Mania

On paper, Sunday night's WrestleMania looked as if it could be one of the strongest installments in the event's 28-year history. In execution, it was anything but. I personally avoided Twitter and Facebook, so that the thoughts I would be sharing here would be as purely mine as much as possible. The show lacked the feel of WrestleMania; the first hour felt rushed and most of the matches seemed to be missing something. The show wasn't bad by any means, so I don't want people to misread what I am saying, but I expected more.

Ring Posts blogger and theScore TV personality Arda Ocal catches up with "Mean" Gene Okerlund, who talks about being undefeated in his in-ring pro wrestling career, wanting a match at WrestleMania 29, and who gave him the nickname "Mean" Gene.  

In the wake of WWE's Over the Limit pay-per-view, a new Intercontinental champion has been crowned, four other champions continue to hold onto their titles and John Laurinaitis remains employed. Sunday night's show delivered an evening of quality entertainment and good in-ring performances. On a non-major PPV event, WWE delivered a product that surpassed the expectations of many. Here's a match-by-match look at the show: Battle Royale This last-minute addition to the card was a means of crowning a No. 1 contender for one of the midcard titles.

I would like nothing more than for Brock Lesnar to score a convincing and emphatic win over John Cena at Extreme Rules. Ridiculous match name aside (really, what's the difference between an Extreme Rules match, a no-DQ, no-countout match, a Chicago Street Fight, a No-Holds Barred Match and a match where “anything goes” other than the name?), Lesnar scoring a clean win at the upcoming pay-per-view has multiple benefits. For one, it solidifies Lesnar as a killer, the anti-superstar that fights and wins.

I would like to thank the editorial writers for their unbiased and on-point editorial about Tim Tebow ("Tebow wars: Give it a rest," Jan. 10). The editorial really focused on the fact that regardless of his faith, Tim Tebow goes on the field week after week like every other player and gives all that he can give to win a football game. Giving the glory for that win to God is his way of honoring his God and nothing more. It is his freedom and right as an American to do that. If my memory serves me correctly, the Ravens had a very young quarterback at one time who faced this very same kind of fame his first year out of the gate.

Opponent: Charleston BatterySite: Charleston, S.C.Time: 7: 30Outlook: Back-to-back road games against the two Atlantic Division-leading teams -- just what the 1-9, last-place Mania needs after suffering its sixth shutout last weekend. The 7-5, second-place Battery, playing in a new stadium, is considered one of the A-League's better teams. Charleston won the first meeting, the Mania's first home game ever, 2-0.

Opponent: Toronto LynxSite: Anne Arundel Community College Stadium, ArnoldTime: 4: 05 p.m.Outlook: Will the change in scenery to College Parkway help the 1-8 Mania, last in the A-League's Atlantic Division, at the gate? Will real grass, not UMBC's artificial turf, improve play? Toronto won its opening game in a shootout May 2 but hasn't won since and is last in the Northeast Division.Pub Date: 6/20/99

A new era began on tonight's Raw. With Team John Lauriniatis' victory at WrestleMania , Laurinaitis officially launched his reign of control in WWE. His first orders of business? Rewarding the men who helped land him his position of power. Jack Swagger and Dolph Ziggler were granted shots at Santino Marella's United States Championship; Mark Henry was awarded a chance to dethrone CM Punk as WWE Champion; and The Miz was placed in the main event against Zack Ryder. The members of Team Johnny found a mixed degree of success.

On paper, Sunday night's WrestleMania looked as if it could be one of the strongest installments in the event's 28-year history. In execution, it was anything but. I personally avoided Twitter and Facebook, so that the thoughts I would be sharing here would be as purely mine as much as possible. The show lacked the feel of WrestleMania; the first hour felt rushed and most of the matches seemed to be missing something. The show wasn't bad by any means, so I don't want people to misread what I am saying, but I expected more.

News Roundup •••• According to Kotaku, the next PlayStation is codenamed "Orbis," it will be out next year and will not be friendly to used games or PlayStation 3 games. No word on if it blocks the door to your house and collects a toll every time you try and leave. [ Kotaku ] •••• "SimCity" will require a live internet connection to start playing, and will be an "internet-dependent" gaming experience. The emphasis on multiplayer seems like a convenient excuse to employ serious digital rights management, no?

With WrestleMania right around the corner, fans are voicing their thoughts and predictions to their friends and to the world through social media. Ring Post bloggers Arda Ocal and Adam Testa have taken the time to share their thoughts on the winners and losers of this year's card. The duo agree on most of the undercard, but when it comes to three of the four main events, their predictions differ. Take a look at what they had to say in our match-by-match prediction breakdown: Maria Menounos and Kelly Kelly vs. Divas Champion Beth Phoenix and Eve Arda: Unfortunately I'm not looking forward to this match, which is a shame because I'm really looking forward to what can come from the Divas division in the next few months.

Gone are the days of Mr. McMahon “guaran-damn-teeing” an outcome of a match or a certain superstar meeting his demise in WWE. But in my opinion, there are some “certainties” heading into WrestleMania 28. If I were a betting man, I would put money down on these 10 things* happening this Sunday in Miami: 1. THE UNDERTAKER WILL GO 20-0 I feel so confident about this one that I even created an infographic celebrating Undertaker's 20-0...

This Sunday's WrestleMania promises to be a memorable one. The card is stacked from top to bottom with a variety of matches featuring superstars of the past, present and future battling it out on the grandest stage of all. Amidst the promotion and hype of the two top matches - John Cena vs. The Rock and Triple H vs. The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell with Shawn Michaels as the guest referee - WWE has been building the next generation of...

For all intents and purposes, Friday's edition of Smackdown was the blue brand's go-home show for next weekend's WrestleMania. With a series of events scheduled to begin in Miami next week, Monday's Raw will be the last show taped before the big night next Sunday. That means there will not be a new episode of Smackdown next week. At least not a regular show. In recent years, WWE has used those final hours of television to highlight the WrestleMania week festivities and build final hype for the show.

Smackdown has long been established as WWE's "B show. " No, you won't hear Vince McMahon -- or even any of the talent -- call it that in interviews. But with Raw being a well-established weekly spectacle filled with many of the company's top stars, Smackdown is obviously No. 2. Not that that's a bad thing, though. But this year's WrestleMania season drives the message home harder than a Brogue Kick. Looking at the line-up for the pay-per-view, a clear majority of all the show's top matches have been built on Raw: The Rock vs. John Cena, Triple H vs. The Undertaker, Chris Jericho vs. CM Punk and, to a lesser extent, the recently announced divas tag match pitting Eve and Divas Champion Beth Phoenix against Kelly Kelly and Maria Menounos.