Strummer Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I'll add on to the majority saying the production values on the show were fantastic and might have been the most smoothly innovative show the company has ever produced Miz video package was tremendous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rovert Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Miz video package was tremendous Listening to the Torch's review of the show I think Wade made the point that in a certain way the video was a babyface video in a boyhood dream has come true type way. Be interested in rewatching that from that perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I don't mean to pile on the WWE here but if Undertaker at this stage of his career is still the only star in your company that you trust with the workrate slot on Wrestlemania, you have serious fucking problems. I respect the guy a lot don't get me wrong, but what they're asking of him at this point is borderline impossible. I would much rather they'd cut that shorter and kept the US title match on the main show (4 hours and you have to cut matches last minute... really?), or given the main event more time. The finish of that sounded extremely rushed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJH Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I didn't think the production was that great. A lot of poor camera choices, especially early in the show. Obviously at times they were spectacular (mainly entrances) but the best direction isn't always the most glamourous. The criticism if HHH/Taker is perfectly valid. But a more insular and cerebral match wouldn't have worked. I love Coltrane, but his best ever solo taken in an old folk song would be hideous. It's Taker at WrestleMania... what did anyone really expect? Miz/Cena was really bad. They were off a lot early, both seemed banged up from the spot on the floor (which the production fucked up on and I don't think we even got a replay). Miz also looked about 12 when The Rock came in at the end, he needs facial hair or something ASAP. And is it just me or is there far too much religious crap now? Punk's "faith" sounded like he was working a born-again Christian gimmick the way Cole was talking about it and I guess Cena's video explained The Rock's awful line on Raw, but I don't understand where it's coming from, nor how a choir fitted with Cena's act at all. The armed guard shit at least suited his Marine/Salute/etc... I thought the show was alright overall - I didn't actively dislike it or anything - but between Cena/Miz and that Cole/Lawler debacle, The Rock's involvement being totally "meh"... that's 3 of the top 4 pushed angles disappointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I really didn't get the part in the HHH/Taker match where HHH went and brooded in the corner after hitting Taker with the chair. Was it supposed to be that he had immediate remorse and didn't want to win that way? He had a chance to beat Taker and chose not to, which is totally against his character. Then when Taker starts to wake up HHH yells at him to STAY DOWN. Stay down for what? He was down for a minute and HHH didn't do anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 what I learned from the reviewer guy at Scooty Keith's blog: If you thought HHH/Undertaker was a good match you're a retard who knows nothing about wrestling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jingus Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Am I the only one who actually liked Lawler/Cole? It seemed like they accomplished everything they could have. Lawler beat the everliving fuck out of Cole, destroyed him, then picked him up and destroyed him some more. I didn't mind Cole getting some of his own offense, I don't see what the problem is there. And then after a super-happy ending, they obviously plan on continuing this angle so we got the Dusty finish. It seemed like the easiest, most painless way to keep the feud going and not have this be the blowoff, while simultaneously giving everyone the Cole beating that they wanted to see. I didn't bother watching anything beside Trish Stratus entrance, is it me or does she look a bit aneroxic ?She had her implants removed right after she retired last time, so that's one big reason why she looks thinner. Although I'd assume that living as a yoga instructor tends to pack on fewer pounds than the road-life of constant Waffle House meals. I still wonder why they didn't make her dye her hair again, she looks different enough from her famous old self that I can easily imagine some fans not recognizing her. And man, isn't it amazing how quickly they managed to devalue TRISH STRATUS IS BACK into her just being another annoying generic Diva? "The match was spotty/plodding". This seems just about impossible to refute. The last half of the match, were there even ten moves/spots in the last 15 minutes? Move, pause as the guy who did it recovers, nearfall, more selling, next move. Don't even get me started about the "guy does corner punches in the middle of the finishing run to set up the Last Ride" spot, which happens in over half of the big Taker matches. When I'm watching a match in this style, I find it anticlimactic more often than not. The 'wait 20 seconds before covering' part especially ruins the drama.That's just Captain Trips going long. Almost any of his matches which hit 30 minutes tend to follow that formula. Remember the criminally long and dull Hell In A Cell match which he had with Shawn? Exact same deal in that one. I would much rather they'd cut that shorter and kept the US title match on the main show (4 hours and you have to cut matches last minute... really?), or given the main event more time. The finish of that sounded extremely rushed.I wasn't watching the show (my stream's audio was fine, but the video was crap) but Miz/Cena did sound awfully short. When they went to that insulting double-countout, I naturally assumed "oh, Rock will come out and restart it, and they'll go at least another ten minutes. But instead, they instantly jumped to the ROCK BOTTOM, ONE TWO THREE part. Zuh? So lame. Does this beat that HHH/Orton snoozefest from a couple years back for worst modern Mania main event? Then when Taker starts to wake up HHH yells at him to STAY DOWN. Stay down for what? He was down for a minute and HHH didn't do anything!Because they did that spot in two of Shawn's big recent Mania matches and it got over like gangbusters, so Trips just assumed it would work as well for him. what I learned from the reviewer guy at Scooty Keith's blog: If you thought HHH/Undertaker was a good match you're a retard who knows nothing about wrestling Christ. There's "SKeith standard idiocy", and then there's this. Dude sounds like Coey with a much poorer vocabulary. Sad that Scooter couldn't find anyone even close to relatively competent as himself to replace him on his own blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I didn't bother watching anything beside Trish Stratus entrance, is it me or does she look a bit aneroxic ?She had her implants removed right after she retired last time, so that's one big reason why she looks thinner. Amazing. That's an odd world we live in. I would never have guessed. I still wonder why they didn't make her dye her hair again, she looks different enough from her famous old self that I can easily imagine some fans not recognizing her. And man, isn't it amazing how quickly they managed to devalue TRISH STRATUS IS BACK into her just being another annoying generic Diva? I admit fast forwarding through the match after Trish's entrance, but yeah, she didn't seem like much of a big deal. Also, I was very underwhelmed by The Rock's use in general. I thought he would be all over the show, not just doing two or three stupid vignettes backstage. I understand he did pretty much the same things he did here on RAW the previous week ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJH Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 When they went to that insulting double-countout, I naturally assumed "oh, Rock will come out and restart it, and they'll go at least another ten minutes. But instead, they instantly jumped to the ROCK BOTTOM, ONE TWO THREE part. Zuh? So lame. Perhaps that was the plan. Even with what they did they went off at 3:59. There was some really bad time management somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boondocks Kernoodle Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 The double countout thing was pointless. They didn't need to do that to justify Rock coming out. He could have just come out right before the bell rang and did commentary, or just stood there at the entrance until his run-in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I expected Rock's music to start right before the bell rang and for him to come down and join JR and King for commentary and end up taking lots of bumps off of Miz setting Rock and Cena up to crash into each other quite a bit and for a ref bump to lead to lots of Rock interaction with both guys. Miz winning at the end didn't surprise me since there's no point in going back to Cena this soon, but Rock not being involved throughout the match did. I thought we'd get Attitude era booking, but no dice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I really didn't get the part in the HHH/Taker match where HHH went and brooded in the corner after hitting Taker with the chair. Was it supposed to be that he had immediate remorse and didn't want to win that way? He had a chance to beat Taker and chose not to, which is totally against his character. Then when Taker starts to wake up HHH yells at him to STAY DOWN. Stay down for what? He was down for a minute and HHH didn't do anything! Despite all the stuff that's been tossed out that typically makes me cringe, I was willing to give the match a chance whenever it comes out on DVD. But that one just lost me. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdw Posted April 4, 2011 Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 I didn't bother watching anything beside Trish Stratus entrance, is it me or does she look a bit aneroxic ?She had her implants removed right after she retired last time, so that's one big reason why she looks thinner. Although I'd assume that living as a yoga instructor tends to pack on fewer pounds than the road-life of constant Waffle House meals. I still wonder why they didn't make her dye her hair again, she looks different enough from her famous old self that I can easily imagine some fans not recognizing her. And man, isn't it amazing how quickly they managed to devalue TRISH STRATUS IS BACK into her just being another annoying generic Diva? "Removed" is the wrong word. More likely "swapped out for a smaller pair". From her website, that's an April 2011 issue... so brand new. This was fairly recent: Inside Fitness 111 They do look much better than the larger ones in the WWE days. But would be very suprised if she went from Big Implants to No Implants and could pull off the bikini shot that looks just a bit to symetrically perfect, even if it's obviously a flattering way to pose her. You do wonder how much the WWE is tossing at Austin and Trish to do the show. Clearly they want it to succeed and get another regular chunk of programing in the cycle. I'm a little surprised that they didn't save relaunching it to be one of the anchors of their eventual Wrestling Channel. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjh Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 You do wonder how much the WWE is tossing at Austin and Trish to do the show. Clearly they want it to succeed and get another regular chunk of programing in the cycle. Not sure if it's WWE tossing them the money or the production company that is making the show for them. Apparently the production company was the one that closed the deal with Austin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 "Removed" is the wrong word. More likely "swapped out for a smaller pair". Well, smaller breasts or not, that picture confirm my impression of her looking a bit anorexic. She looked a lot healthier during her WWF days. She needs a sandwich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Okay, if they can stick to this, it will probably be the biggest money match of all time. Hopefully, Cena does no jobs at all for the next year. There are actually quite a few ways they could go with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strummer Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 ballsy move to do a one year build. I like it though. Hopefully they stick with it. re: Trish she still looks great but she obviously is not clicking with the audience right now. I'm sure it has something to do with her just becoming "another wrestler" but she had no real heat as soon as she came back. I think a large portion of the fans are so young they don't recognize her. Plus she doesn't seem to fit in in a PG environment (at least not yet). And yes she does at times look freakishly skinny. The lack of implants (or smaller set) could be a big reason though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smkelly Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 That throws Taker-Cena out the window. So Meltzer, Keller, Caldwell, and Keith all liked the UT/HHH match, but a percentage of smart fans did not. Marks loved the match, people who get paid to write about the business loved the match, what does that say about smart marks? What is the consensus here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kowking Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I enjoyed the Triple H-Undertaker match. I thought it told its story well: one star desperately wants to destroy another, with the bigger star trying to come to terms with his mortality. It was surprisingly physical and all the spots except for the one mentioned in this thread earlier -- the idiotic "Stay down!" nonsense -- made a whole lot of sense. And I hated the rest of the show except Punk/Orton and Rhodes/Mysterio (with the latter being just okay -- wish Mysterio would stop working WWE style, though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Resident Evil Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 That throws Taker-Cena out the window. So Meltzer, Keller, Caldwell, and Keith all liked the UT/HHH match, but a percentage of smart fans did not. Marks loved the match, people who get paid to write about the business loved the match, what does that say about smart marks? What is the consensus here? Overall a great match though not perfect. People have compared it to other matches in the past but I feel it stands out on its own. If HHH's promo is true to his word at the beginning of Raw, HHH wants another shot at Taker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Sorrow Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I loved HHH/ Taker, and I liked the "Stay Down!" bit. It was HHH not "showing love for Taker", it was him basically telling a foe he respects to stay down, or else I'm gonna have to KILL YOU with more chair shots, a sledgehammer, and devastating moves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Okay, if they can stick to this, it will probably be the biggest money match of all time. Hopefully, Cena does no jobs at all for the next year. There are actually quite a few ways they could go with this. So, they are planning Rock vs Cena for next year ? So much can happen to derail this, it's pretty much risky. And it really makes this WM looks like another RAW episode in retrospect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loss Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Not only are they planning it, they announced it! They did build up Hogan/Savage for a year in 1988 and 1989, but 2011 Vince McMahon and the creative team aren't exactly 1988 Vince and Pat Patterson, who could really craft something brilliant with this. He's the guy that should be booking the buildup to this match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El-P Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 Not only are they planning it, they announced it! They better not screw that up then. I have no faith, of course. They did build up Hogan/Savage for a year in 1988 and 1989, but 2011 Vince McMahon and the creative team aren't exactly 1988 Vince and Pat Patterson, who could really craft something brilliant with this. He's the guy that should be booking the buildup to this match. It was an entirely different era too, with 4 PPV a year, angles taking months to unfolds. I don't see how it can be done nowadays to be honest. They don't remember what they did the previous month, and Vince is alwyas changing is mind about everything. They couldn't do the blow-off of Lawler vs Cole right. And Rocky won't be around all the time. They have a better chance of doing this if Rocky shows up once at SummerSlam to fuck with Cena, then from Royal Rumble on to WM next year. Anyway, this also screams "we can't make new stars" to me, they rely on The Rock two years in a row, and their other workhorse and big attraction is Taker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt D Posted April 5, 2011 Report Share Posted April 5, 2011 I loved HHH/ Taker, and I liked the "Stay Down!" bit. It was HHH not "showing love for Taker", it was him basically telling a foe he respects to stay down, or else I'm gonna have to KILL YOU with more chair shots, a sledgehammer, and devastating moves. Whether effective or not, I think it played off of HBK/Taker from last year where Shawn wouldn't stay down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.