WrestleMania kicks off live in front of a capacity crowd in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The atmosphere is electric in anticipation of the big event. The show is about to begin, so here we go!
- The show kicks off with some lady I've never heard of singing America the Beautiful. Way to splurge on a big star WWE. She did a good job at least. Hopefully it will be followed up with Christina Aguilera messing up the National Anthem like she did at the Super Bowl.
- After 7 long years trying to become a movie star, The Rock has finally come back to the WWE! He's the host of Wrestlemania. Not sure what that entails exactly, but he's out there to get the crowd pumped up early with one of his trademark catch phrase filled speeches. His movies are very hit or miss, but Rock is always a hit with WWE fans. Few people in the history of the industry are better than he is on the microphone.
- It took about 5 minutes from the time Rock entered the arena until when he finally got in the ring and started talking. Apparently they don't actually have enough scheduled to fill 4 full hours, so he needs to stall for time. A few really funny lines, mostly at the expense of John Cena, but not clear on what the point of this segment is for the most part other than to pass the time. Rock must have demanded a certain amount of screen time as part of the agreement to bring him back.
- The first match of the night is between Alberto Del Rio and Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship. Aren't title matches usually saved for the end of the night? Well it's only the Smackdown title, so I guess it's not important enough to be a main event.
- Del Rio drives a Rolls Royce worth over $100K out to the stage for his entrance. Apparently his gimmick is that's he's a rich pompous jerk. I have a feeling he's not really that rich and that's not his car.
- Christian comes out to stand in his friend's corner, bringing back fond memories of the old Edge and Christian tag team. Edge follows behind him and they make their way to the ring together. Nearly half an hour into the show it looks like we are finally going to actually see a wrestling match.
- Edge comes into the match with a pre-existing elbow injury (or at least they are saying he's really injured) which Del Rio spends the start of the match targeting. Smart strategy, playing into the setup for his finisher, the cross arm breaker submission.
- Not only does Del Rio have his own personal ring announcer in his corner, but there's a fat guy with a mohawk by his side as well. Not sure how he became associated with him, since he doesn't seem to have much in common with the Mexican millionaire. Predictably both of them try to get involved, but Christian is there to even the odds.
- Edge manages to escape the cross arm breaker and wins the match after hitting the Spear. After losing the title at the past three WrestleManias, Edge's fortunes change for the better as he retains his title. He then celebrates by destroying Del Rio's car. Hope he has insurance!
- After the match they run a promotion to push WWE's new reality show, Tough Enough. Didn't that show fail once already? Then they had NXT, which also failed, so now they've just changed the name of the show back to Tough Enough, as if that will help. The hosts/trainers of the show will be Stone Cold Steve Austin and Trish Stratus, so they should draw some viewers initially.
- Cody Rhodes faces Rey Mysterio next. The storyline here is that Mysterio "destroyed" Cody's face by smashing it with his knee brace, ruining his dashing good looks. First of all, Cody was never that good looking to begin with. Second of all, he doesn't look any different now, other than that he now looks like Rip Hamilton with that face mask on. For some reason they seem to be making a big deal out of Rey wanting to remove the mask to expose Cody's face, despite that the clear mask is see through anyway.
- Rey Mysterio comes out to the ring dressed like Captain America. Why? Little odd, especially since Rey isn't even American, but less creepy than the year he dressed up as the Joker.
- An aggressive attack by Rhodes, who uses his face mask as a weapon. As if he should need a weapon in order to beat a guy that's nearly a foot shorter than everyone else. Rey counters with a dizzying array of high flying up tempo maneuvers that make his matches so exciting.
- Rey finally gets Cody's mask off and hits the 619. He then puts Cody's mask on himself and repeatedly throws himself face first into Cody, using the mask against him.
- Cody takes advantage while the ref is taking the mask away from Rey to grab the knee brace that he had previously ripped off of Rey and using it to smash Rey in the face to win the match.
- Snoop Dogg is in the house! He's auditioning WWE superstars such as William Regal and the Great Khali on their singing abilities. The segment mercifully comes to an end after the midget Hornswoggle raps while the Bella twins dance beside him. I thought that guy couldn't even talk.
- Next up is an 8 man tag team match pitting the team of Kane, Big Show, Kofi Kingston and Santino Marella against the Corre. That's not a typo either, apparently they actually spell it Corre. Not sure if they've noticed that's now how you actually spell the word "core."
- Well that didn't last long. Everyone get's involved despite no legal tags being made. The teams take turns taking each other out, but in the end the Big Show picks up the win after a knock out punch to Heath Slater. When your fists are the size of frying pans I guess a simple punch becomes a legit finishing move.
- The Rock wastes more screen time by hitting on one of the divas. He then has a "magical moment" with 90 year old Mae Young, who hits on Rock. Very creepy.
- Big pop from the fans as Stone Cold appears and comes face to face with Rock for the first time in years. Those two had a lot of classic matches back in the good old days before WWE decided to cater more to a younger audience.
- Randy Orton has a heated feud going with CM Punk over the past couple of months that stems from anger Punk has regarding an incident 2 years ago, which the rest of us have long forgotten about. Punk had been out of action for a while after Orton punted him in the head. Since their feud began Orton eliminated Punk's group of followers, the New Nexus, by using that same punt to the head. Guys used to get hit in the head with steel chairs all the time and be fine by the next week, but now getting kicked in the head can put someone on the shelf for months.
- I actually like what WWE has done with this. They won't come out and say it was intentional, but they have put a focus lately to bring attention to the seriousness of head injuries and concussions. We've seen the NFL finally bring this issue to light and WWE has followed. Good for them.
- Punk attacks the injured knee of Orton, similar to what we saw Alberto Del Rio do to Edge in the opening match, only Punk is much more vicious and Orton is doing a better job of selling the injury as he hobbles around the ring.
- Orton takes down Punk with a DDT and the viper slithers up to his prey, stalking him for an RKO. He changes his mind and instead decides to back up and charge for a punt to the skull, but his knee gives out and he falls down. Or was he just trying to deceive his opponent? Punk flies off the top rope, but Orton counters by catching him by the head in mid-air and hitting him with an RKO for the win. Outstanding finish!
- Rock cuts another promo to make fun of John Cena with some help from Pee Wee Herman. Funny stuff. I wonder if Rock and Cena really do hate each other. It seems like they may have some legit beef over some comments Cena made years ago when Rock left WWE about how the self proclaimed "People's Champion" must not care about the fans if he won't bother to show up anymore. Pretty interesting feud that has led to some hilarious trash talking between the two over the past few weeks.
- They now take some time to honor this years inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame, which is headlined by the Shawn Michaels. Great to see HBK.
- For some reason Drew Carey is also there to be inducted. I think he was in the Royal Rumble once about ten years ago, but other than that I don't know what he has to do with WWE or why he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
- Is this match really happening? Two announcers are going at it - Michael Cole vs Jerry the King Lawler. At least King used to wrestle, but Cole never has. They've had a good feud going lately, but I can't believe they are wasting a WrestleMania match on this. Cole is attempting to be the biggest heel announcer of all time, but really he's just kind of annoying.
- Cole shouldn't have any chance in this match, except he has Jack Swagger in his corner, who predictably will get involved early and often.
- The only saving grace of this match is that the special guest referee is Stone Cold, who rides out to the ring on an ATV and chases Swagger and Cole around trying to run them over. If Austin doesn't give Cole a Stone Cold Stunner tonight then I want my money back.
- Cole locks himself in a glass booth and refuses to start the match, instead trying to talk his way out of it, but King will have none of that. He forces his way inside the booth and beats the hell out of Cole. Eventually he throws him in the ring and I think this match officially started now.
- Cole takes control after Swagger takes down Lawler and puts him in the ankle lock, allowing Cole to key in on the King's injured ankle until he puts King into an ankle lock of his own. Lawler manages to free himself and takes control of the match, stomping a mud hole in him, as good ole Jim Ross states. Swagger tries to throw in the towel (literally) for Cole, but Austin throws the towel back in his face and gives him a Stunner. Lawler takes over and wins the match by forcing Cole to tap out to an ankle lock. Fitting ending. I would have turned off the TV if Cole actually won.
- King and Austin celebrate the only way Stone Cold knows how, by downing a few beers in the ring. Booker T leaves his spot behind the commentators booth to try to join in on the party, but gets a Stunner for his troubles.
- Huh? The anonymous Raw General Manager makes an announcement (via email) to overrule the referee's decision, disqualifying King due to Austin's interference. What was the point of that? And what is the point of continuing this bizarre storyline of having an anonymous GM? When do we find out who it is? Maybe they haven't told us because they haven't decided yet. Or maybe it's really Michael Cole.
- The most anticipated match of the night - The Game, Triple H against the Phenom, The Undertaker. Undertaker enters on an impressive 18-0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania for his career. Ok, maybe not that impressive considering the outcomes of the matches are pre-determined. It's still pretty impressive that he's been around for that long and has earned the respect that it takes to get them to allow him to keep winning. These two future Hall of Famers are sure to put on a classic match.
- Triple H's entrance is a little over the top. His arrival on the entrance stage is hidden behind a small army of men dressed as warriors carrying over-sized shields. They split apart to reveal Triple H, dressed in a cape with a skull mask on. That was weird. The lights go out and his theme music hits. When the lights come back on Triple H makes his way to the ring, but without the costume. Did that really just happen or am I just getting tired?
- Undertaker's entrance is more familiar and still gives me chills, although I prefer his classic theme song as opposed to the western theme he has now. The last outlaw? At least it's not as bad as when they tried to turn him into a motorcycle riding American bad ass. He needs to just stick with the Dead Man gimmick, that's what works for him.
- After a brief stare down, both men come out with fists flying in this No Holds Barred match, which quickly spills outside the ring. Only about a minute in and Taker is already going for the Spanish announcer's table! You know somebody is going through that table soon. Not yet though, as HHH sends Taker crashing through the glass booth that Michael Cole had previously tried to hide in at ringside.
- HHH tries to Pedigree Taker through the announcer's table, but Taker counters with a back body drop to the floor. That's a long way to fall, even with padded mats around.
- Holy crap! Undertaker just launched himself over the top rope to tackle HHH outside the ring. I think he landed on his head. How is he not dead?
- Finally someone gets put through the Spanish announce table! I knew it was coming. HHH delivers a devastating spine buster through the table. Still early in this match and these two have already delivered more outstanding highlights than all the other matches combined.
- Somehow Taker recovers relatively quickly. Once they are back in the ring he delivers a thunderous Chokeslam. Normally the match ends after that move, but I have a feeling both men will use their finishing moves multiple times, giving us several near falls before this one is over.
- After HHH delivers a Pedigree, Taker kicks out after a near 3 count. Then HHH barely kicks out after Taker delivers a Last Ride powerbomb and a Tombstone pildedriver! Didn't I tell you both men would kick out of each other's finishing moves multiple times? I swear, it's like this thing is following a script. Oh wait... it is. Very similar to the WrestleMania matches Taker had the last two years with Shawn Michaels, both of which were fantastic. This one is coming close to living up to that high standard so far.
- Three Pedigrees, followed by HHH cracking a steel chair repeatedly in frustration across the back of the Undertaker, but it's not enough as Taker still manage to get back to his feet. So much for the idea that chair shots to the head have been banned. HHH delivers a head shot with the chair and it looked like he hit him hard. Taker didn't even get a hand up to block the impact.
- HHH just hit Taker with his own finisher, the Tombstone, but Taker still kicked out! Unbelievable. What's it going to take to keep this guy down, is what HHH must be thinking. Running out of options to throw at him, HHH turns to an old friend, finding his sledgehammer under the ring. He looks ready to bash Taker's skull in, but Taker counters by locking in the Hell's Gate submission hold! Nobody has ever escaped this hold, says the announcers. That streak, as well as the Undertaker's undefeated streak, won't end tonight, as HHH eventually taps out. Undertaker is now 19-0 at WrestleMania! Amazing match with several exciting near finishes. Triple H said that if he couldn't end the streak then he'd die trying, and he nearly did.
- Undertaker takes a long time to get out of the ring and eventually has to be carted out on a stretcher. Probably was planned, but there is no doubt that match took a lot out of him and he probably is legitimately hurting.
- This fittingly leads to a taped announcement about how dangerous wrestling can be and urging fans not to try this stuff at home.
- I get that Vince McMahon may feel guilty that wrestling may have contributed to the death of Eddie Guerrero (a heavy reliance on pain killers and other drugs were to blame), but how much longer does he have to employ his widow, Vickie Guerrero? She's annoying and brings nothing to the table. Did she blackmail Vince? Nonetheless she somehow gets to be involved in this next match, standing at ringside to support her friends Le Cool and Dolph Ziggler. They take on the team of John Morrison, Trish Stratus and Jersey Shore's Snooki.
- How is Snooki involved in this match? No stranger to cat fights, she pounces on one of her opponents. When she does that she looks like that rat looking creature that portrayed her on South Park. Snooki want smush, smush!
- Snooki displays some surprising athleticism with some handsprings and backflips, taking a page out of her teammate Trish Stratus' book. Didn't see that coming. I did predict her picking up the win though. Would Snooki have even agreed to this appearance if she wasn't allowed to win?
- John Morrison is one of the most exciting performers in the business, but you'd hardly know it from this match because he was barely involved. He did have one highlight worthy move by delivering his signature Star Ship Pain, in which he springs off the top rope, does a corkscrew and falls on his opponent. In this case, his opponent was outside the ring, making it even more impressive.
- In the main event, former MTV Real World star, the Miz, defends the WWE title against John Cena. Miz sure has come a long way since his days on reality TV. He's worked his way up the ladder, because he's the Miz... and he's awesome! Don't believe him? Just ask him.
- Cena surpasses Triple H for the strangest intro for the night. He has an all African American choir singing a church hymn, which is followed by a prayer from a preacher. How was this necessary or fitting of Cena's gimmick?
- The crowd is split, with women and children cheering for Cena, with the men booing him mercilessly. They should just turn him heel so that everyone will boo him. Let him shock the world by turning evil for a while, then he can eventually be a good guy again later. By then more people will like him better, but for now too many people are just sick of his act. He's long overdue for a change. Unfortunately we probably won't get to see that happen because he's the face of the franchise and he attracts a younger demographic that WWE is trying to build upon. Making money is more important to Vince than putting on a good show, telling a good story or keeping the old school fans happy.
- Why is Miz's protigee, Alex Riley, dressed like Aladdin?
- Cena looks dazed and confused in this match. The announcers are talking about it enough that it must have been planned that way, but it seems like Cena just isn't into this match. Maybe he's trying to sell a head injury, but it's impacting the quality of this match so far.
- Alex Riley interferes by smashing Cena's head into an exposed steel turnbuckle, setting him up for Miz's finisher, the Skull Crushing Finale, but Cena kicks out after a near fall. He recovers to hit an Attitude Adjustment (really, they aren't allowed to call it the FU anymore?), but the ref had been knocked out, allowing Riley to take a cheap shot at Cena with a metal briefcase. After another near fall, this match is finally starting to pick up and be a little more exciting.
- Miz tries to escape through the crowd, but Cena tracks him down and knocks him over the security wall, knocking both of them out. The ref counts to 10 and the match ends with a double count out?! Seriously, they are ending the WrestleMania main event in a double count out?! Lame!!
- Maybe not. Out comes The Rock, and he doesn't appear happy about that decision. The Raw GM sends an email regarding the outcome of the match. Rock sarcastically imitates Michael Cole as he begins to read the email, before yelling it doesn't matter what the GM thinks! He smashes the computer and announces that the title match will restart as a no DQ match.
- Good thing it's no DQ, because just as soon as the match restarts, Rock hits the Rock Bottom on Cena, allowing Miz to pin Cena. That ending makes a little more sense, since you knew Rock would get involved somehow to continue his feud with Cena.
- After the match Rock gets back into the ring and lays the smack down on Miz before dropping the People's Elbow on the champion.
- WrestleMania XXVII had it's fair share of WrestleMania moments, including the controversial ending, thanks to The Rock. It may not have been the best WrestleMania ever, but it was an entertaining night that is sure to leave a lasting impact.
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