WrestleMania 24: End of the Nature boy

Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of WrestleMania Rewind. We’re already into April, and merely 6 days away from WrestleMania 29. It is the time when the speculations begin, as to who will walk out victorious and which superstar will steal the show. This year’s supercard features Taker vs Punk, Cena vs Rock and Triple H vs Brock Lesnar. Coming back to the series, last time, we had seen how Taker defeated Batista to win the World Heavyweight title and how John Cena overcame the ‘Heart Break challenge’, and retained the WWE title, thus walking out of WrestleMania 23 still the WWE Champion.

The next year’s edition of WrestleMania, WrestleMania 24, came to us from Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. It was the second time ever till then that WrestleMania happened under an open roof. The main feuds leading into the event saw Randy Orton holding the title, while Cena won the Royal Rumble and Triple H won the #1 contender’s match inside the Elimination Chamber, thus getting involved in a triple threat match at WrestleMania. The main feud coming out of SmackDown was the rivalry between the Undertaker and Edge. The phenom faced Edge at WrestleMania with the Heavyweight Championship on the line. The other main feud was between Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair. Without further ado, let us jump right into the action.

WrestleMania opened with fighter jets flying over the stadium. Amazing scenes. John Legend then sang ‘America The Beautiful’ to open the show.

Under card:

John “Bradshaw” Layfield defeated Finlay (With Hornswoggle) in a Belfast brawl

A brawl to open the main card. JBL and Finlay were involved in a Belfast brawl, which means a No DQ match, and the only way to win is through pinfall or submission. A good match that received about 9 minutes to kick things off. The crowd was into the whole match as there were weapons involved. At this point, WWE was still TV 14, and a few months after this, WWE switched to TV PG. Hornswoggle tried to get involved, but JBL took care of him as well. The crowd loved the weapons used in the match. The end came when JBL delivered the Clothesline from hell to Finlay for the pin and the win. A decent opening bout that got the crowd going.

CM Punk defeated Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Carlito, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mr. Kennedy, and John Morrison in the Money in the bank Ladder match

The second match on the card was the MITB ladder match. Previous year’s winner, Kennedy was also a participant in the match. Going in, I had high expectations from this match, considering it had Punk, Jericho and Morrison in it. It went for 14 minutes, and although it was decent, it lacked the high risk spots that were present till last year. I’m not complaining, but that reduced the excitement in the match. The match also saw some good bumps, and the return of Matt Hardy attacking MVP got good reaction from the crowd. That was neatly done. The end came when Punk tripped Jericho from the ladder, and climbed up to retrieve the MITB brief case to win the match! Very good bout put on by some excellent performers.

Batista (Representing Smackdown) defeated Umaga (Representing Raw) in a battle for brand supremacy

A 7 minute match that no one really cared about. People weren’t that big about the ‘brand supremacy’ angle. It was a match between two big men, and hence, you didn’t expect to see them ‘work’ the match. Umaga dominated the early part of the bout but Batista came back to give Umaga the Batista bomb for the pin and the win. A boring match that the crowd wasn’t really into, until the end. Batista was impressive on how he lifted Umaga.

Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship

Kane had won the battle royal in the pre show to earn a spot on the card, to face Chavo for the ECW title. ECW wasn’t a ‘brand’, it was a way for Vince to soothe his ego. I still remember Paul Heyman shedding tears as he said goodbye to the new ECW. Anyway, the match lasted for 8 seconds, yes, 8 seconds. Kane gave Chavo the choke slam, covered him and pinned him for the title.

Mid card:

Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in a retirement match

Ric was working under the stipulation that if he ever lost a match, he would retire. He wanted to have a match against Michaels at WrestleMania that Shawn hesitated to at first, but then agreed. Two legends colliding at WrestleMania, as Flair wanted to go out on a high. The match told an extraordinary story, as two legends who had great respect for each other battled for the ultimate prize, for a moment of glory, a chance to write their names in wrestling history. For a 59 year old, Ric put on a classic. A 20 minute match which saw Shawn taking a huge bump on the table, and Ric trying to take advantage of that. The end came when Ric pleaded with Shawn to ‘end it’, and Shawn looked at Flair and said, ‘I’m sorry, I love you’ and gave him a SCM. Michaels covered him for the win. Post match, Ric got a standing ovation from the sold out crowd as he was in tears. He hugged his family who were in tears as well. Great way to bid farewell to the biggest legend in the business.

Beth Phoenix and Melina (With Santino Marella) defeated Maria and Ashley in a Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjill match

Snoop Dogg was the special ring enforcer, or just the guy who’d sit there. A 5 minute horror that Beth tried to save but couldn’t. Ashley cannot get in a move without botching it, and Maria wasn’t very good either. The match ended when Beth hit a Fisherman’s suplex on Maria for the pin and the win. No one cared.

Randy Orton defeated John Cena and Triple H in a Triple threat match for the WWE Championship

The main event from RAW saw Cena and Triple H taking on the champion, Randy Orton. The match got just over 14 minutes, and so it was pretty decent. Good action from the three competitors. Orton was made to look dangerous at this time because of the ‘punt’ kick he had. Lots of near falls and good action within the last 5 minutes. The end came when Cena lifted Hunter for the F-U, but Triple H reversed it for the Pedigree and the crowd popped big for that. Orton came out of nowhere with a Punt kick on Triple H, and covered Cena for the pin and to retain the WWE title. Good match that could have been better.

Floyd Mayweather defeated The Big Show by knockout in a No DQ match, that can only be won via KO or submission

WWE brought in Floyd to get the ‘celebrity’ involvement. Floyd was 39-0, and hence, was one of the greatest boxers alive in reality. They put this ‘Big man vs little man’ story over, and paid some good amount for Flyod to appear and participate at WrestleMania. Their ‘match’ went on for 11 minutes that the crowd wasn’t really into. The end came when Mayweather KO’d Big Show at the 11 minute mark to win the match. A good tussle, but that’s about it.

Main event:

The Undertaker defeated Edge (With Vickie and Edge heads) to win the World Heavyweight championship

Main event time! Edge took on Mr. WrestleMania (Sorry HBK), The Undertaker. Taker was 15-0 at this point, and the match was amazing to say the least. Edge kept on reversing Taker’s big moves, and there were great sequences and counter reversals. Great near falls as well, as both men told great story inside the ring. There was a spot where the ref was knocked out, and Taker hit a Tombstone on Edge, and Charles Robinson sprinted as fast as Usain Bolt to the ring, but Edge got his shoulder up. The crowd was amazing, as they were completely into the match. Taker got rid of Curt and Zack, who tried to interfere in the match. The end came when Edge speared Taker for 2, and when he tried spearing him again, Taker locked Edge in his new submission hold, which was later called ‘Hell’s Gate’. Edge tapped out, making The Undertaker the new World Heavyweight Champion. Post match, Taker celebrated with the title, as the graphic saying ’16 – 0’ was shown on screen and pyros went off, and the crowd was going nuts. Great way to end the show.

Analysis: *** ¾ (Out of 5 stars)

Taker won the World Heavyweight title for the second year in a row. Taker was in the best shape of his life at this point, and he was about 43. That was awesome. The Cena – HHH – Orton match disappointed the fans, as everyone expected a better worked match from them. This WM is perhaps remembered mostly for the HBK – Flair match, which was an emotional roller coaster. It didn’t mean much in the end though, as Ric wrestled again a few times in TNA. Well folks, that does it from me. Join us again as we continue looking back at previous WrestleManias, on our way to this year’s mega event.

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