Wrestlemania XXIV Review and Thoughts

Hello there.

We are about one day removed from Wrestlemania XXIV in Orlando. From the looks of the reviews of the fans the event was pretty hit or miss. I watched the event live on Pay Per View so I have some of my own opinions but they're not too dissimilar from everyone else's. It wasn't a horrible Wrestlemania but it definitely was ONE OF THOSE Wrestlemanias. Hate to say it but I told ya so!

Anyway, like all Wrestlemanias, the "biggest Wrestlemania under the sun" had some ups and downs but this Wrestlemania contained a Wrestlemania moment that I will never forget for as long as I live - "Nature Boy" Ric Flair has wrestled his final match. One of our last links to truly classic wrestling has taken his final bow in one of the most beautiful and emotional matches I've ever seen but I'll talk about that in a bit when I get to that part of the review.

Now, as for my review, I'll go through all the matches and give you my analysis and opinions and I'll give you my match rating. I rate out of four stars.

Here we go...

24 Man Battle Royal - It was a total shot in the dark when I picked Tommy Dreamer to win the Battle Royale and face Chavo Guerrero at Wrestlemania. I figured Kane would get the win but I thought it'd be another one of those "boyhood dream" moments at Wrestlemania and a Wrestlemania moment for Tommy Dreamer, who has really just made a career of losing. Still, it wasn't a bad Battle Royal. I watched the video of it when I got home from Hooters. They had some nice little spots. Definitely loved the Jamie Noble comedy spot.

JBL vs. Finlay - Not a bad way to open up Wrestlemania. It wasn't a great match by any stretch of the imagination but it was a good plan to open up with a smash mouth, in your face brawl and to get this feud out of the way which has gone over probably worse than the Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show angle. Unfortunately with the JBL win, which I called, it looks like we'll be getting a continuation of this feud. What's next? Finlay and Hornswoggle vs. JBL and Mini-JBL? Didn't they do that with The Boogeyman? I gave the match ** stars. Couldn't touch the greatest opener in the history of Wrestlemania which was Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart from Wrestlemania X.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match - Complete and total spotfest and my hat is off to all the men in this hellacious battle. There were some really crazy bumps and some really hard hits in this one and moments that left me nearly covering my eyes in fear of seeing someone get seriously hurt. I watched anyway but still - at least I had concern! There were a lot of awesome moments in the match. My first favorite goes to a definite Wrestlemania Highlight which I'm sure will be replayed as one of the sickest bumps in Wrestlemania history is Shelton Benjamin on top of the ladder in the middle of the ring getting flipped off that ladder on top of a ladder propped up between the ring apron and the barricade, breaking the ladder - and apparently himself - in two! What a tremendous spot that was!! Another great spot was Mr. Kennedy going to suplex Carlito off the ladder and Shelton, before his big spot, sunset flips them and it turned into a superplex/powerbomb combination! Very nicely done. John Morrison certainly impressed me with this one spot he did. He got to the top rope holding a ladder and moonsaulted off the top rope to the outside with the ladder across his chest on top of a bunch of wrestlers! Wow!! Carlito seemed to do pretty well in this match. I thought they booked him well. Hitting his Backstabber finisher off the ladder was a nice touch. My favorite moment came when Matt Hardy made a HUGE return, Twist of Fating MVP off the ladder, foiling his attempt to become Money in the Bank! It was even better that I called it. Then, the bad part came. CM Punk became Money in the Bank, stopping Chris Jericho from taking it. Jericho put him over like a mad man, too, making him seem unstoppable, but I've got to say I'm disappointed with the ending. Y2J really should have won it but I knew this was coming. The misuse of Chris Jericho continues. The fans at Hooters certainly were disappointed. Sounded like John Cena won Money in the Bank. From what I hear the live crowd was pissed, too. Now the challenge is for WWE to build Punk up to a Main Event caliber performer. I give the match *** 1/2 stars.

Batista vs. Umaga - Wow, was I disappointed in this one! This was one of the matches I was extremely excited for! I thought we were going to get a knockdown, drag out brawl. Instead we got a dull Pay Per View match that belonged on Judgment Day, not Wrestlemania. Batista could hardly get Umaga up for the Batista Bomb when he did it. Smackdown is the "supreme" brand. Yeah, right. Now they're going to move Umaga to Smackdown but it's dumb because he was easily defeated by Batista. What kind of a threat is he? They might as well have put these guys in Money in the Bank, too. That seems to be what they do with people they don't have anything for. This match was similar to when they threw together a match with Booker T taking on Edge and they were feuding over a fictional Japanese Shampoo Endorsement. I'm not kidding. I give this match * 1/2 stars.

ECW Championship - WWE has finally paid Kane back for his years of service by giving him his first "serious championship" since 1998 and allowing him entry into the Wrestlemania history books for the shortest match ever. Six seconds. Kane is the new ECW Champion. The match gets 1/2 a star.

Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels - You want to talk about passion for the business, emotion and Wrestlemania moments, all three of those traits were projected loud and clear in this epic match that will top the list of one of my all time favorite Wrestlemania matches. Ric Flair was in rare form tonight, pulling out all stops in what proved to be his final match. He even pulled out an old school cross body, the move he used to defeat Harley Race in a Steel Cage for the NWA Title in that classic match at the first Starrcade in 1983!! Flair wrestled this match like he needed it to get through the rest of his life and Shawn Michaels certainly did give him his best. I thought Flair had Michaels with the Figure Four Leglock but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I desperately wanted Flair to win because I really never want him to retire but all good things must come to an end. Flair had a tremendous run and there is no argument - he is the best wrestler that ever lived. The last superkick was so emotional. Flair was crying as he got up because he knew it was the end and HBK said he loved him before taking his head off. I literally started crying at that point. I have witnesses at Hooters. I wasn't the only one though. The crowd really gave him a great last ovation and I hope Ric Flair is satisfied with his career. That match made me proud to be a fan of wrestling. I give it ***** stars. I know I rate out of four but I gave an extra star.

BunnyMania Match - Atrocious. Snoop Dogg was just terrible and the match wasn't any better. I firmly stand by my beliefs that I'd rather just have a fantastic Women's Championship Match like Beth Phoenix vs. Candice Michelle vs. Melina rather than this. The blackout at Wrestlemania, the first ever I believe, certainly didn't help. Snoop Dogg looked 100% unimpressed. Whatever. I give it * 1/2 stars just for them continuing to fight while the lights were out.

WWE Championship Triple Threat - I thought this was going to be the Main Event but I understand why it wasn't. It wasn't a bad Triple Threat by any means of the imagination but it couldn't touch the Triple Threat Main Event at Wrestlemania XX, which I was there live for. Having the lights out for half the match probably didn't help either. Like I said it wasn't a bad match and I'm behind WWE 100% for having Orton retain the title. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Orton would lose. It wasn't if he's going to win, it was who was going to beat him. Nice swerve by WWE. I like being surprised. I give it *** stars. Very good but not as good as other WWE Title matches in the past.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs. Big Show - The match went pretty much the way I thought it would. It was just a spectacle - a cheap way for WWE to make headlines heading into Wrestlemania. I hope it worked for them and that I didn't have to suffer for nothing. I didn't really enjoy this match at all. I sat through it and I was glad when it was over. It was predictable and it was irritating. Big Show ought to be given the World Heavyweight Championship for putting over Floyd Mayweather. Mayweather couldn't even win without cheating. Lame. I gave it ** stars just for all the spectacle involved. At least ESPN covered it and didn't give it a scathing review.

World Heavyweight Championship - The last predictable match of the night. They put in a few near falls to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, even letting Edge kick out of the Tombstone, but in the end, after two spears, Edge tapped out to that ridiculous submission move of the Undertaker. I hate that move and I hate that it ended Wrestlemania. I get it - they're trying to freshen up the Undertaker. Got it. They did a good job of that by giving him a new robe to come out with and a newer kind of entrance but, seriously, like the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." That move should only be used on guys that Undertaker can't Tombstone, like Khali and Big Daddy V, not smaller guys like Chavo Guerrero and Edge. I gave the match *** stars because Undertaker is the man anyway and I'm looking forward to what looks to be the last long title run of his career.

All in all, it wasn't a terrible Wrestlemania but it's not up there as one of the best. It was just "one of those." Ric Flair made this Wrestlemania by having the match of the night and his life. Thank you for the memories, Naitch!!

Until next time, wrestling fans.

Wrestlemania XXIV Picks + Other thoughts

Hello there.

It is Sunday, March 30th. Wrestlemania XXIV is upon us! I know I've done some bashing on this year's Wrestlemania but nonetheless I'm as excited for it as any Wrestlemania just because I'm a fan. It may also be because I just came back from a terrific independent show in Connecticut (I'll talk about that later) and watched the Hall of Fame. Either way I'm really excited for the capping off of my "wrestling weekend".

First of all before I give any predictions or talk about anything else I want to send a HUGE congratulations to the Hall of Fame Class of 2008 - Congratulations Ric Flair, Rocky Johnson, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, The Brisco Brothers, Mae Young, Eddie Graham, and Gordon Solie. All classic names. Watching the Hall of Fame is special for me every year as I truly, unequivocally respect each and every superstar that has ever laced up a pair of boots but this year something about the Hall of Fame was even more special to me. Watching "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair get inducted into the Hall of Fame left me with a lump in my throat. I truly am so very happy for Ric Flair and as I watch I know that we're on borrowed time with Ric Flair but if his last match is tonight at Wrestlemania then I hope he has a tremendous one because win, lose, or draw Ric Flair will always be a champion with me. WOO!!

OK, now on to my Wrestlemania predictions!

Wrestlemania FreeView
24-Man Battle Royal
Winner faces ECW Champion Chavo Guerrero later in the night

I understand the reason why they're doing the Battle Royal before Wrestlemania as these Battle Royals tend to become giant cluster-you-know-whats however I do wish that they had it on the card just so that immediately after the winner is declared the opportunistic ECW Champion, obviously taking lessons from his "familia" (Edge), could come out nice and fresh and add a degree of suspense to the match. I can just here Joey Styles now: "Tazz, how can the challenger possibly take on the veteran and savvy Chavo Guerrero after just going through 23 other superstars to get the shot?" Tazz would of course tell Styles to shut up as he should always. Anyway, of the 24 men in this Battle Royal, there are only a few I could really see winning. Kane is at the top of my list. I don't believe that WWE would allow a snooze-fest like The Great Khali vs. Chavo Guerrero to happen on Wrestlemania. Sentimentally, I'd love to see "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan get the dupe and become ECW Champion. Hey, the title can't take any bigger beating than it has already... can it? Other favorites to win it are Tommy Dreamer, Kofi Kingston and Festus. Come on, Festus has a ton of potential and a ton of fans! That'd just be ridiculous if he won. But there can only be one winner and I just have a feeling that we got just a tiny piece of it on Tuesday. I believe that the winner of the 24-Man Battle Royal, who will go on to face Chavo Guerrero later in the night, is going to be none other than Tommy Dreamer!! ECW!!!!

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito vs. John Morrison

Let me just say, first and foremost, that this is one of the matches that I just cannot wait for. I'm happy that this match is becoming an institution every year at Wrestlemania. It's done wonders for careers - just look at Edge. Well, actually, he's the only one... but now he's in a Main Event at Wrestlemania challenging the Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak and has won dual World Championships just off the Money in the Bank. Tremendous. Also, as I watch this match I'll be thinking of Jeff Hardy and what he's doing and hoping he gets over whatever demons that are plaguing him.

Now, Money in the Bank.

There are quite a few people that I can see winning this. Chris Jericho is definitely one of them. Jericho is one of the most underrated superstars in WWE history. I know, you can say "But Mike! He's had his chance at the World Championship - how can you say he's underrated?!" He just is. Look at how they use him. The man can put on tremendous five star matches with anyone he wants, cut a terrific promo, generate excitement and WWE just continues to leave him stuck in the midcard. Why? MVP is another tremendous talent that has a great chance of winning the Money in the Bank. Personally I do not believe that he is ready to be Money in the Bank Champion yet but as is with WWE anything can happen. Even Carlito can win it! I do smell a Matt Hardy return, stifling MVP's chances of winning the Money in the Bank match, of course while he's just inches away from the briefcase. They'll continue their feud and it'll be happy times. I'd like to see Mr. Kennedy win it again and get the shot he didn't get last year but I highly doubt he'll be a back to back winner. He'll have to win his title shots the old fashioned way. CM Punk is another guy who realistically has a terrific shot at winning the briefcase. He's ready. It's about time they take him out of ECW Purgatory and move him to a real show. I'd like to see him go to Smackdown and feud with MVP, Edge, Undertaker, Batista - you know, all the big guys. CM Punk can be a good champion given the right circumstances. However it'll all come down to one man and that one man that I believe will win Money in the Bank is CM Punk.

ECW Championship Match
Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero (c)

Just a recap: Tommy Dreamer is my pick to win the 24-Man Battle Royal.

OK, we all know that Tommy Dreamer eats, drinks, sleeps and bleeds ECW. We all know that Tommy Dreamer, even though he looks like a doughboy, fights with all the passion of a rookie finally getting his chance to be someone. ECW is a struggling brand right now, let's admit it. The die hard fans have said "To hell with this, we're done". The show does ratings in the low to mid 1.0s. No one is watching. WWE needs to try to bring back that old fan base by giving a little of what the fans want and what the fans want is something at least remotely resembling the old ECW. Jim Ross said it best - "ECW is ECW in initials only". Well said, JR. Give Tommy Dreamer the belt and let him do his thing. However, I know most people will disagree with that idea and I doubt that will happen at Wrestlemania anyway so I'm picking Chavo Guerrero to retain.

Belfast Brawl

John Bradshaw Layfield vs. Finlay

Personally I could care less about this match. I have about as much emotion invested in this match as I do for cauliflower... and I hate cauliflower. The thing that stinks is they both are really great brawlers. If only their feud didn't consist of a leprechaun being the bastard son of Vince McMahon and then being revealed by JBL as being Finlay's actual son (doesn't that make Finlay a heel for being a neglectful parent?) I'd be as excited for this match as any match. Unfortunately that is exactly what they are feuding about and even worse, I just have a terrible feeling that the rivalry will continue on. Hornswoggle will of course come back in this match but it will be too late and JBL will end up getting the win. Woo-hoo.

BunnyMania Lumberjack Match
Maria & Ashley vs. Melina & Beth Phoenix

Special Guest Emcee: Snoop Dogg

I don't understand how this is "BunnyMania". Only half the team was in Playboy. Whatever.

Personally, if Candice Michelle hadn't been injured, I'd have rather seen her taking on Beth Phoenix for the Women's Title. Melina is absolutely right - the women wrestlers should be graded and pushed on their ability, not what they take off. Unfortunately that's all that seems to matter to the bookers, and the fans for that matter. Too bad. Looks like the Women's Champion and Melina will be falling to Maria and Ashley. Too bad. With the imbecilic Snoop Dogg officiating nonetheless. Hey - just an aside but wasn't this called a LumberJill Match last year??

Smackdown vs. RAW
Batista vs. Umaga

Don't you think with something as big as "brand supremacy" on the line that these two would have had more buildup then they actually have had? Seriously, what has this feud really been - two backstage vignettes of challenges, some squash matches and a spine buster and Samoan Spike. Whoopie!! Let the fun begin!!

Anyway, for as little time as they've put into this thrown together match, I highly expect this to be a knockdown, drag out brawl between these two monsters. I'm actually looking forward to this one. I don't think it's going to be a long match but it'll be enough to whet the appetite for more. Umaga needs to go to Smackdown and start fresh again. He's gone through everyone on RAW. Can you imagine Undertaker vs. Umaga?! I'm salivating at the thought! If the reports on the Internet are correct and there is going to be one of those controversial endings that may become a reality. I'm taking Batista to win the Smackdown vs. RAW battle. In controversial fashion, of course.

Floyd "Money" Mayweather vs. Big Show

Ugh, this feud has left me with more than just a bad taste in my mouth. This is just terrible. The build-up for it hasn't been good at all. Hell, we don't even know who to cheer for and who not to! Of course we, as wrestling fans, will boo and cheer whoever the hell we want, but WWE hasn't even made clear to us who they'd like us to cheer and boo for!! Even with the "No Holds Barred Must Be A Winner" rule and the alleged "swerve that no one will see coming" at the end, I'm still not excited for this match and I doubt I will be even while watching it. I'm taking the obvious pick: Floyd Mayweather and his posse. Those idiots.

Career Threatening Match
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair vs. "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels

Wow, you want to talk "Wrestlemania moments", expect a ton from these two. The staredown alone between them will rival Rock vs. Hogan in 2002. I don't know why but for some reason I just don't even want this match to happen. I'm too scared of the implications. Either way I believe it's going to be the end of Ric Flair. I don't want to wake up Monday morning in a wrestling world without that limosine ridin', jet flyin', kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin', son of a gun Ric Flair! I expect an epic but I won't be disappointed with whatever happens. Either way it's the end of an era. I'm actually going to go with Ric Flair in this! There's too many obvious picks on the card and I think they're going to swerve us and have Ric Flair win and then retire on his own accord the next night on RAW! One more time: WOOOO!!!!!!

World Heavyweight Championship
Undertaker vs. Edge (c)

I love how WWE is billing this as "Streak vs. Streak". Don't they know that last year Edge lost at Wrestlemania?! Anyway...

This is going to be a great match. These two are going to tear the house down. Undertaker is a different performer during Wrestlemania and he always rises to the occasion. I fully expect Edge to do the same. I cannot wait for this match. This is one I couldn't wait for since back in May when Edge screwed the Undertaker out of the World Heavyweight Championship! What a match it will be, what a match! I, of course, have to go with the Undertaker on this one. 16-0 and he gets probably the last World Heavyweight Championship reign, at least lengthy one, of his career.

WWE Championship
Triple H vs. John Cena vs. Randy Orton (c)

This is going to be the closer for the night. This is going to be a terrific match. All three can really work and can really wrestle. Well, two out of three of them can really wrestle well. I don't mean to knock Cena but in my opinion he hasn't been quite the same since returning. Maybe it's because they really botched up his return and he's kind of lost some of his heat. That's just me - I may be wrong!

Randy Orton has been a pretty good champion. He is a good heel and I know he is because everytime I see him I want to just wring his neck!! He's been a pretty good champ but his reign is over. And you know what, wrestling fans? It's time to play the game. Triple H is your NEW WWE Champion.

Until next time, wrestling fans.