A – Excellent
B – Good
C – Mediocre
D – Avoid
Release Date: 10th June 2013
Available From: www.wwedvd.co.uk
Price:
DVD £ 19.99
Blu-ray £ 22.99
Format Reviewed: DVD (3 Discs)
(Also Available on Blu-ray (2 Discs)
What It’s About:
WWE’s biggest extravaganza of the year; from the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on April 7th 2013. Featuring the WWE Championship Match between The Rock and John Cena, C.M Punk vs The Undertaker and the much anticipated rematch between Triple H and Brock Lesnar – with Triple H’s career on the line – to name but a few matches, WrestleMania 29 also includes the entire Hall of Fame 2013 ceremony in its entirety.
Strengths:
Beginning as we always do with the pay-per view releases, with the best match on the entire card. The honours fall to C.M Punk vs The Undertaker – as if we expected anything else – which is a spectacle all on its own. If this was the only match on the entire disc then it would be worth the purchase price all by itself. Despite the disgusting build up revolving around the death of Paul Bearer – an angle which all involved should have refused to take part it – the match on the night is purely excellent. Living Colour singing C.M Punk to the ring with ‘Cult of Personality’ is a stirring moment in WrestleMania history and is topped only by The Undertaker’s ‘Walking Dead’ homage during his entrance where shadows of hands, supposedly the souls of those he’d claimed, grasped at ‘The Demon of Death Valley’ as he appears atop the stage. To cap off Undertaker’s entrance, WWE even furnished him with his old nameplate being the design which bared his name on old posters in the 90’s. Through the whole match, Punk played his part to perfection and I will challenge anyone to spot any flaws with his perfectly pitched performance. Because most of the build up revolved around Paul Bearer’s passing the encounter, from beginning to end is an emotional affair which the crowd are divided down the middle between the pair. Speaking of the capacity crowd, they have to receive a huge round of applause for their part in the outing. They never failed to impress and stayed with the match every step of the way. As for the action, it surprised me that after a year away from the ring Undertaker can still move like he did in 1996 which serves the back and forth pacing of the match to perfection. Punk’s, Shane McMahon inspired flying elbow to the unbreakable announcers table is thrilling and Paul Heyman, in Punk’s corner, is never less than magnificent. People talk about the legend that is Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan being the greatest wrestling manager there ever was and he just may be. Paul Heyman comes in a very close second. In an age when Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak is never in jeopardy despite how hard WWE try to hype that it is, that both men made it look like Punk could end the Streak goes to show how great both are. Make no mistake about it; Undertaker really did look in trouble at certain points. If anyone was going to do it then it would have been C.M Punk. The counters are fine pieces of wrestling psychology. The highlight of the match though isn’t the superior sequence which leads to Undertaker putting Punk away with the Tombstone Piledriver, but the moment when C.M Punk had Undertaker locked in the Anaconda Vice seemingly seconds away from the greatest feat in modern history and The Undertaker simply sits up with the most hilarious annoyed look on his face and stares Punk out. Both Undertaker and Punk’s reactions are a moment which will stand still in WrestleMania’s chronicle. C.M Punk kicking out of the tombstone almost brought the house down and added weight to the thought that maybe people do want to see Undertaker’s streak end. As the match drew to a close, the urn shot to Undertaker is timed very well in order to illicit maximum heat for Punk and the end sequence of events which lead to the final, damning tombstone piledriver is a joy to watch. The Undertaker reclaiming Paul Bearer’s urn after the match is a stand up moment and his salute to the urn and the man who walked him to the ring for countless years is richly deserved. The man born Mark Calloway would not have been a star without William ‘Paul Bearer’ Moody by his side. He owes him a huge debt of gratitude. The Undertaker vs C.M Punk isn’t as good as Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 25 and 26) or Undertaker vs Triple H (WrestleMania 27 and 28) but it is a thrilling ride all the same. I suddenly realised why WWE went down the path it had with Paul Bearer’s passing in the lead up. Triple H and Shawn Michaels both had too much respect to end Undertaker’s twenty one year unbeaten streak at WrestleMania in previous years. The thinking in the office of Titan Towers was that if they could portray Punk as someone who had no respect for Undertaker or those who had passed maybe we would believe Punk would be the man to end it all. Whilst no one agrees with the way WWE went about Bearer’s death, Vince McMahon very nearly accomplished what he set out to achieve.
The Rock vs John Cena for WWE Championship is a surprise package at WrestleMania 29. Whilst the match wasn’t the main event calibre showdown it should have been, it was a huge improvement on last year’s marathon of rest holds and Cena smirks – which thankfully Cena locked away for the night. At the beginning of this match John Cena shows his unlimited heel potential as he begins to bait the crowd without shame about throwing his cap back at him. Speaking of entrances, it regressed your Wrestling God back 12 years or more to see The Rock enter WrestleMania as WWE Champion and hold the Championship aloft on the middle rope on the grandest stage of them all. What a feeling it is for members of ‘Team Bring It’. For those who love the Rock as I do then savour the moment, because something tells me we won’t be seeing it ever again. The audience are on form once again after their lull in the Triple H vs Brock Lesnar bout which they were as good as nonexistent. The reaction both the Rock and John Cena received throughout this match is the reaction which Triple H and Brock Lesnar hoped they would get for their brawl. There is a laughable moment when JBL on commentary suggest that John Cena in 2013 is better than he was in 2004 and last year. Let’s just call it WWE’s way of trying to cheer us up and lighten the mood which had become overtly serious by this point. Before we delve into the match itself, something which irked your Wrestling God a great deal was that JBL, under orders from Vince McMahon in his earpiece, continued to state – as did the promos earlier in the show – that a place in history was a stake for the winner of the match. It was a ridiculous comment because The Rock and John Cena have both cemented their place in wrestling history, one more than the other, and a loss or win for either would not have damaged the others reputation or standing in the company when we come to look back on this in 20 years time. After this little outburst JBL then states that if the Rock defeats John Cena then he may be considered the best of the modern era. Seriously? If he beats John Cena? Let’s just clear something up. The Rock will always be remembered as one of the greatest wrestlers and performers in wrestling history let alone the modern era – regardless of the fact that the night was only ever going to end with John Cena crowned new WWE Champion. And now we can move on: inside the ring, the action is more solid and flowing than last year’s forgettable effort. The rest holds are kept to a minimum and thanks to the fact that the Rock fought at Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber, he came into WrestleMania 29 ring ready and didn’t need to take half as many breaks as last year in order to get his breath back. As usual, John Cena’s shortcomings are on display when he fails to sell Rock’s sharpshooter with any conviction, instead opting to look like he’s taking a rather difficult dump and the leader of the ‘Cenation’s’ counter to a Rock Bottom is as comical as the STF submission he applies to the Rock. Kevin Dunn in the production truck needs lessons on how to build tension in a match because as Cena had the Rock trapped in the STF – despite his hands, as usual, being so far away from Rock’s throat ‘The Great One’ could have put a jumper on in the space between his throat and Cena’s arms – Dunn ordered the camera to cut away from the action and hit a wide shot of the ring and arena in which neither man could be seen for at least five seconds. Maybe Kevin has been taking lessons from TNA. It totally ruins a moment which could have been a turning point regarding the tension of the match. To his credit, John Cena does take each Rock Bottom with ease and much more comfortably on the eye than he did last year which allowed fans to emotionally invest in this years bout. As we sauntered to the end of the bout, JBL struck again on commentary when he suggested that John Cena needed to find something new to do to defeat the Rock. John Cena do something new? Now he’s dreaming. Cena hasn’t changed his ring style in 10 years. Once again, to his credit, John Cena looks wholly serious as the match winds towards its sudden conclusion. There isn’t a sly smile or smirk in sight and Cena actually looks like a man who has been seriously damaged by his loss to the Rock the previous year. Hoisting Rock up for the Attitude Adjustment, John Cena looked like he was ready to turn heel any moment – if he can wrestle with this level of seriousness from now on then maybe people wouldn’t be so hard on him. At least here he conveyed how much a victory over The Rock would mean. Thankfully, John Cena’s execution of last years ending is pulled off with aplomb as is Cena’s Rock Bottom on the Rock which brings about a massive reaction from the crowd who at this point are on their feet and can smell and ending approaching. Unlike his usual tatty execution, John Cena nailed the Rock Bottom to perfection and was impressive. The match boasts some nail biting near falls and when John Cena stands above the Rock ready to hit Rock’s People’s Elbow the look in his eye and the one approved smirk had ‘heel’ written all over it. Why can’t WWE see this? Thankfully the second match in what is almost bound to be the Rock vs John Cena trilogy is shorter than last years marathon. Yes, the ending does come out of nowhere but it doesn’t detract from a satisfying encounter even though for the John Cena character, the best ending would have been to drill the Rock with the WWE Championship and turn heel. Instead we get a touching embrace between the pair which is less than welcomed inside the MetLife Stadium but John Cena does show a tremendous amount of respect to the Rock by leaving the ring, even though he was the winner, and allowing the Rock to take his standing ovation which the audience give him without question. Unlike Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 6, John Cena made the conscious decision on this night to respect his opponent and not take the spotlight. This should be an action which is applauded by Rock fans and Cena haters alike. It shows progress for John Cena and just maybe there is hope for him yet. As the Rock makes his way up the ramp John Cena is waiting with a very respectful and somewhat touching salute and the pair share a hand in hand arm raise as the show goes off the air. People can see this match any way they want; in reality it was a huge passing of the torch moment. The Rock, whilst he will be back at WrestleMania 30 possibly for his final ever match, has finally stepped down from the main event scene with dignity and respect. No one can say the Rock didn’t pass the torch when his time came and in classy fashion. At WrestleMania 29, the Rock stepped down in the right way.
The Shield vs Randy Orton, Sheamus and Big Show is a very well put together six man tag team match. It was also the right choice to go first as it woke the fans up and got them in a hell of a good mood for the rest of the show. The Shield, especially Roman Reigns, are going to be huge by the end of 2013, there’s not stopping that happening and its something WWE desperately need to happen. Eagle eyed fans will notice that The Shield get a better reaction than Sheamus and Big Show, only Randy Orton is revered more than the trio here. Seth Rollins’ suicide dive to the outside is seamless even though he gets more or the ring barrier than he does Randy Orton and it was the move which began a sequence that never faded away in which every move, even the ones executed by Big Show looked opulent. Big Show, for all his faults holds up his end of the bargain well, even though he did provide the comedy moment when he stumbled on his way to levelling his own partner with a WMD punch. The ending of the match is the best timed ending of the whole night in which the RKO to a mid flight Rollins may be the best Orton has ever hit on a flighted opponent. Instead of Big Show turning on Sheamus and Orton it should have been the much awaited Randy Orton heel turn which took place on the night. Apart from that minor gripe, this was fabulous.
The WWE Tag Team Championship Match pitting Team Hell No against Dolph Ziggler and Big E. Langston isn’t given the time to be the match which could have put the tag team division back on track but is adequate all the same. Rushed from start to end because seemingly WWE were running behind on a four hour show, just three matches in, only Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan do anything of consequence. Langston and Kane slow the action horribly but thankfully Bryan’s dive to the outside is lavish. Dolph Ziggler nearly getting pinned immediately after his kiss with AJ was done to evoke memories of Daniel Bryan’s World Heavyweight Championship loss to Sheamus at WrestleMania 28 in the exact same fashion in less than 10 seconds. Sadly though, Dolph Ziggler is used as the fool guy for the Team Hell No victory, just 24 hours before his World Heavyweight Championship victory. To protect Ziggler, WWE should have used Langston to look at the lights, unless they’re trying to say that Langston – whose legs look misshapen – is more important than their new World Heavyweight Champion. The ending to the match is overtly sloppy but Daniel Bryan’s ‘yes’ chant with audience at the end is rousing. Acceptable match but could have been so much better had it been allocated more time.
Jack Swagger vs Alberto Del Rio for the World Heavyweight Championship is a very decent encounter but one which brought down by two things. The first is that Jack Swagger receives no WrestleMania televised entrance as he’s already in the ring when the camera cuts back after the video package of the feud. To not even have your number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship brought out in his own WrestleMania entrance is disgusting. The second is the never ending immigrant rant by Zeb Coulter. It got dull and boring before the event went on but to make matters worse, WWE allow Coulter to take precious pay-per view time to spout the same crap he’d been doing for weeks on Raw and Smackdown. The time that WWE allocated Coulter to rant about immigrants and a pure America could have been given to Swagger’s entrance or failing that, five more minutes on the match. The video package Coulter presents on immigrants is tasteless and furthermore, Alberto Del Rio and Ricardo Rodriguez are not illegal immigrants. They have American citizenship and green cards. Do WWE think we’re so retarded that we’d believe Del Rio would be able to work in America and for a billion dollar company without the authorised documentation? What’s more, is that what WWE really want spouted on a PG rated product? JBL though does hit upon a good point when he states that “Everyone loves free speech until you try to use it!” Whilst I agree with that sentiment, there is a time and place and WrestleMania is certainly not the place. It’s WrestleMania, not an anti-immigration rally. Coulter was one step away from dragging a foreign person from ringside and whipping them back home. The match itself is as solid as one would expect from both men who are technically proficient and manage to rise above Coulter’s bile to time their moves well. The encounter is rushed thanks to Sean Coombs’ music performance beforehand and had this been given another fifteen minutes then it could have been great. The real problem arises with this match when you realise that neither man, thanks to their previous burials in WWE, are big enough to sell a match of this calibre. Once you realise they’re merely a card filler, the rest of the match becomes pointless. Making the best of it, Del Rio and Swagger execute some classy reversals switching from The Patriot Lock to the Arm Breaker several times but the match ends suddenly without any real build up or jeopardy for Del Rio, the defending Champion. This should have been Dolph Ziggler’s night where he cashed in the Money in the Bank briefcase and took the World Heavyweight Championship from Del Rio. It would have left a lasting impression and set Ziggler up with the best possible start. The audience thought so as well with their chants of “We want Ziggler!” A good match with a flat ending which should have been so much more.
Triple H vs Brock Lesnar is a match which should have brought the house down but in actual fact played out to almost silence from the crowd. WWE were perplexed by the fans reaction to the rematch after the heated build up, but this match went on in the run of final three matches between Undertaker vs C.M Punk and The Rock vs John Cena. The crowd were spent after Punk and ‘Taker and were conserving their energy for the main event. WWE should have put this on earlier. Nevertheless though it was a very good fight which was slow in the ring and everything we expected when the action spilled to the outside. On his way to the ring, Triple H suffered 2nd degree burns to his torso and arms when the dry ice machine which was pointed right him was positioned too close and burnt him as he walked through it. From that point on, Triple H was in a massive amount of pain but never showed it – credit to him for that. The clothesline to Brock Lesnar off of the barricade is brutal as it nearly breaks Lesnar’s neck upon landing but still the fans lack of energy and enthusiasm make this seem less than the big fight feel it should have garnered. Lesnar throwing Triple H through the announcers table with sheer force is impressive, though when Lesnar is on his feet you can really see that he’s put on so much muscle that it begins to impede his performance. Certainly, Brock Lesnar was never that jacked in 2002. When the action gets back into the ring it’s uninvolved and sluggish to the point where you can pin point the moment the fans switch off completely becoming jaded and unfortunately for both men it lasts almost the entire match. The fans do pop when Shawn Michaels, in Triple H’s corner, gets nailed by Lesnar with an F5 and shove off the apron before that and when Michaels’ hits the ever brilliant Paul Heyman with Sweet Chin Music – apart from those interjections Shawn Michaels may as well have stayed at home. He didn’t get to do anything else. Finally, the sledgehammer appearance brings the crowd to life again and the Kimura Lock which reportedly broke Triple H’s arm at SummerSlam 2012, applied by Triple H to Brock Lesnar brings about a nice piece of revenge in a story that has been so personal. It is worth noting that Lesnar sells the Kimura Lock like it’s the end of his challenge. It’s only though in the last few minutes of the encounter that the match grabs the fans attention. Close near falls combined with a well executed and exciting end sequence means this ends on a high even if it’s not a patch on their brutal SummerSlam 2012 brawl.
Sean ‘Diddy’ Coombs’ music performance is much better received than Machine Gun Kelly’s last year in which he made the infamous mistake of calling John Cena ‘the world’s biggest underdog’ and the Rock ‘the world’s biggest ego’ in the Rock’s hometown of Miami, Florida. Belting out the song ‘Coming Home’ was an apt choice for the occasion as WrestleMania began in New York City which is linked in some way I have no idea as to how to New Jersey. Should have done my homework there!
WWE do a good job of editing the previous nights Hall of Fame highlights before they bring out the class of 2013. The way WWE edit the video package one would never know the jeers some of the inductors received or indeed the sheer hatred which was on show for Donald Trump who was inducted into the celebrity wing. More on the Hall of Fame ceremony below.
Instead of beginning in the traditional fashion, WWE scrap the song ‘America The Beautiful’ sang by a celebrity and instead go with a video package entitled ‘Rebuilding after Super Storm Sandy’. It is a good move which shows the compassion WWE is capable of when it wants to be. The pictures of the damage the storm caused are horrendous but the uplifting moment comes when the video switches focus to the rebuilding of the city and the suburbs and the people getting on with their lives after such a tragic incident. It’s a triumphant moment to see how evolution necessitates we move forward.
The WrestleMania 29 set is nothing short of exceptional this year. Depicting the Brooklyn Bridge over the stage with the Empire State Building in the background and the Statue of Liberty over the ring was tremendous. I have no idea how long it took WWE to build it all but it was worth every dollar.
The WrestleMania 29 intro video is rousing to listen to and watch. Apart from doing its job of hyping what is to come on the show it does a great job of evoking memories past. Memories which should never be forgotten. Ten out of ten for all involved there.
As for the Extras on both the DVD and Blu-ray release (Blu-ray comes with extras features not available on DVD) The Miz vs Wade Barrett on the pre-show for the WWE Intercontinental Championship is first rate even though it lasts merely five minutes. Fast, exciting, gripping and miles better than the dreadful Chris Jericho vs Fandango match which it should have replaced on the main card. It’s baffling that WWE want Fandango to be their next star when Miz and Barrett are readier and more talented. Both men put it all on the line, disregarding that the match was on the pre-show. The crowd go wild for the Miz’s victory which sadly would only last 24 hours.
The real incentive for anyone buying the DVD or Blu-ray of WrestleMania 29 is the annual Hall of Fame ceremony which is included in its entirety. Honouring those past heroes who have given us their lives just so that we may be entertained, it is a highlight every year even though it lasts for nearly three and a half hours. On the DVD release, the Hall of Fame ceremony is split over Disc 2 and 3. Disc 2 contains Mick Foley’s induction and contains the concluding two and half hours on Disc 3. The Blu-ray release will have the ceremony all on one disc (Disc 2). As usual it begins with a more than fitting look back at those past inductees who have been honoured with been placed into WWE’s hallowed halls. It’s infuriating in many ways, because for a company that can be insensitive at times, it can also be touching and respectful.
First up is Mick Foley being inducted by his best friend and legend, Terry Funk. In his appraisal of Foley, the man Funk has been to war with many times over the years, ‘The Hardcore Legend’ Terry Funk is honest and funny, spinning some brilliantly amusing anecdotes about Mick. When Mick Foley finally gets to the stage to take his bow and make his speech he’s a riot on the microphone and his tales of days gone by are a wonderful way to kick off the ceremony. The chants of “Thank you Foley” are more than warranted. Nostalgia is the theme of Mick Foley’s acceptance speech and none of the stories or jokes will be wasted on a true wrestling fan. Those who are tuning in for the first time or dip in and out of the business will be left scratching their heads in confusion on certain occasions, as they will be during the entire ceremony. Unusually and thankfully, for a professional wrestler, Mick Foley thanks all the right people for the right things, including Triple H. It will be interesting in years to come when Triple H is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, to see if ‘The Game’ thanks Foley for what Mick did for him in 2000. Without Mick, Triple H wouldn’t have been a convincing main event star. The highlight of the induction though comes when Foley touches upon the fact he has never beaten Chris Jericho and informs us that he hoped Jericho may get up on the stage, lay down, allow Foley to drop one last elbow and have a makeshift referee make the three count. Upon on hearing that and a little encouragement from the fans and wrestlers, Jericho jumps up onto the stage and drops to the floor like there was a sniper in the crowd. C.M Punk dives onto the stage as the referee and Mick Foley lands one last elbow drop on Jericho and covers him for Punk to count the three. It’s a sporting moment by Jericho and Punk and one which caps off a brilliant and well deserved induction. The real ending comes though when Santa Claus makes his way out onto stage and puts Mick Foley in a Santa hat and jacket. Madcap yes, but how else did we ever imagine Mick Foley would finally exit stage left?
Inducting Trish Stratus, Stephanie McMahon, for the first time in years is genuine in her feelings for the woman she considers her best friend. Calling Trish WWE’s greatest ever Diva, which she almost certainly is Stephanie does a wonderful job showing respect to a woman she feuded with in matches which were rotten but storylines which shall never be forgotten. When Trish comes out to accept her place amongst wrestling’s elite she’s as pretty as she ever was and the fans still love her. Coming across as sweet and demure, if one had never seen Trish wrestle then there’s no way you’d have thought she was one of the most talented and hard hitting female wrestlers in history. Stratus’ comments that she wanted to give us back what we gave to her are heartening as is her thanks to the audience which made her a star. A point which is worth bringing up is one where Trish touches upon redefining the WWE Women’s Division. If WWE were listening then maybe its time they took it upon themselves to do it once again. It’s lightening when Trish’s husband gets booed for simply marrying her and the crowd show their utmost respect with a standing ovation when Trish Stratus announces her pregnancy. A noteworthy induction for a tremendous wrestler.
Booker T is inducted by his real life brother and former Harlem Heat tag team partner, Stevie Ray. Ray covers Booker’s incarceration for armed robbery with sensitivity and WWE should be given plaudits for not cutting out the segment to keep the fact shielded from their PG rated viewers. Stevie Ray gets a thunderous reception which he seems humbled by and his stories about a young Booker T are witty and droll. Booker T is still a huge favourite with the WWE Universe which begs the question, why hasn’t WWE produced a DVD and Blu-ray release on a man who has literally had thousands of classic matches and whose life has been a story of triumph over adversity? Like Bret Hart, your Wrestling God could listen to Booker T talk all day long about his life in the wrestling business. Booker doesn’t mention his best of seven series with Chris Benoit in WCW which made him a singles star but then what else did we expect from a WWE release? Sharmell, Booker T’s wife, needs a new haircut as she looks like a 1900’s lesbian, but that is just an observation. The Spinnerooni caps off a well justified induction for one of wrestling’s greatest modern stars. Booker T is one of wrestling’s success stories.
The star induction of the night though belongs to Bruno Sammartino. WWE’s longest ever WWWF Champion (7 years) has had a bad relationship with the company but thanks to the people skills of Triple H, he could finally take his place where he belonged. Just a pointer for you to watch out for and something which I have never noticed until watching this release. When showing pictures of Bruno’s glory days, it’s uncanny how much he looks like a beefed up Leonard Rossiter (who played ‘Rigsby’ in the U.K version of Rising Damp). WWE even include Larry Zbyszko as a talking head in the video package – it’s good to see Larry again. Inducted by Arnold Schwarzenegger who staves off the jeers which Donald Trump and Maria Menounos got before him, the Terminator gets a rapturous ovation from the capacity crowd which he comically responds to with “Where were you when my last movie was released.” Arnold keeps the induction light and focused on Bruno, again, something which Menounos didn’t do when inducting Bob Backlund. When Bruno takes to the Hall of Fame it is uplifting to see him looking so well for his age even if his ears do look like something out of the latest Star Trek movie. The fans still love him and they show it which is a testament as to how great he really was. Getting into his life, Bruno reveals a tale of sorrow and tragedy, but ultimately of triumph. Escaping from the Nazi’s, hiding in the hills for years, almost dying of an illness. What an inspiration Bruno is. After everything they have said about each other, it is a special moment in time when Vince McMahon shakes Bruno’s hand and raises his arm. A truly deserved induction for one of wrestling’s greatest ever champions.
Weaknesses:
Chris Jericho vs Fandango is utterly dire. For a match in which the seasoned professional should have carried the rookie, Chris Jericho should be ashamed of himself. There was no willingness from either man to make this a WrestleMania to remember, it resembled a wrestle by numbers atrocity which was doomed to fail from the beginning. Seemingly entering the match believing he was the living embodiment of the late Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing, Fandango should have put all the effort of his entrance and dance poses – which he seemed more bothered about getting right than the actual moves in the match – into the encounter and maybe it would have been an outing worthy of remembrance. As it stands the only reason this match will be remembered in WrestleMania history is because is was bad. Recognising the shortcomings of the rookie Fandango, the crowd dig deep into their rolodex of heckles and came out in unison with the tried and tested blow of “You can’t wrestle” although on the night it could just as well have been for Jericho as well. Perplexingly, Fandango, the man WWE have handpicked to be the next star (at least for a month until they get bored of him) failed to realise that this was the moment to prove himself. WrestleMania 29 could have made Fandango, but he failed to provide on every level. Presumable the dunce thought he was still in development and therefore any old shit will do and forgot that he actually wrestling a main roster match. But who can we blame for the mess? Fandango, yes. For not putting in the effort require. Chris Jericho, more so. Jericho has a reputation for making new stars and he failed to spot Fandango’s flaws and cover for them. On the night, it looked like Jericho was just there for the money. WWE, certainly. It must have struck them that the Fandango character wasn’t going to take off, it can’t have failed to pass them by. If you’re serious about a character then at least get a guy who can wrestle to play him. The wrestler currently playing Fandango cannot. The funniest thing about this match was the sign in the crowd which read ‘If Fandango actually wrestles, we riot!’
Ryback vs Mark Henry is an eyesore of epic proportions. It still baffles me why Mark Henry, a man who has been given ample opportunity to do numerous things in WWE in 17 years and has failed to capitalise on any of them, is still given the spotlight he’s allocated instead of a younger and better wrestler. Mark Henry is a fat, useless waste of space. Period. The match itself is time consuming and lifeless to the point that you’ll want to watch it on fast forward or just skip it altogether. It’s interesting that everyone with eyes can see how limited and poor Ryback is as a wrestler but Vince McMahon and it’s baffling that knowing Ryback was about to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship beginning 24 hours later, WWE thought it wise to begin his big push with a loss to Mark Henry at WrestleMania 29. How dumb are these bookers? Are WWE really saying that they are willing to sacrifice their number one contender to get Mark Henry over – which they didn’t? Apart from the odd power move from Ryback, the whole encounter consists of wear down move after wear down move to the point where you actually believe time may be moving backwards. The crowd have a laugh amongst themselves when they begin to cheer for Mark Henry, which should tell WWE how bored we are with Ryback that we’re willing to cheer the most boring man in wrestling. There is a huge ovation for Mark Henry’s victory and the highlight of this tedious fight is Ryback’s impressive Shell Shocked on Henry. Otherwise, avoid.
JBL, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler are shown at ringside playing, like children, with WWE’s latest merchandise attempt, their WWE Power Slammers. Farcically, WWE have their commentators claim that their new toys recreate actual wrestling action. However, when the trio set the figures off they rolled and jumped around the announce desk like a mentally retarded Tigger. This was an embarrassing segment which WWE should have canned when it came up.
There are an abundance of unnecessary adverts promoting other items and charities which were not WWE related. This is time WWE could have spent on actual wrestling, seeing as that was what we all tuned in for. This is WrestleMania, not QVC.
The John Cena vignette portrays Cena as a Rocky Balboa character and states that he has a chance to rewrite history. In other words, this was WWE telling everyone that when John Cena defeats The Rock later on in the main event, Rock’s victory over John Cena will be forgotten completely and only Cena’s victory at WrestleMania 29 will count. Typical WWE. Cena then addresses the Rock’s fans in a voice over from Monday Night Raw and tells The Rock’s fans that their time is up. Really? The Rock will always be better than John Cena. Should be shocked at this though, given how much we know WWE love to re-write history? They’ll probably do it again in their ‘Top 25 Feuds in Wrestling History’ release and the upcoming ‘The History of WWE’ release later this year.
Commentary from JBL, Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler is predictably patchy in places. During The Undertaker vs C.M Punk, JBL seemed to believe that 80,000 people were cheering for The Undertaker. A point which he shared live on air. The 80,000 attendance figure was fabricated by WWE as it is every year to make WWE seem more popular than it is and so Vince can say that he’s set the attendance record for every arena WrestleMania has been held in and on top of that, to make matters worse, JBL was clearly wrong. Even if there had been the advertised 80,000 fans in the arena – which there weren’t – the audience were clearly split down the middle cheering for both Undertaker and C.M Punk. That JBL stated everyone in the arena was cheering for Undertaker made him look an idiot. During the Chris Jericho vs Fandango mess, JBL actually has the nerve to say that Fandango has had an “Impressive debut”. His comments are ridiculous. Fandango couldn’t have had a worse debut if he’d have stayed at home; WrestleMania or any pay-per view wouldn’t be complete without its fair share of Jerry Lawler gaffes and like the previous comment we begin during the Chris Jericho vs Fandango match. After an argument with JBL, Lawler offers up the reason that Fandango hasn’t gotten into the match yet is because Chris Jericho, and I quote “hasn’t given Fandango a chance!”; Lawler’s next moment of shame came during The Undertaker vs C.M Punk, when Punk kicked out the tombstone, Lawler nearly wet himself shouting at the top of his voice that he’d never seen it done before. I guess he must have had his eyes closed when Shawn Michaels kicked out of the tombstone at WrestleMania 25 and 26 and when Triple H did the same at WrestleMania 27 and 28, even though Lawler was sitting at ringside. Seriously, how has Jerry Lawler survived this long in the wrestling business?
The extras on the DVD and Blu-ray: that being the extras you get on both and not solely on Blu-ray are a disappointment. Apart from the pre-show match WWE have thrown on the ‘WrestleMania 29 Post Show’. For those who didn’t see it on WWE.Com after WrestleMania 29 finished, it is basically a review show which adds nothing new to what we’ve just seen. The panel which consists of Scott Stanford, Jim Ross, Kofi Kingston and Dusty Rhodes simply go over what you’ve just sat and watched for four hours whilst adding nothing new. Their thoughts are interspersed with in-character interviews with some of the wrestlers after their match. Unbelievably, Chris Jericho calls Fandango’s victory over him ‘the biggest upset in WrestleMania history’ which is laughable; Jim Ross absurdly states that the colours C.M Punk wore in his match against Undertaker (grey and purple shorts) are the same colours Undertaker worn in his WWE debut in 1990, when Undertaker debuted and wore Black and grey for years; Zeb Coulter describes Swagger’s ten minute match with Alberto Del Rio as a ‘long battle’ which is just dumb. There’s only one place men consider ten minutes to be an achievement and that’s in the bedroom. Can someone keep Zeb Coulter away from a microphone?; Kofi Kingston implies that the only reason Triple H’s arm didn’t break in the Kimura Lock (before he applied it to Lesnar) was because Triple H is mentally strong – because that makes the difference – what a moron; Jim Ross calls WrestleMania 29 ‘arguably the most exciting WrestleMania in a long time’, maybe WWE showed him a re-run of another WrestleMania because whatever he was watching it couldn’t have been 2013’s offering and then Jim Ross strikes again implying John Cena and the Rock will do battle once again. WrestleMania 30 anyone? The whole thing is made worse by the fact that Kofi Kingston constantly has his back turned to Dusty Rhodes entailing some kind of ill feeling between the two which really comes off on camera. The whole thing is just a calamity from beginning to end. For those who have seen it then there’s no reason to watch it again and for those that haven’t, then be warned, there’s nothing new to be found here. I’d have rather seen a thirty minute documentary akin to the excellent one on the WrestleMania 20 DVD which delved behind the scenes of WrestleMania 29 and had interviews with the wrestlers out of character about how they thought the night went.
The Hall of Fame ceremony is a coin of two sides. Most of the inductions and on goings provide times to reminisce on. Others, not so much. Bob Backlund’s induction was a complete disarray. To begin with, WWE chose Maria Menounos to induct him into the Hall of Fame. Menounos, a Hollywood celebrity, wrestled with Kelly Kelly against Eve Torres and Beth Phoenix last year at WrestleMania 28 and was widely jeered for it. From the moment Maria stepped into Madison Square Garden she was loudly booed by every fan in the building. It wasn’t without merit. Maria went on and on and on and on, mostly about nothing important. When listing Bob Backlund’s achievements, Maria thought we may like to hear pathetic little facts about the man himself such as “Bob Backlund has only visited the doctor twice in his life.” Thanks for that and what about the wrestling facts? On top of that, she read them out like she was calling bingo and voicing over an advert. There was no expression or passion for the five or so minutes she was up there. Unbelievably, during her induction of Bob Backlund, who she claimed was a hero of hers, Maria seemed to mention herself and talk about her career more than anyone wished to hear. And they let her know about it. A lot. When Maria did mention Backlund’s career she picked one of the worst runs he ever had. His 1994 short lived revival calling it “one of the most successful comebacks in history”. The only reason WWE made Bob Backlund in 1994 was because they needed a fall guy for Diesel days later and Bret Hart was held in too high regard to lose the WWE Championship in seconds. If you think you’ve seen the worst of this induction then think again, because then it was time for Bob Backlund to make his way out onto the stage. When you watch this prepare yourself, I promise you’ve never heard an induction speech like it before in your life. Backlund tries to admonish the fans for booing Maria and spends a sizable amount of time trying to get us to like her – it doesn’t work. Through most of his speech, well I say speech its more of a campaign rally, Backlund sounds disjointed and like he doesn’t know where he is. He doesn’t have a speech with him so he just stands at the podium and shouts about his career before losing interest in that and focusing his anguish on Triple H in the front row. It was at this point that Backlund went into a rant about some guy in the crowd who beat him in a strength test when no one else could. I felt really sorry for Triple H who was taking the brunt of Backlund’s fury and couldn’t fight back because he didn’t want to ruin Backlund’s special moment. To make matters worse, Triple H’s children and family were sitting next to him. At one point it looked like Backlund may jump off the stage and try to apply the Crossface Chicken Wing to Triple H. I believe had Triple H had his sledgehammer to hand he would have dropped Backlund with it. When Backlund finished his tirade at Triple H he broke into a smile and had a joke with Triple H until Vince McMahon was forced to enter the arena from backstage and cut Backlund off because he had run over his allocated time. Still though, Bob wouldn’t leave the stage and it took Triple H to jump on the stage with him and point him in the direction of the exit. During his speech, Backlund regaled us with some of the most inane and unimportant stories he could think of, instead of telling us the story behind his success in wrestling. It’s a shame because Bob Backlund was a tremendous wrestler who had a story to tell, but we didn’t get any of that and whilst he deserves a place in the WWE Hall of Fame, he wasted his opportunity to say something which really mattered.
After Bob Backlund it was Donald Trump’s turn to take his undeserved place in the WWE Hall of Fame. This was never going to go well. In fact fans in the arena held so much animosity to Trump that Vince McMahon had to induct him just to diffuse the tension in the arena. In his induction speech, McMahon was hysterical and he even amused himself on a number of occasions and it’s not often you see Vince McMahon laughing outside of the ring. McMahon responded to the audience’s playful heckles with ease and showed that he still has the ability to please his people. McMahon was the best part of this induction, rhetorically asking the fans if they weren’t even going to allow Trump to come out before they bombarded him with jeers. McMahon took enjoyment in that as the grin on his face attested to as he said “Donald is going to find out soon this is a partisan crowd!” McMahon even shared a joke about Hulk Hogan when talking about himself possibly being one of the ugliest bald men in history. In short, Vince McMahon was excellent despite failing to name the late Umaga when talking about his and Donald Trump’s ‘Battle of the Billionaires’ match at WrestleMania 23. Instead McMahon calls Umaga ‘My guy’. Donald Trump could not and was never going to be able to follow that up. Everyone knew the only reason he accepted the invitation was because one of his homes was in New York and he could turn up on the day instead of having to travel a couple of days before. Wisely Donald Trump keeps his speech short because he doesn’t really belong in the wrestling Hall of Fame; yes he’s done a little bit for wrestling but nearly enough. The fans bombard him with hatred from the beginning and I can only imagine Vince McMahon loved every minute of it. Introducing his rich and privileged family, all were mercilessly booed by the fans except his daughter. It felt like an attempt by Trump to say to us all “look how much money I have, peasants!” When Trump said that his Hall of Fame induction was the best of all his achievements it was an attempt to get the fans back on side. They saw through it and Trump was booed off of stage.
From the reactions both Donald Trump and Maria Menounos received, the message was clear. Enough celebrities in wrestling. We don’t want to see them.
DVD and Blu-ray Special Features:
Interactive Pre-Show Match – WrestleMania 29, 7th April 2013
WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Wade Barrett vs The Miz
WrestleMania 29 Post Show from MetLife Stadium
Blu-ray Exclusive Extras:
Monday Night Raw – 18th March 2013
Triple H and Brock Lesnar contract signing
Monday Night Raw – 25th March 2013
C.M Punk wants to end The Streak
Legends Q&A session with The Rock and John Cena
Conclusion:
When you forget about the division of bad and good, in the end, this was WrestleMania. And WrestleMania is a spectacle whether it’s poor or excellent. WrestleMania 29 lacked that feeling of a big fight feel and there were some really poor matches from people who should have known better. On the plus side, John Cena played ball and had his best match in a whole year, the Rock got the standing ovation he deserved after he tore his abdomen and adductor muscles off the bone and Undertaker and C.M Punk put on a match which you simply must see.
WWE had their fair share of problems at WrestleMania 29, the biggest being that the company booked their trio of main event matches one after another with the downside being that once the fans had given all their emotion and enthusiasm to Undertaker vs C.M Punk, they had none left for Triple H vs Brock Lesnar. By the time Triple H and Lesnar had finished though the fans had recovered in time for the main event. It was a tricky situation for WWE to handle. They needed Triple H and Lesnar to receive a huge reaction which the pair didn’t get on the night. Had the company booked Triple H and Brock Lesnar to go on within the first four matches and put Chris Jericho vs Fandango on between Undertaker vs Punk and Rock vs Cena they would have found the fans had enough energy for all three main event calibre bouts.
The Hall of Fame ceremony is a must see and whilst the Blu-ray exclusive extras aren’t a must see I can imagine they will add nicely to the overall product. The other extras aren’t important and the ‘WrestleMania 29 Post Show’ is a complete waste of time unless you’re buying the release intending not to watch the four hours show and instead just get the highlights from the panel of, on this night, would be comedians.
In the end, this is WrestleMania. It may not be the greatest WrestleMania in history but it’s worth owning for that reason and that reason alone. That you have one cracking match and three other really good ones is just a bonus. Let’s face it; you’re going to buy this release because it’s WrestleMania. And we all love the grandest stage of them all.
Rating: B
Next Time in Review Corner: Top 25 Rivalries in Wrestling History DVD and Blu-ray
Onwards and upwards...
