Beware the Ides of March. Now that that Julius Caesar reference is out of the way, it's time to record my observations on last night's WrestleMania event!

A great time was had by all. Briar, Bartow, Jon, Emily and I first met for dinner at Jack Demsey's on 33rd & 5th. It's a great place to eat but we're worried if they'll ever let us back in. Briar fell off his chair after drinking too many waters, but not before Jon and Emily asked him to be best man at their wedding! Isn't that cool? Bartow and I will also be on hand as part of the wedding party. Don't worry Emily. Despite our teasing, it won't turn into a wrestling wedding. No cakes are going to be thrown if I have any say about it! It's all happening on Memorial Day Weekend 2005 and I'm looking forward to it.

From there we walked to MSG screaming "Whooo!!!" all the way. The line stretched around the block but it moved pretty quickly as there was no security checking people. We got to our seats at around 6:45 and it appeared to be the section reserved for people who either works for WWE or knows someone who works for WWE. We fell into the latter category. Thanks, Tony!

The Harlem Boys Choir sang "America the Beautiful", Vince's national anthem. We then saw a video opening montage that culminated in a shot of Vince, Shane and Shane's new baby. I can't wait for the power struggle in 30 years between Shane's baby and Stephanie and HHH's eventual kid.

First match was John Cena winning the U.S. Title against the Big Show. Good idea to start with Cena as he got the crowd going. Then Booker T & RVD retained the World Tag Titles. Nothing too special there. Christian then defeated Chris Jericho as Trish turned heel and aligned with Christian. Poor Jericho has now lost at three straight WMs. Trish should be fun to watch as a heel though. I couldn't hear JR's commentary but I imagine that he screamed "What a Jezebel!" The next match was Evolution defeating Mick Foley and The Rock when Orton pinned Foley. The crowd was solidly behind Ric Flair during the match. Right above us a banner was draped across the rafters that said, "Whoooo! Thank You Ric Flair." Unfortunately, before the PPV started, MSG ushers took the banner down. They had an old lady usher do it because if it were anyone else, they might have gotten beat up. Sometime around here we saw the Hall of Fame inductees. Great to see Bobby Heenan, Jesse Ventura and Pete Rose. Good to see Tito Santana, Don Muraco and the kin of Big John Studd and the Junkyard Dog. Indifferent to see Sgt. Slaughter since he's always on TV.

The fifth match had Sable and Torrie beating Stacy and Jackie in an evening gown match, which degenerated into a bra and panties match. Standard T&A fest. Then, the cruiserweight open took place. Chavo Guerrero won it but the highlight was Tajiri inadvertently spraying Akio with his mist. Akio was then unable to enter the match which led to a fan behind us to yell "You Screwed Akio." Bartow's response, "No, Akio Screwed Akio." During the match we chanted the names of cruiserweights we would have liked to see included such as Super Calo, Silver King and La Parka. The next match was perhaps the most bizarre match in WM history. Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar. The problem was that both guys are leaving WWE. They say that only 10% of the fans read the internet, but every one of those 10% must have been in MSG last night. Fans chanted "You sold out", "Nah Nah Nah Nah, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye", "This match sucks", "Stun them both", "Austin Austin", "We Want Bret", "Hogan", and lots more. Neither Goldberg nor Lesnar looked too pleased with the crowd reaction. The next match was my requisite bathroom break as Rikishi and Scotty retained their Tag Titles.

Upon returning from the bathroom I saw a promo promising "Edge is coming." Funny, I thought Val Venis was coming. The next match had Victoria defeating Molly. Molly then had her head shaved. She now looks a little bit like the bald chick from the first Star Trek movie. Then, Eddie Guerrero defended the WWE title against Kurt Angle. It was a very sound match from two of their best. The next match featured the return of the Dead Man. That's right, the Undertaker came back with Paul Bearer and Druids. This was to Bartow's chagrin who wailed "No good can come from druids!" Indeed, the druids kept dropping their fire and a lackey had to keep running out with his fire extinguisher. Oh yeah, Undertaker won. The final match had Chris Benoit winning the World Title from HHH and HBK in a triple threat match. This was by far the best match of the night. The crowd was solidly behind Benoit and we went ballistic when HHH tapped to the crossface. I almost lost my voice in all the excitement! To close the show, Eddie Guerrero came down to congratulate Benoit as confetti fell from the ceiling. Benoit's wife (Woman) and children also came down. Five hours after the show started we made our leave. Except for Jon and Emily who left after the Undertaker's entrance.

Special thanks to the entire nVo crew for treating me to my ticket. Its a much appreciated birthday present. If I can ever give you a nice B-D present five months after your actual B-D, I'll be glad to.

For another amusing take on last night's festivities, read this link from the ESPN page.