WWE RAW 2005: WRESTLEMANIA 21 POSTED!

April 3, 2005

The show began with Lillian Garcia singing America the Beautiful. Completely packed inside the Staples Center, the crowd was white hot tonight. Commentary teams were introduced, and they hyped up the show's card, and then Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler took over, as the opening match would be the first ever Money in the Bank Ladder Match!

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Edge vs Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Christian vs Kane vs Matt Hardy
Wrestlemania started off with a bang, as Chris Jericho's creation was brought to life. The fans were behind Matt Hardy the most here, and were also strongly backing Benoit and Jericho. Early on in the match, Christian tried to take out Kane with a ladder, but Kane grabbed it out of his hands, and started clearing house, as Kane knocked all competitors down with it, and set it up, and began to climb. But Benoit rushed up the other side of the ladder, and started hitting Kane with headbutts, holding him at bay, and Edge then tipped that ladder over, sending both Kane and Benoit crashing to the mat. More ladders would come into play, so the ring was littered with them. Jericho slammed Hardy onto a ladder and then went for a lionsault, but Matt moved, so Jericho landed ribs first on the ladder. Kane got back into things with a chokeslam spree, but Benoit countered a chokeslam into a crossface. Christian and Edge would both move to one side of the ladder set up, and both began to climb, as the crowd went nuts. Both would get to the top, and both had their hands on the briefcase at one point, each fighting with the other trying to grab it down. Kane grabbed a ladder and used it to hit both Edge and Christian, knocking them off theirs. Kane set that second ladder up so that it was balanced on the middle rope on one end, and the third rung of the set up ladder on the other, so that the ladder was stretching across the ring almost like a table. Kane tried to chokeslam Benoit on that ladder, but Benoit blocked it, and hit Kane with a DDT face first onto the ladder. Christian tried to throw Benoit out of the ring, but Benoit dragged Christian with him, as both tumbled to the outside. Edge and Jericho began to scale the ladder, and at the top, had a striking exchange, with Edge getting the better, he hit one hard poop that sent Jericho off the ladder to the canvas. But Matt Hardy immediately scaled up the ladder, and prevented Edge for grabbing the briefcase, and Matt, in what garnered a HUGE pop from the crowd, grabbed Efge and hit a Twist of Fate off the ladder, and he drove Edge's head and torso into the ladder that was outstretched from the ring ropes, but he also caught the back of his head on the ladder. This allowed Jericho to scale up the ladder and grab the briefcase, winning his own creation!
Winner: Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho winced in pain, but looked incredibly happy as he walked past the broken bodies and ladders everywhere, having won the first ever Money in the Bank Match. Chris Jericho now had an opportunity for a title match for ANY championship, at any time of his choosing.

World Tag Team Championships
Tajiri & William Regal (c) vs La Resistance
After the extreme high the crowd was in after the exciting opener, there needed to be something to bring them back down, and that task fell to the tag team title match from RAW. It was a solid little match, though only getting 7 minutes or so, these guys made it count, with Tajiri starting off with Grenier, and using his speed and quickness to make the opponents make frequent tags. Though Conway would finally take a bit of control, catching Tajiri off a springboard move. Regal got in after a moment, but La Resistance took control once more. Grenier and Conway tried to do too much double teaming in the corner, and the referee started admonishing Grenier in the corner, which allowed Regal to bring Conway to his corner, where Tajiri tried to use the mist, but Conway moved, so the mist hit Regal in the face. Conway knocked Tajiri off the apron, and planted Regal with a DDT, and pinned him to win the belts!
Winners: La Resistance

Cruiserweight Championship
Chavo Guerrero (c) vs Paul London vs Billy Kidman
This was another pretty short match, but like the tag team match just before it, was good for what it was, as it was intense and non stop the entire time. The second straight title match, and Smackdown's first bout of the night, these guys showed they could entertain, and the crowd, while not caring too much at the beginning, seemed sad it ended so early. We began with a pair of suicide dives early, as Kidman and London teamed up on Chavo and threw him outside. Kidman then laid out London, and dived onto Chavo on the outside. But London recovered quickly and dived out onto Kidman. As Guerrero got up, London jumped from the floor onto the ring apron, and then moonsaulted off taking down Chavo again, and then he rolled Chavo into the ring trying to get a pin, but only got two. For the next few minutes all three traded some good moves, lots of countering and top rope moves were showcased, before Kidman went to the top rope, looking for a shooting star on London, but Chavo pushed Kidman off the top to the floor, and then climbed up, and hit London with a frog splash to get the win and retain the gold.
Winner: Chavo Guerrero

Backstage, World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton was being interviewed about his title defense that night, and how it felt to be going against all of the former Evolution. Before he could say anything though, Chris Jericho walked up with the Money in the Bank briefcase, smiling. He said to Orton that he could cash this contract in anytime, anyplace, and that if he wanted to, he could use it tonight, on the man who walked out as champion, when they were tired, beaten and barely able to move. Jericho walked off laughing, as Orton looked on in disgust.

Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio
This match was off the charts, easily the best of the night so far, just everything you would expect and want from these two. They did some back and forth mat work to begin with, Mysterio using his speed to avoid more moves and hit Eddie with lots of kicks and quick shots, trying to slowly wear him down. But Eddie just wasn't taking it, and they went through a rollup exchange, and Eddie started to use his size advantage to hit some power moves on Rey, and then began working on Mysterio's legs, trying to stop his speed and flying. Rey fought on valiantly, even getting in a 619, but when he went for a springboard leg drop, Eddie moved, and then hit a nasty looking DDT, and followed it up with a frog splash. Rey kicked out of the pin attempt, and tried to set up for another 619, but as he swung around the ropes, Eddie caught his legs, and pulled him into the ring, and pinned him. Eddie used the ropes for leverage, and the referee failed to notice, giving Eddie the victory!
Winner: Eddie Guerrero

Vince McMahon was shown backstage. He thanked all of the WWE fans for making Wrestlemania possible, and said that he was a man who liked change, he liked to shake things up. That was why, in one months time, the RAW after the Backlash PPV, it would be the WWE Draft! 5 Smackdown Superstars would be randomly chosen to move to RAW, and vice versa.

Texas Bullrope Match
JBL vs Big Show
This was a pretty short match, which was probably for the best. The two did the best they could, and while it wasn't the best match these two had, it made the fans happy, as JBL got what was coming to him. Usually, JBL would have the size advantage in a bullrope match, but this time, he did not, and he was unable to try to run so Big Show punished him. After some brawling around, JBL hit Show with a clothesline from hell, which did not move or even faze the world's largest athlete, who hit JBL with a straight right hand. Show then used the cowbell to bust JBL open, and then hit a chokeslam, and dragged JBL to each corner, touching all the ropes in succession to win.
Winner: Big Show


United States Championship
Shelton Benjamin (c) vs Muhammed Hassan w/ Daivari
Hassan had so much heat here it wasn't even funny, easily the most boos during the entire show, and he made the most of it, going around ringside during his entrance, yelling at the fans, making many anti America remarks, and the crowd popped huge for Shelton, who came down to the ring in a nice US flag designed singlet, and Benjamin wasted no time, attacking Hassan at ringside, slamming him into the steps and the guardrail, and fighting off Daivari as well. When the action finally got into the ring, Benjamin was on fire, hitting some huge moves, and was full of energy, and it was clear that Hassan just couldn't get things going based on the beginning, so he did the Hassan thing to do, and low blowed Shelton, getting himself DQed.
Winner: Shelton Benjamin

After the DQ, Hassan and Daivari both began to beat down Shelton Benjamin badly, using a steel chair and then Hassan locked in the camel clutch, refusing to let go, until the music of Hulk Hogan hit, sending the crowd into a frenzy! Hogan stepped out onto the stage, and began running down the ramp, sliding into the ring and Daivari and Hassan attacked him, two on one, but Benjamin was able to take down Daivari, and Hogan ended up hitting the leg drop on Hassan, and Shelton and Hogan celebrated in the ring, and Hassan and Daviari were embarrassed at Wrestlemania.

Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels
This one beat out Rey/Eddie for MOTN thus far, this truly was a dream match. Early on, HBK tried to wrestle Angle's style against him, showing off some impressive chain wrestling of his own, but Angle was just a little bit better, so while HBK held his own, he was still constantly on the losing end of exchanges. HBK finally broke out his regular style, which began to frustrate Angle, who began to constantly go after the ankle lock, but HBK had him well scouted, and though he ended up eating an Angle Slam, he kicked out, and ended up locking in several submissions of his own, including a crossface and a sharpshooter. Angle would get thrown to the outside, and HBK attempted a baseball slide, but Angle side stepped and grabbed him, locking in an ankle lock on the outside! A desperate HBK rolled forward, sending Angle face first into the ringpost, cutting him open. HBK would then hit a suplex on the floor, and he stepped back onto the apron. HBK gave his smile, and springboarded off the top rope, landing a moonsault on Angle on the outside! few minutes later, Angle managed to take control by hitting 5 germans in a row, but only got two, and a frustrated Angle grabbed a steel chair and brought it into the ring, seemingly to not care about a DQ. But Marty Janetty ran into the ring, and yanked the chair from Kurt's hands, and a furious Angle clotheslines Janetty over the ropes to the outside. But this gave HBK enough time to hit sweet chin music! He made a cover, but only got two! HBK looked shocked, but he just went back into the corner, and began tuning up the band, He went for a second superkick, but Angle caught his foot and locked in an ankle lock, and grapevined HBK's legs, so HBK couldn't move closer to the ropes. After several minutes in the hold, and many failed escape attempts, HBK finally tapped out.
Winner: Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle celebrated as if he had won the lottery, and as he walked up the ramp gloating the entire way, Shawn Michaels sat in the middle of the ring, looking incredibly dejected and depressed he couldn't get the job done. Mart Janetty got into the ring, and knelt down by HBK, and whispered into his ear, and then grabbed HBK and hauled him to his feet, hugging him, and the crowd gave a hearty ovation for the Heartbreak Kid, who, despite losing, had just stolen the show once again.

Women's Championship
Trish Stratus (c) vs Christy Hemme
This was the shortest match of the night, only about three minutes, as Trish just stiffed the hell out of the incredibly green Hemme, and she busted Hemme's lip open. Christy had about thirty seconds of offense when she just punched Trish in the face and began to hit her iwth a barrage of weak looking hits, before Trish planted her with a DDT and then hit stratusfaction to get the win, and Trish just laughed at Hemme afterwards.
Winner: Trish Stratus

The 2005 Hall of Fame Class of Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Bob Orton, Jimmy Hart, Paul Orndorff, Nikolai Volkoff and Iron Shiek were honored.

World Heavyweight Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs HHH vs Batista vs Ric Flair
The complete implosion of Evolution had finally happened, with these four all on their own sides with their own agendas now, and the four would compete to see who was truly the best of the bunch. Orton and Batista both had a lot of crowd backing, but surprisingly, Ric Flair was the crowd favorite, and the ovation he got during his entrance was second only to Hulk Hogan's surprise appearance, and about the same as HBK's earlier. HHH was booed massively, second only to Hassan on the show. This match was a cluster but in the absolute best way possible, people were getting taken down left and right, the momentum shifted constantly, it was chaos, but it was very entertaining, and the fans really bought into it giving it was Evolution finally colliding. HHH almost got the win as he got a pedigree on Orton, but Batista was there to break up the pinfall. Flair, in an incredibly rare move, climbed to the top rope, and jumped off, trying to hit Batista with a double axe handle, but Batista caught him, and lifted him up and hit a sickening spinebuster! Batista started to take control of the entire match, keeping all three opponents down, but Flair finally managed to trip Batista, and lock in a figure four. Orton would eventually break that up, so as not to let Batista submit, and then for that, Flair low blowed Orton. Triple H then hit Flair with a pedigree, but before he could make a cover, Batista got HHH with a Batista Bomb! Batista was about to make a cover, but Orton leaped up incredibly fast, catching Batista with an RKO, to get the three count and retain his title, shocking the crowd, who thouht for sure Batista was winning.
Winner: Randy Orton

After the match, as Randy Orton celebrated, Batista started coming too, a look of disbelief coming across his face. That look quickly turned to anger, and he stood up and charged Orton from behind, hitting a clothesline to the back of Randy's head. Batista nailed Orton with a Batista Bomb, and looked hungrily at the World Title before sotrming out of the ring, cursing the whole way to the back, having not come through with the victory.


WWE Championship
John Cena (c) vs The Undertaker
This match was a straight up brawl, Cena right off the bat refused to be intimidated by or back down from Undertaker, and Taker actually looked pretty impressed, as he gave Cena a nod right before they locked up the first time. Cena and Taker did a collar and elbow tie up, and Cena actually powered Taker into the corner, catching the deadman off guard. The two would get inot several slugfests as well, Cena matching Taker blow for blow, and eventually, Taker just started to get annoyed, and he hit snake eyes, but as Taker bounced off the ropes and went back to boot Cena, Cena ran forward and hit a jumping clothesline, taking Taker down. Cena motioned for the five knuckle shuffle, but went he bent down over Taker to do the "you can't see me", Taker's arm shot up, his hand grasping Cena by the throat, and Undertaker got up, and tried to chokeslam Cena, but John knocked his aem down and planted him with a DDT. Cena locked in an STF, but Taker immediatley just stood up, and Cena wrapped his legs around Taker's torso, so he had the move on while Taker was standing up! Taker ran backwards into a corner, slamming Cena into it, breaking the hold. But Taker slumped over, breathing hard for a second, So John Cena climbs up onto the second rope, and then flips over Taker, hitting him with a throwback! Cena only got a two from that, and he looked really frustrated. Undertaker began to get back into things here, hitting a sidewalk slam. Cena landed by the ropes, and when he stood up, he got up on the ring apron on the outside of the ropes, and from here, Taker grabbed him by the neck, and chokeslammed him off the ring apron to the floor! That got holy poop chants from the crowd, and Undertaker took a few momnts to rest, but when Cena got back up, Undertaker ran, and leaped over the top rope, hitting Cena with a suicide dive! Taker looked like he landed pretty rough, and both men were slow to get up, though out of respect for the match we were seeing, the referee didn't count out the two superstars. The two finally made their way back into the ring, and upon getting to their feet, Cena lifted Taker onto his shoulders, going for the FU. But Taker slid off behind Cena, and then managed to hit Cena with the last ride! That only got two, however, and Taker was looking exhausted. Undertaker picked Cena up, and brought him to the corner, and climbed up onto the top rope, and began walking it, about to do old school, but Cena pulled his arm, pulling Taker off the top rope, and Cena CAUGHT Undertaker on his shoulders from this, and delivered a huge FU! The crowd thought it was over here, as did Cena, but at the absolute, late possible moment, Undertaker's shoulder shot up off the canvas, and Cena's face was pure disbelief. He got up to his feet, and went for anothet FU, but Taker slid down in front of Cena, and lifted John up, and connected with a tombstone piledriver! But instead of going for a cover, Undertaker looked down at Cena's prone body, and gave another nod, a show of respect of sort,s before lifting Cena up, and hitting a second tombstone for insurance, to make sure there was no kicking out, and there wasn't. After one of his hardest fought battle, the Phenom remains undefeated at Wrestlemania, and becomes the NEW WWE Champion!
Winner: The Undertaker

After the match, Undertaker celebrates with the championship, the crowd going crazy. After a couple of minutes, John Cena begins to stir, and he makes it back to his feet, clutching his head in pain, and The Undertaker and John Cena end up staring each other down face to face once more. After a few seconds of this tension, Cena extends his hand to The Undertaker. After a few moments of hesitation, Undertaker accepts the handshake, and Cena lifts his arm up, acknowledging the better man on this night, and Wrestlemania closes out with The Undertaker walking up the ramp, the WWE Championship in his hands.