World Wrestling Entertainment – WrestleMania 21 – 3rd April 2005
I’d gotten it into my head that, with the exception of WrestleMania 20, after Mania 17 they started running stadiums every year – but I was wrong. Both 21 and 22 next year are from regular arenas which seems crazy when you think how huge WrestleMania has become. I’ve no doubt there will be plenty of pomp, pageantry and grandeur, but when the show comes from a building they were probably in for Raw or Smackdown a few months earlier WrestleMania definitely loses some of it’s mystique. I’ve never seen this event and must confess I’m really looking forward to it. The Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels dream match is the obvious standout clash, winning PWI MOTY for ’05 and one I can’t wait to check out. Both brands have hot new acts poised to become their champions, with John Cena challenging JBL for the WWE Title and Batista challenging Triple H for the World Championship. If that wasn’t enough there’s also Undertaker vs Orton, Eddie vs Rey and the debut of the Money In The Bank concept. Surely all of that will combine to outweigh the obvious piss-break segments of Christy Hemme getting a Women’s Title shot or Big Show and Akebono in a Sumo Match? Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler and Tazz will call the action for their respective brands. We are in Los Angeles, CA as WrestleMania ‘goes Hollywood’...
Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio
At No Way Out we saw these two friends win the WWE Tag Titles together. They still hold those belts, but bring a friendly rivalry to the biggest stage their business has to offer them. There may be mutual respect between them, but both will want to score the win. Eddie was in one of the main events last year, so won’t enjoy opening the show in 2005 and will know only a win will propel him back to a top spot.
As usual, this audience absolutely adore Eddie. Sensibly he looks to ground Mysterio, believing himself to be a superior technical wrestler and using those mat skills to negate Rey’s speed. He catapults his partner over the top rope…but then has to think fast to dodge an early 619 attempt. Mysterio is having issues with his mask (as usual), yet still manages to land on his feet on the apron when Guerrero flips him way into the air. Unfortunately he is rewarded with nothing more than a face full of Eddie pescado. Latino Heat violently hauls him back to the canvas with a back suplex then mounts him again to ensure he stays down. He rattles off submission holds, floating easily from one to the next, looking to exhaust Rey rather than submit him. A lucha armdrag gets Mysterio some distance…RUNNING CORKSCREW PLANCHA nailed! The springboard senton scores next, so Guerrero elbows him right in the face to shut his momentum down. Three Amigos blocked, so Eddie hits a back suplex backbreaker instead! Three Amigos blocked…619 blocked…TILTA-WHIRL backbreaker! Eddie is crushing the life out of his own tag team partner! Third time of asking he does hit the Three Amigos, but MISSES the Frog Splash! Perfect execution on that spot in that Rey didn’t move a muscle until Guerrero was already in the air. 619! But Rey is too injured to follow up right away! West Coast Pop COUNTERED TO A POWERBOMB for 2! Guerrero tries another backbreaker, INSANELY countered into a hurricanrana by Mysterio! THREE COUNT! Rey snatches the pin from nowhere at 12:22
Rating - **** - It isn’t Halloween Havoc ’97 but both men were a lot older, a lot more broken down and carrying far more muscle than they were back then. What it was, however, was an extremely solid and intelligently worked wrestling match that packed in plenty of excitement yet also stole no thunder from anything to come later in the show. Eddie was a wrestling machine, slowing the pace and punishing Mysterio’s back for lengthy periods…but could never find a way to permanently shut down the explosive speed of Rey’s aerial assaults. Everything he did was punctuated by Rey popping up and doing something amazing – a theme which continued right through to the finish when Mysterio countered another backbreaker. Mysterio’s performance here was incredible considering his mask issues were so bad he was having to adjust it almost constantly. He was hitting some precise and intricate stuff, and there is no way he could see properly for most of this. What a great start!
The two shake hands post-match, but Guerrero is clearly struggling to come to terms with another high profile singles loss.
The two World Champions meet backstage, and share a rather tense exchange. Triple H makes fun of Layfield and doesn’t expect him to be WWE Champion by the end of the night.
Chris Jericho vs Chris Benoit vs Christian vs Shelton Benjamin vs Edge vs Kane – Ladder Match
This is the first ever ‘Money In The Bank’ Ladder Match, with the winner earning a contract for a World Title shot valid for one year. Apparently Jericho came up with the concept after learning that the creative team had no major plans for him at WrestleMania this year other than throwing he, Benoit and Edge together in some kind of match. He suggested throwing all these hungry Raw upper midcarders together and letting them steal the show, and it seems Vince liked the concept too. The likes of Benoit, Kane and Jericho himself have been champion before and are hungry to get back there. Edge & Christian have enjoyed plenty of WrestleMania Ladder Match success in years gone by so are an obvious threat too. Edge has been relentless driven by his desire to be World Champion since last year, so would love a cast-iron, contractual guarantee of a title shot.
Kane’s burning ladder entrance is seriously awesome. It’s so intimidating that everyone else in the match piles out into the aisle looking to attack him! Jericho is already sporting a huge bruise on his ribs as a result of that skirmish. SPRINGBOARD SUICIDE DIVE by Christian! SOMERSAULT PLANCHA by Shelton! TOP ROPE DIVE TO THE FLOOR BY KANE! Jericho tries to use a ladder as a weapon, but doesn’t see Benoit sneak up behind him for a massive German suplex! Benoit counters Kane’s Chokeslam to the Crippler Crossface! Edge saves…CROSSFACE ON EDGE! Kane didn’t like getting Crossfaced so DESTROYS BENOIT’S ARM with a ladder! Edge & Christian briefly reunite for a double ladder smash on the Big Red Machine…only to be wiped out by a flying Shelton. DRAGON WHIP THROUGH A LADDER! He then counters Edge’s Spear with a ladder flapjack. Y2J stops him going for the briefcase as Benoit and Christian climb up a duelling ladder alongside them. Edge has a ladder of his own, leading to a five-way brawl atop the ladder. DIVORCE COURT OF THE LADDER from Christian to Benoit! T-BONE SUPERPLEX OFF THE LADDER from Benjamin to Edge! Jericho is left to climb for the briefcase…until Shelton RUNS UP ANOTHER LADDER INTO A FLYING CLOTHESLINE! Phenomenal execution on that! Kane is back to Chokeslam the sh*t out of him! Like, leaving him hanging in the ropes like a dead fish. Tyson Tomko tries to help Christian win and gets similarly rough treatment. KANE SHOVES CHRISTIAN OFF A LADDER TO THE FLOOR! Benoit is back, and still selling that arm like a champ. It hangs limp by his side as he climbs a ladder in the corner. FLYING WOLVERINE HEADBUTT OFF THE LADDER! He carried a head wound into the match, and that move just split his head WIDE open! He gets one hand on the briefcase…as Edge SMASHES HIS BAD ARM WITH A CHAIR! EDGE WINS! The madness is over at 15:18
Rating - ****1/2 - Even now almost twelve years later this stands up as an outstanding ladder stunt war. There were so many awesome little nuggets dotted around which make this such a great match. Kane’s entrance is fantastic, the brief Edge & Christian reunion was a wonderful nod to their success of WrestleManias past, Shelton Benjamin innovating some crazy sh*t almost stole the show, the attacks on Benoit’s arm (and his subsequent selling of the injury) were a surprisingly intelligent central thread to hold all this madness together, and Edge winning was a great pay-off for months of him being a fantastic slimy heel on the Raw brand. The fact that this match started a concept which is still going strong and still a highlight of WWE’s calendar year over a decade later should tell you everything about how iconic this match is. Benoit’s presence means you don’t often see much footage on WWE TV, but this still stands out as one of the all-time great WWE Ladder Matches.
SIDENOTE – In doing my research for this review I stumbled upon a fascinating excerpt from one of Chris Jericho’s podcasts, where he and Edge discussed the fact that Edge didn’t actually want to be in this match. He felt he deserved a headline match after his performances since returning from injury in 2004, didn’t want to be known as the ‘ladder match guy’ anymore, and was so annoyed at not having an angle for WrestleMania that he wanted to sit-out Mania altogether rather than be in this. Of course, he won…and the following few months with Lita, Matt Hardy and his eventual notorious cash-in of his title match contract wound up cementing his spot as a main eventer.
Eugene is still injured after New Year’s Revolution, but bumbles out to get a WrestleMania moment anyway. Mohammad Hassan and Khosrow Daivari interrupt him, arguing that they don’t have a match due to racial prejudice. They decide to attack Eugene to create their own WrestleMania moment, until HULK HOGAN RETURNS! Fresh from his Hall of Fame induction, Hogan makes his first in-ring appearance since 2003 to run through his usual routine (sans Leg Drop as his hip was still a mess) on the Arab-American duo. The crowd go nuts for all of this, which wraps off what has to be the best opening hour in WrestleMania history?
Undertaker vs Randy Orton
After failing to take the World Title back from Triple H at the Royal Rumble, Orton’s career seemed to have stagnated. He reflected on what made him a star in the first place – and realised it was his ruthless streak as the ‘Legend Killer’. To reignite his career, he needed to become the Legend Killer once again, and took aim at one of the biggest legends in the WWE – the Undertaker’s WrestleMania undefeated streak. He journeyed across inter-promotional divides to start a war with the Phenom and comes to Mania looking to end the 12-0 streak.
Cole and Tazz are on commentary for this, which is good because it presumably means JR will get the Angle/HBK match. Orton shows he isn’t afraid by slapping Undertaker in the face then scoring a flurry of early knockdowns. Taker has to toss him out of the ring to block the RKO, but Randy continues his strategy of dodging and staying out of his opponent’s clutches. He ducks a mafia kick in the corner then dropkicks him from the apron into the guardrails! Undertaker quite obviously wants to use his power to flatten the Legend Killer, and at last strings together a few offensive bombs. He tries to throttle him with a dragon sleeper…but yet again Randy slips out of his clutches and counters into a DDT. Taker lines up his flipping clothesline spot, only for another Orton counter as he catches him in mid-air to convert to a powerslam for 2. Last Ride…blocked! Earl Hebner gets knocked over in the process, and in runs Randy’s dad ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton! PLASTER CAST LARIAT NAILED! Undertaker kicks out! Bob Orton is booted off the apron! CHOKESLAM COUNTERED TO THE RKO! TAKER KICKS OUT! Randy does Undertaker’s signature cut-throat taunt and actually tries to Tombstone him! COUNTERED TO A TOMBSTONE by Undertaker! He wins at 14:13
Rating - *** - Whilst ‘The Streak’ became the stuff of legend, it actually took until well over halfway through it before Undertaker’s WrestleMania matches actually became any good. This was an enjoyably spirited back and forth match, and although it was nothing special it is instantly up there in the conversation for best ‘Streak’ match thus far – with only HHH at Mania 17 and Flair at Mania 18 for company. Orton had looked revitalised in this feud after his bust of a babyface run was finally curtailed, and it was clear that WWE realised what a hot commodity he still was. This match protected him really well since the central plot was him being good enough to counter EVERYTHING Undertaker usually does in matches. In fact, Orton only actually lost because he got too cocky – first by posing in the corner and nearly getting a Last Ride, then by attempting a Tombstone Piledriver.
Trish Stratus vs Christy Hemme – WWE Women’s Title Match
There are those that believe that Hemme only got this opportunity because she was willing to take her clothes off for Playboy. Realistically WWE had probably hoped to take the Trish/Lita feud to WrestleMania, but Lita blowing out her knee in January at New Year’s Revolution scuppered that. This storyline centres on Trish getting pissed off at the amount of publicity Christy got for her Playboy shoot, and plans to annihilate the extremely green rookie in a wrestling match on the biggest show of the year. Lita has been trying her best to coach Hemme and is in her corner here…
Trish has no respect for Hemme, and effortlessly bullies her in the opening minute. Poor Christy is so uncoordinated she basically whips herself into the ring steps too. Chick Kick blocked with a kick to the vagina, but this is a smart crowd who actually like Stratus more than a ‘diva search’ alumni and so start to boo Christy. She shows some athleticism to do the splits over the turnbuckles before landing a sunset flip, but is put on the defensive once again after Stratus lands a spear. Trish is so dominant she even finds time to shove Lita into the guardrails just for kicks. Hemme hits her inverted Twist Of Fate adopted from Lita (basically a sh*t neckbreaker which looks like it hurts her more than her opponent) for 2, before Trish lands the Chick Kick to win at 04:41
Rating - * - By this point Trish had improved so much that she legitimately was better than almost any other female worker on the roster. Watching her revel in her heel character and make fun of an enthusiastic but talentless hack like Christy was enjoyable. You could argue this didn’t have a place at WrestleMania of course, but it was totally inoffensive and not without some unintentional comedic value.
Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle
They did some fun things with this feud – like Michaels dressing up as Smackdown security to crash the rival show, and the infamous segments Kurt had with Marty Jannetty and Sherri Martell – but at it’s core this was a classic rivalry between two men who each believed they were the better wrestler. Kurt was pissed off that Shawn eliminated him from the Royal Rumble, but as he stated in an interview, his dislike of HBK goes way beyond that. As the only Olympic Gold Medallist ever to compete in the WWE and one of the most decorated wrestlers in the history of the company he objects to the fact that many consider Michaels to be the best of all time. He doesn’t like HBK calling himself ‘Mr WrestleMania’ and didn’t like people talking about his ’96 Iron Man with Bret Hart as a ‘wrestling clinic’ rather than his ’96 Atlanta triumph. This is about two all-time great workers testing each other to see who the better man is on the biggest stage available to them.
Michaels looks in vastly better condition than he did back at the Royal Rumble. He slaps Angle right in the face…so Kurt GRAPPLES THE SH*T out of him! HBK sells it perfectly too by clinging to the ropes and smiling sheepishly as if to say ‘you just kicked my ass’. He tries to negate Angle’s wrestling skill by tightly clinging to a side headlock. That hold is maintained for several minutes, and likewise Kurt sells it perfectly by checking his ears exactly as he would if he was an amateur. It seems that Kurt is completely thrown off by Shawn trying to out-wrestle him. He resorts to attacking Michaels from behind; briefly applying the Anklelock before his opponent clobbers him to the floor. ANGLE SLAM INTO THE RINGPOST! That is a devastating blow to Shawn’s bad back! He tries to protect it with some really stiff strikes, but is whipped spine-first into the turnbuckles then dropped onto it once more with a belly to belly suplex. Belly to belly superplex blocked…FLYING ELBOW MISSES! More damage to HBK’s back! Somehow Michaels counters the Angle Slam though, then back drops Kurt right over the top rope to the outside. TOP ROPE CROSSBODY TO THE FLOOR! But it was ugly as hell due to how injured Shawn is. They battle on the apron, where Michaels delivers a low blow to save himself from a German suplex to the floor. SPRINGBOARD PLANCHA THROUGH THE ANNOUNCE TABLE! Shawn was the aggressor there, though in truth neither man looks particularly healthy in the aftermath – with Michaels’ back rendering him unable to walk whilst blood pours from Angle’s mouth. HBK climbs again and this time nails the flying elbow drop. Sweet Chin Music COUNTERED TO THE ANKLELOCK! Shawn fights, and spends more than a minute in the hold before making the ropes. Angle Slam blocked…ANKLELOCK INSTEAD! COUNTERED TO A PIN FOR 2! Superkick…COUNTERED TO THE ANGLE SLAM! FOR 2! ANGLE-SAULT MISSED! Shawn wants to hit a moonsault as well…ROPE RUN AVALANCHE ANGLE SLAM BY KURT! AND STILL HBK KICKS OUT! SUPERKICK NAILED! BOTH MEN DOWN! Shawn is so f*cked up he can barely stand, and as he tries to crawl away Angle pops up behind him for the ANKLELOCK! SHAWN FIGHTS! KURT KEEPS COUNTERING! LEG GRAPEVINE ANKLELOCK! Just like Cena at No Way Out, Shawn tries desperately to avoid tapping out…but Kurt holds on! The fans BEG him not to tap! SHAWN TAPS! ANGLE WINS! 27:28 is your time.
Rating - ***** - A clear and obvious candidate for best WrestleMania match ever. In the years since I’ve seen heaps of praise for this one, and I was half expecting it to fail to live up to the hype. I was wrong – this was a genuine classic. Michaels outwitting Angle by wrestling with him at the start was a neat twist that I never expected, they produced some crazy bumps and high spots on the floor, and yet again Michaels delivered a quite stunning sell-job on an injury. He truly is a master of conveying just how damaging his opponents really are, using his facials and even modifying the execution of his own moves to put their stuff over. After Kurt destroyed his back he was rarely able to string to moves together without a lengthy rest period between them, he never went into the corner to prepare all the Sweet Chin Music mat-stomping theatrics and crucially every counter he threw out was a pin (or a superkick) trying to snatch a win. The finish to this one is something that has divided critics over the years however. Given the rising interest in mixed martial arts, it is perhaps understandable that some bashed Michaels spending more than a minute in the Anklelock as unrealistic – and I’d agree with that to an extent. But the advantage of watching pro-wrestling rather than MMA is that it is staged – meaning they have the ability to introduce dramatic performance elements to enhance a viewers enjoyment. Sure it wasn’t ‘realistic’, but neither are plenty of the things you see in TV shows these days. It was a dramatic device, used to portray each man’s desperation to win the match. It also made sense from the perspective that John Cena defeated Angle at No Way Out entirely because Kurt got frustrated when he refused to tap to the same hold. Bottom line – this is an awesome match. Perhaps some may disagree on whether they’d go quite as high on the rating as I have, but I think few would argue it was truly outstanding and an all-time Mania great.
Both men rightly get a standing ovation for that – including from Mae Young and Fabulous Moolah who are both in the audience tonight.
Roddy Piper is out next for a special Piper’s Pit featuring Steve Austin. Piper f*cking with the fans for the ‘What’ stuff is awesome, and a real mark of what made him such an outstanding promo guy. He reminds Stone Cold that he was rebelling against Vince McMahon long before he ever made it to WWE. Carlito Cool interrupts them riffing on each other to tell them both that they aren’t cool. Hot Rod snatches his apple and spits it in his face, before Austin gives him a Stunner. Piper and Austin share a beer…before Roddy gets a Stone Cold Stunner too. Definitely more entertaining as a popcorn segment then throwing out the poor divas!
Akebono vs Big Show – Sumo Match
This is repeatedly referred to as the first sumo match in WWE history. I’m no expert so can’t validate that claim, but it seems strange that they had a main event talent who’s whole gimmick was being a sumo grand champion in Yokozuna and never did anything like this before. Anyway, I know nothing about why this one has been booked either, other than both Show and Akebono are huge so Vince probably thought it was fun. I’ve seen Akebono perform atrociously on all kinds of indy and puro shows in the years since this event, and that is quite enough to fill me with dread for this…
Big Show looks ridiculous coming out in his silly floral robe, and Akebono’s sumo diaper thing is so small that his balls are basically hanging out – making this a massively uncomfortable watch. Watching Akebono easily dust off the colossal Big Show is quite a spectacle, albeit within seconds has become tired. Does Big Show want to chokeslam him? Ake easily throws him out to win at 01:02
Rating - DUD - A rather silly gimmick to waste time, that felt really out of place on what had been a strong WrestleMania card up to that point. Compare this to something like the Gimmick Battle Royal at WrestleMania 17, which was an effective and genuinely entertaining piece of light relief to break up and space the card properly. Akebono is a legitimately imposing figure, but I feel like if WWE really wanted to use him they could have come up with something much better than this. As we’d find out in the years to come, he might not be a great worker – but he isn’t totally incapable inside a wrestling ring. There should have been something more creative for him to do than a juvenile gimmicked sumo encounter.
John Bradshaw Layfield vs John Cena – WWE Title Match
JBL has apparently become the ‘longest reigning WWE Champion in a decade’ (according to Michael Cole) and has survived some remarkable predicaments during his run as champion. At No Way Out he added beating Big Show in a Barbed Wire Cage Match to a resume which includes bloody battles with Eddie Guerrero, wars with the Undertaker and multi-man matches where seemingly insurmountable odds were stacked against him. He now faces #1 contender John Cena, who earned this title shot with a memorable win over Kurt Angle in February. Cena went to the final two in the Royal Rumble, threw Bradshaw off a stage at No Way Out and now comes to Mania on the hunt for his first ever WWE Title. He doesn’t enter as United States Champion though, since Layfield caused him to lose that to Orlando Jordan, then blew up his ‘spinner’ US Title belt to piss him off. He has also been banned from having physical contact with JBL for weeks, so is desperate to get his hands on the champion.
JBL’s entrance includes a police escort and $100 JBL dollars raining down from the ceiling a’la Okada. Cena’s entrance is more basic, but does feature a ppv debut for ‘The Time Is Now’ as his theme music. Layfield shows his big match experience and raw power as he controls the opening exchanges. He wastes no time in targeting the challenger’s neck and goes so far as to camel clutch him in the ropes to really wrench on it. Any hint of a Cena comeback is roundly flattened with a spinebuster, similar to the one that Cena used on Bradshaw at No Way Out. Sleeper hold applied next, with the clock ticking past five minutes of total JBL dominance. Cena breaks out the Proto-plex to escape…only to be violently ejected through the ropes by the champion. Neckbreaker on the floor nailed! Layfield drags Cena back inside with a superplex; the ‘Wrestling God’ is dismantling the challenger right now. At last Cena lands something – by countering JBL’s flying football tackle with a mid-air powerslam. Don’t expect Cena to sell the neck or anything, he effortlessly hits a football tackle of his own, into the Protobomb for 2. Five Knuckle Shuffle, into the F-U! Cena wins his first WWE Championship at 11:26
Rating - * - I have made no secret of the fact that I don’t particularly like JBL. However, he does deserve some respect for the hard work he put into this championship reign and he deserved a far better match than this to pass the torch to Cena. Whichever agent helped them lay this match out should be fired, because it was appalling. Having JBL on constant offence from the opening bell until the last minute was a TERRIBLE decision since it killed the crowd, and having Cena win in like two moves made them both look weak as f*ck. Bradshaw has survived bloodbaths with Eddie and Undertaker, Barbed Wire Cages with Big Show, that awesome fourway title defence at Armageddon 2004…yet somehow can’t overcome John Cena hitting three moves all night? Woeful booking…
Gene Okerlund introduces the Hall Of Fame class of 2005 – Nikolai Volkoff, Iron Sheik, Paul Orndorff, ‘Cowboy’ Bob Orton, Jimmy Hart, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan.
Triple H vs Batista – World Heavyweight Title Match
We know this story, because we’ve already seen it before with Randy Orton. When Orton, then HHH’s protégé, put his own career and championship aspirations above The Game’s he was violently ejected from Evolution. Batista had played HHH’s enforcer since the formation of Evolution, but like Randy has grown tired of being forced to stay in Hunter’s shadow. He wanted to win the World Title in the Elimination Chamber at New Year’s Revolution, but reluctantly fulfilled his duties to assist Triple H and was rewarded only by HHH standing and watching as he got eliminated. He won the 2005 Royal Rumble, only to be confronted with an elaborate scheme by HHH and Ric Flair to get him transferred to Smackdown to challenge for the WWE Title instead. Unfortunately for the Cerebral Assassin, Big Dave uncovered his evil plot, and duly signed a deal to remain on Raw and pursue HHH’s belt. Does the Animal, still relatively inexperienced at this level, have enough brute strength and aggression to overcome one of the great champions of the modern era?
Motorhead play HHH to the ring, just like they did at Mania 17 when he got beaten all over the arena by Undertaker. Hopefully that isn’t a bad omen for him. The early signs aren’t good as he tries to lock up with his challenger but is repeatedly and effortlessly tossed thrown aside. He tries an early Pedigree, only to see it countered with a press slam by Big Dave. His last resort is using a jumping knee to knock Batista to the floor, effectively buying him some breathing space at the five minute mark. Ric Flair distracts The Animal at ringside, allowing Helmsley to attack him from behind to gain an advantage for the first time. Flair gets physically involved soon after; choking Batista with his coat and setting him up for HHH to ram him spine-first into the railings. The Game aggressively attacks Dave’s back which puts him on the ground and makes it extremely difficult to use his size and strength. That tactic goes as far as to rip off Batista’s own powerful spinebuster for a close nearfall. We go to the outside next, with Hunter dumping his former stable-mate into the steel steps to do yet more damage to his midsection. Pedigree on the steps…countered with a catapult into the ringpost, busting the champion open. Batista offers no mercy and bashes Helmsley’s bloody face into the steps over and over again! Dave doesn’t have much variety in his offence, although that actually makes sense in the context of a match where he’s had his back attacked for an extended period. Instead he carries the fight to Triple H with and endless barrage of punches, forearms and clotheslines – all targeted to the bloody forehead. Again Flair gets involved, and when HHH tries to use a steel chair to his advantage Mike Chioda DIVES OFF THE APRON to prevent him from doing so! Chioda seriously cares about the rules! He’s injured now, so powerless to prevent Flair getting in the ring and getting destroyed with a Batista spinebuster. Hunter levels him with the title belt…for 2! Pedigree blocked! COUNTERED to an Air Raid Crash! BATISTA BOMB! Dave is the World Champion! He wins in 21:35
Rating - *** - This was actually very decent, and was preferable to the flat WrestleMania title matches HHH has had in the past with the likes of Chris Jericho and Booker T. The reality is that they had to keep it very simple because, whilst he was increasingly popular, Batista was still extremely limited as a worker. He also doesn’t wrestle too many singles matches that go 20+ minutes, and was noticeably running on fumes at the end. HHH basically worked a greatest hits routine of his typical heel title defence – some outside interference, gushing blade job, illegal weapon use etc – but to me Batista really was the star. He was limited, but was quite obviously working damn hard. He really put over the effects of HHH’s work on his back, and his acting/facials did a super job of sucking a large arena audience into his comeback sequences. It definitely won’t go down as an all-time great Mania main event, and in fact dragged a little bit considering the show peaked with Angle/Michaels more than an hour earlier. However, when you consider how bad JBL/Cena was, you have to point out how much better these guys did.
Tape Rating - *** - On paper this should be an all-time great Mania. It had the strongest opening hour I’ve seen at any WrestleMania, the debut of Money In The Bank, a genuine MOTYC in Angle/HBK, the first time Undertaker’s ‘streak’ was used as a draw, big names like Hogan, Austin and Piper used to supplement the in-ring action not steal the limelight from it, and two young stars toppling despised heels to win the top prizes for their respective brands in the main events. The fact that it wasn’t an all-time great Mania goes to show how important pacing on a show is. The show peaked with the Angle/Michaels classic and never really got back on track after that. Show/Akebono was hopeless, Cena/JBL was a massive disappointment, and even the HHH/Batista main event felt long, sluggish and entirely lacking in the energy that the first two and a half hours of the show had. I really enjoyed WrestleMania 21 – far more than the likes of Mania 15, 16 or 18 for instance. It has plenty of historical significance too given that it features Cena and Batista’s first title wins, Edge becoming the inaugural ‘Mr Money In The Bank’ and Kurt/Shawn. But this show took me four sittings to complete my review – almost entirely because I found the last third to be something of a drag and needed my rating to reflect that.
Top 3 Matches
3) Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero (****)
2) Edge vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Shelton Benjamin vs Christian vs Kane (****1/2)
1) Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels (*****)