The Official WWE / NXT Discussion Thread *May Contain Spoilers*

[milamber]

That's why I don't get how people can accuse the IWC of being complainers when thousands of people in the arena booed the closing of the show, and were dead for the majority of it.

 

Smark-heavy crowd. They wanted Lesnar, Punk and Rock to win, and or Orton to turn heel and Ziggler to cash-in. My expectations for Mania are always low and I try not to think about the predictable outcomes and just enjoy the matches for what they are.

 

Ryback vs Mark Henry - The pacing of this match was terrible but as to be expected from these two. I don't understand why they had Mark Henry win this one when they clearly wanted to keep Ryback strong (as per the post-match Shellshock) Why not justh have Ryback hit the Shellshock and win the match? It made no sense to me.

 

You've got to look long term (if WWE follows through). The feud's only just started. Expect Ryback to get the next win.

[panix04]

Everyone's entitled to their opinions. To say the overall show was a letdown, I get that. To crap all over Rock/Cena as a letdown? Don't see that.

 

I mean you hate one guy or the other, that's fine. Blind Cena hatred regardless of what he does? Disagree but at least I get it. But i keep reading the word "disappointment". What were you guys expecting a technical masterpiece? IT did what it had to do from a storytelling perspective. So I don't see how it didn't live up to realistic expectations.

 

I didn't expect a technical masterpiece, I expected effective story telling and I expected that they would finish the card with the best match. For me the match was worse than Ryback Vs Mark Henry (And I REALLY don't like those guys) I love the rock and I do not agree that he is technically limited. I actually think compared to some he has a pretty good arsenal. I think Cena needs a change of character badly and was hoping they would do do something with it here (which obviously they didn't) i'm not a huge fan of Cena, but the guy works his ass off doing 300 shows a year and makes a lot of cash, so From a drawing perspective it was totally correct to put them two together in a match, the evidence of that is the sell-out crowd and the massive buy rates.

 

I just can't help but feel that the title didn't have to be anywhere near that feud, it made it predictable to begin with. I also think the lack of any "comedy" matches on the card added to the crowd being completely burned out. It was just a crappy PPV, that was ended with a match that I would only rate as a two star (based on technical ability, telling a story, crowd reaction, pacing and build up) And I think that the biggest show in wrestling deserves a much higher caliber finale. I get why the match was there, but once you have sold the tickets why not end on a high and let CM Punk end the show? The guy is the best performer the company has, it sucks that he has to perform below all the part-timers. (having said that, I thought Brock looked very good, it's a shame they can't get him on a more regular basis)

[Rickymex]

So I guess NJPW won most of the year end awards?

[Teh_Showtime]

Verdict: Despite being mostly predictable, this was the best Wrestlemania of the last few years, IMO. The undercard matches were all decent. Rock vs Cena didn't suck, Punk vs Taker delivered and Lesnar vs HHH over-delivered. The 80,000+ crowd under-delivered in certain matches, IMO. About as good as I could have hoped for considering it's one of my least favourite PPVs.

 

Can you really blame the crowd for not being amped for the most predictable set of main events in history? Everyone knew what the matches would be for 9 months as far as Rock/Cena and Lesnar/HHH goes which left Taker/Punk as the only top guys without opponents

 

And then when two of those matches are babyfaces with a rematch (and then a stupid career stip that gave everything away), and the Streak, it was painfully predictable.

[bigtplaystew]

I didn't expect a technical masterpiece, I expected effective story telling and I expected that they would finish the card with the best match.

 

Your points are valid, but to me, that WAS the best match of the nght and by a nice margin. Taker/Punk is arguable but I like Cena/Rock better. Thats the match that had the most live crowd. That's the match that had people I was with shutting up and watching.

 

Again, to say it was predictable is valid. To say you hate Cena and don't like anything he does, I get that. Disagree but at least I know where you're comming from. "Disappointment" is the word I'm having the issue with. As far as I'm concerned, Cena/Rock delivered. It was what it was: A headlining match that told the story of John Cena's redemption. Predictable? Yes. But it was also effective.

 

I guess I don't go into every single wrestlemania expecting to be blown away though.

[Teh_Showtime]

Your points are valid, but to me, that WAS the best match of the nght and by a nice margin. Taker/Punk is arguable but I like Cena/Rock better. Thats the match that had the most live crowd. That's the match that had people I was with shutting up and watching.

 

I'm not sure if we were watching the same match. The crowd was largely quiet until the finisher spamming which was the only notable part of the match.

 

I don't even think you can compare it to the crowd for Punk/Taker that was red hot the entire match

[panix04]

Yeah I thought the crowd were very flat for the final match. Of course It's hard to truly tell unless you are there. I guess in terms of what the best match was it is a matter of opinion. I wouldn't call myself a cena hater, I'm not a fan but he's had some good matches. His series against edge was very good. I think had he and the rock been at their best it would have been a decent main event. I liked last years match. But I thought both men were poor. Like I said though its just one guys opinion, having said that it looks like a lot of people are with me on this one

[ZMAN]

so you think 4 star matches are just regular and not special?

 

Good but not special. It's not a match that I'll want to look back on or will remember as "great." I wouldn't even rate it as 4 stars (I don't think I even did...). Close to it, but not quite.

[Nathers7]

All over the Wrestling news sites:

 

There is absolute panic at Raw at this moment. The show was scheduled to build to a segment where Brock Lesnar beat up Rock to set up next year's WrestleMania main event. Rock is not there. The word at the building is he went home. Vince McMahon, the writers and producers are in the process of redoing the show, evidently believing the angle has been nixed. Nobody knows any details as to what happened past that. The belief right now is Rock is not appearing and hopefully if that changes we'll get an update.

 

--There is a second major angle tonight to set up the main feud going forward and the Extreme Rules main event involving John Cena's next title defense. It is one of the things that has been planned for some time and was actually scheduled before Mania.

 

Looks like Rock has done an Austin , obviously might not be true but worth a mention after pwinsider and f4w reported it.

[ampulator]

Look, I'm surprised anyone is surprised at Wrestlemania. WWE does not care so much for their PPV's anymore. They are merely cash cows to be wrenched for their last dollar. The day they become unprofitable, they are going toss most of them out. They aren't going toss out the big three or four, or even six, but half those PPV's will go sooner rather than later.

[bigtplaystew]

I'm not sure if we were watching the same match. The crowd was largely quiet until the finisher spamming which was the only notable part of the match.

 

I don't even think you can compare it to the crowd for Punk/Taker that was red hot the entire match

 

No, they weren't red hot the entire match. This is just false. The crowd also wasn't red hot the entire rock/cena match.

 

They were actually lukewarm until the middle/end for both matches.

 

Look, I'm surprised anyone is surprised at Wrestlemania. WWE does care so much for their PPV's anymore. They are merely cash cows to be wrenched for their last dollar. The day they become unprofitable, they are going toss most of them out. They aren't going toss out the big three or four, or even six, but half those PPV's will go sooner rather than later.

 

WWE Network says you're right.

 

All over the Wrestling news sites:

 

There is absolute panic at Raw at this moment. The show was scheduled to build to a segment where Brock Lesnar beat up Rock to set up next year's WrestleMania main event. Rock is not there. The word at the building is he went home. Vince McMahon, the writers and producers are in the process of redoing the show, evidently believing the angle has been nixed. Nobody knows any details as to what happened past that. The belief right now is Rock is not appearing and hopefully if that changes we'll get an update.

 

--There is a second major angle tonight to set up the main feud going forward and the Extreme Rules main event involving John Cena's next title defense. It is one of the things that has been planned for some time and was actually scheduled before Mania.

 

Looks like Rock has done an Austin , obviously might not be true but worth a mention after pwinsider and f4w reported it.

 

I know I have a history of skepticism when it comes to this TMZ type backstage nonsense, but I am 100% sure that there is more to this story than the stuff that's comming out. Rock refuses to be put down by Brock Lesnar in an angle? Really? In real life? So he'll lose to Cena clean but won't get sneak attacked by Lesnar? Come on.

[moon_lit_tears]

I think the crowd was somewhat lackluster most of the show.

[Fleisch]

I stuck to my word and didn't bother with Wrestlemania this year and to be honest from what I'm reading I didn't miss much. Outcomes were pretty much as people suspected by all accounts and no surprises. Glad to hear The Shield went over Orton & Co. Really can't think of a reason to watch Raw due to nothing noteworthy happening at 'mania and absolutely nothing of any interest going on in WWE as a whole. Final nail in the coffin for me as far as WWE programming goes.

[Derek B]

Wrestlemania was predictable, bland and lacked anything of interest. The WWE in general is full of bland, predictable and uninteresting characters in bland, uninteresting and predictable storylines. I'm so glad TNA actually has my interest at the moment, I'd rather rewatch any TNA PPV from the last year over a Wrestlemania re-run. I've tried so hard to keep loving the WWE, I've not missed a Wrestlemania live in years, which given that the show doesn't start here until midnight is a very, VERY late night... this year, I went in barely caring and came out not caring. And by the sound of the crowd, or lack of it to be more accurate, I wasn't the only one.

 

The WWE has some of the best performers in the world but they seem to have forgotten how to tell a good story both in the ring and out of it. TNA might not be perfect, but at least they seem to be trying.

[ampulator]

I think the crowd was somewhat lackluster most of the show.

To be fair, it was an open air venue, and I hate those venues when it comes to wrestling and fighting. Those things require indoor venues to hear the crowd reaction.

[bigtplaystew]

Either way it turns out when you do nothing but throw slow match after slow match at a crowd in sub-40 degree weather for four hours... they kinda taper off lol.

[moon_lit_tears]

To be fair, it was an open air venue, and I hate those venues when it comes to wrestling and fighting. Those things require indoor venues to hear the crowd reaction.

 

 

Going to a stadium doesn't stifle the sound much. I've been to live games in a baseball stadium and well the noise is LOUD.

 

I've been to the Ravens stadium and with less than a full house it was very loud.

 

Even an indoor arena would have sounded just as bland.

[The Final Countdown]

Wrestlemania was predictable, bland and lacked anything of interest. The WWE in general is full of bland, predictable and uninteresting characters in bland, uninteresting and predictable storylines. I'm so glad TNA actually has my interest at the moment, I'd rather rewatch any TNA PPV from the last year over a Wrestlemania re-run.

Absolutely. This is exactly how I'm feeling. WWE bores me to death right now. I stopped DVRing Smackdown months ago, and I skip so much of Raw each week that I'm considering dropping it from my recording schedule too.

[TheWrestlingMan]

It is pretty clear who has the best booking team right now and that is TNA, the long term booking just isn't there for WWE even the Rock/Cena rematch wasn't booked good. I too haven't watched Smackdown in forever and watch only some of Raw, there is just a lack of excitement in WWE character wise they all are the same either a egotistical heel, Cena style face, or Dancing fools. TNA has my full interest right now

[bigtplaystew]

TNA's Aces and 8s angle is great. Now. But for MONTHS people where whining that it was a group of jobbers and midcarders and no one cared and blah blah blah. Bully Ray joins and we're all like , "Best booking department in the country!"

 

I would argue the best booking is coming out of ROH. They know how to tailor to a worker's strengths and make money off of guys that otherwise would have gotten ignored.

 

 

Either way, TNA becoming a real threat to WWE in the U.S. would be the best thing in the universe for wrestling as an industry and I'm all for it. I just feel TNA does plenty of lousy PPVs, to the point they had to cut a bunch of them. You can't sit here and rip Rock/Cena and tell me TNA's ppv main events have been stellar in the same sentence. That's just biased and not real. I watch both shows and they are both fun IMO. But Cena/Rock is on a whole other level than anything TNA has produced in the company's history. They're just on such different levels you can't really even bring the two to comparison.

[Comradebot]

Holyjesus****thatjusthappened

[GhostDogg]

Mind= BLOWN

[DaMegaFish]

Awesome show for the first half...hopefully the 2nd half turns out just as well!

[Comradebot]

Barrett... Ziggler... if Justin Gabriel somehow actually appears on TV and does something awesome, I might have to change my pants (no homo).

[GhostDogg]

Wait a min...SHIELD going up against TAKER?

 

Oh man.. Raw is getting interesting...