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WrestleMania 26 is in the books and it was a
good show with moments of greatness. The show started at 6pm and not 7pm since
it is a longer than usual show and the card wasn’t fully together until after
this week’s Raw and there are a lot of people not booked on the card. We didn’t
get to see JR and the Divas match actually was added to the main show and while
there was a rumored match using the NXT talent that never happened and neither
the IC nor the US belts were defended. The prelim match was actually a 26-man
battle royal that was won by Yoshi Tatsu. The show began with America the
Beautiful sung by American Idol’s Fantasia. We also saw the reintroduction of
the Spanish announce table and as usual it was a part of the action. The main
announce team was Jerry Lawler, Michael Cole and Matt Stryker.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The "Bo's Prediction" part of the review below was
posted on Saturday afternoon (032709). |
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WWE UNIFIED TAG TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
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Big Show and The Miz (c) vs. John Morrison and
R-Truth |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The match most likely to open the show unless they decide to
bring the MITB folks out first in an attempt to get the crowd fired up. Morrison
and Truth have been thrown together and may end up being called Truth &Wisdom
but now they are just two guys who happen to click in the ring. It is way too
early to pull the trigger on the Show/Miz team so we will see a competitive
match here with the belts staying on Miz and Show. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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This match did actually start the show and
Truth was the first man out. The set was damn impressive and the entrance ramp
was one of the longest in Mania history. It was pointed out on commentary that
the tag belts have never changed hands at Mania so once again the WWE
telegraphed the finish. We still haven’t gotten a name for Morrison and Truth
but they did look like a tag team here. The match was pretty short and ended
when Show tagged Miz from outside the ring before punching Morrison in the head.
I don’t have a problem with this being the opener but it was so short I didn’t
see the point of even having it on the card.
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TRIPLE THREAT MATCH:
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Randy Orton vs. Ted DiBiase vs. Cody Rhodes |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The plan was to turn DiBiase face after Marine 2 shipped but the
WWE dropped the ball. That would have made this match a one on one match between
Orton and DiBiase. If that had happened then we would have a match pitting a
heel against a face. Instead we have 3 heels facing each other. Fans are
cheering Orton but he isn’t a face and so I see him drifting into the Steve
Austin mode. And with that I see him winning here but for the life of me can’t
figure out who they can book him with afterwards.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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This match followed and Rhodes came out
wearing some of the ugliest trunks in the history of wrestling. As predicted the
fans cheered for Orton during the match. It began with Legacy ganging up on him
but when DiBiase went for the pin on Orton Rhodes stopped him. The situation was
reversed and suddenly we had a real three way match. We saw Orton hit a DDT into
the ring from outside on both members of Legacy. Orton was going to go for the
pin on Rhodes but stopped and punted him instead before hitting DiBiase with the
RKO. So Orton beats both members of Legacy and suddenly has no program but has
been turned into a face by the fans.
This was followed by the only backstage segment of the night. Josh Mathews was
backstage about to interview Vickie Guerrero and the heel Divas about a match
later on in the show (added at the last minute). This led to Jillian Hall
singing horribly until Santino came out and did a live Slim Jim commercial that
had him turn Jillian into Mae Young, Gene Okerlund (in a dress) and Melina
(still on the shelf) after taking a bite.
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MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER
MATCH:
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Christian, Dolph Ziggler, Kane, Shelton
Benjamin, MVP, Jack Swagger, Evan Bourne, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston and Matt
Hardy. |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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This match will show the fans some insane moves considering the
participants. Kane is in the match just to have a heavyweight involved but he
has shown he can do some athletic moves when needed. Christian and Hardy will
control the match and do some crazy yet controlled moves. One thing about this
match is that it allows everyone to show what they can do and we will see
everything and the kitchen sink here. At one point Kingston was going to win
this but he didn’t even get in until Monday so he still may but it’s unlikely.
Swagger has been impressing people again backstage so he has a shot. Bourne
won’t win here but he will do the shooting star press from a tall ladder so that
people will remember him. MVP and the rest have a shot but I think that McIntyre
is going to win so that the WWE can get him over more. There is a rumor that the
winner is going to cash in his title shot later on in the show and if that is
the case then Swagger will win then move to Smackdown.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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The general rule in this match is for
someone to do something crazy and defies analysis so I will say that we saw:
McIntyre get pummeled, Kingston dropped into a ladder, Bourne do the shooting
star press from way up high, Swagger stuck under a ladder with two ladders
holding him in place, a ladder broken in two and used as stilts by Kingston,
Christian taking a twist of fate from the top of the ladder and the mother of
all crotch shots on McIntyre. Swagger ended up pushing Christian off a ladder to
get the briefcase but the strap was impossible to get loose and it took him
forever. Year after year this ends up being the most entertaining match on the
card and this year’s match was no exception. Kane came into the match with a
black eye that was never explained but he did a great job considering he was the
biggest guy in the ring.
This was followed by the Hall of Fame recap and Ted DiBiase got the biggest
hand. |
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GRUDGE MATCH:
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HHH vs. Sheamus |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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This match sort of has to happen in the middle of the card
because it isn’t for a belt and the program doesn’t have an ‘epic’ feel to it.
It has been booked properly though and I can see an interesting match coming out
of it. This will be the biggest match of Sheamus’ career because he will be in
front of the largest crowd he has ever seen on the biggest PPV of the year. The
question in this match is: does HHH lose and keep Sheamus in the main event
picture or does he win and cool off one of Raw’s best heels? The two do work out
together and are tight so HHH may do the right thing and lose here. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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This match was one of those that made you
wonder what the plan was. The trick was to not cause Sheamus to lose momentum
and make us believe that he could beat HHH. So the two of them went back and
forth and a win by the pale Irishman was teased but HHH ended up winning. He
kept Sheamus strong by doing so and made it look like he deserved to be in this
match and on this show. Even with that this match came off as ‘give them
something to do’ for the most part.
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STREET FIGHT MATCH:
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CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The stipulation here is if Rey loses then he has to join the
Straight Edge Society. When this match was rumored it was going to be hair vs.
mask but Punk hasn’t shaved anyone’s head in a while. This is an interesting
match in a couple of ways considering that Punk lost the title because of the
way he dresses but ended up coming up with an gimmick that works better than
anything on Raw. Rey is working this match with some pretty banged up knees but
wanted to work Mania so he is gutting it along. I would have pulled the trigger
on the hair vs. mask angle but in the long run this may work better. I do not
expect Rey to lose here but think he will get a major beat down afterwards to
let him rehab his knee after he wins. One way or the other this feud will last
at least until the next PPV. There is a strict policy on blood and chair shots
to the head but we may see some one get busted open simply due to the nature of
the match.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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The stipulation here is if Rey loses then he
has to join the Straight Edge Society. That stipulation stayed but the match
wasn’t a street fight anymore. Someone in the back must have noticed that there
isn’t much difference between a street match and a no holds barred match and so
the plan was changed. Punk came out first and got the crowd annoyed with him by
saying that he was so much better than everyone there. Rey came out in an outfit
that Cole said was a tribute to Avatar. He also introduced some new moves during
a competitive match that had a complicated ending. He was going to go for the
619 on one side of the ring when Serena protected Punk. Gallows was trying to
interfere on the other side and Punk ended up taking him out by accident which
set up Rey hitting him with the 619 then jumping missile like onto him for the
pin. So Rey wins but didn’t get attacked afterwards. We may see the hair vs.
mask match at Extreme Rules at the end of April.
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NO HOLDS BARRED MATCH:
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Bret Hart vs. Mr. McMahon |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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You kind of have to go with the match here because it will not be
a long one but it could be a fun one. Bret after he left the WWE has had a few
concussions and a stroke and so he is unable to take any kind of back bumps at
all. Vince is old (he’s in his 60s) and has been telling the media in Phoenix
that this is likely his last in ring action. So the best match for these two is
a no holds barred one because it doesn’t need to happen in the ring. This allows
the two to have a decent match that doesn’t involve a lot of wrestling holds.
Bret is sticking around for a while after this so of course he is going to win
and I would lay odds that the Hart family will have something to do with the
ending so they can stand in the ring and celebrate with Bret. This match could
also let some of the talent not on the card to get involved besides the Hart
Dynasty.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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Calling this a match would be charitable
because it really wasn’t one but it was fun. Bret came out first and then Vince
but he was holding a microphone. He announced his master plan which was buying
the Hart Family and making them the lumberjacks for this match with Bruce Hart
as the referee. Vince was all happy with his plan but then Bret told him that he
knew this was going to happen and instead the family turned on Vince. All of the
action happened in the ring and it involved different ways for Bret to beat the
hell out of Vince. Vince got hit with a Hart Attack from outside the ring from
the Hart Dynasty then was pummeled with a pry bar before taking a lot of chair
shots to the back and side then a few kicks to the nuts before Bret locked in
the sharpshooter. Like I said, this wasn’t exactly a match but it was fun.
The attendance was announced at 72,219.
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WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
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Chris Jericho (c) vs. Edge |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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This match should be second before the top and follow the
Bret/Vince match up. Plans for this match actually began last year when Jericho
and Edge were tag team partners but since no one knew when Edge was returning
from his injury it was a definite maybe. Then he showed up at the Rumble and it
was on. We may see some of the best wrestling of the night in this match since
Jericho can work with anyone and Edge isn’t a slouch either. Since Edge came
back early you would assume that he is going to win here as a present but we
could get a DQ or Jericho could walk away from the ring and get a count out but
keep his title. If the MITB briefcase does come into play during the title
matches this is the match that it will happen in. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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This match was damn good. As expected Edge
sold that his Achilles tendon injury wasn’t fully healed and he limped around a
bit. He just kept coming and kicked out of a code breaker. Jericho teased a
spear but didn’t land it. We saw a ref bump that allowed Jericho to nail Edge
with the belt and then a second code breaker for the win. After the match was
over then Jericho attacked Edge and that set up a cool finish. Edge took out
Jericho after clearing both announce tables and spearing him off the Spanish
table thru the barricade. This would have been the perfect time for Swagger to
cash in the case but the WWE didn’t pull the trigger.
This was followed by clips from the battle royal. |
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DIVA'S MATCH:
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Maryse & Vickie Guerrero & Layla & Alicia Fox
& Michelle McCool vs. Beth Phoenix & Mickie James & Kelly Kelly & Gail Kim & Eve
Torres |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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This was an unscheduled match and so there are no predictions. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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During the match everyone was allowed to get
their moves in. Using James here was a surprise since she isn’t recovered from
her staph infection but you could see her avoiding using her bad leg. The finish
was McCool and Layla balancing Vickie so that she could do the frog splash onto
Kelly. I would say that this was the worst looking frog splash ever and when
Vickie went for the pin Kelly actually pulled her shoulder up. The ref waited to
allow Kelly to get back into position but it looked messed up. Vickie and the
heels celebrated her win and she did the Eddie shimmy. |
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WWE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
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Batista (c) vs. John Cena |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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As of when this was being typed this is the match
that is supposed to end the show. I don’t know why since the end of the match
has been telegraphed each and every week. Batista comes out and beats up Cena,
rinse and repeat. Their confrontation on Raw was well done and didn’t end the
same way. The booking staff should have alternated the beatings and have the two
even going into this match but they didn’t. So the winner here is Cena hands
down in a match that will be interesting as far as crowd reactions go. On Raw
you had some fans chanting “You can’t wrestle” to Cena which was ludicrous
considering who he was in the ring opposite. I expect the same here. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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The call was made to move the match to this
position and it was the right call. Batista got some of his pyro back but not
the whole deal. Cena’s entrance was set up with an awesome performance by the
Air Force drill team. We continued to see how strong Cena is when he picked
Batista up after being locked in a body scissors. The match also included the 5
knuckle shuffle but it came off the top rope. Both kicked out of each other’s
finisher and we saw a reenactment of the move that broke Cena’s neck. Cena won
here with the STF and celebrated by heading out to ringside and celebrating
right in front of fans wearing ‘I Hate Cena’ shirts. Fans were chanting ‘you
can’t wrestle’ at Cena on Raw but it grows clear with each match that he can. He
still throws the worst punches ever but he can carry a match. |
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END OF THE STREAK MATCH
(Win by Pin or Submission Only):
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Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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Michaels has been telling friends that he is retiring after this
match for a while now but he and Taker are both taking time off once this match
is over. Michaels has a vacation planned that will end in August; Taker is
dealing with a hip that isn’t getting any better. Last year’s match between the
two was one of the greatest Mania matches ever so the two cannot possibly top it
but they will try their best. During this match we will see a series of almost
pins and submission moves and the crowd will get worn out as these two get the
crowd worked up with each near fall. Vince has said in the past that the Streak
will end when Taker wants it to but the person who ends it needs to be someone
new that you want to push to the top. And so when the night is over Taker will
be 18-0 and the WWE will have all summer to figure out how to bring HBK back.
You could have HHH come out and cost HBK the match on purpose but that sets up
the duo wrestling each other again and we have seen that movie way too many
times before. Let Taker win then have HBK come out on Raw and say goodbye just
like Flair did when HBK ‘retired’ him. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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Taker came up from the entrance ramp in a
new jacket and slowly walked down that long ass ramp. HBK did the throat slash
to Taker and he got mad then hit HBK with snake eyes and old school in the first
five minutes. Taker started selling his knee after that. We saw HBK take a
tombstone outside the ring but he recovered and got the action back in the ring.
There were a lot of near falls seen here and as they did last year the two
played the audience like a violin. Just when you thought one person was done he
would kick out and that was repeated again and again. We even saw HBK get out of
Hell’s Gate. Taker took a moonsault from HBK as he was lying on the main
announce table and he also took another super kick but kicked out. The end of
the match was the same end of the HBK/Flair match from Mania 24 but this time
Taker was the one wanting to show mercy. HBK slapped him and Taker hit him with
another tombstone to become 18-0. What followed was one of the most gracious
things ever seen in a wrestling match. Taker staggered over and helped HBK up
then shook his hand. HBK was then left alone in the ring and listened to the
fans cheer him. The last thing we saw was him walking up the ramp and into the
back. Their match last year was one of the greatest in Mania history and this
one was as good if not better. Do I expect that we will not see Shawn Michaels
in the ring again? Hell no. He has said that he thinks he can wrestle into his
50’s and is more than willing to do at least one match a year. |
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Photo ©
2010 WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
Article © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
