WrestleMania 25

WrestleMania XXV
Tagline(s)Everything Is Bigger in Texas, Especially WrestleMania
The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania (in late-2008)
Theme
song(s)		"Shoot to Thrill" (Live) and "War Machine" by AC/DC[1]
Information
PromotionWorld Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)Raw
SmackDown
ECW
DateApril 5, 2009
Attendance72,744
VenueReliant Stadium
CityHouston, Texas
Pay-per-view chronology
No Way Out (2009) WrestleMania XXV Backlash (2009)
WrestleMania chronology
WrestleMania XXIV WrestleMania XXV WrestleMania XXVI

WrestleMania XXV (or The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania or WrestleMania 25), was the twenty-fifth yearly WrestleMania professional wrestling Pay-per-view made by World Wrestling Entertainment and took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.[2][3] It was the second WrestleMania in the state of Texas, with the first being WrestleMania X-Seven, at the Reliant Astrodome, also in Houston, which was held in 2001. The tagline for the event was "Everything is bigger in Texas, especially WrestleMania." "Cowboy" by Kid Rock was used in the first promotional advertisement for the event.[3] While WWE calls it the 25th Anniversary, it is only the 24th anniversary as WrestleMania I cannot be an anniversary of itself.

Production

It was announced on January 30, 2009 that "War Machine" and "Shoot to Thrill", both by AC/DC, would be the theme songs for WrestleMania.[1]

Background

See also: Professional wrestling

Since 1993, the winner of the yearly Royal Rumble match at the event of the PPV has won the opportunity to wrestle for a World Championship at WrestleMania.[4] The only Royal Rumble winners since 1993 that did not wrestle for a championship at WrestleMania are Steve Austin in 1997,[5][6] and Vince McMahon in 1999.[7][8] Randy Orton won the match in 2009, earning a match for a world championship at WrestleMania XXV.[9]

On the February 16 edition of Raw, Shawn Michaels challenged John "Bradshaw" Layfield to a match the following week for the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.[10] Shawn won this match but was then forced to face Vladimir Kozlov for the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.[11] Shawn won this match and faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania.

Money in the Bank (MITB) qualifying matches started on the February 23, 2009 edition of Raw with a triple threat match CM Punk versus John Morrison versus The Miz. CM Punk won the match and is the first of eight men to be added to the Money in the Bank ladder match.[11] The following week on Raw, another triple threat match between Rey Mysterio, Kane and Mike Knox with the winner of this match qualifying for (winning his way into) the MITB ladder match. Kane won this match and as a result was added to the ladder match.

Results

# Matches Stipulations Time[12]
Dark The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) beat John Morrison and The Miz[a][13] Lumberjack match to unify the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship N/A
1 CM Punk beat Kane, Mark Henry (with Tony Atlas), Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Finlay (with Hornswoggle)[14] Money in the Bank ladder match 14:25
2 Santina Marella[15] beat 24 current and former WWE Divas, last eliminating Beth Phoenix and Melina.[b][16] 25-Diva battle royal to crown "Miss WrestleMania" 06:08
3 Chris Jericho beat Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka (with Ric Flair)[17] Handicap elimination match 08:57
4 Matt Hardy beat Jeff Hardy[18] Extreme Rules match (hardcore match) 13:14
5 Rey Mysterio beat John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) [19] Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship 00:21
6 The Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels[20] Singles match 30:42
7 John Cena beat Edge (c) and The Big Show[21] Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship 14:44
8 Triple H (c) beat Randy Orton[22] Singles match for the WWE Championship 23:34

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Rockin' to the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania with AC/DC". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2009-01-30.
  2. ↑ Dale Plummer (2008-03-31). "Mayweather, Orton survive Mania; Edge, Flair don't". Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kid Rock (2008-04-13). "WWE's Wrestlemania Theme Song". Kid Rock. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  4. ↑ Cohen, Eric (2007-04-25). "The Fate of the Royal Rumble Winner". About.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2009-01-31.
  5. ↑ "Stone Cold (spot No. 5) wins the Royal Rumble Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  6. ↑ "WrestleMania 13 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  7. ↑ "Mr. McMahon (spot No. 2) wins the Royal Rumble Match". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  8. ↑ "WrestleMania 15 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  9. ↑ Tello, Craig (2009-01-25). "Detroit "RKO" City". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
  10. ↑ Sitterson, Aubrey (2009-02-16). "Game changer". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sitterson, Aubrey (2009-02-23). ""Legacy" gets hammered". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-02-24.
  12. ↑ Plummer, Dale (2009-04-06). "Wrestlemania 25: HBK-Undertaker steals the show". SLAM! Sports - Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2015-04-19. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  13. ↑ Burdick, Michael (2009-04-05). "Brothers united". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  14. ↑ Rote, Andrew. "Results:Twice as nice for CM Punk". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  15. ↑ Plummer, Dale (2009-04-06). "Wrestlemania 25: HBK-Undertaker steals the show". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  16. ↑ Raymond, Katie A. "Results:Say hello to my twin sister". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  17. ↑ Vermillion, James. "Results:Rourke, Flair laugh in the face of defeat". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  18. ↑ Tello, Craig. "Results:Matt: The better Hardy?". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  19. ↑ McAvennie, Mike. "Results:Rey fast, JBL furious". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  20. ↑ Adkins, Greg. "Results:Vaunted: Deadman Alive". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  21. ↑ Passero, Mitch. "Results:Cena reclaims his gold". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  22. ↑ Sitterson, Aubrey. "Results:The Legacy Killer". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2009-04-05.

Other websites