Looking back at Wrestlemania XXXIII

It's hard for me to look back objectively at this year's Wrestlemania. Why? Because so much of it seemed to be booked by executive committee rather than through good storytelling or in a lot of cases, even great wrestling.

This is as close as I'll come to mentioning the awful tag line this year.
Image credit: WWE.

Don't get me wrong. The show had great bits. I think it was superb after weeks of weeks of Austin Aries talking about it on commentary that Neville beat Aries through a poke to the eye. Brilliant. Mojo Rawley winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal worked wonderfully too. Mojo may be reviled by a lot of smarks but he's really building a following with his pseudo-Warrior gimmick and a chance for him and Gronk to shine together is a true Wrestlemania moment.

That was the pre-show. Unfortunately, the main card didn't deliver nearly as well as the free giveaway across platforms.

AJ Styles and Shane McMahon did what they could with who they were. Owens and Jericho wrestled a decent match, but it seemed wanting from two talents as good as they are, probably because it was meant as just a first match in a series. Neither women's title match was allowed to shine as well as they could, especially with less than twenty minutes on the show devoted to them combined.

Rollins / Triple H and Orton / Wyatt were both pretty much what anyone expected, all though I had held out a vague bit of hope that Bray Wyatt might retain. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg gave exactly the match they needed to give with a initial punch of offense from Goldberg before Lesnar dismantled him with Suplex City.

And for the second year in a row, the main event was absolute crap built to force feed us Roman Reigns. Sure, this time he played the heel a bit more in the lead up, but he's still not a heel in any practical way. The booking was beyond asinine and as a final match for Undertaker, it just felt like an insult. Reigns just isn't capable of putting together a great match with anything less than a true mat genius in their prime and he just wasn't able to give Undertaker the great sendoff he deserved. The final moments of the night were moving, sure, but unlike so many others I could not embrace the somberness of them after the twenty minutes of garbage that came before it.

Instead, the real Wrestlemania moments of the show were nestled right in the middle of the card. The point of the Cena-Nikki and Miz-Maryse feud were made clear when John proposed in the center of the ring. It was a touching moment and truly a unique bit of Wrestlemania history.

But the true highlight was the return of the Hardy Boyz (complete with a Z) in the tag team ladder match. While working as a weird combination of their classic gimmicks and Broken Matt / Brother Nero, they put on a solid showing in what was their second ladder match in as many days. (Jeff Hardy looked exactly as banged up as he should have after the reportedly insane ladder match with the Young Bucks the previous day.) They took home the tag titles that night in a great welcome home. Interestingly, it was the first time the titles changed hands since the best Mania of all time, Wrestlemania X7, where they lost the belts to Edge and Christian in TLC II.

The best description I can give Wrestlemania is a slog. For seven hours of entertainment, it was far from the caliber the biggest company in the world should be able to deliver on their grandest stage ever year. And the sacrifice of great matches made at Takeover the night before just made the weekend feel rather bland.

In almost everything, Wrestlemania 33 felt like paint by numbers WWE, but so has much of the booking since January. Hopefully with the big show of the year out of the way, Vince can fade back into the shadows and the company can return to putting on some of the absolute stellar shows they put on over the last six months of 2016.

Later this week, I'll talk about the actual best show of the weekend, one which is about as far removed from huge WWE extravaganza as you can imagine.

Wrestlemania 32 can only be looked at with disappointment

I had high hopes going into Wrestlemania 32. Last year's show had a lackluster card on paper, but it delivered quality wrestling match after match. This year the show started with a big surprise and ended with a resounding thud.

More than a few fans felt like Stardust after 7 hours of mostly mediocre action.
Image credit: WWE.com.

The seven way Intercontinental title match opened the show as it did last year. Ladder strikes and crazy stunts ensued and fans quickly were reminded why ladder matches are always fun. Sin Cara's plunge outside onto Stardust is the stuff of highlight reels. And Zack Ryder's win, even if he would lose the title only a day later, definitely goes down as a shocking Wrestlemania moment. Unfortunately, it was the last one for quite some time.

Chris Jericho and AJ Styles put on another barnburner of a one on one match, with AJ's entrance being one of the first to really make the special stage look awesome. They went longer than the IC match and used every minute of it well, but ultimately it ended with Styles taking the loss in a strange booking decision. He and Jericho are now 2 and 2 in their series, so I expect a rubber match sometime in the near future, maybe even before Styles gets his title shot at Payback.

The finals are here! What is the best modern Wrestlemania match?

On Monday 48 entered. Today, two survive. On Sunday morning, the winner will be revealed and the greatest Wrestlemania match of the 2010s will be revealed.

Two main events survive and both of them are true greats. But only one can be the winner.

Image credit: WWE.

Daniel Bryan was guaranteed a spot in the finals as his twin Wrestlemania XXX matches faced off in the last round. His rousing title victory over Randy Orton and Batista won, probably as much for this image as for quality of matches as both were amazing encounters.

Image credit: WWE.

The career versus streak match between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels was in my opinion not quite as good as their previous encounter, but that one falls out of the purview of this survey. Still their contest was an epic one and Shawn Michaels' retirement is still felt in WWE today.

Two epic matches. Both arguably changed the face of WWE. But which one was best? You decide!




Voting closes Sunday morning at 5 a.m. Central time. To make things even more interesting, voters can place a vote today and on Saturday. Let your opinion be heard! And we will see you on Sunday for a special Wrestlemania preview post!

March Mania Fatal 4 Way Round!

We have nailed 48 matches to four in our quest to determine the best modern Wrestlemania match. Now the field gets narrowed even more as only two will walk into tomorrow's finals!

Daniel Bryan and Triple H's opener from Wrestlemania XXX swept over Lesnar, Reigns & Rollins, but now it faces an interesting conundrum against the main event from the same card, where Randy Orton defended against Batista and Bryan. Which Daniel Bryan match will make it to the finals?

The other bracket features a showdown of last hurrahs. Cesaro & Kidd scored some votes, but were dominated by Shawn Michaels' retirement match against Undertaker at Wrestlemania 26. Edge beat Alberto Del Rio at the next year's event, only to announce his retirement ten days later.




I encourage everyone to head over to the WWE Network and heck out these four great matches! Then get your votes in before it's too late!

Help choose the top four matches of modern Manias in the March Mania 8 Way Scramble Round!

Several big matches were eliminated yesterday as sixteen choices narrowed down to just 8. Today's vote will bring it down to just four, but for that we need your help.

Perhaps the most interesting fact of the remaining matches is that only one individual appears in more than one match. He has three battles still on the card and perhaps a bit shockingly, isn't named the Undertaker.

So without more chatter, on with the polls!

FLORIDA DIVISION - Final Round

Daniel Bryan's victory at Wrestlemania XXX is a high point in his career.
Image credit: WWE.com.

Daniel Bryan had a true Wrestlemania moment with his win over Batista and Randy Orton, but CM Punk also reached his Wrestlemania pinnacle with his title bout against Chris Jericho. Only one title match will continue on to the next round!




NEW YORK DIVISION - Final Round

The tag team pre-show bout last year was a solid victory for Cesaro and Tyson Kidd and has stood up through two rounds of voting. But it takes on a true Wrestlemania moment today: the streak versus career match of Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.




LOUISIANA DIVISION - Final Round

Daniel Bryan is the man to survive with three matches still in the top 8. Once again, his battle with Triple H squeaks by into the third round. It faces its stiffest test yet as it goes head to head with last year's main event, where Seth Rollins crashed the battle between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.




GEORGIA DIVISION - Final Round

Edge and Alberto Del Rio wrestled the best match of the night in their opening bout for the World title at Wrestlemania 27, and clearly fans respond fondly to Edge's second to last match. But it faces a truly great spotfest from last year's show, the Intercontinental title seven way bout where Daniel Bryan once again came out the winner.




Remember, your vote decides the victor. Voting is open for the next sixteen hours (1:30 a.m. Central) so get in their and get your votes in before time runs out!

March Mania Sixteen Match Rumble Round! What will be the eight best modern Wrestlemania matches?

Yesterday, the field narrowed from 48 to 16. Today, it will narrow again from 16 to 8. Voting is open to midnight Central time tonight, so get yours votes in!

But enough with the preliminaries. On to the match ups!

ROUND TWO - GEORGIA DIVISION

Image credit: WWE.

Edge's final pay-per-view match against Alberto Del Rio scored big in its first round match-up, while decisions were split for The Shield battling against Kane and the New Age Outlaws in one of their first battles as a babyface unit. Both are stellar matches, but only one moves on!

Image credit: WWE screen grab

The end of the streak for Undertaker had to go through a tie-breaker to get to the second round, while last year's 7 way Intercontinental Ladder Match did much better, dominating over Triple H vs. Sting.




ROUND TWO - LOUISIANA DIVISION

Seth Rollins crashed last year's main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, helping that match secure a win in the first round. Jack Swagger's victory in the Wrestlemania XXVI Money in the Bank match was a tighter race.




I was a bit surprised to see the Wrestlemania XXX match between Triple H and Daniel Bryan go to a tiebreaker after stiff competition from Jericho and Edge. Rey Mysterio versus CM Punk had none of that trouble, completely sweeping their opening round battle.




ROUND TWO - FLORIDA DIVISION

CM Punk and Chris Jericho's World title battle swept its division while Triple H and Undertaker's war at Wrestlemania 28 scored big as well.




Daniel Bryan vs. Batista vs. Randy Orton was almost a no brainer to take its first round match, while the conflict between John Cena and Bray Wyatt barely sneaked out a win.




ROUND TWO - NEW YORK DIVISION

Tyson Kidd and Cesaro's victory in last year's 4 way tag team match was the only preliminary show match to make it to the final round. John Cena battling the Rock in the Twice in a Lifetime match dominated completely against lackluster challengers.




Undertaker retired two other matches much as he did Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 26. John Cena and Batista barely squeezed past Undertaker and CM Punk to keep this from being two Taker matches pitted against one another.




That's all the matches featuring some huge competitors in some stellar matches! Make your voice heard by voting now!

Welcome to the opening round of March Mania!

March Mania is running wild!

Tournament brackets are a grand March tradition. You can find them pretty much anywhere, but I know for a fact that tournaments and professional wrestling go hand in hand. With that in mind, The Wrestling Weekday is proud to launch its first ever March Mania tournament!

Each year we will debut a new tournament in the lead up to Wrestlemania. This time around we will look at the first half of the 2010s as we determine the best modern Wrestlemania match. Forty-eight matches enter the tournament today, but come this weekend, only one will survive. And the best part of it all is you get to vote!

The first round features 16 three way knockout votes. Tomorrow will bring the 16 match round, followed by 8, 4 and the final two. A special Sunday pre-Mania post will reveal the winner of the whole affair!

ESO-PRO presents the Wrestling Weekday Top 10 Wrestlers of 2015: Honorable Mentions Part 4

In this the fourth of six posts looking at the people who didn't quite make it to the Top 10, we finish out the folks that came in under 20 on the list.

Image credit: WWE.com.

24. (3 way tie) Undertaker: Like Sting, he only wrestled a couple matches, but they included two main events against Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam and Hell in a Cell. Along with a victory over Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania and a tag victory with Kane over Wyatt and Luke Harper at Survivor Series, he looked stronger than he did in years, even if he ultimately dropped the rubber match against Lesnar. While I thought this would be the year he retired, he looks to head into 2016 as a high level special attraction for WWE.

Image credit: WWE.com. 

24. (3 way tie) Nikki Bella: She held the Divas title for most of the year, even if her reign was less than impressive. But she did take more victories over Paige and Naomi than anyone ever could want to count. While injury left her out of action after her loss to Charlotte, she still scored the longest title reign in Divas championship history, even if it feels more like a corporate decision to erase AJ Lee's long reign rather than anything she really earned by her talent. Lauren Price obviously disagreed with much of my assessment in her nomination: “Her commitment to this business is supported by the fact that the worked through a shoulder injury for several months. Puts over other women wrestlers on the mic and on social media. Unfortunately, she is the scapegoat for WWE management’s poor booking of the Divas and does not get nearly enough credit. Cannot wait for her to get back as I would love to see her work with Sasha.”

Image credit: NJPW.

24. (3 way tie) AJ Styles: I was the only person to nominate AJ in 2015, mostly because I suspect my fellow reviewers don't follow New Japan closely (or at all.) He had a great 2015, scoring a ton of solid victories in the G1 Climax, even if it came after he lost the IWGP Heavyweight title (which he won earlier in the year from Hiroshi Tanahashi) to Kazuchika Okada. He also had a stellar battle with Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 9 and Kota Ibushi at Invasion Attack. Along with his Ring of Honor work, he put on a 2015 that only made him look more valuable to the biggest show in wrestling, which seems likely with Styles supposedly on his way to WWE now.

Image credit: Lee South.

23. Dalton Castle: Joe Crowe was the sole nominator for Dalton Castle, a man that deserved to be higher on this list, but awful booking from ROH kept him from reaching the heights he should have in 2015. He should have been main eventing for the promotion by the end of 2015, but sadly was still stuck in an endless feud with Silas Young. Still, he was easily the most entertaining part of the shows he appeared on. As Joe says, “So fun, so unlike everyone else in ROH. His highlight moment for me was his T-shirt ad on ROH, where he said, 'Get this shirt... before it gets you.'”

Image credit: WWE.com.

21. (2 way tie) Samoa Joe: Joe hasn't had a great year since 2008, but his career was instantly revived when he jumped from TNA to NXT. After a brief stop in Ring of Honor for matches with Jay Briscoe, Kyle O'Reilly and The Addiction (alongside AJ Styles), he moved to NXT to feud with Baron Corbin, Rhyno and Finn Balor. With great matches in the Dusty Rhodes Invitational and some brutal battles leading into his title match with Finn (including an epic encounter with Tommaso Ciampa), it is hard to argue that Joe doesn't deserve a big thumbs up for a great 2015.

Image credit: WWE.com.

21. (2 way tie) Finn Balor: I am actually a bit surprised Finn didn't make it at least into the Top 20, but I suppose it is a sign of how much great talent one can currently find in professional wrestling. The first half of the year was spent in midcard NXT battles against Tyler Breeze and Hideo Itami, but after moving into solid title contention, he put on some amazing performances against Kevin Owens, Apollo Crews and Samoa Joe. His amazing entrances at pay-per-views already electrify fans and I suspect will instantly make him a main event star in WWE. John Morgan Neal describes his appeal perfectly: “Mix the Undertaker with Jeff Hardy and watch the money come in.”

Next time around, the Honorable Mentions will take us from 20 down to 16 where we will see a top Lucha Underground talent, a new gaijin star on the rise in New Japan, one of the most entertaining figures on WWE television and two men that main evented multiple PPVs throughout the year.

Del Rio Was Exactly What the WWE Needed

Even though the matches were predictable, HELL IN A CELL was one of the better events in the last few months. Starting off with the return of Del Rio was a great idea, although most of us who read online websites about wrestling knew that Cena was going to drop the title in order to take some time off. The strength of the pay-per-view led to one of the best RAW's in weeks, the tournament featuring the winners of HIAC was one of the better ideas I've seen from the WWE in a while. Right now the company has the best talent since the Attitude Era, but the writers, the creative team behind the feuds and follies, is just not good enough. For the first time since the days of Vince Russo, the talent is far ahead of  creative and its causing a lot of frustration in the fans.

Why is that old man with Alberto Del Rio? I mean he isn't an interesting character and the relationship between the two men just seems fake and forced. Why not let Del Rio shine on the basis of his talent? Why the stupid MexiAmericans gimmick?

Del Rio's in the prime of his life and his sudden reappearance shifted the road for both the US title and the World title. Suddenly there is a man on fire, ready to burn his way to the top. We don't need the stupid monologues from Zeb Colter to put this guy over. Del Rio is a force to be reckoned with and he should be used that way; as the unpredictable element that could at any time win big matches. Basically, Del Rio is best served by doing what Dean Ambrose should have been doing; tearing through the competition for the title. Unlike Ambrose, Del Rio's ambitions are clear and easy to understand. The man has a plan and fans want to see it unfold.

Top 10 stars of WWE, October edition

After Night of Champions I debuted the site's first Top 10 list. Now as Hell in a Cell enters the rear view, we move on to look at where the standings lie in its wake. Welcome to the second edition of the WWE Top 10 as we look where the stars of the roster sit this month. Numbers following names are ranks from last month.

Paige went even more goth in a Halloween themed
WWE shoot. Image credit: WWE.com.

Alberto Del Rio is back!

The big story going into Hell in a Cell last night was the mystery of who would be John Cena's open challenge opponent on the card. Dozens of names were put forward, but WWE made the decision not to make fans wait long as John kicked off the pay-per-view.

The man that answered pretty much proved a surprise to everyone.

Image credit: WWE.com.

Alberto Del Rio left WWE under less than favorable conditions, fired after punching a backstage worker after the worker allegedly made a racist joke. WWE showed zero tolerance and released him just weeks short of his contract expiration. Suddenly the four time World champion was gone from the promotion that made him a huge star.

What a Summer for Wrestling Fans!

It's been a while since I posted anything on the blog, in fact I haven't posted since before SummerSlam. I was simply overwhelmed with the sheer amount of wrestling there was. Each of the three events from the WWE visit to New York were at least 2 hours long, which meant a total of 8 hours plus of WWE entertainment from the Barclay Center.

I have to agree with Nick that the return of the Dudley Boyz was a great move for the WWE tag team division. Every team in the WWE had a unique brand and style, but none of them came off as dominant or powerful. The Dudleys have always been one of the most over and popular tag teams in the history of professional wrestling and I was happy to see them back in action. I'd love to see a Dudley Boyz VS Vaudevillians match at Wrestlemania this year. Yes, I am a big fan of the Vaudevillians, I love the gimmick and style of wrestling they use to promote the gimmick. Everything from their intro to their finishing pose makes me laugh, in a good way. Okay, so let's break down everything that has happened so far.

TakeOver blows away SummerSlam in an amazing weekend of wrestling!

There is no doubt about it: with two straight nights of network specials, WWE outdid itself at the Barclays Center this weekend. But what hurts the main brand in comparison is how much stronger the NXT matches were.

Don't get me wrong, the six matches on NXT's weekend shot had the advantage of not being marred by shady finishes like the two big matches at SummerSlam were, but even a comparison of the the twin main events from both shows makes it clear that NXT is a stronger brand overall in wresting terms.

Cesaro and Kevin Owens put on a great battle before the SummerSlam
main event. Image credits this page: WWE.com.

Lesnar vs. Undertaker headlines a unique SummerSlam card

I will be the first to admit that WWE's build to SummerSlam hasn't really inspired me to more regularly watch their weekly television programming outside NXT. They have jobbed out up and coming stars, made a mess of the US and WWE title picture and pretty much left themselves scrambling to put together the card with only days before the event. But even with all the problems of their weekly episodic programming, they have crafted a pretty solid card for Brooklyn on Sunday night. 

Image credit: WWE.

• Dolph Ziggler vs. Rusev: This one could have used a built more build from Ziggler's return, but I think it should be a great match-up. Rusev needs a solid feud to take him towards Wrestlemania while Ziggler needs to desperately get a win to get him into the title picture against Seth Rollins (where he should be right now.) I suspect this is only the beginning of the feud over Lana though, so even though I predict a Ziggler win to kick off SummerSlam this one is far from over. 

Battleground kicked out the stops and plowed right towards a Deadman!

WWE has put together several great pay-per-views—or perhaps I should join Michael Cole and call them specials now—this year. Last month's Money in the Bank was actually one of the most disappointing ones in my opinion, but in its third year on WWE's slate Battleground put on one of the strongest cards for a C-special in quite some time.

The show kicked off with Sheamus and Randy Orton. While this is a battle we have seen a million times before and easily the weakest match on the card, the two put on a surprisingly good battle. The fight almost seemed to be a throwback compared to much of current WWE, but the two former World champions beat the holy heck out of each other. Ultimately it was an RKO out of nowhere though that ended it well for the hometown fans.

The tag team battle between the Prime Time Players and The New Day was much like last month's match only with a lot more Kofi Kingston and a lot less Xavier Woods. I was a bit surprised to see the Prime Time Players retain with the hell ranks of the tag team division so light. I cannot imagine The Ascension will get a SummerSlam push, so maybe this feud hasn't ended just yet.

Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns put on a hell of a slobberknocker, but beating the piss out of one another was really the theme of the show. Both men gave probably their best accounting in the last few months. The finish started something that WWE desperately needed to do months ago as Luke Harper helped Wyatt win in a move that clearly brought two Wyatt Family members back together.

Seen here with Paige & other new recruit Becky Lynch, Charlotte
shined at Battleground. Image credit: WWE.com.

Two of the three new Divas got to show off their styles to a wider audience as Charlotte, Sasha Banks and Brie Bella battled it out in a three way. Sasha controlled the majority of the match as she looked absolutely dominant, while Brie got to show off several moves to show how much better she's in the ring now than at this time last year. Charlotte strangely got the least offense despite her larger size, but she did get the big win as she locked the Figure 8 on Brie in the center of the ring. I was a bit disappointed to see the match only go just under twelve minutes, but the commentary team clearly worked to improve how the match was presented. Little talk of attractiveness interrupted the flow of the match as Cole, JBL and Lawler actually stayed on topic.