10. The Third Annual Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal: The first two Andre battle royals were really good matches that showcased a mix of underused talent and reliable veterans. Unfortunately, thanks to a string of serious injuries, idiotic suspensions and just plain stubborness on the part of Vince McMahon, the third time was not a charm. The talent pool was especially thin this year, as only 20 participants were featured instead of the usual 30. The Wyatt Family, consisting of Bray Wyatt, Erick Rowan and Braun Stroman, were oddly not in the battle royal, despite being advertised as participants. Stroman was even pegged to win the battle royal. Unfortunately, WWE had other plans for the Wyatts- none of them good. As for who was in the battle royal, it wasn’t an impressive lot overall. Konnor, Viktor, Damien Sandow (who reportedly plans to give his notice- can’t say I blame him considering how WWE Creative refuses to push him despite being incredibly over with fans), Jack Swagger, Tyler Breeze, Goldust, R-Truth, Darren Young, Heath Slater, Curtis Axel, Adam Rose, Bo Dallas, Kane, The Big Show, Fandango and Mark Henry. Not an especially thrilling bunch who are taken seriously by fans these days. Oh wait, that’s only 16. So who were the surprises, then? NXT talent Baron Corbin was one. So were legends Diamond Dallas Page and Tatanka. Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal was the final entrant, primarily to set up a singles match with Show for Wrestlemania 33 next year. Other than a so-so double chokeslam with Show on Kane, Shaq didn’t do much more than grab Show by the throat and slowly inch towards the ropes for the expected spot when the other 18 gang up on the two behemoths. The timing was off as Shaq fell to Earth too quickly while Show took a lifetime reaching the floor. I imagine both were supposed to hit the floor at the same time. It was your typical low-grade battle royal, tedious and unexciting especially since there was no one the fans truly wanted to get behind. You need to have someone you can root for or believe can plausibly win to maintain interest. At least they did the right thing by having promising young NXT talent Corbin win the match instead of giving the aging Kane a win he didn’t need. DUD
The Rock Meets The Wyatt Family: The Rock hit the ring to a deafening pop, which served as a tribute to his lasting star power and an indictment of how WWE Creative has prevented younger, fresher talent from achieving the same. He announced that Wrestlemania 32 set a new indoor attendance record for a Wrestlemania show. The number announced was 101,763, but it was slightly exaggerated from the actual number of 98,763. McMahon is notorious for exaggerating Wrestlemania attendance records, even though the real numbers are often STILL very impressive and record breaking. The lights suddenly went out and the Wyatt Family theme music played, leading to the sight of 98,000+ cell phone lights swaying in the background. The fans just love the Wyatt Family, despite the best efforts of WWE Creative to marginalize them at every turn. Wyatt and Rock traded quips, which were as good as one would expect considering these guys are great talkers. Then something happened that made my stomach churn. Rock said that he was ready for a match and challenged any Wyatt family member to an impromptu match. He tore off his clothes to reveal that his wrestling trunks. The live crowd went wild, which lead to… 11. The Rock Vs. Erick Rowan: Rock immediately leveled Rowan with the Rock Bottom and covered for the pin in a mere six seconds. So a legend now considered an actor scores a quickie squash win over a full-time wrestler who is loaded with talent and should be better protected. Way to go, Vince. As if that wasn’t bad enough, John Cena made a surprise appearance and helped his frenemy destroy the other Wyatt Family members. Is this any way to treat one of the best factions WWE has had in years? No! Reportedly Rock had wanted to work with the Wyatts, but McMahon felt that having them decimated in this fashion by Rock and Cena would give them a meaningful rub. All I saw was the destruction of a super over act who should be in the top main event level mix, not being tossed around like soiled rag dolls by a retired wrestler. Ugh! DUD 12. WWE World Champion HHH Vs. Roman Reigns: This was an excellent match, slightly tempered by the fact that fans both attending live and watching at home were just plain exhausted by the time it finally began. HHH’s ring entrance was cool, as Stephanie McMahon appeared like a refugee from the Mad Max movie series, clad in a leather outfit that was surprisingly hot. It didn’t hurt that she cut a killer promo that really helped set the tone for the match itself. I think fans are so tired of the evil McMahon family antics that they repeatedly overlook just how good and effective Stephanie is on the mic. Reigns was booed, but not nearly as intensely as I expected, which I attribute to exhaustion from an overlong PPV. The match started very slowly, almost as if they were stymied by the subdued crowd reaction. Eventually things picked up to the point where the live crowd finally got into it. The psychology was off the charts, as most HHH matches tend to be. The guy is just a master of how to tap into heel psychology. Despite the periodic chants of “Reigns Can’t Wrestle”, Reigns showed once again that he definitely CAN wrestle and at a high level of quality. The finishing sequence was actually pretty clever. Reigns seemingly finished off HHH with the Spear but Stephanie yanked the ref out of the ring before the three count could be made. Since the match was no DQ, it was perfectly legal. Stephanie stepped into the ring and taunted Reigns while her husband got to his feet with the ref’s help. Reigns went for another Spear but HHH ducked out of the way and Stephanie was squashed instead. Fans finally cheered for something Reigns did at long last. HHH was fuming and hit the Pedigree but Reigns kept kicking out. After the two traded blows evenly, Stephanie recovered enough to retrieve the sledgehammer from underneath the ring. Reigns ducked the sledgehammer and nailed a Superman punch and Spear for the pin and the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The crowd reaction was mixed with some cheers and some boos. I imagine the cheers were largely because the show was finally over after 6 hours and 48 minutes, including the pre-show. ****3/4
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