4/5 WWE WrestleMania 25 PPV Reax

Michael Sears of New Mexico (7.5): Best Match: Taker vs. HBK. Worst Match: Divas Battle Royal. Well, this WrestleMania was both a little good and a little bad, like some previous years. Was I the only one that caught Michael Cole saying how Finlay almost won Money in the Bank last year with the help of Hornswoggle? I clearly recall Finlay facing JBL last year. Oh well, as far as the actual MITB match went, they all hit some good spots, with Kofi being the 2008 version of Shelton Benjamin by stealing the show. I figured either Punk or Christian would have won, but I still think Shelton deserves to win one. The Divas debacle was a waste of time. It was funny for like five seconds, then was just sad. I would have much rather witnessed the tag title match. I enjoyed the Hardy match, especially the unique ending, which made me cringe a bit. I'm glad to see Rey as IC champ, but a 21 second match? Seriously? The Legends vs. Jericho match wasn't as bad as I expected, with Steamboat, deservedly so, getting the majority of work. Snuka looked to be in horrible condition, but Piper moved better than I expected. The ending with Rourke was very blah; nothing special at all. The World Heavyweight title match was better than I expected, as well, but it was only a matter of time before Superman donned his cape and won the title. They really need to do something fresh with Cena. Maybe he can start acting in movies... err, never mind. The WWE Title match was very anti-climactic, with no McMahon involvement or Legacy interference. Hunter's punt on Orton looked very weak. Undertaker-Michaels should have been the main event hands down. It is the only reason I really wanted to order the event, much like last year when Michaels-Flair was the most intriguing match. I was surprised neither of them juiced, but with the WWE's new "PG" attitude, I guess that would have been too much, although we still get to see guys in drag.

Pradeep Kachhala of London, England (6.0): Best Match: Taker vs. HBK. Worst Match: Divas Battle Royal. WM follows a pattern every year now: HBK steals the show, MITB is at least four-stars, and then all the momentum is lost when Orton/Cena/Triple H have their matches. It was a distinctly average card for what is at the moment a distinctly average product. HBK and MITB cannot save WM every year, though. The stadium itself looked really bland with blueish-gray tones, unlike last year which really stood out. Also I felt that most of the grand entrances (especially Undertaker's) were absent. From a visual perspective, WrestleMania kept with the bland tone of the card overall. Perhaps this was due to cost-cutting measures in harsh economic times? The Legends match was as expected. Over the weeks, any excitement at the potential match-up subsided. Jericho will now move on to better things. MITB was good and a few missed spots from being a classic. The Punk finish was unexpected, but that is not a bad thing necessarily. Diva battle royal was awful, as was Kid Rock. Sorry, I am not a fan, and would rather have seen Miz and Morrison. (No wonder Carlito gets annoyed at WWE!) These are future stand-out stars. Undertaker vs. HBK was awesome, but we knew it was going to be. The timing of this below the two title matches meant the card peaked at the two-and-a-half hour mark, much like Hogan vs. The Rock at WM18. The less said about the Cena-Show-Edge match the better, while Hunter-Orton was as bland as I thought it would be. Orton has been pushed to the moon, but the crowd (and me at home) was flat for this one. Anyways, WWE has fulfilled their obsession with Orton and Hunter main-eventing Mania. Finally, you just know that they are going to have Cena end Taker's streak eventually.

Patrick Michael of Rochester, N.Y. (6.5): The legacy of WrestleMania 25 will likely be remembered for one thing and that was the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels pulling out all the stops. The match possibly could live up to the legacy of the Michaels vs. Razor Ramon ladder match at WrestleMania 10. Overall though, WrestleMania was an average show at best. They opened with a very solid Money in the Bank match that had enough cool spots to justify having the match each year after the format began to get stale last year. C.M. Punk winning showed that Vince McMahon had little confidence in anyone else in the match to carry a main event program. The Diva Battle Royal was a mess. The pacing of the show was odd, though, and it began to drag until the very solid Taker and Michaels match. The match was excellent, built the tension and had so many false finishes that you would have though Giant Baba was booking the finish. The victim of the night came down to the main event as the crowd at this point was looking fatigued even though Hunter and Orton gave a strong performance. They just could not gel or get the crowd solidly into the match. It followed the tried and true Triple H main event booking, which may have been the problem. The most glaring omission on the show was the lack of lower-card workers getting a spot. Jack Swagger, Tyson Kidd, and Evan Bourne could have put on a solid match and moving the Miz/Morrison vs. Carlito/Primo to the pre-show killed the credibility of the tag team titles.

We welcome your 0-10 score and comments on this show for a "WWE PPV Reax" feature in the Torch Feedback section of PWTorch.com. Just to add a twist to this feature, include not just your hometown, but also your occupation (mechanic, lawyer, stay-at-home-dad, college student, etc.) so readers get a flavor for what everyone does as "day jobs." To contribute your thoughts on the PPV, click here.

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