WWE Wrestlemania XXV Review
CM Punk def. Christian, Kane, Mark Henry, Finlay, Kofi Kingston, Shelton Benjamin and Montel Vontavious Porter(14:26)
Thoughts: The Money in the Bank Ladder Match has delivered breathtaking excitement at WrestleMania for each of the last four Mania's and this one was certainly no exception. Kofi Kingston definitely gets the Shelton Benjamin Memorial Award for having a truly breakthrough performance in a MITB match. Hopping the ladder near the beginning of the match was hella sweet and swinging through the ladder to take out Finlay later in the match was stellar. Speaking of Shelton Benjamin, the Gold Standard once again came through with his trademark mixed bag of MITB spots. His Senton Bomb from the ladder on the outside was incredible, except of course for the fact that he under-rotated and damn near killed himself. Scaling the ladder from the outside was great, but of course if was followed by the requisite Shelton botch. Kane, Mark Henry and Finlay all did an admirable job of playing to their own strengths and even Hornswoggle’s role made perfect sense. Having CM Punk winning for the second consecutive MITB match was shocking, but he was the most credible challenger here. I was happy he did get it since his first world title reign was a joke and his runs with the world title were... I'll leave that to you guys.
Rating: ***3/4
Santina Marella def. 24 other competitors; last eliminating Beth Phoenix and Melina(6:00)
Thoughts: For those wondering, the others competitors are Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eve Torres, Gail Kim, Jackie Gayda-Haas, Jillian Hall, Joy Giovanni, Katie Lea Burchill, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maria, Maryse, Michelle McCool, Mickie James, Molly Holly, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Sunny, Tiffany, Torrie Wilson, and Victoria. Of course WWE didn't both telling us that since each diva didn't get their own entrance LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE! The fact that none of the Divas were announce was an insult to the Divas that returned for a special appearance and after this disaster, I’m incredibly glad that Trish Stratus and Lita had the good sense to stay the hell away. But to waste Sunny, Molly Holly, Victoria and even Torrie Wilson like that was just asinine. The concept of having 25 past and present Divas fight to become Miss WrestleMania could have led to a decent match. It could have lead to Trish Stratus and Lita beating the hell out of each other one more time. It could have led to Molly Holly, Gail Kim and Victoria reminding us the women actually can wrestle. It could have led to Mickie James grabbing another Diva where the sun don’t shine. And all of that would have been awesome. But instead we got Santino in drag. What a bunch of bullshit.
Rating: DUD
Chris Jericho def. Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat(8:57)
Thoughts: The good news is we got the two questionable matches out of the way early. The bad news was this, for the most part, was not pretty. We’ve seen Piper and Snuka with alarming regularity over the past few years and they once gain gave us what little they have left to give. Snuka’s whimper of a tap was particularly disturbing. However, with that being said, I have to give MAJOR love and respect to Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat. I had no idea that he would be able to perform as such a high level after not stepping in the ring for close to two decades. I thought that Flair / Michaels was the best possible way for Flair to retire, but not I’m wondering if Flair should have held out for one last match with Steamboat, twenty years after they defined perfection. Because after seeing this match, I really kind of think that Flair and Steamboat could have had one last five star classic. But anyway, this was what it was, basically just a waste of time that at least gave Steamboat the chance to remind us that he truly is one of the all time greats.
Rating: **
Matt Hardy def. Jeff Hardy(13:14)
Thoughts: I have to say that this match left me a bit under whelmed. Sure, there were some crazy spots, but I’m not sure they were quite at the level of crazy that we were expecting from two of the craziest spot monkeys in WWE history. But the real problem was not the big spots but rather everything between the big spots. The Hardys seemed completely unable to hold the crowd’s attention between monstrous bumps and as a result the crowd was dead for most of the match. And that, more than anything else, may underscore and legitimize the criticisms that have been thrown at the Hardys for years. Yes, they love this business and yes, they are willing to do ANYTHING to try to entertain the fans. But more often than not it seems as though they lack the ability to tell real stories with real emotion. And that may be what keeps them from ever truly reaching the top of the card.
Rating: **3/4
Rey Mysterio def. John Bradshaw Layfield(c)(0:21)
Thoughts: I think the only reason JBL got this IC title reign was to give him the grand slam title before he retired. The match was done basically to give Rey the title and to get JBL off the roster, which could've been done on Raw. To be fair, if Shawn Michaels couldn't get a good match out of Bradshaw, then there's no chance Rey could, so perhaps this was for the best. It felt like they were trying to mimic last year's ECW championship match with Kane and Chavo. Well, this isn't getting the +5 for epic squash like that did.
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: What can I say about this that hasn't already been said. This is 09's MOTY; that's speaks volumes.This match literally had it all. Shawn Michaels kicked out of a HELLACIOUS Last Ride and a Tombstone Piledriver. The Undertaker kicked out of multiple Sweet Chin Musics. Michaels absolutely splattered himself after a missed moonsault. A referee bit the dust in a moment eerily reminiscent of the first Hell in a Cell Match. And the Undertaker truly may have been unconscious for a few minutes.I wouldn't say it was the best WWE match from the 2000's, but it was certainly one that we’ll remember for a long time to come.
Rating: *****
John Cena def. Edge and Big Show(14:44)
Thoughts: I appreciate WWE putting both world title matches on last, but after Taker/Shawn, the crowd was tired and because of that, if affects both this and the WWE Title match. With that said, this was certainly a passable Triple Threat Match, but unfortunately you can’t help but compare it to the Triple Threat Match five years ago at WrestleMania XX and it simply pales in comparison. The finish would have been epic if Cena had managed to FU both Edge and Show at the same time, especially since Edge would have landed underneath Show. However, the finish was still fairly impressive and somehow it makes sense that Cena would win given that he seemed to come into the match with the most focus and the fewest distractions. Though why they took the title off him a month later still leaves scratching my head.
Rating ***1/4
Triple H(c) def. Randy Orton(23:36)
Thoughts: One big, giant, huge MEH for this one. Sure it told the hatred story, but it was slow, plodding and frankly boring. HHH gets crap for not putting people over and this may well be a case of that phenomenon. Orton was at the top of his game here and has to lie down for HHH. I can't get behind the match or the result. It wasn’t a bad match, but it wasn’t worthy of a WM main event. Period.
Rating: **3/4
Final Rating
2.79 out of 5
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