The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Thread

[JRE 0]

I felt disappointed after the show...thinking about it....I was very happy with the show up until the last match. It was a very disappointing ending. I felt Orton and Legacy should have had their moment...but even with Triple H winning....it didn't really even seem like he got his revenge. While the DQ stipulation was used well and added a certain story to the match....I feel like the match would have been much better with No DQs. The most intense feud had to end in a match that really lacked intensity.

[Tino Standard 0]

Did anybody else notice during the Hardy-Hardy match that the referee actually came outside the ring and wiped the blood off Matt's face with a towel? I've been watching 20 years and can never remember a referee doing that midmatch. I thought it had to be one of two things:

 

1. The WWE's newfound PG philosophy has run amok to the point that they're not just avoiding blood at almost all times, but now they're actually cleaning it up in matches where no blood was planned.

 

2. They had something particularly gory in mind for later in the card and didn't want to ruin the impact. Clearly this never came to fruition, but I certainly wish it would've during Orton-HHH. That matched needed something ... ANYTHING.

 

Anyway, a couple other thoughts...

 

- The main event was the most boring WM final match I can ever remember, and I've seen 20 of the 25 WMs. There were streams of people heading for the exits in the middle of the match when Orton went to the headlock. I don't have a clue what they were going for, but they swung and missed badly.

 

- What a poorly paced show. Some stuff felt rushed, other stuff dragged on FOREVER. We had a grand total of two backstage segments, zero dialogue and a lot of nodding (Orton and his lackeys in the middle of the show, and HHH and the McMahons before the final match).

 

- I don't have anything to add about Undertaker-Michaels other than to say that had everybody at my buddy's house going nuts. I never wanted that match to end. And I have no idea how Undertaker didn't kill himself with that dive toward the camera man. His head hit the mat so hard, it left a dent. OUCH.

[Naked Snake 0]

We didn't need backstage segments and the fact that they didn't talk showed how intense/serious they were for the match.

 

It's like when a pitcher is pitching a no hitter. Everyone in the dugout avoids talking to the pitcher because he has to keep his intensity level high.

[Beto Chavez 0]

This was easily the worst Wrestlamania since 2000. I will admit the rest of the card paid off, but not enough to justify a $55 purchase so I am thankful I watched it at the sports bar.

 

- Best Money In The Bank match since the original, you could argue it even surpassed it. Too bad it seemed like everybody had to be sloppy and botch a spot or two. Its really cool CM Punk won again making him the first guy to win MITB back to back although I wish Kennedy would've done that last year.

 

- I didn't mind Kid Rock performing, but he was out there for like 20 minutes, resulting in the tag title match being removed from the card. People were there to see wrestling and they take a hyped match away to have an needless extended concert. Really? Really!?

 

- Jericho Vs. the Legends was better than I thought, but only because of Steamboat. Snuka and Piper were dead weight for the match, it should've just been Chris Vs. Ricky or have better legends involved in the match like Sgt. Slaughter or Hacksaw Jim Duggan. I gotta give to it to The Dragon though, to come out of retirement and end his career properly following his HOF induction putting over Jericho who became a wrestler because of Ricky was totally awesome and brought things full circle (ala Flair / Michaels). Also, it was cool to see Mickey get involved to contribute to the Wrestlemania Recall collection, I'm just glad Jericho finally won a match at Wrestlemania.

 

- Poor JBL. I knew he was going to do something historic with him planning to retire as the IC Champion, but instead Rey defeated him in 21 seconds in TX. That blows. Rey winning the IC title was cool, but they should've at least had a 5 to 10 minute match. I didn't realize Rey was the Joker at first, I thought he was a fucked up looking Doink The Clown. I'm going to miss JBL. His return run was okay, I mean he did get a couple of title shots as well becoming IC Champion, I just wish he would've been the world champion just one more time. Thanks for everthing, Bradshaw!

 

- Hardy / Hardy was cool. Face it, we all knew even back then it was going to come to this. Jeff Hardy almost breaking his ass into with the missed Leg Drop off the ladder = OUCH!. I'm just glad Version 1 finally proved to the world who the better brother was.

 

- Undertaker / Michaels is already MOTY. I don't think anybody else is going to even come close. My sportsbar went nuts for this match as they were easily split. I did love how HBK was dressed in white coming down from the sky while Undertaker was in black coming up from the ground. Cool shit right there, no druids needed either. That plancha was scary, I mean how could the "camera man" fuck up trying to catch the guy? Worse than most baseball players if you ask me. My favorite part was Undertaker catching Michaels out of the skin the cat into the Tombstone, but of course the moonsault was just as cool. I'm just glad Undertaker finally kicked Michaels like should've done 12 years ago. No DX or Kane to save HBK's ass this time. A 30 minute classic match indeed.

 

- Cena / Edge / Show: the match was what it was. I already knew Cena was winning after I watched the buildup video. His Chaing Gang entrance was great (Word Life!), my favorite since the Ford Mustang Fast and The Furious entrance in Detroit. I loved how Cena FUed Edge onto Big Show after he got FUed. The best part was my buddy whose a big Cena fan went to the front of the sports bar as soon as Cena won and did the "You Can't See Me!" hand gesture to piss off all the Cena haters that were there.

 

- I was really surprised Austin had no involvement with any of the Wrestlemania matches whatsoever. It was cool he got the sendoff that he did, but I wish he would've at least stunned Jericho or McMahon for good measure just one more time.

 

- RKO / HHH was the most anticlimatic world title match since JBL / Cena. Yeah, it was back and forth, but they've had better matches in the past. The fact there were no run-ins by any of McMahons OR Legacy, no blading, no swerves, no nothing made the main event very underwhelming. Oh yeah, and of course Triple H "had" to go over. Give me a break! I don't care what anybody says, Randy Orton should've won whether The Legacy helped him or not. They better have next year's Royal Rumble winners win the fucking title at Wrestlemania otherwise winning the Royal Rumble is going to be irrelevant. Some people say Wrestlemania 25 was a good / decent show, but as far as I'm concerned, Helmsley defeating Orton ruined it. To quote somebody on here, "Its like watching a good movie with a shitty ending, all you remember is the shitty ending."

 

how cool would it be to see him cash in his title shot tonight if Orton wins the title to finally get his revenge over Orton screwing him out of the World Title?

 

I was thinking that too, but that would've been good booking / remembering continuity. I figure Randy Orton gets the title back at Backlash when he invokes his rematch clause and Punk cashes in and defeats him whenever to finally make it up to the fans for that bullshit that happened at Unforgiven 2007. Of course, this is WWE creative were talking about, I expect Punk to cash it in and lose!

 

 

 

 

So basically, If Christian won MITB, Colons vs. Miz and Morrison (with M&M winning) replaced Kid Rock, the Divas got a proper entrance with an actual Diva winning (Why the fuck was Santino Marella in the match to begin with?), JBL / Mysterio went longer, and Orton winning the God damn title like he should've, this would've been one of the best Wrestlemanias ever instead of being disappointing.

[cabbageboy 0]

What exactly is this rematch clause that Orton has? Since when would a challenger even have a rematch clause?

 

Last night I gave the main event some slack because I was just relieved they didn't put the belt on Orton. But what I don't get is why some people would think this match would be good. HHH and Orton have had matches ad nauseum over the past 4-5 years and there's been exactly one above average singles match (the LMS where Orton won the title in 2007). Think about that.

[Dr. Death Randy Savage 0]

I can't believe nobody noticed Finlay and Hornswoggle coming out with Belfast Bruiser jackets!

[Beto Chavez 0]

 

Wrestlemania 25 Highlights / Recap Video for people like me who didn't get to see it Sunday night because their cable company sucks ass.

[haws bah gawd 0]

Anyone else happen to catch Scott Armstrong yelling at Triple H (after pulling him off Orton) that they had one minute left? Soon as Orton got back to his feet, the ref again yelled "Hurry up, let's go home", then it was kick-WHAM-Pedigree for the win.

 

HBK vs Undertaker was just as epic as anyone could have hoped.

 

MitB was a lot of fun, as usual.

 

Steamboat is the fucking MAN! Is it just me, or was he using Ultimo Dragon's WWE theme?

 

Austin's sendoff was great, and a nice trip down nostalgia lane.

[AntiLeaf33 0]

Anyone else happen to catch Scott Armstrong yelling at Triple H (after pulling him off Orton) that they had one minute left? Soon as Orton got back to his feet, the ref again yelled "Hurry up, let's go home", then it was kick-WHAM-Pedigree for the win.

 

Yeah, I had about 8-10 people over to my place watching it, and pretty much everyone caught that.

[NitroJMS 0]

They were quite obviously pressed for time there at the end. You gotta wonder how they screwed up the time management for the show so badly. Was there any word of any segments going unnecessarily too long? I know Kid Rock is the obvious thing here but I'd assume WWE approved his set list ahead of time.

[Mystery Eskimo 0]

Just got round to seeing the show...enjoyed seeing Steamboat in action again most of all. Snuka and Piper embarassed themselves in contrast.

 

Taker-HBK was clearly match of the night and they put in a huge amount of effort...but I wasn't as impressed as some people seem to be. We've seen the "opponent kicks out of a bunch of Taker's finishers" routine before, and it was so obvious who was winning going into the match that it sucked any tension out of HBK's near falls.

That said I'm probably only talking about giving it **** rather than ****1/2, or something.

 

Can anyone explain why Kid Rock went on so long?

[haws bah gawd 0]

Just got round to seeing the show...enjoyed seeing Steamboat in action again most of all. Snuka and Piper embarassed themselves in contrast.

 

Taker-HBK was clearly match of the night and they put in a huge amount of effort...but I wasn't as impressed as some people seem to be. We've seen the "opponent kicks out of a bunch of Taker's finishers" routine before, and it was so obvious who was winning going into the match that it sucked any tension out of HBK's near falls.

That said I'm probably only talking about giving it **** rather than ****1/2, or something.

 

Can anyone explain why Kid Rock went on so long?

 

Well, folks have always said that Vince is a little out of touch (or a few years behind) with what's considered "cool and hip". Case in point, is stuff spinning considered cool anymore? Maybe no one told Vince that rap-rock isn't the hotness anymore? I was telling a friend the other night that with Bawitdaba and Cowboy being played, I was half-expecting Lonely Road of Faith or American Badass to follow.

[YourKock'sReallyGreat 0]

Just got round to seeing the show...enjoyed seeing Steamboat in action again most of all. Snuka and Piper embarassed themselves in contrast.

 

Taker-HBK was clearly match of the night and they put in a huge amount of effort...but I wasn't as impressed as some people seem to be. We've seen the "opponent kicks out of a bunch of Taker's finishers" routine before, and it was so obvious who was winning going into the match that it sucked any tension out of HBK's near falls.

That said I'm probably only talking about giving it **** rather than ****1/2, or something.

 

Can anyone explain why Kid Rock went on so long?

 

Well, folks have always said that Vince is a little out of touch (or a few years behind) with what's considered "cool and hip". Case in point, is stuff spinning considered cool anymore? Maybe no one told Vince that rap-rock isn't the hotness anymore? I was telling a friend the other night that with Bawitdaba and Cowboy being played, I was half-expecting Lonely Road of Faith or American Badass to follow.

 

 

That makes too much sense for the WWE. They should have had him perform Lonely Road of Faith with a video package behind him of the Highlights of the first 24 WM's and a package of the Wrestlers who have died.

[Anakin Flair 0]

Watched it on my comp last night, here are my thoughts:

 

-Was JBL really hurting, and that necessitated the match being 23 seconds? Or was that just a story element?

 

-I really wish they would have paid Tazz for a night of commentary. There was a LOT of dead air during the show.

 

-How long was Kid Rock? I kept skipping forward, and he was still on my screen?

 

-Notice how almost everyone who did a plancha/tope/moonsault off the ring to the floor landed on their head? And how fucked up did Benjamin get during MITB? The powerbomb to the floor looked a bit sloppy.

 

-Trips/Randy just dragged.

 

The show was ok, and Taker/HBK was awesome. And I loved Austin's send-off. But this show was a very sub-par Wrestlemania.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

I thought I had read most of this thread and don't think I saw it mentioned anywhere, but I was reading a recap of JR's blog and he made an apology about a comment he made about Heath Ledger during Rey's entrance. He apologized for offending anyone saying he didn't mean it, he was just so overwhelmed during the show and stumbled and said something he shouldn't have. I hadn't heard anything about this until then. Can anyone fill me in on what he said?

[Tino Standard 0]

King said Mysterio was wearing an outfit that paid homage to Heath Ledger's Joker character, to which JR replied something like: "Well, Mysterio's career is alive and well, King."

[RedJed 0]

Finally got time to post about the show, almost a week later, eek....

 

Anyway there is no doubt that anyway you slice it, this show was a major letdown considering the idea, at least in theory, should be that the 25th Mania should mean more from top to bottom and deliver more than this. The expectations should be high considering the significance of it. I thought the average sounding card on paper was going to be irrelevant since everyone would work hard and overcome the standardness of the lineup. With that said, the spectacle of it all, like most Manias are, and the fact that there was a few strong matches and an even stronger match that rightfully should have been put on last, did make it at least a really good ppv, but probably the worst Mania all around in at least ten years. I gotta say though, that I am glad my plans for traveling to Mania fell through (ZZ Top was supposed to perform months ago, I was supposed to work as one of their stagehands for the show and something fell through, thus Kid Rock got the nod I guess) as I would have been kind of let down to have been there and had to have sat through the two VERY average (and that's being generous) world title matches.

 

Just as much, why did WWE feel the need to water down the Hall of Fame event down to not even 2 and a half hours LIVE? That would have been just as dissapointing as a fan to experience as much as going to the Mania card itself. Then again, just being able to see that Taker/Michaels match live would have probably completely made the show for me.

 

MITB - I specifically watched the past four MITB matches right before Mania started, thinking this would open the card and sure enough, it did. Made for watching the match a little different than usual since I was comparing it severely to the past ones. While I don't think it was the best MITB so far (I still think the original MITB match at Mania 21 is the best) it was pretty much second to the best given the creativity in this one.

 

Hardys - I guess this was one of the matches that was actually cut in time due to them trimming up things as the show started (with other cuts being taking the lunberjack tag title match off the pay per view, turning the JBL match into a quick squash, etc) and it's too bad because I thought it was really getting going good and probably with about 10 more minutes, and with a few more big spots, it would have been great. But I'm guessing they are building to a series of gimmick matches with these two for the next few pay per views, so it's understandable. Still was second to the best match of the night anyway. Hell of a finish there and the Matt Hardy table sandwich spot was cool.

 

Women's battle royal - What the fuck was this mess? I expected AT LEAST some quality nostalgic stuff, much like the Gimmick battle royal from Mania 17, but what happened here was the definition of a clusterfuck from every angle. The announcers were clearly totally unprepared here, or instructed to call it a certain way, but whatever the case, it all came off like a really bad idea. The women they brought back for a one time shot werent even basically acknowledged hardly at all, if at all. And the whole Santina thing came off just stupid at the same time. Could go on and on about this one.

 

JBL retires - I actually thought it was a very fitting end to his career, if this really is it (which it appears to be). Either the crowd didn't buy it, or they just didn't care. You take your pick. Not going to miss JBL really since I couldn't imagine what they would do with him after Mania anyway.

 

Austin "retires" - I thought this was probably the most significant moment of the whole card, when he came out and appeared to do "one last" toast. Between his speech at the HOF and this, this really seemed to be the final swansong of Stone Cold in the company. Ultimately, if there ever was a chance for him to do another match, it would have been on this show, so I think it's safe to say he's done.

 

Jericho/Legends - This was a complete mixed bag of a match, and a complete "that was it?" of a post-match predictable angle. Piper and Snuka looked totally awful to the greatest degree in there, Snuka particularly acted like he didn't even want to be there. Steamboat, however, impressed the hell out of me, and I was marking out like crazy just because he was easily one of my favorites growing up and watching wrestling (his match on Raw the next night was even more of a markout moment for me). That said, the match was really bad until Steamboat and Jericho started working against each other. Would have much rather seen a 15 minute Steamboat/Jericho match instead of what was presented, and maybe at some point we will see that if the response for Steamboat to have one more match happens since I can't imagine the Jericho/Legends angle will just end here. The Mickey Rourke shit was just stupid though, had alot more hopes for all of that for some reason.

 

Taker/Michaels - what else can be said other than that this match was incredible, and is right up there easily as one of my top three favorite Mania matches ever. The big spots themselves weren't so memorable as the sequence of getting to some of those moves were, if that makes any sense. Those last ten minutes were just top notch in that regard. I thought Taker broke his neck for sure in that tope outside onto the camera man, thankfully he tucked his head in at the last second. This match almost felt like they were both working their last big match ever and were going all out like never before. May be the case if Michaels is really retiring after next year, and it begs the question if we might get so lucky as to see a rematch next year, Michaels putting up his career for one more shot to end the streak. Anyway, I think this match had high expectations and somehow, they were exceeded by their performance. The first tombstone spot where Michaels kicked out last minute was one of the more realistic near falls I've seen in WWE in years.

 

Cena/Show/Edge - I give them all an A for effort in that they really tried to get something going with this match by some of the typical WWE main event ringside shenanigans (such as the spear through the barricade, etc) and Cena carrying both on his shoulders at the end, but ultimately, it felt real flat, half considering I had no interest in seeing this match in the first place, and then they really didn't do too much to make it stand out than the normal pay per view title match. At least they didn't end the show like this, at least I thought that until the ended the show with the horrible HHH/Orton main event, which I won't comment on other than that it was a complete letdown from what it should have been.

[haVoc 0]

It's funny Triple H has been in two anticlimactic main events at Mania. I can't decide which was worst. His match with Jericho or Orton.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

The one with Orton. The one with Jericho was at least a halfway decent match, even if the booking leading up to it was shit. The one with Orton had solid booking heading into it with a piss-poor Raw 10:00 "main event" to cap it off.

[Masked Heel 0]

I think the dq stipulation on the Orton-HHH match overall hurt it. For a match that was suppose to be built on hatred and revenge it came off as anticlimactic and wasn't worked like both guys hated each other. Had Vince changed the stip to something like no dq everyone banned from ringside or something similar and HHH and Orton had worked more of a brawl style outside the ring all over the arena/crowd then I think the match would have been better and had more of a Wrestlemaina big match feel. Of course it seems like some people are just bitching because they wanted Orton to go over but really looking at the story Orton couldn't go over. It just wasn't built to have the evil dick go over at Wrestlemaina when that show has been over the years the place for the babyface to go over, save one year when HHH went over in the main and most people would say that was the wrong move then too.

[BruteSquad_BRODY 0]

Undertaker was at TV in Austin, but only used backstage and was chilling out, but is scheduled full-time from this point forward. During the dive when he landed pretty much on his head, everyone was talking about how God was on his side that night because it could have been a disaster. There were people blaming it on Sim Snuka, who was the guy who played the camera man whose role was to catch him and really didn’t, but others said it was a tough situation having to be there, drop the camera and make the catch, and Undertaker landing short of what Snuka thought was the mark. Undertaker was knocked out and went “on fumes” the rest of the match.

 

WON