EOTR Retro: Wrestlemania 30 Review

By @TrueGodImmortal

The day is approaching. Wrestlemania 34. In New Orleans. The last time the WWE was in New Orleans for Mania, things went extremely well.... for the most part. Considered by many to be the best Mania of the last 7 or 8 years (maybe longer), Wrestlemania 30 saw a company that had alienated their audience in a way try to right their wrongs and fix everything. After the disastrous Royal Rumble win by Batista and the nonsense that Daniel Bryan had to endure to get to the main event, the WWE set up a dream scenario for the biggest event of the year where Bryan would face Triple H earlier in the night and then go on to take on Batista and Randy Orton for the WWE Title if he was able to defeat Triple H. Along with that, WWE would bring back Hulk Hogan for the event and have him become the host of Mania, and they would tease appearances from The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Also on the card, The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar, John Cena vs Bray Wyatt, and more.

After a Pre-Show match between four teams over the WWE Tag Team Titles, the show would kick off with Hulk Hogan in the ring as the host to a resounding cheer. Hogan would be interrupted by Stone Cold, giving us a once in a lifetime moment with Austin and Hogan at Mania together. The Rock would interrupt later and we would be treated to a segment with the three biggest stars in the history of the business. It was a great moment for nostalgia and one of my favorite moments of Wrestlemania, but it was merely a precursor to what would be a shocking and inspiring night in WWE. What about the rest of the Mania card? Let's revisit it, shall we?

*Daniel Bryan vs Triple H

-The best match of the night opens the show and it was excellent. Daniel Bryan was essentially at the top of his game, and he was the most popular wrestler at the time. He had fought to get a title shot and he would have the opportunity to do so during the early part of the show if he defeated Triple H. If Triple H won, he would have the chance to fight in the main event, but it was clear what the plan was. Bryan would defeat all remaining members of Evolution and move on to become the World Champion. The action here is excellent as there is technical wrestling, brawling, and an amazing finish that saw Bryan notch a huge career victory over Triple H and prepare himself for the main event. It was showtime. 

*The Shield vs Kane and The New Age Outlaws

-The match was a squash match and it was more comedic than anything. Lasting only three minutes, The Shield would destroy Kane and The Outlaws, staking their claim as the best force in the company. There isn't much to say about this match aside from the fact that The Shield dominated and walked away as the winners without an issue. This was dominance for sure by The Shield.

*31 Man Andre The Giant Battle Royal

-Another match that didn't have a substantial build to it, this match didn't seem to really have a purpose. It was clear that the match would be full of the leftover superstars who wanted a spot on Mania and of course, this match would feature names like Rey Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, Kofi Kingston, and more before Cesaro would pull off the big victory. Cesaro was essentially the most over guy in the match and eliminating Big Show gave him unprecedented momentum that of course, the WWE messed up. Still, this was a big moment for Cesaro.

*John Cena vs Bray Wyatt

-So, Wyatt was on the verge of becoming a big star, he just needed a win over Cena. Cena, a man who had been a main eventer for over 8 years at this point, should have put Wyatt over at the highest stage for wrestlers. Instead, Wyatt would put up an amazing effort before he would end up losing the match cleanly, and it didn't nothing positive for his career. The truth is, when we look back at the match, it all builds up to the inevitable and it was clear from a mile away. Cena defeats Wyatt and ruins his momentum before moving on and becoming champion a few months down the line. Wyatt however, seemed to lose his footing after this match and never recovered.

*Brock Lesnar vs The Undertaker 

-So, this is the match. This is the end. This is where Undertaker decides to end his streak. This is where Brock Lesnar ends his streak following a relatively boring match. This is where Brock finally ends the streak. This is where the world of wrestling changes. Well, that's a bit dramatic. Still, one could truly look at this match and see the end of an era. Taker hasn't been the same since. Now, I'll be honest. Brock became a much more lazy wrestler after this match and honestly, this battle just didn't have the action I hoped it would. Taker had a concussion halfway through and that definitely was important to the outcome, as he seemed out of it and the match suffers as a result. It ended so strangely and I didn't expect to see him actually lose the match. When he did, time stood still. Brock became the one in 21-1 and the wrestling world was never really the same for The Undertaker as a result.

*Vickie Guerrero Invitational 

-A match for the WWE Divas title that didn't really capture my attention. I don't remember much of the contest and I honestly don't want to revisit it too much. All that I know is that it was full of women with name value like Layla, Naomi, Natalya, and more, but they would all fall to the woman who had the division on lock, AJ Lee. Aside from that note, this match is useless, but AJ gets another notch under her belt.

*Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton 

-The main event was excellent. Batista won th Rumble and Bryan won his way into the contest, so the stage was set. Orton had been a subpar champion and Bryan was the most popular guy at the time, so this was the perfect storm. Bryan came into the match injured but that just added to his legend. The action here was fast paced and it's the best Mania main event of the last 5 to 8 years honestly. Bryan would step up big time and the crowd would be on his side, with him making Batista tap to win the title to the excitement of the fans who witnessed it. Yes, Wrestlemania is a big event, but no big event is complete without good execution. The execution for WM30 is one of the best in recent years, and the crowning of Daniel Bryan makes this Mania a true classic.

-True

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EOTR Retro: What If Wade Barrett Won The WWE Title In 2010

By @AmeenKnows

Everyone's favorite game is a game of "What if?" and I've already gone into what if John Cena had stayed drafted to Smackdown a year after the topic of this story here. In 2010, Wade Barrett was experiencing, unfortunately, the biggest push of his career as the leader of the group of future up and comers, The Nexus. Now I don't have to tell you who they are because you know already but in November of 2010 Wade Barrett was blessed with two title shots at Randy Orton's coveted WWE Championship. The first he won by disqualification at Bragging Rights, but the title did not change hands.

In the midst of this potentially great storyline, John Cena was forced to join the Nexus after losing a match to Barrett at Hell in a Cell. So with Barrett's upcoming rematch at Survivor Series it was ultimately decided that John Cena would be named special guest referee. Leading up to the event it was Barrett who threatened to fire Cena if he didn't win the title. Cena being the goody goody two shoes he is, called the match down the middle and Randy Orton would go on to retain which means no job for Cena. That didn't last very long as Cena would go on to single handedly wash the Nexus and get his job back then, figuratively and literally, bury Wade Barrett before we kicked off 2011. But what if we could undo all that by having WWE pull the trigger on a Barrett title run? Just a year earlier, WWE had built up Sheamus to be a dominant monster and gave him a WWE Championship run by beating, guess who, John Cena. Shocking. Barrett had more Charisma, was a better talker and he could go in the ring so why not champion him?

So let's just say Barrett does win. That means Cena is no longer part of the Nexus and doesn't have to rampage on them to get his job back by making the group look sorry. Orton was a lackluster champion but he served a purpose for putting The Miz's Money in the Bank Cash In over. So in this hypothetical scenario we’re going to push that back. Orton is owed an rematch, Cena is still a foe and Miz is biding his time. Let's fix this by continuing the feud and booking Orton vs Barrett at TLC in place of Miz for the WWE Championship. Cena and Miz need something to do so we can have them stake their claim to the title in a segment and have them jumped by Nexus which sets up a Tag Team match between Miz and Cena and Two Nexus members. Now seeing as Barrett just won the title I don't want to take the belt off him just yet with a Miz cash in or Orton win so he leaves the arena with both his title run in tact and his group still thriving after Miz walks out on Cena for the win on Nexus's behalf.

Royal Rumble is coming up so a number one contender needs to be decided so I say we have a Triple Threat match that originally included Barrett, Sheamus and Orton and make it Cena, Miz and Orton. This also pushes back CM Punk's takeover of the Nexus so we'll get back to that. Let's say Cena wins here, Miz goes ballistic and attacks Orton setting up Miz and Orton at Royal Rumble. At RR, Nexus helps Cena retain and Miz cheats his way to beating Orton again. Eliminaton Chamber comes with Cena, Miz, Orton, Barrett, Punk and whoever else you wanna throw in for filler, say R-Truth. Miz gets eliminated early, Nexus comes to ringside and pass Punk a lead pipe that he uses to eliminate Barrett. Cena ends it by beating Punk and Miz cashes in after the Nexus jumps Cena again.

Punk comes out the next night and has a mic segment with Barrett. Punk explains that the Nexus was tired of being berated by Barrett who had become a dick to them after winning the WWE Championship. The Nexus comes out and Barrett gets jumped but escapes and he crosses over to Smackdown. Punk later in the night attacks Orton and their WrestleMania feud is right on track with 2 months in between for Orton to take out the New Nexus and Punk to explain his motivations. Miz cashed in on Cena so this means Cena can let go of the Nexus feud because the WWE title takes precedence over the Nexus which means their feud is on track and The Rock starts mocking them just a week later than he officially did which means everything is right on track for Mania. Barrett goes to Smackdown, starts the Corre and instead of Orton stealing the World Heavyweight Championship from Christian, its Barrett who does it after Extreme Rules, they feud for the summer and you have another star who's potential wasn't wasted.

-Ameen

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Eyes on the Ring 3:43 AM  No comment

EOTR WWE Retro: The 6 Greatest WWE Heel Turns

By @TrueGodImmortal

Sometimes, turning heel can change a career around. We are witnessing it happen once again with Sami Zayn, as his heel turn has garnered him a main event spot weekly so far and huge attention. There are many other instances where the heel turn worked wonders and today, I wanted to take a look at those instances. Let's look at 6 of the best heel turns in WWF/WWE history.

6. Stone Cold Turns Heel (2001)

-Many people hated this. I was in the minority who loved it. It changed the business. It elevated guys who had not been given the type of run they probably felt they deserved. Austin joining forces with Vince McMahon was risky and in a way unnecessary, but it worked out in the end, giving us the infamous "What" phrase and a number of classic moments and matches. Austin vs Benoit, Austin vs Jericho, Austin vs Angle, even Austin vs RVD was due to the heel turn. Austin and his heel turn might not be remembered as the greatest, but to me it's one of the most impactful and greatest turns ever.

5. Chris Jericho Turns On HBK (2008)

-When Jericho came back, he was essentially a rehashed version of Y2J and it just wasn't working as well. So, he gave himself new life by going against the one and only HBK and turning on him. This represented a different side of Jericho and would change his career forever. Unlike the Y2J heel from before who was smug and ridiculous, this was a different Jericho. Stoic, serious, and to the point, this version of Jericho was more menacing and probably the best run of his career, which makes this a huge heel turn and one of the most important.

4. The Mega Powers Implode (1988)

-Randy Savage was WWF Champion, but of course, there would be an issue between himself and Hulk Hogan, started mostly by perceived jealousy of Hogan and Miss Elizabeth. After the Mega Powers teamed for quite a while, they would end up breaking up just in time for Wrestlemania 5, and one of the biggest main events in WWF history would occur. It was the start of a huge heel run for Savage once again after a short face run side by side with Hogan. In many ways, I think Hogan should have been the one to turn, but WWF decided to go with the small tired outcome of Hogan going over at Mania and winning the title back.

3. Andre The Giant Turns On Hogan (1987)

-It seems like Hogan always had someone turn on him to set up their next feuds. In this case, the Andre turn was huge, as he was one of the most popular wrestlers in the company, but once he got with Bobby Heenan, it seemed as if he began to make changes instantly. This heel turn led to one of the biggest main events and moments in WWF history, as we would get Hogan vs Andre in front of 90,000 people at Wrestlemania 3. Without Andre turning heel and ripping the chain off Hogan's neck, the intensity in the match and feud would have been much lower. This is a huge heel turn.

2. Shawn Michaels Turns On Marty Jannetty (1992)

-Of course, this was the turn that changed the career of Shawn Michaels. As a part of The Rockers, Shawn shined some, but the truth is, he was ready for his own spotlight. This would manifest itself through a Barber Shop segment where it seemed The Rockers put their differences aside and got back on track before Shawn delivered the superkick heard around the world. Then, he thr we Marty through the window of the shop, solidifying that moment in wrestling history. Without that heel turn, we might not have the prime era of the greatest wrestler to lace up the boots, The Heartbreak Kid.

1. The Rock Goes Corporate (1998)

-This is my no. 1 choice for so many reasons. It was unexpected. It was risky, as Rock  was getting over as a face, and he was a huge selling point of the entire Survivor Series 1998 tournament for the vacant WWF Title. I had no idea the show would end as it did, but with The Rock "selling out", we were treated to one of those rare moments where everything comes together perfectly. After aligning with Vince and Shane, The Rock would end up becoming WWF Champion, setting the tone for the future of his career, which of course is the most successful crossover wise of any wrestler, and without this moment, it wouldn't be possible honestly.

-True 

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EOTR Retro: The 5 Greatest Eddie Guerrero Matches

By @TrueGodImmortal

Eddie Guerrero was one of the best to step foot in the ring. Ever. Period. His talent in the ring was second to none, and over the years, Eddie would ascend to heights many thought weren't possible. Eddie did this through his hard work and his in ring ability, putting on classic matches frequently whether in ECW, AAA, WCW, or WWE. Today, I wanted to take a look at the 5 best matches in Eddie's career. Let's get into it.

5. Eddie Guerrero vs Dean Malenko
(ECW 1995)

-This match was two out of three falls and the final match for both in ECW before leaving for WCW. I wanted to put the Eddie vs Edge match here, but this one was just a bit better. Dean and Eddie were doing things that weren't seen before in the company, and their level of talent exceeded many others. Eddie won the first fall, Dean won the second fall, and the final fall was an epic battle throughout and it seemed as if Dean got the win, when in actuality, he didn't. Both men had their shoulders down, and as a result, we got to see the final match in ECW between these two end in a draw. Excellent contest.

4. Eddie Guerrero vs Edge vs Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit
(Smackdown, 2002)

-The Smackdown Era was amazing. It was one of those eras that really showcased talent for their gifts and ability, not just based on the politics backstage that usually dominated the way things went. This match was one that honestly shocked me, as it is one of my all time favorite matches. It was a pure wrestling match, with all four competitors giving their all. The match ended with Angle getting the win, but Eddie was on fire during this time period and he was great here.

3. Eddy Guerrero and Art Barr vs Octagon and El Hijo del Santo
(When Worlds Collide 1994)

-The fact remains, Eddy in AAA was some of the best work of his career. It was a hair vs mask match, and it took place at the mega event When Worlds Collide. This contest was two out of three falls, and after Eddie and Barr won the first fall, Octagon and El Hijo won the final two falls to take a classic match. They really had one of the most technical sound and entertaining matches I've ever watched and you can find it on YouTube and DailyMotion. It's the best match on the When Worlds Collide show which is a great event in its own right.

2. Eddie Guerrero vs Brock Lesnar
(No Way Out 2004)

-The moment his entire career changed for the best. Eddie was the man inside the ring and as a tag team wrestler, he was a champion. He had been US Champion, and he had given us classics, but his masterpiece was yet to come. His masterpiece came when he went toe to toe with Brock Lesnar for the WWE Title. This match was interesting from start to finish and despite the interference from Goldberg, it was an excellent bout and an even more excellent moment seeing Eddie walk away with the WWE Title. Eddie definitely deserved this moment and the championship.

1. Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero
(Halloween Havoc 1997)

-There aren't many matches in WCW history as good as this one. In fact, this might be the greatest of them all. After a solid build up, we witnessed a back and forth contest with these two amazing wrestlers going at it with everything they had. Rey was in his prime, Eddie was in his prime, and this mask vs title match had grave implications for Rey. After a ton of amazing action, Rey managed to walk away with the Cruiserweight Title and keep his mask in tact, but the ride to get to that point was one of the greatest I've ever seen. While there are many classic Eddie Guerrero matches, this one takes the cake as the best.

-True 

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Eyes on the Ring 10:14 PM  No comment

EOTR Retro: The 5 Best WWE PPVs Of 2003

By @TrueGodImmortal 

The year 2003 was a solid year in the WWE. There were some weak events and some solid ones over the course of the 12 months, and today we are here to narrow the best of the best down to 5. What are the top 5 PPVs of 2003? Let's take a look.

5. Backlash 2003

-This is one that I felt was great overall despite a few misses. The main event was a dream match in the making and without The Rock to make it great, it wouldn't have worked. That match I'm referring to is The Rock vs Goldberg. In addition to this, The World's Greatest Tag Team (then still Team Angle) vs Los Guerreros is a great match, along with Brock Lesnar vs John Cena for the WWE Title, and the big six man tag match, all of which flow well for a solid PPV event.

4. Survivor Series 2003

-I wasn't 100% sure about this event when I was writing down my picks and choices. I remember a mediocre main event with Goldberg and Triple H. Then, I looked at the rest of the card and realized it was a solid event. From the Team Angle vs Team Lesnar match to the Team Austin vs Team Bischoff Survivor Series match, all the way to the Kane vs Shane McMahon Ambulance match, this event delivered overall (minus two matches).

3. Summerslam 2003 

-On paper, looking at the results might not be that great, but watching the show tells an entirely different story. For one, despite The Undertaker vs A-Train being your standard match, it had an element of excitement in the fallout. Shane vs Bischoff was more fun than it should have been. Kane vs RVD was solid, it just forced Kane as this monster in an overkill style. The three best matches on the card however are the fatal four way match for the US Title, the Elimination Chamber match, and of course, the Brock vs Angle title match. Overall, this was an amazing event.

2. Vengeance 2003

-There are two duds on this card. Those matches are the Sable vs Stephanie McMahon bout and the APA Invitational. The rest of the card is solid from top to bottom, and truth be told, there are quite a few matches on here that could be considered classics. The Undertaker vs John Cena match is a really good battle, but the shocker of the night comes from the epic tag team title contest between The World's Greatest Tag Team and Rey Mysterio & Billy Kidman. That match is a true classic. In addition, who could forget the excellent US Title Tournament Final with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, or the classic triple threat main event between Big Show, Angle, and Brock. Overall, Vengeance just missed the top spot, and it is a great PPV.

1. Wrestlemania 19

-The 2nd greatest Wrestlemania is the best PPV easily of 2003. It has something for everyone honestly. For the casual fan, why not watch Hogan vs Vince, or even something like Austin vs Rock 3, which was the finish of one of the greatest feuds and trilogy of all time. For the die hard fan, there's the classics like HBK vs Jericho, and of course Angle vs Brock. For those in the middle, there is Triple H vs Booker match and the rest of the undercard. Overall, nearly everything on this card was flawless and a testament to the absolutely stacked roster they had. 2003 wasn't the best year, but it is one year that Wrestlemania blew everything else out of the water.

-True 

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Eyes on the Ring 5:03 PM  No comment