WrestleMania 23
Encyclopedia
WrestleMania 23 was the twenty-third annual WrestleMania
professional wrestling
pay-per-view
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE). It took place on April 1, 2007 at Ford Field
in Detroit, Michigan. The event was the first WrestleMania at Ford Field and the second to take place in the Detroit
metropolitan area
(following WrestleMania III
, at the Pontiac Silverdome
, in Pontiac, Michigan
).
The event was a joint-brand
pay-per-view, featuring performers from the Raw
, SmackDown!, and ECW brands. Eight professional wrestling matches
were featured on the event's supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena
versus Shawn Michaels
for the WWE Championship
, in which Cena won. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Batista versus The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship
, in which The Undertaker was victorious. The primary match on the ECW brand was an Eight Man Tag Team match between The ECW Originals
and The New Breed
; The ECW Originals claimed victory in the match. The featured matches on the undercard included Bobby Lashley versus Umaga
and an interpromotional Money in the Bank ladder match
.
Tickets for the event went on sale on November 11, 2006. The all-time Ford Field attendance record of 80,103 consisted of people from all fifty states, twenty-four countries, and nine Canadian provinces, making it the second highest attendance at a WWE event, behind WrestleMania 3. WrestleMania 23 grossed
US$
5.38 million in ticket sales, breaking the previous record of $3.9 million held at WrestleMania X8
. WWE estimated that $25 million was pumped into the Detroit economy. With 1.2 million buys, the event had the highest WrestleMania buyrate in history.
that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains
or fan favorites
as they followed a series of events which built tension, culminating in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main staged rivalry
heading into WrestleMania 23 was between WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
and Donald Trump
. On the January 8 edition of Raw, Trump faced off against his real-life rival, Rosie O'Donnell
. Trump won the contest, although local wrestlers portrayed Trump and O'Donnell. During McMahon's "Fan Appreciation Night" on the January 29 edition of Raw, Trump interrupted and dropped large sums of money into the arena. The following month, the two came up with a match for WrestleMania, where the stipulations for the match were that they each had to choose a representative to wrestle for them and the loser would have his head shaved bald. This match was then billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires". McMahon picked Umaga
as his representative, while Trump picked Bobby Lashley. After successfully defending his ECW World Championship against Hardcore Holly
in a Steel Cage match, a match in which the ring is surrounded by a steel cage on an edition of ECW on Sci Fi, Lashley charged at the cage, slammed through it, and landed atop of Umaga, who was at ringside. On the March 5 edition of Raw, Steve Austin
was appointed as special guest referee for the "Battle of the Billionaires" match at WrestleMania. On the March 26 edition of Raw, McMahon faced off against Lashley in a No Disqualification match. In the match, several people interfered on McMahon's behalf, including Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, Chris Masters
, Johnny Nitro, and Umaga. This interference allowed McMahon to win the bout.
The main rivalry on the Raw brand was between John Cena
and Shawn Michaels
over the WWE Championship. After The Undertaker, the winner of the 2007
Royal Rumble match, made his decision to face Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, a match to determine the next challenger to the WWE Championship was announced. Michaels defeated Randy Orton
and Edge in a match involving three wrestlers to win a chance to face Cena at WrestleMania. On an edition of Raw, Orton and Edge, who were tag team
partners as Rated-RKO
, attempted to attack Cena, but Michaels ran-in and attacked them with steel chairs
. Before a scheduled tag team match between Rated-RKO and Cena and Michaels, Orton played a video that highlighted the past friendships that Michaels was involved in, before turning on the friend. In the match, Michaels nearly superkicked Cena after Orton moved. Due to a later disagreement, Edge left Orton and walked off backstage, which allowed Cena and Michaels to win the match. The following week, Michaels responded to the video set-up by Orton, and made comments regarding Cena.
After Michaels defeated Orton, Cena ran-down to the ring and saved Michaels from an attack by Edge and Orton. On the final Raw before WrestleMania, Cena and Michaels would team up to face Batista and Undertaker in a rematch from their match at No Way Out. Cena and Michaels looked set to win after performing a synchronized Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Michaels turned on Cena and superkicked him, which allowed Batista and Undertaker to win the match.
The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and The Undertaker over the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match to earn a championship match against any one of WWE's three world championships (WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW). On the February 5 episode of Raw, Undertaker chose to challenge Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship when he chokeslammed him at the center of the ring. In the weeks leading to WrestleMania, Batista and Undertaker partook in tag team matches. In the beginning of the feud, Batista claimed to have great respect for The Undertaker; however, after several attacks by The Undertaker, Batista claimed to have lost all respect for him esp.at No Way Out when Batista gained some payback by delivering a Spinebuster over The Undertaker, allowing Raw's WWE Champion, John Cena & Shawn Michaels to deliver their signature moves on The Undertaker for the victory during their interpromotional WrestleMania tag team main event.
The main feud on the ECW brand was between two teams of four; The ECW Originals
and The New Breed
. The feud mainly revolved around which team was the "dominant force" in the revived ECW brand. The two factions of four faced off in several tag team matches throughout the weeks prior to the event. The New Breed seemed to have dominated for several weeks; however, ECW Originals leader, Rob Van Dam
, defeated New Breed leader Elijah Burke in a singles match. ECW Original Tommy Dreamer issued the challenge to the New Breed for an eight-man tag team match at WrestleMania, which was accepted by Burke on behalf of The New Breed.
The last major feud involved eight men. Several weeks before WrestleMania, it was announced that the Money in the Bank ladder match
would be held again, as it was in the last two years. This year, however, there would be eight men involved, rather than six the two previous years had. Throughout the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, qualifying matches took place on all three shows. On an edition of Raw, Edge, the winner of the match held in 2005, defeated Rob Van Dam, the winner of the match held in 2006, to earn the first spot in the match. The next night on ECW, another cross-brand match took place, with CM Punk
defeating Johnny Nitro to qualify. On that week's SmackDown!, King Booker
became the third man to qualify, defeating Kane
in a Falls Count Anywhere match after The Great Khali interfered. On the next edition of Raw, Jeff Hardy
pinned Shelton Benjamin
in a match to become the fourth man to qualify. The next night on ECW, Mr. Kennedy defeated Sabu in an Extreme Rules match
to earn the fifth spot. On the next SmackDown!, two qualifying matches took place, with Matt Hardy
and Finlay
winning their respective match to qualify when Matt Hardy defeated Joey Mercury
and Finlay defeated WWE US Champion, Chris Benoit
& Montel Vontavious Porter in the Triple threat qualification match. The final qualifying match took place on Raw between Carlito
and Ric Flair
. The match was deemed a no contest after The Great Khali interfered and attacked both men. The following week, on Raw, Randy Orton defeated Flair and Carlito in elimination match to become the final man to qualify. After Edge and Orton had stopped teaming with each other, the two attempted to get the other taken out of the Money in the Bank ladder match. Both men failed, however, as Edge won a "last chance" battle royal
to retain his spot and Orton won a match on ECW to retain his.
At No Way Out, WWE United States Champion
Chris Benoit
and The Hardys
(Matt and Jeff) defeated MNM
(Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP). After Benoit and MVP had some matches with the two in them (tag team and triple threat matches), MVP decided to start showing he was the "true" United States Champion. MVP would then have matches against the "champions" of other countries (including Luxembourg
and Scotland
, who in reality were jobbers
), beating them within minutes. MVP then challenged Benoit for the title at WrestleMania.
The set design
for WrestleMania 23 began development in October 2006 after WWE set designer
, Jason Robinson, first received the final logo for the event. Robinson and his team first surveyed Ford Field
in July 2006 and began planning out the staging
and lighting
designs. After returning to the stadium in January 2007 for more site surveying, Robinson and his team finalized the set's design in February. The final design resulted in WrestleMania 23 having the largest set ever built for a WrestleMania event. It incorporated 414 LED
video screens and automated lights
, 10 spotlights
, 56 searchlight
s, 50,000 ft of cable
for pyrotechnics
and other use, and 35 stage flamethrowers used to produce 30 ft high and 6 ft wide flame
s, all which gave the set a unique look for each performer's entrance and an expanded stage lighting
element of 300 ft in width and 100 ft in height
using the specialized stage lighting instrument
s. The ramp
used to reach the ring from the entrance set was 187 ft in length
.
Though it took three weeks to fully prepare Ford Field, set assembly began the week before WrestleMania 23 and was completed shortly before the day of the event. It took a week for three hundred staff members, unloading and working from forty semi-trucks
, to build the set and assemble the event's lighting within Ford Field, far more than the usual forty hours, one hundred staff members, and fourteen semi-trucks required for the production of WWE's weekly television events. After the event concluded, it took around thirty hours to disassemble the set and lighting, also far more than the usual three hours required for WWE's weekly television events.
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a tag team lumberjack match took place with the RAW team of Ric Flair and Carlito taking on the SmackDown! team of Gregory Helms and Chavo Guerrero. Flair and Carlito controlled the early part of the match until Helms threw Flair over the top rope. SmackDown! lumberjacks attacked Flair before throwing him back into the ring. Helms and Guerrero continued to beat on Flair, but were not able to pin Flair. Chavo attempted to end it with his frog splash, but Flair moved. Chavo tagged in Helms, but Carlito got the tag from Flair. Carlito dominated Helms, which led to Guerrero coming in to help Helms, but Flair came in and fought Guerrero. Flair and Guerrero took each other out of the ring, and before the lumberjacks could throw them back in the ring, Carlito hit the Backstabber on Guerrero to pick up the win for himself and Flair.
The event officially began with Aretha Franklin
singing a rendition of "America the Beautiful
", reprising her role from twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III
.
The third annual Money in the Bank ladder match
was the first match that aired on pay-per-view, featuring eight participants; Edge, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton from Raw, King Booker (with Queen Sharmell), Mr. Kennedy, Matt Hardy and Dave Finlay from SmackDown!, and CM Punk from ECW. The match featured many notable spots, including points where Edge performed the Spear on all the other opponents, followed by Randy Orton doing the same by leveling many of the participants with his RKO later in the match. Mr. Kennedy missed a Kenton Bomb and landed on a ladder on the back of his neck. He instead received a Swanton Bomb from Jeff Hardy. Several dangerous ladder spots were also featured, including Orton performing an RKO on CM Punk whilst standing on the ladder, and King Booker hitting his Book End to Orton from the top of the ladder as well. Midway through the match, Jeff Hardy climbed a fifteen foot-high ladder inside the ring and on his brother, Matt Hardy's urging, he performed a leg drop
off of that ladder onto Edge, who was lying prone on another ladder outside the ring, set-up on the ring apron and the barricade. Due to the impact, the ladder on which Edge was placed, broke in half and he, along with Jeff, were severely injured. They were carried off on stretchers by the paramedics. Later, when Booker was about to retrieve the contract briefcase, Matt Hardy held Booker's wife, Queen Sharmell as a hostage
, threatening to perform his Twist of Fate on her. Booker went to her aid and received the Twist of Fate from Matt. Finlay fought Matt for sometime in the ring, and also performed his Celtic Cross to Matt onto a ladder. Finlay's associate Hornswoggle emerged from under the ring and attempted to retrieve the briefcase for Finlay. He was stopped by Kennedy, who performed his Green Bay Plunge on Hornswoggle. Kennedy went on to win the match, only after knocking CM Punk off a ladder by hitting him with another ladder.
The next match was billed as a "SmackDown! versus RAW Interpromotional match". RAW superstar The Great Khali faced SmackDown! superstar Kane. It was a short match, but contained a notable spot. In homage to Hulk Hogan
slamming André the Giant
twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III
, Kane picked up Khali for the first time and body-slammed him to the mat. The match ended with Khali pinning Kane after a Giant Chokeslam. After the match, Khali choked Kane out with Kane's chained hook, which was a reference to Kane's movie, See No Evil
, where his character used said hook as a signature weapon.
A backstage segment was featured next, which involved Cryme Tyme
persuading Eugene
to dance with Mae Young
and The Fabulous Moolah
, who were dressed as strippers as Cryme Tyme danced with Extreme Exposé. Also featured in the segment were WWE Legends Slick
, Ricky Steamboat
, Jimmy Hart
, Irwin R. Schyster
, Dusty Rhodes
, Sgt. Slaughter
, Howard Finkel
, Gene Okerlund
, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco
, many of whom had not been seen on television in years.
Following the segment was the WWE United States Championship
match, with Chris Benoit defending the title against Montel Vontavious Porter. The match started off with a chain of takedowns, holds, and reversals, with MVP keeping up with Benoit, even going for some submission holds
. The match lasted almost ten minutes, with Benoit attempting to lock in some of his signature submission holds, but MVP successfully reversed them, including the Crippler Crossface. The two exchanged suplex
es and holds until Benoit was able to ascend the top rope and execute a Diving headbutt on MVP, which led to Benoit getting the pinfall victory to retain the WWE United States Championship.
Howard Finkel
then introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007. The next match featured Batista defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker. The match started with Batista performing a running tackle, as known as a Spear, which he had recently adopted as a secondary finisher, to Undertaker as the bell sounded. The match went back and forth, with both men countering each other and performing their finishers. Undertaker thought he had the match won after he hit the Chokeslam
, but Batista kicked out of the pin attempt. The Undertaker was then able to perform an Last Ride to Batista. Batista was also able to execute his finisher, the Batista Bomb, a sitdown powerbomb. Midway through the match, Undertaker vaulted over the top rope and onto Batista. At one point, Batista was able to perform a running powerslam on The Undertaker through an announce table. Back in the ring, Batista executed a Spinebuster by grabbing The Undertaker by the waist and slamming him down to the mat back first, followed by a Batista Bomb. Undertaker then pinned Batista following a Tombstone piledriver to become the World Heavyweight Champion and emerge from WrestleMania with his winning streak intact. The Undertaker's win made him the first wrestler to have won both the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
The ECW Originals (Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer
, and The Sandman
) took on The New Breed (Elijah Burke
, Kevin Thorn
, Marcus Cor Von
, and Matt Striker) next. The match started off with Cor Von working over Sabu. That changed when Cor Von tagged Striker, who missed an elbow after whipping Sabu into the ropes, allowing The Sandman tho get tagged. The Sandman dominated Striker, and eventually tagged Van Dam. Van Dam used also dominated Striker, but was poked in the eye, allowing Striker to tag in Burke. Burke had early success, but Van Dam regained the advantage and tagged The Sandman again. The Sandman worked on Burke until tagging Dreamer. Dreamer also beat down Burke until Cor Von received a blind tag and hit Dreamer from behind. Cor Von attacked Dreamer relentlessly and went over and punched Sabu, which distracted the referee and allowed Dreamer to be triple-teamed by Thorn, Burke, and Striker. Cor Von tagged in Burke who almost pinned Dreamer. Thorn entered next and almost performed his finishing move called the Original Sin. Dreamer managed to escape but was unable to tag his partners. Thorn tagged in Cor Von again who also almost pinned Dreamer. Cor Von tagged Thorn again, and Thorn resumed the beat down on Dreamer. Thorn tagged Striker next, and Striker attempted a suplex that Dreamer blocked and Dreamer suplexed Striker instead. Striker did not try to tag his partners and tried to stop Dreamer, but Dreamer tagged in Sabu. Sabu began to manhandle Striker and executed a leg drop from the top rope. Van Dam was then tagged in. Burke broke up Van Dam's pin attempt, which led to all competitors entering the ring. While the referee was distracted, Ariel gave Striker a chair. But Van Dam gave Striker an Van Daminator when he kicked the chair into Striker's face. Van Dam pinned Striker after a Five-Star Frog Splash to win the match for The Originals.
The match that WWE billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires" was next, as Umaga (representing Vince McMahon) fought Bobby Lashley (representing Donald Trump), with Steve Austin serving as the special guest referee. Umaga was accompanied to the ring by Vince McMahon and by his "handler
" Armando Alejandro Estrada. Lashley was being managed by Donald Trump, who was attended to by Tara Connor. Midway through the match, Austin was attacked by Umaga, causing him to become incapacitated and was taken out of the match for several minutes. Shane McMahon
, who attempted to replace him as referee, called the match while being biased towards Umaga. After Umaga got a near-fall on Lashley, Austin pulled Shane out of the ring, gave him a Stunner
, and continued refereeing the match. Lashley won the match after a Stunner from Austin and a Spear. After the match, Trump and Lashley shaved McMahon's head bald, followed by Austin executing a Stunner on Trump.
The match that followed was for the WWE Women's Championship
. Ashley
took on champion Melina
. The match was short, as Melina pinned Ashley with a Bridge pin to retain the WWE Women's Championship. After the match, the lumberjills began brawling in the ring.
Next was the main event, which saw John Cena
defend his WWE Championship
against Shawn Michaels
. The match contained several notable spots, including Michaels hitting a Piledriver
on Cena onto steel steps outside the ring. Cena was unable to execute an FU during the match, and Michaels also failed to execute Sweet Chin Music several times. Later in the match, Cena managed to place Michaels in the STFU submission hold, with Michaels reaching the ropes to break the hold. Cena then managed to place Michaels in the STFU again, and as a result, Michaels tapped out and Cena retained the WWE Championship.
, Michaels eliminated himself and Cena, resulting in The Hardys winning the World Tag Team Championship. On the Raw before Backlash
, Cena and Michaels wrestled an almost hour long non-title match, which Michaels won.
Batista also continued his feud with The Undertaker, facing off against him in a Last Man Standing match the following month at Backlash. The match ended in a no contest after both men failed to answer the ten count, therefore resulting in Undertaker retaining the title. The two faced each other in a Steel cage match on the May 11, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, which ended in a draw after both men escaped the cage at the same time. The feud ended when The Undertaker dropped the World Heavyweight Championship
due to a legitimate injury. Edge, who won Kennedy's Money in the Bank contract
in a match on Raw the previous Monday, cashed it in and defeated The Undertaker after the Steel cage match to win the title.
Bobby Lashley's feud with Vince McMahon continued for a further three months after the event. Vince, livid after being embarrassed at WrestleMania, vowed to destroy Bobby Lashley and take his ECW Title. At Backlash, Vince, his son Shane
and Umaga teamed up a Three on one handicap match against the champion, and after two Samoan Splashes by Umaga from the top rope, Vince pinned Lashley to win the title. The feud continued for a further two pay-per-views, with Lashley pinning Shane in a repeat match from Backlash at Judgment Day
, but Vince ruled that as he didn't get pinned, Lashley didn't win the title. At One Night Stand
, Lashley finally defeated Vince in a Street Fight to reclaim the championship.
The match between Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter expanded into a lengthy feud for the WWE United States Championship
, resulting in Benoit retaining via pinfall at Backlash and Porter winning the title in a Two out of three falls match at Judgment Day, winning 2–0.
The feud between the ECW Originals and the New Breed continued, with the New Breed defeating the Originals in an Extreme Rules match
on the next edition of ECW. Sabu was released from the company shortly after WrestleMania, and The Sandman was drafted to Raw
a few months later in the 2007 WWE Draft
. Kevin Thorn left the New Breed shortly after WrestleMania and Marcus Cor Von was also released shortly thereafter. By this point, Elijah Burke and Matt Striker had ceased associating with one another, with Striker eventually being relegated to a manager
role for Big Daddy V
. In addition, Rob Van Dam left the company when his contract expired shortly after One Night Stand
. As a result of all of this, the feud eventually puttered out and was rarely mentioned again.
writers Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk rated the entire event 8 out of 10 stars, which was the same rating as the previous year's event
. The lowest rated match on the card was Kane versus The Great Khali with a 0.5 out of a 10 star rating, the WWE Women's Championship match between Melina and Ashley was the second lowest rated match; it was rated 2 stars. The "Battle of the Billionaires" match was rated an 8 out of 10 stars. The Batista versus The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship match, one of the matches from the double main event, was rated 7.5 out of 10 stars. The main event match for the WWE Championship was rated a 9 out of 10 stars, and the Money in the Bank ladder match received the same rating. The attendance was reported to be 80,103 by numerous sources, a Ford Field record.
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
(PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE). It took place on April 1, 2007 at Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in Detroit, Michigan. The event was the first WrestleMania at Ford Field and the second to take place in the Detroit
Metro Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is the metropolitan area located in Southeast Michigan centered on the city of Detroit which shares an international border with Windsor, Ontario. The Detroit metropolitan area is the second largest U.S. metropolitan area...
metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
(following WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
, at the Pontiac Silverdome
Pontiac Silverdome
The Silverdome is a domed stadium located in the city of Pontiac, Michigan, USA, which sits on . It was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D.C...
, in Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
).
The event was a joint-brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
pay-per-view, featuring performers from the Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, SmackDown!, and ECW brands. Eight professional wrestling matches
Mock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
were featured on the event's supercard, a scheduling of more than one main event. The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
versus Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
for the WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
, in which Cena won. The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Batista versus The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
, in which The Undertaker was victorious. The primary match on the ECW brand was an Eight Man Tag Team match between The ECW Originals
ECW Originals
The ECW Originals was a professional wrestling stable that made sporadic appearances in various wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
and The New Breed
New Breed (ECW)
The New Breed was a professional wrestling stable that appeared on the ECW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment in 2007. It was initially composed of Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker, Kevin Thorn, and Ariel...
; The ECW Originals claimed victory in the match. The featured matches on the undercard included Bobby Lashley versus Umaga
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
and an interpromotional Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
.
Tickets for the event went on sale on November 11, 2006. The all-time Ford Field attendance record of 80,103 consisted of people from all fifty states, twenty-four countries, and nine Canadian provinces, making it the second highest attendance at a WWE event, behind WrestleMania 3. WrestleMania 23 grossed
Gross (economics)
In economics, gross means before deductions. The antonym is net, meaning after deductions.-Usage:In this sense, it may appear an adjective, following the noun it modifies, e.g., "earned two million dollars, gross"...
US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
5.38 million in ticket sales, breaking the previous record of $3.9 million held at WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8
WrestleMania X8 was the eighteenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 17, 2002 at the SkyDome in Toronto, Ontario. The event marked the final WrestleMania event under the WWF name...
. WWE estimated that $25 million was pumped into the Detroit economy. With 1.2 million buys, the event had the highest WrestleMania buyrate in history.
Background
The event featured eight professional wrestling matchesMock combat
Mock combat involves the execution of combative actions without intent to harm. Participants can engage in such sparring for ritual, training, recreational or performance reasons...
that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
or fan favorites
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
as they followed a series of events which built tension, culminating in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
heading into WrestleMania 23 was between WWE Chairman Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
and Donald Trump
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
. On the January 8 edition of Raw, Trump faced off against his real-life rival, Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
. Trump won the contest, although local wrestlers portrayed Trump and O'Donnell. During McMahon's "Fan Appreciation Night" on the January 29 edition of Raw, Trump interrupted and dropped large sums of money into the arena. The following month, the two came up with a match for WrestleMania, where the stipulations for the match were that they each had to choose a representative to wrestle for them and the loser would have his head shaved bald. This match was then billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires". McMahon picked Umaga
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
as his representative, while Trump picked Bobby Lashley. After successfully defending his ECW World Championship against Hardcore Holly
Bob Holly
Robert "Bob" Howard better known by his ring name Bob "Hardcore" Holly, is a American professional wrestler. He is best known for his 15-year stint with World Wrestling Entertainment ....
in a Steel Cage match, a match in which the ring is surrounded by a steel cage on an edition of ECW on Sci Fi, Lashley charged at the cage, slammed through it, and landed atop of Umaga, who was at ringside. On the March 5 edition of Raw, Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
was appointed as special guest referee for the "Battle of the Billionaires" match at WrestleMania. On the March 26 edition of Raw, McMahon faced off against Lashley in a No Disqualification match. In the match, several people interfered on McMahon's behalf, including Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, Chris Masters
Chris Masters
Christopher Todd Mordetzky is an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Chris Masters. He is best known for his tenure with WWE.-Early career:...
, Johnny Nitro, and Umaga. This interference allowed McMahon to win the bout.
The main rivalry on the Raw brand was between John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
and Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
over the WWE Championship. After The Undertaker, the winner of the 2007
Royal Rumble (2007)
Royal Rumble was the twentieth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on January 28, 2007 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown! and ECW brands. This marked the first...
Royal Rumble match, made his decision to face Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, a match to determine the next challenger to the WWE Championship was announced. Michaels defeated Randy Orton
Randy Orton
Randal Keith "Randy" Orton is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE wrestling on its SmackDown brand...
and Edge in a match involving three wrestlers to win a chance to face Cena at WrestleMania. On an edition of Raw, Orton and Edge, who were tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
partners as Rated-RKO
Rated-RKO
Rated-RKO was a villainous professional wrestling tag team in World Wrestling Entertainment based on the Raw brand. The team consisted of Edge, Randy Orton, and Lita, their valet...
, attempted to attack Cena, but Michaels ran-in and attacked them with steel chairs
Folding chair
A folding chair is a light, portable chair that that folds flat, and can be stored in a stack, row, or on a cart.-Uses:Folding chairs are generally used for seating in areas where permanent seating is not possible or practical. This includes outdoor and indoor events such as funerals, college...
. Before a scheduled tag team match between Rated-RKO and Cena and Michaels, Orton played a video that highlighted the past friendships that Michaels was involved in, before turning on the friend. In the match, Michaels nearly superkicked Cena after Orton moved. Due to a later disagreement, Edge left Orton and walked off backstage, which allowed Cena and Michaels to win the match. The following week, Michaels responded to the video set-up by Orton, and made comments regarding Cena.
After Michaels defeated Orton, Cena ran-down to the ring and saved Michaels from an attack by Edge and Orton. On the final Raw before WrestleMania, Cena and Michaels would team up to face Batista and Undertaker in a rematch from their match at No Way Out. Cena and Michaels looked set to win after performing a synchronized Five Knuckle Shuffle, but Michaels turned on Cena and superkicked him, which allowed Batista and Undertaker to win the match.
The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and The Undertaker over the World Heavyweight Championship. Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match to earn a championship match against any one of WWE's three world championships (WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW). On the February 5 episode of Raw, Undertaker chose to challenge Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship when he chokeslammed him at the center of the ring. In the weeks leading to WrestleMania, Batista and Undertaker partook in tag team matches. In the beginning of the feud, Batista claimed to have great respect for The Undertaker; however, after several attacks by The Undertaker, Batista claimed to have lost all respect for him esp.at No Way Out when Batista gained some payback by delivering a Spinebuster over The Undertaker, allowing Raw's WWE Champion, John Cena & Shawn Michaels to deliver their signature moves on The Undertaker for the victory during their interpromotional WrestleMania tag team main event.
ECW Originals
The ECW Originals was a professional wrestling stable that made sporadic appearances in various wrestling promotions, including World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling....
and The New Breed
New Breed (ECW)
The New Breed was a professional wrestling stable that appeared on the ECW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment in 2007. It was initially composed of Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker, Kevin Thorn, and Ariel...
. The feud mainly revolved around which team was the "dominant force" in the revived ECW brand. The two factions of four faced off in several tag team matches throughout the weeks prior to the event. The New Breed seemed to have dominated for several weeks; however, ECW Originals leader, Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam
Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski , better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam , is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
, defeated New Breed leader Elijah Burke in a singles match. ECW Original Tommy Dreamer issued the challenge to the New Breed for an eight-man tag team match at WrestleMania, which was accepted by Burke on behalf of The New Breed.
The last major feud involved eight men. Several weeks before WrestleMania, it was announced that the Money in the Bank ladder match
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
would be held again, as it was in the last two years. This year, however, there would be eight men involved, rather than six the two previous years had. Throughout the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, qualifying matches took place on all three shows. On an edition of Raw, Edge, the winner of the match held in 2005, defeated Rob Van Dam, the winner of the match held in 2006, to earn the first spot in the match. The next night on ECW, another cross-brand match took place, with CM Punk
CM Punk
Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion....
defeating Johnny Nitro to qualify. On that week's SmackDown!, King Booker
Booker Huffman
Robert Booker Tio Huffman , better known by his ring name Booker T, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and currently signed to WWE, on its SmackDown brand, as part of the announcing team. Booker is best known for his time in both the World Wrestling Entertainment and World...
became the third man to qualify, defeating Kane
Kane (wrestler)
Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
in a Falls Count Anywhere match after The Great Khali interfered. On the next edition of Raw, Jeff Hardy
Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey Nero "Jeff" Hardy is an American professional wrestler, who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , where he is a former two–time TNA World Heavyweight Champion...
pinned Shelton Benjamin
Shelton Benjamin
Shelton James Benjamin is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted...
in a match to become the fourth man to qualify. The next night on ECW, Mr. Kennedy defeated Sabu in an Extreme Rules match
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
to earn the fifth spot. On the next SmackDown!, two qualifying matches took place, with Matt Hardy
Matt Hardy
Matthew Moore "Matt" Hardy is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stints in World Wrestling Entertainment and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
and Finlay
Dave Finlay
David John "Fit" Finlay Jr. is a Northern Irish professional wrestler and road agent. He is perhaps best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling and WWE as an active wrestler and later as a road agent...
winning their respective match to qualify when Matt Hardy defeated Joey Mercury
Adam Birch
Adam Birch is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment , and training in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling, as Joey Mercury...
and Finlay defeated WWE US Champion, Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
& Montel Vontavious Porter in the Triple threat qualification match. The final qualifying match took place on Raw between Carlito
Carly Colon
Carlos Edwin "Carly" Colón, Jr. is a Puerto Rican professional wrestler better known internationally by his ring name Carlito. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Entertainment , but was released from his contract on May 21, 2010. In his native Puerto Rico, he is known as both...
and Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
. The match was deemed a no contest after The Great Khali interfered and attacked both men. The following week, on Raw, Randy Orton defeated Flair and Carlito in elimination match to become the final man to qualify. After Edge and Orton had stopped teaming with each other, the two attempted to get the other taken out of the Money in the Bank ladder match. Both men failed, however, as Edge won a "last chance" battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
to retain his spot and Orton won a match on ECW to retain his.
At No Way Out, WWE United States Champion
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
Chris Benoit
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler whose career and life ended in a murder–suicide...
and The Hardys
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
(Matt and Jeff) defeated MNM
MNM
MNM was a villainous professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Entertainment and Ohio Valley Wrestling that consisted of Joey Mercury , Johnny Nitro, and their manager Melina Perez....
(Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP). After Benoit and MVP had some matches with the two in them (tag team and triple threat matches), MVP decided to start showing he was the "true" United States Champion. MVP would then have matches against the "champions" of other countries (including Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, who in reality were jobbers
Job (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
), beating them within minutes. MVP then challenged Benoit for the title at WrestleMania.
Production
Stagecraft
Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...
for WrestleMania 23 began development in October 2006 after WWE set designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
, Jason Robinson, first received the final logo for the event. Robinson and his team first surveyed Ford Field
Ford Field
Ford Field is an indoor American football stadium located in Detroit, Michigan, USA, that is the current home field of the NFL's Detroit Lions. It is owned by the Detroit/Wayne County Stadium Authority. It regularly seats 65,000, though it is expandable up to 70,000 for football and 80,000 for...
in July 2006 and began planning out the staging
Set construction
Set construction is the process by which a set designer works in collaboration with the director of a production to create the set for a theatrical, film or television production...
and lighting
Lighting
Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...
designs. After returning to the stadium in January 2007 for more site surveying, Robinson and his team finalized the set's design in February. The final design resulted in WrestleMania 23 having the largest set ever built for a WrestleMania event. It incorporated 414 LED
Light-emitting diode
A light-emitting diode is a semiconductor light source. LEDs are used as indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting...
video screens and automated lights
Intelligent lighting
Intelligent lighting refers to stage lighting that has automated or mechanical abilities beyond those of traditional, stationary illumination. Although the most advanced intelligent lights can produce extraordinarily complex effects, the intelligence lies with the programmer of the show rather...
, 10 spotlights
Followspot
A followspot, sometimes known as a spot light, is a powerful stage lighting instrument which projects a bright beam of light onto a performance space. Followspots are controlled by a spotlight operator who follows actors around the stage...
, 56 searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
s, 50,000 ft of cable
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
for pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
and other use, and 35 stage flamethrowers used to produce 30 ft high and 6 ft wide flame
Flame
A flame is the visible , gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic reaction taking place in a thin zone...
s, all which gave the set a unique look for each performer's entrance and an expanded stage lighting
Stage lighting
Modern stage lighting is a flexible tool in the production of theatre, dance, opera and other performance arts. Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in the pursuit of the various principles or goals of lighting. Stage lighting has grown considerably in recent years...
element of 300 ft in width and 100 ft in height
Height
Height is the measurement of vertical distance, but has two meanings in common use. It can either indicate how "tall" something is, or how "high up" it is. For example "The height of the building is 50 m" or "The height of the airplane is 10,000 m"...
using the specialized stage lighting instrument
Stage lighting instrument
Stage lighting instruments are used in stage lighting to illuminate theatrical productions, concerts, and other performances taking place in live performance venues. They are also used to light television studios and sound stages.Many stagecraft terms vary between the United States and the United...
s. The ramp
Inclined plane
The inclined plane is one of the original six simple machines; as the name suggests, it is a flat surface whose endpoints are at different heights. By moving an object up an inclined plane rather than completely vertical, the amount of force required is reduced, at the expense of increasing the...
used to reach the ring from the entrance set was 187 ft in length
Length
In geometric measurements, length most commonly refers to the longest dimension of an object.In certain contexts, the term "length" is reserved for a certain dimension of an object along which the length is measured. For example it is possible to cut a length of a wire which is shorter than wire...
.
Though it took three weeks to fully prepare Ford Field, set assembly began the week before WrestleMania 23 and was completed shortly before the day of the event. It took a week for three hundred staff members, unloading and working from forty semi-trucks
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
, to build the set and assemble the event's lighting within Ford Field, far more than the usual forty hours, one hundred staff members, and fourteen semi-trucks required for the production of WWE's weekly television events. After the event concluded, it took around thirty hours to disassemble the set and lighting, also far more than the usual three hours required for WWE's weekly television events.
Pre-show
| Role: | Name: |
|---|---|
| Commentator | John Bradshaw Layfield |
| Michael Cole Michael Cole Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist.... |
|
| Jerry Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
|
| Jim Ross Jim Ross James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand... |
|
| Joey Styles Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales... |
|
| Tazz Tazz Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz... |
|
| Carlos Cabrera Carlos Cabrera Carlos Rodrigo Cabrera is a former newsman and currently employed with WWE, where he is one half of the company's Spanish announce team in which he is the play-by-play announcer. His longtime broadcast partner was the former Ecuadorian professional wrestler Hugo Savinovich, who was the color... |
|
| Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich Hugo Savinovich is a former Ecuadorian professional wrestler, formerly employed with WWE, where he was one half of the Spanish announce team for the company's TV shows and pay-per-view events. He was a color commentator and partner of Carlos Cabrera and occasionally Marcelo Rodríguez. When he... |
|
| Interviewer | Todd Grisham Todd Grisham Todd Grisham is an American presenter/announcer who is best known for his time in the WWE as a backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer... |
| Ring announcer | Tony Chimel Tony Chimel Anthony "Tony" Chimel is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently employed by WWE working as the ring announcer for SmackDown brand.-WWE :... |
| Lilian Garcia Lilian Garcia Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:... |
|
| Justin Roberts Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw brand.-Career:... |
|
| Howard Finkel Howard Finkel Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K... |
|
| Theodore Long Theodore Long Theodore R. "Teddy" Long is an American professional wrestling manager and former referee who currently works for WWE on its SmackDown brand as its General Manager.-National Wrestling Alliance / World Championship Wrestling:... |
|
| Referees | Charles Robinson |
| Jim Korderas Jim Korderas __FORCETOC__Demetrius Korderas , better known by his referee name, Jim "Jimmy" Korderas is a Canadian professional wrestling referee who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment for over 22 years.-Early career:... |
|
| Mickie Henson Mickie Henson Mickie Henson is an American professional wrestling referee. Before signing with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005, Henson worked for World Championship Wrestling for nine years... |
|
| Marty Elias | |
| Jack Doan Jack Doan John Michael "Jack" Doan is a veteran professional wrestling referee currently signed with WWE.-Career:Doan joined WWE in October 1991 as a truck driver. From there, he took robes from Superstars at ringside, played music at shows, worked as part of the ring crew, and continued to drive the... |
|
| Mike Chioda Mike Chioda Michael Joseph "Mike" Chioda, is a senior referee who is currently signed to WWE. While not refereeing, Chioda, as well as the other referees in WWE, help set up the arena before shows, constructing the ring and stage areas.-WWF:... |
|
| Chad Patton | |
| Scott Armstrong | |
Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a tag team lumberjack match took place with the RAW team of Ric Flair and Carlito taking on the SmackDown! team of Gregory Helms and Chavo Guerrero. Flair and Carlito controlled the early part of the match until Helms threw Flair over the top rope. SmackDown! lumberjacks attacked Flair before throwing him back into the ring. Helms and Guerrero continued to beat on Flair, but were not able to pin Flair. Chavo attempted to end it with his frog splash, but Flair moved. Chavo tagged in Helms, but Carlito got the tag from Flair. Carlito dominated Helms, which led to Guerrero coming in to help Helms, but Flair came in and fought Guerrero. Flair and Guerrero took each other out of the ring, and before the lumberjacks could throw them back in the ring, Carlito hit the Backstabber on Guerrero to pick up the win for himself and Flair.
The event officially began with Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
singing a rendition of "America the Beautiful
America the Beautiful
"America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward....
", reprising her role from twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
.
Preliminary matches
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
was the first match that aired on pay-per-view, featuring eight participants; Edge, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton from Raw, King Booker (with Queen Sharmell), Mr. Kennedy, Matt Hardy and Dave Finlay from SmackDown!, and CM Punk from ECW. The match featured many notable spots, including points where Edge performed the Spear on all the other opponents, followed by Randy Orton doing the same by leveling many of the participants with his RKO later in the match. Mr. Kennedy missed a Kenton Bomb and landed on a ladder on the back of his neck. He instead received a Swanton Bomb from Jeff Hardy. Several dangerous ladder spots were also featured, including Orton performing an RKO on CM Punk whilst standing on the ladder, and King Booker hitting his Book End to Orton from the top of the ladder as well. Midway through the match, Jeff Hardy climbed a fifteen foot-high ladder inside the ring and on his brother, Matt Hardy's urging, he performed a leg drop
Leg drop
A leg drop or legdrop refers to an attack used in professional wrestling in which an attacking wrestler will jump and land his leg across a fallen opponent's chest, throat, face or head or in some cases, the groin/lower-abdominal area...
off of that ladder onto Edge, who was lying prone on another ladder outside the ring, set-up on the ring apron and the barricade. Due to the impact, the ladder on which Edge was placed, broke in half and he, along with Jeff, were severely injured. They were carried off on stretchers by the paramedics. Later, when Booker was about to retrieve the contract briefcase, Matt Hardy held Booker's wife, Queen Sharmell as a hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
, threatening to perform his Twist of Fate on her. Booker went to her aid and received the Twist of Fate from Matt. Finlay fought Matt for sometime in the ring, and also performed his Celtic Cross to Matt onto a ladder. Finlay's associate Hornswoggle emerged from under the ring and attempted to retrieve the briefcase for Finlay. He was stopped by Kennedy, who performed his Green Bay Plunge on Hornswoggle. Kennedy went on to win the match, only after knocking CM Punk off a ladder by hitting him with another ladder.
The next match was billed as a "SmackDown! versus RAW Interpromotional match". RAW superstar The Great Khali faced SmackDown! superstar Kane. It was a short match, but contained a notable spot. In homage to Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
slamming André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event was held on March 29, 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan....
, Kane picked up Khali for the first time and body-slammed him to the mat. The match ended with Khali pinning Kane after a Giant Chokeslam. After the match, Khali choked Kane out with Kane's chained hook, which was a reference to Kane's movie, See No Evil
See No Evil (film)
See No Evil is a 2006 horror film directed by Gregory Dark, written by Dan Madigan, produced by Joel Simon, and starring professional wrestler Kane. It is the first major film produced by WWE Films and was released by Lions Gate Entertainment on May 19, 2006.The film went through many different...
, where his character used said hook as a signature weapon.
A backstage segment was featured next, which involved Cryme Tyme
Cryme Tyme
For animated series named Crime Time, visit Crime TimeCryme Tyme was a professional wrestling tag team that was signed to WWE.The team consisted of JTG and Shad , an over-the-top parody of stereotypical street thugs.-Early lives:Of Haitian and...
persuading Eugene
Nick Dinsmore
Nicholas "Nick" Dinsmore , better known by his ring names Eugene and U-Gene, is an American professional wrestler...
to dance with Mae Young
Mae Young
Johnnie Mae Young is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler and currently a WWE Ambassador.Young was an influential pioneer in women's wrestling, helping to increase its popularity during World War II and training many generations of wrestlers...
and The Fabulous Moolah
The Fabulous Moolah
Mary Lillian Ellison , better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah, was an American female professional wrestler. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildred Burke, as well as working alongside professional wrestler "Nature Boy" Buddy...
, who were dressed as strippers as Cryme Tyme danced with Extreme Exposé. Also featured in the segment were WWE Legends Slick
Ken Johnson (wrestling)
Kenneth "Ken" Johnson better known to wrestling fans as "Slick - The Doctor of Style", is a former American professional wrestling manager with the World Wrestling Federation...
, Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
, Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
, Irwin R. Schyster
Mike Rotunda
Lawrence Michael "Mike" Rotunda is a former American professional wrestler, perhaps best known under the name Irwin R. Schyster or I.R.S. for short. He is currently signed with WWE working as a road agent and making occasional appearances on WWE shows as Irwin R...
, Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
, Sgt. Slaughter
Sgt. Slaughter
Robert Remus , better known by his ring name Sgt. Slaughter, is an American former WWE personality and semi-retired professional wrestler. From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, Slaughter had success in the National Wrestling Alliance, American Wrestling Association, and World Wrestling...
, Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K...
, Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco
Gerald Brisco
Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco is a former American professional wrestler, and prior to June, 2009, worked as a road agent for WWE on its Raw brand....
, many of whom had not been seen on television in years.
Following the segment was the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
match, with Chris Benoit defending the title against Montel Vontavious Porter. The match started off with a chain of takedowns, holds, and reversals, with MVP keeping up with Benoit, even going for some submission holds
Submission wrestling
Submission wrestling or Combat wrestling in Japan, is a formula of competition and a general term describing the aspect of martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission using submission holds...
. The match lasted almost ten minutes, with Benoit attempting to lock in some of his signature submission holds, but MVP successfully reversed them, including the Crippler Crossface. The two exchanged suplex
Suplex
A suplex is an offensive move used in professional sport wrestling . The move consists of one wrestler picking up his or her opponent off the ground and then using a large portion of his or her own body weight to drive the opponent down on the mat. Nearly all suplexes have the attacker going down...
es and holds until Benoit was able to ascend the top rope and execute a Diving headbutt on MVP, which led to Benoit getting the pinfall victory to retain the WWE United States Championship.
Main event matches
Long time ring announcerRing announcer
A ring announcer is a paid in-ring employee for a boxing, professional wrestling, or mixed martial arts event or promotion...
Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel
Howard Finkel is a professional wrestling ring announcer currently working with WWE in a variety of roles. Hired in 1975 by Vincent J. McMahon's World Wide Wrestling Federation, "The Fink" was the first person brought in to Vincent K...
then introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007. The next match featured Batista defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker. The match started with Batista performing a running tackle, as known as a Spear, which he had recently adopted as a secondary finisher, to Undertaker as the bell sounded. The match went back and forth, with both men countering each other and performing their finishers. Undertaker thought he had the match won after he hit the Chokeslam
Chokeslam
A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...
, but Batista kicked out of the pin attempt. The Undertaker was then able to perform an Last Ride to Batista. Batista was also able to execute his finisher, the Batista Bomb, a sitdown powerbomb. Midway through the match, Undertaker vaulted over the top rope and onto Batista. At one point, Batista was able to perform a running powerslam on The Undertaker through an announce table. Back in the ring, Batista executed a Spinebuster by grabbing The Undertaker by the waist and slamming him down to the mat back first, followed by a Batista Bomb. Undertaker then pinned Batista following a Tombstone piledriver to become the World Heavyweight Champion and emerge from WrestleMania with his winning streak intact. The Undertaker's win made him the first wrestler to have won both the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship at WrestleMania.
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, and The Sandman
Jim Fullington
James "Jim" Fullington better known by his ring name Sandman, is an American professional wrestler, best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling , where he developed into a "Hardcore Icon"...
) took on The New Breed (Elijah Burke
Elijah Burke
Elijah Samuel Burke is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the name of "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero; a gimmick in which he portrays a Harlem street preacher...
, Kevin Thorn
Kevin Fertig
Kevin Matthew Fertig is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for working with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring names Mordecai and Kevin Thorn....
, Marcus Cor Von
Monty Brown
Monty Brown is an American professional wrestler and former National Football League linebacker, also known as Marcus Cor Von. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment, where he wrestled on its ECW brand under the ring name Marcus Cor Von...
, and Matt Striker) next. The match started off with Cor Von working over Sabu. That changed when Cor Von tagged Striker, who missed an elbow after whipping Sabu into the ropes, allowing The Sandman tho get tagged. The Sandman dominated Striker, and eventually tagged Van Dam. Van Dam used also dominated Striker, but was poked in the eye, allowing Striker to tag in Burke. Burke had early success, but Van Dam regained the advantage and tagged The Sandman again. The Sandman worked on Burke until tagging Dreamer. Dreamer also beat down Burke until Cor Von received a blind tag and hit Dreamer from behind. Cor Von attacked Dreamer relentlessly and went over and punched Sabu, which distracted the referee and allowed Dreamer to be triple-teamed by Thorn, Burke, and Striker. Cor Von tagged in Burke who almost pinned Dreamer. Thorn entered next and almost performed his finishing move called the Original Sin. Dreamer managed to escape but was unable to tag his partners. Thorn tagged in Cor Von again who also almost pinned Dreamer. Cor Von tagged Thorn again, and Thorn resumed the beat down on Dreamer. Thorn tagged Striker next, and Striker attempted a suplex that Dreamer blocked and Dreamer suplexed Striker instead. Striker did not try to tag his partners and tried to stop Dreamer, but Dreamer tagged in Sabu. Sabu began to manhandle Striker and executed a leg drop from the top rope. Van Dam was then tagged in. Burke broke up Van Dam's pin attempt, which led to all competitors entering the ring. While the referee was distracted, Ariel gave Striker a chair. But Van Dam gave Striker an Van Daminator when he kicked the chair into Striker's face. Van Dam pinned Striker after a Five-Star Frog Splash to win the match for The Originals.
The match that WWE billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires" was next, as Umaga (representing Vince McMahon) fought Bobby Lashley (representing Donald Trump), with Steve Austin serving as the special guest referee. Umaga was accompanied to the ring by Vince McMahon and by his "handler
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
" Armando Alejandro Estrada. Lashley was being managed by Donald Trump, who was attended to by Tara Connor. Midway through the match, Austin was attacked by Umaga, causing him to become incapacitated and was taken out of the match for several minutes. Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
, who attempted to replace him as referee, called the match while being biased towards Umaga. After Umaga got a near-fall on Lashley, Austin pulled Shane out of the ring, gave him a Stunner
Stunner (professional wrestling)
A stunner is a common term in professional wrestling referring to the seated three-quarter facelock jawbreaker maneuver, predominantly used by Stone Cold Steve Austin and named for his Stone Cold Stunner finisher...
, and continued refereeing the match. Lashley won the match after a Stunner from Austin and a Spear. After the match, Trump and Lashley shaved McMahon's head bald, followed by Austin executing a Stunner on Trump.
The match that followed was for the WWE Women's Championship
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
. Ashley
Ashley Massaro
Ashley Marie Massaro is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Independent Ladies Division Wrestling. She is best known for her work with World Wrestling Entertainment and her appearance on Survivor: China....
took on champion Melina
Melina Perez
Melina Nava Perez is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Women Superstars Uncensored. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring mononym Melina....
. The match was short, as Melina pinned Ashley with a Bridge pin to retain the WWE Women's Championship. After the match, the lumberjills began brawling in the ring.
Next was the main event, which saw John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
defend his WWE Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
against Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
. The match contained several notable spots, including Michaels hitting a Piledriver
Piledriver (professional wrestling)
A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The most common piledrivers are the basic belly-to-back, or Texas piledriver, and the...
on Cena onto steel steps outside the ring. Cena was unable to execute an FU during the match, and Michaels also failed to execute Sweet Chin Music several times. Later in the match, Cena managed to place Michaels in the STFU submission hold, with Michaels reaching the ropes to break the hold. Cena then managed to place Michaels in the STFU again, and as a result, Michaels tapped out and Cena retained the WWE Championship.
Aftermath
John Cena and Shawn Michaels continued their feud, with Michaels betraying Cena the night after WrestleMania on Raw. During the second of two battle royalsBattle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...
, Michaels eliminated himself and Cena, resulting in The Hardys winning the World Tag Team Championship. On the Raw before Backlash
Backlash (2007)
Backlash was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment , which took place on April 29, 2007 at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. Following WrestleMania, all pay-per-views became tri-branded...
, Cena and Michaels wrestled an almost hour long non-title match, which Michaels won.
Batista also continued his feud with The Undertaker, facing off against him in a Last Man Standing match the following month at Backlash. The match ended in a no contest after both men failed to answer the ten count, therefore resulting in Undertaker retaining the title. The two faced each other in a Steel cage match on the May 11, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, which ended in a draw after both men escaped the cage at the same time. The feud ended when The Undertaker dropped the World Heavyweight Championship
World Heavyweight Championship (WWE)
The World Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the SmackDown brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship of the Raw brand...
due to a legitimate injury. Edge, who won Kennedy's Money in the Bank contract
Money in the Bank ladder match
The Money in the Bank ladder match is a professional wrestling ladder match held by WWE. The match can feature anywhere from six to ten participants from any WWE brand, with the objective being to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended 20 feet above the ring...
in a match on Raw the previous Monday, cashed it in and defeated The Undertaker after the Steel cage match to win the title.
Bobby Lashley's feud with Vince McMahon continued for a further three months after the event. Vince, livid after being embarrassed at WrestleMania, vowed to destroy Bobby Lashley and take his ECW Title. At Backlash, Vince, his son Shane
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
and Umaga teamed up a Three on one handicap match against the champion, and after two Samoan Splashes by Umaga from the top rope, Vince pinned Lashley to win the title. The feud continued for a further two pay-per-views, with Lashley pinning Shane in a repeat match from Backlash at Judgment Day
Judgment Day (2007)
Judgment Day was the ninth annual Judgment Day professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on May 20, 2007 from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri...
, but Vince ruled that as he didn't get pinned, Lashley didn't win the title. At One Night Stand
One Night Stand (2007)
One Night Stand was the third annual One Night Stand professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on June 3, 2007 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
, Lashley finally defeated Vince in a Street Fight to reclaim the championship.
The match between Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter expanded into a lengthy feud for the WWE United States Championship
WWE United States Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
, resulting in Benoit retaining via pinfall at Backlash and Porter winning the title in a Two out of three falls match at Judgment Day, winning 2–0.
The feud between the ECW Originals and the New Breed continued, with the New Breed defeating the Originals in an Extreme Rules match
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
on the next edition of ECW. Sabu was released from the company shortly after WrestleMania, and The Sandman was drafted to Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
a few months later in the 2007 WWE Draft
2007 WWE Draft
The 2007 World Wrestling Entertainment Draft Lottery took place at the Wachovia Arena in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on June 11, 2007. The first half of the draft was televised live for three hours on WWE's flagship program, Raw on USA Network...
. Kevin Thorn left the New Breed shortly after WrestleMania and Marcus Cor Von was also released shortly thereafter. By this point, Elijah Burke and Matt Striker had ceased associating with one another, with Striker eventually being relegated to a manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
role for Big Daddy V
Nelson Frazier, Jr.
Nelson Frazier, Jr. is an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Mabel, Viscera, Big Daddy V, and King V. He is best known for his work with World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment...
. In addition, Rob Van Dam left the company when his contract expired shortly after One Night Stand
One Night Stand (2007)
One Night Stand was the third annual One Night Stand professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It took place on June 3, 2007 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida and featured talent from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands...
. As a result of all of this, the feud eventually puttered out and was rarely mentioned again.
Reception
Canadian Online ExplorerCanadian Online Explorer
Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians...
writers Dale Plummer and Nick Tylwalk rated the entire event 8 out of 10 stars, which was the same rating as the previous year's event
WrestleMania 22
Notes: .The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Orton, to earn a World Championship match at WrestleMania. At No Way Out, Orton defeated...
. The lowest rated match on the card was Kane versus The Great Khali with a 0.5 out of a 10 star rating, the WWE Women's Championship match between Melina and Ashley was the second lowest rated match; it was rated 2 stars. The "Battle of the Billionaires" match was rated an 8 out of 10 stars. The Batista versus The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship match, one of the matches from the double main event, was rated 7.5 out of 10 stars. The main event match for the WWE Championship was rated a 9 out of 10 stars, and the Money in the Bank ladder match received the same rating. The attendance was reported to be 80,103 by numerous sources, a Ford Field record.
Results
See also
- List of WWE pay-per-view events
- WrestleManiaWrestleManiaWrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...