WWE Wrestlemania 21

WrestleMania 21
Los Angeles, CA
Staples Center
April 3, 2005

Rather than bother watching the bologna version of Wrestlemania the WWE was serving up this year, I decided to revisit an all-time classic. Matt has gone so far as to call this potentially one of his top five favorite Wrestlemanias. I have only watched it twice before: on a VHS copy the night after it happened and a year later when I first bought the DVD set. It was definitely due for a re-watch and to see if it really was as great as Matt and many internet fans have proclaimed it to be.

Last weekend I texted Matt that objectively speaking, from both a spectacle and workrate perspective, Wrestlemania X-7 to Wrestlemania 23 might be considered the golden run of Manias. And yes, my heart still belongs with Manias 1 – 10, but admittedly there were some weaker Manias in that era. This stretch here got everything right from the matches to the majesty, with just the right dose of nostalgia and memories, really making the event truly something special. Wrestlemania moments were genuinely made, not forced, and each one of these Manias has a very distinct look and feel. X7 reset the bar for Wrestlemania, as it had been lacking that special feeling since 10, and it was only around 23 when the magic began to fade again.

Beginning with Wrestlemania XX, the WWE took it to another level with their DVD releases. The packaging and presentation for these Manias is beautiful. Each DVD volume feels like something special and worthy of the event it represents. The return of the Hall of Fame added so much to Wrestlemania during this era, and in a smart decision was included as a bonus in the DVD release beginning with this set. Of course we had no idea at the time how out of hand all the legends stuff would become (to the point of absurdity now) but it was so cool to see the WWE bringing back guys like Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper, and inducting a class based on Wrestlemania 1. I wish they would have only done the Hall of Fame every second or third year, and focused primarily on classic WWF stars. It’s lost all special meaning now, with certain guys being inducted multiple times now.

I really like how the WWE took a break from stadiums for a few years and went back to traditional arenas. The Staples Center was a perfect venue for Mania 21, following up on XX being in NYC. It allowed for constructing a fantastically classy entrance way playing off the whole Hollywood theme. The stadium setups have become as bloated and ridiculous as the matches in recent years. It’s nice to see a much more restrained and elaborate presentation. Plus the atmosphere in the building was off the charts. The fans were hot throughout the entire night and it felt downright electric for all the big matches.

And of course I have to mention the Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood theme, complete with the memory movie trailers. Matt and his dad were huge fans of these trailers and I remember them popping huge for them when I’d be over there for Raw. I was still quite stubbornly set in my old 90s wrestling mentality and refused to let myself be entertained by new things. Now, I really appreciate how great and fun these are. They really help elevate the Hollywood theme of Mania and, as I keep saying, give this event it’s own memorable unique flavor.

They were still playing up the brand split and I liked the chemistry between the two commentary teams, with JR and King being more focused and serious, while Michael Cole and Tazz were a little edgier and looser. Cole was certainly much better at this point, without constantly shilling and spewing company bullshit, and Tazz brought a lot of levity to the team.

Dark Match) Booker T (w/ Sharmell) won a 30-man battle royal by last eliminating Chris Masters at 11:36

I LOVE the fact that they started including these dark match battle royals as bonuses on the Mania DVD sets. Look at the talent left off this Wrestlemania card. The WWE had a pretty strong mid-card at this point. It used to bother us that championships weren’t defended or taken as seriously during these Manias, and you can see here how many champions were left off of this card. The stupidest thing about this battle royal are the ugly red and blue t-shirts the wrestlers wore repping their brands. Fuck, those t-shirts always look stupid! At least the brand split was taken quite seriously at this point, so the story was a little more believable. I liked that they took this battle royal seriously and gave it some time. Lots of fun eliminations and mini stories in the match. Booker T winning was more of a shock of him not being included on the proper PPV. Booker would have been a much better choice for Money In the Bank than Kane. Might as well put that nerd in this battle royal instead.

Lilian Garcia singing America the Beautiful was a nice touch of class to open the show. I so closely associated Lilian with this mid 00s WWE period. I have no idea when she debuted or left. Maybe she’s still in the company? No clue!

1) WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champion Rey Mysterio Jr. pinned WWE Smackdown! Tag Team Champion Eddie Guerrero at 12:39 by reversing a backbreaker attempt into a hurricanrana

I had stopped watching Smackdown regularly back in 03 and as such, missed out on a lot of great stuff, like Eddie Guerrero’s championship run. He went from one of the main event title matches at XX to opening the show here at 21, a position he was said to be most comfortable with at this point in his career. Very sad to look back and think about how this would be the last Wrestlemania ever for Eddie. His death was so shocking later in the year. I really enjoyed this match, far more than I have on past viewings. I really appreciate the story put together here, as it was a battle between two tag champs trying to one up each other. At the time I was expecting it to be more like their wild and high flying lucha inspired WCW matches, but instead, it’s an extremely well wrestled mat based battle with choice high flying moves mixed in. The main detriment is Rey Mysterio’s fucking mask. He fights to keep it on through the entire match to the point where it’s completely distracting. The win catches fans completely off guard as Mysterio truly pins Guerrero out of nowhere with a simple reversal. I really get what they were going for here, and it’s an excellent finish to a really great match.

LOL! Next is one of the funniest segments in Wrestlemania history and a total time capsule for this era! Eugene comes down to blather on about being at Wrestlemania. Man, I remember when people on the internet were putting forth theories about Eugene’s impending heel turn and how shocking and amazing it would be. But of course that never came to be and Eugene floated around as an undercard loser until vanishing forever. In a moment that STILL makes me laugh out loud, Muhammad Hassan & Daiviari’s music explodes! Holy fuck that’s never stopped being funny! After their usual ridiculous racist promo, HULK HOGAN’S music explodes and he storms the ring! I remember when I first watched this not liking this goofy nonsense, thinking instead that Hogan should have been in an actual match against Hassan. Man has my opinion ever changed after years of watching old broken down geezers dominate WWE main events. This was the perfect use of the Hulkster and was quick and fun trip down memory lane without overshadowing anyone of actual importance. The pop for Hogan is off the charts and this is a great moment. Funniest of all is that Eugene truly disappears. Hogan doesn’t even acknowledge his existence and instead poses all around the ring in a much better moment.

2) Edge defeated Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Christian (w/ Tyson Tomko), WWE IC Champion Shelton Benjamin, and Kane in a ladder match at 15:20 after knocking Benoit off the top with a chair shot

The original and best Money in the Bank ladder match in my opinion. Sure there were some great ones that followed, but none could match the intrigue and drama of the original, when the concept was brand new and it was treated more like a match than a gimmick. I remember when Chris Jericho pitched this idea on Raw and the speculation and mystery that built in the ensuing weeks. How exactly would this match and concept work? The idea of six guys fighting over a briefcase in a ladder match seemed kind of insane. And man, look at the talent featured in this match – the top end of the upper mid-card, fighting tooth and nail for that briefcase. This match was downright brutal, with punishing spots and and falls. I loved the structure of this original match and how every man had a chance to shine. The spots were off the charts insane, like Shelton Benjamin running up a mounted ladder like a ramp. And all the various guys being pushed and thrown from ladders and nailed with ladders. Just a gritty and hard fought war. Edge certainly felt like a guy that they just could never get over mid-card status, no matter how hard they tried. He was always getting hurt and his pushes seemed to start and stop. It was shocking when he won the briefcase, but we still had our doubts that he would ever be taken seriously as a main eventer. Turns out this was his ticket to being a main event player.

3) The Undertaker pinned Randy Orton by reversing a tombstone attempt into one of his own at 14:16

It’s so rare that the WWE gets second chances to right the ship, and it’s even more rare to see them actually make good on these second chances. The company completely blew the hotshotted Randy Orton face turn the night after SummerSlam 2004. The end of Evolution was rushed and awful, and the ensuing “blood feud” between Orton and Triple H caused fans to turn on the smug and brash Orton. Smartly, the WWE pulled the plug on smiling Orton and put the title back on Triple H. There were endless rumors that Orton was expected to win the Rumble and face Triple H at this Mania and receive a mega face push, but they recognized what a terrible mistake that would be. Somehow, the WWE had an even better face waiting in the wings with Batista and they smartly changed directions fast enough to the benefit of all involved. Orton aborted his horrid smiling good guy run by reverting back to the cold and sinister Legend Killer (back when it actually meant something) and shifted his focus to challenging the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. The story seemed like another hotshot at first, but was brilliantly developed over the months, making this a must-see attraction.

After returning as the undead Undertaker at Wrestlemania XX, his career was revived on Smackdown and Taker suddenly was wrestling better and more interesting matches. Orton was still motivated too, before he became so “calculated” – as in fucking boring. The story was simple, Orton was throwing everything he had at the Undertaker, while trying to evade and counter the Undertaker’s far more dangerous offense. It was a brilliantly wrestled match and as it wore on, you began to believe that maybe the streak, which was now more of a story device than ever before, was in serious jeopardy. In previous years the streak was mentioned, but never fully brought to the table like it was here. With the WWE’s new acknowledgement of past stars, we started getting more and more highlights of the Undertaker burying past legends like Jake the Snake. It all seemed to be leading to Orton ending the streak and a new streak beginning. When Cowboy Bob Orton interfered it looked like it was indeed the end of the streak, but somehow the Undertaker just barely kicked out! The drama was off the charts! Matches like this thrive in an arena environment as the electricity from the fans can be felt through your screen. Orton really seems to have the match in hand until the Undertaker reverses a tombstone and puts him away. Damn great match. And a finish that’s still debated all these years later.

4) WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus pinned Christy Hemme (w/ Lita) with the Chick Kick at 4:43

This whole thing was stemming from the Diva Search and the eventual reveal that Christy Hemme was going to be in Playboy. I remember Matt being so into all this Divas stuff, far more than I ever was, as I was still stuck in wanting things to be more like 1992 lol. It’s weird watching this now, as women’s wrestling was still in the dark ages, with only a sub five minute match at Mania. One major positive of the 10s was the rise of actual women wrestlers, not barely trained models like Hemme. Trish carries this entire match on her back, noticeably calling out spots and holding Hemme’s hand through all of it. I liked Christy quite a lot, but it was blatantly obvious that she was far from ready for a Mania match. Huge props to Trish for making this fun and watchable at least.

5) Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels via submission with the ankle lock into the heel hook at 27:27 after Michaels had been in the hold for 2 full minutes

I’ll admit it. I still hold a grudge against Shawn Michaels for being a piece of shit. Sure, it’s an unscrupulous industry, but Michaels to me was always one of the most egregious offenders. I know my favorites like Bret Hart aren’t necessarily that much better, but my perception of Michaels has forever been clouded by the endless stories of his awful behavior throughout the 90s. Because of my bias, I was never able to enjoy and appreciate Shawn’s matches as much as I should have. With the benefit of time, I’m far less emotionally involved than I once was and the clouds have lifted on my perception. This alone was a FUCKING AWESOME match. There, I finally said it. I agree with all the internet fans and workrate geeks. This was a phenomenal masterpiece of professional wrestling. The build was fantastic too, with Kurt Angle attempting to do everything Shawn Michaels ever did, leading to the brief returns of Marty Jannetty and Sensational Sherri. Every match on this Mania had such a great backstory. Once the bell rang it was a wrestling clinic. I love how Michaels turned it into a mat based scientific battle for the first 10 minutes, frustrating Angle. Then things began picking up. The intensity and violence escalated minute by minute, with both guys becoming more vicious in their attack. Angle slamming Michaels’ back on the ringpost was just sick. The last 10 minutes were pure wrestling glory as Michaels and Angle reversed and countered and kicked out of just about everything. Every move had purpose and intent. It was just awesome, wrestling at it’s absolute best. Angle trapping Michaels seemingly forever in the ankle lock and forcing him to tap was a thing of beauty. It’s insane how good this match is. How did I not love this Mania as much at the time?

This Wrestlemania was expertly laid out, as they needed to cool down the crowd before the two big title matches. They showed the Basic Instinct parody trailer that won the fans vote. Holy hell was Stacy Keibler attractive. Good grief I can’t believe how gorgeous she is.

Next up is the Piper’s Pit segment featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin. I’m a big fan of both these guys, but wow, what a trainwreck. At the time I truly hated this, thinking it was just awful. Piper is rambling and stammering, cutting essentially a WCW Nitro grade promo. He gets completely flustered by WHAT chants. His jokes are cheap and Austin doesn’t contribute a lot. It’s basically them arguing over who’s the biggest rebel in the WWE. It was actually starting to get somewhat decent, until Carlito showed up and just tanked this whole thing. Man, it felt like they were trying to get Carlito over for years. He had no charisma compared to Piper or Austin and no business being in there. I did go crazy when Stone Cold finally stunned him. Then Piper and Austin drank beers which was hilarious, but of course lead to the epic laugh out loud punchline of Austin stunning Piper! Should have just happened in the first place!

6) Akebono defeated the Big Show in a sumo match at 1:03 with a throw that sent Show tumbling to the floor

We’ve certainly shit all over this nonsense in the past. I really have no idea what the point of this was. Akebono was a legit killer in the sumo world, and there was no way he was putting the Big Show over. As a spectacle this was kind of fun. But I really don’t get the idea behind this. Plus nobody wanted to see the Big Ass on display.

7) John Cena pinned WWE World Champion John Bradshaw Layfield to win the title at 11:27 with the FU after avoiding the Clothesline from Hell

Despite not watching Smackdown over the year prior, I was still regularly following the news and results. It was shocking, absolutely shocking when tag team mid-carder Bradshaw was suddenly repackaged as John Bradshaw Layfield and given a sudden and unexpected main event run, winning the title from Eddie Guerrero. I’d talk to Matt every Saturday morning and he’d fill me in on all the developments during the course of this feud and title run. Also rising up the ranks of Smackdown over the past year was a young star by the name of John Cena, who was getting over huge thanks to his thuganomics gimmick. I loved how he FU’d the Big Show at the previous Mania and won the US title. I read throughout the year about how hot he was getting on Smackdown and all the talk that they were gearing him up to win the title at Mania. I saw very little of his rise, but was excited nonetheless to see this match, expecting him to whoop JBL’s ass much like the year before. This turned out to be a very bland match and a big disappointment. JBL dominates Cena throughout the entire match and it just kind of drags before Cena finally hulks up in the last couple minutes to put away JBL and win the title. It felt very underwhelming. Cena was off and running and the WWE had their new star and the start of a new era. Cena’s push started in 2003 and was a big climb to get to this point. The WWE has never bothered to do another superstar push like this since and the ratings speak for themselves.

The final segment is the introduction of the Hall of Fame class. This was such a solid Hall of Fame class and it was awesome seeing TRUE WWF LEGENDS like Nikolai Volkoff, Iron Sheik, Paul Orndorff, Piper, and Hogan. This is what the Hall of Fame really should have always been about. They really needed to do this every second or third year as it has become such a watered down parody of how it started.

8) Batista pinned World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (w/ Ric Flair) with the sit-down powerbomb to win the title at 21:34; prior to the bout, Motorhead performed the champion’s theme song as Triple H made his way to the ring

Oh man… I love Motorhead, but their playing was awful! Lemmy barely knew any words to The Game and just mumbled his way through. Come on guys, you’re an amazing band – what the fuck happened! One of the DVD extras is Triple H being a total geeky fanboy and hanging out in Motorhead’s dressing room. Lemmy doesn’t even acknowledge him as Triple H marks out over them playing an acoustic run through of the song.

I’ve honestly never given this match a fair shake. I’ve always criticized it based on my initial viewing; being tired after the working the night before and not fully appreciating the awesomeness of this Mania. This main event is fantastic, a true underrated classic. Batista and Triple H work their asses off putting together an awesome power battle. The pace is deliberately slow, but the moves are so much more punishing. They are literally beating the shit out of each other for twenty minutes. The crowd is so solidly behind Batista and the pop for his victory is huge! I really enjoyed this main event and especially the drama woven throughout. The story was so good going into this match, and the Batista face turn was absolutely amazing, world’s better than Orton’s. Batista going over was definitely the right call and he looked like a fucking monster. Again, big props to the WWE for putting these guys over so strong. A really solid finish to an awesome Wrestlemania.