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Here are my observations and thoughts on WrestleMania 25.
Nicole Sherzinger: well sung, short and sweet, which left more time for wrestling, which was what we all wanted to see. I had a vested interest in pretty much all of the matches except JBL VS. Rey Mysterio, as I find them two of the most boring Superstars in the WWE.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match: I like that the tradition of the MITB has become a WrestleMania mainstay, and with a lot of the same players throughout the years. “The parting of the metal seas,” according to J.R., by Kane and Mark Henry was a good spot early on. The suicide dive kind of round robin closely followed it, featuring pretty well everyone in the match— bar Mark Henry but including Hornswaggle— diving onto each other outside of the ring. Kofi Kingston climbing the ladder which Henry was holding to try to get to the briefcase was a genius spot in a match with five years of history, so it’s hard to come up with original moves. I think MVP and Shelton Benjamin have good chemistry as opponents and I’d like to see their feud carry on. Christian’s Unprettier off the ladder balanced between the ropes and the vertical ladder didn’t quite come off as well as envisioned. My jaw literally dropped when Christian pushed Shelton off the ladder and used the ropes to ricochet back into position to retrieve the briefcase, only to be eliminated by CM Punk and Kane. The match was a bit short for my liking and missing a lot of high impact spots seen in past years (such as Mr. Kennedy’s Green Bay Plunge to Hornswaggle off the ladder, which is my all-time favourite MITB moment). Punk was my pick for the winner, and I’d like to see him capitalise on his win and become Champion again this year, hopefully in a more satisfying run that last year.

Kid Rock: His performance was quite enjoyable, and I think it would’ve been even better live. The medly really seemed to embody the energy of WrestleMania, not just the one night but the whole WrestleMania celebration in general. The Diva entrances tie-in was genius, but I would’ve liked to have seen individual entrances, especially for the former Divas like Torrie Wilson and Jackie Gayda. But due to time restraints, 25 individual Diva entrances wouldn’t have been possible, and they wouldn’t have been able to disguise Santino Marella’s entrance.

Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal: It was a bit of a confusing concept, and it could’ve gone for longer. I would’ve like more of the former Divas to be featured, like Trish Stratus, and more legitimate women’s wrestling, with Melina and Beth Phoenix staying in for longer. Mickie James and Michelle McCool had some good chemistry; a feud between them in the future would be a good investment. Santino winning the title of Miss WrestleMania was like a slap in the face to all of the Divas, especially to those who can actually wrestle. But at the same time, did we really expect it to be all that serious in the first place? For example, the past two WrestleMania’s Divas matches featured Melina VS. that year’s Playboy cover girl in squash matches that mostly favoured Melina, but didn’t really showcase her wrestling abilities.

Chris Jericho VS. The Legends: Ricky Steamboat was definitely the highlight of the Legends team, quite in shape and pulling out all the stops like he’d never been away from the ring. Especially in comparison to Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, who looked like he was riddled with arthritis and like it was a struggle for him to get to the ring. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper was still fairly able-bodied, but a bit sloppy in the execution of his moves. I liked that they used Steamboat as the final man in the elimination match, as I thought he was the least popular legend going into the match, but as I said, he was in the best shape and his wrestling style most closely matches Jericho’s. It also would’ve been good to see Ric Flair wrestling, but I liked that he and the WWE stuck to the retirement angle. I wasn’t a fan of Mickey Rourke’s new hair colour and facial grooming, but his appearance was something I was greatly looking forward to. I was a bit disappointed, but it’s understandable that he didn’t get too physical and jeopardise his acting comeback.

Matt Hardy VS. Jeff Hardy: First of all, loving Matt’s new ring gear! I was getting tired of the baggy pants, and the tighter, more traditional are a welcome change. Jeff’s failed Poetry in Motion, followed by an attempted Whisper in the Wind interrupted by a steel chair shot by Matt was a high point at the beginning of the match. Jeff is notorious for missing high spots because he’s willing to put his body on the line in any situation, and the missed ladder leapfrog was no exception. I was surprised that that led to Matt’s win, as I thought the match, like most that night, should’ve gone for much longer.

JBL VS. Rey Mysterio: Although I don’t like Rey Mysterio as a character, you can always count on him to debut a crazy new outfit at WrestleMania, like this year’s The Dark Knight’s Joker-inspired costume. The whole match, which lasted for 21 seconds, was the “OMG” moment of the night. While I was least looking forward to this match, I was hoping for some quality wrestling, not a squash match.
Shawn Michaels VS. The Undertaker: To me this was the match of the night, if not my top 5 matches ever. Shawn Michaels proved yet again that he is one of the best professional wrestlers ever, and in my opinion, the best. He is featured in two of my top three favourite matches, which I will be doing a series of columns on. It was as if HBK, the cheeky and “defiant” one, as J.R. and Michael Cole kept reiterating, from the “light side”, was taunting the strong, “dark” and “defiant” Undertaker. The dynamics of the match were perfectly captivating: the kip up VS. the sit up; the Tombstone VS. Sweet Chin Music; The Showstopper VS. The Phenom; Mr. WrestleMania VS. The WrestleMania Streak. The veterans really know how to build anticipation and frustration in the audience, as the lead up to the end had the fans screaming the loudest of the whole night. As if The Undertaker would lose the streak, but Shawn Michaels made us believe it was possible.

Triple Threat World Championship: I’m not a fan at all of Triple Threat Matches, especially not for the WWE/ World title at WrestleMania. I didn’t like it at WrestleMania 20 between Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit, I didn’t like it at WrestleMania 22 between Kurt Angle, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, and I didn’t like it at this year’s WrestleMania. The ending was enjoyable though, with the attempted double Attitude Adjustment and pin by John Cena on Big Show.
Hall of Fame: This is the segment I most look forward to in the whole of WrestleMania. In Australia, we don’t get to see the Hall of Fame Ceremony until the DVD is released months later, so to get a glimpse of what went on on the most emotional night of the WWE year is what I really look forward to. Stone Cold Steve Austin didn’t disappoint as the star attraction of the class of 2009, looking strapping in his suit and tie, and then evoking the true spirit of the Rattlesnake on the four wheeler and drinking beer in the ring.
WWE Championship: I was extremely disappointed by this match, and it was quite possibly the let-down of the night, compared to all the emphasis that was paced on it in the lead up to WrestleMania. I loved the storyline (as some of you may remember from a prior column of mine), with the McMahons and Legacy getting involved. But due to the stipulation, no one was at ringside or interfered mid-match, which was something I was looking forward to.. I think this feud was almost made too personal, and the match was more about Triple H and Randy Orton destroying each other rather than putting on a “wrestling clinic”, as J.R. would say. Orton and HHH could take a leaf out of Taker and HBK’s book, as their feud was about ending each others legacy, rather than ending their lives or careers, and that’s what made it the match of the night, or in WrestleMania history, as Jerry “The King” Lawler said on Raw the following night. What could’ve made the WWE Championship match better was appearances by Legacy, Vince and Shane McMahon, and especially Stephanie, but they were nowhere to be seen.

WrestleMania Highlights:
Undertaker VS. Shawn Michaels
Ricky Steamboat
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Shawn Michaels’ entrance
John Cena’s entrance
Rey Mysterio’s entrance/Intercontinental Championship win

WrestleMania Lowlights:
JBL Quitting
Santino Marella winning Miss WrestleMania
WWE Championship Match
The length of most matches