Wrestlemania XXIV Re-Do Review

Wrestlemania XXIV Re-Do Review


One of my personal favourite Manias. Does it still hold up since my last viewing? Let's begin.




John Legend does a good job singing America the Beautiful .


(Yes he does)


Finlay vs JBL : Belfast Brawl
Good way to open Mania . Trash can garbage . I do believe Finlay should have picked up the victory here though . Good solid match . ***


(This was a strange one, as it didn't really feel like a proper Mania match. Felt more like a match on a B-Show PPV. The storyline wasn't well put together either. Somehow JBL managed to find out that Hornswoggle's father was Finlay. How? Anyway that doesn't stop the match from being a lot of fun. For some reason, seeing people hit with garbage cans is very entertaining. Nice energetic match to open up the show. Good for a garbage match  ***)


Money In The Bank
One of the best spotfests in WWE . It worked really well for a match that had 2 faces and 5 heels . Loved the sunset flip suplex off the ladder and Shelton falling all the way outside the ring onto another ladder . Brilliant match . Punk wins his first , but not his last , MITB .  ****


(Probably one of the better MITB matches in history. At the time I thought having only two faces was bad, but look at the recent MITB match that had nothing but heels! Anyway this match was awesome all the way through, and just about everyone had something to bring to the match. The interference of Matt Hardy was very well done too. Punk deserved the big win. ****)



(Showing the Hall of Fame class of 2008 is a lot harder to watch now, due to the tragic death of Ric Flair's son, Reid. RIP)


Batista vs Umaga
This was a bit of a disappointment . The crowd kept it entertaining though . *


(Billed as Smackdown vs Raw, but this was basically just an excuse to get both guys on the big card. I think they may had been hoping that these two would have surprise chemistry like Batista and Taker the year before. That was not the case. The crowd chanting for Umaga was cool though. The match wasn't too bad and started off quite well, but really slowed down after that. I'll go with  *1/2 for this one)


Kane vs Chavo Guerrero
I'm a Kane fan so this wasn't all bad for me . Still a spit in the face to ECW . DUD


(Still a DUD. The ECW Title deserved more. That's all I have to say about that)


Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair
Perhaps the most emotional match in WWE history . Everyone knew that Flair was going to lose but everyone wanted to see it happen . Quite hard to rate this match as you have to take the wrestling and the emotion of it all into it . Overall i'd give it about ****1/4


(Some say that this one has lowered in quality since it took place, but not to me. I still love the fact that both guys worked their asses off, trying to pull off a brilliant match and give Flair the appropriate sendoff. Flair got to put in just about his whole move-set, which is always a good thing. I think HBK broke his ribs when he landed on the table early in the bout, so well done to him for keeping the match going. Still sticking with the  ****1/4 rating)



Beth Phoenix & Melina vs Maria & Ashley : Bunnymania Lumberjack
The lights going out distracted from the match but there wasn't much to be distracted from . 1/2*


(Got to give them credit for continuing the match while in the dark. The match wasn't great as the team of Maria and Ashley should have been dubbed 'Sloppymania'. Beth and Melina kept things watchable though, along with the addition of Lawler and Santino. Still  1/2*)


John Cena vs Triple H vs Randy Orton
I love triple threat matches and this one was great . WWE made the smart move by letting Orton get the upset win . No one expected him to , even myself . They had a poll earlier in the night to see what the fans though , and only 9% picked Orton to win . Great match ***1/2


(At the time, I was expecting this or the Mayweather match to be the main event, so it was quite a surprise to see it come before the other two main matches. Most people were expecting either HHH or John Cena to win. Barely anyone thought that Orton would win. Nice little swerve, and the first time since Mania 2000 that a heel won the WWE Championship match. Also Cena's first loss at a Mania. It did feel like a big match, with the three top Raw guys trying to prove that they were the best. Still a great match. ***1/2)



Floyd Mayweather vs The Big Show : No DQ
This was very good for a celebrity vs wrestler match . Better than WM 11 match anyway . Good thing they didn't again make the mistake of a match like this going on last . Good match ***


(Don't know why I seemed to be hating on the Mania 11 celebrity match since it was actually quite good. Anyway this match was quite highly anticipated and I'm surprised that they didn't put it as the main event, although that turned out to be a great decision. The match may be my personal favourite celebrity wrestling match, and probably the best in WWE history. Still a lot of fun to watch. ***)



Edge vs The Undertaker
This is one of my favourite Wrestlemania matches . This is probably the best of the Edge/Taker series of matches and that is saying something . Great back and forth match worthy of the main event of Wrestlemania  . Undertaker wins another world title after making Edge submit to the hell's gate submission . ****1/2


(Still one of my favourite Mania matches. I'd probably put this as my match of the year for 2008, even with the amazing HIAC match and awesome HBK/Y2J feud. The crowd were very quiet to start, but these guys managed to liven them up with some great in-ring action. Best decision of the night was to put this as the unexpected main event, since it ended up being the best match of the entire night. Great ending to a fantastic show. ****1/2)


8.5/10 A great Wrestlemania and one of the best of the 21st century . Definitely a memorable one .



(I think I'm gonna put this up to 9/10. One of the better Mania's for sure with each main match delivering, and some extra fun with the MITB and the Belfast Brawl. The bad stuff was made very short which is a bonus. Overall a must-see Mania.