411 Ranks The WrestleManias: #7 – WrestleMania 21

While he lost the title at WrestleMania XX, HHH would regain the title and roll into WrestleMania XXI with the title again. But unfortunately for him Evolution was a thing of the past, and the man known as Batista would win the Rumble and realize that he was being abused and held back. Batista challenging for the title would cement the demise of the Evolution and the rise of a new star. WrestleMania would also unleash a new concept, the Money in the Bank match. This was a ladder match in which the competitors fight for a title shot, good for ANYTIME in the next year. Friends would collide as Rey Mysterio would battle Eddie Guerrero, the Undertaker would again put his streak on the line against Randy Orton, and a true dream match in Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels would finally take place…

* Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero @ 12:37 via pin
* Money in the Bank Match: Edge defeated Christian, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Kane and Shelton Benjamin @ 16:15 to earn a title shot
* The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton @ 14:13 via pin
* WWE Women’s Title Match: Trish Stratus © defeated Christi Hemme @ 4:45 to retain the Women’s Title via pin
* Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels @ 27:30 via submission
* Akebono defeated The Big Show in a sumo challenge @ 1:01
* WWE Title Match: John Cena defeated JBL @ 11:26 to become the NEW WWE CHAMPION via pin
* World Title Match: Batista defeated HHH @ 22:33 to become the NEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION via pin

Steve Cook
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels [****½] Bobby Heenan said after the show that Angle vs. Michaels was the best match he’d ever seen. I don’t think I’d go quite that far, but it was a match featuring two of wrestling’s all time greats at or around their very best. Angle was on his A game and Michaels was on his A game as well…they were definitely motivated to put on a show. HBK being in the ankle lock forever at the end of the match kind of holds it back from “best of all time” status for me, but it was definitely an outstanding match. Probably Kurt’s best ever.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: JBL vs. John Cena [*½] I didn’t have this as the lowest rated match on the show, but it disappointed more than any other match on the card and didn’t really do its job. This match was supposed to be John Cena’s big moment where he’d emerge as a man ready to carry WWE into the future. It was Cena’s first WWE title win, and he should have had an impressive showing against the man that’d held the WWE title for the past nine months. Instead, we got a match dominated by JBL where Cena looked like he didn’t even belong in the ring with the man, and he got a fluke victory at the end. Cena didn’t have his shining moment, and the match was dull to say the least. Big Show vs. Akebono was a bigger waste of time, but nobody expected that to be any good.

Show MVP And Why: Batista. Batista’s face turn against Triple H & Ric Flair was as well-booked as anything in WWE during this time period, and it showed in the high buyrate the show got. He came off like an intelligent monster with style that would still destroy people in the ring. It seemed like Batista was going to become the man to carry WWE into the future, along with John Cena. That didn’t exactly happen due to Batista having injury problems before his career ended, but this show was when he got to the next level and became a top guy.

Your Thoughts on The Show: This WrestleMania had some great stuff on it. Michaels vs. Angle was tremendous, Money in the Bank started a WrestleMania tradition, Undertaker vs. Randy Orton was probably Taker’s first great WrestleMania match, and Batista & Triple H had a good main event. There was also some really bad stuff on it too, like Show vs. Akebono, JBL vs. Cena, Trish Stratus vs. Christy Hemme, and what should have been a classic WM opening match with Rey Mysterio & Eddie Guerrero was marred by Rey constantly adjusting his mask to the point where it distracted from the rest of the match. WrestleMania 21 isn’t quite up to the standards of the WrestleManias of this era, but it was still a fine show.

Greg DeMarco
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: One of the reasons I jumped when an opportunity arose to write about this card was because I enjoy it so much. That’s apparent when I realize I can’t narrow it down to one “Best Thing/Match.” So you get a list…

Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle – This isn’t just the best match on the card, it’s one of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history. That’s an indisputable fact. Here’s where my opinion comes into play: it’s the greatest match ever wrestled. Yes I’ve seen every televised Flair vs. Steamboat and plenty of Bret Hart matches. I love me some Dolph Ziggler and Daniel Bryan and have seen almost every Ring of Honor event through 2011. But nothing touches this match. They had great wrestling, and they told a great story. Those two things are often independent of each other, but here they were one in the same. Coming in at over 27 minutes, this was the longest match on the show and by far the best. There was no real stake other than it being an “interpromotional match” between a Raw and a Smackdown superstar. The build was entertaining, but the match blew away the build. Angle won via submission, but that doesn’t matter here. It’s cliché, but the real winners were in fact the fans.

Money In The Bank – There can only be one first. First kiss, first sexual encounter, first time seeing Star Wars, and the first ever Money In The Bank ladder match. And the first ever Money In The Bank Ladder Match is one of the best. It delivered in many spectacular ways, leading to Edge grabbing the first ever briefcase and setting the table for an amazing main event career. And how many times has this idea been ripped off since WrestleMania 21? It was that groundbreaking.

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero – A match featuring the WWE Tag Team Champions against one another—on a card with zero tag tem matches—and that didn’t bother me one bit. It was one of their best encounters, as Eddie assumed he could beat Rey…yet he didn’t. This would be Eddie Guerrero’s final WrestleMania match, and it delivered.

Mohammad Hassan, Shawn Daivari, Eugene and Hulk Hogan – This was easily the best use of Hulk Hogan possible on this card. Unable to even consider dropping the big leg, Hogan saved Eugene from certain death (I’m kidding) and destroyed the “foreigners” in a moment that wasn’t about foreigners at all. It was about Hulk Hogan reminding us what it was like to be kids watching wrestling again.

Piper’s Pit with Roddy Piper, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Carlito – Two non-match, in-ring segments and both made my list here. Piper and Austin are great together, and Carlito—much like Hassan and Daivari before him—played his role to perfection. It made the crowd happy, and it entertained at the same time.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Big Show vs. Akebono – Really, I need to explain to you why a Sumo match made the “worst” category? Okay, fine. This was crap…pure crap. It was one minute long after all of the ceremonial garbage was over, and it featured Big Show in a mawashi. And if I never see Big Show in a diaper again it’ll be too soon.

Show MVP And Why: This might be an unpopular choice, but the show MVP was Chris Benoit. He took a damn beating in the Money In The Bank Ladder Match, including a crazy diving headbutt off of the ladder. He also took a hellacious bump at the end of the match. This card was full of great performers, but Benoit laid it all on the line on this night.

Your Thoughts on The Show: I’ve long felt like this was a vastly underrated WrestleMania. It was entertaining both in and out of the ring, launched the main event runs of Edge, Randy Orton, Batista and of course John Cena, introduced the world to Money In The Bank, and featured Eddie Guerrero’s final WrestleMania appearance. I know the main event world title matches left some people disappointed, and I’ve read that if the match order was different and Angle vs. Michaels went on last this could be viewed as the greatest WrestleMania of all time. It’s right up there—in the top 5—for me

Alex Crowder
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels. Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels had one of the greatest matches of all-time in my opinion. These guys went about 30 minutes using old school techniques like the patented headlock and crazy modernized techniques as well like the pop up angle slam. This match was a work of art with crazy nearfalls. I would argue this match is equal to The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels I at WrestleMania. This match is so good; it can be compared to that. If you have never seen this match, do so now. This match might be my favorite WrestleMania match and is the second best WrestleMania match. This match is five stars easy.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Women’s Title: Christy Hemme vs. Trish Stratus(c). The women’s title match between Trish Stratus and Christy Hemme was the worst match of the night without question. Akebono had a short match with Big Show, so I’m not bothered by that. The match didn’t even last two minutes. Christy Hemme going about 4 minutes in a wrestling match feels like forever. Trish held it together as well as she could, but it didn’t turn out that great. I wouldn’t call it the worst match ever, but everything else on this show was mostly good.

Show MVP And Why: Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels tied. I know Shawn Michaels is Mr. WrestleMania, but Kurt Angle didn’t compete at as many WrestleMania. Can you really find a performance at WrestleMania where Kurt Angle does not perform well? Kurt Angle was his own Mr. WrestleMania with less matches. Kurt Angle always brings it to the big stages as does Shawn Michaels. Shawn Michaels loves the big stage and always shows up.

Your Thoughts on The Show: I think I liked this WrestleMania more than most people. I had this WrestleMania ranked 4th best out of every WrestleMania. The opening Guerrero and Mysterio match starts the night off perfectly. The first ever Money in the Bank is the greatest car crash match ever (yes better than TLC). Chris Benoit brought the best psychology I’ve ever seen in a ladder match. Shelton Benjamin scaling the ladder and clotheslining someone is incredible. Shelton hitting the exploder off the ladder, and if I recall Edge hit the Edgecution off a ladder. I could go all day describing that match. The Undertaker and Randy Orton match reignited the greatest streak we’ve ever seen in pro wrestling. The past few Undertaker matches were mediocre before this one. After this, The Undertaker became a highlight of WrestleMania. Randy Orton actually threatened the streak for the first time in a while. Trish and Christy was the first bad match of the night. Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels is one of the best matches ever. The Akebono and Big Show match is short, so I won’t fault it. John Cena and JBL under whelmed me in a rushed effort. JBL’s reign of terror deserved a better end. I would call John Cena and JBL the second bad match of the night. I think the ending was far too anticlimactic. It is kind of sad to think that JBL’s reign ended in a mediocre fashion and Cena’s ascension happened in a bad match. The main event between Batista and Triple H was pretty damn good. I did not like the rematch, and the Hell in a Cell was certainly better…but their first effort was pretty good. Triple H gave Batista a lot of offense and it worked. Triple H made Batista single-handedly. This event started the rise of Batista, and really WWE has not booked anyone as well since excluding Lesnar. It was a good way to end WrestleMania with a face the fans cheered celebrating.

The List So Far…
30. WrestleMania 9
29. WrestleMania 2
28. WrestleMania 11
27. WrestleMania 4
26. WrestleMania 15
25. WrestleMania 27
24. WrestleMania 29
23. WrestleMania 25
22. WrestleMania 5
21. WrestleMania 13
20. WrestleMania
19. WrestleMania 6
18. WrestleMania 16
17. WrestleMania 7
16. WrestleMania 12
15. WrestleMania 8
14. WrestleMania 22
13. WrestleMania 28
12. WrestleMania 18
11. WrestleMania 14
10. WrestleMania 26
9. WrestleMania 23
8. WrestleMania 24
7. WrestleMania 21

REMINDER, each 411 writer had the opportunity to rank the WrestleMania events (based on overall quality, historical significance and personal preference), those rankings went into creating the final list.