WrestleMania 23 thoughts?

[Manute Bol]

I just rewatched WM 23 and I'm shocked at how disappointed it left me. I honestly remembered Cena/Michaels being MUCH better than it was. I know their hour long RAW match is a classic, but I remembered the WM match as not being too far off from it. It was.

I was equally let down by Taker/Batista. I've read that many consider this to be Batista's best match. While they may in fact still be the case, I found it to be pretty dull overall.

So am I crazy? Was I just in a crappy mood when I rewatched this show? Should I re-rewatch it? What are your thoughts on these two matches?

[Lila]

Still wondering why Taker wore kickpads boots.

[Neo: "The One" who CLAPS]

I loved it a lot. Cena/HBK and Batista/Taker was great, and Lashley/Umaga was far better than expected. I also really enjoyed the MITB match too. I think this WM gets a bad rep honestly because of what happened later that year.

[Dean-o]

It was the first of my annual WrestleMania parties i throw every year, and it always has a soft spot in my heart because of that. Maybe i'll check it out on the Network again. I always remember it being a decent show.

[Apricots And A Pear Tree]

That was the 1st WrestleMania I ever saw.

[chazraps]

The problem with this show is that it's so poorly directed. The action is all there, the card is all there, but from a technical standpoint, something is just off about the presentation. So many great moments are either framed weirdly or missed entirely, really affecting the replayability as a viewer.

For a company that's usually, at the very least, absurdly consistently on-point with their visual presentation, Wrestlemania 23 is a rare misstep.

[odor31]

I went there live. My one and only Wrestlemania. I was underwhelmed, but I'm not a Batista or Cena fan.

[psychokiller]

It was a good show, but besides Taker/Batista there was nothing that memorable from it.

The MITB match was fun, but it's kind of ruined by the fact that Kennedy had to give the briefcase away due to injury.

Kane/Khali sucked.

Benoit/MVP was decent but it wasn't given enough time.

Taker/Batista was good.

ECW/New Breed match was decent, but was really short.

Lashley/Umaga match I don't even remember how good the match itself was. I just remember the aftermath with Vince getting his haircut.

Melina/Ashley was just filler.

Cena/HBK was good, but their match on Raw a few weeks later was leagues above this one.

[Starshine]

I didn't lime it much at all. I felt the card order was all wrong, and no matches outside of around 2 or 3, really got any real time and had any real substance.

I still say Taker/Batista should have closed the show.

[Bo Rida]

I seem to remember being pleasantly surprised with how good Undertaker/Batista was but maybe that's partially because I wasn't expecting much, it's interesting that you were disappointed largely because you had bigger expectations.


HBK is my all-time favourite and I like Cena too but I really didn't think much of their WM match, even HBK seemed pissed-off at the end. If I remember correctly it was a lot of HBK attacking Cena's leg for no payoff as Cena essentially no-sold it anyway.

Not only was the Cena/HBK Raw match better but so was the ECW/New breed match that took place shortly after WM.

[repomark]

Bizarrely just finished watching it. I really enjoyed it at the time and really enjoyed it when rewatching. Money in the bank 3 was entertaining even if it is a shame kennedy never followed it up. I enjoyed Batista v Undertaker albeit it was predictable, but great moment to see taker win the belt after ten years. HBK v Cena was fun and loved Cena's race car entrance even if it was cheesey. Umaga v Lashley was not great but the Vince getting shaved bald moment was great as was the Stunner on Trump. It was also a return to a big stadium for the first time since WM19, which made it feel bigger.

A good wrestlemania overall in my view, though it was topped in every way by the following year's mania which is one of my favourites.

[BV]

Wasn't a deep card at all, but all the big matches delivered. I enjoyed this PPV.

[Wolfman Rose]

I really enjoyed it. The only match that I didn't care for all that much was Melina/Ashley.

[Venti]

I like it for nostalgic purposes, because it was the first Wrestlemania and the first PPV I've ever ordered. I still remember young me being so upset at the outcome of John Cena vs Shawn Micheals.
Makes sense now of course. Also i remember being in total awe at the money in the bank match. So neat at the time.

[fw91]

good but felt incomplete. An Edge/Orton singles match rather than wasting away in the MITB would have made the show a lot better, and maybe even more highly regarded

[Renslayer]

The London match is "technically" better, but I much prefer the Cena-Michaels match here. I think where a match takes place is important along with actual workrate.

[AnActualBear]

Mar 19, 2014 18:03:23 GMT -5 Starshine said:

I didn't lime it much at all.

[Turd Ferguson]

The go home show featured Batista vs Kane in what could be described as the worst, most ridiculously slowpaced match of the year.

["Gizzark" Mike Wronglevenay]

Still baffled that the New Breed and Originals didn't get their extreme rules match on the Mania card, that was one of the best hardcore matches I've ever seen, especially given the number of people involved. Plus everyone got to look strong.

[Chiral]

Mar 19, 2014 18:33:42 GMT -5 Venti said:

I like it for nostalgic purposes, because it was the first Wrestlemania and the first PPV I've ever ordered. I still remember young me being so upset at the outcome of John Cena vs Shawn Micheals.
Makes sense now of course. Also i remember being in total awe at the money in the bank match. So neat at the time.

Same here, it was my first WM/ WWE PPV (I got some TNA ones the year before) so I'm pretty nostalgic for it.

I think it's a pretty decent one, I just wish the main event was better. That match is just a huge buzz kill.

Also, I felt the car/Ford gimmick they had going should have been focused on more than the uber cheesy all grown up one.