It's Wrestlemania Season

[wordsfromlee]

I can't wait for Cody's first title defence against Kane at Backlash.

[Snitsky's back acne]

1 hour ago, Hannibal Scorch said:

It can’t be, no one’s called it Cinema on here yet

I'm withholding my opinion until Meltzer's star rating is released.

[Devon Malcolm]

Went on Twitter earlier and wondered why the fuck 'bisexual Undertaker' was trending.

 

[SpykeDudlei1]

15 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

I'm withholding my opinion until Meltzer's star rating is released.

😂

On the subject of Meltzer and his band of merry men, they’ve posted a WMXL review by Bryan Rose. I get it’s all about opinions and they can be quite wide ranging as we’ve seen on this thread alone but this seems to be a finger OFF the pulse view of the night one main event for me…

“The main event of night one was tremendously boring as The Rock and Roman Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins in one of the most plodding main event matches I have seen in quite some time. They just kept wrestling. They just kept DOING THINGS until finally, The Rock pinned Cody Rhodes, a sign that perhaps a singles match between the two is down the line. Rock looked fine, you got to see him wrestle for a VERY LONG TIME, and didn’t seem out of step. This would have been a fine match if it were maybe 20 minutes shorter. Instead, it was a dull 40-minute bore”

[Hannibal Scorch]

6 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Went on Twitter earlier and wondered why the fuck 'bisexual Undertaker' was trending.

 

HA! It was trending last night I just assumed you saw it.

[SuperBacon]

8 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Went on Twitter earlier and wondered why the fuck 'bisexual Undertaker' was trending.

 

Saw someone earlier say "It's about time we had a champion who is a bit cunty" and while I don't quite fully understand what this means, I do really like it.

[d-d-d-dAz]

Prefer my 'Kinky Auntie Undertaker', that absolutely didn't catch on. But whatever. I'm not bitter.

[DCW]

Well, I fecking loved all that. WWE giving fans exactly what they want still feels so alien after the last decade or so of mean-spirited misery. Delighted for Cody & Roman. Fair play to Rock as well, he's really put in a shift these last few months when he absolutely didn't have to. Great stuff. Love the ring announcer too.

 

[SuperBacon]

2 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

Saw someone earlier say "It's about time we had a champion who is a bit cunty" and while I don't quite fully understand what this means, I do really like it.

*rushes back to thread* THE CUNTERTAKER!!!

[wandshogun09]

Even better than Night 1. Honestly thought I’d probably skim through most of this and just watch the main event in full but I ended up watching the lot.

Drew McIntyre vs Seth Rollins was the ideal opener really. Didn’t outstay its welcome and it was all action, no messing about. Without even knowing their history or following the story going in, I liked the little post-match bit with Drew and Punk as well. Then the twist of the MITB cash in and Punk’s smug dickhead smirk when Drew lost. 

The Street Fight was the match I was least into on the whole show but, even then, Snoop Dogg on commentary was a laugh and I really wasn’t expecting to see Paul Ellering! Bubba Ray Dudley can piss off though. Can’t stand that big sack of wank.

LA Knight vs AJ Styles was alright. Had its moments. Although, the “YEAH” bollocks was starting to grate very quickly on me. I get it’s obviously his catchphrase but it’s a bit of a shite one. This was my first time seeing Knight and the “YEAH” thing got old quick in the same way “WHAT?” did with Austin 20-odd years ago. Also, AJ looks…different these days, doesn’t he? Think ‘AJ’ must stand for “All the Juice” now because he definitely looks like he’s hit the sauce. Between his age and his build these days, I was pleasantly surprised he can even still move how he does and still do his springboard stuff. Physically though, not how I remembered him looking at all. I know it’s a bit of a drastic comparison and I hope his story ends happier than theirs did but looking at him here reminded me of the bloaty, chemically enhanced versions of Eddie and Benoit we saw in their later years.

Really liked the Logan vs Orton vs Owens 3 way. Stupidly fun match. First time seeing Logan wrestle and, while I think both Paul brothers are annoying divs, it can’t be denied how impressive Logan is given his lack of experience and time in wrestling. Crazy how he can look so comfortable and competent in there with so few reps and so little ring time. Loved the chemistry between Orton and Owens as well. Not a clue if or how long they’ve been linked on TV or whatever but I thought they were great together here. Not a pairing I’d have ever imagined working so well but it really does. Orton barking at the Prime bottle wanker before RKOing him on the table was tremendous.

Had zero expectations for the Bayley vs Iyo Sky match. I knew of Bayley but wasn’t overly familiar with her and I’d never seen Sky wrestle. Genuinely was half thinking this might be a bit of a piss break thing to ‘calm the crowd down’ before the main event. But it was a cracking match, to be fair.

And Cody vs Roman was just incredible stuff. Whole thing was brilliantly done. To be honest, this was my first time watching a 2 night Mania and I wasn’t keen on the idea of it being 2 nights going in. But it worked a treat here, I thought. I think Night 1 really added to the story and the drama of the whole thing. And while I said I felt the main event on Night 1 was a bit too long, this match wasn’t much shorter but it didn’t drag at any point for me. Only thing I would’ve changed would be to swap Taker out for Austin but that’s a minor thing. The way the match built and built and Roman being such a prick was really well done. And then that final stretch was something else.

Cody getting the win was so satisfying and such a feel-good moment. And that’s coming from someone who’s literally just tuned in for Mania itself and missed all the build up and context. Can only imagine how great a payoff this was for people who followed the story all the way through. Brilliant. 

The celebration after was class. Proper Bret at WrestleMania X vibes. Only way it could’ve been better would’ve been if Dustin was in there as well and, of course, if Dusty had lived to see it. If you weeeel! Could’ve really done without Triple H and fucking Brother Love being in the show closing moment though.

Thoroughly enjoyed both nights. Can’t see me devoting time to watch regularly again but it’s good to see they can still create the old magic when they really want to. I didn’t think it was the ‘best WrestleMania ever!!’ and all that and granted I missed about a decade of Manias from 30-40 so I’m not the best to judge. But overall, this was up there for me with some of the best Manias. Doesn’t top 17 but there was very little on both nights that I thought was bad, most of it was really good and the bits that mattered most were bloody fantastic. Put it this way, I’ve not watched wrestling properly in probably 15 years. In the last 48 hours I’ve spent about 7 or 8 hours watching something I used to love but something I thought I was over. And I don’t regret a minute of the time I spent watching it.

[Midnight Zeus]

I think it’s been quite a number of years since I posted on here, but after this weekend’s shows I felt the urge.

It’s only because of my 15 year old son that I watch any wrestling these days, and that’s not because he was ever particularly into it, in spite of my trying some years ago, and having limitless access to home media.

Logan Paul - that’s the reason we were watching this weekend. My son wanted to watch WWE the first time Paul participated whenever that was. He’s far from a fan and wanted to see him get beaten up, so we watched any event he was on, plus the last couple of Rumbles and Manias.

I took the day off today so that we could watch Day 2 as soon as possible. I felt a bit flat after Day 1 - can’t explain it, I was just expecting more. Really enjoyed Sami v Gunther and I like where the main event went, just seemed to take a while getting there.

Anyway, Day 2 felt completely different, with a superb opening match and a lot of fun along the way to the second half which I loved. I’m still laughing at Randy’s interaction with the Prime bottle chap and loved Bayley winning.

The main event though, watching with my son was the most fun I’ve had watching wrestling in years, possibly decades. He was so invested in the match, wanting Cody to win with all his heart, but genuinely not knowing if he would. Some of those near falls were very, well, near! When Cody finally won, after three Cross Rhodes, he screamed with delight - a YES that may have been heard up and down the street we live on.

Were the interruptions a bit OTT? Yes. Is that what WrestleMania is all about? Again, yes, and watching with my son, who popped big for each and every superstar who came down that ramp, it made the experience 10 times better for me and I loved it.

I don’t know if letting the cameras run long at the end is a new thing, but it worked and put the cherry on a very satisfying cake. The emotion and realness on show seemed to tie in perfectly with Cody.

I’m looking forward to Raw and everything that comes afterwards, and even more so that I’ll be sharing it with my son. After many years away, seems I am a fan of pro wrestling again, in large part thanks to Logan Paul!

[Devon Malcolm]

5 minutes ago, wandshogun09 said:

Thoroughly enjoyed both nights. Can’t see me devoting time to watch regularly again but it’s good to see they can still create the old magic when they really want to. I didn’t think it was the ‘best WrestleMania ever!!’ and all that and granted I missed about a decade of Manias from 30-40 so I’m not the best to judge. But overall, this was up there for me with some of the best Manias. Doesn’t top 17 but there was very little on both nights that I thought was bad, most of it was really good and the bits that mattered most were bloody fantastic. Put it this way, I’ve not watched wrestling properly in probably 15 years. In the last 48 hours I’ve spent about 7 or 8 hours watching something I used to love but something I thought I was over. And I don’t regret a minute of the time I spent watching it.

Honestly, if you have the time I'd try and just watch all their PPVs. They're usually of a really good standard. Same goes for AEW. Just roughly follow what's going on on TV in-between with the results and threads on here to get some idea what's going on. Works really well for me and doesn't take a bunch of time out of my routine.

Edited April 8 by Devon Malcolm

[d-d-d-dAz]

I've done the mental gymnastics so you don't have to, and I can confirm that it actually made more sense that The Undertaker came out to face down The Rock rather than Austin.

Austin was Rock's biggest rival, sure, but we've seen them be friendly since then and what's his motivation here? He's got no skin in the game. There's no reason for him to care.

Undertaker, however, was the locker room leader during The Rock's peak. He kept these guys in check, and made sure they lived by a code. This sort of behaviour from The Rock, abusing his position as a member of the Board and trying to steal this moment from a member of the younger generation, one who Undertaker would have known through Dusty as Cody was growing up, would be beyond the pale to The Undertaker and the principles he taught his locker room to live by.

I'm sure that's exactly what they were going for too. Exactly.

Edited April 8 by d-d-d-dAz

[Dr. Alan Grant]

For those disappointed that Austin didn’t show up, fear not. As the last man to hold the winged eagle belt, he had to nip home to Texas to pick it up to present to Cody tonight. Bit of Brasso on it, job done.

[wandshogun09]

7 minutes ago, Devon Malcolm said:

Honestly, if you have the time I'd try and just watch all their PPVs. They're usually of a really good standard. Same goes for AEW. Just roughly follow what's going on on TV in-between with the results and threads on here to get some idea what's going on. Works really well for me and doesn't take a bunch of time out of my routine.

Not a bad idea. I do dip into the threads on here for Raw and Smackdown from time to time anyway and it did help that Mania had all those pre-match video packages that kind of brought me up to speed on what was going on. Maybe I’ll ease myself in with the old ‘Big Four’ first. Maybe I’ll see you lot in the SummerSlam thread!