13. WrestleMania XXV
This show kicks off a string of one-match WrestleMania cards on this list, with probably the greatest match to take place in a WWE ring over the past ten years. Or was it the second greatest? The debate over which Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker WrestleMania match reigns supreme is a tough one, largely because I don’t think it matters – they’re both absolutely incredible.
WWE tried to stack the card for the big “25th Anniversary” event, with ultimately mixed results…
-CM Punk won the annual Money in the Bank ladder match, but his contribution to the bout was forgettable and it ended up being one of the weaker attempts of the five that had been offered up to that point.
-Santina Marella won a Divas battle royale that basically gave the impression that the company cared more about a comedy jobber dressed in drag than they did the entire women’s roster, which included names like Beth Phoenix, Eve Torres, Melina, Michelle McCool, Victoria and Torrie Wilson, to name a few.
-Chris Jericho fought three legends because Mickey Rourke pulled out – I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. On the plus side, it proved Ricky Steamboat was still better as an old man than 95% of the modern roster. On the down side, Jimmy Snuka was also there.
-Rey Mysterio beat JBL in 20 seconds. Yeah.
-The main event of Randy Orton vs. Triple H for the WWE Championship, after one of the best stories and build-ups the upper card had seen in years, under-performed drastically.
HBK vs. Undertaker was really the high point of the card, but Matt and Jeff Hardy put on an underrated sibling vs. sibling “Extreme Rules” match. John Cena’s triple threat against Big Show and Edge was fun, but had the unfortunate positioning of following the Undertaker match.
