It doesn't get much bigger than this. Cena vs. Rock: Once In a Lifetime. Triple H vs. Undertaker: End of AN Era inside Hell in a Cell. C.M. Punk vs. Chris Jericho: Best in the World vs. Best In The World for the WWE Championship and the Royal Rumble winner Sheamus takes on the World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan. Read on for my thoughts on the show as it happens.
Pretty cool set.
WWE can put on some beautiful graphics and video packages.
First complaint of the night: Mania is sold on Taker, HHH, Rock, and Cena. Only one of those guys is "full-time" and works live events, etc..
WOW. That's a lot of people.
Interesting choice to start things off. This match is for one of the biggest prizes in the business and it's going on first.
THAT CAPE. I must have one.
Haha, AJ can barely move the ropes.
I love the YES! signs and chants but heels shouldn't be cheered.
BULLSH**. The #&$@ was that? This is WrestleMania. People paid money to see this clash and it lasts less than a minute?
Hey, it set a record. People will talk about it. That means it's ok to totally derail Bryan's push? Bryan must have peed in someone's coffee or something.
I liked the flex from Otunga before speaking, and Ziggler's ripped shirt. Little details are big sometimes.
Sheamus/Bryan certainly wasn't a Mania moment like Hart/Austin.
You, too, can go see a World Title match end in less than a minute. That was seriously stupid. It's like that whole title reign was meaningless and he was just holding the Title for Sheamus. Sheamus is a fantastic wrestler and I don't mind him winning, but why they did that to Bryan is beyond me.
9 WrestleManias? Where has the time gone?
Cole just called a DDT a Bulldog. I'd still rather hear him at Mania than Booker.
Thinking back to Bryan, maybe they're paying him a compliment by doing homage to HHH's loss to Ultimate Warrior?
I didn't expect this match to feature a vertical suplex. I was expecting a brawl.
WHOA. Didn't see that counter coming from Orton.
Thank you, whoever yelled in Cole's headset to tell him that wasn't a Bulldog.
Thank goodness. I was ready to get ticked off at a second ending. Orton's not as established as Kane, so him losing here would hurt more than Kane losing.
Very impressive chokeslam spot. Not sure why they had the Attitude Era guy beat the star of today but I hope they got it out of their system.
Goofy celebrity segment pushing a show airing at the same time as a live Smackdown. If that doesn't tell you that WWE's lost their way, I don't know what will.
That outfit's pretty sweet, too.
He's held that title for almost 2/3 of the year. Now would be the perfect time for him to lose it to someone who's already hugely over and wouldn't benefit from the gold nearly as much (by WWE logic).
He should go for that #1 spot of most losses tonight.
Welp, that game plan was fun while it lasted.
Big Show looks like he's ready to go backstage and eat some of that crab.
Thank goodness. I was expecting another chokeslam win.
This whole show is April Fools' worthy.
Work hard and do amazing work all year, then go out to a guy who's pretty much there because he's big. Way to send a message to the wrestling world.
WWE's of course more about the fluff than the substance of Divas' wrestling.
Beth can destroy most women, but when she's facing a celebrity non-wrestler, those skills can't save her.
Props to Maria for being at the show with her injuries.
Ugh. Stinkfaces and Twitter.
Maria's attractive and all, but this is kind of hard to watch. Why does this match get more time than Sheamus vs. Bryan (which had been built for far longer)?
This match feels like it's going in slow motion.
Someone might need to call Geico, because this looked like a car crash.
Now this guy's someone who should be at WrestleMania. Even as a referee.
Very impressive attendance. If only the matches lived up to that?
This could be disastrous at commentary given their usual bickering.
Triple H is in pretty good shape. I'd wager that he's still "got it".
WHOA. Now that's a kickass costume.
The haircut, not so much.
If something like "Bald Taker" trends, will WWE promote it?
It didn't take them long to slow the pace down. Not that I'm really surprised given the condition Taker's in.
Not that I'd say it to his face, but Taker's haircut makes him look kind of ridiculous after so many years with the long hair.
That's a lot of WrestleManias...
Taker seems kind of sluggish here, though some of that's because we generally see pretty high-paced stuff.
Surely this won't end without some huge bump(s)?
That was a pretty cool use of the steps.
They've built the streak so much that someone would practically have to kill Taker to believably beat him.
I kind of wish Michaels would remind him that that's one of his employees.
Looks like Taker might win because HBK turns on his buddy for getting too brutal.
Good mic and camera placing for that. Cool to bring us into the moment.
How the heck is Taker going to come back from all this punishment?
Yeah, Shawn's going to cost HHH the match out of respect for Taker or something.
I don't think the fans are going to be happy if Shawn's the reason this one ends.
Well, that was a creative way to take Shawn out of the match.
Hell's Gate is serious business.
Michaels was resilient as a wrestler, but 2 years after being retired, he's not. Ok then.
Just take out all the referees. Is Nick Patrick busy?
THAT was pretty awesome with Shawn.
No way does it end with one Tombstone these days.
Punk, Jericho, Rock, and Cena have their work cut out for them.
I love the dueling "yay"s and "boo"s for some reason.
I also love that JR's calling this instead of Booker.
I half-expected Taker to hit Shawn with the chair.
I almost didn't expect Shawn to count the final pinfall.
That was honestly kind of a letdown given their past Cell matches. I guess it was unrealistic to expect someone going over or through the Cell.
Interesting that we are left wondering if either man will compete again. That becomes less likely each time we see them.
I would pop so hard for Brock Lesnar's music playing right now.
That being said, this is some pretty cool emotional stuff with three of the all-time greats.
Where in the world can they go with Taker's streak from here? Who hasn't he beaten? What hasn't he done?
Ahh... now HHH is the one who needs to be helped out of the ring. I like the continuity from last year.
Way to mar what's an amazing moment with a Twitter graphic.
There are so many Photoshops to be made with those three standing side by side. Weekend at Bernie's is the obvious reference.
Do wrestling matches break out in the middle of concerts? You'd think it would be time for musicians to return the favor.
Yeah... not how I wanted Hawkins, Reks, and Slater on WrestleMania.
Note that these people just get one entrance, with the Raw music. A far cry from where Miz was last year.
And the camera's on Vickie, Brie, and Johnny instead of the wrestlers.
!!! I hope Bruce Prichard's ok with that joke getting made. Wow.
This match is kind of slowing things down after the big Cell match. You kind of need that to set up other big matches.
He won the main event at WrestleMania last year... and now he's here.
Vickie, Aksana, Hornswoggle, and the Bellas are more important than the in-ring action. Why am I not shocked?
PHEW. I thought Miz was going to go down to the Cobra.
Nice bumps as always from Ziggler.
I'm sure that was completely accidental by Eve. She loves Zack Ryder!
There's more of a story to Long getting his job back (people will actually want to see that happen).
Eve was on the heel team earlier. I'm not sure why he expected her to be on his side here.
"This show that you're watching right now. A lot of people talked about it."
Why throw the DQ stip on at the last minute?
I want one of those jackets so bad.
Cool entrance for Punk.
I love Jericho having "Best in the World" on his tights. They look pretty identical in ring gear.
I'm liking the "keep Punk frustrated so he'll get DQ'd" strategy.
This is really weird, since I expected a 5-star wrestling match instead of match based mainly on a story.
Pretty big bumps from Punk here.
Not sure what Punk made reference to from the top rope. He snuck in something from "Karate Kid" when choking out Christian on Raw.
Lots of impressive moves and counters here.
NICE counter from the top into the Walls. These two are geniuses.
I miss JR on commentary, though this is still pretty awesome.
AMAZING Codebreaker spot.
I think I might have been ok with Jericho winning there given how good he is.
Jericho doing everything to counter the G2S makes it seem like a big deal to take it. I like that.
GREAT G2S counter.
LIONTAMER!
Punk would be totally ok with a loss here as much damage as he's taken. I don't think it would hurt him too much.
GREAT counter-wrestling.
Please tell me we get a rematch from this.
Very good match. Props to both men, and I'm glad Punk went over as the star of the present.
While that Mania ad was cool, it didn't make me say "I can't wait for the wrestling matches there will be then".
I was wondering what they'd put before Rock/Cena.
One day we're going to look back at this gimmick and laugh at how crazy 2012 was.
I picture someone backstage going "we just put on a lot of wrestling. We've got to reel them back in with what they really came for. Send for the little people!"
I mean, we needed SOMETHING to cleanse the palate before Rock/Cena, but I don't know if this was what it should have been.
Hopefully this match shuts up the "you can't wrestle" critics.
Did he change his official name again?
Wearing a Cleveland shirt in Miami. That'll get you over well.
Boo this man.
Haha, a new color scheme for Cena.
Cena-haters are going to be all over this: before the biggest match of his life, Cena's being goofy talking to the camera.
Flo Rida's in pretty good shape himself.
Concerts are more important than World Title matches for WWE in 2012.
Wasn't there a match or something we were supposed to be getting to?
It is pretty awesome seeing The Rock getting ready for his first singles match in quite some time.
There's something magical in the air in Miami right now.
Didn't see Cena getting an early advantage.
Talk about two bulls locking horns.
Rock's still got it.
In fact, he might have more than he's had in a long time. Hogan/Sting '11 this isn't.
Could we on the way to a Cena heel turn?
I'm surprised we've made it this far into the night with both announce tables intact.
I'm thinking Cena has a good showing, then Rock surprised him late to win.
A belly-to-belly suplex? But I thought Cena only had 3 moves?
Vintage Rock indeed.
NICE People's Elbow counter.
I expected a Five Knuckle Shuffle counter.
"Same old sh**" chants from people watching a Rock match. Umm....
GREAT spot to set up the AA.
They've got to have a cool ending planned for this one.
Awkward amount of time ahead of the Rocker Dropper (or whatever the leg drop from the top rope is called).
I like Rock going from the technical move to getting frustrated and using punches.
I also like them selling that he's been in the Sharpshooter for a while. They don't do that enough with "rest holds".
I like the role reversal with Cena using the STF.
Check out that camera angle.
That would be a good ending we haven't seen in a while. "He wouldn't give up. He just passed out from the pain." Shades of Hart vs. Austin.
NICE Samoan Drop spot.
Also a pretty good tease for each man's finishers.
I thought he had him with the Elbow after that call.
GREAT selling of the finishers and tenacity.
I half-expected the surprise roll-up ending.
Great split crowd.
I hope Cena wins with the Rock Bottom or something.
I don't think I've seen Rock do anything from the top rope. At least he's not known for it.
Cena should catch him for the AA.
That works too!
AAAAAHHH. I thought that was it. That would have been huge for Cena.
I love the People's Elbow tease.
And I love Rock countering it.
Rock wins, but mainly because of Cena's arrogance and trying to show off. Works for me I guess as they put Cena over on commentary after the fact.
I guess Rock kind of "had" to win in Miami. It still makes it look like the part-time, older guy's better than the top guy for the company in 2012.
I was hoping for some kind of handshake ending, but that would be uncharacteristic of Rock.
Rematch next year please?
That's it for Mania. I'll be back for Raw tomorrow and a news post should be up later. Thanks for reading!
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