A true spectacle (WWE - Wrestlemania 24 (DVD))

Member Name: shaneo632

Product:	WWE - Wrestlemania 24 (DVD)
Date:	06/09/09 (3 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great main event matches

Disadvantages: Undercard is a bit uneven

note: also appears on Helium, thanks!

The Road to WrestleMania 24 was a long one, filled with trials and tribulations, and as the summation of every superstar's entire career, it's no surprise. Three world titles were decided, scores were settled, and a career hung in the balance.

Perhaps the most important match altogether at WrestleMania 24 wasn't about titles or accolades, but the career of one of the greatest and most celebrated wrestlers that the sport has ever seen. Whilst Shawn Michaels announced that Ric Flair would be inducted into the 2008 Hall of Fame on an episode of Raw, Vince McMahon clearly had more nefarious thoughts at heart, and announced that Flair won't have to retire despite being inducted, as long as he doesn't lose another match. Flair, though, having survived a spate of gruelling matches, decides to challenge the man with the best track record at high-profile main event matches - Michaels himself. Michaels initially refuses, not wanting to be forever known as the man who retired the Nature Boy, but alas, Flair attests that if he can't wrestle the best that the WWE has to offer, then he may as well just retire anyway. This psychological mind game baits HBK back into the match, giving him a nudge in the right direction, and even causing him to refer to Flair as "Old Yeller", and proclaim that he needs to be put down. Emotions ran extremely high for what was perhaps the most intense and hard-fought match of the entire pay-per-view, in what may be the final match of one of the sport's most iconic stars. What's more, there's no easy way out for either man, because McMahon threatened that if HBK gives Flair an easy ride, he'll pay for it with his own career.

The WWE Championship was also decided, in a Triple Threat Match between champion Randy Orton, and challengers Triple H and John Cena. Tensions ran extremely high, and everyone had a lot to prove, perhaps most of all Triple H, who wasn't even a part of last year's WrestleMania due to a debilitating knee injury. Cena had also been at the brunt of injury, suffering a torn pectoral muscle thanks to Randy Orton, and having been out of action for some time, made a surprise return at January's Royal Rumble, eliminating Triple H and earning a title shot at WrestleMania. Triple H himself also earned a title shot at the No Way Out pay-per-view, by defeating five other superstars in a gruelling Elimination Chamber contest, making this bout a dangerous Triple Threat match. With a bitter war raging between three men that have been caught in a perpetual web vying for the title, this was an absolutely intense and brutal bout which any man could win.

Closing the festivities was the World Heavyweight Championship match, with defending champion Edge looking to defend against the man who has never lost a match at WrestleMania - the Undertaker, who has now collected a towering fifteen victories at the annual extravaganza. However, Edge insists that he will stop Taker's streak, attributing the psychological edge that he has over the Dead Man as key, fuelled by the fact that the previous May, Edge won the title from him by cashing in his Money in the Bank after Taker had just survived a savage cage match against Batista. Furthermore, at last year's Survivor Series, as The Undertaker sought to regain his title from Batista, Edge interfered, causing the Dead Man to lose once again. Nevertheless, The Undertaker has employed his own brand of mind games, of which he is the master, promising to take Edge's soul, keep his streak intact, and regain his cheaply stolen World Heavyweight Title.

Although these were the most eagerly-awaited matches at WrestleMania 24, there was also a Belfast Brawl between JBL and Finlay, another high-wire free-for-all Money in the Bank match (which allows the winner to challenge for any title at any time they choose), Batista battling Umaga for "brand supremacy", Kane challenging Chavo Guerrero for the ECW Championship, a Playboy Lumberjack tag team match, and boxer Floyd "Money" Mayweather taking on The Big Show in an intense No Disqualification match, with both men attempting to prove that their sport is the superior one. With so many explosive feuds taking place under one roof that they couldn't even have a roof (this will be an open-air event), WrestleMania 24 was certainly one for the ages! It not only looked great, but the three key matches didn't disappoint, and delivered the emotional and psychological intensity that their hype provided expectations of.

Summary: A solid WM