Gimmick Some (Wrestlemania) Lovin': Spring BROKEN Edition

Before the compound and the dilapidated boat came Extreme Rules.

I'm not sure why this, and the missed leg drop, aren't included in the numerous Wrestlemania Moments montages we see each year.

My Rating

Typically, I refuse to look at other reviewers' takes on the matches I cover before watching or writing my own thoughts. I never want someone else's opinions to shape my own, but, for this contest, I accidentally say Big Dave's rating during my research stage.

Perhaps his middling review set my expectations too low, or perhaps Dave doesn't know how to have fun, but this match was exponentially more fun than I could have imagined. Those ridiculous high spots, from the stair-assisted Poetry in Motion and the Chair Shot in the Wind, to the table monstrosity, to that wild ending sequence, this match builds and builds, continually dropping this jaded 32 year-old fan's jaw with spots both inventive and familiar.

Cody has no chance against John Cena? Details HERE

It happens at least half the time a trash can becomes part of a hardcore match, but that doesn't make it any less fun.

Sure, some of those spots are silly, and I'll never be able to justify Jeff's decision to put himself through a table in kayfabe, but they are what Wrestlemania needs to be: pure, over-the-top spectacle for the sake of spectacle. The internal logic running through all this is that every attack and every risk is justified by the animosity the Hardyz feel for each other (again, the table spot excepted; both in wrestling and in life, that seemed to damage Jeff as much as, or more than, Matt); Matt's motivated by his bitterness, Jeff by the loss of his dog, his home, and, nearly, his life.

Out of context, it looks like a reversal, not offense. — Out of context, it looks like a reversal, not

If there's a nit to be picked, it's the commentary, which doesn't let the in-ring action speak the volumes it could and instead keeps rehashing the same thing that promo vignettes had shown for weeks. We know that Matt killed Jeff's dog, and that Jeff nearly got killed by his own pyro; we also just saw Jeff hit Matt with a crutch while Matt wore a trash can, and we want to talk about that, please.

Compared to the intimate arena feel of Wrestlemania 22, it's great to watch another stadium Mania again; one of my favourite aspects of pre-smartphone Wrestlemanias is the storm of flashbulbs that accompany huge spots, and this one has plenty. It's one of those visuals that makes good matches great.

I waited nine years to finally make a point of watching this contest, and I urge you, if you're in the same boat, stop reading this article and fix that right now. It's not the classic Shawn and Taker would deliver later in the night, but it's an eye-popping and extremely fun 14 minutes.

I'll go 9/10 for this one.