1. Day 292 - The Good, The Bad, And The "Meh" Of Wrestlemania 27

2. Day 293 - Switching Sides (Part 1 Of 2)

We are less than twenty-four hours removed from the biggest Pay-Per-View of the year, Wrestlemania XXVII. In my eight-plus years of wrestling fandom, never have I seen the Internet Wrestling Community explode with such mixed reactions following a Wrestlemania event. Tito loved it. Hustle hated it. In fact, the majority of people either regret ordering the show, or believe it was one of the greatest Wrestlemanias of all-time. Talk about controversy. Since everyone is entitled to their personal opinion, I might as well share mine. Therefore, I present to you a mini-review of – wait for it – what I thought was one of the better (not best!) Wrestlemanias of all-time.

The Good:

-Del Rio vs. Edge

Don’t get me wrong; I was genuinely shocked to see a world title match kick off Wrestlemania – especially since Del Rio won the 2011 Royal Rumble – but in retrospect, it was a solid choice to open the show. Both men exceeded many fans’ expectations and put on an exciting match with little to no slow spots. Fortunately the outside interference was kept to a minimum and we got an early contender for Match of the Night. It still should have been higher on the card, though.

-Cody Rhodes

Call me biased, but did the former “Dashing” one look like a million bucks, or what? Everything from his shady entrance to his constant counters of Mysterio’s offense showed how hard he was trying out there. Not even Mysterio’s silly ring attire could take away from this match. Both men put on a show-stealing performance and Rhodes winning the bout was merely a bonus. If Rhodes doesn’t use this victory to propel to the top of Smackdown! In the coming months, I will be flabbergasted.

-Backstage With Snoop Dogg

As soon as this segment kicked off, I thought we were headed for a train-wreck. Fortunately, I was wrong. William Regal rapping was epic, Zack Ryder singing Jessica Black’s “Friday” (only to get wacked in the head by Roddy Piper and his trusty coconut) was LMAO-worthy, and Hornswoggle finally stopped pretending to be verbally challenged. This “competition” was quick, painless, and actually pretty funny.

-Lawler vs. Cole

Yes, I’m serious, folks. This “match” exceeded my expectations like no other. Everything seemed to click. Michael Cole hiding in his “Cole Mine” and begging Lawler to call off the match was chicken shit 101. Rather than Lawler spending ten minutes beating down Cole, Cole actually got in a lot of offense (admittedly a bit too much) and built up his heat. But the post-match shenanigans were the highlight for me. Michael Cole tapping out to the “AnCole Lock” with both hands was amazing, as was Booker T interrupting the celebration only to receive a Stunner in return. Furthermore, the RAW GM reversing the decision was the right way to go because it got the heat back on Cole AND kept his heel character alive. Overall, this was an entertaining “conclusion” to one of the most-hyped matches of the night.

-The Return of J.R.

Wasn’t it great to hear Good Ol’ J.R. back at the announce table? As bad as I felt for poor Josh Mathews being the victim of a Stunner, it was good to hear Lawler and Ross call the rest of Wrestlemania, just like old times. Ross’s commentary did nothing but make Wrestlemania feel that much more special. The guy’s still got it.

-Triple H vs. The Undertaker

I wasn’t a big fan of the drawn-out injury angle, but everything else was incredible. Both men came out to Wrestlemania-worthy entrances, and proved the critics wrong by putting on the match of the night. Sure, neither man sold each other’s finishers, but so what? At Wrestlemania, anything can happen, and for one night only, we’re supposed to suspend our belief. At Wrestlemania, The Undertaker has earned the right to kick out of three Pedigrees to keep The Streak alive. At Wrestlemania, The Deadman should kick out of his own finisher. Both men told a completely different story than Michaels/Undertaker from the past two years and like it or not, will go down as one of the best Wrestlemania matches of all-time.

-Snooki

When you talk about shocking the world, you have got to mention Snooki’s performance last night. Even her biggest supporters weren’t expecting much from her last night, but she played her role well and deserved to score the winning pinfall for her team, rather than have it “handed to her” because of her appearance. Snooki looked amazing and showed an athletic side to her that probably no one knew existed. Even Trish and Michelle put on a good showing in the ring, and Morrison’s Starship pain to Ziggler looked impressive. Props to Team Snooki.

-John Cena vs. The Miz

It may have started off slow, but Cena and Miz did everything in their power to put on a good match last night. In fact, I wasn’t truly invested in the match until Miz kicked out of the Attitude Adjustment, which made me scream “HOLY SHIT!” and jump off my couch. Sure, the match could have used another five minutes, and the original No-Contest ruling was lame, but I think a lot of people are under-rating the main-event. Match of the Night? Not exactly, but it was worthy of closing Wrestlemania.

The “Meh”:

-The Rock

I think Dwayne Johnson did a decent job of hosting Wrestlemania. Was I expecting more from him? Yes. Did his opening promo take up too much time? Yes. But by no means did The Rock “ruin” Wrestlemania. He was billed as the host of the show, so it made sense for him to cut an in-ring promo, participate in several backstage segments, and of course, get involved in Cena vs. Miz. Keep in mind that thousands of fans ordered Wrestlemania just to see The Rock. If he only made one or two appearances during the night, wouldn’t those paying fans have felt jipped by the WWE? Definitely. He may be responsible for the U.S. title match being bumped off the card, but The Rock played his role well last night.

-Orton vs. Punk

I full heart-heatedly agree with those who say these two did not live up to their potential last night. I mean, they did not put on a bad match, but I feel like they could have done so much more with the time they were given. Why put the emphasis on Orton’s injured leg if he didn’t bother to tape it up, or won the match using his leg strength? I don’t know, their match felt better suited to take place at SummerSlam or another PPV, because even though the crowd was into both men, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. The RKO to Punk was pretty sick, though.

The “Bad”:

-No Sheamus vs. Bryan

For the second time in three years, WWE has made the poor decision to bump one of the matches I was most looking forward to from Wrestlemania (the first being the tag team title unification match between MorriMiz and The Colons at Wrestlemania XXV). Considering that Sheamus is a former two-time WWE Champion, and Bryan held the U.S. Championship for about six months, it makes little sense for WWE to screw them both out of a Wrestlemania match. Only two titles were defended last night, which is absurd for a Wrestlemania, and Sheamus vs. Bryan could have salvaged that number, as well as putting on a great match. I don’t blame fans for being pissed. I’m sure people flew in from Ireland just to see Sheamus compete at Wrestlemania, and they were forced to see him lose a pre-match Battle Royal. What a joke.

-The Corre vs. Team Big Show

Speaking of jokes, what a way to make your tag team and Intercontinental Champions look like imbeciles. WWE spent months building The Corre up to be a brute force, all for what? A squash that lasted not even two minutes? I understand that Big Show and Kane are former world champions, and shouldn’t be beaten by someone like Gabriel or Slater, but Jackson and Barrett looked horrible as well. Really bad booking, and a waste of everyone’s time.

-Morrison and Ziggler

As much as I enjoyed the six-person tag, I was pissed that Morrison and Ziggler barely interacted. Hell, I don’t think they were even tagged in. Considering that both men were competing for world titles a few short months ago, I find it strange that WWE would have them barely wrestle at Wrestlemania. I somehow doubt they would have stunk up the ring with a good five-seven minutes of one-on-one action.

And that’s about it, really. I think a lot of fans are pissed because:

-Christian didn’t turn heel
-Cena didn’t turn heel
-Sheamus vs. Bryan didn’t take place
-Cole vs. Lawler went on a bit too long
-The main-event was “too predictable”

However, if you can look past all that, I think Wrestlemania XXVII was a great PPV overall. The good certainly outweighs the bad, and I’m sure most people are letting their anger over Bryan/Sheamus getting snubbed take control of their emotions. Wrestling-wise, apart from the eight-man tag, and possibly Cole/Lawler, no match was less than decent. Maybe I’m living in the moment, and being too generous here, but I think Wrestlemania XXVII deserves a solid B+, and nothing less.

Bring on the hate!

Now that Wrestlemania is behind us, it's time to look at the next big WWE event. I'm obviously not talking about the "Not-So-Extreme" Rules Pay-Per-view next month (I still miss Backlash). Nope, I'm referring to the upcoming WWE Draft. It happens every year, usually after Wrestlemania and before June, which it means it's coming. I for one am excited because I feel several superstars have become way too stale on their current brands, and basically, "it's time to shake things up!".

I am well aware that a million different things could happen between now and the day the draft takes place - whenever WWE decides to announce it - but it's clear as day that the United States Champion, Sheamus, won't be on RAW much longer. Apart from his brief stint on ECW, Sheamus has been exclusive to Monday nights, and has already feuded with the top faces (John Cena, Randy Orton, John Morrison). A move to Smackdown! would provide him with the opportunity to dominate the way he did in 2010, and feud with the likes of Edge, Christian, and Rey Mysterio.

This next pick is a no-brainer. If the United States Champion is off to Smackdown!, then obviously Wade Barrett will be returning to RAW. This may seem a bit premature considering that the Intercontinental Champion debuted on Smackdown! less than four months ago, but Barrett doesn't seem comfortable wrestling on the "B" show. He's had some of his best promos and matches on RAW, and it would make sense for him to pick back up where he started, but hopefully not in another feud with John Cena. I think Barrett will be the WWE Champion by the end of the year, or early 2012. Wait and see.

This prediction may shock some people, but it shouldn't. It's time for Randy Orton to return to Smackdown! after a five-year absence. Considering Smackdown!'s recent ratings gain, why not capitalize on that momentum by sending over one of the company's biggest stars. Let's face it; Orton had his opportunity, but as long as John Cena is a face, he will never be the top good guy on RAW. I somehow doubt Cena will turn heel this year (if ever), so rather than have both men compete for the "Superman" title, why not split them up? Orton can reign over Smackdown! as the number one face, and maybe even stay there until...a match against John Cena at Wrestlemania 29? It could happen.

So far, RAW has lost two former WWE Champions in Sheamus and Orton, so to make up for it, I can imagine Smackdown! giving up Kane. He's nowhere near as over as Orton, but he would fill the newly-vacated monster slot with ease. Since Kane has been known to switch from face to heel and back multiple times per year, he could help put over a lot of RAW midcarders, all the while retaining his credibility. He probably won't get another world title match, but he will always remain in the uppercard.

This guy was never signed to an "official contract", yet he was involved in the main event of Wrestlemania 27. He has even been fired, but came back a few weeks later. It seems like the only way to get rid of Alex Riley is to send him to Smackdown!. He has done an excellent job in his current role, making The Miz look like a million bucks and taking 99% of the WWE Champion's beatings for him, but it's time for the former NXT hopeful to move on. Miz The Miz has already accomplished more than anyone ever thought he could, and it's time for him to stop using Riley as a shield and stand up for himself. As for A-Ry, a move to Smackdown! would get his WWE career back on track, and remind fans why he was once a favourite to win NXT.

It's been almost two years since Vince McMahon dubbed him "The Chosen One", but Drew McIntyre is yet to prove him right and win a world championship. Following his performance at the Elimination Chamber PPV, many people thought his program with Edge would lead to a big push up the Smackdown! ladder. Instead, McIntyre wasn't even booked for Wrestlemania. I think a change of scenery would do McIntyre good, as he has barely wet his feet in front of RAW audiences. It may be a gamble, but I feel McIntyre would accomplish a lot more on Monday nights than he ever did on Fridays.

Song Of The Day: These Kids Wear Crowns - Jumpstart

(Never heard of them? I don't blame you. Check out the song, though.)

Three guys to RAW, three guys to Smackdown!. Think six picks are enough? I certainly don't. I'll have the rest of my fantasy draft picks out by tomorrow, but for now, what do you think? Would these six superstars be more successful on their new brand? Who would you like to see find a new home?

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Until the next time we meet, take care, and spike your hair.

Woo x 3

Source: lordsofpain.net