{"id":1689,"date":"2010-03-17T00:01:35","date_gmt":"2010-03-17T05:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ringsidereport.com\/?p=1689"},"modified":"2010-03-17T00:01:35","modified_gmt":"2010-03-17T05:01:35","slug":"wrestlemania-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=1689","title":{"rendered":"WrestleMania: Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By John Pitroff<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea of WrestleMania being the one show where the wrestlers seem to really give their all is quite true.\u00a0 I realize that a lot of the wrestlers take pride in always working their best and giving their all, no matter the show, but it just is a little different at WrestleMania.\u00a0 There is a different feeling, a different atmosphere.\u00a0 There is more of a drive to compete, to outdo your peers, to have the best \u2018Mania match of not only the year, but of all time.\u00a0 With this whole mystique over WrestleMania, there is no doubt it gets into the minds of referees, wrestles, commentators, and anyone else involved in WWE.\u00a0 WrestleMania sets a high standard for all involved, so there is always that need to want to live up to what is being touted as such a great show.
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\nI can only imagine what it means to perform at WrestleMania in any capacity.\u00a0 The WrestleMania name has grown so big over the last 26 years that backstage there must be a feeling in the air.\u00a0 That whole magic of \u2018Mania subconsciously makes one want to do the best they can.\u00a0 When you do something amazing at WM, it is seen by the world.\u00a0 In the opposite thought, when you mess something up, that goes down in history.\u00a0 Therefore, everyone is looking to look, do, perform, act, and be their best when late March, early April arrives every year.
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\nWith all this being said, every year around WM time, I start getting really excited for the show.\u00a0 I am not immune to the magic of \u2018Mania.\u00a0 Both performers and fans alike can both enjoy that feeling of a special time of the year.\u00a0 Sort of like Christmas to the Christians.\u00a0 No Xanta Klaus joke here.\u00a0 My yearly excitement for WM used to start around Survivor Series.\u00a0 I\u2019m an old school fan, folks, back when there was such a thing know as Survivor Series.\u00a0 But, Survivor Series is when, as a fan, you could start to see where angles were headed and you had somewhat of an idea of what matches you could be seeing at \u2018Mania.\u00a0 With so much talent, so many PPVs, and so many television shows, the build for WrestleMania seems to start a bit later now.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t until a bit after The Royal Rumble where you can start to get a picture of where things are going.\u00a0 With PPVs so close to one another, it is tough to see where WWE is headed creatively for the biggest show of the year since they need to book the PPVs before hand as well, and still make them seem important.\u00a0 But, even though the build starts a bit later now, WWE does still seem to try to put in place angles in advance for their biggest show of the year.\u00a0 I always liked that about \u201cThe Granddaddy of Them All.\u201d
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\nBack in the days of high school when I was into wrestling and nothing else, I used to keep files written about what angles were developing for WM, what matches were likely to take place, and whatever else was bound to happen.\u00a0 I tell you this not to prove that I had no friends, but to show you just how involved fans can get in a show like WrestleMania.\u00a0 I mean, I wasn\u2018t keeping a file in my computer written up about what was going to happen at Backlash.\u00a0 See the difference?\u00a0 No?\u00a0 I\u2018m not sure there is a difference but the fact is that wrestling is still on my mind too much.\u00a0 WrestleMania always is a special time in the eyes of the fans.
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\nAs I mentioned the previous column, even if I ever stopped watching wrestling I would make sure to catch WrestleMania every year just to see where the company is at.\u00a0 The show might be amazing, it might be decent, but WrestleMania is a sort of spark notes version of where WWE is at.\u00a0 \u2018Mania is the time where WWE puts on their biggest matches and biggest feuds.\u00a0 So, when you tune in and see a new wrestler who is really over, even if you haven\u2019t been watching, you can sort of pick up on things.
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\nI remember watching WrestleMania one year when John Cena came out and did a rap about how he would be main-eventing WrestleMania one day.\u00a0 I doubted it.\u00a0 But, within a few years, there he was, main-eventing WM, just as he had rapped about.\u00a0 That would have been fun to follow once a year to see how much a star had grown.\u00a0 Brock Lesnar is another example of this.\u00a0 At WrestleMania X8, he hadn\u2019t even debuted yet.\u00a0 There was no sign of him.\u00a0 He debuted the next night on Raw.\u00a0 By WrestleMania XIX, he was in the main event.\u00a0 If you look at it as a once a year spectacular, WrestleMania just shows you where WWE is at, where they are headed, and where they have been.\u00a0 It shows you who has made something of themselves and who has fallen down in the car.
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\nThe Showcase of the Immortals shows fans if WWE is attempting to change, or if they are staying the same.\u00a0 If you watched X-Seven, and then X8, you could see just how much WWE had changed.\u00a0 Hogan was back, Scott Hall was back (if you consider what he did actually \u201cbeing there\u201c), Triple H won the title again from Chris Jericho.\u00a0 Edge and Booker T were fighting over a shampoo commercial.\u00a0 Things were changing (not always in a good way – next toiletries WrestleMania storyline that develops – god help me – I\u2018m out).\u00a0 And, by the time XIX came, things had totally changed again.
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\nI still consider X-Seven the end of the Attitude Era to this day.\u00a0 I mentioned big things happening at WM that change the history of wrestling as a whole in Part 1 of this column, but if you really think about it, WrestleMania changes eras in wrestling history.\u00a0 WM is where eras begin and end.\u00a0 It is where stars start, where dreams do come true.\u00a0 Torches are passed.\u00a0 Titles are won.\u00a0 A company is defined yet again.\u00a0 Shawn Michaels won his first title at Mania.\u00a0 Austin started a new era when he beat Michaels at XIV.\u00a0 The so called big change in WWE in the names of Eddie Guerrero & Chris Benoit at XX was more of a sentimental idea for a new era in WWE, as it never amounted too much for either champion.\u00a0 But, it happened.\u00a0 It was a nice attempt at passing a torch, but that didn\u2018t happen until the next year when both Cena and Batista left with the belts.\u00a0 Another change of an era.\u00a0
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\nWhat other show of the year would I spend all the money I had at the age of 16 on and drive 8 hours in a van to go see it?\u00a0 Only WrestleMania is worthy of that type of dedication.\u00a0 It is the only show where people come from all over the country to see it.\u00a0 It is the only show where people even come from all over the states to see a wrestling performance.\u00a0 People travel far and wide to attend WrestleMania, and it shows in their attendance numbers and figures every year.
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\nWhat other show would make me cry at an opening vignette?\u00a0 I hate to admit this, but after giving everything and investing a lot of myself into getting to WM X8 and somehow finding 21st row floor seats, I bought both the VHS and DVD.\u00a0 When I popped it into my computer and listened\u00a0 to The Undertaker describing what the show meant to the himself and the wrestlers in the back, as well as the fans, it hit something in me personally because I had made it all a reality for myself.\u00a0 See, WrestleMania does special things.
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\nWhat other show gets Roman numerals?\u00a0 I mean, that is the mark of importance right there, folks.\u00a0 Once you are identified with the Romans, you know you have something historical going on.\u00a0 Vince McMahon did end up taking this idea too far with the WrestleMania IX Roman themed show.\u00a0 Seriously, I never want to see Jim Ross in a toga again.\u00a0 Or Giant Gonzales on PPV.\u00a0 Or, Hogan return for a hotshot title win.
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\nWhat other show would get me to write two lengthy columns about it and still have enough material to write two more if I didn\u2019t feel like boring my audience to death?\u00a0 The thing with WM is that every year, I still find myself being excited even though the last year I didn\u2019t think it would happen again.\u00a0 Somehow, nearly every year, WrestleMania has me thinking, \u201cThey have somehow done it again and come up with something that is really worth checking out.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m not so sure of how WWE continues to do it in an era of so many TV shows and PPVs, but once again, this year, I am excited to see what is to come.
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\nI would have liked to get into more of the matches for WrestleMania in these two columns, but I will cover them in the upcoming weeks in other columns.\u00a0 Here is my look at Chris Jericho vs. Edge:
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\nThis match had a storyline in place the day Edge got injured while Jericho and himself were the Tag Team Champions.\u00a0 Many people figured that when Edge returned, he would feud with Jericho.\u00a0 The only problem was that the return date of Edge was past WrestleMania originally.\u00a0 See, that is just another reason that WM is seen as such a big thing in the eyes of the fans as well as the talent.\u00a0 Injured wrestles attempt to get back so in time for the biggest show of the year so they can showcase their talent in front of the biggest audience.\u00a0 It also helps that WWE gives out pretty good bonuses for appearing and performing at \u2018Mania.\u00a0 Money is always important, and WrestleMania makes the most of it.
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\nWith the surprise return of Edge at The Royal Rumble this year, people new something big was up.\u00a0 Edge healed quicker than expected, and that meant that his feud that was already in place with Jericho once he left could be picked up and used for the big show.\u00a0 Both Jericho and Edge had great reasons to dislike each other per the storyline.
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\nEven though this feud really didn\u2019t start picking up until the Raw after Elimination Chamber, it still has a lot behind it.\u00a0 With Edge\u2018s Royal Rumble victory and Jericho\u2018s title win, it set it all up perfectly.\u00a0 Great booking by WWE here.
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\nI didn\u2019t even mention how good these two are in the ring.\u00a0 I\u2019ll let that speak for itself come March 28.<\/p>\n

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By John Pitroff The idea of WrestleMania being the one show where the wrestlers seem to really give their all is quite true.\u00a0 I realize that a lot of the wrestlers take pride in always working their best and giving their all, no matter the show, but it just is a little different at WrestleMania.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[162,707,775,778],"class_list":["post-1689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-chris-jericho","tag-tna","tag-wrestling","tag-wwe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1689\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}