The Silverdome Match of the Week: Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian

There is one more week until the Biggest Wrestling Show of the Year, WrestleMania 27.  With all eyes on Atlanta, other wrestling promotions such as Ring of Honor and Dragon Gate are getting ready for some of their biggest shows of the year in the ATL as well.  Eddie Edwards took center stage last Saturday when he surprisingly captured the ROH World Championship.  Now he is off to Atlanta to take on his first challenger in the “Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels on the first night of Honor Takes Center Stage.  Then the ROH World Champion is off to re-unite with tag team partner Davey Richards as the American Wolves face Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas, Wrestling’s Greatest Tag Team in a Tag Team Dream Match.  These two iPPVs from Ring of Honor will serve as excellent appetizers for WrestleMania.  Speaking of WrestleMania, WWE set-up the last few matches for the Show of Shows while also continuing to build all the matches already announced for WrestleMania.  There were quite a few great matches this week.  Daniel Bryan & Gail Kim vs. Tyson Kidd & Melina from WWE Superstars and Wade Barrett vs. Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian both from WWE Smackdown are all up for the award this week.  All these matches were great, but one of them was just phenomenal.  Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian takes home the Silverdome Match of the Week for this wonderful week.

For the second week in a row, Christian got a chance to face the Mexican Aristocrat, Alberto Del Rio.  Back in October of last year, Alberto Del Rio would attack Christian’s pectoral muscle to the point that Christian needed to take four months off in order to recover.  Christian returned at WWE Elimination Chamber and got some well-deserved revenge on Del Rio.  Since then, Christian and his good friend Edge (Del Rio’s opponent at WrestleMania) have been battling it out with Del Rio and his entourage, Brodus Clay and Ricardo Rodriguez.  Last week, Christian just pulled out the victory against Del Rio in a Steel Cage match.  Now Del Rio and Christian would go one-on-one with no gimmicks or stipulations.  The two competitors start the match pretty even as they each traded moves.  It would remain that way until Christian flung Del Rio over the ropes to the floor with a back body drop.  Christian would follow the back body drop with a cross body from the top rope onto Del Rio.  Del Rio and Christian would continue to battle for advantage as the match progressed.  Del Rio worked on Christian’s arm while Christian tried to use his high-risk offence to get the better of Del Rio.  This match grew ever exciting as Del Rio and Christian both started to throw out all their devastating signature moves.  Their efforts were for naught as both superstars would counter each others’ signature moves.  This went on until the very end when Christian would hit the Killswitch after a distraction from Edge for the win.  The Steel Cage match these two superstars put on last week was great, but this match was better.  Personally, this is one of the best matches I have watched on TV so far this year.  Hopefully with Christian beating Alberto Del Rio again means that he will be added to the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania.  Christian is one phenomenal WWE superstar and keeping him from competing on the Grandest Stage of Them All this year would be rather disappointing.

As we all enter WrestleMania Week, there is a lot in store.  There will finally be some build for Undertaker vs. Triple H after weeks of absolutely no interaction between these two superstars on Raw this week.  At least we will not have to see another up-and-coming superstar join the Triple H Squash Express this week.  Also The Rock will be at Raw to confront both John Cena and The Miz.  Expect one hell of a three-way stare down from these three.  WWE is packing a lot into the go home shows for WrestleMania, so do not miss a second of either Raw or Smackdown.  This week will be BIG!  Until next Saturday dear readers, have a delightful WrestleMania Week and to all those travelling to Atlanta for WrestleMania, safe travels.  Cheers.     

The Road to WrestleMania 27 Part 4: The Showstopper’s Show Has Been Stopped

“If I can’t beat you, I have no career.” –Shawn Michaels to the Undertaker

As we enter WrestleMania Week, we turn back the hands of time.  We go back to one year ago, when everybody was ever anticipating the one show that would launch the WWE into the new decade.  It was the End of an Era, Destruction in the Desert, and the Climax of an Illustrious Career.  We turn the clocks back to March 29^th, 2010.  The place was University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona filled with over 72 000 people.  The event was WrestleMania 26.

Potential that is the word that summed up Wrestlemania 26 in my humble opinion.  This Wrestlemania had the potential to be one of the best of all-time, but it did not live up to extremely high expectations put on by many wrestling fans including myself.  Even though it did not live up to the lofty expectations, Wrestlemania 26 was really good show in it of itself.  WrestleMania 26 was much better than the disappointment which was WrestleMania 25.  Not all the matches on this PPV were as good as we had all expected especially the CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio match and the ShowMiz vs. R-Truth and John Morrison match, but they were still good entertaining matches nonetheless.  Out of all the matches on this card, there was one that undoubtedly did not live up to its’ potential.  That match was Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon.  This match had been built from the moment Bret returned to the WWE on January 4^th after a 13 year hiatus.  Bret was finally going to get his retribution on Mr. McMahon for the Montreal Screwjob at WrestleMania 26.  Then we got ten full minutes of Bret and the whole Hart Family beating down a 60 year old Vince McMahon, which was not what anybody expected.  Even with that disappointment, there was one match that clearly defined this WrestleMania; the one match that everybody watched or went to WrestleMania just to see, the match that everybody had been talking about for months on end.  That match was the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels II, The Streak vs. The Career.  This match is the reason to watch this PPV and the only match that could ever properly end the phenomenal career of the greatest performer of our time, the one the only, "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.  Now let's get on to the matches.

ShowMiz def. John Morrison and R-Truth to retain the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
My Rating:  7/10

Randy Orton def. Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in a Triple Threat Match
My Rating:  7.5/10 

Jack Swagger def. Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin, Drew McIntyre, Christian, MVP, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourne, Kofi Kingston and Kane in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match
My Rating:  9.5/10

Triple H def. Sheamus
My Rating:  7/10

Rey Mysterio def. CM Punk with Luke Gallows and Serena
My Rating:  8/10

Bret Hart def. Vince McMahon by submission in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack Match
My Rating:  2/10

Chris Jericho def. Edge to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
My Rating:  9/10

Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, Alicia Fox and Vickie Guerrero def. Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, Eve Torres, Gail Kim and Beth Phoenix in a 10-Diva Tag Team Match
My Rating:  2/10

John Cena def. Batista by submission to win the WWE Championship

My Rating:  9/10

The Undertaker def. Shawn Michaels in a No DQ, No Count-Out Match, Career vs. Streak
My Rating:  10/10

Overall, Wrestlemania 26 was really good.  Not the best WrestleMania of All-Time, WrestleMania 26 was one of the best PPVs of 2010 to come from WWE.  So go out and watch it or buy the DVD because this WrestleMania is an event you do not want to miss.  My overall rating for Wrestlemania 26 is 8 out of 10.

Personally I cannot write a review about WrestleMania 26 and leave out my thoughts on Shawn Michaels' retirement and his farewell speech on the Raw after WrestleMania.  It is hard to believe that Michaels’ career has finally come to an end and that we will not be able to watch him wrestle on a weekly basis.  When I first started watching WWE back in late 2003, I did not like Shawn Michaels that much; he was a phenomenal wrestler, but for some reason I did not like his style.  But over the last six years, I have grown to love watching Shawn Michaels compete in the ring and truly respect the journey that this man has been on over the last 20 years of his life.  As every wrestling fan should know, Shawn Michaels was not always a role model, he was a delinquent in the 90s and drove the WWE and Bret Hart, in particular, absolutely crazy.  After a career threatening back injury that would sideline Michaels for just over four years, Michaels found religion.  Not like many of the celebrities today that selfishly use religion to restart their careers, Michaels truly was a changed man.  Michaels returned to the WWE in 2002 and proved for the last eight years of his career that he is the greatest performer that has ever stepped into the squared circle.  When it came to the unscripted farewell speech, Shawn Michaels, or should he be referred as, Michael Hickenbottom gave on Raw after WrestleMania was just beautiful.  It was so hard not to cry.  Personally, Shawn Michaels has been a big part of my life these last six years; Shawn Michaels was one of the wrestlers that made me the huge wrestling fan that you are reading about today.  Just like the title of his DVD, Shawn Michaels:  My Journey, Michaels’ career has been a journey from an immature boy to a full grown adult.  Shawn Michaels has given 20 years of his life to this industry, now he deserves to spend the rest of his life with his family and friends doing whatever he wants.  There is no doubt that we will see Michaels in the WWE again as maybe a guest host, special guest referee or maybe guest commentator when WWE comes to San Antonio, his hometown.  As per the stipulation of his final match, Shawn Michaels will stand by the promise he made to never wrestle ever again.  Shawn Michaels wrestling career has come to an end, but we all will never forget the times we have all spent watching him steal the show and put on some of the greatest matches of all-time.  Thank you, Shawn Michaels.  You will be truly missed in the hollows of the WWE.

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Ultimate X

This was one packed week in the World of Professional Wrestling.  The Road to WrestleMania has finally kicked into high gear with a lot of good entertaining matches and segments.  With the train wreak that was Victory Road last Sunday, TNA is worse shape than they have ever been.  The main event, Sting vs. Jeff Hardy, could be considered TNA’s equivalent to the Fingerpoke of Doom (if you do not know about this infamous event, look it up and see for yourself).  Even in all the horrible booking and unnecessary “controversial” finishes, the Ultimate X and Beer Money vs. Ink Inc. matches are worth your time.  Along with those two matches, Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan from WWE Raw and Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston and Alberto Del Rio vs. Christian in a Steel Cage Match both from WWE Smackdown are all worthy nominees this week’s award.  There can be only one winner and for the first time TNA has won the Silverdome Match of the Week with the Ultimate X match from last Sunday’s Victory Road PPV.

Kazarian, Robbie E, Max Buck and Jeremy Buck competed in the twenty-fourth Ultimate X match in TNA Wrestling history and they all tore down the house in the Impact Zone.  It seems that the Ultimate X is the only match that TNA has regularly booked well in these dark ages.  Like other gimmick matches, an Ultimate X match can be rather spotty, but most that I have personally watched have had some underlining story to justify the competitors motivations in the match.  In this match, the underlining stories were Robbie E wanting to regain the X Division title he lost a few months ago and the ever growing animosity between Max and Jeremy Buck (Generation Me).  This match had a lot of good hard hitting moments to go with the nice high-flying spots.  Two crazy moments came from Kazarian.  The first one saw him fling Robbie E over the ropes and have Robbie E land head first on the steel steps.  The second had Kazarian push Max Buck head first into the steel structure that held up the Ultimate X.  From there on we got see some great action as these four wrestlers put their bodies on the line in order to grab the X Division Title.  Eventually Max and Jeremy Buck would come to blows as the two brothers fought over who should pull down the belt.  Taking advantage of Gen Me’s argument, Robbie E would take the brothers both out with a ladder.  With Gen Me out of the way, it came down to a race between Kazarian, who was balancing on the Ultimate X cables, and Robbie E, who was climbing a ladder.  Kazarian and Robbie E would both reach the title at the same time.  So a tug-of-war would ensue between the two of them over who would gain sole possession of the X Division Title.  Kazarian would win the tug-of-war and win this exciting Ultimate X match.  Even though Victory Road was such a horrible PPV, this match still deserves your time.  It is sad to see TNA suffer from sloppy booking when they have talent like the four guys in this match that can go out every night and put on one great show. 

As predicted last week, the segments with Snooki were terrible.  On the mic, she sounded like an annoying little mouse and she looked like a rat with an over-done tan.  It is baffling to try a wrap your brain around North America’s love with Jersey Shore.  It is sad that we will be seeing more of Snooki as she will be in a match at WrestleMania.  On a lighter note, The Rock continued his war-of-words with John Cena as he had a hilarious confrontation with Kid Cena.  The Rock would also turn his attention to the Miz for calling The Rock out last week on Raw.  At the end of the show, the Miz would come out dressed as The Rock and attack John Cena to continue this wrestling triangle.  In other news, Michael Cole debuted the Cole Mine, a hilarious contraption that houses Cole when he is commentating.  Also for all you ROH fans out there, news coming out of Manhattan Mayhem IV is that Eddie Edwards has just won the ROH World Championship from Roderick Strong.  Until next Saturday, wrestling fans have a wonderful week and do not to forget to watch some wrestling.  Cheers.     

The Road to WrestleMania 27 Part 3: Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

“Sometimes it is Hell trying to get to Heaven.” – The Undertaker

Those were the words that started a series of two matches between the Deadman and the Heartbreak Kid.  For years, wrestling fans saw the very evident hints at the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels during inter-promotional matches such as the Royal Rumble.  These two legends were even the last two competitors in the 2007 Royal Rumble and competed for five wonderful minutes until the Undertaker would toss Michaels over the top rope to win the big match.  For 2007 and 2008, the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels were busy with other big feuds for WrestleMania.  Then with the 25^th Anniversary of WrestleMania in view, the fans pleaded and begged to get this dream match for WrestleMania’s Silver Anniversary.  WWE would listen to the fans’ pleas and give us not one, but two matches between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels at back-to-back WrestleManias.  Each was a classic bout in its own right; one literally stole the show and the other signified the end of an era for the WWE and this business.  These two matches have added more to the grandeur of the Show of Shows and solidified The Streak.  If one of the greatest in-ring performers in Shawn Michaels could not end The Streak on two separate occasions, nobody should.  This article we will look at both the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels I and II from WrestleMania 25 and WrestleMania 26 respectively.

Going into WrestleMania 25, Shawn Michaels said he was not afraid of the Undertaker and his legendary Streak.  Shawn Michaels played the classic good and evil card.  That Michaels was the light and the Undertaker was the dark.  This build even led into the phenomenal entrances as Michaels came down from the heavens dressed in white and the Undertaker rose from the depths of Hell dressed in black.  From the opening bell, the crowd in the arena and the fans watching at home were in wonder and awe of the spectacular match they were witnessing.  The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels went blow-for-blow, move-for-move.  Michaels started the match with strikes to Undertaker’s leg.  Each superstar hit all of their big finishing moves (the Elbow and Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels and the Chokeslam, the Last Ride and the Tombstone by the Undertaker).  Things would start to get really exciting when the Undertaker batted aside Michaels’ moonsault attempt from the ring post to the arena floor.  This mistake on Michaels end would lead into the Undertaker’s signature plancha called Air Taker.  At the very last minute, Michaels would shove the referee out of the way and then pull the cameraman into Taker’s move.  Undertaker hit the ground a few centimeters before place where the cameraman was standing.  Shawn Michaels would take this advantage to get the count-out victory and end The Streak.  Everybody let out on big sigh of relief when the Undertaker rolled into the ring right before the ten count.  The match would continue at an excellent pace then the Undertaker would throw Michaels over the ropes, but Michaels would hold on and try to skin the cat.  Shawn Michaels would skin the cat right into a devastating Tombstone Piledriver, which looked like the end as I screamed, “Taker killed Michaels!!”  Two seconds never felt that long as Shawn Michaels would kick out on the pin attempt.  The crowd in Reliant Stadium and fans watching at home were speechless as Jim Ross called, “I just had an out-of-body experience!”  Well it seemed as everybody did J.R.  With no end in sight, Michaels would get his second wind by hitting his signature Elbow and Sweet Chin Music on the Undertaker, but to no avail.  This phenomenal match would finally end when Michaels made his only mistake of the entire match.  Shawn Michaels would go for another moonsault, but Undertaker would catch Michaels into a Tombstone Piledriver to go 17-0.

At the 2009 Slammy Awards, Shawn Michaels would challenge the Undertaker to one more match at WrestleMania.  The Undertaker would not initially accept Michaels challenge.  So Shawn Michaels would force the issue by costing the Undertaker his World Heavyweight Title at WWE Elimination Chamber.  The Undertaker would accept Shawn Michaels’ challenge only if Michaels would put his own career on the line for a chance to end The Streak.  Michaels would risk it all to get his chance at the Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI. 

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXVI was every bit as good their match the previous year.  For the second year in a row, Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker went out there in that ring and put on the best match of the night.  Michaels expertly worked over the Underaker's leg after the Undertaker tweaked it when he went for Old School.  On the flipside, later in the match the Underaker would work over Michaels’ arm after he put his knees up when Michaels went for the Elbow then locking in his Hell's Gate submission.  These two have been in this business for over 20 years and they showed that every match does not have to have insane high risk spots, but well planned out moments that people will never forget and there were plenty of them.  The Tombstone Piledriver on the floor, the numerous Sweet Chin Music from out of nowhere, the Moonsault onto Undertaker's leg (see how Michaels expertly works on the leg) through the table were just a few of those memorable moments.  Throughout this whole match, the crowd and fans at home were in awe of how great these two were in the ring.  They told one phenomenal story as Michaels believed with every bone in his body that he could end The Streak, even mocking him right at the beginning of the match and right at the end.  Speaking of the ending, just like this match it was amazing.  Michaels was trying to get back up to his feet by using the Undertaker's body.  Undertaker went to taunt Michaels, but he decided not to, instead Michaels mocked the Undertaker just like did at the beginning of the match. The taunt was followed by one big slap across the Undertaker’s face. This act infuriated the Undertaker to the point that he grabbed Michaels and gave him a leaping, yes I said leaping, Tombstone Piledriver to end the match and Shawn Michaels' career.  After Undertaker did his usual end match posing, he picked up Michaels and shook his hand, it was a great moment. When Undertaker left the ring, Michaels had his moment to look around and wave goodbye to the crowd in Phoenix as he made his final walk back from the ring at Wrestlemania as the broadcast came to an end. No music video, no highlights, we were left with Shawn Michaels walking to the back for the final time.  And it is an image I personally will never ever forget. 

When people talk about The Streak, these are the two matches that come to mind.  Each one was nothing short of magical.  Out of the two matches, Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania XXVI is my personal favourite as it was THE match that ended the last decade for the WWE and launched them into the next.  It was surely the last great match of a dying era as we see a transition to newer, younger talent in the WWE.  We were lucky to get a match like Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels once, but twice is truly a gift.  Thank you Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and WWE for making these matches everything that fans wanted them to be and more.

The Silverdome Match of the Week: Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio

Well it seemed like a kick in the pants by the Texas Rattlesnake has revived this last leg on the Road to WrestleMania 27.  This week will be remembered for the excellent return of Stone Cold Steve Austin at the expense of the ever-hated Michael Cole.  Now that Stone Cold is going to be the referee for the Michael Cole vs. Jerry Lawler match at WrestleMania, we are in for one nostalgic-filled show.  Unlike last week, we got quite a few good matches this week from the likes of WWE and TNA.  John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler from WWE Raw, Ric Flair vs. AJ Styles vs. Matt Hardy from TNA Impact, Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio and Edge & Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio & Brodus Clay both from WWE Smackdown were all really good matches worthy of this award.  After a lot of thinking, Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio just beat out the exciting return of Edge & Christian for the Silverdome Match of the Week.

At first glance, Drew McIntyre vs. Rey Mysterio looked to be Mysterio’s chance to squash somebody as his current rival Cody Rhodes squashed JTG earlier in the night.  That would not happen on Drew McIntyre’s watch.  Once the bell rang, McIntyre with his new found aggression delivered a series a big power moves to Mysterio.  As we went to commercial break, McIntyre was in full control over the WWE’s Biggest Little Man after hitting a very innovative sidewalk slam on the ring apron.  As we returned from the commercial break, McIntyre was still in control.  That would not last for much longer as Drew’s attempt at the Future Shock DDT from the top rope was reversed into a splash from the top rope.  Trying to follow-up on the momentum gained from the splash, Mysterio would go for a springboard crossbody.  McIntyre would avoid the move and roll up Mysterio for a two-count.  McIntyre would whip Mysterio into the ropes and then follow with a clothesline, but Mysterio would kick out McIntyre’s leg.  This move would set-up the 619 and the top rope splash from Mysterio for the win.  The new aggression Drew McIntyre has developed since WWE Elimination Chamber is very refreshing to see and fun to watch.  He has continued to deliver some of the best matches of the night and even in defeat, he is looking better than ever.  Will like to see what the WWE continues to do with McIntyre in the next few months.  Hopefully they are building him to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship very soon.

Even though Drew McIntyre & Rey Mysterio put on the Match of the Week, you deserve to give yourself the pleasure of watching any those matches listed in the first paragraph.  The Rock and John Cena’s war of words continued with Cena’s supposed “Knockout Blow”.  It was more like Cena knocked himself out as he put on one of the worst promos many of us have ever heard.  Good thing the Miz came out and save it by attacking Cena and giving Cena his own version of the People’s Elbow.  WWE put on some good shows this week and gladly got everything back on track for WrestleMania.  Be sure to give TNA some love tomorrow by watching Victory Road.  Personally, I enjoyed TNA Impact this week and they deserve a little love for once.  Then tune into Raw to see the in-ring return of Trish Stratus, Daniel Bryan vs. Sheamus for the U.S. Title and the train wreck that will be Jersey Shore’s Snooki guest appearance.  Until next Saturday dear readers, have a wonderful wrestling filled week.  Cheers.

The Road to WrestleMania 27 Part 2: The Streak

“There have been many dragons, who try and lay siege to my kingdom and one-by-one they all suffered the same fate.” –The Undertaker

Defeat is the fate that every wrestler that has stepped up to try and end The Streak at WrestleMania has faced.  Each man hopes that they would be the one to end The Streak and cement their legacy in wrestling history.  It is greater than any accolade, more prestigious than any championship title.  By the majority wrestling fans, The Streak is one of the most sacred and guarded accomplishments in the wrestling business.  For somebody to end such a streak would catapult a superstar’s career to the stars, but also cause riots amongst the wrestling faithful.  If you did not figure out by now, this article is about the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.

The Streak started at WrestleMania VII with Undertaker defeating “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka.  Since it started, Undertaker has defeated many superstars at WrestleMania such as Shawn Michaels, Kane, Edge and Batista.  In recent years, The Streak has become a stable for WrestleMania.  Either a young superstar wanting to make their mark or an established veteran who has nothing else to accomplish in their career steps up each year to challenge the Undertaker and his streak.  Each year the WWE does an excellent job of building the possibility that the Undertaker could lose at the Grandest Stage of Them All, but in the end there has always been the same result.  Defeat at the hands of the WWE’s resident Deadman.

The Undertaker and The Streak have become synonymous with WrestleMania.  The Undertaker and The Streak have produced some of the best and worst matches in WWE history.  As of late, the WWE has been putting together some formidable opponents such as Edge and Shawn Michaels.  This year for WrestleMania XXVII, “The Game” Triple H has returned to either end the streak or die trying.  In the past few weeks, these two future WWE Hall of Famers have been going back-and-forth in their own war of words.  Triple H has challenged the Undertaker’s streak before at WrestleMania X-Seven.  These two had one amazing brawl that spanned the majority of the stands in the Astrodome.  If this match at this years’ WrestleMania is a half as good as the showdown the Undertaker and Triple H had ten years ago, we are in for one great match. 

There are three more weeks left until WrestleMania 27 and a little more time for WWE to build this match into something worthwhile.  Right now, this feud seems rushed.  WWE should have brought at least one of them back at or after the Royal Rumble in order to give some proper build to this feud.  The set-up for this match came out of nowhere and has had no real build.  We could get one great match at WrestleMania, but the build has not been worthy of something as big as The Streak.

As we continue down the Road to WrestleMania, there are only a few more twists and turns left in the path.  The Road to WrestleMania 27 series returns for its third part, which relates directly to topic of this article, The Streak.  We will be looking back at two of the most anticipated matches in WrestleMania history and two matches that are considered the two of the greatest matches in the shows history.  Next week, we are talking about the Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels I & II.

The Silverdome Promo of the Week: “Un-Dashing” Cody Rhodes Steals the Show

It seems after coming off of the excellent Elimination Chamber PPV about two weeks ago that the WWE has been losing steam.  Match-wise, this was not a good week for wrestling.  It seemed that there were more promos than good matches on TV this week.  The only match worthy of winning The Silverdome of the Week was Edge vs. Drew McIntyre from Smackdown.  Being a week mostly filled with promos, it will be a nice time to introduce the first ever Silverdome Promo of the Week.  From now on whenever there is a week where a promo outshines all the matches that take place, the Silverdome Match of the Week will be replaced by the Silverdome Promo of the Week.  The inaugural Silverdome Promo of the Week goes to the now “Un-dashing” Cody Rhodes promo on Smackdown.

Way back in January, the then “Dashing” Cody Rhodes faced off with Rey Mysterio in a highly competitive match.  During the match, Rhodes exposed Mysterio’s knee brace.  So when Mysterio went for the 619, Mysterio’s knee brace bashed in Rhodes’ precious face.  Rhodes went on to lose the match, but Mysterio took away something more from the Dashing One, his dashing good looks.  Due to the loss of his looks, Cody Rhodes took on a character defining transformation.  Rhodes would miss both the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber PPVs due to reconstructive surgery on his face.  He returned to Smackdown last week and assaulted Mysterio and then took the luchadors mask, which would lead into this week’s promo.  Rhodes came out to Rey Mysterio’s entrance theme while wearing his mask.  For a few moments, the crowd and people at home were tricked into believing that Rey Mysterio was on his way to the ring.  Once Rhodes took off Mysterio’s mask, revealing his plastic face mask, the cheers turned to deafening boos.  What followed was a promo with the delivery that was very reminiscent of great talkers such as Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Chris Jericho.  Cody Rhodes has always been good on the mic, but ever since this whole storyline with Rey Mysterio began Rhodes’ mic work has skyrocketed to the stratosphere.  Rhodes began to talk about how he has been the king of disappointed as of late and how what he did to Mysterio last week felt so right.  Rhodes would then transition to challenging Rey Mysterio to a match at WrestleMania and how he will remove his mask and expose Mysterio’s face on the Grandest Stage of Them All for the whole world to see.  Rhodes would then exit the ring and as he walked back to the ring, he would show everybody how his character has evolved over the past two months.  Rhodes began to twitch and try to hide his face from the crowd.  It showed how psychologically unstable his character has become.  This feud between Rey Mysterio along with this new evolution in his Dashing character could be exactly what Cody Rhodes to elevate him to the main event level.  Cody Rhodes always had the skill and charisma to make it in the wrestling business, but he has finally found the IT factor needed to become a main event star in the WWE.  This promo does one excellent job of building Cody Rhodes vs. Rey Mysterio as one of the matches to watch at WrestleMania 27. 

Cody Rhodes’ promo was the best of the week, but you should also check out the continuation of John Cena & the Rock’s war of words.  This week, The Rock made his response to John Cena’s rap from last week and got everybody excited for the eventual face-to-face encounter these two stars will have in the coming weeks.  This week seemed to have much more promos than actual wrestling, which is not bad thing, but it is not as exciting.  WWE seems to be losing a lot of steam in these last few weeks leading into WrestleMania.  The only feuds that have been gaining steam are the Cody Rhodes & Rey Mysterio feud and the Edge & Alberto Del Rio feud.  The feuds on Raw have either been overshadowed by the war of words between the Rock and Cena or are not that interesting.  Hopefully with the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin on the coming week’s Raw will give WWE the shot in the arm it needs to make it through the last leg of the Road to WrestleMania.  Hope you all enjoy the inaugural Silverdome Promo of the Week.  Until next Saturday, have a wonderful week and do not forget to have your healthy dose of professional wrestling.  Cheers.

The Road to WrestleMania 27 Part 1: The Spectacle of WrestleMania

“An event that cements legacy, affirms dominance, crowns champions and creates immortals.  WrestleMania.” –WrestleMania 24 Opening Video Package

The Show of Shows, the Grandest Stage of Them All, and the Showcase of Immortals are all monikers that describe the WWE’s flagship event, WrestleMania.  Starting 26 years ago within the legendary walls of Madison Square Garden, WrestleMania has grown into an international phenomenon.  Each year WrestleMania draws wrestling fans from over 20 countries.  In the last few years, the WWE has brought WerstleMania to much larger football stadiums that house close to 70 thousand people.  This new addition has added to the spectacle of the show.  Now WrestleMania is literally the largest wrestling show of the year.  There are many things that differentiate WrestleMania from every other wrestling PPV.  Over the next few weeks leading to WrestleMania 27 here on The Silverdome, I will be looking at these WrestleMania-related subjects to get ready for the big show.  The first subject is the Spectacle of WrestleMania.

The scale, the grandeur, the celebrities, the matches, the pyrotechnics are all part of the spectacle that is WrestleMania.  WrestleMania has evolved from just a four hour event to a whole week experience.  The week before WrestleMania, the WWE and its superstars invade whichever city that will host the Show of Shows and put on various events and public appearances across the city.  Like other sporting events such as the Super Bowl, WrestleMania does wonders to boosting the tourism of the hosting city.  As huge as WrestleMania week with WrestleMania Axcess, the WWE Hall of Fame and other events is, the one thing that everybody is waiting for is the actual WrestleMania event.  Unlike many of the other PPVs WWE puts on throughout the year, WrestleMania is not just about the matches.  It is also about the excellent, humongous and intricate sets, the insane amounts of pyrotechnics, the celebrity appearances and involvement, the iconic moments and the intimate atmosphere.  WrestleMania is a treat for the eyes and the ears for all those watching the PPV from home.  But any wrestling fans dream is to be part of the live crowd at the Grandest Stage of them All.

 WrestleMania is an experience like no other.  It is the pinnacle of sports-entertainment.  From Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania III to Undertaker causing Shawn Michaels to retire at WrestleMania XXVI, some of the greatest matches and iconic moments in WWE and wrestling history have taken place at WrestleMania.  Without this one event, professional wrestling would not be as popular as it is today.  WrestleMania is the stage where the superstars of the WWE solidify themselves as champions and immortals in the hollows of this industry.  WretleMania has a different meaning for everybody.  For me, personally, WrestleMania is biggest sporting event of the year.  Bigger than the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Finals, the NBA Finals and the World Series combined.  It is the one event that I wait for every single year to watch.  Then anxiously wait for it to come on DVD in order to actually own a piece of wrestling history and to watch it yet again.  These events have become a tradition for me. 

Now I would like to put this question to everybody reading.  What does WrestleMania mean to you?  Think about this question and please respond in the comment section below.

With only four weeks left until WrestleMania 27 from the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, The Road to WrestleMania 27 series will continue next Saturday.  The topic of part two is something more sacred and guarded accomplishment in all of professional wrestling.  It is bigger than any championship or accolade in this business.  It is The Streak.