The Best of Times…The Worst of Times // WrestleMania

The SuperBowl; The World Series; The World Cup; WrestleMania: the fact that Vince McMahon’s showpiece event is regularly mentioned in the same breath as these mainstream juggernauts is testament to his vision and drive, proof that his legacy goes beyond wrestling and touches the worlds of sport and entertainment. Whichever city secures the show of shows becomes the epicentre of the wrestling word, hosting a week-long festival that draws in grap-fans from across the globe. As exciting as all of the supplementary shows are, for me, WrestleMania always remains the most significant: the grandeur of the national anthem; the first shot of the epic set design; the pageantry of the entrances. For 33 years, this show has forged some of the greatest moments in professional wrestling history, as well as some that would be better forgotten. For one last time, I roll out the best of times, worst of times treatment to examine the granddaddy of them all...

Best WrestleMania: WrestleMania 17

This is the only sane choice for best Mania ever and in my humble opinion is the GOAT of all wrestling shows. Want to know how much I love this card? I had My Way by Limp Bizkit played at my wedding (it wasn’t the first dance or anything but yeah, it was in there).

The first hour is a little slow (Kane in a golf cart though) but business picks up in hour two. Angle vs. Benoit isn’t a classic but it’s much better than it gets credit for while the battle of the McMahons over-delivers more than any match in Federation history. That pop Linda gets when she kicks her old man in the plums…wow. TLC is magical, the Edge-Jeff Hardy spear spot absolute perfection while the Undertaker and Triple H have a spirited tussle. The legends’ battle royale is harmless fun: Bobby Heenan’s last stint at a WWF commentary table the undoubted highlight. And then there is the main event: in hindsight the turn was a bad idea but many wrestling commentators were calling for it at the time. And the match itself was superb. The epoch of attitude era brawling: multiple finishing moves, big near falls and genuinely exciting punch-kick combos, this match is action movie wrestling at its finest.

Honourable Mentions: Mania 19/ Mania 31

Worst WrestleMania: WrestleMania 11

For most fans, WrestleMania 9 usually takes this category hands down but at least the Vegas show is fun to look at. True the matches are at best bang average and at worst Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales but there are good moments: sick bumps in the Steiner-Headshrinker war; respected announcers in togas; Todd Pettingill interviewing clearly pissed up fans. By contrast, WrestleMania 11 is just a bit boring. It emanates from their home state of Connecticut, a metaphor for the play it safe nature of the PPV - and features one good match: HBK doing the J-O-B for his kayfabe foe Diesel. Lawrence Taylor may have been big news in the States (and to be fair he performs pretty well here) but as an 11 year old from the UK, this felt like such a nothing main event and I can’t shake that feeling watching the card years later. Elsewhere Bob Backlund vs. Bret Hart is so poor while King Kong Bundy versus Taker is every bit as mundane as it sounds.

Honourable Mentions: Mania 2/ Mania 9

Best Match: Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 25

I was fortunate enough to be in attendance in Houston, Texas when the Deadman went to war with the Heartbreak Kid in the greatest WrestleMania match of all time. Walking into the Reliant Stadium, I knew Taker would win a; indeed, everyone I spoke to that day shared that conviction. We knew Taker’s streak was now the WrestleMania storyline and that if it was ever to be vanquished, it would be offered up to someone other than the near-retired Shawn Michaels. However, half way through this incredible, absorbing contest, I stopped believing that: I reacted to near falls as though either man could win, as did the rest of the crowd. This match shut off the “smart” part of our wrestling brains and retreated to the naïve, purity of fandom that we enjoyed as children; we didn’t question the booking of whether Micheals could or should win, rather  we just lived in the moment,. When HBK kicked out of the Tombstone I took pause and glanced around me: some fans were pumping their fists while others were shaking their heads, the emotion as real and raw as any legit sporting event. A father and son sat next to me, the former cheering on Taker, the latter supporting Michaels, shared a gasp, unable to believe the ride they were being taken on. The feeling among the thousands in attendance was mutual.

Honourable Mentions: Savage vs Warrior (Mania 7)/ Michaels vs Ramon (Mania 10)/ Dudleys v Edge and Christian v Hardys (Manias 16 and 17), Austin vs Rock (Mania 17)/ Michaels v Angle (Mania 21)

Worst Match: Al Snow and Steve Blackman vs. Test and Albert: WrestleMania 16

Al Snow is the worst good wrestler in the sport’s history: he is a pretty capable performer but his back catalogue is full of undisputed train wrecks. This is no different: his odd man team with Blackman was entertaining in skits but really struggled in the ring. This clunky mess, played out before a largely disinterested crowd and topped off by a violent attack on a little person dressed as a block of cheese (!), was better than Snow’s previous nadir (Kennel in the Cell) but only just.

Honourable Mentions: Hulk Hogan vs Sid (Mania 8)/ Undertaker vs Giant Gonzales (Mania 9)/ Sable vs Tori (Mania 15)

Best Promo: Hogan- Austin-Rock at WrestleMania 30

The best promo in Mania history started with two flubs as Hulk Hogan forgot what a) building and b) decade he was in. However, this error provided the base for a great running joke as Steve Austin and The Rock joined him in-ring to provide fans with a real life wrestling Rushmore. Comedy (love Austin’s “great to be back in the Silverdome” line), catchphrases and nostalgia proved a heady cocktail as fans laughed, chanted and cheered through this genuine once in a lifetime moment. Star power never shone so bright.

Honourable Mentions: Hulk Hogan at Mania 4 (he claims that in the event of Trump Plaza sinking, host and future Prez The Donald would abandon all materialistic possessions (!) in order to doggy paddle his family to safety: to illustrate the point, Hogan then backstrokes out of frame); Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts- Mania 6; Pete Rose laying waste to the Boston sports’ scene at Mania 14.

Worst Promo: Rhythm and Blues- WrestleMania 6

In a bloated show, the last thing the fans in Toronto needed was a terrible tag team wasting their time with a poor, pointless promo, singing not so bad it was funny, just so bad as to be really bad. Especially frustrating was that this whole mess existed simply to set up a Bushwhackers run-in. I love cartoon wrestling but this material would drive away hardened fans, let alone non-believers.

Honourable Mention: Brutus Beefcake at Mania 4: he literally just chats waffle for 30 seconds while staring at his scissors. No clue what he was trying to do here.

Best surprise moment: Seth Rollins cashes in at WrestleMania 31.

To qualify as a truly effective surprise, the moment in question should feel spontaneous and unexpected but on closer inspection make total sense for all performers involved. Such was the case when Rollins became the first man to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania, interjecting himself into a great title bout between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar, not diluting the match but adding to it. All three men prospered: for Rollins, the moment was an arrival for him, a chance to close the biggest show of the year title in hand; for Lesnar, the title was dropped but as the odd man out in the fall, his aura was preserved; and Reigns maybe benefited most of all. Had he won, the crowd may have rioted and destroyed his push once and for all; by putting over his well-liked Shield alumni, he did business and lived to fight another day.

Honourable Mentions: Rowdy Roddy Piper interferes in Hogan v McMahon- Mania 19; Ronda Rousey appears at Mania 31.

Worst surprise moment: Hogan beats Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9

To the above point: if the surprise benefits no-one going forward, it really shouldn’t happen. Take this infamous night in Vegas: Yokozuna cheated to win the world title, a few grains of salt once again proving too much for a main event wrestler to withstand. Hogan, consoling the defeating Bret Hart, soon decided to enact revenge for the Hitman or ‘Merica or something and within seconds, Yoko was beaten and the Hulkster was the new champion. This match, impromptu and unadvertised as it was, didn’t boost buy rates, it made the Hit-man and Yoko look weak and cast Hogan as, at best a shrewd political mover and at worst, a conniving, attention-hungry schemer. Often fans view Hogan’s antics at Manias 6 and 18 as his most self-serving; this was far worse.

Honourable Mention: Vince turns heel (again) and re-unites the McMahons (again)- Mania 16

Quick Hits:

To sign off the series, here are some quick hits to cover the great and not so good of ‘Mania history.

Best Promoted Main Event: John Cena vs The Rock- Mania 28 (a year in the making and the biggest money show at the PPV box office).

Worst Promoted Main Event: Triple H vs Chris Jericho- Mania 18 (this was all about Steph- glad they don’t take that approach anymore…)

Best Opening Match: Bret Hart vs Owen Hart- Mania 10 (one of the underrated feuds in Fed history)

Worst Opening Match: Tag Team Battle Royale- Mania 14 (I only remember that LOD were in fancy dress and they had Sunny knocking about).

Best Set Design: WrestleMania 29 (an ode to New York: the Statue of Liberty above the ring was something else)

Worst Set Design: WrestleMania 11/13 (these could have just been any old television tapings).

Best Celebrity Involvement: Donald Trump (love him or loathe him, Trump was big business).

Worst Celebrity Involvement: Akebono (I can never unsee Big Show in a nappy).

Written by Sean Taylor-Richardson // @GrownManCenaFan

TV Review: IMPACT Wrestling #630 - Brother Nero & Matt Hardy v The Tribunal

Aired - 11th August 2016

For the first time in four week's TNA aired IMPACT Wrestling live, as Brother Nero and Matt Hardy teamed up to face The Tribunal and Lashley put his World Heavyweight and X-Division Championships up against "The Cowboy" James Storm's King of the Mountain title, but would that produce a great hour and a quarter of television? 

Matt Hardy and Brother Nero [Jeff Hardy] have been all over TNA's product for some time now and their storyline progressed as they teamed up to face The Tribunal (Baron Dax [Marcus Louis] and Basille Baraka [Tom LaRuffa]). Before the bout, there was a tremendously entertaining segment that began with Hardy calling out Nero, as well as planting a seed that he'd had a premonition that Tag Team Champions The Decay (Abyss, Crazzy Steve & Rosemary [Courtney Rush]). As with pretty much anything involving The Hardy Boyz in 2016, it was incredibly watchable and immensly quotable with Nero perhaps outshining Hardy's madness with lines like "Let's talk about last week, why did you bite a part of a man's face off?" and "If I'm a mule, you two [The Tribunal] are miniature donkies". The only let down was that we had to hear the Tribunal talk, with their act boiling down to telling they crowd that they smell and being French. 

The match took on a similar style to that of Hardy & Nero's bout with Chuck Taylor and JT Dunn on #629, with Obsolete Mule doing most of the work, whilst Broken stayed on the outside, for the most part. The most interesting stuff though came on the outside, as Hardy appeared to hypnotise a fan to rip up his pro-Jeff Hardy sign and join him in screaming "Delete! Delete!". It was different, but not out of place from the rest of this bonkers feud. The first story development would see Hardy bite the fingers of The Tribunal's manager, Al Snow, before throwing Dax into the steel steps. We hadn't seen Hardy do anything to aid Nero the previous week, so it was cool to see this change, especially as Nero went on to pick up the win with a Twist of Fate on Baraka. The sinister conclusion as Nero seemed to snap, hitting Dax, Baraka and Snow with numerous Twist of Fates, before hitting a slingshot crossbody to Snow that would put him through a table. I became clear that Nero had joined his brother on the Broken side, as he through himself off the top rope through another table, in a what the fuck did I just watch moment. It's the logical direction for the story to take and with both brothers now Broken it opens up even more storyline possibilities. 

Lashley's dominance continued as he ended "The Cowboy" James Storm's King of the Mountain title reign after just a week, in a bout that also had The Destroyer's World Heavyweight and X Division titles on the line! This was a good show-closer, that had a captive audience from the opening bell. The first spot of the match was a brilliant call back to Storm's 2011 World title win, as he nailed Lashley with a Last Call superkick, but unlike the victory over Kurt Angle, the referee, Brian Hebner, was too busy getting ring announcer, Jeremy Borash out of the ring, resulting in only a two count for Storm. The crowd were so into the moment and those that could remember back to 2011 were at the very least given a nostalgic buzz. It was a shame that it took two or three minutes before commentators Josh Matthews and "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero made the connection between the two events, as an on-the-ball commentator would have upped the drama and made the moment even better. 

Both men played their roles well, with Lashley beating the shit into Storm shortly after the start, controlling the bout whilst The Cowboy was a hot and fiery babyface getting a number of hope spots before hitting a lung blower and Eye of the Storm [Spinning crucifix cross] for a near fall. After this though, I feel like the last portion of the bout should have been booked a little tighter than it was, however if this is Storm's final match in TNA (which seems to be the case, as of writing) then having Lashley kick out of two further Last Call's is perhaps a little more understandable, as it gives The Dominator a further rub and makes him look even stronger than before. The finish, however, didn't do a whole lot for me, as Lashley no-selling a codebreaker and hitting a spear, made it even harder to suspend my disbelief, because this didn't make much sense at all. There were ways of putting over Lashley strong in the finish that would have been more effective. However, the match did benefit from not having the interference that has hampered a couple of TNA main events recently.

Lashley and James Storm had been out earlier on as well, in an opening segment that involved Ethan Carter III, "The Miracle" Mike Bennett, Moose and Eddie Edwards. For me, this segment was trying to do way too much at the same time and actually ended up achieving very little across the ten minutes. EC3's initial promo was uncharacteristically lacking direction, treading over ground about searching for perfection and being on a quest to be the best, whilst Lashley came out said he was the best and then Storm interrupted Lashley and chatted about poop whilst his microphone appeared to break. The segment would conclude with Lashley and Storm brawling up the entrance way, whilst EC3 would be jumped from behind by Bennett and Moose, with Edwards making the save, with a tag match being scheduled for later on. 

The debut had been teased for week's and Aron Rex [Damien Sandow] finally made his debut in TNA as he came to the ring to cut a promo. I've got a lot of time for Rex on the microphone, but this speech did next to nothing for me. It was the kind of promo that we've seen numerous times from ex-WWE talents after they've been fired and headed out to TNA. I'm sure that dumb smarks were jerking off to it, because it was semi-shoot talking about how WWE never gave him the right opportunities and how he'd get those opportunities in TNA etc. The fact that the character started the promo by saying he wasn't going to talk about what he went on to talk about was very frustrating. The crowd weirdly chanted "You deserve it", which didn't help the situation. Josh Matthew's saying that it was "shoot" on commentary was just stupid. I'd have preferred Rex to have gone straight into a storyline and to have been debuted in a way that had actual significance or shock value, as this was way too pedestrian and didn't give me any reason to find out what Rex would be up to next. 

The aforementioned Moose & Mike Bennett vs. Eddie Edwards & Ethan Carter III tag contest was a decent opening contest, that featured some cool spots, but could have done with a bit more time. The section which I'd have liked to have seen extended slightly was Bennett & Moose's heater, as Edwards could have done with having a longer time as the face in peril. It would've made more of the franky fantastic hot tag sequence that saw EC3 cleaning house, before both he and Edwards nailed suicide dives in stereo. The heroic duo played the moment perfectly, building towards the dives and making the moment feel special. Edwards would also later pull out a Frankensteiner on Bennett, for another highlight. The finish cleverly built up the fledgling Bennett and Moose unit, as after The Miracle had sent EC3 into the steel steps, Moose would nail Go to Hell (Sitout chokebomb to an opponent seated on a turnbuckle) on Edwards, with Bennett getting the pin. It showed what the two could do when on the same page, but also teased that they might not be on that page for all that long. 

In the only women's action, Gail Kim's quest for a Knockout's Championship shot as she clashed with Marti Bell, in a bout that Maria Kanellis-Bennett had made a No DQ match. Kim and Bell showed potential with an early scrap, but the match quickly descended into an interference-laden affair as the MKB & Kim feud slapped the viewer hard in the face. The First Lady of Wrestling and her apprentice Allie [Cherry Bomb] were out at ringside almost instantly, whilst MKB would send Allie into the ring with Bell's knightstick after a few minutes also. Kim would even get the win after sending Allie and the knightstick into Bell. Despite a nasty looking blockbuster from Kim at one point, I'm pretty certain that if allowed to wrestle for more than two minutes that Kim and Bell would have been able to create some compelling action and used the No DQ gimmick to create some cool spots, with MKB already making the match No DQ then the idea of her putting Kim through hell to earn an opportunity would still have been present, whilst Bell would hardly have been hurt from losing clean to someone who will be inducted into TNA's Hall of Fame in October!

Best of the Rest 

• Drew Galloway [Drew McIntyre] challenged Ethan Carter III to put his World Heavyweight Championship shot at Bound For Glory on the line against him, in a passion in-ring promo, that heigtened the rivalry between the pair as Galloway called EC3 a "snake in the grass". 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.22/10 

This episode wasn't quite as good as the previous week's, but was still a step in the good direction, remaining the right side of average. That's thanks mostly to the show's top two matches, with Hardy & Nero v The Tribunal proving to be the best thing on the show, mainly because I'm in love with "Broken" Matt and the revelation of a "Broken" Nero should prove glorious, whilst Lashley v Storm also featured some good quality action. The only part from the undercard that I felt managed to come close to this level was the Edwards & EC3 v Moose & Bennett tag bout. If Galloway's promo had been a bit longer it would've bump up the score, as well.

It's a shame that the rest of the undercard didn't manage to match these standards, with the opening segment lacking clear direction, Rex's debut being the same old shit and the No DQ bout between Kim and Bell being a bit of a mess. 

The next episode has got a four team Ladder match to decide the #1 Contenders to The Decay's Tag Team titles, so that's gonna be great, yah? 

Words - James Marston 
Banner - Kai Stellar 

TNA British Bootcamp's Grado Interview

Thanks to TNA Impact Wrestling we recently got the chance to chat to British Bootcamp and Insane Fight Club star Grado. This, of course, wasn't the first time we've spoken with the former ICW Tag Team Champion, having previously had him on our (now discontinued) "Five Questions With..." series, as well as chatting to him prior to TNA TV Taping in Glasgow, which can be found on Youtube here.

ATPW - Hey Grado. The first question is quite a generic one, How have you found the British Bootcamp experience?

Grado - It's been amazing because I've got the chance to wrestle in America. I've managed to fulfil a childhood dream that I've always wanted to go and wrestle in front of a live crowd in America. There's nae better feeling in the world. Also because I've had a lot of people telling the Grado character wouldn't work in America, Grado wouldn't go over in America, I went to America and managed to get myself over with some of the crowds. I'm glad, the experience so far has been amazing. Getting to TNA and getting to share the ring with Samoa Joe, Al Snow and Gail Kim, has been a very good experience. 

Do you feel the process has helped you develop as a performer? Have you improved as the experience has gone on?

Every day is a learning day in wrestling. Every time you step in the ring, you always come back out with a few learning points for you to work on. So when you're being trained by Al Snow, Gail Kim and Joe, you're obviously going to adapt and learn and find out news ways of performing. 

If there were any TNA fans in America or elsewhere, who haven't seen British Bootcamp, what could they expect if you turned up in TNA? Would you perhaps change the character or keep to what us British fans know and love over here? 

I don't know. I'd probably keep the same character, go in there and I'm the everyman, that's the term, I'm the guy that probably shouldn't be in the ring, that's the way the other wrestlers could see me, that's the chemistry. I'm the guy whose living the dream here. I'm the guy that isn't six foot four, I don't look like a Greek God, I just go in there and try my hardest every time I wrestle. I hope that people can relate to me, as the guys who's just having a fun time. I'd probably keep the character, as a wrestling fan who's living beyond his means that's what go me to the dance so far, that's the reason I've had the opportunities that I've had. 

It's a feel good story as well. I think in the 90's you had the smaller guys, that made a lot of today's wrestlers realise they could become a wrestler and you offer something for the guys out their that aren't six foot four or whatever. Something different.

Exactly! Something different. Wrestling has been boring for too long, same six foot four, big body guys, there's never been chubby wee characters, in a long time. There's never been anything like that. It's time for a change and I think I could be able to flourish in TNA. 

Is there anyone from TNA's current roster that you think you'd work particularly well with in the ring or even in terms of a storyline? 

I love the stuff that Rockstar Spud's got going on with EC3, and I'd love to wrestle with Rockstar Spud, as well. Also, I think that me and Zema Ion would have a good X Division style match, I think that me and Rockstar Spud could challenge the Hardy Boyz to the tag titles. And probably big Magnus, he's like a big hard man bully, I'm sure that I could have a cool wee storyline with him. Me vs. Magnus would be brilliant actually, I think that could really work. Then bring in Spud and have a three way, imagine that! Me and Spud vs. Bram and Magnus!

Get it over on the tour! What effect do you think British Bootcamp will have on the British scene as a whole? Do you think we'll see a boost in local crowds?

Definitely. Even since the first British Bootcamp the numbers have been up, because a lot of the general public are unaware that there is this big brilliant British wrestling scene. So again, it's just another series for everyone to see that there is talent here in the UK and hopefully it encourages people to go and out and go their local shows and support the guys who that are trying to make a name for themselves and possibly could be on the next series of British Bootcamp. So aye, I think it's a good thing for British wrestling. 

If there was anyone who had watched Bootcamp but perhaps didn't know where to look to find British wrestling, where would you tell them to look? 

In Glasgow, there's Insane Championship Wrestling, an Over 18's company. There's loads of family shows that are run by British Championship Wrestling, Premier British Wrestling and then there's Preston City Wrestling, Revolution Pro, there's PROGRESS Wrestling which is a phenomenal outfit , that work outside Islington. I would go to these places, but if you go online and type in British Wrestling, I'm sure you could find links and stuff to local proffesional wrestling. Also www.gradowrestling.co.uk, if you want to come and see me wrestle then all the dates are on there. 

You broke into the British Wrestling "mainstream" via a social media, notably the "Get Grado Booked" campaign in ICW. What do you think social media can offer a professional wrestler in 2014? 

Well that's the thing, you're Twitter and your Facebook is your gimmick, it's your business. You need to make sure you've got a decent Twitter, you're not tweeting a load of shite, you're tweeting funny stuff or whatever suits your gimmick. So, Dave Mastiff, he is a grumpy bastard online and he is a grumpy bastard in real life. It's just another medium for you to develop your character, so if you want to post promos, pictures, anything. It's really important in 2014, that you're on the job, your on the button with Twitter and Facebook and Vine and FaceParty and things like that.

Finally, what does 2015 hold for Grado? 

Well I'm going to go on a diet, I'm gonna try and lose a bit of weight. I probably will mix up my gimmick one way or another, I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. Hopefully get the chance to wrestle in America again, keep wrestling in Britain, try and get new bookings in Europe and keep on doing the TV work that I'm doing. 

Oh, one last question....When are we going to finally get the big Grado vs. Goldberg match that everyone's waiting to see?

I really hope that Goldberg has seen my GradoBerg entrance! Hopefully next year, Goldberg, if you manage to get to this article, if your listening or reading to this, add me on Twitter, let's follow each other and I'll DM you. Then next year, Grado vs Goldberg at York Hall, we'll sell it out. 

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Thanks to TNA Impact Wrestling, Grado and Simon Rothstein for putting this interview together. All photo credit goes to Tony Knox. TNA British Bootcamp can be found on Sunday evenings at 9PM on Challenge (Freeview - 46, Freesat - 145, Sky - 145, Virgin Media - 139)