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Reviewing Wrestlemania 29: No surprises, but WWE's annual super-fight card can still satisfy

By Ryan Songalia

NEW YORK - The rumblings did not fall on deaf ears. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who has held the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) championship since ending CM Punk's 434-day reign at The Royal Rumble in January, has been more Hollywood star than WWE competitor for the better part of a decade. With his latest movie G.I. Joe: Retaliation sitting at number one at the box office and filming as the lead role in the reprise of Hercules rapidly approaching, The Rock's days atop the WWE mountain were clearly numbered.

Whenever The Rock leaves the company to film a movie, as he did in 2002 to film The Scorpion King or in 2003 to pursue a full-time career in Hollywood, "The Great One" does a monumental "job" to pass the torch and keep the business hot, as he did against Brock Lesnar and Goldberg, respectively. With brighter horizons approaching, The Rock needed to "do business" for the sake of the business, and what greater stage could there be than at WrestleMania XXIX.
 
[Related: The Rock, Cena look to make WrestleMania XXIX twice as nice as last year]

So it was that at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., The Rock returned the favor to John Cena, whom he beat in the main event of last year's Wrestlemania, handing the reins of the company back to the man who has become the face of the WWE. As The Rock crouched down, poised to strike his Rock Bottom finishing maneuver for one last time, Cena countered with his Attitude Adjustment slam to pin him in the middle of the ring, earning Cena his eleventh WWE championship.

 
The match, which was contested in an outdoor arena filled with 80,676 fans, far surpassed last year's forgettable bout. There were countless ebbs and flows, and maybe a bit of overkill as almost every move or move attempt past the ten-minute mark seemed to be one of their finishing maneuvers. There was also less tension than in many WrestleMania main events as, just like last year, both were "babyface" good guys vying for the crowd's support.
 
Still, just as it was at WrestleMania VI with Hulk Hogan versus The Ultimate Warrior or WrestleMania XIX with The Rock versus Stone Cold Steve Austin, there is no denying two iconic, larger-than-life figures facing one another on the sport's biggest stage.
 
Afterwards, The Rock and Cena embraced in a show of respect. As the two titans stood on top of the entranceway, The Rock raised the victorious Cena's arm, endorsing him for the first time in their history of coexistence.

 
If Rock-Cena was the main event, The Undertaker-CM Punk was the show. Just as at WrestleMania III, when "The Macho Man" Randy Savage and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat felt slighted by being overshadowed by Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant, CM Punk and The Undertaker set out to steal the show. And indeed they did.
 
The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania is probably the longest-running gimmick in professional wrestling history. Beginning in 1992 at WrestleMania VII with his victory over Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, the streak has stretched through the Hulk Hogan era, the Bret Hart era, the Attitude Era, the Ruthless Aggression Era and finally, until today's PG era.
 
Many felt that, if anyone should end the streak, it should be CM Punk, the often-slighted budding legend who held the WWE title for 434 days before ceding it to The Rock in an unpopular move by the front office at The Royal Rumble.
 
The match seemed to be hastily put together in recent months without much of a storyline until the real-life death of Undertaker's former manager Paul Bearer (William Moody) gave the WWE creative team and the genius duo of Punk and manager Paul Hayman the opening to straddle, and at times overstep the line of decency, to create "heat" for the match. Punk and Hayman continuously taunted Undertaker in the week's leading up to the match, mocking Bearer's death and stealing his trademark "urn" prop.
 
When the bell rang, The Undertaker, sporting a low-cut Mohawk, showed that he is still capable of putting on at least one five-star match a year at age 48. Taker turned back the clock with his trademark chokeslam that Punk sold like a million bucks. In contrast, Punk's mind games didn't end once the bout began, as he stole Undertaker's classic rope-walk arm wrench, did Undertaker's throat slash gesture, and even attempted his finishing maneuver, The Tombstone Piledriver.
 
Punk's main highlight of the match was supposed to be a flying elbow drop on Undertaker, who was lying prone on the Spanish announcer's table, but Punk missed a direct hit by mere inches, and was unable to crash through the table. Still, a match between the two of the best storytellers in WWE history didn't need high spots to make it memorable.
 
CM Punk looked on his way to ending the streak after he kicked out of a Tombstone from The Undertaker and nailed him with the urn. However it was that same move later on that spelled the end for CM Punk in what was, as expected, the match of the night.
 
Triple H and Brock Lesnar had the unlucky spot of having to follow Taker-Punk, and their misfortune was as deafening as the silence that befell the arena once they hit the ring. Triple H, who lost to the former UFC heavyweight and WWE champion Lesnar at last year's SummerSlam via kimura lock submission, has seen better days, while Lesnar's infrequent schedule has made it difficult for him to maintain any momentum in the company.
 
Not even the introduction of "no holds barred" and "Triple H must retire" stipulations could save the match, as the two spent most of the match brawling on the outside as most predicted. The biggest "pop" of the night came when Shawn Michaels,  "Mr. WrestleMania" himself,  saved Triple H from Paul Heyman's interference by kicking the super heel manager with his Sweet Chin Music finisher, enabling Triple H to smash Lesnar with a sledgehammer, before hitting his Pedigree finisher for the pinfall.
 
With the win, Triple H's career continues. The problem is, nobody probably cares.
 
Fans of submission holds were looking forward to heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio's defense against number one contender Jack Swagger, as Del Rio's arm bar and Swagger's "Patriot Act" ankle lock have become two of the company's most prolific submission holds today. Fans of the company were also looking forward to it because Dolph Ziggler, who holds the Money in the Bank briefcase, was thought to be holding out for WrestleMania to "steal the show," as he says.
 
The Ziggler "marks" would have to wait for another day however, but the match itself delivered on its promise to exhibit stellar submission maneuvers as both men seemed on the brink of tapping out to the other's finisher. It was ultimately Del Rio, the Mexican aristocrat, who forced Swagger to submit to retain the belt.
 
The buildup to Del Rio-Swagger may ultimately prove to be more memorable than the actual match itself, as conservative media pundits criticized Swagger's latest character incarnation as a "Tea Party patriot" pushing for stricter immigration laws. Del Rio, who is a third generation WWE superstar of Mexican descent, was the perfect hero figure to foil Swagger's rise.
 
Swagger won the Elimination Chamber match in February to become the number one contender, but was arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) and marijuana possession in late February. The future of his character is likely contingent upon the outcome of that case.
 
After unceremoniously losing the WWE Heavyweight title to Sheamus at last year's WrestleMania in 18 seconds, Daniel Bryan finally got his WrestleMania moment as he and his Team Hell No partner Kane successfully defended their tag team titles over the team of Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston.
 
Team Hell No, who have held the titles since defeating Kofi Kingston and R Truth at Night of Champions, worked together in a rare display of synergy, as Kane chokeslammed Ziggler, setting up Daniel Bryan for a high-flying diving headbutt that resulted in the three count.
 
It was an inauspicious in-ring debut for Langston, who signed on to the WWE developmental program in 2009 after setting multiple records as a champion weightlifter.
 
Langston wasn't the only upstart to have his first match at WrestleMania that night. Fandango, who competed in WWE's NXT developmental program as Johnny Curtis, can tell his grandchildren that he debuted at WrestleMania against the legendary Chris Jericho and won.

Jericho, who has spent much of his time "putting over" young talent since returning to the company last year after a three-year absence to tour with his rock group Fozzy, did an excellent job of making Fandango, whose heel gimmick is that of a conceited tango dancer, look like a million bucks.
 
The finish was far from seamless however. As Jericho went for his signature "Lionsault" move off the ropes, Fandango seemed to get his knees up in time to block it. Jericho no-sold the counter and went for his "Walls of Jericho" submission finisher, only for Fandango to counter with a small package pin for the three count.
 
Jericho, who was the first undisputed champion in WWE history, has not won a meaningful match since returning to the company.
 
Ryback had his own "WrestleMania moment," though probably not the one his fans would've envisioned. In a match pairing the two titans of the company, "The World's Strongest Man" Mark Henry pinned Ryback after the latter's back seemed to give out once he hoisted the impossibly large Henry onto his shoulders for his Shell Shock finisher. A bit of an anti-climax, but little was expected out of this match.
 
It might seem ignominious to some that The Miz, who headlined WrestleMania XXVIII with a successful WWE championship defense over John Cena, would be relegated to the off-tv WrestleMania pre-show. But he won't have much to complain about tonight as he tours the Metropolitan area with the Intercontinental title in tow, after he forced incumbent champion Wade Barrett to tap out to his Figure Four leg lock submission hold.
 
Overall, the event itself overshadowed the action on the card. There were no major shocking moments: Ziggler didn't make history by cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase on a weary Del Rio, Cena didn't turn "heel" and Punk didn't end the streak. But in an industry that makes it's money off keeping the fans on their toes, sometimes the most shocking thing you can do is follow the script. - AMD, GMA News


Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and contributes to GMA News. He is also a member of The Ring ratings panel and can be reached at ryan@ryansongalia.com. An archive of his work can be found here. Follow him on Twitter too.
 
Tags: wrestlemania, wwewrestling, wrestling, therock, dwaynejohnson
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