I’m excited for WrestleMania but the RAW build up was pretty much hot because of the Chicago crowd and a few money moments that had nothing to do with Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. Promo packages that we’ve seen for weeks continue to build up Lashley and Umaga, and the obvious No DQ gauntlet leading to the Lashley beat down was no surprise. Maybe the bigger surprise was how Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin didn’t get a pay day last night to help with the run in beat down. The opening segment however with Stone Cold with one of the hottest pops of the night with Coach was obvious but fun, even the truck/limo scene was cute for all the wrong reasons.
The money moments went to (surprise, surprise) John Cena and Shawn Michaels with their on-top-of-it promos. Cena gave one of the best promos of his career when he didn’t get too cute. He made me believe as a fan that his main event with Michaels will be a memorable match for him. Michaels did his ‘I’m the greatest of all time, while all the pretenders bailed’ promo and it also worked for me. We all knew the main event match with Batista and Undertaker versus Cena/Michaels was all about which one would pull the trigger with their finisher. Considering Cena’s less than thrilling crowd reaction in Chicago, maybe that’s why they waited so long for HBK to deliver the superkick in a controversial place for Cena. It was well done though slightly mistimed, but it doesn’t take away from the purpose, and that’s to convince the fans who cheer for both Cena and Michaels to buy the show on Sunday.
There isn’t a better time of year for those of us who love this business to celebrate WrestleMania for what it is. Last year was a well done show and I don’t expect this year’s to be any different. I also think Money in the Bank has a real chance to steal the show. The promos on RAW regarding it were less than thrilling but it was basically set up for CM Punk to get the best reaction being “Chicago’s very own” and the always popular (and mostly denied) Jeff Hardy got a positive reaction.
One of the disappointments of RAW that I have to point out is how they did a great tribute to JR for his announcement of upcoming induction to Hall of Fame and then Flair was in the position to get squashed by the no talented Great Kahli. Kahli is a waste of time and space, unless Kane pulls a miracle, no one is going to care about that match in Detroit.
Lots of good things are happening around the Pulse, including a pretty cool hookup – do you want Ring of Honor tickets for this weekend? Well, we have your hookup.
Always remember, for things to change, you have to make movement. Thanks for reading and for all the feedback, feel free to contact me anytime at Bam@4sternstaging.com.
