cactus

As lockdown has given me a shedload of free time, I decided to watch all the Wrestlemanias in order. I've been posting my individual match reviews in the PWO database, but I thought it would be a good idea to get them all together here with some additional comments about the events themselves and I'll do a top 25/50/whatever off my all-time 'Mania matches once I'm nearly up to date. This is still a WIP, but let feel free to drop comments/feedback. 1 - 15 16 - 30 31 - Present

We've reached the era of Triple H having the longest match on the card. Batista is still green and looks awkward a lot of the time. This was largely uninteresting until Trips gets colour. To his credit, he bleeds a gusher and sells it well. The finishing stretch saves this one from being one of the least exciting Wrestlemania main event, with the last five minutes featuring a lot of stuff that I like. Flair's interreference was tasteful and didn't feel excessive. Batista powering out of a Pedigree and countering with an Air Raid Siren caught me completely off guard. Triple H does the job to his mate and puts him over pretty well all things considered, but you can't help to think that this would be much better if they trimmed the fat and worked around Batista's limitations. ★★½

I've started appreciate Bradshaw more as a worker in the last few years. He was great when he was fired up Texan hoss when he was in the APA, and he was completely despicable as JBL. He throws some stiff shots and bullies Cena around, but he's mostly boring when working on top. Cena shows great fire even if his hokey facials need work and leave a lot to be desired. Not a whole lot of interest happens here and the finish comes out of nowhere. The crowd were burnt out, but they came alive for the finish. ★★

Why the fuck did this match even take place? The sight of Big Show and Akebono of bare ass cheeks sticking out of their fundoshis was ghastly and no-one gained anything out of this. The audience looked confused and bewildered. Akebono wins after a few minutes of grappling. Big Show loses to a guy who was virtually unknown to the US fans and would never make another apperance on WWE TV. A waste of everyone's time. DUD

HBK tries to hang with Angle by using pro-wrestling styled maneuverers to match Angle's amateur stylings. I used to have an issue with Shawn hanging comfortably with Angle, but it makes sense in a kayfabe sense. Tensions flare up and slaps are exchanged, which results in Angle slamming Shawn's back right into the ring post. This is where the match takes a nosedive. Angle works over the back, but Shawn's selling is so inconsistent. HBK kips-up and disregards all the back work. We then get a lengthy Ankle Lock segment which goes on for way too long, complete with Shawn's bad hammy acting on show. My opinions on this has changed over the years, but I still think it's a good match overall, with a brilliant beginning and middle with a hollow finishing stretch. ★★★½

Even though it's built up around a Playboy shoot, it's good to see that the feud for the Women's title actually get some time to develop. Lita being in Hemme's corner to couch her was a nice touch. Trish is a heel and she's great in her role, but even she can't get something worthwhile out of an extremely green and clumsy Christy Hemme. With this being her second non-T&A match, Hemme was not ready for this spot and it shows big time. Hemme puts Trish in a pinning clutch and isn't able to release Trish in time, so the referee has to awkwardly stop counting. Trish lands a Chick Kick to retain, but both her and Lita looked shoot-annoyed once this one wrapped up. ½★

Undertaker is back to being the Deadman, but he's no longer the slow and lumbering Phenom of old. He's on Smackdown, surrounded by much more physical wrestlers than the ones he was fighting a decade previously, so he has to show that he can still hang with the new kids. You can tell just by way he circles Orton and runs the ropes that he's upping his game. Orton's still growing and not that engaging when he's controlling the match, but he makes up for this with his youthful speed and that Chokeslam to RKO counter was seriously smooth. All the near-falls had the crowd on edge and you can tell that people are finally buying into the Streak. ★★★★¼

This was an exciting spotfest, with an unrelenting pace and a responsive crowd who pop for every big moment. Benoit tries to sprinkle in as much psychology as he can into such a match by having his shoulder worked over, limiting his ability to reach up and grab the briefcase. He misses an Air Canada from the ladder and the visual of him bloodied-up hardway and violently convulsing is rather haunting. None of the spots are particularly innovative, with the exception of the Shelton's incredible ladder run-up, but everything moved at just the right stride and pace and it made for an incredible moreish watch. ★★★★

One could make an argument that this felt like an exhibition and they wouldn't be completely wrong, but this was two of the best ever going out there and putting on a flawless showcase of lucha-styled moves. Eddie works over Rey's back and serves as the heel for this match, he hits his perfect corkscrew backbreaker which was a direct callback to their Halloween Havoc classic. Rey's high-flying stuff still looks incredible. These two had better matches before and after this together, but this was still a fantastic way to open up the show and it served it's purpose of laying out the groundwork for their epic feud which would dominate the majority of 2005. ★★★¾

Looking forward to hearing that Chris Hero podcast. It's going to be strange to hear Conrad talk about stuff like IWA:MS and PWG though! With the new podcast being announced today, does anyone think that Conrad might drop one of his shows? I can't see him getting much out of Arn at this point. I can usually predict what Arn's going to say before he's said it.

Has there been a match that been more tainted by future events than this? Both Triple H and HBK get colour and bleed 70's style gushers. Benoit attempts a crossface early and it establishes the move as a huge threat. HHH and HBK form a brief alliance to take out Benoit by driving him through the announce table. Benoit finally tapping out peak Reign Of Terror Triple H was very cathartic and it felt like a huge deal. Everyone brought their A-game for this and it shows. Eddie hugging Benoit as the confetti engulfs the Garden was a huge emotional moment for me, that's now soiled by what would happen just three years later. ★★★★½

Much like their bout at Wrestlemania XIV, this relied on spectacle to make up for the lack of work rate. Seeing Undertaker return to his Deadman persona, complete with Paul Bearer, was a cool moment. The wrestling itself wasn't pretty though, with Kane nearly spiking 'Taker on his head after a botched suplex attempt. There's some splendid visual moments here, such as Kane freaking out and not believing his own eyes as he sees his brother the first time since he buried him and I liked the duelling choke spot. Ga-ga like this is needed to break up the card and I had no problem with this. ★★

This starts out with some intense and gritty chain wrestling. Although I harped on Christian/Jericho fighting too technical when they were doing such a personal angle, these two made it work as they are so damn fierce and hot-blooded. I particularly loved Angle's body language before he would shoot for a takedown, it looked as if he was trying to psych out Eddie. After temporarily working over Eddie's mid-section, Angle focuses his attack on Eddie's ankle after he catches in a surprise ankle lock. The finish to this might just be my favourite ending ever. Eddie tries to loosen his boot to levirate the pressure, but Angle catches him in the act. The loose boot allows Eddie to escape the ankle lock and roll up Angle for the win. Genius stuff to cap off an incredible match! ★★★★¼

Molly puts her hair on the line against Victoria's championship. I give Molly Holly massive props for sacrificing her hair in an effort to get a serious women's match on the card, but this was a dull and nothing contest. Jerry Lawler is insufferable here, going on about if Molly's ever been shaved before. Even Jim Ross sounds annoyed at him. After having a rest hold go on for what felt like forever, Victoria escapes a Widow's Peak attempt and rolls up Molly for the win. Molly does a good job of looking shocked as she realises she's going bald. ★

Very similar to the Raw tag title clusterfuck, this was just an excuse to give more guys a payday. Bradshaw has cut his hair and we are only a few weeks away from the APA disbanding. I bet every penny I have that no-one in the venue would of guessed that he would been WWE champion within three months. Rikishi does some nice power spots, one which sees him escape a Shelton Benjamin German by using his gigantic ass. This wasn't offensive and it was over in a few minutes, but there's literally nothing worth seeing from this. ★½

Although it was disrespectful for the fans to shit on this straight out the box, Lesnar and Goldberg refusing to do anything for minutes and deliver an awful match like this felt like a slap in the face. Lesnar gives the fans the finger, both figuratively and literally. Most of this consisted of stare downs and grapples that went nowhere. Austin being the special guest referee is the only saving grace here and the look on his face when he realizes the whole segment was screwed was priceless. Goldberg wins as the crowd show their disapproval. Austin stuns Goldberg in one last attempt to save this. DUD

I simply do not understand the hate for this. One can argue that squeezing a 10 man gauntlet match into a 12 minute time frame is never going to work, but I thought this kept the the action fresh and exciting. This felt like the Slobberknocker match from the WWE games come to life! Ultimo Dragon starts off and gets a good showing, but everyone remembers this for him slipping up and falling face first as he makes his entrance into the Garden. Poor bastard. Billy Kidman's springboard shooting star plancha was a sight to behold. Chavo is able to cheat and retain his title with a little help from his father. ★★★¼

There's not much to say about this. Yet another T&A match. One thing that stuck out to me about this was the creepy men in the crowd trying to take creepshots of the women as they get themselves in certain positions. I'm glad this part of wrestling has died out with the times. Torrie rolls up Jackie for the victory and tries to shoot de-pants her. Jackie makes her sole Wrestlemania appearance nearly flashing her genitals in front of 20,000 people at MSG. Wrestling~! DUD

Has there been a more star-studded match at a Wrestlemania than this? Look at all the talent in this! The main reason to watch this is for the brilliant Flair and Rock interactions. Rock mocking Flair's strut will never get old. Flair takes some brutal back bumps for a guy in his mid-50's. This was Foley's return to action after being retired the last four years and he feels like an afterthought as he doesn't do much of note. I can see why he felt disappointed with this, although he would more than make up for it with his hardcore match with Orton the next month. This was decent, but just a touch underwhelming given the star power in this. ★★¾

Although this was fast-paced and back-and-forth, it was lacking the heat that this blood feud required and just felt like your typical 2000's Jericho match. Jericho looked like he was wrestling for the IC strap and not like he looking for revenge against his former friend. Christian rips out some of Jericho's hair and is great at being a smug and sleazy heel, but Jericho's half-hearted attempts to get over the 'C.L.B' nickname felt massively out of place. The Trish turn went off well, even if it lacked logic (Christian had Trish in the Walls Of Jericho just a few weeks previously). ★★★

La Resistance and Cade & Jindrak come out to zero reaction. RVD & Booker T have one of the most horrendous mash-up themes ever. Man, the tag team scene on Raw wasn't looking too hopeful in 2004. This solely existed to get more bodies onto the card. RVD gets a hot tag and cleans house. Booker T lands a scissors kick on Conway, and RVD follows it up with a Five Star Frog Splash to retain. The problem with stuff like this is that it makes the usually massive personalities of people like RVD, Booker and the Dudleys feel small and irrelevant. Blah. ★

Big Show is huge here and he moves around at a snail's pace, but it's no big deal as Cena is incredibly over with the MSG faithful and everything Show does feeds into Cena's eventual comeback. Show uses some of the more rarer moves in his arsenal, such as the Hog Lock and the Cobra Clutch. After an FU isn't able to put away the big man, Cena cheats by using his padlock and winning his first ever title. This was a good meat and potatoes match. Not everything has to be fancy for it to work. ★★★

Considering I've only been to two WWE shows, a smattering of random family friendly indy shows and a dozen or two Rev Pro events, my picks aren't as interesting as some of the other posters on here, but here's a few of mine. Zack Sabre Jr. vs Fujita Hayato (4FW 3/9/13) 4FW are mainly a family friendly promotion that brought in all kinds of ex-WWE stars for the kids and some Japanese imports to lure in the older audience, After a decent evening of simple kid-friendly wrestling, this was the main event and ended up getting a standing ovation from the 200 or so fans in attendance. This was one of the stiffest matches I've seen in person and it felt like something out of Battlarts. Sabre hadn't quite established himself yet and Hayato wasn't known to anyone who wasn't a hardcore puro fan, but the crowd were instantly invested once a stiff Hayato kick echoed through the drab, Swindon leisure centre. 15 minutes or so of violent strikes and grappling, check this one out if you can. Marty Scurll vs Will Ospreay (RPW 1/16/16) This was from the time when I actually felt positive about the UK scene. Both guys were just on brink of blowing up and the York Hall crowd was buzzing for this. They started off with some exciting technical exchanges before bringing out the high spots. I don't really get involved when at a live show, but I jumped up from my chair once Scurll countered a Ospreay Cutter with a Chickenwing. This was a damn near perfect indy workrate classic. Tomohiro Ishii vs Keith Lee (RPW 5/11/18) This was very similar to what you would see in any big Ishii match, but seeing one of them in the flesh when you're half-drunk and surrounded by a molten-hot crowd is something entirely different. I'm mostly done with Ishii matches nowadays, but he's always put on a hell of a show whenever he would show his face at a Rev Pro event.

Although it's rightfully overshadowed by the freakish SSP botch, this was the most physical main event of a Wrestlemania up to this point. This was two lads without fancy gimmicks going out their and putting on a rugged and aggressive wrestling match. Angle is more focused on putting on a clinic and doesn't get many chances to show of his huge personality and plays this one straight. Lesnar goes into this with injured ribs and Angle sets his sights on his injury by going after them with many German suplexes, including one onto the turnbuckle. Although you could tell that some fans weren't into this, this was a changing off the guard moment with the workrate feeling more important than the big gimmicks and characters. ★★★½

Lacking the intensity of their previous two Wrestlemania outings, this was fuelled by Rock's unlimited charisma and Austin's enduring popularity. It's understandable that Austin's heart wasn't in it here as he literally nearly died 24 hours before the event. It's a shame we only got to see Hollywood Rock for a few months as he was a treat to watch. Rock puts away Austin after three Rock Bottoms. It's easy to criticise the finisher fests of this era, but the ending of this just felt like the right move. My only complaint is that I wish that Austin got a proper farewell match, much like Ric Flair's five years later. ★★★★