WWE WrestleMania XXV
WWE WrestleMania XXV
| 05 April 2009 (USA)
WWE WrestleMania XXV Trailers

WrestleMania XXV was the twenty-fifth annual WrestleMania PPV. It was presented by the National Guard and took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The first main event was a singles match for the WWE Championship that featured the champion, Triple H, defending against Randy Orton. The second was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, between defedning champion Edge against John Cena & Big Show. The third main event was The Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels. Featured matches on the undercard included, Jeff Hardy versus Matt Hardy in an Extreme Rules match, Chris Jericho versus the team of Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka, and the annual Money in the Bank ladder match featuring Kane, MVP, Mark Henry, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, CM Punk, Christian, & Finlay. With an attendance of 72,744, it is the 6th largest attendance in WrestleMania history.

Reviews
BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See
Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.
jakespick What can I say about 2009's stinker that hasn't been said before? The 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania was an insult to the wrestling world, and will go down with the likes of Mania IX as one of the all-time worst Manias. It was abysmal, truly. Of course, aside from the now famous Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels match up.The show started off with the usual matches, such as the Intercontinental Championship and the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The IC title match was a joke in itself, less than 30 seconds long. The WWE has attempted to mimic last year's Hardcore Championship bout between Kane and Chavo, which was just as short, if not shorter. However, when Kane beat Chavo, it felt much more fresh and unexpected and worked much better then than it did here.The Ladder Match, interesting as usual, always seems to be their get-out-of-jail-free card from Mania 21 on, using it as a way to make each Mania at least somewhat entertaining. But, Mr. McMahon, why is it that the most hyped-up and talked about Wrestlemanias are always the biggest failures in this business. Why is it that we have to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania with a triple threat match between Edge, Big Show, and John Cena (one of the worst main events in history)? Answer me that. How hard is it, exactly, to come up with a decent Wrestlemania. I mean, at least put some effort into an event as big as this.Anyway, let's move on to the rest of the show, starting with the much hyped Chris Jericho vs. WWE Legends match. This match, along with the rest of the matches, was a joke in itself. The match quickly boiled down to generic garbage that was not only boring, but depressing to watch - to realize that the WWE has resorted, simply, to the match cards of their events to make sales. This was an obvious failure of a match and of an event, one Vince must've seen coming.Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. This one was for the ages, and will go down as, possibly, the greatest match of all-time for the Undertaker, and maybe even for the Show Stopper as well. It was quite the battle, and really helped me through the night, but you've heard enough about this glorious fight, so let's move on.The Hardy vs. Hardy Extreme Rules match was actually quite entertaining, but not even high-flying violence could save this show. They both put on one hell of a show, one which I really enjoyed, but quickly faded away into the rest of the event, which include the two absolutely horrible main events.XXV's main events included the triple threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship, as I stated before, and a one-on-one bout between Randy Orton and Triple H which actually wasn't that bad, but could've been saved for Backlash or even Summerslam, not the 25th Anniversary of Wrestlemania. The two obvious faces came out victorious (Triple H and Cena), something which was not the case at the previous year's show. They need to remember that, every once in a while, people don't like to see Cena walk away with every title and a hand-job. But, rather, see Cena lose for once, and what better place than the grandest stage of them all? Now the rest of the matches, or as I like to call them, "card fillers," were the usual garbage you'd expect. A tag team title match that nobody was excited about, and a Diva Battle Royale, which is always a bad sign seeing as how the Divas in today's WWE just can't pull off a good performance.In conclusion, other than the Undertaker vs. Michaels match, nothing really stuck as special or even useful to the WWE or the event itself, and frankly I can't remember the event that match, and even had to look back at the Wrestlemania History section on WWE.com to see the matches in order to spark some sort of memory.I do not recommend viewing this. You'll get more pleasure out of watching the highlights on YouTube.
ThePunisherr Overall Wrestlemania 25 fulfilled my expectations, I didn't expect to see the most historical event in wrestling history or anything, I was just expecting a fairly good, entertaining Wrestlemania, which it was.4,25/5 Money in the bank ladder match: The money in the bank ladder match featured the following superstars; CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Finlay, Kane and Mark Henry. I think the match was a really good Wrestlemania opener match,it included very good high risk moves (especially Shelton's suicide dive), almost no botched moves (except Shelton's sunset flip power bomb attempt to MVP from the ladder)and all the superstars in it made a really good performance. Everything until the ending in the match was spectacular I really enjoyed watching it, but I think CM Punk shouldn't have won for the second time in a row. I was hoping to see Kane or Christian win and get a championship opportunity, but overall a very good match.1/5 25-Diva Battle Royal: I thought this match was pretty much pointless and a waste of time, when I Watched it I didn't even know what was happening in the beginning, a ring full of divas just hitting on each others. There wasn't any high risk moves at all and the ending was literally just stupid. I guess it was supposed to be very funny that "Santina Marella" became the Miss Wrestlemania, but I didn't find it very funny. I think that a "proper" diva should have won.3,75/5 Chris Jericho vs The legends (Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka): I thought this was a fairly decent match, Ricky Steamboat's performance was AMAZING for someone his age. I think that they should have gotten some other Legend to replace Jimmy Snuka, because as you probably saw his performance wasn't very good and was sloppy (many botched moves and he was only slapping Jericho's chest). Roddy Piper was decent in the match, but was nothing compared to Ricky Steamboat's performance. The thing that made this match decent was the fight with Jericho and Steamboat after the other two legends had been eliminated. Steamboat literally stole the show in this match and saved the match from being terrible.4/5 Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy: Overall in my opinion this match was good; because it had a fair amount of hardcore in it and since Jeff and Matt are both "hardcore experts" the quality of the hardcore in the match was really good. Both Matt and Jeff's performances were really good and I didn't see any badly botched moves. Many people were hoping that Jeff Hardy would win and kick Matt's ass and were disappointed that Jeff Hardy lost. I think that the chair Twist of Fate was literally amazing, well done and a good way to end the match.2/5 Intercontinental Championship: JBL vs Rey Mysterio: The entrance and the speech of JBL before the match was literally ridiculous, when he said he will give us the most dominant victory in Wrestlemania history. Rey Mysterio's entrance was nice, respecting Heath Ledger (The Joker). The match itself was a bit stupid and humiliating for JBL that he lost in 21 seconds at Wrestlemania and at HIS LAST MATCH. It's a bit stupid that a guy who's weighs 100 pounds less, is almost 1 foot shorter and is always considered as the ultimate underdog wins a much bigger guy in 21 seconds at Wrestlemania. The 619 itself wasn't very spectacular, it was nearly botched. I was hoping to see at least a 10 minute match and I think that the idea of a 21 second match is boring, because on Wrestlemania 24 there was a 7 seconds ECW championship match.10/5 The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels: I had very high expectations for this match, two legends, probably the best superstars in WWE history. After I had watched this match I was literally shocked, IT WAS AMAZING. The performances of Shawn and Undertaker were superb. As I was watching the match at a moment. I actually thought that Shawn Michaels could maybe break the streak, but he didn't. Everybody should respect these two men who gave us one of the best fight of all time! After I had seen Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 22, I thought that a non-hardcore match can't get any better than this, but after seeing this I was definitely wrong. Both of these amazing athletes showed amazing resiliency taking many finishers. Shawn and Taker proved everybody that said they would retire at WM 26 wrong and instead they gave them the fight of their lives. The crowd reaction was amazing, because both superstars had about the same amount of fans. 10 years from now when people will remember Wrestlemania 25, they will remember this match. You rarely see such performing and matches these days. This match definitely should have been the main event. 4/5 World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena vs Edge vs Big Show: It was a good match, but the fact that Big show was in it, made the fans sure that it would be either Cena or Edge who will win. Like Big Show winning the title at the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania, that would never happen. I think the match could have been longer. Cena showed some real POWER in the end lifting Big Show and Edge. Overall it was a good entertaining match, but could have been better.3/5 WWE Championship: Triple H vs Randy Orton: A disappointment, I was hoping for a much better main event for WM25. Well the match wasn't very bad, there was a lot of good stuff in it too, but it just didn't feel like a good main event and people are getting tired of Triple H and Randy Orton always fighting in the main event. Many people say the ending was bad, well it wasn't a good WM25 last match ending.WM25 overall 8/10
wrestlingsitewebmaster Wrestlemania was held in Houston, Texas and the show was decent. That said 2 of the WWE's most reliable superstars (Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker) saved this show from being mediocre.The Money in the Bank Ladder match was good but was let down by botched moves, like for instance Shelton Benjamin was going to sunset flip power bomb MVP off a ladder but Porter was late releasing his grip, which resulted in both men falling to a heap on the floor. WWE didn't need to have Mark Henry, Finlay or Kane in there, they could have put the likes of R-Truth, The Brian Kendrick or Evan Bourne in with Kofi Kingston, Christian, MVP, CM Punk and Shelton Benjamin to make it more interesting.The Rey Mysterio vs JBL match was a waste of time, 21 seconds long? Why bother putting it on a super show? Oh yeah to make room for Kid Rock's abysmal singing which lasted 11 minutes but seemed like 11 hours. This was one of the reason's why the WWE unified tag team title match pitting Carlito and Primo against The Miz and John Morrison was cut from the PPV to make room for Kid Rock. If Kevin Dunn generally believes that he done good making this decision he needs his head testing.The 25 Diva battle royal was abysmal. Not memorable at all, Trish Stratus made the right decision turning the offer down to appear on it and Santino..... oops sorry Santina Marella winning it seemed like someone's idea of a joke.I was hoping that WWE would have put Chris Jericho in there with Ricky Steamboat alone. My fears were confirmed when they announced that Steamboat would be teaming with the ancient 64 year old Jimmy Snuka and the barely mobile Roddy Piper. Give Steamboat his due he had a very good 4 minute scrap with Jericho at the end. But the result with anti-climatic, fans sensing a feel good ending were baffled when Steamboat lost.The Triple Threat match between Edge, Big Show and John Cena was OK but not the best, Big Show was totally knackered but looking at Show's age (37) weight (440 pounds) and his condition (knackered)it's no wonder he's feeling the strain of wrestling long matches. This isn't the same Paul Wight who wrestled in WCW were he was billed as the Giant. Wight who could execute moonsaults and standing drop kicks in WCW, has never really fulfilled his true potential and never will.The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels was outstanding. Possibly the best match at a Wrestlemania. Undertaker won with a Tombstone. Watch out for when Taker landed on the camera man, that was Sim Snuka (yes the same Sim Snuka who used to wrestle as Duece in the tag team with Domino, and hasn't been seen for months) Results from the show: CM Punk won the MIBL match which also featured, Kane, Finlay, Kofi Kingston, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Mark Henry.... Rey Mysterio downed John Bradshaw Layfield in 21 seconds to win the Intercontinental Championship.... Chris Jericho downed Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper and Rick Steamboat in an elimination match.... John Cena defeated Big Show and Edge in a passable triple threat match to win the Heavyweight title.... Matt Hardy pinned Jeff Hardy in a good Extreme Rules match.... Santina Marella won the diva Battle Royal.... The Undertaker pinned Shawn Michaels in a superb match.... Triple H defeated Randy Orton in a disappointing match to retain the WWE title.Overall grade - B/C
Legend Killer Can you say anti-climax?1) Money In The Bank Ladder Match A good opener. The thing that works against the MITB Ladder match is that there is only so many spots that you can do with a ladder. Over the last few years, Shelton Benjamin has done almost every interesting spot that a human being can do with a ladder. They are now struggling to out do the previous MITB Ladder matches. This however was a very credible ladder match, but probably the weakest (along with WM XXIII) of the MITB Ladder matches to date. Kofi Kingston probably emerged as the MITB show stealer, although Benjamin had the spot of the match with a crazy Swanton-type dive from the top of an insanely high ladder..... C+2) Diva Battle Royal A waste of time. The old Divas like Sunny & Molly didn't even get an entrance for the crowd to enjoy their return. To make things worse they had Santino win it. As funny as he is they need to start making him a credible wrestler (which he is capable of being) & not just a jobber who's good on the mic, which they are making him out to be...... F3) Chris Jericho vs The Legends Much better than I thought it would be. Dare I say that Ricky Steamboat nearly stole the show. What a performance by the Hall Of Famer. It was a match that didn't steal the show but certainly didn't disappoint. The spot with Mickey Rourke at the end was never going to be taken well if it was over the top, so maybe its subtle approach was appropriate..... C4) Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy Good match with some extreme, but not over the top spots. I worried that the spots in this match would be over top, but they did them just right. The ring psychology was good & it was good to see Matt win as that was the result needed if they plan to extend this feud (which I think they will). The Twist Of Fate on the chair was superbly done..... B-5) JBL vs Rey Misterio It would've been more spontaneous if they hadn't done the exact same thing last year with Kane & Chavo Guerrero. JBL as boring as he is in the ring, is a master of psychology on the microphone. The angle of JBL quitting was as important as the actual 21 second match so I'll take that into account when grading it..... D6) Undertaker vs Shawn Michael Well..... When I saw Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels, I thought that you will never see a better match where no weapons are used EVER again. Not just getting caught up in the hype because Wrestle Mania was only yesterday, but this just might be the best Wrestle Mania match that I have ever seen. As far as storyline goes it was built up very well. As far as in ring action goes, it was a privilege to watch. As far as ring psychology goes, it was a master class. As far as crowd reaction goes, that much crowd reaction hasn't been seen since Hogan vs The Rock. The WWE hasn't received a 5 Star rating for a match in Wrestling Observer for over a decade. If this doesn't get one then something is wrong. On a side note there was a spot where the Undertaker flew over the top rope & HBK moved out of the way sending Undertaker straight to the floor. Undertaker landed head first into the cameraman & a crunching noise was heard. I honestly thought for 5 seconds that The Undertaker had broken his neck & died live at Wrestle Mania..... A*7) Edge vs John Cena vs Big Show A match that never should've been a world title match at Wrestle Mania in the first place. It wasn't terrible though, but wasn't anything that we haven't seen before. Cena showcased his AMAZING strength by holding Big Show & Edge on his shoulders for a few seconds. This was closely followed by the 3 count that made him World Champion once again, which in turn made for a good finish to the match. Not as bad as a match with John Cena & Big Show could've been..... C8) Triple H vs Randy Orton Imagine if Stone Cold Steve Austin lost to Shawn Michaels at WM 14. Imagine if The Ultimate Warrior lost to Hulk Hogan at WM 6. Imagine if Chris Benoit didn't win at WM 20. They would've NEVER crossed over to that status that separates a transitional champion (Sergent Slaughter) from a dominant champion (Bret Hart). Orton who is without question the hottest thing in wrestling right now, was ready to take over like Triple H did at Wrestle Mania 2000. Randy Orton is in the the prime of his life at 28 & has a decade of dominance ahead of him. The only thing left for him to do was to defeat the man that he was destined to proceed as the No.1 bad guy in the world of wrestling at WM 25. Could Triple H get over himself for one second & do what was write for business? NO! He ruined Wrestle Mania 25 the same way that he ruined Wrestle Mania 18 by not letting The Rock & Hollywood Hogan be the main event. Orton will now have to start all over again rebuilding his character & we are destined to put up with Triple H until he breaks Ric Flair's record & finally steps down like he should've done at the end of the Attitude Era..... The Match was a C+, but the ending completely downgraded it to an FA lot rides on the main event of Wrestle Mania as that is what is remembered the most. The ending to this year's main event was the most disappointing in WWE history!Overall..... C