WrestleMania XXV

WrestleMania XXV
WrestleMania XXV
Tagline(s)	Everything Is Bigger in Texas, Especially WrestleMania; The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania (in late-2008)
Theme; song(s)	"Shoot to Thrill" (Live) and "War Machine" by AC/DC
Information
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)	Raw; SmackDown; ECW
Date	April 5, 2009
Attendance	72,744
Venue	Reliant Stadium
City	Houston, Texas
Pay-per-view chronology
WrestleMania chronology

WrestleMania XXV (or The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania or WrestleMania 25), was the twenty-fifth yearly WrestleMania professional wrestling Pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment and took place on April 5, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.^[2]^[3] It was the second WrestleMania held in the state of Texas, with the first being WrestleMania X-Seven, at the Reliant Astrodome, also in Houston, which was held in 2001. The tagline for the event was "Everything is bigger in Texas, especially WrestleMania." "Cowboy" by Kid Rock was used in the first promotional advertisement for the event.^[3] While WWE calls it the 25th Anniversary, it is only the 24th anniversary as WrestleMania I cannot be an anniversary of itself.

Production

It was announced on January 30, 2009 that "War Machine" and "Shoot to Thrill", both by AC/DC, would be the theme songs for WrestleMania.^[1]

Background

Since 1993, the winner of the yearly Royal Rumble match at the event of the PPV has won the opportunity to wrestle for a World Championship at WrestleMania.^[4] The only Royal Rumble winners since 1993 that did not wrestle for a championship at WrestleMania are Steve Austin in 1997,^[5]^[6] and Vince McMahon in 1999.^[7]^[8] Randy Orton won the match in 2009 and will wrestle for a championship at WrestleMania XXV.^[9]

On the February 16 edition of Raw, Shawn Michaels challenged John "Bradshaw" Layfield to a match the following week for the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.^[10] Shawn won this match but was then forced to face Vladimir Kozlov for the right to face Undertaker at WrestleMania.^[11] Shawn won this match and will face The Undertaker at WrestleMania.

Money in the Bank (MITB) qualifying matches started on the February 23, 2009 edition of Raw with a triple threat match CM Punk versus John Morrison versus The Miz. CM Punk won the match and is the first of eight men to be added to the Money in the Bank ladder match.^[11] The following week on Raw, another triple threat match between Rey Mysterio, Kane and Mike Knox with the winner of this match qualifying for (winning his way into) the MITB ladder match. Kane won this match and as a result will be in the ladder match.

Results

#	Matches	Stipulations	Time^[12]
Dark	The Colóns (Carlito and Primo) beat John Morrison and The Miz^[a]^[13]	Lumberjack match to unify the WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championship	N/A
1	CM Punk beat Kane, Mark Henry (with Tony Atlas), Montel Vontavious Porter, Shelton Benjamin, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Finlay (with Hornswoggle)^[14]	Money in the Bank ladder match	14:25
2	Santina Marella^[15] beat 24 current and former WWE Divas, last eliminating Beth Phoenix and Melina.^[b]^[16]	25-Diva battle royal to crown "Miss WrestleMania"	06:08
3	Chris Jericho beat Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka (with Ric Flair)^[17]	Handicap elimination match	08:57
4	Matt Hardy beat Jeff Hardy^[18]	Extreme Rules match (hardcore match)	13:14
5	Rey Mysterio beat John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) ^[19]	Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship	00:21
6	The Undertaker beat Shawn Michaels^[20]	Singles match	30:42
7	John Cena beat Edge (c) and The Big Show^[21]	Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship	14:44
8	Triple H (c) beat Randy Orton^[22]	Singles match for the WWE Championship	23:34

WrestleMania XXV Media

Pyrotechnics from the WrestleMania 25 entrance set, in front of an attendance of 72,744 fans
John Cena, seen here making his entrance at WrestleMania 25, challenged Edge and Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship.
Brothers Jeff (left) and Matt Hardy (right) engaged in a rivalry before WrestleMania.
Ric Flair with Mickey Rourke at WrestleMania 25
Wrestlers fighting on the ladder as part of the Money in the Bank ladder match
Kid Rock (center) performed while Divas made their way to the ring for a battle royal.
Rey Mysterio, dressed as The Joker for WrestleMania, faced JBL for the Intercontinental Championship.
The Undertaker, after defeating Shawn Michaels to extend his undefeated WrestleMania streak to 17–0
Triple H after retaining the WWE Championship against Randy Orton