Dangerous K89

So, Wrestlemania was, at best, above average. The star ratings people are giving along with the guys at pwtorch.com is pretty laughable, however. The crowd being mostly just low noise and never really being THAT hot until the end of Cena/HBK definitely helped kill a lot of enjoyment out of most of the matches. But, that's what you get for going from a "passionate" setting of 18,000 hardcore fans to 80,000 random fans and people. Money in the bank was probably the most entertaining match on the card, but still not all that great. It would have been a lot better with a hotter crowd. Better than last year's, but the first MITB squashes it. The Jeff/Edge spot was nice, but I hope Edge isn't dead. I was pleasantly surprised with the time they gave it, though (20 minutes). They probably couldn't have done a better job with setting up the match with soooo many people in it. I liked it, but it would have been REALLY nice to see on TV, but not for $50. The "morphing" set was pretty cool, but they didn't make great use out of it but for a few guys. Edge, Kane, Taker, Cena, and Batista had the only really notable, cool uses out of it. They just kind of threw something together for most of the other guys. Great contrast in Edge's entrance and all the other MITB guys' entrances. Khali vs. Kane could have been worse, I guess. Even though I wouldn't want to see the match, I would have rather seen Flair/Carlito. Benoit vs. MVP was shaping up nicely and then got it's legs cut off. Benoit got one of the biggest pops of the night during his entrance, though. If this match was given about 10 more minutes, it could have been one of the best matches of the night. But instead, about 3 minutes towards the end, they just threw out all the psychology they were building up with. Granted, the finish made sense, it was just sudden and didn't seem like a match ending move since EVERYBODY kicks out of the diving headbutt. I don't want to admit it, because I'm a mark for Benoit, but I can't remember the last great Benoit match in the past year that doesn't involve Finlay or Regal. Every Benoit match is just chop, chop, german suplex, german suplex, superplex, german suplex, throat slit, headbutt, chop, chop, german suplex, german suplex, crossface. Just, I dunno. To his credit, he threw in a bridging northern suplex the other day, though! Benoit matches used to be something for me to look forward to, but not so much these days. The Vince segment with the baby just is one of those things where it really hits on the top of the nail just how delusional and batshit crazy this guy is in his own business. To the show's credit, just seeing the huge arena, the ridiculously huge, awesome set....the spectacle that was tonight's show on a production value way of things, TNA will never, ever be somewhat close or even touch the WWE. Ever. And that's coming from a guy that vowed that if he was going to order any wrestling PPVs, it was going to be TNA stuff. But, it's just hard to be excited for TNA post-Bound For Glory 2006. Anyways, back to the topic at hand.. Damn Lillian was hot. Batista vs. Taker was good, but I don't see this WOW, BATISTA HAD A BETTER MATCH THAN HBK thing. It was an above average match that helped protect the poor wrestler that Batista is, but it wasn't anything special and AT BEST ***. Not the **** 1/2 bullshit I've been seeing. If that match was really THAT close to being a perfect, five star match, then I'll quit watching wrestling tomorrow. Maybe you should remind yourself what an actual **** match is. Anyways, this match would have been a lot better in, once again, a smaller arena with a louder crowd. Which, this match had one of the only few audible chants of the night with "Undertaker" or "Let's Go Taker" or whatever it was. This match was as good as it could have been, but I won't be rewatching it, ever. Undertaker's entrance was pretty bad ass, though. I might rewatch that. The ECW match was...I'm not sure what that was. The only thing I got from the match is that I never thought Dreamer would have any Wrestlemania involvement ever after his world championship run with being the guy that pukes on people and eats weird things, so it was cool to see him get a lot of ring time. He was the only ECW "Original" that got ring time... Umaga vs. Lashley was decent. I was expecting more, I was expecting to see acceptable quality when compared to Finlay/Lashley, but Umaga is no Finlay to carry Lashley like that. The only thing I got out of this match is that it was nice to see Austin do more moves than a stunner and what connection that stunner had on Trump. Seeing Vince do what he calls "acting" while being shaved further cemented how out of touch and batshit crazy he is...but you don't need reminders to know that. Melina vs. Ashley is what we expected and they kept it short. But it's a GIGANTIC step down from Mickie/Trish when that was one of the best matches on the card last year with the hot crowd. I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said with the Mad Mickie Love here, but it was sad to see her as just a lumberjac..jill. Speaking of hot crowds, did I already mention that you will not find that in tonight's show? The buildup video to Cena/HBK was really good. The match told a good story and had the hottest part of the crowd all night (not Madison Square Garden hot at WMXX or Staples Center hot last year, but as hot as they decided they could be). But, there was a lot of stalling after the asai moonsault from Michaels. Great ending 5 minutes, though. Had me on my feet feeling the only emotion the entire night. Yeah, it sucks that Smackdown is viewed as the second brand and stuff, but it was a great call on putting HBK/Cena last because I would have felt completely deflated and completely disapointed in Wrestlemania 23 if they went on last with as hot the crowd was not for the entirety of their match. Anyways, great last 5 minutes, but it put a damper on the night that Cena won. Mostly for my deep down kid markdom coming out for the first time for HBK since his return match at Summerslam 02, but that, of course, Cena won. Kind of puts HBK in a weird spot from a booking standpoint, because storywise he pulled out every single thing he had, stuff he wouldn't normally do as a face, but it still wasn't enough. As if he doesn't have it anymore from a storyline point of view. I would be a lot more positive on the show if HBK would have won, honestly when it comes down to it. But the ending still wasn't bad. It sucks, but it's kind of good from a booking way of things. Creating a monster in Cena that can't be stopped, so when he is stopped and pinned CLEANLY, there's a chance that it could even create a new star. Either way it will be a BIG DEAL. Much like Triple H tapping out to Benoit. Not saying I enjoyed Triple H squashing EVERYBODY (it was terrible) but it lead to a great thing. When it comes down to it, the show was enjoyable I suppose. Not $50 enjoyable. $20, I'd say so. Worth a download, but most of the enjoyment comes from it being live, though. Knowing HBK doesn't win while watching Cena/HBK takes away 75% of the entertainment from it. It's not worth a $20 DVD purchase since it has already happened. I regret spending half of $100 on this show, but I don't regret seeing it. It was a balanced Wrestlemania, but it won't go as one of the best. Not by a long shot. Too bad we didn't get that Austin/Hogan match. Oh, and Cena/HBK was the most dramatic/emotional match on the card and MITB was probably the best match on the card followed by Taker/Tista in somewhat distant third.

I like Joe's music. I've always thought that when TNA made that theme, they had Taz's ECW music in mind as it has a lot of similarities to it in sound after the Jaws intro.

They want to represent all eras and that would include John Cena, whom they want to be presented as Hogan/Rock level star. The problem was, they didn't have much to choose from and selecting Cena/Christian/Jericho is really awkward. Cena/JBL from JD05 would have served better in putting Cena over. Cena/HHH from Wrestlemania would have been the best choice if they wanted Cena to look like a Hogan/Rock level star as the match had Hogan/Rock'a Jabroni heat. Not to mention that Cena went over CLEAN.

Damn, Cena is such a pussy in taking chair shots. I thought him putting his hands up all the time against Sabu was bad, but he just made that Vandaminator look like crap by pushing it away from his face during the kick.

That DX segment was brutal. The faster HHH turns on HBK to end these weekly segments, the better. Was I the only one on the edge of hitting the fast forward button (DVR)? I realize "dicks" and "cocks" being used on a WWE show is so cutting edge and ground breaking and stuff, but it doesn't compare to anything done in the past. Maybe I've gotten too old for DX at 19 years old (which should say plenty for HHH/HBK), but that segment was a piece of shit. Pun intended.

Sandman caning the shit out of Eugene would be the greatest thing ever. The ECW crowd would go ape shit. That's what should happen, Eugene comes out randomly and starts to be his retarded self. The crowd eats him alive. Then Enter Sandman hits and the crowd goes bat shit. Cane Eugene. Or New Jack. New Jack should definitely be the one to beat the retard out of Eugene.

Obviously HHH botched that Spinebuster. *sigh* It was really fault on Cena's part for the Vandaminator missing. If you slow-mo the thing, the Vandaminator is pretty much as picture perfect of a form it can get. Cena just didn't have it out to his right enough. Kind of like when Kane didn't hold the chair close enough for RVD to give Storm the VanTerminator (unlike Jeff Hardy a few months previously) and it made it look like RVD didn't make it to Storm, when he really made it as close as he always does.

There is a list online of every match that Meltzer rates ***+ from 2005 along with more years than that. Does anybody have a link to that list?

BRET HART!!!!11

There's a story that Jake Roberts dissapeared on a RAW, and Triple H was looking for him. Triple H eventually found him, put his arm around him, and said, "Where have you been?" Jake Roberts then pulled H's arm off of him, and told him "You know where I have been, I've been smoking crack while you were burying me behind my ba...DO YOU HAVE SOME CRACK?!?"

Off topic, but I'm pretty sure Candido's moniker was "No Gimmick Needed" not necessary.

Yeah, Benoit vs. Eddie hasn't been a good match in decades. *COUGH* *COUGH* Some people get just way too negative about things and distort actual reality. Yes, the last Benoit/Eddie match, which I believe was Vengeance 2003, was just so god awful.

My thoughts.. I liked WMXXI. It had some rough spots as all WMs do (sumo match, women's match, etc). But overall, it was entertaining. I see some people are complaining about a "dead" crowd, but they must have watched the wrong show. Outside of stuff like JBL/Cena, they were into the show. Eddie/Rey could have been much more, but I enjoyed what there was of it. In a match, there is an A, B, and C part. A being the feeling out process usually with some chain wrestling and whatnot. The B part being when the tide shifts to primarily one person for a certain amount of time and over to the other with signature spots being brought out, but nothing too big. Then, C part being the big moves, spots, and finishing moves ultimatly climaxing in the finish of the match. Rey/Eddie felt like an AB match. The ladder match was what the ladder/TLC multi-man matches usually are. And, I feel it did justice to that type of match and was a lot of fun. It's nice to have a match like this every once in a while when WWE has really cut back on these types of matches in recent times. Shelton was easily the star of the match, which I found surprising as I didn't think he'd be of much focus. Benoit's selling was awesome as it always is with his shoulder and emotion (Come on, you had to pop for Kane going up the ladder to get Benoit down, but Benoit just headbutting the fuck out of Kane until he fell back down). Match should have went longer. I was disapointed that nobody noted that David Arquette in the crowd was a former WCW champion . Hogan coming back to clean house on the boring Hassan was the typical nostalgic type of thing. I liked it. Taker vs. Orton was a lot better than it should have been. I see Orton working with so many guys like Benoit and Jericho so often really DID help him. I wouldn't say he's been on a roll with good matches, this match joins his match with Christian on Raw and HHH at the Rumble as some stand out matches. I knew Taker was going to win, but by the near end of the match, I was holding out for Orton to take it. Too bad this match didn't take place during about July of last year when he was somewhat fresh off of his run with Foley and still a heel while getting the megapush. Chokeslam into RKO was cool. Trish vs. Christy. Ok, well, I didn't really pay any attention to this match much. But, damn, Trish is hot. HBK vs. Angle. I fucking loved this match. Easily one of the best WWE matches in a long while. Yeah, HBK temporarily no sold the back work with his magical kip-up. Yes, the back is not part of the ankle. But, as far as WWE match story telling goes, this was great with Angle pulling EVERYTHING out of his arsenal to put away the never-die HBK including the rare Angle moonsault and TOP ROPE MOTHERFUCKING ANGLE SLAM. I was into this match heavily and loved it. I wonder if HBK is going to start wearing those pants instead of his tights. I like the tights as he's worn that for so long, but the pants weren't bad, actually. Angle is the man. Austin/Piper was fun until Carlito came out. I like Carlito and stuff, but they should have at LEAST given Austin and Piper more time to talk to eachother before Triple C came out. They had some nice chemistry going on that was funny. Akebono vs. Show. Well, I originally thought this was going to be a work, but I guess not. It was...different...In theory, these sports vs. sports or whatever the hell you want to call it matches sound good (boxer vs. wrestler, etc). But, when's the last time that anybody cared about a match like that since Inoki vs. Ali? JBL/Cena was depressing. Both guys have really weak movesets and that was very apparent in this match. They should have just had a knock down drag out brawl as something like JR would say with both guys repeatedly kicking out of eachothers finishers, crimson mask, all that good stuff. Almost like a Last Man Standing match type of thing going on, the never quit type of match from both guys. That would have been the climatic way to go with the match, but I guess this match being climatic wasn't on the drawing boards. JBL should have gone down in a blaze of glory, damnit. Batista/HHH was nothing special, but it was alright. I liked the ending of it with Batista busting out of the pedigree with his STRENGTH~! thing. The thumbs down thing was well executed with the crowd giving the thumbs down in the camera shot as he was holding his thumbs up. It was nice to see HHH leaning on the corner with bleeding everywhere with Batista standing tall with the title and HHH backing down and getting out of the ring. Kind of climatic. LIKE JBL/CENA WASN'T. Overall, WMXXI = Thumbs up. One of the better Wrestlemanias and easily the best since X7 (Not saying that's much of an accomplishment, though...)

Chicago. Home to one of the best wrestling crowds.

The crowd was dead? Did you watch the same Wrestlemania XXI that I did? The crowd was perfectly fine outside of MOST of JBL/Cena, Trish/Christy, and most of the sumo match. If you want a dead Wrestlemania crowd, watch XIX. From the entertainment value of most of the matches and segments, WMXXI is easily one of the better Wrestlemanias. Easily the best since X7 (Excluding that ONE triple threat match last year. One match does not make an entire WM, and WMXX had 3 entertaining matches among a big pile of crap).