WrestleMania XXVII (2011)
To many fans, this might be in the top 5 worst WrestleManias of all time. Possibly the worst. I would have to agree with most fans. The show was pretty damn lackluster, and included more cons than pros: The Rock hosting was underwhelming, Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler (Cole won?! and got more time than the WHC match which was Edge’s last), a useless/time-wasting 8-man tag match, a useless/time-wasting 6-person mixed tag match with none other than Snooki competing, and the horrible main event booking.
Now I would like to mention the pros to this Wrestlemania: Edge’s final match (unknowingly) was a solid way to end a legendary career, Orton vs. Punk was a hidden gem with an awesome ending, and The Undertaker vs. Triple H match was pretty solid as well.
Overall, the pros I mentioned could not save this one. Verdict: ** out of ***** stars.
WrestleMania 29 (2013)
Once in a lifetime they said… Yes, WWE fans were duped from the previous year’s main event between The Rock and Cena claiming to be “Once in a Lifetime”. Instead they were forced to watch pretty much the same match from the previous year’s event, with a different ending. The only thing saving WrestleMania 29 from being horrendous was The Undertaker/CM Punk match. A great showing from both competitors and an entertaining (albeit controversial) buildup to an exciting match.
Verdict: ** 1/2 out of ***** stars
WrestleMania XXVI (2010)
A really solid WrestleMania. Not a horrible event, but not the greatest. Just really solid, and pretty entertaining. I’ll start off with my pros: the MITB match was pretty decent (didn’t see Swagger coming away with the briefcase, good shock for me), Chris Jericho vs. Edge was a great match with some fun after match stuff, Cena vs. Batista was not bad at all (better than I expected), and finally the best pro of the night, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. It’s sad to see such a legendary wrestler retire after years of great work, but to go out on such an amazing match on the grandest stage of them all is truly awesome.
Now again I said this wasn’t the perfect WrestleMania, the cons: Triple H vs. Sheamus was boring and the Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon match was cringe-worthy. If Hart was limited to what he could do in the ring, why put him in a marquee match? Book something else for him like have him, I don’t know, have Hart ref a McMahon match and screw him!
Still, WrestleMania XXVI is a solid event that contains one of the best WM matches of all time (Taker/HBK).
Verdict: *** 1/2 out of ***** stars
WrestleMania XXVIII (2012)
This is a really entertaining WrestleMania. It had the longest-built WrestleMania match of all time, The Rock vs. John Cena. Now the match itself isn’t a 5-Star masterpiece, but it is a really fun and entertaining bout. I’m glad Rocky came up with the W, and you can tell the 78,000+ fans in Miami were too. It seemed like an eruption after that 3 count, putting an end to “Cena Wins LOL”.
Pros: The “End of an Era” match is classic, Y2J and Punk put on a pretty good WWE title match, and like I said before Rock/Cena didn’t disappoint.
Cons: Really anything before the Taker/HHH match. The first half of the card is horrendous featuring the infamous Sheamus/Bryan 18 second match, a Kane/Orton borefest, a time filling Big Show/Cody Rhodes match, and a bad Divas tag match.
The pros outweigh a lot of the cons and they provide a memorable WrestleMania.
Verdict: *** 1/2 out of *****
WrestleMania XXX (2014)
This was Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan competed in two great matches during the night: the first match of the card vs. Triple H, and the main event vs. Randy Orton and Batista in which he won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship creating a picture-perfect WrestleMania moment. Now that’s not the only WM moment that people remember this for. WrestleMania XXX is also remembered for the end of The Undertaker’s streak. Now it’s still debatable on whether or not it was the right time to end it (most fans say no), but it’s not debated that the 3 count had people shocked and got them talking.
Although the Taker/Lesnar match isn’t very good based on Undertaker’s health and the event had some filler matches (The Shield’s match and the Divas Championship match), those are overshadowed by the wrestling clinics Bryan put on, and the two WrestleMania moments (21-1 and Bryan’s Title Victory).
Verdict: **** out of *****
WrestleMania 31 (2015)
This WrestleMania event is my second favorite of all-time (behind X-Seven), but #1 when it comes to the decade so far. The fact that this WrestleMania was built pretty poorly and no one had faith in it, but ended up surpassing everyone’s expectations at the end of the day is what makes me really love this event.
Pros: The IC Ladder match was fantastic, the curb-stomp RKO was sick as hell, Cena and Rusev put on a pretty decent match that exceeded my expectations (the springboard Cena stunner was cool), The Undertaker made vast improvements on his previous WrestleMania performance, and the main event was awesome. I’m so glad that they decided to have Seth cash in his MITB. It was the best outcome for that very entertaining match.
Cons: Probably the only gripe with WrestleMania 31 that I have is the Sting vs. Triple H match. I wasn’t expecting anything real special from these two (Sting’s old you know!), but the booking was kinda lame. Yeah the DX vs. NWO nostalgia was cool for a little bit, but was it needed? Having Triple H come away with the W was lame as well. You built up Sting for that? Oh well, fingers crossed that Sting might have one last Mania in him.
Overall, this was the most entertained I’ve been with a WrestleMania. It had good technical matches (IC match, Orton/Rollins match), it had a memorable promo segment (Rock, Rousey, HHH, and Steph), and it had a great main event.
Verdict: **** 1/2 out of *****
