This year's WrestleMania was, overall, an impressive affair with 2 excellent matches, a few good ones and only one bad one. Here are the matches on the card (w/ MATCH RESULT SPOILERS).
MATCH 1- Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio (for the Cruiserweight championship). Good, but short opening match. It's unfortunate that it just goes over 5 minutes, but those are 5 action-packed minutes! Good high-flying (as usual) from Mysterio and Hardy's offense is unique as always (nice Side effect out of the corner.) Matt pulls out a surprising win, reversing a victory roll into a pin. Again, a bit disappointing that it's only about the length of a SmackDown! match. Good though. (7.5)
MATCH 2- The Undertaker vs Big Show & Albert. Ugh. As expected, this was the worst one on the card- it's not 100% crap (Taker's fujiwara armbar and jujigatame made it interesting at least). However, as soon as Show & Albert go on the offensive, the match nosedives! 'Taker wins anyhow w/ the Tombstone on Albert. (4)
MATCH 3- Trish Stratus vs Jazz vs Victoria (for the Women's title). Pretty good- the end was a bit crap, but the action was good throughout. Nice modified Michinoku driver by Jazz. Trish wins anyway w/ a high roundhouse kick to Victoria. Weak ending. (6)
MATCH 4- Team Angle vs Los Guerreros vs Rhyno & Benoit (for the SmackDown! tag titles). Not as good as I expected, but still good nonetheless. The end was also a bit frustrating- Benamin pins Chavo after a Gore. It's good for heel heat, but it's still a bit irritating. (7)
MATCH 5- Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho. This was the match I was most looking forward to, and it delivered in a big way! Great action for 20+ minutes and a number of near-finishes (which I always like). Despite falling victim to the Walls, the Lionsault and his own Sweet Chin Music, HBK wins, pinning Jericho w/ a rolling clutch pinning combination. Jericho gets the last laugh, suckering in Michaels after the match with a false display of sportsmanship, then hitting a low blow on his idol. Great match. (9)
MATCH 6- Triple H vs Booker T (for the RAW world title). Not a bad match- Triple H executes a mean Indian deathlock and Booker's Scissors kick (which usually is a poor finisher in my view) looks brilliant in this match. Anyhow after plenty more action (including a nice Spinebuster by Triple H and Booker's rolling hangover) Triple H retains w/ the Pedigree. (6.5)
MATCH 7- Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon. Better than I expected. Vince's ladder spot shocked me, so too did the appearance of a former Intercontinental champion in one of the worst run-ins EVER! Hogan wins this bloody affair w/ 3 legdrops in succession. (6)
MATCH 8- The Rock vs Stone Cold. Also good. The near-finishes towards the end really add to it, with both men using their own, and each other's finishers. It takes The Rock 3 Rock bottoms (the last one is particularly good) to finish off Austin and get the 3 count. Rock finally gets his well-deserved WM win over Austin (who gets a lukewarm crowd reaction it seems). (7)
MATCH 9- Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle (for the SmackDown! undisputed title). Great match throughout. Excellent action and a spot that made me absolutely cringe! (The last time I had a cringe-worthy moment like that was when Shane McMahon was belly-to-belly suplexed on his head at King Of The Ring '01!) Lesnar's shooting star press (where he starts nicely, but clatters his head off the mat) was nasty! Amazingly he still manages to complete the match, pinning Angle after a third F-5. Brilliant performance by both men and a terrific main event. (8.5)
I definitely believe that this year's WrestleMania outdid last year's. As I said, impressive.
MATCH 1- Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio (for the Cruiserweight championship). Good, but short opening match. It's unfortunate that it just goes over 5 minutes, but those are 5 action-packed minutes! Good high-flying (as usual) from Mysterio and Hardy's offense is unique as always (nice Side effect out of the corner.) Matt pulls out a surprising win, reversing a victory roll into a pin. Again, a bit disappointing that it's only about the length of a SmackDown! match. Good though. (7.5)
MATCH 2- The Undertaker vs Big Show & Albert. Ugh. As expected, this was the worst one on the card- it's not 100% crap (Taker's fujiwara armbar and jujigatame made it interesting at least). However, as soon as Show & Albert go on the offensive, the match nosedives! 'Taker wins anyhow w/ the Tombstone on Albert. (4)
MATCH 3- Trish Stratus vs Jazz vs Victoria (for the Women's title). Pretty good- the end was a bit crap, but the action was good throughout. Nice modified Michinoku driver by Jazz. Trish wins anyway w/ a high roundhouse kick to Victoria. Weak ending. (6)
MATCH 4- Team Angle vs Los Guerreros vs Rhyno & Benoit (for the SmackDown! tag titles). Not as good as I expected, but still good nonetheless. The end was also a bit frustrating- Benamin pins Chavo after a Gore. It's good for heel heat, but it's still a bit irritating. (7)
MATCH 5- Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho. This was the match I was most looking forward to, and it delivered in a big way! Great action for 20+ minutes and a number of near-finishes (which I always like). Despite falling victim to the Walls, the Lionsault and his own Sweet Chin Music, HBK wins, pinning Jericho w/ a rolling clutch pinning combination. Jericho gets the last laugh, suckering in Michaels after the match with a false display of sportsmanship, then hitting a low blow on his idol. Great match. (9)
MATCH 6- Triple H vs Booker T (for the RAW world title). Not a bad match- Triple H executes a mean Indian deathlock and Booker's Scissors kick (which usually is a poor finisher in my view) looks brilliant in this match. Anyhow after plenty more action (including a nice Spinebuster by Triple H and Booker's rolling hangover) Triple H retains w/ the Pedigree. (6.5)
MATCH 7- Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon. Better than I expected. Vince's ladder spot shocked me, so too did the appearance of a former Intercontinental champion in one of the worst run-ins EVER! Hogan wins this bloody affair w/ 3 legdrops in succession. (6)
MATCH 8- The Rock vs Stone Cold. Also good. The near-finishes towards the end really add to it, with both men using their own, and each other's finishers. It takes The Rock 3 Rock bottoms (the last one is particularly good) to finish off Austin and get the 3 count. Rock finally gets his well-deserved WM win over Austin (who gets a lukewarm crowd reaction it seems). (7)
MATCH 9- Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle (for the SmackDown! undisputed title). Great match throughout. Excellent action and a spot that made me absolutely cringe! (The last time I had a cringe-worthy moment like that was when Shane McMahon was belly-to-belly suplexed on his head at King Of The Ring '01!) Lesnar's shooting star press (where he starts nicely, but clatters his head off the mat) was nasty! Amazingly he still manages to complete the match, pinning Angle after a third F-5. Brilliant performance by both men and a terrific main event. (8.5)
I definitely believe that this year's WrestleMania outdid last year's. As I said, impressive.