- 30,184
- 1,991
WrestleMania XXVI is in the books. Say what you will about the show as a whole, but no one can argue that the end of the show could go toe to toe with any other WrestleMania in history. Thank God cooler heads prevailed and put Undertaker and Shawn Michaels as the last match on the card instead of the train wreck that was Bret Hart vs Mr. McMahon. Here's my quick recap of WrestleMania XXVI:
-Show Miz defeated John Morrison and R-Truth to retain the Unified Tag Team Championships. Watching the show live, I thought the match was fine, but when I watched the replay, I realized how rushed this match was. I'm glad that Show Miz won, but they could have given these guys a few more minutes. Hopefully Morrison and Truth go their separate ways.
-Randy Orton defeated Ted Dibiase Jr and Cody Rhodes. This was the official burial of Rhodes and Dibiase. Orton went over as strong as you could finishing Rhodes with the Punt and Dibiase with the RKO. I don't see any way that this "feud" continues. Rhodes and Dibiase will probably feud in a program no one will care about.
-Jack Swagger won the Money in the Bank match. The match was fine. They have really toned down the risk and potential for injury since this match began five years ago. Now, it's mostly just guys getting pushed off ladders into the ropes. The match was fine but not a memorable MITB, except for the fact that it took Swagger almost 20 seconds to get the briefcase down once he was at the top of the ladder. Swagger was certainly a surprise as most everyone picked McIntyre. I would assume Swagger will cash in his shot before the MITB PPV, which means he will be a champion within a few months. Seems a bit rushed, but if they decide to back him, he could be a star.
-HHH defeated Sheamus. Sheamus looked good in the match, but he lost cleanly in the middle of the ring after HHH kicked out of Sheamus's signature pump kick. Sheamus really could have used this victory. He's lost a lot of steam since losing the WWE Title. However, rumors are he'll be the next contender for Cena's title since Sheamus never received his rematch after losing the belt at Elimination Chamber. Oh yeah, HHH's ego continues to grow.
-Rey Mysterio defeated CM Punk. This was the complete wrong decision in my opinion. There are so many ways they could have gone if Mysterio was forced to join the Straight Edge Society. Now, I don't know how they continue this feud. Also, only giving them six minutes was a huge disappointment.
-Bret Hart defeated Vince McMahon. This was a complete disaster. First, they tried to swerve everyone with the Hart Family turning on Bret, but within two minutes Bret revealed the Hart Family actually double crossed Vince. Shocker. Vince proceeded to get his *** kicked by Bret and the rest of the Hart Family for about the next 15 minutes. Vince got in zero offense, literally. Vince took some brutal punishment. This went way too long, and with the violence from Bret, fans didn't know how to react. I can't believe after months of buildup, this was the payoff. I knew we weren't getting an actual wrestling match, but I was expecting something a whole hell of a lot better than this.
-Chris Jericho defeated Edge to retain the World Championship. This was a very good match, but it didn't have that "big match feel" that I talk about so often. I think a major reason for that is the crowd was absolutely killed after the Hart/McMahon match. I was surprised Jericho won, but I supposed this allows the program to continue, and I have no complaints about Jericho and Edge working together. The Spear that Edge gave Jericho after the match was brutal. And this was the first match where the announcers really started to ruin the show. Hearing them constantly refer to the Walls of Jericho hurting Edge's achilles tendon was mind numbing.
-Vickie Guerrero and the Heel Divas defeated Kelly Kelly and the Face Divas. This was bad. All the women hit their finishers one after another. Vickies frog splash was awful, and the fact she botched the pin was even worse.
-John Cena defeated Batista to win the WWE Championship. The complete wrong decision. Cena could have chased Batista for the title all summer before eventually winning it. Instead he beats Batista in his first match as champion. Where does Batista go from here? I understand wanting "happy endings" at WrestleMania, but they should have had Edge win if they needed a face champion. It already feels stale again with Cena as champion. This was a great match though. And it was the first match of the night that had the "big match feel".
-The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels. This match was awesome. Maybe not on last year's level, but still awesome. I don't know how they do it, especially The Undertaker. If you haven't seen this match yet, make sure you find a way to see it. The ending was awesome with Shawn Michaels being his defiant self one last time before being on the receiving end of a devastating Tombstone. It's really sad to see Shawn Michaels go, but it looks like he's going out on his own terms. I haven't heard any plans for a retirement ceremony like that fraud Flair received on Raw the night after his retirement match.
Here's the latest on Michaels' future:
--Shawn Michaels had told friends for months that this year's WrestleMania would be his final show. Whether WWE convinces him to come back, which has happened in the past, or he changes his mind, which happens to almost every wrestler who retires, is unknown. At this point he is telling everyone his retirement is legit.
The night after WrestleMania is normally one of the highest rated Raws of the year, so that doesn't bode well for TNA. The goofs from Hot Tub Time Machine host Raw tonight. It seems like each week the hosts play less and less of a role, so I expect the game tonight. They get their complimentary lap dance from the Bellas and are done. Nothing has been announced for the show tonight, but usually there is at least one WrestleMania rematch. I wouldn't expect anything for Extreme Rules to be announced until next week.
As for TNA... It looks like they are doing the wise thing moving to 8-10 pm beginning next week. Raw has proven that fans have trouble tuning in at 8pm, but this seems like a move that had to be made if TNA is going to have any chance of success on Monday nights. Here's the card for tonight's show:
*Motor City Machine Guns vs. Team 3-D for the No. 1 contendership for the tag titles
*Shannon Moore & Kazarian vs. Doug Williams & Brian Kendrick
*Tara vs. Daffney in a first blood match
*A.J. Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett in a non-title match
*Beer Money vs. Jay Lethal in a handicap match
*Pope D'Angelo Dinero vs. Desmond Wolfe
*Jeff Hardy & RVD & Eric Young vs. Kevin Nash & Scott Hall & Sean Waltman in a cage match
