I enjoyed the whole event. So much so that I watched the press conference that followed. This was the first PPV I’d seen in a while, I’m happy to see they brought the post-show montages back. That was always fun during the Attitude era.
Cody indicating that he disliked the whole “finish my story” thing now that it’s become cliché. Triple H got a little nervous when like three of the interviewers brought up Vince. Although he was vague, I still thought “everything possible” was a great answer.
I thought CM Punk’s desperate looks toward the Wrestlemania sign, when things weren’t going quite his way, was the best psychology in the whole event. And while Punk did look winded at times, he was quick, reactive, threw out a number of flashy moves, and had the best ring presence of everyone in the match. I predicted the elimination order of the final four… well, kinda; I gave them the chances of something like Cody Rhodes 50%, Punk 35%, WALTER 14%, and Drew with about 1%, and that was reflected in the outcome.
Speaking of presence, holy shit Jade Cargil came off great in that one. Hoisting Nia Jax up with such ease (Yes, I realize Nia did a lot of the work, like pulling herself over the ropes, but let me “mark out” for a moment! …I feel old saying “mark out”) was really a great moment. The Becky Lynch elimination of Jade using Naomi as a weapon was a really good spot as well.
As was said in the press conference, Bayley w pointed out that the roster was really strong, made evident by the fact that no legends were brought in to fill spots. But they did bring in the TNA women’s champion! And that was quite shocking. I guess TNA relaunched is going to have an ECW-type relationship with WWE where once in a while you’ll see some trades back and forth.
Few other notes:
The Ricochet screaming, is that a new thing with him? Like how Brian Christopher did the chuckles in 98/99?
The Men’s Royal Rumble match had the Omos and Mcafee sideshow, which reminded me a bit of the Drew Carey thing. Omos made Bronson Reed and Ivar look like hobbits!
Speaking of Bronsons, Bron Steiner looked a lot like his uncle in the ring. That level of athleticism.
I was rooting for Liv Morgan to win, she’s one of my favourites, I’ve been a big fan since the Riot Squad. But I didn’t know Bayley hadn’t actually ever been in a singles Wrestlemania championship match, that’s fairly nuts when you think about it considering she was one of the four horsewomen and has rarely been weak.
Now speaking of the Riot Squad, Sarah Logan’s gimmick is entertaining, but she comes off way weaker than her presentation.
I’d say the Usos carried a lot of the men’s match.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
