WWE WrestleMania XXIV (2008)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This was a superb show with some great matches, a real WrestleMania atmosphere, and plenty of surprises as well.Belfast Brawl: JBL vs. Finlay - This was an okay match. It was pretty much everything you'd expect from these guys. JBL wins with a Clothesline from Hell. RATING: **2/3Money In The Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. Carlito vs. John Morrison vs. Mr. Kennedy - This is probably the second best MITB match after the original, in my opinion. The spots are as fun and exciting as ever, with the highlight being John Morrison's Moonsault. CM Punk wins the briefcase. RATING: ****Battle for Brand Supremacy Match: Batista (Smackdown) vs. Umaga (Raw) - Another boring big man match. Yawn. Batista wins. RATING: *3/4ECW Championship Match: Chavo Guerrero (c) vs. Kane - An 8 minute squash match with Kane winning the Championship. RATING: N/ACareer Threatening Match: Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels - This is an excellent match, but I do find it overrated. This was a great technical match with plenty of emotion, but I don't think it was the match of the year or even match of the night. It's mostly about the occasion. Shawn Michaels puts Flair away with a Superkick, ending one of the greatest wrestling careers of all time. RATING: ****Triple Threat Match for the WWE Championship: Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena vs. Triple H - It didn't go quite as long as some would have liked, but this was still a very good match. They pretty much kept the action going the entire time and the double cross-body was memorable. The ending was also a surprise at the time. Randy Orton retains his Championship. RATING: ***3/4No Disqualification Match: The Big Show vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. - The entertainment spectacle of the night, fun to watch while it lasted. Floyd Mayweather wins. RATING: ***World Heavyweight Championship Match: Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker - In my opinion, this was the match of the night and the best WM main event since the WM 20 triple threat. Edge really proved to be a true main eventer in a clinic against the Undertaker where he pushed the dead man to his limits. One of both men's best for sure. The Undertaker wins the Championship and keeps his streak intact with the Hell's Gate. RATING: ****1/2This is on par with WM 21. One of the better Wrestlemanias for sure and a great show overall that wrestling fans must see.RATING: A-

Overall, this is a pretty standard and quite respectable Wrestlemania DVD package. However, I have a warning to any WWE fans who are contemplating springing for the rather expensive deluxe 3-disc collector's edition of Wrestlemania 24. One of the reasons I purchased the 3-disc edition was to own the unforgettable 2008 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony. Be forewarned though that the ceremony is truncated. In the original broadcast of the Hall of Fame Ceremony, before presenting any awards, the Rock made all kinds of clever and light-hearted comments. These included self-deprecating remarks about his own involvement in the "Doom" box office debacle, sarcastic words about Santino Marella and a jab at John Cena and his work in the WWE film "The Marine". Sadly, this lively and entertaining banter has all been removed from the DVD version of the Hall of Fame ceremony. The most disturbing part is that this was obviously a conscious decision by the WWE to save money. I felt robbed, since it was one of the main reasons I bought the collection. I am sure that other WWE fans will clearly feel the same. If they don't, they should. This is unfortunately, a reminder of all that is wrong about the WWE today.

WWE pulled out all the stops, to make this Wrestlemania memorable and they certainly did that in more ways then 1, some of which where beyond the company's control. For instance as viewers may have been aware after The Undertaker vs Edge match as Taker was celebrating his win, the fireworks shot into the crowd and injured about 40 people.The Batista vs Umaga match was disappointing, and as Big Dave had a match with The Undertaker last year and in my opinion his match last year was the best match of 2007, it reminded me that Batista can have a dire match with even the best of workers, in this case Umaga. Listen when Umaga makes his way down the ramp for his match, William Regal announces him as "You - Manga", no surprise there.By putting the Edge vs Undertaker match on last WWE did the right business decision, because if WWE had put HHH vs Randy Orton vs John Cena match on last I would be suffering from HHH overkill.As usual the Money in the Bank Ladder Match was very good but was let down by a couple of botched moves, The Big Show vs Floyd Mayweather match was very good and exceeded my expectations, however this writer is baffled on why the WWE would pay Mayweather $2 million for one worked match, when Edge, The Undertaker, Randy Orton and John Cena wouldn't even earn that in 1 year, disregarding royalty bonuses of course.Results from the show before a crowd of 70,000 in Orlando, Florida at the Citrus Bowl are as follows: JBL downed Finlay in a decent Belfast Brawl.... CM Punk beat John Morrison, Montel Vontavious Porter, Chris Jericho, Carlito, Shelton Benjamin and Mr Kennedy in a thrilling Money in the Bank Ladder Match.... Floyd 'Money' Mayweather defeated The Big Show in a good no DQ brawl.... Shawn Michaels pinned Ric Flair in an emotional career ending match.... Kane downed Chavo Guerrero to win the ECW title in about 10 seconds.... Randy Orton downed Triple H and John Cena to retain the WWE title in a good match.... Beth Pheonix and Melina downed Ashley and Maria (the lights failed in this match, but not that anyone was complaining and afterwards Snoop Dogg close lined Santino Marella and then gave Maria a giant snog, lucky him).... Batista defeated Umaga in a mediocre match.... The Undertaker beat Edge to win the World Heavyweight Championship in a superb worthy main event.I attended a Raw House Show in Liverpool, England on the 11th April and this was called The Wrestlemania Revenge Tour, if you want the results for these please e-mail me at [email protected] Overall Grade - A

This Wrestlemania was a great Wrestle Mania. Not a contender for the greatest Wrestle Mania of all time however, but a great Wrestle Mania. There was no match I felt that will be talked about in 20 years time, e.g Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin, which is why it won't go down as one of the greatest Wrestle Mania's of all time in my opinion. There were however some superb 'Match of the Year' contenders. Also, that kind of atmosphere hasn't been seen since Summer Slam 1992.1) Fit Fnlay vs JBL (Belfast Brawl)A good enough opening for a Wrestle Mania. JBL (who is in terrible shape by the way) did his whole moody heartless routine whilst Finlay carried on the role of the babyface. Hornswoggle was a welcome addition at ringside. A rushed feud, but a decent match: C-2) Money In The Bank Ladder MatchShelton Benjamin decided to steal the show for the 3rd time in a Money In The Bank Ladder Match at Wrestle Mania. The spot from the top of the ladder to the ladder outside of the ring was breathtaking. Matt Hardy made a great cameo appearance taking out MVP. We had a Code Breaker using a ladder, a Back Cracker from the top of the ladder & a moonsault from John Morrison whilst he was holding a ladder. As far as in-ring action goes, this match stole the show: B+3) Batista vs UmagaAn average 'RAW' quality match. Batista is starting to see signs that the crowd are getting bored of him. He got a lot of boos in this match. Neither man really did anything to make the viewers remember this match... Very average: D-4) Chavo Guerrero vs KaneLOL! The shortest match in Wrestle Mania history. This match reminded everybody not to assume that they know what is going to happen next & it was nice to see the WWE give Kane his moment at Wrestle Mania even though it was a very short moment. For the element of surprise alone because there was no in-ring action: C+5) Ric Flair vs Shawn MichaelsThe only thing that these two men had to do was not wrestle like retards because this match was always going to be remembered fondly. This match was all about the wrestling world saying goodbye to the greatest heel in wrestling history. He may have wrestled for 10 years too long, but who could deny that they were choked up by this classic Wrestle Mania moment? A quick note must also be made about a sickening spot involving HBK moonsaulting from the middle rope onto the edge of the announcer's table. I can only assume that the spot was botched because it looked like one of the most painful spots in Wrestle Mania history & HBK looked genuinely in pain. The match was actually a good catch-as-catch-can wrestling match. For in-ring action: C+ / For the occasion: A*6) Randy Orton vs John Cena vs Triple HThe biggest upset since John Cena's victory over Triple H at Wrestle Mania XXII & Triple H's victory at Wrestle Mania 2000. For the doubters who continue to deny 'The Age Of Orton', this was his defining career moment. Much like HHH's victories over Mic Foley in 2000 cemented Triple H's place as the no.1 man in the business, this victory finally establishes Randy Orton as the top man in the industry (rivalled only by Edge). A decent, but short match. As good as it was expected to be: C+ moved up to a B- because of the surprise ending7) Playboy Bunny MatchA match that was put there to calm people down in between main events. Your usual half naked women trying to wrestle with the exception of Beth Pheonix who actually can. Also, a cameo appearance from Snoop Dogg who delivered a surprisingly well executed clothesline to a hilarious Santino Marella: E8) Big Show vs Floyd MayweatherA match that could've potentially been the biggest flop since Hogan vs Warrior Part #2. However, this match lived up to all of the hype. Mayweather should take plaudits for giving a very credible performance and achieving levels of in-ring storytelling that many WWE superstars fail to achieve. The interference by Mayweather's posse added extra scandal to the match and the finish was great to watch. Both characters came off looking credible as did the WWE in general. For the in-ring action: C+ For the storyline entertainment: B+9) Edge vs UndertakerThe best Wrestle Mania 'WRESTLING' match since Angle vs Michaels. Edge reminded everybody that he's one of the best in the business & not just a transitional champion. He was actually more dominant over The Undertaker than anybody else has ever been at a Wrestle Mania. Edge reversed almost every Undertaker move and what made the match even more interesting was the less predictable finish which saw The Dead Man win via submission instead of The Tombstone that EVERYBODY was expecting him to win by: B+Overall a great Wrestle Mania. The matches were of a Wrestle Mania standard, the atmosphere was AMAZING and the segments & celebrity involvement really made it feel like a Wrestle Mania. A great improvement on last year's disappointing Wrestle Mania XXIII: B+