Wrestle Mania 32... Live As It Happens

[goodhelmet]

Ok.... all the talking and conjecture is over. The show is about to begin. Let's talk about the actual show here.

[goc]

Seeing a lot of stuff on twitter about how long it's taking to let people in, are you inside yet?

[Ricky Jackson]

Booker T stinks

 

Lita is great

[Johnny Sorrow]

Haha, Graves was interviewing some drunk dude who I think yelled "IMA GONNA WATCH BROCK LESNAR GETS SOME AIDS!"

[goc]

Corey Graves looks to have gotten his jacket from the same tailor that Boyd Pierce used to use.

[WingedEagle]

Love Kalisto's outfit.

[Jimmy Redman]

Ads during matches on the pre show are so fucked up.

[C.S.]

Ads during matches on the pre show are so fucked up.

 

Came here to post exactly this. WTF? It's Wrestle-fucking-Mania. Why are there fucking ads? And if there has to be, why in the middle of a match?!

[Stiva]

Kalisto vs Ryback

 

Fun little opener with some nice spots based all around the size difference. It seems like "Wrestlemania Moment!" is going to be said after everything again.

[goc]

Ryback busted out some cool new stuff in that match with that delayed superplex and the modified Michinoku Driver. Was hoping he'd win actually.

[Parties]

Ryback vs. Kalisto [uS Title]

“Michinoku Driver?”

“...Modified.”

 

The extended superplex was awesome. Also: Mauro is stellar. Pulling the Bob Orton ref in that moment was so on point. Lawler heeling on Hayabusa was kind of shitty, but I assume he didn’t hear “the late” part of Ranallo’s line and that Lawler has no idea who Hayabusa is. Surprised to see Kalisto retain. Solid if totally uneventful, forgettable stuff.

[Matt D]

I am still at the supermarket doing the weekly shopping. This has to be the least consequential Mania ever.

[cpst]

They're even doing the commercials in the middle of Mania preshow matches. Come on...

 

Also, Tamina looks legitimately frightening.

[DMJ]

Yeah, no idea why they cut to a commercial there, but it's not the first time they've done it during a pre-show match.

 

I'm kinda curious what Lita's "big announcement" (she said she would make it during this hour). Any chance of a return to action?

 

The Divas are up now and, man, with Paige, it is just so noticeable how little of a fuck she gave during their entrance. I'm not saying she should be happy to be there, but compare her to Natalya, who's actually "working the corner" and trying to get the crowd involved, and I just think Paige has gone beyond playing up her gimmick (goth snob? Generally unimpressed tough girl?) and Is now just an actual brat who let her initial success go to her head.

[FMKK]

Yeah, no idea why they cut to a commercial there, but it's not the first time they've done it during a pre-show match.

 

I'm kinda curious what Lita's "big announcement" (she said she would make it during this hour). Any chance of a return to action?

 

The Divas are up now and, man, with Paige, it is just so noticeable how little of a fuck she gave during their entrance. I'm not saying she should be happy to be there, but compare her to Natalya, who's actually "working the corner" and trying to get the crowd involved, and I just think Paige has gone beyond playing up her gimmick (goth snob? Generally unimpressed tough girl?) and Is now just an actual brat who let her initial success go to her head.

 

Replacing the Divas Championship with a Women's Championship I think. So the rumours have been all week anyway, so that would make sense.

[Ricky Jackson]

I'm guessing Lita may present the new Women's title

[C.S.]

I just think Paige has gone beyond playing up her gimmick (goth snob? Generally unimpressed tough girl?) and Is now just an actual brat who let her initial success go to her head.

 

Her toxic attitude during Tough Enough and Total Divas didn't clue you in? Okay, I know those shows are somewhat scripted, but they have to be real enough because I don't think she'd willingly come across as such a whiny brat and emo diva.

[cpst]

Lana looks really awkward in the ring. Makes Eva Marie seem like Asuka. And they broke the trope of the multiwoman superplex that appears in every one of these matches by having it fail.

 

You can almost see the frustration from the women in this match who are actually good. They still lay their shit in when they get the chance, even though the structure of the match doesn't lend them any favors. Somehow Brie Bella is still pretty over.

[RCS1988]

Now the question is do they continue the Diva's title lineage or go back to the women's title lineage that ended in 2010 with Michelle McCool?

[C.S.]

Brie wins, as expected. I was hoping Eva would get the win for her team. Now Corey Graves is fawning over Eva, which has to be one of my favorite things in WWE/NXT.

[goodhelmet]

Just got in the arena.Missed Ryback. Caught the end of the women's tag.

[Strummer]

Poor Emma seemed to the only one not to get a reaction from the crowd

[WingedEagle]

Thought Emma looked great there.

[Parties]

Total Divas (Brie Bella/Natalya/Paige/Alicia Fox/Eva Marie) vs. Bad and Blonde (Lana/Naomi/Tamina/Emma/Summer Rae)

Emma was the MVP here with the badass Max Max look, the wheelbarrow suplex, and serving as the ring general who kept everything in check. Also liked Naomi’s kicks and Natalya’s stomp. Fox should have been in more. Even Lana was fine, with Tamina looking like the only clunky one here. I maintain that Eva Marie will be a good worker a year from now and that the crowd is wrong on her. I genuinely enjoyed this as I am a mark for 5-on-5 stuff even when it’s pretty short/elementary, and am always rooting for a good women’s division.

 

I concur with the sentiment that Booker is terrible, but in a way that’s familiar to me as a guy who watches NFL/NBA/MLB stuff where you need one retired player on every panel who speaks in nothing but cliches and meandering non-predictive hype.

[cowboy hats]

Is there a shitty concert lined up to waste my time during the show?