[2005-04-03-WWE Wrestlemania XXI] John Bradshaw Layfield vs John Cena

[cactus]

I've started appreciate Bradshaw more as a worker in the last few years. He was great when he was fired up Texan hoss when he was in the APA, and he was completely despicable as JBL. He throws some stiff shots and bullies Cena around, but he's mostly boring when working on top. Cena shows great fire even if his hokey facials need work and leave a lot to be desired. Not a whole lot of interest happens here and the finish comes out of nowhere. The crowd were burnt out, but they came alive for the finish. 
★★

[ohtani's jacket]

Entertaining video package before the bout. Not only are these guys from drastically different walks of life, they throw some Austin vs. McMahon elements into the build. It's too bad that none of that is paid off in the match. I dunno who laid this out but they did a piss poor job. I don't have a problem with Bradshaw on offense. I think his stuff looks pretty good. However, it's clear that the crowd is waiting for Cena to hit some moves, so why not give him some shine in the beginning or tease a few comebacks? Cena finally gets on offense and boom the match is over. Cena's celebration is awkward but the bigger problem is that the win didn't feel earned. It's interesting that neither of the world title matches were well received on this show. It's a complete 180 from the year before. The WWE must have been aware since both matchups had much stronger return bouts.