Bobby Lashley vs Umaga - WrestleMania 23
Added 2025-03-15 16:00:15 +0000 UTCWatch: https://streamable.com/ywfani
Comments
This was around the same time I stopped watching wrestling. I stopped around February 2007 and started watching again in June 2011 after Punk's pipebomb. Wrestling was just starting to go downhill around this time.
Chad
2025-03-20 23:30:41 +0000 UTCLol. For real though, how does a 48 year old man look like that.
Flynn Vicci
2025-03-18 04:41:09 +0000 UTCBobby Lashley was 30 yrs old here. Today he is still 30 years old
Tk Banks
2025-03-17 07:20:43 +0000 UTCJust look at that bloody magazine cover Vince is so proud of at the start of the promo.
Steamed Ham Champion Dillon Haggett
2025-03-17 01:06:57 +0000 UTCIt’s so weird seeing a pre political Trump. I mean he did say in the past he’d run but things were never as serious.
Steamed Ham Champion Dillon Haggett
2025-03-17 01:05:10 +0000 UTCHair vs Hair matches date back to the Gorgeous George era of wrestling in the 50s maybe earlier I don't know. So it really didn't feel all that weird to be honest.
Nicholas Kramer
2025-03-17 00:58:36 +0000 UTCTo some extent I kinda miss these "freakshow" matches at wrestlemania. It's sometimes called "wrestlecrap". I don't think I was the only one considering how many PPV buys it got them. It's just so freaking weird.
.
2025-03-16 16:37:51 +0000 UTCAlot of people say that 2008-2021 were the dark times for wrestling, but that level of just stupidity in wwe's storytelling was already starting to seep through by 2006 and 2007 and this was a perfect example of that. WWE still had some of the great level of storytelling that 1997-2005 had, but it felt watered down from previous years and then it just completely collapsed by the time 2008 entered the summer, and we went the next 13 years with some of the worst television ever aired.
Flynn Vicci
2025-03-16 09:52:55 +0000 UTCYeah. There were always good moments scattered throughout. 2002-2005 had real good moments littered throughout, but you start to notice a decline in 2006 and 2007. People do say that 2008-2021 were the dark ages for wwe but 2006 and 2007 were already starting to show moments of what wwe would become while still holding onto some of what it made great in the past. By 2008, they threw that all away and aside from a great storyline like Orton/Triple H in 2009, Summer of Punk in 2011, Yes Movement 2013-2014, pretty much all of 2015 aside from a few cringe promos, and Kofimania in 2019, not much really did well from 2008-2021, but there were great moments here and there.
Flynn Vicci
2025-03-16 09:42:46 +0000 UTCThe first event i ever watched was rumble 07, so this was my first mania. As someone who started watching at the time I didn't really care, but it did really give me the impression that Umaga was kind of a jabroni because he lost to cena at rumble then Lashley here. I was 11 years old like. Why are we supposed to be afraid of this dude he's always losin
Furious George
2025-03-16 05:53:02 +0000 UTCYou can think whatever you want about Trump, but the man knows how to do entertainment, that’s arguably one of the reasons he did so well in politics despite having zero background in it. The match gets by on aura alone, but that’s OK, because aura is aura. You also have to remember that, in this time., Trump was not polarizing, he was beloved by pretty much everyone across all walks of life. The rich loved him because he was rich, the poor loved him Because he was brash, out there, and respected his hustle and the whole self-made billionaire image he carved out for himself, Vince was the biggest bad guy in the company until he phased himself out shortly after this because he thought that it was necessary in order to give The younger talent the Spotlight. It might seem ridiculous to you, but no one, and I mean zero people would have been bothered in the slightest if this match were to have main evented, because this match, whether you believe it or not, is the entire reason that this wrestlemania is remembered, there were other good and even great matches, John Cena VS Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker VS Bautista, but neither one had the hype that this match had, it sold the show as far as tickets and PPV went, and is still the second most purchased PPV in the history of professional wrestling, and make no mistake, this match is the reason that that is the case. You’re right Josh, Vince might not be a good person, but he was excellent at playing his character, a character that, has been revealed to be a lot more real life than fiction.
Ian Hernandez
2025-03-16 03:51:51 +0000 UTCAmerican TV wrestling from the start of the Attitude Era to the Fallout of the Benoit tragedy largely revolved around over-the-top shenanigans and characters (many of which would be viewed in poor taste in today's environment), the most prominent and consistent one being Mr Mcmahon who has been involved in PLENTY of ridiculous storylines. This kind of stuff, especially if it involved members of the Mcmahon-Helmsley Family was pretty common back then. I popped.
Paralyzer Zeta
2025-03-16 02:33:06 +0000 UTCWhile there were high points here and there, pretty much everything from when WCW went out of business until AEW started was primarily written for Vince's own personal amusement. That is what caused me to gravitate toward ROH and SHIMMER. While they weren't as easily accessible, they were something different. Even though AEW has cooled off a lot since then, I see its existence as a net positive simply because it gives wrestlers and fans more accessible options.
Adam Nelson
2025-03-15 23:59:17 +0000 UTCBelieve it or not, following this Wrestlemania, Vince McMahon started wearing a durag to cover his bald spot.
Flynn Vicci
2025-03-15 22:45:22 +0000 UTCI think I almost went to this Mania, but didn't go because of my grades.
Christopher Barnes
2025-03-15 19:21:46 +0000 UTCBack then that stuff is Entertainment lol Each Wrestlemania there was always something Entertaining and stupid we can remember from.
WWE Jay Gaming
2025-03-15 16:57:24 +0000 UTCI want that stunner on the FOTUS to be clipped and looped for eternity.
City and Local
2025-03-15 16:53:04 +0000 UTCWell not quite a while, only a couple of years until Mania XXVIII when they did Once in a Lifetime. This show is still the second highest bought WWE PPV ever.
Steamed Ham Champion Dillon Haggett
2025-03-15 16:39:58 +0000 UTCBro, Donald Trump's theme was the theme for the MITB PPV for SOOOOO Many years
Matthew Harvey
2025-03-15 16:24:04 +0000 UTCSomething you have to remember is that Vince was still one of the biggest heels in the company at this time and Trump, no matter what you think of him now, was one of the most popular celebrities there was. On a card that also had John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels and Batista vs The Undertaker, this sold a RIDICULOUS amount of tickets and PPV buys. It was the most bought Wrestlemania for quite a while.
Ryan Redd
2025-03-15 16:21:52 +0000 UTCOh good lord you guys were not prepared for who they were repping lol. This was my first ever Mania and spoiler for April’s Tally Tier submissions, we’ll be back to this show. This match was originally supposed to be Hulk Hogan vs Big Show. Mania is fairly often inside. The only ones that have been outside were IX, XXIV, XXVI (partially), XXVIII, XXIX, 31, 33 (in the same venue, Citrus Bowl/Camping World Stadium in Orlando as XXIV), 35 (same venue and the exact same date, April 7th, as XXIX as well as this years SummerSlam, MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey,), 37 and XL. Pretty sure Allegiant Stadium is an indoor stadium. Allegiant Stadium also hosted SummerSlam in 2021. Josh’s slow realization to what Lawler said at the end was hilarious.
Steamed Ham Champion Dillon Haggett
2025-03-15 16:12:59 +0000 UTC
