Wrestlemania XXI Thoughts

Loss · April 4, 2005

I've said it before, but this would make the 8th consecutive WM where they've had that scratch logo. The Attitude era is long over, and I think it's time to move on. Also, this set looks pretty much the exact same as the set has the past few years. WM X-7 looked amazing at the time, and I guess they thought so too, to a point where they've pretty much done the exact same look every year since.

Eddy v Rey - I felt like this match ended abruptly. Everything that was here was really good, although I felt like it should have been better. Rey seemed to be having worlds of trouble keeping his mask on. People have complained about the match being too short, but I really don't think that was the problem, so much as it was that the match was paced as if it was going to go 30 minutes and it didn't even go half of that time. Eddy kept Rey grounded, which was his job, and more so than Benoit, Guerrero has made a fantastic transition away from most of his high-risk moves into a more focused, grounded offense. He is more credible as a result, almost too credible (and too over) to be in this spot on the show. Eddy's powerbomb just may be one of the best wrestling spots in Wrestlemania history. Rey was his usual awesome self, but I was expecting to see him pull out all the spots and maybe unleash some stuff we don't see from him in every match, but that wasn't the case. The crowd seemed to be more genuinely into this match than any match on the show, probably because it's SoCal and this match featured possibly the two biggest draws they have in that market. This match could have happened on Smackdown, but even there, I have a feeling it might have seemed like a letdown. Nowhere near Havoc, obviously, and definitely nowhere near the far-too-underrated title defense Eddy had on Smackdown just after last year's WM.

HHH/JBL altercation was good stuff, if nothing spectacular. JBL comes across as someone who could be fucking awesome on a regular basis, both in the ring and on the mic, if he was in a better environment. I'd like to see him in feuds with Benoit and Eddy getting in mic duels with guys like Flair and Rock. As it stands, he's not really the kind of guy that can carry a match or segment on his own. I think he'll probably be far more over now that he's not going to be the champ, and I think they should move him to RAW and keep him in the upper midcard.

MITB Ladder Match - In terms of great spotfests of the past few years, probably closer to TLC III than TLC I or II, because Benoit can motherfucking sell like no one else when he's up to it. Kane kept up nicely with everyone else in the ring, and even did a dive from the top rope to the floor at one point in this indy-feeling match. Christian is really good at keeping everyone else in check in these sorts of matches, but no one really gave him any chances to make himself look good, which bothered me. After the ladder conchairto, I would have liked to have seen Christian turn on Edge and start beating the shit out of him, but it wasn't to be. Jericho was barely even in this match at all, which didn't really fit the build at all, since the match was his idea. Benoit was great here, considering the environment, and I love him selling his arm after the match so much where he's actually biting the ring apron and wincing in pain. His mini-battle with Kane where he just starts headbutting him repeatedly was fantastic, as was his flying headbutt from the top of the ladder. Shelton Benjamin was the star of the match. His selling wasn't as good as Benoit's, but he did everything else (kill and be killed) better than anyone else in the match. He does some incredible highspots, and he'll probably be more over than ever coming out of this match. Fuck Batista. Fuck Cena. This is the guy who should have won the belt this year. He's their future and they need to push him very hard very soon. As it stands, Edge did less than anyone in the match and still managed to secure the win, but he was the right choice to go over. *** seems right. As a collection of spots, it's ****1/2 or better, but it's just not believable for guys to be out of the action as long as they were here.

The Hogan/Eugene/Hassan segment was nicely done, in terms of giving the crowd a nice dose of Hulkastalgia, but I don't like the idea of a 51-year old cartoon character dominating a guy who's supposed to be one of the next huge heels they're pushing. I do like that they kept an opening for a Hogan/Hassan match there, which if promoted properly will draw a nice short-term gate, but I would have switched the focus back to Eugene in the end by having him return to the ring and have the markout moment of his life posing alongside Hulk Hogan. It just makes sense. That said, Hogan looked in better shape than he did in 2002.

Undertaker v Randy Orton was a nice little match, actually, but not anything worth going out of the way to see. 'Taker seemed really motivated to have a great match, and Orton did his best. This is a feud that would get better with time as the two gained familiarity with each other, because they're not doing anything wrong really, but it doesn't all come together as coherently and tightly as it should. Almost a total lack of energy until Bob Orton Jr. interfered, and his facial expressions and charisma trumped both of the guys in the ring. While I understand Taker going over here, I almost wish they wouldn't have done this match, because it puts Orton in a no-win situation. If he wins, he still has to take time off for surgery and no one buys his victory as credible anyway. If he loses, especially after the rough last six months or so he's had, it makes it seem like all he ever was in the first place was talk, and not even very good talk. It's sad that all of Foley's efforts were wasted on someone who just doesn't have it, no matter how hard he tries. But therein lies the dilemma with the Undertaker -- having him get wins kills everyone else and having him lose is ridiculous because no one buys it as the real deal. So what do you do?

Trish v Christy was next. Trish tried very hard to pull something out here, and there were segments of the match where she was actually wrestling herself and pulling Hemme in the right direction for spots, but it didn't work out as well as it should have. Trish is still an awesome heel though, and still should be a main event character. I'd book her to come on to Batista tonight, only for him to blow her off, leading to Trish managing several heels to come after Batista over time. She's too good for this crap.

Kurt Angle v Shawn Michaels - I missed the first half of this match, which probably made it better than it really was. The last half of this was just superb, with Angle going after Shawn's back like a bloodthirsty wolf and Shawn selling it like a champ. Shawn did his kip-up here, which was totally out of place considering all the focus Angle had put into decimating his back. I was watching with a casual fan, who remarked that she's sick of hearing about Shawn's bad back, because he's been back for a few years now, and he'd already be gone if it was that bad. Funny. The transitions here were stronger than they usually are in Angle matches, probably because Shawn has a much better grasp of what to do between moves than Kurt does, and it shows. I thought the finish actually weakened the supposed instant damage of the ankle lock, although I did like Shawn trying to reverse it and make the ropes and do everything else he could before tapping out. There was a lot of suspense once Angle locked on the hold, and if Shawn is on crutches tonight selling the after-effects, I won't bitch about it. The last half of this was probably **** or so, but with the first half included, I'm not sure how that will turn out. Lots of great nearfalls for some big moves on Angle's part, and Shawn's facial expressions all the way through were great. The crowd wasn't into this at all untill the finish, which sucked, because a "dream match" like this needs atmosphere as much as it does anything else. The crowd sucked all night actually.

Piper's Pit segment with Austin was a total waste. It was nice seeing Piper act himself again, for the first time in God knows how long. If all of his work was this carefully scripted, he could come back in a speaking role and be great. Piper's response to the "What?" chants was terrific. Carlito coming out was a nice touch, but I don't like the idea of Austin killing both of them. It's surreal seeing Steve now in the same comic sideshow as Hogan and Piper, but if they're going to involve active talent in this, the active talent needs to come out looking good. I don't have a lot of faith in Carlito or anything, but he has a decent amount of charisma and shouldn't be selling for guys whose glory days are long over.

Big Show v Akebono - I actually had no problem with this match happening, just because I thought it would be a great way to establish Show as a big deal, but this did anything but that. I know that's traditional sumo gear, but they really should have worn different attire for an audience that's not used to seeing that sort of thing. Show losing to Akebono was just ridiculous on every level imaginable, though, which is a shame, because he's become such a smart worker in the past year, and he's probably more capable now than he'll ever be of being somewhat like Andre. I do not understand the reasoning behind jobbing him at all.

JBL v Cena - JBL carried the match, and as I said before, without someone outstanding across the ring, it's just flat. Match had no heat, and Cena's big win didn't come across as anything more special than Rhyno beating Val Venis on Heat. Unfortunate. I do like the subtle changes they've made in Cena's character to make him more serious, but I don't like the stupid things he does, like pump up his tennis shoes. He's not a wrestler; he's just this mass-marketing wet dream, and I fear the fans are going to turn on him in a major way if he doesn't do something to make himself more credible at some point. Yeah, he's probably making a killing off of merchandise, but he'd be making the same whether they ever put him in the title picture or not. With Eddy jobbing tonight, the only strong opponent he has lined up is Angle, and he's going to need him in the worst way. Crowd didn't react at all.

Finally, HHH v Batista. Way too long with way too much sympathy put on the monster face, as I think most of us expected. HHH has this annoying habit of taking a leisurely stroll around the ring between even the smallest, most insignificant moves, and the pace of the match just gets so dragged down with it. He did do a lot of things right -- the staredown was great, the entrance was great, the blade job was great. Batista making a comeback shaking the ropes like he's the Ultimate Warrior after being dominated for 80% of the match was all wrong. The right person won though, and the match wasn't terribly offensive, just really boring with no heat unless Flair was interfering or the crowd thought the match was about to end.

Overall, the show was about what I thought it would be, but I'm more interested in the upcoming draft and its implications than I was anything on this show.

April 4, 2005

Edge did less than anyone in the match and still managed to secure the win, but he was the right choice to go over.

This happens in virtually every ladder match he's in. Edge does nothing and gets the glory.

I competely agree with you about Cena. He gets some comparrisons to Rock because of the mic skills and silly moves. But Rock knew how to work, he knew when to do the Elbow and how to work it in. Watching Cena it seems like he has no idea. He'll be in teh ring and his opponent will be down and for know reason he starts pumping his shoes and drops a fist on his head. I think Cena is becoming a self fullfilling prophesy. They booked him as a brawler because he couldn't work and rather than learning to work he just went with the brawling. And I think he's actually gotten worse. His timing sucks, his moveset is lame and pedestrian (his finisher is alwful, a vertical suplex looks more devastating), but his selling can be good on occasion.

Good write up, Loss. How long did the HHH/Batista match go?

I didn't see the show, I was busy watching the Yankees kill my Red Sox and getting shitfaced. A girl came over the house I was at and she saw WM. I was told it was "best WM ever." She was a mark and probably not a big fan.

Marty · April 4, 2005

According to CRZ's Q'n'D report, HHH-Batista went around 21 minutes.

Good write-up, Loss. The show sounds good enough for me to throw a look.

April 4, 2005

Several of my friends ended up going to the show. I listened to them for about 4 hours when they came back over to my house.

The wrestling sucked. No one there cared for the roided up pretty boys. Batista, Cena, and Orton will never draw. Shelton Benjamin and Eddy were the guys that everyone wanted to see in the ME. JBL vs. Eddy and HHH vs. Benjamin for the titles would have probably gotten the crowd to pop.

Cena is like a Dusty Rhodes idea gone bad. Parade around the wigger. That's what everyone I spoke to thought about Cena. He just comes off as a flippin wannabe who can't even string together an entertaining match for more than 5 minutes. Another OVW come-up-too-early reject.

Here's another problem that they told me was the cause for the lame crowd:

Spots, spots, and more spots.

The crowd was just totally turned off by the crummy matches. LA is a *smart* area where fans appreciate good wrestling transitions instead of jerkoff spotfests. Many of the older folks here grew up watching Lucha and transitions are a heavy part of the style. That's not how the WWE Style works.

That's what the Ladder match and HBK/Angle matches were. One of my buddies rated both of those matches at around *** along with bringing up how the matches were just total clusterfucks and didn't do anything to entice fans to care until the finish, which is the only thing that brought the fans back into the match. It was: who's going to win? Not, I want him or her to win. It was just: who is going to win with no afterthought of the other 4/5's of the match time since it was a blur.

The multiple Angle Slams were a sight to behold but they didn't mean a damn in the long run. HBK's kip up is as bad as Hogan's no-selling schtick. All of Angle's hard work went down the tubes.

People are not going to cheer for the matches. They're only going to cheer for the spots since that's the WWE style.

The Hogan and Piper spots were for good nostalgia. No one will pay to see them on shows though. They're just a comedy act now and should be treated as one unless Vince wants to make them look all dignified after trashing the dinosaurs for the past 10 years. Just drop them off in opener matches and be done with it. That's the only way these guys would be able to continue to endear themselves to fans. Jannetty should be treated this way along with any other 80's worker that Vince decides to give another shot to.

Speaking of...

Vince sabotaged SD! so he could make RAW look stronger and it worked. We saw the results last night when LA, one of the stronger TV areas for wrestling, could give two shits about the SD! match. Now, Vince is paying for it. Eddy should have been booked into the Title match, not Cena.

The HHH/Batista match was booked wrong. Dead wrong. Going 20 + minutes with HHH exposed Batista. The dude is supposed to be a beast that kills guys dead in handicap matches in less than 5 minutes. Yet he can't put away HHH in less than 10 minutes. The WWE booked the *obvious* HHH match where everyone saw this dog being run ragged. That looked too hokey. Austin was a tough guy but even he needed about 15 minutes to finish off HBK at Mania 14. But the difference was that HBK was a slick guy in that match who used every trick in his book to survive Austin's onslaught and pray for the out-of-nowhere Sweet Chin Music to finish off the SOB. HHH on the otherhand just dominated, and dominated, and dominated, bled, and dominated, and dominated, and dominated until Batista shook off all of that "work" done to him and finished off HHH in lame Heyman booking fashion.

"Hokey" was the word that I heard brought up a lot. All of the matches looked hokey. Spots, spots, and more spots. People got sick of it. The Eddy/Rey match should have been booked for 20 + minutes, not HHH/Batista. The Cena/JBL match was just horrid to watch because no one was interested in either guy since both are blatantly limited in the ring and it showed...too much.

The NWA would put the title around the *best* heavyweight wrestler in the country that had some marketing value to them. Cena and Batista are not the best wrestlers on the roster nor do they project that aura or presence to them when they enter the ring.

LA got burned in 2000 with the Foley return, the McMahon circle jerk and also watching HHH walk out of the ring as the champ. Vince fried this town after that. The only guys people care for are Eddy and Rey. Eddy has lost *twice* now on the Mania cards in LA; once to friggin Chyne and the other to a troublesome masked Mysterio. People here want Eddy to *win* and not get shafted. He's like a God down here.

This city has gotten burned with shitty Mania's every year the WWE has come down here to peddle it's product. Hogan/Slaughter, Hart/Michaels, HHH/Rock/Mankind/Show and now Cena/JBL along with Batista/HHH were either snooze fests or poorly booked matches with bad finishes that have just deflated this town. It's burned out and tired. Vince needs to go stay away from here for 10 years if he expects to get another good crowd fromt his town. Coming back in another 5 will not be any better, and possibly worse.

Now, I'm going to have to watch this show to see for myself what all the hubbub is about.

April 4, 2005

I enjoyed the show. Everything on the card lived up to my expectations, so I really can't complain. At all.

April 4, 2005

My thoughts on the show: