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EditorialWrestlemania I-XXX Series (24/30)

Wrestlemania I-XXX Series (24/30)

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Wrestlemania 24 (tagline: The Biggest WrestleMania Under the Sun) drew 74,635 fans to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida on March 30th 2008. The three brands of Raw, Smackdown and ECW were represented once again by their respective commentary teams.

The card included all three main heavyweight championships from each brand being defended, the fourth Money in the Bank Ladder match, a No DQ contest between Big Show and Floyd Mayweather, Jr, and a career threatening match between Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels. It also marked the second time Wrestlemania was held outdoors, the first being at Wrestlemania IX.


Introduction

Visually, Wrestlemania 24 was a beautiful sight. On several occasions the camera would pan out to show the mass of humanity. The entrance ramp is one of the longest I can recall in recent memory, meaning the entrances (and exits) took longer than usual. I can’t remember much about the WWE product in 2008, it was a period in my life where I wanted an alternative, so I could go several weeks without watching Raw and Smackdown, and not feel like I was missing anything special. Before last night, I could only remember key parts of Wrestlemania 24. I started watching with a sense of disillusion; I wanted to like it, but at the same time,

Moving on, the dark match included a 24-man battle royal to decide the number one contender for the ECW Championship; Kane eliminated Mark Henry to win the match. So once again, without any further delay, will you join me as I share my experiences of Wrestlemania 24? I can’t believe I’ve done 24 of these so far; anyone who’s stuck with me from the beginning til now, you’re the best; truly honoured.


Match #1 – John “Bradshaw” Layfield vs. Finlay (with Hornswoggle) in a Belfast Brawl

Amazing stadium, awe-inspiring. Less inspiring was the video package highlighting the story behind Hornswoggle being Vince’s son .. and JBL informing Vince he’s actually Finlay’s son. One of the reasons why I lost interest in the product in 2008 was the Hornswoggle thing, so I had zero hope for the Belfast brawl. The video package showed JBL’s ruthlessness as he threw Hornswoggle around a cage while Finlay was handcuffed to the ring rope; JBL’s stern face remained.

Strange to see Finlay as a babyface, he got a nice pop, but not as nice as when he called Hornswoggle out, who’d recovered from his beating in the cage .Hornswoggle’s entrance theme played for a long time as father & son made their way to the ring. Match began, with JBL booting Finlay to the outside, and Finlay doing some damage by throwing him in to the steel steps. Finlay wasted no time, as he threw garbage cans, cookie sheets, kendo sticks, the kitchen sink (not really, I’m joking), at JBL. Finlay got in the ring and was smashed over the head with one of the trash cans. JBL continued the punishment with two cookie sheets of death, and more trash cans.

JBL continued his assault, forcing Hornswoggle to interfere with a kendo stick shot, swiftly exiting the ring before JBL could get him. Finlay used the distraction to smash JBL with a trash can. Shortly after, JBL rolled to the outside and slapped Hornswoggle, prompting Finlay to follow and thump his head repeatedly on the announce table. After more brawling, JBL tried to escape Finlay and rolled to the outside. He picked up a trash can lid as Finlay, uncharacteristically, attempted a suicide dive, missed, and flew in to a trash can lid shot. Nice spot. A short time later, JBL was dominating Finlay, and out of nowhere, in highly amusing fashion, JBL picked up a trash can and brutally lobbed it at Hornswoggle, who was stood on the outside with no way of knowing it was coming; probably my favourite spot of the match.

Finlay used the brief opening to do a fireman’s carry roll to a nice pop from the crowd. A table had been set up sometime ago (on the turnbuckle), and now it was time for Finlay to throw JBL threw it. Only two. Finlay picked up the steel steps to finish him, but the crafty heel got hold of a kendo stick and whacked him on the knees, sending Finlay’s face crashing in to the steel. JBL set up the Clothesline from Hell to finish Finlay, and leave Hornswoggle with a worried look on his face.

All in all, a solid opening match which I preferred to say .. a Money in the Bank, because it warmed me in to the show, and it didn’t suck despite JBL being involved. It was obvious who would win in the end, but JBL did such a good job playing the bad guy, the huge Wrestlemania crowd chanted “Let’s Go Finlay”, which is something you don’t hear everyday. An acceptable hardcore match to start the show? Impressive.

After this, the guest hostess Kim Kardashian told us about Money in the Bank, and all I could think about was Butters from South Park saying “Kim Kardashian is so sexy, her butt is like a big mountain of pudding!“, and the episode when they kept calling her a “hobbit”, while Kanye tried to defend her and make out she isn’t a hobbit. Mr. Kennedy entered and claimed he would win Money in the Bank two years in a FREAKIN’ row! Hobbit girl just stood and smiled as he did the MISSSSTTTEERR KENNEDY! … KENNEDY!


Match #2 – CM Punk vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Chris Jericho vs. Carlito vs. Montel Vontavious Porter vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Oh jeez .. so much talent here, and think .. only one of them remains in WWE (all except Punk still wrestling) and we only see him once in a blue moon. The entrances took a long time, enough time for me to cook some food at least. I remember watching it live and having no idea who was going to win, and who I wanted to win. In 2008 I probably wanted Jericho to win, because I wanted him in the World title picture, and he created the concept so it made sense. Ok, everyone in the ring, bell rang, all except MVP left the ring for a ladder. Morrison did a Finlay from earlier on and slid a ladder in the ring, only for MVP to hold it and claim the ring for himself.

Eventually, Jericho and MVP found themselves across the ring from each other with their own ladder. In this particular ladder joust, Jericho was the winner. Morrison clocked Jericho, and followed up by innovating the … moonsault while holding a ladder .. from the top turnbuckle to the outside on top of everyone spot. Wowsers. A frenzy followed as all of them tried climbing the ladder and kept getting knocked off. If I called all the action here, I’ll end up with over a dozen page article. A short time later, Shelton did a sunset powerbomb on Jericho on the ladder.. who was also holding on to Morrison, so a sunset powerbomb/superplex combo? Another beautiful spot.

Carlito tried knocking Shelton off the ring rope (he was stood on the top rope, nowhere near a turnbuckle) with a ladder, but Shelton caught it, and fired it back at Carlito. Shelton tried jumping to the ladder, but the balance caught him out, so the ladder and Shelton fell in such an awkward manner. Cringing! Further down the line, Kennedy did his fireman roll on Punk, on to a ladder. One thing I noticed, Punk took more punishment than anyone else, every time it looked like he was getting on a role, someone would take him out.

Carlito and Shelton fought hard, with Shelton getting the advantage. Shelton climbed the ladder. then Mr. Kennedy and Carlito lifted the ladder, sending Shelton flying to the outside .. Shelton flipped forward and crashed right through a bridged ladder on the outside. SICK! Carlito’s jaw dropped, as even he was amazed by the spot. Jericho, Kennedy and Carlito climbed the ladder, and MVP sent them all flying. Morrison surprised MVP with a ladder to the face. Morrison climbed the ladder, Jericho recovered and climbed after him, soon locking Morrison in the Walls of Jericho on the ladder, reminiscent of the time he did it on Benoit.

Kennedy climbed another ladder and reached for the briefcase, Jericho had to let Morrison go to stop Kennedy. Punk and Carlito springboard jumped to different ladders to join them. Punk took a Mic Check off the ladder, and Jericho took a backcracker off the ladder. MVP left as the last man standing, he smiled to a chorus of boos, and climbed the ladder to retrieve the briefcase. His nemesis Matt Hardy appeared from the crowd, after time out with an injury, and spoiled MVP’s day with a Twist of Fate off the ladder; Matt left the ringside area satisfied.

All out battle followed, which saw two ladders being lodged together like a “V”, Jericho threw Carlito in to one, which propelled the second ladder skyward. Morrison decided to climb the ladder lodged with the other, as Carlito and Jericho held the other down. No idea what Morrison was thinking, as Carlito & Y2J lifted their ladder, sending Morrison to the straddle position on the ropes, and hitting Punk in the face at the same time. Unique. Jericho unlodged the two ladders so he could use one to climb. Again Carlito intervened by spitting apple in Jericho’s face’ that’s not cool! Carlito came so close to winning, til Kennedy knocked him on to the other ladder still hanging from the turnbuckle.

As a repeat of the previous year, but the other way around, Punk smashed Kennedy off the ladder .. with a ladder of his own. Jericho surprised Punk with a codebreaker while Punk held the ladder. Pure carnage. Jericho climbing with no one in sight, Punk recovered and shook the ladder. Punk fought his way up, and the two men scuffled for the briefcase at the very top. Jericho used the briefcase on Punk’s head, which only dazed him. Punk climbed again and reached through to pull Jericho’s leg out, essentially making Jericho hang upside down from it. Punk climbed while Jericho struggled to free himself, and with no one around to stop Punk, he retrieved the briefcase and won the match. Excited crowd didn’t expect that one! Punk’s never looked so happy.

WrestleMania 24


Hall Of Fame & Backstage Segments

Another exciting MITB match with so much talent involved, and a historic ending which gave Punk the push he deserved for his work in ECW. He would go on to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time a few months later. Again, Money in the Bank provided the early excitement, and we got to see some nice spots, and a really dangerous one which ended Shelton, sadly. Not the best Money in the Bank match I’ve seen, but it was still worthy, and I highly recommend it to any CM Punk fan. Following Punk’s celebration, we were taken backstage to see John Cena, Randy Orton and Triple H preparing for their triple threat.

Highlights of the Hall of Fame followed, highlighting everyone inducted, and of course, Ric Flair being “The Man” of the night. The Rock showed up as well to induct his father and grandfather. Flair’s HOF highlights showed the emotion by Flair, his daughter Charlotte, and his youngest son Reid Flair, who we know died of a drug overdose in 2013. The Fink announced the HOF inductees, as is tradition, as they lined up on the stage. The Rock did not appear, and Flair was represented by his children. Mae Young got a HUGE pop, but that’s because she admitted she was inducted on her 100th birthday, and the fans wanted to congratulate.

Hilarity ensued as a backstage segment saw Snoop Dogg chilling out with Festus. Heel Santino entered the room and tried to stir it up, but Snoop was having none of it, as he had his own personal ring bell (he got it from “some guy”). Snoop dinged the bell, and Festus transformed from his gormless self, to his destructive self, chasing Santino out of the room. Mick Foley popped in from outta’ nowhere, as he tried to do the fo shizzle talk and all that, but sounded like a goof, in all honesty. Snoop wasn’t impressed and walked out, leaving Foley to introduce Snoop Socko and his new catchphrase, “Have a nice dizzle!”.


Match #3 – Batista (SmackDown) vs. Umaga (Raw) in a Battle for Brand Supremacy Singles match

Ok umm. Teddy introduced Batista. Regal introduced “UMANGA!” Which never ceases to amuse. I’ll be honest, I forgot this match existed. They didn’t do much to hype this Battle for Brand Supremacy, and I can’t remember if anything came out of it. Anyways, the match, yeah, so Batista tried to get the advantage, but the speed difference despite Umaga ‘s weight compared to Batista, was immediately noticeable. Batista can only dream of doing a spinning wheel kick like Umaga. The match dragged on as Umaga tried to get the crowd to cheer for Batista, but they ended up siding with Umaga; Batista’s got Cenanitus. My Dad decided to call anyone who gets a Cena-like reaction, a carrier of the virus known as Cenanitus. Silly I know, but he’s getting old so you have to forgive.

Umaga missed Batista with the diving headbutt by a mile (scratch that, 5,000 miles), and Batista couldn’t slam Umaga for some reason, despite his photogenic muscles. After a Samoan drop, all the offense Batista took from the beginning didn’t matter, because he fought back and finished Umaga with a spinebuster and Batista Bomb. Smackdown wins? Yay. The fans didn’t appreciate it though, they wanted Umaga to win, and Umaga took hardly any offense, and suddenly the Samoan Bulldozer is downed by two moves? C’mon, really? I suppose so. Easily the worst match, perhaps even worse than the Divas tag team match. Batista ran up the ramp .. because he couldn’t stand being out there any longer, and there’s another match scheduled.

Backstage, Mayweather prepared for his match with his Mayweather Productions crew. Also a Tale of the Tape showed the difference between Mayweather and Big Show. Moving over to the ECW commentators now, as Armando Estrada made the official announcements for the next match.


Match #4 – Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Kane for the ECW Championship

Commentary gave the viewers no hope of Chavo retaining here. Kane’s music hit, and he didn’t appear right away. Chavo waited, til Kane appeared from the other side of the ring and sneaked in behind Chavo. The champion turned around, shocked at the sight of Kane. As the ring bell started the match, Chavo threw himself at Kane, who turned it in to a chokeslam. 1-2-3. New ECW Champion Kane. Silly squash match, but the crowd popped for it, so there’s that. Tells you what WWE thought of Chavo in 2008; his career never recovered.

Not sure what’s more entertaining, the first title match of the night, or the segment which followed it. Maria and Carlito were chilling at a holiday resort, with Carlito trying to woo Maria. Unluckily for Carlito, seagulls don’t find him cool, and the seagulls attacked Carlito like he owed ’em money. After Carlito beat up a seagull (with feathers flying everywhere), Carlito sat back down with Maria and continued his advances .. but a seagull released its load on Carlito’s shirt. Maria had enough and walked away. Carlito vs. Seagulls at Backlash?


Match #5 – Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair in a Career Threatening match; if Flair lost, he would be forced to retire.

Oh my. Words cannot describe. I mean, by this point of his career Flair should have retired himself, so it was kinda silly to have Vince put the stipulation on him “If you lose, you retire”. Clearly, in kayfabe, Flair wanted a big Wrestlemania send-off, and he decided HBK would end his WWE career. Whether you enjoy the concept is a matter of preference, but to me personally, watching it again, I was moved by the story. Flair and Michaels don’t need to chain wrestle for an hour to make memories, they spent a great amount of time telling the story with their eyes, their facial expressions, and in the end it was a sad, yet inspiring contest.

Flair messed up a few times, his age limited his ability, but he still told a better story than 99% of the 2008 roster. I really don’t want to call the action here, I don’t have the space to describe everything in glorious detail, but what I will do is give you the match for free in the video below. Enjoy, and celebrate “The Man” in his last WWE match. Not his last match ever, but his last match on a grand stage in the WWE.


Match #6 – Beth Phoenix and Melina (with Santino Marella) vs. Maria and Ashley in a Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjill match

Snoop Dogg’s involvement made it bearable. As Snoop is high almost 24/7, WWE sorted him out with his own personal transport to the ring, and a royal throne at ringside. Man .. I wish I could be famous, high, have my own Wrestlemania transport, my own throne, and get to watch the Divas up close. King was far more excited for this than JR. Needless to say, Maria and Ashley on a team, while girls like Mickie James, Victoria, Katie Lea Burchill and Layla stood outside as Lumberjills (2nd year in a row Mickie and Victoria used as lumberjills). Ashley couldn’t bump in this match, she was exceptionally hard to watch. Maria picked up her slack, but she was no Kurt Angle in the ring either, leaving Beth and Melina to provide the meat & potatoes.

Have to thank the wrestling gods, because halfway through the match the stadium lights shut off without warning, meaning we couldn’t see the match. Brilliant! Snoop Doggs out there wearing his shades, so imagine his horror. Eventually they managed to position some spotlights over the ring so you could see the action. Santino interfered, bad idea as Jerry Lawler got pissed, walked over and decked him. Didn’t help matters for Maria and Ashley though, as Beth finished Maria. A decent toilet break match, if you can find your way to the toilets in the dark. Santino tried to take the spotlight, but it wasn’t to be as Snoop Dogg delivered an actual clothesline (and it didn’t suck, he can move when he wants to) to Santino. Snoop celebrated by getting a lip lock on Maria, and left with the two losers.


Match #7 – Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship

Cena’s entrance wasn’t bad this time, as he had an all-black orchestra playing “God Save The Queen” (I’m English, so I found it a really strange choice considering Cena’s not English), followed up by his theme music. The fans didn’t seem to appreciate it though. Triple H got a decent pop, he’s your only babyface in this triple threat match. Randy Orton was booed as well, but probably for the right reasons, or perhaps fans were sick of him already; I know I was.

No rules, so Orton started with a title belt shot to Triple H. and after that I can’t remember much else. Pretty standard stuff. I know Triple H got a low blow on Cena which the fans liked. I also remember a variation of the Indian Deathlock locked in by Triple H on Orton. Hard to stay focused on this. Oh, a crippler crossface by Triple H on Cena, reminiscent of the time Benoit did the same thing to him at WMXX, not even a year after Benoit’s death. Coincidence? Or a quiet tribute? You decide.

After fourteen minutes of typical Cena/Orton/HHH offense, HHH nailed Cena with a pedigree. Orton punt kicked Triple H, giving him the opening to pin Cena to retain the title. Whoa .. Cena lost? Orton retained? There’s two obvious Cena haters in the front row (wearing We Hate Cena shirts) who marked the hell out when Cena lost.

I can’t really rate this. I tried to enjoy it, but it’s so difficult when you’ve seen these three so many times. Cena never really got going, which was odd. He’d just returned from a major injury/surgery and won the Royal Rumble, so I guess that was enough. Triple H didn’t have a grand entrance, and appeared smaller than usual, but he was still the crowds favourite. This triple threat is probably one of the most forgettable WWE title matches in Wrestlemania history; I’m glad it wasn’t the main event.

WrestleMania 24


Match #8 – Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs. Big Show in a No Disqualification match

Soooooo much hype. Seriously, the video packages and entrances were as long as the match, and the match wasn’t short by any means. I guess we’re supposed to be cheering for Mayweather because Big Show sucks? Or are we meant to cheer for Big Show because he’s the wrestler, and Mayweather, despite his talent, is a bit of a tool? God knows, I guess it’s down to perspective again.

They start trying to box, which clearly isn’t Big Shows forte so Mayweather got the upper hand. After some chasing around, Mayweather got dehydrated and drank from his holy chalice; super arrogant! Show couldn’t catch Mayweather, so he destroyed one of his homies instead, while Mayweather took a break and watched. Mayweather jumped on Show’s back for a sleeper hold. HOW MANY TIMES have we seen Big Show throw someone over his shoulder in that situation? A million times. But suddenly because it’s Mayweather he forgets how to do it? Big Show started to fade to Mayweather’s sleeper, which was so dumb the crowd booed it.

Show got out of it eventually, and stomped on Mayweather’s arm. Mayweather rolled to the outside to his homies, as they sold their disgust for Show’s actions. Show got him in the ring again and started walking over Mayweather, literally, while the homies told Show “you can’t do that Show!”. Commentary reminded everyone Big Show can do what he likes, it’s No DQ. Show side slammed Mayweather, which yeah .. if you was as big as Mayweather, taking a side slam from Big Show would kill you.

Heel tactics now as Mayweather tries to escape with his homies. Show stops that from happening and takes some of the homies out. Show tried to finish Mayweather but his manager got involved. Another homie smacked Show with a chair, bad idea as Show nos-old and chokeslammed him. Mayweather got hold of the chair, while still wearing his boxing gloves, and hit Show with it several times. Mayweather got Show to his knees, took his gloves off, and delivered a real knockout punch with brass knuckles. With Big Show knocked out, Mayweather won.

Such a silly match. Mayweather should have been hyped as the heel he ended up portraying, and Big Show standing all over him .. is that a babyface move? With all the interference, Mayweather could only win because of his homies, and I guess if that makes him look strong then I guess it had to happen? I don’t know, it wasn’t a complete disaster, it certainly could have been worse, but it was no Bam Bam Bigelow vs Lawrence Taylor.

WrestleMania 24


Match #9 – Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship

Edge finally made it. The main event of Wrestlemania against The Undertaker, surely it couldn’t be any bigger for Edge? And for a change, The Undertaker managed to secure a main event spot. I’m glad it happened because I was getting tired of seeing Undertaker’s matches happen too soon on a card; you need something to look forward to after all. Also made a change to see The Undertaker come out first, so he had to stand in the ring and stare a hole through Edge during his entrance.

Edge was really ready for this, his expressions mirrored The Undertaker’s, and he wasn’t intimidated in the slightest. He pushed Taker after his cut throat taunt, goading Taker to strike. Edge moved and punched Taker to the corner. Taker reversed an irish whip and clotheslined Edge once, and then again to the outside. Edge used his speed to get Taker to chase him, but to no avail as Taker caught him on the ropes. Taker took the advantage for a little while, til he ran in to Edge’s boot. Taker soon set Edge up for Old School, but Edge reversed it .. only for Taker to reverse it back in to a throw; counter for counter? Nice.

Edge sent Taker to the outside. He sold the offense as Taker took his time to get back in. Edge shoulder blocked him back to the floor again. A baseball slide kept Taker out a little longer. Edge necksnapped Taker on the ring apron, following up with a taunt to the crowd. Edge kept his advantage for a few more minutes, til he was pushed off the turnbuckle. Flying Undertaker! Vintage leg drop on the apron followed. Edge barely kicked out at 2. Taker failed to deliver the Last Ride, selling the offense from earlier, Taker bounced off the ropes and ran in to a big boot. Strong kick out at 2. Edge stomped Taker to the outside, and then literally threw Taker over the barrier and in to the crowd.

Edge dragged Taker over the barrier, and in to the ring; another 2 for Edge. Single Leg Crab locked in by Edge; crazy eyes from the Rated R Superstar. Eventually Taker rolled through and almost pinned Edge, but to no avail as Edge locked the crab in once more. Taker kicked out of it, and soon enough both men were trading blows. Yays for Taker, Boos for Edge. Taker got the advantage with a headbutt. Irish whip to the turnbuckle followed by a splash. Taker’s selling is top-notch this far in. Another splash by Taker, followed by Snake Eyes and dropkick counter by Edge. A further exchange ends with Edge countering the Chokeslam in to the Edgecution.DDT; only gets 2. Spear attempt countered by a kick, then a Chokeslam! Edge barely kicked out again. Disbelief on the face of Taker. Another Old School attempt failed, Taker straddled on the turnbuckle.

Superplex! Another long two count on Taker. Edge fought Taker to the corner, climbed up and worked him in the corner, Taker picked Edge up for the Last Ride, Edge fell down and countered with a neckbreaker. After another exchange, Taker caught Edge off guard and took him for the Last Ride. Long two count on Edge. Angry Taker stood up and signaled for the Tombstone, Edge reversed it to the Edge-O-Matic. Taker rose from the grave and booted Edge in the face, and then finally, OLD SCHOOL!

Taker tried for another boot, missed, and took out the ref. Didn’t see that coming. Reverse DDT by Edge. Taker rose once more, but Edge put him down again with a Low Blow. Edge stole a camera from the cameraman, got in the ring, and struck Tajker in the head. Still no referee. Edge tried to wake him up but ended up pushing him to the floor by accident. Taker sat up, Edge tried for the Tombstone, Taker countered in to the Tombstone Piledriver! Still no ref. Charles Robinson could be seen sprinting to the ring like an Olympic athlete. 1-2-Edge kicked out! True disbelief again.

Enter Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins! Taker elbowed Hawkins off the apron, grabbed Zack Ryder and chokeslammed him on to Hawkins. Spear! Long 2 count. Taker’s zombified. Another spear! Edge sat up, sat up too long as Taker grabbed his arm for Hell’s Gate (Michael Cole didn’t know the name). Edge tried to escape, but in the end he had no choice but to tap, and award Taker 16-0, and the World Heavyweight Championship for the second year in a row. Edge’s mouth was bleeding after the “dangerous hold”.

You know .. having watched this again, its historic value feels a little underrated to me. They brought the best out of each other. Edge was game, Taker was game, and they had chemistry. I can’t fault it, even if everyone knew who was going to win. Edge gave doubt, he made it possible for fans to believe he could win after the second spear. It was another evolution for Taker as he introduced Hell’s Gate, the move which ended up losing him the title a month later; Vickie Guerrero deemed the move “too dangerous” and forced Taker to vacate.

WrestleMania 24


Conclusion

I’ve been rather critical of Wrestlemania in the series. Many times I’ve wrote a conclusion feeling Wrestlemania could have been better. Talents could have been used elsewhere, excitement could have been higher. But then I revisited a PPV I ain’t seen in seven years, and I was able to appreciate it a lot more. Last night, all I wanted was a good Wrestlemania to watch, and this PPV delivered. I could argue that Umaga and Batista sucked, and how annoying it is for Batista to beat Umaga with two moves, but that would be nitpicking.

I was pleased with the opening, excited by Money in the Bank, disinterested by Umaga/Batista, and amused by Kane’s quick victory over Chavo. Michaels and Flair conjured up feelings of nostalgia, as I’ve seen so many matches involving them, but I probably saw this retirement match once before last night. Revisiting the emotion, and the history, that alone was worth watching.WM24.

The Divas match was really funny on so many levels, and I felt sorry for the talented “wrestlers” in the division. The triple threat is tough, because I know they worked hard, they did what they had to do, but it just flew by and all I can remember is Orton taking advantage of Triple H’s Pedigree and pinning Cena. The first loss at Wrestlemania for Cena, I guess that’s what I took away from it. Triple H got the title a short time later anyways, so the match didn’t mean anything in the long run.

Floyd Mayweather and Big Show was a brave attempt. It’s always tough to pull something like that off and make it memorable. They delivered, it was entertaining, it could’ve been better, but considering how small Mayweather is compared to Show, there’s always going to be limits. As for the main event, it’s one I didn’t fully appreciate in 2008, but I do now. Not that I didn’t like it back then, it was just an inevitability that Taker would win, so I wasn’t stoked for it.

When you look at Edge and Taker’s careers, they’ve accomplished so much, and it was refreshing to see someone else headlining Wrestlemania. Edge and Taker went on to have better matches together, but not on a grand stage in the main event. I’m going to appreciate this event a little more. Wrestlemania 24 is a great PPV from top-to-bottom. You have to wait in places, but all-round it’s an enjoyable experience. One technical issue with the lights didn’t detract from the show, so neither will I. Thanks for reading through to the end, and I shall see you another time.