Wrestling Natters

Tuesday 8 January 2013

PROGRESS

January 27th 2013 may be prove to be a landmark day in the short history of Progress Wrestling.
After four sell-out and rapturously received shows, Progress deserves every bit of the positive buzz,
plaudits and excitement that their product is attracting. Without doubt, this is a promotion that
has managed to create an identity and a passionately loyal fan-base in an incredibly short amount
of time. Through a combination of co-owner Jim Smallman’s welcoming and infectiously joyful
personality, engaging social-media promotion and a consistently entertaining in-ring product, this is
a promotion that is onto something.

Having attended every show so far, I’ve happily shouted from the rooftops to anyone who will listen
about the fact that this is something special on the BritWres scene. I even took the terrifying step
of introducing my non-wrestling fan girlfriend to the live wrestling experience at Chapter 3, and she
actually enjoyed it. And yet, reflecting on December’s “Chapter 4: The Ballad Of El Ligero,” I can’t
help but worry that cracks are showing. This is not a column designed to question every booking
decision or engage in “armchair booking”; wrestling fans are currently using up 23% of the bit of
the internet not reserved for boobs*. With that said, these are a few of the concerns that have me
nervous about the bloom coming off the rose in 2013:

1. Storyline Inconsistencies:
There were just a few elements of the way storylines were presented at Chapter 4 that made it
hard to take them seriously. To be clear: Jim Smallman is one of the biggest reasons that Progress
works. As an emcee/ring announcer, he can take credit for making the audience feel a part of the
promotion already. He is, however, not an actor. Any physical interaction between the London Riots
and the Progress owner comes off as forced and contrived. The Riots are one of the hottest acts
on the card, with an aura of genuine danger surrounding them. These segments are in danger of
shattering that illusion. Smallman is more of an asset to the shows when he isn’t made a character.
Of greater concern is the main event storylines. New Progress Champion El Ligero has shown signs of
developing an interesting and believable character, moving him beyond his comedy opener image.
His email-promos as promoted via social media show a man newly-focussed on championship glory
and unconcerned with pandering to fans. Why then, when it came to his title match main event,
was he back to the perma-clapping Rey Mysterio-esque babyface performing for the audience’s
approval? Was this whole storyline just building to him switching to a black mask?

Most bizarre of all was the semi-main event. Why was Marty Scurll channelling Scott Hall/Jake
Roberts with a drunk gimmick for around half of the time he was out there? Why did then-champion
Nathan Cruz want to take Scurll out of the match when that would have theoretically left him forced
to defend against one of the two monsters it left? Why, around 8 seconds after Scurll and Cruz
brawled through the door to the back, did Jim Smallman walk out of the same door looking entirely
unconcerned? Are we to believe he didn’t notice two of his top stars trying to decapitate each other
in the middle of the dressing room? Perhaps he wasn’t bothered? Turned out I was more concerned
than I should have been as, minutes later, Cruz emerged from the back having found time to change
into his full entrance gear for his match. I assume the fight was settled amicably...or perhaps Scurll
was lying dead in a skip somewhere near the Boston Dome? Nobody seemed especially worried
either way.

Wrestling fans are used to weird plot holes. Making sense of an episode of RAW is a futile task more
often than not. But at least WWE’s writers have the excuse of having to produce 52 hours* of fresh
programming every week. Progress runs a show every couple of months or so, with a relatively small
roster of characters. If the product is going to live up to its potential in the long term, I don’t think
it’s unreasonable to hope for tighter storylines.

2. Tone:
One of the defining successes of Progress Wrestling so far is in its use of comedy. This is no accident,
with Smallman’s day-job is that of a very good stand-up comedian (could this be the first recorded
use of the term “day-job” to refer to stand-up?). When the one and only foreign import brought
in to date is Colt Cabana, and he spent his appearance playing fetch with a man who is a dog/
Don’t Tell The Bride contestant (are they called contestants? If so, he definitely won), you can be
pretty confident that the promotion is going to have a strong comedy element. From the strongly-
encouraged crowd chanting (it’s a joy watching heels trying not to laugh at some of the heckling), to
Jimmy Havoc’s spooning, to absolutely everything RJ Singh’s entourage does, I have never laughed
so much at wrestling shows in my life.

Looking again at Chapter 4, I think there may be a danger that the comedy has become such a major
part of the shows that nothing is going to be taken seriously. The crowd interaction is awesome, but
how many people are still going to pay to shout “deep-fried Mars bars” or “London Diets” in a year’s
time? I already found by Chapter 4 that much of the heckling was getting a bit tired and predictable,
though it was obvious people were still enjoying themselves.

Wrestling, at its core, is about making an audience believe enough to become emotionally invested
in the fortunes of the characters. I read a comment on Facebook proclaiming the brilliance of the
Mark Andrews vs William Ospreay match. It was certainly a fun and impressive athletic spectacle,
but the comment in question claimed that the crowd was “red-hot”. No they were not. Not even
remotely. Certainly there were pops for the multitude of cool spots, and certainly everyone was
having fun, but the audience spent most of the match thinking of Harry Potter references to shout
out. Even the wrestlers themselves seemed more pre-occupied with inter-house posturing than
progressing in the tournament. A “red-hot” crowd loses themselves in the plight of the babyface, or
their hatred of the heel, or just the desperate desire to see their favourite triumph. This crowd sang
theme tunes and made up names of spells. I can confidently say that not one person in the room
gave a Hufflepuff who won the match.

And that is my fear. The comedy is great, it’s part of the fun. But if it’s not handled carefully,
Progress will never be able to capitalise on the great roster they have and make anything actually
matter. If they can redress this balance, and actually build some real heat in some stories, the
product will soar.

3. Main events:
Finally a very simple note – It is possible to have a main event match without spending 10 minutes
having a convoluted brawl in the crowd. I’m willing to be corrected here, but I believe the main
event of all four shows thus far have started this way. Now I understand that this tends to get a pop,
and if you’ve never been at a live show that’s spilled out into the crowd and had a wrestler destroy
the section of chairs you’re in there’s definitely a novelty value to it. But EVERY MAIN EVENT?
Really? The main event should be telling the story that sells the tickets, ideally, and a portion of the
story in Progress main events are happening where half the crowd can’t even see it happening! It’s
the physical equivalent of the cheap pops that Mick Foley parodied: People will react, but there is
absolutely no emotional attachment to it. Nobody’s thinking “wow Nathan Cruz is in trouble here,
Ligero’s killing him”, they’re thinking “cool he nearly landed on me!”.

Progress has some great workers, I hope 2013 sees them trusted to craft main events that people
believe in without relying on the same crutch.

I’ll be buying a ticket for my fifth show in a row at Chapter 5. This is the first time in my 23 years
as a wrestling fan that I’ve cared about a promotion enough to attend every show. I still sing the
praises of Progress to anyone who will listen. 2012 was the most extraordinary debut year for this
wonderful promotion. But honeymoon periods are dangerous; they breed complacency. If 2013 is
going to be an even better year, Smallman and Co. need to keep their eyes on the ball and live up to
the name on the posters. The standing-room only, January 27th 2013, “Chapter 5: For Those About
To Fight, We Salute You” at The Garage in Islington will set the tone for the year ahead.
I already know I’ll have fun. But if I’m going to be just as excited for Chapter 10, it’s time to make me
care.

-Steve Dunn

*Figures may not be entirely accurate

Monday 18 June 2012

No Way Out 2012

Ben:

This is just going to be a very brief write up of my opinions of last night's PPV. I've just got done watching it and need to pump this baby (yeah, I talk like this) out before Monday Night RAW.

I didn't watch the Pre-Show. From what I've read it didn't matter. However, the fact Otunga left of his own accord and not via an ambulance makes me question why he didn't come to Show/Ace's rescue in the main event.

1. Sheamus Vs Ziggler (WHT)- I really enjoyed this match. I think I probably enjoyed it more than the originally booked Sheamus Vs Del Rio match. I think some people may have found it a little awkward in places. It's hard to argue against that but I actually didn't mind that - some of the transitions were scrappy but I think it lent to making the match feel a bit different and, in a way, realistic. I think if anyone used that criticism and then recommended a GAEA match to you, I'd call them a hypocrite. I personally really enjoyed the ground based, chin lock stuff. It reminded me of some of the really old wrestling I've been watching of late (Buddy Rogers, etc).

I like that Ziggler kept the rubber ball style selling to a minimum in this match. It really helped to make him look good.

At points I believed Ziggler could win, such as with the Top Rope X Factor and the DDT that Sheamus took like a champ.

I really liked pretty much everything about it. I liked the allusion to the Wrestlemania 18-second match at the start. Sheamus even seemed quite intense and aggressive during the match. Wish he wouldn't grin so much on the way up the aisle, a bit more selling on the way out'd be nice. ***

2. Santino Vs Rodriguez (Tuxedo Match) - The Tux match should really be left to those who aren't actual wrestlers, imo. I like Rodriguez but I don't think even his silly mannerisms could save this match. I was really glad to hear the boring chant. The Cobra on the foot joke was nice, the Alberto pants joke wasn't (though I think Lawler may have shat himself, he found it that darned funny). If Alberto pants is embarrassing, why'd he wear them to a match with this stipulation? 1/2* for the Cobra bit.

3. Rhodes Vs Christian (IC) - Good match. Really enjoying Christian's three finishers. It's rare that someone can get over two moves as finisher's properly but Christian has done so with three. Rhodes kicking out of the Killswitch might suggest that is on the out as a match ender and will become like the Angle Slam. I hope not though, as it is one of two moves which is very clearly a Christian move (the Diving Reverse DDT being 'tother). The Spear (Edge) and the Frog Splash (Eddie) are both tributes to good friends, but I don't think his Splash looks marvelous and I buy Rhyno and Goldberg doing a Spear more than Christian. However, he's got them over. Well done him.

Overall, this was a solid outing for both. The crowd seemed really nonplussed by the whole thing until the closing sequence - which was really tip top reversal shiz. Those types of sequences work when all the moves the wrestler's have gone for are potential Finishers. Nice Match, **1/2

4. 4 way tag to determine #1 Contenders - Prime Time Players Vs Usos Vs Colons Vs Gabrial/Kidd. I liked this match was on PPV. Crowd was a bit quiet bar the spots - the Kidd on Epico (I think) Hurricanrana from the top to the outside being a prime example. I actually really enjoyed the PTPs move set. I loved that there was a storyline built in surrounding AW and him turning on the Colons. This creates a feud within the division which doesn't directly involve the titles/the champs. It makes the division seem more worthwhile (although this feud is probably just to make time for R Truth to return). Anyway, the match was okay. This stipulation is very Attitude Era so it was a little nostalgic (you can imagine the APA, Kai En Tai, Too Cool and the Headbangers being in this match). I liked it. It wont make the top 25 matches of the year or anything but it did it's job nicely. **

Triple H time - HHH came out, challenged Brock to a match (if he accepts, he's an idiot - HHH should just say "I'll counter-sue for assault if you don't drop the charges and wrestle me). Hopefully Brock will accept though as this might actually shunt Cena off top billing for the first time in a billion years (or thereabouts). This was basically a RAW segment filling up the time. When you cannot fill a PPV with action, there is little hope for 3 Hour RAWs.

5. Layla Vs Beth (Diva) - Pretty poor match. Layla can have a decent match but this was a pretty dull showing. Some poor comedy, some elongated rest holds. Was what it was. It wasn't a complete sham, just forgettable. I think someone else should have been in place of Beth because Beth should be a dominating monster, not a comedic twit who is bothered about a woman dancing about with her headdress. *

6. Hunico Vs Sin Cara - Poor. Hunico tried his hardest but Sin Cara just sucks. Considering he was worked over the whole match he managed to generate zero sympathy. This, I think, is in part to do with his mask. It has no mouth or eye holes. He cannot express and is not good enough at doing so with his body. Secondly, we have no idea who or what he is. Why is he a face? What's he ever done to make me like him. Hunico's matches Vs Justin Gabriel are PPV worthy and this is SuperStars standard. Something is backwards here. I don like Hunico's SchoolBoy Lift Slam. 1/2*

7. Punk Vs Kane Vs Bryan (WWE) - Top notch match. Kane and a love interest in a Bryan/ Punk storyline just sounds like something that ought to not work and would dilute their feud but I think it is nice little addition. The story has developed further, the in ring action was a great deal of fun. I don't think it was a match that would knock anyone's socks off but it really was the match of the night. A great showing for all involved. Should have been the main event...again. ****

8. Ryback Squash - fine. RAW match though.

9. Cena v Show - I can't even be bothered to write about it. *

Overall, it came across as a really good episode of RAW rather than a PPV of any worth. Story's were started or progressed, there were a couple of very good matches but no belts changed hands, there were 9 matches Ryback, HHH Speech, Hunico Vs Sin Cara, 4 way Tag (which was announced a half hour before the show or something), Beth v Layla and the Tuxedo match all came across as TV show matches.

Overall rating, 4 out of 10 due to the three good matches being worth it, and some positive work in the tag division.

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Steve's Top Five WrestleManias

Ok, top five Manias, in chronological order, based on the whole show, and an indication of my personal favourites rather than claiming they were the "best":

Wrestlemania IV:

Tournaments are great. This theme makes IV stand out amongst all the early Manias that were generally lacking in legitimate match quality. Whilst booking it differently would have made the show that much better (ie. not eliminating Ricky Steamboat in the first round, thus forcing Savage to go through a rematch against his greatest opponent en route to the final) the whole show told a compelling story from start to finish, culminating in Randy Savage being elevated to the top as a legitimate babyface champ. The fact that the whole thing also perfectly set the seed for the story that would headline Wrestlemania V makes it even more impressive, as it would be nearly a quarter of a century before WWE would present a single storyline that would incorporate consecutive Mania main events again.

It's often forgotten that this show also had some memorable moments outside of the tournament, with Bret Hart getting some early singles exposure in a battle royal that he got double-crossed out of by Bad News Brown, and Demolition taking the tag titles from Strike Force, setting the scene for their breakup and the emergence of Rick Martel's "Model" character.

If nothing else, this show deserves credit for having the bravery to take both Hogan and Andre out of the running early on. Going into the show, nobody would have predicted that the final wasn't going to involve either of these two (presumably Hogan), and using their grudge feud to clear the way for elevating both Savage and Ted DiBiase was inspired booking.

Wrestlemania VIII:

This one isn't often mentioned as one of the best Manias ever, a fact that's understandable considering we're talking about a show that included a throwaway 8-man tag, a tag title match ending in a countout, Owen Hart pinning Skinner in under ten seconds, a 4 minute Tatanka squash and a main event ending in a DQ. However, as a child I watched this one on VHS more than any other show, and seeing it more recently I still think there is plenty to enjoy.

This was the first Wrestlemania in 5 years to be held in a huge venue, and the visual of 62,000 screaming fans packed into the Hoosier Dome gave a big event atmosphere that had probably been missing. Strangely, this show didn't seem to suffer the same issues as modern dome shows with regards to crowd noise being lost in the cavernous building, as the crowd was audibly red-hot throughout the show. Whatever they did to mic up that building, they did it right (incidentally making TNA's inability to do the same with technology 20 years more advanced, and a building a tenth of the size, even more embarrassing). The aural delights are compounded by the always wonderful commentary team of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan. These two had an incredible ability to be entertaining comic characters in themselves, whilst still managing to add focus, hyperbole and context to the matches, and may be the finest commentary team of all time.

I've always loved the opener, as Shawn Michaels had his first Mania singles match against Tito Santana. The match wasn't exceptional, but Tito knew how to work as a babyface and Shawn's bump-machine heel character was so good that it would begin to change the WWE's entire style over the next few years.

Whilst The Undertaker's Streak started the previous year in a squash against Jimmy Snuka, this year's grudge match against Jake Roberts can be seen as the earliest sign of Taker's invincibility at the biggest show of the year. Jake's DDT was the most over and feared finisher in the business at the time, and seeing the Deadman kick out of TWO of them put Taker over as a babyface like nothing else could.

The Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper match was simply one of the greatest Mania matches of all time. A story so simple it feels complete watching just the pre-match interview and the match itself, yet one that is utterly compelling. Any wrestler who wants to learn the psychology of a babyface match, a brawler vs technician clash-of-styles match, or simply wants to learn how to use body language and facial expressions to sell a story to a crowd of any size has no excuse to not watch this match.

Whilst it's hard to argue that this shouldn't have been the show that gave us a Hogan vs Flair dream-match (really, the fact that WCW had the opportunity to put that on PPV for the first time is unforgivable), the reality is that the match itself would almost certainly have failed to be as good as what we got. Flair vs Savage is quite simply one of the finest examples of an emotional sports-entertainment grudge match you'll ever see. Ric Flair is the perfect heel champion here, bumping, bleeding, cheating, strutting and wrestling like no-one else can, whilst Randy brings more intensity and fury than anyone wearing bright yellow tassled lycra has any right to bring. The Miss Elizabeth angle (and great selling) allowed Randy to generate incredible sympathy, which goes some way to explaining the absolute MONSTER pop his eventual victory received. Absolutely brilliant stuff.

The other half of the "Double Main Event" is remembered as a bit of a disaster. This is probably not surprising considering the convoluted booking, the botched DQ finish, the involvement of Papa bloody Shango and the fact that neither the Hulkster or Sid are exactly Lou Theszmoveset looked like it could kill you), Hogan's selling was top-notch, the crowd were clearly into the match and the Ultimate Warrior run-in got another enormous pop to end the show. Best Wrestlemania main event ever? Of course not, it was barely in the top three matches of the night, but I think there's a lot more here to enjoy than it gets credit for and twenty years later is one of the more memorable main events in Mania's history.

Wrestlemania X-7

I considered Wrestlemania XII for the list because I'm such a mark for the Iron-Man Match and I didn't want to be too biased toward recent shows. However, I cannot in good conscience praise a PPV with only 2 noteworthy matches (the Piper vs Goldust "Back Lot Brawl" was a lot of silly fun). Incidentally, this is the same reason why Wrestlemania X gets ignored.

Talking about Wrestlemania X-7 seems unnecessary, so often is it cited as the greatest show in the history of the WWE. Quite frankly the praise is completely justified, as this show probably represents the very peak of the company's business with the roster, creative team and production team all firing on every cylinder to provide a blueprint for what a Sports-Entertainment spectacle should be. If you wanted to show any doubters that professional wrestling was a big deal, you would have sat them down to marvel as 68,000 fans going out of their minds for 3 hours, with a production setup that made U2 gigs look understated and cheap. Every match on the card was there for a reason, and everyone on the roster was over. Never before, and never since, was the term "Superstar" such an appropriate term for anyone who was a WWE wrestler. Watching this thrill-ride of a show, perhaps the only weakness is the finish of the main event as (with hindsight) turning Steve Austin heel in Houston and aligning him with Vince McMahon was an act of astonishing stupidity. Many people cite this decision, alongside the ascendance of Stephanie McMahon to the head of creative, as major reasons why the company never quite reached this level again. Regardless of whether that is the case (and it's extremely debatable), on the night the finish did nothing to detract from a quite remarkable show. If anything it left the audience with every reason to believe the following year would be unmissably fascinating, with the McMahon's purchase of WCW surely about to begin the most eagerly awaited angle in history, and Stone Cold Steve Austin making the biggest heel turn since Hulk Hogan. History shows 2001 didn't work out that way, but that's not Wrestlemania X-7's fault, and this list would be farcical without it.

Wrestlemania XIX:

If Wrestlemania X-7 was the peak of the attitude era, Wrestlemania XIX was perhaps the event that showed that there would be life after the Monday Night Wars.

If this show didn't quite hit the heights of X-7, it's probably due to the first four matches being somewhat rushed considering their potential. Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio had a nice little opener for the cruiserweight title, but at under 6 minutes these two were never able to truly showcase their abilities. Trish Stratus, Victoria and Jazz all had in-ring abilities to put the vast majority of today's Divas to shame, but a 7 minute Triple Threat match leaves very little opportunity to create a true "Wrestlemania Moment". The bout between Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas), Los Guerreros and Chris Benoit & Rhyno highlights a tag division that 2012 would truly benefit from (especially notable considering RAW had a completely separate tag division at the time), and giving them more than 8 minutes would surely have allowed these great workers to make some magic. As it stands, these were all decent matches so any "what might have been" criticism is probably a little harsh. This was probably the first Wrestlemania that would have benefited from WWE's later switch to a 4 hour show (without having to resort to the sort of complete dreck they throw in to pad the show now).

As for why this show was great, the second half of the show provided a card that would stand up against any other. Shawn Michaels' Wrestlemania return was an instant classic. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon had the kind of precisely booked, surprise filled and entertaining brawls that only WWE have ever been able to pull off with supposed "non-wrestlers". The Rock and Steve Austin finally ended their rivalry with something of a Greatest Hits match that was as good a tribute and sendoff to the Attitude Era as anyone could hope for. Finally, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar overcame Angle's major neck injury, and Lesnar knocking himself out before the finish, to give Wrestlemania its most athletically legitimate main event ever. To see an Olympic Gold Medalist and a former NCAA Champion (not to mention future UFC World Champ) go 20 minutes in front of 54,000 rabid fans showed just how far the in-ring product had moved on since the era of Hogan and Andre.

Whilst the Undertaker/Jones vs Big Show/A-Train and the HHH vs Booker T matches were ultimately disappointments, you would be hard pressed to put on a 3 hour broadcast with a better product than this show had. If that isn't reason enough to put it in my top five, the sudden and inexplicable proliferation of rolling prawn holds in the matches surely seals the deal.

...

Somehow knowing you've only got one more pick makes a final decision that much harder. There are a lot of "modern" Wrestlemanias that I've loved for various reasons. Wrestlemania XX was my first in person, at the greatest arena in the world (MSG), and featuring the most genuine feelgood ending in the history of the business, with longtime friends and underdogs Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit standing on top of the business as world champions, sharing the moment with each other, their families and 18,000 fans shedding more tears than such a testosterone-fuelled pursuit should produce. Events that followed have obviously soured this moment somewhat, but at the time it was like the wrestling gods were smiling on the hardcore fan like never before. Sadly a bland undercard hurt the show.

Wrestlemania 21 had Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle and the birth of Money In The Bank, but the main events were completely forgettable.

Wrestlemania 23 was a strong card from top to bottom with an excellent main event in HBK vs John Cena, but there's nothing about the show that stands out as a true "Wrestlemania Moment".

Wrestlemanias 25 and 26 gave us the HBK vs Undertaker series, possibly the greatest pair of matches in the history of the event, but this excellence is spread too thinly to feature here.

With a lot of strong cards and spectacular events in the "20s", one stands out as clearly the finest modern Mania:

Wrestlemania 24:

This show has everything that makes Wrestlemania the event that anchors the entire wrestling calendar. Huge crowd, spectacular venue, incredible production and a card fit to burst with great action, hot feuds and fascinating attractions. With so much to focus on, from the fun Finlay/JBL brawl to open, probably the best of the Money In The Bank matches, a strong triple threat match between HHH, Cena and Orton, a perfectly booked and entertaining celebrity attraction in Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather to a phenomenal main event as Undertaker's streak is too much for Edge, there is one match that stands alone.

The "Career Threatening Match" between "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels is, quite simply, the finest example of professional wrestling as narrative art you are ever likely to see. Both men have had matches that were technically better, as you'd expect when their combined age was over 100, but if you want to show somebody why professional wrestling can tell a story in a way that no other medium can then you show them this match. The video package that precedes it shows non-fans just how big a deal "Naitch" has been for the last 30 years, whilst presenting HBK as the guy who went from idolising Flair to being the best in the world himself. The "Old Yeller" reference in the feud was the most inspired piece of writing I have ever seen in wrestling, somehow managing to turn two men in lycra pretending to fight into a heartbreaking story of mortality, pride, respect and, ultimately, love. If this sounds somewhat grandiose, take another look at the moment when this fusion of scripted story and 30 years worth of real life; memories shared with millions of fans around the world, boils down to the moment when Michaels speaks for us all as he clearly mouths "I'm sorry, and I love you" to his hero before delivering the final blow. No other art form blends reality and fiction in quite the same way, and it has never before been done with such perfect circumstance and execution.

Seeing Ric Flair take his final bow, and the genuine outpouring of emotion from everybody present, it was a moment that couldn't have taken place anywhere but Wrestlemania. If WWE had cancelled every other match on the show but this one, Wrestlemania 24 would still be one of the greatest of all time.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Wrestling Natters Ep. 4 - Steve's (typed) thoughts

I really think I need to watch the show again sometime, I think the combination of being utterly deflated by the booking of the first hour, being very tired in the not so early hours of the morning and naturally needing to keep the volume fairly low (in order to not be complete arses and keep Louise awake!) and therefore not getting the atmosphere quite so well may have led to me judging the second half of the show harshly. This is not to say the show was without significant problems, it really was. I'd just be interested to buy the BLU-ray (mostly for the HOF ceremony) and see what I think on second viewing. With that in mind:

Bryan vs Sheamus

A complete error of judgement. I like Sheamus a lot but creative has let him down with this push. There's been no momentum behind it and it's come across as forced, leading to him getting booed at Mania during his entrance. Not his fault, and a real shame. Meanwhile, Bryan has evolved his character into something that genuinely stands out. These two could have had a real mood-setting opener with the powerhouse vs sneaky technician dynamic. Instead the crowd and home audience gets slapped in the face having paid for the most expensive broadcast in all of entertainment. The only upside of this is that I think WWE got the message, and hopefully this will lead to good things for Bryan.

Kane vs Orton

Exactly what I expected. Would have been fine other than it really needed to bring people up after the Bryan debacle. Orton hasn't meant less in a long, long time, which is ironic as I think he's never been better.

Big Show vs Cody Rhodes

Meh. Show gets his moment by winning a belt that was last actually defended in 1974. No drama in this at all, and still failed to bring the crowd back up.

Divas match:

Frigging awful. There is a good divas division in the company now. Beth is awesome, but even Kelly and Eve are pretty decent in the ring nowadays, and watching them all selflessly doing everything they could to protect a celebrity that absolutely nobody cared about was just sad. Kudos to them and I hope they get something better to do next year.

Hell In A Cell:

I saw this very differently from Ben. Phenomenal part 2 to last year, that actually makes me look back on that match more fondly. They will never make the streak look more under threat again, and the facial expressions, psychology, timing and selling from all three guys was above and beyond what anyone else on the roster is capable of. This was special, and the visual of Taker and Michaels helping Hunter to the back was an unexpected and beautiful end to a very long story.

Team Terry vs Team Jimmy

Exactly what it was supposed to be. I didn't care much but it didn't suck and gave about 16 people a spot on Mania in a segment that had storyline significance. Fine for what it was.

Punk vs Jericho

This is where I think fatigue was killing me. I'm pretty sure this was a great match between two of my absolute favourites but I just never got into it. Needs a second viewing.

Rock vs Cena

I think the abysmal Brodus Clay segment and the horribly misjudged music segments finished off my enthusiasm before this match even started. Such a shame because they seemed to be working hard and I've been looking forward to this match for a year. All I remember is the appallingly applied sharpshooter and STF pissing me off more than usual. Second viewing required.

Things are looking god following RAW, Rocky wants the WWE title, Punk vs Jericho heated up further, A-Train/Tensai gives the roster some added depth, there was a sign that Bryan isn't about to be buried, Del Rio is back...oh yeah, and Brock Frigging Lesnar has signed for a year. Interesting times ahead...