How WWE Ruined the Wrestlemania 25 Main Event

It's the 25th "Anniversary" of WrestleMania!
00:00 Intro
01:49 Money in the Bank Ladder Match
04:29 Kid Rock concert/25 Diva Battle Royal
07:08 Chris Jericho vs. Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat & Jimmy Snuka
10:02 Extreme Rules: Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy
13:12 Intercontinental Championship: JBL vs. Rey Mysterio
14:47 Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
16:34 World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show
19:50 WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Randy Orton
24:36 Final Thoughts
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[@N0strapapas]

Chris Jericho attacking legends because they were obsessed with the spotlight and wouldn't move on is an angle that has aged just perfectly.

[@SteelyDanzig]

I honestly wouldn't argue with anyone who says that Chris Jericho is one of the best, most fleshed out, most dynamic characters in all of fiction, regardless of medium. Dude's been constantly and consistently reinventing himself and staying relevant for 30 years now, with just one man behind it all (as opposed to, for instance, a comic book character who's had dozens if not hundreds of writers put their fingerprints on). What other characters can make such a claim? It's just too bad the man himself is kind of a shithead.

[@cubah1]

Ironically those legends stepped out of the spotlight unlike the current ones

[@TAK1997]

Well... To be fair, they really didn't need to be around anymore. Jericho... I'd argue he's better in the ring now than he was in 2009. I welcome him on my TV Weekly.

[@burnthetrolls5971]

His angle is very relevant nowadays since Brock Lesnar is probably going to win the titles at Mania and never drop them to better younger talent who deserves the pushes and then down the line maybe at Saudi or SummerSlam or Survivor Series Goldberg will come back and take the title for a while which no one wants but screw us I guess

[@finbarobruadair2761]

Jericho is a joke. Peeked in 2000 and his singing is woeful.

[@kylefunderburk4194]

Steamboat's performance at WrestleMania 25 is really heartbreaking because it shows how much he actually had left in the tank. He should've been a major star all through the 1990s and maybe into the early 2000s. We really missed out.

[@BigNut762]

True, but it does make me cringe and shudder to think of how the companies would screw up his booking in the Attitude Era, if he made it through. In WCW, I have no doubt that he would have been swept under the rug with the arrival of the NWO. If he came back to the WWF, then he would have probably been strapped with some weird edgy gimmick and given poor TV time. I don't think his white meat gimmick could have survived. But either way, I'm sure he would've given us as many barnburners as he could in that period, and it's a shame we missed out.

[@andrewbmore1310]

I agree, I started watching wrestling around age 9-10 which was around 1990-1991 and he was the big face next to Sting of WCW back then, going against Rick Rude and the rest of the Dangerous Alliance. Every Saturday morning I'd religiously get up to watch the show.SO MANY great nostalgiac moments.

[@RealAlphaDrum]

I don't know how he would have fit in WCW in the late 90s. If they couldn't handle Bret Hart, there is no way Steamboat would have had anything to do in WCW, maybe in 99-2000...maybe. He would have a better shot in the WWF in 2000 on, once Angle, Benoit, Guerrero and Malenko come into the picture, but he would have to survive 97-99 in order to get there, which he may have been better suited for ECW at that point because aside from the hardcore trash wrestling, they did have technical showcases.

[@kylefunderburk4194]

@@RealAlphaDrum Not saying Steamboat wouldn't joined the Four Horseman, but with him in the picture, maybe WCW doesn't push guys like Mongo McMichael. Also, maybe WCW doesn't try to push Lex Lugar as their top babyface (something they did successfully for a time after no one had succeeded before). But I agree that Steamboat wouldn't have worked out in the WWE at this time, and ECW would've probably been the best place for Steamboat.

[@pathutchison7688]

I dunno. He wasn’t even slightly interesting to me. Maybe that could have changed if I’d seen him more.

[@KyrinChase]

One misconception about this show is that Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels was so good the crowd was dead for the main event. But if you listen to crowd during the Triple Threat match, they're still loud. The crowd just wasn't into the main event. Triple H vs Randy Orton should've been a NO DQ Match. It had a great build with a lot of bad blood.

[@adamcrain8913]

I was in the crowd and from where I was sitting the crowd kinda died after they hit the finishers at the beginning of the match. The stipulation and odd pacing really took the crowd out of it.

[@Krisbcream1]

The Orton/H match should've had a better stipulation like a steel cage or something

[@felicen93]

The match was trash

[@scotthardie5141]

Yep, it wasn't that the crowd was tired. The match just sucked

[@JeremiahEcks777]

When you put a wrestler doing endless punches and a wrestler doing endless headlocks together, boredom occurs.

[@frenchfrey65]

Steamboat turning back the hands of time was a feelgood moment that went over everyone's heads at the time, to see Steamboat doing what he did at his age is just simply phenomenal and a show stealing moment.

[@mikesharon2177]

Facts!!

[@enigmaskull3495]

Steamboat and Jericho would have a good match together at Backlash the next month.

[@michaelsinger4638]

It should have just been them here as well. Snuka and Piper clearly had nothing left at that point.

[@juststatedtheobvious9633]

Over whose heads? It was one of the big feel good stories, in an industry that rarely has them. And it's why he was booked again.

[@scotthardie5141]

I remember it being celebrated at the time.

[@Vesperitis]

Fun fact: Jericho would face off against Steamboat in several more house matches in Tokyo, Honolulu, and Greenville South Carolina. In all their matches, Jericho was supposed to go over with a Codebreaker, but in that last match, deep in old NWA country, Jericho called an audible for Steamboat to kick out and do a "Wrestlemania 3 finish", at which point Steamboat caught Jericho in a small package for the surprise win.

[@mathewbarrie]

That fact wasn't as much fun as you promised.

[@clintstewart3523]

@@mathewbarrie speak for yourself

[@42paparia42]

@@mathewbarrie Yes it was

[@Vibe1610]

@@mathewbarrie Ppl like you suck

[@pinealdreams1064]

@@mathewbarrie Why is there always one person on the comment thread who has to be a dick?

[@LukeLeonettiYouTube]

After this show, Arn Anderson had an all talent meeting. He started out by saying “We almost had a death here tonight”. Then he pointed to Sim Snuka and said “it’s your fault”. Then continued on with the speech as if nothing happened

[@JL-wc3it]

Holy shit. How bad do you feel if you're sim in that moment. And this may just be ignorance but how hard is to catch someone? Like yeah it'll hurt but at least you're protecting your coworker. Like i'd rather take a 6'10 man flying at me trough the air than almost kill the undertaker.

[@jb888888888]

@@JL-wc3it In his defense Sim is a wrestler, not a stunt person. They should have hired a stuntman to do that.

[@Cody70858]

@@jb888888888 how would that be better a stuntman doesn’t know how to properly catch a wrestler. Sim just fucked up. It happens it just sucks that it was on the biggest stage of the year an to maybe the most respected wrestlers ever.

[@mathewbarrie]

@@jb888888888 wrestlers learn to catch other wrestlers. It was a botch.

[@omegaman6494]

Sim should be grateful all he got for dropping Undertaker on his head, was fired.

[@comixproviderftw_02]

That first tombstone kick out from Shawn Michaels was something special. Growing up believing that it only took one tombstone to end a match. But when Shawn Michaels first kicked out of that followed up with Undertaker’s closeup reaction, I thought Shawn was gonna win.

[@Eric-wu7bp]

Let’s not forget that takers face after HBK kicking out of the tombstone was incredibly priceless 😂

[@Undertakerlover1306]

Kane kicked out of 2 at WM14

[@misteraskman3668]

Shawn is my personal favorite of all time, even though I only started watching wrestling around 2006. Teddy Long made sure that a young me understood that The Undertaker was a big deal. So, a young me really thought that if anyone could beat the Streak, it was HBK and nobody else. So, when WM25 and 26 passed, I just knew the Streak was unbreakeable. If Shawn can't, no one can't. I just knew that. WM30 broke my heart so much, because if Shawn couldn't, nobody should've been able to.

[@PoeticProphetic]

Hulk Hogan just immediately gets up after taking a tombstone, no kick out necessary, brother!

[@TrippieFox]

Why? Plenty of people have kicked out lmao

[@caseytune6433]

Even though Steamboat is always mentioned as one of the all time greats, I feel his contributions are always underrated. That guy could work a masterclass with anyone no matter what company he was in. Truly an absolute icon.

[@mrlaidback83]

I feel like Ricky and Macho Man are 2 wrestlers from the 80s who could definitely adapt to today's style of wrestling and have killer matches in places like AEW and NJPW imho.

[@NewOrleansGuy837]

I think his biggest drawback was he'd fight like hell to get a title run, and then once he got the belt he took time off, needed to heal, needed a break, and he never had that real nice stint with any belt, even though he's known as a legendary worker. it's weird

[@misteraskman3668]

I feel like he is the best underrated of all time.

[@jongon0848]

Steamboat pulling out the arm drags on Jericho never fails to make me smile.

[@nfullenwider]

I had forgotten about that brief period in 2009 when Matt Hardy started wearing tights. I feel like John Cena matches are only going to gain popularity as time passes. The guy can definitely wrestle.

[@Kaltagstar96]

One of the things that makes me happy about the IWC is that, for the most part, the hatred for Cena has stopped and people have realised that, while he wasn't perfect, the dude was still insanely good at what he did.

[@princealigorna7468]

John's a weird dude, because he's never been the most technically gifted guy, but he does a bit of everything (he has a submission finisher, even if it looks sloppy as fuck, he has the flying leg drop for an aerial move (and later added the Frankensteiner and the Oscutter, even if again they didn't look that great), and he's of course has the AA as a power finisher). When it comes to a storyteller though, John's fantastic! One of the best to ever do it. He's a rightful hall of famer just on the strength of his storytelling alone. His mic work is also up there. It's just the booking, man. Some fans will never appreciate how good he really is because of that power booking. Just a decade of ramming him down everyone's throats. Not that I blame them. They knew they had the guy. And once he adopted the Doctor of Thuganomics character, he was over AF for almost 3 years. From '03 to mid-06 he was the most over guy in the company. The right gimmick, at the right time, before the neck injury forced him to take a lot of stuff out of his arsenal for a good long time. But man, they ruined him in a lot of people's eyes and they'll never accept that he was just that good.

[@Lorenzo3K]

@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852 shit they're begging for him to come back right now

[@tubster105]

Them tights was immortalized in Smackdown vs raw 2010 superstar threads

[@okagron]

@@Kaltagstar96 I don't think people ever thought he genuinely sucked at wrestling (even if you had people chanting at him that he couldn't wrestle). The issue is that he was shoved down everyone's throats for literally a decade and it got tiring seeing him constantly winning at cost of plenty of other wrestlers. Now that he wrestles rarely, people obviously are gonna start not hating him anymore.

[@MazeDaGr8]

That Triple H vs Orton match is one of the prime examples of a feud that had an amazing build but the match failed to deliver

[@ScarFace5566]

And by amazing, you mean unintentionally hilarious?

[@rickyrosay33977]

The stupid fake scream really ruined the build it was too silly to be taken serious again they should’ve hired an actress that knew how to scream

[@ScarFace5566]

@@rickyrosay33977 that and the random crew members running thru the house and multi camera angle glass break shot!

[@joanquinapallo2121]

I had big expectations about this match, loved the building but at the end it was so disapointing, imho it should've been a No DQ match. I was so disappointed by wwe programming in general at the time that I stopped watching for a few years.

[@TravisBroski]

See also: Styles V Nakamura

[@Courageous91]

Isn't this the show that JR said when Rey came out that "Unlike Heath Ledger, Rey Mysterio's career is alive and well?"

[@thezendevil]

Brehhhhhhhhhhhh no way??!?

[@Courageous91]

@@thezendevil - Yeah. I do think JR apologizes since it was in bad tastes but...yeah pretty bad

[@bigboss4178]

JR had no chill

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

Fun fact Brian…speaking about this countdown years ago…you only have Wrestlemania II to review and you have basically reviewed all the Manias in that countdown!

[@DirtiestDMusic]

I wouldn't mind a 2022 remake of that countdown. We've had more than a few crappy Manias since then.

[@bigbossshea9084]

I think he hasn’t done manias 2, 7, 8, 13, 14, 18, 22, 24, 28, 29

[@SirPunzalot]

@@bigbossshea9084 He hasn't done 12 either.

[@mike04574]

@@bigbossshea9084 yup srprised hasnt done 22 or 24

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

Yeah, I think he can do that…maybe also a Countdown based around Backlash in April maybe?

[@speedwaynutt]

Credit to Chris Jericho he's the one who got Steamboat into the match. Vince was originally going to have Greg Valentine in the match but Jericho got it changed

[@CSC52698]

Should've put Flair, in the match instead of Snuka. Granted Flair, lost at the previous WrestleMania, but they could've worked something out.

[@JeremiahEcks777]

I'd've thought three Legends who would have worked, including in the build up would have been Steamboat (able to go, apparently!), Piper (not able to go but great on the mic) and maybe Marty Jannetty (also still able to go at the time). Tito Santana might have been another option. Swapping out Valentine was shrewd of Jericho - although The Hammer was still active, and he's one of my favourite wrestlers ever, he was pretty immobile by this point. Flair, I wouldn't have wanted to see again after his retirement match. I don't know if he'd done TNA by then but if he had, I wouldn't want to see it.

[@ericthomas917]

I heard a rumour that they originally were going to have Flair vs Steamboat but nixed the idea because of Flair losing the year before

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

I know that in Kayfabe Vickie added the stipulation that if hhh got dq he would lost the title but come on couldn’t Vince make the match a no holds barred match, I mean he is the chairman

[@lewisaino]

It was moronic that with so much hatred it has a basic stipulation.

[@kyokugenryudisciple9349]

In a way this was the opposite of Rock Vs Austin 8 Years Before. Where they called an audible and just cut Debra from the feud (Even though Brian made a good theory last week being that she could have been the reason Austin turned in the original plans). I think Vince, Shane, Trips, and Legacy could have called an audible…add a stip or a segment explaining why the match could have been No Holds Barred, and maybe do the title change they did at Backlash ‘09 here…because I am certain Texas is a “Smark” State, and I think seeing a heel Orton who was White Hot at the time hold the Championship over a prone, defeated HHH would have been a historic image in Mania history.

[@thomasthetrain7657]

This is the show that really got me into wrestling as a kid, I owned it on DVD and kept watching it back when I was bored.

[@cameronlapage7386]

It was the same for me. My dad was a big wrestling fan, but fell out when he started a family. When we were younger, he started training my siblings and I on the early Wrestlemanias to get us into it. We watched WM 25 shortly after it aired and had it recorded on our DVR, and we watched the weekly shows as a family for the longest time after.

[@JeremiahEcks777]

RIP wrestling DVDs.

[@starbreaker269]

Braden walker DVD got me into wrestling

[@justinthunder6284]

Literally the same for me

[@terrancecarmichael619]

Same the only difference for me is my parents ordered it on PPV and I was at my Grandma’s house the night it was live. I ended up seeing it on the DVR the beginning of the week after I came back and I kept rewatching it a few times around that same period, it made me fall completely in love with wrestling as a 5 year old at the time.

[@1ofakind247]

Some Latin Americans remember this WM vividly because both Raw and SmackDown were on public programming on almost every country of LATAM and we have to watch the PPVs somewhere to catch up what happended, plus WWE was very popular at that time: videogames, music, superstars, there was an international tour as well, and of course, the Frito Lay Tazos series of WWE (it was VERY popular for kids like me back in the day)

[@elmaquiavelico5709]

Esos tazos eran mi mayor orgullo

[@gersonmarioticonamendoza4855]

Acá en Perú, creo que este fue el último PPV que transmitieron, y en adelante sólo emitían Raw y Smackdown

[@elduro755]

Amen padre santo

[@donaldh3721]

Steamboat was always my grandmother’s favorite wrestler, I wish she was still with us to watch this one with her.

[@jamesbounds]

It was cool seeing Ricky Steamboat wrestling again at this event.

[@trosinesss]

Idk how many people know this but back in 2009/2011 WWE was f*ing huge in Mexico, I remember all my friends in our middle school equivalent praising this show like it was the best thing to ever happen lol

[@dontmatterbecause1009]

Have you seen that meme “when you order WWE from wish” 😂 “show grande”

[@MrPerfect2000Z]

I love that through the years, Triple H (I do like him and respect him for the record) INSISTED on having these long PPV matches (especially at Mania) and they NEVER failed to kill the crowd. Orton here, Lesnar in 2013, Roman in 2016, Seth in 2017. Hell Batista in 2019...the crowd managed to stay mostly alive into that 16 match card...Until Triple H turned up lol

[@vDeadbolt]

It would have happened in 2014 if Triple H was supposed to be in the main event against Orton and Batista instead of Bryan. Who knew that milking evolution enough would cause the cow to run out? The triple threat would have been great in 2004, when it was still fresh.

[@cjwhite2631]

For the record I thought the Triple H v. Brock @ Mania Match was pretty good. ***1/2 (No where near as good as the 1st, Summerslam 2012 match though that is a forgotten ****1/2 classic) Also Trips vs Seth Rollins was pretty great too ***3/4

[@logd27]

WM 12 is the most near and dear to my heart. Was the first thing of wrestling I owned. My aunt bought it for me on VHS out of the blue. Was one of the best memories, coming home and popping it in the VCR, my dad laughing at how Yokozuna gave heel Owen Hart and Bulldog a double noggin knocker and had to show us in slow-mo how they did it safely.

[@justingochioco1121]

It also had The Undertaker vs Big Daddy Cool

[@BigJasonMc]

Its my pick for his Patreon. I feel the same way.

[@JeremiahEcks777]

Oh it's a shame the kayfabe was ruined but glad it's a happy memory for you!

[@logd27]

Kayfabe went out the window when the first piece of wrestling I ever watched was “Secrets of Pro wrestling” my neighbour had on VHS. “She’s a stunt granny!!”

[@JeremiahEcks777]

@@logd27 Hahaha. "Now YOU know the secrets, even if the fans don't" Featuring a young Christopher Daniels!

[@greatone10]

3:26. This sequence with Christian catching himself on the ropes was actually lifted from the finish of his ladder match with Frankie Kazarian from TNA Genesis 2007. And honestly, it should have been the finish here too.

[@chrisbreezy3048]

21:05 What's interesting about that 'terrible canned scream' is that it would be reused ten years later in a more high-pitched capacity whenever The Fiend would show up to attack legends or whoever he was feuding with at the time.

[@samcalderas870]

You also forgot to mention that this is the second time that a Triple H main event got overshadowed by another good match at Mania. Hogan/Rock at WMX8,and of course the HBK/Taker match at WM25.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

Triple h 2016 main event match with roman was bad too

[@mrcnub]

@@ShubhamMishrabro Unfortunately, that one didn't really get overshadowed by anything else on the card. 🙄

[@MRAK-on6dy]

Wrestlemania 16 and 21 as well

[@Jerry_Freestyle]

He made up for it by having a regular match with no fancy stuff with Sheamus near the beginning of WM26

[@aldonfroelick7392]

S . . . M m

[@ZiggyGamma]

Wrestlemania 25 will always hold a special place in my heart as It was my first Wrestlemania and I started watching WWE on the Road To This Wrestlemania. I still remember having no clue who Undertaker and Shawn Micheals was but the video package and the build as kid got me so hyped that I still had to know what was gonna happen

[@CheezusChrist1776]

The intro to this speaking on the first countdown being EIGHT years ago made me realize the years go way faster than any of us would like

[@Pocketjuju22]

I agree I can remember getting into a rabbit hole watching Brian's videos and almost getting fired from my first job after looking up and realizing I completely missed going in and having to say I set the alarm to the wrong time of am instead of pm

[@thebaker525]

My first Wrestlemania! I remember being most excited for Jeff vs Matt Hardy and was so baffled when Morrison and Miz weren’t on the show cuz I wanted them to retain the tag belts!

[@vciotoli2126]

Steamboat could still go at that age, man. Makes you wonder how things would've gone if he didn't have to retire in '94.

[@douglasmaddox3308]

The sequence of Jeff Hardy jumping off a 20ft ladder straight on his tailbone then getting hit with the twist of fate with his head in a chair is absolutely incredible/ insane

[@BigJasonMc]

Ok, so Ricky the Dragon Steamboat is definitely one of those legends I wish we got back. For all the Goldberg matches (some have been decent) we couldve had Ricky the Dragon armdragging fools into oblivion. Same with Bret Hart, its a damn shame he was injured so severely and wasnt able to make a proper legends come back.

[@realDialFforFilm]

Does anyone remember when Triple H presented Shawn with the Slammy Award later that year for Match of the Year? Right before Shawn could give a speech, Triple H said, "It was a classic, and I can vouch for it because I had to follow it, and I didn't stand a chance." Yeah, no shit, Hunter.

[@DarkDesperado25]

Was here for this show, my dad got two tickets for Christmas, he's not a wrestling guy so he suffered through the long line and long show, good times.

[@bbbrandon01]

This show may not be that great, but this was the first ever wrestling show I ever watched. I had no idea who any of the people were, any of the storylines, or even what pro wrestling was. I absolutely loved it and this show (particularly Jeff Hardy vs Matt Hardy) made me become the fan I am today. I love seeing you review the show that made me love this thing called pro wrestling.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

You didn't even know who Triple H, Orton, HBK or Taker were?

[@bbbrandon01]

@@kenterminateddq5311 Not at all

[@Josh_J9]

How can u be a fan of wreslting today 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@bbbrandon01]

@@Josh_J9 I started watching WWE cause of this show. Jeff Hardy became my favorite because he put his body on the line for the fans. He left and I randomly was watching TV and saw this thing called TNA Wrestling. I turned it on and was impressed (it just so happened to be the one where Jeff Hardy showed up) so I started to watch both on and off. A few years later I found this massive world of indy wrestling including ROH and CZW. I tried to watch what I could, then only watched WWE. It was Wrestle Kingdom 11 I learned about Japanese pro wrestling and that lead me to watching just about everything I possibly could

[@carmagician9272]

@@bbbrandon01 many people will say you will grow out of watching wrestling, they did to me, but 40 years later I’m still watching

[@HunterChavezMusic]

My first live event was the go-home RAW before this Mania. It was my first and only time seeing Undertaker live. 13 years later, I'm going to see him inducted into the Hall of Fame live. Crazy.

[@tthomaselli2]

The main reason to watch 'WWE WrestleMania 25': Shawn Michaels & The Undertaker.

[@EphPhaThaINC]

Oh wow, I didn’t know what year Steamboat had retired from in ring competition, so thank you so much Zane for letting me know. I remember watching that match and was being like the live crowd chanting at Ricky “you still got it” and it was so awesome that Ricky and Jericho, two of my all time favorite wrestling throwing down so good in that match. Mickey Rouke really did do a huge disservice to Jericho and Steamboat and the legends (as bad as they were)

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

Brian Zane: also the mania with half of the cast of pro wrestlers vs zombies

[@ronniesteele1633]

This channel is one of the few that I subscribe to where I get legitimately excited anytime a new video is posted.

[@DepressedHyena]

First ever Wrestlemania I watched live. I’m from the UK so me, my mate and his brother stayed up all night for this show and just before Undertaker vs Michaels, everyone but me had fallen asleep and oh my god, when Taker did his suicide dive to the outside, I was sweating, freaking out, trying to shake my mate telling him you’re literally missing the greatest match I’ve ever seen haha! Great memories. ✨

[@georgeh4171]

Were they still live on Channel 4 then? I can remember staying up and watching all the 99-2000 PPVs that were on Channel 4. I remember watching X-17 (I was 11)and being so heartbroken that Austin turned heel that I could not sleep afterwards!

[@zubrhero5270]

Haha, I'm definitely the generation before because I remember staying up for things like the '92 Royal Rumble, but... I can 100% relate to this. American live kick-offs were (and still are) always a ball-ache because of the time difference, most of the PPVs start at like 2am, so you were waiting till at least 5am for the main events. I used to ask my Mum if I could have a sleepover and invite a couple of schoolmates over, we'd drag down every single quilt, blanket and pillow into the front room and _try_ to have a super-early night and set an alarm to wake up for 2am. Never worked out that way like... we'd be "allowed" to plug the console into the "big telly" in the front room and end up staying up all night and crashing before the main events...

[@DepressedHyena]

@@georgeh4171 I don’t think I was old enough to remember wrestling on Channel 4 but damn that sounds cool!! I think we all chipped in to buy the Sky Sports PPV haha

[@DepressedHyena]

@@zubrhero5270 ahah that’s honestly so wholesome dude, love that! Staying up late for the main event was always so hard as I was always so burnt out by that point 😂

[@georgeh4171]

@@zubrhero5270 Used to do the same thing, have 3 friends over and then stay up playing Wrestlemania 2000 on the N64 before the PPV would start. Actually I was the only one with Sky so my mates would always sleep over Friday night to watch RAW (10pm - 12am) and then Smackdown (10am - 12pm) the next morning. Miss those times.

[@TiVo67]

I never understood the logic of stacking the deck against HHH when Orton attacked every McMahon.

[@DomNePlume]

So HHH-uh, looked awesome-uh, when he won-uh, his usual-uh, boring-uh, over-long-uh, "epic" match. Uh

[@marcosalvarez4210]

I’ve waited for this one since this segment started. My favorite mania due to my fandom restarting back in 09. So many memories in this mania. Thank u Brian. Did this show justice

[@booksboyspodcast]

I was a fan 97 to 09, when I gave up with a declining product. So surprising to me that fandoms started around that same time

[@marcosalvarez4210]

@@booksboyspodcast That’s the way it is around here it kinda goes round an round

[@luckylucas8596]

There’s something about clocking out from my morning work-study job and having lunch while watching classic PPV reviews before class on a Wednesday that keeps me going through the week.

[@dahliazaylinsage]

Thanks and safety to ya as always! That divas battle royale is now a great metaphor for the current product of the crumbling castle promotion.. Steamboat was great there holy crap!

[@jamesmnaylor]

15:50 I don’t think snuka dropped him, I don’t think he ever caught him. Michaels and Snuka were to far away from the apron and Snuka was to far away from Michaels.

[@spencermoore801]

Too

[@iortizjunior]

Also when you watch the match HBK literally pulls Snuka which makes Snuka stumble a bit so it’s not entirely his fault at all.

[@xaviercruz2633]

Apparently Taker also got caught on the rope a bit

[@thepassingstatic6268]

@@xaviercruz2633 so basically this was a spot that should've never happened in the 1st place then. Got it

[@elchomper.1063]

@@thepassingstatic6268 they're were fuck ups on all sides. Sim definitely wrongly gets all the blame for the botch. Even if they were in proper position and everything went smoothly going in. Shawn and Sim were closer taker not hitting the ropes WTF is sim supposed to do with the giant camera he's holding?

[@LuisMay1995]

The build for HHH/Orton was amazing for middle school me and the match couldn’t have been less disappointing. The build felt violent and they had so-so regular match.

[@drewjames2237]

You are seriously underestimating your review skills Brian. You should do a video of the Michaels vs taker it would be AMASING to watch. It would be entertaining and informative, you're the best at getting people invested and you're videos replay quality is impeccable

[@rdp430]

This is my golden era. The first ppv my dad bought for me. while we were watching, the Phoenix wrestlemania commercial made him buy tickets for that next year because my grandpa had a house out there. The last 2 years before this and the year after were the days that I’d watch every single show and get as many action figures. Now I’m 23 years old and have never felt the same about wwe since

[@HPLovecraftsCat87]

Vince McMahon casually fighting security guards trying to prevent him going down to the ring, ignoring the fact that he is the owner of the company, rented out the building, hired them as security and in no possible scenario would this event unfold.

[@TheLandofObscusion]

Oh, yeah, that was the bit which had Keith Lee as one of the security guards! Lee admitted years later that everybody in the back ribbed him by telling him that Vince would really appreciate it if he sold a single punch like it was the strongest blow ever. If you look at the footage, you can see Vince clearly looking confused for a second at how a giant like Lee crumbled to the ground after one punch from him, and he even questioned Lee afterwards about why he did that.

[@HPLovecraftsCat87]

@@TheLandofObscusion hahaha i never knew that I'll watch it again later, as ridiculous as it is i still enjoy AC-DC playing in the promo.

[@TheCheat420]

If I had a nickel for every time a WrestleMania match between brothers was built on one killing the other's loved ones in a house fire I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it's happened twice.

[@monkeyman5866]

Ah yes....the 24th anniversary of WrestleMania.

[@pepito2847]

Is it bad that I found it hilarious when Jericho beat up and humiliated the legends? 😂🤣

[@EAZY_CHEF]

By my (terrible) count there are 35 people who participated in Wrestlemania 25 who are still Wresting/Contributing to wrestling

[@coolchat18]

5:12, from what I remember, and this is just what I saw in OSW’s coverage of WCW, Sunny did wrestle a couple matches for WCW in the year 2000. Not well, but she did. To quote V1 “She needs a cup of tea and a hug.”

[@justinhillenburg9286]

Sunny has never been the same after Chris Candido's death.

[@rickyrosay33977]

She never cared about Candido while they were together she was cheating on him with Shawn Michaels

[@NeekoLionheartMMA]

I don’t ever remember an ad for The Whopper Melt being in ‘The Wrestler.’ 🤯🤯🤯

[@ryankeefe6222]

I remember reading someone on the forums saying something and it was SO true “you have home break ins assaults on wives mothers of children and 65 year old men and they went in there and had a smackdown main event”

[@youraverageinternetperson4323]

Lmao I remember watching this live and getting so mad at how many of my favorites lost. Jeff and Shawn losing had me so upset, Triple H winning was probably the only thing that prevented seven year old me from crying up a storm lmfao

[@sleezboy992]

Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 is a classic. I love when Michaels trolled 'Taker. I can't wait to see more reviews. Careful, a lot Kid Rock fans will label you as "woke" or part of "cancel culture" movement if you say anything negative.

[@VinnieGer]

There’s still Kid Rock fans out there? Color me surprised.

[@mrcnub]

I'm proud to be able to say I hated him long before he fully revealed what an awful human being he is. I was all for "cancelling" Kid Rock about 20 years before "cancel culture" was even a thing. There are nuances to talking about how music interacts with politics, but the discussion is made much simpler in Kid Rock's case by the fact that he just sucks. He's a terrible rapper, somehow even worse at singing, disgustingly amateur instrumentalist, and his lyrics and production are across the board awful. Is Kid Rock's music "problematic"? Is it advancing a reactionary political agenda? Is it "punching down"? Who cares. It sucks. It'd be nails on a chalkboard no matter what ideology it supported. And if anyone still isn't sold on Kid Rock being a contemptible worthless has-been not worthy of anyone's time, attention, and certainly not their adulation, I'll direct you to the following lyrics from his song "Cool, Daddy Cool": "Young ladies, young ladies I like em underage see Some say that's statutory But I say it's mandatory" Yeah. You wish I was making that up.

[@matthlinak4372]

Am I the only one who doesn't care for this Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker match? I thought they both looked old and slow. From what I remember, it's just a bunch of false finishes. That botch in the middle of it is pretty bad for a match that is supposed to be a classic. I'd take their match at the Rumble in '98 over this any day.

[@ThunderTHR]

I was gonna say I couldn't think of anyone who didn't like the HBK/Taker match, but the above comment proved me wrong. That being said, Finding a Kid Rock fan in 2022 is like *finding a Kid Rock fan in 2002.* Basically impossible.

[@sumobo7108]

Careful,a lot of tds in the comment section if you say positive thing about orange.

[@9danymp]

keep it coming with those classic reviews, love it so much!!

[@aakshaypatil5105]

Cena's picture with the Anti-Cena fan is awesome

[@Kingfizh]

@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852 he was probably a plant lol but maybe not

[@George-kz5hb]

This was my first Wrestlemania I ever watched live. I remember being disappointed at the end of it, but I really think it was just the main even feeling lackluster. Looking back now, there was a lot of good on this show!

[@alexhobbs1208]

Oh yea! Here we go! Classic mania review time!

[@Brianvanmoustache]

12:15 it's pretty amazing how huge that crowd is.. awesome camera shot.

[@doctorawesomeness1997]

Triple H vs Randy Orton should have been a No Disqualification match given how personal their feud was.

[@die2no]

I hate em both

[@SjC420]

Funny how the storyline for Jericho vs the Legends was Jericho hates the legends who hung on too long yet that's exactly where Jericho is in AEW now...

[@long060]

You could make an entire series of videos of things "Face" John Cena did that are actually Heel things

[@michaeltoomey1]

I never noticed Frank Shamrock sitting next to Mickey Rourke until just now

[@scream9637]

Was that Frank Shamrock sitting next to Mickey Rourke.

[@wisewolftony]

Twist of Fate in the steel chair actually has another name called the Twist of Hate. Still to me one of my all time favorite moves involving a chair just looks so brutal. Also could never understand why the OSW crew hate this match so much and think it's terrible. Not saying it's an amazing match but I always found it to be a fun enjoyable match with some cool spots.

[@guillermosierracuellar9812]

You know what is funny is that Jericho made fun of the movie the wrestler due to the movie plot about a old geezer that doesn't retire from wrestling back in 0/8/09 rourke was 57 and now Jericho is 50+ and still wrestling but he is still doing ok

[@lewisaino]

He became a better shaped Ram

[@firewar28]

This was actually my second wrestlemania, with my first being 24

[@Wrestleism]

Thank you for pointing out the annual/anniversary discrepancy. That drove me crazy.

[@auraofazure]

Got a few extra notes about this show: The tag team title match that was bumped to being the dark match was actually the World (Raw) and WWE (SmackDown) tag title unification match. Bumped in favor of a concert with a crowd that couldn’t care one bit about, and ended up getting cut from the home video release. The original hype package for the Jericho match actually did use clips from The Wrestler on the actual pay-per-view, but have been cut because of obvious rights issues. Lest we forget that in that “what about Jack, man?” promo from Matt Hardy, that’s when they were experimenting with promos on SmackDown having dubbed-in music. It was a weird time. This wasn’t even the only time they did the “you will lose the title if you get DQ’ed” stip at Wrestlemania, they’d do it again at 28 with CM Punk. That one sucked just as much as this one. And this was also the very first PPV that I was able to actually buy, at the ripe age of 15. Chock that up to being a dumb teen. EDIT: Also, the Orton-Trips storyline was what lead to his and Stephanie’s marriage becoming “canon” on television. What a way to go about that.

[@Shouperman]

This was the first ppv I ever bought and I was 15 as well. I wouldn't say we were dumb teens by purchasing this one. It was very much worth the price, in my opinion😁. Now if we skipped 25 and instead had gotten 26, then I'd certainly agree with that statement lol

[@KidCthulhu82]

The thing that annoyed me most about HHH v Orton headlining was that we had seen it a million times before. Y2J was the hottest heel in 2008, he should have gone into that angle with HHH and Orton ''The Legend killer'' should have had the match with the legends.

[@jkakaqw]

While I agree, Jericho and Triple H had already mainevented WM 18 and due to Michaels vs Taker they wouldn’t top that match. Plus this would’ve been the second time they would be outshined by a midcard match.

[@CDpanda365]

The editing in this video made me chuckle. Bravo lol

[@cram2979]

Will never forget this, I was there got to see my favorite ever Shawn Michaels wrestle one of his best matches.

[@ultimakewl]

im surprised you didnt mention that the kid rock 'concert' was him, a guy from detroit, michigan, singing 'sweet home alabama' at a show in texas

[@Ryusuta]

I don't think I've ever agreed with a wrestling crowd more than when they chanted "You've still got it!" to Steamboat as a result of this performance. Make no mistake about it - on that night, and on their follow-up performance, he did.

[@annualgiftman9472]

Thank you for these reviews, they entertain me : )

[@nekoking8330]

This was my first wrestlemania I ever watched. Seeing Undertaker vs Shawn Michael was an unforgettable family moment.

[@falcosemmler6653]

Can we just appreciate how classy jbl quit? No retirement ceremony, no epic sendoff, just a hated heel losing and playing his part till the end. And he never returned to my knowledge. I know he seems to be a bit of a douche irl, but he gave his character the perfect sendoff, booed and laughed upon by all

[@falcosemmler6653]

@@theitfactorjameswheezer2852 yeah should've specified in an in ring capacity

[@kael2450]

Apparently Vince wanted Greg Valentine in that Handicap elimination match instead of Steamboat but Jericho pitched Ricky because IIR at the time he'd been coaching down in Florida and was more ready for a match then Greg was. That Santina crap, you just know Vince was howling with laughter during that whole segment. Also that SFX scream is it just me or does it sound like The Fiends horror noise.

[@jb888888888]

If Valentine had been in the match it would have been over while he was still just warming up.

[@grizzly_lariatto]

Was here for this as a graduation present and the only thing I was pissed about was how i missed the Colons/Miz & Morrison match lol remember being really looking forward to it.

[@Brianvanmoustache]

everything hornswoggle did here, pretty amazing. the tiny ladder, the adorable tadpole splash, loved it lol

[@MazeDaGr8]

The Wrestlemania where we saw one of the Greatest matches in wrestling history 💯

[@jayharv285]

Seriously that divas battle royale was the best match of the card hands down

[@chrisstead5216]

For all of the moments and matches at WM this year, what is everyone looking forward too the most?? For me, Its Edge vs AJ Styles, Seth vs Cody (the clues and easter eggs are there, if you look) and to a lesser extent, Brock vs Roman

[@donavondavis1550]

Bianca vs Becky all the way

[@sheriffdraws8789]

Brock vs Roman Won't have been interesting in it if they were playing the same roles as before. Their current characters make the feud fresh. Hopefully the match delivers. Can't wait to see Cody too

[@tthomaselli2]

Brian Zane posed a very good question at 23:06 & I found myself asking this same question while watching 'WWE WrestleMania 25' at a friend's house along with his cousin/next-door neighbor.

[@lukeharbolt7681]

Favorite Day of the week Z-Man!!!!

[@adamcrain8913]

I was at this WM, and while the show wasn't perfect, I still can't believe I witnessed one of if not the greatest WM match of all time in Shawn vs Taker. Also that Diva's Battle Royal was even more confusing live because there was no commentary.

[@FabledFew]

What do you mean there was no commentary? Isn’t that the case for the whole show?

[@adamcrain8913]

@@FabledFew when you go to a live show, there is no commentary, so Michael Cole or your commentator for whatever country you are from is not there to tell you what is happening if you can’t see it or if you are far away or your view is obscured. So for that Diva’s Battle Royale, the upper deck where I was seated it was just a bunch of women in the ring and even when Santino was left it was hard to gauge who it was from where I was sitting. You could see on the big screen where they had the broadcast showing, but again there was no commentators to clue you in on anything.

[@robchuk4136]

Same. This was the 2nd WM I attended live and I was going to the restroom and told my brother I'd be back for the Divas Battle Royal when the entrances start, and it wasn't just cut on TV- there really weren't any entrances! Came back and everyone's already fighting in the ring. With no commentary to help, (and not the best seats) I was so confused who was actually participating. And yes, I lost my voice cheering for HBK to break the streak

[@brettt141]

I thought this was a new video after rock took codys main event

[@jalencarter4210]

This the first ppv I ever watched! It made me fall in love with the sport!

[@TheBigJere]

Perfect timing for this review. My birthday is today. :D

[@TheTomHicks]

The funny thing to me about that Anti-Cena Guy is you can see that same dude wearing a Chain Gang shirt at WrestleMania 21. Daniel Bryan was right to call the fans fickle lol

[@johntc1784]

Gotta love how in an Extreme Rules match the ref doesn't count a pinfall because of a foot on the ropes. 🤣

[@redmangc]

Its an extreme rules, not falls count anywhere. Now if he was in a submission thats a different story

[@shawnschaitel838]

santino winning that match in a drag was awesome

[@bryanhultgren7215]

This was the first wrestlemania that I watched on pay-per-view, and I still remember it to this day. My brother, his friends, and I were going completely insane during the undertaker vs Shawn Michaels match

[@VinnieGer]

I remember I bought a cheap little Wrestlemania 25 t-shirt from Walmart and wore it every Wednesday. I was super excited to watch my first Wrestlemania. Luckily I was a kid so all the matches were great for me.

[@TheSolXP]

I was at that No Way Out where Edge did the title switcheroo and it may not have translated on screen, but there was some Rated R nuclear heat that night.

[@princealigorna7468]

Steamboat looked awesome! Still flying around like it's 1990 and he's showing the way for the future of the business

[@ndingo]

I remember watching this PPV live and when Kidd Rock started sing i remember saying COME ON IS THIS A WRESTLING SHOW OR A ROCK (no pun intended) CONCERT???