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WrestleMania 40


flyonthewall2983

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Judging by the reactions around, it sure is tedious city. Greatest Mania Ever not even close thus far in term of feedback, and the best match on paper already has happened. I wanna watch the whole thing for historical purpose, because it really is the first Vince-less Mania (or is it ?) and a landmark in term of opening a new era (or is it ?), but everything I read about the main event makes it look like my personal idea of pro-wrestling hell.

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4 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

That was presented to him by Muhammad Ali’s Widow at the HOF. It is the official title of “The People’s Champ” which is a moniker that The Rock “took” from Ali in 1998 (with permission.)

Cameron Grimes had the million dollar belt recently, right? I’d watch him feud with the Rock.

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5 hours ago, The Thread Killer said:

That was presented to him by Muhammad Ali’s Widow at the HOF. It is the official title of “The People’s Champ” which is a moniker that The Rock “took” from Ali in 1998 (with permission.)

I thought that seemed kind of weird. Do you think maybe when they were still going with the original plan of Rock vs Roman, that Rock was going to win? And maybe that belt was created to replace the current Universal belt for the time period that Rock held it?

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I think people are being a bit harsh on the main event.

Had "Big Fight Feel." Crowd was generally into it and much louder than they'd been for some of the other matches despite the temperature, which I'm guessing was close to 40 by that point and maybe lower?

Of course, it is going to start slow and build to the big interactions. That's been every Roman Reigns match for the past couple years (to varying success) and, considering The Rock's age and endurance, you had to know the match was going to feature lengthy stretches where he'd be on the outside catching his breath with equally lengthy segments where they'd do the exact same "shit"* that helped him stretch out his matches back then (namely brawling in the crowd and jawing with referees/commentators). All in all, it checked all the boxes.

Now, if that's not your thing, fine, but its kinda like going to Pizza Hut and being upset that pad thai isn't on the menu. 

Or expecting a big Marvel summer blockbuster to wrap up in a tight and efficient 88 minutes instead of needlessly going 150.

Great false finish with the double pedigrees in a match with a conclusion that everybody predicted going in too. 

Yes, there was some "holding back"...but, again, they have to leave something for tonight and, to be honest, without The Rock's star power and aura, I'm not sure tonight's match is going to actually be as good as this. We'll see...

I'm as anti-Rollins as they get most times, but I thought his selling was better than usual in that he's usual a D- but, in this match, he was closer to a C. Yes, its silly that a guy who is selling a severely damaged knee is also going for top rope splashes and Curb Stomps and whatnot, but at least he's doing it in the context of the biggest match of his career. I find it much more egregious when he's doing it in run-of-the-mill TV matches on Raw against JD McDonaugh or Baron Corbin. Or maybe I'm getting softer in my old age.

 


Zayn/GUNTHER was the clear MOTN, but I still wouldn't consider it an all-time classic. Needed a little more time and, maybe its just me, but GUNTHER losing because he lost focus and was going back-and-forth with Sami's wife just seemed...I dunno...a little out of character? I don't watch the weekly TV, but I thought GUNTHER's thing was that he was almost an emotionless Terminator who could be boastful at times, but was generally laser-focused when the bell rang. I dunno. Just felt like they went too far with the Rocky III idea and turned GUNTHER into Clubber Lang when he's never before been that.

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45 minutes ago, DMJ said:

I don't watch the weekly TV, but I thought GUNTHER's thing was that he was almost an emotionless Terminator who could be boastful at times, but was generally laser-focused when the bell rang. I dunno. Just felt like they went too far with the Rocky III idea and turned GUNTHER into Clubber Lang when he's never before been that.

He started out as that, but there was a constant progression into him going from Ivan Drago (inevitable juggernaut) to Clubber Lang (boastful champion). I think that the feud against Chad Gable, which I'm pretty sure was just featured on TV, made that transition clear.

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1 hour ago, DMJ said:

I think people are being a bit harsh on the main event.

Had "Big Fight Feel." Crowd was generally into it and much louder than they'd been for some of the other matches despite the temperature, which I'm guessing was close to 40 by that point and maybe lower?

Of course, it is going to start slow and build to the big interactions. That's been every Roman Reigns match for the past couple years (to varying success) and, considering The Rock's age and endurance, you had to know the match was going to feature lengthy stretches where he'd be on the outside catching his breath with equally lengthy segments where they'd do the exact same "shit"* that helped him stretch out his matches back then (namely brawling in the crowd and jawing with referees/commentators). All in all, it checked all the boxes.

Now, if that's not your thing, fine, but its kinda like going to Pizza Hut and being upset that pad thai isn't on the menu. 

Or expecting a big Marvel summer blockbuster to wrap up in a tight and efficient 88 minutes instead of needlessly going 150.

Great false finish with the double pedigrees in a match with a conclusion that everybody predicted going in too. 

Yes, there was some "holding back"...but, again, they have to leave something for tonight and, to be honest, without The Rock's star power and aura, I'm not sure tonight's match is going to actually be as good as this. We'll see...

I'm as anti-Rollins as they get most times, but I thought his selling was better than usual in that he's usual a D- but, in this match, he was closer to a C. Yes, its silly that a guy who is selling a severely damaged knee is also going for top rope splashes and Curb Stomps and whatnot, but at least he's doing it in the context of the biggest match of his career. I find it much more egregious when he's doing it in run-of-the-mill TV matches on Raw against JD McDonaugh or Baron Corbin. Or maybe I'm getting softer in my old age.

 


Zayn/GUNTHER was the clear MOTN, but I still wouldn't consider it an all-time classic. Needed a little more time and, maybe its just me, but GUNTHER losing because he lost focus and was going back-and-forth with Sami's wife just seemed...I dunno...a little out of character? I don't watch the weekly TV, but I thought GUNTHER's thing was that he was almost an emotionless Terminator who could be boastful at times, but was generally laser-focused when the bell rang. I dunno. Just felt like they went too far with the Rocky III idea and turned GUNTHER into Clubber Lang when he's never before been that.

Felt the same way about the reaction to the main.  I think most of the people who really hated it had formed that opinion long before it ever happened.  It wasn’t great by any means but there was far too much “worst match ever” hyperbole.

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To be honest I'm glad they went with a sprint instead of slow building match.

3 minutes ago, KawadaSmile said:

I get they want to make Seth a fighting champ, but you can run "he's all banged up, can he win?" story so many times. His knee is messed up and his offense basically required him to no-sell it.

It's like Nakamura in New Japan, lol.

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Credit where credit is due, that was one hell of a match. Just chucking bombs at each other while not going long enough to overstay their welcome. Seth kicking out of three claymores was a bit excessive, but the fact that the fourth one put him down mitigated it. This is the second year in a row a Rollins Mania match has greatly exceeded my expectations.

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