Wrestlemania 25: A Retrospective Look

[Mac]

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

My favorite match was Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels their WM 26 match was better IMO. But this was a good match that told a great story. This match picked up once Taker nearly killed himself doing that suicide dive. They even made a ref 10 count dramatic. This match along with Taker's matches at 21, 23, and 24 had me at the edge of my seat and I legit thought the streak was over.

My least favorite match was the divas battle royal. It was a clusterfuck.

This WrestleMania began a streak of mediocre to bad Mania's. Basically the current format in which WrestleMania is built. You get a main event, Taker's streak match, and a bunch of filler. The WWE had a nice deep roster, and they were coming off a really good 2008. With a few tweaks this could've gave WM 24 a run for its money.

WWE Championship Match- Triple H(c) vs Edge
Edge could've played Orton's role in that storyline. This was a missed opportunity in the recent years of not doing a real long term program between these 2. Based on the story it made sense for HHH to win the match. Orton was the hottest act at the time and that loss killed a lot of his momentum. When he did beat HHH at the next ppv it just wasn't the same. Edge could've taken that loss and it wouldn't have hurt him at all. I'd also make that match a clusterfuck but in a good way. It would feature Edge's group and the McMahon's getting involved.

World Heavyweight Championship Match- John Cena(c) vs Randy Orton
These are the top two young stars of that era and they never had a one on one match at Mania. Orton could get the win here and it continues his momentum and the loss wouldn't hurt Cena.

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels
This stays as is.

No Holds Barred Match- Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy
This stays as is.

Tag Team Title Unification Match- The Colon's vs Miz and John Morrison
This match should've been on the main show. With no Kid Rock concert. And it takes the diva battle royal spot.

IC Championship Match- Rey Mysterio(c) vs Chris Jericho
Jericho was wasted on this show. This would've been a better match for everybody involved.

MITB Ladder Match
This stays as is.

Grudge Match- JBL vs Big Show
They could've had a solid big man match.

 

[Judah's Lion]

i'm not gonna echo what so many others have already said. suffice it to say that this was the first in a long and current list of lackluster Mania events and it was 100% unnecessary given the depth of the talent roster and potential. just a lot of terrible booking decisions and missed opportunities. i've got tons of changes and some of them are pretty major, so let's get right to them.

Tag Team Titles: Colon Cousins vs. Miz/Morrison vs. Legacy. i've already unified the Tag Titles in my world (Mania 20 i believe) but this match belongs on the main card and Legacy deserves their own match here also.

MITB: i really liked this MITB match and the participants in it. just because it's Mania 25, i'd make this a 10-man MITB by adding Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio. i've got other plans for Jeff Hardy and the IC Title respectively which i'll get to in just a sec. and yes, i'd have CM Punk win this match but only cuz i had Jericho winning MITB at Mania 24 in my fantasy booking. so Punk wins this one and begins his heel turn later on in the year as he did.

IC Title: Jericho vs. Steamboat. i was really torn between this match or having Jericho/Mysterio for the IC Title. i do believe that Jericho/Mysterio should have happened at Mania and that it would have been awesome. But Steamboat is a huge name and part of one of the greatest matches in Mania history. so this was the right stage to bring Steamboat back. and besides, Jericho has said in his own book that his role model growing up was Steamboat and that his dream was to hold the same title that Steamboat did (the IC Title) one day. so i think this match has a ton of history and is an easy sell here. just have Jericho win the IC Title at the Rumble or on Raw, etc, and then defend it against Steamboat. let Mickey Rourke be the guest enforcer or simply accompany Steamboat. Piper and Superfly were past their wrestling days and Jericho/Steamboat was a really fun match at Backlash. just move that match up a month and add that IC Title to play off of Mania 3's incredible match.

US Title: JBL vs. Big Show. instead of the IC Title, i'd have JBL defend the US Title, again declaring that he was about to make Mania history. he could issue an open challenge to any person, maybe even to former US Champions. Big Show comes out and accepts the challenge, eventually winning the strap in a match that lasts more than 20 seconds. JBL then quits on the grandest stage of them all.

ECW Title: Regal vs. Dreamer; Extreme Rules. i know Swagger was the champ at this time but i'd switch that up quite a bit. i'd have Regal coming into Mania as the ECW Champ only cuz i think he's one of the best heels of all time and can get an emotional feud out of anybody. and i'd have the challenger be Tommy Dreamer. he deserved to be in an ECW Title match at the biggest stage. he can either win the title in a feel good moment or, true to his character, he could lose the big one. i'm good with either scenario.

now Cena/Edge had been done to death by this point, as had Cena/Big Show, Triple H/Orton and Cena/Orton was about to be done to death. so here come my major changes...

World Title #1: Edge vs. Jeff Hardy. this was a tough one for me. i thought of keeping Jeff vs. Matt and then doing Edge vs. Triple H, but i like this idea better. Edge was a great heel and coming off a strong year. Jeff Hardy was red hot coming into Mania. i'd have Jeff winning his FIRST World Title on this stage. so his triple threat win for the title doesn't happen at Armageddon and subsequent feud with Matt doesn't happen yet either. Jeff wins the World Title here in a Mania moment reminiscent of Eddie/Benoit from Mania 20.

World Title #2: Cena vs. Orton vs. Batista. Batista was ready to return so he should be on this card. i'm okay with Triple Threat matches for the World Title and even if they should happen at Mania. that's okay with me. i have Cena/Orton one-on-one at Mania 24 and Cena/Batista one-on-one at Mania 26, so these three in a Triple Threat works for me. plus i think it's interesting that this match has never happened. same goes for Rock/Austin/Triple H. i know it's been done to death, but Cena retains the World Title here, which is to set up his Mania 27 match.

Streak vs. Career: Taker vs. HBK. this closes the show. and yes, this happens a year earlier. quite honestly, HBK ending his career at Mania 25 means more to me than it does at Mania 26. and there wasn't too much HBK did from here to there, so i'd be okay with this happening. build this feud and match from the Rumble (at least!) on to Mania and add the best parts of both builds and both matches into this one epic and classic encounter. i'd definitely keep the finish from Mania 25 though. Moonsault countered into a Tombstone. a perfect way to end the career of one of the best ever and my personal favorite of all time.

so these are some huge changes. my biggest problem at this moment is that i don't know what to do with Triple H. so maybe Triple H vs. Edge and Jeff vs. Matt is the better option since it gets all 4 guys on the card and in meaningful matches, but i just love having Edge vs. Jeff happen here. there's so much history and it's such a big payoff moment.

as it stands, i'm gonna keep my card as is. any one out there have any ideas what i should do with Triple H then?

 

[rbv13]

A WrestleMania of missed opportunities and broken plans.

This sums up exactly what went wrong with WrestleMania XXV. It actually reminds me a lot of the XXX lineup, so many better options.

01) If Hogan would have been able to perform an encounter with Cena would have been one for the ages. I don’t think it would have been anywhere near as intense as Hogan vs. Rock but Hogan vs. Cena would have been a big deal and only grown in legend as the years went by.

02) Christian's return was leaked and the E felt it would be best to scrap any plans they had in favor of a Hardy vs. Hardy program. If the rumors where true about a Hardy Boyz vs. Edge/Christian match at XXV they should have just gone through with it despite the leak. This would have most likely been the last time we would have seen the two teams go at it on the grandest stage and they would have most certainly put on an amazing show. When it came to Hardy vs. Hardy I had trouble getting into the program and the match. They just didn't do it for this fan.

03) Jericho vs. The Legends was a great WM Moment but it came with handcuffs preventing a truly epic encounter. Rourke was very adamant about a low key role and the E was didn't believe Steamboat had too good to deliver in the ring. If memory serves my correctly Steamboat wasn't even a choice in the original three planned for the match. The E wanted to go with Greg the Hammer Valentine.

04) The Kid Rock mini-concert was an absolute train wreck. Kid Rock sucks on his own but his performance is what kept the Diva’s Battle Royal on the main card and pushed the tag match to the pre-show.

05) The match lineup really came back to bite the E in the ass. HBK vs. Taker not going off last killed the crowd’s enthusiasm for the title bouts. There is really no way they could have guessed this was going to happen but it did and it took the steam right out of Triple H vs. Orton.

Note: I’ve seen a lot of responses about the quick match between Rey and JBL. Let’s not forget this was JBL’s last WM and going out in a twenty-one second squash was his idea. He felt it would be a memorable moment and the way he wanted to go out.

 

[FlairFan2003]

The biggest problem was that there was no Hulk Hogan. This was the silver anniversary of WWE'S biggest event. Hogan certainly couldnt wrestle (anyone who watched him in TNA knows that) but like Flair he should have had a significant complimentary role, maybe guest ref for one of the main events like HHH-Orton or Taker-HBK. The fact that he couldnt come to terms with WWE over money shows two things...1) Hogan always takes care of himself first, no reason to work for less than what he thinks he's worth B)Vince wont overpay for anyone, no matter how much he might like to have a Hogan or Rock he knows he can make money with or without, he wont be held up.

CM Punk should take note.

 

[Robert Roode Fan]

I thought this a bad event. This should have been a heel

The bulid up to Orton and HHH was awesome, but man did the match suck, orton should have won to.

The world title match was good, but Edge should have won.

Undertaker vs. Shawn Michals was good, though my buddy disagrees.

Jbl vs Rey mysterio ic title match, really this is Jbl's last match.

Matt vs. jeff was okay could have been better.

Jericho vs. Legends was as good as it was going to be.

divas battle royal

The money in the bank was good, punk winning still shockes me. Good decision.

 

[AnthonyM4]

This was a lackluster mania. Other than HBK vs Undertaker nothing else is memorable. Well the main event is still remembered as a disappointment. Should have been an all out war instead of a careful wrestling match. The buildup was intense so the match should have been too.

If I didn't like JBL I would say his match was the worst since it lasted like 20 seconds. But I like that he lost in that short time in his home state. Least favorite match was the divas battle royal. They should have gotten separate entrances instead of having Kid Rock sing them to the ring. I would have loved to see Sunny come out to her music to a nice pop.

I would have had Steamboat vs Jericho go one on one. Steamboat was great in the 3 on 1 match. It was his first match back after 15 years in retirement. Didn't look like he had much ring rust! Piper throwing a dropkick was a cool surprise.

I hated the triple threat world title match and hated that Cena won again. It was the start of one of his many short and meaningless title reigns. I hate the fact that he is a 14 world champion. He had a few stupid short reigns and one day everybody is going to make a big deal about how he beat Flair's record. When Cena wins his 17th world title, it will be a dark day in wrestling

 

[jameyt2003]

My biggest reason for liking this ppv is because it was in Houston. Site of WM 17. Though not the same building.

Anyway, The MITB match was AMAZING IMO! I also enjoyed getting to see Cena win, but the match was underwhelming.

WM 26 would be better IMO due to Batista v Cena, Sheamus debut, and another HBK/UT match.

 

[Elchicano15]

I can't really say this was a horrible Mania. I thought it wasn't that bad. We were given the epic HBK/Taker match which is noted as one of the best matches in WM history and I agree. The brother vs brother match between Matt and Jeff was pretty cool. I loved the story build to it as well. MITB was great. I think it's one of my favorite ones and I actually enjoyed the Jericho/legends feud. Big Show getting trapped in the ring ropes was pretty funny. LOL

The only matches that needed work were the main event championship matches. I would have probably made Cena/Orton in the main event for the WWE title and maybe throw Triple H in the Triple threat between Big Show and Edge. Had I known, that Undertaker/HBK would have been an epic match I would have had that close the show.

 

[klunderbunker]

A buddy of mine sent me a text after the final bell rang and said "REALLY? That's it?" Not in shock or anything, but wanting more. That's exactly how I felt after the main event ended. HHH vs. Orton had a good story coming in, but then they threw it out the window with that stupid DQ stipulation. It went completely against the story and that brought things way down. However, they were screwed either way as nothing was going to follow Shawn vs. Taker, period.