GDT: Wrestlemania 40

[TimeZone]

Austin coming out made zero sense. His history is way too far back with Rock.

Undertaker has recent history with losing to Roman at Wrestlemania. It also makes sense that Taker was portrayed as a "final boss" of sorts and Rock started calling himself that.

Austin would have gotten a huge pop but made zero contextual sense.

It would have made more sense given his history with The Rock at Mania, including having his retirement match at Mania against Hollywood Rock, the last time we seen this character was when he was feuding with Austin/Goldberg back in 2003.

Taker lost clean to a face Roman a decade ago, many years before this bloodline version of Roman was so much as a thought, it makes significantly less sense than Austin, which didn't make much sense either, but at the very least would have been a lot more exciting and made a small amount of sense.

 

[Satans Hockey]

 

[CDJ]

Best/most successful group in WWE/F history. They’ve mostly carried the industry for a decade

 

[DaaaaB's]

That’s a little bit history in the event though. We’ve seen Bret Hart and Seth Rollins lose clean at Wrestlemania and end the night as the champion.

That's true but those guys were also true main event level guys, I haven't seen Priest presented that way.

I'm a big Priest fan. I think he has a great look and is a great talker. I wish he was a few inches taller because his moveset - especially his finisher - is tailor made for an Undertaker style character.

I think this leads to a feud between Priest and Balor once Balor gets jealous. I hope they keep Priest as sort of an anti-hero rather than white meat babyface. Unless they turn Balor face.

I've been a fan of Priest since his ROH days and I think he's talented enough to be a world champion. Just don't think he's been booked that way. I think he can and hope he does do well as champ though. He's a far more interesting character than Cody.

Cody’s run of cringe is going to be something to behold

I enjoy Cody's in ring work quite a bit but his mic work and gimmick in general are so cringe to me. I do like him as a person though.

 

[GKJ]

That's true but those guys were also true main event level guys, I haven't seen Priest presented that way.

I've been a fan of Priest since his ROH days and I think he's talented enough to be a world champion. Just don't think he's been booked that way. I think he can and hope he does do well as champ though. He's a far more interesting character than Cody.


I enjoy Cody's in ring work quite a bit but his mic work and gimmick in general are so cringe to me. I do like him as a person though.

I haven’t seen anything personally that says he can’t do it. Putting the belt on someone at Wrestlemania is a good way to start though. He’s been presented effectively really his entire run so far.

 

[TD Charlie]

Cody’s run of cringe is going to be something to behold

It already is. I could tolerate his media scrum after the show last night, he came across as a super humbled and genuinely appreciative guy. Almost every other second of his existence the last few years has been hard to watch imo

 

[GKJ]

 

[dahrougem2]

It would have made more sense given his history with The Rock at Mania, including having his retirement match at Mania against Hollywood Rock, the last time we seen this character was when he was feuding with Austin/Goldberg back in 2003.

Taker lost clean to a face Roman a decade ago, many years before this bloodline version of Roman was so much as a thought, it makes significantly less sense than Austin, which didn't make much sense either, but at the very least would have been a lot more exciting and made a small amount of sense.

The story was never about The Rock. It was always about Roman and the Bloodline. Taker has had issues with Roman in the past, even if it was a while ago. Austin has not.

Every single person who entered to help Cody had some beef with the Bloodline pre-Rock.

Cena with Roman/Solo
Seth with the entire Bloodline
Jey with the Bloodline, especially Jimmy
Undertaker with Roman

Austin showing up made no sense other than for a huge pop. I'm not saying Taker is vital to the story, but him helping made more sense.

 

[BobColesNasalCavity]

Watching the replay, I got goosebumps when the undertaker bell went. I know everyone was hoping for the Rattlesnake but if he didn’t want to, having the Undertaker take out The Rock was awesome to watch

 

[Emperoreddy]

The Street Profits match was completely unnecessary, but ended up being a fun watch. Just an excuse to get a few guys on the show I guess.

Sunday was only a 6 match card including that one so a bit of filling the card out and what you said, getting some of these guys a pay day.

 

[TheBeard]

Watching the replay, I got goosebumps when the undertaker bell went. I know everyone was hoping for the Rattlesnake but if he didn’t want to, having the Undertaker take out The Rock was awesome to watch

I feel like it would have been cooler had he not already been there for the Hall Of Fame ceremony.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

Triple H Changes Vince McMahon WWE WrestleMania Rule

WWE WrestleMania XL was the first ever WrestleMania produced without any input from Vince McMahon at any level, with the shamed former WWE Owner not even present at the two night event in Philadelphia. All weekend WWE were looking to cement this as a new era for the company, from having...

cultaholic.com

Long-term fans will have also noticed another change to WrestleMania’s presentation, with the show opening with a performance by Coco Jones of the US national anthem ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. Whilst Mania has always opened with a show of American patriotism - Toronto’s WrestleMania VI and X8 aside - the show traditionally opens with a performance of ‘America the Beautiful’ rather than the national anthem.

Per Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio this was a deliberate change by Triple H:

“Vince hated the national anthem, that’s just Vince he hated it. He liked America The Beautiful and now that Vince is gone I guess it’s changed,” revealed Meltzer.

LOL.

 

[Emperoreddy]

 

[TheBeard]

Anyone have a good stream for Raw tonight? I'm traveling so I won't have access.

 

[Sensrule]

Cody’s run of cringe is going to be something to behold

Don't think it'll be as bad as Roman's solo face run once the Shield broke up. Believe that.

 

[hamzarocks]

Best/most successful group in WWE/F history. They’ve mostly carried the industry for a decade

That would be Evolution

flair, hhh, orton, batista

In WWE/professional wrestling and outside of WWE/professional wrestling they are the most recognized and impactful

 

[CDJ]

That would be Evolution

flair, hhh, orton, batista

In WWE/professional wrestling and outside of WWE/professional wrestling they are the most recognized and impactful

Evolution was certainly wildly successful- depending on what you think of Moxley the Shield created 3 stars and Evolution created 2. That’s how I see things at least. I basically look at it as Rollins/Reigns vs Orton/Batista

 

[hamzarocks]

Evolution was certainly wildly successful- depending on what you think of Moxley the Shield created 3 stars and Evolution created 2. That’s how I see things at least. I basically look at it as Rollins/Reigns vs Orton/Batista

That is fair

 

[The Gongshow]

Watching back the Undertaker pop, it is DEAFENING. Loudest pop of the weekend

 

[TimeZone]

The story was never about The Rock. It was always about Roman and the Bloodline. Taker has had issues with Roman in the past, even if it was a while ago. Austin has not.

Every single person who entered to help Cody had some beef with the Bloodline pre-Rock.

Cena with Roman/Solo
Seth with the entire Bloodline
Jey with the Bloodline, especially Jimmy
Undertaker with Roman

Austin showing up made no sense other than for a huge pop. I'm not saying Taker is vital to the story, but him helping made more sense.

The Rock has literally been the main focus of this entire buildup post Mania, he's been the star of the entire show, the one driving the attendance and the ones driving the ratings. The Rock/Cena faceoff? Immediately their rivalry was brought up by the commentators.

Roman & Cody were overshadowed by The Rock every step of the way from The Rumble on.

Taker has no history with this version of Roman, again, he literally lost to the face version of Roman, zero to do with the Tribal Chief, the bloodline we see today 7 years later.

Cena? Makes some sense, he's had battles with The Rock & The Bloodline, though getting humiliated by Solo the jobber certainly hurt that as well.

Having Austin come out to confront his biggest rival at the biggest show in which they have the most history? Makes some sense, particularly given he's Hollywood Rock again for the first time since Austin was retired by the same character.

Taker? Zero history with the Tribal Chief, zero history with the bloodline, lost a match to a face Roman Reigns 7 years ago, clean. To my memory, I don't remember a rivaly of remote significance with The Rock either. How about his history with Cody? Non-existent. Mark sat around on his ass for 7 years, watched Roman completely switch characters while creating a new faction and screwing over pro wrestler after pro wrestler many of which he had significant history with...only to suddenly decide now in 2024 that he's "had enough" and is going to stick his nose into the Main Event? I'm not asking for much here, but just a small modicum amount of logic really does go the distance...this lacks even that.

The point is if you're going to create a mess for the sake of a cheap pop and insult the intelligence of your audience, bring in the bigger fish.

Maybe I've just gotten too old for todays product, I'm sure if I was 10 years old I would have eaten it up.

 

[hamzarocks]

The Rock has literally been the main focus of this entire buildup post Mania, he's been the star of the entire show, the one driving the attendance and the ones driving the ratings. The Rock/Cena faceoff? Immediately their rivalry was brought up by the commentators.

Roman & Cody were overshadowed by The Rock every step of the way from The Rumble on.

Taker has no history with this version of Roman, again, he literally lost to the face version of Roman, zero to do with the Tribal Chief, the bloodline we see today 7 years later.

Cena? Makes some sense, he's had battles with The Rock & The Bloodline, though getting humiliated by Solo the jobber certainly hurt that as well.

Having Austin come out to confront his biggest rival at the biggest show in which they have the most history? Makes some sense, particularly given he's Hollywood Rock again for the first time since Austin was retired by the same character.

Taker? Zero history with the Tribal Chief, zero history with the bloodline, lost a match to a face Roman Reigns 7 years ago, clean. To my memory, I don't remember a rivaly of remote significance with The Rock either. How about his history with Cody? Non-existent. Mark sat around on his ass for 7 years, watched Roman completely switch characters while creating a new faction and screwing over pro wrestler after pro wrestler many of which he had significant history with...only to suddenly decide now in 2024 that he's "had enough" and is going to stick his nose into the Main Event? I'm not asking for much here, but just a small modicum amount of logic really does go the distance...this lacks even that.

The point is if you're going to create a mess for the sake of a cheap pop and insult the intelligence of your audience, bring in the bigger fish.

Yeah some parts of the show and this match are being overrated by a ton of folks. 4 year storyline so a lot of emotional investment for people who followed the story from start to finish

In my opinion, Undertaker didnt make much sense, as he had already moved on from the loss to a face Roman Reigns with his last match vs AJ Styles at WM 36

It felt as if he was just brought out b/c Austin wasnt there and HHH would die if he tried doing the job with his condition (HHH would make more sense than either austin or taker tbh if he could compete).

Austin would have made sense only from perspective than his rivalry in the 90s + DX /taker are one of major reasons for the WWEs existence. Austin has been the anti-thesis to Rock more than once, his foil and the guy who has went toe to toe with the rock and come out on top more often than not

People are happy to be going away from Vinny Mac era so some hyperbolic claims being made (some arguing tbat was best main event ever, WM40 greatest WM ever etc)

Overall I found night 1 to be a 6.5 /10 and night 2 8/10

Foundatio to set strong storylines are there and Rock was still better than I expected.

Big matches down the line are possible to be booked in summer (Rock vs Roman, Punk vs Rollins, Lesnar vs Guenther etc)

 

[dahrougem2]

The Rock has literally been the main focus of this entire buildup post Mania, he's been the star of the entire show, the one driving the attendance and the ones driving the ratings. The Rock/Cena faceoff? Immediately their rivalry was brought up by the commentators.

Roman & Cody were overshadowed by The Rock every step of the way from The Rumble on.

Taker has no history with this version of Roman, again, he literally lost to the face version of Roman, zero to do with the Tribal Chief, the bloodline we see today 7 years later.

Cena? Makes some sense, he's had battles with The Rock & The Bloodline, though getting humiliated by Solo the jobber certainly hurt that as well.

Having Austin come out to confront his biggest rival at the biggest show in which they have the most history? Makes some sense, particularly given he's Hollywood Rock again for the first time since Austin was retired by the same character.

Taker? Zero history with the Tribal Chief, zero history with the bloodline, lost a match to a face Roman Reigns 7 years ago, clean. To my memory, I don't remember a rivaly of remote significance with The Rock either. How about his history with Cody? Non-existent. Mark sat around on his ass for 7 years, watched Roman completely switch characters while creating a new faction and screwing over pro wrestler after pro wrestler many of which he had significant history with...only to suddenly decide now in 2024 that he's "had enough" and is going to stick his nose into the Main Event? I'm not asking for much here, but just a small modicum amount of logic really does go the distance...this lacks even that.

The point is if you're going to create a mess for the sake of a cheap pop and insult the intelligence of your audience, bring in the bigger fish.

Maybe I've just gotten too old for todays product, I'm sure if I was 10 years old I would have eaten it up.

Again, I disagree. You can't point to history between Austin and Rock from 2003 then claim that Undertaker's history with Roman where Reigns gave him 1 of 2 losses at WM doesn't mean anything.

If we use your argument, Cena doesn't have anything to do with "this version" of The Rock, either. It's not about versions of characters. The history was there for Undertaker to want revenge on Reigns for his loss at WM. Stone Cold had nothing to do with the champion. Him showing up would have blown the roof off the building but made no sense. Taker at least makes a tiny bit of sense.

 

[sansabri]

they made one big mistake: why no r truth celebrating with JD

 

[TimeZone]

Yeah some parts of the show and this match are being overrated by a ton

Undertaker didnt make sense and was just brought out b/c Austin wasnt there and HHH would die if he tried doing the job with his condition (HHH would make more sense than either austin or taker tbh if he could compete)

People are happy to be going away from Vinny Mac era so some hyperbolic claims being made (some arguing tbat was best main event ever, WM40 greatest WM ever etc)

Overall I found night 1 to be a 6.5 /10 and night 2 8/10

Foundatio to set strong storylines are there and Rock was still better than I expected.

Big matches down the line are possible to be booked in summer (Rock vs Roman, Punk vs Rollins, Lesnar vs Guenther etc)

I think that's reasonable, though I would score night 2 closer to a 7 or 7.5, it was good but that six man tag match was a botch filled mess that had no business being on Mania and Bayley looks really out of shape and was extremely winded, essentially carried to an "ok" match.

Overall it was a big step up from recent manias, but absolutely nowhere near the same Universe as your standard Mania events from the late 90's and early 2000's. We will likely never see anything to that extent ever again, unfortunately.

 

[hamzarocks]

I think that's reasonable, though I would score night 2 closer to a 7 or 7.5, it was good but that six man tag match was a botch filled mess that had no business being on Mania and Bayley looks really out of shape and was extremely winded, essentially carried to an "ok" match.

Overall it was a big step up from recent manias, but absolutely nowhere near the same Universe as your standard Mania events from the late 90's and early 2000's. We will likely never see anything to that extent ever again, unfortunately.

More star power in the 90s to 00s and honestly WWE was trying to survive win out the monday night WAR vs WcW so had to develop better characters/matches/storylines

96-05 period had guys like:

Austin, Rock, HHH, HBK, Angle, Taker, Lesnar, Booker T, Jericoh, Benoit, Eddie, etc as main eveny guys who often were pushed to mid card or tag matches due to how strong the wrestling lineup was.

Now isnt as strong, but it is better than the early 2010s (2010 - 2015 period).

Miz, Alberto del rio, Jack swagger etc were main eventing or in title matches at WM