[Official] WrestleMania XXV Discussion

FINAL WRESTLEMANIA PREDICTIONS

I apologize ahead of time, since this is going to be long lol.

Without talking about the matches yet, one thing I'll have to say is that I really hope they don't take up a solid fucking hour with their promos. They've been beating these goddamn reviews into our heads so much that its impossible to pay attention to it. I mean, ECW and Smackdown this week was quite literally 30 minutes of fresh material and that's it, in a 3 hour time slot. That's ridiculous. I want 4 hours of WrestleMania, not 2 hours of WrestleMania, 1 hour of "let's show you everything that has happened so far" rewinds, and another hour of ridiculous musical performances. I have no problem with someone singing America the Beautiful or whatever, but why do we need Kid Rock? Exactly. We don't. Waste of my time. I'm so glad streams exist and I don't have to pay for that lol.


INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP: JBL VS. REY MYSTERIO
They’ve stated that this will be the opening match, which makes perfect sense to me. Starting the show off with Mysterio’s music will get a big chunk of the crowd to pop right off the bat, as he’s very popular. These fans are excited for the ppv itself to start, so they’ll be fully focused. This helps prevent them from being bored out of their minds, because if this match were to come later on, as we all know that JBL and Mysterio are not going to put on a 5-star classic, they’d be chanting “boooring”. JBL has the ability to suck all the energy out of the arena, and Mysterio is such a ridiculous wrestler most of the time that it gets very tiresome. But allowing these two to go first diminishes that possibility very much so. I cannot see this being a very entertaining match because of its two participants. JBL just doesn’t entertain me at all, and Mysterio is such a leap of faith every time that it’s a pain in the ass watching him. It’s the equivalent of watching a sitcom where you could say “come on, how stupid do you think I am, that literally could not happen”, but the writer is just praying to God that you’ll go along with it and help him out. As a writer myself, I’m very critical of this, because I feel its cheap, as a writer should never have to essentially beg for the audience to ignore their faults, but rather, find a way to hide or fix those faults. Mysterio’s popular with a lot of people, though, so he’ll get cheered, especially in the opening bout, but I’ll be less than thrilled personally.

Now, with MVP as the United States Champion and rumored to be possibly going over to Raw in the draft, as well as Mysterio rumored to be moving back to Smackdown, I think if those are true then its pretty safe to say Mysterio will be the Intercontinental champion before the draft happens. This means either JBL wins at WrestleMania and drops the belt to Rey the next night on Raw (or JBL wins, retires, and they hold some match to determine the new IC champ and Mysterio wins that one), or Rey simply beats him at WrestleMania to start off the show. This way, when they draft Mysterio and MVP to the opposite shows, they take their midcard titles with them.

MONEY IN THE BANK

So I’ve done some sleuthing and I’ve been trying to decipher some patterns from the previous years, and I’ve noticed a few, particularly about how the position of their entrance determines their role.

PREVIOUS MITB ENTRANCE ORDERS:

Jericho, Benoit, Christian, Shelton, Edge*, Kane
Matt Hardy, Shelton, Finlay, RVD*, Lashley, Ric Flair
Jeff Hardy, Booker, Finlay, CM Punk, Mr. Kennedy*, Matt Hardy, Randy Orton, Edge
Morrison, Carlito, Shelton, CM Punk*, Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Chris Jericho

1. The winner has been the 4th or 5th entry. Look at it. Edge was the fifth, RVD was the fourth, Kennedy was the fifth, and CM Punk was the fourth. This means that psychologically, they plan on having the winner not be a bookend because that would spoil the surprise. My idea is that Shelton will win the match, so I’d look out for him to be the fourth or fifth person to come out.

2. The person right next to that winner’s spot is someone else who will be pushed soon. Shelton was at a pretty big level in the first one, right next to Edge who won the match. RVD and Lashley were both pushed at that time. CM Punk and Mr. Kennedy were both pushed. Same goes for the last go around with those two, except Kennedy got injured. This year, it seems like the two guys you could tie together as receiving a push would be MVP and Shelton.

3. The first person is someone that has a distinctive entrance song that will resonate with the audience. It will instantly draw their attention. Three out of four times, its been a face, and the only reason it was Morrison last year was due to them only having two faces at the time, and one of them being in the middle due to the “winner being in the middle of the order” idea, and the other being a part of the third thing to point out, below. Who better to get the crowd to pop early on with a distinctive entrance song than CM Punk?

4. The last entry is a big name in it at face value. First was Kane, who would’ve been a frontrunner to win that match. Second was Flair, no need to explain. Third was Edge, the previous winner of the match and a former two time world champion. Last year it was Jericho, the biggest name out of the entire bunch and the only to be a world champion before. This would have to go to Kane or Christian this year. I’m guessing Christian.

5. The second, third, and sixth spots will probably be the three spots that nobody will go apeshit over. This means if they set the crowd up to pop with CM Punk coming out first, look out for Finlay being second to try to capitalize on it, as he’s not as popular and the cheers will die down. Then, Mark Henry will follow him, who will receive boos but not a whole lot. This is followed by someone like MVP who will get a lot of cheers and revitalize the entrances once more. Look for Kofi to come out after Shelton and before Kane to try to even out the cheers and boos.

6. Obviously pointed out a thousand times before, but they’ve had a heel win, a face win, a heel win, and a face win, so I’d look out for a heel winning this time.

The match itself, I think could go either way. I personally think Shelton is going to win it for various reasons. First, he lost the US title, which could be a good sign that they want to change his direction and don’t want to put all their eggs in one basket. Second, if you’ve noticed, Shelton performs better when he has more confidence, and he’s more confident when the powers that be are telling him that they’re fond of his work. Recently, he’s been very confident in what he’s doing, cutting more promos and having a greater intensity. This could be a sign that he’s been told that he’s going to win it and that they’re ready to put him in that position. Third, if you eliminate Kane, Henry, Finlay, and Kofi by sheer default of them not being able to win this match, then Shelton has a 1/3 chance, and he’s also the only heel out of those left, which goes along with that winner pattern. Fourth, we’ve seen pretty much everybody get a segment where they seem like the one on top of everybody, and you could say “oh well, now they’re the favorite to win the match because they’re the only guy standing in the ring right now”. That hasn’t happened for Kofi or Shelton. Misdirection is what always happens before a ppv. The future winner of the match frequently isn’t the one that is standing tall at the end of the “go-home” episode of Raw or Smackdown. Its usually the guy who will lose that gets the nod on that show. If Shelton doesn’t win it, then of course I’d have to go with Christian and the stories about Vince not liking him turning out to be one of the fake-leaks that were planted to throw us off. As long as they don’t give Finlay, Henry, and Kane a whole lot to do in this match, I think it’ll be entertaining.

TAG TEAM TITLE UNIFICATION: JOHN MORRISON & THE MIZ VS. CARLITO & PRIMO COLON

Man, it really sucks that they had to add that Lumberjack stipulation. It really hinders what these guys could’ve brought to the table. Now, Morrison and the Miz won’t be able to do any backhanded cheating on the outside of the ring or anything. Hopefully, they put on a great match despite this handicap, and WWE Creative doesn’t blame them for not being able to work around those limitations that they put on them with the stipulation. If allowed to go out there and try their hardest, this could be a really great match. Everyone and their mother seems to be predicting that the Colons lose this, but you know, I wouldn’t really be too surprised if they actually won it. Still, if I was betting, I’d put my money on Morrison and Miz walking out the unified champs. The reason I wouldn’t be too surprised to see the Colons win it though is because they need it more. Who would seem like a more likely main event guy at the moment, John Morrison or Carlito? And who would you be more likely to believe as the Intercontinental or ECW champion, the Miz or Primo? Carlito and Primo aren’t ready for singles competition yet, but Morrison and Miz are, so don’t be too shocked if the Colons walk out holding both sets of belts.

CHRIS JERICHO VS. "LEGENDS"

Might as well be Jericho facing a bunch of wet paper towels lol. If Jericho has to pin all three, then come on, clearly he pins two and loses to the third, who will most likely be Steamboat. I have no interest in this. Jericho’s one of my favorites, but his opponents are just washed up, and Flair’s act has gotten so old to me, plus I have absolutely no idea why everyone was busting a nut over Mickey Rourke. This match is going to be a mess lol. Jericho will have to oversell a million lame ass punches from a bunch of guys that have no business being in the ring anymore, over and over and over again. Apparently the older you get, the more impact your punches create lol. Unless, of course, you’re Flair, in which case, its not a punch that Jericho will have to oversell, it’s a billion chops. Then cap it off with a crappy punch from Rourke after Jericho provokes him, and you’ve got Steamboat pinning Jericho and them all celebrating in the ring, making Jericho look like a fool. All the kids laugh at him, the rainbow is restored to the universe, yadda yadda yadda, next?

JEFF HARDY VS. MATT HARDY

Only two things can happen here, I think. The fact that they made this a no-dq match seems to draw the conclusion that they’re not expecting it to be an ongoing feud and this is the blowoff, rather than the start to a long series of matches. What other reason would there be to have a feud start with a gimmick, then have a normal match at Backlash and Judgment Day, two ppvs that really need a gimmick to balance out the stereotypical “WrestleMania Rematch” boredom. And then there’s the Extreme Rules ppv, which is all gimmick matches. Just seems odd. So to mean, this means that Jeff will most likely win and just end the feud. But he’s gone over on TV much more frequently in recent times than Matt, so I could also see Matt winning due to Jeff hesitating to hit him with something because he’s the compassionate brother, and Matt capitalizing and looking like an ass doing such. Hopefully, Jeff can carry his brother to have a decent match, but I don’t really find Matt to be entertaining, so I’m not holding out for this to be Match of the Night or anything.

DIVA BATTLE ROYAL

If they give the win to someone who isn’t a part of the active roster, then I have no idea who they’ll give it to, but I doubt they will. The only people I could see winning this are Beth, Kelly, Melina, Mickie, Gail, Maria, Maryse, and Michelle. But even with that list, you could narrow it down. Beth doesn’t need it. Melina doesn’t either as she’s a champion right now. Mickie is very popular, but WWE doesn’t seem to be building her towards anything in particular, so I doubt she wins it. Maria is there for a “kick the dog” scenario, not to win a battle royal. Maryse is champion right now. This leaves Kelly, Gail, and Michelle. Kelly could definitely win it to give her something to do. Gail could return with a bang and win it, but I think the most viable option is Michelle, who eliminates Gail last, and this starts a feud between the two. Plus there’s the insider joke to have her as Miss WrestleMania when her boyfriend is the guy with the undefeated streak. Anyway, this is a piss break for the crowd essentially, and will probably last 6 minutes, tops.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: EDGE VS. BIG SHOW VS. JOHN CENA

So, some reports say that Big Show was supposed to win the Money in the Bank and tease cashing it in against Edge, which means Edge would’ve retained against Cena. Also, some say Edge might take time off to heal his knees. Even still, there are reports that say Cena might take time off for his wedding and again in the summer to film another movie. Who do you trust? To me, this match’s outcome depends solely on its placement on the card. If it’s last, then Cena is without a doubt winning the title. If its not, then I’d be surprised if Cena won, and instead, I’d actually have to give the prediction to Big Show winning in that scenario, not Edge retaining. This is tough to call, as it could really go in any direction, depending on what will happen with the draft and “time off” and whatnot. Overall, if I had to guess, I’d say Cena wins it, but I wouldn’t put much faith in that estimation.

THE REASON PEOPLE ARE BUYING THE PPV: UNDERTAKER VS. HBK

Match of the mother fucking night right here. I’m stoked for it. This is the one and only thing that I’m genuinely excited for and that I actually think will perform up to its caliber. These two are my top two favorite guys EVER since I’ve been a fan, and I think they’re the two best performers they’ve got. Of course, you’d be a fool to think that Michaels will win this, but even with the match outcome being so incredibly predictable, I’m really looking forward to watching this. Not sure what else to say.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP: RANDY ORTON VS. HHH

I cannot stress it enough, but I’m going to be so pissed if HHH goes over here and retains or if he only loses in some way that makes it seem like HHH is still the stronger of the two and Orton is incapable. Randy Orton needs to go over in a way that makes Randy Orton look good, not HHH. Sure, HHH is the face, but think about it this way: the most fearsome of all of Superman’s enemies is Doomsday, right? Not Lex, not Brainiac, not Parasite, not Metallo…its Doomsday. And why is it Doomsday? Because he’s the guy that F’N KILLED Superman! Randy Orton needs to do the same. He needs to beat Triple H and make everybody say “wow”. He needs to go over in a way that makes everybody believe that Orton really is that major threat that he says that he is. And it will be incredibly diluted and not work nearly as well if WWE cops out and makes it so HHH retains here, then they have a rematch at Backlash where Orton wins because of some sort of interference. None of that bullshit where HHH is able to take on Rhodes, DiBiase, and Orton all by himself, and just barely lose after that due to some quick RKO out of nowhere or whatever. We need to see Orton BEAT Triple H, instead of Orton “winning the match, technically, but not really, because he could only barely win even after he was cheating, which proves how great the almighty Hunter Hearst Helmsley is”. But do I think that’ll happen? No, unfortunately, I don’t. My guess is Rhodes and DiBiase interfere, but that isn’t enough, and then Triple H beats Orton and closes out the show and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, and then he drops the title to Orton at Backlash after some sort of cheap method.


Overall, I'm not very excited about it. Now, this could all very well change when I see the opening pyro and hear Jim Ross belt out "WELCOME EVERYBODY TO WRESTLEMANIA TWENTY-FIVE!!!!!" because I'll admit, that's quite a pump up. But I think for this show to succeed, EVERYBODY that has a match has to be working at the top of their game, the writers have to give us interesting things, they need to cut down on all the filler fluff like the rewinds, the musical performance thing, and I pray to God we don't have to see some 12 Rounds commercial. That right there would immediately piss me the hell off and probably ruin my entire night haha.
 
Well overall I wasnt too impressed with the PPV..it honestly felt like Botch-Mania for the first 2 hrs..lots of botched moves, or its just me

Best Match: HBK v Taker..delivered

Worst Match: Triple Threat Match: only thing interesting was Cena trying to FU both Show and Edge

Surprised on how lopsided the main event was..crowd didnt seem too responsive..they lost their energy after the Taker-HBK chants..crowd died on both world title matches

People to look forward too: Sheldon Benjamin, Kofi Kingston..honestly WWE use these guys well, they rocked tonight!

And btw: MY SIG ROCKS! loll right after Cena won the belt!
 
I don't get to watch Raw or Smackdown too often, but I usually order Wrestlemania each year. I know a lot of naysayers will say this was a disappointing ppv, but I enjoyed it a lot. I've been a WWE fan since Wrestlemania 1.

HBK vs. Undertaker was the main reason I ordered the PPV and I was not disappointed. Excellent match and by far the best match of the night. My second best pick: Jericho vs. Legends. Ricky Steamboat is THE MAN!!! I still can't get over how good he worked with Jericho at his age and after so many years in retirement!! Steamboat performed as well as if not better than some guys half his age working a full time schedule!!! Yeah, there's was some ring rust, but geez... do you think Greg Louganis could dive worth a crap today?? Steamboat showed tonight he is a TRUE legend!!!

HBK vs Undertaker was spectacular.

And Steamboat is the MAN!!!
 
I know this wasnt the best Wrestlemania ever, but to say it was flat out bad is over the line. To me last years Wrestlemania was just as bad. The only three matches to look out for last year was Undertaker vs Edge, Trips Vs Cena vs Orton, and Shawn vs Ric.

This year we had a similar setup. Trips Vs Orton, Big Show Vs Edge Vs Cena, and Shawn vs Undertaker.

Last years other matches were some real shit. Batista Vs Umaga???, JBL Vs Finlay?????, Chavo Vs Kane????????

This year we had Jeff Vs Matt, Jericho Vs Steamboat, Roddy, Snuka, and M&M Vs Colon

Im glad i didnt buy it, but still, wat i saw, it wasnt horrible
 
I don't know about you guys, but this years WrestleMania i found awesome as hell.

The Money In the Bank Match-- Great action, almost everyone had a time where they shined especially Kofi. LOL at the part where Kane is trying to hit Mark Henry but Henry can't go up the ladder fast enough. The ending was okay, I don't approve of CM Punk winning, because I am a huge fan of MVP, but with John Cena and Triple as world champions at the moment, I'm interested into where this goes. 5/5

25 Diva Battle Royal
Honestly, I'm not going to lie, when I first saw Santino I just thought it was some old chick in a makeover disaster. Lol. Pointless match to be honest, with "Santina" winning it >_>. 2.5/5

Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat & Jimmy Snuka
Great match, nice to see Steamboat has still got some moves. Not much to say about this one. 3.5/5

Extreme Rules:Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy
Great back and forth action. Really thought Jeff was going to win tonight. Lots of extreme moments for sure and I'm excited to see if Matt Hardy will be the breakout star this year. 4/5

Intercontinental Title:-JBL (c) vs. Rey Mysterio
Moving along..... >_> Oh, I wonder if Tazz had anything to do with JBL losing because they need someone with Jim Ross on SmackDown! 3/5 Loved the promo and the ending :p

Undefeated Streak On The Line:-Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels

Match of the year I think. I LOVE this match and really thought at some moments, "Damn.. Shawn Micheals might actually win." Thank god for that finish lol. Great match both these men put on. Simple amazing. 6/5 :)

World Title:-Edge (c) vs. Big Show vs. John Cena
Smart entrance by Cena. :icon_smile:Great match, lots of action. I completely went WOW! when Cena picked both Edge and Big Show up lol. Cena won it and as much as people won't be happy about that, I'm actually happy. Judging by the crowd, Texas isn't too happy. 4.5/5

WWE Title:-Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton
I was just exhausted watching during this match. 4 hours of professional wrestling and when this match came, I just got really tired. Other than that, great match between the two. Nice "punt" by Triple H and he retains. 4/5

This sums up to an average of... 4.0625/5. A-. :) ... A- in Canada.
 
I hate to say it but Wrestlemania was terrible. It was so predictable and boring and more of the same crap over and over again. The only two matches that were even worth watching were HBK vs. Undertaker and the Hardy's match and even my 7 year old cousin could predict who was going to win these matches.

The title matches were beyond boring. John Cena again? Really? I think his movie sales are a sign that continuing to shove him down our throats isn't working. Did we really need to see Triple H beat the crap out of Randy Orton for 30 minutes again. Didn't we get that last year at Judgement Day? How does that help the WWE with Triple H a 13 time champion winning another big match and killing the momentum of another superstar?

All I have to say is thank god for Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker without them this would have been a waste of 4 hours instead of 3.
 
Taker HBK delievered. However it didn't beat Taker Angle NWO 06 which is what I was hoping for, but the match was awesome still. ONLY reason I ordered, and I knew it would deliver.

MITB was meh. Worse of the 5, but it wasn't bad. Best spot was Christian stopping himself from falling over with him cathing the rope with one foot then pushing him self back. Sheltons flip was nice too.

Hardy vs Hardy I'm sorry I was expecting more. I loved the finish with the twist of fate with the chair though, that was pretty risky!

I cant believe they had HHH Orton main event. It was boring. I'm sorry I know I talked shit before, ok, but after watching it I was so bored, and the reaction after showed how bored the crowd was too.

Jericho vs Steamboat was 3rd best match of the night. Hardys and of course Taker HBK were the only ones to beat this. This says a LOT when the top three matches were NON title matches and a man who hasnt wrestled in God knows how long!
 
The theme of tonight's ppv wasn't "All Grown Up", or "Where it All Begins Again", or even Y2Jake's joke of "Seen it Before".

The theme of tonight's ppv was, simply put: "Ugh...Bullshit".

TAG TEAM UNIFICATION
--Uh....WHAT tag team unification? Yeah. Exactly. They took it off the fucking ppv. What the fuck is that shit?!? Seriously, that's bullshit. Here we all thought that maybe, just maybe, the WWE woke the fuck up and realized that they have a tag team division, and that they would do something with it. Well, shit, if you didn't believe it before, you have to believe it now. WWE has officially taken a major crap on the idea of a tag team division. Absolutely ridiculous. We have to sit through Kid Rock giving a medley of his songs, but no tag team UNIFICATION match? That should be HUGE. Not some dark match. Its a fucking UNIFICATION!!!!!!! Absolutely ridiculous, and nobody can convince me otherwise by saying "they didn't have time for it", because they would've if they didn't spend an entire hour doing mindless crap. No time for the tag team unification match, but we had to have Kid Rock singing, we had Austin drinking for what felt like 20 minutes, we had all those recaps AGAIN for fuck's sake, a military commercial, about 5 plugs for the Legends of WrestleMania video game...etc. Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".

MONEY IN THE BANK
--I can't criticize half of the Money in the Bank match, because I couldn't see it. But I think its stupid that CM Punk won it. In the spirit of optimism (even when facing such a shitty ppv overall), I'll tell you the one thing good about CM Punk winning: it helps him seem more legitimate as a main event guy. But, I'll drive back the reality here, and remind you that they've NEVER booked CM Punk to be something admirable, so why would this time be completely different and they'll suddenly put a lot of focus on making him look strong and come out of the situation a bonafide top guy? It won't. He'll flounder around again. Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".But I can't really criticize the match itself until I get to watch the whole thing in full.

DIVAS BATTLE ROYAL
--Uh, I wish I had a clue what the fuck was going on. But it doesn't help that they didn't announce the people in it, the entire match was just a bunch of hair flying around, and the commentators for some reason just kept using pronouns for eliminations. "Oh, she's out of there." "There she goes." There WHO goes? I had no fucking idea who was eliminated until the very end, where I THINK...but I'm not sure....I THINK that it came down to Santino, Beth, Michelle, Mickie, and I don't know who the other was. The idea of Santino winning it......didn't they make a big deal about him not being able to be in the match? What was the point in that? "You can be in the match if you win this. Ok, you lost, so you can't be in it. But you can be in it anyway." I hope they follow up on it tomorrow night, cause if they don't, that's incredibly lazy writing. I'll admit that I laughed when I realized that he was in it, but that immediately meant that Beth would be the last person he'd eliminate to win it, so it sucked out any intrigue. This match actually had some potential, but it crashed and burned. Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".

JERICHO VS. BLAH BLAH BLAH
--Snuka blew. Piper blew. Steamboat on the other hand, he put on a good match for his age. The section that was Steamboat/Jericho I actually enjoyed. I'd have preferred this entire segment to just be Steamboat vs. Jericho, and that's it, and I'd have had more fun watching it, because it would've been good. But JESUS CHRIST, Mickey Rourke, GET THE MOTHER FUCKIN SHIT IN THE GODDAMN RING ALREADY. BY GOD that son of a bitch slowed down the pace of the entire ppv. He single-handedly took WrestleMania XXV, put a paper bag over its head, and shot it in the legs to slow it down. By the time the bastard finally stepped foot in the ring, I was ready to fall asleep, and I don't usually go to bed until 4 in the morning, so it wasn't a matter of me actually being tired. And what does he do when he's in the ring? Dances around, punches Jericho once, and then they all leave. At least do the fucking Ram Jam. Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".

BROTHER VS. BROTHER
--This was a decent match. Was it as strong as it should've been? Not in my mind. But in retrospect, it was enjoyable when held in proximity to mostly everything else about the ppv. I was actually worried that Jeff got injured when he took that fall at the end of the match. As soon as he took that fall, it was over. Hopefully they capitalize on this and continue the feud, but I don't know where they can go from here without making it seem like they're backtracking. If they go from a spotfest hardcore match to a standard wrestling match where they keep it really tame, most people will consider it a step down. But, fair is fair, this match, for what its worth, was good enough that I didn't mind watching it. I just think it could've been better, seeing as how it was WrestleMania.

INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
--What was up with Mysterio dressing up like the Joker? That's cheap to me. This is WrestleMania. Should've saved the Joker mask for Raw or something. Twenty seconds? Stupid as hell. I'm glad Mysterio is the champion, but that's stupid. And JBL just quits? Is that how he's leaving the company? Again, I'm glad that JBL would be leaving, but that's stupid. Need I remind everybody that this ppv was supposed to be WrestleMania...the superbowl of wrestling...the grandest stage of them all...the one ppv that is supposed to be the most awe-inspiring event of 2009? Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".

UNDEFEATED STREAK
--NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. This match was AWESOME. I enjoyed every friggin minute of it, from the WrestleMania-worthy entrances, to the very end. This match is leaps and bounds above the term "diamond in the rough", because if the rest of the ppv was as good as this match, then we'd really have something that is the caliber that we should've received. This match was great, and even though you'd be a fool to bet against the Undertaker, there were times where it really did seem like he maybe...just maybe...could possibly lose. At one point, the thought even popped into my head that they might make the two fight to a DRAW. Spectacular match. Kind of sucks that they didn't have a handshake in the ring afterwards, but other than that, the match was amazing.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
--Pretty decent match, I thought, although it just didn't seem big enough to me for WrestleMania XXV. It felt to me like, if it would've been the headliner at Summerslam or Survivor Series, then it would've been suitable, but at WrestleMania, it just didn't match up to the high standard it should've. Cena, as much as I don't like him, during his entrance I'll have to admit, in my mind I kind of popped for him. He might be repetitive. He might seriously need to learn some more moves. He might be shoved down our throats at times. But he's clearly "the guy". One of the things good about this match was that I wasn't sure who was going to win, so even though I know a lot of people will complain and say "of course Cena won it", I'll give the WWE credit for making me guess with this one. Before the match started, I thought Big Show would actually walk out as champion.

WWE CHAMPIONSHIP
--Crap. Just crap. This was so, so generic and laborious. I could not for the life of me get into this match. I wanted Orton to win so bad, but even during the match, it could not keep my interest. So the whole match was tedious and boring to me, and then it ends with HHH winning, which I really didn't want. Figures. Let's end this shitty ppv with the most overrated, "I cannot lose" guy being booked to beat someone who could've really gone over HUGE by pinning him clean. I don't know what HHH has against Orton, but how many years have gone by where Trips has to beat Orton over and over and over again? Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".

This ppv was supposed to be the best of the year, and there was only ONE thing about it that was good, and that was HBK/Taker. The rest of the ppv was either garbage or it was just mediocre and didn't feel like it was a grandiose setup, but rather, just watching a B-level ppv like Great American Bash or Judgment Day.

Say it with me: "Ugh...Bullshit".
 
My thoughts on WrestleMEHnia 25:

Money in the Bank: I thought this was better than I thought. Henry and Kane didn't slow it down as much as I expected, and there were alot of cool spots. Kofi running up the ladder and falling into a WSS was cool. Benjamin's leap was AWESOME, my friends and I freaked a little because it looked like he landed on his head. Shocked that Punk won, I was sure it'd be MVP or Christian. Speaking of CC, he didn't do much at all; not nearly as much as I expected and would have liked. Punk's next world title reign will probably be much better since they're obviously planning for it and it's not a last minute thing like last year.

Diva's Battle Royal: Pretty bad, and ruined by the fact that none of the divas got an individual introduction, especially the returning ones. I wouldn't mind the current divas coming out all at once, but they could've had the past divas come out so I could at least know who was in it. I still don't know who they got, I just know Molly, Sunny, Torrie and Victoria. I couldn't get into the match because I spent most of the time trying to figure out who was in it. Santino winninig was expected and his celebration was hilarious and was the saving grace of this match.

JBL/Mysterio: First of all, Mysterio's Joker outfit was fucking AWESOME! My friends and I marked out when we saw that, and Mysterio has offically earned 1,000 cool points. He deserved to win the title just for that and low and behold he does. I was a bit surprised that he squashed him like that; I didn't expect this to be long, but I didn't think it'd be that short either. JBL quitting wasn't quite the "history-making" annoucement I was hoping for, but since he was retiriing soon anyway, whatever. Hope he takes Tazz's place.

Jericho/Legends: I would like to personally thank Ricky Steamboat for single-handedly saving this match. He was incredible and proved he still has it. My friends and I were literally on the edge of our seats when it came down to those two. If Ricky can still perform like that, I'm all for a Jericho/Steamboat match in the future; he was that good. Surprised that Austin didn't come out, and the Rourke thing was a bit silly, but Steamboat's surprisingly good performance saved this.

Matt/Jeff: Pretty good, though I wish it would've been longer. I also wish Matt would've gotten some more offence in as Jeff basically dominated most of the match. The Matt/table sandwich thing was cool and the twist of fate between the chair was sick. I'm very happy Matt won, he needed this victory badly. Also, Matt looks pretty good in tights.

HBK/Taker: Match of the night. Period. HBK's entrance was awesome, and I really liked how Taker came up from under the ramp to help emphazie the whole "Light/Darkness thing they were going for. This was just plain awesome and lived up to my expectations. Was anyone else scared when Taker did that suicide dive and basically landed right on his head, because my friends and I freaked. I thought Taker was legitimately hurt and was seriously worried; that was a crazy fall he took. Great back in forth action, was shocked when HBK kicked out of the Tombstone as I really thought the match was over. Everyone in my house was super-into this match; my friend's girl was watching and she doesn't like wrestling and she was like "wow, this is really good". Can't wait to watch this again.

Edge/Cena/Big Show: I actually marked when Cena's old music played; it brings me back to when Cena was still cool to me. The Eminem-esque entrance was pretty cool too. This match was okay I guess, not great, not terrible. I thought Vickie would get involved much more than she did, maybe possibly screw someone over. I was rooting for Edge so Cena winning disappoints me a bit.

Colons/M&M: I put this match here because I thought it'd be the second to last match. Did anyone else know this match would be before the show, because I had no idea. I was wondering why it hadn't come on yet, I thought "Damn, tag match is the second-to-last match? They must really care about it, cool." When the Orton/HHH promo played, everyone in the room went "wait, no Morrison?!?!? We all love him, and I'm mad that I missed this match. Colons win, good for them.

HHH/Orton: Terrible in my opinion. Slow, boring, it just didn't live up to the hype to me. But what disappoints me the most is that nothing happened. No Legacy, no surprise McMahon heel turn; in fact, no McMahons at all. I thought for sure something would go down, especially when they showed Vince and Shane in the back with Trips. The ending was so anti-climatic; Trips basically just beats Orton. Nothing cool, nothing flashy, no surprises, just some punches and a pedigree. Orton should have won this, and I'm pissed he didn't. He could've gone over big time and HHH had nothing to gain from winning. Honestly, he probably has more wins over Orton on ppv than he does title reigns. After all the buildup for this match, the way it ended was such a letdown and in my opinion, the worst match of the card because it didn't have anything like "Santina" or Steamboat's performance to save it.

Overall, a "meh" Wrestlemania. HBK/Taker should've been last because after that, the show really lost momentum. Orton better go on a fucking rampage tomorrow on Raw and destroy the McMahons or something to make up for that bullshit of a main event.
 
*grumble grumble* honestly I feel indifferent to this years WM. Maybe if I was stupid enough to shell out the 55 dollars even though the buildup was mediocre at best I might be more upset. But I only spent 4 dollars to watch it on a big screen tv :) Wrestling doesn't excit me anymore(minus divas, jeff hardy, bourne, truth, orton, and teddy)so I wasn't expecting anything great.

HBK/Taker match was great, Orton looked nice, Divas match was horrible but it was nice to see them and McCool/Melina made top 5(nice to see Molly--in a wig?)I liked the Hardy's match(I'm a sucka for hardcore wrestling and Jeff). Everything else was blah, except Jericho looked nice too. Oh and CM Punk winning doesn't really bother me. While, I would rather have had Christian win it, Punk is ok. A little pissed the Colons/Miz & Morrison match was a darkmatch since it was advertised, but it's not like I haven't seen it before.

5/10...
MOTN: The Undertaker Vs. HBK
Worst Match: Mysterio/JBL
 
So in an epic battle between being able to buy Campbell's Chuncky and KD or ordering Wrestlemania, I chose the later and was thrilled to have made the choice. As far as expectations were, it exceeded them, but that's not saying much since they were low to begin with. Compounding my issues was the fact my friend informed me at the start of the show the title unification match was taken off and replaced by Kid Rock. Awful. Time could've been easily shaved off the show to make room for that match. I didn't pay $55 to see god damn previews about why I wanted to pay to see the damn match. Anyway, moving on.....

MITB
Typical spot fest match. Going in, I was really looking forward to it because before this Wrestlemania I ordered 2 of the last 3 and missed both MITB matches. Crowd was into Christian and really booed Punk when he kicked him. My typical comment anytime Benjamin is about to do something "uh oh, Benjamin's about to do something stupid" was met with success and faliure. Cudoes to him for making that powerbomb over the rope look real, although I thought he almost threw MVP hard and injured him. Not thrilled that Punk won, but he was really the only one who could've. We'll see how WWE does this now.

Diva Battle Royal.
Joke. I had no idea what was going on. Diva's were getting eliminated left right and center and I had no idea who they were. The match was poorly run, nobody was giving a shit and it would have meant nothing if any of the divas actually won it. Thank God Santino was there. He made the match more entertaining, albeit made the ending more predictable also. Possibility of a face turn for Santino?

JBL/Mysterio
JBL basically set himself up for failure when he said he would have the most dominant win ever, worse when he got that cheap shot in before the bell. End result, was not surprised by it, thought it was a waste of garbage these under 30 second matches the WWE has been having, see SS and last years WM. I was also more irritated now that the Tag title match was left off and dying for some wrestling. Good for Rey, new Triple Crown winner, blah, blah, blah. JBL promised us a Wrestlemania moment and he gave us the best one he could, suddenly announcing he was quitting. Best place to go is out at Wrestlemania. Here's hoping JBL takes over Tazz's comfy chair on SD this week.

Jericho vs the old guys.
Dreaded this one before it started and was left happy with the outcome. When the announcer said elimination, my mind was put at ease that Jericho should win this as beating two out of three would look worse than losing to all 3 at once. Snuka was awful as expected. Piper wasn't sensational, but put forth a solid effort for someone in his health. Steamboat, thankfully, saved the match. Jericho for his credit took everything well, brought the best he could out of Piper and Snuka, and he and Steamboat but on an exciting little match. I know it achieved success when at times I wanted Steamboat to win. Was thrilled in the end though to see Jericho win and even more thrilled when he took out Flair. As for the Rourke thing, I'll put it this way. Jericho/Steamboat would've been better than anything Jericho/Rourke match would've done. It would've been a huge circus, full of interference, and not a lot of good wrestling and Jericho would've lost. Here Jericho beat four legends and took a little beating, challenges Rourke. Jericho's tired now so it makes it look even. Rourke took forever to get in the ring and really did milk it, but the punch was the best thing. No sloppy spots, no struggling or sluggish sections, just a straight punch to seem legit. Jericho wrestled four men basically and has nothing to be ashamed for going down on a punch to the face. And seriously, Rourke not The Ram. That is just a character he plays, him doing the Ram Jam would've just looked silly and you all know it. The punch was the best we could've got out of Rourke, let's leave it at that.

Brother vs Brother
Good match. Matt really needed the win and he got it. The spots were nice and if the WWE plays this out well, could be the feud of the spring. Contrary to NoFate's comment, they should now bring this back to a more normal wrestling stage. Matt won a fight basically, they'll both need to know who's the better wrestler. They'll save the next gimmick match for Night of Extreme. Liked the spots, loved the last twist of fate.

HBK/Taker
This match was epic. Solid the whole way through from the entrances to the finish. Was at first scared HBK injured himself on the moonsault, but after Taker did that sick bumb, I figured it was all planned, especially when HBK dragged the ref in to do the 10 count. Awesome spots, and unlike previous matches, at one point I thought the Taker might lose. In the end, just like every Wrestlemania, The Undertaker won again. Match of the night without question.

Triple Threat Match
At this point, I notice the crowd hasn't been too into the PPV save a couple moments. Hey, Cena really does have a chain gang. Match was good, not great. It really did feel misplaced, being on the Wrestlemania card. As usual for Wrestlemania, the crowd was very con Cena, booing him often. Edge even got cheers when Cena hit him. After Edge helped Cena, I think Edge may be getting a face turn soon. Was hugely disappointed when Cena won. Edge I felt really needed a big time win and if the WWE really still wants to portray Edge as a loser, then have him win and lose to CM Punk in a real match right after he cashes in MITB. Cena's clean cut and play by the rules gimmick is really getting old and I wouldn't be surprised if more fans started turning on him, how they turned on Rocky Maivia. Unfortunately, Cena is Vince's money mule so I don't see him turning.

WWE title match
What can you do when you've literally fought each other in a dozen PPV's in the past 3 or so years? Answer, hit your finishers early. Intrigued my from the start, unfortunately it made my other prediction right. That the match was going to be very slow paced. Some spots were nice and the order of the match went well, but it was just to slow. And to top it off with HHH beating Orton again for the millionth time. Orton has lost all momentum now and even if he does beat HHH, it'll be meaningless as he failed to beat him on the biggest stage.

Final say: was mildly impressed and agreed with much of what happened right up to when HHH won. HHH ruined an otherwise surprisingly good Wrestlemania for the poor outlook we all had on it.
 
Compared to most of the reviews in here I enjoyed WrestleMania 25 actually. There would be two things I could complain about though which are: CM Punk winning back to back Money in the Bank matches. This should have been Christian or MVP's night. Besides the fact that CM Punk won I thought it was a decent match. Sick spot from Shelton doing his flip from the top of a ladder, Kofi running up the ladder and getting slammed. Also I though that Triple H shouldn't have won the match as I was fully expecting a McMahon swerve with Shane and/or Vince screwing Triple H and helping Orton win. I'm glad Chris Jericho won his match as well. Piper and Snuka were shit, Steamboat was the only passable legend in the match and did Rourke want to take any longer getting in the ring? The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels was the true main event. That match was fucken epic. The false finishes, kicking out of Sweet Chin Music and Tombstone and Last Ride was awesome and was filled with some sweet spots too. Overall it was enjoyable for me though.

7/10
 
Posted detailed in another thread but overall-

Pros:
Matt Hardy going over to put both Hardys on the main event. We have one real rivalry going, with the only guy who looks better post-WM.

Kofi Kingston looked good, but not sure if it will be recognized as much as it should be.

HBK-Taker, obviously.

Cons:
MiTB.. everything minus Kofi. Shelton's worst performance, everything was telegraphed, the spots were all botched, Cm Punk cant take bumps anymore? Disappointing ending. Great ends would have been Kofi's jump or Christian's miracle ladder performance.

Kid Rock- Appeared to have no reaction, bumped away the tag title match, wasted time for other matches.

Diva battle royale: Santino was hardly acknowledged and you seen him from the first moment. Santino is hilarious and they botched the performance tonight. I didn't laugh at all.

Rourke taking an hour to get to the ring.

HHH not putting over Orton, the best thing going right now.

4-5/10
 
Another thing, how can a match be SO great when everyone is expecting the same outcome. Everybody, err mostly everybody wanted Orton to win. How would that be great? Warrior over Hogan, HUGE upset. Hogan over Andre wasn't that huge, but the body slam was. Hogan out of the WM4 tourney, Savage vs Flair WM8. Hogan winning the title at WM9....Ok ok the last one was crap lol.

The only time you can give the fans what they expect in a big time match is if they wrestlers are on top of their game. HBK and Undertaker for example was. All of us, even just for a second, thought MAYBE HBK could win here. He didn't. HHH and Orton just don't mesh well. I think it was a horrible wrestlemania not because Orton won or lost but just how the whole match was laid out. I still think Orton and Cena was the money match. Well besides Batista and Cena. Still can't see how his age of Orton is upon us whe he wouldn't even be in the title picture had it not been for Batista injuring himself.

I personally thought Orton was closer to greatness when he fought defended his title against Hardy, then now when all he did was kick a bunch of McMahons.
 
I didn't watch the event but I just couldn't believe it when I read the results. So basically

- Orton, who has done phenomenal work during the feud, gets buried once again by the son-in-law. What a nice reward.
- Cena champ again...Pfft
- Mysterio winning in 20 seconds? WTF? Did he or JBL have a plane to catch?
- Miz and Morrison NOT winning the title? Seriously?
- CM Punk winning MITB AGAIN? Looks like we've got the next Cena here...Yuck
- You know something's wrong when the one person who goes over in an all-female match is a guy

I feel more than sorry for the people who dished out cash to watch this horror.
 
TheOneBigWill’s ‘take’ on Wrestlemania XXV; April 5th, 2009:

Opening Segment:​
They opened the show with the (I believe) lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, singing one of America’s national anthems. We have so many, I just stopped keeping track of which is which. She’s also a horrible singer, so it’s not like it truly mattered. Lillian got fucked by not being able to open.

We also got a very small dose of pyro. I guess W.W.E is still slightly freaked out about last year’s minor issue with the accidental burnings and all.

The Matches:

1. Money in the Bank:​
Outside of Kofi Kingston, I don’t think anyone got their opening pyro. M.V.P didn’t have any, neither did Shelton Benjamin. I couldn’t tell if Kane did or not, as they neglected to show the very beginning of his entrance.

Was it just me, or did anyone else believe Mark Henry had way too many top opportunities for spots when he just truly looked more than awkward in there? During the portion of him and Kane on the ladder, it barely looked like Henry climbed higher than the 2nd rung. Then they tried playing off the possibility that Henry was seriously considering some type of top rope splash to the outside. Right….

Kofi Kingston stole this match, in my opinion, very similar to John Morrison from a year ago. The difference being, I firmly believe Kofi etched his name in the higher league of contender’s as the year goes forward. In fact, Mark Henry’s only useful moment in this match came when he was holding the ladder, while Kingston ran up it, only to be dropped down, then Slammed violently onto the ladder by Henry. Some great spots there.

I personally felt they tried too hard to hit some “amazing” spots, and the end result was clusterfuck city. Benjamin didn’t exactly “run” up the group of ladder’s this year, like he did in the original M.I.T.B match, not to mention the end result wasn’t even a sunset flip power bomb. It was a screw-up that resulted in Benjamin having to alter everything, and regularly power bomb M.V.P outside the ring into a group of others.

Another major fuck up was when Christian tried delivering his “Unprettier” or whatever it’s known as now, only for Punk to screw it up and land awkwardly as if he was “head-butting” Christian in the ribs.

Hornswoggle made yet another appearance, once again with his mini ladder. The little bastard didn’t take the bump he did the last time he was involved though, that’s a shame too.

In the end, I called Punk getting his leg caught, only to find a way out of it and win. I didn’t like it and was yelling at my television to be wrong. Sadly, when Kane is the only option to stop one of the main guys in this match.. You just know it’s not going to end well, and the end result, of course.. Is for the second straight year.. C.M. Punk wins the Money in the Bank match.

2. 25 Diva’s Battle Royal:​
I know several people don’t enjoy Santino Marella much anymore, but I’m gonna say this right now. If it wasn’t for him, there would’ve been NO purpose for this battle royal. Seriously, the diva’s didn’t even get their own entrances. They came out in the middle of Kid Rock singing, and all together.

The main surprise returns were; Sunny, Torrie Wilson, Jackie Gayda, Molly Holly & the recently retired Victoria. I may be forgetting someone, but it’s not like the company did a great job in making them known to begin with.

No Trish Stratus, No Lita, and not even any sight of former Women’s Champions.. Sable, or Ivory. The only big return that I was happy to see, was the slimmer and still very hot, Molly Holly. But I doubt she’ll get an opportunity to return.

SO, in the end we get Beth Phoenix going on a tear, and as if the Battle Royal wasn’t fake and screwed up to begin with, half the diva’s that she eliminated didn’t even go over the top, they just randomly fell through the ropes to the floor and were “out”. The final diva’s were Mickie James, Michelle McCool, Melina & Beth Phoenix. With Santina.. Pushing out Melina & Phoenix in the end to win the 2009 Ms. Wrestlemania crown.

The truly sad thing is.. He can fucking dance! I ‘bout got half a wood watching him go at it. And let’s all not forget, NSL is deeply into tattooed women.. I bet he was beating it all the way through this match, thinking it was truly Santino’s sister. :p

3. 3-on-1 Handicap Elimination Match: Chris Jericho v. Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka & Ricky Steamboat:​
Mickey Rourke looks fucking horrible. He didn’t even look as if he wanted to be there, he had a generally unhappy smirk on his face, and I loved Chris Jericho for NOT even acknowledging him in the crowd during his entrance, when Rourke went out of his way to stand up and try to get noticed.

So, this match wasn’t half as horrible as I thought, but let’s first run through the stupid shit. Snuka & Piper actually took the action to Jericho. That was horrible. Once they got eliminated and it was Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat against Jericho, I was very pleasantly surprised at how much Steamboat still has “it”.

This almost made me wish it would’ve simply been a single’s match with Steamboat against Jericho, at least then it wouldn’t of seemed so horrible and stupid. The other pleasant surprise is they allowed Jericho to go over all 3 legends, which otherwise would’ve definitely ruined his career to have lost to any of them, in my opinion. So I’m glad that didn’t happen.

After the match, unfortunately, Jericho didn’t escape without taking a staged-dive. (pun intended) First Jericho beat the shit outta Flair, only to then call Rourke into the ring, watch him prance around like a fucking dumbass who’d never been in front of that many people before, then throw wild punches before getting to land the one that “officially counted”.. I’m sorry, if I would’ve been Jericho, I would’ve no-sold the shit and laid Rourke out for being a total prick. Then I would’ve grabbed a pen from the announcer’s desk, and forced him to give me an autograph, cause his movie was still damn good. :lmao:

4. Extreme Rules Match: Jeff Hardy v. Matt Hardy:​
All I can say is, what a match! I know it was definitely overshadowed by so much more, but Matt Hardy truly stepped out of the shadow. Such a shame he’ll still go nowhere, because none of the people in attendance seemed to give a remote shit.

Typical spot fest hardcore match, but it’s at least what you’d expect, especially from the now constantly face covered Hardy. (which by the way, the face painting routine is ******ed. I get someone called him the Rainbow Haired Warrior.. But did he seriously have to take it to another level, in trying to become the next Warrior?!)

The double stacked tables spot was actually, in my opinion, horrible. Jeff wasn’t winning, so why not just hit a Swanton from the top, through the tables? It’s not like it would’ve hurt.. more. Meanwhile, the ending to this match came with a very sick Twist of Fate from Matt, while he had Jeff’s head caught in between a chair. This of course comes directly after Jeff completely (intentionally) missed a leg drop from what literally could only be described as the top of the Reliant Stadium.

5. Intercontinental Championship: John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield © v. Rey Mysterio:​
So, J.B.L’s historical performance as Wrestlemania is losing in 21 seconds?! Not only did he fail to lose in record time (Chavo - 9 seconds, last year) but he also lost to a guy, dressed up in Heath Ledger’s Joker attire.

On that note, Jim Ross lost ALL of my respect, because the fat fuck decided to make a snide little comment about Ledger. The King said Mysterio was “paying tribute, to the late” Heath Ledger.. In which Good ol’ J.R. replied with “I don’t know King, Rey’s career seems alive and well to me.” :disappointed: What a dumb-fuck.

As for the match, silly me I actually thought J.B.L’s historical performance was going to be actually winning fairly. Which if records are correct, the last Intercontinental Champion to retain by pinfall or submission, was Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania X-7. (2001) Not real clear how that would’ve by any means been “historical” but hey, it’s the W.W.E and they like to forget things. (like how Ross seemed to think during the Hardy’s match, that they’d won a ton of T.L.C matches at Mania’s in the past.)

So, long story short the entire match was Mysterio hitting a move that sent J.B.L to the ropes, followed by a 6-1-9 and a top rope splash, to pin and win the title. Go Rey.. Let’s see how long before he drops it. I give it a month, tops.

6. Streak v. Mr. WrestleMania: The Undertaker v. Shawn Michaels:​
It pretty much goes without saying, but Match of the Night.. Definitely. There was one unfortunate part about this match that I didn’t like, and that’s how because it went so long and became so great toward the end.. The beginning of this match, for at least the first 10 minutes, if not longer.. was pure shit. Slow and boring.

As the match went on, we got into the good stuff and then the can you top this moments, from both guy’s hitting signature moves, and holy shit moments everywhere. At one point, I thought Taker broke his neck. He leaped over the top rope, as H.B.K moved a cameraman in front of him to take the fall, only for Taker to come down, head first, and literally make an indent in the floor mat. Nice.

Toward the end, I honestly thought it was over when H.B.K ‘skinned the cat’ only to do it directly into a Tombstone, with Taker doing the whole pinning routine. When Shawn kicked out, I instantly thought to myself.. “Does he seriously have a real chance of winning this?! No one kicks out instantly from a Tombstone.”

However, both times Shawn hit Sweet Chin Music, he never made the cover instantly and thus I figured he was doomed to lose. When the finish finally came, the only question running through mine and I’m sure everyone else’s minds.. Was definitely.. “Why the fuck, when you’re gasping for air, and tired as fuck, would you attempt to deliver the ONE MOVE in which he could possibly catch you, and drop you in his favorite finisher!?” Shawn trying for a moonsault, at the end of the match.. made absolutely NO SENSE. I would’ve enjoyed a better finish, such as a possible reversal of the Superkick into Hell’s Gate, or something like that.

Still, regardless of that, it was a very good match. Great even, and I’m definitely sure P.W.I will announce it as Match of the Year, tomorrow.

7. World Heavyweight Championship: Triple Threat Match: Edge © v. Big Show v. John Cena:​
What are the odds that I just recently commented on the fake White Rapper, being the face of the company.. And Cena’s entrance resembles that of an Eminem video. (Will the real John Cena, please stand up.. Then leave.)

Everyone is going to compare Mania 3-way matches to most likely the Mania XX match. (Benoit, H.B.K & H.H.H) There is a slight possibility that because we just had a 3-way, involving Cena no less, last year.. That there was no possible way this one could or would match up. But I honestly think it did.

No one wanted Big Show in this match, and Big Show did something for Cena, that Cena’s first Heavyweight Championship opponent never did, on the Mania stage. Show made the fans gasp and be full of ‘shock & awe’ at the fact that he lifted both Edge, and Show, into the “Attitude Adjuster”. Anyways, that was the finish, and not the match itself.

Within the match, I believe they equally spent a good portion of it working in one-on-one settings, as well as 3-way settings. Everyone had their own mini moment to work with someone else, while also being about to get their shots in at their own little rival. Chavo even had another Mania moment. Not another good one, but he still got more pop taking an Attitude Adjuster outside the ring than he did when he retained his Cruiserweight Championship at Mania XX.

It was a shame Edge couldn’t have retained, or even more so that the Big Show couldn’t have won. I was honestly (and you can even ask Erin this one) I was honestly hoping that because C.M Punk won the Money in the Bank, that if it MUST happen.. He’d of cashed in on this match, by defeating Edge (again) or Big Show. Alas, he didn’t.. and Cena won. Just like he told a Chicago radio station about a week or two ago. Wow.. What a let down.

Segments/Promos:​

Kid Rock mini concert: I swear he is looking more white trash and pathetic every day. Sad thing is, I loved some of Kid Rock’s older music. Like “Bahwitdabah”. My favorite part of this whole little mini concert was when he lifted the mic, during “Bahwitdabah” (I believe) in a theory that the fans would actually sing along.. Instead, they flat-out ignored to do ANYTHING. What a moment.

Hall of Fame/Austin 4-Wheeler: Is it just me, or did Howard Finkel steal the show? Lol Seriously. I honestly thought Austin was leaving early, but he only went for his dumbass 4-Wheeler. (lame) I’m sorry, I like Steve Austin, and I understand being in Texas and all it was pretty much a big deal.. But they pretty much scrapped the Unifying of the Tag Team Championships. (on p.p.v) All, so Austin could ride around on a 4-Wheeler and drink more beer. Like I haven’t seen enough of that shit in highlight clips already.

Main Event: W.W.E. Championship: Triple H. © v. Randy Orton:​
If one match could both peak and then drop my approval level, it’d have to be this one. First, I was amped when I heard that if Triple H. was Disqualified or Counted out, he’d lose the title. That made me honestly believe (for the second time in the night) that Punk was going to come out, and cash in on the heel. (this time, Orton)

Sadly, it didn’t work out that way. Infact, not only did it not work out that way.. But Legacy (who was shown with Orton earlier in the night) didn’t even make a ringside appearance, and nothing big happened at the end of the match.. At all. In fact, I found the ending of the match on you tube.. Check it out.

[youtube]KUSAidaiszM&feature=related[/youtube]

Oh, fuck that was from 2004. My bad. Hold on, okay, this is it.

[youtube]CggLN-k0EXs&feature=related[/youtube]

Shit, wait, fuck no.. that was their finish from the Royal Rumble in 2005. Okay, my bad.. This is definitely it though..

[youtube]ply0CBEubZA&feature=related[/youtube]

Hmm, well this is awkward. I guess they all just look too fucking much alike, to tell them apart. The moral of the story? When you fuck the Boss’s Daughter.. You’re bound to be the headlining act for no reason at a major part of the Company’s show.

Overall Thoughts:​
I would definitely and solidly give the show an 8 outta 10, but nothing higher and even borderlining that eight. Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker truly should've stole the show, especially if the ending for the Triple H./Randy Orton match was always going to be dead and uneventful. I got more of a rise out of thinking Santina was actually a real female.

I'm not going to bash C.M Punk for winning the Money in the Bank match, but only because I'm trying my absolute hardest to give him the benefit of the doubt. I truly wanted him to cash in on any of tonight's Champions, just because having him leave the 25th Wrestlemania as a Heavyweight Champion, much less as the final guy to have the show go off too.. that would've been absolutely HUGE.

However, if he suddenly continues his role as a jobber in a "high profile Wrestler's" spot.. don't act shocked if I continue my role of bashing the fuck outta the little loser. So here's hoping he wins something.. anything, really.

I was majorly disappointed that the Tag Team Championships weren't defended ON Pay per view, but instead they'll be a DVD extra. (like we wouldn't have figured out which team won, by say.. this week's shows?!) Normally, extra's are things that aren't instantly known within a couple hours from the show. I already know who the new Unified Champions are.. and I wasn't surprised.

However, leave it to the company to completely shit on unifying the titles. It definitely shows you what they thought of them to begin with.

J.B.L quitting, and thus making history.. isn't as much a shock, as a blessing in the skies for many people. Infact, I'm winning to bet that got the biggest pop of the night.

Nothing much outside of those tidbits. I wasn't shocked that Cena won, especially considering he lost last year. It's a true shame neither Edge, nor Orton got a big Wrestlemania moment this year though. It's not like Cena, nor Triple H. haven't already had a ton of them.

In the end, another Pyro mishap would've received a bigger pop than Triple H. retaining to end the show.
 
MITB: Good match as usual, Kofi probably stole the show like Shelton normally does, I'm not happy with Punk winning, he has to turn heel otherwise it'll be a complete waste like this year.

Diva Battle Royal: This was horrible, Santino is one of the best things on Raw normally, but this wasn't funny at all.

Jericho v Legends: This was on it's way to being one of the worst matches of all time until Steamboat got in and saved it from being a complete disaster.

Hardy v Hardy: Good match, even though I hate Matt Hardy, that finish was really good.

JBL/Rey: This was pointless, it could have happened at any other PPV, JBL isn't a big enough star for his retirement to be a big deal, even if he thinks he is.

Taker/Shawn: Great match, I don't want to over praise it too much cause you can never tell how good a match is until you watch it a few more times but last night it felt like a classic and the false finishes were crazy.

Cena/Edge/Big Show: Better than I expected, some nice spots, Cena's entrance was actually pretty cool this year for a change.

Austin Send Off: We've seen it a thousand times, but it was great to see it again, probably for the last time.

HHH/Orton: Technically it was a good match, but the crowd was dead by this point after Taker/Shawn & Austin and HHH winning wasn't a good move IMO, if they insisted on having him win then at least have all the McMahon's come out and celebrate at the end for the 25th anniversary of WM, HHH simply pinning Orton then celebrating by himself was so anti-climactic.


Overall: I thought it was a good show, but with a few small changes it could have been a great show (have the tag match replace the divas, scrap the half hour Kid Rock suckfest and give more time to the MITB/Hardy matches, have Orton win, or if HHH has to win that match, put Shawn/Taker on last), the ending just didn't feel like the end of WM should feel.
 
I may as well do a review. I'm sure there are a few people who are at least vaguely interested. What was the first match?

Why of course, it was the Money in the Bank. I don't get how I'm meant to review this match. It was the Money in the Bank. That's what it was. No different to any year really. Some really sick spots and a lot of botches. Yeah, Money in the Bank. I did get really behind Christian - the only time I actually cared during the entire pay-per-view to be honest. Shame Punk won. Still, you know what to expect from this match.

Then there was Kid Rock and the 25 Diva Battle Royal. Again, you know what I'm going to say. To be frank, it was shit. Not a moment I enjoyed. "We now interrupt this WrestleMania broadcast to bring you TNA." That's how bad it felt for me after actually quite enjoying the first match.

Jericho vs. Legends. I didn't have time to be bored by this. I was browsing the web for most of it. I came back to see what was going on when I heard one of the commentators yell. Ricky Steamboat was impressive, but you all know that by now. It took Rourke ages to get in the ring but I can't say I didn't enjoy him punching Jericho out. He should have made a speech. Can't win 'em all. From what I saw, this bit of the show was actually fairly decent.

Then we have Hardy vs. Hardy. I've decided that this was my match of the night. A good effort from both brothers. Jeff does some sick spots but Matt walks out with the win. What more do you want? Not to mention that I'm now sold on Matt Hardy. It was probably the tights. As good as I expected it to be. A real high point for me personally.

JBL then lost to Rey Mysterio. Can't say I cared. I was slightly interested for a little bit. For a twenty one second match, this was dragged out for too long. Still, enjoyable enough.

Now we encounter Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Incredibly formulaic. Good, entertaining. I tried so hard to love this match. I was even counting along to the pins. I was kidding myself. My heart wasn't in it. It was like not being able to get it up for a really hot girl. Except I wasn't embarrassed about my tiny penis. Well, maybe a little.

Cena/Edge/Big Show then. I tried very hard to get into this match too. I tried to back Cena, who I had calculated would win. I was right. Again, my heart wasn't in it and my penis remained floppy. The shame of it all.

Austin did a beer bash. Apparently, it was the end of the Austin era. I don't know where you've all been for the last seven years.

The final match was perplexing. It was so bad that it made you sure something good would eventually happen. The twist was that it never did. I've just edited out the sexual metaphors. Seems a little excessive.
 
Im going to do my first ever review i think lol

Money in the bank:
It was the worst MITB ever I thought. Not alot of high spots and didnt have that wow factor that I like to see out of those matches. It was missing the hardys I felt because the only high flyers there were Kofi Kingston and CM Punk. The only good spot was when Mark Henry was holding the ladder and Kofi ran up it. Everything else was lame to be honest. Mark Henry didnt look comfortable and most of the spots were botched. The ending was kinda fast and abrupt in my opinion.

25 Diva Battle Royal
Waste of my hard earned money....I say no more lol

Jericho vs Legends
I really enjoyed it when Ricky Steamboat was in. I hadnt seen alot of him so it was a real eye opener to what he could do in the ring and it was highly entertaining. He even skinned the cat lol. I think it should of been just Ricky Steamboat vs Jericho.

Jeff vs Matt
I must admit I really enjoyed it. It wasnt a wrestlemania classic but it had very good spots and the twist of fate on the chair at the end was quite sick. They really pushed the boundries as mid-carders but I dont think they are anything more than that really.

JBL vs Rey Mysterio
21 seconds? the entrances took longer. It was similar to the chavo/kane match from last year. I like rey's attire....cant say much else can ya lol

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
The match of the night like everyone already anticipated. Everyone knew the outcome before the match but it was the only match that had the wrestlemania feel to it. Although everyone knew who was going to win even I had a slight glimpse of hope towards HBK when he kicked out of the tombstone. It took me on a ride like a wrestlemania classic should. It reminded me alot of the HBK/Angle match in which it made you sit up and enjoy the ride and you didnt want to see a conclusion. You just wanted them to keep on going and going.

John Cena vs Edge vs Big Show
Nice to see big show work a proper match on a wrestlemania for a change. And and he should be there more often no one realises how a fantastic perfomer he is. Edge and Cena were awful and I didnt enjoy this match to be honest. This was another match where 95% of the wrestling community knew the outcome anyway. The match wasnt a pure 3 way. It was alot of knocking 1 man to the outside and then having a 1 on 1 for 5 minutes. The Ending was cool when Cena hoisted Show and Edge on his shoulders that was about it really.

Triple H vs Randy Orton
I thought it was quite boring and very one sided. Dissapointing for the Main Event. But there hasnt been a fantastic last match at Mania since Lesnar/Angle. No big spots and nothing interesting whatsoever. Dissapointing as usual.
 
Tag Titles Match

The match was advertised as being n the card, and they should ave put it on the card. As it was, they didn't and we were instead given all filler no killer later on in the match. I have no idea whether this match was good or bad, so I'm going to ignore it as part of my scoring for the payperview as a whole. They could have at least put it on WWE.com. N/A

MITB

Christian should have won. When he got near the top, the crowd shat their pants and they booed Punk when he started to punch him at the top of the ladder. Overall, it did exactly what it was suposed to, and even Mark Henry gave a reasonable performance. The elevated unprettier botch can be excused, because it was hard to pull off and while looking sloppy, you could still see the idea, if it was shot from long range, it'd have looked ace. Shelton Benjamin's bothces cannot be excused. He put himself in serious danger with the flip onto his head, and put MVP in danger with the ladder powerbomb botch. He should practice these big spots over and over if he is going to insist on doing them. Otherwise, the match delivered everything I wanted it to, and Kofi Kingston brought something new to the table. Kane and Mark Henry tipping the ladders out of the ring was poorly sold by the commentators, in one of their few mistakes of the evening, but it was actually a pretty big spot, well executed by the big men. Man of the match was Kofi Kingston, and chump of the match was Finlay,who brought nothing of interest except Hornswoggle. 7.1/10

Kid Rock

It has long been established that music concerts at wrestling events are a bad idea for the promoter. I'm sure if Bischoff got another chance at WCW, he wouldn't invite Master P or Gene Simmons along for the ride. Kid Rock is dog shit, the crowd didn't care and he wasted valuable time that could have been used on the matches. King's constant reference to him grew draining as the match went on. It was a good way of getting the divas in without having 25 entrances, so I'll give it something, but that's it. Man of the match was the guy in the crowd booing, chump of the match was Kid Rock. 0.1/10

Divas Battle Royal

Everything about this that could have been good wasn't, and everything that shouldn't have been done was. Fistly, I didn't know exactly who was in this match until I looked on Wikipedia today. They should have at least had some close ups on the legends. Next, I don't mind that Santino won, but they really should have had him get thwarted again, maybe by an unexpected entrant. They should have bothered to show at least one elimination properly, and have at least one legned there near the end. This match did nothing for anyone except Santino, which does not bode well for the women's division. A really poorly planned out match, and along with Kid Rock, it tarred the whole first hour of the show with the shit brush. MITB wasn't bad at all, but these two segments killed any momentum it gave the show. Woman of the match was Victoria for being the only person besides Santino to get any face time, chump of the match was the production team for not showing either Sunny or the less famous ones faces. 0.2/10

Jericho Vs. The Legends

Right, first things first, they should have checked the following things: 1) Can the legends walk? No? Snuka's not involved then. 2) Can they move quicker than a rock and be trusted not to swear? No? Then so is Piper. Steamboat impressed, as ever. It is no surpride that the man who quit in his 40s is the one who was in the best shape and the one who has continued to wrestle in the indies is worse in the ring than Mae Young. It's as if Jericho was right. Flair did a good job too, so we're 3-2 yes-no for the good in terms of "did they add anything to the match?" I don't object to the Rourke ending, it should have just been unprompted. Jericho should have just been on the mic saying "It was easy...." and then have Rourke catch him off guard with the jab. Jericho goes down, and everybody leaves happy. Because Rourke took an age to get to the ring and do anything, and because two of the participants were attrocious, this match is scored low. Had it beem Jericho - Steamboat, it would be scored very highly. Man of the match was definitely Ricky Steamboat who proved that you can go old gracefully, chump of the match was Snuka who showed you couldn't do that and stay in the ring forever. 4.1/10

Hardy vs. Hardy

Perfect result, Jeff took a risk and lost to his clinical brother, which lets the feud continue, and lets Matt drive his point home. Matt Hardy is boring, but he is solid, and is filling this role as a heel very well. I expect that he will eventually succumb to Jeff, but it was good he went over here. The match was fine, and there was a few good spots, mostly by Jeff, that kept me entertained. The ending was clever, and well executed by both brothers. I'm not high on either wrestler, but they kept my attention throughout this match. Man of the match was Jeff for taking all of the bumps, bu Matt wasn't at all bad.7.4/10

JBL v Rey

More of a segment than a match. As a match, it was obviously gash, but looking at it as a segment it was really very good. JBL came in and gave one of the promos that have defined his singles career, and then proceeded to lose to Rey Mysterio, who may have been dressed like a ******, but certainly kept the crowd happy. JBL's exit ws perfect. It summed up his character to a tee as being spoilt and petulant, and he took his ball home here. It got the biggest pop of the night, and JBL walked out of that arena still a heel, something which very few men have managed to do after such a long career. So, as a segment, I rated this very highly. Man of the segment was JBL showing why his mic skills warranted him being on top despite being shit and looking like a 1980s world of sport wrestler. Chum of the match was Rey for wearing a ******ed costume and legitimately dying his hair green. 8.3/10


Michaels vs. Undetaker

I've seen better matches in my time, but not very many better than this live. These two had the crowd more riled up than it has been at any point since Rock vs. Hogan, and that cannot be ignored. They did rely on the signatures, but that is to be expected from men their age. They needed to take a breather every now and again, and I can only think that had this match been in 2003, it would have been better. That being said, it was the match of the night, and probably of the year so far. Man of the match was both of them, for giving the people exactly what they wanted. 9.4/10

Cena v Edge v Big Show

This match suffered for two reasons. One, it was a triple threat match, which are rarely very good. And two, it went on after one of the best matches of the night, so it was a bit underwhelming. Had it been on before Taker v HBK, we'd have all liked it more. As it was, I thought it was very solid and had some good spots. Cena's entrance was innovative and it was good to see his old music get an airing. Cena lifting both men on his back may be the most impressive feat of strength I have ever seen in a wrestling ring, especially of a man Cena's size. I quite enjoyed this match, but like the crowd I was a little fatigued by this point. Cena's win was probably not the outcome I'd have picked, but I think it was a fine math, and they did the right thing by having minimal input from the Big Show. Man of the match was Cena for showing the power of human growth hor.... I mean hard work in the gym and chump of the match was Big Show. He did what he was supposed to, but it's quite telling if what you are supposed to do is keep out of the way.7.8/10

Orton vs. HHH

Dear lord. Everything was wrong about this match. Asides from the fact that it was probably the worst possible pairing of main eventers in the company seeing as they have fought a million times over basically the same thing, and that they are both boring, there were plenty of other mistakes. The pacing didn't make any sense. First it had them both doing finishers, then it was a brawl, then it slowed down into the Orton school of headlocks, and then it had a really lacklustre ending. This match should have been around 10 minutes shorter, and the build should have either been different so a HHH win made more sense, or Orton should have won. Orton has come out of this looking weak, after 4 months of build where he looked untouchable. The only reason Orton wasn't fired was because he had a contract to fight at WM, if he'd have won the title, then this story arc could have continued with him being untouchable as Champion, instead it just means more retconning. I'm not a HHH basher, but this match shouldn't have been the main event, shouldn't have gone on as long and should have seen Orton as the new champeen. Man of the match was the new referee for giving a decent performance and for looking like Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington, chump of the match was the creative team and the agents, for getting this one all wrong. 4.3/10

Extras & Production

The only noteworthy extra was Austin's segment. I though it was a little too long, but the man deserved to be on the main stage on last time. It should have at least involved one stunner, but I don't object to letting him do it. He will be back in the ring though, regardless of what he might say. The commentators were largely on form and Michael Cole did a great job of keeping his mouth shut when the situation called for it. King warbled on a bit about Kid Rock, and JR made the errors we've all grown used to, and al three of them were as bemused by the divas abomination as we all were, but a solid performance by all nonetheless. The promo packages were mostly concise and to the point, except for the main event one, and the pyro, while understated was fine. The transition between segments was very streamlined, but the night could have done with a restructuring. There wasn't an overkill on backstage segments, and no unecessary interviews at all. Overall, the production was very well thought out by WWE, and they deserve a pat on the back for this one, and the divas match was the only letdown in this performance. Man of the match was Michael Cole for doing his job well without any unforced errors, chump of the match was whoever gave Kid Rock 15 minutes. 8.5/10

Overall

This show hs had some horrendus press, but I didn't think it was that bad at all. Sure, it could have been better, but honestly, if Kid Rock wasn't on the show and the divas match and the tag matches switched, it would have ended up being a good show. As it was, it was quite average. I've seen much better from WWE in the past, but there has certainly been much worse.

Overall Score: 57.2/100 (57.2%)
 
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