My WrestleMania Experience

This past weekend, I had the pleasure and honor to be at WrestleMania 32 at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas. I am a lifelong fan of wrestling, WrestleMania has always been a special event that I treat like an unofficial holiday. WrestleMania is the Super Bowl of Wrestling, because it transcends pop culture. People that don't even watch wrestling or know anything else about wrestling know about WrestleMania. I became a fan shortly after the Golden Era phased out, and as the New Generation made its rise. My introduction to wrestling came through Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. The Attitude Era of Austin, Rock, etc is what cemented me as a fan even more because of how great the product was and the impact it made on the industry in the future. Those wrestlers were my foundation as a fan. Even as they have come and gone, I continued to support the product as my Dream was to always go to WrestleMania. I am also a Dallas Cowboys fan, so that was only the icing and cherry on top of my cake. Thankfully, I got both monkeys off of my back.

The Atmosphere in Dallas was spectacular, with so much to see and so much to do in a short amount of time. The Convention Center was filled with fans from all different circles. You had fans from nearby Dallas and other parts of Texas. You had fans like myself flying from Washington, DC, as well as other parts of the country. Of course, there were the International fans. This mixture of people coming together in one place, the Palace of Dallas (AT&T Stadium) to be a part of potential history. That weekend, I wore my Undertaker and Shawn Michaels T-shirts to represent the greatest stars in WrestleMania history. Plus, they are from Texas so it was only right. I also came with my Intercontinental Title. When you are at Mania, you have to do things big especially in Dallas. I came with my A+ Game. The only issue I had the day of Mania was the extremely long line to get into the building. It all paid off in the end. I was in the Standing Room Only Section in the West Plaza of the Stadium (Party Pass), so I had a great view. The Screen was right in front of me as I walked inside. My section was filled with people standing together, but I still had a nice view. It was on the same level as the Cowboys Pro Shop and WWE Shop at the Entrance. No bad seats anywhere.

However, things were starting to look bleak going into WrestleMania or as I like to call it Hospital Mania. WWE took a huge bite from the Injury bug as their most valuable names were out for the biggest show of the year: John Cena, Randy Orton, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, Sting, Daniel Bryan, etc. Dream matches were thrown out of the window, and WWE was desperate to make the most out of the mess that they helped to create. As a result, WWE produced a card that involved lower level players in mixed matches. For example, Zack Ryder and Sin Cara were put in a 7-man Ladder match for the IC Title with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Stardust and The Miz. The Divas Pre-Show match was a 5-on-5 that featured the debuts of Lana and Eva Marie. All for the sake of giving everybody a Mania payday.

One of the other big issues for me was when The Dudley Boyz and the USO's were on the Pre-Show. I know New Day is the hot new flavor, but the USO's were reduced to a spot beneath the main card. I guess Roman must be the main Samoan they want to focus on. Apparently their cousin Dwayne (The Rock) did not push for them to be on the main card. I'm not sure if this is Vince's way of punishing the Dudleyz for being in TNA for so long. Either way, they made the most of this match.

WWE also had to improvise by placing Dean Ambrose in a match with Brock Lesnar. The biggest surprise was when Shane McMahon not only made his return, but he was placed in a match with The Undertaker. The storyline about Shane possibly taking over RAW if he won was the loophole that they needed to use to make up for Taker not having a match with Cena or Sting. Overall, Shane was far from my ideal opponent for Taker. Triple H vs Roman Reigns was another alternative since Roman did not have a Seth Rollins or John Cena to depend on for the ideal match. If the roster was healthy, the card would look totally different.

As far as the show itself, it was a spectacle in spite of the card. Surpisingly, Zack Ryder won the IC Title. I stood in disbelief wearing my Belt along with many other fans in the building. Other surprises included Chris Jericho's win over AJ Styles in a very good match (arguably their best). I was not upset about it. Charlotte defeated Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch in the Triple Threat Match for the newly revealed Women's Title. I picked Sasha, but it was still a great match especially with Sasha paying tribute to Eddie Guerrero in her own way. She was also accompanied to the ring by her cousin, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg (I know. I want to laugh too).

The League of Failed Nations defeated the New Day. Big E, Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston dressed like the Ginyu Force from Dragon Ball Z. It is very appropriate because they are the wrestling equivalent of that group. After the match, the League of Nations issued an open challenge. Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it. They got a huge surprise with Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Texas sized surprises as they cleaned house and proceeded to dance with New Day before Austin gave Xavier Woods the Stone Cold Stunner.

Brock Lesnar defeated Dean Ambrose in their Hardcore Match. Whenever Dean reached for the toys that Mick Foley and Terry Funk gave him, Brock would stop him every time. Lesnar turned Dallas into Suplex City.

Shane vs Undertaker went without interference. Taker slowed the match down to his pace, since he was already moving slow to begin with. Shane got his share of offense in, but still was not lighting the match on fire. Taker gave him The Last Ride, Hell's Gate and a Chokeslam, but Shane did not give up. The highlight of the match was when Shane jumped off of the Cell for his Elbow Drop, but Undertaker quickly moved out of the way as McMahon crashed through the announce table like Mankind. Undertaker closed the match by picking up Shane and rolling him back into the ring for the Tombstone Piledriver for the victory. There was no surprise interference involved on Shane's behalf from John Cena, Sting, or even the Balor Club. It was a straight up match with Undertaker having the obvious advantage. As I have said before, the fans that picked Shane to win, congratulations the April Fools Joke is on you. The fans that screamed Shane O'Mac became silent. It was music to my ears.

Shaquille O'Neal made a surprise appearance in the Battle Royal. Baron Corbin won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

The Rock made the announcement that WrestleMania 32 broke the Attendance Record with 101,763. He was introduced with the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. The Wyatt Family interrupted The People's Champ. The Great One turned this into a match and his surprise partner was John Cena himself. Rock and Cena destroyed the Wyatt Family.

Finally, Roman Reigns challenged Triple H in the Main Event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Stephanie's introduction of The Game reminded me of the first Ghostbusters movie. The match was decent. The highlight of the match came when Roman accidentally speared Stephanie. Triple H went for the sledgehammer, but Reigns countered with a Spear to win the title. Hopefully, this sets things in motion to end the Authority storyline and clean up the giant mess that it has created.

The match card was not the best, but it was a dream that I wanted to realize at my favorite Stadium. No matter what things looked like, my goal was to go to WrestleMania in Dallas. Mission Accomplished.

I give the show 3 out of 5 John Cena WWE Title Reigns.

Cowboys Stadium: 5 out of 5 WWF Winged Eagle Title Reigns.

Stone Cold/Paul Heyman Podcast Review

After some time away from the Network, it has returned. As the Rock would say, "FINALLY, the Stone Cold Podcast has come back to the WWE Network!". Back by very popular demand, Stone Cold has made his long awaited comeback to the Network in the midst of rumors about a falling out between himself and WWE. Fans had grown tired of Chris Jericho's bubblegum interview style, and aired their frustration on every Internet outlet available. The John Cena interview was fine, but the Stephanie McMahon interview left a sour taste in everyone's mouth. Many of us left scratching our heads wanting so much more.

When it was confirmed on the Internet that Austin was returning, everyone celebrated all over Social Media. Stone Cold has become the King of Podcast Interviews, and there is never a time where you feel disappointed or let down. Even with the Vince McMahon interview, fans were still satisfied. Even though Steve slightly tones things down on the Network, his content still has substance. When the news broke that his first guest was Paul Heyman, I automatically knew that it would be special. It feels great to see that they delivered on the hype. Paul Heyman's Dusty Rhodes impression was priceless and spot on. I have heard some great impressions, but he has to have the best when it comes to The American Dream.

Austin and Heyman go through a variety of entertaining and hardcore topics that left fans eager to listen.

Highlights:

Eye for Talent: As everyone knows, Paul Heyman has a keen eye for finding talent and making them grow. His track record speaks for itself, as Austin was his first example. Heyman and Austin discuss how they first met each other in the wrestling business. Paul talks about how he saw potential in Steve when he was in WCW as "Stunning" Steve Austin. Right away, Heyman saw that Austin would be the future of the business and a major star. He was impressed by how Steve hit the ropes with such intensity. This is what led to Paul bringing Steve into the Dangerous Alliance. Austin gives Heyman credit for building his confidence, as that stable was made to elevate him. Rude, Zbysko, Bobby Eaton and Arn Anderson were more experienced. Steve would use that as a platform for future success. There was resistance from the higher ups in WCW to have Austin join the group, but Paul fought for him and convinced management that he would be "the next big thing". He was right, as Austin would become one of the greatest stars that the wrestling industry has ever produced. One could make the case that Steve Austin was the greatest Paul Heyman guy ever produced.

Status of Brock Lesnar: Austin transitioned into the topic of Brock Lesnar. He wanted to know if Lesnar really wanted to stay and how serious the option of UFC was. Heyman says that Brock opened up a mini training camp in January to prepare to go back to UFC if his WWE deal did not work out. Paul says that Brock was torn because of how much he enjoyed his recent WWE run by breaking Undertaker's WrestleMania Streak and dominating John Cena to win the WWE Championship. This recent run was truly filled with its fair share of highlights, and could be argued with his previous tenure. Neither was very long, but they had their fair share of huge matches and moments. When Austin asks the IWC's favorite question of Lesnar loving the business, Heyman says that Brock does love the business. However, Brock does love his children more. He talks about how special it is whenever Brock makes an appearance. Heyman says that his relationship with Lesnar is special, and how things don't work very well when he is put together with other guys. His chemistry with CM Punk worked, because of their relationship away from WWE Programming.

Update on CM Punk: Austin asks Heyman about CM Punk. Paul says that he still communicates with Punk, but with more texting than talking. He explains that their relationship is "not based on the business". That relationship with Heyman gives the best form of access into Punk's thoughts. He proved that in this interview when talking about Punk's new career in the UFC. Heyman says that Punk is mentally prepared to face the possibility of being knocked out when he steps inside of the Octagon. Punk's goal is to shock the world, and he is not afraid to lose.

The Art of Selling: Stone Cold brings up the fine art of selling, as he brings up Jake Roberts DDT finisher as an example. Austin brings up his problem with the way that a move like that has become relegated to a standard move today. He says that guys have to sell more today. Heyman responded by saying that if Mark Henry's finisher was booked as a headlock, no one would be allowed to use it if he made someone tap out with it. If Mark did that same move 30 weeks in a row, he would be dominant enough to win the World Title with it. "Moves will get over as long as people put the move over, get the move over, the announcers react to the move as if it's something devastating, unusual, and big, and everyone on the roster is cognizant of it." The talent and others around them have to get the move over.

The Art of Promos: Here is an avenue that Austin and Heyman are Masters in, as they have graduated from the School of Promos with Bachelors and Masters. With that said, they are the right Authorities in knowing how to deliver the right promos. Stone Cold talks about how RAW was pretty good as it had some nice promos. However, he talks about how something was missing. Heyman brings up a story about Dusty Rhodes teaching him that a promo can be great and all, but "where's the money?". Paul gives the best Dusty impression that I have heard in a long time. Dusty was telling him that a promo can be great and all, but if you aren't selling something, your promo doesn't work. Heyman brought up that sometimes you can sell a personality-like Brock Lesnar-and the way he says his name as the conqueror of the streak and all that-but when you sell the main event of WrestleMania, that changes everything. You have to not only sell the personality, but you also have to sell the Main Event to draw greater interest in the story. Austin talks about the content, delivery, intensity, passion, and other elements that would be the key to great promos. He said that he liked Ultimate Warrior's promos because even though they were insane, he was furthering the growth of his character.

Influence on Talent: Austin asked how influential Heyman is today when he works with younger talent. Heyman says that he works with anyone who comes to him and asks for any advice or help. He says that pontificating is the issue with promos today. People get in and start talking about being upset about what happened last week and get long winded. Meanwhile, Heyman likes to reintroduce himself every week to make things fresher.

Vince McMahon, Sr: Heyman talks about getting in way back in the day with Vince McMahon, Sr. He tells a story about making his first $50 in the business by taking a photo of Vince, Sr. Heyman says that Howard Finkel suggested that he send his pictures to WWWF so that they could use them for programs. Everytime that he got paid, Vince, Sr. would not pay him directly. Instead, he would give the money to other people so that they could give it to Paul. Heyman speaks very highly of Vincent J, McMahon and how much he has shaped him into who he is today. Paul says that he is not so sure if Vince Sr would have done the same kind of business for the WWWF that Vince Jr has done for WWF/E. He also shares some funny stories about Capt. Lou Albano and Vince McMahon, Jr. I had no idea that Capt. Lou despised VKM.

Vince McMahon, Jr.: Paul talks about how his relationship with Vincent K. McMahon is better than ever before, because he doesn't have to talk to him as much and isn't constantly telling him how to save the wrestling business anymore. Heyman says that "Fatherhood has mellowed me out". He talked about being really strung up back in the day, saying that he has never done a line of cocaine in his life. Austin hilariously replied with "come on".

Smackdown Head Writer: Heyman said that he would fight to the death for shows that he was the head writer on. His run as Smackdown's head writer was brought up. Then, Austin brings up the "Infamous Plane Ride" from 2006 as Heyman told the story about how that was his time to leave. Paul was burned out as he and Vince got angry at each other and it came to a head.

Showdown with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32: This was the hottest topic of the entire interview and the biggest talking point that everyone can walk away with. Heyman and Austin set up the idea of a match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 32, as Paul said he would make it happen while Stone Cold cut a promo on him. Austin went from Podcast host to full fledge Stone Cold Mode in the blink of an eye. Stone Cold said that it would have to be a "Texas Death Match" that would headline the show. He threatened Heyman saying that Brock was not there to save him. As Vegeta would say, Austin's power level was "Over 9,000!!". Stone Cold's face turned red when Lesnar's name came up for a match. I know Vince McMahon's ears started ringing when he heard that idea. I am sure that he saw dollar signs as well, because VKM is willing to pull out all of the stops to make this the biggest WrestleMania we have ever seen, because he wants to break his WrestleMania III Record of 93,000+ at Pontiac Silverdome. WM 32 will be at AT&T Stadium in Dallas (Home of the Cowboys), and Austin will be one of the keys for that to happen, along with Undertaker.

Conclusion: Overall, I was very thrilled about this interview, as it was fun and very substantial from start to finish. No punches were held back at all, and Stone Cold has great chemistry with Paul Heyman. They know how to bounce off of each other very well, given their history. It is what I typically expected from the start, as it was filled with great storytelling. I give this Interview 5 Smoking Skull Belts out of 5, and that's the Bottom Line, because I said so.