I was going to do this last night right after the event, but I ended up hanging out where I watched the PPV for a little while longer and watching the replay through to the end of Michaels/Flair before going home. I didn’t want to start writing a recap at 1:00 AM because then I would have been up until 3:30 AM and I’m getting too old to do work on 5 hours of sleep.

Since we don’t really appear to have recappers anymore (or anyone for that matter =( ) I’m putting up thoughts hoping Ken comes to read them and just can’t help but post something in response. I mean, the show was in Florida for God’s sake.

Belfast Brawl: Finlay (w/ Hornswoggle McMahon Finlay) vs. JBL

Probably a good call for the opener. The build-up for this match was probably one of the better ones overall. Nothing quite gets the crowd’s bloodlust going like a good weapons match. The crowd seems a little dead but it’s hard to tell whether or not they’re quiet because they’re outside and you don’t get that same encapsulated, echoing sound that you do with indoor arenas or if they’re just dead. I didn’t quite understand the finish… I mean, Finlay demands his own gimmick match, gets it, has his son beaten up in his hospital bed, and gets……. the loss. Really?

Kim Kardashian’s Breasts

A-

Kim Kardashian

D-

Kennedy Screwing With Kim Kardashian

A++++ WOULD BUY FROM AGAIN!!11!

Money In The Bank Ladder Match: Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. CM Punk vs. Miiiiiiiiistaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh Kennedy. Kennedy

This was one of the matches I stuck around to watch for on the replay. We lost the feed in the middle of this match when the box crashed (*shakes fist in Time Warner’s general direction*). On the 2nd watch through I only found myself disappointed it didn’t go on for a little bit longer. One thing I noticed: some of us wondered why Jericho ended up in this match but on the 2nd watch, I really noticed Jericho controlling the pace and flow of the entire match. He managed to be in the middle of the entire match without doing too much but guiding pretty much all the spots and making sure things were set up correctly. If Haley was still around to do Little Things, I think that’d be high up on the list. Shelton delivered another great MitB performance, continuing to solidify himself as “guy who could be the Rock if he would take some public speaking lessons.” The Matt Hardy run-in was a great comeback for him and a great nod to a (hopefully) pending US Title feud. I really hope this whole “we’re punishing Matt Hardy for being upset Edge screwed his girlfriend” thing has now come to an end. Matt has to be the most over guy who never gets anywhere. As for the finish, I was pretty happy that Punk won, but I guess the question now is does he challenge for the ECW Title to give it some credibility as an “equal” title with the other two, or does he piss on the ECW Title for a shot at Smackdown or Raw? I’m guessing the latter.

Snoop/Festus/Santino Backstage

I can’t help it, I love the stupid Festus character.

Batista vs. Youmanga

If the Belfast Brawl didn’t have weapons, this probably would have been the first match on the card. Not much memorable happened here except Batista blowing the Demon Bomb, probably injuring himself, and going to the finish anyway. Not much is stupider than when a guy screws up the finish and the opponent still has to pretend to lay there like he got hit with it. I understand Batista went to finish because he was probably hurt, but it looks really, really dumb. Not much here.

Mayweather Backstage

To his credit: Matt Michaels called the finish on Mayweather/Show the instant he saw the guy with the brass knuckles around his neck.

ECW Championship: Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero (c)

I guess Chavo’s “I’m related to Eddy” push is over? Complete squash by Kane to the point we were almost expecting Punk to cash in MitB immediately. Nothing to see here.

Career Match: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels

A few weeks back when I gave this match a solid line on stealing the show, I meant it differently. I was thinking of a 30-minute classic that people would remember seeing. It wasn’t necessarily that, but it still stole the show. It’s not always easy to quantify “storytelling” in a match, but you know when it’s there and you notice it when it isn’t. This match had it. Flair can’t go like he used to and the two of them created a match with that understood. The wrestling sequences and chopping sequences were great. Shawn did a few flashy enough moves that you didn’t notice Flair wasn’t doing all that much but keeping up. The missed moonsaults gave Flair enough time to catch his breath. Shawn getting his top rope move countered and Ric Flair finally hitting that move (it only took him 40 years!) was great. Shawn not being able to pull the trigger on the first Chin Music was absolutely perfect; right along with the follow-up when Flair angrily slapped on the Figure Four. If I take anything from this match — for the rest of my life I will remember the image of Flair pulling himself to his feet, already bawling, with his fists up telling Shawn to “come on.” And Shawn’s delivery of “I’m sorry… I love you” and Flair laying on his back in tears. It was emotional, perfect, tremendous, and I really would love to know what Flair said to Shawn after the pin. Emotional. Perfect. Heavy. Fantastic. Another quick nod to this match: JR and King. I couldn’t really hear the commentary the first time through because the room was crowded. When I watch the replay the most notable part of the commentary was how little JR and King said during this match. The hardest part of being a good commentator is knowing when not to say anything (See also: Buck, Joe vs. Albert, Marv) and five-stars to JR and King for nailing it here.

That said, I have read a few reviews complaining about the placement of this match. Some parties saying that it should have been the main event and others saying that it shouldn’t have been followed with Bunnymania. I disagree on both. Wrestlemania very, very rarely ends on a down note. They always try to send the fans away happy. Even when Triple H won in 2000, they allowed the Rock to destroy everyone in the ring so people left happy. That wouldn’t have been possible with this match. Secondly, what match do you possibly put after this? Any match that went on after this would have gotten no response. If you’re either title match, do you really WANT to follow this?

Bunnymania Lumberjill Match: Ashley and Maria vs. Beth Phoenix and Maria

Three things: 1) Someone probably should have mentioned to the Lumberjills that they’re supposed to actually, you know, beat up the participants when they’re thrown out of the ring. 2) The power outage caused the most chaos on the IWC than I’ve seen in quite some time. 411, Pulse, PWI, and Torch all crashed at some point. 3) I want a Benz golf-cart with rims to drive to work in.

WWE Title: John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Randy Orton

I probably should have stayed into the replay long enough to watch this match again because I spent most of the match trying to get Pulse back up. I really don’t feel comfortable commenting on it either way, so I’ll reserve this space for the best comment recap or when I see the DVD. One thing I will say: I absolutely loved the finish. Missing in a lot of wrestling these days are heels who are too busy trying to be cool heels than just enjoying being heels. Orton happily taking advantage of Triple H’s Pedigree was awesomely heelish and I loved it.

The Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather

I’ve been in a few arguments with people who thought that the build of this match was lame. I disagree. I thought the only really, really bad part was Big Show arguing with pre-taped Mayweather. All the rest of it was good. I was happy to see Floyd being as in to all of it as he was… he certainly didn’t have to take a 20 foot drop from the ring on to a pile of people. You could tell that Mayweather was into it and loved everything that was going on. The Big Show also seemed to be digging the whole thing, too. And why not… I’m pretty sure this is going to lead to good things for him as he appears on Raw or Smackdown this week and murders someone because he’s so angry about “getting embarrassed” or something. Both guys ended up protected pretty well. Floyd got to win by knockout (protecting his perfect record) and it took multiple chair shots and a Mayweather right wrapped in brass knucks to get the win. If anyone’s wondering: boxrec.com is, in fact, NOT listing Mayweather as 40-0 now. I really thought all of this was done well. It got the press they wanted, it helped Mayweather, and Big Show didn’t come out of it looking bad.

World Heavyweight Championship: Undertaker vs. Edge (c)

By putting the Triple Threat match earlier on in the night they pretty much held up a gigantic sign that says ‘TAKER WINS.’ Even so, I’m continually amazed at how much better Edge is now than he was originally. You can tell he’s just one of those guys who gets it and cares about being better. For me, this was the only match that hit the Wrestlemania Level (barring the Flair/Michaels match, which was just something else entirely). When I say that, you either know what I mean or you don’t. Just one of those matches that felt like it was more important and better than a standard title match on any other PPV. One of those matches that you really don’t know when or how they’re going to end. Wrestlemania is usually the night where finishers don’t matter as much. This was one of those. The Tombstone didn’t finish. The Spear didn’t finish. They build finishers up so much that when guys are kicking out of them at Mania you just start feeling like they want it more. It’s a stupid little psychological trick and one they’ve been doing for years but it still works. I like how Edge tried to pin Undertaker by laying on one arm only to have Taker power out with his other arm. I loved how Edge reached for the ropes, couldn’t quite make it, then reached with his leg, still couldn’t make it, looked like he was going to give up, then made one last failed grab for the ropes, and had to tap out. Those are the stupid little things that some guys get and some guys just don’t. Edge gets it. Great main event. Sent the fans home happy.

And props to the WWE production crew for getting two awesome shots. The first being the overhead shot of the Citrus Bowl with the fireworks bathing the night sky above and lighting up the crowd and the ring. The second being the tremendous shot of Taker holding the belt with the purple sky and the fireworks and the Mania logo behind him. Just a perfect closing shot for a great PPV. The WWE production staff remain the unsung heroes of the entire federation. Vince understands that if the product looks good people will think it’s good. TNA still doesn’t get it, and I don’t even know if they get that they don’t get it.

This wasn’t a top five Wrestlemania or anything, but it delivered for me. If anything, I will absolutely have that one moment that I’ll always remember “That was the Wrestlemania where X happened” and, really, that’s the best you can hope for out of a show.