Wrestle Mania XXV - Background

Background

WrestleMania featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines that were played out on Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and ECW on Sci Fi—World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) primary television programs. Wrestlers were portrayed as either a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension, and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches. The event featured wrestlers from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands—a storyline division in which WWE's employees are assigned to a television program of the same name.

At No Way Out, Shawn Michaels defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) in a match with the added stipulation that if JBL had won, he would have become the owner of Michaels' name and likeness. On the February 16 episode of Raw, Michaels challenged JBL to a match the following week, with the winner advancing to WrestleMania to challenge The Undertaker to attempt to end his undefeated streak at the event. On the February 23 episode of Raw, Michaels defeated Layfield, but it was later announced that another competitor would stand in his way to prevent him from advancing to the show in the form of Vladimir Kozlov, who also made a challenge to The Undertaker; the two would wrestle the following week on Raw with Michaels defeating Kozlov, earning his match with The Undertaker. On the following week's episode of Raw, Undertaker and Shawn Michaels defeated Kozlov and JBL in a tag match. Afterwords, Taker and Michaels locked eyes for a few anxious moments before Michaels exited up the entrance ramp. Taker followed, pausing at the top of the ramp to turn back to the crowd. That was HBK’s cue as he stepped onto the ramp and laid out Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music. On the March 23rd edition of Raw, The Undertaker emerged on Raw to warn Michaels of what’s in store for him come WrestleMania. He noted that while it’s true that he has never defeated HBK, the last time they faced (which was in January 1998 at the Royal Rumble), Michaels’ body was so broken that he spent the next four years recovering. Not one to be outdone, Michaels appeared, addressing Undertaker from a graveyard. HBK made it known that he isn’t afraid of his match with Undertaker, and won’t be intimidated. Michaels went on to promise that Undertaker would be the one to rest in peace. On the March 30th edition of Raw, when Michaels came to the ring, it became clear that the “funeral” announced earlier in the night was not for HBK, but rather for the undefeated WrestleMania streak of his opponent, Undertaker. It was also the 3rd year that a funeral/burial for the Undertaker's WrestleMania streak has been set up before the event, the first being the last edition SmackDown before WrestleMania 22. At that event, Undertaker extended his steak to 14–0 by defeating Mark Henry. It was also held before WrestleMania XXIV, but at that event, the Undertaker became 16–0 by defeating Edge. Complete with a casket, roses and images of Michaels defeating The Deadman in their past encounters, the service saw HBK boast of his actions during recent weeks: Kicking Undertaker in the face and trespassing on his hollowed cemetery. Michaels announced that he had done all of this without enduring any retribution, and promised that the most memorable moment of the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania would be his victory over The Undertaker. Just then, the arena darkened and a gong rang out, heralding the arrival of Undertaker. When the lights came back up, Taker stood in the ring, but Michaels was nowhere to be seen. As Taker searched, HBK emerged from under the casket and once again laid Undertaker out with a superkick.

The predominant rivalry for, not only the Raw brand, but the entirety of the show was a confrontation over the WWE Championship, rooted at the 2009 Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in January by Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble match, a match with thirty participants that sees the competitors eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and hitting the floor. Per the traditional stipulation of the match, Orton was given the opportunity to choose to wrestle for the WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW Championship at WrestleMania. Simultaneously, Orton began to assault the McMahon family, the owners of the WWE. During this conflict, Orton punted both Vince and Shane McMahon (father and son, respectively) in the head as well as performing his signature maneuver, the RKO on Stephanie McMahon (Vince's daughter), which enraged the WWE Champion (and Stephanie's real-life husband) Triple H. On the March 2 episode of Raw, Orton was convinced by Triple H to use his title opportunity in a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania. The following week on Raw, Triple H came out with a sledgehammer and attacked Orton and Legacy into the backstage area. Orton and Legacy were able to escape in Orton's limosine. As they were leaving, Triple H smashed one of the windshields of Orton's limosine. Triple H also attacked Orton by breaking into his house and throwing Orton through his living room window, but Orton did not press charges. The following week, Orton and Legacy attacked Triple H and handcuffed him to the top rope. Stephanie McMahon came out begging Orton not to attack her husband. Instead, Orton performed the DDT on Stephanie, enraging Triple H. Orton then kisses her on the lips as she lies on the ring unconscious. Accompanied by Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase and a group of security guards, Randy Orton came to the ring for his special WrestleMania address. While describing his reprehensible actions in recent months (punting Mr. McMahon and Shane McMahon, attacking Triple H’s wife Stephanie on multiple occasions), Orton explained how every step of the way was part of a plan to destroy everything Triple H cares about. He then began detailing how the balance of power in WWE would permanently shift in his favor following his WrestleMania win. But before Orton could finish outlining his twisted vision of the future, a black limo arrived. Though Orton expected WWE Champion Triple H to make an appearance, calling Rhodes and DiBiase to his side, he was stunned by who accompanied him. Joining Triple H on the stage were Mr. McMahon and his son, Shane. The three family members made their way down the ramp, where they collided with Orton and his “Legacy,” ending Raw in a massive, heated WrestleMania-bound brawl.

Following the main event of the March 2 episode of Raw, SmackDown general manager Vickie Guerrero announced that her storyline husband, Edge, would defend his World Heavyweight Championship against The Big Show (Paul Wight) at WrestleMania. A contract to be signed to make the match official was intended to be held on the following episode of SmackDown; however, John Cena, from whom Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship at the previous month's pay per view, No Way Out (in the Elimination Chamber match), interfered with the signing before whispering a message in Vickie's ear prompting the signing to be canceled. On the March 9 episode of Raw, Vickie announced to the surprise of Edge and The Big Show that Cena would be in the match making it a Triple Threat match, a standard wrestling match involving three wrestlers that is won after one wrestler scores a decision. It was soon revealed that the match would involve the new challenger based on Cena extorting Guerrero with footage of the general manager having adulterous relations with The Big Show.

On the March 16 episode of Raw, Edge, his wife Vickie Guerrero and Vickie’s lover Big Show were set to confront John Cena. Due to Cena revealing the affair between Vickie and Big Show, much to the chagrin of all three. As a result, Guerrero arranged a match pitting Edge against Cena with herself serving as a special guest referee. With all that misdirected hostility focused on Cena, who could not touch Vickie lest he sacrifice his World Title Match at WrestleMania, a lopsided confrontation seemed inevitable. As Edge and Cena battled, Big Show lumbered down the ramp toward the ring. When he arrived, Edge joined him in tying Cena up within the ring ropes. Fittingly, each drove their anger in his direction: Edge speared him, Vickie slapped him and Big Show drove his meaty fist into Cena’s ribs several times before clocking him in the jaw. But that proved only to be the entrée. It was Edge who then speared Big Show and thus delivered him his just deserts.

The fifth annual Money in the Bank ladder match was announced for WrestleMania XXV on the February 23 episode of Raw. In this match, a certain amount of participants (eight for this year with differing amounts from other years) from all three WWE brands compete to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended above the ring with a cable by climbing a ladder. The briefcase holds a symbolic contract which the holder would be able to exchange for a WWE, World Heavyweight, or ECW Championship match at any time or location of his choosing up until one year. To participate in the match, a wrestler had to first qualify for it by winning a match; this process began on the February 23 episode of Raw, in which CM Punk qualified by defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a Triple Threat match. The following week of Raw saw Kane defeat Rey Mysterio and Mike Knox in another Triple Threat match. The following night on ECW, Mark Henry qualified for the match by defeating Santino Marella. Both Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) and Shelton Benjamin qualified for the match on the March 6 episode of SmackDown by defeating Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy in respective singles matches. On the March 9 episode of Raw, Kofi Kingston qualified by defeating Chris Jericho. Christian qualified the following night on ECW by winning a battle royal when he last eliminated Chavo Guerrero. Finlay was the final wrestler to qualify for the match when he defeated The Brian Kendrick on the March 13 episode of SmackDown. On the March 23rd episode of Raw, Giving the eight participants a chance to size one another up prior to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Christian & WWE United States Champion, MVP took on the team of Kane, Mark Henry, Finlay & Shelton Benjamin in an 8-man tag team match. Sending a clear message to the other ring warriors, Christian pinned Shelton Benjamin to lead his team to victory. But his celebration was cut short as another ECW Superstar, Finlay attacked, clearing the ring with a ladder. Later that week on SmackDown, Kane, Finlay, Christian and Shelton Benjamin defeated MVP, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, and Mark Henry in another 8 men tag team match when Kane delivered a devastating chokeslam to CM Punk. But once the final bell rang – in a WrestleMania prelude – a free-for-all between the eight Superstars ensued. When Christian tried to make his own WrestleMania statement by producing a ladder and climbing it high to the Money in the Bank briefcase, Finlay tipped over the 20-foot ladder. Christian took a freefall onto his six other WrestleMaia opponents outside the ring, while Finlay made a climb of his own to touch the briefcase he soon hopes to make his. On the last episode of Raw, the match's participants competed in an Eight-Man Over the Top Rope battle royal with Kane coming out on top, enabling him to taste victory. Following the match, Kane climbed a ladder in the center of the ring to symbolically grab the briefcase suspended above the ring.

The buildup to WrestleMania XXV also included a rivalry between brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy. During Jeff's match against Edge at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship, Matt came down to the ring, appearing to help his brother. Instead, Matt turned on Jeff by hitting him with a steel chair, costing Jeff the match and his WWE title. After losing his Money in the Bank qualifying match to MVP on the March 6 episode of SmackDown, Matt interfered in Jeff's qualifying match later that night by punching Jeff's opponent, Shelton Benjamin, disqualifying Jeff from the match. A week later, Matt provoked Jeff even further by referring to Jeff's recent accidents, including Jeff's incident at the night of Survivor Series where he was found unconscious in a hotel stairwell (which caused him to be removed of the WWE title match and being replaced by Edge at that event), the recent account of a someone driving Jeff off the road, and the misfiring of the pyrotechnics in his entrance. Matt then talked about the real-life fire to Jeff's house a year prior, causing the death of his dog, Jack. This led to Jeff ultimately retaliating against his brother after weeks of passive resistance. Later that night, it was announced that Matt and Jeff would wrestle each other at WrestleMania with a subsequent announcement a week later declaring the match to be held under Extreme Rules, which would allow for the combatants to use weapons without being disqualified.

On the January 23 episode of SmackDown, WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns—(Primo) and (Carlito)—defeated World Tag Team Champions, John Morrison and The Miz in a tag team match. After their loss, Miz and Morrison proceeded to harass their defeaters on their weekly Internet show, the Dirt Sheet, as well as profess the brothers' impotence towards their associates, The Bella Twins. The two teams wrestled again on the February 13 episode of SmackDown, with the winning team earning a date with the Bellas. Miz and Morrison won the rematch and the date. The two teams continued their feud in the coming weeks, and while the initial focus of the feud was the competition for the Bella Twins, the feud took on a dual purpose as each team successfully defended their respective titles in subsequent matches with both teams retaining their respective belts; it was announced on the March 17 episode of ECW that the WWE and World Tag Team titles would be unified at WrestleMania into what would be called the "Unified WWE Tag Team Championship".

At the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards, actor Mickey Rourke, who gained critical acclaim at the time for his role in the film The Wrestler, had announced he would be competing at WrestleMania, specifically targeting Chris Jericho. The announcement led to a storyline confrontation between the two on Larry King Live, which showed signs of second thoughts from Rourke. On January 28, it was announced Rourke's spokesperson that the actor would not compete at the event, but would still be in attendance. Jericho's narrative subsequently evolved towards one of the themes from The Wrestler, which was the respect for older wrestlers after their careers start to decline, of which Jericho disapproved. On the February 9 episode of Raw, Ric Flair appeared to protest Jericho's tirades, professing that the wrestlers should be respected, as they had paved the way for the future generations to make a living, leading to a heated exchange between the two. Over the coming weeks, Jericho would be confronted by a number of legends including: Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, and Jimmy Snuka on an episode of Piper's Pit hosted by Jericho himself. Each confrontation resulted in Jericho viciously attacking each respective wrestler. The following week, Jericho challenged Flair to a match. Although Flair declined (honoring his retirement from active competition), he offered to be in the corner of Piper, Steamboat, and Snuka for their challenge against Jericho in a handicap match. Jericho accepted the challenge, but subsequently attacked and bloodied Flair.