TheBoySaunders.com

It seems incredible that it’s now been over five years since I visited Chicago to attend Wrestlemania 22. With the Wrestlemania 27 festivities completed, I thought it would be amusing to re-visit my memories of the event and examine what became of the participants.

WrestleMania 22 - Chicago, IL - AllState Arena - April 2, 2006 (14,300; 13,600 paid; announced at 17,159; sell out)
The AllState Arena is a pretty impressive venue, stuck out on an industrial site an hour’s train journey away from the centre of town where we were staying. We had to queue for a good while to get in, but there was enough to keep us interested people-watching other fans who had come in fancy dress. This was in the days before the WWE really aimed its product at the younger market, so the majority of fans were men in their twenties – a good, laidback crowd with lots of banter.

(1) Viscera won an 18-man interpromotional battle royal at 9:03
Our seats were pretty high up, so we didn’t have a great view of all the action, especially when the big screens missed an important detail. This just seemed like a mass of bodies that were gradually whittled away until only the big bulk of Viscera was left. As a pre-PPV dark match, this was mostly aimed at getting as many people on the card as possible. The Chicago crown went crazy for Road Warrior Animal, a native of the area who was making a brief comeback at the time, and were deflated by his elimination. I was quite pleased to see Viscera win, as I had fond memories of his run as Mabel from Men on a Mission when I first started watching wrestling back in 1994.

Viscera went on to wrestle as Big Daddy V in the re-formed ECW and had quite a dominating run, until he was released about a year later due to concerns over his weight. He still makes occasional wrestling appearances in independent promotions, but is largely retired.

My rating (out of *****): *1/2

(2) WWE Raw Tag Team Champions Kane & the Big Show defeated Carlito Caribbean Cool & Chris Masters at 6:43
This seemed like a strange match to start the PPV proper with, as all participants that weren’t called Carlito were quite immobile. This wasn’t much of a match and Big Show and Kane won quite handily. The seeds were sown here for a feud between Masters and Carlito, which never really went anywhere. Kane and the Big Show lost the tag titles the next night on Raw to The Spirit Squad, another event I attended.

Kane and the Big Show are both still a part of the WWE roster and tagged together at Wrestlemania 27 last Sunday night. Carlito hovered around the mid-card for the next few years, never really fulfilling his potential or achieving much of note. He was eventually released at his own request a couple of years ago and is mostly wrestling for his father’s promotion in Puerto Rico . Chris Masters was released from his contract soon after the Benoit murders, mostly due to his obviously-chemically enhanced physique. After a couple of years wrestling in Japan, a much smaller Masters re-appeared on WWE programming 18-months or so ago, and is currently wrestling on the Smackdown undercard.

My rating: **

(3) Rob Van Dam defeated Matt Hardy, Finlay, Bobby Lashley, Ric Flair, and WWE IC Champion Shelton Benjamin in a Money in the Bank ladder match at 12:22
This was the match I was most looking forward to, as it was guaranteed to be a spectacular affair. It was also my first ever chance to see a bona-fide legend wrestle, in Ric Flair. RVD won the match and went on to take John Cena’s Championship at the One Night Stand PPV that re-launched ECW a few months later. Although the match was disappointingly short it did feature some big bumps and high-spots, notably from Shelton Benjamin and RVD. Unfortunately the camera missed Benjamin’s most impressive moment, leaping from the ropes to the top of the ladder. I can testify that it was far more impressive live than when I watched the replays.

RVD’s World Championship run was sadly cut short when he was arrested for being in possession of a shed-load of marijuana. His previous appearances on the cover of High Times magazine should have lessened the shock of that particular escapade. Losing the title and the subsequent three month suspension obviously embittered Van Dam as he was gone from the company about a year later. After an extended hiatus from the business he now wrestles in TNA, where he recently won their World Championship.

Matt Hardy lingered on for a few years after this, accomplishing a whole lot of nothing and whinging constantly about not being a main-eventer. He eventually fled to TNA to join his drugged-up brother Jeff late last year. Finlay was still employed by the WWE, albeit in a backstage role as a trainer, until last week when he was quietly released. Bobby Lashley fell out with the company and retired from wrestling - after a brief run in TNA he is now trying to re-launch his career as an MMA fighter. After getting destroyed in his first match and receiving a hesitant points victory over a much smaller opponent in his second match, it remains to be seen if he has any future in that industry. Ric Flair had a much-publicised ‘Retirement’ match at Wrestlemania 24 against Shawn Michaels. Sadly the lure of the squared circle proved too strong and he is now back wrestling for TNA at the age of over 60. He is allegedly broke after years of living the gimmick, and has de-generated from living legend to sad punchline. Shelton Benjamin’s undoubted athletic prowess was never complimented by his inability to cut a promo. After many failed pushes he was released last year and is currently wrestling for Ring of Honor, a promotion more focussed on technical wrestling than showmanship. Along with Charlie Haas, he won the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles over Wrestlemania weekend.

My rating: ***1/2

(4) John Bradshaw Layfield (w/ Jillian Hall) pinned WWE US Champion Chris Benoit to win the title at 9:47
Another match I was interested in, mostly because Benoit (at the time) was my favourite wrestler. A low-key match was eventually won relatively cleanly by JBL, a surprising result given each man’s relative standing in the company.

JBL retired after a 10-second loss to Rey Mysterio at Wrestlemania 26. He still pops up from time-to-time in a non-wrestling capacity on WWE programming. In a rare case of success after wrestling, JBL has become a legitimate multi-millionaire through his business activities.

Chris Benoit killed his wife and child in a murder/suicide that shook the wrestling business to its core in 2007. Although steroid related ‘roid-rage’ was initially blamed for the tragedy, his autopsy revealed that he had a similar brain to ‘an 85-year old Alzheimer’s patient’. His death directly led to the banning of high impact moves and shots to the head, which has contributed to the slower, less high-risk style seen today.

My rating: *3/4

(5) Edge (w/ Lita) pinned Mick Foley in a hardcore match at 14:37
Universally agreed to have stolen the show, this match ended with both men taking a face-first bump through a flaming table. Foley finally achieved his ‘Wrestlemania moment’ and Edge was catapulted to the top of the card where he has remained ever since.

Mick Foley was already semi-retired before this match, although he did have time for one more championship run in TNA last year. Edge has amassed eight WWE Championship reigns since this match, and successfully defended against Alberto Del Rio in the opening match on Sunday.

My rating: ****1/4

(6) The Boogeyman defeated Booker T & Sharmell in a handicap match at 3:54
The archetypal ‘bathroom break’ match, the Boogeyman was always an example of gimmick trumping skill. It later emerged that he has been working injured, hence the lack of actual wrestling in this match, which mostly involved him chasing Sharmell around the ring before pinning Booker with a pumphandle slam.

The Boogeyman immediately disappeared to rehab his injury and was released soon after. He is now in obscurity. Booker T was rewarded for ‘doing the job’ here with a Championship run in the Autumn. He wound down his career in TNA and is now back in WWE as a commentator. He made an appearance in the booth during Wrestlemania 27.

My rating: *

(7) Mickie James pinned WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus to win the title at 8:50
One of the matches this Wrestlemania is remembered for, and one of the best women’s matches ever in WWE, the Chicago fans tumultuously cheered the ‘evil’ Mickie James and booed the ‘good’ Trish mercilessly. Also notable for its adult themes (Mickie was playing the part of a psycho-lesbian stalker) which won’t be replicated in modern-WWE for many years. The botched ending was edited out on the DVD release, which was probably for the best as it cast a shadow over an excellent contest.

Trish Stratus retired from wrestling soon after, although she has very recently made a comeback and tagged in a winning effort (with John Morrison and Snooki) at this year’s Wrestlemania. Mickie James run her course in WWE and is now wrestling in TNA’s knockouts division, after a failed attempt to launch a country music career.

My rating: ***3/4

(8) The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry in a casket match at 9:27
The result of this match was never in doubt as The Undertaker easily beat Henry to extend his undefeated Wrestlemania streak that exists to this day. The best bit of this match live was Taker’s running dive over the ropes and onto Henry on the arena floor.

Both men remain employed by WWE. Mark Henry wasn’t on the Wrestlemania 27 card, whilst Undertaker, still undefeated at Wrestlemania after 19 matches, beat HHH in the match of the night.

My rating: **

(9) Shawn Michaels pinned Vince McMahon in a no holds barred match at 18:27
An extended squash match in which McMahon’s (the real-life billionaire boss of WWE, and a non-wrestler in his early 60’s) weaknesses were hidden by a variety of smoke and mirrors tactics. Michaels got the inevitable win and delivered the coup de grace by jumping off a massive ladder onto Vince, who was inside a dustbin and on top of a table. It was an amusing visual and a good end to the feud…

…only the feud didn’t end there, as it continued on for what seemed like forever, leading to such main events as ‘Shawn Michaels and God’ tag-teaming and the interminable DX vs. Spirit Squad clashes that ended up burying five of the most talented young wrestlers in WWE. Vince is still the owner five years later, whilst Shawn was beaten by the Undertaker in the main event of last year’s Wrestlemania. In a rare example of a wrestling stipulation being honoured, that was his final match. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

My rating: **3/4

(10) Rey Mysterio Jr. defeated World Heavyweight Champion Kurt Angle and Randy Orton to win the title at 9:25
A very disappointing and truncated match, especially sad considering the talent on show. Mysterio won in short order, which sparked the ire of the native crowd who were firmly behind Kurt Angle. The live mis-cue on Mysterio’s entrance didn’t help things, and neither did the botched ring-post 619. Both were edited off the DVD release.

Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio are both still on the WWE roster, and are beating and losing to CM Punk and Cody Rhodes respectively at this year’s Wrestlemania. Sadly, and unexpectedly, this was Angles swan-song in the main event scene. Fears over his long-term health led to his leaving WWE in acrimonious circumstances a few months later. His slow deterioration has continued in his new home of TNA – just last week he was arrested for DUI.

My rating: ***

(11) Torrie Wilson pinned Candice Michelle in a Playboy pillow fight at 3:55
The low-rent titillation match which has, thankfully, vanished from WWE programming. The girls rolled round in their underwear, allowing the cameras to pick up plenty of gratuitous close-ups. For the live crowd there was nothing much to see, especially up in the bleachers.

Both women are long-gone from WWE programming… the average career of a female non-wrestler in the business is usually measured in months rather than years. Candice did achieve some later notoriety appearing as the Go Daddy girl in the SuperBowl half time commercial.

My rating: 1/4*

(12) WWE World Champion John Cena defeated Triple H via submission at 22:04
Known as the match where the awkward Chicago crowd booed the so-called conquering hero John Cena out of the building. Watching this live was incredible, as the chants of ‘Let’s go Cena’ were more than matched by the counter-shouts of ‘F*ck you Cena’. De-facto babyface for the match, Triple H, eventually tapped out in the centre of the ring. Didn’t come across as well on DVD as live, mostly due to the thunderous crowd noise… you just had to be there.

Both men are very much still involved in the WWE main event scene. Triple H lost to the Undertaker in a very hard-fought match on Sunday. A return bout is already being lined up for Wrestlemania XXVIII in Miami . John Cena failed in his bid to beat Mike ‘The Miz’ Mizanin in the final bout of Wrestlemania XXVII, due to interference from The Rock. A marquee match between Rocky and Cena has already been signed for next year’s event… and, dammit, I’m sure I’ll end up paying to watch…

My rating: ****