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The silver anniversary of WrestleMania 25 had all the trappings of an all time great event. Here was WWE returning to the venue from arguably the greatest WrestleMania of all time after years, and with a pair of world title matches featuring veteran stars with long histories between them. Moreover, a twenty five women battle royal featuring stars from the past, the novelty of Chris Jericho battling three legends, and a showdown between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels promised an intriguing night.
WrestleMania 25 wasn’t all great, as the title matches in particular disappointed a lot of pundits. The show had its moments, though. This article takes a look back at the best and worst moment of WrestleMania 25.
Best Moment: The Undertaker pins Shawn Michaels
No one expected The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels to be bad. The two were legends for a reason, and both were known to thrive at WrestleMania in particular. However, no one called just how great this match wound up being.
One of the challenges of an Undertaker ‘Mania match in this era was that, with the streak looming, it was difficult to imagine him losing. This match thrived on both men generating convincing false finishes. Moreover, while they kept a good pace, they also made good use of their veteran experience to tell a story, milking the crowd at key moments to build tension and the tell the story of what would quite arguably arrive as one of the greatest WrestleMania matches ever.
Worst Moment: Santina Marella wins
The WrestleMania 25 battle royal to crown Miss WrestleMania had potential. Years before WWE would buckle down with its Women’s Revolution, here we had top contemporary stars and familiar faces from yesteryear in a featured ‘Mania match. The winner might celebrate history with a legend picking up the duke. Alternatively, we might see a new top challenger coronated, or at least a reigning champion confirmed as a dominant force.
Instead, we got Santina—Santino Marella in drag—picking up the anticlimactic victory and making the whole match a farce. Rumor has it that WWE reached out to Trish Stratus, Lita, and others to compete, and they declined. Maybe the lack of returning star power hurt the match, but just as likely these Hall of Fame caliber talents saw the writing on the wall and wanted nothing to do with a match that belittled women’ wrestling more than it celebrated it.
