The Shimmy 08.25.08: WrestleMania XXV Report (Part One)

Yes sir, we promised you a great evening…ANDRE THE GIANT…WRESTLEMANIA…Hulkamania is running wild….Rest in peace…If ya smellllll…You’re FIRED…Gimme a hell yeah…It’s not over…The world is watching!

WWE FREE-FOR-ALL

Hello, everyone, and welcome to WWE Free-For-All, I am your host Jack Korpella and we are just thirty minutes away from the biggest sports entertainment spectacle of all time, WrestleMania XXV; everything is bigger in Texas, even WrestleMania. WrestleMania has been around for a quarter of a century and this year’s show is shaping up to be the best ever, coming to you live from Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. If you haven’t ordered the show yet there is still time to call your pay-per-view provider right now to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the incredible action.

Five championships will be decided tonight at WrestleMania, among them will be the World Tag Team Championship. The English duo of William Regal & Paul Birchill have dominated the Raw tag team scene ever since winning the World Tag Team Titles from Cryme Back back in January. In fact, they have been so dominant on Raw that Raw General Manager Mike Adamle put out an open challenge to any team from SmackDown or ECW to challenge Regal & Birchill for the titles at WrestleMania. Who should answer the call but none other than the ECW team of the man that loves to fight, Finlay, and his son, Hornswoggle. Will the two extreme superstars become the first father-son duo to win tag team gold in WWE or will the World Tag Team Champions be able to retain their titles once again?

The Tag Team Title Match is not the only Interpromotional bout set for the evening. One year ago SmackDown came out on the winning end of a Raw vs. SmackDown challenge match, proving that they were the dominant brand. This year SmackDown is answering the challenge of ECW, a challenge made by the “World’s Strongest Man” Mark Henry and his manager Tony Atlas. SmackDown’s representative is no stranger to such challenges as he is the “Samoan Bulldozer” Umaga. This should be a classic case of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. Which one of these behemoths will budge in this showdown for brand pride?

SmackDown and ECW are not the only places for dominating big men. Over on Raw the “Big Red Monster” Kane has been on a rampage ever since being drafted to the Raw brand back in June of last year. Ever since he has been on a quest for both championship gold and opportunities to severely hurt his opponents. Tonight at WrestleMania he will have the chance to scratch both of those objectives off his list as he challenges Santino Marella for the Intercontinental Title. Santino has had a shocking run with the Intercontinental Championship, holding the title for seven months, but some think he may have bit off a bit more than even he can chew after having a few choice words for Kane on Santino’s Casa. Will Santino be able to continue his remarkable run as Intercontinental Champion or will Kane win championship gold for the second straight WrestleMania?

Speaking of championship gold, wouldn’t it be great if a superstar had a chance at any championship they wanted any time they wanted at any place they wanted? Well that opportunity will be given to the winner of the annual Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Eight superstars will compete in a grueling Ladder Match to win the coveted Money in the Bank briefcase that contains a guaranteed World Title shot that is good for up to one year. In the past we have seen superstars go to extreme lengths to secure this golden opportunity, and why not; every person that has cashed in the Money in the Bank has won a World Title. Last year’s winner CM Punk can attest to that and he will try and become the first ever two time Money in the Bank Ladder Match winner. The man that came up with the Money in the Bank concept, Chris Jericho, will also be in this year’s event. Is this the year Jericho finally wins the match he created? SmackDown’s “Ballin’ Superstar” MVP will be in the match as well and he has guaranteed a victory here tonight at WrestleMania. And who can forget the classic Money in the Bank moments brought to us all by the “Gold Standard” Shelton Benjamin, who will be competing in his fourth Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Also joining these four men are the likes of the “Caribbean Superstar” Carlito, the “Sun Tanned Superman” R-Truth, and of course the seven foot, 420 lb. monster the Big Show. Big Show is the largest competitor to ever wrestle in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match, could this be his night? And as an added wildcard the eighth participant in the match will not even be determined until moments before WrestleMania goes on the air in a huge 25 Man Battle Royal. This match has Match of the Year written all over it and you will not want to miss a second.

One of the championships the Money in the Bank winner could conceivably cash their contract in on is the ECW Title, currently held by Matt Hardy. Hardy finally realized his dream and won the ECW Championship back at the Royal Rumble in January and he has been a fighting champion ever since. He may be in for more than he bargained for, however, as he deals with not one but two challengers as he takes on the proprietors of the Dirt Sheet, John Morrison and The Miz in a Triple Threat Match. The former WWE Tag Team Champions scored dual pinfalls in a No. 1 Contender’s Fatal Four-Way Match, pinning both Finlay and Evan Bourne to advance to WrestleMania. Ever since things have not gone well for the tag team, as each man wants to stake his claim to the ECW Title. Will Matt Hardy be able to fend off the longest reigning WWE Tag Team Champions in recent history, or will we see a new ECW Champion crowned in either the Shaman of Sexy or the Chick Magnet?

From extreme superstars let’s go to extremely hot women. Current Playboy covergirl and WWE diva Kelly Kelly has received all kinds of attention since her smoking hot pictorial came out earlier in the month, but not all of it has been good. Reigning Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix and reigning Diva’s Champion Natalya have not been to crazy about the bubbly blondes newfound fame. That is why the two champions will team together to take on Kelly Kelly and her good friend Mickie James in BunnyMania II. Divas from Raw, SmackDown, and ECW will all surround ringside as lumberjacks, keeping the action inside the ring. But it gets even better as the special guest referee for the match will be none other than legendary diva and former seven time Women’s Champion, Trish Stratus. Trish is returning to WWE for one night only to keep law in order in what should be a very chaotic atmosphere.

And now for the match that could very well steal the show, a match between two legends in this business, Shawn Michaels vs. Undertaker. This is a dream match between two of the greatest competitors to ever step foot inside the squared circle, and it is a rivalry that goes back years. After being eliminated in this year’s Royal Rumble by the Undertaker, HBK called out the Deadman for seemingly always being in his way to WrestleMania. Michaels sighted the Undertaker taking his main event slot at WrestleMania 13 when he was forced to give up the title due to an injury, the fact that the Undertaker injured his back prior to his WrestleMania XIV showdown with Stone Cold Steve Austin, stealing the spotlight for a potential comeback back at WrestleMania X-Seven in Houston, eliminating Shawn from the 2007 Royal Rumble Match, and finally eliminating him again during this year’s Royal Rumble. The Undertaker responded to these accusations the only way he knows how: with a chokeslam. This angered the Heartbreak Kid so much that he interfered during the Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out, costing the Undertaker a shot at the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. To solve their issues HBK challenged the Deadman to match at WrestleMania XXV pitting Mr. WrestleMania vs. the man that is undefeated at WrestleMania. A year ago Shawn Michaels ended the career of the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, this year Michaels claims that he will end the undefeated streak of the Undertaker. Will the Showstopper be able to stop the Undertaker’s show or will the Phenom go 17-0 at WrestleMania?

Both Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker will no doubt one day be enshrined in the WWE Hall of Fame, which brings me to this year’s class of Hall of Fame inductees: legendary Houston wrestling promoter Paul Boesche; the “Texas Tornado” Kerry Von Erich; Four Horseman member Tully Blanchard; one of the greatest factions of all time, Michael “P.S.” Hayes, Buddy Roberts, Jimmy Garvin, and the late Terry Gordy, The Fabulous Freebirds; perhaps the greatest brother duo of all time, Terry & Dory Jr., the Funks; and of course the “Texas Rattlesnake” Stone Cold Steve Austin. WrestleMania weekend is always a special time as it relates to the Hall of Fame, and this great class will be recognized tonight on pay-per-view.

Speaking of the “Texas Rattlesnake,” you won’t only be seeing him as a Hall of Fame inductee tonight, as he returns to his home state of Texas to compete at WrestleMania for the first time in six years. Austin shocked the world when he returned to a WWE ring during the 2009 Royal Rumble, eliminating a slew of supertstars only to be taken out by “The Game” Triple H. Austin and The Game have had a storied past, but at the time nothing came of it despite an intense face off on Friday Night SmackDown. It wasn’t until Austin got in the business of the undefeated Floyd “Money” Mayweather that things got really shaky.

Mayweather made his first appearance at a WWE event since WrestleMania XXIV back at the Royal Rumble, supposedly there to see his friend Rey Mysterio. But the next night on Raw Mayweather layed Mysterio out with a brutal shot to the jaw. It was that night that Mayweather and Austin first locked eyes, passing by one another in the backstage area. It wasn’t until Mayweather walked out of his scheduled match against Rey Mysterio at No Way Out that Austin would become physically involved, saving Mysterio from a beatdown by Mayweather’s posse. The next night on Raw Austin and Mayweather had a heated in ring confrontation that ended with Austin & Mysterio both battling against Mayweather’s posse once again. The duo laid out a challenge to “Money” Mayweather: find a partner and meet them at WrestleMania. The undefeated former boxer appeared on Raw, ECW, and SmackDown in search of a tag team partner, but it seemed as if Mayweather’s attitude had alienated the entire WWE locker room. It seemed as if Mayweather arrived to a SmackDown arena to concede that he could not find a partner, a situation that both Rey Mysterio and Triple H would poke fun at. Unfortunately for Mysterio, the fun would end there and Triple H turned on the masked superstar and aligned himself with Mayweather, proving that money really can buy you anything. Since then Triple H has tirelessly trained Mayweather in the ways of the wrestling ring, and tonight the two mega tag team of Triple H & Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Rey Mysterio & Stone Cold Steve Austin will clash. Which team will emerge victorious in this Texas sized tag team showdown?

Another thing that has certainly been Texas sized is the rivalry between John Cena and Batista. Their rivalry has actually been almost seven years in the making, but things really heated up when Batista was drafted to Monday Night Raw last June. The two men met in a colossal showdown at SummerSlam with “The Animal” scoring the victory. Then, in October the fans decided that they wanted to see these two go at it one more time, and at Cyber Sunday John Cena evened the score to one a piece. Now, thanks to heavy demand, John Cena and Batista will at long last find out who the better man is. Four years after they both won their first World Titles, John Cena and Batista will square off in their rubber match in what should be an epic encounter. We have seen two classic matches and numerous pull apart brawls between these two men, and this match promises to be the best one yet. It’s Cena-Batista III, only at WrestleMania XXV.

And what would WrestleMania be without some classic World Championship matches? This year we have two such matches. First from SmackDown, it’s a match that has been almost two years in the making, the “Rated R Superstar” Edge going one-on-one with Mr. Kennedy. Two years ago Mr. Kennedy was on top of the world having just won the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 23. However, he would lose that Money in the Bank opportunity in a match against Edge, and Edge would go on to win the championship and dominate SmackDown ever since. Since that time Mr. Kennedy has been dying for some payback and tonight he just might get it. After finally regaining the WWE Championship late last year, Edge has been ducking Mr. Kennedy every chance he has had. After Mr. Kennedy won the Elimination Chamber Match at No Way Out, however, there was no way that Edge could avoid the loud mouthed superstar any longer. Mr. Kennedy has said that it is his destiny to win the WWE Championship but will he be able to back it up? Tonight it’s Edge vs. Kennedy in an explosive main event for the WWE Championship.

And finally we have our second major championship match pitting World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton against the likes of the “Charismatic Enigma” and 2009 Royal Rumble winner Jeff Hardy. Jeff Hardy shocked the world with his thrilling Royal Rumble victory back in January and he had the option to face any World Champion he wanted at WrestleMania. Would he choose Edge and the WWE Title on his home brand of SmackDown? Or maybe he would go face to face with his own brother Matt for the ECW Title? Ultimately it came down to the “Legend Killer” as Hardy looked to prove that he can indeed defeat Orton and take his World Heavyweight Championship. In the weeks leading up to WrestleMania Orton has needled Jeff Hardy, attempting to get in his challenger’s head by telling him flat out, “You’re not good enough to beat me.” Jeff Hardy has been criticized for being too careless and crazy in his big matches in the past, will that free spirited attitude cost Hardy the biggest match of his career? Or will Jeff Hardy finally silence the critics and walk away from WrestleMania XXV as the new World Heavyweight Champion?

So many questions and so many great matches and moments just minutes away, only on pay-per-view. WWE is celebrating 25 great years of WrestleMania by putting on a show like no other. Trust me you will not want to miss this. Well that about wraps things up for WWE Free-for-All, I’m your host Jack Korpella, and I’ll see you at WrestleMania.

Exclusively on WWE.com

30-Man Pre-Show Battle Royal for a Place in Money in the Bank
Participants: The Great Khali, Chavo Guerrero, Bam Neely, Big Daddy V, D’Lo Brown, Super Crazy, Hardcore Holly, Kofi Kingston, Mike Knox, Tommy Dreamer, Colin Delaney, Curt Hawkins, Zach Ryder, Jesse, Festus, Jimmy Wang Yang, Shannon Moore, Val Venis, Chuck Palumbo, Evan Bourne, Brian Kendrick, DH Smith, Jamie Noble, Matt Striker, Lance Cade, JTG, Shad, Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase and Vladmir Kozlov

It’s a chaotic start, as you’d expect with all the bodies in the ring. Kendrick gets thrown out early but Ezekiel catches him and throws him back in. Khali and Big Daddy V dominate early. Khali sits Super Crazy on the top rope and chops him all the way to the floor. Big Daddy V press slams Jamie Noble out to the floor, then hits Jesse and Festus with a double clothesline. Moore and Wang Yang try to chop Khali down with kicks, but he grabs them both by the head and just forces them over the top. Dreamer fires off on Khali with rights, but he gets tossed too. Khali and Big Daddy V stare down now as all the other remaining participants watch in awe. Suddenly, everyone attacks the two big men with kicks and right hands and beat them to their knees, but Khali explodes with fists and elbows to send all of his attackers down. Khali then picks off V’s attackers one-by-one, and then tosses Big Daddy V! Khali talks trash so about a dozen superstars get behind him and tosses him out! Chuck Palumbo grabs Kendrick and tosses him out again, but Ezekiel catches him once more, only until Festus back drops Colin Delaney out on top of them, and Kendrick and Delaney are gone. Palumbo charges at Evan Bourne but gets low-bridged and falls to the floor. Cryme Tyme brawl with Hawkins and Ryder, but Bam Neely drills them from behind. Shad and Neely slug it out, but Shad scoops Neely up and dumps him out. DH Smith charges into a boot from D’Lo, who hops up to the top rope and hits the Frog Splash! Mike Knox tries to toss him out but Brown reverses and dumps Knox. Hardcore Holly pounds away on Kofi Kingston, but Kofi ducks a clothesline and knocks Holly out of the ring with Trouble In Paradise! Evan Bourne heads up to the top rope and hits a fallen Lance Cade with the Shooting Star Press! Cade rolls under the bottom rope to the floor. DiBiase and Rhodes put the boots to Bourne, but he snaps off a hurricanrana on Cody, and then head scissors DiBiase to the floor! Kozlov pulls JTG into a vicious head butt, and then catches Evan Bourne coming off the middle rope with a head butt. Kozlov hits his inverted DDT on Jesse, much to the anger of Festus who clotheslines Kozlov to the floor. Hawkins and Ryder attack Festus now but he tosses them both in quick succession. Hardcore Holly pulls himself up after that Trouble in Paradise, but Cody Rhodes sneaks behind him and dumps him out. Val Venis heads up to the top rope and hits Striker with the Money Shot! As he gets up, Chavo Guerrero grabs him from behind and tosses him, then picks up Striker and tosses him too. Cody Rhodes dropkicks DH Smith out now.

We are down to 10 now. Cody Rhodes aligns himself with Chavo Guerrero and Evan Bourne aligns himself with Kofi Kingston, while Jesse and Festus and Cryme Tyme are still alive. Lance Cade is still out on the floor and D’Lo is left without an ally but goes on the assault, heading right for Chavo. Rhodes goes to the floor and rings a bell, which puts Festus in trouble. Rhodes back in and fights off Jesse, and then he dumps Festus out! Cody spends too much time celebrating though and Jesse dumps him from behind, only for Chavo to toss Jesse. Cryme Tyme grab Chavo and hit the G9 and celebrate, but Shad tosses JTG! Shad makes sure JTG knows it’s all in the spirit of competition, but that allows D’Lo to toss Shad. Evan heads up top, looking for a Shooting Star on Chavo, but Lance Cade is up and shoves him off the top and to the floor! Kofi catches Cade with Trouble In Paradise, sending Cade back out to the floor (but not eliminated). D’Lo tries to toss Kofi but he lands on the apron. Kofi catches D’Lo with a kick, and springboards into a crossbody, but D’Lo rolls through and tries to dump Kofi, but Kofi pulls him over and D’Lo falls out! Chavo drills Kofi from behind and puts the boots to him, then picks him up and hits the 3 Amigos. Chavo heads up top and misses the Frog Splash, and Kofi lays him out with Trouble In Paradise! Lance Cade is back in now and catches Kofi with a big boot. Cade tries to dump him over but Kofi fights him off. Cade runs into a reverse elbow, Kofi heads to the second rope and leap frogs Cade to his a double stomp on Chavo! But then Kofi runs into a sit-out spinebuster from Cade. Cade tries to lift Kofi up but he’s dead weight. He drags him towards the ropes and lifts him up, but Chavo comes from behind and tosses them both – except Cade holds on to the apron and Kofi skins the cat, catches Chavo’s head with his legs and takes him over to eliminate him! Cade and Kingston brawl on the apron. Cade blocks a roundhouse kick but gets caught with a DDT on the apron, and Cade falls out giving Kofi the win @ 12:11!

Winner: Kofi Kingston
Earns a place in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match

And now to PPV