Pro Wrestling Chronicle

WWE presented what is traditionally its biggest show of the year from Detroit, Michigan and once again came out on top in the end. It was one of those shows that people are either going to like or hate but what was good far outweighed the bad.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first:

- Kane vs Khali was bad, no doubt about it. However it wasn’t nearly the trainwreck people had it pegged as. The match was kept short and they didn’t ask a whole lot of Khali. Most importantly they kept it short.

- Melina vs Ashley was outright terrible. It served its purpose of being the palate cleanser between the hair match and the main event but it was difficult to watch.

- The ECW Originals vs New Breed match was just kind of there. Short, and the ending seemed off considering it would’ve probably made more sense to let the young guys get the win in the match. Also I think they should’ve made the match a hardcore brawl and just let the eight guys fight throughout the building in a true ECW style match. Much like the first two matches listed here though–it was kept short.

- The Detroit crowd was the quietest 80,000 people I’ve ever heard (or didn’t hear as it were). They only half-heartedly got into matches which helped keep some really good matches from becoming more than that.

- The two backstage vignettes with Trump and McMahon were awful. Awfully written, awfully acted, and just awfully undeserving of taking up time.

Now for the good:

- The backstage dance segment was good fun as they trotted out a bunch of blasts from the past and it entertained without becoming overly corny.

- The hair match served its purpose and was really fun for the whole time they were in front of the crowd. The interaction between Umaga and Austin worked perfectly and they threw enough tricks in there so the match never felt like it was overstaying its welcome. Lashley still has some improving to do but he actually seemed to be carrying himself like a star at times last night. Trump got involved enough in the match to earn his pay and despite the awkward Stunner he took afterwards I thought he was fine. Umaga has taken what is a late 80’s WWE heel cartoon act and turned it into a viable gimmick.

- MVP proved that he can go in the ring. At just over ten minutes the match with Benoit will not be in the running for match of the year but it was perfectly solid and it was not just Benoit carrying him. The series of reversals with MVP blocking the Crossface by working over Benoit’s arm was very well done and really played well into the finish. I thought that match would’ve benefited from having some more time.

- Money in the Bank served its purpose and got the night off to a hot start. In hindsight, maybe starting with a huge spotfest wasn’t the best idea because it seemed to deflate the crowd some but that might just be nitpicking. All the guys got a chance to showcase themselves and while I thought it lacked the internal logic of the first one, the highspots were better. Jeff Hardy legdropping Edge was completely crazy, and Hornswaggle is a good sport for taking the rolling Samoan drop off the ladder. Mr. Kennedy seems poised for a big push heading into the spring and summer so it made sense for him to win.

- Batista and Undertaker had their working shoes on and put together a really great title match. There were almost no down moments during that match and they seemed to be working in fast forward through a lot of it. Batista finally since his return carried his end of a match and looked like the star he was positioned as two years ago. Somehow the Undertaker has gotten better with age and is progressing in the ring. His matches now are worlds more entertaining than he was 5-10 years ago.

- John Cena and Shawn Michaels also put together a great little title match that was of a different style than the brawling title match. John Cena has come along by leaps and bounds in the past two years and is not deserving of the reaction he gets from them “smart” fans. He has busted his butt in all different kinds of matches and is one of the few guys on the roster that has a star quality. Shawn Michaels was again part of a great Wrestlemania match as he continually proves himself to be a big game player. Cena did a great job selling the leg injury throughout the early part of the match (He forgot about it towards the end kind of) and the series of counters and reversals worked perfectly towards the end. On Comcast they had a preview of the show beforehand and showed clips of last year’s Cena/HHH title match where they did a similar set of reversals leading to the tapout. This year that series looked less clunky and more fluid. Most would attribute that to HBK, but Cena was a lot smoother moving through the holds. The WWE further drives home the point that Cena is our guy whether the fans like it or not.

Overall I really enjoyed the show. I thought for a four hour show it was well paced and there was a lack of downtime. I wish Benoit/MVP would’ve received an extra five minutes to flesh out the story they were telling because it was solid. The WWE again came through on its biggest stage and as in every other year- the fun comes now in seeing where they go from here