About this episode
The Lapsed Fan’s 30-week WrestleMania journey has come to the farewell moment for Mr. WrestleMania himself, as Shawn Michaels dances one last time on the grand stage against perhaps his best career foil, The Undertaker, at WrestleMania 26. Hosts Jack Encarnacao and JP Sarro dive into the rectangular opening atop University of Phoenix Stadium for a full accounting of 2010’s Mania, and chronicle the fading away of a cast of Mania mainstays symbolized by the main event. This deep dive includes: - What the hell went wrong with the seemingly can’t-miss Bret Hart/Vince McMahon angle, and some simple tweaks that would have made all the difference. Related: Bret’s sartorial challenges. - The implosion of Legacy. Too soon? - The intrusive commentary and sloganeering of Matt Striker, making his one-and-done appearance in the Mania booth - Edge wins the Rumble only to job at Mania, continuing the gradual, frustrating eroding of the Rumble’s significance in the late 2000s - Snap Into a Slim James - The last Money in the Bank match at Mania, and how the gimmick was beginning to lose steam - Triple H calls himself “the guy that everybody wants to step into the ring with at WrestleMania to make a name for themselves” … and then pins Sheamus clean in the middle - CM Punk’s brilliance begins to emerge - A Cena title win the crowd does not crap on, and flashes of brilliance from Batista in the tail end of his signature run - The Undertaker’s first LEAPING tombstone All that and so much more, plus Dave Meltzer to detail the story behind Bret Hart’s decision to return to the WWE storyline fold 13 years after Montreal. With only four WrestleManias to go in The Lapsed Fan’s journey, it’s imperative you get on board for WrestleMania 26!