First off, before anything I want to thank Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker for taking what WrestleMania is and taking it to a whole new level. That match was unreal. Throughout the entire match Andrew Gray and I exchanged whoa's and wow's. Off the top of my head I can't think of many matches that have ever been better.One match comes to mind, and one of the participants in that match went above and beyond the call tonight and that man was Ricky Steamboat. No offense to Montel Vontavious Porter, but the list of MVP's at WrestleMania was impressive.
By the way, it was the 25th Annual WrestleMania, but the 24th Anniversary.
From the first bell up until the main events the action was off the charts, and everything made sense. Not everything went perfectly, but who cares? It's WrestleMania. I think everyone that competed in this years WrestleMania deserves a round of applause.
When Money in the Bank began I was a staunch supporter of Shelton Benjamin, and I was until Punk grabbed the briefcase. I never thought he would or wanted Kofi Kingston to win the match, but without him it would have been lacking a good bit. My hat's off to Kofi.
CM Punk made history by being the first person to win Money in the Bank two years in a row, but Shelton Benjamin once again stole the show. I'm sure the Shelton haters will say, "but what about the botched power bomb?" He didn't botch it. Plus it still looked like MVP raked his face across the rungs. I also won't take to time to complain about him not winning the match.
I'm going to take a second and talk about something not on the show. The Undisputed Tag Team Championship. It's unification and it doesn't belong on the show? The info on DirecTV had the show lasting until 12, so there was an unused hour. That couldn't have been inserted somewhere? Really. By the way the Colon brothers won.
Nearly everyone expected the Jericho match with the legends to be great. Nobody expected it to be as great as it was. Snuka and Piper did well enough, but folks, Ricky Steamboat showed that he still had it. Maybe this one match was it, and if it was I'm truly grateful that I was able to witness it.
For his age, Steamboat is in great shape, and how many guys that age do you know that could skin the cat? When it came down to Jericho and Steamboat I was standing on my feet in front of the TV. It may sound dumb to some people, but that's what WrestleMania is supposed to do.
My only regret with seeing Steamboat is that it was most likely his final time in the ring. Not for that reason, he went out high as he could be, but as a fan of RoH and the stuff he and Punk did years ago, that would have been the match, and still could be the match to let the curtain down on Steamboat's career.
I also want to give credit to Mickey Rourke. He milked the crowd just right and landed the blow on Jericho that was "needed" to put the exclamation point at the end of the story that we've witnessed for the last few months. Nice hair too, I have a feeling Dan-e-o will be sporting some semblance of the do soon.
One more point from that match that I want to make is Ric Flair. It took me back to the days when he accompanied H to the ring. He played his part, and maybe it was just the TV, but it looked to me like he misses it. I'm sure he does, and I'd love to see one more from Ric, but I have a feeling he'll honor what he and Michaels did last year.Speaking of Michaels, he is still Mr. WrestleMania. As I stated earlier, the match he and Undertaker had WAS WrestleMania. Two guys that age giving that match, doing that much, and telling that story took WrestleMania 25 to a level of WrestleMania's gone by.
Taker's yearly swan dive almost went horribly wrong, but it still played a role in the greatness that was Michaels vs. Taker. The falsies in that match, well, they were amazing. A chokeslam, a Last Ride and a tombstone and Michaels kept kicking out. That was unbelievable. Thank you Shawn, thank you Taker.
Still on Shawn Michaels, and looking a year ahead to Arizona, Michaels stated in an interview that WrestleMania 26 would probably be his last match, at least until his children reach their teenage years, but next year hopefully someone does him the justice he has done Flair and Taker in back to back years. Hopefully though, it's someone that could use the rub.
As far as the Diva Battle Royal, Kid Rock's performance was the highlight until Santina Marella won. Her interview was great and her dance moves were just as good. Hopefully her twin brother Santino will be there on "Raw" to celebrate the victory with her. Long live Santina! Further evidence that Santino is the man. I O'ed for Sunny, and for Molly Holly. Blast from the past much?
The Rey Mysterio/JBL match was, well, very short. It served it's purpose. Tazz has been replaced as the color guy on "SmackDown." I will say that I popped for Mysterio's Joker getup. Not usually a Mysterio fan, and as far as those costumes go he's had some stinkers. This one though was the best one yet.
The Matt vs. Jeff match was one that could have gone in several different directions, but it ended the way it should have. As over as Jeff is, and being a former WWE Champion, he didn't need to win that match. Matt Hardy needed that win, and got it in a great way.
Had it been anything other than extreme rules it wouldn't have had the same effect. The action in the match was really good, the back and forth and the high spots all. It was one of the matches that has emotions high. The reactions of fans were in favor of Jeff, but Matt still gets some cheers.
The program could have backfired badly. Fans could have thought that in a shoot Matt is dead on. Hopefully though, this win will elevate Matt to a higher level and he will finally compete for either the World or the WWE Championship. A reign wouldn't kill anyone either. A WrestleMania win for Matt may be just what the Doctor ordered.
The Edge/Cena/Big Show match was something I think everyone expected. Cena stated on Opie & Anthony a few weeks ago that he was leaving WrestleMania as the champ, under his own protest. Whatever, but either way, he did in fact leave the big show as the champion.
The match wasn't bad though, and when the Cena's came out to the "Untouchable" music, I thought for a split second we were going to get a freestyle. No such luck, just a whole lot of Cena's and probably some nightmares for many a smark. NASCAR driver Carl Edwards was the guy Cena celebrated with after the match. The guy he posed with up the ramp was someone who really, really hates Cena. Nice shirts too for the "We Hate Cena" crowd.
The final match of the evening somewhat soured the mood. It though, cannot overshadow what happened in the previous matches. The match itself was not bad at all. It also took an odd approach with both guys hitting their finishers first. Great action, and a really solid story, but the ending was bad.
Triple H shouldn't have won that match. It's not because I'm an Orton mark, or that I hate Triple H, but it's the fact that no matter the PPV, the finish should have been the other way around. Had it been Orton against any other worker, the Orton would have left as Champion.This story may stretch farther into the future, but with the draft coming up Orton could be lost in limbo, waiting until he's ready to face another champion. WrestleMania 25 should have been Orton's night, instead it was all Triple H once again. How many times can he stand tall to conclude WrestleMania? How many times before people just stop caring?
Just so this doesn't end on a sour note, the Hall of Fame Class of '09 was truly a solid class. Yes that includes Howard Finkel. The man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour, funky like a monkey...well Savage wasn't there but Austin was no doubt the man of the hour for 2009. Maybe it will be Savage next year. DVD release forthcoming.
The Austin segment was one that really brings back memories, it also makes the token "One more match" chant ring in your ears. If only Austin were still in his prime. I know that if Donnie reads this the following will make him vomit, but I was actually happy to hear JR break out the famour, "Stone Cold! Stone Cold!" Plus the beer bash.
This WrestleMania truly was a night of champions, and a night of legends. A WrestleMania that went, much like Ricky Steamboat did, above and beyond it's expectations.
Tha Results...
*The Colon's def. MnM
*CM Punk wins Money in the Bank (Back to Back)
*Santina Marella (Santino's twin sister) wins Diva's Battle Royal
*Chris Jericho def. Ricky Steamboat/Snuka/Piper
*Rey Mysterio def. JBL
*Matt Hardy def. Jeff Hardy
*The Undertaker def. Shawn Michaels (17-0)
*John Cena def. Edge/Big Show
*Triple H def. Randy Orton
25 comments: on "WrestleMania 25: Old School Is Cool"
Well to be fair with Triple H, this is the first time he's actually stood tall at the very end of Wrestlemania since his match with Jericho at 18.
CM Punk is turning heel for sure this year, and it's not because of the front rows of fans who were booing him tonight. He gets good pops on a weekly basis. The reason he's turning is that the WWE is not going to run the same storyline they did last year for him. And that night he won the title is not gonna be topped as a babyface for this year (which was one of the best Raws of last year).
See a cash in on Cena.
Speaking of Cena, props for him for lifting all that weight. Don't say he didn't F-U them because there's no way that's gonna end up good, either Edge gets flattened by Big Show or somebody's landing on their head.
D.J.B. must have a wealthy crack dealer because this was one of the worst Wrestlemania's EVER.
I don't know how anyone could think this was a stellar show.
WWE belittled almost everything on this card.
First of the Tag Titles weren't even on the PPV, The IC title match was less than a minute. The Diva Battle Royal (While funny) was an embarassment to women's wrestling.
I'll give the Taker/HBK match some credit, It was dull for the first 20minutes but picked up during the last 10minutes. Cena wins again in predictable fashion. Did people think Edge would win? Y'all been suckin the Canadian Cock a lil too much.
HHH defeating Orton made no sense. What's even worse is, For a guy who was pissed off about his wife getting abused by Orton, HHH show little aggression towards orton. I think the Glass in his entry took more abuse.
This was a 4hr mediocre WWE PPV like Cybersunday.
Too Bad The Undisputed Tag Team Championships didn't make History.....well to the PPV Viewer's eyes anyway.
That was one of the matches I wanted to really see cause I thought the Tag titles becoming UNDISPUTED meant something more but I guess they didn't :/
The Mickey Rourke thing has been picked up on several "entertainment" rags. Some of the headlines are hilarious.
Great f'n show. I couldn't believe how damn good this show was. Honest to God my brother and I were watching the show and during the Michaels/Taker match we were treating it like it was a UFC match, we were taking money out of our wallets and throwing it on the table putting our bets down for the match. I felt like crybaby boy at the NWA thing there for a while, "IT'S STILL REAL TO ME DAMMIT!"
Great article D.J.B, I remember reading the one from last year and feeling the same way. Two back to back solid WrestleMania's.
As far as Triple H and how many can he win and people still care, I don't care anymore, but it's just him that I don't care about, he in no way influences my feelings about wrestling as a whole. I can't stand him, I can't stand what he does, but just like last night I'll be pretty disinterested in the match he's in.
One word: STEAMBOAT.
steamboat was f'n outstanding last nite. wow, i was totally glued throughout his match, im hot n cold about the trips and orton match, i wanted orton to go over, im now thinking maybee someone else should have won the royal rumble becasue of the way it all panned out, but its shows not everyone thats wins the rumble go's over at mania
The Triple H?Orton match was SHIT! Triple H's no selling on several big moves made fucking sense to me at all! Where was the blood??? Guy abuses your family,assaults your wife and NO BLOOD? The ending made NO SENSE! Having him punt Orton in the head then trow weak ass punches that so obviously never connected only to be followed by The pedigree was FUCKED UP!You build up Orton as Mega Heel only to give Triple H a rub he doesn't need. The Fans don't give a SHIT about Triple H! The McMahons as Faces is BULLSHIT! First Stamboat sucks Trip's Ass during his HOF induction speech and now he ends the show with a victory over the best young star on the roster? BULLSHIT BOOKING by the fed once again. Thank God for Taker/HBK!
That makes it 2 royal rumble winnners in a row not winning at mania with cena and orton, maybe now next year a young or new guy can win and then win at mania
Great mania until the ending, where was legacy i mean cmon they should of been ringside the whole match
Thats 2 in a row (cena and Orton) not winning at mania after winning the rumble hopefully next year a new or young guy can win rumble and mania
Great mania except for the tag team match not being on it, no ecw belt and then the ending was terrible
Where was legacy and how come they were not ringside the entire match and regardless of the winner there should have been an ass whooping and a stretcher carrying him out
DJ,
Did we watch the same show?
Here's a mini-preview of what can expect to hear from me on this week's show.
Taker and HBK rule.
Steamboat is the muhfuggin' man.
Santino goes over at 'Mania? HYPE!
Kid Rock blows bumpy balls. A waste of time. Put the tag match in this spot.
MITB is a hard match to pull off. Can't fault the players for making errors.
Hardys were really good. Hats off...
JBL and Rey was complete bullshit.
Cena sucks. Fuck him.
Randy shoulda won.
Really? You people think it's a terrible thing HHH went over? Really? No, HHH is a decent candidate for the W. Randy Orton is such a good heel that he MAKES people cheer Hunter and with Orton terrorizing Hunter's family week after week the babyface needs some shine. HHH retaining the belt says, "Orton, you can attack my family and make my life a living hell, but I bested you at WrestleMania and I'm keeping you away from your dream of holding the title, FUCK YOU." So it really does make sense. Now let me say, this only works if this feud continues. Orton can easily say tonight that Triple H cheated and should have been disqualified and thus lost the title and whine and complain for a rematch and you could really drag this out until SummerSlam. Though again, if this doesn't drag to at least Backlash I admit defeat and that HHH's Mania win is garbage.
Knee. That's all I say about JBL/Rey.
I thought Michaels/Taker was epic, but the way the match played out, it reeeeeally should have been the last match. Insane false finishes and easily the strongest match on the card, it should have ended the show.
Lastly, how fucking hype was Cena's entrance until they ruined it by playing the new theme? Extremely hype, that's how hype. It brought back memories of when I actually anticipated seeing him. Good 'Mania, great PPV, worth the $50.
This Wrestlemania contained more ups and downs than a blow job on a big dipper!
MITB was a cool opener, props to Kofi and Shelton but never ever let Mark henry attempt to climb a ladder, ever!
Kid Rock, ah yes an anagram of Rok Dick which he well and truly is. Agreed with Dan-E-O on this, the tag match which WWE.com have built up very well never materialised on PPV, if they had have got AC/DC I may just have forgiven them for not putting that match in
Diva battle Royal - You have to laugh at the commentators attempts to not recongnise Santino, forgettable match, we didn't even realise half of the old skool divas such as molly Holly were in it until they were eliminated! The Santino-Beth play off from this should be fun.
Hardy vs Hardy was entertaining, however....i'm gonna say it..........PG WWE PPV is KNEE! Attempting to wipe a small patch of blood from the hairline of Matt halfway through the match! Jeez!!! Nice use of the finisher in the chair though.
IC Title match.......tumbleweed.......
Legends vs Jehrico - Snuka should never have been in there, Piper was better than could be expected, The Dragon was fantastic, I hope this leads some of the younger WWE fans to check out his matches from the 80's. Rourke took far too long afterwards, toilet break and he was still just getting in the ring
Taker vs HBK - Now that is a wrestlemania classic, the best match of the night, thought Taker was f****d up after that dive into the cameraman. Shot of the night was the look on Takers face after HBK got out of the first tombstone, brilliant!
3 Way Match - Meh, Cena wins again, for a man who is rumoured to have had serious pain from FU'ing big guys, that was a risky move. Wonder where this leaves Vicky now?
HHH vs Orton. wait..............here it comes....................................PG WWE PPV is KNEE. They have built this up brilliantly and that was all they had! No run in's from a cast of many involved in the build up of the feud, all because of the stupid DQ and countout stip. Ending spoilt by the ref audiable saying to HHH "1 minute, you better do it now"
the only thing I can think of saving this feud is if it continues to the Extreme Rules PPV (which is allowed to be a 14 rated show hopefully) and it ends in an all out no DQ war
In summary, the WWE is in serious trouble. There will be a time when Michaels and Taker retire, i'm trying to think of the last time that either of these 2 were not in the best match of the night at a wrestlemania.
Other than Kid Rock what did we disagree on?
How about your comment that 'Mania went "above and beyond it's expectations"?
For the most part, it was shit.
Two glaring examples are the misuse of the tag team and IC championship matches. One wasn't even on the card and the other match was a joke.
Literally. Rey looked like a total friggin' goof as the joker. Seriously, he has had the worst 'Mania outfits out of anyone in history.
We "needed" to see Rourke knock Jericho out? So wait. Three legends can't get the job done as a team in a match. But an actor can deal with Jericho's case with one punch?
I couldn't be any MORE bored with having Triple H and Cena as champions. Boo and boo!
scottdog i agree with, im defo going to try and watch more classic steamboat matches, its genrally just sank in what shite i have been watching since i started watching wrestling 4 years ago, hats off to the dragon.
anyones else notic austin nearly running one of the hof when he came out! that was a hype send off for austin
In principle I agree on the Rourke thing, but the way it was built that was going to be the payoff. If Rourke wasn't shooting Iron Man 2 right now it would have been Rourke vs. Jericho period. Also don't forget Rourke was a boxer.
I was highly pissed about the Tag match, and the IC match in a way, but I think we all new JBL was going back to the announce booth, so I didn't even expect a match. Rey's wig was gay, and the pants were too shiny.
I wouldn't say for the most part shit, MitB/Hardy's/Legends-Jericho/Taker-Michaels were good and the Divas thing was entertaining. Main events and IC sucked, the tag match was good, just not on TV. I'd say 50%, but the 50% that was good was great.
What do you say? Agree to disagree?
WM25 was ok 2 it had good points and bad points of it
Good:
Steamboat
Taker/HBK
MITB Spots
Cena Entrance/Pickin Up Show and Edge at the same time
Triple H Entrance
Bad:
The Whole HHH/Orton Match
No Tag Unification Match on the PPV
Taker almost dying
Kid fuggin Rock went wayyyy too long
Matt Hardy's New Attire. Knee
Diva Battle Royal
Rey Rey The Joker Boooooo
Well, if you assert that 50% of the biggest show of the year was good, then how did it exceed expectations?
Maybe, that's the problem. Every year, we expect too much from WrestleMania and therefore set ourselves up for disappointment.
There were certainly highlights. But overall...not much of a Mania.
Ya, I wouldn't say this show went above and beyond it's expectations. My expectations were pretty low. The only match I expected to be great was Taker-HBK, and it was great.
Thought Orton-Triple H had the potential to be good, but it fell short.
Steamboat was the only one who exceeded my expectations - as many others have mentioned, he was exceptional. He just added another WM moment to his great career, to go along with WM 3.
Also - let me say that this is a great day for sports fans.
Blue Jays Home Opener
Finals of the NCAA tourney
First Raw after Mania
Woooooooooooooooooo!!
Honestly, my expectations were so low that anything close to 50% good was above and beyond. The show as a whole wasn't on level with the best Mania's, but pieces were.
As far as the NCAA Tourney finals go...Go Spartans! Well, really just boo Heels. Growing up in North Carolina you learn how obnoxious NC fans can be.
MITB missed a helluav "O" if mark henry would have hit the dive from the top rope to the floor instead of the hornswoggle shit... definately "O"tastic...Christian unprettier wouldv'e been murder if the timing was right... MVP, henry, CM punk, Kane (& finlay 2) really did nothing worthy of this match... kofi christian & shelton are worthy... but obviously time was of the essence from match 1 so the entire payperview seemed rushed... and that always sucks
steamboat killed it, taker/hbk killed it... no wonder why I think the older (TNA) still triumphs the new stars... randy and even hhh were noassatall flat, wrestlemania was a face fest... not one heel went over excluding jericho but that was before he got put back under... oh wait Matt Hardy did... that twist of fate was murder but the rest was ehhhhh...
gracious 6.5/10 (in your house rating)
Are you high ? Except for the Undertaker / Michaels match it was an average show at best.
The title matches were bad and the Chris Jericho/ Mickey Rourke deal had a horrible finish (except for the great work of Ricky Steamboat)
...........so does this mean LOCKDOWN will be better than WRESTLEMANIA 25?
...come on...APRIL 19th TNA LOCKDOWN
MICK FOLEY vs STING and Lethal Lockdown....NUFF SAID
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