[2016-04-03-WWE-Wrestlemania XXXII] Roman Reigns vs HHH

[GOTNW]

Look it might not match Yoji Kuri shorts in terms of the weirdest stuff I've ever seen but if we look strictly at pro wrestling Triple H's entrance is up there. Roman Reigns gets the Chris Jericho vs CM Punk Wrestlemania 28 entrance, you'd think he's about to be Booker T'd and not win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in front of the biggest Wrestlemania crowd in history. I liked this a lot, it did feel like a match that had more thought put into it than it should've but my impression is that with different participants and a different crowd this same exact match would get completely different reviews. And, I dont want to downplay the importance crowd reactions has to some folks when ratings stuff but.....IDK I drowned the noise out. I liked all the early brawling, Reigns has a good punch and Triple H was solid as well, his side headlock punches didn't look much different than Flair's really and I popped for him busting out a bunch of new shit to pop himself. Reigns took a sweet bump on the Swinging Neckbreaker off the table, though you do question off all the moves you could do why would you do a Swinging Neckbreaker where you take a bump even when you're executing the move. Then again most pro wrestlers are supposed to be dumb. Triple H busting out the second rope knee drop was interesting as well, and even if I could see the counter coming when he went for it the second time I still thought it looked good so I didn't mind it that much. Reigns should probably drop the corner clotheslines and replace them with the 10 corner punches. The Clothesline over the steel steps looked cool but following it up with three steel steps bumps was pretty much the definition of diminishing returns. The Spear through the barricade would be another example of that, just a few years ago it felt like a holy shit spot and now it's just another transitional spot I didn't even pop for that much. Steph as the evil witch was hilarious at ringside, have to laugh at anyone who ever argued she was the best non-wrestler at any point. I did like the armwork, Triple H doing Fujiwara tribute spots was too amusing for me to complain about it and none of the spots went that long. My response to the Inoki comparison and the pre-MMA armbars is that I sat through a bunch of those matches and I found this more amusing than Inoki and Andre The Giant rolling around. I really don't see any point in Reigns doing a sit out for his power spot, it just makes it look even less impressive when it's a move for which he can't deadlift the other guy all the way up in the first place. I really liked the way they used finishers, never felt like they were there just for a cheap pop, first Spear had the Steph interference to *theoretically* build heat and the first Pedigree was just after Reigns Speared Stephanie and that whole sequence felt huge. Triple H holding onto the hammer after Reigns Superman Punched him was solid work on his part to build drama and I liked that final sequence a lot as well. I'd have this at ***1/4 which is like what Meltzer have it I think. But screw it, I shit on more than enough pro wrestling matches, I can like one no one else likes.