Torch Feedback WWE WrestleMania 25 Reax #1: "The announcers weren't exaggerating when one said Undertaker's head left a dent in the floor mat."
Apr 5, 2009 - 10:51:18 PM
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Jordan of Eau Claire, Wisc. (5.5): Best: Michaels-Taker. Worst: Kid Rock-Diva combo segment. There's a lot of ways to talk about this night. In the end, I felt that I watched one classic (HBK-Taker), 2 good-to-okay gimmick matches (MITB, Hardys), 3 non-matches (Divas, JBL-Rey, the non-showing of Tag Team); the two world titles were just there. The 3-way was decent, and thankfully stayed away from most of the storyline before it. Triple H-Orton was just an exercise in what happens when you leave the story building to the weeks before the match, and not doing anything to build a story in the match. Jericho was fine, and thanks go to Steamboat for being able to still work like a pro. In the end, my issue with this event came from the outro; I look at every match, and the only one which I really had a good feeling looking back on was HBK/Taker. Everything else felt like just a match or not a match for this stage. Even if I said that there were a few main-event matches here, that just isn't enough for this level of event. Everyone worked like it was WrestleMania, but the choices made both at the corporate level and the match level were not there at the show level.
Jason Hadden of Owensboro, Ky. (10.0): Best Match: Undertaker vs. Michaels and I didn't care about anything else. I ordered this show for Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels because I knew they would deliver an epic match in Houston. Not only did they deliver on all my expectations, but they exceeded them. That's the match of the year, case closed, end of discussion. I hope Undertaker is okay, because when he literally piledrove himself from the ring to the floor, I thought he could be paralyzed. The announcers weren't exaggerating when one said Undertaker's head left a dent in the floor mat, that was scary. Then from there, both men delivered an epic dream match that will be talked about and replayed for years to come, even when WrestleMania 50 roles around. Everything else? Well, you could've replaced the ring skirt with a Raw or Smackdown ring skirt and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, but that's fine because this was a one match show that surpassed all the hype. If anyone missed this show then they should go out of their way to get the DVD and see this match.
Mike Omansky (7.0): Best match: Michaels-Undertaker. Worst match:Triple H-Orton. Fantastic job by Michaels and Undertaker in easily the best match of the show. Even allowing for a burnt out crowd, Triple H-Orton was mediocre at best. The ladder match was surprisingly good; Hardys not so great. Biggest disappointment was a Kid Rock mini-concert, and no tagteam unification match as advertised... WWE showed poor judgement on this one. Santino/ Santina - was fun. Cena-Show-Edge put on a first rate match.
Matt of Kaukauna (8.0): Best Match- Undertaker-Michaels. Worst Match: JBL-Mysterio. I could have given this a 10 but the last two matches REALLY brought the show down. Up until then everything was extremely entertaining. Michaels-Taker was an all-time classic. The ladder match was VERY good especially considering the number of non high-flyers in the match. Even the stuff like the Divas and JBL-Mysterio had the right entertainment value that made them appealing. That said, the two world title matches were very flat with preictable finishes and people going over. Absolutely ZERO suspense to them whatsoever. Good enough wrestling but zero emotion invested cause I knew who would win without any doubt whatsoever and the wrestling itself wasn't strong enough to be able to make me overlook that. In contrast, even though every fiber of my being was expecting an Undertaker win, they had me actually believing it was possible they might have Michaels break the streak. Not once during either world title match did I think for a second that anyone but Cena or Triple H would win. Still, easily one of the best overall Manias.
We welcome your 1-10 score and comments on this show for a "Raw Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on Raw, click here.
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