WrestleMania 21
WrestleMania 21 | |||
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SmackDown! | |||
Date | April 3, 2005 | ||
City | Los Angeles, California | ||
Venue | Staples Center | ||
Attendance | 20,193[1] | ||
Buy rate | 1,090,000[2] | ||
Tagline(s) | WrestleMania Goes Hollywood | ||
Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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WrestleMania chronology | |||
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WrestleMania 21 (marketed as WrestleMania Goes Hollywood) was the 21st annual
The main event of the show, which was the main match from the Raw brand, saw Batista challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won by pinfall after executing a Batista Bomb. The main match on the SmackDown! brand, which was the event's penultimate match, saw John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) defend the WWE Championship against John Cena, which Cena won by pinfall after performing an FU marking Cena's first world title reign of his world record sixteen.
Another primary match was an inter-promotional match between The Undertaker and Randy Orton, which Undertaker won by pinfall after performing a Tombstone Piledriver. The featured matches on the undercard were Kurt Angle versus Shawn Michaels and the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match. The event also featured the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin who then started his part-time appearances with WWE and also the final WrestleMania event that Eddie Guerrero competed in, going against his tag team partner Rey Mysterio. Guerrero succumbed to heart failure in November that same year.
WrestleMania 21 was the first WrestleMania held at Staples Center, but the fifth to take place in the
Production
Background
In line with the event's location and tagline, WrestleMania 21 was promoted on television with a series of
The parody movie trailers included:
- Eugene playing the role of Tom Hanks, with William Regalmaking a cameo appearance.
- Braveheart featuring Triple H playing the role of Mel Gibson, with Ric Flair making a cameo appearance.
- Christian playing the roles of the interrogators, with The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Youngmaking a cameo appearance.
- Booker T playing the roles of John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson.
- A Few Good Men featuring John Cena and John "Bradshaw" Layfield playing the roles of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, with Jonathan Coachmanmaking a cameo appearance.
- Dirty Harry featuring The Undertaker playing the role of Clint Eastwood.
- When Harry Met Sally... featuring Kurt Angle and Christy Hemme playing the roles of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, with Linda McMahon making a cameo appearance.
- Molly Holly, and Michael Cole, performing their unique versions of Robert De Niro's "You talkin' to me?" line.
- Gladiator with Stone Cold Steve Austin playing the role of Russell Crowe, airing as part of the opening video for the event.
Celebrity guests in attendance for WrestleMania 21 included
Storylines
At
At
At the Royal Rumble, two months before WrestleMania,
The other interpromotional match on the card was between
Another match on the card was the
Event
Role: | Name: |
---|---|
English commentators | Jim Ross (Raw) |
Jerry Lawler (Raw) | |
Michael Cole (SmackDown!) | |
Tazz (SmackDown!)
| |
Spanish commentators | Carlos Cabrera |
Hugo Savinovich | |
Ring announcers | Tony Chimel (SmackDown!) |
Howard Finkel (Raw) | |
Referees | Nick Patrick (SmackDown!) |
Jim Korderas (SmackDown!)
| |
Brian Hebner (SmackDown!)
| |
Chad Patton (Raw) | |
Earl Hebner (Raw) | |
Mike Chioda (Raw) | |
Jack Doan (Raw) |
Pre-show
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a
Lilian Garcia performed "America the Beautiful" at the beginning of the event.[42]
Preliminary matches
The first televised match was between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. At the beginning of the match, Mysterio jumped over the top rope, knocking Guerrero down. Mysterio also attempted another aerial attack but was countered by Guerrero into a Powerbomb. Guerrero performed the Three Amigos on Mysterio and attempted a Frog splash but was unsuccessful. Following a Hurricanrana on Guerrero, Mysterio pinned Guerrero to win. After the match, both men shook hands in the ring.[1][42]
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and Orlando Jordan were then shown backstage discussing JBL's match against John Cena. Triple H and Ric Flair walked by as Triple H mocked JBL. JBL retaliated by advising Triple H to worry about losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista and assured him that Cena would be unsuccessful at defeating JBL for the WWE Championship. Triple H responded that only the end of the night would reveal who would still be champion.[1][42]
The match that followed was the first
In an interlude, Eugene came down to the ring and shared his excitement about being at his first WrestleMania with the crowd in attendance. While attempting to recall his favorite WrestleMania moments, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari interrupted him, with Hassan expressing his outrage for not being included in a match for the event. Hassan concluded that since he wasn't scheduled to compete at the event and was therefore denied the opportunity to experience his own WrestleMania "moment", he would have to create a "moment" of his own. Following this remark, Hassan and Daivari began to assault Eugene. With Eugene placed into a Camel clutch while Daivari verbally attacked him, Hulk Hogan came down to the ring, knocking Hassan and Daivari out of the ring. Hogan celebrated by posing in the ring for the crowd.[1][42]
The third match featured The Undertaker and Randy Orton. Bob Orton Jr., Randy's father, interfered and attacked Undertaker with his arm cast, resulting in Orton gaining control of the match. Undertaker attempted to chokeslam Orton, but Orton countered the maneuver with an RKO for a near-fall. Orton then attempted a Tombstone piledriver on Undertaker but it was reversed by Undertaker into a Tombstone of his own to win the match and continued his undefeated streak at WrestleMania with a 13–0 record.[1][42]
The next match was for the WWE Women's Championship, an encounter between Trish Stratus and Christy Hemme with Lita at ringside. Stratus controlled most of the match though Hemme attempted many pinning maneuvers that were unsuccessful. Hemme then executed a Twist of Fate on Stratus for a near-fall. After a roll-up attempt by both Stratus and Hemme, Stratus performed a Chick kick to win the match and retain the WWE Women's Championship.[1][42]
The fifth match was the encounter of Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. The beginning of the match saw back-and-forth action between the two. Mid-way in the match, Michaels hit Angle with a low blow, after he countered a suplex from Angle. Following the low blow, which was not seen by the referee, Michaels leapfrogged from the ring and laid out Angle on a broadcast table. Angle would then gain control of the match, as he would force Michaels to submit to the Ankle Lock to win the match. After the match, Shawn Michaels was given a standing ovation from the audience.[1][42]
The next match was between Akebono and Big Show in a Sumo match. The match was a little over a minute and Akebono won the match after he threw Big Show out of the ring.[1][42]
The next match was
Main event
The main event was
Reception
WrestleMania 21 received universally positive reviews from critics[
The match between Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels would go on to win the 2005 Pro Wrestling Illustrated match of the year award.[47] In 2019 WWE named it the fifth best WrestleMania match of all time.[48] Dave Meltzer gave the match 4 and 3/4 stars out of 5.[49] Angle himself has called it "the greatest match of all time."[50]
The Sumo match between the Big Show and Akebono was universally panned with Dave Meltzer giving it no stars, and it has frequently topped lists for worst WrestleMania matches and worst matches in overall.[51] [52][53] Reflecting on the match in 2018, Big Show said that he believed it was the "most embarrassing moment in wrestling."[54]
For the Staples Center's 10th anniversary in 2009, WrestleMania 21 was ranked number 7 on the list of greatest moments in the venue's history as voted by fans.[55][56]
Aftermath
Batista and Triple H's feud would continue to
John Cena and JBL continued to feud until
Edge would hold on to his Money in the Bank briefcase until the following year at New Year's Revolution, where he cashed in the briefcase on John Cena after Cena just competed in an Elimination Chamber match, to retain his WWE Championship.
Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle would continue their feud and face off again at Vengeance with Michaels picking up the win.
Results
No. | Results Sumo match 1:00 | | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8 | John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield (c) | Singles match for the WWE Championship | 11:25 | ||||
9 | Batista defeated Triple H (c) (with Ric Flair) | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship | 21:33 | ||||
|
- ^ The other participants were: Paul London, Heidenreich, Spike Dudley, Nunzio, Funaki, Doug Basham, Danny Basham, Orlando Jordan, Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns, Scotty 2 Hotty, Hardcore Holly, Charlie Haas, Billy Kidman, Akio, Simon Dean, William Regal, Tajiri, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Snitsky, The Hurricane, Rosey, Viscera, Rhyno, Val Venis, Tyson Tomko, and Maven.
WWE Championship #1 Contender's Tournament
The tournament to determine the number one contender for the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 21 was held between February 1 and February 20, 2005. At WrestleMania 21, John Cena defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield to become the new champion. The tournament brackets were:
Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
John Cena | Pin | |||||||||||||
Orlando Jordan | ||||||||||||||
John Cena | Pin | |||||||||||||
Booker T | ||||||||||||||
Eddie Guerrero | ||||||||||||||
Booker T | Pin | |||||||||||||
John Cena | Pin | |||||||||||||
Kurt Angle | 19:21 | |||||||||||||
The Undertaker | DCO | |||||||||||||
René Duprée | DCO | |||||||||||||
--- | ||||||||||||||
Kurt Angle | ||||||||||||||
Rey Mysterio | ||||||||||||||
Kurt Angle | Sub |
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