Wrestlemania

WrestleMania has grown to be more than just a pay-per-view. For years, the event has been the biggest of the year for not only WWE, but the world of professional wrestling. No event could come close to matching the magnitude of this spectacle. But, as the years have gone on, WrestleMania has become more than one show. It's become a week-long celebration of all things professional wrestling. Throughout this week, WWE superstars and officials have participated in a number of events, many of them supporting charity.

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.

On a spring Sunday afternoon in 1985, people went to see a fight and a Broadway show broke out. Prior to the main event of a professional wrestling card at Madison Square Garden, Liberace and four members of the Radio City Rockettes formed a high-kicking chorus line in the middle of the ring while the familiar strains of "New York, New York" played. Things got even more surreal when Liberace, sporting a white satin shirt and his trademark gaudy jewelry, returned after the bout. This time the flamboyant pianist joined boxing legend Muhammad Ali in raising the sweaty hands of wrestler Hulk Hogan and actor Mr. T, who had just emerged victorious in a tag-team match.

It looks like Wrestlemania-quality matches have come six weeks early. In a stellar half-hour main event match, John Cena defeated CM Punk and will (still) go to Wrestlemania and face The Rock in a rematch, this time with the WWE title on the line. The match had everything -- great storytelling, athleticism, the crowd was loud and invested, both men painted a great picture with false finishes. We even saw John Cena deliver what was once known as a "Batista Bomb" and CM Punk deliver a pile driver (a move thought to be banned by WWE but smartly used in the match in the place of a "signature" move)

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan is wrestling at the Big Time Wrestling show at the Maryland Theater in Hagerstown on Friday night.  We were able to talk to him about what he's been doing since his last extended run with the WWE, as well as his memories of Wrestlemania over the years. Since your last run with the WWE several years ago, what have you been doing? Duggan: I keep busy with quite a bit of stuff.  The big thing for me right now is that I do a lot of charity work.  I do about 200 hours a year.

This past Monday night on Raw, The Undertaker re-affirmed his opinion to both Shawn Michaels and Triple H. Speaking to Hunter, he said - “Remember when I told you that Shawn Michaels is better than you? He is.” At first glance, many fans might simply agree based on what they know about both men's careers in WWE. WWE's official DVD release of “Top 50 Superstars of all time” even names Triple H No. 12 and HBK No. 1. This would be enough for most to deem the argument conclusive, but taking into consideration other factors, is it true?

I'll be the first to admit that I was definitely lukewarm about the main event match between CM Punk and The Rock at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. It wasn't a terrible match by any means. It wasn't terrific, either. Both men have had far more entertaining matches in WWE, but it must be said that both men did well given their limitations. What I mean by that is that The Rock, WWE champion, is a part-time worker of matches, so naturally, his "work rate" (as is the commonly used buzz word among the internet wrestling community)

No. 25 of the WrestleMania stars, Jake Roberts: never main-evented a WrestleMania but was one of the stars in the WWF in his prime and consistently worked with top guys. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ ringposts)

Kurt Angle participated in three world title matches overall at WrestleMania, including one against Brock Lesnar that went on last at WM 19. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ ringposts)

Before sitting down to watch CM Punk: Best in the World , I had already heard a lot about it. Most people unanimously praised it, going so far as to say it was the greatest WWE DVD documentaryever created. The words “honest,” “open” and “real” were often used. I can confirm these sentiments. The DVD is honest, open and real. But what I found most intriguing about the DVD is how much I found myself relating to CM Punk, and how likely it is that many working-class people watching the DVD will also relate to CM Punk's trials and tribulations, even if you don't have much in common with him. The DVD follows a logical life timeline, with sprinkles of Punk's interests and happenings in between chapters.