WrestleMania 24 (2008): Flair's Farewell, Undertaker's Sweet Sixteen

JBL and Finlay open the pay-per-view with the kind of compact violence the stipulation promises. Trash-can shots, kendo-stick exchanges, the table spot, and Hornswoggle's involvement keep the match moving without pretending it needs to become a long epic. Finlay works with urgency because the feud is personal, while JBL is at his best leaning into ugly, direct offense. The pace also helps the match survive some clumsy transitions around the weapons.

The finish is simple and decisive. JBL attacks Finlay's knee with the kendo stick and follows with the Clothesline from Hell for the pin, giving the heel a clear victory inside a chaotic environment. It is not one of WrestleMania 24's defining attractions, but it gives the card a hard-hitting start. The match ages as a useful opener rather than a hidden classic.

The fourth Money in the Bank match has the right WrestleMania rhythm: constant motion, distinct personalities, and enough danger to make the briefcase feel valuable. Shelton Benjamin's fall through the ladder remains the visual everyone remembers, while John Morrison's ladder-assisted moonsault and Chris Jericho's counters give the match variety beyond generic climbing races. The field is large, but the layout rarely feels confused because every wrestler gets at least one clear contribution. The chaos stays readable.

CM Punk's victory also improves the match in hindsight. Matt Hardy's return to stop MVP creates a strong surprise without hijacking the finish, and Punk trapping Jericho's leg in the ladder gives the final climb a clever physical solution. The ending feels earned. The match lacks the emotional weight of the night's two best singles bouts, yet it succeeds as the card's pure stunt spectacle and launches Punk toward his first world-title run.

Batista and Umaga have the ingredients for a short heavyweight collision, but the match never finds the intensity expected from two wrestlers presented as destructive forces. Umaga's attack on Batista's back gives the bout a basic structure and there are convincing exchanges built around power. The problem is that the pace stays flat and the chemistry never rises above functional. A match sold as brand supremacy should feel bigger than a routine television attraction.

Batista's spinebuster and Batista Bomb finish the match cleanly after a little more than seven minutes. That brevity helps the card because the bout does not overstay its welcome, but it prevents a memorable escalation. Both men look credible enough when the bell rings, and neither suffers lasting damage from the result. Still, this is one of the portions of WrestleMania 24 that viewers can safely remember in outline rather than revisit.

Kane's ECW Championship victory is more angle than match. After winning the pre-show battle royal, he appears from underneath the ring during Chavo Guerrero's entrance, catches the champion immediately, and wins with a chokeslam in seconds. The shock gets a strong reaction and gives the show memorable trivia, but there is no meaningful wrestling sequence to evaluate. Chavo never gets the chance to establish control, create jeopardy, or test Kane as a challenger.

The segment works if the only goal is a sudden title change and a dominant WrestleMania moment for Kane. It works much less well as the lone ECW Championship match in WrestleMania history because the title receives almost no competitive showcase. The brevity keeps the show moving and makes Kane look dangerous, yet the championship is treated like a punch line. As a match, the score has to stay near the bottom.

Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair make the outcome obvious and still produce the night's most emotionally powerful match. Flair enters knowing that one loss ends his WWE in-ring career, so every comeback carries finality. Michaels wrestles with visible reluctance, then gradually accepts that respect requires him to stop protecting his idol. The physical work supports the story: Flair survives Sweet Chin Music, attacks the leg, uses the Figure Four, and keeps finding one more answer as the crowd realizes the end is coming.

The finish is one of WrestleMania's enduring images. Michaels looks at Flair, tells him he loves him, and delivers the final superkick for the pin. Flair's reaction turns the result into a farewell rather than an ordinary defeat. Later matches outside WWE complicate the stipulation, but they do not erase what this performance meant then. Sentiment, structure, crowd investment, and execution all reinforce one another.

The BunnyMania match is built primarily as celebrity and promotional entertainment, and the wrestling never becomes substantial enough to escape that purpose. Beth Phoenix provides the most convincing offense, while Maria brings energy and Ashley works within obvious limitations. The surrounding lumberjills create visual activity, but their presence also makes the match feel crowded. A temporary lighting failure in the stadium adds an accidental layer of spectacle that is more memorable than most of the in-ring exchanges.

Santino Marella's interference, Jerry Lawler's response, and Snoop Dogg's post-match clothesline keep the segment moving after Beth pins Maria. Those pieces make sense within the broader entertainment presentation, but they also confirm that the match itself is secondary. The five-minute runtime is mercifully efficient and prevents the weaknesses from spreading across the card. It is a WrestleMania variety-show interlude, not a competitive attraction, and the grade reflects that distinction.

Randy Orton, Triple H, and John Cena deliver a compact championship match that is better constructed than its fourteen-minute runtime suggests. Cena's marching-band entrance gives the bout immediate scale, and the three wrestlers move quickly through counters without long stretches of waiting outside. Orton's double rope-hung DDT, the submission exchanges, and Triple H's late Pedigree all create believable finishing points. The crowd is deeply invested whenever Cena and Triple H trade momentum.

The finish is excellent because Orton wins through timing rather than dominance. Triple H hits the Pedigree on Cena, Orton punts Triple H before the pin can finish, and the champion steals the fall on Cena. That preserves Orton's opportunistic character and provides an unexpected result. The match could have used several more minutes and greater escalation before the ending. Even so, it is a strong title defense with a clean narrative and a useful surprise.

Floyd Mayweather and Big Show succeed because the attraction is the size difference, not technical wrestling. Mayweather uses speed, body shots, and his entourage to avoid being swallowed by a man nearly three times his weight. Big Show plays the bully convincingly and gives the celebrity opponent room to look vulnerable without making the boxer seem helpless. The crowd's mixed reaction to Mayweather adds tension.

The closing stretch turns the spectacle into a logical no-disqualification finish. Mayweather's allies intervene, a chair enters the equation, and Mayweather eventually uses a chain around his fist to knock Big Show down for the ten count. It is heavily engineered, but that is exactly what the matchup needs. The bout is not a great wrestling match in isolation. As a WrestleMania crossover attraction, however, it is coherent, physical, memorable, and far more functional than the concept suggests.

The Undertaker and Edge close WrestleMania 24 with a patient main event that improves as Edge reveals how well he has studied his opponent. Edge counters Old School, the Last Ride, the chokeslam, and other staples, turning familiarity into the match's central story. Undertaker sells his back while Edge controls the pace, then the contest accelerates through sharp counters and near falls. Charles Robinson's sprint to replace the fallen referee becomes an unforgettable supporting detail.

The final minutes justify the long build. Edge survives a Tombstone, uses Hawkins and Ryder as distractions, and lands another spear, only for Undertaker to trap him in Hell's Gate after the next charge. Edge submits, Undertaker wins the World Heavyweight Championship, and the WrestleMania streak moves to 16-0. The first half is slower, but the structure pays off. Edge looks fully credible, while Undertaker adds another elite chapter to the streak.