(Source: The Wrestling Observer)
Welcome to the live coverage of Wrestlemania from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
We’re looking for your thoughts on the traditional biggest show of the year, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to dave@wrestlingobserver.com.
They are showing an endless series of videos instead of the Battle Royal, which I presume is taking place before the PPV began.
The show opened with Lillian Garcia singing the anthem and a new movie video of Steve Austin from Gladiator.
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio are opening the show. Mysterio got the pin with a spinning head scissors into a cradle. Good opener, but I think most people will be disappointed because they would have expected more. Slightly shorter than I would have expected (and I was expecting short), and there were some rough spots. I almost sensed they were nervous out there.
Evolution just bumped into The Cabinet. HHH made fun of JBL. JBL claimed he’s the only champion who never lost. JBL guaranteed a win. They are teasing a match, probably to make people think that both are retaining. Almost surely a swerve.
Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider were at ringside. They plugged “Longest Yard.”
Ladder match is next. Edge won by hitting Benoit in the elbow with a chair while Benoit was on top, then climbed up to win. An incredible match. Benoit busted up his stitches with a diving head-butt off the ladder on Kane. One stunt after the other. It was more controlled and less dangerous than some of the Mania matches, but it was at the same level as the best of the Wrestlemania ladder matches.
Eugene came out, limping, talking about how much he liked midget wrestling. Muhammad Hassan is doing his angle with Eugene. Hassan put Eugene in the camel clutch when Hogan came out. No match, but Hogan cleaned house on both and posed. Of course it was the biggest pop of the show. It was smart because they left it open for a match if need be. Former world champion David Arquette was at ringside with the Hogan family, next to Linda.
Undertaker vs. Randy Orton is next. Undertaker won by reversing Orton’s tombstone into one of his own. Really good match. Bob Orton Jr. interfered, after Earl Hebner was bumped, clocking Undertaker with his cast to set up a near fall. The big spot was Orton reversing a choke slam into an RKO but Undertaker kicked out.
Very good show so far, but I wish they’d dump all the videos before the matches and save them for just the main events. The three minutes added to each of the matches so far tonight would have made all of them better matches.
Trish Stratus vs. Christy Hemme is next up. Stratus won quickly with a chick kick. Stratus did a good job carrying it, but it was clear Hemme was in over her head.
Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels is up next. They are going to have a hell of a time topping the ladder match. My money says they will. My only wish before the show was that Michael Cole wasn’t going to call this match and I guess it’s starting out on a positive note. Angle won with the heel hook after switching from the ankle lock. Angle got his mouth busted when Michaels did a plancha and his knee cracked Angle in the mouth. People gave them a great ovation after the match. The match lived up to its billing, and that wasn’t going to be easy to do. We’ll be talking about this one every March for a long time.
Piper’s Pit with Steve Austin is next. Piper and Austin insulted each other. Piper wasn’t happy, for real, with the “What” chants as he acted like a comedian with 5,000 hecklers. They teased they were going to fight when Carlito came out. Carlito thought they both weren’t cool and wanted them to leave. Piper stole the apple, chewed it up and spit it in Carlito’s face. Carlito jumped Piper. Austin laughed, but made the save. Piper used an eye poke and Austin gave Carlito the stunner. They did a big beer bash with Austin & Piper, ending when Austin stunned Piper. People have a lot of nostalgia for Hogan and Piper this week so while it didn’t get over like Cena with Teddy Long, it wasn’t the pop you’d expect for the stunner.
Akebono vs. Show in sumo rules is next. Akebono won quick. It was an obvious work as some were wondering. Akebono threw him out of the ring to win.
JBL vs. Cena for the title is now up. JBL carried the entire match. Cena had a quick comeback, won clean with the FU and dove into a hoarde of Japanese fans at ringside. A nothing match with no crowd reaction until the finish.
HHH vs. Batista is next. It looks like they are going 25ish. Batista powered out of a pedigree and won with a move similar to an emerald frosien, and then won clean with the Batista bomb. HHH bled like crazy. Match wasn’t the show stealer, but came across well enough and they probably did the smart finishes in just about every match. They did the big pyro for Batista winning as the climax of the show. Batista’s win came off 10 times bigger than Cena’s.
