What is a Snooki?

Watching Wrestlemania live was wonderful, but I did miss the nuances of commentators and dialogue to help the flow of the stories. For me the litmus test of a great wrestling match is not just impressive bravado and physical skill, but also the ability to surprise me with interesting reversals and maneuvers; Wrestlemania XXVII did not disappoint in that respect with the Del Rio vs. Christian match and Undertaker vs. HHH. The show was filled with surprises, but I will list the best and worst.

I titled this entry “What is a Snooki?” because last year in my public speaking student class a student asked to do a speech on the topic “Snooki”. I said, "What is a Snooki?" This is important because she made it as number one on my list.

- - - SPOILERS TO FOLLOW ABOUT WRESTLEMANIA XXVII- - -

BEST SURPRISES

1. Snooki/Trish Stratus fight- I have never seen an episode of the show Jersey Shore, but I think Snooki is awesome. Trish Stratus flipping backward off the top ropes to the outside of the ring and in every other way showed amazing technical skill. Snooki ended the fight with surprising energy and a great move. Overall I expected this match to be long, boring and uneventful. It blew me away.

2. HHH intro- The Game totally brought it with his entrance. He played Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and he was flanked by marching Vikings as he entered the arena. It was spectacular to watch, hear and remember.

3. Pee-Wee Herman- Pee Wee Herman and The Rock made fun of Cena…nuff said.

4. John Cena Intro- Cena had a full church choir. The lead singer had amazing pipes, and almost brought the audience to tears. Enter the prayer from DMX's second album. I was almost ready to join Cenation.

5. Glass Booth - When The Undertaker and HHH took the fight out of the ring I knew they would go for the Spanish commentators' booth first thing. I did not expect them to completely tear down a Plexiglas booth as they wrestled. That booth looked pretty steady while The King scaled it about an hour earlier.

6. Captain America- I loved Rey Mysterio dressed as Captain America. Wrestlemania should have fun costumes that the audience reacts to - for better or worse - and Mysterio is keeping up the HBK tradition of bringing the flare.

7. Stone Cold- No matter what he did - and much to the dismay of the mother seated in front of me 0 I was going to scream and flip the bird when Steve Austin came out at Wrestlemania. I did not expect "Stone Cold" to enter on a quad and send Michael Cole running like a little girl to hide in the Plexiglas booth. This moment had me cackling with laughter and it was a great surprise.

WORST SURPRISES

1. HBK- The number one worst surprise for me was how small of a role Shawn Michaels had in the show. A lot of reviewers are complaining about the direction for the show, the ends of matches and the role of The Rock and Stone Cold. My biggest disappointment was that The Heartbreak Kid never intervened in the HHH and Undertaker match, even to help The Undertaker from the ring, rather than allowing him to be carted off.

2. Crying Kids- Leaving the arena I saw hundreds of adorable children in their parents' arms crying after Cena’s loss. I have been at funerals with less tears. I am not a huge Cena fan but it was surprising to me how devastating the loss was and that the WWE would allow so many kids to walk out early and leave Wrestlemania depressed.

3. HHH- HHH tapping out in his match was devastating to me. I was not surprised that he lost. For me, it was the fact that he would actually give up.

4. Sheamus Shafted- The US Title lumberjack match was horrible. Sheamus was misrepresented in the show program as a Wrestlemania performer, but his match actually became a pre-show debacle that turned a cluster$*k of a battle royal, and ended without either of the scheduled wrestlers standing victorious. It was horrible to watch in a stadium, and television viewers did not even get a chance to watch it.

5. DMX- Cena used a new intro with a gospel choir and a prayer by DMX. Since it is Wrestlemania and Cena’s hip hop/rap music have been a topic recently hyped by The Rock, I thought DMX or even Snoop Dogg might emerge and perform as a surprise… Nope. It was just a clip from DMX's second CD, and wasted what could have been an amazing television moment.

6. The King Match- I love The King but his match was way too long. While other matches were filled with technical skill and surprises, this match was long, boring and unskilled. There were funny moments but by the end I was completely bored, which is shocking because Stone Cold was there.

7. Undertaker Angle- I don’t hate The Undertaker angle but I was surprised how helpless and old they made The Undertaker seem. Being evacuated from the stage by paramedics made him seem like a broken old man, even after he had just performed such an awesome match.