It is supposed to be the "Showcase of the Immortals", the "Granddaddy of them all", larger than life, WrestleMania XXIX, but it fell way short of what a true WrestleMania should be. 2 out of the top 3 matches were rematches. One that was built as "Once in a lifetime" turned into "Once in a lifetime part 2" The whole show seemed unorganized and the road to WrestleMania seemed to be littered with garbage and for some reason this year, WrestleMania was pushed to the side. Here is my review of the show....
The opening started with a video package that showed the effects and recovery of the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Since this event happened where WMXXIX was being held, it was important to show that the city was resilient and that they could rebuild and move on and go back to what they feel was their day to day routine.
Back to the ring, WrestleMania has always had a guest singer sing "America the Beautiful", this year that did not happen. The show started right away.
Just a quick note, they did have a pre show match that was the Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett defending the title against The MIZ. I did not see the match, but the result was that Barrett tapped out while in the figure four leg lock, thus crowning a new champion, The MIZ.
First match of WMXXIX was:
Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show vs The Shield (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins)
The match was a good opening match. There were some good spots during the match. Before WMXXIX there was a rumor that Orton would turn heel against his team. Towards the end, Sheamus went to tag Show, but Orton tagged himself in and took on all 3 members of the Shield. Orton hit an RKO on Rollins who was jumping from the top turnbuckle, then he was hit by a Reigns spear and pinned for the 3 count. After the match Show looked upset and began to argue with Orton, soon after he hit the WMD on Sheamus and then on Orton and took off. Terrible ending, but a great way to continue showing the potential of the Shield.
WINNERS: The Shield
Battle of the big guys was next:
Mark Henry vs Ryback
Before the match started I said that this would probably the worse match of the night. Normally when 2 big guys meet, the result is not pretty. The match was not as bad as I thought it would be. It ended when Ryback picked up Henry for the Shell Shock and Henry grabbed the top rope and pancaked Ryback, turned him over and pinned him. After the match, Henry looked as if he wanted to inflict more punishment on Ryback, but Ryback was able to overcome that lifted Henry up again for a successful Shell Shock.
WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Team Hell No (C) Daniel Bryan and Kane vs Dolph Ziggler, Big E. Langston with AJ
First off, I don't see how Ziggler and Langston even got this title shot. What, they teamed together officially for 1 match? OK. Ziggler and Bryan always entertain with their styles. Kane and Langston were the powerhouses. Some near falls added to the excitement of the match, which in the end saw Team Hell No retain the titles.
Fandango (sorry, Fffffffaaaaaaannnnn-Daaaaaan-GGGGoooooo) vs Chris Jericho
I knew Disco Inferno 2.0 was going to win this one, but I was surprised to see that he really didn't do much in the match. It seemed Jericho was bringing down the offense on Fandango for the whole match, only to have Fandango roll him up with a weak pin. This match had great potential, it could have been match of the night, but it wasn't.
WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio (C) w/ Ricardo Rodriguez vs Jack Swagger w/ Zeb Coulter
Let me start by saying that the WWE dropped the ball big time with this feud. It could have been so much bigger. The racial undertones and controversial remarks that were said by the spokesmen of Jack Swaggers America could have really made this match into a memorable one. But, as what seems to be par for the course in the WWE, the story never had time to develop and there was no buy-in from the crowd. The crowd was dead. Del Rio won by submission and no MITB cash in by Ziggler which led to many fans booing in disappointment.
The Streak... This time it's personal
CM Punk w/ Paul Heyman vs the Undertaker
20 have tried, 20 have failed. Now 21 have tried and after the Match of the Night, 21 have failed. Punk seemed to have outsmarted the Deadman and almost made him lose his cool. He reversed and then performed "Old School". 2 quick highlights for me, Punk dropping the elbow from the top turnbuckle onto the Spanish announcers table and when Punk hit the GTS and the Undertaker bounced off the ropes right into a Tombstone on Punk. Both wrestlers did the best they could do with this hurried storyline. On a side note, I know a lot of people were upset and possibly offended by the involvement of Paul Bearer's death in the angle. The way I see it, if his family was fine with it, Glen and Mark were fine with it, I am sure that William (or Percy, if you will) would have loved it. 20-0 was for the Undertaker, Number 21 was for Paul.
WWE Hall Of Fame segment
Mick Foley
Booker T
Trish Stratus
Bruno Sammartino
Donald Trump
Bob Backlund
Class of 2013
Grudge Match-HHH career on the line
HHH with HBK vs Brock Lesnar with Paul Heyman
This match had no reason to be on the show. First off, HHH career on the line? really? he doesn't wrestle anymore. That was dumb. They should have made it for control of WWE. Anyway, a lot of action that was a bit sloppy as they tried to make it seem that it was a real personal fight. The announcers table actually broke this time. In the end HHH was victorious in a match I am sure no one will remember as I truly believe by the crowd reaction, nobody cared. Interesting note, it seemed something went wrong during HHH entrance, he had all this white stuff caked over his torso which was odd. Anywho, we move on.
WWE Championship Match
The Rock (C) vs John 'Super" Cena
Cena is booed during the entrance. Rock come into mostly cheers, some boo's . Back and forth match, it seems they tried to recreate the Hogan/Rock moment, but the crowd was not having it. After 456 Rock Bottom's , 375 AA's numerous attempts at the other signature moves. "Super" Cena won and just as the Rock did for Stone Cold, Cena left the ring and let the Rock have his last WM moment. During the brief exchange at the end you can clearly see the Rock say "I came back for this moment right here with you, thank you" Rock thanked the fans, kissed his family members and walked up the ramp to raise Cena's hand and the show went off the air. Quick thought, I think the would have been the best chance to get Cena to turn Heel. The stage was set, a possible scenario would have been, have Rock win and Cena flip out and deliver a beating to him and just walk off. They could still do something like that on Raw, but I don't think turning heel on Raw would be on the same scale of Turning heel at WM. But whatever.
So that was WrestleMania XXIX. Probably one of the worst ones I have seen. Hope next year in New Orleans is much better.
