Mt. Killamanjaro — @MikeKillam
WrestleMania XXIX Review
Sheamus makes his way out to kick off WrestleMania, which was a bit of a surprise. I’m not sure why, but I assumed a match with The Shield and so many high profile WWE Superstars would have been used to break up the intensity of the upper card. Interesting placement, but when you can consider Alberto del Rio’s star powre has been pretty quiet lately, it makes sense to use the hype of guys like Sheamus and Randy Orton to get the crowd started.
1) Sheamus, Randy Orton & Big Show vs. The Shield
The story going in is the supposed “unity” and “solidarity” of the Superstars, having to overcome their differences to hand The Shield their first loss. Of course, this wouldn’t happen as Big Show – after feeling a bit rejected when Orton stole his hot tag – refuses to help, and watched his partner take the fall to Roman Reigns.
Results: The Shield wins via pinfall; Roman Reigns with a spear on Randy Orton
I quite enjoyed the pace of the match, and that each of the six men involved had their moment to shine. Randy Orton had his signature RKO counter out of nowhere. Sheamus got to manhandle all three of them and put about two dozen welts on their chests. And of course Big Show not only had that massive spear to a pyramid of four guys, but was a crucial part of telling a story at the end. Oh, and The Shield won… again.
Most 6-man tag matches are predictable, and follow a strict game plan from beginning to end. The Shield has been doing a great job of making that formula enjoyable, and while I long for the day we get Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose in singles action, if they keep churning out tag contests like this I could stand a few more months of unified Shield competition.
Also, anyone who predicted a Randy Orton heel turn at WrestleMania doesn’t pay attention to how this event works. It’s about payoff, not setting up things to come. Like I said for the past few weeks, if the Orton turn comes, it will come after WrestleMania when there’s some reason for it. I believe WWE may have now given him enough motivation to do so – expect some interaction between him and Sheamus this week on Monday Night Raw.
Grade: B-
