WrestleMania XXV Results and Recap
Tag Team Title Unification Lumberjack Match: WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo Colon vs. World Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison - This match took place prior to the start of the PPV and the play-by-play for the match was only available on a WWE Universe Chat room session. The match was filmed as a DVD exclusive for the event. The match ended when Morrison tried for a reverse DDT and Primo reversed that into a backstabber to get the win. Winners and Unified Tag Team Champions: The Colon Brothers- The show starts with Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, singing America the Beautiful.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Finlay vs. Christian - Despite there being many ladder matches in the past, there were quite a few new innovate spots in this match which was headlined by two moves by Kofi Kinston that saw him deliver a kick through the side of the ladder and climb up the ladder while it was in the closed position. The ending came down to Kane and CM Punk battling on top of the ladder. With a flurry of kicks to the side of the head and a push, CM Punk won the match for the second straight year. Winner: CM Punk
- Kid Rock spent about 10-minutes performing some of his biggest hits. During the final song, “So Hott”, the Divas made their way to the ring. Before the ring introductions were made, the Divas match started.
25-Diva Battle Royal
The 18 current WWE Divas in this match are: Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Eve Torres, Gail Kim, Jillian, Katie Lea, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maria, Maryse, Melina, Michelle McCool, Mickie James, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, and Tiffany.
The 7 surprise entrants in this match are: Jackie Gayda, Joy Giovanni, Santina Marella, Sunny, Torrie Wilson, Victoria, and Molly Holly.
Beth Phoenix dominated the match and was about to eliminate Melina when Santina Marella, Santino Marella’s twin sister from Italy, pushed both women out of the ring to get the win and become Miss WrestleMania. Santino is Beth's boyfriend but might not be for much longer after throwing her out of the ring. Winner: Santina Marella
- Mickey Rourke is shown sitting in the front row as part of his involvement in the upcoming match
Three-on-one Elimination Handicap Match: Chris Jericho vs Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, & Jimmy Snuka - The Legends have Ric Flair standing in their corner. Jimmy Snuka was eliminated after submitting to the Walls of Jericho. Jericho pinned Piper after kicking him in the head. Steamboat was the last man eliminated after getting hit with the code breaker. Following the match, Flair entered the ring but Jericho took him out of commission with the code breaker. Jericho then grabbed the microphone and demanded an apology from Mickey Rourke. Rourke entered the ring and leveled Jericho with a left hook. Winner: Chris Jericho
Extreme Rules: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy - In addition to beating each other with the tables, ladders, and chairs they are known for, the brothers also used a picture frame, shop vac, Singapore cane, and a crutch as weapons. Jeff attempted a leg drop on his brother by leapfrogging from the top of a smaller ladder and over a huge ladder. Jeff missed the leg drop. Matt then put Jeff’s head in a chair and hit a Twist of Fate to get the win. Winner: Matt Hardy
Intercontinental Championship: Champion JBL vs. Rey Mysterio - Rey dressed up as the Joker for this match. Prior to the start of the match, JBL attacked Rey. After letting Rey get to his feet, the referee started the match. It took only 21 seconds for Rey to beat JBL. He finished the match with a dive off the top rope. After the match, JBL grabbed the microphone and said “I Quit”. Ironically, the last time JBL retired, it was as the result of losing a match to Rey. Winner and new Intercontinental Champion: Rey Mysterio
Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels - In contradictory entrances to show their differences, Shawn came down from the heavens while the Undertaker came up from hell as part of their entrances into the arena. This match featured both men kick out of each others finishers and break out of each others submission maneuvers on several occasions. The bout ended when Shawn tried his back flip off the top rope and was caught in mid-air by the Undertaker. From that position, Undertaker was able to give Shawn the tombstone to increase the streak to 17-0. This match lived up to all the expectations it had and I can't imagine it not winning my Match of the Year Award in nine-months. Winner: The Undertaker
World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show - Cena’s special entrance this year was straight out of an Eminem video as he had several dozen people lined up dressed just like him. The final portion of this match featured the most impressive feat of strength I’ve ever seen in a ring. While Edge had Big Show in a sleeper hold, Cena picked both men up over his shoulders in the Attitude Adjustment. Edge slipped off but Cena completed the move on Big Show. He then gave the Attitude Adjustment to Edge. Cena then pinned the Big Show to get the win. Winner and New Champion: John Cena
- The WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2009 is introduced to the crowd. After the introductions took place at the top of the ramp, Steve Austin drove his ATV to the ring and had a beer bash.
- Lilian Garcia announced that there is a crowd of 72,744 at Reliant Stadium for the show.
WWE Championship: Champion Triple H vs. Randy Orton - Triple H’s special entrance this year featured a fun house mirror parlor trick that ended with Triple H using his banned sledgehammer to break. The rules of this match were that if Triple H was disqualified, counted out, or brought his sledgehammer to the ring he would lose the title. The match started off quickly as both the pedigree and RKO were used in the beginning portion of the match. The beginning of the end of this match was when the referee got knocked out. Randy Orton grabbed a sledgehammer from underneath the ring and tried to bring it into the ring. While going back into the ring, he was punted in the head by Triple H. Hunter then used the sledgehammer on Randy. With the referee still unconscious, Triple H started pummeling Randy in the head with punches. Once the referee came to, Triple H hit Randy with the pedigree to get the win. Winner: Triple H
What does this event mean for the future?
Unlike other sports and TV shows, while this event can be viewed as the Super Bowl or season finale for the WWE, there is no off-season in the WWE and the action and drama will continue at a rapid fire pace. In eight days, there will be a draft that will rearrange the rosters of all three WWE brands. In addition, there is another PPV event in three weeks that will probably see the continuation of the feuds between the Hardys, Big Show and Edge, and Triple H and Randy Orton.
Overall Thoughts
I really liked this show and thought it was worth the purchase price. Three things were done differently on this show that I really enjoyed. Firstly, they got rid of the three different announcing crews that always reminded me of the baseball scene in The Naked Gun. It also allowed for the return of my favorite prop, the Spanish announcing table.
The second thing they did was play around with the match order. For this event, they stacked all the great matches at the end instead of putting on some filler between the good stuff. I liked this new approach and hope it is continued in the future.
Finally, there weren't any pre-match interviews. I have always viewed them as filler for the PPV. Promos are used to sell matches and since this is a PPV, there is no need to further sell me on the match.
Match Results
- Dark Match – Tag Team Unification Lumberjack Match: WWE Tag Team Champions Carlito & Primo Colon beat World Tag Team Champions The Miz & John Morrison
- Money in the Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk beat Christian, Kofi Kingston, Kane, Mark Henry, Finlay, Shelton Benjamin, and MVP
- Santina Marella won the 25-Diva Battle Royal
- 3-on-1 Handicap Elimination Match: Chris Jericho beat Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, and Ricky Steamboat
- Extreme Rules: Matt Hardy beat Jeff Hardy
- Intercontinental Championship: Rey Mysterio beat JBL to win the title
- Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels
- World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena beat Champion Edge and The Big Show to win the title
- WWE Championship Match: Champion Triple H beat Randy Orton
Photo of Ric Flair & Mickey Rourke: Bill Olive/Getty Images
Comments
This is the worst Wrestlemania in history so far.
This wrestlemania had to the worst in over a decade,Eric is wrong this show was not worth the the price,it just sucked
OK, I’ve got 2 comments disagreeing with my opinion of the show. I’m going to realistically compare this show to last year’s in a fair match-by-match manner to see if this really has been the worst WrestleMania ever or that it just sucked.
WM 24 Results & Recap
http://prowrestling.about.com/b/2008/03/30/wrestlemania-xxiv-recap-results.htm
MITB – this year’s was better than last year’s. I really enjoyed the innovative moves in this one better than anything in last year’s. WM24 0 – WM25 1
Diva Match Segments – Neither match was very good and both involved Santino comedy spots. I could have lived without the Kid Rock concert and I could have lived without Snoop Dog and his pimp golf cart. Both had technical glitches where one match started before the wrestlers were announced and the other had the lights go out. I call this one a push
Celebrity Involved Match – The Mayweather-Show match was interesting from a big man-little man dynamic but not much of a match. The Jericho match wasn’t much of a match either but I loved seeing Steamboat bust out those moves. Therefore, on my enjoyment scale, I’m picking WM 25. That makes the score WM24 0 – WM25 2
Hardcore Match: No comparison. The Hardy match this year was much better than the JBL-Finlay Match last year. WM24 0 – WM25 3
Squash Title Match: Last year Kane & Chavo had a quick match that was not entertaining in any way. The whole thing with JBL making fun of the crowd, getting embarrassed, and then quitting in embarrassment was more entertaining. Updated score – WM24 0 – WM25 4
Shawn Michaels Match of the Year Candidate – Let me start off by saying that Ric Flair is my favorite wrestler of all time and that their 24 match was my match of the year. With that said, Shawn’s match against the Undertaker was one of the best matches I have ever seen. Updated score – WM24 0 – WM25 5
Triple Threat Title Match: Cena was in both of these. I liked the flow of this one better and the ending of this one was much more impressive. That move by Cena is one of the most impressive moves I’ve ever seen done in the ring. The only reason Edge dropped out of the move was because if he flipped over, he could have been seriously hurt by having Big Show fall on him. That makes the score 6-0 in the favor of 25. At this point, the worst WM in history comment was made.
Main Event Final 1-on-1 title match: The UT-Edge match last year was better than the Orton-HHH match this year.
Final Score: WM25 6 – WM24 1
I can’t see how this was the worst in over a decade and just sucked. The only thing that sucked about this show was my predictions which were embarrassingly bad.
Eric
Thank You again, Eric for doing a great job covering Wrestlmania. As for the other two people who made a comment, look at Eric’s comparison and learn a lesson, don’t make comments that you can’t back up. Eric knows what he’s doing. Now Eric I’ve got two questions. When do you think that Punk will cash in the title shot? I know it may be to early to tell, but I’m just wanting to know you’re thoughts. The second question is Do you thonk that the Hardys will have another Extreme Rules Match in the coming months?
Ok maybe it wasn’t the worst wrestlemania in over a decade but the money in the bank match was better at WM24 so was the main event at WM24 and i think wwe could have put somebody more talented than cm punk over in the money in the bank match,hbk v undertaker was the best match by far,and the triple threat was ok, the main event sucked though nothing like it could have been.
You’re right maybe I shouldn’t have called you an idiot and for that I apologize.
I think I’m the idiot here. I accidentally deleted one of Fred’s comment. For that I apologize. I’m glad that BigDave apologized for his comment and I have edited his original comment to get rid of the insult in question.
While debate is a good thing lets all remember that on the forums and comments section we can insult each others opinions but lets be civilized and not insult the person making the comment.
Eric
Big Dave,
As far as your questions go, I really have no idea or even any guess about the Money in the Bank at this point.
I’m sure the Hardys will have another match soon. I doubt it would be Extreme Rules again but I think it will be some other specialty match.
Eric
There is something else that bothered me abot WM25 and that was that cm punk won the money in the bank ladder match once again,when i think shelton benjimin or mvp should of won i think they have more talent then punk and deserve to get over.
Eric, where do you see the WWE and WHC belts going in the draft? It seems that the orton-HHH fued will continue, but I cant see it being moved to Smackdown. I also cant imagine Cena leaving Raw. Do you think WWE will bide their time on moving this title picture, or could CM Punk pick up a title and take it to Smackdown in the draft?
Also,do you think there is any chance at all of HBK and Undertaker’s fued going foward, with or without drafting either man?
If not, could you imagine either man being involved in the title picture (especially the slot left open with Cena if Edge and Big Show sort things out in singles competition over the next few PPVs)?
Joy Giovanni was in the Diva Match, too! Why don’t they bring her back? Her pics look awesome on the website, too.
Thanks for the answers Eric although I have the same question as Taasi. Do you think that the major titles are going to change brands? Also I was wondering do you see the Orton vs. HHH feud leading up to a Hell In A Cell match? I mean, it doesn’t seem like that their differnces were settled at ‘Mania.
Bababooey,
Thanks for the heads up. I made the correction. I mistakenly wrote Nidia instead of Joy. I can only assume that they haven’t brought her back because she wasn’t a wrestler. I’m baffled that her name was not even mentioned last night during the match.
Dave & Taasi,
I’ll be writing a blog later in the week with my draft picks and predictions for the titles.
As far as UT-Shawn, unless one of them switches brands, I don’t see a rematch anytime soon.
The Orton-Triple H feud is far from over and has to eventually end in a Hell in a Cell Match. In little over a year, they have already had 2 last man standing matches and a cage match on PPV that have settled nothing between them.
Eric
I just wanted to let everybody who didn’t see RAW last night that The Animal Batista is back and better than ever!!!! Unleash the Animal!
Having been a wrestling fan and follower of the sport for as long as WrestleMania has been around, the show was entertaining, but I would have like to have seen some of the booking in a couple of the key matches come out differently:
1) The DIVA’s Battle Royal- The whole Santino/Beth angle is starting to get old. It would have been nice to have seen Victoria get a victory since she retired a few weeks ago and didn’t get a proper send off.
2)The Legends Match- I enjoyed most of this match, but Snuka looked just awful and it was hard to watch him perform in the ring. I think there were better Legends that would have been a little more mobile in the ring that Snuka. Ricky Steamboat looked good even though he’s not been in the ring for ages. I would have had Steamboat pick up a victory since he was inducted into the Hall. Ric Flair, my all-time favorite was just used all wrong in this line-up as he didn’t a receipt for his beat down on RAW the week before. It seemed like Ric’s job was to be out there and guide Mickey Rourke around the ring after the match. Flair could have at least got his “low blow” in on Jericho as the referee wasn’t looking and had Steamboat pick-up the pin.
3) JBL & Rey just left me scratching my head and asking the question “Why?” If you’re going to have someone drop the belt AND retire, 21 seconds just doesn’t say thank you for all that you have done for the company. Could you see Hogan out there losing in this manner? More like picking up the pieces and capitalizing on winning the WWE Championship after the Yoko/Bret Hart match in Vegas.
4) Triple H & Randy Orton went the distance, but it seem like they could have had another twist right before the pinfall.
Overall, a good PPV even though a few of the spots you could see coming a mile away (unlike some of the past shows where it seems like I wrote the show and was calling the spots).
Thanks again Eric for you constant updates and coverage of this great industry!
Maybe not the best WM ever, but certainly right up there. An awesome event. ***EDIT***
If you didn’t like this event, there is no reason you should even be watching wrestling.
***EDIT: Josh – It’s OK to disagree with other peoples opinions but please don’t insult the people that have a differing opinion. – Eric ***
Sorry.
I was glad to see Batista back again. I am hoping that this man can bring back law and order in the ring, by that I mean that it is no fun that Randy Orton with his buddy’s the 3 of them attack on one one man and they have been doing this for the last few months. Orton should be expelled from wrestling as he put Vince McMahon and his son in the hospital and then he smashed HHH wife to the floor that’s enough to puke. Without Orton and Chris Cherico then, it is possible we can watch wrestling again and I hope Batista and Rey Misterio can fix this and bring back old time wrestling.
I wonder do they really care about the fans. They think that if they do a great Promos. for the events, and then put on a poor show. That the fans will continue to buy the pay-for-views. In my household we have learned the only way to get their attention is not to buy all the pay-for-views. WrestleMania was not worth the money. So we won’t buy several of the upcoming pay-for-views. We know and understand that they will not feel or notice it. But we will cut down on the money they will be able to beat us out of. I wonder how many other fans have begun to do the same thing
Larry Shannon
The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania was my FIRST WrestleMania (even though I’ve been a wrestling fan for 48 of my 50 years)! And it was GREAT!!! I enjoy your insights, comments and predictions. Keep up the good work. Thank you,
I think that WrestleMania 24 was very good especially with the Big Show & Floyd “Money” Mayweather match was but, it does not beat WrestleMania 25 with the match with John Cena, Big Show, and Edge. WM24 2, WM25 5
wow….this wrestlemania sucked. I like how you used your own opinion when comparing the 2 wrestlemanias in order to try and justify your opinion from before. That’s like me saying, “I prefer pepsi to coke” and then someone saying “No way coke is WAY better than pepsi.” Then me saying “Nuh-uh!” “pepsi is better than coke” Pepsi-1, Coke-0. Wow, real nice way to clear that up for us….