WWE WrestleMania XXV (2009)

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

'WrestleMania 25' is supposed to be a grand affair, a brand which has been the most prominent affair in the history of WWE. But sadly the event doesn't live up to its mark.... Minus HBK vs Undertaker, no other match makes you go wow!! WM 25 could've been the best event ever, but sadly it joins the league of events like 'Summer Slam', 'Royal Rumble' and 'Survivor Series', not WM. Things which left a mark: HBK vs Undertaker. The-duo once again proved that they are the true legends of WWE, delivering a fantastic match. Easily, The best WrestleMania in recent times. The Showstopper and The Deadman deserve a standing ovation for their contribution in WWE. Mickey Rourke's cameo was entertaining, knocking Y2J down. The disappointments: Everything else. The Money In The Bank match was plain mediocre. Y2J vs The Legends was good, not great. The match reminded me of RAW. Triple H vs Randy Orton was a yawn. The built up for the match was instigating, but the result was narrow. Santina winning miss WM was unintentionally funny. Jeff vs Matt was boring, ditto for the other matches.Being a hardcore fan of WWE since childhood, I expected a lot from WM 25, but sadly it didn't reach my expectation. HBK vs Undertaker, will surely be remembered as one of the greatest matches of WWE history. The performers didn't disappoint, the event did.

Wrestlemania was held in Houston, Texas and the show was decent. That said 2 of the WWE's most reliable superstars (Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker) saved this show from being mediocre.The Money in the Bank Ladder match was good but was let down by botched moves, like for instance Shelton Benjamin was going to sunset flip power bomb MVP off a ladder but Porter was late releasing his grip, which resulted in both men falling to a heap on the floor. WWE didn't need to have Mark Henry, Finlay or Kane in there, they could have put the likes of R-Truth, The Brian Kendrick or Evan Bourne in with Kofi Kingston, Christian, MVP, CM Punk and Shelton Benjamin to make it more interesting.The Rey Mysterio vs JBL match was a waste of time, 21 seconds long? Why bother putting it on a super show? Oh yeah to make room for Kid Rock's abysmal singing which lasted 11 minutes but seemed like 11 hours. This was one of the reason's why the WWE unified tag team title match pitting Carlito and Primo against The Miz and John Morrison was cut from the PPV to make room for Kid Rock. If Kevin Dunn generally believes that he done good making this decision he needs his head testing.The 25 Diva battle royal was abysmal. Not memorable at all, Trish Stratus made the right decision turning the offer down to appear on it and Santino..... oops sorry Santina Marella winning it seemed like someone's idea of a joke.I was hoping that WWE would have put Chris Jericho in there with Ricky Steamboat alone. My fears were confirmed when they announced that Steamboat would be teaming with the ancient 64 year old Jimmy Snuka and the barely mobile Roddy Piper. Give Steamboat his due he had a very good 4 minute scrap with Jericho at the end. But the result with anti-climatic, fans sensing a feel good ending were baffled when Steamboat lost.The Triple Threat match between Edge, Big Show and John Cena was OK but not the best, Big Show was totally knackered but looking at Show's age (37) weight (440 pounds) and his condition (knackered)it's no wonder he's feeling the strain of wrestling long matches. This isn't the same Paul Wight who wrestled in WCW were he was billed as the Giant. Wight who could execute moonsaults and standing drop kicks in WCW, has never really fulfilled his true potential and never will.The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels was outstanding. Possibly the best match at a Wrestlemania. Undertaker won with a Tombstone. Watch out for when Taker landed on the camera man, that was Sim Snuka (yes the same Sim Snuka who used to wrestle as Duece in the tag team with Domino, and hasn't been seen for months) Results from the show: CM Punk won the MIBL match which also featured, Kane, Finlay, Kofi Kingston, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Mark Henry.... Rey Mysterio downed John Bradshaw Layfield in 21 seconds to win the Intercontinental Championship.... Chris Jericho downed Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper and Rick Steamboat in an elimination match.... John Cena defeated Big Show and Edge in a passable triple threat match to win the Heavyweight title.... Matt Hardy pinned Jeff Hardy in a good Extreme Rules match.... Santina Marella won the diva Battle Royal.... The Undertaker pinned Shawn Michaels in a superb match.... Triple H defeated Randy Orton in a disappointing match to retain the WWE title.Overall grade - B/C

Match 1: Money in the Bank Ladder Match - CM Punk, Kane, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Christian, Mark Henry, Finlay and Shelton Benjamin all do battle for the briefcase. A brilliant start to the show. Finlay was in his element for this match, he dominated the first half with the small step ladder. Then we see some nice ring spots. In the end Christian looks to have it with the rest of the combatants on the floor, but last year's winner CM Punk springboards onto the ladder to stop him. Crowd seemed a little unhappy with that. Kane then ascends the ladder and ends up chokeslamming Christian off. CM Punk then nails Kane with some kicks and knocks him off the ladder. CM Punk then wins the Money in the Bank for the second year in a row.Match 2: 25 Diva Battle Royal - Crowd was a little bored during Kid Rock's mini-concert and mostly through this match. Santino is disguised in it as Santina, supposedly his twin sister from Italy. The match was dull and the returning divas didn't get their recognition for their return. In the end "Santina" eliminates Beth Phoenix to become Miss Wrestlemania. Pretty funny way to end, but match was pretty dull.Match 3: Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat &Jimmy Snuka vs Chris Jericho in a Handicap Match - I was looking forward to seeing the Legends take the win, but Jericho starts by making Snuka submit. Then Piper gets nailed with the Codebreaker and is eliminated as well. We are down to Steamboat and Jericho. Crowd was extremely behind Steamboat, but just like Piper he gets nailed with the Codebreaker and Jericho wins the match. Crowd hated it, but seeing Mickey Rourke knock out Jericho with a punch picked them back up.Match 4: Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy (Extreme Rules Match) - A lot of spots in this one, Jeff did most of the work. The double table dive was pretty good and the defining moment of this match. Jeff then brings in two ladders and tries to do a legdrop onto Matt, but he moves. Then probably the coolest thing I ever saw Matt do, a twist of fate with a steel chair around Jeff's neck. After that Matt scores the pinfall.Match 5: JBL (c) vs Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental Championship - JBL wanted to deliver a dominating victory and attacked Rey before the match, then when the bell rung Mysterio took over and hit a splash to win the title. Plus Rey Mysterio's attire was the best of the night.Match 6: Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker - The match of the night and probably the match of the year. They carried the show and dominated all of the other matches on the card. Michaels really looked like he was going to end the streak this year. He kicked out of the first tombstone and honestly Undertaker's facial expression had me laughing hysterically. The diving outside of the ring spots were fantastic and the almost ten count on the Undertaker was brilliant. In the end Michaels goes for a moonsault and gets caught with a tombstone. The Undertaker gets the pin this time and goes 17-0.Match 7: Edge (c) vs John Cena vs Big Show in a Triple Threat for the World Heavyweight Championship - The better of the two title matches. Big Show dominated early on and was taken out quickly by both Cena and Edge. He then was tied up in the ropes and speared through the guardrail by Edge, but came back into play both times. In the end Cena lifted both men for the Attitude Adjustment. Big Show fell to the mat, but Cena continued by Attitude Adjusting Edge onto the Big Show, knocking him out of the ring in the process. With Big Show down Cena made the cover and reclaimed the World Heavyweight Championship. Better match than expected.Match 8: Triple H (c) vs Randy Orton for the WWE Championship - A real let down for a main event. Rhodes and DiBiase didn't event try to interfere for Orton, even though they might have been barred from ringside there wasn't even an attempt once the referee was down. Orton performed pretty horribly along with Triple H. The only good thing about this match was Triple H's entrance with the glass in front of him. In the end a sledgehammer came into play, even though Triple H could have been disqualified and lost the title, he hits Orton with the sledgehammer while the ref is down then punches him repeatedly and follows through with a pedigree for the win. Not even a great finish. Orton is all beaten and bruised and Triple H retains the WWE title. Horrible main event.

Can you say anti-climax?1) Money In The Bank Ladder Match A good opener. The thing that works against the MITB Ladder match is that there is only so many spots that you can do with a ladder. Over the last few years, Shelton Benjamin has done almost every interesting spot that a human being can do with a ladder. They are now struggling to out do the previous MITB Ladder matches. This however was a very credible ladder match, but probably the weakest (along with WM XXIII) of the MITB Ladder matches to date. Kofi Kingston probably emerged as the MITB show stealer, although Benjamin had the spot of the match with a crazy Swanton-type dive from the top of an insanely high ladder..... C+2) Diva Battle Royal A waste of time. The old Divas like Sunny & Molly didn't even get an entrance for the crowd to enjoy their return. To make things worse they had Santino win it. As funny as he is they need to start making him a credible wrestler (which he is capable of being) & not just a jobber who's good on the mic, which they are making him out to be...... F3) Chris Jericho vs The Legends Much better than I thought it would be. Dare I say that Ricky Steamboat nearly stole the show. What a performance by the Hall Of Famer. It was a match that didn't steal the show but certainly didn't disappoint. The spot with Mickey Rourke at the end was never going to be taken well if it was over the top, so maybe its subtle approach was appropriate..... C4) Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy Good match with some extreme, but not over the top spots. I worried that the spots in this match would be over top, but they did them just right. The ring psychology was good & it was good to see Matt win as that was the result needed if they plan to extend this feud (which I think they will). The Twist Of Fate on the chair was superbly done..... B-5) JBL vs Rey Misterio It would've been more spontaneous if they hadn't done the exact same thing last year with Kane & Chavo Guerrero. JBL as boring as he is in the ring, is a master of psychology on the microphone. The angle of JBL quitting was as important as the actual 21 second match so I'll take that into account when grading it..... D6) Undertaker vs Shawn Michael Well..... When I saw Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels, I thought that you will never see a better match where no weapons are used EVER again. Not just getting caught up in the hype because Wrestle Mania was only yesterday, but this just might be the best Wrestle Mania match that I have ever seen. As far as storyline goes it was built up very well. As far as in ring action goes, it was a privilege to watch. As far as ring psychology goes, it was a master class. As far as crowd reaction goes, that much crowd reaction hasn't been seen since Hogan vs The Rock. The WWE hasn't received a 5 Star rating for a match in Wrestling Observer for over a decade. If this doesn't get one then something is wrong. On a side note there was a spot where the Undertaker flew over the top rope & HBK moved out of the way sending Undertaker straight to the floor. Undertaker landed head first into the cameraman & a crunching noise was heard. I honestly thought for 5 seconds that The Undertaker had broken his neck & died live at Wrestle Mania..... A*7) Edge vs John Cena vs Big Show A match that never should've been a world title match at Wrestle Mania in the first place. It wasn't terrible though, but wasn't anything that we haven't seen before. Cena showcased his AMAZING strength by holding Big Show & Edge on his shoulders for a few seconds. This was closely followed by the 3 count that made him World Champion once again, which in turn made for a good finish to the match. Not as bad as a match with John Cena & Big Show could've been..... C8) Triple H vs Randy Orton Imagine if Stone Cold Steve Austin lost to Shawn Michaels at WM 14. Imagine if The Ultimate Warrior lost to Hulk Hogan at WM 6. Imagine if Chris Benoit didn't win at WM 20. They would've NEVER crossed over to that status that separates a transitional champion (Sergent Slaughter) from a dominant champion (Bret Hart). Orton who is without question the hottest thing in wrestling right now, was ready to take over like Triple H did at Wrestle Mania 2000. Randy Orton is in the the prime of his life at 28 & has a decade of dominance ahead of him. The only thing left for him to do was to defeat the man that he was destined to proceed as the No.1 bad guy in the world of wrestling at WM 25. Could Triple H get over himself for one second & do what was write for business? NO! He ruined Wrestle Mania 25 the same way that he ruined Wrestle Mania 18 by not letting The Rock & Hollywood Hogan be the main event. Orton will now have to start all over again rebuilding his character & we are destined to put up with Triple H until he breaks Ric Flair's record & finally steps down like he should've done at the end of the Attitude Era..... The Match was a C+, but the ending completely downgraded it to an FA lot rides on the main event of Wrestle Mania as that is what is remembered the most. The ending to this year's main event was the most disappointing in WWE history!Overall..... C