By Tony Donofrio, PWTorch specialist

This is the WrestleMania Fall-out edition of Falls Count Anywhere. So, if you fancy TNA/Impact Wrestling analysis, I apologize because you won't see any this week. But, fear not, it will return next week. I've also eliminated the Social Media Moment and Non-Wrestling Thought of the Week this week to focus on all of the major news coming out of WrestleMania Weekend from WWE and independent wrestling. Enjoy!

WWE

-You could argue that WrestleMania 28 on Sunday was one of the most exciting WrestleMania shows in years. There doesn't seem to be an overwhelming majority that agrees with that statement, but a majority nonetheless. However, when you break down the up and downs of Sunday night's card, was WrestleMania really that good or have we lowered our standards?

Other than the Top 3 matches (John Cena-Rock, Undertaker-Triple H, C.M. Punk-Chris Jericho), all of the other matches were sub-par to just above average, at best. That's three good matches on an eight-match card. On Sunday night, I gave the event an "A-minus" on Twitter. In hindsight, will I change my grade? No, I won't. I still had a great time watching the show, at least from 8:00 on. The 7:00 hour felt a lot like the first hour of a three-hour WCW Nitro when you were just waiting for the head-to-head with Raw. However, I'd love some feedback on whether standard have been lowered. Is three good-to-great matches on an eight-match card really what you would define as a "thumbs up" show?

-The revolving door also officially swung on Monday night as one part-timer left and another one returned. Don't get me wrong, I was excited as anyone when Brock Lesnar's music hit on Monday night and still am very excited and intrigued to see what happens going forward. But, I'm sure the switch-over from Rock to Brock this past weekend did nothing to excite the WWE locker room if we're to believe that some are really not happy about part-time wrestlers monopolizing the top spots, especially at WrestleMania. (Or, was it just Rock that some were upset about?) If what I'm hearing is true that Lesnar will be making two appearances per month, Brock can be used to help get some guys over in the next 12 months and will at least be around a lot more than Rock was. Is that a small victory for those who were upset about Rock? Maybe, maybe not; time will tell. Regardless, it's a good get for WWE in what should help the post-Mania lull.

-I hope the response to Daniel Bryan Monday night will have a carry-over effect to the rest of the cities on WWE's travel schedule and also in the Creative room. Hopefully, Daniel Bryan's 18 seconds of infamy will propel him to bigger and better things. If Sunday and Monday are any indication, the crowds really want to see Bryan now and are definitely behind the character. However, both crowds were very "insider" and we'll see how it goes from here for Bryan.

As for that crowd itself, an argument could be made that they were "obnoxiously annoying." Maybe so, but I loved the Miami crowd on both nights and hope that fans all over the U.S. (and, of course, into Canada and internationally) will see that THAT is how wrestling crowds are supposed to be! I still believe there is a younger generation that doesn't realize that a hot crowd can sometimes make or break a card. Kudos to all of those in Miami this past weekend for WrestleMania and Raw; you were a huge part of making both nights feel special!

-Am I the only one that was amazed at how quickly Chris Jericho regained his heat on Monday night? Granted, much of his feud with C.M. Punk is a re-tread of Punk's feud with Raven in ROH involving alcohol usage. However, so was much of Punk's pipebomb speeches and his threat to hold the WWE Title hostage last summer, and I don't recall many people complaining then!

The last 15 minutes of their match Sunday night was what people expected the match to be. It turned out to be a very good match, but still couldn't steal the show from Taker and Triple H. I'm betting on an equally or even better match at Extreme Rules when both can turn up the volume. But, I can't see this feud going past this month and I don't see Jericho winning the WWE Title in Punk's hometown. However, this feud (while it started off slowly) has not disappointed my eyes.

Independent Wrestling

-Sadly, I didn't get to see any of the DGUSA or ROH shows over WrestleMania Weekend. I will at some point get to see at least one or two of the four shows. However, the dichotomy of reports that I saw this past weekend between the two promotion was scary and not good for ROH at all. First, after reading Sean Radican's reports on the ROH shows (which he watched in replay), it seemed like the matches were very good. That has never been a problem with the ROH product.

However, years of problems with their iPPV provider, Go Fight Live (GFL), seemed to be at an all-time high. And, these are for shows that can be perceived as the biggest of the year because they fall on Mania weekend (when demand for wrestling is at its highest!). Pushing the problem even further was ROH initially ignoring the problem and GFL treating the problem like it did not exist. At least ROH has now offered somewhat of a "make-up" for their Saturday show by releasing "lost matches" online for free. Overall, I hope ROH either get these problems ironed out or can get out of the GFL contract sooner, rather than later.

-On the other side of the coin, you had DGUSA. I read rave reviews from Radican on their weekend shows and the quality of the iPPV provider, World Wrestling Network (WWN). WWN also streams shows for EVOLVE and Full Impact Pro. I've seen streams from both companies in the past and the stream from WWN is like an MLB team compared to GFL's "A farm club."

There is a demand for good wrestling all over the U.S., and I believe enough of a demand for all of the independents to survive and/or thrive, especially with the affordability of iPPV. My concern is that ROH will lose customers, hurting the company's financial standing, with a "head in the sand" approach to slowly acknowledging issues their loyal fans experienced, potentially cutting of future buys.

-Since I didn't get to see any of the WrestleMania Weekend shows yet, check out Sean Radican's reports on the PWTorch Main Listing under the PPV Category link. As I've stated in the past, I believe Sean is the best reporter on independent wrestling, and his reports are very in-depth and comprehensive. Great stuff from Sean in what I'm sure was a very tiring weekend for him covering four independent shows. Just wait until next year when up to five promotions offer iPPVs during WrestleMania 29 Weekend!

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Tony Donofrio is a Specialist for the Torch covering a variety of topics and promotions. You can reach Tony at TonyDonofrio@me.com or follow him on Twitter @TonyDonofrio

[Torch art credit Travis Beaven (c) PWTorch.com]

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