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Best wrestlemania main event build


Scott, how would you rank the main events of wrestlemania as far as which had the best build, money drawn is not a factor, just from a storyline perspective, what was the best?

Well, which one are we still talking about 25 years later?  MEGAPOWERS EXPLODE, motherfuckers.  Everything about wrestling done exactly right at exactly the right time.  Except Savage was so ridiculously hot as a heel that they should have delayed the Hogan win until Summerslam, but that's picking nits as far as the storyline goes.  

Hogan-Andre was tremendous as well.  Last gasp of the giant and Hogan cementing himself as an all-time legend, blah blah blah.  

Flair-Savage "She was mine before she was yours" had me dying to order the show, so throw that one in there too.  

In short, they used to know how to promote shit.  And now, fuck them.  

Comments

  1. YankeesHoganTripleHFanJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:29 AM

    Have to show some love for Triple H/Batista

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  2. Rock vs Austin at WM17.

    A build so good that they were able to make Limp Bizkit bearable.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srhd2fZyDB4

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  3. WM III, V, and VI were basically perfect.

    Worst was WM XII. Fuck that dopey build that made Shawn Michaels look obnoxious and Bret look like an old man.

    Anybody else was happy as I was when Cormier lost last night? I love the tears of his fans.

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  4. Daniel Bryan vs HHH/Orton/Batista.

    Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair. That 'Old Yeller' promo has to have locked most the buys.

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  5. the first "once in a lifetime" was done well to get me pumped up for WM for first time in a while.

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  6. WM10: Both Bret and Luger had Yokozuna beaten in the previous year but didn't come out on top. Throw in the Owen storyline and overall that's my favorite. WM14 is up there for me too.

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  7. I will say the 30 build is definitely top 10, maybe top 5. HBK/Taker was great too. That's about it for modern Manias.

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  8. Michaels vs. Flair should have gone on last at WM24. Edge and Undertaker had an excellent match that kind of made up for it but nothing really could follow that moment emotionally and the crowd was drained.


    I think you're right on with some of the recent main events. Most of the 20s era WM main events had good builds while some of the older ones like 7, 9, and 12 were really shit.

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  9. Video package was amazing (probably the best ever) but the Video package was amazing (probably the best ever) build was pretty underwhelming for a while, especially when Debra was involved as Rock's manager. Having two stars of that magnitude means the match will always be hugely anticipated but I remember at the time that the build could have been better.

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  10. The build was actually shit. All the good bits are in that video.

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  11. Most underrated build to a main event is Hogan/Slaughter. Sure it was distasteful but it was well done.

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  12. I thought Orton/HHH had the worst WM main event build.

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  13. Kinda hard to rally a lot of nationalism around around a war that was a week long destruction by the U.S.


    And also hard to pull off a turncoat angle for a guy who was a despicable heel most of his career.

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  14. I can't imagine a heel holding onto the title at one of those early Wrestlemanias. Most of Mania 5 was pretty bad, throw in a screwjob finish and you're looking at one shitty card.

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  15. That had a great build, but lacked the proper payoff at WM.

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  16. I'd give most of the credit to Bush and Saddam rather than WWE.

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  17. They built it up like it was going to be the ultimate blood feud with lots of color and destruction, instead they had a PG heatless, airless match. Haven't both guys gone on record by now saying that was a failure?

    I'd like to toss Backlash 2009's hat in the ring as being like Backlash 2000 where that was the real Wrestlemania that year and if that one was done in a stadium as the top show of the year it'd be fondly remembered. What a great show that paid off the long building Edge/Cena rivalry.

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  18. Orton/HHH was a pretty good build, it was the match that sucked.

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  19. I don't think anyone tops WM III - Hogan/Andre, Savage/Steamboat, Piper/Adonis. Three of the best builds ever on the same card.

    Modern day - Daniel Bryan, HHH-Batista

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  20. I read that Bush's peculiar pronunciation of "Saddam" in interviews was a sly bit of disrespect and not a regional accent. Bush was on some wrestling shit.

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  21. And worst main-event match. What was HHH thinking going on last with UT/HBK on the card. Didn't he remember WM18? Dumbass....

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  22. I know this is hard to believe for some people, but HHH had no say in the matter.

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  23. Kind of surprised people showing love for the buildup. The main thing that stuck out at me was the home invasion angle that just came off as extremely hokey.

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  24. Unless he changed his mind in recent years, I remember he did an interview where he thought it was the right decision to let him go last for WM18.

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  25. WM14 has to be up there - 97/98 Shawn was one of the best heels ever and Austin was obviously on the verge of being a megastar. Throw Tyson into the mix and you have the complete package.
    My personal favourite is actually WM30. Watching the fans reject WWE's plans was incredible and once they finally embraced it, the build-up between HHH and DB was as good as it gets in my opinion. At WM30, I'd never wanted a wrestler to win the title so badly (discounting when I was younger than 12 and got upset anytime Bret or Warrior lost).

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  26. I don't think it'd be his call but if he went to Vince and said "we're gonna look like fools like Jericho and I did at WM18, Vince probably would take it into consideration. Shawn and Taker went on last the following year.

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  27. Huh? Their match at 21 is the definition of the term.

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  28. WM14 was great, but at the same time I think it failed to do it's job because during the buildup I wanted to see Austin v Tyson rather than Austin v HBK.

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  29. I doubt it because Trips tried telling them that the DQ stip was going to suck and was unable to get it changed.

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  30. Looking back on the buildup to the main event of the first one, it was very well done and got the mainstream attention that made Wrestlemania the event that it is.

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  31. X-7 deserves some love ... the desperation in Austin's character after coming back and winning the Rumble, but then losing to Triple H planted seeds of doubt in his mind that he would ever get another shot again.


    I'm also a sucker for 23 where it was basically Shawn telling Cena, "you aren't nothing until you've beaten me"

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  32. Not really, it was a lackluster match where HHH made Batista look like shit.

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  33. Other than WM5 against Rude, I can't recall Warrior ever really losing back then.

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  34. Austin/Rock at WM15 wins with the beer truck alone, notwithstanding that the build arguably began when Austin lost the belt at Break Down. Just think of all the crazy stuff that went on over those six months.

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  35. HBK/Taker at 26 will always be one of my favorites along with Bryan and 30.

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  36. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:48 AM

    You wouldn't know it from HHH's latest DVD...they act like it was a clash of the ages and not a complete wet fart that almost soured the entire show.

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  37. That build was terrible. Half of it was centred around Debra, a motive that Austin and Rock both recognized as crap. They had to force a reboot with the sit-down "I have to beat you, Rock" interview.

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  38. WM25 was an irredeemable shit show to begin with. Kid Rock, Santina, I mean - it was a big turdbomb of Wrestlecrap and awfulness wrapped around the sole redeeming factor of Undertaker vs. Michaels.

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  39. I refuse to put Daniel Bryan on this list because that would give WWE credit for thinking it all the way through. They were really going to just leave Bryan with the Wyatts and then really just have him fight Sheamus in some shitty mid-card match. It took a complete revolt by the fans that embarrassed the company on screen to get them to change their mind.

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  40. It would have meant Bryan wrestled Sheamus in singles matches at 3 Wrestlemanias which might be the record.

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  41. Jones cutting a heel promo on him on Fox Sports 1 that left Stann speechless was great, too.

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  42. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:51 AM

    Eh, I put it on par with WM27...there were good things peppered throughout. The Hardy's match was good, it's just no one wanted to see it. Shoulda stuck with Christian.

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  43. Cormier was not the challenger they tried to build him up to be. Sorry man, you're too short, fat, and old. You wernt destined to win NCAA, Olympic gold or this. Bring on the Gustafson rematch!

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  44. I think Cormier calling Jones fake is hilarious. I love all the racist fans eating it. Their guy with "class" (e.g. acts white) was made to look average and then dissed and dismissed. Bring on Gustaffson who at least has the physical tools to make it a challenge. Little short guy didn't and even got schooled in wrestling. I thought he was an Olympian?

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  45. He's the modern day Ali.

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  46. the video the night after db won the title.. on of the best video packages imo.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY29w6SuwZI

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  47. Yep. And don't get me wrong, they are money in the ring together. Sheamus, despite being a complete goof as a character, has a great old-school strong style like Bradshaw used to do. He meshes well with Bryan, but come on. Can you imagine what that building would have been like if it was just Orton vs. Batista?

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  48. 8 year age disadvantage, 13 inch reach disadvantage, Jones out wrestled him even!

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  49. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:52 AM

    Yeah I'm with you there. I loved it, and it was one of the best Manias and Mania moments ever, but it's not like it was ever the plan or what they REALLY wanted to do, which taints it ever so slightly.

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  50. I think Anderson gets that title but I've really started to love Jon Jones since all the bandwagoners from the boom era started to really hate him and bitch about him dominating all their one and done challengers.

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  51. I'm more interested in Rumble, honestly.

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  52. At the end it looked like all Cormier wanted to do we try to same face by at least taking him down!

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  53. Anthony Johnson hits like a mack truck but has absolutely no discipline. I think Jones would work him and tire him out after a round.

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  54. You know Jones will be bragging about all his take downs on the Olympian

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  55. Yeah but once they went with him, it was pretty great. This isn't a "Best WWE WrestleMania Creative Plans" topic.

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  56. Just because it was mostly organic and two years in the making, WM30. There will likely never be another angle that is 90 percent fan angst against a tone-deaf company.

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  57. Ricky Steamboat looking like he was 23 again was fun but that was about it.

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  58. He put all that energy into that slam at the end trying to save a round he was getting owned in and the judges saw it for what it was and gave the round to Jones. Good score keeping last night. Good thing too since card was a shit show full of decisions. They charged an extra five bucks for that?

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  59. If Punk had stated I believe he would have main evented WM with Hunter as even WWE acknowledged what a flop Batista was proving to be in the first month back in the company.

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  60. Makes me feel old that WrestleMania III is considered pre-modern day. But I know what you mean.

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  61. "Olympic wrestling" is such an overrated credential. It's bullshit. Dan Henderson has some of the worst wrestling in MMA and went further in the Olympics than Cormier.

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  62. Yep, I don't think I could be more emotionally invested in a WM title match.

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  63. HHH shits on that match, what DVD are you talking about?

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  64. But to me that's what made it awesome, because it was WWE having its hand forced by the crowd.

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  65. The revolt by the fans and the company being embarrassed is why it was so awesome though. Intentional or not, that's still a great build.

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  66. Oh yeah, and Austin vs. Rock that feud ain't.

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  67. he was bragging that "the wrestling community is watching." He def wanted to prove something to Cormier.

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  68. Ali never lost because he let a guy punch him and pretended to be hurt, then actually got KO'd. Anderson has tarnished his own legacy, IMO. I dunno about this comeback, could do even more harm than good.

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  69. the best MMA wrestler (in their primes) I ever saw was Matt Hughes and he never sniffed the Olympics. He just had an unstoppable double leg and when he took you down he finished it.

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  70. That was a dude getting sat down at what he is best at. That's what Anderson Silva did to people in his prime.

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  71. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:57 AM

    ...until next year.

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  72. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:58 AM

    I agree, but man that was a scary precipice to be dangling from for a while...

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  73. TERRIBLE show. UFC are running so many shows that their undercards have become weak as hell. Most of those matches were guys ranked 10 or lower vs guys no ranked at all? What the fuck?

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  74. We'll see! It would be interesting if the pro-Bryan crowd hijacks another Road to WrestleMania.

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  75. The entire show I just kept thinking "they're going to just give a giant middle finger to everyone" and put Batista over.


    BTW, I don't think Orton gets enough credit for how awesome his performance was in that main event.

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  76. Nobody had any answer for Hughes whatsoever until all the weight cutting got nuts and guys who were five inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than him naturally started flooding the division. Hell, Hughes was competitive until the end of his career except getting caught early in the last Penn match.

    GSP who never even wrestled in high school or college also deserves mention since we are talking about MMA wrestlers. GSP is far better at it than any Olympian I've seen.

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  77. HHH/Batista doesn't get enough love. Such a perfection storyline and the best example of how to make a star THE RIGHT WAY in this modern era. WM 21 is one of the most underrated WM's of all time too. The build for that PPV overall was amazing and their Hollywood vignettes made them a lot of money.


    Watching wrestling during the road of WM 21 was a lot of fun. On RAW, you had Batista/HHH building up perfectly and on Smackdown, you had HBK/Angle storyline picking up the pace.

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  78. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:59 AM

    I give credit to his poor back vertebrae for not shattering after landing on that monitor...yeeeeeeeoooooouuuuuuuuuuuuch!

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  79. Absolutely. It was pretty aggravating to watch them purposely try and sabotage Bryan.

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  80. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 9:59 AM

    It was a good angle but I think it doesn't get mentioned because everyone was had HHH fatigue by then.

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  81. Also just the way the show was booked. None of the matches looked like they'd have a lot of action or explosive finishes. Cerrone vs. Jury - Action Fighter vs. Cerebral Gameplanner. Horiguchi vs. Gaudinot...okay, who cares. Only appealing 125s are the little KO artists like Lineker. Lombard vs. Burkman - yeah, give a guy who has been out of the Octagon for 8 years a bullrusher who goes hard for the KO in round one and then gasses. So many matches guaranteed to cause inaction.

    If some of the stuff on the upcoming Fox and FS1 shows were on this card instead that would have helped. How about putting Gustaffson vs. Johnson on this show so you make the challenger that night.

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  82. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:00 AM

    I loved the build for WM21, much better than WM22 where it was basically "Cena's gonna beat HHH and then you'll REALLY love him! Hulk Hogan 2k6!"

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  83. Batista was great back then. Most monsters didn't dress up in fancy suits, he would have these quick looks or asides, sometimes even in the background, and I remember thinking by the fall of 2004 that this guy was going to swim past Orton.

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  84. Yeah but that match was like six minutes and the segment after it was awful. They did the correct thing at Backlash the next month.

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  85. YankeesHoganTripleHFanJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:01 AM

    I might be HHH's biggest fan on this blog and even I was rooting like crazy for Batista.

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  86. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:01 AM

    Shit we had HHH fatigue during Mania 19, much less 21.

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  87. That's exactly it. It was during a time where people would shit on ANYTHING HHH did. I still remember reading posts from smarks that just KNEW HHH wouldn't put Batista over. Probably the same smarks who said that HHH wouldn't job to DB

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  88. I thought it was a pretty dismal show last night. I never bought into the Cormier hype, I kept being told by UFC how amazing he was, but it didn't seem to come across that often in his actual fights. And this was a very weak card. Tavares and Marquardt, two JTTS third on the bill of a major PPV? Outside of Cerrone and Jury there wasn't much of interest going in, and most fights actually under delivered. Still, there are some much stronger cards coming up in the next two months.

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  89. Best ppv build was wrestlemania 4. That was the one that made me a fan for life.

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  90. By November, he was already getting huge pops. They executed that storyline so perfectly that I haven't seen them accomplish that since.

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  91. I don't think we'll see Bryan hijack Roman Reigns's push, honestly. He has enough fan support, is a legit badass, and hasn't been off TV for four years. It'll be interesting how the Rumble goes, I'd have them finish 1-2 to see what happens.

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  92. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:03 AM

    Yeah...but honestly, it was, and still is, kind of surprising/jarring to see HHH lay down clean for anyone.

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  93. Marquardt has been done in the sport for like five years. I have no idea how he has a spot in the UFC right now. They have cut people off way less humiliating losses than he's had this run. Tavares lost like three of his last four too. What the hell were they doing on the main card?

    Cerrone vs. Jury under delivered. I actually felt bad for Jury since Cerrone will NEVER win the title and Jury might some day, it was just a bad matchup for him since Cerrone gets up for gatekeeping but sleeps when it comes to title contention.

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  94. The title matches at WM21 weren't that great. If one of them was 4 stars then I think WM21 would go down as one of the best. If both of them were 4 stars then it may go down as the best ever given that we also had Angle-HBK, the first MITB, Taker-Orton and Eddie-Rey (Rey's mask notwithstanding).

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  95. 19 was the killer for me. Making Booker looking like a chump after doing the racist angle was terrible.

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  96. Yep, it was great because Orton the babyface was just terrible and Batista just kept it so simple. He relied on his look and slowly starting showing his personality and people just loved it.

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  97. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:04 AM

    Don't forget beating Goldberg in the Chamber at Summerslam with like 5 ripped quads.

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  98. Worst build was 18. Treated jericho like shit; one wrestler nearly killed his opponent and the fans were cheering for the killer.

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  99. JBL should have retain via chacanary. Their I Quit match two months later is a lost classic and would have been a much better way to launch Cena. In my opinion, at least.

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  100. But at least we got to see Harley Race again so there's that.

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  101. The Rumble is in the smarkiest of smarky towns. They are going to turn on any Reigns over Bryan shenanigans so hard.

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  102. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:05 AM

    Hell yes we are. I sure am.

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  103. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:06 AM

    It's kind of weird that people shit on Roman Reigns here when Batista wasn't exactly a technical marvel in the ring back then. Of course, we didn't have other wrestlers we'd rather cheer for in 2005 and the storyline of Batista vs. HHH was more compelling than the piece-meal push that Reigns is getting.

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  104. They protected him too. He kept his words brief and relied on his facial expressions. Roman Reigns can EASILY be the modern day Batista but instead he's a modern day Diesel.

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  105. wasn't their a dog being run over involved in this?

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  106. That poor dog.

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  107. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:07 AM

    Yeah, JBL vs. Cena was a snore-fest and should have had a stronger storyline considering Layfield had held the title for nearly a year.

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  108. 18 was awesome. I really wanted to see that HHH v Stephanie match.

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  109. That's no way to talk about Stephanie.

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  110. If you assume Sid-Taker was the main event then I'd say WM13 had the worst build, as it didn't really have a build at all. But I guess everyone considered Bret-Austin to be the real main event to that show and, in that case, the build was amazing. The video package before their match was incredible.

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  111. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:07 AM

    Bryan coming out to talk in a plaid shirt gets a bigger reaction than anything Reigns has ever done, ever. If Trips got Vince to change his mind last year I have faith he'll steer the ship right again this time.

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  112. Cena should have won in an overbooked russoriffic match with JBLs entire cabinet running out to interfere at various points but Cena just overcomes the odds.
    Instead they just had a fairly bland match

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  113. I don't think anyone really expected the title matches to be great. Batista and John Cena weren't known to be great wrestlers at the time. It was all about bringing a new generation in and taking over. I certainly think WM 21 has one of the best undercards of all time.

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  114. I just don't see the crowd reactions shitting on Reigns the way they did on Batista.

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  115. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:08 AM

    To be fair, Bryan coming out in a plaid shirt gets a bigger reaction than anyone in wrestling.

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  116. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:09 AM

    I agree with you. Philly is smarky but Reigns isn't hated like most on this blog seem to think he is.

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  117. They should've done the I Quit match for Mania. Cena losing at Mania would've been terrible. People forget that JBL was going into his 9th month as champion during this time.

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  118. Not the best, but I haven't seen it mentioned...


    I really liked the Shawn/Cena build where Shawn was threatening Cena with a kick every single week, until the go home RAW where he finally nailed him with one. Effective storytelling from one of the greatest.

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  119. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:09 AM

    They did because they saw Batista was clearly winning and Bryan wasn't in it. When Batista came back 2 weeks before he got a huge pop, people were happy...then they realized it was at the expense of the TRUE hero of the company and that's why/when they turned.

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  120. WM13 didn't have a traditional build, but the tv product was improving and getting to be entertaining.

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  121. I loved the build for hogan-Yokozuna. It was so good that it felt like the entire build lasted thirty seconds.

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  122. Definitely agree. It should've been no DQ. Let them have an intense brawl to launch Cena's run.

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  123. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:10 AM

    It would be better if he WAS...the fact is, he doesn't get much of a reaction at all beyond girls squealing at first when he comes out. The silence during his match with Rollins (in DC mind you, a usually invested wrestling crowd) was a VERY ominous sign.

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  124. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:11 AM

    Trips was the one to change Vince's mind? What evidence is there of that?

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  125. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:11 AM

    It's true...but outside of DB, everyone is getting sad reactions nowadays.

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  126. That wrestlemania felt like it was just a normal ppv and not a real wrestlemania.

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  127. Another underrated build, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but was Bret Hart and Yokozuna. Bret, the first champion to regularly wrestle on television, was really put over as a guy who was working almost too hard as champion and the question was "how can he beat this guy" and "can he put the sharpshooter on this guy." He got beat down at the contract signing, then knocked out by Luger. It was pretty compelling for the era.

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  128. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:12 AM

    There was some story where he sat down with Vince on a flight and pointed out just over Bryan was and all the evidence for focusing on him. It definitely helps that even though Bryan is small, Vince admires his character and toughness.

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  129. I have a fondness for the WM XX and XXVI builds.

    In WM XX, You had HHH/HBK in their blood feud, then there was Benoit. Benoit, did not cared about the feud, he just wanted fulfill his dream. In the end had a ***** match and the best match I've seen.

    In WM XXVI it was kinda like western, two old gunmen, one of them is desperate to prove that he's the best(HBK), the other wanted just to be in peace, so when HBK interfered at EC, I knew that feud would be off the charts.

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  130. The build-up for Angle/Lesnar was awesome and terrible in equal measures.
    Awesome because of the great matches and promos leading up to it, but terrible because for a moth beforehand every single week, all the fans were wondering is whether Lesnar would lose the belt to someone else before Wrestlemania as he's too injured to compete.

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  131. the fans try, too. Wyatt, Cesaro, Ziggler - the fans want to get behind these guys. But the company just shits all over them.

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  132. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:14 AM

    See, this is how bad it is with HHH and public opinion. You tell me that story, which is plausible and makes a lot of sense, but the first thing that pops in my head is, "Of course, HHH said that...because it's HIS angle with Daniel Bryan and he's getting a marquee match at WM with the best wrestler in the world."

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  133. No one knew HBK v. Taker was going to be so mindblowlingly awesome. And the build to HHH v. Orton was great. I would've had HHH v. Orton go on last too

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  134. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:14 AM

    At the end of the day, if you're matches aren't exciting and investing, you don't stay over. It's the biggest thing about Vince that frustrates everyone...hell Austin pointed it out during the live podcast, they don't do RASSLIN', but everything they do is still BUILT on and predicated ON wrestling.

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  135. People were shitting on the build at the time

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  136. I would agree, but Philly.

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  137. I really enjoyed the ridiculousness of the Orton/HHH buildup for WM 25. The best part being when Orton kissed Stephanie on the lips while HHH was handcuffed. That's some fucking professional wrestling shit right there.

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  138. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:15 AM

    Ha...can't argue there.

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  139. True - I think he's the only guy in WWF/E that has never lost cleanly on a TV show or PPV?
    I was mainly thinking about the loss to Slaughter - dude didn't even get his rematch.

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  140. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:15 AM

    People say that but has Philly done anything remotely smarky lately? I can't seem to remember and WWE visits the area a lot, don't they?

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  141. Eddie/Lesnar should've been at WM XX, way better than what we got in the next month.

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  142. The problem isn't so much with Reigns but that Bryan is so far above the rest of the roster as far as being over with live crowds it's almost embarrassing.
    With Cena moving down the card hopefully to face Rusev they could end up with Bryan as a bigger star than Cena in a few months.

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  143. Nah, if you have Lesnar v. Goldberg, you do it at Wrestlemania.

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  144. The build was great, they shot themselves in the foot not making a street fight. This was a moment where it had to be a huge sports entertainment brawl.

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  145. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:17 AM

    Not really, but then the shows they've had here lately have been rather toned down anyway. Still, any Tri-State Area crowd is gonna be mostly smarks.

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  146. What about the Wrestlemania 4 tournament? The whole storyline about the Dibiase buying the belt, title held up, Hogan/Andre part 3. Every big name in the tournament for the belt.

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  147. Dude, Daniel Bryan is in the Rumble. If he doesn't win, they'll riot.

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  148. Cena's victory was as anticlimactic as they come. Didn't help that it was in front of the customary shitty LA crowd, too.

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  149. No. I went to a PPV in Philly a few years ago, and it was the usual WWE PPV crowd. A lot of kids. People are really overthinking this. It's not ECW anymore

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  150. >In short, they used to know how to promote shit. And now, fuck them.


    You mean like they did just last year?

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  151. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:18 AM

    See, that's what I'm thinking.

    But DB is the guy who can draw in the smarks again...

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  152. Actually it was pretty obvious as HBK/Taker always had tremendous chemistry whereas Orton/HHH never had that spark in their matches plus their buildup was the best built up feud for WM and I believe it was the feud that drew the most buys for the show.

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  153. Reigns is weird because I don't think he would have a hard time getting over himself just beat looking badass and fucking shit up on his own. Fans are so smart now, they just hate shit being manufactured on them. They can tell the good versus the bad.

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  154. Chicago is the current reigning and defending. I wish they'd had the Rumble there this year.

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  155. Last year's Rumble wasn't in a smark city, but they made Philly and Chicago proud.

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  156. It made me a fan 4 life

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  157. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:19 AM

    What city was it?

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  158. Threadjack
    Man this Stuart Scott passing sucks.

    Fuck Cancer.

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  159. Well it was supposed to orton/Batista until the fans revolted

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  160. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:20 AM

    It was great, it just built up to a boring ass show...though I think the Savage/Dibiase final is a lot better than it gets credit for. Plus the crowd goes apeshit when Savage wins.

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  161. Here's the deal, when they let Reigns be himself (the silent badass) he's great, he's a no-nonsense asskicker, there's no problem with that. Vince & Dunn want him to be Hogan 3.0

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  162. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:20 AM

    Yeah, that was too bad. He was ESPN for me.

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  163. Not to sound like a semi-heartless dick, but it's definitely affecting me more than I would have thought.

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  164. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:20 AM

    That's not semi-heartless at all.

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  165. Theberzerker Von HUSSingtonJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:21 AM

    "It was cancer."
    "Well you tell Cancer I'm lookin for him, and when I find him, I'ma shoot him in the face!"

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  166. Yea, but once they figured it out, the build was tremendous

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  167. Tito Santana vs. the Executioner. After years of Tito being dominated by the Execu-lock, he finally got his revenge. Classic main event to kick off the Wrestlemania era.

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  168. Night - Honorary BSK MemberJanuary 4, 2015 at 10:21 AM

    They want him to be HoCena! Or Cenogan!

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  169. There were a bunch of shows in late 13/early 14 where the crowd just wasn't having it. Constant boring chants during Cena and Orton promos, Bryan chants all over the place. It wasn't just that Rumble.

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  170. Agreed. Stuart Scott was freaking awesome. Think of how borrrrring Sportscenter would be had he not come along

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  171. The buildup to Orton v. HHH ruled. They had the closing segment on the go-home RAW. That's the match you put on last.

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  172. Same here.....actually kinda got choked up for a guy I only knew from TV

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  173. When Minneapolis shits on you, big problems. Minneapolis is a major, classic wrestling city but they were never as vocal as they were at Elimination Chamber. Bootista indeed, Minny.

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  174. I think it's fair to distinguish the build from whenever the decision was made to go with Bryan (presumably not too long after the Rumble), from the entire creative process in the several months leading up to Mania. Once it became Bryan vs HHH with the title match stip, it was a pretty good build.

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  175. I guess the positive from Mr. Scott's passing is when they engrave his headstone I can find out how to spell BOOYEAH!

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  176. So sad. I remember watching the espy speech but didn't think that would be the last we see of him. Gonna miss him

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  177. D-Bry showing up on the go home show to attack Triple H out of nowhere was awesome

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  178. Personally I thought the buildup sucked with the home invasion angle just ruining everything they were building up plus HHH and the McMahons just make terrible faces.

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  179. There was some great stuff. The period from Summerslam 2013 through Rumble 2014 is I think one of the worst WWE creative periods ever, but they sorted themselves out for Mania.

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  180. Best: Same ones Scott mention, but if I can add 3:
    13 - With the buildup for Stone Cold vs. Bret hart, and the Cage match having the possibility of making THAT the title match....the Slow build into the double turn
    14 - Stone Cold v. HBK....when they added Tyson into the mix, I remember (ironically) Stuart Scott showing it on Sportscenter and thinking this is pretty huge
    21 - The slow build of Batista's turn....I mean the seeds planted as far back as Elimination Chamber. So the match wasn't great, but that slow burn was awesome (have I said that 3 times?)
    Worst:
    The last 5 or so years
    WM 2000 - Too much McMahon
    WM 17 - The Rock v. Stone Cold. Should have been 2 guys just wanting to see who's the best. Then we got McMahon, we got Debra McMichael wanting to be The Rock's manager....just a mess

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  181. Damn....the down arrow doesn't work

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  182. I always thought it was booyah

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  183. I really do miss them giving a shit about building up to their ppvs. Now it's just another RAW that is 9.99.

    I still love to Austin - Rock at 17.

    I need to beat you Rock.

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  184. What do you mean about WM 30 build? I thought it was thrown together within the last 6 weeks.

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  185. I like the WMXV buildup because it was so embedded into the Austin vs McMahon storyline.

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  186. Speaking of buildup, I'm loving this Lions - Cowboys buildup.

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  187. You KNOW Vince wants the Roman Empire to kick off because he has a big fat clown heel named Circus MAXXXIMUS(tm) ready to go.

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  188. WM26's buildup was the best in recent memory. Taker-Shawn, Cena-Batista, Edge-Jericho and Vince-Bret were all awesomely built and intertwined.

    WM26 is 2nd only to 19 in unfair box office bombings.

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  189. The build to Punk-Mysterio and the Legacy breakup were great too.

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  190. BTW here is how Wrestlemania 31 should be:

    Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena - Career vs. Career
    Seth Rollins (c) vs. Dean Ambrose vs. Roman Reigns - WWE World Heavyweight Title
    Rusev (c) vs. Ryback - United States Title match
    The Usos (c) vs. Cesaro & Tyson Kidd - WWE Tag Team Title match
    Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. Bray Wyatt - Intercontinental Title match
    Big Show vs. Randy Orton
    The Miz vs. Damien Sandow
    Goldust and Stardust vs. The Ascension
    Sami Zayn (c) vs. Kevin Owens - NXT Championship



    -Open the show with Zayn and Steen and see how that shit goes.

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  191. Yeah, back when Sportscenter showed highlights and didn't focus on some jerk trying to be a 'personality'. Screw Stu Scott, he's a racist scummer too.

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  192. I'm going to point at the obvious hole in your card: the absence of Daniel Bryan.

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