|
Hedgehog Pie posted:I should also note that this is the show with the GOLDBERG HEEL TURN. Not only that, it was the surprise that Bischoff claimed there was nothing Vince could do about. Gosh, you got Vince dead to rights on that one, Eric.
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2019 22:08
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 06:08 |
|
|
I've heard people call Wrestlemania XXVII one of the worst Manias ever if not the worst, and since it's next on my watch list I guess I'll see exactly how bad it is! (Spoiler: It's very bad) ----- - After the obligatory performance of America the Beautiful by some lady I've never heard of, we start off with a promo by The Rock, the host of tonight's festivities. This goes on for about ten minutes and is mainly just The Rock hyping up the crowd with his catchphrases. The Rock also lies through his teeth as he promises this will be the most memorable Wrestlemania of all time. - Oh my christ, the announce team for this show is a thing to behold. We've got Jerry Lawler, Josh Mathews who I didn't even know was still in the company at this point, and... Heel Michael Cole. I wasn't watching WWE at this time because I got sick of the lovely booking and Heel Cole back in 2010, and hearing Cole run his mouth here reminds me exactly why I quit watching. Seriously, what in the gently caress were they thinking with Heel Cole? What was the point here? Yeah, let's have our lead play-by-play announcer bury everything that happens, I see no harm whatsoever in doing that.  - The first match of the night (not counting the preshow where, in Gavok's words, "Daniel Bryan and Sheamus had a match and The Great Khali won") features World Heavyweight Champion Edge defending against Rumble winner Alberto del Rio in what would be Edge's final televised match. The match is alright, nothing special (I did enjoy Edge pulling out the Edgecator submission, I don't remember seeing him use that since 2002 or so) and doesn't feel like a Wrestlemania title match. The crowd doesn't seem to care all that much either, and probably the biggest pop of the match comes when Christian takes down pre-Funkasaurus Brodus Clay as the latter tries to interfere in the match on del Rio's behalf. Next year, Brodus will be dancing with a bunch of old ladies wearing fake butts, so that's something to look forward to. Edge retains after spearing del Rio, and proceeds to celebrate by committing vandalism as he smashes up del Rio's Rolls-Royce with a crowbar. I'm sure del Rio deserved that, but as I haven't been following the build to the match it just seemed like a weirdly heelish move from Edge. - Rey Mysterio takes on Cody Rhodes. Cody's working the "disfigured" gimmick with the face mask as his face was injured by Mysterio's knee brace a while ago, and now he's out for revenge. Mysterio's dressed up in a Captain America outfit this year, and Cole keeps running him down throughout the match which doesn't get old in the slightest. Cody wins a forgettable match after clobbering Mysterio in the face with Rey's knee brace he removed earlier and hitting the Cross Rhodes. - The Corre vs. Big Show, Kane, Santino and Kofi Kingston. A complete squash, Big Show picks up the win with the WMD on Heath Slater after all the faces get their poo poo in. Santino sucks and I hate him. - Randy Orton faces off against CM Punk. Very slow pace here because Orton has to sell the leg Punk attacked with a wrench a couple of weeks earlier, but at least he's not wrestling Triple H this time which means I'm actually able to stay awake. Orton wins after countering Punk's springboard clothesline into an RKO. Decent story and a good finish, even if the match mostly consisted of Punk working the leg. - Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler in a match I'm sure everyone was looking forward to. JR and Booker T join Josh Mathews on commentary for the match, and Cole cuts a pre-match promo to ensure the crowd is completely dead. Naturally, since Cole by himself isn't nearly annoying enough, he's accompanied by Jack Swagger and his stupid Biff Tannen doofus grin. Next, special ref Steve Austin makes his entrance, and about six weeks later Jerry Lawler finally makes his way to the ring. Cole tries to weasel out of the match, and could we please get this utter nonsense over with? I sure am glad this was deemed more important than the Daniel Bryan/Sheamus match. The match itself goes nearly as long as Orton/Punk, and Cole gets entirely too much offense in until Lawler finally makes him tap out to an ankle lock. Why not just have Lawler beat the poo poo out of him in 30 seconds and maybe deliver a piledriver? Well, no piledrivers are delivered in this match because that would be too satisfying, but at least King beats Cole decisively and... never mind, the Anonymous RAW GM reverses the result because Austin was a biased ref, and Cole is now undefeated at Wrestlemania. Wonderful! At least Josh Mathews and Booker T get Stunners from Austin, and Cole takes the rest of the night off so JR and King can call the remaining matches. - Triple H faces the Undertaker at Wrestlemania for the very first time in history. What's that? Wrestlemania X-7? No, that never happened, you're imagining things. We're off to a great start as the Network version of the show replaces "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "Ain't No Grave" with total crap and Undertaker's regular theme respectively. I know music licensing is an unholy mess, but that's still a bummer. Aside from that bullshit, this is a latter-day HHH Wrestlemania match with all that entails, and HHH submits to the Hell's Gate after what feels like an eternity (and then walks off under his own power whereas Taker is half-dead and has to be carted out). Originally, you could get somewhat invested in this match because it wasn't completely out of the question THE rear end KICKER might put himself over, but when you know the winner there's not much to get excited about here. Michaels/Undertaker this is not. - 6-person mixed tag match with Dolph Ziggler and LayCool taking on the team of John Morrison, Trish Stratus, and Snooki from Jersey Shore. Of course Team Snooki wins easily, and Morrison proceeds to ignore Trish in the post-match celebrations because his girlfriend Melina was mad she didn't get to be in the match. - The main event of the show features The Miz defending the WWE Championship against John Cena in a lovely match nobody cares about. The match initially ends in a double count out, but The Rock restarts it and ends up costing Cena the victory to set up their encounter next year. Then he beats up The Miz just because he can, ensuring that the retaining champion looks like a jackass. I don't even like The Miz, but that was garbage. ----- Well, that was certainly terrible and I never want to see this show again, but I think Wrestlemania 25 was even more disappointing overall despite technically having better matches. DMorbid fucked around with this message at 05:05 on Apr 26, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 04:35
|
|
|
The crowd clapping along to Taker's Ain't No Grave entrance was the only good part of that show, so of course it would not make the Network version
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 06:06
|
|
|
At least the next month's show was so good it killed Bin Laden
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 08:57
|
|
|
I remember reading that they justified Cole-Lawler being so long because it had Stone Cold involved, and unlike most of these other goobers on the show he was an actual star. Cole winning was supposedly because the angle was getting surprisingly good ratings on TV and they wanted to ride that wave a little longer, but I've also read that it was an attempt by backstage to make a bit of money, as this was around the time where betting outlets had started giving odds on wrestling around Wrestlemania time. And surely Lawler is going to win easily, right? Who would bet otherwise?? I actually quite liked elements of Heel Cole, but not as a commentator and certainly not as the play-by-play guy. The storyline also went on for way too long without him getting his comeuppance and learning his lesson (or even moving on to be revealed as the anonymous GM as they seemed to be hinting at), until Cena tore his clothes off and covered him in barbecue sauce like a year later, long after everyone had stopped caring.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 09:57
|
|
|
2 things I liked about this show. Undertaker's entrance. And the Tombstone kickout.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 15:00
|
|
|
I seem to remember Snooki actually looking fairly decent for her limited role in that mixed tag match.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 15:19
|
|
|
Snooki pulled off a handspring elbow and a like elbow drop thing and it definitely looked OK. I remember her and Maria Menonous always being coming off surprisingly good for celeb plugs.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 15:40
|
|
|
Would love to see people post about the worst celeb cameos at PPVs 
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 16:09
|
|
|
Quantum of Phallus posted:Would love to see people post about the worst celeb cameos at PPVs Art Donovan. 1994 King of the Ring. He wasn't even wrestling, he was on commentary along with Gorilla Monsoon doing PPV play-by-play for the first time since Rumble '93 & Randy Savage and he really didn't know anything and seemed more excited by how much wrestlers weigh than anything else on the show.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 16:20
|
|
|
forkboy84 posted:Art Donovan. 1994 King of the Ring. He wasn't even wrestling, he was on commentary along with Gorilla Monsoon doing PPV play-by-play for the first time since Rumble '93 & Randy Savage and he really didn't know anything and seemed more excited by how much wrestlers weigh than anything else on the show. Yeah it's art by a mile. "how much does this guy weigh??" was legitimately asked a couple dozen times.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 16:39
|
|
|
Quantum of Phallus posted:Would love to see people post about the worst celeb cameos at PPVs Burt Reynolds was shithoused at his WM appearance Also the Jackass guys laughing and no selling w/ Umaga
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 16:39
|
|
|
That mania is one of 2 DVDs I own from WWE, the other being the Rise and Fall of ECW. And I only own it because Cody Rhodes was signing it at a Giant Eagle around Columbus. He said he was going to some horror convention or a haunted hotel or some poo poo after. I said 'cool". I have never watched that DVD. Good Listener fucked around with this message at 16:46 on Apr 26, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 16:41
|
|
|
El Gallinero Gros posted:
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 16:59
|
|
|
Armitage posted:I seem to remember Snooki actually looking fairly decent for her limited role in that mixed tag match. Apparently she used to be a cheerleader, so she could pull off a few cool moves while others took the bumps. Actually a good use of a celebrity. (And of course Laycool were a shining beacon in the darkness of the Divas division.)
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 17:16
|
|
|
DeathChicken posted:Didn't that result in Umaga breaking their ribs? Steve-O caught a stiff savate kick to the ribs, yeah
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 17:39
|
|
|
It was a little different than that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFRIFQO1Cec
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2019 18:53
|
|
|
"Snooki worked a Mania match and was surprisingly passable" is a real fuckin' time capsule for that specific era of WWE
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 01:52
|
|
|
If Backlash 2000 had been WM that year it'd be remembered as one of the best ever. It's still one of my favorite PPV shows.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 02:51
|
|
|
Fauxhawk Express posted:If Backlash 2000 had been WM that year it'd be remembered as one of the best ever. It's still one of my favorite PPV shows. I signed up for WWE Network for Wrestlemania and before I cancel, I'm watching some of my old favorites. Re-watching this one now and holy poo poo this is fun. That stage set with the swinging hooks is great. I'm on the 6 man hardcore championship match now and wanted to say thank you for the recommendation.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 03:30
|
|
|
What was the reasoning for that weird period of time where WWE were making PPVs based around basic concepts? Like a Fatal 4 Way show, a show based on submissions etc.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 14:09
|
|
|
OldTennisCourt posted:What was the reasoning for that weird period of time where WWE were making PPVs based around basic concepts? Like a Fatal 4 Way show, a show based on submissions etc. Quiet desperation?
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 14:11
|
|
|
OldTennisCourt posted:What was the reasoning for that weird period of time where WWE were making PPVs based around basic concepts? Like a Fatal 4 Way show, a show based on submissions etc. When was this?
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 17:11
|
|
|
OldTennisCourt posted:What was the reasoning for that weird period of time where WWE were making PPVs based around basic concepts? Like a Fatal 4 Way show, a show based on submissions etc. They got it in their head they couldn't draw on PPV based around match ups and needed to run gimmick shows to draw.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 17:17
|
|
|
2006 to 2012 or so was loving dire for WWE
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 17:40
|
|
|
MassRafTer posted:They got it in their head they couldn't draw on PPV based around match ups and needed to run gimmick shows to draw. This was also around the time UFC was completely wrecking their poo poo on PPV. The WM buyrate in 2010 probably got cut down pretty bad by Mir/Carwin and GSP/Hardy the night before, and Bragging Rights didn't have a shot in hell against Lesnar/Velasquez the night prior either.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 19:04
|
|
|
Breaking Point did at least give us Randy Orton's absolute best promo. So good that it could almost sell you on the drama of a John Cena I Quit match.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 19:16
|
|
|
Are they still doing an entire show around HIAC? I really dislike that they did that, HIAC had been sorta watered down as is without blood and doing it too much, but that felt like torturing someone who was already bleeding out.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2019 19:17
|
|
|
Wrestlemania XIII was a real dog from what I can recall, with the obvious exception of the Stone Cold Bret Submission match. The Undertaker vs. Sid main event was 20 minutes of paint drying and the rest of the card consisted of Sunday Night Heat calibre matches such as: Flash Funk vs Billy Gunn HHH vs Goldust Rocky Maivia vs The Sultan Ahmed Johnson and LOD vs Crush Savio Vega and Farooq The Headbangers vs Furnas and Lafon vs The New Blackjacks vs The Godwins Owen Hart and the British Bulldog vs Mankind and Vader - ended in a double count out to ensure any redeeming qualities are negated I know things improved for the WWF shortly thereafter but holy poo poo it was looking pretty dire if you consider that this was the biggest show of the year and and attempt to compete with the NWO excitement going on in WCW. At least Furnas and Lafon got some exposure despite jobbing to the Headbangers BhindiBhaji Boogie fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Apr 28, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 00:57
|
|
|
Does anybody remember the (I believe) one-and-done Capitol Punishment ppv? Without looking anything up, all I can really remember about that show is the weeks of HORRIBLE pieces where King would have a dream sequence LIVE ON THE AIR about politicians having to tell the truth, and on the show itself they got an Obama impersonator to do a shuck and jive because Vince McMahon is a disgusting piece of human trash.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 01:11
|
|
|
Is Capitol Punishment the one with main event heel R-Truth? Might explain why people have a hard time remembering it.BhindiBhaji Boogie posted:Ahmed Johnson and LOD vs Crush Savio Vega and Farooq the rest of the card i'll grant you but the chicago street fight is pure chaos and i love it
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 01:29
|
|
|
Do not even ask posted:Is Capitol Punishment the one with main event heel R-Truth? Might explain why people have a hard time remembering it. This is possibly the height of t truths character leading up to this. His promos were awesome. Like I get no one is going to pay money for an r truth main event unless it contains the rock in it. But at least they tried something new instead of cena vs Orton.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 03:03
|
|
|
R-Truth smoking on that Raw in England while the crowd chanted,"THAT'S IL-LEGAL!" was loving beautiful.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 03:05
|
|
|
Do not even ask posted:Is Capitol Punishment the one with main event heel R-Truth? Might explain why people have a hard time remembering it. Ahaha I forgot Ezekiel Jackson existed until I looked up the card for this show
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 03:10
|
|
|
BhindiBhaji Boogie posted:Wrestlemania XIII was a real dog from what I can recall, with the obvious exception of the Stone Cold Bret Submission match. The Undertaker vs. Sid main event was 20 minutes of paint drying and the rest of the card consisted of Sunday Night Heat calibre matches such as: Survivor Series '97 was real bad too since the show format really exposed how shallow their roster was. ECW had it's share of awful PPVs too, such as Living Dangerously 2000. The cringeworthy Sandman angle to start the show, a bunch of nothing afterward, and the Grimes/New Jack spot that freaked everyone the gently caress out and forced them to rush through everything to get off the air ASAP. hunnert car pileup fucked around with this message at 03:23 on Apr 28, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 03:18
|
|
|
BhindiBhaji Boogie posted:Wrestlemania XIII iirc this match features a young Colt Cabana reaching over the guardrail to smack somebody
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 16:39
|
|
|
Benne posted:Backlash 2018 is in the argument for worst WWE show of the 2010s that doesn't involve Saudi blood money Alright I'll circle back around and cover this pile of poo poo in detail, which would've run away with Worst Show of 2018 if Crown Jewel didn't happen. For a bit of context, this was the first PPV of the modern-era brand split billed as a "dual brand" show after they did away with each brand having its own PPV. The upside was, cool, we don't have 2 PPVs a month anymore. The downside was bloated cards and 4-hour run times, flaws that were quickly exposed on this show. We'll get to all that later. Seth Rollins(c) vs. The Miz, Intercontinental Championship Good hot opener, I've nothing bad to say here. It ended up getting overhyped because it was literally the only good thing on the show, but a solid ***1/2. Nia Jax(c) vs. Alexa Bliss, Raw Women's Championship Nia has always been a bad wrestler and unconvincing monster heel, but they kinda had something going there with her as a body-positive role model. This match more or less killed that goodwill, as we're supposed to believe that 3-foot tall, 50-pound Alexa can comfortably dominate Nia for like 10 minutes before she barely escaped with the win. Instead of just having the babyface destroy the fat-shaming bully, they went with the most generic "heat/comeback" formula, and none of it was good. The post-match was even worse, with Nia delivering a cringey plug for Be A Star that went on forever. Nia Jax is such a bad talker she got the crowd to boo an anti-bullying promo. Nia turned heel literally the next week, rendering all of this pointless. Jeff Hardy(c) vs. Randy Orton, US Championship I have zero memory of this match and you're lying if you say you do. After this match, there's an Elias segment where he gets interrupted by a parade of entrances, each one more geeky than the last. First the New Day, then Rusev and Aiden English, then No Way Jose making his first and I'm pretty sure his only PPV appearance, then a whole bunch of other dudes who nobody will ever remember again. This might've been tolerable for a second-hour-of-Raw segment, but it went for 30 agonizing minutes and had no reason to exist. Remember those 30 wasted minutes when we get to the main event. Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass Oh, Big Cass. Big rear end. Big Ol' Tub of poo poo. Imagine having a bad match with Daniel Bryan. Just imagine it. Daniel loving Bryan, one of the greates wrestlers of all time, a proud and grizzled veteran, who will gladly wrestle useless stiffs just to prove he can have a good match with anyone. You can almost see the shame and humiliation in his face once he realizes that no, not even he can get anything decent out of Big Cass. Anyway, Bryan tapped out Cass, got beat up after the bell because This Feud Must Continue, and then Cass got fired a month later. This was a great use of Bryan coming off his long hiatus and definitely didn't cool off his return buzz, which he only recovered from by turning heel months after the fact. Best laid plans and all. Carmella(c) vs. Charlotte Flair, Smackdown Women's Championship I've been told, long after I gave up WWE for good, that Carmella got better after dropping the title. I'll believe it when I see it, which is never, but what I saw here was the absolute drizzling shits. For a former cheerleader, it's astonishing how stiff and unathletic Carmella looks in the ring. And it's not even good "cowardly heel" work, she looks actively terrified of bumping or taking moves, which in turn makes Charlotte's offense look like poo poo. There's a rest hold segment that goes for like 50 minutes while Carmella yells at the crowd (which I'm sure her agents told her is "good heel work" but really means "I don't know what to do next"). Also Carmella won clean, completely taking the sails out of Charlotte ending Asuka's streak -- which in hindsight didn't matter either. Nothing matters. What are we doing here? AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, No DQ Match for WWE Championship That AJ/Nak match from Wrestle Kingdom feels like it happened 20 years ago. It definitely feels like they feuded in WWE for 20 years, with each match more boring than the last and each finish even dumber than the last. This one ended with both guys kicking each other in the dick, resulting in a double-countout in a No DQ match. If Joey Janela booked this it might've been the highlight of his show. In a world title match we're supposed to take seriously, it comes off as impossibly lame. The show's running late at this point and there are still two matches to go, hot drat. Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn Jesus, who could possibly care? I don't and neither do you. Braun and Bobby win a squash and beat up the alleged heels afterwards, because as Nia Jax reminded us earlier in the night, bullying is bad. At this point, it's already 11 p.m. in New Jersey and the crowd is getting restless, because we just had to do that Elias segment so we can call ourselves a "variety show" instead of doing a well-paced wrestling card. But don't worry, the main event looks like it could be really fun if they keep it short and have both guys go balls-to-the-wall. Close out the show with a bang, right? Not if you're WWE agents, apparently. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe This actually started off well, with Joe attacking Roman before the bell and putting him through the announce table. But the bell rang and everything instantly went to poo poo. Once again, they stuck to the rigid formula of "heel stalls, puts on holds, babyface sells, slowly makes comeback," without any consideration as to the crowd atmosphere, the late time, or even having a good wrestling match. By this point, the crowd completely gave up. There were a million different chants, including the usual "CM Punk" and "Boring," but "Beat the traffic" was my favorite. The most lasting image from this match, and the show in general, is the crowd literally jumping up and heading to the exits while Roman is pinning Joe. https://twitter.com/WrasslorMonkey/status/993350298801291266 Coming off a mediocre WrestleMania 34, and bad PR with the first Saudi Arabia show, WWE responded by dropping its pants and dumping all over the ring. A complete misfire on pretty much every level, and one that set the tone for the rest of 2018, which was arguably the company's worst on-screen year of the decade. I was heavily leaning towards cancelling the Network after Greatest Royal Rumble, and Backlash made it an easy decision. What a way to go out. Benne fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Apr 28, 2019 |
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 21:14
|
|
|
The one good thing about Bryan vs Cass is the promo Bryan cut about how Cass is big and that can't be taught, but how wrestling can be taught and he simply can't do it like Bryan can (or at all). Then Bryan says it doesn't matter which finish he uses whether it's the heel hook, the Yes!Lock or "The shin to the dome when you're momma's not home", Cass is going down.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 22:18
|
|
|
Benne posted:Alright I'll circle back around and cover this pile of poo poo in detail, which would've run away with Worst Show of 2018 if Crown Jewel didn't happen. This was the first PPV that I actually stopped watching when I realized that Joe/Roman was the main event. This show set a really bad precedent for the 4 - 7 hour PPV era. Also don't forget that Cass is so bad that during the Yes lock, Bryan had to literally grab Cass' hand and pull it to his face to make it look like he was trying to get out of the hold.
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2019 23:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 06:08 |
|
|
Super-showdown 2019. Dire. Every single match.
|
|
#
?
Jun 11, 2019 08:32
|
|