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Post by J12 on Mar 30, 2009 10:39:15 GMT -5
I have to know, what is everyone's opinion on Wrestlemania x8?
The reason I ask is, over the last couple of nights (after being persuaded by HugoOne's post about Mania prep) I've watched Wrestlemania x8. I'm not sure why I chose it over all of the others i own, but actually I'm quite glad I did.
On paper, x8 seems like a throw-away Mania. If you take away Rock/Hogan, you're left with a lackluster card that means next to nothing in the long run.
I remember this being the first Wrestlemania I ever ordered live on Pay-Per-View, and even then I was a little bit disappointed when it was all over...it just didn't feel, big enough to me.
Looking back, I can understand why, on the surface, it really doesn't have a lot going for it - but digging deeper, I found some pretty interesting stuff about the event.
First off, it is incredibly cool to me that WWE was able to create a significant, decent card that made sense and worked out with such a large roster. Just coming off the invasion angle, and trying ti incorporate everyone into the show had to be rough, but I thought they did an incredible job doing so.
Most importantly, the pacing and storytelling at this event is absolutely top notch. Every match had a story to tell, and every match did it unbelievably well. x8 lacked the usual video packages, only using one for Rock/Hogan and Taker/Flair, but they didn't even need it. The electricity and emotion was able to shine through in every single match.
The crowd was hot - particularly for Rock/Hogan, one of the best crowds I've ever seen. Unfortunately a booking mistake caused the main event to be essentially forgotten.
Above all else, it truly had a Wrestlemania feel. Even if the card wasn't great, WWE managed to make sure that it felt like the biggest night of the year, and at that time, the biggest night in wrestling to date.
I gained a new respect for that show, to put it quite simply. I feel as though it would have been looked at as a huge success for the company, albeit a little lackluster for us.
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Post by drakerko on Mar 30, 2009 10:42:22 GMT -5
I know people are a fan of title matches being on last, but Rock vs. Hogan should have been main event. The crowd didn't give a crap about Triple H winning the title.
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Post by ericbischoff on Mar 30, 2009 11:29:43 GMT -5
yeah, I agreed with drakeRKO, Hulk Hogan vs The Rock should be main event. That could be great way to closed the show by hand shake and Hogan taunt to the crowd.
Shame that Triple H was in main event, and this year as well... I can see HHH vs Orton at main Event, HHH in almost every WrestleMania main event since his debut. Seriously WWE didnt realise that getting boring?
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Post by DMO™ on Mar 30, 2009 11:33:49 GMT -5
Toronto = best crowd ever =D
and you're right Hogan/Rock should have main evented I kind of forgot about the hell in a cell match.
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Post by man on Mar 30, 2009 11:38:35 GMT -5
I know that Hogan vs Austin is more of an Icon vs Icon match... but Hogan vs Rock is VERY unique. Not only did you get that iconic face-off but you also got the classic "young vs old" generation match.
The crowd was crazy for that one... that's the part that stands out the most. They were going nuts from start to finish! And I do agree that it should've been the last match on the card. Frankly, the crowd was tired after the Hogan/Rock match to really care about anything else. That was the moment of the night, no doubt!
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Post by Nick the Quick on Mar 30, 2009 11:43:00 GMT -5
I like Wrestlemania X8, it's not on the level of X-Seven or XIX, but its close. Rock/Hogan should have been last because nobody knew what was going to happen, everyone and their mother knew HHH was winning the title, so the shock factor should have been saved for the end. I wish Austin was in a more important match, but certain factors that he may not have had control over prevented that. Anyway, if you haven't seen this Mania, check it out.
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Post by Jimmy on Mar 30, 2009 12:02:41 GMT -5
part of it was thrown together. i mean, edge and booker were fighting over a japanese shampoo commercial. kane and kurt didn't exactly have much backstory and the tag match was just a way to get all four of the teams in the division in a match. i dunno, it wasn't awful but other than hogan/rock, there's not much memorable about it. they really  ed up the entire jericho/hhh program. |
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Post by HugoOne on Mar 30, 2009 12:38:30 GMT -5
Haha, I'm glad I could be a persuasion! Especially when it worked out well.
Rock and Hogan had an epic feel. I'm not a Hogan fan at all but I can't deny that. Flair and Undertaker had a solid, solid story behind it and was very fresh. I was totally into the Austin-Outsiders storyline, as well.
The whole thing was very underwhelming for me. Aside from the ridiculous Shampoo Commercial storyline, everything felt like a Raw or Heat match. That's fine for Raw or Heat, but certainly not Wrestlemania. DDP-Christian, Booker-Edge, Kurt-Kane, the Hardcore Championship fiasco, the Women's title match, and even Jericho-Triple H felt like nothing more than what you would see on Raw.
I hated the Jericho-Triple H feud as it became Triple H-Stephanie feuding and buried all the momentum Jericho had built over the past 5-6 months. Jericho then got beat again at Hell in a Cell, which pushed him out of the main event completely.
I also didn't like Undertaker vs. Flair. It was too one-sided for me. At the time, I felt Flair should have won, but now knowing the streak, it was the right decision. But when Double A hit that beautiful Spinebuster and Taker still kicked out and won, I was pissed. The whole feud and match felt too one-sided for me to enjoy.
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Post by skribbel24 on Mar 30, 2009 12:42:13 GMT -5
WM18 was all about Rock/Hogan. Everything else is a filler.
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Post by Barrett on Mar 30, 2009 12:52:40 GMT -5
IMO, X8 could've easily been better than X7 if it weren't for these two huge faults:
1.) Poor build-up. The weeks leading up to WMX8 were all Rock/Hogan. The only other match that even got half way decent WM-quality build to it was 'Taker/Flair. It was a great card on paper, but most of the matches had little to no hype behind them.
2.) Poor booking. The event itself is one of the oddest arranged cards I've ever seen. I understand the logic of calming the audience down before a main event, but they spaced out all four of the main events. It was really weird seeing guys like Flair/'Taker/Austin wrestling on what seemed to be the undercard. Especially when matches like Edge/Booker, the Tag Titles, and the Women's Title, were all placed higher on the card. To me, it just gave that night an unusual atmosphere.
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Post by The Sexy Psychotic on Mar 30, 2009 14:50:12 GMT -5
I loved X8, thought it was one of the best
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Post by nirvanacobain on Mar 30, 2009 15:14:30 GMT -5
i genuinely enjoyed this mania and thought i had alot going for it. it delivered and i liked that alot of the foucs from it was on putting the young guys on the map.
edge beating booker t was awesome and was a cool little match
kane and angle was fresh and fun. thrown together but hey it was a fresh matchup.
hogan was amazing and really made the rock look like a millon bucks. i think rock going over was horrible, but vince knew this. 80 percent of the live crowd wanted hogan. i know the finish was changed several times and i wish it would have happened with hogan winning. the crowd would have been much happier.
austin vs hall was decent, i would have marked if hall won. i think it was way too soon for the nwo to be doing jobs.
my only regret with this mania is that hennig wasn't on the card. he lost on heat which sucked.
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Post by The-Rock on Mar 30, 2009 15:18:20 GMT -5
it's a good show, but i remember compeltely forgetting it was wrestlemania around the time of the event. a lot of matches like regal vs RVD and Booker T vs Edge were just thrown together, and had no build.
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Post by instant classic on Mar 30, 2009 15:19:33 GMT -5
I loved it
Taker vs Flair is one of my favorite matches of all time.
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Post by k5 on Mar 30, 2009 15:47:11 GMT -5
rock/hogan was a great match. and i actually really enjoyed flair/taker, even though it wasn't much wrestling
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The Stranger
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jul 21, 2007 1:09:47 GMT -5
Posts: 2,200
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Post by The Stranger on Mar 30, 2009 16:03:53 GMT -5
Mr Perfect and Kurt Angle would've made more sense than Kane/Angle, and would've been a classic. Kane could've faced Big Show since there was huge tension between them at the Royal Rumble that year.
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Post by Hammersmith Hardman on Mar 30, 2009 16:09:37 GMT -5
I have to know, what is everyone's opinion on Wrestlemania x8? Overrated. |
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