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WrestleMania 25 takes place this weekend at
the Reliant Center in Houston, Texas. This year’s card doesn’t have the
celebrity star power that the last two Mania’s have had but should be a good
card nevertheless. Entertainment this year will come from Kid Rock and one of
the Pussycat Dolls will sing the national anthem. As is the tradition for Mania
the show will be four hours so there is a chance that at the last minute a match
will be added or the company will let the matches go longer than usual. The
announce team will consist of Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Michael Cole. Tazz left
the company after the Monday triple tapings and there is no ECW match on the
card. Todd Grisham and Matt Stryker will do interview from backstage.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The "Bo's Prediction" part of the review below was
posted on Friday afternoon (040309). |
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WWE & WORLD TAG TEAM
CHAMPIONSHIP UNIFICATION MATCH:
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Carlito & Primo Colon vs. John Morrison & The
Miz |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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We are going back to just having one set of tag team champions
and since Morrison and Miz wrestle on each show it seemed like we only had one
to begin with if you seldom watched Smackdown. In the annual attempt to get
everyone not booked in a match on the card the ring will be surrounded by the
rest of the roster. Every match I have seen with these four has been great. They
work together well and seem to bring out the best in each other. It has been
teased off and on that Morrison and Miz are going to break up and in this match
they could pull the trigger by having the Colon brothers win. One way or the
other this could be one of the best matches on the card. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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The Carlito & Primo Colon vs. John Morrison
& The Miz lumberjack match to unify the tag team titles was taken off the main
card and served as the prelim match for the show. The move once again showed
that Vince has no use for tag teams in the WWE. Everyone who wasn’t booked for
the show served as lumberjacks and the match was announced by the ECW broadcast
team. Carlito & Primo won the match when Morrison went for a suplex but Primo
got behind him and used the back stabber for the pin. The match was supposedly
very good and got the crowd up for the show.
AND THEN...The show began with a well done video package then we saw the
Pussycat Dolls lead singer do the National anthem in a dress so tight that she
may have had to be brought into the ring by the ring crew. The announcers for
the show were JR, Lawler and Michael Cole. The Spanish announcers made their
re-appearance at ringside for the first time in a long time.
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MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER
MATCH:
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Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs. Christian vs.
Mark Henry vs. Kane vs. CM Punk vs. Finlay vs. Kofi Kingston |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The annual crowd pleaser has a roster that could make this
incarnation interesting. Henry really doesn’t belong in this kind of match and
may stick out like a sore thumb. Kane has done ladder matches so he could play a
big part in the finish. Finlay doesn’t do ladders well either but he will hold
his own. Christian is going to be the guy in the ring who calls the spots and
may be one of the last ones eliminated. MVP may win here but since Punk won last
year he isn’t going to repeat. I like Kingston but he isn’t going to win this
match so it leaves us with Benjamin who has done some crazy things in these
matches.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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Punk won the match for the second year in a
row when he kicked Kane off one ladder after Kane shoved Christian off one of
the ladders. The match was filled with some very cool moves that included:
Finlay beginning a sequence of suicide dives, Benjamin diving on everyone from
the top of a ladder, Kingston doing a dropkick thru the ladder, Hornswoggle
bringing out a step ladder and diving on everyone, Kingston climbing a moving
ladder, a construct made of three ladders and people diving or standing on them
and stuff that you just had to see to believe. It was a damn good opener.
--Kid Rock followed with a medley of his hits. |
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25 DIVA BATTLE ROYAL MATCH:
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Whichever 25 Diva's want to pick up a check |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The 25 could be: Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Candice
Michelle, Eve, Gail Kim, Jillian, Katie Lea, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maria, WWE
Divas Champion Maryse, WWE Women's Champion Melina, Michelle McCool, Mickie
James, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Tiffany, Molly Holly, Jackie Gayda-Haas,
Victoria, Tammy Sytch (Sunny), Torrie Wilson and maybe Vickie Guerrero or Trish
Stratus, Stratus hasn’t given the company a solid answer on her being there. The
winner of this match will also be named Miss WrestleMania and may defend the
title next year since this match will be a regular occurrence from now on. I
would be hard pressed to pick a winner since I won’t know the exact roster for
this match until they come out on the ramp but Kim may walk away with the sash
if they want to get her in the woman’s title picture. If the nostalgia factor
kicks in then Victoria may win since she came back for this show.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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The introductions were done off camera
during the Kid Rock concert so you had no idea who was in the ring. The guest
bell ringer was Mae Young with Candice Michelle at her side since Candice isn’t
healthy. The participants were: Sunny, Torrie Wilson, Victoria, Molly Holly,
Jackie Gayda Haas, Alicia Fox, Beth Phoenix, Brie Bella, Eve, Gail Kim, Jillian,
Katie Lea, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Maria, Maryse, Melina, Michelle McCool, Mickie
James, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Tiffany and Santino Marella in drag.
The announcers never said that it was Santino but it was fairly obvious. He
spent most of the time avoiding contact but eliminated Beth and won. As she was
getting the Miss WrestleMania sash Beth was furious. To keep the comedy going he
said he was Santina then danced in the ring. I wasn’t expecting much out of this
but would have liked to have seen the introductions.
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LEGENDS MATCH:
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Chris Jericho vs. Rowdy Roddy Piper vs. Jimmy
Snuka vs. Ricky Steamboat |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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Jericho’s opponent for this match has been a topic of
conversation the moment he started this angle. For a while we thought it was
going to be Steve Austin but that’s not happening. We thought that it may have
been actor Mickey Rourke but that isn’t happening either even though Rourke is
going to be there and supposedly part of the finish. We also thought that Ric
Flair was going to come out of retirement and face Jericho but that isn’t
happening either. So instead Jericho is facing 3 WWE legends at the same time
and will have to carry all three of them. There will be a number of WWE legends
at ringside for the match so the finish could be a Jericho beat down with Rourke
laying out Jericho with a punch.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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Mickey Rourke came out and sat down with
Frank Shamrock of all people. Flair came out last and worked the corner. Jericho
beat Snuka with the Boston crab and then he beat Piper with an enzuigiri.
Steamboat was next in and he worked without a shirt. Considering he hadn’t been
in a ring for a while Steamboat looked pretty good and even skinned the cat but
was pinned with the codebreaker. Flair came in and after a quick flurry Jericho
laid him out with a codebreaker as well. Jericho then grabbed a mike and
challenged Rourke who took his time getting into the ring and then peppered
Jericho with a few punches. Jericho got mad but Rourke knocked out Jericho with
a left. Flair and Rourke celebrated together in the ring. For what it was it
wasn’t a bad match. Snuka didn’t look great but Jericho carried everyone.
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BROTHER VS. BROTHER MATCH
(Extreme Rules):
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Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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This feud only came about because Vince hates the fact that fans
figure out his angles on the Internet. The person who was behind all the attacks
against Jeff was supposed to be Christian but Vince pulled the switch since that
was fairly obvious. So the move was made to do a Bret/Owen deal and have it
become Matt. You would think that since older fans saw the Hart family feud that
creative could have just copied that script but instead the buildup for this has
been remembered one week and forgotten the next. This is the second time that
the brothers have feuded but the first one didn’t work at all and this one is
sort of working. The extreme rules stipulation allows the two to go crazy and do
whatever they want in order to get the match over. Expect this match to take
place after the Money in the Bank match and more than likely after the Divas
match. Jeff will go over here and get back to going after the title. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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With the extreme rules stipulation this was
a spot fest and so it didn’t disappoint. The spots included: Jeff doing a poetry
in motion in and out of the ring, Matt hitting Jeff with a chair as Jeff tried a
whisper in the wind, Jeff getting hit with a Shop Vac, Jeff bringing in a kendo
stick, a crutch and a garbage can then putting the can over Matt’s head and
hitting it with the crutch, Matt getting put on a table then having a chair
placed on his chest before Jeff put another table on top before crashing into
it, Jeff trying a leapfrog from an eight foot ladder over a ten foot ladder only
to miss the leg drop and Matt putting Jeff’s head in a chair before hitting him
with a twist of fate for the win. Considering the amount of time they had not a
bad match but not the end of this feud.
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INTERCONTINENTAL
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
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JBL vs. Rey Mysterio |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The feud between Mysterio and JBL has been done before but it
worked so well that the decision was made to do it again. It isn’t a secret that
JBL’s back is shot and his wrestling days are about over so I would expect Rey
to win this match but the finish could have JBL win and then retire after doing
so in the ring. JBL has announced that he is going to do something that is going
to shock the world after the match and so the result is sort of anti-climactic.
Since Tazz is gone he is likely to go back to the Smackdown desk and do
commentary but I don’t think that’s the big announcement.
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BO'S REVIEW:
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JBL came out first and insulted the crowd
before Rey came out in a Joker outfit. JBL attacked Mysterio before the match
started but when the bell rang Rey pinned JBL in just 21 seconds with a 619 and
splash off the ropes to win the title. JBL sat in the ring after the match and
made his big announcement: he was quitting. As he was leaving the arena he was
telling the fans they would miss him after he was gone.
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END OF THE STREAK MATCH:
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Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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By all rights this should be the main event of the card but it
probably isn’t and the last time that Taker wasn’t the main event he and Batista
tore the house down since they were a little upset. This will be the 18th Mania
match for Taker and as the legend shows he hasn’t lost once but some of the
matches had him against guys past their prime and never having one (Giant
Gonzales anyone?). This match is different because he is going up against HBK
(who asked for the match). Watching this match is going to be damn fun because
if anyone knows how to keep the crowd into a match its Michaels. He isn’t going
to win the match (and doesn’t want to) but expect him to put on one hell of a
performance. If the streak does end it may be next year since Taker isn’t
getting any younger. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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Shawn came down from the ceiling in an
all white outfit while Taker rose up from the stage. The two started slow but it
didn’t take long for the crowd to get into the match. They teased finishers with
Taker getting out of a figure four, HBK getting out of Hell’s Gate, Taker took a
super kick, and HBK also took a tombstone, a last ride and a choke slam. Taker
did a dive over the top but Michaels moved and Undertaker crashed onto a fake
cameraman. A count out loss due to injury was teased but Undertaker got back in
before the 10 count. The last 10 minutes or so were amazing. The finish saw
Michaels go for a moonsault from the top rope, get caught and get his second
tombstone. The screen at the entrance said 17-0. This was the best match on the
crowd and as I was watching I told Comic Book Guy they were going to go to the
back and say top this. |
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WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
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John Cena (C) vs. Edge vs. Big Show |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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For all of you that don’t know Vickie Guerrero is
not pregnant. That was an April Fool’s joke by Cena that he got posted on
wwe.com. With that out of the way this match may be interesting. Cena is going
off to do another movie in June and is also getting married so his life is going
to get a lot busier soon. Edge isn’t 100 percent at all due to nagging injuries
to his knee and general soreness. If you add the two together then it makes
sense that Show will walk out of the building with the title. But that takes
into consideration that WWE booking makes any sense so the results of this match
may come down to the day of the event. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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Chavo had Vickie at
the half way part of the ramp at the start and he wheeled her to ringside. Cena
had the second best entrance of the night with him coming out of an army of John
Cena’s. They lined the long ramp and did the face move as he walked out to his
old and new music. Show was allowed to do all his power moves. Chavo got an
attitude adjustment onto the ring floor. Edge speared Vickie when she stood on
the ring apron. Show was speared thru on the barriers by Edge. After having both
Show and Edge on his shoulders Cena won the title with the Attitude Adjustment
on Show, then on Edge, and then pinned Show. Cena went out into the crowd to
celebrate and gave the belt to his friend NASCAR driver Carl Edwards before
going back into the ring and down the ramp. This was also a good match.
--Next year’s show is March 28, 2010 in Phoenix. The Hall of Fame inductees came
out next and Austin was wearing a new suit jacket (which I bet was free after
him knocking Men’s Wearhouse the night before). Austin left the stage then came
back out in a classic Austin t-shirt riding an ATV. He rode it to the ring and
drank beer in all of the corners before handing JR a beer. He went back up the
ramp and did one more beer salute. The attendance was announced as 72,744.
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WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
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Triple H (C) vs. Randy Orton |
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BO'S PREDICTION:
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The build up for this match has been inconsistent. We knew this
was going to happen and when Orton started kicking McMahon’s in the head then it
was obvious that he was going to cash in his Royal Rumble win against HHH. The
night Orton attacked Stephanie and HHH came out to defend her had some of the
greatest facials ever with HHH literally drooling and getting red in the face.
This was followed, however, with a promise not to touch each other that went
away when HHH attacked Orton in his ‘home’. The angle regained steam when Orton
attacked Stephanie again while HHH was handcuffed and then kissed her as she lay
on the ground. Monday we got the Wild Bunch moment when the McMahon men gathered
together and hit the ring against Legacy so the angle regained momentum. This
will likely be the longest match on the card but the match as of yet has no
special stipulations. The Hardy match has an extreme rules stipulation and this
match should have at least a no DQ stipulation. Since this isn’t the end of this
angle I can sort of see why but there is a chance that Vince will make an
announcement of a stipulation to make it more interesting. I expect HHH to go
over here and then when the draft happens move back to Raw to keep the feud
going. |
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BO'S REVIEW:
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The stipulations here were that HHH would
lose the title if he was counted out or disqualified. We were shown him walking
to the ring and meeting Vince and Shane. He had the third best entrance of the
night with him coming out carrying a sledge hammer only to see his reflection at
the entrance. He threw the hammer thru the glass and walked out. HHH took an RKO
right away but Orton missed kicking him in the head. The action wandered in and
out of the ring. While the duo was outside HHH was going to clock Orton with a
monitor but ref Scott Armstrong reminded him that he would lose the title if he
did that. HHH was flipped thru the Spanish announce table and was almost counted
out. After a ref bump when Orton threw HHH into Armstrong, Orton used the RKO
then brought in a sledge hammer. As Orton was coming through the ropes, HHH
punted him in the head. HHH then hit Orton with the sledge hammer, dropped it
behind one of the banners and pinned Orton with the pedigree. Now since the ref
didn’t see it there was no DQ so that will be dealt with on Raw. The show ended
with a montage about 20 seconds before 10. |
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This wasn’t a bad show at all. It would have been nice to have
seen the tag match but I will get that when I buy the DVD. There were only two
backstage segments and both were short. We saw possibly the match of the year
with the Taker/HBK match and a lot of very cool moves in the Money in the Bank
match. With the draft in a week some of the things that happened here will live
on (HHH/Orton) and some will just remain in our memory banks. Next year we will
likely see the last matches for Taker and HBK (his knees are really bothering
him) and the induction to the Hall of Fame to the Rock.
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Photo ©
2009 WWE/World Wrestling Entertainment
Article © 2009 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
