The Best and Worst of WrestleMania 31

Last night’s WrestleMania definitely had its ups and downs. Check out the best and worst the show had to offer, via FaceToHeel.com.

Believe In The Yes Movement

The last two days of WWE action have been the best two days the company has given the fans in a long time.  Wrestlemania XXX and Raw on the following night both took place in the rowdy city of New Orleans.  The crowd definitely brought their spirit and enthusiasm, especially for Monday night, leading me to promise myself that my husband and I WILL be at the Raw following Wrestlemania next year.  Now, let’s address the elephant in the room that is The Streak.

I did not see this one coming.  Not in a million years did I expect Brock Lesnar to break the Undertaker’s 21-0 streak and put that ghastly 1 loss on his record.  Never once did I expect Lesnar to walk away with a smile on his face while the Dead Man lay broken and battered in the ring.  At no point was I not confident that we would see 22-0 on the big screen when the match concluded.  It wasn’t the most energetic match I’ve seen, but the Undertaker did suffer a concussion which could have happened early on in the bout and hindered his performance.  Regardless, it is always impressing seeing these two athletes in the ring, especially together.

In hindsight, the streak did have to eventually end, as Taker has a wife and family to worry about and certainly can’t be doing this forever.  As sad as I am to see the streak end, I am amazed by the production that went into it and impressed with the insane reaction it received.  The arena went quiet for what felt like an eternity after the three count.  Lesnar’s music didn’t play immediately as it usually does with a victory; we were given uncomfortable silence while Taker lay still and Lesnar raised his arm victoriously.  To say the world was shocked would be a huge understatement.  This will be one we talk about for a long time.

The WWE’s golden boy, John Cena, seemed like a natural choice for a big match for such a historic Wrestlemania.  Instead, Cena was given a very standard match against his new nemesis, Bray Wyatt.  Cena always becomes unbearable near Wrestlemania season in preparation for a main event or other big deal match, but this time around, we saw a more subdued Superstar.  Clearly, Bray Wyatt and his creepy backwoods family were the stars of the matches on both evenings.  Wyatt took a loss to Cena at Wrestlemania, but the crowd swaying and singing along with him showed that he was the true winner.

On Raw the next evening, the entire Wyatt family entered into a tag match against Cena, Sheamus, and Big E.  The three faces were booed while the Wyatts were cheered.  Almost overnight, the entire WWE Universe has rallied behind the genius Bray Wyatt and his creepy clan.  It’s amazing to see the pops he’s now getting and I hope it continues to grow stronger.  The trio is going again The Shield tonight on Main Event, who turned away from The Authority on Raw last night, and it is bound to be a crazy match.

One of my favorite Superstars, AJ Lee, defended her Divas championship at Wrestlemania against thirteen other women.  The first to get a submission or pinfall would win the title.  I’m sorry, but this match was a ridiculous thing to throw on Wrestlemania, especially when it immediately followed the fall of the Undertaker.  The odds were pitted against AJ in such an unfair manner, it was hard not to wonder if this was payback for her engagement to former Superstar CM Punk (whose early exit no doubt angered the powers that be).

Luckily for AJ, she retained her title by forcing Naomi to tap out.  I was ecstatic!  AJ is the self proclaimed saving grace of the WWE Divas division.  She brings personality, a sharp tongue, and serious in-ring skills; the girl packs a punch for such a tiny person.  On Raw the following evening, AJ came out to celebrate her victory, only to be interrupted by NXT star and women’s champion, Paige.  AJ ended up challenging Paige to a match, LOST the match, and LOST HER TITLE.  Are you kidding me?!?  To have AJ drop her title to who most fans were seeing as a nobody (we don’t all tune in to NXT, guys, come on…) was the ultimate punch in the face.  For me, AJ is and always will be the Divas Champ.  I hate that this happened to her.

One pleasant surprise at Wrestlemania was the victory of Cesaro in the Andre The Giant Battle Royal.  We all expected Big Show to win; the giant winning the giant trophy just made sense.  Little by little, 30 men became two and Big Show was left in the ring with Cesaro.  And then, as if the seven foot Superstar was made of feathers, Cesaro plucked him up into the air and heaved him out of the ring, earning the victory, a handshake from Show, and the trophy.  On Raw, we were treated to Cesaro’s final separation from Jack Swagger and Zeb Coltier as he became a Heyman Guy!  It was a smart move; Cesaro needs a push and pairing him with Heyman is not only good for his career, it made the audience forget their anger towards Heyman due to the broken streak.

What we all came to see though was the continuing saga of Daniel Bryan.  Screwed out of the title by Triple H again and again, the WWE Universe has rallied behind Bryan with a passion that cannot be contained.  Entire arenas erupt with Yes! Yes! Yes! chants upon his entrance; arms raised high and voices on blast.  YES! signs are seen everywhere, shirts worn proudly, and fans seen hanging on every word Bryan has to say.  In a short time, he has worked his ass off and become one of the top Superstars in the company, if not the #1 guy.  Sorry, Cena.

First, Bryan was forced to battle Triple H at Wrestlemania to earn a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Title.  The match was high energy and exciting, keeping fans on the edge of their seats as the upper hand was rapidly traded back and forth.  Against all odds, Bryan scored a victory over the intimidating Triple H.  Sadly for him, Triple H didn’t lose gracefully and attacked Bryan with a chair before leaving the ring, setting up a possible loss for him later due to injury.

The main event featured current champion Randy Orton versus Batista and Bryan in a triple threat match for the title.  The original match was to feature only Batista and Orton, and it was apparent very quickly that the addition of Bryan was absolutely necessary to make this match a success; the underdog facing these two powerhouses kept the audience’s full attention and added an element of excitement that Orton and Batista alone could not have created.

In a very tense moment, after partially disassembling the announce table, Batista stood on the table with Bryan in his arms to set up the Batista Bomb.  Orton, teaming with Batista for the moment, grabbed Bryan out of the bomb to RKO him on the table.  Both stars were injured during this move, but damn was it impressive.  Sadly, it did result in Bryan being loaded onto a stretcher and taken out of the match.

No injury could keep Bryan down though, as he wasn’t on the stretcher for long.  No interference could keep him from winning, as he turned Triple H’s sledgehammer back on him when the man in charge attempted to sabotage the main event.  After months of Bryan getting screwed over in the worst possible ways by The Authority, he finally locked Batista in the Yes Lock, making the big man tap and winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship!  FINALLY!  Damn, was it an exciting moment.

Raw the following evening was tense, as the chance of Triple H going postal and taking the titles away (again) was ever present, but instead, Triple H decided that Bryan would defend the newly won titles that evening again him.  To the surprise of nobody, Triple H did attempt to sabotage the match to secure his victory.  To the surprise of many, The Shield rallied to Bryan’s defense, entering the arena during a “Hounds Of Justice” crowd chant.  It was a brilliant moment; Bryan retaining his titles with The Shield at his side.

Two seriously solid days of wrestling have passed.  I’m both excited and nervous about what is coming next, especially when it comes to AJ Lee, but I am so happy for Daniel Bryan, who finally got his moment and then some.  No one deserved it more than he did.  Congrats, Bryan… I hope your reign is a long one!

The Champ Is HERE!

Wrestlemania 29 came and went on Sunday, April 7th.  We shelled out $70 to watch the four hour event in HD, plus tuned into WWE’s YouTube channel to catch the hour long preshow event.  Wrestlemania started out with a roar but ended with a whimper when John Cena defeated The Rock to become the new WWE Champion.  If I could, I would request a refund of $35, as half of the event simply wasn’t worth it, especially not with that kind of ending.  Even the crowd seemed frustrated, going very quiet and remaining in their seats during this so-called anticipated and exciting main event.

The Rock promised the WWE Universe last year that he would be back and that he would be champion.  He kept his promise in January, winning the title from CM Punk and ending his long reign on top.  This was followed by Cena winning the Royal Rumble and choosing to chase the WWE Championship belt instead of the Heavyweight belt, making the “Once In A Lifetime” match between Rock and Cena into a twice in a lifetime event.  The Rock’s triumphant return and reign as champion featured three actual matches; the match that won him the title, the rematch between him and Punk, and the match with Cena where the belt was lost.  It leaves me wondering exactly what the point was to his return.  I went from excited to see him back in the ring to annoyed that he would only come to Raw and Smackdown to talk, not to get in the ring and give the fans what they wanted and deserved.

In the weeks leading up to Wrestlemania, I felt confident that The Rock would crush Cena into the mat, raise the belt high, and walk off while Cena pouted.  His promos made him sound determined to leave Wrestlemania victorious and as champ, clearly showcasing a dislike for Cena and a desire to win.  Fan reaction supported this; the majority of the support was behind The Rock, with Cena viciously booed and mocked.  When the main event rolled around, we were given a half assed match at best.  I couldn’t help but feel that The Rock was not allowed to go all out due to fear of him messing up his movie star looks and causing problems with promotions for the movies he has coming out this year.  It was boring, repetitive, and the victory was handed to Cena when The Rock simply laid down as he was told.  The Rock did not look beaten, he looked like he was following orders, and that is not what I want to see for a main event.

According to The Rock, he suffered an abdominal injury in the match which will keep him out of the ring for an undetermined amount of time, delaying the rematch for the title.  Having watched that match, I am very reluctant to believe that any injury occurred and feel that this is simply a way for The Rock to take time off to promote his films.  I understand he has to juggle multiple things, but it still leaves me wondering why he bothered coming back.  CM Punk could be very irritating as our champ, but he was present and he was in the ring.  The Rock gave us three measly matches in three short months, and is now gone once again, leaving us with Cena.  Other than people with an age in the single digits and a few handfuls of adult fans, no one is happy about this.  No one wants Cena, already a ten time champion, to be the face of the company right now.

Cena has been grating on the nerves of the fans, and not in a positive way like Punk or Jack Swagger.  Cena is a Face who could have flourished with a Heel turn, but instead mocked the turn as he held onto his Face status and held his new belt high.  What was once a 50/50 fan reaction has now become a 90/10 reaction, with 90% of the fans screaming for Cena to leave the ring and shut his mouth.  He debuted a new t-shirt to go along with his new belt and it looks like it was designed by five year olds, probably because the majority of his fans are at or around that age.  We are now stuck with a mediocre champ with five moves to his name, all because the man in charge wrongly assumes that this is good for business.

John Cena is great for the WWE, don’t get me wrong.  The work he does for the Make A Wish Foundation is amazing and easily surpasses the work his fellow Superstars have done.  He’s a great pull for the younger fans as well; I’d be hard pressed to find a young fan who doesn’t adore Cena and who doesn’t hang on his every word.  When we took our son to Smackdown, his concern was seeing Cena and he flipped his lid when he finally came out for a post-show non-televised match.  Cena definitely has an important place in the company and is vital to the success of the WWE.  That said, his place is definitely not as champion and should not be at the tip top of the company.  With shows like Saturday Morning Slam and Main Event, Cena has other places where he can shine that are more appropriate and better suited to what he has to offer.

I have quite a few friends who are into wrestling, and it seems as though they are all crying out for a return of the Attitude Era.  We are given reason for hope with The Shield, Brock Lesnar and Triple H, Punk feuding with The Undertaker, John Laurinaitis making a return, and all the wishing and speculating we did about Cena’s Heel turn.  Wrestlemania shattered that hope by missing a lot of marks, then missing the biggest one with Cena and The Rock.  My husband had dozens of theories that would have made this a night to remember, but WWE went the easy route and gifted the title to Cena with a big bow and a congratulatory cake.

I like John Cena, so this isn’t the rant of an angry fan who thinks Cena is a piece of trash.  It’s difficult not to get excited when his entrance music hits and he hops out from backstage.  At Raw in March, I was screaming “Let’s Go Cena” right along with “Cena Sucks” because I was thrilled to see him.  His dedication is amazing; he’s at nearly every Raw and also attends Smackdown to participate in dark matches so the fans can have their dose of hustle, loyalty, and respect.  Unfortunately, Cena has been put in the wrong place and is being used in the wrong way.  He could have flourished as a Heel without compromising his beliefs that are written all over his t-shirts.  He could have changed his image and targeted other superstars without alienating his younger fans.  He could have done great things.

My hope is that The Rock returns quickly for his rematch so we can move on to better things.  Whatever happens, Cena does not need to hold the belt for very long.  He needs to lose and he needs to get angry about it.  He needs to go after other stars on the roster and pursue the other belts rather than act as though he’s too good for the United States or the Intercontinental Championship.  Throw him in a tag team and have him battle Kane and Daniel Bryan.  Take him away from Raw main events and feature him on Smackdown for a few weeks.  Have him be a guest referee on Saturday Morning Slam, or make him the General Manager of that show.  Something needs to happen that allows Cena to be present without being on top of the mountain at all times.  We’re tired of it, we’re bored, we’re frustrated, and we deserve a hell of a lot better.

Monday Night RAWWWWWW

Tuesday morning gifted me with a sore throat, a throbbing headache, and a fatigue I haven’t felt in a long while thanks to the lack of sleep after spending hours jumping and screaming until my voice gave out.  Monday, March 11th, my husband and I were four rows back from the ring for Monday Night Raw!  We’ve been to Smackdown, had a blast at the Survivor Series Pay Per View, but this was our first Raw experience.  After buying the tickets, my first priority became what to wear.  For the last two shows we attended, I went on sites and designed my own shirts because the selection for women in the WWE shop is somewhat lacking.  This time, I wanted to go authentic.  The pink Dolph Ziggler shirt that I had ordered my husband for Christmas came in the wrong size, so he gave it to me and I decided to go AJ Lee on the thing.

Not quite AJ, but it’s as close as I can get with my skill set.  It was fun to do and since WWE’s shop doesn’t have the variety that I want in women’s tops, I may choose to go this route again in the future.  I was proud of it and it was nice to be able to represent Ziggler along with my husband, who went with his new blue “Stealing The Show … And Your Girlfriend” tee.  Since we went signless to this event, we wanted to make sure we were still representing.  It paid off:

The night was amazing and jam packed with Superstars, surprises, and plenty of smiles from this girl.  Rather than recap the entire thing, here are some photos from my favorite moments:

The return of Undertaker!!  It was incredible to see the man in person, and I loved the tribute to Paul Bearer with the urn.  Sad and spectacular all at once.  The crowd went absolutely insane.

Brock Lesnar and the New Age Outlaws!  My only complaint here was that Triple H did not make an appearance as well to address Lesnar’s acceptance of his Wrestlemania challenge.

Kane getting a good shot in on CM Punk.  Punk is on my nerves right now, but I am excited to see him go against the streak in April.

Ryback, one of my new favorites, destroying a member of The Shield.  (Sidenote:  I promised not to get excited when Roman Reigns walked down the steps and through the crowd, but I failed and I touched him on the arm as he passed right by me.  He is greasy and angry and smells like Old Spice, in case you were curious)

Daniel Bryan vs. The Show Off, Dolph Ziggler.  Ziggler always puts on a great show!  Bryan has definitely grown on me since growing the beard, changing his chant to NO! and teaming with Kane.

I love the Rhodes Scholars, but I love a good RKO even more!  Poor Cody.

The Miz and Wade Barrett, two of my favorites, along with a human flashlight with fluffy unicorn hair and a big mouth.

Ryback vs. Mark Henry?!??  We got a preview of things to come, and I can’t wait to see these two go at it on Smackdown!  I’m excited to see who will come out on top.

RIP Paul Bearer.  What an awesome tribute.

SummerSlam!

Summerslam’s 25^th anniversary Pay Per View aired over the weekend and of course, we purchased it!  I had high hopes for it, as much as WWE hyped it up, and was very excited to see how everything played out.  Sadly, my expectations were a bit too high and the event left me feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

The preshow, Santino Marella versus Antonio Cesaro for the United States Championship, was part of the preshow and aired on WWE’s Youtube channel only.  It was definitely a letdown to see Santino thrown into a match that wasn’t really part of Summerslam, as if he isn’t an important enough wrestler to earn a spot in the actual event.  Cesaro, who is becoming more and more obnoxious with every appearance, beat Santino and won the US Championship after a 5 minute match.  I’m a big fan of Santino, and even with his silly persona, he’s a great wrestler.  It annoys me to see him treated like a joke and not given decent matches.

Next up was the human firefly, Chris Jericho against the show off, Dolph Ziggler.  The only thing I dislike about Ziggler is his loud manager, Vickie Guerrero.  If you can block out her screeching and just watch him in action, he’s fantastic.  Unfortunately, everything worked to make Jericho look like the golden boy and Ziggler look like a failure, with Jericho winning the match via submission.  Ziggler, who is Mr. Money In The Bank, has been trying and failing to cash in his contract for a title match, plus has been running away from fights lately rather than staying strong in the ring.  I was pulling for him to win this one, but it wasn’t in the cards.

Daniel Bryan versus Kane followed Jericho’s win.  Bryan has taken A.J.’s place as the unstable superstar ever since her promotion to General Manager of Raw and it’s been pretty damn amusing to see him lose his mind over the audience chanting “Yes! Yes!” by getting in the faces of audience members, throwing their signs to the ground, and yelling “No! No!” at the top of his lungs.  He and Kane have had a rivalry brewing over various storylines and I was eager to see Kane squash him.  Unfortunately, the big red monster didn’t have it in him and Bryan secured a victory.  I was pretty neutral on this match; it would have been nice to see Kane win, but Bryan pulled out a decent victory as the underdog.

The Miz and Rey Mysterio were up afterwards to compete for the Intercontinental Championship, a belt that for me, best lies with Cody Rhodes.  The Miz has been on fire since his return, and Mysterio has participated in quite a few great matches since returning as well.  With a Batman-like mask, Mysterio gave the audience a lot of high-flying action, but it wasn’t enough to win, so The Miz held onto the belt.  It would have been a great upset for Mysterio to walk away with the title, but the powers that be didn’t feel the same way I did.

Sheamus was up next to wrestle Alberto Del Rio and try to hold onto the World Heavyweight championship.  I’ve been loving the rivalry that has been brewing between these two; from Sheamus getting his head crushed in the hood of Del Rio’s car to Sheamus taking one of Del Rio’s overpriced cars for a joyride, the back and forth has been great.  I’m a big fan of Sheamus, but his storylines leave me with no worry whatsoever that he will lose the title, which takes away from the excitement of his matches.  When the title is on the line, I expect him to win.  I miss the suspense and I miss being worried.

R-Truth and Kofi Kingston defeated the Prime Time Players in a Tag Team Championship match, which was good for what it was, but fairly tame for a Pay Per View.  The Divas made a short appearance during Kevin Rudolf’s musical performance, coming out and dancing as he sang.  Truth, Kingston, and the Divas seem to be secondary players when it comes to the big matches and I don’t think it’s fair.  The Tag Team Champions are extremely talented and deserve a more exciting match.  The Divas have been reduced to booty shaking, ass spanking, and tired jokes; go back two years and you can see them doing amazing things, but now they are given short, boring matches where the focus is on their breasts rather than their skills in the ring.

In a Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship, CM Punk had to defend against John Cena and the Big Show.  It was a good match, but predictably, CM Punk won.  I don’t mind seeing Show go down, as his turn to heel has made him quite annoying as of late, but it was disappointing to see Cena screwed once again.  The WWE has made Cena into their golden boy, but refuses to give him a title.  Time and time again he tries and fails.  With CM Punk’s gradual descent into heel, it seems logical to have him lose the belt to Cena, but it doesn’t seem to be an issue.  Cena’s credibility is faltering without a title to his name.

The main event was Triple H versus Brock Lesnar, something that has been hyped up ever since Lesnar “broke” Triple H’s arm.  Since then, Lesnar “broke” Shawn Michael’s arm, enraging Triple H and getting me very excited to see these two beasts do battle.  What. A. Let down.  The first half of the match had Lesnar dominating and Triple H laying on the mat.  At every opportunity, Lesnar put Triple H into a kimura armlock, threatening once again to break his arm.  Come on, guys, it’s like you’re not even trying.  Triple H would begin to come back, only to have Lesnar dominate, finally making Triple H tap out with the kimura lock.  Tap out?!?  That is the big ending we get to Summerslam’s 25^th anniversary?  With Triple H and a “rebroken” arm, Lesnar exited the arena and Triple H stood around looking like a sad puppy for what seemed like an eternity.  It was awful, uncomfortable, and not what we should have been given.

Overall, I’m left feeling that most of the superstars deserved better than what was written for Summerslam.  It felt like a regular Raw episode, minus the commercials.  There was very little suspense, plus the only title that changed hands was thrown onto the preshow rather than featured in the actual Pay Per View.  This “Brock Lesnar breaks everyone’s arms” storyline is weak and annoying; one time would have been believable, but to expect fans to buy that Lesnar is breaking and rebreaking arms left and right is ridiculous even for the WWE.  Kane actually living in a boiler room and Randy Orton actually hearing voices is more believable.  The Diva division is a joke and no one seems concerned with making them matter anymore.  As a fan, I feel cheated.  Hopefully they get their shit together before Survivor Series, because what was written for Summerslam just wasn’t Pay Per View worthy.

The Main Event: WRESTLEMANIA 28

April 1, 2012, Wrestlemania 28, the main event live on Pay Per View was finally here!  My husband and I made the purchase and set the show to record just in case, watching 50/50 and anxiously waiting for our clocks to hit 7pm and the show to begin.  It’s been hyped up like crazy, adding more matches and controversy on each Raw and Smackdown throughout the week.  I wish we could have been there, but being able to watch live is definitely the next best thing to it.

The first match of the night was between Daniel Bryan and Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship.  Bryan stole that title from The Big Show after he had it for maybe 30 seconds.  As Bryan entered the ring and proceeded to yell YES about 50 times, he paused to give his girlfriend, AJ, a kiss.  As he turned back to face Sheamus, he received a boot to the face, went down, and was counted out.  The match lasted 18 seconds and Sheamus walked away the new Heavyweight Champion.  YES!  YES!  YES!

Up next was Kane and Randy Orton.  For some reason, Kane decided to start a feud with Orton.  Not sure why, possibly out of boredom, maybe he was feeling lonely, but the two have been going at it since Orton returned from his injury.  Kane started out strong, pinning Orton a dozen times to the two count.  Orton eventually began to retaliate and it was looking good for him, but Kane delivered a powerful choke slam from the top rope and the poor Apex Predator was down.

The Big Show versus Cody Rhodes was also hyped up quite a bit in the weeks prior to Wrestlemania and I was really looking forward to it.  Rhodes had been mocking Show, mainly because he has never had a victory at any Wrestlemania.  Rhodes is my favorite heel; he’s amazingly good at being hateful without being obnoxious and making you actually hate him.  The match began with Show throwing Rhodes around the ring like a rag doll; I started to feel bad for Rhodes for taking such a beating.  Rhodes finally got the upper hand after knocking Show to the ground, starting to work on his leg and take the big man out.  Sadly for him it wasn’t enough; Show knocked him out and won the Intercontinental Championship!

Finally, it was time for Hell In A Cell; Triple H versus The Undertaker, the end of an era.  I was worried about this match because there’s no good outcome.  If Triple H wins, we’ll continue to see him in the ring which is great, but it means the Undertaker ends his career with a 19-1 streak at Wrestlemania instead of 20-0.  If Undertaker wins, his streak finishes strong, but he also finishes Triple H.  This match spanned nearly an hour and was as brutal as you can imagine; both men were bloody and the Undertaker’s back was badly bruised from a severe beating with a metal chair.  Shawn Michaels, the guest referee, looked as if he was about to cry near the end of the match, watching his friend suffer as both competitors struggled to finish the other one.  My heart jumped at least half a dozen times when it looked like one would be counted out, only to see them roll their shoulder up just in time.  It was honestly hard to watch at some points.  Undertaker managed to find the will and energy to finish Triple H, stretching his streak to 20-0 and was able to walk out of the ring this time around, unlike last year when he couldn’t stand.  Triple H, however, couldn’t get up.  Michaels and Undertaker stood on either side of him, lifted him up, and all three walked out of the arena together.  It was an amazing end.

At some point there was a Diva’s match.  Beth Phoenix and Eve versus Kelly Kelly and a freaking talk show host, Maria Menounos.  It was idiotic and insulting to someone like Phoenix, who is built the way a wrestler should be, to have to go up against these two little twigs.  She was also the only competitor in that match that didn’t do some lame booty shake as one of her moves.  It’s not a stripping competition people, come on now.  The match ended with something that would never happen in the real world; teeny Maria pinning Phoenix.  Really?  REALLY?

Anyway, back to the real events:  Team Johnny versus Team Teddy was up next, the winning team would determine the new general manager for both Raw and Smackdown.  Team Johnny consisted of my favorite, Mark Henry, and 5 other guys I can’t stand, including Dolph Ziggler and the shaved gorilla Jack Swagger.  I was pulling for Team Teddy and their captain, Santino.  The tag team match had competitors quickly entering and leaving the ring, very high energy.  Finally, Team Teddy knocked most of Team Johnny to the ground outside of the ring and Zack Ryder of Team Teddy was close to victory but stopped to do his Woo Woo Woo with hoeski, Eve.  The Miz took advantage of the distraction and won the match for Team Johnny.  It was a let down for sure, but my husband says it makes business sense.  I still don’t like it.

The match I probably cared the least about, other than the divas, was next; CM Punk against Chris Jericho and his lite brite jacket.  Jericho had been attacking Punk’s family for weeks, saying his sister is a drug addict and his father a drunk, that Punk is a bastard because he was conceived out of wedlock.  It was a set of arguments you would expect from a group of 5th graders out on the playground.  A rule was set that if CM Punk was disqualified, he would lose his title to Jericho, so naturally the taunts got worse.  Jericho started out dominant, but Punk gained the upper hand and Jericho was forced to tap out.  I was glad he won only because Jericho annoys the hell out of me.

Then this happened:

Finally, The Rock has come back to Wrestlemania!  The once in a lifetime match between two of the most charismatic men in the business.  After their tag team match against The Miz and R-Truth, the tension has been rising and the feud between these two Superstars has been heating up.  Cena mocked The Rock for leaving the WWE to become a movie star, Rock called Cena a bowl of fruity pebbles, which resulted in him ended up on a box of cereal.  The Rock won the war of words many times over but the feud continued strong in preparation for Wrestlemania.  The match was very 50/50; one would gain the upper hand but the other would soon turn it around.  This was the match that Cena said he couldn’t lose, as once it’s over, he’ll still be here and he’ll lost credibility with a loss.  The Rock also couldn’t lose; how can he come back and say things haven’t changed and then choke at Wrestlemania?  There was so much riding on each of their shoulders, both determined to pull a victory out and show the world that all their words have been truthful.  Unfortunately for Cena, he was wrestling The Rock.  When The Rock wants something, it’s his, and this match was his with an amazing victory to end the night.

This was actually my first Wrestlemania and I loved it.  I’m planning to get there next year, somehow, because I want to be a part of the excitement first hand.  We’ll be saving this on our DVR for quite a while.  On a sidenote, the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards aired on March 31st and at the end, Santino referees a match between The Big Show and The Miz.  Check it out if you get a chance.