Wrestling fans love to argue. It’s basically our national pastime. But if you bring up the WrestleMania 25 match card, the conversation almost always hits a brick wall of total agreement on one specific thing: it was a one-match show.
Honestly? That’s kinda unfair, but also mostly true.
When WWE rolled into Houston in 2009, they billed the event as the "25th Anniversary of WrestleMania." (Math nerds correctly pointed out it was actually the 24th anniversary, but hey, marketing). The card looked stacked on paper. You had a blood feud between Triple H and Randy Orton, a massive Triple Threat for the World Heavyweight Title, and a literal brother-versus-brother Extreme Rules match.
But we all know why we still talk about this show seventeen years later. It’s the night the "Streak" became something more than just a statistic.
The Match That Broke the Scale
You can’t talk about the WrestleMania 25 match card without starting in the middle. Usually, the main event is the closer, but the real main event happened about two-thirds of the way through the night.
The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels.
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It was light versus dark. Heaven versus hell. Michaels descended from the rafters in a pure white coat, looking like a literal angel. Taker rose from the floor surrounded by fire and smoke. It was simple, effective, and perfect.
The match itself lasted 30 minutes and 44 seconds. It shouldn't have been that good. Both guys were well into their 40s. Taker almost died—literally—when he attempted a suicide dive to the outside and the "cameraman" (played by Sim Snuka) failed to catch him. He landed right on his head. You could hear the collective gasp of 72,000 people.
But they kept going.
The drama wasn't just in the moves. It was the kickouts. When Michaels kicked out of the Tombstone Piledriver, the look on Undertaker’s face became an instant piece of wrestling history. That "shocked Taker" meme didn't exist yet, but the feeling did. Eventually, Taker caught Shawn mid-moonsault for a final Tombstone to go 17-0. It was the peak of the industry.
What Else Was on the Card?
Since most people just watch the HBK/Taker highlights on YouTube, it's easy to forget there were actually eight other matches. Some were great; others were... well, they happened.
- WWE Championship: Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton. This had one of the best builds in history. Orton had RKO’d Stephanie and punted Vince. It was personal. Then, the match had a "if Triple H is DQ’d, he loses the title" stipulation. It sucked the life out of a grudge match. They tried to wrestle a "technical" classic after the crowd had already seen the greatest match ever. It didn't work.
- World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) vs. John Cena vs. Big Show. This is the match where Cena famously lifted both men at the same time for the Attitude Adjustment. It was a fun, chaotic Triple Threat that played on the weird love triangle storyline involving Vickie Guerrero.
- Money in the Bank Ladder Match: CM Punk won for the second year in a row. It’s weird seeing Christian, Kane, and Mark Henry all in the same ladder match, but it provided the usual high-octane opening the show needed.
- Brother vs. Brother: Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy. An Extreme Rules match that saw Matt win after a Twist of Fate through a chair. It was solid, though it never quite reached the emotional heights people expected from the Hardy Boyz imploding.
- Chris Jericho vs. The Legends: Jericho took on Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, and Jimmy Snuka. While Snuka and Piper showed their age, Steamboat looked like he hadn't aged a day since 1989. He was incredible. Afterward, Mickey Rourke (fresh off The Wrestler) hopped in the ring and "knocked out" Jericho.
The Hits and the Misses
Basically, the WrestleMania 25 match card suffered from a massive pacing issue. How do you follow Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker? You don't.
Rey Mysterio beat JBL for the Intercontinental Title in exactly 21 seconds. JBL quit immediately after. It was a weird moment, mostly serving to get the title off a guy who was ready to retire, but it felt like a speed bump.
Then there was the "Miss WrestleMania" Battle Royal. 25 women in the ring, and the winner was... Santina Marella. It was Santino Marella in drag. Looking back, it’s a segment that hasn't aged well at all, especially considering the talent like Beth Phoenix and Mickie James who were involved just to be the butt of a joke.
The Full Results At A Glance
| Match | Stipulation | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| CM Punk vs. Christian vs. Finlay vs. Kane vs. Kofi Kingston vs. Mark Henry vs. MVP vs. Shelton Benjamin | Money in the Bank | CM Punk |
| 25-Diva Battle Royal | Miss WrestleMania | Santina Marella |
| Chris Jericho vs. Ricky Steamboat, Roddy Piper & Jimmy Snuka | Handicap Elimination | Chris Jericho |
| Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy | Extreme Rules | Matt Hardy |
| JBL (c) vs. Rey Mysterio | Intercontinental Championship | Rey Mysterio |
| The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels | Singles Match | The Undertaker |
| Edge (c) vs. John Cena vs. Big Show | World Heavyweight Title | John Cena |
| Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton | WWE Championship | Triple H |
Why the Legacy of WM25 is Complicated
If you're a student of the game, you've probably noticed that the WrestleMania 25 match card changed the way WWE books their big shows. Before this, "The Main Event" was the match for the gold. After 2009, the "Workrate Match" or the "Legend Match" became just as important.
Shawn and Taker proved that the audience cared more about the story of the Streak than they did about the WWE Championship. It was a shift in philosophy.
However, it also taught WWE a hard lesson about "the graveyard slot." Triple H and Randy Orton had to follow a match that left the audience emotionally spent. The crowd was quiet. Not because they didn't like the guys, but because they had no energy left to give. Since then, you’ve seen WWE get much better at placing a "buffer" segment or a cooldown match between two huge bouts.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you’re going back to watch the WrestleMania 25 match card on Peacock or the WWE Network, do yourself a favor: don’t skip the entrances.
The contrast between Shawn’s "ascension" and Taker’s "descent" tells you everything you need to know about the match before a single lock-up happens. Also, pay attention to Jim Ross on commentary. This was one of the last truly great "Big Match JR" performances. His voice cracking as Michaels kicks out of the Tombstone is what pro wrestling is all about.
The technical brilliance of Ricky Steamboat in the legends match is also worth a second look. He was 56 years old and moving better than guys half his age. It’s a bittersweet reminder of a different era of wrestling.
To get the most out of your rewatch, pair this event with the following year’s WrestleMania 26. The sequel to Michaels/Taker (Streak vs. Career) is arguably just as good, but it actually got the main event slot it deserved.
If you want to dive deeper into the history of these specific performers, look for the WWE Rivals episode covering Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. It gives some pretty fascinating behind-the-scenes context on why these two, who famously didn't get along in the 90s, were able to create magic once they both became the "elder statesmen" of the locker room.