Mike Reviews Every WrestleMania Main Event – 21 to 25

Hello You!

So it looks like we might actually get a WrestleMania this year, although I’m not so sure it’s the best idea from WWE. Delaying it would seem to be the better tactic to employ, but Vince is gonna Vince I guess. I just hope everyone involved in it stays safe and healthy.

Thoughts with you if you’re having to isolate or any of your friends or relatives have been hit by COVID-19. It’s been a real pisser all told hasn’t it? Hopefully reading this can give you a bit of a distraction.

Check the archives for Main Events of the first 20 WrestleMania’s.

Anyway, that’s enough chatter from me, let’s watch some chuffing wrestling!

WrestleMania 21

Main Event
World Title
Champ: Triple H w/ Ric Flair Vs Batista

Batista’s rise to top babyface and eventual slayer of Triple H is one of those things that happens merely by chance but ends up being something better than anything you could have pre-planned. Triple H, Flair, Batista and Randy Orton were all part of Evolution, with Batista essentially being just the muscle and by far the worst wrestler of the three. However, as 2004 rolled on Batista grew both as an in ring performer as well as a character, developing a cool charisma that separated him from the rest of the group. So when Randy Orton’s babyface run failed to take hold, the crowd instead started organically getting behind Batista, which led to him getting over enough that he could win the Royal Rumble in 2005 and go on to headline WrestleMania.

The build-up for this one was based around Triple H trying to convince Batista to challenge for the WWE Title instead of his World Title, but he made the mistake of revealing his scheme to Ric Flair whilst Batista overheard him, thus leading to Batista beating him up and signing on for a World Title match instead. Thus here we are at Mania, with Batista freshly turned and ready to have the rocket strapped to him. Triple H gets played down to the ring by Motorhead, with Lemmy doing his customary act of forgetting the lyrics to the song. That one will never not be funny. Batista’s pretty standard entrance thus pales in comparison somewhat, especially as this was before he was getting any real pyro when he came out.

Triple H has his big Harley Race styled moustache here, which he could always bring back if he wanted to form a team with Trent Seven. The early going here is all about Batista shining on Triple H by being stronger than him, with Triple H bumping around a bit to sell that Batista is a dangerous challenger. A running knee from Triple H sends Batista outside however, and a Flair distraction allows Triple H to then throw Batista into the ring steps for good measure. This allows Triple H to officially cut Batista off and get some heat on him. Batista probably sells too much in all honesty, but with most Main Event babyfaces in WWF/E over the years that has been standard procedure.

The crowd is pretty quiet all told, especially as Batista had been getting so over in the build-up. I think having him get beaten up for so long, when what got him over in the first place was that he was a dominant guy who beat others up, probably didn’t help with keeping the crowd invested. Fans hadn’t bought a ticket to see Batista sell for a long time, they’d bought a ticket to see him smash dudes and look impressive whilst doing it. Batista eventually manages to catch Triple H with a desperation clothesline, which leads to him getting a comeback with a side slam for two. Batista Vs Dino Bravo may not have been the WrestleMania Main Event we all deserved, but it might have been the one we all needed.

The fight heads outside again, but Triple H sends Batista into the steps once again before moving them into place for something. Triple H tries for a Pedigree onto the steps, but Batista counters it with a catapult to send Triple H into the ring post. Triple H blades off that and staggers around ringside so that everyone in the building can get a good look at the blood. Hey, stuff like that is why Triple H is a pro. Batista works the cut back inside the ring, showing the mean streak that got him over with crowds in the first place, and then gets a trio of clotheslines in the corner to send a bloody Triple H down to the mat.

A running powerslam looks to end things, but Triple H kicks out at two before bailing outside of the ring. Flair tries to help his man, but Batista slugs him down, which leads to Triple H trying to brain him with a chair. The referee stops that but ends up taking a tumble in the process, which allows Flair to get in the ring with the Title belt for a sneak attack. Batista counters that with a spine buster, but as the referee gets Flair out of the ring Triple H clocks him with the Title belt for two. That kick out has seemingly given the crowd the belief that Batista is indeed going to do this, and he sets up for the Demon Bomb to finish things, only for Triple H to counter that with a low blow whilst the referee is still woozy and misses it.

Pedigree looks to end things, but Batista uses the unique counter of just refusing to drop for it, which is some pretty cleaver route one thinking from him actually. Batista powers Triple H up into an Air Raid Crash and then gives the thumbs down before delivering the Demon Bomb to pick up the clean three count and the Title.

WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION: BATISTA
RATING: **1/2

This was fine, if a bit “meh” for a WrestleMania Main Event. Nothing was bad in it and the closing five minutes or so made Batista look good as he survived the heels conniving antics and kicked out of the belt shot before countering the Pedigree and winning it clean. The only bit that I think didn’t work was that Triple H’s heat segment went on a bit too long and started to drag a bit. Aside from that, there wasn’t really anything wrong with it and the action was decent for the most part. They probably could have given Batista a stronger coronation truth be told, but he ended up beating Triple H again in two more matches and got over just how they wanted him to, so it’s not really worth dwelling on it.

WrestleMania 22

Main Event
WWE Title
Champ: John Cena Vs Triple H

John Cena had won the Title at the previous year’s Mania before jumping to Raw in the summer as part of the draft. Aside from a few weeks where he lost it to Edge, he’d essentially been Champion for an entire year, so they decided to take the novel approach of trying to get him over by booking him against the most pushed guy on the Raw brand so that he could beat him clean and thus look like even more of a big star for winning. Stop me if you’ve only watched WWE for the past ten years or so and thus find such an idea utterly baffling when it comes to booking a top babyace.

Both men get extravagant entrances, with HHH coming out on a throne dressed as a barbarian king whilst Cena comes out dressed as a gangster and shoots a gun into the air. CM Punk gets a blink and you’ll miss it cameo as tommy gun wielding heavy during Cena’s entrance. I must admit, it’s hard to buy a man as muscular as John Cena as an underdog. Look at Johnny Gargano, THAT’S what an underdog looks like. Cena is probably 250 pounds plus of pure muscle here, if not more. Cena was hardly a rookie by this point either and already had wins over Benoit, Angle and Undertaker under his belt during his days on Smackdown.

Cena getting such a lavish entrance kind of goes against his anti-establishment blue collar character as well. Yeah, Austin walked through a wall of glass a couple of times, but that’s not really comparable to coming out fully costumed with paid actors playing gangsters. The crowd is vociferously behind Triple H here, and to be fair he wasn’t far away from an official babyface turn in the summer. Triple H easily out wrestles Cena to start, as the fans chant obscenities at the champion to the point I think I’ve tuned into an ECW show by mistake. Not even Roman Reigns has instilled that level of hatred in a crowd.

Triple H throws Cena outside and plays to the crowd, so Cena comes back in and starts throwing punches before getting a Moss Covered Three Handled Family Gradunza for two. Cena keeps bringing the fists and sends Triple H to the outside with a big whip into the corner. Triple H fights back outside and actually goes for The Pedigree on the entrance ramp, but Cena back drops out of it. The fight goes back inside and Triple H catches Cena with a high knee to take over and then whips Cena into the steps outside for good measure.

Cena tries to fight back but a knee smash and lariat put a quick stop to that. Pair of neck breakers set up a neck vice, which Cena is able to fight out of but he then runs straight into a sleeper hold instead. Cena keeps coming and manages to hit Triple H with a big lariat of his own for a double down. Both get up and start trading punches, with the crowd shouting “BOO!” for Cena and “YAY!” for Triple H, which I think is one of the first instances of that happening.

Cena snaps off a powerslam and then gets the Protoplex, but Triple H counters the 5 Knuckle Shuffle with a spinebuster for two. Cena manages to get the shuffle on his second attempt and then locks in the STFU, but Triple H is able to make the ropes to save himself. Cena goes for the F-U but Triple H slips out and then sandwiches the ref between Cena and the turnbuckle, before hitting both men with a low blow. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!

Triple H gives a prostrate Cena a crotch chop to a big pop from the crowd and then heads outside to grab his trusty sledgehammer. The old ones are still the best eh? Cena tries to fight back but runs into a shot from the hammer for a near fall from the recovering referee. Triple H goes for The Pedigree but Cena counters to the F-U for a big near fall, as the crowd is now losing their minds. Not sure what to do next, Cena heads up top for a cross body. Lawler rightly chastises him for stepping out of his wheelhouse in a great bit of commentary, and indeed Cena misses. Triple H looks to finish things with The Pedigree but Cena manages to get a last gasp counter to the STFU and, after a manly struggle, Triple H is forced to tap out.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: JOHN CENA
RATING: ****

This was one of the earliest appearances of “Big Match John”, as Cena upped his game and carried his end of a good main event outing. It’s funny as they probably could have put Triple H over here and people probably wouldn’t have cared because they hated Cena so much, even though the last thing Triple H needed to be after the previous four years of terror was Champion again. Thankfully they stuck with Cena and gave him a big legacy enhancing win. Like it or not, this is how you book a top star. Cena rarely lost in the big matches during this period and that played a huge part in getting him over as the top guy. It’s why it always surprises me when they have guys like Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman fail so often, as the Cena and Batista pushes show that they do know how to book a top star, but they just seemingly don’t want to do it these days. Hopefully they do the right thing and have Drew Galloway Claymore Kick Brock Lesnar to fudge and back at this year’s Mania and don’t decide to delay his win.

WrestleMania 23

Main Event
WWE Title
Champ: John Cena Vs Shawn Michaels

This was originally supposed to be Cena Vs Triple H II, with Shawn Michaels being Donald Trump’s representative in the “Battle of the Billionaires” bout, but Triple H tore his quad for the second time and needed 8 months off to recover, so they ended up switching things around and went with Shawn as John Cena’s opponent whilst Bobby Lashley got the Trump gig. They added a bit of spice to things by making Cena and Shawn the World Tag Champs as well during the build-up, and did a fun story where you knew Shawn was going to turn on Cena but you didn’t know when it was actually going to happen, which kept everyone on their toes and made for a fun build.

Cena gets another special WrestleMania entrance, coming out in a speeding car. Shawn decides to be a jerk, slapping Cena and talking smack to him, before controlling things to show that he’s the superior skilled technician of the two. Cena manages to fire back by going root one with a big clothesline to audible boo’s from the crowd, which only serves to seemingly make Shawn angry, which is probably not the best thing to do as the old Shawn might come out. Indeed, Shawn drops Cena’s throat across the top rope before throwing him out of the ring for an Asai moonsault, which leaves Cena strewn across the American commentary table.

Shawn works Cena over back inside following that, talking some smack whilst he does it and specifically targeting Cena’s leg. Cena sells the leg work well, limping all over the ring and making pained facial expressions. Cena is eventually able to dodge a charge in the corner however and Shawn comes up bleeding as a result. This allows Cena to make a comeback with punches, again to boo’s from the crowd who seem to have clearly sided with Shawn on this one, which isn’t a great surprise. Shawn does his usual great array of selling and bumping to get across that he’s on the ropes, but he manages a desperation Sweet Chin Music, which accidentally connects with the referee instead of Cena.

Cena tries the F-U following that, but Shawn counters that into a DDT and both men are down with the ref knocked out on the floor. Shawn is now really nettled, so he drags Cena outside and delivers a big piledriver onto the ring steps, which leads to Cena bleeding from his head as well. This one sure escalated rather quickly! There is of course no referee, so Shawn can’t immediately make use of the fact that he just brained the WWE Champ, but Jack Doan eventually runs down to give Shawn a two count. Shawn heads up to drop the elbow and then starts TUNING UP THE BAND in preparation for some more Chin Music.

Cena counters the kick with a clothesline out of nowhere though, and both men are down again. That was superbly timed I must say. We get the good old fashioned “Yay-Boo” punches that we saw the previous year, with the crowd obviously booing Cena and yaying Shawn. Cena tries the F-U again, but Shawn counters it once again, this time into a cradle for two. Cena tries it again though and third time proves to be the charm, but Cena takes too long to cover and that allows Shawn to kick out at two to a big pop.

Cena decides to try it again from the second rope, but Shawn isn’t having any of that and fights Cena off before coming off the top with a cross body. Cena rolls through that and hurks Shawn into the F-U again, but Shawn lands on his feet and goes for Chin Music, only for Cena to duck that and go for the STFU. Shawn manages to avoid that and gets a roll up for two, but when he tries an enziguri Cena is able to duck the swinging foot and counters into the STFU. Shawn struggles and eventually makes the ropes, which leads to a frustrated Cena arguing with the ref. That leaves the door open for Shawn to hit Sweet Chin Music though before crawling over for a two count.

That was great because it showed how Cena’s frustration at not being able to put Shawn away could have actually cost him the Title, which highlights just how amped up he is and just how much Shawn has gotten in his head during the build-up. Cena and Shawn pull one another up back to their feet, which leads to Cena eventually getting Shawn back in the STFU right in the middle of the ring, which causes Shawn to finally have to tap put, thus giving Cena back to back submission wins over DX at subsequent WrestleMania events.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: JOHN CENA
RATING: ****1/4

This was a fantastic match that built throughout and delivered a great finishing sequence. Interestingly the finishing stretch featured probably, what, four to five near falls at most, but they were paced incredibly well and inserted at just the right times to get the absolute most out of them as possible. There were periods where both men were just selling but it worked as they weren’t overused and the timing of everything in general was just spot on. Knowing how good Undertaker Vs Batista was I would have personally put that match on last just because I like the Rumble winner to Main Event if possible, but that’s easy with hindsight as there was genuine worry back in 2007 that Taker and Batista wasn’t going to deliver, so this felt like the much safer match to go with.

WrestleMania XXIV

Main Event
World Title
Champ: Edge Vs The Undertaker

Edge had screwed Taker out of the Title not once, not twice, but thrice, cashing in Money in the Bank in spring of 2007 because Taker needed time off to nurse an injury, before having to vacate it himself due to an injury of his own. Edge returned at Survivor Series 2007 to cost Taker a Hell in a Cell match with Batista and then cheated to win the Title the following month at Armageddon when Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins debuted as his Edge clones. Strangely they didn’t really make much of this in the build-up, with Taker just winning an Elimination Chamber and essentially just being the Challenger of the Month.

Taker gets the big Mania entrance with flaming torch holding druids, that looks great as night as fallen. Smackdown General Manager Vickie Guerrero gives her man a good luck kiss, but their relationship would worsen later in the year when Edge put the moves on Alicia Fox. Taker dominates in the early stages, with Edge selling it all well. It’s been a long night for the crowd, but they are invested here and you can tell they are watching intently, kind of like a Japanese crowd in some ways.

Taker eventually takes a spill to the outside when delivering a running knee in the corner, which allows Edge to knock him off the apron when he tries to get back in. Edge engages jerk heel mode, as he gets some heat on the challenger. Taker makes sporadic comebacks, but Edge always manages to take over again. Eventually though Taker is able to shove Edge off the top rope down to the floor, before following up with the big WrestleMania dive to the outside. I’ve been watching some ECW recently and it’s funny to see Mike Awesome essentially use that as a throw away spot when it was normally the highlight of an Undertaker one.

Edge manages to block the Last Ride back inside the ring before following up with a Yakuza Kick for two. Outside we go, where Edge gives Taker a back suplex onto the ringside barricades, which is a pretty hefty bump for a guy like Taker to take. Edge not surprisingly works the back area when they get into the ring, applying a single leg crab, which gets the crowd to root for Taker. This is a very well put together match, with Taker giving Edge a lot in order to make him look like a credible Champion.

Taker survives the hold and we get the “Boo” and “Yay” punches, with the crowd firmly in Taker’s corner. Snake Eyes looks to set up a big boot from Taker, but Edge catches him with a dropkick for two, which is another example of Edge being a credible Main Eventer who has done his homework. Taker tries to reply with a choke slam, but Edge counters that into a DDT for two, before prepping for the Spear. Taker gets a chance to counter something now though, as he catches Edge with a choke slam for a two of his own, as this match continues to ebb and flow in entertaining fashion.

Edge counters the Old School by jamming the ropes and brings him down with a big superplex for two. Man, I wish that move was still a finisher, because it deserves to be. Pac tried bringing it back but sadly it didn’t take. Edge continues to one-up Taker by countering the Last Ride once again, this time into a neck breaker, for two. The story of Edge having all these counters has been very well told, and even when Taker successfully manages to get the Last Ride next, Edge is able to kick out at two. This match is doing a sensational job of making Edge look like a legit star on Taker’s level.

Taker finally manages to go Old School, but the follow up big boot attempt is ducked and Jimmy Korderas takes a bump. Edge goes low with the ref down and grabs a camera, in a call back to him disguising himself as a cameraman to cheat Taker back at Survivor Series, and brains Taker with it. There’s no referee though, so Taker sits up and counters an Edge Tombstone attempt with one of his own, which leads to Charles Robinson sprinting down to the ring to count the two, creating a gaggle of MEME’s in the process. Hawkins and Ryder run down to help their boss, but Taker gets rid of them, only to turn around into an Edge Spear for two in a great near fall. Edge follows up with another Spear, but he pauses before going to the cover and that allows Taker to pull him into The Hell’s Gate for the last gasp submission win.

WINNER AND NEW CHAMPION: THE UNDERTAKER
RATING: ****1/2

I remember having a Mania party in 2008, with a few non-fans in attendance at my house. They spent chunks of the show just hanging out and chatting with one another whilst the rest of us watched the show, but this was the match that everyone in the room was paying attention to. It’s put together incredibly well and tells a great story of Edge being one step ahead of Taker for large portions of the match only for Undertaker to use his grumpy veteran smarts to pull it out right at the end. One of the best Main Event’s in Mania history in my opinion.

WrestleMania 25

Main Event
WWE Title
DQ rules waived
Champ: Triple H Vs Randy Orton

The backstory here was that Orton started battering the McMahon family, which eventually led to him making the mistake of attacking Stephanie and getting Triple H angry. Orton won the Royal Rumble, and then was essentially forced to take on Triple H at Mania. They went way over the top with the storyline though, with Triple H doing a terrible “home invasion” styled beat down on Orton. They did add a stipulation that if Triple H got disqualified or counted out then he would lose the belt. They did a big brawl on the go home show where Triple H and The McMahons took on Orton and his Legacy faction, but none of them are ringside for this.

Sadly for Triple H this ended up being Mania X-8 all over again, as Shawn Michaels and Undertaker stole the show earlier in the night leaving the crowd burnt out for the Main Event. Orton does the long saunter down to the ring, whilst Triple H gets to smash his way through a mirror with a sledgehammer. Shout out to the lads in the crowd with a Wolverhampton Wanderers flag in the crowd, we need more of that at American wrestling, like that lad at Full Sail who always has the Everton shirt on. So the main part of the narrative here is that Orton has made Triple H so angry that the Champ could be liable to get himself disqualified at any moment, thus giving Orton the belt.

I was actually up for Orton winning the Title here, seeing as it would logically lead to some rematches and he’d done a very good job of reimagining himself as a psychotic scheming heel after years of being a cocky jerk. At the very least I could have accepted a Triple H win after shenanigans involving the factions. Triple H attacks right away, which causes the referee to admonish him and gives Orton a window to a hit a quick RKO. Orton stupidly sets up for the Soccer Kick of Doom, rather than doing something smart like pinning the downed Champion, and of course that allows Triple H time to dodge the kick and then get a Pedigree for an early double down. Well, it’s different I’ll give you that.

Both men recover pretty quickly and brawl, which leads to Orton begging off. Triple H works Orton over for a bit, and the work is fine. This match definitely has an odd structure though, as they’ve both essentially just shaken off the finishing moves from earlier and have just settled into a normal match. That opening sequence was kind of pointless as it’d had no real bearing on the match. Orton manages to flee and then flings Triple H into the front row for a count tease. Normally this would be a good spot, as a count out sees Triple H lose the belt and it’s a good snide heel way for Orton to try and steal the Title, but sadly Taker and Shawn did a count out tease in their match, so the crowd has already seen the spot and barely reacts. I mean, that’s kind of lame from Taker and Shawn, as their match really didn’t need a count out tease whereas it was integral to the story in this one.

Orton slugs away on Triple H back inside the ring, being all reptilian and evil, but Triple H manages to avoid defeat. Similar to earlier, the work is all decent here, but the crowd has had a long night and kind of just wants to see the two factions go at it rather than seeing Orton and Triple H go at it in a standard wrestling match. Triple H eventually makes the comeback and gets a big lariat for two. Both men trade roll ups for two until Triple H gets a big spine buster, but the follow up Pedigree attempt gets countered into a back breaker. Triple H fights back and comes off the top with…something, but Orton catches him with a dropkick on the way down and then preps for the punt again, only for Triple H to catch the boot and send him outside.

Over we go to the Spanish table, where the ref talks Triple H out of using a monitor as a weapon because he doesn’t want to DQ him. The crowd wanted him to use the weapon, maybe because they want to go home? Triple H instead tries a Pedigree onto the table, which the referee seems okay with, but Orton counters that into a back body drop. Triple H doesn’t even go through the table and instead just bounces off it with a thud. Orton adds a DDT to the floor for good measure and then rolls in for another count out tease, which gets at least a murmur from the crowd this time. It’s still not the reaction you’d expect though. That was the spot the entire match story has been building to and the crowd barely cared, that’s soul crushing. I feel for them actually, as this match hasn’t been bad, but they’ve not helped themselves with the match structure.

The ref gets bumped back inside the ring, which leads to the crowd expecting some run-in’s, but instead Orton just heads outside for the sledgehammer. Triple H catches him with a Soccer Kick of Doom as he comes back in though, which is again a good spot that pays off the storyline of Orton punting the McMahons that you’d think would get a good pop, but it really doesn’t. Triple H adds a shot with the hammer and then unloads with punches before finally putting Orton away with the Pedigree in a rather flat finish.

WINNER AND STILL CHAMPION: TRIPLE H
RATING: **3/4

The story they clearly wanted to tell was that Orton was the deceitful heel who would try to back door his way to the Title, thus angering the crowd in the process, and then babyface Triple H would overcome it and give him his comeuppance to avenge his family in a cathartic moment for the crowd. Though that makes sense as a story, it wasn’t the story this crowd wanted. They wanted a brawl with interference from the factions, possibly even leading to Orton sneaking a win somehow, and they didn’t get it. Put this match on before Taker/Shawn and actually have The McMahons and Legacy get involved and this might have been a better match, as the work was fine but the crowd just wasn’t having it.

Two so-so Triple H Main Events sandwich three really excellent ones this time out. Hey, 3 out of 5 isn’t the end of the world, I’ll take it!

There we go with 5 more Main Events in the bag. I’ll hopefully see you all next week when I cover Mania’s 26 to XXX!