by bigh0rt on Tue Apr 04, 2017 12:29 am
Overall I thought the event was fun and enjoyable. Several matches felt rushed, and nothing was truly, truly amazing; but that doesn't mean it wasn't a good Mania.
I thought that Goldberg/Lesnar was as good as they could have possibly booked it. I had very low expectations, but it was well done.
I really still don't understand the direction with Reigns. He's acting like a heel. He's being booed like a heel. But they're drowning out the boos, still? If you're going to have him go over the Undertaker at Wrestle Mania and retire the legend, why not make the most of the opportunity? If the intent is not to have him be a heel, why do it in the first place? Perplexing, but really, par for the course when it comes to Roman. I'm in the minority here, but I'm glad to no longer have to watch the Taker. Every time I see him it just makes me miss the Taker I grew up with and loved watching in my younger years; not the nostalgic good feelings that others like Andrew get.
Styles v. Shane was very enjoyable. Probably the most enjoyable match of the night. Styles continues to be the best asset the company has, and I hope he's back in the Main Event picture soon, even if it isn't for the title; get him programs against other big performers (his entire feud with Cena was fantastic). I'd love to see Gallows and Anderson re-join him and have them wreak havoc as heels. Hopefully that's in the works. Either way, right now Styles > Everybody else.
Triple H v. Rollins was alright. They did a good job of making me forget entirely about the table that Stephanie ultimately went through. I'm just done watching Triple H wrestle. I hope he doesn't have a match at Mania next year, but something tells me I'll be disappointed. At the very least, throw him against another former star like The Rock, and not against a current big talent like Rollins, who could be better utilized elsewhere.
The Hardyz were obviously the biggest surprise of the night, and it was great to see them in a WWE ring. Hopefully there's some direction with them going forward.
Both Women's matches were very underwhelming, which lately has been a rarity. Like I had thought in my pre-show posts -- they jammed too many superstars into the matches to try and get them on the card, and the matches suffered as a result. They felt rushed.
I don't mine Wyatt jobbing yet again at Mania if they don't just dump him into some random feud for him to lose yet again tomorrow night. He's another guy who benefits greatly from having Harper and Rowan flanking him -- it was a bad idea to break them up initially, and it remains such.
What's next for Orton, do we think? Maybe Styles? I could see them putting on an entertaining program for a month or two. I suppose there's always The Miz or Ziggler they can always look to for a quick month or so.
Owens v. Jericho was a good match as well. Owens continues to be fun to watch. Hopefully there's some re-branding of the United States Championship to the Canadian Championship, unofficially, to make him more hateable to the fans. I'm not sure who he feuds with now that Jericho is stepping away for a bit. Rollins maybe? Looking over RAWs roster, there aren't a ton of big faces. Maybe Finn? Maybe they continue to force Reigns the face? Maybe yet another Sami Zayn? A call-up like Nakamura?
I'm glad Cena will be gone filming. Hopefully there will be a good angle for him to get into upon his return around SummerSlam? I'm looking into attending the event since it's in Brooklyn.