Wrestlemania™ 21  

"Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood"

A RAW™ & SmackDown™ Pay-Per-View Co-production.

Location:  The Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

by "Rockin" Robin Drodge

Event Date:  April 3, 2005
Report Date:  April 3, 2005

Match number one - SmackDown™.  Eddie Guerrero Vs Rey Mysterio.  This was the opener for Wrestlemania™.  The match was very good and Rey Mysterio picked up the pin-fall victory when he hit a hurricanrana on Eddie Guerrero.

Match number two - RAW™.  Six-Man, "Money in the Bank", Ladder Match.  Chris Benoit Vs Chris Jericho, Vs Shelton Benjamin, Vs Edge, Vs Christian and Kane.  The rules for this match were:  the first superstar to climb the ladder and pull down a brief case would win a contract for one World Heavyweight Championship match on a date of their choosing within one year.  This match was very good.  The ending saw Chris Benoit on the ladder trying to reach the brief case when Edge came back into the ring from being on the outside and nailed Benoit in the shoulder with a steel chair.  Benoit fell down and Edge climbed the ladder and got the brief case, the match then ended.  So Edge now has the right to a World Heavyweight Championship match whenever he wants to use it.  Next, Eugene made his appearance in the ring, got on the microphone and said this was his second favourite Wrestlemania™ moment and that his first was at Wrestlemania™ III when King Kong Bundy wrestled some midgets. 

Next, Mohammed Hassan and Daivari made their way to the ring.  Hassan talked about how he did not have a match for Wrestlemania™ and he was not too happy about it.  He stated that he has never lost a match yet either by pin-fall or by submission on RAW™.  Right after this he attacked Eugene and applied the Camel Clutch.

Next, the Real American music started to play and Hulk Hogan, who was inducted into the WWE™ Hall of Fame, made his way to the ring.  The fans gave him a loud ovation when he came out.  He attacked Hassan and gave him the big boot and then threw him to the outside of the ring.  Then Daivari hit Hogan with a steel chair, however it had no effect on him.  Hogan then hit the big boot on Daivari and threw him to the outside of the ring.  Then he started to pose in the ring for a few minutes before he left.

Match number three - Inter-Promotional RAW™ Vs SmackDown™, Legend Vs Legend Killer.  The Undertaker (SmackDown™) Vs Randy Orton (RAW™).  This match was very good.  Towards the end of the match the referee got knocked down.  Then Randy Orton's father came down to ringside, "Cowboy" Bob Orton who was inducted into the WWE™ Hall of Fame, and used his famous cast on the Undertaker.  After this happened Randy Orton went for the pin.  However, the Undertaker kicked out on the count of two.  The referee had gotten back to his feet after the pin attempt.  Then the Undertaker tried to go for the choke slam, however Orton reversed it into the RKO.  After the RKO, Orton went for the pin but the Undertaker kicked out on the count of two.  Then Orton tried to hit the tombstone on the Undertaker, however the Undertaker reversed it and hit the tombstone on Orton to pick up the pin-fall victory, to keep his undefeated streak in tact for Wrestlemania™.  The Undertaker is now 13 and 0 at Wrestlemania™.

Match number four - RAW™.  WWE™ Women's Championship.  WWE™ Women's Champion, Trish Stratus Vs Christy Hemme with Lita in her corner.  This match was ok, however it was easy to tell that Christy was not ready to become a wrestler at this time, so Trish hit the chick kick and picked up the pin-fall victory to retain her Championship.

Match number five - Inter-Promotional RAW™ Vs SmackDown™. Shawn Michaels (RAW™) Vs Kurt Angle (SmackDown™).  This match was very good.  They sure know how to put on a really good match.  In the weeks leading up to this feud, Angle was a heel and Michaels was a baby face.  However, throughout the match the fans turned on Michaels and started to boo him and started to cheer loud for Angle, so that was a shock for me.

Shawn Michaels did everything he could to pin Kurt Angle.  He had hit the sweet chin music on Angle, however it did not win him the match.  Angle hit the angle slam on Michaels and this did not win the match for Angle.  Then he put Michaels in the ankle lock and this did not work.  Then he tried it again and still it would not work.  Then Angle tried the ankle lock one more time and this time Michaels could not do anything, such as get to the ropes, it took awhile but eventually he tapped out, so Kurt Angle picked up the victory in this match.  These were just some of the highlights.

Next it was time for Piper's Pit, hosted by "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and his guest was "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.  The two went back and forth on the microphone.  It was very funny.  They were interrupted by Carlito Caribbean Cool.  He came out and said that Austin and Piper were both old and that he was in control and told Austin and Piper to go back to the dressing room.  When Carlito got in the ring, Piper took his apple and ate it.  Afterwards, Austin stunned Carlito, and then started to drink some beer, now Piper and Austin were drinking together.  Then while they were still drinking, it appeared that Piper could have been intoxicated, he received a stunner by Austin.

Match number six - SmackDown™.  The Big Show Vs Akebono in a "Sumo" match.  The rules were that there was a circle in the ring; the first superstar to either be thrown out of the circle or knocked down would win the match.  This did not last long. Akebono won when he picked up the Big Show and threw him out of the circle and out of the ring. 

After this, the seven WWE™ wrestlers that were inducted into the WWE™ Hall of Fame made their appearance to the ring, escorted by a WWE™ Diva.  They are as follows:

Mr.Wonderful - Paul Orndorff, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, "Cowboy" Bob Orton, The "Mouth of the South" - Jimmy Hart, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan.

Match number seven - SmackDown™.  WWE™ Championship.  WWE™ Champion, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) Vs John Cena.  I don't know what to say about this match.  It was not very long and was an ok match.  The ending saw JBL go for the "Clothesline from hell" and he missed it.  Cena hit JBL with the FU to pick up the pin-fall victory to become the new WWE™ Champion.

Match number eight - RAW™.  World Heavyweight Championship.  World Heavyweight Champion, Triple H Vs Batista.  This match was the main event.  As Triple H made his entrance to the ring, the band Motorhead played his "Play the Game" theme song.

This match lasted longer than the WWE™ Championship match.  Triple H took control for most of the contest with Batista not having much offence.  Triple H tried to hit the pedigree but Batista had hit a back drop to counter the move.  Then on the outside of the ring Triple H tried to hit the pedigree on the steel steps, however Batista sent Triple H into the ring post by using a sling shot, which resulted in him being busted open.  Afterwards they went back on the inside of the ring.  Ric Flair, who was at ringside, interfered in the match and tried to hit Batista with the World Heavyweight Championship belt, however he received a spine buster for his efforts.  Then Triple H hit Batista with the World Heavyweight Championship belt and got a two count.  Then he used a low blow and then tried to attempt the pedigree once again.  However, this time Batista blocked the move every time Triple H tried to do it.  Minutes later, Batista hit the sit-down power bomb on Triple H to pick up the pin-fall victory and become the new World Heavyweight Champion.  The fans really enjoyed this match, especially when Batista won the Championship.

Some additional comments regarding Wrestlemania™ 21.

First, this pay-per-view was sold out, it was announced over and over on WWE™ television.  The number of fans in attendance for this pay-per-view was 20,193.

I don't know what the WWE™ was thinking in having a Sumo match at Wrestlemania™.  The fans didn't seem to enjoy this match and it did not last long.  However, it didn't seem to be a match that fitted in with Wrestlemania™.

I must admit, I don't think the WWE™ was expecting the ovation for Hulk Hogan at the Hall of Fame, and at Wrestlemania™.  The fans will not forget Hogan and I think that he enjoyed himself as well.

I thought that Christy would win the WWE™ Women's Championship, only for the reason that she is pictured on the cover and inside of Playboy magazine for the month of April.

It was easy to tell in the match with Trish, that Christy was just not ready.  In my opinion, for someone like Christy, who was hired as a pretty DIVA, and had no professional wrestling training, it was very difficult for her to compete with someone like Trish.

I thought the six-man "money in the bank" ladder match was very good.  I am not surprised Edge won this match, however I would have loved for Christian to have won instead, so he could get an opportunity to show what he could do in the main event competing for the World Heavyweight Championship.  Christian has been around for approximately seven years, and really he has not had much of a chance to shine as a singles wrestler.  He is very good on the microphone, so I think that he needs to have a chance at proving that he could be a main event player and a World Heavyweight Champion someday.

I also thought that Shelton Benjamin was impressive in the match and I think that he could be a main eventer, and a World Heavyweight Champion in the future.

I think that Chris Jericho needs a chance to have another opportunity for the World Heavyweight Championship.  I guess that you could say that I am bias but I am a Canadian and he has not had a shot at the World title since 2002.  He is a very good wrestler, so I think before Jericho ends his career; he needs to have another opportunity to wrestle for the World Heavyweight Championship and to have another run as Champion.  This is just my opinion.

It seemed a little strange for Kane to be in this match.  The original plan was to have Matt Hardy involved but because of the recent issues between him, Lita and Edge, the WWE™ decided to replace him with Kane.  This was a very good match.

Last year at Wrestlemania™ 20, Chris Benoit wrestled in the main event and went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship.  However, ever since he lost the Championship in August, he has gone back to being a mid card wrestler.   So at this year's Wrestlemania™, he was involved in the "money in the bank" ladder match.  I find this so interesting because last year he was in the main event, however this year he was in the second match.  In my opinion, this is a demotion for Benoit.  I wonder what the WWE™ have planned for him in the future.

I thought, as I said earlier, the WWE™ championship match was a little short, it could have gone on a little longer.  I think Batista will make a good World Heavyweight Champion, however I am not sure how long he will hold the title.  I hope that he will hold it a long time, but who knows.  I would not be surprised to see Triple H win back the title in the near future to start his eleventh title reign.

I am not really surprised the Undertaker defeated Randy Orton.  Yes, I could have seen Orton winning the match to end the streak the Undertaker has at Wrestlemania™.  However because of a shoulder problem, Orton will be out of action for the next four to six months.  It wasn't a shock to me that the Undertaker won the match to keep his streak in tact.

I thought the Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels match was very good and I was happy when Michaels tapped out to Angle.  I believe this will help Angle in his career because he has been only around for six years, and because of his injuries he has lost considerable time in the ring.  To me, he is one of the best superstars that there is in the WWE™ and on SmackDown™.

The piper's pit segment was funny between "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.  These are two of the best on the microphone, and it was indeed great listening entertainment.

I am a little surprised that Carlito came out because I was expecting Mohammed Hassan and Daivari, so this was a surprise.

I thought having Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio starting off Wrestlemania™ was a good decision and they put on a very good match.

(This page was last updated on 2007-01-01 )

© 2004 Robin Drodge, All Rights Reserved

About The Canadian Connection

(Go to Top of This Page)

Home

WWE^™, WCW™, Wrestlemania™,  SmackDown™, SummerSlam™, Survivor Series™, the names of its events, superstars and finishing moves are all registered trade marks of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.