411’s WWE 24: Orlando Report

411’s WWE 24: Orlando Report

-I just want to quickly point out that 2 weeks ago I took part in Fact or Fiction and I predicted Nakamura and Asuka would win their Rumbles. Some mocked me and said no way it would happen, but here we are. The Men’s Rumble Match was one of the best ones they have done in years and it is great to see they remembered how to plan these things. The Women did a great job as well and this was easily one of Best PPVs the Main Roster has done in some time.

-Moving on as the WWE premiered a new episode of their 24 series and this one covers WrestleMania 33. So away we go!

-The opening shows highlights from the show while those who will be most featured talk about what the show meant to them. Seems we are going to be focusing on Cena/Nikki, New Day, Naomi, Reigns, and Taker.

-We start the show proper with a roller coaster, naturally. In this case Big E and Kofi are riding a coaster at Universal Studios I would assume. That leads to discussion of WrestleMania week with Axxess and all the press the guys and girls have to do.

-Naomi talks about being home and the support she has from her family and friends. This is her team and they have pushed her when times got hard. She is finally showing everyone a character that is true to her and it has finally clicked. She talks about winning the Title at Elimination Chamber and then finding out she strained her MCL the same night. That meant she had to forfeit the title and it wasn’t until a week before Mania that she found out she had been cleared to return.

-We are up to Friday and the Hall of Fame. Cena meets up with Angle and Kurt laughs as he got Cena to wear a tux. Cena is happy to see Angle back, and Kurt jokes that Cena is there to put Nikki over. Cena says that she is tougher than Kurt is. Ha!

-Nikki is backstage and runs into John and I think this may be footage that showed up on Total Divas. Yes, I watch Total Divas. To the Hall of Fame where the crowd chants “Let’s Go Miz” towards Cena. He is a pro however and just rolls with it and stays on point to point over Angle and induct him into the Hall of Fame. Still great to hear the “You Suck” chants. Angle’s speech was fantastic and he tells a reporter that he wants to see WrestleMania moments tomorrow.

-It’s 9:48 AM and we catch up with The Miz and Maryse as they take a limo to the stadium. The Miz talks about how a year ago Maryse hadn’t made her return yet and now they are in a tag match together. The Miz brings up how the fans weren’t sure about the mixed tag match, and after they started the build the fans were waiting for a show. Maryse mentions that when things are real they are the best. The Miz talks about doing impersonations of John while driving down the road and it would make Maryse laugh so they went with it. They pull up outside the stadium and just the sight of the stage has Miz excited.

-They show footage of various members of the roster arriving to the stadium and some taking pictures of the stage/set (which is visually one the best ones they have ever done). They focus on Alexa Bliss who is making her Mania in ring debut. She made her Mania “debut” with Charlotte and Sasha at Mania XXX when she was part of HHH’s entrance. Next Cass and Owens talk about being in the stands the last time Mania was in Orlando (XXIV) and Big Show talks about being in a match with Floyd. Charlotte is sitting in the same seat she was in 9 years ago when she watched her dad have his retirement match.

-Oh my, we actually get out of character Taker as my guess is they filmed this in case it is his last match. He talks about how fighters can get old in 1 fight and his biggest fear is being a parody of himself. He wants to make sure he gives the fans who pay to see him the best Undertaker he can give them.

-They cut to fans in the parking lot tail gating and we see lots of “2 Sweet” gestures. The fans talk about how far they have traveled and some drink beer like Stone Cold. Tremendous! I have been to 3 WrestleManias (25-27) and if the shows ends up in Philly next year (as rumored), I will be there.

-Back to Nikki as she is amazed at the size of the aisle and has to take pictures. She talks about missing Mania last year due to her neck injury and heading into this year’s show she hit Breeze with a spear and jammed her neck. They show footage and Cena asking her what happened as he could see a cut on her head. They took her off the live events and made her see her surgeon to clear her. She was cleared the Wednesday before the show. She talks about all the speculation that John would propose heading into the match, and how John was short with her all week. She heard the rumors, but had it in her heard that John would stick to his word when he said he would never get married again.

-Rollins works on his entrance and talks about having to watch the show last year from a press box. Man, that show did get ravaged by injuries.

-Reigns talks about his entrance and jokes he is going to compete with The Deadman to see who can have a slower entrance. He talks about this being the 3rd gigantic moment for him (oh, I’m sure he will get some more), but this one is by far the biggest. JR shows up to talk about his emotions as he thinks this could be the last match for Taker.

-Cena gets lost backstage as he jokes about having a Spinal Tap moment. Wonderful! Naomi on the other hand knows the stadium well and is just ready to go.

-We are up to 4 PM and the fans are chanting to be let in the stadium. Quick story as when I went to my first Mania in Houston the poor guy in front of us in line couldn’t get in as they told him his ticket had already been scanned. So either he was trying to get in with a fake ticket or someone sold him a fake one.

-The show starts proper and they make sure to show Mojo winning the ARMBAR with the help of Gronk. Then backstage we see Gronk celebrating with Goldberg. That makes sense actually.

-New Day open the main show as the hosts and then we cut to AJ Styles in the back as he says he is going to steal the show.

-Speaking of stealing the show, The Hardy Boys are being hidden in a bus. Jeff is jacked and says he is very nervous, but he knows this is going to be a ton of fun. He mentions that he misses the crowds (I’ll let you make the necessary TNA joke), and Matt promises they will kill it in the ladder match tonight.

-Back in the stadium AJ carries Shane to a very good match and that is followed by KO/Jericho. Following that we get Charlotte making her entrance and in the back Ric jokes they gave Charlotte more pyro than they gave him. Tremendous!

-The ladder match is touched on next and while the other teams make their entrance they quickly get Matt and Jeff out of the bus and to Gorilla. I actually called this surprise the minute it was made a ladder match because why the hell else would it be changed to a ladder match just days before the show? New Day announces a 4th team has been added and the place explodes when the Hardy’s music hits. The reactions they show here from the crowd are rather incredible. New Day freak out backstage over the moment as well as I’m sure everyone involved had to be in awe of the response. The Hardys win when Jeff kills himself and Matt retrieves the belts. Nice touch as they show Cena watching from Gorilla and he says “are you fucking kidding me” when Jeff does the Swanton. The Hardys meet up with everyone after the match and Big Show is thrilled to see them, but also mad they didn’t tell him. Matt calls it the coolest moment of his career! Great stuff all around!

-Alexa says that performing in front of 75,000 thousand people is nerve racking, but by the time you get to the ring you realize it is the same size it always is and the nerves go away. The show highlights from the SD Women’s match and Naomi wins back the title in front of her home crowd. Backstage she meets up with her husband and they have a nice moment together.

-The mixed tag is next and The Miz puts over how perfect it was to walk out at Mania in front of that crowd with his wife by his side. Maryse talks about how they can show this to their kids one day. Cena tells Nikki that this is supposed to be fun before they make their entrance. In a sweet moment Cena loses his mind when he notices his mom is in the front row. Apparently he had no clue she was going to be there as it seems Mama Cena doesn’t travel or get the importance of what WrestleMania means. The cameras catch Cena saying “holy shit” when he notices his mom in the crowd.

-The match was nothing to write home about and really was just a place setter for what everyone was expecting after the match. Nikki says that she thought John was going to point out his mom when he grabbed the mic. John says that he was ready to ask Nikki years ago, though he knows he has no way to prove that to anyone. We get the creepy story of Cena telling a nearly sedated Nikki that he was going to marry her one day. Some will crap one it, but it was a great moment that the majority of the crowd went crazy for and it brought a smile to my face.

-Nikki talks about them being together for 4.5 years and she never thought John would say those words. They show them backstage and Vince looks absolutely thrilled for them. Nikki says that Vince was the only one that knew besides John. Well, that makes sense as Vince would need to know what was happening on his biggest show.

-They blow through Rollins/HHH, WWE Title, and Universal Title matches with a good video package. Rollins talks about the whirlwind of emotions he had and they show Vince telling him it was an unbelievable performance and yet he hated what KO and Jericho did.

-Taker is shown getting ready backstage and this is still very weird to see. Reigns makes his way out and the boos are so damn loud even from the backstage area. Just wow! He puts over Taker as being The Guy. The video package makes this match seem so much better than it was, which I guess is the point. In the end Reigns wins, the fans in the front row give him the finger and for a second straight year the winner of the Main Event of Mania gets booed out of the building. Reigns says it was heartbreaking and that it was Taker’s yard, but it is his now and he swears to God he is going to look after it.

-The crowd gives Taker a proper send off as he leaves his hat, gloves, and coat in the ring. We get some cool footage of him lowering into the backstage area with the crowd still chanting “Thank You Taker.” He calls the situation surreal and says he is content riding off into the sunset, but we will see what tomorrow brings.

-The closing video package is also awesome and again it must be said that there is nobody that does video packages better than the people working for the WWE.

-This show clocked in at just under 1 hour and it flew by. Do what you can to check this out as the 24 specials are always worth a watch as it pulls back the curtain enough to show another side of the roster and shows that they have same fears, anxieties, hopes, and dreams just like everyone else. It’s only natural that some things were short changed her, but Owens and Goldberg each had a special that covered their Mania matches and everything else important enough was touched on her. Again highest recommendation to check out when you have an hour to kill.