WWE WrestleMania 29: Was It Worth the PPV Money?

The dust has settled in MetLife Stadium and WrestleMania 29 is now in the history books.

Having nearly 24 hours to digest all of the action that went down on pay-per-view, it's time to determine whether or not the event lived up to the hype.

Was WrestleMania 29 worth the hefty price tag of $59.99 ($69.99 in HD)?

Here, we will delve into the event in its entirety and make that judgment.

Opening Segment

The WWE did a great job of intertwining the tragedy left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy into what was to come at WrestleMania 29.

Led by the voice of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the opening video was very well done.

That led into a great pyro display but oddly, there was no singing of "America the Beautiful," which has been done many times before.

WrestleMania Set

The set for WrestleMania 29 was nothing short of amazing.

With a terrific New York theme, WWE concocted a set that featured the Statue of Liberty sitting atop the structure around the ring.

The entryway was made out of the Brooklyn Bridge.

This was possibly the best set WWE has ever created, and it added to the big feel of the event.

Venue

WWE chose an excellent venue for WrestleMania 29 in MetLife Stadium.

The company packed in over 80,000 fans into the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets, and the open-air stadium made WrestleMania feel that much more special.

Pre-Show

The pay-per-view event (at least on Comcast) started at 5 p.m. MST and featured a two-hour long pre-show.

Instead of it actually being two hours, it was the same 30-minute show shown over and over again.

The show featured classic WrestleMania moments, but the only events WWE allowed fans to relive were WrestleManias 10 and 20.

Shortly before the event went on the air, WWE took fans inside MetLife stadium to show The Miz use the figure-four leglock to defeat Wade Barrett and win the Intercontinental title.

However, the only way you could view that match was on YouTube or through the WWE app.

Matches

The Shield vs. Randy Orton/Sheamus/Big Show

The show opened with a six-man tag team match featuring Randy Orton, Sheamus and The Big Show taking on The Shield.

The Shield got the win, as it should have, but instead of a heel turn by Randy Orton, Big Show laid out both of his partners with his big right hand.

Mark Henry vs. Ryback

This was probably the biggest surprise of the night in terms of booking.

The match wasn't all that great, and Henry pulled the upset when Ryback tried to pick the World's Strongest Man up for his Shell Shocked finisher only to have the 412-pound Superstar fall on him, leading to the pin.

Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler/Big E Langston

It seemed like a good time for a title change, but Team Hell No continues to reign supreme. Langston didn't do anything to impress for being in his very first match.

Fandango vs. Chris Jericho

It was obvious Fandango was being given a huge opportunity to face one of the best ever and he took advantage, defeating Jericho with a clever pin. Still, the match could have been a lot better.

Jack Swagger vs. Alberto Del Rio

No entrance for Swagger? That was among the worst decisions of the night. Del Rio retained the World title with the cross armbreaker, but the match lasted just over 10 minutes.

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk

This was easily the best match of the night. The match featured several false finishes and Punk came very close to putting the first blemish on the legendary streak.

In the end, Undertaker goes to 21-0 and looked very good in the process.

Brock Lesnar vs. Triple H

This was the booking decision that WWE made a mistake on.

Yes, it makes sense for Triple H to get revenge after being defeated by Lesnar at SummerSlam, but if Lesnar is to stay with the company and face its top stars, he can't be 1-2 since returning.

John Cena vs. The Rock

The match that was billed as "once in a lifetime" at WrestleMania 28 took place for a second time, and this time with a new winner.

John Cena became a 13-time Heavyweight champion on Sunday when he defeated The Rock.

The card wasn't all that impressive on paper and the in-ring work didn't make up for it.

The Undertaker and Punk put on an excellent match, but the match between Lesnar and Triple H seemed to be too drawn out and the main event came across as very sloppy.

If the WWE is relying on guys like Fandango and Langston for the future of the company, hopefully they'll have much better performances than they did at WrestleMania.

Segments Between Matches

Every segment between a match seemed like time wasted.

Instead of having backstage interviews, WWE showed a video promoting the match between The Rock and John Cena.

Fans who had been watching WWE on a weekly basis had already seen all they wanted to of this and because of "time constraints," one of the advertised matches had to be scratched.

Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes and the Bellas vs. Brodus Clay, Tensai, Naomi and Cameron never took place.

It's a shame to see eight people work so hard for a WrestleMania moment, with the expectations that they'll be going out and performing in front of a huge crowd, only to see that opportunity taken away.

You never remove a match that was advertised, no matter how unimportant it may seem. Especially when all you're doing is showing the same videos every fan has seen too many times as it is.

Announcers

Michael Cole, JBL and Jerry Lawler called WrestleMania 29 and did an adequate job.

Jim Ross should have been given the chance to call at least one match since WWE is just not the same without him.

Overall Entertainment

WWE did a great job creating a visual image of the spectacle that is WrestleMania, but they failed to deliver once the opening bell rang.

While Fandango and The Shield had their WrestleMania moment, guys like John Cena and Triple H helped irk the fans who dislike predictability.

WWE was not creative enough with this event and fell short of putting together a great show from top to bottom.

With one match that was completely removed from the card, fans were instead forced to watch a performance by P. Diddy, something that everyone in attendance seemed to care less about.

WWE is the top wrestling company in the world and will be for years to come. It needs to do a much better job with its top show of the year, especially if it's are going to charge so much for it.

Score on a scale of 1-10: 5.5