Guess its time to throw in my full two cents about last night's Mania....
I'll be the first to admit that while I was optimistic about last night, I had a feeling WWE would find a way to disappoint me as they always do.
Also, please keep in mind that this is coming from a guy who has been on his last straw with WWE and wrestling in general for the last several months.
Yet I can tell you, honestly and wholeheartedly, I haven't been so proud to be a wrestling fan as I was last night in about six years.
First, I have to comment on the arena itself - easily taking the cake as WWE's most elaborate, incredibly effort stage wise. Things were a little lackluster towards the beginning when it was still light, but as soon as the sun went down, the light show was spectacular.
Weather held up quite nicely, I saw a few small rain showers here and there and though I said I would have liked to see rain earlier, I feel as though it would have been a damper on things.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much at all out of JBL/Finlay. What I got, however, was a very solid, fast paced and entertaining brawl - the exact match that JBL was built for. Glad to see JBL get the win, fairly clean, no less. Great effort from both guys and some great spots too. I loved the finish.
Next up was Money in the Bank, and I have to say, it may be one of the favorites of the four we've seen. Punk winning was awesome. Even though Jericho is my favorite at heart, he really didn't even belong in the match - he's far above it. Punk winning just made the match that much better. The spots were awesome, everyone involved did on hell of a job. I feel as though Morrison and Benjamin stole the show, though. Great to see Matt Hardy return, and take note, WWE, of the pop that he received. Now as long as Punk doesn't waste that title shot on ECW, I'll be happy.
I think I was one of the very few people who had faith in the Batista/Umaga match. I'm a fan of both men - I think they're both quite talented for their size. I was justified in my original feelings, as I thought the match was very entertaining for what it was. Good solid big man brawl, short, to the point, and it served its purpose, which was simply to get both men on the card in a big way. Good effort from both guys, glad Batista picked up the win.
The ECW Championship match was perfect. To be honest, I don't think Chavo or Kane have any business being ECW Champion, nor did I think their match would be anything worth seeing, and certainly not of Wrestlemania quality. So I was incredibly happy to see the match only last a few seconds. It basically served as a brief break from the seriousness. In all honesty, I think part of it had to do with the fact that WWE genuinely wanted to see Kane's entrance on that stage. I don't blame them.
And then we have the much anticipated Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair. I, unlike most others, didn't feel as though this match should have main evented. In fact, I think it may have turned many casual viewers away. I, do, however, think that both men gave a career performance. Flair has nothing to be ashamed of, he put forth one of his best efforts since coming back to the WWE seven years ago. Great energy, great vibe, just an all around excellent match. The finish was incredibly emotional. Michaels saying, "I'm sorry, I love you" sent chills down my spine - you knew it was over before it was over, and Flair welcomed it with open arms. Incredible story.
I was even pleasantly surprised by Bunnymania. A far better wrestling venture than I expected it to be - it was actually the dark horse of the evening. Mindless interference by Santino and the King wasn't really necessary but it was essentially what the match was based around. Light mishap was unfortunate, but funny at the same time. I loved how they just kept going as though nothing happened, though, I would have been scared to death.
I must admit I was shocked that the WWE Championship match wasn't the main event. However, as the match progressed, I began to think that might mean Orton would retain. I still thought, however, the changes were slim. I was absolutely shocked when he got the three count. Very, very surprising outcome, and yet, totally welcomed if you ask me. Orton is doing a great job as a heel champion and I thought it was awesome to see the heel retain at Wrestlemania. Good match, too.
I let out a sigh of relief when I realized Show/Mayweather wasn't the main event. Had it been, I honestly think it would have ruined the entire show for me. The match itself was rather slow and boring, but at the same time, entertaining to a certain extent, I think everyone wanted to see Mayweather get his ass handed to him, no matter how bad the match was. Finish left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, because it was incredibly unrealistic, but oh well, I think we all knew Mayweather would pull it off somehow.
Now we move to the main event. I must admit, I've been waiting for Edge/Taker for several years now. I never thought it would main event the show, however. Unfortunately, I knew little about this feud going into Mania last night because I don't watch Smackdown, nor have I really even bothered with spoilers recently. I was so glad that they left the Vickie Guerrero crap out of it. Having her at ringside was bad enough, at least they kept her out of the match.
In any case, the match itself was incredible. This makes two years in a row that The Undertaker's match goes far beyond my expectations. From start to finish, he and Edge told an absolutely incredible story and proved to me and hopefully everyone else why they were main eventing the show. Had to be a great experience for Edge. Edge has been one of my favorites for nine years now and I don't even like The Undertaker all that much, and yet even I was impressed with the way the match ended.
Lets face it, we all knew Taker was going to win, it was just a matter of whether or not Edge got buried. He didn't, at all. In fact, if anything, Edge came out looking like a million bucks, dare I say, even better than The Undertaker. Edge took Taker to the limit, even to the point that the Deadman himself wasn't sure what he needed to do to beat Edge. I LOVED that Taker had to resort to his triangle choke finisher to beat Edge - the tombstone just wasn't enough. Excellent.
Edge has every reason to be incredibly proud of himself, he put on one of the best matches of his career on the grandest stage of them all and lost about as gracefully as possible.
In conclusion, it is safe to say that you aren't going to see anything better from the WWE anytime soon, so stop waiting for it. This was Wrestlemania in every sense of the word.
Great work WWE, for the first time in over a year, I'm proud to be a wrestling fan.