My Thoughts and Opinions of Wrestlemania 23

Another Wrestlemania is in the books, and while Wrestlemania 23 won’t be remembered as the greatest Wrestlemania in history, I thought it was a solid show. Wrestlemania 23 delivered a few great matches including a strong main event, a Batista-Undertaker match that was better than expected, and a Money in the Bank match that was quite entertaining.

On the flip side, Wrestlemania gave us a few popcorn matches including another awful Great Khali match, a Women’s title match that was a train wreck from the start, and a six man tag team match that simply didn’t belong on the show. I thought many of the backstage skits were lame and pointless, and would have preferred live interviews leading into key matches. All the “all grown up” videos got redundant fast.

I would have also preferred to hear Lilian Garcia start the show off with another beautiful rendition of the national anthem, but I understand for nostalgia reasons, they brought back the Queen of Soul – as she is all grown up, and out.

I’m not sure why they started with the Money in the Bank match as it would have been a hard act for anyone to follow. In my humble opinion, I would have started with Benoit-MVP. The match had some insane spots, including Hardy jumping off a ladder in the ring and crashing into Edge and breaking a ladder. With all the insanity, I am hoping everyone survived the match without any serious injuries.

WWE has done a good job in making the Wrestlemania Money in the Bank ladder match the new King of the Ring in that it can be utilized to elevate someone. I know I’m not the only one that wondered if Kennedy would have cashed in on his title shot later in the show. Thankfully, he did not and will have time to saver his victory.

The first break of the night came when The Great Khali made his way to the ring. The Kane-Khali match was brutal, but thankfully they keep it short.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the backstage dance celebration featuring many stars of the 80’s, including IRS, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Jimmy Hart, and the return of the doctor of style – Stick! I just wish they would have let him do a few bars of “Jive of Soul Bro,” but who can complain?

I must say, MVP is starting to grow on me. I find his weekly destruction of “international” champions hilarious on Smackdown, and it’s overt that his in ring skills have improved, and it never hurts when you are in the ring with the great Chris Benoit. If you are into matches with move, followed by countermove, this was a match for you.

After the match, Donald Trump was backstage when the Boogeyman appeared behind him. Trump wasn’t scared as was his female companion. Hopefully, this is the blow off to this pointless character. At least they brought out the 2007 WWE hall of fame inductees shortly there after.

I was quite surprised they placed The Undertaker-Batista match in the middle of the card, especially when they put on this type of match. We had heard they were disappointed that the powers that be decided against ending the show with their match, as this was a closing main event type of encounter. Even though I despise Batistaberg, I have to give the devil his do, as he worked hard in this one.

While many of the backstage skits were useless, I must say the one with Vince and Stephanie was comical. Boy, that little girl has been born into quite a family. Your dad is Triple H, your mom is Stephanie, and your grandfather is Vinny Mac. Hopefully the child turns out alright despite it all.

In watching the six man tag, I felt like I was watching ECW on Sci Fi, which is alright on a Tuesday night, but not when I’m plunking down $50 to watch Wrestlemania. WWE clearly called an audible by putting the ECW originals over, and with Rob Van Dam scoring the pin fall, I started to wonder if RVD may have decided to stay with WWE.

Next came the battle of the billionaires. One thing I must say, the introductions seemed long as competitors had a long stroll to the ring, and especially when everyone comes out to their theme music including Mr. McMahon, Umaga, Donald Trump, Bobby Lashley, and of course, Steve Austin.

If you thought Vince was going to pull something here on April Fool’s Day to avoid shaving his head, you don’t understand the man. This is a guy that will do anything for business, including jumping into the ring to battle men half his age, taking a punch to the face after double crossing a hall of famer, and kissing the posture of a five hundred pound man. Compared to those, having his head shaved was a piece of cake. I thought it was a compelling story, although, I’m not clear on the reason Austin gave Trump a stone cold stunner.

I was surprised they showed highlights of the Wrestlemania dark match, a battle royal won by Carlito and Ric Flair. They really should have shown that match and eliminated the Women’s title match from the show. Despite beautiful women surrounding the ring, this was brutal, and again, thankfully, they kept it short. Ashley needs to learn how to wrestle and for heaven sake, eat something!

Next came the main event, well, at least the last match on the card. I’m not really sure this show had a main event. Regardless, Shawn Michaels worked hard to carry John Cena to a good match, and he succeeded. I must say, Cena’s entrance in the Mustang was lame. But Cena-HBK delivered, and by the end of a long night, the fans were popping. A good way to end the show, although I assume most fans would have preferred the show ending with The Undertaker celebrating with the World Heavyweight title belt.

I must give Wrestlemania 23 a thumbs up. Like I said, it wasn’t a great Wrestlemania, but it was solid. As far as the best match, I’m going with the Money in the Bank match.

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