I think the match was a bit of a classic style match that felt like it was going to build to more once the shenanigans started.
I still feel like the issue was Travis Scott - his placement in this fued was way too high profile (although he took the Crossrhodes like a champ)
His slow walk to the ring and awkward involvement is what killed the match.
If it was The Rock that comes out there, or the third member (Rollins would have been great) then it would have changed the whole match to be positive.
But instead it ends with the Scott involvement and then getting hit with the belt. Which should have still had an AA follow it too with Cody kicking out from just the belt shot
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Maybe Stone Cold wrecked the quad Scott was supposed to use? The ramp spot was ridiculous, as was him attempting/causing interference during the match. It should have been on Raw instead... Unless Scott gets in the ring with Cody
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One thing that was different between WM40 and this WM was that WM felt like the end of a bunch of stories and it culminated at WM40. And it's what made the event great.
To me this felt a bit more like like WM39 where the ending of the main event was disappointing and the build was a bit sloppy (Cody in the ME instead of Sami) but felt like they were going to build to something bigger.
Mania is usually the end of the story, but tonight it felt more like the beginining.
This is just the beginning of the Cena / Cody / Rock story. (I do think Cena gets screwed by Rock at some point and gets 18 as a face)
Start of something for Seth / Heyman / Punk / Roman.
Feels like there will be some type of Becky / Lyra / Bailey story.
The implosion of Judgement Day and start of something new for both Dom and Finn.
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Maybe Stone Cold wrecked the quad Scott was supposed to use? The ramp spot was ridiculous, as was him attempting/causing interference during the match. It should have been on Raw instead... Unless Scott gets in the ring with Cody
I can't see the benefit of Scott getting in the ring with Cody. Unless it's a total squash, Cody would be made to look silly because Scott looks about as threatening as Darby Allin.
EDIT: Unrelated, but it looked like Stone Cold didn't realize the steps were stacked on the side of the ring he bailed out of and he took a really awkward looking bump. Hope he's alright.
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But instead it ends with the Scott involvement and then getting hit with the belt. Which should have still had an AA follow it too with Cody kicking out from just the belt shot
The cover on the belt shot was weirdly slow, too. Reminded me of when Triple H beat Booker T after hitting a pedigree and then taking two years to cover him.
The whole thing just felt kind slow and sloppy, even if there weren't any real botches.
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I actually liked the first half of the booking of the Cena Cody match. Watching the documentary on Cena a while ago, when he was in Ohio, he spent a lot of time talking about watching old tapes, he's a smart guy with a lot of passion for what he did and he's a student of the game.
It feels like he took something from Foley's heel turn in ECW, when Foley decided to take away everything that he did in the ring that made the fans love him. No more high risk moves, no more energy creating moves, he replaced it all with head locks and a slow deliberate style that was just minimal.
I also think that when they booked this match they took a lot of stuff from old school heels. Every move was slow and deliberate, but just looked mean. Good for them booking Cody to drop with each punch. But even the start when it literally took Cena 5 minutes to do anything and he escaped the ring or avoided locking up.
The only think that I think I didn't like was Cena being willing to roll out the 5 knuckle shuffle. What he should have done was set it up, wave his hand over Cody's face and then sneer at the fans and simply stomp Cody's face and then walk around the ring staring at the fans with pure hate. The last part of the match was completely unnecessary and over booked for a Wrestlemania main event.
I also thought that Cody was exceptionally good in this match.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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I have no idea why we're supposed to give a #### about Travis Scott. Stop dumb ass booking by putting these celebrities/musicians in the ring and giving them airtime. Give the spotlight to the actual wrestlers, that's what people want to see - especially on the one weekend of the year that they all should deserve to put in 110% and have the focus on them.
That said, I thought the Cena win was somewhat fun, even though he's a shadow of his former self. I see his reign ending (in order) with either 1) a Cody redemption arc, 2) Gunther, or 3) Bron Breakker. Both Gunther and Breakker lost this weekend, setting up new and interesting pursuits for them. This is a really good time now for Cena to pass on the Universal title to the next star.
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Also after pretty much 20 years in the ring, and I think that we can admit it, Cena worked hard and wrestled a whole ton. You can see that its taken its toll on him.
__________________
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
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The question is do they hot shot someone to the title at SummerSlam, or do wait until December to avoid Cena "taking the title home with him". Although I imagine they'd want to see Cena turn face before he retires.
8 months to go... Still many possibilities for Cena's final matches. Orton and Punk need to be on that list.
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Orton, Punk, Reigns, Cody, Rollins...lots of ways to go here.
I thought Reigns was unreal in the main event of night 1 and really I've never been a huge fa but his character work and now in ring work too has been unreal. Him and Cody really are the two pillars of WWE right now.
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I don’t mind Cena winning but I’m pretty annoyed The Rock didn’t even make an appearance.
I don’t give a #### about Travis Scott. I was more excited to see Kerry King and I’m not even much of a Slayer fan.
I also thought the Drew/Priest match had too much ring time for a street fight. I figured they might fight all over the floor and maybe show up in our section.
I actually liked the first half of the booking of the Cena Cody match. Watching the documentary on Cena a while ago, when he was in Ohio, he spent a lot of time talking about watching old tapes, he's a smart guy with a lot of passion for what he did and he's a student of the game.
Disagree with this. Maybe my standards are just too high, but MJF has done the same work, at a much younger age, and produced more compelling homages to the past.
Cena has had 20 years on that guy and this was below what MJF has produced if you're using those same metrics.
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I will say that one of my big barometers for if a show was good is how much attention my girlfriend pays to it. She's not a wrestling fan, but will check-in if the match is entertaining.
She watched most of the show tonight and was actively engaged. During the main event, she spent the entire time on her phone, checking Instagram.
The Nestle Drumstick replay of THAT finish while pitching Cena on McAfee tomorrow from the Snickers desk with two dozen Primes on a rolling cart next to them is the embodiment of this weekend. I keep hearing how amazing this product is and it leaves me wanting more. I’m sure people will pile on. NXT was really good this weekend, was hoping the momentum would keep going, Night 2 started off strong and I liked 3 of the matches there.
All I hear about is how much better WWE is these days. I've given it multiple chances over the past couple years but every single time I'm left so underwhelmed. It's so profoundly boring, plodding and bland.And being bombarded by ads and the Cena appearance on McAfee made it more obvious he was going to win. Sorry, this wasn’t nearly as fun as last years WM.
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With the benefit of hindsight this build probably would have been a lot better if they saved Cena's turn for Wrestlemania.
Have Cena vs Cody be booked as baby vs baby, but with there being hints that each of them might turn throughout the build. Have somebody else be Rock's muscle in the build to help carry the story week to week too.
Then tonight have it be Cena that turns to the dark side since he'd do anything to win his 17th title.
Do the heel turn at the end with The Rock costing Cody the title and Cena siding with The Rock to have a WM17 style ending that makes for a memorable Wrestlemania moment. Fans would have lost their mind and it would have been seen as one of the best mania moments ever.
Instead now WM falls really flat even just in comparison to Eliminaiton Chambers finish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inferno
I don’t mind Cena winning but I’m pretty annoyed The Rock didn’t even make an appearance.
I don’t give a #### about Travis Scott. I was more excited to see Kerry King and I’m not even much of a Slayer fan.
I also thought the Drew/Priest match had too much ring time for a street fight. I figured they might fight all over the floor and maybe show up in our section.
Here's the thing. I can see Rock not coming out to not overshadow Cena winning his 17th title, but then they shouldn't have anybody come out.
That whole arena was ready for shenanigans and a bunch of run ins like WM40. Everyone in that arena was ready for the Rock (and it was such a smarky crowd he would have gotten cheered).
But if The Rock isn't coming then just have the ref take the bump, Cena cheat a whole bunch, give Cody color off the exposed turnbuckle, and have Cena win by him cheating like the heel in that scenario.
I do get your frustration though, I felt the exact same way at 39 where it was one of the first Mania's in years with no surprise or return.
No Rock, No Austin, no real legends. It was im Hollywood and the best they could do was Shane O Mac tearing his quad in 10 seconds and Pat McAfee. And even though it was a great show, the whole thing felt underwhelming when Roman retained and The Rock didn't come out to confront him as had been rumoured for years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LIP MAN
All I hear about is how much better WWE is these days. I've given it multiple chances over the past couple years but every single time I'm left so underwhelmed. It's so profoundly boring, plodding and bland.And being bombarded by ads and the Cena appearance on McAfee made it more obvious he was going to win. Sorry, this wasn’t nearly as fun as last years WM.
No reason to be sorry, I think the entire world agrees. Don't think I've seen a single take that this was anywhere close to 40.
And the Main Event is a huge part of that because the two triple threats were up there with some of the best Wrestlemania matches of all time.
But the awkward and forced finish of the Main Event took away from it all. I'm not quite sure how Cody, Cena, HHH and Bobby Roode (he was the producer) could have all sat down and come up with that finish.
Also the Tag TLC should have been on the card. More than enough time was available between the two nights to fit that in if they managed the time better and balanced the card a lot better. Having no ladder / steel cage / hell in a cell type of match was weird for a WrestleMania.
Last edited by SuperMatt18; 04-21-2025 at 06:46 AM.
EDIT: Unrelated, but it looked like Stone Cold didn't realize the steps were stacked on the side of the ring he bailed out of and he took a really awkward looking bump. Hope he's alright.
He had already made a complete lap of the ring before he hit the barricade, so he knew where things were around the ring.
Last edited by Finger Cookin; 04-23-2025 at 05:13 PM.
Reason: Fixed spelling
Finn Vs Dom for the IC title
American Made vs Luchadores ( does it really matter who)
Punk vs Gunther
Rollins ( Hayman) vs Reigns
Drew Macyntire vs Jey Uso
Solo vs Fatu
Orton vs Priest
Cena vs Rhodes
Lynch vs Valkira
Bellaire vs Ripley
Iyo Skye vs Charllote flair
Tiffy ( needs to squash someone easy)
and honestly who cares about the Tag Titles. ( not HHH)
Last edited by TheIronMaiden; 04-21-2025 at 09:19 AM.
Love what Killer Kross is doing to get over, and based on the reaction to his elimination on Smackdown the fans are finally starting to respond. It took almost 5 years and a firing for Kross to gain traction with the crowd. Maybe he's the next Drew McIntyre that got over naturally, and is ready for the upper mid card?... Maybe he can join Heyman's new budding alliance with Rollins?
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