Told you I’d post more often 
Today I’m going to go down through Wrestlemania XXVI and give my opinion on “the granddaddy of ‘em all”. I watched this with a group of friends (as I always do) and brought down the 50″ widescreen make sure I didn’t miss a beat. I’m not going to use notes or other people’s comments, so it’ll be a purely straight from the hip , 100% biased opinion
Match 1: ShowMiz vs R-Truth/Morrison
For what it was, I enjoyed this match. Yes it was quite short, and I could never see Morrison and Truth taking the titles, but it provided a good way to open the show.
Match 2: Orton vs DiBiase vs Rhodes
Way way too short for what it was. This match had gotten quite the build-up, steming all the way back to Ted Jr’s problems with Orton many months ago. I felt it didn’t really live up to the hype it was surrounded with. Saying that, I thought Cody shone in this bout; he’s starting to come out of the shadow of his (supposedly) superior tag-team partner, and I can see maybe Rhodes – DiBiase feud upcoming. Another thing to note – how over is Randy Orton now!!!
Match 3: Money in the Bank
Again, I’m going to say this one was a slight disappointment for me. Maybe it was increasing the numbers from 8 to 10, maybe it was that the mix of wrestlers this year wasn’t up to the standard of previous years, but I came away from this one feeling underwhelmed. No doubt there were some great spots in the match (Bourne in particular with his Shooting Star Press from the top of the falling ladder) but when thinking back to previous ‘Mania MITB matches, one can’t help but feel this will be compared unfavorably. I predicted Swagger picking up the win, and I’m glad to see that I was correct, as he is one of the handful of the current mid-carders who has the potential to climb the ladder (no pun intended).
Match 4: Triple H vs Sheamus
I really enjoyed this match. Sheamus and HHH really put on a great match for the time they were allowed. Sheamus showed that he still has some things to learn (I think he was getting up too quickly from some moves, even beating HHH to his feet on occasion after Triple H had delivered a devastating move), but definitely showed enough to prove some of his doubters wrong and that he belongs in WWE. Was very surprised that HHH got the victory, really expected him to “do the job” for Sheamus.
Match 5: CM Punk vs Mysterio
If it wasn’t for Undertaker / Shawn Michaels, I think this would have gotten my pick of match of the night. These two seemed to have a chemistry working together that Mysterio has been laking recently, and it’s an interesting story arc leading to Mania (Punk singing to Mysterio’s daughter was positively creepy). These two pulled of some awesome stuff in the ring (Punk reversing the 619 into the GTS anyone??) and I would happily watch this match again. Real glad this feud is set to continue, though I’m surprised again that Mysterio pulled out the win.
Match 6: Bret Hart vs Vince McMahon
Worst match on the card (note that I don’t include the diva’s match as a match; more on that later). I was hyped for this one. I know it was never going to be a wrestling classic, in fact I was expecting an all-out brawl, but what we got was a major cop-out. I doubt there was anyone in attendance or watching at home that didn’t see that swerve coming a mile off. After that, the 25,000 on 1 match that happened was both dull and poorly put together; I actually started to feel bad for Vince, as Bob Kelso once said “after a while you’re just beating up an old man”. I’m still glad that the Hitman came back and was able to be part of ‘Mania once again, but please let that be the end of this.
Match 7: Edge vs Chris Jericho
Another close contender for match of the night. When two gifted wrestlers, both in their prime, are competing, it shows what an art form professional wrestling can be, and these two have it down to a t. They played off each other perfectly. Another surprise result in my book, the spear after the match was great, and I can see this feud continuing (though after smackdown this week I’m not so sure)
Match 8: 10-Diva Tag Team Match
I feel like I’m insulting wrestling here by even mentioning this match in the same breath as Undertaker / Shawn Michaels or Edge / Jericho. First off, I’m not against women’s wrestling. And WWE does have some talented female wrestlers (and I’m talking of the Beth Phoenix / Gail Kim wrestling talent, not the Kelly Kelly “talent” (which I very much admire too) ). But putting them in a match like this does nothing for them, the diva’s or WWE women’s wrestling as a whole. Vicky is an awesome heel, I’ve never seen someone generate so much heat purely from being on screen, but she’s not a wrestler, nor should she have to be.
Match 9: John Cena vs Batista
For all the Cena haters out there – he’s growing on me again. I thought this match was great. Both men played to their strengths, and pulled off a match they can both be proud of. This was always going to be overshadowed by other matches on the card, but these two definitely pulled off an entertaining, fast paced bout. Batista should never be a face again, he’s the perfect heel – big, strong, and has a pompous arrogance about him. Not surprising Cena pulled out the victory, couldn’t have neither world title change hands. Interesting fact – Cena now has 9 world title reigns, the same as The Rock.
Match 10: Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
This one was always going to be the big one. And it was no let down. Match of the night hands down. Started off perfectly with Michaels doing the throat slice. This match felt completely different to the one at ‘Mania 25, and that’s no bad thing. I wouldn’t have wanted to see the same match again. There were times when I was convinced the streak was over, especially after Shawn hit the moonsault through the table. But it was not to be and Taker is 18 – 0 (thankfully the Miz is only 18 wins away from putting the dead man in his place 
). Both men deserve the plaudits for putting on one hell of a show, and providing entertainment not just tonight, but over the course of the feud. HBK, you will be missed
So that’s my WM XXVI opinion. I’d be surprised if everyone agreed with me, in fact I’d be downright scared of my oratory skills if I could get everyone to agree. So, do you have your own opinion? Not agree with my choices?? Post your comments below
