Here's my view of the matches in no particular order.
MiTB ladder match. Some good, some bad and some very ugly. Kingston and Benjamin were entertaining and the rest were only so-so. Punk is damn lucky to be getting a push because his performances are well below par and none of his moves look convincing. Not sure what the writers are thinking.
Taker vs Michaels. What can you say? These two vets showed the young up and comers how to do it. The new talent coming through does not and will never have the in ring psychology of these two. A sad day when they retire. The talent-pool is a bit thin and Old Vinnie better start sourcing real talent.
Diva Battle Royal. Waste of time and valuable space. Feeling majorly ripped off as Colons Vs Miz and Morrison would have been more entertaining and worthwhile. Santina was funny though. Can't remember any real crowd reaction though. It was better on RAW. I found it quite entertaining.
Legends match. Ok. Regardless of Piper's age and poor conditioning, I thought there was some nice vintage work from him (eye poke was classic). Steamboat stole the show. Snuka shouldn't have been there. Rourke shouldn't have bothered. Thought it was plain dumb in the end.
Hardys. Was left feeling unfulfilled after the match. Some fantastic high spots and a good finish but there was something missing. Would like to have seen some more novelty weapons under the ring. The dry-vac was a good touch though. Where's the bag of popcorn when you need it?
JBL vs Rey. Some things are better left unsaid. Not sure whether a squash match at Mania is the way to farewell someone of JBL’s experience. I know he is a heel and you don’t want the crowd to cheer him but there has to be another way, I’m just not sure how.
Triple Threat Title match. Ok match but nothing to get too excited about. I liked the ‘almost’ double FU. Gotta give the man his credit there. The only real issue is putting the strap back on Cena. Merchandising and buy rates are fair reasons why he carries a belt again but his work (in and out) of the ring is just plain getting old and stale. Before anyone calls me a hater, I have a right to express an opinion, an opinion that is shared by quite a few in the crowds. Revamp his character and stop boring us. Would like to see Edge win a Title match clean at Mania. I really enjoy his work.
TripleH vs Orton. I could do nothing but cringe for these two as there was minimal crowd participation in this one. Hell, at one point, the crowd seemed interested in something else that was going to the right of screen. This went on for a few minutes and the two boys in the ring couldn’t read the crowd’s behavior and ad lib a spot or two to get them back in? I could guarantee that performers such as Flair, Steamboat, B. Hart would have pulled something out of their bag of tricks given the same situation.
Overall, I don’t feel that I wasted my money buying the show but I got bored during this one moreso than any other.
