Wrestlemania 26 opinions.

Last night saw Wrestlemania 26 an event which I claimed done right could dethrone the mighty Wrestlemania X-7 as the best 'Mania ever. Well lets just say that didn't happen.

The night kicked off with the Unified Tag Title match and it was good for what it was a short opener and I think the right thing was done keeping the belts on Showmiz, the Miz push continues which is a good thing.

Second up was the Legacy triple threat. The signs are not good for Cody he was lumbered with jobber level looking wrestling pants and boots and given his pre-legacy music back I suspect a elevated jobber role for him in a few months time. Randy Orton won the bout which in this writer's opinion was the wrong move. If Dibiase would have won that would have at least made him look competitive against Orton who for some reason has just been booked to bury his Legacy team mates for the past month. Orton won and made Rhodes and Dibiase look like they could be doomed to the mid card for a while yet.

Money In The Bank saw some interesting stunts but there never should have had as many people in the match as they did, but overall they did well, this was the only match of the night that even attempted to elevate young talent and that came in the form of Jack Swagger who won the match but if they would have continued his push from mid last year he could have been winning the championship tonight instead.

Triple H vs Sheamus saw quite a surprise actually it surpassed my expectations as they had a great match, Sheamus was made to look competitive against Triple H (even though on Raw he demolishes everyone) which should be classed as good enough for a night like this. A should make a note here the crowd had been into every match so far including this one.

Mysterio vs Punk was a good little match which lasted about 7 minutes which was unfair on these two as they could have stole the show with a 20 minute stunner but they did very well with the time allocated I can't wait to see what they offer in there inevitable rematch next month. Mysterio won which storyline wise I think was again a mistake as a JBL/Shawn style story could have given this storyline a nice touch.

As stated earlier the crown was really into the event at this point so when Bret vs Vince was shown as the next match people was really looking forward to the first of the big four matches. People could call this as an overstatement but I think this match could have single handedly killed Wrestlemania 26 from the stupid involvement of the Hart family to Harts crappy tire iron shots. The match was not believable and the crown went dead basically up until the sharpshooter when they livened up again. I think this match killed the crown for nearly the rest of the night, Jericho and Edge had to follow this up and had basically zero crowd support at the start which is a shame because the crowd can really make a difference when it comes to creating an exciting environment. Jericho retained in a decent match.

Cena vs Batista was a heavily hyped match and it did well, although not to the standards of there Summerslam scrap a few years back this was a worthy successor and did what needed to be done... giving Cena the title to set up his feuds with Batista, Triple H and Orton! YAY.


Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker. The career vs the streak. This match was a classic, they went incredible fast and hard at the start and switched to a submission hold style for the middle and a lot of near falls near the end. The match was truly the best match of the night and proves WWE will struggle to replace these two when they are gone. The match was so good I don't think I could claim to have a favourite between this and there match at Wrestlemania 25. Michaels lost and so his career is "over" I think he will be back probably to wrestle 2 or 3 matches a year. Michaels has wanted a deal like that for some time and it seems he has it. The Undertaker has probably got to re think his career, he will never top his performance last night and with not many people left to face (Cena is about it) maybe he should just fight once or twice a year to get his streak up to 20 and then hang up his boots.

Wrestlemania then in my opinion was a let down, there should have been more young talent pushed and less of Bret Hart/McMahon at all. There should have been more time for some of the matches.. actually I think the event seemed kind of rushed as many of the participants only got to have their entrances down to about three quarters of the ramp. I never seen that at X-7 which had a longer entrance way. The night was not close to as bad as Wrestlemania 25 but I believe Michaels/Undertaker II saved the night again. McMahon has to pull his finger out and get building stars.

Wrestlemania - Personal Favourites.

Growing up throughout my life as a wrestling fan I have seen every Wrestlemania and I have fond memories of all... even Wrestlemania 9. Being pretty young, my first Wrestlemania I ever saw was Wrestlemania 12 and I was blown away by the amazing Iron man match, in my opinion that match is the greatest hour long match I have ever seen. Keep your Ring Of Honor CM Punk/ Samoa Joe matches, you will never top the 'Mania 12 iron man match, nothing could top how angry I got when Gorilla Monsoon made Bret Hart continue after the tie.

Another memory of mine was Wrestlemania 14 when Austin won his first title against Michaels, that night you felt like the WWE was changing and for the next few years the Austin era reigned supreme.

Wrestlemania 16 saw possibly my favourite 'Mania moment when Triple H retained the title in the main event. At this time I was a real mark for Hunter and couldn't stand The Rock purely because of how popular he was. The amount of trash which was thrown into the ring at the end of the night just made my day. This Wrestlemania also blew my mind with the ladder match, but I must admit I still to this day prefer the No Mercy 1999 ladder match between the Hardys and Edge/Christian.

By Wrestlemania 17 I had improved my knowledge of the wrestling business and seen the Austin heel turn coming from a mile away,the fact I was right though still shocked me at the time. Also for some reason the gimmick battle royal still makes me smile seeing Doink the clown.

Other thing from the 'Manias post 17 which I thought were cool was the Lesnar/Angle match and the shooting star gone wrong. Undertakers return at Wrestlemania 20 and Edge's money in the bank win at Wrestlemania 21.

I was annoyed and and shocked when Cena made Hunter tap at Wrestlemania 22 I felt my younger mark getting very mardy when then happened. 24 saw the incredible Edge vs Taker match at Wrestlemania 24 and 25 saw well two words Michaels/Taker.

WrestleMania Classic Matches - My Top 26

WrestleMania 26 is now only days away, and from the look at the post's on this site and on others, it's the only thing on wrestling fans minds. To carry on the build up to this huge event, I am going to give you my all time top WrestleMania matches. Normally people rate their matches in a top 10 or even top 20, but with this being WrestleMania 26, I'm going for my best 26 'Mania matches. Some of them you will agree with, while others, you will be shocked at, but these matches are why I love WrestleMania and I hope you enjoy my countdown.

WrestleMania 23 - World Heavyweight Championship Match: Batista vs The Undertaker

WrestleMania VII - Loser Leaves The WWF Match: 'Macho Man' Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior

WrestleMania VI - WWF Championship vs Intercontinental Championship Match: Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior

WrestleMania X8 - The Rock vs 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan

WrestleMania X - Brother vs Brother: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart

WrestleMania XV - WWF Championship Match: The Rock vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

WrestleMania XIX - Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho

WrestleMania XII - The Undertaker vs 'Big Daddy Cool' Diesel

WrestleMania 13 - Submission Match: Bret Hart vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

WrestleMania 24 - Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair

WrestleMania 23 - WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania X7 - The Undertaker vs Triple H

WrestleMania 2000 (16) - WWF Tag Team Championship Triangle Ladder Match: The Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian vs The Hardy Boyz

WrestleMania X7 - No-Holds-Barred WWF Championship Match: The Rock vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

WrestleMania XXV - Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker

WrestleMania XII - WWF Championship Iron Man Match: Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania XIX - The Rock vs 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin

WrestleMania 24 - World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge vs The Undertaker

WrestleMania XIX - WWE Championship Match: Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar

WrestleMania XX - World Heavyweight Championship Triple Threat Match: Triple H vs Chris Benoit vs Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania XXI - Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels

WrestleMania 22 - No-Holds-Barred Match: Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon

WrestleMania X - Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match: Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon

WrestleMania 22 - WWE Championship Match: John Cena vs Triple H

WrestleMania 2000 (16) - WWF Championship Fatal 4 Way Match (A McMahon In Every Corner): Triple H w/ Stephanie McMahon vs The Rock w/ Vince McMahon vs The Big Show w/ Shane McMahon vs Mick Foley w/ Linda McMahon

WrestleMania VIII - Intercontinental Championship Match: Rowdy Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart

Wrestlemania in pictures. Part 5 (final)

Wrestlemania in pictures. Part 4.

Wrestlemania in pictures. Part 3

Triple H vs Sheamus - I Care Damn It

WrestleMania 26 is hosting some of the biggest matches in recent WWE history.

CAREER VS STREAK

THE UNDERTAKER VS SHAWN MICHAELS II

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP

THE TWO BIGGEST STARS OF THE POST-ATTITUDE ERA

BATISTA VS JOHN CENA II

13 YEARS IN THE MAKING

BRET 'HITMAN' HART RETURNS TO THE RING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 10 YEARS TO FACE VINCE MCMAHON

But there is one match on this card that has an unofficial marquee title to it

THE MATCH THAT NOBODY CARES ABOUT

TRIPLE H VS SHEAMUS

But I do care damn it and here is my preview for this match. Yes, it deserves its own post.

Even though the WWE have done a fine job of pushing Sheamus, the fans still have not warmed to him enough to really care about his matches. Over the past few months his mic skills have improved and his matches seem to be on the up, but one thing is missing - a defining match. Triple H (who in real life is a close friend of Sheamus) WILL be the man that gives it to him. Hunter is still 'over' with a large portion of the crowd and on any given night he can have one hell of a match and I'm sure for his friend Sheamus, he will do all he can to make him into a star. This match could be a minor show stealer, as both are solid workers, and with not many people talking about this match, I'm sure they will want to put on something special. As long as this match goes on near the beginning of the show, instead of after matches like, HBK/Taker, Hart/McMahon and Edge/Jericho the crowd should be into it. There seems to be no logical reason why Triple H will win this match, and Sheamus on the other hand needs it quite badly, so I believe Sheamus will get the victory. Will this help Sheamus continue up the WWE pecking order and get another reign as WWE Champion? It all depends if the fans care enough about Sheamus after this match.

Promo Comparison.

In a form of entertainment like profesional wrestling you must get the promotion of a match and/or card correct because if you fail then people will not purchase your product. For instance look at the WWE today it's promos are usually of a high quality and tell the story they are trying to promote excellently. For example the recent promotional videos for the upcoming career vs streak match at Wrestlemania between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker.

Now compare this TNA, whose promo videos although adequate lack the dramatic nature of there WWE counterparts this could be blamed on the resources for the company. WWE's team have a wealth of experienced staff and can afford to plow much more money into there promos.

TNA however lack a team experience with Pro wrestling and could do with a sprucing up in there promos as nothing they air really gets me built up for a match quite like the WWE promos. I must state that some of the videos for TNA which look back at a PPV for three or so minutes to build up to the next segment are pretty impressive. These however are looking back at past events rather then promoting an upcoming event and are rarely seen by an audience inside the United States.

Wrestlemania in pictures. Part 2

Wrestlemania in pictures. Part 1.

TNA Destinantion X results... well kind of.

The results are in from last nights TNA PPV, Destination X, and all I can say is........I haven't watched it yet. I live in the UK so I wont be able to see it until Friday. I could always watch a stream of it (I know its illegal, but its free), but I prefer to watch PPV events in the comfort of my chair, and in front of my super size (48inch) Plasma, LCD, HD TV.........not really, my TV is OK, and by no means is it HD ready. Anyway back to last nights results, from what pictures I have seen Scott Hall seems to be in better shape and I am a true mark for his black and red ring attire (I loved the Wolfpac), so all seems good on that front, but from what I have heard he wasn't that good in the ring, what a surprise, I will judge for my self later in the week. Angle beat Anderson which shocked me but the post match trash talk from Anderson seems to mean this feud will continue. All X-Division matches seem to have been well liked, which hopefully means the X-Division will continue to be a main part of TNA's arsenal in their 'war' with the WWE. Morgan turned heel on Hernandez, which we all knew was going to happen, but I'm surprised they did it this soon, and Style's went to a no - contest with Abyss. I have heard a lot about the ending of this match so before I comment on it, I will watch it and then report back to you.

All in all, it seems like an OK event and I am looking forward to seeing it on Friday. Check back Saturday morning for an in depth look at the event and my thoughts on the Abyss/Styles/Flair/Wolfe/Hogan debacle.

saveusrandy

Destination X Preview

TNA host's it annual March PPV Destination X, and they have put out a strong card which should have some good, if not great matches. Over the course of this post I am going to give you a run down of the card and also give my predictions. Three matches I will not cover will be the X-Division matches, as I will write an article on the X-Division at Destination X later.

Global Championship: Rob Terry (c) vs Brutus Magnus

This is the least interesting match on the card, as these seem to be two TNA wrestlers that the fans don't care about. Rob Terry is getting a big push at the moment, mainly because of his big stature, but not only does he have no charisma, and is dreadful on the mic , he just can't wrestle (they seem to be taking this copying WWE thing a little to far). On the plus side Brutus Magnus is improving, but TNA seems to have put him on the back burner, and will be used as fodder for the 'Big' Rob Terry push tonight.

Winner: Rob Terry

TNA Tag Team Championship Match: Matt Morgan and Hernandez (c) vs Beer Money

The way things are going Matt Morgan is turning heel, which is the right thing to do. Since Bound For Glory, his push has subsided, hence the reason for him teaming with another man who washaving a monster push Hernandez. Tonight won't be the night they go all the way with it, as I see them just scraping through with the belts, and the slow build to the heel turn continuing. Beer Money turning heel has helped them also, and I see them taking the belts within the next month to then go into a feud with Mick Foley and Jeff Jarrett.

Winners: Matt Morgan and Hernandez

TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Tara (c) vs Daffney

It's nice to see Daffney finally getting the push she deserves and I believe tonight will be her night as the fans have taken to her and Tara seem's stale at the moment. These two are both talented in the right and given the right amount of time, they should have a great match.

Winner: Daffney

Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac vs Kevin Nash and Eric Young

The stipulation is as follows, if Hall and Pac win, they get a TNA contract, if they lose, they have to leave TNA for good. If it was up to me I would get rid of Pac and keep Hall in a backstage role for skits and star appeal, as that wont happen, I'm going to have to say Nash screws Young and he joins up with 'The Band' again. It will turn out Nash, Hall and Pac planned this from the start, because he knew Hogan wouldn't give them contracts off his own back. I don't have much of a problem with this as long a they keep pushing Young, who has done a great job of being a cool bad guy over the last month and he is such a great talent.

Winners: Hall and Syxx-Pac

Mr. Anderson vs Kurt Angle

This match has had a great build up, and I think this will be the 'non-X Division' match of the night. Anderson will win this as he needs a win more than Angle. Kurt will then get his rematch inside a cage at Lockdown. They seem to be building Anderson up to win the TNA Championship sometime in the near future and as long as he stays healthy and continues to produce some of the awesome promo material he has been, in my opinion it would be a good idea. After this feud is concluded, I can see Angle going into a story with Hogan, probably as a heel. Angle as a heel is when he's at his best, and is one of the only men in TNA who could have an OK match with Hogan.

Winner: Mr. Anderson

TNA Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) w/ Ric Flair vs Abyss

AJ wont lose, this match is just a stop gap before he gets into his big feud with The Pope at Lockdown. Styles will win with Flairs help and to make the show end on a happy note, Hogan will come down and help Abyss take it to Flair and Styles. The match itself will be good. These men have fought before and had that classic cage match at Lockdown in 2005. This time though Abyss will have no weapons and his wrestling ability is still suspect, but being in the ring with a talent like Styles, Abyss should have a good night. The most important thing about this match, which is unusual about TNA, they have promoted and pushed this match for five weeks, so for a change you actually give a damn about the main event of a TNA show.

Winner: AJ Styles

Random Photo of the Day

Ah, the good old days

We Could be in For a Let down - WRESTLEMANIA 26

The card for this years Mania' is superb and in my opinion rivals the all-mighty WrestleMania X-7. You have got some of the most eagerly anticipated matches in Mania' history (HBK/Undertaker and McMahon/Hart), along with potential wrestling classics (Rey Mysterio/CM Punk and Edge/Chris Jericho) and the 'Mega-Match' between John Cena and Dave Batista for the WWE Championship. Also add in the Money in the Bank match, an exciting tag team match and two matches which could be minor show stealers (Orton/Dibease/Rhodes and HHH/Sheamus), this card cant go wrong......can it?

Three matches WILL determine how well this PPV will be remembered, and the event rests on their shoulders. If the following three matches produce then this event will go down as a classic, but for some reason, and I hope I am wrong, we could be in for a let down.

John Cena vs Dave Batista: Two men who have a history of putting on some bad matches are now in the ring together for what could be the Main Event. Yes Dave and John have both put on some great performances at past Mania's, and they also had a decent match at SummerSlam in 2008, but if earlier matches in the card produce then these men will have some pressure to deal with and if the fans get bored like they did at last years event, we could be in for a slow, uninspired match.

Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon: I am extremely worried about this match. With Bret Hart being out of action for 10 years and with all his past health problems, I cant see this match being that good, im hoping they make it short and use physical interactions to a minimum, and the time they do spend 'wrestling/fighting' each other make sure it looks real, even if they have to do it the hard way.

The Undertaker vs HBK: After last years stunning match I find it hard to believe they are going to top it. They need to bring something new to the table and for the life of me I do not have a clue what they can do. On saying this though, its Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, if two men can do it, its these two.

9 Man Money In The Bank

With the 9 man money in the bank just a week away I have to ask the question is 9 men too many?

When looking at past ladder matches the better ones are where two men can really click and get things going. These matches usually have the same amount of slow burning as a regular match and have enough set peices that it can satisfy both the "stunt junkie" wrestling fans as well as the ones tuning in to see a great match. In recent memory I am refering to Michaels/Jericho and Undertaker/Edge.

The problem with nine men is that its way too overcrowded. In my opinion the eight man ladder matches are as well, it doesn't leave room for a story or a chance to elevate talent. Yes you get the winner and that its more about the story going on throughout the year and when the winner will cash in but with about two true candidates to win (Christian and McIntyre) is there really need for the other seven.

Also I do believe that they will add another man for the match to make it ten participants, the person will most likely be Kofi Kingston as he is not on the card and if Kingston is placed in the MITB then my guess is he'll be one of the favorites.

iMPACT ratings, Wrestlemania build up.

So Wrestlemania is just 8 days away and we basically have the final card. The problem however is what will go on last? My guess would most likely be Cena vs Batista as Wrestlemania 18 proved the McMahon's like a title match to go on last. Talking of Wrestlemania 18 i'm currently re-watching the DVD and Drowning Pool suck.

Shawn Michaels is currently telling his close friends and family that he will retire at Mania, my personal guess is that its all kayfabe. One popular idea would be for Triple H to screw Michael's out of the match. That would definatley freshen up The Game's gimmick.

Onto TNA and its recent ratings, I think its 0.8 rating against RAW on Monday was a good rating when you account for the variables, which are that TNA was a taped show so many people would just read the spoilers, that it was going up against Austin, Hart and McMahon and finally that this is the hottest time on the WWE calender "The Road to Wrestlemania". TNA's true test will be the period after Mania when they have had to establish there Monday time slot. Personally TNA should have gotten a time slot in which they start 1 hour prior to Raw.

Thats basically it for now, its now the Kane vs Angle match on the WM18 DVD why did they ever take Kane's mask off?