Seven years ago, following WrestleMania 18, I had a feeling of emptiness inside. Although I’d just witnessed Hogan versus The Rock, which was one of the most electrifying spectacles I’d seen in years, the PPV on which it occurred left me under whelmed.

Not since that WM has the same result transpired, not even in 2003, when WM 19 was a box-office flop (those who watched it appreciated a superior card of entertainment and grappling).

The closest I’ve came to feeling that disappointed, was with WrestleMania 22, which also didn’t feel like a special WrestleMania in some regards, but was so much better in execution than on paper that one couldn’t help but be impressed.

Last night, when I crawled into bed in the wee hours, that sinking feeling returned.

WrestleMania 25 was not worthy of the supposed 25th Anniversary of Mania title with which it was bestowed. Despite featuring one utterly outstanding contest, WrestleMania 25 was not a WrestleMania.

One of the things that I’ve been talking about a great deal in recent columns is the difference between the layout of WrestleMania shows from the past, and Manias of the modern age. In the 80’s, and at the start of the 90’s, the annual extravaganza was very much a one-match show. Usually, that match was hugely memorable and exciting. And this was easy to do, because in those days, it was a rarity to see the big stars collide in a one-on-one match, and even less so to see it with a title on the line, and with a definitive finish (us kids were brought up Count-out and Disqualification finishes). Macho Man, Warrior, and Andre v Hogan were bouts that compensated for poor line-ups.

But as time went on, while the company still attempted to promote a Main Event of equal appeal to the days of yore, it became increasingly important to provide an overall special event, where the bulk of the contests were worthy of the WrestleMania status.

WrestleMania 25 regressed back in time, because it was a one-match show.

Let’s get this out of the way…The Undertaker’s victory over Shawn Michaels was a success on all levels. It was fantastic. I’ll talk about at length another time, when I’ve seen it again, but for now, I’ll just say this – it was superb, and you should go out of your way to experience it.

But on a four-hour show, that was the only match that was spectacular. Okay, that’s maybe harsh on the opener, as The Money in the Bank Ladder Match was also very good indeed. They were innovative with some new sequences that were at times, spectacular. Kofi Kingston and Shelton Benjamin in particular deserve praise, while Punk, Kane and Finlay also worked hard. Mark Henry and MVP however, did not look good out there, nor did Christian, even though he was the most over guy in the thing.

Punk winning is interesting, because although it establishes him as the first person to win it twice, but also sets him up as potentially the first person to fail in cashing it in. Someone has to do it that someday…

Matt Hardy and Jeff had a scrappy series of spots that was pretty good at times. But I’m certain this was cut short by about 5 minutes, because they had a match that was missing the first quarter.

Jericho’s Legend’s Gauntlet/Handicap match wasn’t good at all, despite Ricky Steamboat looking magnificent out there. Turns out they should have done a one-on-one between the two after all because Steamboat could have gone 10-12 minutes in a decent match that would have had less baggage. Jerry Lawler looked like a buffoon for not helping Flair, despite the storyline; but on the other hand, Mickey Rourke did a hell of a lot more than expected. It probably would have felt more like a Mania “moment” though, if he’d been involved in the build-up because the crowd had no reason to give a monkey‘s about him. I take back everything I said about the Gauntlet, and the legends needing to win to end this storyline. Jericho wasn’t harmed because he beat them, it doesn’t matter if Snuka and Piper looked bad, because how could they not? Steamboat impressed a new generation of fans, so he was also a winner, while Rourke had a good time, and gave Ric Flair a nice photo opportunity.

Plus, he had a marvellous top-knot.

Rey Mysterio’s 20 second win over JBL was 20 seconds, so you can’t say much more about that. It was definitely changed from the original plan, as there’s no way that if that was set to be the opener, they would have had it end like that. Rey’s Heath Ledger Joker entrance attire was gob-smackingly great though.

The World title Triple Threat bout was better than expected, but it doesn’t matter, because nobody watching wanted to see it. And in the slot it was put (following Taker/HBK), they killed any chance of it having heat. They also still have not learned their lesson when it comes to Cena – fans on the fence turned on him when he did that retarded over-inflated entrance. Heels are supposed to be the geeks with ridiculously overblown entrances, not heroes for the people.

Sadly, all of the above isn’t even the stuff I had a problem with.

Triple H’s victory over Randy Orton is surely now, an indicator that fans just do not buy into him as a babyface worthy of the Main Event of WrestleMania. The only time, in a title match at Mania, as a hero, he’s gotten a particularly impressive reaction, was last year, in Florida, when he wasn’t at the top of the card. And part of that, was because John Cena was in the match, and the fans hated Cena.

He is a ridiculously unsympathetic face. Yes, the fans in Houston were absolutely knackered following the outstanding Taker/Michaels match, but it’s not enough of an excuse. The three-way with Edge/Big Show and John Cena, garnered a better response from said observers, and by comparison, last year, The Undertaker and Edge were capable of pulling the crowd back following a similar situation. Triple H simply wasn’t. He’s possibly destined to never have that “special” moment at WrestleMania, that Shawn Michaels has had, or Undertaker, or Benoit, or Bret Hart, or Randy Savage, or Steve Austin, or The Rock, because it isn’t organic.. It’s completely and utterly forced.

Steve Austin came to the ring, and did nothing other than drive a quad, and drink some beers, but he received a thunderous response, just moments before Hunter was greeted with staggering apathy. In my eyes, HHH is a wonderful performer – but he is not the naturally charismatic superstar, who connects, as a hero, with the fans, the way that Austin, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan did.

Should this match have concluded the show? Whew. It’s tough. It’s tough to call. Taker/HBK was undoubtedly the Main Event, and nothing could follow it- but had it gone on last, would the crowd, after four hours of action- still have been as hot from start to finish? Is it better that we got the greatest match of the evening, at the crowd’s peak, leaving the last couple of matches flat, rather than risk compromising said match itself? I’m not sure.

One thing I am sure about is that HHH versus Orton did not feature the right finish. It was bizarre, because after all the build-up, after the entire story involving the McMahon’s, and Legacy- there was no involvement from anyone, in order to spice the match up. That’s insane. The one time where a match did warrant those sorts of hijinks and they left it out! Instead, they insisted on booking a straightforward, unsurprising wrestling match. Sometimes, that’s enough, but it sure as hell isn’t when people are paying for the biggest show of the year, and have been more or less promised something more. The match did not follow the storyline of the feud whatsoever, and because of that, it let people down. In a sense, it also let the entire show down, because while much of the action was okay, it ended in an abysmally flat fashion.

There were other aspects of the broadcast that were also distasteful.

They pulled the Tag Team Title Unification bout from the PPV and instead showed it as the dark match for the live crowd. This isn’t acceptable. It’s bad enough that the company treat the division as worthless (Vince hates tag wrestling), because not everybody does. Many of the FANS, the people paying to see the shows, have fond memories of the Tag Divisions of the 80’s, hell the early 90’s, and that brief period from 1999-2001 where the form enjoyed a welcomed boost. We would love to see a return to those glory days. But the McMahons are not interested in what the fans want. Still, unifying the belts was a step in the right direction, and to do so at Mania was a chance to start anew, and boost the perception of what those belts are worth. But by removing the match from the show, it proved that the belts are still useless, and the WWE are not really serious about doing something with this guy.

But all of these complaints are secondary to the fact that the WWE advertised the tag match as part of the Main Card, and not only that – but promoted it, with lengthy segments and matches. This wasn’t a Rey/JBL that endured a dismal build-up for like two weeks, this was a bout that enjoyed a storyline as good as the World title rivalry. We paid for Wrestling, and one of the matches that we we’re told we would be paying for, did not materialise. That is not right, and leaves a bad taste.

The Divas Battle Royal disgusted me even more than I imagined it would. Ironically, this had nothing to do with the actual action (which was atrocious, but we expected that), but instead with how it was introduced. The Divas wandered to the ring, gyrating, while Kid Rock played the concluding song of his (fairly impressive, but overlong) medley. The competitors were not even introduced. Nothing. I expected the current crop of female workers to be treated as disposable, but I thought they’d make at least some effort for the stars of yesterday. Why bring them all the way in, and not make use of them? It was a horrible slap in the face, not just to a match, not just a division, not just the entire history of a division but to a whole fucking gender.

I could have booked a more endearing women’s Battle Royal with my lap-top shoved up my arse.

Essentially, WM 25 was book-ended by two very distasteful factors: Removing the tag title match from the card, and concluding the event with a very straightforward and dull HHH pinfall win. It’s time for a change. John Cena is the new Mainstream star, the new figurehead, yet he’s as stale as Mae Young’s knickers. He’s been knocking about in Mania world title matches since 2005 now. By my reckoning, that’s the sort of period of time, where he should be considered a veteran of the show, and sharing his moments with newer stars. Meanwhile, Triple H first competed at WrestleMania for a World title at WrestleMania 16… NINE YEARS ago. Hang on – didn’t Hulk Hogan dominate the first nine Mania’s? Yup. And wasn’t he as dull as bricks by the end of that run?

Orton’s time should have been WrestleMania 25. Sure, he can claim HHH used the sledgehammer, and win the title in a rematch, or whatever, but it won’t be at Mania. It won’t be at the biggest event of the year, and it won’t have the same impact. I am 100 per cent certain, that if Randy Orton had pinned Hunter last night, to raise the belt, the fans would have offered him a reaction to rival everything else that occurred in that bout. And more importantly, for those of us watching on television- it would have given a reason to tune in the next night. It would have begun a new phase in wrestling television, which traditionally, Mania at its most successful, should always do.

Some era of Orton this is.

Thanks for taking the time to check this out. I welcome any and all feedback and I can be contacted at www.myspace.com/michaelwrestlingetc or simply by emailing me at Michael@ifight365.com. I look forward to hearing from you, and will be back soon!