Photo Courtesy of trendaler.com
Well, it’s a wrap! WrestleMania 29 is officially in the history books and has taken a seat in our memories alongside with the other 28 Manias that have preceded it. Even with the mid 50 degrees temperature and the cloudy overcast that gave the indication of rain, that wasn’t enough to drive doubt into the minds of the 80,000+ fans in attendance at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey. No matter what the weather conditions that Mother Nature had in store, the WWE Universe would let nothing get in their way of witnessing history. And “historic” is definitely an appropriate word to use when describing the caliber of the event.
After watching the pay per view, the one aspect of the event that vividly stands out is that the WWE really did listen to the fans. Despite the Intercontinental Title match being in the preshow and the Planet Funk vs. Rhodes Scholars match being cancelled, there actually was a lot of wrestling on this show. Compared to the past few Manias where there was a liberal amount of fluff that was in between the matches, this show put a concentrated effort into giving us quality wrestling and a solid story told. Credit must go to the WWE for this, for being fair to the fans that are always vocal about their disappointment. But to my disappointment last night, there was still a tremendous amount of heat that the WWE received from many of its internet fans. Some people will never be satisfied.
The story telling in the matches exceeded my expectations. Imagine a full card of 1 on 1 contest that told a story full of quality similar to the Macho King Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior match from WrestleMania 7. That is how well booked these matches and stories were. Without question, The Undertaker and CM Punk stole the show with high levels of unpredictability in their match. The fans stayed on the edge of their seats trying to figure out the outcome, but were satisfied to see The Undertaker walk away from the ring with his WrestleMania winning streak still flawless at 21-0. Speaking of flawless, Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H was the match that was intended for the tough kids, uncles and dads watching. This match was old school, hard hitting and nowhere near being pretty, and was just what the doctor ordered.
The WWE Championship match was the only match on the card that had some questionable variables to it. I’m not certain if both men were off their marks, looking ahead or had some distractions, but something seemed like it did not connect. Even during the WrestleMania press week all last week, John Cena was not as vocal or visual as he normally is. In addition to the challenger, The WWE Champion The Rock seemed to have been preoccupied with something that may have been plaguing him as well. Whatever these emotions were, they translated into the match as the pace and intensity just was not there. Cena was visible in calling out spots in the match, which was more than noticeable by the at-home audience. Granted, even though the last three matches were the three main events, without a buffer in between them, when you are in the WWE title match to close out the show at WrestleMania, you have to perform as if the planet is on fire and anything less than that is unacceptable. Cena won the WWE title last night and allowed The Rock to take (what looked like) his final bow. I trust there will be more to this story in the weeks to come.
WrestleMania 29 really exemplified what a Mania must encompass. Over the top excitement, hard hitting action, tons of drama and all fans leaving the show happy. The WWE showed once again why they lead the world in entertainment. This event truly was for the fans overall, from the children who put on their Cena T-shirts every morning with “Never Give Up” echoing in their heads. To the grown men/women who are considered “old school fans” who appreciate the brute force of a Ryback, a Mark Henry and a Brock Lesnar, this show without any question was dedicated to the WWE universe. If anyone asks “Did you enjoy WrestleMania”, your answer should echo the 80,000+ in attendance at Met Life stadium after Daniel Bryan and Kane retained their titles, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Maurice D. Proffit is a Writer for Rant Sports
