|
WrestleMania 27
Aired live on pay-per-view
Atlanta, Ga. at the Georgia Dome
Pre-Show Dark Match
1. Sheamus fought Daniel Bryan to a no-contest in a lumberjack match for the United States Championship. Yes, this is actually the dark match despite it being advertised for the show. Ridiculous. The notable lumberjacks include R-Truth, Ted DiBiase, Great Khali, Drew McIntyre, William Regal, Evan Bourne, and Mark Henry. A brawl ensued, and Teddy Long came out and turned the match into a battle royal.
2. The Great Khali won a Battle Royal. The match came down to Khali, Sheamus, and Daniel Bryan. Sheamus dumped Bryan, and then Khali eliminated Sheamus to win the match. The U.S. Title belt was not on the line in the battle royal, so Sheamus is still the U.S. Champion.
Powell's POV: Thanks to Marv Hermanstyne and all the readers for passing along updates on the dark matches. I'd like to think they're going to give us Sheamus vs. Bryan on the actual show, but it doesn't look good. My guess is they do the make good match on Raw. Is there a reason they couldn't have given us the eight-man tag as the dark match instead?
WrestleMania 27 Pay-Per-View
Keri Hilson performed "America the Beautiful" on the entrance ramp...
A short video set up the introduction of The Rock, who walked onto the stage wearing a sweatsuit with his Brahma Bull logo in red, white, and blue on the front and back. Rock headed to the ring and then flashed a smile to the crowd once inside.
"Finally, The Rock has come back to Atlanta," Rock said. "And finally, The Rock has come back to WrestleMania." Rock promised that this will be "the most memorable WrestleMania of all time." He said the electricity is all around the building, and asked the live crowd if they could feel it, taste it, and smell it. A big Rocky chant broke out.
Rock said "Wrestle" and had the crowd say "Mania" a few times. "The Rock has goosebumps, good lord almighty," Rock said. He said there was a Fruity Pebbles loving superstar backstage trying to figure out which color he should wear tonight. A "Fruity Pebbles" chant broke out amongst the fans. Awesome. He led the fans in a bit where he said "Yabba" and they said "Dabba."
Rock went off on a tirade of rhymes and catchphrases that concluded with him saying WrestleMania is Christmas and "no offense, Santa, The Rock is bringing it all over Atlanta." The live crowd ate it up and chanted "Rocky." He eventually concluded with the "If you smell what The Rock is cooking"...
Powell's POV: A very entertaining opening to the show. The live crowd loved it. Here's hoping the show lives up to his big hype of it being the most memorable of all time. That's not an easy feat.
The WrestleMania 27 opening video aired... The narrator welcomed viewers to WrestleMania and then pyro went off on the stage as the theme song played... Michael Cole told viewers that WrestleMania is the epitome of pop culture. He said there were over 77,000 fans in attendance...
Powell's POV: Given the opening pay-per-view match, I think it's safe to say we can blow off the match order that the Atlanta newspaper ran over the weekend.
Alberto Del Rio had a great entrance with an awesome video wall of a mansion behind his classic Rolls Royce. Josh Mathews said the set was a shot of his actual mansion in Mexico. Hilarious. Justin Roberts handled the in-ring introductions for the championship match...
1. Edge (w/Christian) defeated Alberto Del Rio (w/Brodus Clay, Ricardo Rodriguez) to retain the World Hvt. Championship in 11:10. Cole said this was the first time the World Hvt. Championship has been defended in the opening match at WrestleMania. Del Rio charged at Edge, who had his throat draped on the second rope. Edge moved, and Del Rio took a big bump through the ropes and landed hard on the floor.
Edge followed up with a summersault plancha, which my buddy Pooch recalled Edge using in his WWE television debut match against Jose Estrada Jr. Pooch also questioned why Edge only performs this match against Hispanic wrestlers. Awesome.
At 7:45, Del applied the cross arm breaker, but Edge reached the ropes to break the hold. Edge came back with a DDT at 9:00. He stood up and looked to the crowd for approval as he set up for the spear. Del Rio avoided the spear. While Ricardo distracted the referee, Clay reached in and pulled Edge's shoulder into the ring post.
Del Rio applied the cross arm breaker. Edge eventually countered into a pinning combination for a really good near fall. Edge came back with his leg lock submission hold. Christian hit a tornado DDT on Clay. A short time later, Edge speared Del Rio and scored the clean pin.
After the match, Edge took his title belt and headed up the stage. He stopped and looked at the Rolls Royce that Del Rio drove into the building for his entrance. He teased kicking it and stopped. Edge then kicked the door a few times, climbed onto the top of the car, and fell backwards to leave another dent.
Del Rio headed up the ramp to stop Edge, but Christian scared him off by pulling out a crowbar. Edge took the crowbar and then scratched the hell out of the car before breaking the front window, a rear window, and denting the hood. Edge stood on the hood and held up the title belt while Del Rio showed frustration on the ramp. After Edge and Christian headed backstage, an angry Del Rio knelt down next to the car...
Powell's POV: A highly entertaining match. I was hoping for at least five more minutes. There weren't many people who expected Edge to win that match. Del Rio's time will come. There was no sign of dissension between Edge and Christian during the match whatsoever, but I'm sure a lot of people were expecting it when Christian pulled out the weapons.
A Tough Enough commercial was shown...
Cody had a special video wall with newspaper headlines and one read, "Grotesque." It seemed like a takeoff of The Elephant Man. Mysterio wore a Captain America costume. Hey, I got one prediction right...
2. Cody Rhodes beat Rey Mysterio in 11:55. Cody wore the face mask to start the match. Cole said it was approved by the board of commissioners (whoever that is). Cody survived the early flurry of Mysterio offense and then took control of the match. He used an Alabama Slam early on. It's worth noting that he did team with Hardcore Holly at one time.
There were audible "Cody" chants early on. The theme that the announcers acknowledged was that whenever Mysterio would go on the offensive, Cody would counter him. Rey did get a flurry of offense at 10:00 that resulted in him hitting the 619 when Cody's mask was off.
At 10:45, Mysterio put Cody's face mask over his own mask and hit him with a few running head butts. Mysterio followed up with a top rope head butt, but Cody had his feet under the ropes. The "Cody" chants continued to grow. At 11:40, Mysterio went for a suicide dive, but Cody hit him with his own knee brace. Cody entered the ring and hit Cross Rhodes and scored the pin. Cody covered his face with his own mask as he headed backstage...
Powell's POV: A solid match, but not the undercard stealing match that a lot of people expected. It was fine, but it was a step down from the drama of the World Hvt. Championship match. I'm told that rapper Ludacris is in the front row.
Backstage, Teddy Long told Snoop Dogg that he lined up a group of WWE superstars to audition for him. William Regal was the first rapper. Great Khali and Beth Phoenix teamed up. Zack Ryder sang the "Friday" song. Roddy Piper snuck up from behind and hit Ryder with the coconut.
Chris Masters did the titty dance (bad rhythm) while Yoshi Tatsu sang "We Will Rock You." Hornswoggle was up next. Teddy and Snoop left. Hornswoggle put shades on and then rapped while The Bella Twins danced behind him. Yes, he can talk...
Powell's POV: In addition to being 0-2 with my match predictions, I never would have predicted that I'd be critiquing a man's lack of rhythm while he bounced his tits to music. I'm more disturbed by that than Hornswoggle rapping. Very lame segment.
3. Big Show, Kane, Kofi Kingston, and Santino Marella in an eight-man tag beat Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Heath Slater, and Justin Gabriel in 1:30. An absolutely slaughter with Big Show and Kane beating the hell out of The Corre. Kofi had a cool move where he hit a running dive off the ring apron. Kane had a big punch on Gabriel as he lept off the ropes. Santino hit The Cobra on Slater, and Big Show followed up with the knockout punch for the win...
Powell's POV: At least it was quick and painless, but I don't like the idea of Corre losing. They have the Intercontinental Title, the WWE Tag Titles, and no heat.
Backstage, The Rock spoke with Eve. Rock said he would create an unbelievable moment with the next person to come around the corner. It was Mae Young. She said she wanted The People's Strudel. Rock said there are other strudel's she should be craving, such as the strudel that belongs to Moses. Rock said Adam and Eve were Young's childhood friends.
Mae said she'll never get old. Rock agreed. Rock told Eve to take Mae to her seat because he was going to electrify. Rock turned around and Mae slapped him on the ass. The Rock started to vent about how it could have been anyone else coming around the corner.
When Rock turned around, Steve Austin was staring him in the eye. They had an intense staredown. Rock asked if he was going to kick some ass. Rock said he's going to bring it. Rock said it was good to see Austin, who said the same as they shook hands. The intense looks never left their faces...
Powell's POV: Let the Austin vs. Rock speculation begin. It was a throwaway segment until Austin popped up.
A video recapped the Randy Orton vs. C.M. Punk feud... Punk made his entrance first. Orton came out with his knee taped, but he didn't sell it as he hopped on the stage. Once in the ring, a cool video cube lowered behind Orton as he posed on the ropes...
4. Randy Orton beat C.M. Punk in 14:45. Orton whipped Punk toward the ring steps, but Punk ran over them, turned around, and pushed the ring steps into Orton's bad knee about a minute in. Back inside the ring, Punk hit a cross body block for a near fall. Orton went on the offensive, but Punk came back with a nick kick for a decent near fall at 5:20.
At 7:00, Orton hit a superplex. Orton continued to sell his knee injury. Punk went after the knee by wrapping it around the ring post with Orton in the ring and then applying a figure four while Punk was at ringside. At 10:30, Punk hit a series of cool kicks and then applied the Anaconda Vice. Punk flashed a sadistic face and let out a yell as he locked it in. Orton broke the Anaconda Vice by rolling to the ropes.
At 12:15, Orton hit the middle rope DDT and then struck the Viper's Pose. Orton flashed a sadistic look of his own while he abandoned the pose and stood up. Orton backed up for the punt kick. He went for the kick, but his knee gave out again. Punk recovered enough to flash a smile while lying in the corner.
Punk stood up and walked toward Orton, who went for the RKO. A cheer broke out as some fans thought he hit the move, but Punk actually pushed him off. Punk smiled. Punk went for a springboard move off the ropes and jumped right into the RKO. Orton covered Punk and scored the clean pin...
Powell's POV: Good action. They never put Orton in a vulnerable enough spot to where it looked like he was at risk of losing, but he sold the knee well and the big RKO at the end was a great finisher. I'm not 0-4 in my Mania picks! Well, 1-4 if you count Sheamus retaining. My WrestleMania predictions look worse than my March Madness brackets, which isn't an easy feat.
Backstage, Gene Okerlund spoke with The Rock, who said John Cena's number one fan was coming to confront him. Okerlund said the fan was already here. Rock turned around and asked what the fan had to say. The camera showed Peewee Herman, who said, "You can't see me" a few times.
Rock said he sees potential in Peewee becoming a man. He asked Peewee if he wanted to be a man or remain on the Fruit Loop Troop. Rock had him show what he would look like by having Okerlund walk into the picture wearing Cena gear. Peewee said he wants to be part of Team Bring It, and delivered the "if you smell" catchphrase. Rock welcomed him to Team Bring It...
Powell's POV: Not very funny, but I am surprised to see Rock savaging Cena as much as he is. Does that mean whey want the live crowd to boo the hell out of Cena or have they just accepted the fact that it's going to happen?
The True Story of WrestleMania DVD was shown...
Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2011. Abdullah the Butcher, Sunny, Road Warrior Animal and Paul Ellering, Drew Carey, Bob Armstrong, and Jim Duggan, were introduced in that order. The music stopped the crowd chanted for HBK.
Shawn Michaels's music played and he danced his way onto the center of the stage. Each act stood on white stars that were part of red carpeting. Shawn's was right in the middle of the stage...
A Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler video package was shown...
Booker T was introduced as a color commentator. WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross was introduced next. Josh Mathews said Ross has been rumored for weeks and said most of the rumors were started by Ross himself. Oh, boy. Michael Cole interrupted the Oklahoma fight song by saying, "May I have your attention, please?"
Cole spoke as he walked to the ring wearing an orange pullover that read "Team Cole," and orange and black headgear. He must be a Longhorns fan. Cole was also wearing an orange singlet and wrestling shoes. The world also learned that Cole the tool has tattoos on each leg and a couple on his arm. Yes, really.
Cole delivered his worst promo to date as he compared Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler while talking about have they both have big egos. Jack Swagger was out next. He did pushups on the ramp, but was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass. Austin drove a four wheeler onto the stage.
Austin drove the four wheeler toward Swagger, who had to jump out at the last second. Austin drove it to ringside and caused Cole to flee inside the Cole Mine. "We don't need that," Cole said. Jerry Lawler made his entrance to his usual music, not the stuff they played on television last week...
Powell's POV: Vince McMahon just has to take jabs at Jim Ross. The Cole promo was tame and predictable, but the line from Matthews about Ross starting the rumor probably came right from Vince through the headsets. I hope Cole's weak promo didn't make him jump the shark with the live crowd right before the match.
5. Michael Cole (w/Jack Swagger) beat Jerry Lawler by reversed decision DQ with Steve Austin as special referee in 13:40. Cole warmed up inside the Cole Mine and blew off Austin's request that he get in the ring. Austin called for the bell. Lawler took out Swagger at ringside and then walked over to the Cole Mine. Cole begged off and offered his hand to Lawler through a hole in the glass. Lawler grabbed it and pulled him into the glass repeatedly. Funny.
Lawler got Cole in the ring. With Austin distracted, Swagger attacked Lawler from behind. Lawler sold a leg injury. Cole went after it by standing on Lawler's leg while leaning on the ropes. Cole wrenched Lawler's leg around the ropes. A loud "You can't wrestle" chant broke out.
Cole went to the second rope for the Swagger Bomb, but he teased falling down and did it from the bottom rope instead. Funny. Cole applied the "An-Cole Lock" at one point. A loud "boring" chant broke out. Lawler made his comeback. Swagger threw in a white towel, but Austin wouldn't accept it. Swagger got in Austin's face and took a Stunner.
Lawler threw a series of right hands at Cole. A non-wrestler should have been laid out, but Cole was back on his feet within seconds. Lawler knocked him back down with a dropkick. Lawler hit the second rope fist drop. There was a "Jerry" chant. Lawler covered Cole for a two count, but picked him up to continue punishing him.
Lawler applied his own version of the ankle lock. Cole tapped immediately. Austin hilariously asked, "Do...you...give...up." Cole screamed that he did. Austin eventually called for the bell to give the win to Lawler via submission. Cole and Swagger split.
Austin's music played and he handed a couple of beers to Lawler for a celebration. Booker T entered the ring and wanted to party with them. Booker performed the Spinaroonie. Austin laughed and gave him a beer. Booker took a swig, and Austin kicked him in the gut and then performed the Stunner.
With Austin and Lawler in the ring together, the anonymous general manager email chime sounded. Mathews stood up and read a message for the GM, who ruled that Austin overstepped his boundaries as the referee, and Lawler lost the match by disqualification. Cole, who had some blood in his mouth, was lying on the ramp with a big smile on his face.
Lawler went to ringside and protested to Mathews. He eventually threw Josh inside the ring, where Austin hit Mathews with a Stunner for a big pop. Austin hopped on his four wheeler and headed backstage, leaving Lawler to join his longtime partner Ross on commentary...
Powell's POV: The Cole promo prior to the match was not a very good idea. The material wasn't very strong and it hurt him going into the match. The live crowd still loved Austin and Lawler. The Stunners on the broadcasters was a creative way to set us up with Ross and Lawler for the key matches, which is great. Meanwhile, I'm 0-5 on the main show predictions thanks to the reversed decision, and I'm loving it. At this rate, Taker's streak is totally at risk given that I picked him. Hey, if I can't get them all right, I might as well get them all wrong! Plus, I want to get all the bad prognosticating out of the way before I go to Vegas in a couple weeks.
An Undertaker and Triple H video aired...
As predicted in Friday's blog, Hunter made his entrance to Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls." The entrance included a cool skull mask, and the lights went out. When they came back on, Hunter made his entrance to "The Game" by Motorhead.
Powell's POV: I can't predict matches this year, but I know my Mysterio costumes and Metallica tunes.
Undertaker's bells sounded three times and then flames started shooting on the stage. "Ain't No Grave" played as the image of Taker's symbol and the cabin used in the 2-21-11 videos appeared on the video wall. Taker made a slow walk onto the stage and stared at Hunter in the ring.
6. Undertaker defeated Triple H in a No Holds Barred match in 29:25. The wrestlers had a brief staredown in mid-ring before backing into their respective corners. Referee Scott Armstrong called for the bell, and Hunter charged and Taker with a punch. They quickly went to ringside, where Taker rammed Hunter into the ring steps.
Taker took the top off the Spanish announce table, but Hunter recovered and speared Taker into the Cole Mine. Hunter returned to the ring. Taker sat up and shot Hunter a look before heading back to the ring and firing away with punches. Ross said neither man can be DQ'd or counted out.
They headed back to ringside and Hunter whipped Taker into the guardrail. Taker took a hard bump and the rail padding fell off. Hunter pulled the monitors off, but Lawler left his Mac laptop. No! Taker pushed it onto the floor. Bigger no! Taker ended up performing a huge backdrop off the table and Hunter took a big bump on the floor.
Taker performed the big dive over the top rope onto Hunter. It looked scary live, but the replay showed that Hunter braced the fall and Taker landed on his back rather than on his head or neck. Wild spot. Hunter came back with a cool spinebuster on Taker through the Spanish table.
Back inside the ring, Taker chokeslammed Hunter for a near fall that a few people in the crowd seemed to buy into, but it felt way too early to take seriously. Hunter came back with a spinebuster. At 12:50, Taker grabbed a chair and slammed it over Taker's back. He wound up for another and Hunter kicked him in the gut.
Hunter hit The Pedigree and went for the cover. Again, it didn't feel like the finish, but Taker kicked out so late that the live crowd really bought in. A short time later, Taker caught Hunter on the ropes and hit the Last Ride for another good near fall at 14:40. Hunter was the one kicking out at the last moment this time.
Taker hit the Tombstone Piledriver at 15:45. He put Hunter's hands on his chest and then stuck his tongue out while making the cover, but Hunter kicked out at the last moment. Big cheers from the crowd. Taker went for the Tombstone on a chair, but Hunter slipped out and countered with a DDT on a chair. Both men remained on the ground while Ross and Lawler put over the will of both men.
Hunter came back with another Pedigree near the ropes. Taker kicked out again. Taker suffered a hand injury somewhere along the way, as it appeared he was bleeding under his glove as he cautiously adjusted the glove while lying on the mat. Hunter came back with a third Pedigree (Taker didn't take this one as well) and Taker ended up kicking out yet again.
At 21:00, Hunter picked up the chair and slammed it over Taker's back. Ross said both men will go into the WWE Hall of Fame, and he said they should nominate the chair for the abuse it's taken. Funny. "Stay down," Hunter yelled before slamming the chair onto Taker's back repeatedly. "That may be it for the Undertaker," Lawler said.
Hunter sat down with the chair in hand and leaned his arm on the bottom rope. He stared at Taker and screamed, "Stay down," again. Hunter struggled to get back to his feet and backed into the corner. Meanwhile, Taker used the ropes to stand up. Hunter slammed the chair into Taker's head (Taker put his hand up). "That's gotta be it," Lawler said.
With Taker down, Hunter approached him, looked down, and yelled, "Stay down, what's wrong with you?" Taker reached up and grabbed Hunter by the throat. Hunter shook his head no and pushed Taker, who lost his grip. Hunter scooped up Taker for a Tombstone and yelled, "It's over," before hitting the move.
Hunter put Taker's hands over his chest and struck Taker's tongue out pose while pinning him, but Taker kicked out again. The live crowd was loving it. A brief "This is awesome" chant broke out for the second time. Hunter sat back in shock after Taker kicked out that time.
Hunter went to ringside and pulled a sledgehammer out from underneath the ring at 27:05. Hunter pulled Taker to the center of the ring and said, "It's time." Taker reached up and applied the Hell's Gate submission hold. Hunter dropped the sledgehammer. Hunter eventually picked up the sledgehammer again, but he dropped it while selling the hold. Hunter tapped out to end the match.
A 19-0 sign popped up on the video wall and pyro went off as "Ain't no grave" played. A group of fans were shown holding up tombstone signs with the names of Taker's various opponents. Hunter was the first man to his feet and he was bleeding on the side of his nose.
A trainer checked on Taker, who got to ringside and fell down while Hunter was watching him. Taker grabbed at the ring apron and tried to get up. The trainer motioned for help. Taker's music stopped playing and the crowd cheered. A cart arrived at ringside. IRS, Dean Malenko, and others helped put Taker on on the back of the cart. A loud "Undertaker" broke out as he was driven to the back.
Powell's POV: Awesome. Another classic from Taker at WrestleMania. I was worried we'd get all sorts of "it was good, but it was no Taker vs. Shawn" comparisons. I'm sure some people will still make that comparison, but they were totally different styles. This was phenomenal. An awesome story with Hunter taking Taker to the limit like no one else has. It was cool to see the situation reversed with Hunter being the one to tell Taker to stay down. This match definitely could have closed the show, and good luck to The Miz, John Cena, and The Rock when it comes to topping that one. This was WrestleMania at its finest. Ross and Lawler definitely did their part and get a nice assist for their work on commentary. Let the countdown begin for Taker vs. Hunter 2 at WrestleMania 28.
An appropriately timed "Don't Try This At Home" commercial aired... A WrestleMania 28 in Miami video was shown...
Back live, Vickie Guerrero yelled, "Excuse me" over the mic. Not nearly the heat you'd get at a usual WWE show. Vickie introduced Dolph Ziggler, and then the rest of the introductions for the six-person tag took place. Trish Stratus got a deservedly strong reaction. Snooki's music bared, so it was hard to tell how loud the boos were. She and Trish wore "Brunette Mafia" on their gear...
Powell's POV: My guess is Vickie didn't get the mega-heat because it's a lot of diehard wrestling fans in attendance and they appreciate her antics. Plus, the crowd is drained by that last match. Speaking of which, to everyone bitching that Snooki is on later in the show than Taker, the six-man is a buffer match, which is designed to give the crowd a chance to catch their breath between the big matches. I can listen to arguments that they could have done the Hall of Fame introduction between the matches instead, but no one is disrespecting Taker or Hunter by having the Snooki match as a buffer.
7. Trish Stratus, John Morrison, and Snooki beat Dolph Ziggler, Michelle McCool, and Layla (w/Vickie Guerrero) in 3:15. The heels jumped the faces before the bell. Once they were separated, the ref called for the bell. McCool was having such a bad hair day that my buddy Dave asked if it was Lady Gaga.
Morrison hit Starship Pain to the outside on Ziggler. Snooki tagged into the match and was greeted with loud boos from the crowd. She ended up hitting the springboard elbow move in the corner. She did another cartwheel and splashed McCool for the pin. The cast of Tough Enough was shown seated in prime seats in the crowd...
Powell's POV: Snooki silenced the crowd by showing real athleticism. They didn't pop for the finish or anything, but they didn't boo it either. Who knew? Get ready to see that footage on all sorts of entertainment television shows.
Justin Roberts stood in the ring and announced that the crowd of 71,617 set the new Georgia Dome attendance record for any event ever...
Roberts announced that it was time for the WWE Championship match. A great video showed The Miz watching a block of televisions that featured himself on Real World, classic wrestling with The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, plus Miz winning the championship, The Miz girl, and more. Great video, and Nas' "Hate Me Now" played. Excellent video with lyrics that worked perfectly.
On the stage, inflatable letters spelled out "Awesome." The Miz and Alex Riley made their entrance to Miz's usual theme song. Riley was dressed in wrestling gear.
A gospel choir sang on the stage and then a long video of John Cena was shown, complete with Cena in preacher mode for the voiceover. I was too busy groaning at the preacher talk to listen closely, but I'll go back and check it out someday. Way more boos and faint cheers for Cena's introduction. He debuted his new red shirt. A mix of cheers and boos for Miz. Update: My lilly white, hard rock loving ass was just informed that the preacher stuff was from a DMX song called "Prayer." My bad.
8. The Miz (w/Alex Riley) defeated John Cena to retain the WWE Championship in 19:40. Referee Mike Chioda didn't hear the bell the first time, so he called for it again and got it. Ross said Cena has never lost a one-on-one match at WrestleMania. The Miz jumped out to the early advantage and the crowd was very quiet.
There was an awkward spot where Miz dropped down and Cena tripped while running over him. Cena got some offense in and it played to plenty of boos with some high pitched cheering (maybe 80-20 boos). Miz hit the Reality Check at one point. Cole never calls it the Reality Check, and Ross called it an "impact move." My buddy Pooch is devastated. Just act like you care about my friends.
At 13:00, Miz tried to hit Cena with the briefcase, but Cena ducked and Miz ended up hitting Riley with it, knocking him off the ring apron. Cena hit the Attitude Adjustment and went for the pin, but Miz kicked out. Great near fall that the live crowd bought into. They ended up fighting to the floor at 14:40. Cena tackled Miz and they both tumbled over the guardrail. The referee counted both men out.
Justin Roberts announced that the match was draw. Miz's music played since the champion retains in this situation. The Rock's music played. "Fuck that shit," Rock clearly mouthed. The Rock whipped the jacket off as he headed to the ring.
As Rock stood in the ring, the anonymous general manager's email chime sounded. Rock went to the podium and delivered the "May I have your attention, please?" line. "As the Raw general manager, I think..." Rock stopped reading and said, "It doesn't matter what you think." Rock threw the laptop down. That's two Macs in one night!
Rock entered the ring and said there's no way WrestleMania was over, and there's no way the match would end like that. Rock restarted the match and the bell rang (for the third time) at 19:10. Cena hoisted up The Miz for an Attitude Adjustment, but Miz held the ropes. When Miz broke free, Cena punched him and then turned around.
The Rock hit the Rock Bottom on Cena and then left the ring. The Miz slowly made his way over to Cena and covered him for the win. The Rock remained at ringside as The Miz celebrated his title win. The Rock glared at The Miz, who stopped celebrating when he saw Rock looking at him.
The Rock charged the ring. Miz took a swing with the WWE Championship belt and missed. The Rock hit Miz with a flurry of punches, and then a spinebuster. Rock hit The People's Elbow for a big pop. The Rock went to the second rope and played to the crowd. The Rock's music played as he played to the crowd as Jim Ross closed the show on commentary with seconds left before the top of the hour. Cena never returned to the ring...
Powell's POV: WWE made the wrong call on the main event match, but I just can't blame them for going with The Rock, since that's what most people were paying to see. Furthermore, I don't think they had any way to know for sure that Taker and Hunter could deliver that type of match given the ring rust and injury factors.
Overall, Taker and Hunter absolutely stole the show. This didn't live up to the greatest WrestleMania of all-time hype that Rock gave it to start the show, but I was entertained. The match order was questionable even if you put aside the Taker vs. Hunter and main event issue. There was a lull in the show that could have been avoided if the World Hvt. Championship match hadn't opened the show.
Thanks for spending your WrestleMania Sunday with Dot Net. We greatly appreciate your patronage, and I encourage you to take advantage of our membership offer to listen to my audio review with former WWE creative team member Seth Mates, and the Dot Net Triple Threat audio with Chris Shore, Will Pruett, and Jake Barnett. You can sign up and receive instant access via the Dot Net Members' Signup Page.