The PPV Discussion Thread

[iesty wfc]

Hall of fame was good, i dont feel that Angle had enough time at the end ultimately which was a shame. I can see him wrestling at least one more time

Jim cornette was a bit of a let down but guessing he was warned to a certain degree

I didnt realise beth phoenix was married to edge either

Oh whats that? Drew galloway signs for NXT? Amazing

 

[Captain Scumbag]

Cornette was in a no-win situation, TBF. If he’d launched into his usual shtick, ranting about Kevin Dunn and taking the piss out of Vince Russo, then he would have been (rightly) criticised for selfish attention-seeking and overshadowing the inducteees. His respect for the occasion prevailed but that shackled him. Jim just being Jim is funny as fuck, but a restrained Jim is just a loudmouth who goes on too long.

I thought DDP’s speech was the best, not least because about a quarter of it involved him impersonating Dusty Rhodes.

 

[Oaf]

Takeover was fun last night, of course the highlight being that AMAZING triple threat tag match. Which was great and all, but I'm not sure I'm happy with the overall result of it. AOP basically had a 2 on 4 against the two top teams on NXT and steamrolled them in the end.

The main event was a little dull, though. And I'm sort of seeing a pattern now... Nakamuras first match against Zayn, don't get me wrong, that was superb. But since then, I'd actually say he's not really had a great match for a year now. Sure, they're good enough most of the time, but never really anything special. I really was a huge Nakamura fan, but his appeal is starting to wear off for me now. Don't get me wrong though, he if debuts on Raw or Smackdown this week, I'll probably still go nuts

 

[Oaf]

This aside... today is the day

This magic still hasn't gotten old. Can't fucking wait. This being said, I'm not looking forward to getting down to Camping World stadium in a couple hours, because travel around Orlando is fucking horrific. Last year in Dallas, getting to AT&T stadium was a nightmare... but several locals told me why... it's simply because AT&T stadium is in a more expensive part of town and they don't like the poor people from downtown Dallas getting there, so it's specifically designed to be tricky to get to from downtown. Which is shocking, and meant that it was a damn expensive uber to get there, but that was just the once. But for everything else like Raw and whatever, it was easy because of good travel options within the city.

Orlando? Jesus. It's just all round shit. About 2 hours 40 to get to Camping World Stadium by bus, but it'd be about 20 mins by car. And that's for everything.

Anyway, onto the event itself! Let's get those predictions going... I'm gonna predict winners as well as match order:

Kickoff:
Austin Aries vs Neville
I'm actually torn here. Nevilles run at CW champion is the first time that title has really felt meaningful, but I reckon Aries could do a job with it too. I'm going to go for a Neville cheating win, with Aries to capture the gold in a rematch down the line.

Andre the Giant Battle Royale
Gotta be Strowman, right? I'd love to see Zayn win it, but logic says Strowman. Another shout may be The Big Show... it's certainly going to be his last Wrestlemania according to the man himself, maybe even his last match. Can see WWE giving him another one of these on his way out.

Main Show:
Cesaro and Sheamus vs Enzo and Cas vs The Club - Ladder Match
This is bound to open the main show, because WWE love to open WM with a ladder match these days. I don't see the Hardy Boys getting added to this as people are predicting, but I'd love to be wrong! I can see Enzo and Cas getting their big moment here. They're one of the most popular things to come along in a while and I can see this being their reward.

Smackdown Womens Title match
You would assume that Naomi is getting the win here. She had it going in, it's her home town, and all that jazz. Fingers are crossed for a surprise entrant here (Asuka would be awesome!) but I don't think there will be.

Ambrose vs Corbin
The only match on the card that sounds like a dud to me, and I think the result will be even worse as I can see Borin' Corbin picking up the IC title here. Ambrose got shafted last year when lesnar didn't want to do anything interesting with him and I feel like he's got shafted this year too, having to fight this fucking guy... and, in my view, having to lose to him too.

John Cena and Nikki vs Miz and Maryse
Do I even need to guess here? Miz and Maryse winning would be incredible, but no. It looks so set up for a Cena proposal that it only goes to strengthen the argument that Cena and Nikki's relationship is fabricated as fuck Still, it'll be a memorable WM moment I guess.

Jericho vs Owens
I only really see Owens winning here. Jericho got a surprise win last year vs Styles, but I can't see it two years in a row.

Wyatt vs Orton
I have a feeling that this will be a dull match, but I hope I'm wrong. I only see Orton getting the win here... and once again, I hope I'm wrong! But orton would look like a bit of a mug to have planned this for 6 months or whatever and then fuck it up when it comes to the payoff....

Shane vs Styles.
Styles. Right? Surely? It better fucking be.

Womens fatal four way
Anyone but Jax here and I'll be happy. WWE love to give Charlotte her moment's but I have a feeling that this'll be Bayleys moment. This is actually the first hard to call result so far, for me. Ultimately though, I'm going to go for Bayley.

Rollins vs Triple H
In the first result to infuriate the IWC on this card, I can see Triple H winning here. In fact, it'd make Triple H look a big shit if he doesn't win. Rollin's won't be at 100% and they'll make it very apparent. He'll get a "wow, didn't he do well to come so close when he was clearly injured?" but Triple H will ultimately beat him and Seth will have the proper time off he needs to recover... then he'll come back at 100% and finally get his revenge later this year.

Taker vs Reigns
In a second match in a row to piss everybody off, REIGNS. Oh, it's gonna happen, isn't it? Everything points toward it. The sensible thing here is to use to it properly turn Reigns heel, but you know they won't. Oh man is the crowd gonna be hot. I can't wait Though as fun as that'll be... I'd still rather see Taker get the win here!

Goldberg vs Lesnar
Gotta be Lesnar, right? If this goes on last, as i think it will, I don't think it'll be another short match. I think it'll drag out and Lesnar will eventually get a win against Goldberg.

So those are my picks for winners. Which, if it happens, I'll also predict this for now... up until the womens match, people will love the show. Then Triple H will win and people will get sour... then they'll get even more sour when Reigns wins. Then, as Goldberg is getting a fair bit of hate here in Orlando, and the match itself may be a bit dull, fans will shit all over Goldberg/Lesnar as well. And people are going to go home PISSED. More so than last year. And even though 70% of the show will be great, and of the other 30% the matches themselves will be superb but the results won't be what people want, it'll be seen as a disastrous Wrestlemania.

 

[ForeverUnited]

That triple threat match was superb, one of the best matches I have seen this year. maybe the best. Everytime DIY and Revival get in the ring its magic.

 

[Leewilson]

Samoa Joe isn't on the card anywhere so I predict him to interfere in the HHH/Rollins match and cost Rollins the win.

Also, I've read Taker/Reigns is going to close the show which would make sense if Reigns is going to win as it'd stop the crowd from shitting all over whatever the next match would have been.

 

[Libertine]

Here we go! Set up looks insane. Gotta be the longest ramp I've ever seen.

 

[Libertine]

Mojo feckin Rawley...

 

[Libertine]

IC title on pre-show? Wow...

 

[Madglover]

When Reigns beats Taker the stadium is going to catch Fire no idea why the WWE are doing this. Can only hurt them in the long run, just to get a Reigns vs Lesnar match?

Styles got a huge pop

 

[Libertine]

Weird ending to Women's match. Really short too.

 

[Renegade]

Oaf must be loving this right now. Hardy Boyz in a tag team ladder match at Wrestlemania. That woke me up.

 

[Libertine]

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU I WENT MENTAL

 

[Libertine]

Well that was sad. Mostly 'cause it was a bad match (and wasn't Roman's fault!). It was okay until the botched reverse tombstone and then it was just really awkward from then on. Sad way for Taker to go out but he's clearly so beat up and needed to retire.

 

[Captain Scumbag]

Watched it this morning. Initial thoughts:

For me the biggest surprise, in terms of quality, was Goldberg vs. Lesnar. I really liked that match. Spear, jackhammer, German suplex, F5: they literally only used four moves! Absolutely no fannying around. From the opening bell onwards it was just two behemoths smashing each other with power moves. No complaints about the match only being 5 minutes long. The pace throughout those 5 minutes was really impressive (especially from Bill) and the match didn’t need to go a second longer.

Taker and Roman were doing fine (not spectacular but fine) until they botched that reverse tombstone spot. I imagine the idea was to have Roman hit the tombstone for one of those beat-the-dude-with-his-own-finisher near falls. If so, that would have been a better bridge to the closing sequence, with Reigns hitting all those spears. It’s a shame they botched it as they lost the crowd just at the point where they wanted to hook them, but it wasn’t a terrible match. I think they’ve missed a trick by keeping Reigns face, but I can kinda respect it for what it was: Taker doing the old school thing of putting over the young talent and then making a dignified exit on his own terms. The closing sequence made me feel sad. And old. I’ve been watching that bloke wrestle since I was 9 years old. His WWE career actually predates me sussing out the whole kayfabe thing. They’ll never be another like him.

AJ vs. Shane was surprisingly good because they went 15+ minutes and kept most of it in the ring. There was no crazy Shane spot (when I first saw the set I envisioned Shane falling off a rollercoaster or something) and very little reliance on weapons. Further proof, if it were needed, that AJ can carry pretty much anyone to a half-decent match.

I’ve seen much better ladder matches at WM, but the return of the Hardys was a great WM moment. I’m sure Oaf’s head exploded.

Both women’s matches were very poor, though I think the Raw one sucked due to bad booking and scheduling (they needed much longer) rather than poor performances. The Smackdown one was just a clusterfuck.

Owens vs. Jericho was very solid but felt a little underwhelming for reasons I can’t put my finger on. Triple H vs. Rollins was also very solid and had good old-school psychology, but it went 5-8 minutes too long.

Orton vs. Wyatt was boring and I can’t think of a single good reason for Orton winning.

The set was one of the best they've ever done.

7.5/10 for me. Maybe 8/10. This doesn't include the pre-show, which I couldn't be arsed with.

 

[RavenBish]

I agree with everything Captain Scumbag said. Taker/Reigns was weird, it was almost as if Taker's body just gave out on him halfway through - the Last Ride made me audibly gasp as he couldn't even lift him (and not in the 'sell how tired you are' way) and the Tombstone reversal spot was just the sad icing on the sad cake. I welled up at the end still, I'm 24 so the only 2 real constants in my time watching have been Taker and HHH.

I don't know if he deserved a better send-off or what, it was just very depressing but in some ways it's as poignant as can be that Taker wrestled until he physically couldn't anymore and went out putting over Reigns - the ultimate company man.

 

[TheMinsterman]

Same old Mania, or Wrestleplainia as I am starting to call it. Every year, it just... exists. It's not terrible, it's not awful, it has some solid matches, but... nothing happens. It doesn't really achieve anything or advance anything, every year there isn't a single thing pushing me to tune in for RAW other than the tradition that something will happen on it. Nothing last night has really created a buzz, it just... happened.

Reigns won... and that was it, they didn't do anything with it, you can say oh they will on RAW etc, but they should be making those moments on the show everyone will re-watch and remember. Lesnar won... so another part time champion we've had before, who beat Goldberg who pointlessly got the rub from the streak. Wyatt lost to Orton, who doesn't need a belt.

Predictable, plain, safe. They do not take any risks, they do nothing that gets the juices flowing, it's safe booking, predictable, easy. Yet this is meant to be the big show, and it doesn't really do any more than it needs to.

 

[Leewilson]

Shane McMahon is a 47 year old part time performer and he hit a coast to coast, elbow through a table and a shooting star press in one match. Massive props.

 

[iesty wfc]

I have watched takeover the kickoff show and the main show today... Good start to a week off i would say!

What i would say about the weekend in general was that it has been solid but not magnificent.

Takeover:
-sanity vs the other 4 was a bit of a mess, but a 8 man tag match would always be
- alisteir black has cool ring music but will prob take a while to get used to
-the triple elimination tag match was the best of the whole weekend. Revival are probably one of the best tag teams that wwe have created themselves in the last decade
-anyone else bored of asuka now? They are looking at turning her heel by the looks of that finish
-roode nakamura was ok. I love bobby though, and i hope he doesnt move up to main roster as i think he would get buried
-drew galloway re-signs with the company!

Wrestlemania:
-aries and neville was good but its a shame it was the first match in the kick off show
-andre battle royale was a hell of a mess. Dont mind rawley winning it and it was fun that that patriots bloke got involved
-wasnt bothered with the intercontinental match in the slightest
-aj vs shane o mac was a great opener proper.
-owens jericho was also a good solid match, lots of counters
- womens 4 way was ok. They have been repeating the same moves and spots now for the last year now so they need a freshen up i think
-ladder match was spot match they usually are. Hardy boyzzz returning was a great surprise, even moreso winning the titles. There were hints of the delete motion from matt, hopefully they develop. Props to jeff too for that dice at the end
- arsed withvthe mixed tag team and it was obvious cena was hoing to propose
-rollins triple h was good. Nice entrances for both.
-golberg lesnar was good given the limitations of goldberg. What will happen with him now?
-womens 6 way again a bit meh. Wwe seem high on naomi and i think she has improved as a wrestler
-taker reigns..... Ah man. Good old JR returning was a nice surprise. I just really wish that this wasnt takers last match. Like others i have grown up with him in my life. Yes there have been other wrestlers from my childhood that have been and gone, but this is the first one thst has hit me hard

 

[Luke]

Average Mania for me, Ladder match and Shane/AJ were the best for me and I enjoyed the Brock/Goldberg match.

The Battle Royal in the pre-show was fucking horrific. Mojo Rawley, fuck off. Jobber Mahal out doing Strowman, Zayn, Harper etc was a dreadful shout.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

Average Mania for me, Ladder match and Shane/AJ were the best for me and I enjoyed the Brock/Goldberg match.

The Battle Royal in the pre-show was fucking horrific. Mojo Rawley, fuck off. Jobber Mahal out doing Strowman, Zayn, Harper etc was a dreadful shout.

Did anyone hear Booker T's ridiculous burial of Zack Ryder after the Battle Royal?

 

[T.A]

What did he say?

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

What did he say?

Pretty much "Mojo has finally rid himself of Zack Ryder and can now achieve great things"

It was alot more brutal how he said it though. - it was on the kick off show

 

[Pilgrim Meister]

So after payback it, Raw now has the Universal title, WWE championship and the IC title.

Smackdown left with the US title.

Wonder if Smackdown will get a new smackdown title or the IC title moved across

 

[Libertine]

Wyatt didn't win the title.

For some reason it was a non-title match in the end.

 

[Oaf]

Yeah... which seems harsh on Bray, as it means that he never actually got a rematch at all.

 

[Pilgrim Meister]

That's pants. Was under the impression that was his rematch.

 

[Libertine]

That's pants. Was under the impression that was his rematch.

Me too until I read the results! Oh well, means we get to see Jinder win the title......

 

[Oaf]

Me too until I read the results! Oh well, means we get to see Jinder win the title......

Don't even fucking joke mate.

 

[Dolph Ziggler]

Don't even fucking joke mate.

DONT HINDER JINDER.

They're expanding into India, of course he's winning the title.