The event at the Georgia Dome has been done now for about three hours, but there's still a buzz in the air here in the Peach state over the over 70,000 that took in WrestleMania XXVII.
The event was a middle of the road Mania in my opinion, but to me the crowd got what they wanted - which was a John Cena loss, a lot of The Rock, and even a surprise win by Edge to keep the World Heavyweight Title.
Here's some thoughts about the event from start to finish:
* Figured the Rock would open, but was hoping that they wouldn't overuse him all night, and at times I felt they did. We didn't need the Mae Young skit with him, and the Pee Wee Herman thing was kinda goofy.
* So you give me too much backstage and do the following - make the US Title worthless by making Daniel Bryan and Sheamus a dark match, a built up 8-man tag go 90 seconds and the wrong guys win, and the odd finish to the Cena-Miz match with of all things, a double count out? Strange booking indeed.
* Didn't like at all having Edge-Del Rio on first. Why? Crowd was dead for a lot of the night IMO, and even this opener wasn't enough to get them going after they shouted too long for The Rock. Liked the match, felt totally that Del Rio would win, and was surprised he didn't. Convinced that he will get the belt soon though, and it's a matter of time as Edge gets back on the winning Mania track.
* So tired of Rey Mysterio's act, time for him to go away. Was glad after last years push for him to beat CM Punk they allowed a guy that needs a big win like Cody Rhodes to go over on him. Had no real issues with this match and where it was on the card.
* 90 seconds for the 8-man tag match?! The Corre is a team that I think is getting a solid push on a show that needs stars in SmackDown, and not only don't you give them time, you bury them with a 90-second loss. Total blunder here. Not that it matters, but Vlad doesn't even come to the ring with his pals?
* Enjoyed the Randy Orton vs CM Punk match, though again I felt that Punk should have won this. Orton doesn't need a push like Punk, and if Nexus is going to get over, why have their leader lose after basically dominating the whole match? As a whole, I liked the match and think they will continue this feud.
* The Hall of Fame Class of 2011 was good, as we knew it would be, and it was a cool gesture having HBK come out solo at the end. Don't want to think too far ahead, but next years class is going to void of a big star unless someone retires or passes away (sorry, had to say it). Unless that is they decide to go with the Host of tonight's show, who is the only big name out there currently not in.
* The Michael Cole vs Jerry Lawler match really killed the momentum of the night from a live standpoint. The crowd popped for Stone Cold, which you knew they would, as well as for old WCW star Booker T, but overall, this was a dud to me. I know that Jerry deserves a Mania match, and as someone that knows him personally, I was happy he got it, but it should have been more than this. It will be interesting to see if Cole still has a job, and what they do with him from here. Was also glad to see Jim Ross and Lawler get to call the rest of the card.
* The Taker-HHH match stole the show - of course. Why not after a mid card that was pretty substandard have a match like this NOT go on last like it should have. I was all for having the Miz-Cena last, but knowing how they were going to end it, they should have made the decision to put this last. Already it sounds to me like they are setting up the WM 28 rematch in Miami, and why not - it was the best thing on the show and deserves an encore.
* Everyone hated the whole Snooki thing, and while I know why the WWE did it, I will give her this - at least unlike Vicki a year ago she pulled off two wrestling moves in the match and got the win. Anyone recall the awful "splash" that Vicki did on Kelly Kelly a year ago in Phoenix? Hate Snooki all you want, but her presence got the company mainstream attention and I wouldn't doubt if a few interested people brought the show just because of her. With that, it was fun as well to see Trish vs McCool.
* So finally a huge anti-Cena crowd gets what they want, which is to see him lose clean. It was a hookey finish, but what did you expect? You were not going to see the Rock NOT come back out, and you were not going to see him help Cena either. So the only thing left was a bad finish, the Rock saving the day, then laying out Cena for the Miz only to then lay out the Miz as well.
* I would be lying if I didn't think the GM bleep wasn't to announce a three-way between Cena, the Rock and Miz at the end, but that would have felt an awful lot like WM 9 when Hulk Hogan worked his backstage magic to get the strap from Bret Hart and Yokozuna. I am glad they left it on Miz for now, and we shall see how much more time the Rock sticks around and what they do with him and Cena now.
* As far as a number in the 1 to 10 scale for this Mania, I really can only give it a 5. The undercard was weak, they botched a couple booking spots, and the night was really all about The Rock getting over on the two stars in the main event, which could backfire if he goes away right away.
* The crowd as well was not that great for the night in my opinion, and I really hope after Miami the company brings the event back up east.
Labels: wrestlemania 27
