The Ambrose shit is almost completely because he doesn't give Vince a boner. Reigns gets that push cause he does. I don't know why I bother paying any attention to the WWE, and I basically only watch a ppv every 3-4 months. Even that feels like too much.
Booking was wack as fuck in that show.
-Zack Ryder wins IC belt. Really? Why? Didn't he only get added at the last minute because Neville got hurt? So clearly, there was no thought put into that ending because 2-3 weeks ago he wasn't even in the fucking match.
-Jericho goes over AJ. Why? So we can keep having this fucking angle/storyline? Jericho has turned in his best work in years in this angle, admittedly, but AJ is someone the people in charge should view as an important piece of their future. Jobbing him at his first Mania to a part timer at this point in his (Jericho's) career shows they don't. DUR HUR HUR, good job, Vince.
-I'm actually 100% fine with everything that happened with the LoN-New Day match. ND are faces at this point, having the heels go over in a non-title match and using it as an excuse to have a "fun" entertainment segment with Austin, Foley and HBK is just fine with me. Pretty much anything the ND are involved in is going to be a highlight of any WWE show. They're that fucking good.
-Ambrose-Lesnar was meh. A lot of matches didn't seem to click tonight in ring and this was one of them, which sucks because both of these guys are capable of putting on an awesome match. I feel like Ambrose is hampered with the company's booking, and Brock, I hate to say it, but I think he's hampered with himself. His matches are becoming pretty by the numbers and lazy on his part. "Suplex a guy a lot, look unbeatable" is getting kind of boring.
-The women's match was easily the best match of the night. Everything was well done for the most part and there some awesome moments, like Sasha's frog splash from out of frame to break up a submission attempt, etc. I would have rather had either Sasha or Becky go over, but hopefully this is setting up a 1 on 1 Charlotte Sasha match where Flair is banned from ringside at a future ppv. Sasha is my waifu.
-Taker-Shane: ok for what it was, I guess. The issue is that other than the one spot that will get replayed forever and ever as a "holy shit moment" (and rightfully so) the match was a plodding borefest. Which would have been ok if Lesnar-Ambrose hadn't also been slow paced and kind of boring. 2 out of 3 "gimmick" matches not delivering (the IC ladder match being the only one that did) kind of sucks.
-Battle Royal: palate cleanser. Ok as that but show could have done without it.
-Rock segment: ok for what it was, but Bray hasn't had a victory of any sort really for like two years it seems. If you want to build the Wyatt family into a credible heel stable, this is not how you do it.
-HHH-Reigns: This match went on for about 27 minutes. It didn't deserve to. It was serviceable but not great, not even very good. Not the way you want to end your biggest show of the year, for sure. I'm not sure what else is to be said about Reigns as the top face of the company. The company wants it; the fans do not. They've backed themselves into this corner and this is the story they've chose to tell. How do you credibly turn Reings heel at this point? Do Steph and HHH just ignore him? Are they not part of the show anymore? I find that doubtful. If they are, they're going to fuck with Reigns, and the crowds are either going to be indifferent to that as a storyline or outright hostile. That's a dumb way to do business. People are saying that you can turn Reigns heel, and I agree he'd be a better heel than a face, but again, with the work that you've done so far, how do you turn him heel in any way that makes sense? It's just dumb. The whole thing is dumb and makes me tired and not want to watch WWE.
Highlights of the show: Women's title match, The New Day, most of the in ring stuff in the IC match, any of the "entertainment" segments like Austin/Foley/HBK, Rock, etc.
Lowlights: pretty much everything else. Probably the worst Mania I've ever seen.
Honorable Mention: Steph's outfit
