Well I just watched Wrestlemania XXVI on DVD, and I have to say that, overall, it was a decent show. It's the first full wrestling show that I've watched since... well, since I went to Wrestlemania two years ago I think! I'm not gonna break down every match like I've done in my older reviews, though I do feel compelled to share some brief thoughts on each of the matches.
The opening match was the Tag Team Championship match featuring the random pairing of John Morrison and R-Truth taking on the randomly paired champs The Miz and Big Show. Considering that last year's match, which actually featured two established teams and was supposed to unify the tag titles, got bumped off of the show, I personally find it amazing that this match found a way to stick around, if just barely. For the short while that it lasted, it was okay I suppose, though it ended way too quickly and just felt very uninspired.
The next match picked things up a bit. I really enjoyed the triple threat match between former Legacy members Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes. This is how a triple threat should play out, all three men were involved throughout the majority of the match, as opposed to the usual formula which is more like watching three individual singles matches while the third man takes an extended break on the outside. The story was well told, with the two younger stars wanting to make sure that Orton didn't win, only for things to explode between the two over which of them would be the guy to put him out. It turned out that neither of them could keep their former mentor down, as he finished them off with a punt to Cody's head and an RKO to Ted for the win. Good match, and I'm actually digging Orton as a face.
The Money in the Bank match was just awesome. Possibly the best of the series thus far. Everything about it just really gelled to perfection, it's hard to explain. It wasn't even as out of the control crazy as some of the previous matches, but it just felt like a more tightly knit package. I dunno, it's kind of hard to explain. I'm not a fan of Jack Swagger, so I'm less than thrilled about him winning the match, but the match itself was quite a show, where all men involved really had their chances to shine.
Triple H vs. Sheamus... DUD!
I was surprised when I hear Bret Hart was having a match at Wrestlemania, what with his health situation and all. Turns out that he was hardly going to be having a match at all. With his family at ringside, this was essentially an extended squash on Mr. McMahon, with Bret doing very little physically other than swinging weapons around. Still, I'm not sure how else this really could have gone down, so I suppose it was good for what it was. Oh yeah, and I've never realized this before now, but my god, Natalya is fucking GORGEOUS!
The World Title match between Chris Jericho and Edge was alright. They've had better matches in the past, certainly, but this wasn't necessarily a bad one. It had kind of a slow start, but once things picked up it god really good. And then it kinda just ended. I felt the ending was kind of flat, and had they been able to go on for at least another minute or two and maybe change up the deciding move it would have left a better taste in my mouth.
I missed the first match between Cena and Batista, but from all that I've heard it was great. Their rematch for the WWE title was itself a pretty good match as well. I don't really have much else to say about it really. Nothing objectionable, nothing overly fantastic. Next match.
Now here's where my opinion differs from a lot of people. I didn't want to see Taker and Michaels go at it again this year. Last year, they put on a classic, but this year I just wanted Taker to move on to something else. Sure, they had another good match this year, but it paled in comparison to their previous encounter. Also, the ending showed me that it really was a good decision two years ago when they decided against putting Flair/Michaels on last. Having Taker beat Michaels, thus retaining the streak and ending Micahels' career, we were left with Michaels walking to the back without any music or commentary behind him, just the cheers from the fans. While on any other show this would work as a good ending, it really felt sort of like a downer to cap off Wrestlemania. Instead of the usual show of pyro and massive celebrations in the ring followed by a recap of the night, we were instead treated to this awkward goodbye, and it just didn't work for me.
Overall, Mania was a decent show. There wasn't a single stand out match that I'd actually say deserves any sort of real commending, but it was still a fun show to watch nonetheless. I must say, however, that the actual build up for Mania this year was by far the best of any Mania in a long, long time. Most Mania's have a card that really just looks thrown together, but this year's show was filled with matches that all had a decent amount of history behind them. With Mania in Atalanta next year, if that show has a similarly good build up to it, then who knows, I might just be attending yet another Wrestlemania...
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