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

March to Mania Year 3: Royal Rumble 2011 Review

March to Mania Year 3:
WWE Royal Rumble 2011 Review

World Heavyweight Championship
Edge(c) def. Dolph Ziggler(20:44)
Thoughts: I was definitely looking forward to seeing how well Ziggler could deliver when challenging for a world championship and my interest in this match only grew when Edge’s Spear was banned. Now I loved the WWE Championship Match between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels at Survivor Series 2007 when HBK’s Sweet Chin Music was banned and he utilized some of his most famous opponents’ finishers including the Sharpshooter, the Crippler Crossface, the Ankle Lock and the Figure Four Leg Lock. I suspected that Edge might use a similar strategy in this match, but instead he focused on finding innovate ways to counter Ziggler’s offensive maneuvers into offensive maneuvers of his own. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen that particular story told in the ring and I’ll always mark for matches that give us something new. Ziggler looked strong throughout and there were at least three different moments throughout the match when I honestly thought that Ziggler had just won the title. In the end, Edge did hit the Spear when neither the referee nor Vickie Guerrero were watching and I loved his homage to Eddie Guerrero directly afterward. Edge won the match with Christian’s Killswitch, but Ziggler’s performance in this match may have been more valuable to his career than a title win. Overall, highly entertaining opener. Ziggler looked right at home in the main event, which makes you wonder why he still isn't there!
Rating: ***3/4

WWE Championship
The Miz(c) def. Randy Orton(19:48)
Thoughts: Most bizarre sign reference I’ve ever seen in wrestling: “Peter Kurten.” Oh and to whoever wrote the “Who farted?” sign: what's wrong with you? Anyway, this match was just difficult to get into for me. I enjoyed the last 4 or 5 minutes of it, but it was too plodding throughout. The Miz and Randy Orton are great characters in wrestling, but they need the right opponents to put on a great match. One another aren’t the right opponent. However, after Miz hit his backbreaker/neckbreaker combo, I enjoyed the wrestling in the match. Despite a bit of a drag in the middle and Orton’s lack of respect for anything Miz did, this turned out okay and Miz looked right at home in the main event, which might explain why he held onto the title after Mania.
Rating: **3/4

Fatal 4-Way Match:
WWE Divas Championship
Eve Torres def. Natalya(c), Michelle McCool and Layla(5:12)
Thoughts: Now let's be honest here: When the anonymous Raw GM changed this from a handicap match to a Fatal 4-Way, you were hoping that the mystery diva was Kong, weren't you? Come on, be honest. I certainly was, but it was Eve Torres, which I have no problem with. This was clearly the weakest match on the show. There’s simply no way to deny that fact. However, it would be unfair to say that this was a bad match. More importantly, the match served an important purpose on the card. It was the “breather” between the two world championship matches and the Royal Rumble Match, and it played that role without being silly or pointless. We could have easily wasted five minutes with a throw-away comedy match, but instead we got a decent Divas Championship Match that saw the title change hands. Natalya’s Sharpshooter was way cool to see and for a Divas match, it could've been much worse.
Rating: **

Main Event: Royal Rumble Match
Alberto Del Rio def. 39 other competitors; last eliminating Santino Marella(1:09:52)
Thoughts: This match was all over the place, but almost all of it was all over the place in a good way. Punk and Bryan starting was so great, especially if you were a fan of ROH when the two were there since they rarely crossed paths over there. New Nexus’ early domination clearly showed that the faction(whether lead by Wade Barrett or CM Punk) was better than people gave it credit for. John Morrison may have had the single most impressive non-elimination in the history of the Royal Rumble. However, my one complaint about that incredibly impressive spot is that it telegraphed the fact that Morrison would not be winning the match. I don’t think he was ever a favorite to win the Rumble, but there was certainly the possibility of it happening. However, the fact that he was allowed to attempt a spot with a good 80% chance of him falling on his ass outside the ring was a pretty clear message that he wouldn’t be around at the end. I'm sure some people hate the Hornswoggle shenanigans near the middle of the match, but I thought it was a fun little break that gave a bit of variety to a very long match. As for the two big surprise entrants, it was nice to see Booker T and be treated to a Spinaroonie after not having seen on in WWE for 3 and a half years, but what we’ll all remember is the crowd’s thunderous response to Diesel. Boston was on FIRE for Big Sexy and he clearly had the highest Pop / Mobility ratio of any performer in the history of the industry. I really only have two complaints about the match. First, while I liked New Nexus’ string of dominant eliminations, I thought their storyline peaked a bit early. It would have been more impressive if they had gone on the same run thirty minutes later. Second, I certainly expected Triple H to make his long-awaited return here and I know I wasn’t alone. After thirty-nine other men entered the ring, you'd think that they would save the best for last. And then he wasn’t and I felt more than a bit deflated for a few minutes. The action in the ring picked up and everything was eventually right with the world, but I was still disappointed. I'm also pretty sure this was the longest match in WWE history. Overall, the Rumble was incredibly fun to watch with a little bit of everything for everybody. It didn’t need forty guys, but it hardly felt like overkill. I’m in line with most everyone’s thinking that it hit the narrative wall right about the time Cena eliminated Punk. After that it was “pop for the entrance, bored for the match.” I did love the ending sequence as Del Rio pissed the crowd off with the win, then they gave them a little hope with Santino and then Del Rio robbed the innocents of their souls as he tossed Santino to win officially. At the time, I wasn't completely sold that ADR was the right choice since he was still developing a half Guerrero/JBL gimmick, but when I saw his 2 out of 3 falls match with Rey Mysterio from earlier in 2011 on YouTube, my opinions changed. Just good stuff all around.
Rating: ****

 Final Rating:

3.13 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE WrestleMania XXVI Review

March to Mania Year 3:
WWE WrestleMania XXVI Review

Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
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

Triple Threat Match
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: ***

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
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
 

Triple H def. Sheamus(12:03)
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

Rey Mysterio def. CM Punk(6:29)
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

No Holds Barred Match
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)

World Heavyweight Championship
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

Ten Diva Tag Team Match
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*

WWE Championship
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 

Main Event: Career vs Streak Match
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

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Elimination Chamber 2010 Review

March to Mania Year 3:
WWE Elimination Chamber 2010 Review

Elimination Chamber Match: WWE Championship
John Cena def. Triple H, Sheamus(c), Kofi Kingston, Ted DiBiase and Randy Orton(30:10)
Thoughts: Like I said in my No Way Out 2009 Review, anytime the WWE Championship opens the show, you know something fishy is going down. That does make me curious when was the last time John Cena opened a PPV? If my memory is correct, it was Judgement Day 2003, but I'm rambling, aren't I? This was just an awesome Chamber match with damn good performances out of everyone. Kofi Kingston once again looked like a star and given his performance here, I'm shocked he didn't win Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 26. If I had to complain, I'd say they booked the ending wrong. How it goes is that it comes down to Sheamus, Hunter and Cena. Hunter eliminates Sheamus and Cena makes Hunter tap out, which is the first time anyone tapped out inside the chamber.(Another fact: This was the first chamber match to have all six competitors in the match at the same time.) How it SHOULD'VE happen was that Sheamus eliminates Hunter and Cena eliminates Sheamus, giving Cena that redemption that he got the title back from the person who took it from him a few months prior. Overall, it's not the best Chamber match is history, but I would say it's one of the more underrated ones and it is historic, in it's own way.
Rating: ****

WWE Championship
Batista def. John Cena(c)(0:28)
Thoughts: You could say this was unexpected...except this is almost exactly what happened to John Cena the last time he won a Chamber match. Poor Cena, he can never catch a break, can he? Including the belt in this feud may not have been the direction that I would have gone, but it’s hard for me to argue with the excitement it brought leading to WM26.
Rating: N/A

WWE Intercontinental Championship
Drew McIntyre(c) def. Kane(10:04)
Thoughts: Starting in 2010, I never really expected much from Kane given when he was in his career at that point and yet his pay-per-view matches seem to exceed my expectations more often than not. I dislike Kane’s style when he’s in slow, plodding monster mode, but here, he worked a much more fast-paced and often times ground-based style. McIntyre certainly held up his end of the bargain and the result was a perfectly fine mid-show filler match. Having McIntyre retain the championship was definitely the right decision, because losing the belt so soon into his title reign would have been a huge step in the wrong direction at that point in his career. Though the only other noteworthy thing he did in WWE was holding the Tag Titles with Cody Rhodes and later on, 3MB...They really dropped the ball with him, didn't they?
Rating: **1/2

Laycool def. Gail Kim and Maryse(3:36)
Thoughts: OK, first off: Was their any reason to drag the Butterfly Title Tournament? I mean, REALLY? Second: why the hell does the SmackDown Consultant get to make matches against Raw women? Just because she doesn’t have male equipment? I don’t understand the logic there at all and while it did build a little heat for the eventual Maryse/Gail match, it didn’t need heat at that point. I’m half-convinced they’re did this to bury Gail. And people wonder why she stays in TNA? At least they treat their women wrestlers right. The match was nothing much to speak of either; Team Lay-Cool weren’t terrible and Gail wasn’t as bad as she had been during that time, but that doesn’t make it a winner for me. The in-ring work was forgettable, the bait and switch for no reason was flat-out stupid and I loathed this.
Rating: 3/4*

WWE United States Championship
The Miz(c) def. Montel Vontavious Porter(12:51)
Thoughts: This was a much better match than their outing last month at the Royal Rumble, but much like last month, I once again have to wonder what was gained by NOT advertising this match in advance. Miz continues to improve on the ring, and MVP seems to be regaining a bit of his popularity. Mark Henry and The Big Show continue to defy the odds by working together remarkably well and I would like to send my condolences to the family and friends of the guard rail over by the bell. It really felt like they were building up to putting the US title back on MVP, but that never happened...Oh well.
Rating: ***1/4

Main Event: Elimination Chamber Match:
World Heavyweight Championship
Chris Jericho def. The Undetaker(c), John Morrison, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk and R-Truth(35:38)
Thoughts: This match may not have had the star power of the WWE Elimination Chamber Match, but on paper it certainly looked like it could be the more entertaining match. Rey Mysterio was the star of the PPV for the second year in a row and John Morrison made a surprisingly strong showing. In the end, all six guys delivered just about as well as we could have possibly hoped and ultimately this match set up three huge matches for WrestleMania – CM Punk vs Rey Mysterio, Chris Jericho vs Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship and Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker.
Rating: ****

Final Rating:

2.90 out of 5

March to Mania Year 3: WWE Royal Rumble 2010 Review

March to Mania Year 3:
WWE Royal Rumble 2010 Review

ECW Championship
Christian(c) def. Ezekiel Jackson(12:00)
Thoughts: Just think about what would happen to people if the ECW Title match ever went on as the main event when it was around, just to screw with people? Just a thought. Anyway, I thought this was a perfectly acceptable match; not the traditional high-paced opening match, but far from bad too. Zeke did well for his coming-out party on PPV and while the result didn’t surprise me, I was surprised Christian won cleanly. This two had a rematch on the last ECW show in which Jackson won, but as fat as this match, I enjoyed it but didn’t love it.
Rating: **1/2

WWE United States Championshio
The Miz(c) def. Montel Vontavious Porter(7:15)
Thoughts: Holy impromptu match, Batman. Honestly, there’s no reason why this match was not announced beforehand as it was built up quite well with great dueling promos from both men the previous weeks on Raw. The biggest problem I have with impromptu matches is that more often than not, they seemed to be booked rather hastily and thus end up feeling like afterthoughts. That was definitely the case here. There was certainly nothing wrong with this match, but it was just too quick and underdeveloped to really mean anything. In fact, the only memorable part of the match was MVP’s post-match pseudo-heel turn. Sadly, he never turned heel again before he left WWE, which is disappointing since I prefer MVP as a heel, but whatever. Decent match, but nothing special.
Rating: **1/2

WWE Championshio
Sheamus(c) def. Randy Orton via DQ(12:34)
Thoughts: I suppose this match delivered just about all that we could expect it to deliver, but ultimately I’m just not sure that was enough. I was worried about booking a heel / heel title match, but luckily the crowd picked a side very early and stuck with Orton throughout the match. Orton had that so-bad-that-he’s-damn-near-good kind of charisma going for more than a year and it’s surprised me that WWE took so long in pulling the trigger and turning him into an anti-hero face. We may have seen a glimmer of that after the match, but for the most part, we had to wait an additional month after this to see that. The real problem with this match was that Orton’s style and Sheamus’ style just don’t lend themselves to a very exciting match and the result was that this title match served little purpose other than to progress the Orton / Legacy feud by a step or two.
Rating: **1/4

WWE Women's Championship
Mickie James def. Michelle McCool(c)(0:18)
Thoughts: I am actually shocked that WWE went with a squash to end the “Piggie James” storyline. Considering some people HATED this storyline (I loved it since it was funny), I'm guessing that a squash is the best way to end the feud properly. I know some people would rather see a hard-fought competitive match, but face it, this is the WWE and a five minute Diva’s match, no matter the quality or the year, would end with boring chants. This way, Mickie gets her revenge, wins a title and further embarrasses the heels with cake. We are all winners… well except McCool in this one.
Rating: N/A

World Heavyweight Championship
The Undertaker(c) def. Rey Mysterio(11:08)
Thoughts: I really wish Taker and Rey had more 1 on 1 matches together as aside from, they've only had one other 1 on 1 match that I'm aware of. I expected this to be good and it was. Not great, but good, a fine way to bring us into the Rumble match. Rey bumped like crazy for Taker but the kind of offence he got was believable and even made me believe he might have a shot at winning this one. Of course any modicum of thinking would tell you that with this going on before the Rumble, Taker had to retain, otherwise you risk HBK losing his inspiration. Again, I really wish they had more matches together cause they always create nice little hidden gem matches.
Rating: ***1/2

Main Event: Royal Rumble Match
Edge def. 29 other competitors; last eliminating John Cena(49:18)
Thoughts: An interesting booked Rumble. But with that said, not a very memorable one. Sure there were some great moments, like CM Punk's promo stealing the entire third of the show with his outlandish promo between eliminations, HBK eliminating Triple H, and his subsequent elimination at the end, but what about all the other fun moments of the match that have been forgotten about? Beth Phoenix’s entry and elimination of The Great Khali here has already been forgotten by most(except for Khali). And what about R-Truth eliminating Mark Henry and The Big Show at the same time. My jaw dropped when I saw that. Too bad it lead nowhere. There were tons of shocking moments in this match, but stacked on top of each other with the entirely too fast pace and this match felt like it was booked by Michael Bay. Of all the Royal Rumble matches in history, this is one of my least favorites.
Rating: ***1/4

Final Rating:
2.80 out of 5