WWE WrestleMania XXIV Review

We wish you were here! 2017 marks the year that WrestleMania soaks up the Orlando sun! However, this isn't the first time the big event comes to Florida. 2008 saw WrestleMania XXIV with one of the most stacked cards of all time along with being the first WrestleMania to be broadcasted in high definition. Randy Orton defends his WWE Championship against John Cena and Triple H, Ric Flair puts his career on the line against Shawn Michaels, Floyd Mayweather takes on The Big Show in a fight for the ages, and The Undertaker closes out the show against Edge for the coveted World Heavyweight Championship! Before we head to WrestleMania 33, let's look back at this classic event.

Match 1: Belfast Brawl - JBL vs. Finlay
This feud may have to be one of the most ridiculous things the WWE has ever came up with. Either way, a match between these two is a nice way to put them on the card and also give us a cool opener. They really tried their best to make this a very heated and personal feud, but it just didn't work. With little Hornswoggle by his side, Finlay looks to defend his son's honor against JBL. Can't believe I just said that, how silly is this for a WrestleMania match. They brought in all the gimmicks that included a trash can and a table as they beat the crap out of each other to the crowd's delight. Hilarious spot came when JBL tossed a trash can at Hornswoggle. Despite Finlay driving JBL through a table, JBL still squeaks out the win after a Clothesline from Hell. This feud can finally be put to rest. Very cool to see the show start with the sun still out.
Winner: JBL
Rating: **

Match 2: Money in the Bank - John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. MVP vs. Chris Jericho
This is easily one of my favorite Money in the Bank matches, good amount of star power with a bunch of cool spots along with an awesome finish. Of course, this was the match that Jeff Hardy was scheduled to win until you know, extracurricular activities got in the way. Regardless, these guys put on a show as everyone in the match was involved with some sort of marquee spot. Marquee spots that also Matt Hardy make his grand return and hit a Twist of Fate to MVP off the ladder. Perfect booking, only if his brother Jeff was still around for this. But nothing was perhaps bigger than Shelton Benjamin being tossed off a ladder and crashing through a ladder on the outside. Chris Jericho and CM Punk battled at the very end until Jericho got caught up within the ladder to allow Punk to secure the briefcase. The perfect ending to the match with the right guy picking up the win. Many predicted Jericho to win but his status is fine without winning, why not make a new star out of this which they did in CM Punk. This was truly the start of Punk's rise into the main event.
Winner: CM Punk
Rating: ****1/4

Match 3: Batista vs. Umaga
What a sight it is to see the stadium lit up in the night as Batista and Umaga make their grand entrances for the battle of brand supremacy match. This feels like WrestleMania. This is also the WWE's way to put these guys on the card. Somewhat of a shame for Batista considering he basically carried the company in a terrible year that was 2007. Always felt like he deserved a better spot on the card because of that. I dug how they had the general managers come out and announce their respective participants. Nice little touch. Umaga dominated most of the match before Batista made a final comeback and hit him with a sweet Batista Bomb that he just barely got off. Batista falling backwards as he hit it made it look even nicer, regardless if he nearly botched it. Very quick match here to just put these guys on the card.
Winner: Batista
Rating: *3/4

Match 4: ECW Championship - Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Kane
Kane won a battle royal earlier in the day to score himself a shot at Chavo Guerrero's ECW Championship. Really? What a cheap way to get Chavo an opponent for the show. Like the last match, they had the brand's general manager in Armando Estrada announce the participants for the match. Guerrero looks pumped up as he awaits his opponent in Kane who comes out from under the ring to hit a Chokeslam for the win. Why did Kane have to attack him from behind? Why do they constantly have to bury ECW like this? That literally did no favors for anyone.
Winner: Kane
Rating: n/a

Match 5: Career Threatening - Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair
"My game plan? To be the man!" - Ric Flair. The buildup to this match was off the charts. Loved how Shawn Michaels gradually accepted the challenge before giving his classic Old Yeller promo. If you haven't seen that promo before or haven't seen it in a good minute, do yourselves a favor and watch it before this match! The atmosphere for this match was simply electric, from the crowd down to Jim Ross on commentary. Michaels brought out all the big moves and false finishes here as he carried Flair to the best match they could possibly have before Michaels ends Flair's career with a Sweet Chin Music. It's almost as if you knew Flair's career was coming to a close, but you just didn't want to believe it. Do people tend to overrate the match? Sure. And sure, the ending was pretty corny but it went well with the moment and this was more than a suitable finish to Flair's in-ring career with the WWE. Of course, this would definitely mean more if he never competed in TNA years later. Regardless, this remains an iconic WrestleMania moment and this wasn't even the best part of the night.
Winner: Shawn Michaels
Rating: ***1/2

Match 6: Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack - Maria & Ashley vs. Beth Phoenix & Melina
After the emotional retirement match of Ric Flair, we have Snoop Dogg leading the Divas down to the ring for a the filler of the century. The best part of the match was Santino Marella who I always thought was gold as a heel. Unfortunate part of the show struck here when the lights completely shut off during the match that I'm sure left Vince McMahon run around like a mad man in the back. Jerry Lawler knocks out Marella after Marella pulled Maria out of the ring during a pin attempt. However, Beth Phoenix still manages to finish Maria off for the win. Afterwards, Snoop Dogg comes in and clotheslines Marella before kissing Maria. The match blew but the ending scene with Snoop was pretty sweet. Time for the main events!
Winners: Beth Phoenix & Melina
Rating: 3/4*

Match 7: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H (Taken from Randy Orton - The Evolution of a Predator DVD (Disc 3) Review)

Some fantastic entrances for these guys as it is time for Raw's WrestleMania main event. Funny to see how white John Cena is compared to the tanned bodies of Randy Orton and Triple H. I remember the hype being pretty high for this match and it falling flat on its face. While I won't go as far as saying it fell flat on its face, it definitely didn't live up to its expectations. Everything just felt so rushed and I wasn't able to feel the tension between the three guys that was built so well before this. However, that's not to say I didn't enjoy the match. I could almost compare this match to the triple threat match at WrestleMania 22 for the World Heavyweight Championship. There was never really a dull moment but I never really got the chance to stop and digest everything. A rather forgettable match with a couple cool spots like Orton delivering a DDT simultaneously to Cena and Triple H off the middle rope or Cena hoisting both Orton and Triple H on his back for the FU. The finish saw Orton punt Triple H in the skull and cover Cena for the win as he escapes with the WWE Championship. Although Cena had a lot of steam coming from his return at the Royal Rumble, Orton was ultimately the right choice here. He was for sure the wild card of everything and got his big WrestleMania win.
Winner: Randy Orton
Rating: ***1/4

Match 8: No Disqualification - The Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Is this the biggest celebrity match in the history of the WWE? This very well might be. I recall the crazy amount of buzz the angle at No Way Out received through huge media outlets that included TMZ and I think even ESPN. I'm not sure if the crowd was just drained from the card or if they just didn't care much for this match, but they were certainly quiet for the first half of the match. But give credit where it is absolutely due, Floyd Mayweather Jr. certainly loves the spotlight and for good reason, he is good. He got more heat than just about anyone else on the card here. Even with the crowd not really being in to the match for the first portion of it, he still did a fantastic job of setting things up for the second half and leading us to believe that The Big Show had this in the bag. Things really picked up when Mayweather and his team decided they wanted out as they left the match and walked up the ramp, Big Show had none of it. Show ran up the ramp, ran through Mayweather's team and proceeded to drag Mayweather back to the ring. Can't believe that Mayweather allowed Show to chop him and even step on him like that. Kudos to him for that. However, Mayweather manged to bring Show down to his knees with a steel chair before grabbing a pair of brass knuckles and knocking out Show with one gruesome punch to his jaw. Wow. That surely exceeded anyone's expectations. Great stuff from top to bottom with Mayweather cementing himself as an overall star. Good to see Big Show get his WrestleMania moment on a huge spot on the card.
Winner: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Rating: ***1/2

Match 9: World Heavyweight Championship - Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker
How cool was it to have the SmackDown main event close out the show? The last time that had happened before this? That would be WrestleMania XIX in 2003. Plus, Edge more than earned his spot in the main event and more than earned his spot at WrestleMania against The Undertaker. Oh, and last time The Undertaker closed out a WrestleMania before this? WrestleMania 13 in 1997. Couple more fun facts, this was the only WrestleMania that Edge would close out and also one of Edge's last WrestleManias as he would retire only three years later. Who would have thought that Edge's career was on its last legs at this moment? I got chills watching Edge come down to the ring as The Undertaker looked on. The years of hard work had finally rewarded him with the ultimate spot in the business. And what a match it was. I love how Edge did not look afraid of neither The Undertaker nor the spotlight, he stood in there and hung with the best. Loved the false finishes and loved seeing The Deadman Chokeslam the Edgeheads on top of each other. Edge hit a Spear on Undertaker that wasn't enough to finish him off, he tried hitting another one but got caught up in The Phenom's Hell's Gate finisher. Edge taps! Awesome match and an awesome finish! The Undertaker continues to reinvent himself as he more than establishes his new submission finisher to close out the night. The sight of The Undertaker hoisting the World Heavyweight Championship as the pyro sets off was the perfect ending to the night.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ****1/2

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
The 2008 edition of WrestleMania delivered on so many different levels. The special attraction match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. was spectacular, Ric Flair's historic last match in the WWE was as emotional as it can get, Randy Orton retaining his gold cemented him as a star, CM Punk winning an awesome Money in the Bank match and lastly, the main event closing out the night on an incredible note. I think this is one WrestleMania that we will look back at in years to come and remember how great it was.
Rating: 9/10

WWE No Way Out 2008 Review

As WrestleMania returns to Orlando here in 2017, let's take a step back to 2008 where WrestleMania made its first appearance to the beautiful city. However, the road to WrestleMania XXIV took a screeching halt in Las Vegas for No Way Out. Two Elimination Chamber matches that put the main events of WrestleMania in a whirlwind.

Match 1: ECW Championship - Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. CM Punk
I can easily recall watching these guys wrestle each other every week on ECW. Despite all the hate, I personally thought that they had some good matches and moments like CM Punk bashing Chavo Guerrero over the head with a guitar or Punk tossing Chavo into the Gulf of Mexico. Punk gets another shot at the gold here in the opening match. Only problem with this match was that it was basically a carbon copy of the other 50 matches they had already. Could there just not have been an added stipulation to this? Crowd tried to get into it since it was the opener but to no real avail. Chavo hits his Frog Splash to secure the win in a fairly short match.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero
Rating: **1/4

Match 2: Elimination Chamber - MVP vs. Big Daddy V vs. The Great Khali vs. Finlay vs. Batista vs. The Undertaker
I can clearly remember people groaning over this when the participants were made for this. Just makes you realize to never come to a full assessment of something before it actually happens because they blew all expectations out of the water. They started the match off with the two big stars in Batista and The Undertaker as both Big Daddy V and The Great Khali were unloaded next. However, Big Daddy V and Khali were both quickly eliminated as the final four came down to best four guys in the match. I like how they had both Big Daddy V and Khali in the match to create some sort of ambiance to differ from the Raw Elimination Chamber and I like how their eliminations came fast. Allows us to really place our emphasis on the guys who could really kick this match up a notch. One thing I will also say about this match, the eliminations were perfect. The Undertaker hitting a Chokeslam to MVP off the top of the pod and delivering another one to Finlay on the steel grate made me cringe. Finally, Undertaker delivering a Tombstone to Batista after flipping it from the outside into the ring was a great ending. Fantastic Chamber match to set up Undertaker's match against Edge at WrestleMania. While it started a bit slow in the beginning, it definitely picked up and quickly became an intense match that had me on the edge. No pun intended.
Winner: The Undertaker
Rating: ****1/2

Match 3: Career Threatening - Mr. Kennedy vs. Ric Flair
After watching an interview weeks ago with Mr. Kennedy, he mentioned how he was in a good spot on SmackDown before being fed to the sharks as he was later drafted to Monday Night Raw. This was different from Ric Flair's match against MVP at Royal Rumble. MVP looked more dominant and had a spot during the match where he thought he had won so the finish did not make MVP look too weak in spite of the loss. Here, Kennedy got in some offense but Flair ultimately came back and locked in a Figure Four fairly quickly to win the match. Could we have not gotten a finish that would see Flair win by a low blow or an eye rake? Did Flair really have to win so cleanly and easily like that?
Winner: Ric Flair
Rating: *3/4

Match 4: World Heavyweight Championship - Edge (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
One of 2008's more underrated feuds came in the start of the year between Edge and Rey Mysterio. It truly planted the seeds for Edge's incredible run on SmackDown for the rest of the year and it certainly does not get the respect it deserves. After a great showing at the Royal Rumble PPV, they have their return match here. Unfortunately, Mysterio was nursing an injury and it limited him in this match. Edge quickly won the match by hitting a Spear as Mysterio was coming down from the top rope. They really did the best they could with Mysterio's injury and it came off pretty damn good considering the circumstances. It really is a testament to the chemistry these two veterans have with each other. Afterwards, The Big Show makes his return and begins toying with Mysterio before touting that he will be a champion once again. Mysterio's friend in Floyd Mayweather comes to his rescue as he stares down Show! Finally, Show gets on his knee and takes punches to his face. Blood starts pouring down Show's face as Mayweather and his crew booked it out. Still got chills watching Mayweather land those nasty shots to Big Show's face. What a spectacle that segment was. Sure, it took away pretty much everything around the match but since Mysterio wasn't going anywhere with his injury, it was a nice way for Show to insert himself back as a heel. The sight of Big Show trampling Mayweather's team was something else and it felt as genuine and authentic as it could. Perfect way for them to set up their money match at WrestleMania.
Winner: Edge
Rating: **

Match 5: WWE Championship - Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
As much as I really dislike watching these guys wrestle against each other since we've seen it over a billion times, I really think the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania XXIV should have just been between these two. But that's just my opinion, feel free to disagree. Fortunately here, a match between these two was still relatively fresh and the crowd was very much into the action. Randy Orton does a good job of focusing on John Cena's pectoral injury before Cena finally makes his comeback. However, Orton smacks the referee in his face and intentionally disqualifies himself. Didn't see that coming. Cena then beats the hell out of Orton afterwards. Maybe it's simply because I've seen these two wrestle against each other so many times but I just can't go over *** for this. It was good for what it was and the crowd was electric, it also helped set up the main event for WrestleMania. It accomplished its main goal and that's really all you expect from this match.
Winner: John Cena
Rating: ***

Match 6: Elimination Chamber - Triple H vs. Umaga vs. JBL vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels
This may be one of the most stacked Elimination Chambers of all time. Good call to have Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels start the match, set the pace early on with Umaga coming in afterwards to wreck havoc. As brutal as the first Chamber match was, they really did bring out all the stops for this one. The eliminations were nicely done and all made sense. Loved how Jericho eliminated his rival in JBL before JBL came back into the ring and smashed everyone's brains in with a steel chair. And don't forget about Umaga running through Jericho and breaking a pod in the process. The crowd was eating this up. Jeff Hardy, who entered in last, eliminated Umaga with a sweet Swanton Bomb off one of the pods. Michaels was eventually eliminated by Triple H and it came down to Hardy and The Game. They had an incredible exchange to close out the match with Hardy desperately doing everything in his power to win, that includes a low blow. However, Triple H countered a Twist of Fate onto a steel chair and drilled Hardy with a Pedigree for the win. In a perfect world, Hardy wins this match and wins the championship at WrestleMania since he was white hot. Or plan b, have Hardy win the Money in the Bank match and cash in the same night. Of course, that's barring his suspension and again, that's in a perfect world. Regardless, Triple H was also hot during this time and a spot in the main event at WrestleMania wasn't a bad choice. Incredible match with a heart-racing finish. Besides, Hardy would eventually get his moment later in the year.
Winner: Triple H
Rating: ****3/4

Overall Show Thoughts and Rating:
Add in the segment with Floyd Mayweather punching The Big Show's nose in along with two incredible Elimination Chamber matches, this PPV more than delivered. Sure, the other matches themselves did not necessarily set the world on fire, but the story development heading into WrestleMania was absolutely fantastic. In the end, that really is the whole point of this PPV. WrestleMania XXIV really started to look good after this.
Rating: 8/10