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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The 25th EDITION (Not Anniversary) Of WrestleMania, April 7, 2009
Hate to be a nerd here but when your born or married or had a special occassion that you celebrate every year, the anniversary isn't when the event happened but every year afterwards so do the math, this is the 25th EDITION of WrestleMania but the quarter anniversary comes next year...but let's not let the facts get in the way of a good story. A couple of notes for this WrestleMania is that Tazz left WWE earlier in the week when his contract expired & with there being no ECW match, the entire event was a 3 man announce team of Michael Cole, Jim Ross, and Jerry Lawler. It should also be noted that a Unified Tag Team Championship match was advertised on the card with the WWE (SmackDown) Tag Champions of Carlito & Primo Colon vs. the World (RAW) Tag Team Champions of John Morrison & The Miz but at the last minute, they moved the match off the main card onto the DVD extra dark match. It should also be noted that WWE went all the way to the four hour mark on this PPV & the lead singer from the pop group "The Pussycat Dolls" (don't remember her name & honestly, don't care) did the national anthem. Now onto the matches...
Money In The Bank Match: C.M. Punk vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Christian vs. Finlay vs. Kane vs. Mark Henry - After the last couple of MITB ladder matches starting to become a little "routine" when it came to the spots, this one had the ladders used in ways we've never seen before in more unique ways. Moments to look out for are the showcases of strength by Mark Henry & Kane, Christian clearly being the crowd favorite, Shelton Benjamin's leap off the ladder outside the ring, Hornswoggle & his "ladder", and the darkhorse (no pun intended) in Kofi Kingston being the human highlight reel of the match. There were some botches for the stuff they were trying to pull off but overall, entertaining match & great way to kick off the show.
Right around here was a Kid Rock performance doing a medley of songs that lasted around 10 mins. that lost the crowd for a while that ended with the divas appearing for...
Ms. wrestleMania Battle Royal - ...this battle royal to crown Ms. WrestleMania featuring all the current WWE divas along with ones from the past like Sunny, Ms. Jackie (Tough Enough winner/Charlie Hass' wife), Victoria, Molly Holly and Torrie Wilson. However, unless you went to WWE's website to look at the photo shoot earlier in the day (that Michael Cole had to plug), they decided not to give all of them introductions unlike how they've done at every battle royal in WrestleMania's past so you couldn't tell who was who (and neither could the announce team half the time) throughout most of the match since it was a huge cluster of blondes & brunettes until towards the end. Unless your a fan of Santino Marella (or maybe even RuPaul), this was a skipable filler & complete waste of the appearences from the past divas.
Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Ricky Steamboat w/Ric Flair vs. Chris Jericho - This was a handicap elimination match in that Jericho has to beat all three men to win & Mickie Rourke from the movie "The Wrestler" was at ringside for this. This match was about what you expect from Roddy Piper & Jimmy Snuka at this point in their careers but the real suprize of the night was Ricky Steamboat as this was his first real performance in almost 15 years and first WM match since '88/IV eventhough he wasn't as quick, he looked like he didn't miss a step & still hit his classic spots & moves. Other moments were Roddy Piper forgetting that this is a "Rated PG" show & everything with Rourke afterwards but it was the interaction between Steamboat & Jericho that was the main highlight of this match.
Extreme Rules Match: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy - As J.R. would point out on the commentary, how ironic is it that 5 years ago at WMXX it was the "brothers" of Kane & Taker that had a match while 15 years ago it was the Hart brothers of Bret & Owen who were fighting each other and now it's the battle of the Hardy brothers. Various weapons like a shopvac (you read that right), a singapore cane, trash can, crutch, and of course...tables, ladders, and chairs were used as not only just weapons but to make moves more impactful like the side effect, legdrop and the sickest looking twist of fate I can remember seeing. Unlike how their Vengeance '01 match was a trainwreck, this match lived up to the hype and the right guy who NEEDED the victory got it.
Intercontinental Champion J.B.L. vs. Rey Mysterio - Along with the fact that this was the first Intercontinental Title defence since WMX8, Michael Cole pointed out that this was Mysterio's first WM appearence since he won the World Title at WM22. Eventhough I'm a fan of Mysterio's unique WM outfits of comic book/movie characters, his costume this year as Heath Ledgers "Joker" came off like the time he tried to be the Silver Surfer from Fantastic Four. Anyways, it took you just about as long to read everything I just said about Mysterio & the I.C. title at WrestleMania than it would to watch the match because this was a repeat of the ECW title match last year.
Mr. WrestleMania vs. The Streak: Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker - This is one of those matches that I can try to describe & review but the words wouldn't do it justice. This match had everything (including the enique "Heaven & Hell" entrances) on a physical & emotional level of both men refusing to lose to the point where this was the cloest anyone had ever come to breaking the streak to the point where you saw the most emotion from Undertaker since his "Deadman" character returned 5 years ago & Shawn was even so desperate at one point, he was hoping for a win via countout. Instant classic here & quite frankly, this was the match that saved this show, should have ended it since nobody was going to be able to top it, and makes the DVD worth buying alone.
World Champion Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show - As usual, Cena had quite an entrance as it was an almost scary sight seeing that many John Cena's and I even joked with my friends saying that it was the "Cena Clux Clan"...will the real Slim Shady please stand up? All three men put in a good performance here with various highlights featured the Guerrero's getting involved & Big Show putting in a dominate performance along with doing a classic Andre The Giant spot at one moment. This was one of those main events were it solid & had some fun moments that surpassed all the buildup going into it (thought the storyline was pretty weak myself) but it wasn't the best match each man has had against each other.
I had to make a note of this & point out that right around here was when they did the roll call for the Hall Of Famer before "Stone Cold" Steve Austin saluted the crowd the only way Stone Cold can for a memorable WrestleMania moment.
WWE Champion Triple H vs. Randy Orton - The stipulation for this match was that if Triple H got DQ'd or counted out, he would lose the title. Now I'll admit from the start that eventhough I thought the storyline was very well done, I didn't care to see this match because they've fought so many times in so many different matches (I counted at least 8 times on television/PPV in the past 18 months including the WM Title match just last year...and that's not even counting all their previous feuds with DX/Rated RKO & the breakup of Evolution over the past few years) that a normal one on one match after all those matches are still fresh in people's heads didn't seem like a main event for what your hyping up as a landmark WrestleMania.
Anyways, the match tried to tell a good story as both men traded places with Orton being more of the "cerberal assassin" by being very calculating throughout the match while Triple H was more emotional & aggressive to the point where the referee had to keep reminding him various times that he'll lose his title if he gets disqualified as Triple H was constantly tempted to get revenge instead of a victory. However the problem is that the match wasn't bad but it just didn't click on so many levels as the match started off quick with both men hitting their finishers in the first minute and then heavily slowed down afterwards to the point where the crowd died & only made noise for big moves unlike the previous two matches where they were into it from start to finish. Also the whole "champion loses the belt on DQ/countout" rule wasn't played out well here unlike how it's been in the past (Luger/Flair from Starrcade '88, Angle/Lesnar from WMXIX, Rock/Benoit from Fully Loaded '00). For example, the referee kept stepping in whenever Triple H would just keep pounding on Orton & once even came close to hitting him with the monitor with the referee warn him about losing the title...only for these guys to bounce each other off the announce tables and fight on the outside for more than what would have been more than a 10 second countout with the referee just stepping back & not doing anything about it. After all of that, the ending just made you go "that's it? After months of buildup, character development, and everyone who was involved in this from the McMahons to Legacy...that's it?" This match heavily reminded me of Triple H/Jericho from WMX8 or HBK/Cena from WM23 in that the match wasn't bad/horrible but they've had better and it wasn't the best way to end the show.
Overall, this PPV had some flops (Kid Rock going on too long for my taste, battle royal, Mysterio/J.B.L., the Unified Tag Team match being moved to the dark match last minute, and everything surrounding the HHH/Orton match that I talked about). However this DVD will also contain the Hall Of Fame featuring Koko B. Ware (why?), The Funks, The Von Erichs, Bill Watts, The Fink, Ricky Steamboat, and Steve Austin that is always worth watching along with the highlight packages from previous WM's they showed...
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good WM But For A 25th, It Was A Bit Of A Letdown, April 6, 2009
I won't mince words, let's get to it:
C.M. Punk Vs. Mark Henry Vs. Kane Vs. Finley Vs. Kofi Kingston Vs. MVP Vs. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Christian (Money In The Bank Ladder Match) - Awesome opener! Even though their time in it was limited, even Kane and (surprisingly) Mark Henry looked good here! As usual, it was a spotfest wtih Shelton, MVP, Finley & Christian coming the closest to winning but in the end it was Punk who took the match for the second year in a row! I was actually pulling for MVP to win but I won't argue Punk. Watch for a sick powerslam from Henry to Kofi onto a ladder and an even sicker powerbomb from Shelton to MVP from the ring to the floor!
25 Diva Battle Royale - The winner was pretty much given away the second you saw Santino Marrella in drag in the match. I also think the fact that WWE couldn't get some of the more popular Divas like Trish Stratus and Lita really hurt this bout too. Still, the final sequence pretty much is the highlight of the match as Mickie James and Michelle McCool had a vicious exchange as well as Beth Phoenix and Melina. Ends when Santino....opps, Santina dumps out both Melina and Beth! Match itself wasn't bad but the angle and storyline on it sucks!
Ricky Steamboat, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper & "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka Vs. Chris Jericho (3 on 1 Handicap match) - With "Nature Boy" Ric Flair in their corner and Mickey Rourke at ringside, these three legends came in determined to teach Y2J a lesson in respect.
This match actually turned out better than expected! While its obvious that Piper and Snuka need to stay retired, Steamboat looked great! Heck, he and Flair could probably still go at it right now. Probably not for an hour but just 10 minutes would be better than some of the wrestling we get today!
Anyway, Jericho wins after eliminating all three wrestlers with Steamboat having the standout performance. After the match, Flair and Jericho get into it with Jericho getting the better of the exchange. Then, we have Jericho wanting to get it on with Mickey Rourke. Rourke, who was a boxer in his younger days, got into the ring and rather play Jericho's game (whiich is wrestling), he made Jericho play his by goading him into boxing. It ends with Y2J getting knocked out!
Guess the bad guy had to get his cummupance but it would've been more appropriate for a former wrestler to come to the aid of Flair & Co., perhaps one of his old Horsemen comrades?! The match itself was okay with a great performance from Steamboat.
Matt Hardy Vs. Jeff Hardy (Extreme Rules Match) - This one was more of a spotfest with both men doing some pretty high risk and dangerous moves. It wasn't bloody but as another reviewer said, it didn't need to be bloody as it was so personal with these two.
Ends when Jeff Hardy attempted a legdrop over 20ft. from a ladder only to miss, which allowed Matt to uses a funky version of his "Twist Of Fate" using a steel chair! Matt takes this one!
Rey Mysterio Vs. JBL (WWE Intercontinental Title Match) - In one of the few surprises of the night, Rey beats "The Longhorn Loudmouth" in 21 seconds! Also, as a bit of a surprise, JBL "quits" WWE much to the delight of the Texas crowd. Not much to talk about here other than Rey is the new I-C champion.
The Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels - Seems like every WM has at least one match that is as good or outshines the slated main events, THIS ONE WAS ONE OF THOSE MATCHES! In my eyes, this was the true main event of WM25 and is a MUST VIEW on this card! About the only thing that keeps it from being a 5 star bout is the slow part where both UT and Shawn miss respective dives outside the ring (though UT's does have him take a nasty spill on his head and knocking the crap out of a cameraman with him).
Lots of false finishes and surprise moves here. Michaels goes for submissions twice with his version of the figure four and his version of the crossface while UT nearly gets the win with his "Hell's Gates" chokehold. Long story short, UT gets his first ever one on one victory over Shawn and extends his record to 17-0 at WM. GREAT MATCH AND THE BEST ON THE CARD IN MY VIEW!
John Cena Vs. The Big Show Vs. Edge (Triple Threat Match for the World Heavyweight Championship) - Don't expect HHH/Benoit/Michaels from WM 20 here though it wasn't a bad bout. In fact, of the two world title matches, this one had the worst buildup BUT it actually turned out to be a pretty decent bout....except for the fact Cena won! Ugh! At least they got Vickie Guerrero out of the way early so that the focus went to the match.
Cena wins when he first hits the FU (sorry but its new name sucks) on TBS and then he FU's Edge on top of TBS for the win. Personally, I felt TBS should've won because he was so dominant in this bout and in leading up to the bout. Heck, I would've settled for Edge somehow keeping the belt! Cena is now a 6 time champion but somehow I don't feel too excited about this! Maybe we can talk C.M. Punk into pulling what he did last year!? LOL!
Randy Orton Vs. HHH (WWE World Title Match) - While not a bad match (it is worth a look as it does have some surprise and rugged spots), it feel far short of expectations. I think adding the "DQ-rule waived" stipulations actually hurt this match more than helped. They would've done better to go the Austin/Rock route back at WM X-7 and had it No DQ! I mean, think about it. With the way they build up this match, a no rules bout would've been perfect!
As it is, it isn't a bad bout but the crowd was DEAD in this match! In fact, they were dead after UT/Michaels and Austin doing his special farewell but even Cena/Edge/TBS got more reaction than this match. As I said, it actually isn't a bad match but it didn't feel like the main event!
Overall, this WM was okay but for a 25th Anniversary, it sure as hell didn't feel like it! I'll probably buy it anyway for UT/Michaels and a few other surprises but I wouldn't say this is a must buy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
One Of The Most Disappointing WrestleMania's In History, April 6, 2009
Since WrestleMania X-Seven, WrestleMania returned to Houston, TX for it's 25th Anniversary. And for the first time since WrestleMania X8, only one broadcast team announced the whole event card. However, this WrestleMania DID NOT deliver at all. There were a lot of bad bookings and match making decisions that really brought this event down. Not even a special appearence by the 2009 Hall of Famer, Stone Cold Steve Austin could save this WrestleMania.
Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Kane Vs. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Christian vs. C.M. Punk Vs. U.S. Champion M.V.P. Vs. Finlay Vs. Mark Henry Vs. Kofi Kingston - This was a really great opener however it didn't stand up to previous MITB Matches. The match brought the crowd to their feet which eventually led them to start chanting "THIS IS AWESOME" throughout the match. Shelton Benjamin once again stole the show as he competed in his 4th MITB Match here. Everybody else looked very good, even Mark Henry who slammed Kofi Kingston onto a ladder at one point. Benjamin and Kingston brought some great athleticism to the match. The fans were a little bit disappointed with the winner but this was still an awesome match. A great way to kick off the show and one of the high notes of the night. 4.5/5
25 Diva Miss Wrestlemania Battle Royal - This Battle Royal was more RAW material then actual WrestleMania material. There was a few old faces that made it to the match such as Molly Holly, Sunny, and Victoria. But with Lita and Trish unable to participate in the match, Santino Marella was forced to be entered and would win. If it wasn't for the Intercontinental Title match, this would have been the worst match of the night. 0.5/5
Chris Jericho Vs. Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, & Ricky Steamboat - Ric Flair was in the corner of the Legends in this match. This match was much better then anybody expected it to be. Piper and Snuka looked way off key so thankfully they were the first ones eliminated. In the end, Ricky Steamboat and Chris Jericho saved the match from being a trainwreck. Steamboat looked like to have gotten in great shape for the match which was a very good thing. The crowd really got into match towards the end. The post-match confrontation between Chris Jericho and Mickey Rourke is something worth checking out as well. 3.5/5
Extreme Rules Match
Jeff Hardy Vs. Matt Hardy - This was a much better match then their first meeting at Vengeance in 2001. These guys didn't wait for anything, they brought in weapons from the start. Matt at one point bringing out a vaccum cleaner and slamming it into Jeff's head. Couple of good spots to check out are Jeff splashing himself through two tables with Matt in-between of them and Jeff missing a huge leg drop off a 20 foot ladder. The ending with Matt hitting Jeff with a Twist of Fate and with Jeff's head in a steel chair was very disturbing. However, I felt much more could have been brought from these two. In the end, the right brother won this match. 3.5/5
Intercontinental Championship
John "Bradshaw" Layfield Vs. Rey Mysterio - Sad to say that this match had no point to it. The Intercontinental Championship was finally brought back to WrestleMania after 7 years and this is how it is treated? How shameful. The only purpose this match had was to crown Rey Mysterio with the IC Title but not in a good way. JBL got in cheap shots before the bell rung and when the bell rung, Rey scored with a 619 and hit JBL with a splash from the top rope and became the new IC champ in 21 seconds. This is the second time in a row that WrestleMania had a squash match. This match should have been on RAW and NOT at Wrestlemania. After the match, JBL announced that he was quitting the WWE. The only thing to notice in this match is Rey's Joker outfit from "The Dark Knight." This match really doesn't need a rating and it would soon become forgettable after the next match. 0/5
Undertaker Vs. Shawn Michaels - Can you say classic, because thats exactly what this match was. This was the most intense I've seen Undertaker at a WrestleMania. Shawn Michaels was bringing it to the Deadman very early on and applying moves such as the crossface and an inverted figure four leg lock to the Undertaker and even faining a knee injury to gaint he advantage while the Undertaker used his size and strength to overpower and dominate Shawn Michaels. The match went very back and forth with a mix of good wrestling and both men countering each other moves and finishers. The crowd even chanting "THIS IS AWESOME" at times as the match went on. Fantastic match that delivered all the way. Match of the night without a doubt. 5/5
World Heavyweight Championship
Edge Vs. Big Show Vs. John Cena - A better match then with what the storyline leading into it was. This was very solid triple threat match for the World's Title. Everybody got their spots in this one. Cena pulled off an impressive leg drop from the top rope to Big Show on the outside and also FU-ing Chavo Guerrero on the outside floor. Edge got his spots in too that includes spearing the Big Show through the barricade wall and spearing Cena out of mid-air from the top rope. A good Triple Threat match that exceeded many expectations. The only flaw was the outcome but that doesn't hold back against the match itself. 3.5/5
WWE Championship
Randy Orton Vs. Triple H - The stipulation to this match was that if Triple H got DQ-ed or Counted Out he would lose the WWE Title to Randy Orton. This was the most raged I seen Triple H in a Wrestlemania Main Event then ever before. This being his first Wrestlemania Main Event, Randy Orton looked pretty good. But the down side to this Main Event was that the crowd became completely dead after Orton and Triple H both pulled off their finishers within the FIRST minute of the match. And a Wrestlemania Main Event should NEVER make the crowd lifeless. After pulling off their finishers, Triple H and Orton put on a seemingly good match but nothing really stood out though. A little bit of a wrestling match but this match was more of a brawl and slugfest then anything. The match gets taken to outside various times where Orton inflected damaged to the ribs and mid-section of HHH. The closing moments to the match was HHH hitting Orton with a sledgehammer with the referee knocked down followed by a second Pedigree for the win. This wasn't a very good main event and should have been a lot better after all the hype this match got. 3.25/5
Overall, this WrestleMania has to be declared as one of the worst and most disappointing WrestleMania's EVER! However, I would still recommend this DVD release.
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