Randomly ended up watching Wrestlemania 22 on the Network this evening, and it's funny to be reminded of so many things I had forgotten.
Things that particularly stood out were how the Rey/Angle/Orton match was actually way better than I remember it, despite being a little on the short side. Also I had forgotten how much the fans really crapped on Rey during that match. He didn't exactly get Reigns level booing, but the fans in the building really really did not seem to want him to win. Presumably because of how the E made the whole thing about Eddie's legacy or whatever.
Another interesting thing is how the Cena hate had already well and truly started, and how the E were desperately trying to get Cena over by stressing how he was different and "non-traditional", as if the fans were shitting on him because he wasn't "traditional". There's actually a bit where JR says how Cena was the only white guy in his town to grow up listening to hip hop (which is probably true for all I know, but comes across as hokey and stupid), whereas HHH apparently grew up receiving the best wrestling training from a young age
There's even a bit where they show a side by side shot of Cena and HHH in their locker rooms. Cena's looks like the inside of a maintenance shed, whereas HHH is all plush and he's receiving massages from about three dudes at the same time. At this point JR quips "
ha, look at him, having his massages" as if this is an immediate sign that HHH is evil and must be booed. He then goes on to say "
in many ways this match is basically hip hop vs tradition" (whatever the **** that means).
Probably no wonder they quickly abandoned this strategy.
