WWE WrestleMania XXVI Review
ShowMiz(c) def. John Morrison and R-Truth(3:16)
Thoughts: Well, that was…short. They had a good match moving along there until the abrupt ending. Morrison got a few good moves off and they were working well together until it ended with a single fist to the head and a pinfall. I was at the event and I did predict that one, but I expected them to get a little more time. As it was, we had the match ending dead in its tracks and they never got the chance to make anything worthwhile.
Rating: *3/4
Randy Orton def. Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes(9:00)
Thoughts: I was glad to see the crowd into this and when Orton was in control, it was a good match. There were a few spots in here I loved, like DiBiase going for the cover when Rhodes went for the moonsault, which lead to DiBiase and Rhodes going at it and the double spike DDT. I also liked the finish where Orton punts Cody's head off, DiBiase goes for Dream Street, but get countered into the RKO. Admittedly, there was some bad camera work on the punt and when DiBiase and Rhodes were in control, the match was kinda boring, but otherwise a good match.
Rating: ***
Jack Swagger def. Christian, Shelton Benjamin, Drew McIntyre, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Evan Bourne, Matt Hardy, Dolph Ziggler and Montel Vontavious Porter(13:44)
Thoughts: The last Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania... and it's often considered the worst(If you listen to the IWC) I expected more from the match, it’s true, but it wasn’t bad at all. They seemed caught between trying to tell a story with the match and making it a typical adrenaline-fest. I would have liked to see more of McIntyre trying to get the win through opportunity instead of skill, only to be foiled. Kofi was practically invisible, as was Shelton, but Evan Bourne played the Kofi role from the previous Money in the Bank match at Wrestlemania 25 very well and got a decent push outta that. Exciting, quality, but I just expect more from Mania.
Rating: ***1/2
Thoughts: Quick, name the last WrestleMania where HHH was literally in the middle of the card. Anyway, I was hoping for one of two things: Sheamus winning or a good match. Well, the former didn’t happen, but I felt this was a good match that exceeded expectations. Triple H was very motivated and worked a good pace, and I enjoyed the match. Sheamus…was along for the ride. Since I was in the crowd, I can tell you that they were hot for Triple H’s offense but they didn’t really care about the match when Sheamus was in control. At the end of the day, Sheamus looked good in defeat and this lead to Sheamus having a second run with the WWE Title in 2010.
Rating: ***1/4
Thoughts: This match was one of the most disappointing matches on the card for me and it had absolutely nothing to do with Mysterio, Punk, Gallows or Serena. I thought everyone in the match played their roles brilliantly and it was clear that Mysterio and Punk have tremendous chemistry with each other. My disappointment stems from the fact that this match was given less than seven minutes. Mysterio and Punk were headed to an amazing match and with double the time they very well may have gotten there. But unfortunately, they simply weren’t given the chance to shine on this night, but I still give them both a ton of credit for making the absolute most out of the time they were given. Both Mysterio and Punk looked like stars in this singles match. Oh and I would be remiss not to mention that CM Punk was wearing the BEST...TRUNKS...EVER!
Rating: ***1/2
Bret Hart def. Vince McMahon(11:09)
Thoughts: Really, there was only 1 thing all of us wanted to see from this match. Bret beat the ever loving crap out of Vince and put him in the Sharpshooter. I loved the swerve thing with The Hart Family, because it was a great way for Vince to get beat up without Bret exhausting himself. The Super Hart Attack to the floor from The Hart Dynasty was just awesome. As for the Bret-Vince showdown...meh. I got a little bored. The chair shots went on a little too long. But hey, we saw Bret put Vince in the Sharpshooter and make him tap and at the end of the day, that's what I wanted to see, so I give it credit for serving it's ultimate purpose.
Rating: DUD(+5 for serving it's purpose)
Chris Jericho(c) def. Edge(15:47)
Thoughts: One of the most underrated World Title matches in Wrestlemania history! Now watching it live, I didn’t care who won this match. I love both guys and I just wanted to see them have a good match. They did; not the wrestling clinic I would have loved, but then, most people don’t go for that sort of thing. The spots were good and on point; I marked for the return of the top rope facebuster and the Edge-O-Matic after the missed lionsault was a great visual. I’m glad this went on early because it could have really been lost in the shuffle; instead the fans cared about it. Jericho got arguably the biggest win of his career in retaining a world championship at WrestleMania and Edge gets an EPIC SPEAR to end his night. Like I said, one of the most underrated World Title Wrestlemania matches of all-time.
Rating: ***3/4
Lay-Cool, Vickie Guerrero, Alicia Fox and Maryse def. Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Mickie James, Gail Kim and Eve Torres(3:20)
Thoughts: This was my piss break match, so I missed it live, but watching it on the DVD, oh god it was awful. I seriously want to pretend this never happened and I probably could... if the image of Vickie’s Hog Spash wasn’t permanently burned into my retinas. Luckily, this match meant very little in terms of ongoing storylines, so we can just pretend it was all just a bad dream.
Rating: 1/4*
John Cena def. Batista(c)(13:30)
Thoughts: Let’s start with the entrance. Cena’s special little entrances are getting more and more complex and less and less enjoyable. The Air Force group was talented, but it went on too long and killed the crowd some. Bottom line: keep it simple, stupids. Anyway, onto the match. I thought this was pretty good for the most part. The story of Cena not knowing whether he could beat Big Dave played into this match pretty nicely and these two guys know each other well enough that they worked very nicely together. People will bitch about how Cena and Batista suck, and if you want to that’s your prerogative, but the two almost always deliver in big match situations and this was one of those times. Dave’s in-ring work was well above his usual also and his facial expressions were fantastic to boot. The only thing that hurt this, I think, was the fact that the number of counters and kick-outs were a running theme throughout the three main events and it seemed repetitious after Edge/Jericho. Otherwise, good stuff by both men.
Rating: ***3/4
The Undertaker def. Shawn Michaels(24:00)
Thoughts: It seems like everybody always unfairly compares this with their match at Mania 25 and say it's not as good. It's hard to say if it is as good, but I felt this one was more emotional, had a better pace, less lying around and played off of last year’s match beautifully. They could have used the No DQ stips to go with weapons instead of a good match; in reality, the only huge spots were the moonsault into the Tombstone on the Floor (which was amazing) and the moonsault through the table (which is a great spot to retire on). The opening struggled a bit but after Shawn prevented Taker’s big dive with a spear, it was all great from there. No sloppy counters, several great false finishes. And wow, what a finish. Similar to Ric Flair’s retirement, but different. Defiant to the bitter end; there was no better way to end it. I’m glad they chose to put this on last: what a great match. This match had me hanging on every move and I clapped and cried at the end. That’s what it’s supposed to do.
Rating: *****
Final Rating:
3.28 out of 5
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