Kevin Reviews The WrestleMania Openers (21-25)

Going through all of these old WrestleMania openers has really ended up taking me through my childhood. I remember these shows pretty vividly to be honest. A lot changed in this five year period and a lot stayed the same. We saw John Cena rise to the top of the company and stay there, competing for the WWE or World Heavyweight Title at all five of these events. We said goodbye to the likes of Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Ric Flair and others for a variety of reasons. The WWE went from a TV-14 product to a more kid friendly PG rating. WrestleMania made the transition from regular arenas to big, extravagant stadiums and they haven’t looked back since. If memory serves me right, none of these Manias were bad and hopefully, neither are their opening contests.

WrestleMania 21
Rey Mysterio def. Eddie Guerrero in 12:22
For the first time ever, two Tag Team Champions would face each other at WrestleMania. Eddie Guerrero wanted to prove that he could still compete at a singles level. A year earlier, he was the WWE Champion entering Mania. Interestingly enough, it would be Rey Mysterio that walked out of WrestleMania a year later with the World Championship. As expected, the work between these guys was very crisp. They knew each other so well and wrestled so many times in their careers that it was effortless at times. Now, they’ve had plenty of better matches, including some later in the year but I liked how this one worked in the scope of their rivalry. Former enemies turned friends and partners, they had a competitive match that was very back and forth with plenty of near falls. They really played up how even they were as Rey won with a rana from out of nowhere. It was the first big step towards a more personal feud between the two and worked perfectly in that aspect. This would go down as the last WrestleMania appearance for Eddie, and I’d say this was his second best Mania match. ***½

WrestleMania 22
World Tag Team Championship: Big Show and Kane (c) def. Carlito and Chris Masters in 6:41
Okay, so this is where my fantasy booking comes back into play. Carlito and Chris Masters were a pairing that I actually really enjoyed for reasons I don’t even really know. They had survived to the end of an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE Title and should have been involved in Money in the Bank this year. I’d go deeper into exactly how I’d rework the entire card but that’s not for today. Here, Big Show and Kane were in the midst of a relatively dominant tandem that had a decent run with the belts. This match really felt like something that was added to the card as filler, even though the names involved were kind of big. They had a very basic tag team match that saw the champions retain and played into the eventual split of Carlito and Masters, though it never led to any kind of extended program between the two. They wrestled this like it was a house show or a match you’d get on free TV. Easily one of the lesser openers of the last decade though it was mostly inoffensive.  **

WrestleMania 23
Money in the Bank: Mr. Kennedy def. CM Punk, Edge, Finlay, Jeff Hardy, King Booker, Matt Hardy and Randy Orton in 19:10
A few more firsts here. This was the first time that the Money in the Bank match opened WrestleMania. It was also the first WrestleMania to feature ECW, which had reopened under the WWE banner in 2006. Also, most guys in this match were making their Mania debuts. There was a lot to like about this. It was, at the time, the biggest Money in the Bank match. Money in the Bank had already established itself as a spotfest to behold. All eight guys got a chance to shine and get in some cool spots. There was a good dose of comedy like Booker pulling out a tiny ladder (complete with WUT DA HELL sound effect) and the involvement of Hornswoggle. We also got treated to the big spots, like Edge and Jeff Hardy’s memorable ladder spot as well as Kennedy taking out Hornswoggle with a super Green Bay Plunge. Orton went crazy with the RKOs, CM Punk got showcased and everything clicked well, which is hard to do with so many moving parts. It came down to Kennedy and Punk and Kennedy pulled down the briefcase. The pop for his victory was pretty great considering he was a heel. Injuries would ruin this as they were building towards him cashing in at Mania 24, only for him to have to lose it to Edge. In a bit of foreshadowing, Punk was involved in the finish here, and the same would hold true for the next two years. A great Money in the Bank.  ****

WrestleMania XXIV
Belfast Brawl: John “Bradshaw” Layfield def. Finlay in 8:36
It had certainly been a while since Bradshaw opened a WrestleMania. The last time was over ten years earlier and since then, he had gone through multiple transformations. One of the worst things about 2007 was the overuse of Hornswoggle. However, it ended up coming to an end in a pretty fun match here. Hornswoggle was revealed to be Mr. McMahon’s illegitimate son. Vince hated this and that was a main storyline for months. JBL was brought into teach Hornswoggle a lesson in tough love. Finlay was handcuffed and forced to watch as JBL destroyed Hornswoggle. JBL revealed that Finlay was Hornswoggle’s real dad and it led to this. Going in, I wouldn’t have been interested in this match but making it a Belfast Brawl was crucial. Both of these guys’ strong suit is the brawl. Letting them go out and beat the hell out of each other for eight minutes led to the best possible match between the two. They used some weapons but their fists may have done the most damage throughout. The crowd was hot and JBL knew how to get more heat, even throwing a garbage can at Hornswoggle at one point. This was a fun start to one of the best WrestleManias of all time, and a fine spot for two grizzled veterans.  ***

WrestleMania XXV
Money in the Bank: CM Punk def. Christian, Finlay, Kane, Kofi Kingston, Mark Henry, MVP, Shelton Benjamin in 14:23
MVP was fresh off of ending a losing streak and held the US Title. We got our third straight opener involving Finlay. The first Mania back for Christian. The WrestleMania debut of Kofi Kingston. That’s about it for the quick notes. One year earlier, CM Punk shocked the world and won Money in the Bank. Despite winning the World Title and never actually losing it, he found himself back in the same position. Now, unlike the opener two years prior, this wasn’t as wide open. Of the eight guys involved, most people really only saw Christian, MVP, Punk and maybe Kingston as a potential winner (though I thought it was far too early for Kofi). He was here in a bit of a passing of the torch as Benjamin kind of moved over so he could become the new athletic guy with the cool spots. And yes, Kofi got in some sweet moments throughout. Still, Benjamin had one of the biggest with a huge senton off of a massive ladder. While this was a very good opener, it didn’t quite reach the previous Money in the Bank levels. Hell, it was the worst up until this point but that’s mainly because they set such a high standard. Punk retrieved the briefcase for a second straight year, though this time it was to a bit more of a lukewarm reaction as the crowd badly wanted Christian. A good start to the show but there have clearly been better Money in the Banks.  ***½

Another set of openers down and only one more group to go. I found this to be the most consistent batch. None of the matches are bad and all but one are really good. The Money in the Bank matches made it better since they almost always delivered. They also allowed me to see a lot of different performers. Again, we were able to see a pattern. Future World Champions like Mysterio, Punk, Christian and Jeff Hardy all showed up, while a reliable veteran like Finlay was used to kick things off multiple times. The WWE had officially seemed to figure out that a hot opener with talented individuals was vital. The final batch of openers has a tough task to surpass this group. That will be the only set to feature six WrestleManias instead of the usual five.