WrestleMania 23 Recap

WrestleMania 23 proved not to be a good night for the rich and powerful. One billionaire lost his hair and another was beaten up by Steve Austin. The World Heavyweight Champion lost his title and the most popular wrestler in the company was jeered by over 80,000 people.

- The show starts with Aretha Franklin singing America the Beautiful.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Edge vs. C.M. Punk vs. King Booker vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Finlay vs. Randy Orton - The WrestleMania moment occurred in this match when Jeff Hardy had a choice to either win the match or inflict severe punishment on Edge. He chose to do a leg drop off the top of the ladder onto Edge who was lying on another ladder that was lying between the ring and fan barricade. In a nod to WrestleMania III, Kennedy gave the rolling Kenton Bomb to Hornswoggle from the top of a ladder. A few minutes later, he grabbed the briefcase. Winner: Ken Kennedy

Kane vs. the Great Khali - This battle of the 7-footers ended with a clean win for the Great Khali. He won with the choke slam and pinned Kane by standing on his chest. Winner: The Great Khali

- Cryme Time tries to console the bald Eugene by having the ECW Divas dance for him. He prefers dancing with Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah. The skit continues with appearances by numerous WWE Legends including Slick, Dusty Rhodes, and Jimmy Hart. It ends with Ron Simmons walking in and saying his “Damn” catchphrase.

U.S. Title: Champion Chris Benoit vs. MVP - MVP controlled the majority of this match but the experience of Benoit was too much for him to overcome. Benoit retained the title by hitting MVP with the off the top rope head butt. Winner: Chris Benoit

- Donald Trump is in an office with former Miss USA Tara Conner. He is on the phone complaining about there being no sandwiches. The Boogeyman magically appears and scares Tara away. Trump is not phased and offers Boogeyman worms if he can bring him a sandwich.

World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Batista vs. the Undertaker - Even though both guys are fan favorites, the crowd was overwhelmingly in support of the Undertaker. Nothing was going to stop the Undertaker from going 15-0 at WrestleMania. He survived a running power slam from one announce table through another and the Batista Bomb. Undertaker won with a tombstone piledriver. Winner: The Undertaker

- Vince McMahon is in his office and is visited his daughter Stephanie and his granddaughter. Vince does an insane promo talking baby-speak to the baby about how he will crush the skull of Donald Trump. He then gets angry from the smell that the baby produced by taking a “Trump”.

The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von, and Matt Striker) vs. the ECW Originals (Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer) - The New Breed worked over Tommy Dreamer. He made the hot tag to RVD, who won the match by hitting the five-star frog splash on Matt Striker. Winners: The ECW Originals

Donald Trump's Hair vs Mr. McMahon's Hair: Bobby Lashley vs. Umaga w/Armando Alejandro Estrada - Steve Austin is the special guest referee for this match. Trump came out accompanied by Tara Conner as cash fell from the ceiling. Armando was beaten up by Lashley early in the match and was taken to the back. Austin was a hands-on official and this was not appreciated by Umaga who gave Austin the Samoan Spike. Shane McMahon came out and delivered the Van Terminator to Lashley. He then took his shirt off and had on a referee’s shirt. When he was about to deliver the three-count, Austin got back up and beat up Shane. Outside the ring, Donald Trump attacked Vince McMahon. Back inside, Umaga tried to attack Austin again but was instead given the Stunner by Austin. Lashley followed that with the spear to get the win. Vince tried to escape but Austin delivered the stunner to Vince before he was strapped to the barber’s chair. Lashley and Trump then proceeded to shave Vince bald. When Trump was celebrating, Steve Austin gave the stunner to Donald Trump. Winner: Bobby Lashley

- Highlights of a match held prior to the show are shown. In a lumberjack match, Ric Flair and Carlito beat Gregory Helms and Chavo Guerrero.

Lumber Jill Match for the Women's Title: Champion Melina vs. Ashley - Is it possible to hear a pin drop in a place where there are over 80,000 people? Melina won the match with a reverse cradle. When all the Divas got into a giant cat fight after the match, the crowd finally showed signs of life. Winner: Melina

WWE Championship: Champion John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - The crowd was solidly behind Michaels in this match. The first ref got knocked out when Shawn accidentally hit him with the super kick. Shawn then proceeded to give John a piledriver on the ring steps. A second referee then came to the ring. Cena was able to kick out of a super kick and Shawn was able to kick out of the FU and escaped the STFU. However, when Cena reapplied the move in the middle of the ring a few minutes later, Shawn tapped out. After the match, Shawn refused to shake the hand of John Cena. Winner: John Cena

Match Results

• Money in the Bank Ladder Match: Ken Kennedy beat Edge, C.M. Punk, King Booker, Jeff Hardy, Finlay, Matt Hardy, and Randy Orton
  
• The Great Khali beat Kane
  
• U.S. Title: Champion Chris Benoit beat MVP
  
• World Heavyweight Championship: The Undertaker beat Batista to win the title
  
• The ECW Originals (Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Sandman, and Tommy Dreamer) beat The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von, and Matt Striker)
  
• Donald Trump's Hair vs Mr. McMahon's Hair: Bobby Lashley beat Umaga
  
• Lumber Jill Match for the Women's Title: Champion Melina beat Ashley
  
• WWE Championship: Champion John Cena beat Shawn Michaels

_{Photo: (c) 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.}