Black Widow
04-06-2009, 06:32 PM
THE 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania lived up to the annual hype and provided a show full of excitement, razzmatazz and surprises.
SunSport’s ROB McNICHOL was live in Houston’s Reliant Stadium for the event — read his WrestleMania diary below and take a look at his verdict and score for the evening on the right.
4pm in Houston, Texas (midnight UK time): I’m in the Press room high above Reliant Stadium. There are at least 100 people accompanying me, representing media organisations from all over America and the world.
Don’t tell anyone but I got to sneak into a skybox and take a look at Undertaker and Shawn Michaels pacing out some of their moves for later on.
That promises to be awesome, it could be match of the night, match of the year, maybe even match of our lifetimes. Taker and HBK are that good.
5.15pm: The media throng towards our seats after a Press conference. Mickey Rourke, Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair talked emotionally about their careers and their love for wrestling and WrestleMania.
They’re not the only ones.
5.40pm: The lights dim, announcers and referees arrive and lumberjacks head to the ring for the night’s only non-PPV bout.
Although it’s exciting to be underway, it’s such a shame to see Mizorrison and the Colons bumped from the main show. They deserve far better.
5.50pm: Well, that was short but pretty sweet. The four guys forget about the disappointment they must be feeling at being left off of the main show, pulling out all the stops to have a really entertaining little contest.
Carlito was at his acrobatic best and his brother earned the win for the Puerto Ricans with a cool counter from a reverse suplex into a backstabber. Colons are now the undisputed tag team champions of the world.
6pm: I genuinely have goosebumps all over my body. This is my first WrestleMania and the atmosphere is, well, indescribable.
6.06pm: I see ladders, which can only mean one thing. Giant snakes? No, no – it’s money in the bank.
6.10pm: All competitors in the ring. CM Punk was greeted by an array of Pepsi signs, Finlay sporting a very odd jacket. The biggest cheer went to Christian, although MVP is close behind.
6.28pm: CM Punk is standing atop a ladder with a briefcase in his hand, for the second time in successive years.
This was a breathtaking opening match, with far too many high-spots to break down. Christian was the crowd’s favourite, Finlay the ring general, Punk a deserving winner and Kofi Kingston the star of the match.
6.33pm: And here is Kiiiiiid Rock, apparently. I’m, unfortunately, not a rock music aficionado, so I feel resentment rising, mainly because Mizorrison and The Colons are missing out for this musical interlude.
6.41pm: The ring is now filled with Divas, so it’s not all bad — well 24 divas and one Italian guy in drag. No prizes for guessing who.
6.50pm: Santino (sorry, ‘Santina’, Santino’s twin sister) is crowned Miss WrestleMania and his/her tearful celebrations are looked on with scorn by Beth Phoenix, who she/he eliminated aling the way to winning.
This was a fun segment but was more Raw filler than WrestleMania standard.
7.15pm: I just got taken back in time. No, not a flux capacitor based DeLorean whisking me through space, but a masterclass from 56-year-old Steamboat.
Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka, Steamboat's partners in trying to down Chris Jericho, were displaced quickly by the Canadian.
Soon, though, it was just Jericho and Steamboat — and the Hawaiian put on a clinic.
Unlike his fellow legends, the Dragon has barely lost a step and hit all his big spots without looking like he’d ever been away. Fabulous stuff.
Jericho won and after the match proper he beat up Flair and then called out Rourke, who defied his insurance company (or lied to us in the press conference) by clocking Jericho with a left hook.
The ending was predictably cheesy and hokey — but fun nonetheless.
7.20pm: Considering the talent and status of the next two wrestlers, the atmosphere feels a little flat for Matt v Jeff Hardy.
7.38pm: Well, we got going eventually. As hardware got assembled, the crowd perked up and Jeff was his usually high-flying self.
The match ended after Jeff missed an over-the-ladder legdrop which was followed up by a unique and very painful looking Twist of Fate by Matt through a chair.
7.43pm: JBL’s intercontinental championship opponent appears to be either The Joker or Doink the Clown. Oh wait, no, it’s Rey Mysterio, with his usual elaborate Mania get up.
7.47pm: Well that was quick. A pre-match attack by JBL, then after the bell rung for the bout to start, Rey struck with a 619 and a splash to snatch the IC strap in less than 30 seconds. JBL then quits wrestling. Expect commentary duties to be renewed soon.
8.00pm: The bell has just rung for the start of many people’s main event — Shawn Michaels v The Undertaker.
The first 10 minutes were good but not great, a slow build suggesting a long match worth plenty to come. The crowd are the stars so far, oohing and aahing at every turn.
8.13pm: An exchange involving a top rope elbow counter, chokeslam counter, figure four counter and a Hell’s Gate wakes everybody up. That was fabulous chain wrestling. Now we’re getting somewhere.
8.19pm: Terrible landings for both HBK and Taker. Michaels went for a modified moonsault to the outside but missed most of it.
And then Undertaker’s yearly leap over the top rope found a little bit of a cameraman pulled in by Michales, but a lot of the floor. This match is so hot right now.
8.40pm: It’s over. Undertaker wins by Tombstone. I can get my breath back.
No prizes for guessing the finish or that it was one of the best matches I’ll ever see, even if I attend the next 25 WrestleManias.
The two standout stars of WWE for years came together tonight to put in a match for the ages. If it wasn’t worth five stars, then it was on about 4.9999.
8.52pm: And that wasn’t even the main event. We have Cena, Edge and Show out now, all getting mixed reactions. John’s entrance — featuring around 100 lookalikes and his old theme tune — was something to behold.
9.05pm: Cena stands tall as champion once again. It was a standard triple threat but they did break out the odd move which had the crowd gasping.
It felt a bit flat but then so would anything being asked to follow the classic we just witnessed.
9.14pm: The Hall of Fame class of 2009 appear on stage, are honoured and then Stone Cold Steve Austin does his beer routine in the ring. It may be the last time we ever see it.
9.30pm: The bell rings for the night’s main event — Triple H v Randy Orton for the WWE championship.
9.32pm: RKO.
9.33pm: Pedigree. Wow, this has started pretty quickly.
9.39pm: Sorry, but the crowd are dead. In fact only a camera pointing at sections wakes them up.
There is a lot of punching and kicking in this, presumably to indicate that this is a personal brawl and not a technical classic. Unfortunately, Orton and Triple H have wrestled many times before to a higher standard than what we’ve seen so far.
9.54pm: And we’re done. Triple H is still champ after a ref bump is followed by a sledgehammer shot and Pedigree to finish off Orton.
Very disappointing conclusion. The match never got going and we’ve seen the sledgehammer-Pedigree routine so many times that it’s a weak ending for a PPV of this magnitude.
An anticlimactic finish to an otherwise terrific show.
The Sun
SunSport’s ROB McNICHOL was live in Houston’s Reliant Stadium for the event — read his WrestleMania diary below and take a look at his verdict and score for the evening on the right.
4pm in Houston, Texas (midnight UK time): I’m in the Press room high above Reliant Stadium. There are at least 100 people accompanying me, representing media organisations from all over America and the world.
Don’t tell anyone but I got to sneak into a skybox and take a look at Undertaker and Shawn Michaels pacing out some of their moves for later on.
That promises to be awesome, it could be match of the night, match of the year, maybe even match of our lifetimes. Taker and HBK are that good.
5.15pm: The media throng towards our seats after a Press conference. Mickey Rourke, Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair talked emotionally about their careers and their love for wrestling and WrestleMania.
They’re not the only ones.
5.40pm: The lights dim, announcers and referees arrive and lumberjacks head to the ring for the night’s only non-PPV bout.
Although it’s exciting to be underway, it’s such a shame to see Mizorrison and the Colons bumped from the main show. They deserve far better.
5.50pm: Well, that was short but pretty sweet. The four guys forget about the disappointment they must be feeling at being left off of the main show, pulling out all the stops to have a really entertaining little contest.
Carlito was at his acrobatic best and his brother earned the win for the Puerto Ricans with a cool counter from a reverse suplex into a backstabber. Colons are now the undisputed tag team champions of the world.
6pm: I genuinely have goosebumps all over my body. This is my first WrestleMania and the atmosphere is, well, indescribable.
6.06pm: I see ladders, which can only mean one thing. Giant snakes? No, no – it’s money in the bank.
6.10pm: All competitors in the ring. CM Punk was greeted by an array of Pepsi signs, Finlay sporting a very odd jacket. The biggest cheer went to Christian, although MVP is close behind.
6.28pm: CM Punk is standing atop a ladder with a briefcase in his hand, for the second time in successive years.
This was a breathtaking opening match, with far too many high-spots to break down. Christian was the crowd’s favourite, Finlay the ring general, Punk a deserving winner and Kofi Kingston the star of the match.
6.33pm: And here is Kiiiiiid Rock, apparently. I’m, unfortunately, not a rock music aficionado, so I feel resentment rising, mainly because Mizorrison and The Colons are missing out for this musical interlude.
6.41pm: The ring is now filled with Divas, so it’s not all bad — well 24 divas and one Italian guy in drag. No prizes for guessing who.
6.50pm: Santino (sorry, ‘Santina’, Santino’s twin sister) is crowned Miss WrestleMania and his/her tearful celebrations are looked on with scorn by Beth Phoenix, who she/he eliminated aling the way to winning.
This was a fun segment but was more Raw filler than WrestleMania standard.
7.15pm: I just got taken back in time. No, not a flux capacitor based DeLorean whisking me through space, but a masterclass from 56-year-old Steamboat.
Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka, Steamboat's partners in trying to down Chris Jericho, were displaced quickly by the Canadian.
Soon, though, it was just Jericho and Steamboat — and the Hawaiian put on a clinic.
Unlike his fellow legends, the Dragon has barely lost a step and hit all his big spots without looking like he’d ever been away. Fabulous stuff.
Jericho won and after the match proper he beat up Flair and then called out Rourke, who defied his insurance company (or lied to us in the press conference) by clocking Jericho with a left hook.
The ending was predictably cheesy and hokey — but fun nonetheless.
7.20pm: Considering the talent and status of the next two wrestlers, the atmosphere feels a little flat for Matt v Jeff Hardy.
7.38pm: Well, we got going eventually. As hardware got assembled, the crowd perked up and Jeff was his usually high-flying self.
The match ended after Jeff missed an over-the-ladder legdrop which was followed up by a unique and very painful looking Twist of Fate by Matt through a chair.
7.43pm: JBL’s intercontinental championship opponent appears to be either The Joker or Doink the Clown. Oh wait, no, it’s Rey Mysterio, with his usual elaborate Mania get up.
7.47pm: Well that was quick. A pre-match attack by JBL, then after the bell rung for the bout to start, Rey struck with a 619 and a splash to snatch the IC strap in less than 30 seconds. JBL then quits wrestling. Expect commentary duties to be renewed soon.
8.00pm: The bell has just rung for the start of many people’s main event — Shawn Michaels v The Undertaker.
The first 10 minutes were good but not great, a slow build suggesting a long match worth plenty to come. The crowd are the stars so far, oohing and aahing at every turn.
8.13pm: An exchange involving a top rope elbow counter, chokeslam counter, figure four counter and a Hell’s Gate wakes everybody up. That was fabulous chain wrestling. Now we’re getting somewhere.
8.19pm: Terrible landings for both HBK and Taker. Michaels went for a modified moonsault to the outside but missed most of it.
And then Undertaker’s yearly leap over the top rope found a little bit of a cameraman pulled in by Michales, but a lot of the floor. This match is so hot right now.
8.40pm: It’s over. Undertaker wins by Tombstone. I can get my breath back.
No prizes for guessing the finish or that it was one of the best matches I’ll ever see, even if I attend the next 25 WrestleManias.
The two standout stars of WWE for years came together tonight to put in a match for the ages. If it wasn’t worth five stars, then it was on about 4.9999.
8.52pm: And that wasn’t even the main event. We have Cena, Edge and Show out now, all getting mixed reactions. John’s entrance — featuring around 100 lookalikes and his old theme tune — was something to behold.
9.05pm: Cena stands tall as champion once again. It was a standard triple threat but they did break out the odd move which had the crowd gasping.
It felt a bit flat but then so would anything being asked to follow the classic we just witnessed.
9.14pm: The Hall of Fame class of 2009 appear on stage, are honoured and then Stone Cold Steve Austin does his beer routine in the ring. It may be the last time we ever see it.
9.30pm: The bell rings for the night’s main event — Triple H v Randy Orton for the WWE championship.
9.32pm: RKO.
9.33pm: Pedigree. Wow, this has started pretty quickly.
9.39pm: Sorry, but the crowd are dead. In fact only a camera pointing at sections wakes them up.
There is a lot of punching and kicking in this, presumably to indicate that this is a personal brawl and not a technical classic. Unfortunately, Orton and Triple H have wrestled many times before to a higher standard than what we’ve seen so far.
9.54pm: And we’re done. Triple H is still champ after a ref bump is followed by a sledgehammer shot and Pedigree to finish off Orton.
Very disappointing conclusion. The match never got going and we’ve seen the sledgehammer-Pedigree routine so many times that it’s a weak ending for a PPV of this magnitude.
An anticlimactic finish to an otherwise terrific show.
The Sun