WrestleMania 25 (2009): One Immortal Match Inside an Uneven Anniversary Show

The fifth Money in the Bank match is good without reaching the wildest heights of earlier editions. Christian receives enormous support, Shelton Benjamin supplies the biggest risk with his dive from a tall ladder, and Kofi Kingston brings inventive offense that keeps the middle lively. Mark Henry and Kane provide useful size contrasts, while MVP and Finlay keep the ring from becoming too empty between the major spots. The finish narrows to Christian, Kane, and Punk. Kane chokeslams Christian from the ladder, then Punk kicks Kane away and retrieves the briefcase for his second consecutive victory. The repeat winner is surprising in the moment, but history improves the decision because Punk's eventual cash-in and heel turn become one of WWE's strongest stories of 2009. It is a strong opener with better consequences than spectacle.

The Battle Royal is designed as a nostalgia celebration but becomes a presentation failure almost immediately. Kid Rock performs while the wrestlers enter, meaning many returning women receive little or no individual introduction before the bell. Once the match starts, the ring is so crowded that eliminations become difficult to follow and almost nobody gets a meaningful individual moment. The final joke is Santina Marella, with Santino portraying his supposed twin sister, eliminating Beth Phoenix to become Miss WrestleMania. The crowd reacts to the comedy, but the concept turns a large gathering of current and former women's wrestlers into background scenery for a punch line. Seven minutes pass quickly, yet the match offers almost no sustained wrestling or coherent competitive story. As nostalgia, it wastes the nostalgia; as a battle royal, it is messy.

Jericho carries the handicap match through a structure that wisely saves Ricky Steamboat for last. Snuka and Piper are used briefly, allowing their eliminations to serve the story without exposing their physical limitations. Steamboat changes the atmosphere immediately with arm drags, chops, a plancha, and movement that looks astonishingly sharp for someone who had not wrestled regularly in years. The crowd becomes genuinely invested once Jericho realizes the final legend can still threaten him. Jericho eventually catches Steamboat with the Codebreaker and completes the sweep. The post-match confrontation with Mickey Rourke supplies the celebrity payoff, although Rourke's punch is less convincing than the wrestling that precedes it. The match is not a classic and Jericho deserved a larger singles attraction, but Steamboat's performance gives the segment real life and makes the legend concept worthwhile.

The Hardy brothers use their familiarity to make the Extreme Rules stipulation feel personal rather than random. Jeff attacks with speed and increasingly elaborate weapon setups, while Matt survives and waits for his brother's risk-taking to create openings. The table sandwich splash is spectacular, and Jeff's decision to stack two ladders for a huge leap fits his character even before the move fails. That miss creates the finish naturally. Matt traps Jeff's head inside a folding chair and hits the Twist of Fate, turning a familiar move into something appropriately vicious for a sibling feud. Some weapon setups take too long, but the match maintains a grudge-fight tone and avoids becoming a collection of unrelated stunts. Matt winning is the right first result because it gives Jeff a reason to keep chasing him after WrestleMania.

Mysterio and JBL barely have a match, but the segment is memorable because it turns JBL's arrogance into instant humiliation. Before the bell, JBL attacks Mysterio and appears to have secured the advantage. Once the referee starts the contest, Mysterio immediately lands the 619 and splash for the pin in roughly twenty-one seconds. The crowd enjoys the shock and Mysterio receives his first Intercontinental Championship, completing another major title achievement in his WWE career. JBL then grabs the microphone and declares that he quits, effectively ending his active singles career. As an angle, it is efficient and memorable. As a match, there is almost nothing to grade because no competitive structure ever develops. The historical consequences rescue the segment from irrelevance, but the bell-to-bell score must remain low.

Undertaker and Michaels create the match that defines WrestleMania 25. The entrances establish light against darkness, but the wrestling quickly moves beyond symbolism into a contest built on survival. Michaels attacks with speed and timing, Undertaker answers with power, and both men gradually exhaust every reliable finishing route. Undertaker's suicide dive becomes terrifying when the catch fails and he lands dangerously near his head, yet the match recovers without losing emotional control. From there, the near falls become legendary. Michaels survives the Tombstone, Undertaker survives repeated Sweet Chin Music, and both men sell disbelief without turning the sequence into parody. The finish arrives when Undertaker catches a moonsault and turns it into a second Tombstone. Thirty minutes feel necessary rather than excessive. It is elite WrestleMania storytelling and one of WWE's greatest matches.

Cena, Edge, and Big Show face the impossible task of following Undertaker-Michaels, and the crowd understandably needs time to recover. The match still develops into a solid heavyweight triple threat. Edge and Big Show briefly cooperate before their uneasy alliance collapses, Cena repeatedly has to solve the size problem presented by Show, and Vickie Guerrero's presence keeps the triangle's personal story visible. The best moment is the finish, where Cena hoists Big Show for the Attitude Adjustment while Edge is positioned across Show, creating an impressive double-man visual before Cena pins the giant. The title change is logical and the closing spot is memorable enough to give the match an identity. It never reaches the emotional level of the match before it, but expecting that would be unfair. As a championship bout, it is good and professionally constructed.

Triple H and Orton arrive with one of the most personal builds on the card, yet the main event is constrained by a stipulation that discourages the violence the story seems to demand. Because Triple H can lose the championship by disqualification or count-out, much of the match becomes measured control work rather than the furious fight suggested by months of attacks on the McMahon family. Both men execute their signatures cleanly, including an early RKO and Pedigree tease, but the crowd never fully recovers from the preceding major matches. The late referee bump finally permits Triple H to use the sledgehammer before finishing with the Pedigree. He retains cleanly enough, only for Orton to win the title at Backlash weeks later. The match is technically competent but dramatically flat, and closing WrestleMania magnifies every weakness.