Celebrities: Snoop Dogg, Snookie, Keri Hilson, Pee Wee Herman and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Wrestlemania invades HOT-LANTA!!!!!!! The ATL!!!! What was once the official territory of World Championship Wrestling, was now being taken over and flooded by The World Wrestling Entertainment! This would be the final PPV to be under the “World Wrestling Entertainment” banner. A few days later the company name changed to just WWE. Wrestlemania 27 would once again be a duo brand show.
The road to wrestlemania started at the Royal Rumble. The 2011 Royal Rumble would be the largest Rumble in history, this time having 40 men. Alberto Rodriguez would win the Royal Rumble and would challenge the World Heavyweight Champion, Edge at Wrestlemania.
The WWE Champion, The Miz has been on a tare since Nov 22nd 2010 as WWE Champion, but he has yet to meet an opponent to pose a major threat to him, in John Cena. The WWE made the announcement, that Wrestlemania would have a “guest host”. The guest host was announced on the Feb 14th edition of Raw, when we found out it would be…THE ROCK! The Rock made his return to the WWE! Rock poked his attention toward the two men involved in the WWE Championship match, both Cena and Miz. We can assume that The Rock will be involved in the WWE title match in some way, shape and form.
The PPV started out, for the first time with one of the main title main events! The World Heavyweight Championship was on the line as Edge face Alberto Del Rio. Del Rio would be at the ring along side with Ricardo Rodriguez and Brodus Clay. Edge would be at ringside with Christian. During the match Del Rip put a lot of focus on Edge’s arm, looking to lock him in the cross armbreaker. Edge locked in the Edgeucator while Del Rio locked in the Cross Armbreaker. When both men got up, Edge hit the Spear for the win. After the match, Edge and Christian both destroyed the luxury car that Del Rio came out in.
Undertaker Note: After defeating The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels in two wrestlemanias in a row and retiring him, The Game Triple H felt he would be the only one that would be able to be fit to finish what Shawn couldn’t by defeating The undertaker. Triple H would bring nothing but intensity in the match against Taker. Triple H would make this one of his most physical matches of his career, even crashing Undertaker through Michael Cole’s “Cole mine” as well. The match was a back n forth exchange between the two from spinebuster, to chokeslam, to bodyslams. But no move was strong enough to put down undertaker. A gasp went through the crowd as Triple H, gave Taker the cut throat and then tombstone. When Triple H crosses Undertakers arms over his chest and even sticks the tongue out, but even that wasn’t enough to put away Taker. When Triple H went to his last resort, the sledgehammer, Taker caught Triple H in the “Hells Gate” and would make Triple H tap out.
The Undertaker is 19-0 at Wrestlemania
The last match was for the WWE Championship. It featured John Cena facing off against current champion The Miz (accompanied by Alex Riley). The first highlight of the match occurred when Cena hit the Five Knuckle Shuffle on The Miz. Cena then went for the Attitude Adjustment, but Miz countered with a DDT. There was a lot of back and forth action until The Miz hit the Skull Crushing Finale. That didn’t keep Cena down as he managed to hit the Attitude Adjustment; however, that didn’t keep Miz down either. Both men fought outside of the ring, but knocked each other out in the process. The match ended in a double count out, meaning The Miz would retain his title. The Rock came out to intervene, but the Raw GM made an announcement. The Rock went to read it, but then disregarded it. He called for a restart to the match with a no disqualification, no count out, no time limit stipulation. The match restarted and, with Cena dragging Miz back inside the ring and attempting to execute an Attitude Adjustment, wasn’t successful. In retaliation for the Attitude Adjustment that Cena gave him on the Raw episode prior to WrestleMania, The Rock stalked Cena from behind and hit a Rock Bottom on him. Taking advantage, The Miz then covered a fallen Cena for the win.
For the first time ever Wrestlemania culminates from the desert! Yes, Wrestlemania is taking place in Arizona. The land of the massive mountains, cacti and ranches will be the home of the greatest sports entertainment show of the year. Wrestlemania 26, produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment.
This would be the first Wrestlemania since 2005 where it would be a two brand presentation, as ECW is officially no more. The road to Wrestlemania actually started almost 1 year before; as Edge and Chris Jericho were an established tag team and they won the unified tag team championships at “The Bash” ppv. However, due to an injury received by Edge, the partnership died. During Edge’s absence, Jericho would make references about Edge and his injury, claiming he was the weaker force in the team. However, fast forward to the Royal Rumble 2010, we would see the return of the Rated R Superstar (Edge). And not only did he get a piece of Chris Jericho that night, he also won the Royal Rumble. Edge would earn a title shot at Wrestlemania against either the WWE or World Heavyweight Champion. Edge would chose Chris Jericho and the showdown will take place at Wrestlemania.
John Cena would defeat Shemus at the 2010 Elimination Chamber PPV, to win the WWE Championship in the chamber. However, shades of the 2005 New Years Revolution peered up when Vince McMahon would announce that Cenas night would not be over, and he would have to put the WWE Championship on the line and face Batista….NOW! Cena after going through a grueling 20 min+ battle of torture in the chamber, had nothing else left in the tank, and Batista would capture the WWE title from John Cena that night. John Cena would exercise his rematch clause and have it set for Wrestlemania 26. Cena vs Batista for the WWE Championship.
Wrestlemania 26 would start out with Fantasia Barrino singing American The Beautiful. Wrestlemania would start out hot with a victory by Show Miz over R-Truth and Morrison to retain the WWE Unified Tag Team Titles.
We would then go on to the 6th annual Money In the Bank Match between Jack Swagger, Christian, Matt Hardy, Evan Bourn, Kane, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin and MVP, making this (up to that time) the largest MITB match in history. Some of the spots were undeniably impressive and all 10 men gave up a thrilling contest. Even Kofi had a creative spot by turning two ladders into stilts. But in the end it would be Jack Swagger to grab the briefcase and be declared the winner.
One of the most anticipated matches of the night was 13 years in the making. We would see the wrestlemania return of “Bret The Hitman” Hart facing Vince McMahon. 13 years ago, we all experience the Montreal Screw job at the 1997 Survivor Series; between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship. After it, Bret left to work for WCW. Bret was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and made a mini return to the WWE at the beginning of 2010; being the guest host of Raw. While back in the WWE, Bret made amends with Shawn Michaels, and their 20 year rivalry was officially dead. However, one chapter still wasn’t closed and that was the tension between Bret and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. Vince wasn’t fully ready to make amends yet, instead wanted more. Vince would involve Bret in some screwball attacks to make a point to Bret as far as “who runs the show”. Being fed up with the antics, Bret would challenge Vince to a match at Wrestlemania and Vince would accept. At the match, Vince shooting for his “Wrestlemania Moment” would announce that he bought out the entire Hart family. And out with Vince came out Bruce, Keith, Diana, the Hart Dynasty and other members of the Hart family. However, the joke was on Vince as the Hart family turned on him. Bret viciously took Vince out and placed him in the sharpshooter to tap out.
The World Heavyweight Championship would be on the line as Edge challenged Chris Jericho for the title. Back n forth match as each man tried to get the better of each other only to be countered every time. The match ended when Jericho hit Edge with the championship belt and a Code breaker to win and retain his title.
The WWE Championship would be on the line as John Cena would challenge the champion, Batista. Batista dominated the first half of the match. Cena made a return after hitting a suplex. The match started to go evenly after that. One spot included Cena hitting the Five Knuckle Shuffle off the top of the turnbuckle. The match came to an end after Cena reversed a Batista Bomb into an STF. Batista eventually tapped out. Cena won the match and the WWE Championship, making him a nine-time World champion. The Next night on Raw, Batista would announce his “Retirement”.
Undertaker Note
The Final match of the night would be Streak vs Career. In a very anticipated rematch from last year’s wrestlemania, Shawn Michaels would once again face The Undertaker. If Wrestlemania 26 was a night that focused on closure, then this match would be no exception. The rivalry between these two men date back to 1997 when Shawn Michaels “screwed over” The Undertaker, as he lost the WWF Championship to Bret Hart at SummerSlam 1997. These two would go on to having the first Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood 97. Shawn was a beaten, battered and bloodied mess, but overcame the Dead Man and won the match. Here we are 13 years later on the grandest stage. If Shawn loses, he will walk away from the business. This match meant more to Shawn than a title, this was his life. The match started hard early on with both men exchanging a fury of offense on each other. The match, Taker attempted to do “Old School” on Shawn, but was unsuccessful and injured his leg in the process. Shawn made it a point to go after the leg and put concentration on the area. Without the legs, Taker would be useless. But that didn’t stop him, even with Shawn hitting Taker with SCM, Taker wouldn’t die. Taker would give his own offensive retribution on Shawn as he delivered the choke slam and the last ride. But still unsuccessful to put HBK away. Shawn decided to switch his game up to a more ground base game of various submission holds; delivering the Ankle Lock, Figure Four leg lock and crossfire to Taker. Anything he could piece together to rid his worries of the Dead Man. After being unsuccessful with those Taker went for Hell Gate, but Shawn would counter that move as well. Taker would attempt the last ride through the announcers table, but Shawn would counter that. This really was an example of how much this match really meant to both men! Shawn hits SCM 3 times on Taker, but still nothing. Taker gives Shawn the 2nd Tombstone, nada! WHAT A MATCH!!!! But Shawn had very little left and that last kick out may’ve been his last effort. Taker would give us the “cut to the throat” and deliver a 3rd Tombstone piledriver to Shawn Michaels and pin him 1,2,3 and ending the greatest career in the history of Professional Wrestling. Shawn Michaels career was over. The Greatest of All Time, has left the building…for good.
The Undertaker is now 18-0 at Wrestlemania.
Match Card
Dark- Yoshi Tatsu won by last eliminating Zack Ryder in a 26 man Battle Royal
PPV
– ShoMiz (The Miz and The Big Show) (c) defeated John Morrison and R-Truth to retain the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship.
– Randy Orton defeated Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase in a Triple Threat Match.
– Jack Swagger defeated Christian, Matt Hardy, Kane, Drew McIntyre, Kofi Kingston, Dolph Ziggler, Shelton Benjamin, Montel Vontavious Porter and Evan Bourne in the Money In the Bank Ladder Match.
– Triple H defeated Sheamus
– Rey Mysterio defeated CM Punk (with Luke Gallows and Serena). If Rey had won, then he would have had to haved joined the Straight Edge Society.
– Bret Hart defeated Mr. McMahon via Submission in the Sharpshiooter in a No Holds Barred Lumberjack Match.
– Chris Jericho (c) defeated Edge to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.
– John Cena defeated Batista (c) via submission to win the WWE Championship
– The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels in a Streak vs Career Match.
Wrestlemania 25 is the 25th annual Wrestlemania PPV event produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment. Wrestlemania returns back to Houston Texas, the home of the critical favorite, Wrestlemania 17. However, this time, this event would take place next door to the Astrodome and would be held in Reliant Stadium.
We would get to this Wrestlemania starting at the 2009 Royal Rumble, where we would see Randy Orton, with the assistance of his fellow “Legacy” members, go on to be victorious and win the match. Orton would be given the option of wrestling for either the WWE Championship, the World Heavyweight Championship or the ECW Championship at Wrestlemania. Randy made his choice clear, as to what direction he wanted to go in for the title, as he persisted brutal assaults against the McMahon family. Assaulting both Vince and Shane McMahon and taunts to Stephanie. Triple H would avenge his family’s honor by coming to the aide of his wife, father and brother in law by going after Orton. These attacks saw Orton locking Triple H up to a pair of hand cuffs in the ring and making inappropriate taunts to Stephanie, in front of H. This also lead to a “home invasion” where Triple H invade the Home of Orton and attacked him there. The only way to settle this score would be at Wrestlemania 25.
Edge and Big Show would sign contracts for a match at Wrestlemania 25 for the World Heavyweight Championship, until John Cena appeared and crashed the party. Vicki Guerrero (Smackdown GM at the time) eventually would announce that the WHC match would be a Triple Threat between Big Show, Edge and John Cena.
Wrestlemania 25 started out with one of the most popular matches in the company, this would be the 5th annual Money In the Bank match. Participants would include CM Punk, Kane, Mark Henry, MVP, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Finlay. Just like in the past, this match did not disappoint and to elevate the excitement, Shelton Benjamin stood out like a sore thumb when he executed a Senton Bomb from the top of the ladder onto his opponents. Unreal. The end of the match would see CM Punk kicking Kane off of the ladder, leaving him enough room and time to grab the briefcase. CM Punk is a (and the only) two time (besides Edge*) money in the bank winner.
One of the highlights of the event would be the match between Chris Jericho facing 3 WWE Legends; Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat, SupaFly Jimmy Snuka and Rowdy Roddy Piper (accompanied by Ric Flair), in a 3 on One handicap elimination match. Jericho was able to take out both Snuka and Piper, but when it was time for Ricky Steamboat to come in, he gave us all a quick reminder as to why he is nick named “The Dragon”. The last time Steamboat Wrestled was in Nov of 1994 in WCW, so we’re talking an over 15 year absence from the ring. To be honest, Ricky looked like he never missed a beat. For many in the crowd, this was the first time they had a taste of seeing Ricky Steamboat perform and they were not disappointed. For those who are old school fans this was a bit of a dream match seeing Ricky Steamboat face off against Chris Jericho in an unbelievable back n forth exchange. In the end, Jericho would capitalize the situation and defeated Steamboat with the Codebreaker. Actor Mickey Rouke who was just nominated for an academy award for best Actor for “The Wrestler” was ringside for this match, and Jericho would challenge him to enter into the Ring. After some trash talk from Jericho, Rouke had enough and knocked out Y2J with a right hand.
Undertaker Note: The First Main Event we would see The Undertaker face off against The Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels. Shawn would enter the arena, as if he was ascending from the heavens wearing all white. Hat, long coat, all white as if he was an angel. To artistically show that he is a direct contrast from The Dead Man. The match started out fast paced between these two legends. Both men, on the early onset went for their signature moves but were blocked by the other. Undertaker, lately had adopted the suicide dive as one of his signature moves, when attempting to do this to Shawn, Shawn would move out the way and throw the “cameraman” in front of Taker instead, avoiding the collision, but with Taker nearly landing on his head. Taker was able to get back into the ring. The match continued, in the match, Shawn was able to hit SCM twice on Taker, with Taker kicking out. Taker hit Shawn with the Tombstone piledriver, which has put many bodies away, but Shawn still kicked out. When Shawn was able to gain back momentum, he went to the top rope and attempted the moonsault, but Taker caught him and hit him with the Tombstone, putting Shawn Michaels away and Taker gaining the victory. The Undertaker is 17-0 at Wrestlemania. It was also declared, critically, as match of the year.
The World Heavyweight Championship was contested for in a Triple Threat match between the champion, Edge, The Big Show, and John Cena. The action started with some brawling and some early teamwork from Big Show and Edge before their alliance crumbled. The match spilled to the outside seeing Edge tackling Big Show through the guardrail with a Spear. Cena returned Edge to the ring before applying the STF before Big Show came to his senses, and broke up the action, leading to Cena and Edge teaming up to remove Big Show from the equation before turning on each other. Cena won the match by lifting The Big Show and set up the Attitude Adjustment, then dropping Edge onto Big Show with the same move before pinning The Big Show to win his second World Heavyweight Championship.
The third and final main event would be for the WWE Championship. match was contested between the champion, Triple H, and Randy Orton. As per a pre-match stipulation by Vickie Guerrero, if Triple H had been disqualified or had been counted out during the match, he would have lost the title to Orton. The match started out as a brawl with both men hitting their respective finishers to try and end the match quickly with both leading to only two-counts; the action continued immediately between the two with Triple H doing everything in his power to hurt Orton without being disqualified in the process. Orton tried to gain more advantage went out of the ring to pick up Triple H’s signature weapon, the sledgehammer. As Orton made his way back to the ring, Triple H ran to Orton, and delivered a punt kick across Orton’s face. The champion would defeat Orton hitting him with it and the Pedigree to retain the WWE Championship.
Match Card:
Dark- The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) defeated John Morrison and The Miz in a lumberjack match to unify the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship into the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship
PPV-
– CM Punk defeated Kane, Mark Henry (with Tony Atlas), Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Finlay (with Hornswoggle) in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
– Santina Marella won by last eliminating Beth Phoenix and Melina in the 25-Diva Battle Royal to crown “Miss Wrestlemania”.
– Chris Jericho defeated Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka (with Ric Flair) in a Handicap Elimination Match
– Matt Hardy defeated Jeff Hardy in an Extreme Rules Match
– Rey Mysterio defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield (c) to win the WWE Intercontinental Championship. After this JBL would announce his retirement.
– The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels
– John Cena defeated Edge (c) and The Big Show in a Triple Threat Match to win the World Heavyweight Championship
– Triple H (c) defeated Randy Orton to retain the WWE Championship.
Sub-Theme: “The Biggest Wrestlemania Under The Sun”
Celebrities: Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Snoop Dogg, Raven Simone, John Legend and Kim Kardashian
Hall of Fame: Nature Boy Ric Flair, “High Chief” Peter Maivia, “Soulman” Rocky Johnson, Mae Young, Eddie Graham, Gordon Solie,
Wrestlemania is back for more fun under the sun. This time resorting in the land of Mickey Mouse; Orlando, Florida. This would be the 3rd Outdoor Wrestlemania (or 2nd if you truly count 19) produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment. But this would be the first Wrestlemania taking place in Florida. Around this time is when the WWE announced that they wanted to place Wrestlemania in more tourist friendly/family vacation friendly locations. And what better place to start then being down the street from the Magic Kingdom.
Going into this Wrestlemania, John Cena made his epic return to the WWE after a 3 month absence of being “injured” (making a movie), at the 2008 Royal Rumble as the surprised #30 entrant in Madison Square Garden. Cena would get retribution against the man that he was last in the Rumble with in 2005; Batista. Him, Batista and Triple H were the last three in the ring, but this time it would be Cena who would be the victor. Cena earned the right to face the WWE Champion at Wrestlemania. In this case, it would be Randy Orton. Now, in a move that I still question to this day, Cena “cashes in(?)” his Wrestlemania Title match against Orton at the No Way Out PPV. In the match, Orton (being smart) got himself disqualified and retained the title. That same night, Triple H won in the elimination chamber, to make him the #1 contender for the WWE title at Wrestlemania. The Next night on Raw, Cena demands his rematch clause be exercised. This would bring us to this match now being a Triple Threat Match at Wretlemania for the WWE Title.
Almost one year ago, Edge pulled off one of the biggest swerves in the company history when he cashed in Mr. Kennedys MITB briefcase against The Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship. And thanks to Mark Henry, “injuring” Taker, this would leave Undertaker on the shelf for the rest of the year. After Edge successfully defended the World title at No Way Out, it was now time for him to pay back what is owed. The Undertaker wants a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 24.
Wrestlemania starts off and starts off hot! One of the first matches on the card is the 3rd annual Money in the Bank Ladder Match. The contestants would be CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Carlito, MVP, Mr. Kennedy and John Morrison. We saw some unbelievable spots in this match between these men. Shelton, no doubt, showed out to be the most impressive, next to John Morrison. This may’ve been one of the most exciting ones to date, but in the end, it would be CM Punk to climb the ladder and obtain the briefcase to win the match.
In the return of the Inter-promotional matches, Batista (representing Smackdown) defeated Umaga (representing Raw).
In what is said to have been one of the most emotional matches in Wrestlemania History, Shawn Michaels faced The Nature Boy Ric Flair in a “Career Threatening Match”. Back in November 2007, Ric Flair made a strong return to the ring and was back for action. However, Vince McMahon said otherwise. Vince put a stipulation in his contract that if he were to lose one more match, then his career with the WWE would be over. Flair went on a very successful run, since November of defeating wrestler after wrestler. Winning match after match. But Flair, being the man that he is, lives by the phrase (that he made popular) “To Be The Man, You Got To Beat The Man!” This would only be true, if he were to beat “the man”, and that is Shawn Michaels, Mr. Wrestlemania. This match would be signed for WM 24. Flair came out in front of the sold out crowd in a breath taking brand new robe, for this would be the night where he would fight for his career. In the match, both men engaged in a series of counters with each other. We saw some classic HBK and of course some classic FLAIR! Later in the match, Shawn went for Sweet Chin Music but was stopped by Flair and wrapped in the Figure Four Leg Lock! Later Shawn actually HIT Sweet Chin Music on Flair, but he kicked out. Shawn locked him in his own version of the figure four, but Flair (being the dirtiest payer in the game) gave Shawn a thumb to eye to get out. After an exchange of moves, Shawn hits Flair one more time with SCM, but Shawn knew that if he was going to put him out, he had to take him out for good. Flair saw that it was coming, but he was not willing to go down without a fight. Urging and challenging Shawn to “come on”, Shawn whispered the words “I’m Sorry, I Love You” to Flair. Just as those words flowed from his mouth, it was almost like a poetic rhythm, when Shawn landed Sweet Chin Music on him, and just like that the historic career of the Nature Boy Ric Flair, came to an end, as the referee counted the mat, 1, 2 and 3. As the two men hugged in the middle of the ring, 70, 000 plus fans stood on their feet and gave him the most well deserved and emotional farewell standing ovation in the history of Professional Wrestling. Ric exited the Citrus Bowl to the sounds and chants of “Thank You Flair. Thank You Flair.” And yes…Thank you, Flair.
The WWE Championship would be on the line against 3 of the biggest stars in the business today. Randy Orton, defending the WWE title against Triple H and John Cena. This would be the first time in Wrestlemania History where the WWE Championship was defended in a scheduled triple threat match at Wrestlemania. This match was unique as the three of them displayed many moves which involved them together. It really was hard to tell who would be able to take this match and gain the victory as we have three of the best in the world in the ring at the same time. The ending of the match showed Cena having Triple H in the FU position, looking to hit it and regain the WWE title, but Triple H, falls out from it, counters it and hit Cena with the Pedigree. As Triple H is going for the pin fall, from out of nowhere, Orton punts Triple H in the head and it is Orton who covers Cena for the 1,2,3 victory to retain the WWE Championship.
The 2nd Main Event would be the highly publicized Big Show vs Floyd Money Maywheather. Boxer vs Wrestler in a no DQ match. The story with these two came about at the No Way Out PPV, where Floyd Maywheather, broke the nose of The Big Show with bare knuckles. Since Floyd wants to play rough, Big Show challenged him to a one on one fight in the middle of the wrestlemania ring. Maywhether came to the ring with his entire entourage, he needed all of the backup help he could get. Early in the match, Floyd tried exercising whatever tactics he could so he could escape from The Big Show, but nothing was working as Big Show kept catching him. Floyd was looking for any excuse to not do this match, even resorting to him and his crew leaving the arena, but Big show caught him. Floyd was able to get his hands on a steel chair, but even that wasn’t enough to put out the Giant. Floyd resorted back to what brought him to the dance in eh first place, he took off his gloves and put on a pair of brass knuckles and clocked Big Show with them across the face. The Big Show was knocked out and couldn’t answer the 10 count. Money Maywheather is declared victorious. Still undefeated.
Undertaker Note: The 3rd and final Main Event would be for the World Heavyweight Championship. This would also be the two men with undefeated Wrestlemania streaks going against each other. Someone will leave Mania with their streak broken. The early going of the match was slow-paced, in which both superstars countered each other’s maneuvers. During the match, Undertaker ran and leapt over the top rope from the ring onto Edge on the outside. Then throughout the match, Edge was able to counter Undertaker’s numerous signature moves, including the Chokeslam, Old School and the Last Ride, a variation of the powerbomb. Near the end, Edge hit Undertaker with a television camera while the referee was knocked down. When he proceeded to deliver a Tombstone Piledriver to Undertaker, the latter countered it into his own version and successfully delivered it to Edge for a two-count. Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder came to the ring for Edge’s aid, but Undertaker took them out. Because of their distraction, Edge was able to hit a spear on Undertaker, but was unable to pin him. When Edge delivered another spear to Undertaker, the latter caught him in his Hell’s Gate submission hold and forced Edge to tap out to become the new World Heavyweight Champion. The Undertaker is now 16-0.
This would bring Edges’ Wrestlemania undefeated streak to an end, as Edge would now be 5-1.
Match Card
Dark- Kane won by last eliminating Mark Henry. The other participants were: Elijah Burke, Lance Cade, Deuce, Domino, Tommy Dreamer, Jim Duggan, Festus, The Great Khali, Hardcore Holly, Jesse, Brian Kendrick, Kofi Kingston, The Miz, Shannon Moore, Trevor Murdoch, Jamie Noble, Chuck Palumbo, Cody Rhodes, Snitsky, Stevie Richards, Val Venis and Jimmy Wang Yang in a 25 Man interpromotional Battle Royal, to determine who would face the ECW Champion later on in the night.
PPV
-John “Bradshaw” Layfield defeated Finlay (with Hornswoggle) in a Belfast Brawl
– CM Punk defeated Shelton Benjamin, Chris Jericho, Carlito, Montel Vontavious Porter, Mr. Kennedy, and John Morrison in the Money in the Bank Ladder match.
– Batista (representing Smackdown) defeated Umaga (representing Raw) in a inter-promotional match.
– Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero (c) to win the ECW Championship
– Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in a career threatening match.
– Beth Phoenix and Melina (with Santino Marella) defeated Maria and Ashley. In a Playboy Bunny Mania Lumber Jill Match.
– Randy Orton (c) defeated John Cena and Triple H to retain the WWE Championship
– Floyd Mayweather defeated The Big Show by knockout in a no DQ match.
– The Undertaker defeated Edge (c) (with Vickie Guerrero, Curt Hawkins and Zack Ryder) to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Hall of Fame: “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes, Mr. Perfect, Jerry “the King” Lawler, Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Fuji, The Sheik and Jim Ross.
Wrestlemania is back in a stadium, this time Wrestlemania goes back to the state where they broke the all time indoor attendance record of 93,173 fans. Wrestlemania 23 will take place from the Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan. Like mentioned before, WWE broke the world indoor attendance record, and that record stood strong until Feb 2010 when Dallas hosted the NBA All Star game, which drew in over 100,000 fans at the new Dallas stadium. If the rumors are true about WM 30, Vince is looking to break that record with Mania. This would also be the first Wrestlemania with the Tri Brand Extension. Raw, Smackdown and ECW matches would be represented on the card. The ruthless aggression era is making a solid landing and the WWE is just about to transition over into its next era.
Going into this Mania, The Undertaker would be victorious at the 2007 Royal Rumble and would earn the right to face a champion of his choosing. The Undertaker had a choice to choose between John Cena (WWE Champion), Dave Batista (World Heavyweight Champion) and Bobby Lashely (ECW Champion). The Undertaker made it known that it would be Him vs Dave Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Bobby Lashley would be set to face Umaga (IC Champion) in a non-title champion vs champion hair cut match. However, it wouldn’t be the wrestler getting his hair cut, it would be the man in their corner. Donald Trump would be in Lashleys corner and Vince McMahon would be in Umagas corner. This match would be officiated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. To determine the WWE Title match, Shawn Michaels wrestled in a triple threat match against Edge and Randy Orton and was victorious. The feud built when Cena and Michaels were not only opponents, but also tag team champions but did not trust each other. Something had to give at Wrestlemania 23.
Wrestlemania 23 started out HOT with the MITB Ladder match. This match would consist of Mr. Kennedy, Edge, CM Punk, King Booker, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Finlay and Randy Orton. MITB continues to grow and get better and better. During the match, Edge is carted out, due to being the recipient to a leg drop from Jeff Hardy while laying on the ladder. The ladder broke in half and so did Edge. Mr. Kennedy would go on to be victorious in this match.
Chris Benoit would successfully the defend the United States Championship against MVP. This would be the last Wrestlemania Chris Benoit would be a part of before his suicide.
This would be the first Wrestlemania with ECW representation. The “New Breed” consisting of Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker and Kevin Thorn would face off against The ECW Originals: RVD, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu and The Sandman. The ECW Originals win.
Undertaker Note: The Undertaker challenges Batista for his World Heavyweight Championship. Batista showing no fear and no signs of intimidation against The Dead Man and would set to be one of his toughest opponents yet. Taker and Batista were hard hitting on each other and brought a new meaning of smash mouth wrestling. Both of these giants pulled nothing as they mounted a feast of tough offense on each other. But even with the spine buster and Batista Bomb, that wouldn’t be enough to put Taker away. Undertaker would lock Batista up in the Tombstone piledriver and pin him 1, 2, 3 and win The World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. The Undertaker is 15-0 at Wrestlemania.
The “Battle of the Billionaires” match. This match would be between Donald Trump vs Vince McMahon, but with both men having representation as stated earlier. Bobby Lashley vs Umaga. This match was all shenanigans, but in good fun as Austin was the ref. Accompanying with Umaga and McMahon would be Armando Alejandro Estrada, and with Bobby Lashley and Donald Trump would be Tara Connor. Through the match, Umaga attacked Austin and Shane tried to interject himself as the ref of the match in Austins place. But after being blatantly biased, Austin regained his composure and took Shane out with a Stunner. Lashley got the spear on Umaga and was declared the winner. As a result, Lashley, Austin and Trump shaved Vince McMahons hair in from of the massive crowd.
The Headlining Main Event would be for the WWE Championship. Shawn Michaels would challenge John Cena for the title. Continuing his over the top entrances, Cena would enter the arena in an impressive manner via a Ford Mustang, grabbing the attention of the audience. Not sure if this made it on TV (I was there in person), a streaker would interrupt the very beginning of the match, which was a little off setting, but you could tell that it didn’t even phase Shawn Michaels, as this would be his first WWE Championship title match at Wrestlemania in 9 years. And just like in Anaheim at the Pond in 1996, this could once again be his moment. The match went into a feeling out process and then some hits to remind each other who the other man was. The match transitioned over into more of a ground game where they were both wearing down each other. Cena had to know that even with the steady tempo, it would sure pick up eventually, and the only thing to do, is to anticipate it and defend as much as he could and away we go! The match contained several notable spots, including Michaels hitting a Piledriver on Cena onto steel steps outside the ring. Cena was unable to execute an FU during the match, and Michaels also failed to execute Sweet Chin Music several times. Later in the match, Cena managed to place Michaels in the STFU submission hold, with Michaels reaching the ropes to break the hold. Cena then managed to place Michaels in the STFU again, and as a result, Michaels tapped out and Cena retained the WWE Championship.
There were reports that Shawn was in disagreement before the match, to lose to Cena, and he was adamant against this. We (as fans) do not know if this is actually true or false, but one thing that cannot be denied, both of them gave a helluva match and gave us something to talk about for years to come.
Match Card
Dark- Ric Flair and Carlito defeated Gregory Helms and Chavo Guerrero
PPV
-Mr. Kennedy defeated Edge, CM Punk, King Booker (with Queen Sharmell), Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Finlay and Randy Orton in the money in the bank ladder match
-The Great Khali defeated Kane
-Chris Benoit (c) defeated Montel Vontavious Porter to retain the WWE united Stated Championship
-The Undertaker defeated Batista (c) to win the World Heavyweight Championship
-The ECW Originals (Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Sabu and The Sandman) defeated The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker and Kevin Thorn) (with Ariel)
-Bobby Lashley (with Donald Trump) defeated Umaga (with Vince McMahon and Armando Alejandro Estrada) in a Hair vs Hair match with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee.
-Melina (c) defeated Ashley to retain the WWE Women’s Championship
-John Cena (c) defeated Shawn Michaels to retain the WWE Championship
Hall of Fame: Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Eddie Guerrero, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, “Sensational” Sherri, Verne Gagne, “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas, William “The Refrigerator” Perry
Completing the major city Tri-Fecta, Wrestlemania returns to Chicago, IL! For the first time since 1997, Wrestlemania is back in Chi-Town! Wrestlemania 20, 21 and 22 took a break from being in monster stadiums and went scaled back to having Mania in an arena. The WWE wanted to focus on Mania being highlighted at the 3 major cities of the United States. Sort of like Wrestlemania 2 but in 3 years. After this wrestlemania, this just may be the last time Wrestlemania will be held in an arena. If this is the case, this is the way to fly as you put this wrestlemania in arguably the hottest crowd in North America. Personally, this was my 2nd Wrestlemania attending live and we ripped it that night.
Going into this Wrestlemania; Rey Mysterio would win the 1996 Royal Rumble. Entering in at #1 and outlasting 29 other men. He would join the likes of Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit doing this accomplishment. Due to this, Rey would challenge the World Heavyweight Champion, Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania. Due to Orton’s involvement with both wrestlers, Orton would be inserted into the championship match, making it a Triple Threat. To see who would challenge John Cena for the WWE title, Raw held a tournament to see who would be the number one contender. The finals would be Triple H vs RVD. Triple H would go on to be the victor and Wrestlemania 22 would be headlined by John Cena defending the WWE title against Triple H.
Early in Wresatlemania 22, we would see the 2nd Money in the Bank ladder match, which has shown to be extremely popular now. Edge would be the first winner of the match, this year, the match included RVD, Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay, Bobby Lashley and Matt Hardy. RVD would go on to win the match and the briefcase.
Last year’s MITB winner would be in a one on one match with the hardcore legend himself, Mick Foley. This match may’ve rivaled Foleys 1998 Hell in a Cell classic against The Undertaker, because this match was pure violence, and fitting for the Chicago crowd. The match saw barb wire, barb wire bats, barb wire Mr. Socko, a million thumbtacks and if that wasn’t enough…FIRE! Lita lights a table outside the ring on fire and Edge spears Foley from the ring through the table, getting the pin and the victory.
Undertaker Note: The Undertaker would face Mark Henry in a casket match. Henry out muscled Taker, but Taker does not stop and the world strongest man could not stop the Dead Man. Undertaker would land Mark Henry in the casket and go on to victory. The Undertaker is 14-0 at Wrestlemania.
Shawn Michaels would face Vince McMahon in a street fight. Shades of WM 17 when Vince faced Shane. This was an exciting, remove your reservations, crash and burn type match which was enjoyable to watch. The match concluded with Shawn delivering a flying elbow off the top of a 20 foot ladder, crashing through Vince who was wearing a garbage can on top of the table. Mayhem after mayhem, Shawn would go on to be the victor.
The match that followed was the Triple Threat match between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio and Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Championship. During Mysterio’s entrance, P.O.D. performed Mysterio’s music entrance live. At the end, Mysterio performed a 619 on Orton followed by a West Coast Pop for a successful pin fall victory. As a result, Mysterio became the new World Heavyweight Champion. After the match, Mysterio celebrated with Chavo and Vickie Guerrero.
The main event was for the WWE Championship between champion John Cena and Triple H. Triple H came out to the ring on a throne dressed as a Conan the Barbarian-type king, while Cena came out with a tommy gun and was accompanied by a group of “gangsters” (one of whom was future WWE Superstar CM Punk) in a 1940s Chicago-era vehicle. The match was evenly matched with both men getting the advantage over each other. Triple H tried to perform a Pedigree, but it was countered by Cena into an FU. After Triple H kicked out of a two-count, Cena locked him into the STFU. Triple H got to the ropes and went for another Pedigree, but was countered into the STFU again by Cena. Triple H tapped out, and as a result, Cena retained the WWE Championship.
Match Card
Dark- Viscera won by last eliminating Snitsky. The other participants were: Eugene, Goldust, Tyson Tomko, Rob Conway, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch, Matt Striker, Super Crazy, Psychosis, Funaki, Steven Richards, Johnny Nitro, Joey Mercury, The Road Warrior, William Regal, and Simon Dean in an 18 match inter-promotional battle royal.
PPV
-Big Show and Kane (c) defeated Carlito and Chris Masters to retain the World Tag Team championship
-Rob Van Dam defeated Shelton Benjamin, Ric Flair, Finlay, Matt Hardy and Bobby Lashley in the 2nd annual MITB Ladder Match.
-John “Bradshaw” Layfield (with Jillian Hall) defeated Chris Benoit (c) to win the US title.
-Edge (with Lita) defeated Mick Foley in a hardcore match
-The Boogeyman defeated Booker T and Sharmell in a handicap match
-Mickie James defeated Trish Stratus (c) to win the WWE Women’s title
-The Undertaker defeated Mark Henry in a casket match
-Shawn Michaels defeated Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match
-Rey Mysterio defeated Randy Orton and Kurt Angle (c) to win The World Heavyweight Championship
-Torrie Wilson defeated Candice Michelle in a playboy pillow fight
-John Cena (c) defeated Triple H to retain the WWE Championship
Celebrities: David Arquette, Motörhead, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, The Black Eyed Peas, Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins, Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Carmen Electra, Sylvester Stallone, Marge Helgenberger, Matt Groening, Rick Rubin, and Will Sasso.
Hall of Fame Inductees: Hulk Hogan, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Cowboy Bob Orton, Jimmy Hart, Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff, Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik
Back in California! Wrestlemania has returned to the golden state! First time in 5 years to celebrate the 21st annual Wrestlemania produced by the World Wrestling Entertainment. WWE wanted to lean greatly on the Hollywood theme of this show. Leading into wrestlemania were many WWE vignettes of the WWE superstars doing parodies of some Hollywood classics. Some of the classics included Braveheart, Taxi Driver, A Few Good Men and more. Giving this Wrestlemania a very over the top feel with it being sensational eye candy for the media.
Going into Wrestlemania, Batista would be the winner of the 2005 Royal Rumble. In what looked like was going to be a replay of the 1994 Royal Rumble; since both Batista and John Cena went over the top rope eliminating each other since they were the final two men. However, per Vince McMahons order, the match continued and Batista won. Batista would go on and chose to face his former co-member of the stable “Evolution”, The World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H. This would be set to be the Main Event at Wrestlemania. The Royal Rumble ruling didn’t fall short in holding back John Cena. Cena would eventually go on to be at scheduled to face off against the WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) at Wrestlemania.
Wrestlemania started off with the WWE Tag Team Champions facing each other in the opener contest. The historic rivalry of Eddie Guerreo vs Rey Mysterio would continue as they went head to head in a decent match with each other. Rey would go on to be the victor. This would be Eddie Guerrero’s last Wrestlemania, due to his passing in November 2005.
Shawn Michaels faces Kurt Angle and once again, Shawn displays why his nickname is “Mr. Wrestlemania”. These two put on a Wrestlemania classic that is still being talked about to this day amongst wrestling fans, as these two showcased some of the best most, counters and holds anyone could ever ask to see. This inter promotional match would bring out the best from these two men, especially from Kurt Angle who was hell bent on defeating the man who was been dubbed as the greatest in the world. Naturally the Olympic Gold Medalist thinks differently about this. At the end of the match, Kurt would block Shawn’s superkick and trap him in the ankle lock. Shawn would fight this hold for minutes (which felt like hours), but instead of dealing with the risk of not being able to walk, Shawn taps out and Kurt wins the match. Unreal.
Undertaker Note: The Undertaker would face The Legend Killer Randy Orton in the other Inter promotional Match of the night. Orton is motivated to be the man to end the Wrestlemania streak of the Undertaker. Orton has been trailblazing in taking out WWE Legends such as Jake The Snake Roberts, Hacksaw Jim Duggan even Harley Race. The Undertaker would be next on his list. Orton gave Taker hell in this match. Too young, too quick, too motivated. But the Deadman brought experience to the table and the Tombstone Piledriver would prove to be too much for young Orton as he was pinned 1, 2, and 3 in the middle of the ring. The Undertaker is now 13-0 at Wrestlemania.
The next match was John Cena Vs JBL for the WWE Championship. JBL controlled most of the bout. In the end, Cena would win the match after ducking a clothesline attempt from JBL, hits him with the FU and pinning JBL to become the new WWE Champion. This would be Cana’s first reign as WWE Champion. Ushering in the new era of the World Wrestling Entertainment.
The eighth and final match of the night was Triple H defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Batista. Triple H entered to “The Game” performed live by Motorhead, shades of Wrestlemania 17. The action was back and forth, with neither man in control for very long periods. In both the match’s and the event’s climax, Batista would hit Triple H with the Batista Bomb and pin him 1, 2, 3 to win the World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
Match Card
Dark- Booker T won the 30 man interpromotional battle royal by last eliminating Chris Masters.
PPV
-Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero.
-Edge defeated Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Chris Benoit, Christian (with Tyson Tomko) and Kane. In the first ever Money In the Bank Ladder Match
-The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton (with “Cowboy” Bob Orton).
-Trish Stratus (c) defeated Christy Hemme (with Lita). To retain the WWE Womens Championshop
-Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels.
-Akebono defeated The Big Show. In a Sumo match (yeah…a Sumo Match)
-John Cena defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield (c). To win the WWE Championship
-Batista defeated Triple H (c) (with Ric Flair) to win the World Heavyweight Championship
Here we are, Wrestlemania’s 20th anniversary! And we are bringing Wrestlemania around full circle back to where it all started, Madison Square Garden. In What possibility could be the last wrestlemania to be held at Madison Square Garden. Currently, Vince McMahon has stated that holding Wrestlemania in normal arenas, days are done. Wrestlemania now belongs in stadiums. That, I do agree with, where Mania has grown to be bigger than even anticipated. And if Wrestlemania 20 knew that it would be the last time they perform in this house, they tore the roof off. This would be the first Wrestlemania billed as being “Inter-promotional”. This would have a match where someone from Raw would face someone from Smackdown in a match.
Just like 19, there were many stories going into Mania 20. Not as detailed and long lasting as some of the feuds for 19, but 20 followed up with some excellent matches. Chris Benoit won the 2004 Royal Rumble. But entering in at #1 and out lasting 29 other men to be crowned the winner and set to face his brands champion at Wrestlemania. In this case he is set to wrestle Triple H, the World Heavyweight Champion. At the contract signing of the title match at Mania between H and Benoit, Shawn inserted himself in this situation by stating that since his match was a draw against Triple H at the Rumble, he needs to have his shot at Triple and finish it all. Benoit denied Shawn this request and Shawn superkicked Benoit and signed his name on the contract instead. The next week, Comissionr Stone Cold Steve Austin announced that the WHC match at Wresltemania would be a triple threat between Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit.
At No Way Out 2004, Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar and won the WWE Championship. Kurt Angle defeated The Big Show and John Cena in a triple threat match at the same PPV to earn the right to face the WWE Champion at Wrestlemania. Weeks of the feud built up to bring the WWE Championship to life at Wresrtlemania.
Madison Sqaure Garden is the hub and the center stage of Wrestlemania 20 and the audience is going ballistic. The show opens up with a match for the US Championship. The Big Show vs the man making his Wrestlemania PPV Debut, John Cena. They’ve been feuding since the triple threat at No Way Out. The Big Show was the distinguished veteran in this match, but wasn’t too much for the fairly new and very popular John Cena. Cena had enough in him to hit The Big Show with the F-U and pin him to win his first WWE Title, we have a new United States Champion.
This Wrestlemania would also hold a “Dream Match” (forgettable). Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg. The majority of the match was just both men arguing back n forth and a lock up here and there and a push off here and there. Both men were leaving the company and didn’t give this match their all, which was a major flop in my opinion. The fans have been wanting to see this match for the longest ever since Brock entered into the WWE, but both men didn’t care enough to give more into the match. Understandably, the fans turned on both wrestlers by booing the match. Goldberg won the match via the Jackhammer. Deservedly so, referee Stone Cole Steve Austin stunned both of them out the ring.
Undertaker Note: The Undertaker returned to the WWE this night. He has been gone since being “buried alive” by Vince McMahon at the Survivor Series 2003. Not only would this be the return of The Undertaker, this would be the return of The Dead Man. No more American badass. And who better to fight, than his brother Kane. Taker looked like he never lost a step during his time off and dominated his brother. The Undertaker is now 12-0 at Wrestlemania.
The WWE Championship match would be between The Champion Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle. They both put on a solid wrestling mat classic. Excellent match, very good reads from both of the wrestlers. Lots of physchology. During the match, Guerrero used a DDTand Frog Splash on Angle that would result in a pin attempt; Angle then recovered and put Guerrero in the ankle lock. However, Guerrero escaped the hold by rolling through it and throwing Angle out of the ring. As Angle was outside, Guerrero loosened his ring boot to relieve the pain. As Angle returned to the ring, he applied another ankle lock on Guerrero that would end up being unsuccessful with Guerrero escaping the hold by pushing Angle off with his other foot leaving Angle holding the Guerrero’s loosened ring boot. With Angle confused, Guerrero executed a Roll-up pin maneuver leading to a successful pinfall, thus winning the match and retaining the WWE Championship.
The Show would close out with the World Heavyweight Championship, triple threat match. Triple H vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit. The match started out as your normal Triple threat style of a match between three men; odd man out rule. After a while the match escalated into something a little more special than what we are generally used to as we saw a variety of holds that included the three together. Even at one point, Shawn and Triple H gave a familiar look to each other to give Chris Benoit a double suplex through the announcers table trying to eliminate Benoit. The two continued to wrestle until Benoit made his return to action to have Michaels then attempt to hit Benoit with Sweet Chin Music but Benoit countered it, throwing Michaels out of the ring. As this occurred, Triple H attempted to execute the Pedigree again on Benoit, but was countered and was locked into the Crippler Crossface Triple H to submit. As a result, Benoit won the match and the World Heavyweight Championship. After the match, Eddie Guerrero came to the ring and the two embraced while confetti dropped for the emotional ending of WrestleMania XX.
Celebrities: Limp Bizkit and the “Bud Light Girls” (smh) and Ashanti
Wrestlemania 19 was live from Seattle, Washington. Depending either how you look at it or who you are, you can say this was either the 2nd outdoor wrestlemania or the 1st semi outdoor wrestlemania. Either way, it was a fully eventful mania.
This would be the first Wrestlemania where both of the company’s main championship titles would be defended. Since the Undisputed title was born a year prior (the physical belt), the idea of the champion bouncing back between the Raw and Smackdown Brand just wasn’t enough. And there was no way in the world that the IC title would be parallel as the main title on Raw, next to the Undisputed Championship on Smackdown. To remedy this situation, Eric Bishoff brought back the World Heavyweight Championship belt on an episode of Raw in September 2002 and awarded the title to Triple H. Triple H was the Champion on Raw and Brock Lesnar was the champion on Smackdown (which was now the WWE Championship). Brock lost the title at the 2002 Survivor Series to The Big Show, after being betrayed by Paul Hayman. Kurt Angle defeated The Big Show at Armageddon 2002 to win the WWE Championship. Brock Lesnar goes on to win the 2003 Royal Rumble, but there is a fall out between him and Angle. Angle is dead set on making sure that Brock is in no condition to wrestle for the title at Mania. Paul Heyman (no aligned with Kurt) Awards him with two wrestlers who are known as “Team Angle” Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin. Each week, both Haas and Benjamin try to take out Lesnar, but the plans never work out. After a series of matches between the three, this leads us to the final solution, Angle has to face Brock and defeat him himself, and this brings us to Wrestlemania. In the meantime, Triple H has been defending the title left and right against many competitors. Between RVD, Bubba Ray Dudley, Kane, Shawn Michaels and more, it’s been a nonstop battle. Booker T, wins a Raw battle royal to see who will wrestle the champ at Mania, and this leads to Triple H’s next opponent, Booker T.
Wrestlemania 19 is one of the most stacked Manias ever and loaded with top tier main event caliber matches. It’s hard to determine where to start since it seems as if every match on the card is worthy enough to close the show. An intense mania this is, indeed.
Undertaker Note: The Undertaker was originally involved in a tag match, teaming up with Nathan Jones to take on The Big Show and A-Train. Nathan Jones suffered an “injury” and could not compete, leaving the dead man to fend for himself. Undertaker took on both giants and defeated them both. The Undertaker is 11-0 at Wrestlemania.
Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho goes down as one of the top 10 greatest wrestlemania matches of all time. This would be Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania return to the ring. He has not been at a wrestlemania since WM 14 when he dropped the belt to Austin. The story leading into this Mania was about Chris Jericho’s (legitimate) childhood obsession of HBK. Hair like his as he’s coming up, style like his, build like his. Jericho admired Shawn to the fullest extent and naturally when you’re obsessed with someone, the best thing to do is take them out. This match was almost like a mirror match watching these two men go at it with each other. It was move after move, hold after hold, bump after bump that was a mimic of the other. But Late into the match, Michaels attempted to hit Jericho with Sweet chin music, however, Jericho countered it into a Walls of Jericho. After Michaels freed himself from Jericho’s submission hold, Jericho attempted a suplex that Michaels countered into a roll-up that gave Michaels a successful pinfall, thus Michaels won the match.
Triple H would successfully defend the World Heavyweight Championship belt against Booker T, but Booker T definately took Triple H to the absolute limit. With the exception of losing the WHC championship in the elimination chamber to Shawn Michaels, Booker legitimetly looked as if he was going to take the championship belt off the waist of Triple H.
Hulk Hogan faced off against his former employer, Vince McMahon in a street fight. Vince made the claim that he was the one that created Hulkamania, and that Hogan should acknowledge it. Hogan was hell; bent on the fact that the FANS were the ones who created Hulkamania. Due to Hogan’s defiance, Vince stated that he is going to kill what he created, and that would be Hulkamania. Both Hogan and McMahon tested each other’s strength in the beginning of the match, until McMahon tossed Hogan onto ringside. Hogan then countered a chairshot by McMahon into several of his own, that caused McMahon to bleed from the head. Late into the match, Roddy Piper interfered in the match as he hit Hogan with a pipe. Hogan however, later retaliated by hitting McMahon with a Big boot into a Leg drop and successfully pinned McMahon, thus Hogan won the match.
The next sharing the main event was the impeccable; Rock vs Austin Part 3. Never in the history of the WWF or WWE, has there been two men who main evented 3 wrestlemanias against each other. That just tells you a lot about the impact of influence that both Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock have on the business. They wrestled at both WM 15 and WM 17, on both occasions Stone Cold Steve Austin would leave victorious. This match proved that this was The Rock’s destiny to win. The match was a nonstop brawl between the two as they engaged in a heated exchange with each other. Austin was suffering from complications from his neck and looked as if he may not be able to compete, but he did indeed and gave a helluva match. Throughout the match, Rock worked over Austin’s leg, which included Rock applying a Sharpshooter on Austin. Rock then began to taunt Austin, as he put on his vest and imitated his taunts, which led to The Rock running into a Rock Bottom by Austin. Rock then retaliated by hitting Austin with a Stone Cold stunner. Earlier, The Rock cut a promo in which he stated that in Hollywood, it’s not about Act 1 nor Act 2; everyone goes home and remembers Act 3. And Act 3 is what they remembered. Because after he failed to pin Austin with the People’s elbow, Rock then hit Austin with three Rock Bottoms that led to the Rock successfully pinning Austin, thus The Rock won the match.
The final main event was a WWE Championship match between Brock Lesnar and the champion, Kurt Angle, with the stipulation that there would be no Champion’s Advantage (in other words, the title could change hands on a disqualification or a count out). Both men put on a clinic! The match began with Lesnar and Angle wrestling back and forth, until Angle countered a shoulder block into a German suplex. Lesnar would then attempt to retaliate by attempting to F-5 Angle, however, Angle countered it into an Ankle lock, that Lesnar was able to escape out of. As Lesnar escaped, Angle would attempt to deliver an Angle slam, however, Lesnar countered it into an F-5. Instead of covering Angle, Lesnar climbed to the top rope and hit a botched Shooting star press on Angle, which Angle covered for by going for the pin attempt and getting a two count. After Lesnar kicked out, Angle picked up Lesnar only to be hit with another F-5, Lesnar then successfully pinned Angle, winning the match and the WWE Championship.
Match Card
Heat- Lance Storm and Chief Morley (c) (with Dudley Boyz) defeated Kane and Rob Van Dam to retain the WWE World Tag Team Championship titles (First time a title match was on a Wrestlemania pre show)
PPV
–Matt Hardy (c) (with Shannon Moore) defeated Rey Mysterio to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Wrestlemania 18, is the 18th annual wrestlemania professional wrestling pay per view, produced by the world wrestling federation.
This would be the last Wrestlemania with the company being named “World Wrestling Federation” or “WWF”. Shortly after this maina, The WWF would then be The WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment); due to a lawsuit settlement between the WWE and World Wildlife Fund.
Wrestlemania is returning back to Toronto. The last time Wrestlemania was in the Sky Dome was for WM 6; where over 60,000 fans witnessed Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior; title for title. This year, the arena would hold yet another dream match. This would be the house that will bring you Icon vs Icon- The Rock vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan. In addition, Hogan is making his illustrious Wrestlemania Return!
This Wrestlemania was on the bell curve of a new era of the company. The Attitude Era was no more, this would be the rooted beginnings of the “Ruthless Aggression” era (some argue that, that started at WM 17). The invasion angle is long over, WCW guys have fully assimilated into being WWF guys. The World Titles of Wrestling have consolidated into one and a major player of THE GAME recently returned as well.
A little under a year ago, Triple H suffered a devastating quad injury (while in a match partnered with Steve Austin against Jericho and Benoit on a live edition of Raw), which immediately put him on the shelf. After surgery and many many months of rehab, Triple H made his return at the 2002 Royal Rumble and won the event. This would grant him the right to face the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World; Chris Jericho. Jericho won this honor back in Dec of 2001 when he was victorious in a 3 match stipulation; by defeating The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin; both in the same night. With Triple H earning the main event spot, and his “ex-wife” now siding with the champion; this is set up to be a wild contest.
A week before the No Way Out 2002 PPV, in an attempt to gain vengeance against Ric Flair who has taken over the company (thanks to him being the consortium who bought Shane and Stephanie’s stock of the company), Vince McMahon announced that he is “injecting a poison into the company he father built”. Vince broke news by announcing that he was bringing in the New World Order into the WWF, and they will be debuting at No Way Out in Milwaukee, WI. After they debuted, The Rock pressed and had some fun on the expense of Hall and Nash. However, when Hogan came out to cut a promo and lash out on the fans, is when The Rock got involved. It was during this promo where The Rock challenged Hulk Hogan, one on one at Wrestlemania. Hogan accepted…GAME ON!
Wrestlemania begins with already getting 5 STARS! Rob Van Dam challenges William Regal for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. And with the 5 star frog splash, RVD wins his 2nd singles title with the company!
Undertaker Note: The Undertaker faces Ric Flair. This would be the first time (and only time) that The Undertaker is wrestling as a heel at Mania. Due to some disagreements between the Deadman and Flair, this match came about. This was a very good 20 min match, and Flair looked as good in the match as he ever did. But Taker was just too much for the Nature Boy and pins the 16 time former heavyweight champion of the world. Undertaker is 10-0 at wrestlemania.
The video package begins showing the clips of the return of the nWo at No Way Out, and then leads to the epic promo between Hulk Hogan and The Rock, where the challenge is set for Wrestlemania. Clips follow, along with heart pounding rock music to illustrate the story of these two. The last image you vividly see, is a black and white image that looks to be cutting into the current footage that we are looking at. A spliced scene from one of the many invasions the nWo did on the Monday Nitro set between Hogan, Hall and Nash. A graphic of the footage looks to be ripping in half to show us present day and plays the most familiar theme music of them all, the nWo theme, Enter Hollywood Hulk Hogan. I swear to you, as I am writing this, I am getting Goosebumps thinking of this moment. 68,237 people on their feet screaming in joy, not only because of the one of the most familiar and coolest themes of our time is playing, but because (at this time) the King of Wrestlemania, Hulk Hogan is walking down a WWF Aisle into a WWF ring for his Wrestlemania return, that was have not seen in 9 years. The electricity of the crowd was so electric, that it would’ve made sense to be exhausted by the time the opening bell hit, but that wouldn’t be the case, not for this sold out crowd. Hulk Hogan, was finally home. But at an even louder ovation, The Rock’s theme hit and with (what seemed like) millions of cameras flashing in the crowd, The Rock enters into the Ring and is set center stage in front of millions watching around the world, face to face with the Icon of Pro Wrestling, Hulk Hogan in the ring with him. The match started with a memorable stare down onto each other and the crowd.
The two lock up and Rock overpowers Hogan and muscles him to the ground. Hogan back to his feet and locks back up with The Rock, however, this time it would be Hogan to overpower and throws The Rock. This send the crowd into a complete frenzy and to add fuel to the fire, Hogan breaks the cool Hollywood persona and goes back into Retro Hogan and throws poses at The Rock. There is not a soul sitting for this monumental moment. The match goes on. During the match, The Rock locked on the Sharpshooter, causing Hogan to tap out. However, the referee was down and unable to acknowledge the submission. The Rock let go of the hold and tried to revive the referee, but Hogan gave him a low blow followed by his own version of The Rock’s finisher, the Rock Bottom for a two-count. The two tried their respective finishers, the Rock Bottom and the leg drop but each kicked out. After two more Rock Bottoms and a People’s Elbow, The Rock pins the Legendary Hulk Hogan and gets the 1-2-3 victory to win the match. After the match, Hall and Nash come to ringside and express disappointment o Hogan for losing and jump Hogan. The Rock assist Hogan and both of them beat on Nash and Hall. They clear the ring. The Rock also steps to the side and gives the spotlight to the 68 thousand plus, to pose for the crowd. Hogan, not only stole the show, but was once again and officially a face in the world wrestling federation.
The main event was for the World Wrestling Federation Undisputed Championship. Chris Jericho vs Triple H. Just like how Triple H entered with Motorhead playing his theme, Drowning Pool would play a version of his theme song as he entered to the ring. Jericho, entered the arena with Stephanie McMahon on his side and the match takes place. In all fairness, both of them really do give the world a very very good match. If you watched this match isolated to the rest of the card, you can really appreciate the efforts by both of them. However, at the same time, the crowd just was not into it, and it was not anything against the two men in the ring, but more so due to how overwhelming the Rock/Hogan match was and drained the crowd of all of their energy. Not even the Divas match before the championship match could help matters. During the match Triple H went for the Pedigree on Jericho through the announcers’ table. However, Jericho reversed it into a back drop, sending Triple H through the Spanish announcers’ table. Stephanie tried to hit Triple H with a steel chair but had it removed by referee Earl Hebner. Stephanie pushed Hebner aside but then, she was met by a Pedigree from Triple H. Jericho tried his own Pedigree on Triple H but ended up having it reversed into a catapult. Triple H then hit the Pedigree on Jericho and pinned him to become the new Undisputed Champion
Match Card
HEAT- Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, and Albert defeated Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm and, Test
PPV
-Rob Van Dam defeated William Regal (c) to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship
-Diamond Dallas Page (c) defeated Christian to retain the WWF European Championship
-Maven (c) fought Goldust to a no contest in a Hardcore Match for the WWF Hardcore Championship. The title changed hands on a number of occasions between The Hurricanne, Molly Holly, Christian and back to Maven.
-Kurt Angle defeated Kane
-The Undertaker defeated Ric Flair in a no DQ match
-Edge defeated Booker T.
-Steve Austin defeated Scott Hall (with Kevin Nash).
-Billy and Chuck (c) defeated The APA (Faarooq and Bradshaw), The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von) (with Stacy Keibler) and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) in a Four Corners Elimination match for the WWF Tag Team Championship with Billy and Chuck retaining the titles.
-The Rock defeated Hollywood Hulk Hogan
Jazz (c) defeated Trish Stratus and Lita in a triple threat match to retain the WWF Womens Championship
Triple H defeated Chris Jericho (c) (with Stephanie McMahon). To win the World Wrestling Federation Undisputed World Championship.
Maurice D. Proffit
proffitspiledriver 