WWE FastLane 2015 Review

Six Man Tag Team Match
The Authority(Seth Rollins, Big Show and Kane) def. Dolph Ziggler, Erick Rowan and Ryback(13:01)
Thoughts: This wass a good choice to open the show. WWE does six-man tags well, they've established this feud and the crowd gets into Ziggler & Rollins big time. The obvious negative is that we have to watch Kane and Big Show. The heels got the heat on Rowan, which was a huge mistake because no one gives a damn about Rowan, at all. I mean, you have Dolph up on the corner and the crowd ALWAYS reacts huge for him. The best plan would be to get the heat of Ziggler and give the hot tag to Ryback. Eventually, Ryback does get the hot tag and lays out everyone. He shell shock's Rollins, but a big splash by Show to Ryback allows Ziggler to tag in and after a few minutes of doing what he does, he eats a jumping KO punch from the Show, which was really impressive, for the three count. Overall, this was a solid outing. The final few minutes were great and action packed but we had to sit through one of the most dull babyface in peril segments I’ve seen in some time with Rowan to get there.
Rating: ***

Goldust def. Stardust(8:55)
Thoughts: Cody has changed up his look a bit here, dropping the top of the body suit and going partial face paint, which I like. I hoped that he would keep that look, but it doesn't look like he will. Anyway, these two have been working to get this feud and match for the last three years or so and they got it, but unfortunately the crowd was not into this. What resulted was a very boring match. The crowd didn’t care for the storyline and weren’t engaged in Stardust’s antics or cared about Goldust playing face in peril. This ended up being a huge disappointment considering these two have wanted to have their one on one program for years. If I could describe this match in one word, it would be: Letdown.
Rating: *1/2

WWE Tag Team Championship
Tyson Kidd and Cesaro def. The Usos(c)(9:33)
Thoughts: Unlike the previous match, the work in this match was really good. The problem is that the crowd just could not get invested until the final stretch, which is a shame. Now I gotta say, it was a surprise that Kidd and Cesaro won the Tag Titles here since I feel it would be more important if they won them at Wrestlemania...granted, it would've been on the Pre=Show, but it would still be Wrestlemania! Be that as it may, I’m happy Kidd and Cesaro are getting a run with the belts and hopefully they get a long run with them and get a few more matches with the Usos cause I know both teams are capable of greater matches. Not that this was bad, cause it wasn't. It's just I feel both teams can produce something better.
Rating: ***1/4

WWE Divas Championship
Nikki Bella(c) def. Paige(5:34)
Thoughts: There isn't really a whole lot to talk about with this one. Yeah, there was that one screw up with the botched corner roll-up, but other than that, this was actually a solid effort and better than usual Diva’s match. The crowd still could have cared less about this match, but at least the effort was there this time around. Both women looked good here and the major problem here was lack of time, as it normally is for Divas matches. Otherwise, a solid outing here.
Rating: **1/4

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Bad News Barrett(c) def. Dean Ambrose via DQ(7:58)
Thoughts: While it was funny to see how Dean got this match, the build-up wasn't exactly the stuff of legends. But that doesn't really matter; what matters is what these two produce in the ring...and it was a little bit of a letdown. The match was picking up steam before the finish, so chalk this up as another disappointment on this show. I really don’t get what their end game is with Ambrose. Personally, I think that sooner or later, all these crappy finishes are going to kill the poor guy. 
Rating: **1/2

WWE United States Championship
Ruzev(c) def. John Cena(16:45)
Thoughts: I really liked the build to this one and I was really looking forward to this one. Cena always delivers on PPV and going up against Ruzev, you know that John will bring the best out of him and that exactly what we got. The problem with this match was that, once again, the crowd wasn’t all that into the match, which really says something bad about the product. I mean between the USA vs Russia theme and the fact that the crowd always reacts one way or another to Cena, the overall lack of fucks given here is alarming. They eventually got into the finishers and such, but that’s about it. Cena fought forever in the accolade, he was breaking it when Lana got in the ring and the ref took his time to escort her out. With the distraction, Rusev kicked Cena in the balls and then superkicked his head off, reapplied the accolade and Cena passed out. Without a doubt, I can say that this was Ruzev best performance of his career so far. They actually made him look at a monster against one of the few legitimate threats on the roster. I loved they built up to Cena finally landing the AA after multiple attempts and Rusev seeming to know Cena’s offense, having some sort of counter at every turn. While this was missing some big impact moments and some spots that really could have stretched Cena’s vulnerability to put this over the top as something special were missing too, this was still the best thing the show produced at this point.
Rating: ***1/2

Main Event: Number 1 Contender's Match
Roman Reigns def. Daniel Bryan(22:51)
Thoughts: Both men have a legit claim to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania, so he we are. Now let me just say this: If Roman Reigns were up against opponents like D-Bry and NOT BIG SHOW during the build towards Royal Rumble, then I don't think the backlash for him winning the Rumble would be anywhere as severe as it was. Yes, I agree with the majority of you that he has been forced down our throats as the next chosen one, that his promos blow and his matches aren’t organic, but if he had a run of matches like this, with opponents like D-Bry and have strong competitive battles where Reigns proved he was the better man, his run to Wrestlemania probably would've been much stronger. Overall, this was an excellent match and Bryan worked his ass off to make Reigns look strong as he possibly could and a great way to end the show.
Rating: ****

Final Rating:

2.86 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII Review

March to Mania Year 3: 
WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII Review

World Heavyweight Championship
Sheamus def. Daniel Bryan(c)(0:18)
Thoughts: Given that Edge/Del Rio opened at Mania 27, it makes sense that this match would open Mania 28. Now watching this live, I expected Sheamus to win, but certainly not like the way he did. With that said, I definitely understand the notion that because Bryan has retained the championship in bizarre and fluky ways during his entire reign, it seems only fitting that he should lose it in such a bizarre and fluky way as well. However, while that concept might play out fine on Smackdown or a smaller PPV, I’m not sure I can ever get behind the idea of eighteen second title matches at WrestleMania. Still, to see Sheamus win like that was so epic, so I can't really hate on it and they do get an actual match at the next PPV. So if you want to see a great Sheamus/D-Bry match, check that one out.
Rating: N/A(+5 for Epic Squash)

Kane def. Randy Orton(10:58)
Thoughts: This was a perfectly fine little match, but it really seemed like the same sort of match we see on Smackdown every week. I expect something special from every match at WrestleMania and this match didn’t deliver that. However, the most notable aspect of this match was that fact that Kane picked up the win. I expected Orton to defeat the monster and begin his built to an eventual title match, so having Kane get the pin was definitely a shock. Though to be fair, Kane, at the time, hadn't won a PPV match since...I can't remember the last time actually and after a draw and loss to Cena in the first two 2012 PPV's, he needed a win on PPV badly.
Rating: **3/4 

WWE Intercontinental Championship
The Big Show def. Cody Rhodes(c)(
Thoughts: This certainly wasn't a technical classic, but it did provide a feel-good moment for Show winning both the IC and the Grand Slam Championships and provided a logical finale to his feud with Cody Rhodes. Big Show didn't really need the IC Belt, so thankfully his reign didn't last long.
Rating: **

Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly def. Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres(6:22)
Thoughts: This action in this match was little more than the standard Divas tag team match fare, but what is definitely remarkable is that Maria Menounos wrestled the match with fractured and/or broken ribs and feet. Many celebrities in her position would have backed out of the match all togethe, and most of the rest would have stood on the apron for the entire match without taking a single bump. To her credit, Maria wrestled a substantial fraction of the match and allowed Beth and Eve to exploit her injuries. She had to be in pain the entire time, and I give her a ton of credit for every bit of effort she put in here. She’s not a wrestler. This isn’t her career. She didn’t need to do this. And yet she did. In my mind, that makes her a true professional, whether or not she ever steps foot in the ring again.
Rating: *1/2
 

'End of an Era' Hell in a Cell Match
The Undertaker def. Triple H(30:47)
Thoughts: I think there are some people who probably say this match went 10 minutes too long, but I say to hell with those people. This was a masterpiece, not in technical wrestling, but in story-telling. It told a story that has been building for decades and it did an absolutely phenomenal job of providing resolution and closure to that story. Despite all the animosity between these three men and despite them all having truly legendary egos, the truth that emerged in Hell in a Cell is that none of them truly wanted to be the one to end an era. When Triple H had the Undertaker beaten, he repeatedly begged Shawn Michaels to call the match. Later in the match, the Undertaker hesitated before finishing Triple H, waiting just a moment to give Triple H the chance to surrender. And through it all, Shawn Michaels proved that all he really wanted to do was the right thing. He never counted fast or slow and he never robbed either man of his dignity by calling the match. Back then, I thought that the perfect way for this match to end would be to have Triple H finally end the streak, but now I can see that this scenario was just as good – if not better. The story that was told after the match was truly beautiful, as years of tension and resentment faded way, leaving only respect and camaraderie. Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker helped Triple H to the top of the ramp and all three men turned to look back on their fans and their careers as they got a standing ovation. They embraced each other and the next phase of their lives before ducking behind the curtain. It probably should've been the final match for both Undertaker and Triple H, but then we would've never seen Taker/Punk from Mania 29 or HHH/D-Bry from Mania 30. But then Brock would never have ended the streak.
Rating: *****
 

10 Man Tag Team Match
Team Johnny(The Miz, David Otunga, Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, Jack Swagger and Drew McIntyre) def. Team Teddy(Santino Marella, R-Truth, Kofi Kingston, Zack Ryder, The Great Khali and Booker T)(10:32)
Thoughts: Between active wrestlers, general managers, flag bearers, girlfriends, and Bellas, there were TWENTY people involved in this match. It’s almost impossible to have that many people all play a memorable role in a match, and in trying to do so the end result was a muddled mess. All that really stands out in the end is that Booker T played face-in-peril quite well. In the end, Miz was able to shine at WrestleMania by picking up a key win and Zack Ryder was kicked in the nuts, both physically and metaphorically, in just about every way humanly possible. Why he got de-pushed like that, I'll never understand. I would have loved to see Team Teddy get the win so that Teddy Long could take over Raw and Smackdown, fade into the background and let the in-ring talent shine, but I think we all knew WWE loves evil authority figures too much to pass up the opportunity to let John Laurinaitis run both shows, if only for a brief amount of time.
Rating: ** 

WWE Championship
CM Punk(c) def. Chris Jericho(22:23)
Thoughts: When I first heard they were doing a Punk/Jericho match for this show, I fell in love with the idea and after watching it live and re-watching it a few times, I'm happy to say this delivered in a major way. Heading into the show, I did wonder if the storyline would overshadow the wrestling...and it looked like that for a few minutes, but then things picked up and everything from then on was awesome. It had a great closing sequence to end the match with. Thankfully, these two would get a second PPV match at the following PPV and they would have another great match there as well. 
Rating: ****1/2

Main Event: The Rock def. John Cena(30:34)
Thouhgts: Some didn’t like the mix of old school WWF/Hogan era action on this one, but being I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. They built this match wonderfully and the crowd was with them throughout. This crowd was as crazy as the crowd from Wretlemania 18 where Rock/Hogan took place, but that had a different feel. Cena delivered on the big stage like he always does and The Rock looked pretty great considering his long layoff. I mean, he went 30 minutes after being gone for more than 8 years. Great job by both men...But of course, Once in a Lifetime didn't stay that way for very long.
Rating: ****1/4

Final Rating:

3.86 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Elimination Chamber 2012

March to Mania Year 3: 
WWE Elimination Chamber 2012

Elimination Chamber Match: WWE Championship
CM Punk(c) def. The Miz, Chris Jericho, Kofi Kingstion, Dolph Ziggler and R-Truth(32:39)
Thoughts: I was that this match would be the main event of the show, so I was shocked when Chris Jericho’s jacket was the first man through the curtain. Now you may recall that I've said that when a WWE Championship match opens a PPV, something shady is about to go down, but that didn't happen. It was just about the match itself and boy what a great match it was! This match had a younger, more athletic roster than the World Heavyweight Championship Chamber match and they proved it by bouncing all over the ring for half an hour. However, I will admit that at times it felt as though guys were hitting the steel just for the point of hitting the steel and not to really further the story of the match. All of the brutality in the WHC Chamber match felt as though it had a point, but many of the spots in this match felt a bit gratuitous. That’s especially true for the “getting tossed over the ropes and landing on the steel” spot that we saw countless times throughout the match. The worst offender seemed to be Dolph Ziggler, who at many times seemed to be purposefully pinballing himself around the chamber. I applaud Ziggler for taking those bumps and I even understand why he was doing it, but I couldn’t help but be reminded of SummerSlam 2005, with Ziggler in the role of Shawn Michaels and the chamber in the role of Hulk Hogan. My only other criticism of the match was the way in which Jericho’s injury was sold. Having Punk knock Jericho out of the ring and cause Jericho to be eliminated without being pinned or submitting was the perfect way to set up Punk vs. Jericho at WrestleMania. However, Jericho’s injury was oversold just a bit too much for my taste. There needs to be a dividing line between kayfabe injuries and legitimate injuries, so that we as fans can sit back and enjoy the story when that’s actually what we’re watching. We’ve all seen far too many legitimate injuries in this industry and some of them have been truly tragic. Wrestling promotions need to be respectful of those legitimate injuries and not try to manipulate us into believing that kayfabe injuries are anything more than part of the story. The look of concern on Punk’s face and his tentative throwing of the X crossed that line for me and for a moment I didn’t know if I was simply watching the story anymore. Obviously, his injury was completely kayfabe and I believe that the way in which that kayfabe injury was sold is indicative of a larger mishandling of kayfabe injuries in today’s professional wrestling industry. But I'm rambling aren't I? Overall, a great Chamber match, despite my complaints.
Rating: ****1/4

WWE Divas Championship
Beth Phoenix(c) def. Tamina Snuka(7:14)
Thoughts: This certainly wasn’t a great match, but it did veer precariously close to being a good match and it never felt like a waste of time on a PPV. That’s a lot to say for a WWE Divas Match. The quality of the WWE Divas Championship Matches on PPV had been steadily increasing over the previous few months before this show and I’m certainly pleased that the trend remains. Beth and Tamina worked well together, and as usual, I would have liked to have seen them given four or five more minutes, but what we got here was solid.
Rating: **1/2

Elimination Chamber Match:
World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan(c) def. Santino Marella, Wade Barrett, The Big Show, Cody Rhodes and The Great Khali(34:04)
Thoughts: This match seemed cursed from the moment it was announced. Mark Henry had to be replaced with Great Khali due to his suspension (in kayfabe) and his injuries (in the real world), although you can argue about whether Henry was ever actually slotted to be in the match. Then Randy Orton had to be replaced with Santino Marella, in essence trading a proven contender and world-class worker with a gimmicky joke. Add those replacements to the fact that the Elimination Chamber environment doesn’t play to the strengths of Daniel Bryan or Cody Rhodes and naturally, you would assume that this match was going to be bowling shoe ugly. But I was wrong on almost every level. Just like great booking should always do, the booking of this match made the best use of every competitor. Khali’s time in the ring was kept mercifully short and Big Show was able to impose his will on both his opponents and the chamber. Watching Show climb into Daniel Bryan’s pod and beat him half to death was one of the best three or four spots in Elimination Chamber history in my opinion. As I mentioned during my comments on the WWE Championship Chamber match, the brutal spots in this match all seemed to serve a purpose. None of them seemed gratuitous and they all played a role in progressing the storyline of the match. I want to give special credit to Wade Barrett for stepping up big time here. He started the match and was in it almost to the end and he drove the action for much of that time. This match was the first time that I could legitimately see Barrett as someone capable of carrying a world title in WWE. And then, of course, there was Santino. Dear, sweet Santino. He’s a joke. He’s a gimmicky comedy character and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I think we can all agree that he was a mid-card guy on his best day and we’ve all made our peace with that... or so we thought. But then the crowd went wild for him on Smackdown and then he lasted more than three seconds after his pod door opened and then he was one of the last two men in the chamber and then when he hit D-Bry with the Cobra and went for the cover,I kid you not, I thought he’d done it. When I first watched this, I honestly thought Santino Marella was about to win the World Heavyweight Championship, even though everything I’ve ever learned as a fan of professional wrestling has taught me that such a thing should be impossible. In those two seconds while Santino had Bryan pinned, I wondered if he would lose the title on Smackdown. I wondered if he could possibly carry the title all the way to Mania. But I honestly thought he was about to do it and that, my friends, it the power of great booking! Bryan kicked out and Santino tapped soon after, but that hardly matters. What matters is that Santino Marella can now and forever say that, if only for one night, he was an honest-to-god star in this industry, and he can say that, if only for one night, we believed. Overall, a great chamber match that's almost on par with the earlier one.
Rating: ****

WWE United States Championship
Jack Swagger(c) def. Justin Gabriel(2:59)
Thoughts: I've already explain plenty of time this month why impromptu matches blow, but if you forgotten, then let me list the reasons why they blow.
1)Impromptu PPV matches suck most of the time.
2)This impromptu PPV match sucked.
3)To their credit, Swagger and Gabriel did the best they could with a three minute match, but they need far more time to have a good match.
4)This time could have been used to watch Santino try to seduce the fugly girl from the pet store...Actually scratch that one!
And 5) Yes, this whole thing was precipitated by a midget making a “cut the cheese” joke.
Rating: *1/2

Main Event: Ambulance Match
John Cena def. Kane(21:22)
Thoughts: Story of 2012 PPV's: Cena gets the Main Event spot over BOTH world title matches no matter who he is facing. The only way this would've made sense as the Main Event would've been if The Rock showed up, but that didn't happen. The match itself was good, but by no means good enough to go on last. The match was tediously boring to start but got increasingly better as they got to the real bulk of the match, so definitely a step above the bout they had at the Royal Rumble.
Rating: **3/4

 Final Rating:

3 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Review

March to Mania Year 3: 
WWE Royal Rumble 2012 Review

Triple Threat Steel Cage Match:
World Heavyweight Championship
Daniel Bryan(c) def. Mark Henry and The Big Show(9:08)
Thoughts: This all began when Bryan cashed in his MITB shot after Show defeated Henry at TLC 2011. Each man got a title shot, only to have it end in a no-contest, drawing the ire of SmackDown GM Theodore Long, thus leading to the triple threat cage match. If there was a fourth man involved in this feud, you just know this would be a tag team match. LOL! Anyway, this was a weird choice to open and an even weirder match with a very surreal setting. We had Cole running down D-Bry on commentary like he was a face, Booker T defending him like he was a face and the crowd chanting for him like he was the face…but then he did the whole cowardly heel shtick the whole match and a weird dynamic. About as good as you could expect given the limitations of 2/3rds of the participants though. Bryan celebrated afterwards like he just won the Super Bowl which I found a bit funny.
Rating: **

Eight Diva Tag Team Match
Beth Phoenix, Natalya and The Bella Twins def. Kelly Kelly, Eve, Alicia Fox and Tamina Snuka(5:29)
Thoughts: Only the second match on the show and you could tell this was everyone's piss break match. I really hoped with all the Divas involved that it wouldn’t be the normal piss/food break. It turned out to be a decent match, playing off some feuds(Tamina/Natalya), and Kelly Kelly provided a great effort in this match. I was glad to see Beth pick up the win here, because she WAS the champion at the time. For Divas standards, it wasn't terrible. Yeah, there were a few sloppy moments, but the plancha spot from Kelly was quite nifty.
Rating: *3/4

John Cena and Kane fought to the Double Count-Out(10:56)
Thoughts: I'm not sure if it's the welder mask or what, but Kane looked good here; the best he had looked in years. The match really surprised me; not only did they actually keep me interested for the entire match, but they also kept the crowd into the match as well. I actually like the double count-out finish here, because it protects both men and honestly either man who took the fall would suffer here. The finish allowed for the beatdown that followed to occur,and I was glad to see that Kane got the upper hand. I was hoping that he would. Cena tried to be SuperCena and rise above the hate and in the end, Kane proved to be the stronger. This would ultimately set up their rematch at EC. Also, always nice to see someone Tombstoned.
Rating: **1/2

Brodus Clay def. Drew McIntyre(1:05)
Thoughts: Say hello to the burial of Drew McIntyre. This was just a squash match to make Clay look good...and the crowd seemed into it, so they got the job done.
Rating: 1/4* 

WWE Championship
CM Punk(c) def. Dolph Ziggler(14:32)
Thoughts: Amazing match from amazing performers. I had high expectations for this match, and they didn’t disappoint! It was every bit as awesome as I wanted it to be and the only negative was the overbooking during the match. What could have been a great match was marred through the unnecessary storyline going into it, and it really broke up the match. The positive is that it was only a small hindrance. This match was back and forth bad assery. I could literally watch these two guys wrestle each other every single day and twice on Sunday. Hot crowd, some absolutely stellar counters (the GTS into the Fameasser was awesome) and just an overall great little match.
Rating: ***3/4

Main Event: Royal Rumble Match
Sheamus def. 29 other competitors; last eliminating Chris Jericho(54:54)
Thoughts: Very interesting Rumble effort this this time around. There was a LOT of comedy and nostalgia acts involved so be forewarned if you can’t take a bit of that spread out in a match, you’re not likely to enjoy this as much as others. The second half of the match kicked up the heat though and the final showdown with Jericho and Sheamus was excellent stuff; about as good as you can work a battle royal match. Jericho was supposedly supposed to be the winner here, which would have made sense given his recent return to the company, but they apparently changed it to Sheamus at the last minute to swerve us. It definitely worked as the crowd seemed stunned when Jericho lost. Not one of the best Rumbles or anything and not anywhere as good as the previous year’s matches, but a nice combination of fun and hard-hitting action in the finish made this a fairly good and entertaining Rumble match, ending an otherwise mediocre show.
Rating: ***1/2

 Final Rating:

2.23 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE WrestleMania XXVII Review

March to Mania Year 3:
WWE WrestleMania XXVII Review

World Heavyweight Championship
Edge(c) def. Alberto Del Rio(11:08)
Thoughts: Kind of a shocker for them to put the World Heavyweight Championship match on first. I mean I know it wasn’t considered to be a “Main Event” caliber match, but at least in most other years they stick it in the middle of the card or something. The match was actually pretty good with the involvement of Christian and Brodus Clay being kept to a minimum until the end of the match. I liked that they had Del Rio continuing to focus on the arm as he had for the weeks prior leading to the event and that they paid a lot of that off with his psychology in the match. The whole thing felt almost like they were holding back because they were opening the show and weren’t in the mindset of stealing it outright, but it was a short, solid opener and would've probably set up a longer rematch at Extreme Rules, especially after Edge and Christian had their impromptu episode of Pimp My Ride on Del Rio’s Rolls Royce after the match... had Edge not retired. Though to be fair, Edge's retirement allowed Christian to FINALLY have a run with the world title, so at least that came out of Edge's sad retirement.
Rating: ***1/2

Cody Rhodes def. Rey Mysterio(11:58)
Thoughts: One of the things I love about Rey Mysterio's matches at Mania is that he almost always wears some kind of superhero costume. This year, it was Captain America...Actually, now that I think about it, Cody kinda looks like The Winter Soldier. Anyway, they showed some innovative stuff in this match and the right man won. Mysterio brought his usual to WrestleMania and Rhodes was motivated, and we got a really good match out of it. Loved the booking around the mask and kneebrace and it was nice that they paid that off.
Rating: ***1/4

Eight Man Tag Team Match
Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella and Kofi Kingston def. The Corre(1:32)
Thoughts: What a wasted opportunity! Instead of having a Corre/New Nexus Eight Man Tag where Corre goes over in a good match, they instead job out to two Main Event Jobbers, a mid-carder that will stay there and Santino Marella. Santino gets a Mania match, but D-Bry and Sheamus's scheduled US Title match gets sent to pre-show or dark match or whatever the fuck it was? Seriously, what the fuck, WWE?!
Rating: *

Randy Orton def. CM Punk(13:45)
Thoughts: The opening video package shows that there is no real good guy in this feud. I like it. Orton isn’t Superman. Cena is Superman. Orton is Batman – a disturbed sociopath residing in his cave, haunted by demons in his head. Now that I think about it, Punk is not all that different from the Joker, the tyrant who thinks he’s a libertarian. Plus, both Joker and Punk’s hired goons tend to suck. Anyway, this match delivered in many ways. Punk relished his role as the heel in going after Orton and dominating the match. Orton sold more in this match than he may have his entire career. The end was great, but I could see it coming from a mile away. Good solid outing from both men.
Rating: ****

Michael Cole def. Jerry Lawler via DQ(11:11)
Thoughts: DO I REALLY NEED TO SAY ANYTHING?! I MEAN...LOOK AT IT!!! Well, one thing I will say is that I find it mildly ironic that Cole’s heel act started as an attempt to get Daniel Bryan over, but here it is a year later and Bryan is getting bumped from the show while Cole is a “main eventer.” And we did have JR and Booker T on commentary for this one, so there's a plus...and that's pretty much all the positives from this match. Overall, this was one of the worst Wrestlemania matches of all-time, without any shadow of a doubt.
Rating: DUD

No Holds Barred Match
The Undertaker def. Triple H(29:21)
Thoughts: At Wrestlemania X-7, these two had one amazing match that doesn't get the attention it deserves. Ten years after that, they're at it again...with NO mention whatsoever of their previous Mania encounter.
I knew that this match was not going to be as good as Shawn/Taker I and II. However, I knew that these men were capable of a great match, and they both delivered in spades. This match was going to be nothing more than a brawl with two men beating the absolute hell out of one another, and I was fine with that. They played off previous matches well (especially X-7) and the Hell’s Gate finishing with Triple H not being able to break it with the sledgehammer was a nice touch. All in all, a phenomenal match.
Rating: ****3/4

Six Person Mixed Tag Team Match
John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Snooki def. Dolph Ziggler and Lay-cool(3:15)
Thoughts: I say this: Trish looked rather good for being out of the ring as long as she had been and it felt like she hadn’t missed a beat in her time away. Morrison hitting the huge spot of the match with the Starship Pain to Ziggler on the floor was really cool and it was shocking to see Snooki actually showing some athleticism with her handspring elbow and another handspring into the splash to pick up the win, but if you look up this match in the dictionary, it’s the literal definition of a piss-break match to let the crowd cool off before the main event.
Rating: 3/4*

Main Event: WWE Championship
The Miz(c) def. John Cena(19:40)
Thoughts: After several re-watches of this main event, I have one thing to label it: Disappointing! This match had some good build and really should have been more. The match wasn’t anything special, and that is what the problem was with the match. It was forgettable... AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM!!! Your main event at WrestleMania should not be forgettable. They have had good chemistry, but it just didn’t click here and the crowd didn’t help either, as it was dead for parts of the match. All in all, a disappointing main event.
Rating: **1/2

Final Rating:

2.47 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Elimination Chamber 2011

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Elimination Chamber 2011

 

Alberto Del Rio def. Kofi Kingston(10:27)

Thoughts: Is it me, or is February never good for Kofi? Every Elimination Chamber, the question is who he’s going to job out to, assuming he even makes it to the match. *Cough Edge! Cough* Facing the guy heading to a World Heavyweight Title match at WrestleMania, you know that there was no chance of him coming out with a win. To wwe’s credit, I think they booked this one really well. Kofi definitely looked like a threat to Del Rio and this is one of those times where the face gets elevated by virtue of looking strong in a loss. Del Rio looked good as usual, and Kofi played the plucky babyface role to perfection, so I can't hate this little gem.

Rating: ***1/2

Elimination Chamber Match:
World Heavyweight Championship

Edge(c) def. Rey Mysterio, Kane, Drew McIntyre, The Big Show and Wade Barrett(31:32)

Thoughts: This was a very fun Elimination Chamber. I admit, I wasn’t very enthused about the reveal of Big Show as the mystery sixth man, but he worked just fine within the confines of the match and everyone involved did some very good work. Of course Rey was a workhorse in this match and provided a lot of great moments and I loved the way he worked with Edge in the match. But for me, the breakout star was Drew, who looked incredibly strong here and again, WHY DID YOU DROP THE BALL ON HIM WWE?!. Anyway, it was nice to see Kane have a strong showing and while this wasn’t the best Chamber match we’ve seen, it was certainly a lot of fun and well-put together. Leaving it down to Edge and Rey left some suspense too, because either of them could have faced Del Rio. Smartly laid-out for a great kick-ass match! Oh and Christian’s appearance at the end was a great mark-out moment.

Rating: ****1/4

WWE Tag Team Championship

Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater def. Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov(c)(5:03)

Thoughts: One of the reasons why the Tag Team division was god-awful during this time was because they were treated as afterthoughts and this match was no exception since it was only announced a few days prior to the show on WWE.com. The match itself was certainly nothing special, but it did serve to move the belts from Santino & Kozlov to Gabriel & Slater. I’ll admit that Santino & Kozlov actually had started to grow on me, but I was never comfortable with the Tag Titles being held by a mismatched joke tag team (even if the tag titles themselves were kinda of a joke at the time.) With their win here, I was thinking that this would build to a New Nexus/Corre match at Mania, whether it be Slater/Gabriel vs Otunga/McGillicutty for the Tag Titles or a 6-man tag with Slater, Gabriel and Ezekiel Jackson vs. Otunga, McGillicutty, & Mason Ryan. Neither of which didn't happen. Why? I don't have a fucking clue. Way to drop another ball, WWE.

Rating: *1/2

WWE Championship

The Miz(c) def. Jerry Lawler(12:09)

Thoughts: We all knew that Jerry Lawler wasn’t going to win. We knew it. WWE couldn’t afford to undercut their youth movement by having Jerry Lawler carry the WWE Championship into WrestleMania. We knew it. But damn, there were a few moments when all good sense went right out the window and I truly did believe that Lawler was about to win the big one. Of course, I also truly believed that Tom Watson was going to win the 2009 Open Championship. Like I said earlier, I may be a bit delusional. Having the Miz win the match clean was the right decision and letting him go toe-to-toe with Jerry Lawler on PPV will do nothing but make him a better professional wrestler. Overall, a solid match, but nothing too exciting. It was really here to serve as a placeholder for Miz and to set up a match between two announcers for WrestleMania.

Rating: **3/4

Main Event: Elimination Chamber Match

John Cena def. CM Punk, John Morrison, King Sheamus, Randy Orton and R-Truth(33:12)

Thoughts: Like the other Chamber match, this was a hell of a lot of fun. Sure, there were weird moments. Was the Chamber error a legit one or a work? Personally, I think it was a work. Either way, I thought it was hilarious and worked to Punk’s favor while building the Orton/Punk heat nicely. Morrison came out of this an absolute star once again and I have to ask: Why wasn't this man given a rocket strapped to his ass that shot him to the moon? The whole thing worked very well; I have to say I almost believe Morrison might win at points, but of course it was Cena. Cena made the most sense to face Miz after Rock referred to them both. Anyway, I think this match was the better one by just a hair, due to Morrison Spider-Man antics, but both were great.

Rating: ****1/2

 Final Rating:

 3.30 out of 5