My Top Moments of the Week: WrestleMania, Ziggler, Crazy Crowds, TNA and More

As a week of professional wrestling comes to an end, my top moments of the week makes its return! This week was an overall good week, too.

While WWE WrestleMania XXIX was a bit disappointing, the “Grandest Stage of Them All” delivered some great moments. I did expect better, though. The weekly shows from WWE and TNA Wrestling gave fans some very good and fun moments as well.

WWE Raw featured an epic crowd and new champions, while TNA Impact Wrestling delivered an overall great show with Full Metal Mayhem, new champions and good storyline development. WWE Main Event was kind of boring, and WWE SmackDown could have been better. Each had a moment or two worth watching, though.

Ring of Honor unfortunately goes back to being a week behind. The website I use to watch some shows didn’t have this week’s episode up, but the previous week’s show was thankfully there. The April 6 episode of ROH Wrestling was a great show from start to finish.

I didn’t have the time to watch any other shows this week, so shows like NXT and Superstars will not be featured. What was the best show, or shows, this week? Click here to cast your vote on what you thought was the best!

Starting with this edition, I will be doing something a bit different. From here on out, my top moments will literally be moments. Individual matches will no longer get their own slides. My top matches of the week will be listed at the end, though.

With so much good stuff going on between WWE, TNA and ROH this year, and my overall schedule, I just don’t have the time to give everything I like in a particular week its own slide. So not to exclude matches completely, though, they will at least be listed.

The Shield Dominate the Week

The Shield had quite the week in WWE. It all started at WrestleMania XXIX when the group made their debuts at the event against three of the company’s top talents. Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns defeated three Superstars with 19 World Championships between them.

Giving The Shield a victory at WrestleMania, especially their debut, was a good call on WWE’s part. The group has been on a roll and a loss at the “Grandest Stage of Them All” would have killed their momentum.

Having that loss be against three top stars would really have been it for the group. The Shield would have been defeated, and there really wouldn’t have been any reasons for them to continue as a unit. They came out of the match victorious, though, so their rise to the top can continue.

On Raw, they made quite the bold statement. The Shield targeted The Undertaker, who is someone nobody dares to go after. While they were stopped from doing anything thanks to Kane and Daniel Bryan, the fact remains that they had the guts to make the Deadman a target, which is a huge statement.

On Main Event, they continued making statements by defeating the massive Tons of Funk as well as Kofi Kingston. They even gave the Triple Powerbomb to both Brodus Clay and Sweet T.

On SmackDown, The Shield continued their good week with an excellent promo from Dean Ambrose and a teased attack on Triple H. The attack, much like on Raw, was prevented by Team Hell No. Just the fact that they targeted somebody like Triple H, though, shows that they are ready to make a major statement.

The Shield are on quite the roll, and this week was very good to them!

Ryback Shell Shocks Mark Henry

The match at WrestleMania between Ryback and Mark Henry was terrible. It was slow, boring and just got me questioning why WWE would do the match at all. Henry won the match, but Ryback got his WrestleMania moment.

I feel that the purpose of the entire match was for the events of the post-match. Ryback got the 400-plus pound Mark Henry up onto his shoulders and hit Shell Shock! To get up somebody of that size onto your shoulders is an incredible feat of strength, and the moment itself made sitting through the horrid match worth it.

Despite the loss, Ryback is looking stronger than ever. His push is taking him to the stars, and the man is more over with the WWE Universe than ever before. WrestleMania was the start of something big, which continued on Monday’s Raw.

The Undertaker in WrestleMania Match of the Night for the Fifth Year in a Row

WrestleMania has become The Undertaker’s event. While there are plenty of big matches on the card, many fans look forward to seeing his undefeated streak on the line more than anything else.

This year’s WrestleMania was no different as the Deadman went one-on-one with CM Punk. There was a lot of intrigue in the storyline due to the unfortunate death of Paul Bearer. Punk was in The Undertaker’s head, which could have seen him get out of control and get disqualified. The streak was in jeopardy, but The Undertaker ended the night 21-0 at WrestleMania.

For the fifth year in a row, The Undertaker was featured in what I consider the Match of the Night. His two matches with Shawn Michaels were unmatched, his two with Triple H were physicality at its finest and this year with Punk was great storytelling and overall action.

The Undertaker may only wrestle once a year, but he gives the WWE Universe everything he has during that one match. Being the “Best in the World,” Punk performed great next to WWE’s living legend and he certainly helped bring the Phenom to his fifth straight Match of the Night at WrestleMania.

For me, the only other match that came close was Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar.

The Physicality in Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar

At times, the No Holds Barred match between Triple H and Brock Lesnar was slow and a bit boring. When they got going, though, the contest was pretty intense. With the use of chairs, the steel steps and the Spanish announce table, Triple H and Lesnar beat each other within an inch of their lives.

Due to the physicality of this match, I thought that it was a lot better than their match at SummerSlam. Fans also saw Shawn Michaels get involved by hitting Sweet Chin Music on Paul Heyman, and get F-5’d by Lesnar as well.

One of the highlights of this contest was Triple H locking in the Kimura Lock onto Lesnar not once, but three times on top of the steel steps. Each time it seemed like Lesnar was going to tap out, which would have made for quite the moment if he did.

In the end, Triple H gave Lesnar the Pedigree onto the steel steps for the victory. It’s rare that fans get a match as physical as this. Even Extreme Rules matches at the Extreme Rules event rarely get that physical.

Matches like this sometimes remind me why I’m a wrestling fan. Seeing two guys beat the hell out of each other like this is always fun to watch!

Dolph Ziggler Cashes in Money in the Bank

On Monday Night Raw, Jack Swagger injured the leg of World Heavyweight champion Alberto Del Rio. Defeating both Swagger and Zeb Colter, Del Rio thought that he was done for the night.

Then to a thunderous ovation, Dolph Ziggler’s music hit and he finally cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase. In the end, Ziggler was crowned the new World Heavyweight champion to a reaction that blew the roof off the building.

Ziggler has had that briefcase for nine months, so it was great to see the bell actually ring when he handed the referee the case. When Del Rio locked in the Cross Armbreaker, I feared that Ziggler would become the second to fail at cashing in, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.

This was a great moment that was made even better thanks to the great reactions from the New Jersey audience that night.

This was a long time coming for Ziggler. He has been working hard throughout 2012 and so far this year; he truly deserves this run with the title. Things are certainly starting to heat up in the WWE, and I can’t wait to see where storylines go from here!

Ryback Attacks John Cena

After a very lackluster match between John Cena and Mark Henry that ended in a lame count out, the World’s Strongest Man went on the attack. Cena was saved by Ryback, though, or so he thought.

In another thunderous ovation from the audience, Ryback knocked Cena’s head off with the Meat Hook clothesline before taking him out with Shell Shock. For the first time in quite a while, I found myself cheering during a main-event storyline.

I am not the biggest Cena fan. I give him credit when he deserves it, and I respect him as a man for everything he does with charity, but I was just never a fan of him as a wrestler. So when Ryback dismantled him before the show faded to black, I was loving every second of it.

This was quite possibly the worst crowd to turn Ryback heel in front of, though. They despised Cena, so when Ryback attacked him, the place went nuts! Ryback may be a bad guy now, but I’m willing to bet that crowds are still going to love him and cheer for him over Cena.

I feel that the “Feed Me More” chants are going to be louder than ever now.

I highly doubt Ryback will win the WWE Championship, especially so soon, but this feud is shaping up to be quite the good one already.

The Crazy New Jersey Crowd at Raw

I have been a part of many wrestling crowds over the years. WWE here in Connecticut is always huge due to us being WWE’s home, so the crowd is always great. Crowds for the TNA events I’ve been to have been excellent and incredibly fun as well.

After watching Raw on Monday, though, all of the crowds I have been a part of were just blown away! The New Jersey crowd at Raw was full of energy and was just plain awesome.

Things started out with them booing Cena out of the building in the opening segment, but it calmed down a bit. Thunderous ovations for Dolph Ziggler cashing in and The Undertaker brought them back to life, and everything went crazy during the Sheamus/Randy Orton match.

With chants for Rob Van Dam, ECW, Randy Savage and each of the three men on commentary, the crowd voiced their disinterest in the match. They even did the wave for part of the contest, much to the shock of both Sheamus and Orton.

The match got its final nail in the coffin with chants of “Thank you Big Show” when The Big Show came out to end the match. They took a big you-know-what all over the contest.

Other highlights included humming and dancing to Fandango’s entrance music and chants of “We Are Awesome.” That was without a doubt one of the most epic crowds I have ever witnessed. WWE needs a crowd like this every week!

The Seeds Possibly Planted for the Return of Abyss

While Abyss appeared a few times in 2012, fans have not seen him in the ring since Genesis that year when he faced Bully Ray in Monster’s Ball. Instead, his “brother” Joseph Park has taken his place.

From a lawyer looking for his brother and investigating the Aces & Eights to a rookie wrestler, Joe Park has had a prominent role on TNA television for the past year or so. He has also become an easy target for the Aces & Eights, which is why I think the return of Abyss is imminent.

This past Thursday on Impact Wrestling, the gang continued their attacks on him when Devon knocked him out with a chain wrapped around his fist. He may be big, but being a rookie wrestler puts him at a big disadvantage against a group like the Aces & Eights.

I feel that this latest attack plants the first major seeds for Abyss’ return, especially with the company’s 11th anniversary show coming up in June. Much like Joseph Park came looking for Abyss to see if he was alright, Abyss will return to make sure his brother is safe.

The Monster will then do what Joseph can’t, which is destroy.

ODB Takes the Role of Knockouts Referee

When Taryn Terrell was fired as the Knockouts division’s referee, I wondered what TNA would do. Will they go back to having the male referees in the match, or will another woman take the role?

Last week saw Joey Ryan fill the position, but he failed miserably in the role. This week, the Knockouts division’s new referee was revealed as ODB. While Taryn may be tough, she doesn’t look the part. She’s an easy target for somebody like Gail Kim. ODB is not only the toughest they come, but she just looks like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with.

Gail found that out the hard way when ODB threw her up onto the apron to get her into the match and got right in her face when Gail tried to argue with her. Having ODB as the referee of the division is a great idea.

ODB will most likely be an impartial referee, and she definitely won’t put up with any of the shenanigans the likes of Gail and Tara do. Plus it gets her on television every week, which is always great.

Storylines for the Knockouts have been quite good as of late, and putting ODB in the middle as the referee really adds to the excitement that the division is bringing in.

AJ Styles Remains a Mystery

Last week on Impact Wrestling, Hulk Hogan wanted an answer from AJ Styles on whether he was with him and TNA or with the Aces & Eights. This week, he was given a third choice.

His third option was joining Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. With James Storm also in the ring, Styles just walked away again. This time, though, Hogan booked him in a match for next week against Storm.

Styles’ status remains a mystery and I love it. I especially like that he was given a third option. His first two are a lose-lose as Bad Influence said. If he joins the Aces & Eights, he’ll be hated by the fans, and if he joins TNA, he’ll risk falling back into the place where he was when he left.

Joining back up with Bad Influence is something fresh in this storyline and something that very well could happen. I don’t really see how Styles can give an answer to anybody, though, since Storm always interrupts him just when he’s finally going to speak.

At the same time, his interruptions cause the storyline to continue, which is a good thing. This storyline is the best thing Styles has been a part of in a while. It has elements of the nWo/WCW situation when they were courting Sting, but it is a good and fresh take on it.

The storyline gets better and better the longer Styles’ status remains a mystery. If done right, TNA could keep this going until Slammiversary without it getting stale.

Bully Ray Retains the TNA World Heavyweight Championship

The main event of this week’s Impact Wrestling saw Bully Ray defend his TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Jeff Hardy in the always exciting Full Metal Mayhem match. The match was indeed awesome, but the fact that Bully Ray retained the title made it even better!

Bully Ray winning a World Championship was a long time coming. He has worked incredibly hard since becoming a singles wrestler, and the man is in the best shape he’s been in years. Add in his work in the ring and on the microphone, and Bully Ray was definitely the most improved wrestler of 2012.

He is one of the best heels in wrestling today, and having him as champion was a great call by TNA.

A Full Metal Mayhem match can be unpredictable. One bad fall could change the match entirely, so I was worried that Hardy would get the title back. Hardy was an overall good champion, but his time is up. Ending Bully’s title reign so soon would have been a disaster to his character and for the current storyline.

I am very happy that he retained the belt here. Bully Ray keeping the title made up for Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez winning the TNA World Tag Team Championship in the opening match.

Athena’s O Face Finishing Move

The April 6 episode of ROH Wrestling was a great show of wrestling from start to finish. One of the highlights of the show was a four corners Women of Honor match between MsChif, Athena, Cherry Bomb and Scarlett Bordeaux.

They blew the WWE Divas out of the water, and also showed up the TNA Knockouts as well. The wrestling was very good, but one thing in particular that caught my eye was Athena’s finishing maneuver.

Called The O Face, she jumps off the top rope and executes a stunner. It doesn’t sound that impressive, so definitely watch the video of the move from a Shimmer Women’s Athletes event.

It’s not very often fans get to see a women’s wrestler pull off a move like that, so it’s awesome to see it when a wrestler is able to perform something like it.

Athena’s finishing move, and her overall skill in the ring, just bumped her way up on my list of favorite women’s wrestlers!

My Top Matches of the Week

With so much going in wrestling today, I just don’t have the time to give everything its own individual slide anymore. Actual matches will no longer get their own slide. An outcome of a particular match could, but not the match itself.

Instead, I will simple list what I found to be the top matches each week. To me, a top match includes one or more of the following: solid back-and-forth action, physicality (certain match types), chemistry between opponents, good storytelling and/or storyline development.

There are a few others as well, but those are the main ones for me. If a match in WWE, TNA Wrestling or Ring of Honor meets any of the criteria, they will be listed here.

Here are what I found to be the top matches this week:

• The Shield vs. Sheamus, Randy Orton and The Big Show (WrestleMania)
• Team Hell No vs. Dolph Ziggler and Big E Langston (‘Mania)
• Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger (‘Mania)
• The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (‘Mania)
• Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar: No Holds Barred (‘Mania)
• The Miz vs. Wade Barrett (Raw)
• Austin Aries and Bobby Roode vs. Chavo Guerrero and Hernandez: 2-out-of-3 Falls (Impact Wrestling)
• Bully Ray vs. Jeff Hardy: Full Metal Mayhem (Impact Wrestling)
• Adam Page and Mike Sydal vs. ACH and Tadarius Thomas (ROH, April 6)
• MsChif vs. Cherry Bomb vs. Athena vs. Scarlett Bordeaux (ROH)
• Pepper Parks vs. Roderick Strong (ROH)
• The Forever Hooligans vs. reDRagon (ROH)
• Sheamus and Randy Orton vs. The Big Show (SmackDown)
• Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston (SmackDown)
• Dolph Ziggler vs. Chris Jericho (SmackDown)

Cast Your Vote

Don’t forget to cast your vote on what you thought was the best show, or shows, this week!

Also, I want to know what you thought was the best match this week! Click here to vote from my top choices, but if you liked one that’s not listed, just check “other” and put it in the comments section here on Bleacher Report. The results of both polls will be revealed next week.

Next week, I hope to include both TNA X-Travaganza and ROH Supercard of Honor. I just didn’t have the time to watch them this week, so I will try hard to watch them for next week.

Thanks for reading!