Post by rocketking on Apr 5, 2017 11:08:47 GMT -5
I don’t think there’s an original thought left to be written or said about Wrestlemania weekend, but this is the first time I’ve had to put anything in writing about it. Would love to hear everybody else’s random opinions – on these topics and whatever else – related to the weekend.
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Making the now very safe assumption that The Undertaker has wrestled his last match, I have no gripe with the quality or the placement of his match with Roman Reigns. The Undertaker’s last match – whether advertised as such or not – is a Wrestlemania main event 10 times out of 10.
Speaking of match placement, in retrospect it was a great call to open the “official” show with AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon. AJ is as close to a sure thing as the WWE has as far as turning in a very good match. Not to mention that the earlier in the card Shane wrestles, the less distance he has to climb to elicit a decent pop.
Did it cross anybody’s mind at any point during his match that Randy Orton was the winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble? Depending on how you classify the WM31 cash-in, this is now four consecutive years that Wrestlemania did NOT close with the Rumble winner against the WWE Champion in a one-on-one match. I’m not saying this match should have closed the show (see above), but I think the prestige of winning the Royal Rumble needs a bit of rehab.
After a second viewing to make sure, you can count me on the “did not particularly enjoy” side of the Nakamura/Roode discussion. I’m not familiar with his work in Japan, but the Nakamura that I know from NXT is such a unique character with a very special in-ring style that I think it takes a specific opponent to get a great match out of him. And sometimes who that opponent is has no bearing on their “workrate” in the traditional sense. I don't even think I can properly explain it, but as a great as Nakamura is at what he does, it doesn't always work for me.
I thought the announcers could have done a better job of not making the referee look like an idiot at the end of the Asuka/Ember Moon match. I know the announcers are on a pretty short leash compared to the past, so maybe this criticism should be directed elsewhere, but I could hear an old school JR or even Jesse Ventura explaining that the referee didn’t want to disqualify Asuka to take away Ember's title shot, and unfortunately it ended up costing Ember the match.
My favorite match of the weekend (I'm a WWE-only guy, for the record) was the NXT triple threat tag match. My only gripe was the crowd reaction once it became (even more) obvious that the Authors of Pain were going to win. It’s not “bullshit” that the monster heels are going to win and you don’t want them to. It was a very well booked match in addition to being executed damn near flawlessly. That used to be enough to warrant heat (…brother), not whining.
I don’t know if my actual issue is with this crowd, crowds in general or the direction of business in general, but whether you like AoP or not, it’s not “bullshit” that they won that match.
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Making the now very safe assumption that The Undertaker has wrestled his last match, I have no gripe with the quality or the placement of his match with Roman Reigns. The Undertaker’s last match – whether advertised as such or not – is a Wrestlemania main event 10 times out of 10.
Speaking of match placement, in retrospect it was a great call to open the “official” show with AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon. AJ is as close to a sure thing as the WWE has as far as turning in a very good match. Not to mention that the earlier in the card Shane wrestles, the less distance he has to climb to elicit a decent pop.
Did it cross anybody’s mind at any point during his match that Randy Orton was the winner of the 2017 Royal Rumble? Depending on how you classify the WM31 cash-in, this is now four consecutive years that Wrestlemania did NOT close with the Rumble winner against the WWE Champion in a one-on-one match. I’m not saying this match should have closed the show (see above), but I think the prestige of winning the Royal Rumble needs a bit of rehab.
After a second viewing to make sure, you can count me on the “did not particularly enjoy” side of the Nakamura/Roode discussion. I’m not familiar with his work in Japan, but the Nakamura that I know from NXT is such a unique character with a very special in-ring style that I think it takes a specific opponent to get a great match out of him. And sometimes who that opponent is has no bearing on their “workrate” in the traditional sense. I don't even think I can properly explain it, but as a great as Nakamura is at what he does, it doesn't always work for me.
I thought the announcers could have done a better job of not making the referee look like an idiot at the end of the Asuka/Ember Moon match. I know the announcers are on a pretty short leash compared to the past, so maybe this criticism should be directed elsewhere, but I could hear an old school JR or even Jesse Ventura explaining that the referee didn’t want to disqualify Asuka to take away Ember's title shot, and unfortunately it ended up costing Ember the match.
My favorite match of the weekend (I'm a WWE-only guy, for the record) was the NXT triple threat tag match. My only gripe was the crowd reaction once it became (even more) obvious that the Authors of Pain were going to win. It’s not “bullshit” that the monster heels are going to win and you don’t want them to. It was a very well booked match in addition to being executed damn near flawlessly. That used to be enough to warrant heat (…brother), not whining.
I don’t know if my actual issue is with this crowd, crowds in general or the direction of business in general, but whether you like AoP or not, it’s not “bullshit” that they won that match.
