2008 Running Pro Wrestling Thread

Undertaker wins by submission.

A solid match - not as good as the others - but he picks up the win.

 

Taker won via "new" submission. Not new but the new one he's been using to make the opponents bleed.

 

Best match was Flair/Michaels. MITB was good too but too quick though I thought and Triple Threat was a poor match in my opinion.

Worst match (not counting Kane's 10 second win over Chavo's ECW title) was the Batista and Umaga match, Batista botched a lot of his moves including the Batistabomb and the fans were cheering for Umaga and booing Batista.

 

Batista and Umaga was bound to be a trainwreck. I'm glad I didn't get to see it. Umaga's style is rather unbecoming of a guy his size, making any of his matches difficult to watch, and Batista is just beyond his years already.

 

I thought the triple threat match was solid. A little short, maybe. For some reason, I started making it a point to time all the matches starting with MITB. When the triple threat started at 8:24, I figured it might go 30 minutes (same with Flair-HBK, especially with the slow pace and actual wrestling moves at the beginning). But the pace of the triple threat match was high, so they packed a lot into that 15 minutes. Not a lot of rest holds or pauses, just a lot of action. Pretty solid.
And the finish, with Orton winning, was a total shock. One, because freaking Orton got a clean pin, which I don't think anyone was expecting; and two, because of the time issue. Like I said, I figured it'd go a few minutes longer. And Orton winning without using an RKO was also surprising. Normally in that spot, the WWE would have him pull Trips off Cena, deliver the RKO and then cover for the pin (or have Cena recover and catch him in one of his finishers).

Best match was definitely Flair-HBK, though. That was the one I bought the PPV for, and it delivered. Good wrestling, nice workrate, and one of those special moments with Flair walking off into the sunset. I really could have seen it end either way (HBK wins like he did, or Flair wins and retires on the spot or on Raw tomorrow).
Worst match was Umaga-Batista, for sure. Sloppy moves by Batista and just not much to be enthused about.

Two curiosities, while I'm at it...
1) Was there some sort of a power failure in Orlando? Midway through the Divas match (which also sucked, BTW), the lights went out and they had to use spotlights for the finish. There were a couple moves that were done totally in the dark. Looked like they were doing the same thing through the triple threat match. None of the announcers made a mention of it.
2) WTF was up with the marching band playing Cena's music? That was just...odd.

 

JBL def. Finlay: About what I thought it would be. A decent hardcore match, with the heel going over. Probably will wrap up at Backlash.

CM Punk wins Money in the Bank: I didn't see Punk winning by a mile. Probably my biggest pleasant surprise of the night.

Batista def. Umaga: I would have preferred a rerun of last year's Lashley-Umaga match. This was sloppy and pointless.

Kane def. Chavo for ECW Championship: I blinked and missed it.

Shawn Michaels def. Ric Flair: This steals the show for me. A well-paced match that told a heart-breaking story.

Beth Phoenix/Melina def. Ashley/Maria: A waste of time, but at least creative is smart enough to book the actual workers over the eye candy. WrestleMania hasn't had a decent women's match since Trish Stratus left (and Mickie James buried).

Rand Orton def. Triple H and John Cena to retain the WWE Championship: This one was a lot quicker than I thought it would be. Creative really failed to come up with a grand main event for the most prestigious title, and everyone knew it. Hence, lackluster entrances (a marching band?), a short match and a surprise finish. I wanted Orton over so creative can continue to build a solid heel. I'm pleased. Booking this as third-to-last was a smart move. (Just for Harley, Hunter has done the job for the past four WrestleManias, all of them championship bouts. His WM record is 5-7 with three titles won/retained at the event.)

Floyd Mayweather def. Big Show: Interesting stuff, and I'm glad that Mayweather used heel tactics to get the win. The heel character suits him. Nobody is going to be won over by a snotty, rich asshole throwing hundreds around like it's toilet paper.

Undertaker def. Edge for the World Heavyweight Championship: Not the most exciting match, but again a well-paced match that told a story. I've never been that crazy about the Undertaker. I wanted Edge to go over and continue building himself as a mega heel.

Wrapping up, I guess this was the only good way to end the show. The whole fireworks/festivities at the end just doesn't fit with the Undertaker character. However, as many matches ended with a letdown (either a heel winning or just because it was a lousy match), creative did the right thing.

3 out of 5 stars. I liked last year's WM better.

 

Anyone know where there's a current post-event stream?

 

Not sure if it's accurate, given how it came off, but I just saw that the good ol' wrestling sites were reporting that the higher-ups were heavily worried about the Mayweather/Big Show match tonight.

They must be pleased.

 

If what I read was true, HHH was given the reins for the Show/Mayweather match as far as scripting and finishing. Seems like he did all right.

As much as I bash the guy, he has indeed jobbed his fair share of WM main events. I can't express how pleased I am that Orton retained. Now, the logical thing to do is set up Orton/Cena for SummerSlam.

Just a thought...do they cheapen MITB by having CM Punk simply challenge Kane for the ECW strap, or do they let him move up with the big boys and take on Orton or 'Taker?

 

They'd be stupid to have him chase the ECW Championship via Money in the Bank.

Had Edge retained, I could see him going to SmackDown. No way they put him over the Undertaker. Raw? Lots of people in the championship picture as it is. I would guess he holds it for a while before doing anything with it. Maybe he can chase Edge once he again dethrones the Deadman.

 

I agree there is no way they waste a MITB win on the ECW title. I think they'll let this thing build with Punk and have him at some point take on the Smackdown champion. Until then, I think they should have him bounce between shows and let him be the cocky character he was in ROH and flaunt his MITB win. He can work the mic and this is a good chance for him to do it.

According to Meltzer, the guy taking the majority of the bumps in the Show match was from their developmental territory.

 

Watching the Undertaker's entrance, it occurred to me just how much of a living wrestling fossil he is.
With Flair retiring, he and HBK are two of the last active wrestlers with links to that late 80s/early 90s period. Mostly, though, he's one of the last guys with a true gimmick. Not just a personality or a stereotype, but a gimmick. Sure, he went through that biker phase, but his ring entrance now plays up the whole deadman gimmick. He's really a dying breed.