BRM Reviews Wrestlemania X-7

[Big Red Machine]

WWF Intercontinental Title match: Chris Jericho(c) vs. WIlliam Regal- 5/10. Kind of short, and it finished with a bulldog for some reason.

RTC (w/Stevie Richards) vs. Taz & the APA (w/Jaqueline)- 4/10. Everything was smooth, but nothing was exciting.

Triple Threat Hardcore match for the WWF Hardcore Title: Raven(c) vs. Kane vs. Big Show- 6.5/10. One of the most unique matches you'll ever see. This was just so... different. Props to all of these guys for coming up with this and putting it on!

WWF European Title match: Test(c) vs. Eddie Guerrero (w/Perry Saturn)- 5.75/10

GREAT promo by Angle at the beginning here! Kurt was just plain gold on the mic.
Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit- 8/10. This had the most "real" feel of any match I have ever seen. The first few minutes really looked like they just went out and actually had a shoot. Angle hitting Benoit with a cheapshot after being outwrestled, then immediately taking the match onto the floor and throwing Benoit into stuff was just plain great story telling. I love this match.

WWF Women's Title match: Ivory(c) vs. Chyna- No Rating. Yes, it was very short, and yes, after Ivory's initial burst of offense, it was a complete and total squash, but after months of Ivory running her mouth then running away like a chicken-sh*t heel, it felt damn good to see Chyna just plain kick Ivory's ass.

Streetfight: Vince McMahon (w/Stephanie McMahon) vs. Shane McMahon w/Mick Foley as Special Guest Referee- 7.5/10. This match a real "this is a fight, not a wrestling match" atmosphere to it that was just PERFECT. AMAZING storytelling here! This was the perfect way to wrap this angle up. Everythign that needed to happen happened. Trish got her revenge on Vince and Steph, Linda got her revenge on Vince, Foley was used perfectly, and Shane won. Everyone involved in this match played their parts PERFECTLY!

TLC match for the WWF World Tag Team Titles: The Dudley Boys(c) vs. The Hardy Boys vs. Edge & Christian- 9.5/10! AMAZING match, with tons of cool stuff. I really liked the interferences by Spike, Rhyno, and Lita. They really added to the match, without making too much of an impact as to take the focus away from the people in it (aside from Rhyno pushing the ladder over at the end, but that just helped to get Rhino over as a tough SOB, which is important for a new talent).

Gimmick Battle Royale- No rating. Not a good match, but it wasn't expected to be. What it was expected to be was oodles of fun, and it definitely succeeded at that. If I were booking it, I would have had Hayes win due to his popularity in the area, but oh well.
Having Mean Gene and Bobby Heenan doing commentary was a great touch.

Undertaker vs. Triple H- 8.75/10. AWESOME MATCH. Great crowd brawl, great use of weapons, and one really crazy spot that wouldn't think that you would see with these two.

No Disqualification match for the WWF Title: The Rock(c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin- 9.75/10! This match was just awesome. The only thing that prevented it from being the full 10/10 was that there were some logic issues. If it is a No DQs match, then why do you have to break a hold in the ropes? Also, Hebner kept yelling at Rock and Austin for using weapons, even though it was a No DQs match. Aside from these two points, this match was outstanding. The turn was done very well and the nearfalls were gold!

Overall, this show kicked ass! 9.5/10!

[cero2k]

I didn't imagine you would like Rock/Austin more than TLC, but I agree that both of them were amazing.

personally, i always had the feeling that the finish to TLC was somewhat odd, like it had to be rushed. mainly because of how rhino pushes christian to the top of the ladder, it just felt weird the first time I saw it...

[Big Red Machine]

I didn't imagine you would like Rock/Austin more than TLC, but I agree that both of them were amazing.

The atmosphere for Rock-Austin was AMAZING. I can only think of a handful of times that I have ever seen it before. Hell... if I can feel the atmosphere just by watching it on my computer, then live it had to be AMAZING. I also really like the not-so-finisher/nearfall heavy approach that they took. Not that I have a problem with matches with lots of near-falls (I absolute LOVE Tyler vs. Nigel from both Injustice II and Take No Prisoners 2008), but I think that not having them kicked out of as much makes finishers more special, and I thought they did a great job of escalating the match without using finishers (I love the HBK vs. Triple H HIAC match for this same reason).

personally, i always had the feeling that the finish to TLC was somewhat odd, like it had to be rushed. mainly because of how rhino pushes christian to the top of the ladder, it just felt weird the first time I saw it...

I looked at it the other way. Christian was so injured from this tough, grueling match that he needed help climbing up the ladder.

[Cactus Jack Manson]

The matches between Benoit/Angle plus Jericho/Regal were the matches I looked forward to seeing when I first watched this Wrestlmania (note that I didn't see this one 6 years after it happened). Plus, Wrestlemania X-7 was the first one that i saw that had a big time feel to it audience wise since Wrestlemania VI. Overall though, the ppv didn't have many classic matches. The only big time matches that were on the card were Triple H vs. Undertaker, TLC 2, Shane vs. Vince, and Rock/Austin 2. But at the same time, I look for the matches that are more into the grappling than striking aspect of wrestling.

[Big Red Machine]

The matches between Benoit/Angle plus Jericho/Regal were the matches I looked forward to seeing when I first watched this Wrestlmania (note that I didn't see this one 6 years after it happened). Plus, Wrestlemania X-7 was the first one that i saw that had a big time feel to it audience wise since Wrestlemania VI. Overall though, the ppv didn't have many classic matches. The only big time matches that were on the card were Triple H vs. Undertaker, TLC 2, Shane vs. Vince, and Rock/Austin 2. But at the same time, I look for the matches that are more into the grappling than striking aspect of wrestling.

Havey you seen Davey vs. Tyler from Death Before Dishonor VIII

[Cactus Jack Manson]

The matches between Benoit/Angle plus Jericho/Regal were the matches I looked forward to seeing when I first watched this Wrestlmania (note that I didn't see this one 6 years after it happened). Plus, Wrestlemania X-7 was the first one that i saw that had a big time feel to it audience wise since Wrestlemania VI. Overall though, the ppv didn't have many classic matches. The only big time matches that were on the card were Triple H vs. Undertaker, TLC 2, Shane vs. Vince, and Rock/Austin 2. But at the same time, I look for the matches that are more into the grappling than striking aspect of wrestling.

Havey you seen Davey vs. Tyler from Death Before Dishonor VIII

YES. Awesome match between those two.