It Really Was An End of An Era

*Excerpts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog*

In a match that was defined as "The End of An Era", The Undertaker continued his Wrestelmania winning streak to 20-0 by defeating Triple H in a Hell In The Cell Steel Cage Match featuring Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee.

"As I woke up this morning, I had mixed feelings about this match. Perhaps I expected more. Perhaps I expected a swerve. And perhaps I got lost in creatively booking the match myself in my own mind."

"I had expected to see some sort of one night only DX reunion. But, that didn't happen. Instead, we got a slower paced and more dramatic encounter with Shawn Michaels not really playing a major factor in the final decision."

"This match wasn't about creative storytelling. This match was about saying farewell to what is arguably the greatest era of pro wrestling history - The Attitude Era.... And this match at Wrestlemania, was the one moment where we literally said goodbye to yesterday."

"Had Shawn Michaels gotten more involved in determining the outcome of the match, then it would have opened the flood gates of rumors and speculation that he'd be back for at least one more match."

"The match didn't need physical involvement. The story was told through expression....It was technically designed so that you would be able to hear audio bytes of conversations between the those involved. The close up shots of Taker and clear audio of him saying, "Don't end this match Shawn.. No matter what, don't end the match", were more effective than any swerve... The story wasn't in the punches thrown. It was in the facial expressions. And it's an example of the lost art in this business."

"One problem that I had with this match was the lack of blood...I understand the "no blood" policy for the PG-13 product, but this is Wrestlemania!"

"The finish was somewhat weak. Basic tombstone into a three count... Taker saw the end in Triple H's eyes and put the dying dog out of his misery."

"The final shot of Michaels and Taker carrying Triple H to the back was worth a thousand words. You can't put a price on that type of perfection. And while I feel the match itself didn't live up to the expectations, it told the story it needed to tell and ended one of the greatest wrestling books of all time."

Did Punk and Jericho Steal The Show?

*Excerpts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog*

CM Punk retained his WWE World Title by defeating Chris Jericho.

"I felt this was the match to steal the show. And in my opinion, it did...but barely."

"I don't think the WWE Universe understood what they were watching... Jericho and Punk took us to an early time in their career... What we saw was a Japanese exhibition and a technical clinic where these opponents stretched each other in ways the human body isn't meant to bend."

"...let me go on the record in saying that I think the build up was piss poor. Social media killed this match in late 2011..."

"I started to wonder if Jericho's time away had hurt his value. Was his return strong enough to make an impact? Strong enough to change the game? Strong enough to shake the world? The only thing that shook the world was the weight of the ball WWE creative dropped."

"While watching the match, I was trying to understand the input both men had in the match. I sensed a strong Japanese influence..."

"They were looking for acceptance of a unique style, but those 78,000 fans were only looking for entertainment. 78,000 brainwashed fans who don't understand the science of the business, the magic of a match, and who all have accepted that wrestling is nothing more than a fake show."

"Amazingly, Punk and Jericho never let crowd reaction take over. Sure, they were disappointed but they were smart enough and good enough to switch the match around and have the fans eating out of the palm of their hands."

"I applaud Punk and Jericho for taking that chance, but rather than building up the match based on Punk's father being an alcoholic and his sister a crack head, perhaps they should have talked about their years prior to the WWE....THAT would lend credence to the term "Best In The World"."

"This is an example of WWE creative not being in tune with what the business is about, so they rather stuff some senseless sitcom type of formula down your throat. After all, what other option do you have? TNA?"

"On a side note, one thing I did notice about this match was that Punk is better suited to play a heel....Remember, you first started loving CM Punk when he was a heel and cutting down Cena, Triple H, Vince, and the company. Not now, when his only grip is with John Laurinaitis."

"Overall, neither man was the best in the world that night.... It was still a great match, but it won't be one that is remember as one of the greatest of all time."

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Tag Match Ends With Zack's Sack

*Excerpts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog*

Team John Laurinaitis defeated Team Teddy Long to take over control as general manager of the RAW an Smackdown brands.

"This was a typical throw-away match... creative decided to compile 12 roster members into one match as a "thank you for your hard work this year"."

"From the start, it was obvious Team Johnny was going over.... Team Johnny was stacked with some of the top talents on the roster, some who are former champions such as Dolph Ziggler, Jack Swagger and The Miz. What did Team Teddy bring to the table? An aging Booker T? Kofi "Lost In The Shuffle But Good For Highspots" Kingston? R-"My Promos Sometimes Make Less Sense Than Jimmy Snuka" Truth? And Santino "Glorified Jobber Whose Sock Puppet Is More Over Than He Is" Marella? Seriously, this match was over before it even started."

"...what really pissed me off is that the match concluded with the love affair between Zack Ryder and Eve Torres."

"...what has become of Zack Ryder?.... no rematch for the US title. No feud with Kane for almost killing him. But instead, he's chasing a piece of ass that is way out of his league. Not to mention, Eve had a prominent spot in the divas tag match, so why was she allowed to get double duty by appearing in this match only to attack Zack's nut sack? Prime example of WWE creative making zero sense and throwing shit against the wall just to see if it sticks."

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Big Show Gets Big Moment, But Put Focus Back on Rhodes

*Excerpts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog*

The Big Show finally got his Wrestlemania moment when he defeated champion Cody Rhodes to win the Intercontinental title.

"...it was one of my favorite original concepts of the year... simplicity at its best! Another prime example of less is in fact more!"

"What made this angle work is that most fans forgot how bad Big Show's Wrestlemania track record really was. He truly never had a real Wrestlemania moment. Before this angle, if you were to ask a fan about any of Big Show's matches at previous Wrestlemanias, they'd be stumped to answer you...It's like anytime Wrestlemania season came around, Big Show got bit by the asshole bug."

"The problem here is that Big Show doesn't need the title as much as Rhodes does, and it would be wise for creative to put it back on him as soon as possible. Remember, this was never really about being a championship match. It was simply about Big Show having his moment."

"Well, the moment happened. Wrestlemania is over. Now we need to get the focus back on bringing value to the title and making Rhodes one of the top stars on the roster... There has been talk of pushing Rhodes to the main event level and having him feud with Randy Orton to set him up for a shot at the heavyweight title. In my opinion, it's a mistake."

"...look at Dolph Ziggler...Got his main event match at the Royal Rumble and has been main eventing house shows with CM Punk across the globe. But after doing the jobs, where is he now? .... pushing him to the top only to knock him back down makes no sense at all. And I fear the same fate for Cody Rhodes."

"In this new WWE creative universe, valid history has no part. They may keep track of how many titles you've won, but your win/loss record is meaningless. When you're wrestling every week and doing jobs for the sake of entertainment or cheap pops, matches become meaningless themselves."

"It's like WWE suffers from severe cases of A.D.D. and short term memory loss....The constant flipping of scripts and rebooting of characters doesn't leave much to build a legacy on. The time line of careers is so botched and flip flopped, you'd think you were watching a Republican GOP race."

"In the end, Big Show finally won his moment. But now that Wrestlemania is over, it's time to focus on the future...and it starts with putting the IC strap back on Cody Rhodes."

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Diva's Match Didn't Need "Extra" Hype

*Excerpts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog*

Kelly Kelly and host of television's Hollywood gossip show Extra, Maria Menounos defeated Divas champion Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres.

"Not much to talk about here. It's the token boobs and booty match of any WWE event."

'I'm glad that the WWE didn't go over the top like they usually do when promoting a celebrity wrestling appearance at Mania.... nothing more than a slap to the face of the talent that works 340 days a year, and I can easily understand John Morrison's position last year..."

"I don't know how many additional PPV buys and newly converted fans the WWE gained last year by having Snooki on the show - but I sure as shit know that they didn't gain anything from having Menounos appear."

"Overall, the match was treated right and offered the divas a deserved spot on the card...the match proved that the girls can in fact wrestle and don't have to be resorted to yearly gimmick matches such as Playboy Pillow Fights and Lumberjack matches."

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The Monster's Fire Keeps Burning

*Excepts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog

In a surprise to many for a match with minimal build, Kane defeated Randy Orton.

"There was never any real reason for heat between the competitors. It was simply two of the top veteran guys working against each other on the main card."

"Sometimes, drawn out storylines overkill the concept of having an effective match. It compromises the choreography of the match because you have to hit certain spots to make sure the story is properly told. There are times where outside entertainment factors play too much of a role when the match should simply focus on the wrestling."

"Kane needed the win a lot more than Orton did.... Had Kane lost this match, his appeal and effect as a "monster heel" would have been killed."

"The best way to move forward here is to end this feud now. There was no real story or real reason for the program to continue. They are just two guys whose paths crossed at Wrestlemania. One guy lost and the other got his hand raised...now, move on!"

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Smackdown Title Loses All Value in 18 Seconds

*Excerpts from DieHard Pro Wrestling's "...And Justice For Brawl" Blog:*

A new world champion was crowned at Wrestlemania, as 2012 Royal Rumble winner Sheamus defeated defending champion Daniel Bryan...in 18 seconds!!!

"Now this could technically go down as one of the biggest and most surprising Wrestlemania moments of all-time, but I'd categorize it as one of the most insulting and demeaning."

"..the Raw title is the most prestigious championship in all of pro wrestling and no one really gives a shit about the Smackdown title."

"Sure, the office won't say it publicly. They fear the backlash of going on the record and saying, 'He's too small...He has no charisma...He doesn't draw.'"

"A historic moment was at the first Wrestlemania when King Kong Bundy defeated SD Jones in 9 seconds. But it was Bundy squashing a jobber, not a world title match with a guy who can run circles around most of the roster."

"... it's apparent that creative doesn't know how to utilize Daniel Bryan. Now that his title run is over, the chances are slim to none that he will ever regain the strap, let alone the opportunity."

"Unfortunately for Daniel Bryan, pro wrestling is fake...or shall I say "pre-determined"? It doesn't matter how good he is. What matters is how good they make him look with their script-writing. While he has no control over his character or the words that come out of his mouth during his promos, Daniel Bryan's future seems bleak as he resorts to being another one of the creative robots. A championship squash match during the opening of Wrestlemania is a clear indication that creative has nothing left for you."

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