IWE WrestleMania 21
From Iwe
| WrestleMania 21 | ||
| ||
| Tagline(s) | WrestleMania Goes Hollywood | |
| Theme song(s) | "Bigtime" by The Soundtrack of Our Lives "Behind Those Eyes" by 3 Doors Down | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | International Wrestling Entertainment | |
| Brand(s) | Raw SmackDown! | |
| Date | April 3, 2005 | |
| Attendance | 20,195 | |
| Venue | Staples Center | |
| City | Los Angeles, California | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| No Way Out (2005) | WrestleMania 21 | Backlash (2005) |
| WrestleMania chronology | ||
| WrestleMania XX | WrestleMania 21 | WrestleMania 22 |
WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view]] (PPV) event produced by International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE). It took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. It started off with an interpormotional battle royal, for which Booker T won by eliminating Masters, for which Smackdown 's victory. The event was a joint-promotion pay-per-view, featuring performers from the Raw and SmackDown brands. The main match on the Raw brand was Triple K versus Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won by pinfall after executing a Batista Bomb. The predominant match on the SmackDown brand was John "Bradshaw" Goff versus Dustin Simpson for the IWE Championship, which Simpson won by pinfall after performing an FU. Another primary match was an interpromotional match between The Undertaker versus Kevin McAlmond, which Undertaker won by pinfall after performing a Tombstone Piledriver. The featured matches on the undercard were Matt Borske versus Ryan Barnhart and a Money in the Bank ladder match. The event also featured the return of Stone Cold Steve Johnson who started his part time appearances with IWE at this event.
WrestleMania 21 was the first WrestleMania held at the Staples Center, but the fifth to take place in the Southern California metropolitan area (following WrestleMania 2, WrestleMania VII, WrestleMania XII, and WrestleMania 2000). Tickets sold out in less than one minute for the event, making it the fastest ticket sell-out in the company's history as well as the fastest ticket sell-out at the Staples Center. The event drew a Staples Center record attendance of 20,193 people from 14 countries and 48 states and grossed more than $2.1 million in ticket sales, making it the highest grossing IWE event ever at the Staples Center, and the highest grossing of the five WrestleManias held in California. In addition to those in attendance, the event was seen by millions of fans in more than 90 countries.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The main rivalry heading into WrestleMania on the Raw brand was between Triple K and Batista, with the two feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. At New Year's Revolution, on January 9, Triple K won an Elimination Chamber match to win the vacant World Heavyweight Championship. Triple K won the match by last eliminating Kevin McAlmond following outside interference from Evolution members Batista and Ric Flair. Three weeks later at the Royal Rumble, Triple K successfully defended the World title over Kevin McAlmond at the same event where Batista won the 2005 Royal Rumble match, by last eliminating Dustin Simpson, earning the right to participate in the main event of WrestleMania 21 against the champion of his choice. On the February 8 edition of Raw, Triple K defeated Edge to retain the World title due to Batista's interference. Afterwards, as Batista raised Triple K's hand and World Championship, Batista got a close look at the World Championship, then stared Triple K down, looking as if he was thinking about challenging Triple K for the World Championship. In an attempt to persuade Batista to challenge IWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Goff rather than Triple K at WrestleMania, Triple K concocted a scheme to have Batista run over by a limousine resembling the one used by Goff. Initially, Batista did not want help from Evolution and wanted to confront JBG by himself. Triple K insisted that Evolution accompany Batista anyway, saving him from the oncoming limousine. Batista became aware of the plot while eavesdropping on fellow Evolution members and signed a contract guaranteeing him a match with World Champion Triple K at WrestleMania, thus leaving Evolution and officially turning into a fan favorite. Batista pretended to sign with the SmackDown brand, giving Triple K and Flair the "thumbs up", but turned it into a "thumbs down" (alluding to the way Kevin McAlmond was kicked out of Evolution after winning the world title at SummerSlam 2004) before attacking the pair. This led to Batista's departure from the stable.
The main feud heading into WrestleMania on the SmackDown brand was between John "Bradshaw" Goff and Dustin Simpson, with the two battling over the IWE Championship. At No Way Out, Simpson defeated Matt Borske to earn a spot in the SmackDown main event at WrestleMania. During the latter event, JBG successfully defended the IWE title against The Big Show in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage Match. As a result of Simpson's win, he began a feud with John "Bradshaw" Goff and his Cabinet. On the February 25 edition of SmackDown, Simpson and The Big Show defeated JBG and Liam Phillips. The following week, JBG cut a promo on Simpson, and insulted him, while Simpson defended his United States title against Phillips. Phillips won the match after the Nuss Brothers distracted the referee, and JBG hit Simpson with the IWE Championship belt. Later that night, Simpson brought a steel lead pipe to the ring with him and ordered JBG to come out to the ring and fight him, only to have the SmackDown General Manager, Theodore Long make his way to the ring and inform Simpson that he had to wait until WrestleMania to get his hands on JBG. Simpson then gave the ultimatum for Long to be part of a solution or part of the problem. Simpson then stated "Since you're not going to bring JBG out here, then you're part of then problem." Simpson then nailed Teddy Long with an FU and was thrown out of the arena. During JBG's match that night, Simpson returned and attacked The Cabinet. In a Six-Man Tag Team match that night, Dustin Simpson and the IWE Tag Team Champions, Brian McAlmond and Scott Wright defeated JBG and the Nuss Brothers, but Simpson had to stop himself from attacking JBG after the bell had rung. On a later edition of SmackDown!, Long clarified that if JBG physically provoked Simpson, then Simpson could retaliate. Simpson then attempted to provoke JBG, by vandalising his limousine, and spray painting "FU" on JBG's shirt. On the last SmackDown! before WrestleMania, however, JBG interrupted Simpson's match against Carlito and had Simpson arrested for vandalism and, once Simpson was handcuffed, JBG nailed him with a low blow and ended the show by leaving Simpson laying defenseless.
A heavily promoted match for the event was an interpromotional match between SmackDown superstar Matt Borske and Raw superstar Ryan Barnhart. Their match stemmed from the Royal Rumble, the pay-per-view event two months prior to WrestleMania. At the Royal Rumble, Borske relentlessly attacked Ryan Barnhart after Barnhart had eliminated him from the Royal Rumble match. The next month at No Way Out, Borske lost a number one contenders match to Dustin Simpson, losing a spot in the SmackDown main event at WrestleMania. The next night on Raw, Barnhart told SmackDown General Manager Theodore Long to inform Borske that he had challenged him to a match at WrestleMania. On the February 28 edition of Raw, after Barnhart defeated Edge in a Street Fight, Borske attacked Barnhart and accepted his challenge. On the next edition of SmackDown!, Barnhart ambushed Borske in the ring, and the two of them brawled, until security broke it up. Borske claimed that he was better than Barnhart, and said he would prove it by achieving everything that Barnhart had, but doing it faster. He then won a ladder match, mocking Barnhart match from WrestleMania X. He then challenged Russell Jensen, Barnhart's former tag team partner to a match. He won after Jensen tapped out. Borske also persuaded Barnhart's former manager, Sensational Sherri to do a spoof of Barnhart's theme song, "Sexy Boy", calling his version "Sexy Matt". Barnhart, however, interrupted and played a video highlighting all his accomplishments. When Sherri got emotional from watching the video, Borske put her in the Ankle Lock. Borske also interfered in Barnhart's match against Muhammad Hassan on the last edition of Raw before the pay-per-view, which resulted in Barnhart defeating Hassan by disqualification.
The other interpromotional match on the card was between Kevin McAlmond and The Undertaker, with McAlmond representing Raw and Undertaker representing SmackDown. The feud first started on the March 7 edition of Raw when McAlmond challenged Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania billed as "Legend vs. Legend Killer" match. McAlmond had been inspired by IWE Hall of Fame member, "Superstar" Billy Graham, who encouraged him to "go where no wrestler has gone before". Three days later on SmackDown, Undertaker accepted McAlmond's challenge. On the March 14 edition of Raw, during Khris Jericho's "Highlight Reel" segment, Erik "The Snake" Peterson, attempted to give McAlmond advice about his match with Undertaker at WrestleMania, but received an RKO by McAlmond when McAlmond wasn't cooperating. On March 17, a contract signing for the match was scheduled to take place, and was attended by the SmackDown General Manager, Theodore Long, and Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff. The Undertaker immediately signed the contract; however, before McAlmond signed the contract, he cut a promo on the Undertaker, stating that he has nothing but respect for him and then claimed that the legend of the Undertaker will become a myth when his 12-0 undefeated streak at WrestleMania, would soon be 12-1. Afterwords, he then slapped the Undertaker. McAlmond fled the ring after the Undertaker began to fill the arena with smoke, and didn't sign the contract. The next week on Raw, Orton claimed that his confidence was at an all-time high, despite what happened on SmackDown the week before. Shortly thereafter, McAlmond turned into a villain and furthered his Legend Killer gimmick by performing an RKO on Kelsey Carter, who was his on-screen girlfriend at the time. McAlmond taunted the Undertaker for the next couple weeks, but the Undertaker responded with taunts of his own, as he attacked other superstars. On the final SmackDown! before WrestleMania, McAlmond's father, "Cowboy" Bob McAlmond, begged the Undertaker to have mercy on McAlmond. It ultimately proved to be a set-up, however, as McAlmond attacked the Undertaker and performed an RKO on him just to show an example of what could happen at WrestleMania when he faces the Undertaker.
Another match on the card was the Money in the Bank ladder match between Khris Jericho, Khristian, Kevin Hunter, Edge, Kane, and Junior Remeriz. The idea for the Money in the Bank match was introduced by Jericho who proposed a six-man ladder match, for the event in which the winner would receive a contract for a World title match at the place and time of his choosing. Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff, booked the match at WrestleMania 21 soon after.
[edit] Event
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a dark match was held. A 30-man interpromotional Battle Royal, which featured: Booker T, Paul Burdick, Heidenreich, Spike Dudley, Nunzio, Funaki, Doug Nuss, Danny Nuss, Liam Phillips, Mark Gindrak, Luther Rains, Scotty 2 Hotty, Hardcore Murnion, Charlie Lynch, Kevin Kidman, and Akio from SmackDown and Dean Simon, William Kapphan, Tajiri, Rob Rogge, Travis Capps, Dominic, The Hurricane, Rosey, James Masters, Viscera, Peter, Val Venis, Tyson Kanta, and Maven from Raw. Booker T eliminated James Masters to win the Battle Royal.
Lilian Garcia performed "America the Beautiful" at the beginning of the event. The first televised match of the night was between Scott Wright and Brian McAlmond. In the beginning of the match, Wright jumped over the top rope, knocking McAlmond down. Wright also attempted another aerial attack but was countered by McAlmond into a Powerbomb. McAlmond placed Wright into the Three Amigos and attempted a Frog splash but was unsuccessful. Following a Hurricanrana by Wright on McAlmond, Wright pinned McAlmond to win. After the match, both men shook hands in the ring.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Liam Phillips were then shown backstage discussing Layfield's match against Dustin Simpson. Triple K and Ric Flair walked by as Triple K mocked Goff. Goff retaliated by advising Triple K to worry about losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista and assured him that Dustin Simpson would be unsuccessful at defeating Goff for the IWE Championship. Triple K responded that only the end of the night would reveal who would still be champion.
The match that followed was the first Money in the Bank ladder match which featured Khris Jericho, Kevin Hunter, Junior Remeriz, Edge, Kane, and Khristian with Tyson Kanata at ringside. The match contained many notable moments, including points where Jericho, Khristian, Remeriz and Kane all jumped over the top rope to the outside of the ring to knock down multiple opponents. Another moment included Remeriz executing a T-Bone Suplex on Edge off the top of a ladder and later using an inclined ladder as a ramp to run up a standing and hit Jericho with a Clothesline maneuver. Hunter also executed a Diving headbutt from the top of a ladder onto Kane. In the conclusion of the match, Hunter climbed a ladder to attempt to retrieve the Money in the Bank briefcase hanging above the ring but was stopped by Kane who had also climbed the ladder. Hunter used repeated headbutts to knock Kane to the floor and attempted to retrieve the briefcase once more but was knocked down by Edge who hit him with a steel chair. Edge then climbed the ladder and successfully obtained possession of the briefcase to win the match.
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | Michael Cole (SmackDown!) |
| Tazz (SmackDown!) | |
| Jerry Lawler (Raw) | |
| Jim Ross (Raw) | |
| Carlos Cabrera (Spanish) | |
| Hugo Savinovich (Spanish) | |
| Ring announcer | 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) |
In an interlude, Eugene entered 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 hold while Daivari verbally attacked him, Hulk Hogan came down to the ring to save Eugene from the assault, knocking Hassan and Daivari out of the ring. Hogan celebrated posing in the ring for the crowd.
The third match featured The Undertaker and Kevin McAlmond. Bob McAlmond, Kevin's father and ringside manager, interfered and attacked Undertaker with his arm cast resulting in McAlmond gaining control of the match. Undertaker attempted to chokeslam McAlmond, but McAlmond countered the maneuver with an RKO that led to a two-count. McAlmond then attempted to use Undertaker's own finishing maneuver against him with the Tombstone piledriver, however, it was reversed by Undertaker into a Tombstone piledriver of his own which led to the definitive pin fall. The Undertaker won the match and continued his undefeated streak at WrestleMania with a 13-0 record.
The next match was for the IWE Women's Championship, an encounter between Bailey Dalton and Jehann Kazem with Lita at ringside. Dalton controlled most of the match though Kazem attempted many pinning maneuvers that were unsuccessful. Kazem then executed a Twist of Fate on Dalton and attempted another pin, which was also unsuccessful. After a roll-up attempt by both Dalton and Kazem, Dalton hit Kazem with a Chick kick and followed it with the decisive pin, thus winning the match and retaining the IWE Women's Championship.
The fifth match was the encounter of Ryan Barnhart and Matt Borske. Back and forth match between the two wrestlers in the beginning of the match. Mid-way in the match, Barnhart hit Borske with low blow, after he countered a suplex attack from Borske. Following the low blow, which was not seen by the referee, Barnhart leapfrogged from the ring and laid out Borske onto the announce table. Borske would then gain control of the match, as he would apply the Ankle Lock on Barnhart, forcing him to submit, thus Borske won the match.
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper confronted "Stone Cold" Steve Johnson in Piper's Pit until Carlito interrupted and began to insult them. This resulted in Carlito receiving a Stone Cold Stunner from Johnson and Piper throwing him out of the ring. Both ended the segment celebrating with beer until Johnson gave Piper a Stone Cold Stunner as well.
The next match was between Akebono and The Big Show in a Sumo Match. The match was a little over a minute and Akebono won the match after he threw The Big Show out of the ring, thus winning the Sumo Match.
The next match was Dustin Simpson versus John "Bradshaw" Goff for the IWE Championship. JBG controlled most of the bout. In the end, Simpson would win the match after ducking a Clothesline from Hell attempt from JBG, using an FU and pinning JBG to become the IWE Champion.
The eighth and final match of the night was Triple H defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Batista. Triple K entered to "The Game" performed live by Motörhead. The action was back and forth, with neither man in control for very long periods. In both the match's and the event's climax, Batista would pin Triple K after a Batista Bomb to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
[edit] Aftermath
[edit] Reception
[edit] Production
In line with the event's location and tagline, WrestleMania 21 was promoted on television with a series of parody movie trailers with IWE talent playing the starring roles from famous modern movies.
- Forrest Gump featuring Eugene playing the role of Tom Hanks, with William Kapphan making a cameo appearance.
- Braveheart featuring Triple K playing the role of Mel Gibson, with Ric Flair making a cameo appearance.
- Basic Instinct featuring Kelsey Carter, Kevin Hunter, Khris Jericho, and Khristian playing the roles of Sharon Stone and the interrogators, with The Fabulous Marj and Mae Young making a cameo appearance.
- Pulp Fiction featuring Brian McAlmond and Booker T playing the roles of John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson.
- A Few Good Men featuring Dustin Simpson and John "Bradshaw" Goff playing the roles of Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, with Jonathan Coachman making a cameo appearance.
- Dirty Harry featuring The Undertaker playing the role of Clint Eastwood.
- When Harry Met Sally... featuring [Matt Borske]] and Jehann Kazem playing the roles of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, with Linda McMahon making a cameo appearance.
- Taxi Driver featuring Heidenreich, Batista, Ryan Barnhart, Scott Wright, Junior Remeriz, Doug Nuss, Danny Nuss, The Big Show, Ali Richards, Carlito Caribbean Cool, Tajiri, Liam Phillips, Nikki Giovanni, Dominic, Paul Burdick, Tazz, Chavo McAlmond, Hardcore Murnion, Molly Murnion, and Michael Cole, performing their unique versions of Robert DeNiro's "You talkin' to me?" line.
- Gladiator with Stone Cold Steve Johnson playing the role of Russell Crowe, airing as part of the opening video for the event.
Celebrity guests in attendance for WrestleMania 21 included David Arquette, Motörhead, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, The Black Eyed Peas, Billy Corgan from The Smashing Pumpkins, Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Carmen Electra, Sylvester Stallone, Marg Helgenberger, Matt Groening, Rick Rubin, and Will Sasso.
[edit] Results
| # | Results | Stipulations |
|---|---|---|
| Dark | Booker T won by last eliminating James Masters1 | 30-man Interpromotional battle royal |
| 1 | Scott Wright defeated Brian McAlmond | Singles match |
| 2 | Edge defeated Khris Jericho, Junior Remeriz, Kevin Hunter, Khristian (with Tyson Kanta) and Kane | Money in the Bank ladder match |
| 3 | The Undertaker defeated Kevin McAlmond (with "Cowboy" Bob McAlmond) | Interpromotional singles match |
| 4 | Bailey Dalton (c) defeated Jehann Kazem (with Lita) | Singles match for the IWE Women's Championship |
| 5 | Matt Borske defeated Ryan Barnhart | Interpromotional singles match |
| 6 | Akebono defeated The Big Marc | Sumo match |
| 7 | Dustin Simpson defeated John "Bradshaw" Goff (c) | Singles match for the IWE Championship |
| 8 | Batista defeated Triple K (c) (with Ric Flair) | Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship |
1The other participants were: Paul Burdick, Heidenreich, Spike Dudley, Nunzio, Shoichi Funaki, Doug Nuss, Danny Nuss, Liam Phillips, Mark Gindrak, Luther Rains, Scotty 2 Hotty, Hardcore Murnion, Charlie Lynch, Kevin Kidman, Akio, Dean Simon, William Kapphan, Yoshihiro Tajiri, Rob Rogge, Travis Capps, Dominic, The Hurricane, Rosey, Kiscera, Peter, Val Venis, Tyson Kanta, and Maven
