My WrestleMania XXIX Recap

The Undertaker rises from the dead. Photo credit: WWE.com

The Miz bested Wade Barrett (c) to obtain the Intercontinental Title in a fair pre-show match up. To be fair it slotted nicely into the pre-show slot, with decent enough efforts from both men and a title change to get people interested, although a Cesaro bout would've still been far more appreciated.

The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) defeated Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show in an enjoyable six-man tag bout. Smart choice for the opener, with nice sequences and displays throughout. Once again Shield delivered a largely rewarding match, granted it wasn't as good as their previous outings but still a fun watch.

Towards the end Orton decided to cut into a potential tag to Show and get himself into the match, but things didn't end too well as he soon got speared and pinned as an angry Big Show looked on. After arguing Show then KO'd both his partners. Looks like we'll be getting a Triple Threat or Orton versus Show at Extreme Rules next month. 

Mark Henry toppled Ryback in an average affair. As expected it was the typical powerhouse versus powerhouse match up, so tests of strength and pedestrian action for the most part. For the flat finish (pun not intended) Henry fell onto Ryback as he attempted a Shell Shock, allowing him to gain the one-two-three. But afterwards Ryback got some payback by successfully applying an impressive Shell Shock to Henry.

Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane) beat Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. The match itself was decent, but nothing outstanding. I can't fault any man's efforts, they all delivered but unfortunately it was just lacking that little something for me. 

Fandango pinned Chris Jericho in a passable encounter with a few sloppy moments that let it down. Fortunately the in-form Jericho managed to provide some entertaining moments, and while Fandango had a few nice maneuvers in him (such as a swift kick as Y2J went for his signature springboard dropkick) he still looked out of depth here. For the finish Fandango was positioned too near the ropes as Jericho went for a Lionsault, which he blocked as Y2J then went for the Walls which was turned into the winning roll up pin. It was a poor ending sequence to the contest. 

Before the World Title match, Zeb Colter once again claimed that all real Americans felt the same as he and Swagger regarding immigrants in the US, but were too afraid to take a stand like they do. As usual most fans weren't too fussed by what he had to say.

Alberto Del Rio (c) defeated Jack Swagger to retain the World Heavyweight Title in a mixed bag of an outing. While the action was stellar for the majority, there was little to really get me engaged and a lack of genuine excitement, which is not good enough for a World Championship match. Remember the quality of bouts when Edge and 'Taker and Batista and 'Taker would face each other on the grand stage for the same strap? We haven't had that at 'Mania for a while.

The Undertaker pinned CM Punk in the very memorable and thrilling match of the night. I was expecting this to be a great collision, but it succeeded even my estimations. Both men gave superb displays and provided an awesome encounter filled with effective near falls and dramatic action. This was everything you expect and should receive from a big WrestleMania match up. I also want to mention Paul Heyman at ringside, who's stellar managerial work cannot be understated and really added that bit extra to the match. Was this 'Taker's last match though? I'm personally hoping for one more from the 'Dead Man'. 

Triple H pinned Brock Lesnar in a No Holds Barred contest. Now after reading a fair bit of feedback I can tell that this one split quite a lot of fans, but as for myself I enjoyed it. I felt it told a good story and was well planned out, with solid wrestling from both men. My only gripe was that certain periods did feel like they were played out longer than than necessary, such as Triple H's multiple kimura attempts on the steel steps, which just seemed a bit daft after a while when you figure Lesnar had to simply roll away to avoid it.

Admittedly the crowd did loose interest here, but in my opinion that was more due to following the outstanding 'Taker versus Punk match, I mean one upping that was going to be a major challenge for any pair of wrestlers. So yes, there have been far better 'Mania matches in this spot, but i feel it's harsh to call it poor on any level and I personally still look forward to seeing either man in the ring again.

John Cena bested The Rock (c) to obtain the WWE Championship in an uneven main event. For the most part the wrestling was pretty unremarkable, with average moves being exchanged for far too long. Plus the fact both men were also visibly and clearly calling the next spots more than a few times also took away from loosing yourself in the action. But on the plus side (yes, there were some) the crowd were thoroughly into it, with each red hot near fall towards the end having everyone on their feet. And I have to admit I started to get towards the edge of my seat at the end too.

For me the rematch was superior to last year's effort with a more exciting finale, which admittedly was just filled with finishing move attempts which we've seen plenty of times, but unfortunately like last year's bout it was also very average for the most part when you pull away all the build up and crowd reactions. And one big positive is that hopefully this should be the end of Cena versus Rock, and we can move on to two more deserving wrestlers (here's pulling for Punk) to wrestle in the 'Mania main event spot.

Overall WrestleMania was very much a mixed bag of a show, with the Triple H versus Lesnar, the six-man tag bout and especially Undertaker versus CM Punk being the highlights for me. Unfortunately the rest failed to grab me like 'Mania matches should, and didn't live up to the calibre you've come to expect over the years.

Granted it's unrealistic to believe that any WrestleMania will provide a card largely filled with top bouts, with the exception of the revered X-Seven or XXIV (one of my personal favourites) but I guess at least we can take away a few memorable matches that I know I'll probably watch again in the future. It certainly wasn't one of more successful WrestleMania's, but it also wasn't one of the worst. Here's to next years!