WrestleMania, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California was a pretty good show but did not live up to it's tremendous hype. Some matches were pretty bad while others were surprisingly good along with one Match Of The Year candidate. Usually, WrestleMania not only features matches that are built up and you want to see, but also surprise appearances and celebrity guests. This one featured very little extras or surprises, although Hulk Hogan was involved in a nice little spot on the show with Muhammad Hassan and Daivari.
Match Reviews. I'll keep them pretty short so I can fit them all on here.
TAG CHAMPION VS TAG CHAMPION Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero This match, although very good, was highly disappointing. They seemed a little nervous, which is surprising because of the fact that Eddie was in the co-main event last year and came through with flying colors. Some good spots and some great moves from Rey looked good, but did not compare to their Halloween Havoc '97 match. Rey Mysterio wins by pin.
MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH Edge vs Shelton Benjamin vs Kane vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Christian This was a pretty good match. Insane moves were sprinkled through the match but due to the over abundance of wrestlers involved in this match, this led to a lot of over selling, especially by the monster, Kane. Overall, an entertaining match. Edge wins by grabbing the briefcase.
LEGEND VS LEGEND KILLER Undertaker vs Randy Orton This match was much better than expected. Surprising, Undertaker can still put on a decent match. After some interference from Bob Orton Jr., who was recently inducted into the Hall Of Fame, Undertaker came back to keep his Wrestlemania streak intact at 13-0.
WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP Trish Stratus (C) vs Christy Hemme Pretty bad, even for the girls. Mostly due to Christy's inexperience I'm sure but I still enjoyed it. Stratus wins by pin.
INTERPROMOTIONAL MATCH Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels This was the match that saved the show. It went about 25 minutes and it told a great story. All of their finishing moves were used and ended up stealing the show. The only thing that compares was the Piper's Pit with Steve Austin. Austin wins by submission.
SUMO MATCH Akebono vs The Big Show Another horrible match which was all gimmick and hardly any entertainment. Basically, the same sumo matches Yokozuna used to do. Akebono wins to keep Big Show's WrestleMania streak intact at 0-6.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP John Cena vs JBL (C) Pretty basic match. The crowd was not really into this one. I think everyone knew who was winning and were just waiting for Cena to pin JBL. Big pop for Cena afterward. It was pretty cool seeing Cena win his first World Title.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Batista vs Triple H (C) This was kept pretty short for the main event. Triple H carried Batista pretty well. Not much special here except for seeing Batista win his first World Title. Big pop for Batista afterward as well as he soaked up the cheers afterward.
A show with this kind of hype pumped into it has little chance of living up to it. It was decent, but as I mentioned before, the only thing that I considered "WrestleMania worthy" was Angle vs Michaels and Piper's Pit. I give the show 7/10.
Match Reviews. I'll keep them pretty short so I can fit them all on here.
TAG CHAMPION VS TAG CHAMPION Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero This match, although very good, was highly disappointing. They seemed a little nervous, which is surprising because of the fact that Eddie was in the co-main event last year and came through with flying colors. Some good spots and some great moves from Rey looked good, but did not compare to their Halloween Havoc '97 match. Rey Mysterio wins by pin.
MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH Edge vs Shelton Benjamin vs Kane vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Christian This was a pretty good match. Insane moves were sprinkled through the match but due to the over abundance of wrestlers involved in this match, this led to a lot of over selling, especially by the monster, Kane. Overall, an entertaining match. Edge wins by grabbing the briefcase.
LEGEND VS LEGEND KILLER Undertaker vs Randy Orton This match was much better than expected. Surprising, Undertaker can still put on a decent match. After some interference from Bob Orton Jr., who was recently inducted into the Hall Of Fame, Undertaker came back to keep his Wrestlemania streak intact at 13-0.
WWE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP Trish Stratus (C) vs Christy Hemme Pretty bad, even for the girls. Mostly due to Christy's inexperience I'm sure but I still enjoyed it. Stratus wins by pin.
INTERPROMOTIONAL MATCH Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels This was the match that saved the show. It went about 25 minutes and it told a great story. All of their finishing moves were used and ended up stealing the show. The only thing that compares was the Piper's Pit with Steve Austin. Austin wins by submission.
SUMO MATCH Akebono vs The Big Show Another horrible match which was all gimmick and hardly any entertainment. Basically, the same sumo matches Yokozuna used to do. Akebono wins to keep Big Show's WrestleMania streak intact at 0-6.
WWE CHAMPIONSHIP John Cena vs JBL (C) Pretty basic match. The crowd was not really into this one. I think everyone knew who was winning and were just waiting for Cena to pin JBL. Big pop for Cena afterward. It was pretty cool seeing Cena win his first World Title.
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Batista vs Triple H (C) This was kept pretty short for the main event. Triple H carried Batista pretty well. Not much special here except for seeing Batista win his first World Title. Big pop for Batista afterward as well as he soaked up the cheers afterward.
A show with this kind of hype pumped into it has little chance of living up to it. It was decent, but as I mentioned before, the only thing that I considered "WrestleMania worthy" was Angle vs Michaels and Piper's Pit. I give the show 7/10.