Wrestlemania XXVIII: The Verdict (Part 1)

A Wrestlemania XXVIII Review
     It's been a while since I last made a post in my blog, but I just felt the need to review Wrestlemania this year. Well, enough of me, let's get down to it. Each match review will be subdivided into two: initial thoughts and final thoughts which are pretty self-explenatory.

Sheamus vs Daniel Bryan (c) accompanied by AJ

World Heavyweight Championship

     Final: Miami is very hot for Daniel Bryan as he makes his way down the ramp. The crowd chants 'YES! YES! YES!' and a lot of them brought 'YES!' signs. Sheamus also gets a nice reaction, maybe because he's the first person to come out to the dome. Bryan kisses AJ once the bell rings but when he turns his back, Sheamus hits the Brogue Kick for the win. That's it. No joke. The crowd was super hot for D-Bry, and were disappointed to see him lose in a matter of seconds as well as me. 1/5

     Initial: What the hell was that?! Before watching, this was the match I anticipated the most because I remember the two of them putting on a great match on Raw a year ago and I was a fan of their wrestling skills. I actually disliked Sheamus a little, but the booker is really the one to blame. 0/5

Kane vs Randy Orton

     Final: This had 'filler' written all over it, and with the time they were given (10:56) it's still disappointing how boring this match was and how it got more time than the WHC match. I thought it would be better had they gone with a gimmick match for this to make it more interesting. They could have done a good Extreme Rules match in 10 minutes. This match was full of rest holds and had a not surprising ending. Kane picked up the win. 2.5/5

     Initial: HOW DID THIS GET MORE TIME THAN DANIEL BRYAN?! 2.5/5

Cody Rhodes vs Big Show

Intercontinental Championship

     Final: It was a quick match, and had a good ending. I'm echoing everyone here but this should've been the 'winner-wins-in-less-than-a-minute-match'. I thought it was good for what it was but a little on the boring side. Show wins with the KO Punch and gets a feel-good Wrestlemania moment. 3/5

     Initial: A good match but a little boring. I was surprised it lasted longer than a minute. 3/5

Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly vs Eve and Beth Phoenix

     Final: A lot of better matches could've potentially been better than this that would've made a lot more sense. Beth vs Kharma seemed like the direction WWE was going by building up Phoenix as a dominant Diva. Kelly vs Eve could have been an entertaining match and the direction WWE looked like it was going to go to. Beth vs Natalya seemed like a no-brainer. However, we got stuck with this. I was pleasantly surprised this got more time than the championship matches and for what it was, it was good. However, I would've liked less Maria and more Kelly. When Menounos was in the ring, it was boring and submission holds (especially an awkward-looking 'side bearhug') don't really excite the crowd hence why they were cheering 'Daniel Bryan' so much. The match ended with the ROLL-UP OF DOOM!!1! by Maria to Beth. Spot of the match goes to Kelly's Molly-Go-Round. 3/5

     Initial: Wow. The Divas got A LOT of time. It was better than expected and I didn't expect Maria to sell her rib injury well. 3/5

All images are from the WWE. The Wrestlemania 28 logo was taken from Bleacherreport. All images are hyper-linked.

WWE Diva Deliberation: Comparing The Divas of Yesterday to the Divas of Today (Part I)

Two of the most popular Divas are equal as seen on this picture from a game from the glitch genre.

     Three years and some months have passed since Trish Stratus, the Golden Girl of WWE, fought the final match of her wrestling career against Lita at Unforgiven 2006. Two months after, Lita retired herself, losing her retirement match against Mickie James.
     After the two female veterans left the company, interest in the Divas division dropped. Trish and Lita are probably the most popular Divas of their time, and Lita's last match was the "passing of the crown" match. Her encounter with Mickie signified the end of an era which some people call the "Golden Era."

Match of the Day #3: Vengeance 2006 Triple Threat Match

Johnny Nitro (now known as John Morrison) w/ Melina vs. Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin

This is a great Triple Threat match, and these 3 really proved why they deserved to be in the WWE. Unlike the short Intercontinental Championship matches we have now, this one actually went for 12 minutes. Watch the match and enjoy the three well-known Superstars battle it out in high-flying action. If you think one of them is not talented, you must be blind or you just haven't watched the match yet. Rating: 3.5/4

Album Analysis: Avril Lavigne - Goodbye Lullaby

     Avril Lavigne just released her fourth album, Goodbye Lullaby earlier this March, and coming from an Avril fan, let me tell you, the wait was worth it! It is definitely more laid-back than her third album, and it almost felt like she made this album in a lab because she combined aspects from her first three albums to make this record. So, from worst to best, here is the analysis for each track on this album:

WWE Talk: Top 7 Finishers of Today

     A finisher is a signature move of a wrestler, where it almost always finishes the match once the move is execeuted. Here is a look of the seven deadliest finishers the WWE roster uses: (Remember to click 'Read more')

7. Future Shock DDT (Drew McIntyre)

This is ranked number seven because it looks painful. Also, it is hard to get out of this maneuver because the person traps your arms so you can't escape. This video was on TLC 2009, when Drew won the IC Championship by using the Future Shock DDT.

Match of the Day #2: Wrestlemania 2000 Triangle Ladder Match

     Today's Match of the Day is a Triangle Ladder match which features Edge & Christian, The Dudley Boys & The Hardy Boyz competing for the World Tag Team Championship:

     This was the time when the tag team division actually mattered. Now, it's almost a shock that WWE was capable to produce this masterpiece. If you're looking for more high-flying action among these three teams, look for TLC I and TLC II at WM17, which featured Spike Dudley, Rhyno and Lita. Overall, this match is great for its content and it definitely raised the bar for ladder matches. Rating: 4/4

WWE Talk: The Road to Wrestlemania XXVII (Part II)

Hey guys! It's time for the second installment of "The Road to Wrestlemania XXVII".

Only a couple of days away...

     So last time, I told you two out of five things wrong about the Road to Wrestlemania this year. Here are the other three:

     3. Predictability

     Possibly the most hindering thing about Wrestlemania 27 is its' predictability. Aren't you looking forward to Cena beating Miz to have a 7-1 record in Wrestlemania? How about Alberto del Rio winning against Edge? Undertaker keeping his undefeated streak? Stratus/Snooki/Morrison over Laycool/Ziggler? Lawler defeating Cole to be #1 Announcer? Or Cody Rhodes getting a dashing win against Mysterio? The way the WWE Team booked these couple of weeks make it seem so obvious who is and who is not gonna win come April 3. Also, we are in the "Internet Age" of wrestling, where we can get any information/spoiler about just about anything. Because of this, Alberto and Cody winning seem pretty... obvious.

     4. No Money in The Bank Ladder Match

     Probably one of the most talked about topic this Wrestlemania season is if there is going to be a Money in the Bank match or not. With just a week away, it really seems unlikely that there will still be a MiTB match. Since its' incorporation in Wrestlemania 21, everyone looked forward to 6-8 superstars battling it out in a ladder match. Not only has all Money in the Bank matches in Wrestlemania been thrilling, but I personally look forward to who's going to win it to see who WWE is going to push next.

     The main reason I think MiTB is not in WM27 is because it already has its own PPV. In my opinion, having this match two times in a PPV is not good. Sometime, the bumps and spots in this match will become old. Two matches in one night may jump the shark... I'm just saying. I think they should take-off the PPV and just go with one a year in Wrestlemania.

     The Money in the Bank match does feature rising stars whom we love to see, and there may be only one or two whom we don't want to win at all. Unlike in the MiTB PPV, this match features no main-eventers at all!  Throughout the years, the likes of Shelton Benjamin, RVD & Jeff Hardy helped define the match to become what it is today. The fact that this match won't happen this year is just sad because all these Superstars who don't get their Wrestlemania moment, shine and steal the show... which leads us to...

     5. Where Are The Deserving Superstars?! Why Are Ziggler & Morrison There?!

WWE's Power Couple... not so powerful

     It's like we're playing Hide-and-Seek with the WWE Team. Every year, they hide the deserving Superstars from us, and we can never find them!

      WWE could've really booked some of the great Superstars in matches that are sure to be classic. The decision to exclude Money in the Bank this year is really disappointing for us who are fans of the mid-card Superstars. If there is going to be a MiTB match this year, I would love for these 8 Superstars to compete:

1. Daniel Bryan

2. Evan Bourne

3. Zack Ryder

4. Yoshi Tatsu

5. Tyson Kidd

6. Ted Dibiase

7. William Regal

8. Drew McIntyre

     Instead of having a MiTB ladder match this year, how about another gimmick match with 6-8 Superstars that gives them a guranteed title shot at... say, Summerslam? A Gauntlet match would be nice... but it's too time-consuming. How about a 15-minute match where the last guy to get a 3-count or submission wins the title shot? Kind of like the Championship Scramble, but all competitors will start the match at the same time. Even with or without a no-DQ stipulation, I'm sure the eight people I mentioned above will put on an incredible match. I'm just saying... there are a lot of possibilities to replace MiTB at this Wrestlemania which could be a surefire hit.

     Also, I would like to talk about the Mixed Tag Team match involving Trish Stratus. First of all, I feel Ziggler and Morrison should have their own 7-9 minute match at Wrestlemania instead of being involved in a joke match with the Divas. Just this January, both of them were the Number One contenders for the world titles, and it's sad and a pity for them to be stuck in this match where the main focus seems to be on Snooki.

     Trish Stratus... when she came back at Elimination Chamber, everyone was sure she would team up with Kelly Kelly against Laycool at Wrestlemania... what happened?! All of a sudden, Snooki comes along and steals Kelly's spotlight. If I were an employee at WWE, I would be downright pissed that a celebrity comes down and steals my chance to be at The Showcase of Immortals. I guess Divas aren't just respected that much. Also, with Snooki being promoted like hell over the other five competitors, it seems like Trish has been put at the side. I mean, it doesn't feel like she is a returning future Hall-of-Famer. (come on... she's the Golden Girl!)

     Instead of this mixed tag team match, I think I like these alternatives more:

A. John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler in a 9-minute match
Trish Stratus (w/ Kelly Kelly & Snooki) vs. Michelle McCool (w/ Layla and Vickie) in a 5-8 minute match
B. John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler
Trish Stratus and Kelly Kelly (w/ Snooki) vs. LayCool (w/ Vickie)

C. John Morrison (w/ Trish, Snooki & Kelly) vs. Dolph Ziggler (w/ LayCool & Vickie) in a Lumberjack match
D. John Morrison, Trish Stratus & Kelly Kelly (w/ Snooki) vs. Dolph Ziggler & LayCool (w/ Vickie Guerrero)

pollcode.com free polls

Which choice do you like the most among the ones I stated?

A B C D I like the Mixed Tag Team match the way it is. Other

     Well that's it for the day! I hope you enjoyed my insights on this year's Road to Wrestlemania. I'll be posting Match of the Day in a bit.

Pictures: WWE