WWE WrestleMania XXVI (March 2010)

Original Airdate: March 28, 2010

 

From Glendale, Arizona; Your Hosts are Michael Cole, Matt Striker, and Jerry Lawler

 

Opening WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match: Big Show and Miz v John Morrison and R-Truth: Miz and Morrison start, and John nails him with a dropkick for two right away. Bodyslam follows, and he tags to Truth to hit Miz with a flying legdrop for two. Miz passes to Show to put a stop to Truth's run, however, and Show casually squashes him. He makes the mistake of getting in John's face, however, and a well placed kick puts Show on his ass for two. Both men tag, and Morrison comes in hot on Miz. Starship Pain misses when Show pulls Miz out of harm's way, however, and Miz hooks the leg for two. Skull Crushing Finale, but John counters with a cradle for two. He tries following up with a springboard, but Show pops him in the face with a punch, and Morrison is out at 3:19. Well, that was certainly efficient. ½*

 

Triple Threat Match: Randy Orton v Cody Rhodes v Ted DiBiase: Cody and Ted team up right from the get-go, but Randy outsmarts them, and gets control. Unfortunately for him, he gets overwhelmed fighting a two front war, and his former henchmen put the boots to him. They work Randy over in dull fashion, but things fall apart when DiBiase tries to take the pinfall for himself. Cody dumps him to the outside before Alabama slamming Orton for two. Ted returns to slug it out with Cody, and this time Randy is able to use the time to recover. He makes a comeback on both men, and the crowd is pretty over the top hot for this nothing action. Punt kills Cody dead, so DiBiase uses the opportunity to sneak up with the Dream, but Orton counters with an RKO at 8:57. Another one that didn't take too long to get to the point, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Not that it was any good, but at least it was not any good in under nine minutes, instead of under nineteen. This was surprisingly flat for something with such a developed storyline, though. ½*

 

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Christian v Shelton Benjamin v Jack Swagger v Dolph Ziggler v Drew McIntyre v Evan Bourne v Kane v Kofi Kingston v Matt Hardy v Montel Vontavious Porter: That's a lot of bodies. It's a ladder match, not a battle royal! Drew gets the high ground early, and he goes for a climb right away, but Hardy tips him over, and delivers a Twist of Fate. Matt climbs, but everyone else is on him like ants at a picnic, and he's left slugging them off, until Kofi chucks a second ladder at the first to knock everyone down. Kofi gets Kane wedged in the corner to try an attack, but gets dumped on his head (after botching the move anyway), and Benjamin clears the ring to get the high ground. He wants to climb, but more ladders come flying in to prevent it, and Swagger ends up getting sandwiched between three ladders. That ends in another ladder getting planked between the ropes and the main one, and Christian tries a Killswitch on Evan up there, but gets knocked off. Bourne dives with a shooting star press, and he goes for the case, but Hardy hiptosses him off the top. He seems to have it won, but Jack shoves him off for a bump onto the plank - only for Swagger to fall back onto another ladder in the process! That leaves Shelton to climb, but MVP pulls him off, so Benjamin sends both tumbling over the top with a rana. Kane heads in to the empty ring to climb, but Ziggler pushes past him, so Kane tips the ladder to give him a big bump across the top rope. Kane chokeslams him on a ladder for good measure, but here comes Kofi with a gimmicky bit where he uses two ladders as stilts to try and get the case that way. Shockingly, that doesn't work. It was a visually interesting choice, but completely stupid in kayfabe. Drew climbs, but Matt meets him at the top for a slugfest, and Drew ends up getting crotched across the top rope. Matt goes for the case, but Christian makes it up to slow him down, and now they slug it out. Matt tries bringing him down with a Twist, but Christian counters with an inverted DDT off the ladder instead, in a big bump. Christian climbs, but Swagger bashes him in the face with the case to cut him off at the last moment, and Jack grabs it for himself at 13:28. This was completely and totally spot focused, but the bumps were good, and they didn't overstay their welcome like a lot of the more modern versions have since it became a standalone gimmick for a show to be built around. ** ½

 

The Hall of Fame class of 2010 (Ted DiBiase, Stu Hart (represented by his family), Wendi Richter, Mad Dog Vachon, Antonio Inoki, Gorgeous George (represented by his widow), and Bob Uecker) come out to take a bow. I've definitely seen that ceremony, but I honestly don't remember a thing about it

 

Triple H v Sheamus: Boy, they sure sold a ton of WrestleMania shirts that year, didn't they? It's like a sea of them in that crowd! Also, most surprising celebrity appearance tonight: Emma Stone. Wouldn't have thought, though she was probably roped into it by friends. Hunter goes for the Pedigree early, but Sheamus hits the deck, so HHH clotheslines him instead. Vertical suplex sets up a kneedrop for two, and Sheamus bails. HHH drags him back in and clips the knee to set up a figure four, but Sheamus makes the ropes, and bails again. Hunter tails him, but this time Sheamus knocks him into the steps out there, and delivers a pair of uranage backbreakers on the way back in. Clothesline gets him two, and some mounted punches are worth two. Front-powerslam gets two, so Sheamus grabs an armbar, and wrenches. HHH side suplexes his way out, so Sheamus tries another front-powerslam, but Hunter counters with a DDT this time around. He delivers a high knee and a kneeling facebuster for two, but Sheamus blocks another Pedigree attempt. HHH stays on him with a neckbreaker for two, but Sheamus fights off a ten-punch with a crucifix powerbomb - only for Hunter to slip out! That triggers a reversal sequence that ends in Sheamus landing the Brogue Kick for two, but another powerbomb attempt is countered with a rotating spinebuster for two. Sheamus tries bailing, but HHH grabs him by the hair to keep him in - only to eat a Brogue Kick anyway! He peels Hunter off the mat to finish, but HHH counters with a Pedigree out of nowhere for the pin at 12:07. This wasn't anything great, but what WAS great was seeing Triple H just go out and have a regular match at a WrestleMania without all sorts of gaga or needing twenty five minutes. Or both. **

 

CM Punk v Rey Mysterio: If Rey loses, he must join Straight Edge Society. Luke Gallows immediately distracts him to allow Punk to get the advantage, but a corner charge gets blocked with a drop-toehold. That allows Rey to get to the top, but Punk shakes him into a tree of woe, and Serena gets in the cheap shots from there. Rey eats steps via a wheelbarrow facebuster, but he beats the count, so Punk unloads with mounted punches for two. Chinlock, but Rey slugs free, and dives with a springboard flying seated senton. Springboard bodypress, but Punk catches him in a powerslam for two, and Punk wins a reversal sequence with a schoolboy for two. Big boot gets two, but Rey manages to springboard into a DDT for two. Pretty cool one, too. 619, but Punk blocks. GTS, but Rey blocks. Springboard moonsault press, but Punk catches him in another GTS attempt, so Rey slips to the apron to block. Rey goes up with a flying frogsplash, but Punk rolls out of the way, and hooks the leg for two. Punk with a knee in the corner to set up a bulldog, but Rey blocks. 619, so Serena covers Punk over. That allows him to recover, but Rey counters the GTS with the 619, and adds a springboard flying splash to end it at 6:28. Some great reversal sequences, and decent storytelling, though very little in the way of selling. **

 

No Holds Barred Lumberjack Match: Vince McMahon v Bret Hart: Vince makes this a Lumberjack match on the fly, and appoints all the Hart Family members as the lumberjacks, along with Bruce Hart as the special guest referee, all in order to stack the deck against the Hitman. In a weird bit of morbid coincidence, the name 'Goldberg' is displayed in large letters on one of the stadiums legacy boards right behind Bret during the entrances. Before the bell, Bret reveals that the Harts are all in on it, and it's a double cross on Vince after all. And with that, we're off. Bret pounds him down right away, and bootchokes him in the corner until McMahon bails. The lumberjacks are quick to attack him out there, and they give him a flying Hart Attack on the floor before rolling him back inside for Bret to continue to get his in. Bret goes to work on the leg, so Vince tries bailing, and he returns with a weapon. Unfortunately for McMahon, Hart easily takes it away from him, and goes to town. Sharpshooter wakes the crowd up, but then Bret decides to beat on him with the weapon some more instead. Bret grabs a chair and starts using THAT for a bit (which gets the crowd into things again), and when I say 'bit' I mean he just beats and beats and beats on Vince until everyone in the crowd gets bored of it. Sharpshooter finally ends it at 11:07. This went on too long for what it was, and what should have been a satisfying bit of payback ended up falling flat more than anything else. Like, at a certain point you just started to pity Vince, and just wanted it to end already, but Bret just kept going and going and going, like some sort of vengeful Energizer Bunny. It was also sad watching Bret - perhaps the greatest all around in-ring performer of all time - barely able to do anything but punch and kick for ten minutes. This match needed all sorts of smoke and mirrors, but they didn't go that route with it, sadly. –¼*

 

World Heavyweight Title Match: Chris Jericho v Edge: Edge with a flapjack to set up a spear early on, but Jericho bails. Edge drags him back in, but Chris kicks him in the face on the way to block, and a baseball slide sends the challenger crashing back to the outside. Edge beats the count, so Chris welcomes him in by snapping his throat across the bottom rope, and a side suplex is worth two. Jericho works a cobra clutch, but it goes nowhere, and Edge dodges a charge in the corner. Chris responds by dumping him across the top rope, but another charge misses, and the champion takes a spill to the outside. Edge dives after him with a clothesline from the apron, and sadly the crowd has not recovered from the heat vacuum that was the Hart/McMahon match yet. Edge with a gourdbuster off the top for two on the way back into the ring, but Jericho rolls through on a flying bodypress for two, and he tries for the Walls, but Edge blocks. 2^nd rope sunset flip gets the challenger two, but he loses the resulting reversal sequence when Jericho kicks him in the kisser. Codebreaker, but Edge shoves him into the corner to block - only to have the spear countered to the Walls! Edge manages a cradle for two as an escape, and the Edge-o-Matic is worth another two. Jericho returns fire with an enzuigiri for two, but Edge counters a bulldog with an implant DDT for two. Chris blocks a corner charge and dives with a 2^nd rope forearm, but an attempt at a spear of his own is blocked with a big boot from the challenger. Edge goes for the spear, but Jericho counters with a Codebreaker for two. Chris goes after the leg, and he puts him in the Walls. Edge inches toward the ropes, so Jericho shifts to a half-crab on the bad leg to slow him down, but Edge fights and makes it. That allows him a victory cradle for two, and a clothesline sends both men tumbling over the top. Chris grabs the title belt out there, and he bashes Edge on the way back in for a dramatic two. Codebreaker then finishes for real at 15:45. This was really disappointing, and the crowd deciding to sit on their hands for it didn't help matters. * ½

 

10-Woman Tag Team Match: Michelle McCool, Layla, Maryse, Alicia Fox, and Vickie Guerrero v Mickie James, Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Gail Kim, and Kelly Kelly: Vickie does some showboating to start, but gets killed in the babyface corner for her trouble. McCool gets the tag, but gets killed as well, and now everyone takes turns coming in and hitting various neckbreakers on each other. That all ends in Beth Glam Slamming Fox, and she goes for Vickie, but McCool saves. They team up on Kelly, and Michelle and Layla help her pay tribute to Eddie Guerrero with a flying splash (let's not call it a frogsplash out of respect for Eddie), and that... nope, they just screwed up the pinfall. They try again, and luckily manage to complete the 'one person pressing on top of another person for three seconds' spot without botching it again a second time at 3:23. Kind of weird for them to do what should have been an emotional tribute spot to her late husband when she's the heel. But that's modern WWE for you. DUD

 

WWE Title Match: Batista v John Cena: The battle of James Gunn wrestling actors! Feeling out process to start, dominated by the champion after he gets control in the corner. Batista pounds him on the apron, but Cena manages a suplex, and he delivers the one-handed bulldog for two. Attitude Adjustment looks to finish, but Batista counters with a DDT for two, and a kneesmash is worth two. Chinlock/bodyscissors combo follows, but Cena powers to a vertical base, and we have a slugfest. Batista wins that one with a neckbreaker for two, so he takes it back to the ground with a front-facelock, but John backdrops out of it. Side suplex sets up the Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Batista is ready with a spinebuster to block. Batista Bomb, but Cena counters to the STF, only for the champ to get into the ropes. Both guys stagger up, and Batista plants a spear on him for two. Superplex, but Cena knocks him off the ropes to block, and he dives with a flying Shuffle. AA, but Batista holds the ropes to block, and counters into the Bomb for two! Reversal sequence ends in Cena hitting the AA for two, but a dive off the top is caught in a spinebuster. That allows him to set up another Bomb, but John counters to the STF, and Batista taps at 13:30. This is another one that wasn't bad, but felt rather underwhelming, and like a paint-by-numbers effort. * ¼

 

Main Event: No Disqualification Career Threatening Match: Shawn Michaels v Undertaker: Shawn is putting his career on the line against Undertaker's streak. Shawn suckers him into charging at the bell, then sidesteps him, and gets some sticking and moving in. Cross corner whip gets reversed on him, however, and Undertaker delivers a snake-eyes to set up a big boot. Ropewalk forearm, but Shawn blocks, and Undertaker hurts his knee in the process. That allows Shawn to also block a chokeslam attempt by swiping at the leg, so Undertaker goes bigger with a Tombstone attempt, but Michaels again goes at the leg to block. Superkick, but Undertaker manages to dodge, though the leg is slowing him down badly. Shawn knows it, too, and he starts firing kicks at it, pounding the Dead Man into the corner. Figure four, but Undertaker shoves him to the outside to block, and he manages to limp after him long enough to send HBK into the post before Shawn can take a shot at the leg again. Guillotine legdrop finds the mark, but Undertaker is battered, and Shawn is able to sweep him into the figure four on the way back inside. Undertaker reverses, but Shawn quickly escapes, and they stagger to a vertical base to slug it out - won by Michaels with a jumping forearm. He kips up, but Undertaker meets him with a chokeslam for two before he can do anything. Undertaker tries keeping it going with a Tombstone, but Michaels counters to an anklelock, and I'm digging the callbacks to some of Shawn's major WrestleMania opponents in his game tonight. Undertaker escapes, so Shawn knocks him over the top with a clothesline, then dives with a springboard bodypress - only to get caught in a Tombstone on the floor! Shawn is pretty dead, so the medics run out to give him a groin massage, but Undertaker is not having it. He shoves them away and rolls Michaels in to cover, but Shawn gets a shoulder up at two. Last Ride, but Shawn counters with a facebuster for two on the way down! And that's kind of a WrestleMania XI reference, since it looked more like a botched powerbomb than a counter. HBK goes up with a flying elbowdrop, but Undertaker lifts his knees to block - achieving his goal, but also aggravating the bad leg from earlier. Nonetheless, Undertaker manages to lock him in Hell's Gate, but Michaels counters to a cradle for two. Shawn manages to plant a Superkick as both stagger up, but Undertaker kicks out at two. Shawn tries again, but Undertaker blocks this time, and takes him on the Last Ride for two. Undertaker takes him to the outside to Last Ride through an announce table, but Michaels counters with a Superkick, leaving Undertaker sprawled on the table instead. That allows Shawn to get to the top to drive him through the table with a flying moonsault, and Undertaker pulls himself out of the wreckage, trying to bail into the crowd to avoid being pinned, but Shawn frantically drags him inside. Superkick finds the mark in there, but it only gets two. Shawn revs up the band again, but Undertaker counters to a chokeslam this time, and he peels Michaels off the mat for the Tombstone... for two. At least Undertaker's 'shocked face' is warranted here, as opposed to when people pull that shit over basic suplexes. Undertaker calls for another one, but has a change of heart, and wants to show Shawn mercy. He tells Michaels to stay down, but Shawn won't back off. He knows he's finished, but he wants to go out like a man. And so he, while barely standing, mocks Undertaker with a throat slitting gesture, then sets him off with a slap across the chops! That's enough to end any thoughts of mercy Undertaker was having, and another Tombstone ends Shawn's career at 23:59. And he's stayed away from the ring in the eleven years since, save for a single one night comeback. The match was great, filled with dramatic storytelling, and overall a better and more satisfying experience than the one from 2009. And which somehow managed to live up to the enormous expectations, which itself is no small feat. **** (Original rating: ****)

 

BUExperience: Though it was a little stingy with pageantry, and only featured one standout match in four hours, this was a really light, watchable WrestleMania. All the matches felt well developed, and nothing overstayed its welcome.

 

**