]

4 minutes ago, Merzbow said:

Yeah the threesome between the German slapper and the Banger Bros was easily my match of the weekend, it wasn't pretty but that's the whole point. Just meat on meat.

Austrian. But that's pedantic, you're absolutely correct it was bloody brilliant and my favourite thing all weekend.

[Supremo]

Unbelievable that Shane got injured the day before they merged with the UFC. He’d have certainly been getting a UFC title shot if things had gone differently.

I realised what Finn Balor dancing to the ring reminded me of!

[Slapnut]

Aside from the shambles of an ending, perhaps I’m being dramatic but the sheer amount of ads and video packages ruined the show for me. I don’t watch Raw or Smackdown outside of clips I seek out on Twitter, yet somehow I feel like I saw every single video package at least 3 times before they showed it before the match in question. 

Also, whilst I feel for poor Shane, whoever suggested him vs Miz deserves to be sacked.

[Fatty Facesitter]

Starting with Cody/Roman as that's obviously the dominant talking point - 

Cody/Roman
I'm going to stick my neck out and say I have no problem with Roman going over. Like everyone I'd have loved to see Cody take the titles and all the pyro etc that would have come afterwards. But we are currently in the middle of the most epic title run in a generation, and it's going to run, and run, and run. I believe there's still plenty of mileage in the Bloodline saga and I think they've made the call that there's still plenty left in the tank with it, so it makes sense to keep it going and milk it for all it's worth. There could still be plenty of character development in it for Cody too, as well as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The more I think about it, the more I'm absolutely fine with it. To me, it doesn't take away my enjoyment of this Wrestlemania overall and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the match. An absolutely great spectacle. Roman IS operating at a different level and to be honest, I think it's worth celebrating rather than commiserating. 

Also, I think just because the main event didn't go as expected, it doesn't mean that all of a sudden Vince is back in creative control, or that AEW stars should be trepidatious about making the jump over to WWE. HHH has proven his worth as an excellent creative force and WWE's output has been more stimulating than ever. One subjective result doesn't change that. Cody's been thrust into the main event scene and been able to tell his story - a story I don't think for one minute is finished - and has been treated superbly since his return, again one subjective booking decision doesn't change this in my estimation. 

The match itself was superb - utterly gripping drama AGAIN from start to finish with a red hot crowd with excellent back-and-forth. Brilliantly executed. After getting over the initial shock of the result, the more I thought about it, the more I was on board with it. 

Omos vs Brock
Big meaty mean slapping meat with…psychology?! Omos targeting the back made total sense and was exactly the sort of strategy you can imagine MVP imparting on him, even if Lesnar eventually won. Omos doesn’t look like a total shitarse for losing - maybe they’ll run it back and reverse the result. Short but sweet.

Tag showcase
Not as terrible as expected even if it wasn’t as spectacular as some of the matches we saw yesterday. Not sure what happened to Bazler's ankle. Rousey winning is just pure shithousery. Was she waving goodbye to the audience at the end too? Hopefully. 

IC Title
Could probably best sum up the match with the picture of Stan’s dad from South Park covered in his own ejaculate. The sort of match that would make Graeme Souness blush. MEN AT IT. This was modern professional wrestling at it’s very, very best - it felt like you were watching essentially a real fight in the best sense of the word. Pure violence with their bare hands, yet mixed in with great creativity and wonderful execution, the crowd constantly on its feet, the commentators having the time of their lives calling it all. The right result and another huge milestone for Gunther. Just absolutely fucking brilliant. I felt the pain just watching it. My new favourite IC title match ever. WOOF.

Asuka/Bianca
Great performance from both, fantastic concluding sequence. Tough act to follow from the triple threat but put on a really physical show and a great spectacle. Let the countdown begin to Rhea vs Bianca at Wrestlemania 40!

Miz/Snoop/Shane silly bollocks
Snoop Dogg saw that Shane legitimately injured himself like a total cunt and decided to call an audible to maintain kayfabe to keep the show moving on. What a pro. I love Snoop - even the casual way he hit the ropes. The People’s Elbow also looked devastating. Fair play to Miz - he’ll never get the credit he deserves but he’s such an important bridge between the celebrities and the company. Fuck Shane - LA Knight can’t get on the show and they wheel out this sack of shit? Incredible that he'd carry on the family tradition of blowing his quad. Fuck off. 

Hell in the cell
A fun plunder brawl, but was it really as brutal the the triple threat for the IC title where they were mauling each other with their bare hands and no weapons? Also, the only result in terms of the booking where I think the result should have been different (even with what happened in the main event) - Balor should probably have gone over while Edge fucks off for another four-month lie down. Also, no Brood vs Judgement Day faceoff? Come on son. Still a fun watch, just a few reservations. about it. 

Overall, night one was definitely the better of the two nights but night two was still phenomenal. Combined? The best Wrestlemania since 17, even with the main event controversy. I can’t quite decide yet if it’s better than 17 - I might need more time to reflect.

But fuck me, what a ride throughout. Sensational and utterly gripping drama. AEW has some phenomenal talent and is a fantastic product - but this show was proof that they’ve got a long, long, long way to go to reach the sort of heights WWE can when it’s on song. 

The power is back. Learn to love it. Thoughts though with @gmoney at this challenging time. 
 

[Nexus]

I didn't buy Cody as the man, and I still don't, but it seems mad that he was so over and they didn't pull the trigger. 

 

Who's left? GUNTER maybe? I don't think Jey dethroning Roman would be any good, and I don't think it'll be Solo, and if they give it to Cody at Backlash then it's a waste. 

[Callum1993]

So we’re all in agreement that Snoop Dogg should dethrone Roman yeah? 

[The King of Old School]

I thought the vast majority of both night was superb.

Could have done without Edge/Finn though. The only real dud of the 2 nights for me

Cody winning the belt in Saudi will be the biggest anti climax of all time.

[The Gaffer]

Add me to the minority who didn't mind the finish. Do I wish they done the Hollywood ending? Absolutely. Did it ruin my eight hours of mostly excellent wrestling entertainment this weekend? Not even close. 

The post-WrestleMania period will be the real benchmark, but WWE have been consistently brilliant now for weeks, taking most of us by surprise since the last time the world was meant to end when they didn't give the belt to Sami. 

You can say apples and oranges there, granted, but this isn't 1998 and these arcs don't always play out like they used to, for better or worse. Did Roman retain because of some weird backroom fiscal simulations running? Probably, yeah, but it helps that he's one of the best ever. 

For me it's pretty simple: I'm not expecting dad to come home from the gas station. When it gets to be a chore on a week to week basis again I'll stop looking out the window for him. But they've still got me waiting, and enjoying the ride. There's plenty of brilliant stuff that can happen over the next year. By holding off the result last night you've sold your SummerSlam stadium. Sold next year. For anyone keeping the score, these fans that pay to see them live do in fact keep coming back. 

[d-d-d-dAz]

I’ve taken some time, ruminated on the matter and… I still think they’re crackers.

It’s not that Cody is definitely THE guy, he may well not be, but he’s as over as anyone in the business currently and - I keep coming back to this - there is no one left.

Gunther’s not a babyface and probably never will be, Austin Theory is the same but noncier. Montez isn’t ready. That’s it.

Jey would be the satisfying storyline end but he’s not going to lead the company from the front.

This was their chance to do something really special, crown someone who can lead the business forward and.. they whiffed it. You HAVE to think the plan is still Cody down the road a bit, but that is utterly shite and a complete waste now. You don’t pull your cock out after you’ve already spaffed in your pants, as my old nan would say.