Best Match
Matt Loede: This is a no-brainer, as the HBK vs Undertaker match will for sure get plenty of votes for “Match of the Year” award. Both guys went out and gave 110 percent, and others in the company should watch that match with great interest as to how to have a good match with a lot of emotion that doesn’t have to be a total bump fest. What is this company going to do when these two guys are gone? It’s a shame that we didn’t have 3-4 matches like this one, but then again, there’s only one Undertaker and one Shawn Michaels.
John Sefcik: Hardy v Hardy. They way a hardcore match should be. Plenty of O my God moments courtesy of two men giving their all.
Worst Match
Matt Loede: The 21 second joke of an IC title match, the first one at Mania in seven years, really ticked me off. While I wasn’t exactly looking forward all that much to JBL vs Mysterio, it at least deserved 4-5 minutes. What I am thinking is that JBL had well in advance made his decision to walk away from active wrestling again, and he wanted to at least get one last moment in the ring in front of the home crowd. I really think his “quitting” may be real, and that he’ll return to the announce booth at SmackDown this week.
John Sefcik: Divas Battle Royal. Gimmick of Santino does not pay off as the lack of real intro leaves who is in this match a bit confusing.
Biggest Bump
Matt Loede: I don’t even know his name, but how about the cameraman in the Taker-HBK match?! I am thinking this guy must have been an indie wrestler, because not just anyone could take that move from a man close to 300 pounds in Taker. I felt there was a number of bumps that got a little messed up, but if you watch it closely, this one seemed really not to go well. Give credit to that guy, whoever he is, for taking that type of shot on a stage the size of Mania.
John Sefcik: Jeff Hardy going through a table to put Matt through another. This is as extreme as it comes. For a moment I felt we were in south Philly watching ECW
Match that Could Have went Longer
Matt Loede: Other than the IC belt, which I talked about above, the thing that really peeved me was having to sit through 15 minutes of worthless Kid Rock instead of seeing the Tag Team match that had been talked about with Miz and Morrison vs the Colons. I was actually thinking this would be a very good match, and instead of showing it, as they said they would, they did it as a dark match, and it will be on the WM 25 DVD. Why not cut the crap with Kid Rock and show that instead?
John Sefick: Jericho v Steamboat. The Dragon still can compete and his efforts were only hampered by Snuka and Piper. It should have been him and Jericho straight up.
The “And They Booked This Why?” Match
Matt Loede: The Divas battle royal had potential, and there was a lot of buzz on the net about the match, and instead of showing the past divas and making it a really cool event, they really blew past it, and then since Kid Rock played way too long, we didn’t even get to see the ladies coming out. Then the announcers playing dumb about Santino being the last dressed up diva was dumb to say the least. If the ladies are not going to get a fair shot, don’t book the match at all.
John Sefcik: JBL and Mysterio. Again we missed a tag match between the Colon’s and Miz/ Morrison in order to see a quick and worthless match. Come on WWE, respect your fans some more than this.
Risk Taker of the Night
Matt Loede: A number of guys took some big bumps, but how about that death dive from Shelton Benjamin in the Money in the Bank match?! Insane to say the least. He’s always been a guy that makes that match, and again on Sunday night he did his part in making that match one of the best of the night, and that dive was nuts. Someone is eventually going to get REALLY hurt in that Money in the Bank match.
John Sefcik: Shelton Benjamin. This man will die one of these days in Money in the Bank. In these matches he has no concern for his safety. Tonight he proved it again as he was only inches from horrific injury with his leap off the ladder onto the floor
Overall Favorite Moment
Matt Loede: The last few in-ring moments of the Taker-HBK match really was the highlight of the night, and that could have been a great way to end the night overall as the main event, but just like Mania 18 with Hogan and Rock, they dropped the ball on this one, and instead went with the Orton-HHH as the way to end the show.
John Sefcik: The Undertakers streak still being kept alive. What a great match between two legends with the result never really looking to favor one or the other. A true legendary Wrestle Mania moment.
The “Man that Sucked” Award
Matt Loede: This is going to be a shocker, but how about the crowd in Houston? I realize that a good event is what gets the crowd going, but it seemed like all night long they sat on their hands. If you watched the broadcast, during the Kid Rock segment, most of the matches, and even the main event, they looked like 70,000 people that were more than happy to sit there as if they were at the opera. I was at the last three Mania’s, and I think those crowds easily blew the one in Houston away.
John Sefcik: Kid Rock, hands down. What a way to kill the buzz from money in the bank. Hey Vince, we came for the wrestling. If I want music I’ll go to a concert and see a real performer. Also it prevented the crowd from getting into the Divas match and giving some cheers for returning stars like Tori, Sunny and Molly Holly.
Final Grade for the Event
Matt Loede: C minus – The company really needs to go back to the drawing board and get this event back on track. I thought that 22 and 23 were good, 24 was average at best, and this one was actually below average for the work that goes into it. Last year we had a better triple-threat with HHH-Orton-Cena, and the Edge-Taker match was a good main event. We also had the Flair-HBK, and the build for Mayweather vs Show. This year, other than the HBK-Taker match, the rest of the night was average to well below average. The main event really failed to deliver, and it’s a shame that they felt that was the way to go instead of the Taker-HBK match.
Early Pick for Main Event at WrestleMania 26
Matt Loede: How about Taker vs Triple H for the WWE Title?
Labels: wrestlemania 25
