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Ozymandius
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Post by CMWaters on Mar 29, 2024 17:50:59 GMT -5
Someone should have told Vince that it was a Backlot Brawl, not a “Backlot Broar”. Speaking of that “match” there’s a punch during it that I swear was 100% legit, Piper absolutely cracks him one with it. HHH would at least have a big Wrestlemania win in the very same arena four years later. (Which was a very surprising finish to me as I put The Rock winning at WM16 on a level of obviousness as HBK at 12). The problem I have with this period of Manias (11-16) is that there’s no real spectacle to it. I know business was in the shitter so stadium shows were out of the question unless they gave away a f*** load of freebies (97 Rumble for example) but you can still put it in smaller arenas and make it seem special. Even though went overboard with the number of celebs at 11 (although admittedly Pamela Anderson was at that time one of the most famous people on the planet) they reigned it in the next couple of years. The issue with that is having celebrities at Mania has always been part of the feel of it and although I’m sure there were some, I can’t recall any celebs at 12 and 13 (and 12 was supposed to have a Hollywood feel to it). Technically since he wasn't officially part of the WWF roster then you could argue Ken Shamrock for 13...
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Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Mar 31, 2024 22:03:58 GMT -5
Wrestlemania XIII
-Tag Team Elimination Match kicks the show off with a wet fart. The New Blackjacks cut a promo and get eliminated within like 3 minutes. Furnas and LaFon get hyped up as a great technical team…and get eliminated in the brawl on the outside, showing that they were dummies. The Headbangers win via the gang bang or stage dive, whatever.
-Rocky Maivia beat the Sultan and then got his shit stomped in by Backland, The Iron Shiek and Rikishi. Rocky Johnson comes to save his kid.
-I don’t remember ever hearing that Terri got hurt when Chyna rag dolled her at the end of the next match, but it was so damn violent that it wouldn’t surprise me if she got legit hurt.
-Okay match, Goldust showing some good character by caring for Marlena after. I did like the growth of Triple H at this time, it felt like there was a chance for the character to me more than just a snob. He done did well for himself.
-The Tag Title Match was decent fun. I mean, Owen/Bulldog/Mankind/Vader should typically be pretty good and I understand why there was a non-finish…but I still hate non-finishes on Wrestlemania
-Bret vs Stone Cold was brilliant. Every person played their role to perfection to complete the double-turn. Bret was obviously on his way before the match, but the commentary team did a great job of selling Austin’s toughness as well. Shamrock did well in the guest referee spot, especially with suplexing Bret off of Austin.
-I don’t always love blood, but the blood was necessary to showing the ruthlessness of Bret and the toughness and heart of Austin. A+ camerawork and production there too.
-Outside of JR, I hate this commentary team (and it gets so much worse for the main event) but they were at their best in the submission match.
-This version of the Nation had to be real wild for 1997. That backstage promo was something else. I liked PG-13 rapping to the ring and getting the Doomsday Device after
-The Chicago Street Fight was wild, especially seeing D’Lo getting kicked right in the dick after he hung Ahmed.
-Great to see the longest entrance of the show going to Shawn Michaels, who clearly found his smile AND had his knee feel better by the time he got to the ring. What an asshole and his commentary along with Vince blowing him at the table really brought nothing to the main event. -The sign that read “HBK Cream Team” may have made it worth the long ass entrance for HBK though
-Sid with a masterclass before the bell, from his promo to powerbombing Bret and calling his a whiner. A great entrance theme too…I love Sid.
-Bret is a bitch and obviously Vince thought very little of what Undertaker and Sid could provide the main event by having Bret constantly screwing Sid over. Bret bitched out Taker before the match and then handed him the win.
-Was this main event hated because of the commentary and constant interference? Because if so, then I get it. These two hosses did okay in between the other stuff, but it is hard to watch overall.
Overall, it’s a decent show, but is carried by a top 3 match in Wrestlemania history, which along makes it worth a watch.
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
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Post by CMWaters on Mar 31, 2024 22:08:46 GMT -5
Having been watching the series on YouTube "Reliving The War", something that was noted that before Mania Taker had a promo where he said he would have to go back to the beginning for the match, hence why he came out with his grey gloves and spats look long after he reinvented his look.
Made the visual post match of him stick out more IMO.
EDIT: Also I still have to debate of which was the better of the two Hart/Austin major PPV matches between this one and Survivor Series 96.
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Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Apr 1, 2024 0:56:57 GMT -5
Wrestlemania XIV
Even though it isn’t a huge spectacle like in later years, this definitely has an intensity to it that the previous ones didn’t have…almost like there is a different attitude or something.
-Nothing gets a show going like a battle Royal where every participant doesn’t have to be eliminated to get the show going. I hate the rules of the tag team battle royal, just make each one get tossed…because when Scott Taylor got tossed, Brian Christopher just peaced out through the ropes and that’s real lame.
-Obviously the team with the huge return and monsterous entrance was going to win, but the chants of LOD had to make Vince and company pretty happy in the back. Sunny did look ridiculous in that outfit and I think it was the first appearance she made on WM show, since the Bodydonnas won on the preshow a couple years prior.
-I definitely couldn’t have told you that the Quebecers were still in WWF at this point, had they already been the Amazing French Canadians and came back?
-Bradshaw and Chainz was a nice combination in the battle royal, I’m shocked that they weren’t able to pull off the W.
-Good to see Sniper and Jesus get Wrestlemania paydays
-I can’t believe the Taka vs Aguila match was only 5:57, it felt like a good bit longer with how much of a sprint it was. Enjoyable showcase for the light heavyweights, although King putting his kid over during the whole match didn’t feel super necessary, even though I know it was the gimmick.
-JR making a comment about Taka winning the title on December 7th is pretty hilarious
-Great character interview by Gennifer Flowers with The Rock and I’m sure nobody would use clips of that against him if he ever did run for President lol
-The amount that Austin was over was on display in the third match of the night, because Triple H and Chyna were massively over here. At least this giveaway of the winner was done in storyline, since obviously Chyna would find a way to cheat even with being cuffed to Sarge
-Fun match between Owen and Hunter, although it was one of Chyna’s lesser quality nut shots
-Sable was super over for the mixed match. I didn’t love Luna constantly running from Sable, that didn’t feel like in her character. Also, Mero raising Sable’s hand after the match didn’t feel like his character either.
-Not sure what the point of Tennessee Lee and JJ coming out with Gennifer Flowers was, but that also doesn’t surprise me since every place in the south is the same to New Yorkers who are from North Carolina.
-Ken Shamrock was awesome while costing himself the title after winning it. Just kicking ass everywhere, he was a dude who didn’t need a title but always felt like a threat, because of his badassery.
-The Rock is hilarious while getting his ass kicked and on the stretcher. Heel Rock is the best Rock. He sold this ass beating very well.
-The Dumpster match is just good, dumb fun. Terry Funk with a solid undefeated streak at Wrestlemania, also he has to be up there for most years in between appearances and the best usage of a forklift at a Wrestlemania
-Also, forklifts have been used a wild amount in finishes of championship matches in the WWF/WWE
-Pete Rose is one of my least favorite athletes ever…but is f’n hilarious before Kane kicks his ass. Great segment leading to a really fun series of events for Rose at Wrestlemania
-This feels like the first Undertaker match at Wrestlemania that was streak-worthy. I had liked the previous two big man matches, but his chemistry with Kane was always fun.
-Kane was great and still looked like a monster even in defeat
-I mentioned Austin being so over earlier, because even though Triple H/Chyna were super over, the boos for DX were massive before the main event
-I’m not the biggest HBK in the 90’s fan as far as him as a person goes, but as someone with massive back issues, I admire his performance here. You could tell it started to effect him when they were on the outside and he looked lost on how to get back into the ring, which makes the rest of his performance even more impressive.
-Mike Tyson was such a huge get for the WWF and he did his role in the lead up to Wrestlemania perfectly.
-JR makes the King so much better than Vince could ever do. I didn’t mind King besides the Brian Christopher stuff that went way over my head in 1998 lol
-Austin rules.
Overall, a very fun show that definitely had a massive role in turning the tide. The next night, DX collapses and rebuilds within the same segment, which ironically is one of the things I remember watching most as an 7th grader. This is the last Wrestlemania that I didn’t watch live until 21.
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
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Post by CMWaters on Apr 1, 2024 7:10:57 GMT -5
This was the Mania that helped turn things in WWF's favor. They were already slowly closing the gap in the ratings war with the build up of Austin as well as Tyson's appearances (nevermind possibly some lingering annoyance o the WCW fan side at how Starrcade 97 ended up), and with Austin then having the title it was just a few scant weeks before the 83 week streak would end.
This was also I think the last WrestleMania to not have a stage set up that was unique from other events (at the very least Royal Rumble that year had the same one). The next Mania, while not in many if anyone's top 15 of events, had a unique idea for the entryway at the very least.
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Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Apr 2, 2024 1:58:10 GMT -5
Wrestlemania XV
-Heat actually had a lot of stuff going on in it, mostly with Ivory getting a cigar put out on her face, which was the start of the most David McLane centric Wrestlemania ever
-The show starts with the beginning of the dumbest storyline switch of the 90’s when the New Age Outlaws just switched storylines like a week before Wrestlemania, so their matches didn’t make a lick of sense
-First ever Hardcore title match at WM was whatever, but the first song after America the Beautiful being Al Snow’s is very Attitude Era
-The Tag Title match felt very crash TV, with random ass partners being put together on Heat and then PMS ultimately costing D’Lo and Test the match…even though they had literally nothing to do with the match
-Brawl for All’s redemption arc lasts less than a minute as Butterbean ends Bart Gunn’s WWF career. What a disaster.
-Mankind gets his ass kicked, but wins via DQ leading to…
-Big Show with his first turn in his WWF career!
-The four corners elimination IC title match really is so dumb. Mr. Ass, Goldust, Shamrock and Val all had a reason to be feuding (Ryan Shamrock), but Road Dogg had to reason to be in the match instead of Billy. Also, Billy isn’t the greatest wrestler, but was light years ahead of Road Dogg, which is why he should’ve been in the IC picture anyways
-But, this match sucked ass. At least Shamrock got to throw some people.
-Pete Rose gets his ass kicked again and it was awesome again!
-Triple H and Chyna reunite, but Kane still wins via DQ. A heartwarming reunion that I’m sure will continue the HHH face run for a long time!
-I loved Tori. This match is ugly, but at least we got the debut of Nicole Bass helping Sable. The Sable Bomb was very impactful, about 3 feet of a drop.
-Sable had the worst voice ever, but she was mega over.
-DX is stronger than ever!
-The single worst officiated match in WWF history, arguably worse than Andre vs Hogan or any Danny Davis match. Test interfered like 17 times and never got ejected. Definitely a surprising turn by Trips and Chyna. It was pretty well set up too.
-Road Dogg calls Trips a jerk off multiple times after the match.
-DX felt like they were together for way more than a year
-The Undertaker and the Brood commit murder on PPV
-HBK and Vince had to have a segment just to bring out Mike Choida
-Austin and The Rock have such great chemistry and even with a lot of extra stuff going on, this match rules
-Mick gets to main event Wrestlemania as a referee in the main event!
-Earl Hebner gets to sip a beer with Stone Cold and Vince takes a stunner to send the fans home happy!
Overall, a very enjoyable show even though some of the matches/segments weren’t the best executed. Triple H joining the corporation sets up the next 25 years in the WWE, which is kinda wild to think about.
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4real
Wade Wilson
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Post by 4real on Apr 2, 2024 3:07:40 GMT -5
Mania XV isn’t the best Mania but it does contain this funny commentary line during Kane v HHH when Kane slams HHH into the ring post. Makes me chuckle anyway.
Cole: “Kidneys are in trouble” Lawler: “Who?” Cole: “His kidneys” Lawler: “Ooo”
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Ozymandius
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Post by CMWaters on Apr 2, 2024 4:59:12 GMT -5
You mention the weirdness of going from America the Beautiful to Al Snow's theme...but weirder was at least in the original broadcast going from Bossman being hanged to the WrestleMania Rage Party recap.
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Post by The Thread Barbi on Apr 2, 2024 6:23:19 GMT -5
Wrestlemania VII -The best 30 minutes of Vince McMahon’s booking ever follows. The match is fantastic, both dudes giving everything to keep their careers alive, The Brain is at the top of his game here too. I thought Sherri played her role extremely well and Dave Hebner really selling the 2 counts to show the crowd that neither man was done was great too. I know Meltzer would never rate something like this as 5 stars, but the whole thing is 5 stars to me. Even from the Brain noticing Elizabeth in the crowd setting the tone early, then seeing how she finally had enough was brilliant too. Everybody played their role to perfection here, even the ladies crying in the crowd for the 2nd best crowd shots ever (after the Streak ending) just to show how much these two meant to the whole crowd. I think Warrior's contribution to the psychology of the match is often overlooked - WALKING to the ring, the airbrushed ring gear, questioning the Gods when Savage kicks out of the finisher. He was a very subdued, serious Warrior instead of the pell mell, chaotic Warrior of the past.
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Renslayer
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
every time i come around your city...
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Post by Renslayer on Apr 2, 2024 22:30:24 GMT -5
Wrestlemania XV -Heat actually had a lot of stuff going on in it, mostly with Ivory getting a cigar put out on her face, which was the start of the most David McLane centric Wrestlemania ever -The show starts with the beginning of the dumbest storyline switch of the 90’s when the New Age Outlaws just switched storylines like a week before Wrestlemania, so their matches didn’t make a lick of sense -First ever Hardcore title match at WM was whatever, but the first song after America the Beautiful being Al Snow’s is very Attitude Era -The Tag Title match felt very crash TV, with random ass partners being put together on Heat and then PMS ultimately costing D’Lo and Test the match…even though they had literally nothing to do with the match -Brawl for All’s redemption arc lasts less than a minute as Butterbean ends Bart Gunn’s WWF career. What a disaster. -Mankind gets his ass kicked, but wins via DQ leading to… -Big Show with his first turn in his WWF career! -The four corners elimination IC title match really is so dumb. Mr. Ass, Goldust, Shamrock and Val all had a reason to be feuding (Ryan Shamrock), but Road Dogg had to reason to be in the match instead of Billy. Also, Billy isn’t the greatest wrestler, but was light years ahead of Road Dogg, which is why he should’ve been in the IC picture anyways -But, this match sucked ass. At least Shamrock got to throw some people. -Pete Rose gets his ass kicked again and it was awesome again! -Triple H and Chyna reunite, but Kane still wins via DQ. A heartwarming reunion that I’m sure will continue the HHH face run for a long time! -I loved Tori. This match is ugly, but at least we got the debut of Nicole Bass helping Sable. The Sable Bomb was very impactful, about 3 feet of a drop. -Sable had the worst voice ever, but she was mega over. -DX is stronger than ever! -The single worst officiated match in WWF history, arguably worse than Andre vs Hogan or any Danny Davis match. Test interfered like 17 times and never got ejected. Definitely a surprising turn by Trips and Chyna. It was pretty well set up too. -Road Dogg calls Trips a jerk off multiple times after the match. -DX felt like they were together for way more than a year -The Undertaker and the Brood commit murder on PPV -HBK and Vince had to have a segment just to bring out Mike Choida -Austin and The Rock have such great chemistry and even with a lot of extra stuff going on, this match rules -Mick gets to main event Wrestlemania as a referee in the main event! -Earl Hebner gets to sip a beer with Stone Cold and Vince takes a stunner to send the fans home happy! Overall, a very enjoyable show even though some of the matches/segments weren’t the best executed. Triple H joining the corporation sets up the next 25 years in the WWE, which is kinda wild to think about. Every time I think about that atrocious cell match, I think of this anecdote from edge's book
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Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Apr 2, 2024 23:19:27 GMT -5
Wrestlemania 2000
-I wish the network/Peacock version would have had Ice-T’s Pimpin Ain’t Easy rap…but them leaving in Godfather’s promo is pretty good. All of his references went completely over my head as a youngster.
-Not a very good opener, but Bull Buchanan’s leg drop from the top was pretty nasty. Godfather’s hair was fun and I always enjoy seeing D’Lo. I do like the fact that Godfather got married that same year and has been married since, a pretty good run for a pimp!
-Austin Powers inspired backstage segment with a naked Kat and Mae Young gets the King going.
-Hardcore Battle Royal is next and what an amazing finish it has!!
-Tazz pinning Crash and being talked about as possibly going the distance…and then gets pinned by Viscera about 20 seconds later made me lol
-Funaki pinning Vis and then running was run…Mean Street Posse all got some time to shine
-JR’s glass candy dish that I’m sure he carried to each show with him is used too early, so Hardcore Holly wins even though Tim White never counted the 3.
-After a backstage segment where Al Snow is talking to someone taking a shit, we get an absurd closeup of Trish’s rack as T&A are walking backstage
-Chester McCheeserton is introduced by Al as Chester McCheesyton
-This match sucks. As JR stated afterwards, “these teams never got on track”. T&A wins and Head Cheese seemingly is supposed to have turned heel by beating up a random Latino man in a cheese costume.
-Things get better in a hurry with the Ladder match for the Tag Titles, the precursor for TLC
-Jeff does crazy shit, Bubba kills people with his head in a ladder, D-Von and Matt are underrated here too, but Edge and Christian own the match. Jeff’s swanton off the ladder in the aisle looks amazing, but he definitely had to mess up his tailbone with the landing. E&C tossing fools off the table between the ladder was a good looking finish. Fun, fun match. Kinda crazy that only one of them is retired 24 years after these car crashes.
-Next up is our singles match of the night, as The Kat takes on Terri in a cat fight. Val Venis frenches three ladies, likely the first two as a reward for how long him and Mae went at it. Mae Young is also the worst manager ever, because the Kat had the match won multiple times but Mae distracted Val.
-Yes, the Kat had the match won multiple times in a match that officially lasted under 3 minutes. It felt like much, much longer. At least Moolah takes the slowest bronco buster ever from Mae to end the segment.
-The Radicalz get their welcome to the WWF by losing to Too Cool and Chyna. Saturn stealing Grandmaster Sexay’s durag was a highlight for me in the match. This match led to a few cool things at least, with Eddie and Chyna along with Malenko vs Scotty 2 Hotty at the next month’s Backlash too.
-Angle asking a random security member for additional help after he defends both titles backstage is strange, but on brand for Angle.
-Jericho cuts a promo with a ton of catchphrases that were all super over
-Benoit pins Y2J for the IC title, Y2J returns the favor to win the European title. A nice touch to not have Angle involved in either decision as he could use that to build his character even further.
-DX gets beat by the historic tag team over Rikishi and Kane. Kane gets some revenge on Tori and X-Pac, as Kish stink faces Tori and Kane tombstones X-Pac.
-Too Cool dances with the San Diego Chicken as Kane looks on very cautiously after last year’s attack. But, Pete Rose tries to attack him from behind before Rikishi stops it. Leads to a choke slam and a stink face, which that combo earned Rose his HOF induction.
-Throughout the show, we got to see backstage promos from all of the McMahon’s and their charges. Big Show with a garbage promo, Foley’s was decent, Triple H’s was whiny and The Rock’s was electric.
-A McMahon in Every Corner is somehow a worse tag line for a show than the previous year’s “The Ragin’ Climax”
-Big Show is out first, Triple H breaks up a pin on Foley because he wants to retire him himself, almost costing him the match. After Foley takes the pedigree on a chair, he returns to the ring to get some color for Triple H and an even bigger ovation.
-Then, the match falls apart. We get to watch Shane attack his dad, who goes to the back and then comes back to screw The Rock for a swerve that everyone saw coming. Triple H retains to be the first heel to actually walk out of Wrestlemania the champion.
-The people get sent home happy as The Rock kicks all of the heel McMahon’s asses and gives Stephanie a people’s elbow to end the show.
Overall, a decent show, but a terrible main event didn’t help things. It gets a bit better next year at least.
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4real
Wade Wilson
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Post by 4real on Apr 3, 2024 2:05:50 GMT -5
Wasn’t watching regularly at the time but was Vince’s heel turn on this show super obviously going to happen?
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Post by David-Arquette was in WCW 2000 on Apr 3, 2024 5:18:03 GMT -5
Wrestlemania XIII -Tag Team Elimination Match kicks the show off with a wet fart. The New Blackjacks cut a promo and get eliminated within like 3 minutes. Furnas and LaFon get hyped up as a great technical team…and get eliminated in the brawl on the outside, showing that they were dummies. The Headbangers win via the gang bang or stage dive, whatever. -Rocky Maivia beat the Sultan and then got his shit stomped in by Backland, The Iron Shiek and Rikishi. Rocky Johnson comes to save his kid. -I don’t remember ever hearing that Terri got hurt when Chyna rag dolled her at the end of the next match, but it was so damn violent that it wouldn’t surprise me if she got legit hurt. -Okay match, Goldust showing some good character by caring for Marlena after. I did like the growth of Triple H at this time, it felt like there was a chance for the character to me more than just a snob. He done did well for himself. -The Tag Title Match was decent fun. I mean, Owen/Bulldog/Mankind/Vader should typically be pretty good and I understand why there was a non-finish…but I still hate non-finishes on Wrestlemania -Bret vs Stone Cold was brilliant. Every person played their role to perfection to complete the double-turn. Bret was obviously on his way before the match, but the commentary team did a great job of selling Austin’s toughness as well. Shamrock did well in the guest referee spot, especially with suplexing Bret off of Austin. -I don’t always love blood, but the blood was necessary to showing the ruthlessness of Bret and the toughness and heart of Austin. A+ camerawork and production there too. -Outside of JR, I hate this commentary team (and it gets so much worse for the main event) but they were at their best in the submission match. -This version of the Nation had to be real wild for 1997. That backstage promo was something else. I liked PG-13 rapping to the ring and getting the Doomsday Device after -The Chicago Street Fight was wild, especially seeing D’Lo getting kicked right in the dick after he hung Ahmed. -Great to see the longest entrance of the show going to Shawn Michaels, who clearly found his smile AND had his knee feel better by the time he got to the ring. What an asshole and his commentary along with Vince blowing him at the table really brought nothing to the main event. -The sign that read “HBK Cream Team” may have made it worth the long ass entrance for HBK though -Sid with a masterclass before the bell, from his promo to powerbombing Bret and calling his a whiner. A great entrance theme too…I love Sid. -Bret is a bitch and obviously Vince thought very little of what Undertaker and Sid could provide the main event by having Bret constantly screwing Sid over. Bret bitched out Taker before the match and then handed him the win. -Was this main event hated because of the commentary and constant interference? Because if so, then I get it. These two hosses did okay in between the other stuff, but it is hard to watch overall. Overall, it’s a decent show, but is carried by a top 3 match in Wrestlemania history, which along makes it worth a watch. Honestly, I think cut out the first two matches and you have a brilliant In Your House show. It's just a shame this was Wrestlemania. It should have been a lot bigger, of course. I get that some match plans changed due to Shawn's "pussy foot little injury", but yeah there was no real spectacle or 'oomf' to the event like the year previous, or year following had.
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msc
Dennis Stamp
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Post by msc on Apr 3, 2024 8:11:43 GMT -5
I watched it earlier this week and I already can't remember if TNA/Headcheese is the match JR calls "bowling shoe ugly" on commentary but yeah, that man called it like he saw it. Wasn’t watching regularly at the time but was Vince’s heel turn on this show super obviously going to happen? It shocked me but I was thirteen. My older friend was all "duh, it's Vince!" Although Linda said on RAW that if Mick Foley won the title there would be a 32 man deadly game for the title, and I still feel robbed of that outcome.
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msc
Dennis Stamp
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Post by msc on Apr 3, 2024 8:12:08 GMT -5
Btw I recently found out Dvon Dudley is scared of heights which makes all his crazy TLC performances even more impressive!
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Post by Ludwig Kaiser’s Walk on Apr 3, 2024 23:48:30 GMT -5
I’m probably going to take a break after this one, lots of work commitments coming up before Saturday and this is a good one to temporarily pause with…
Wrestlemania X-Seven
-The best Wrestlemania (IMO) gets the dumbest way of being spelt out
-I’m livid that I didn’t get to see X-Factor beat the legendary team of Steve Blackman and Grand Master Sexay from Sunday Night Heat
-Paul Heyman is so damn good on this evening at commentary. A really good replacement for the King on a night that is as epic as this show was. King’s hornyness and lame jokes were fine for other shows, but Heyman brings intensity the whole night and that was necessary for the biggest show ever.
-I can’t believe they made Jericho Doink
-A very Attitude Era storyline of pissing in Regal’s tea for why these two were fighting. A fun match, Regal was so damn good and the crowd was bonkers for Jericho.
-I really would like to see if this hot ass crowd actually reacted to the X-Factor on Heat lol
-Bradshaw cuts a great backstage promo on what the Astrodome means to Texans and even puts over Bodacious (but calls him Bocephus). Seriously, I think this was Bradshaw’s best promo, especially before JBL, but it got me pumped up to kick RTC’s asses
-and Tazz just wasn’t with them for some reason…but still gets a nice pop and he actually gets put over as a badass and not just for being short, although JR does make a slight comment
-Steven Richards Wrestlemania career only being as a manager who doesn’t get to talk was kinda wild to think about; especially for how long he was around
-Raven’s music is ass
-This hardcore match rules. I remember thinking they put up rooms just to throw people through the walls in the backstage since it happened multiple times in this match. Raven almost ends the show on the golf cart
-Kane gets a nice pop for driving the golf cart, especially with the ref catching a ride
-Nice finish, made them all look like badasses, like Hardcore matches should do. Lightyears better than the hardcore battle Royal from last year
-I legitimately forgot that Malenko was still around at this time until I saw his interference. I thought he had retired already, especially when he didn’t come out with Perry and Eddie
-I will always think Test was underrated and could’ve been much bigger if things went a little different for him. Then he came back for WWECW roided out of his mind and those thoughts went away for me.
-Fantastic match between Angle and Benoit
-Chyna squashes Ivory like she should have. She didn’t need to win the Women’s title, but it was fine for what it was. Ivory was hilarious as always.
-Stephanie’s Daddy’s Girl outfit is so cringey that it’s great…but really cringey, especially now. Trish kicking her ass and chasing her from the ring is great.
-The storytelling in this match rules, Vince getting his comeuppance from everywhere is outstanding.
-Does Linda standing get like the 3rd biggest pop of the show? Lol
-Shane’s coast to coast is so good, but I love that they didn’t show the wide angle initially, almost like they didn’t think he could make it
-TLC II was great and got some new blood in it, which helped make it even better. Spike, Lita and Rhyno all added a lot to the match to go around the massive bumps and to give the six fellas some time to recoup before their next spot. Also, they all took massive bumps too, so kudos to them.
-The hanging spear spot still blows my mind 23 years later, so many things had to go right. It’s perfect and so dumb lol
-Fun finish with Rhyno stealing a spot from the future from Indi and Dexter lol
-The Gimmick Battle Royal was a lot of fun, but I would’ve liked to have seen it go a little longer, just for more Mean Gene and Bobby. Iron Sheik winning by default since he couldn’t take a bump is still hilarious.
-Great brawl between Hunter and Taker, too bad it got scrubbed from Hunter’s memory 10 years later, it probably was due to the Last Ride
-My Way is such a phenomenal video package. The best ever, but I love Monster for Daniel Bryan and Hate Me Now for the Miz too
-Another match with great storytelling…but, why does Hebner have a ref bump when there is no DQ?
-Stone Cold getting more and more desperate is awesome. Going with moves like the Million Dollar Dream and almost losing like he did to Bret at Survivor Series was a nice touch too.
-It’s too bad that this heel turn didn’t work, because I thought Stone Cold did a great job with being paranoid as hell
-Stone Cold can’t beat The Rock with any move, so he just beats the ever loving shit out of him with the chair until he can finally win. Made The Rock look like a damn superhero.
-JR was on fire all night anyways, but the shaking hands with satan himself line is perfect
Overall, a phenomenal show. There have been some great Wrestlemania’s, but I’m not sure anything tops this one. Several great matches that are showstealers and then you have the best main event ever. It’s so damn glorious.
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msc
Dennis Stamp
Posts: 4,447
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Post by msc on Apr 4, 2024 8:20:31 GMT -5
Agree with most of that except axing Lita/Ivory's feud for a Chyna squash still annoys me and Raven's theme was epic. I had it on CD.
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CMWaters
Ozymandius
Rolled a Seven, Beat the Ads.
Bald and busy
Posts: 63,072
Member is Online
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Post by CMWaters on Apr 4, 2024 10:02:01 GMT -5
17's stage is probably my favorite Mania stage personally, with 10 right after.
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