- WrestleMania 25: Previewing the 25-Diva Battle Royal
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing JBL vs. Rey Mysterio for the IC title
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing Miz/Morrison vs. Carlito/Primo in a tag title unification match
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing Money in the Bank
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing Edge vs. Cena vs. Show for the World title
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
- WrestleMania 25: Previewing HHH vs. Randy Orton for the WWE title

We’re previewing the full card for WWE’s WrestleMania 25 PPV ahead of our live coverage here at iFight365.com this evening from around 5pm EST/10pm UK time.

Chris Jericho faces Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Ricky Steamboat at WrestleMania 25. We know Ric Flair will be there, as will actor Mickey Rourke. But how will the Gauntlet match play out?

Phil Lowe: What could have been something really special now seems like just another match on the undercard at Mania. I really hope that come bell-time tonight in Houston I’m proven wrong, but going into tonight’s show it just lacks any kind of spark for me.

Sure, seeing Ricky Steamboat in action again could be awesome. But it’s been fifteen years since he last wrestled in any kind of relatively high profile match and it would be unfair to expect him to be anywhere close to where he was during his peak. But with this being a Gauntlet match, it’s hard to see the bulk of this match be anything other than Steamboat vs. Chris Jericho, given Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka’s conditions.

If Mickey Rourke had won an Oscar, the build for this may have been much difference. But it just seems that once Vince McMahon saw Rourke pipped to the award (and remember Vince hated ‘The Wrestler’ until he figured he could make some money from it) that this match and the build to it changed – and for the worse.

Chris Jericho’s promo work in recent weeks has been the only saving grace heading into WrestleMania and I don’t think there’s any doubt that he eventually wins tonight. With Ric Flair and Rourke both expected to play a part, I’d be shocked if the outcome tonight was anything other than Jericho winning then being laid out by Rourke for the babyface pop.

Dan Short: I really didn’t know where they were going to go with Chris Jericho once Mickey Rourke was told to back out while the Oscar race was still running strong and I still don’t know where they’re going with Jericho at this point. I’m excited to see Steamboat back in the ring and all, but I don’t think this match really has any sort of air to it of being special to me.

A lot is to do with the inclusion of Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great guys and I worship the ground they walk upon. But if their appearance back at the 2008 Royal Rumble showed, they’re not exactly capable to make a go in the ring without blowing up in thirty seconds. And Steamboat is definitely the wild card given that he hasn’t been active since 1994, though he claims he is eighty percent of what he was then. That’s mighty impressive if he’s right.

I expect that Jericho probably wins all three matches and then finds himself on the end of a beating from Flair and maybe even Mickey Rourke, should he show up like I suspect.

Michael Campbell: I think this is destined to be a horrific cluster of a match. I already went into the background of this match in detail in my Throwing in the Towel column, but needless to say, out of all the options available to the company, this is the one that I most feared.

The rivalry died a death the moment that this trio, a man who battled to stay alive just recently, a guy who hasn’t worked a match in 15 years and another who is barely mobile, were announced as the opponents for one of 2008’s classiest heels.

Obviously, it’s going to make Jericho look like a first-class Muppet…but he has to lose. There’s just no point in this match existing, if Jericho does not get his come-uppance. The ringside presence of Mickey Rourke though is baffling. Is Rourke going to get involved? I cannot fathom the finish of this not being Steve Austin coming to the ring and stunnering Jericho, allowing the Legends to win… so what’s the point in Rourke being there? Could there be a swerve, and ol’ Mickey decks Flair, thus bringing out Austin to Stunner him and Jericho? It’s possible. But the utter necessity for interference from Flair, Rourke, and Austin, not to mention the long-time coward, Jerry Lawler, ensures that Jericho having his hand raised would be a stretch too far. Winners: The Legends.

Mark Bright: Although Jericho’s promo work has been undeniably fantastic here; this is probably the most disappointing match on the card when you consider what it could have been. Rourke v. Jericho, if Rourke had won the best actor Oscar, could’ve been the difference between this WrestleMania build being something special and being the letdown that many feel it has been. But I am a total nostalgia freak, and when Steamboat is armdragging and chopping Jericho I’ll love it and suspect Jericho will be having the time of his life. With Rourke and Flair at ringside there will be enough extracurricular activity and smoke and mirrors to make this entertaining, and I believe Jericho is more than talented enough to make it good.

Now, the question is booking. Having the legends, including Flair since he’s such a beloved figure and an important part of the angle given their hot brawl and watch-stomping deal on RAW, lose here would put things on such a downer. But should an active wrestler – a main eventer no less – lose to three old guys, even three legends. In this case, I believe the answer is yes. Jericho has been running down old wrestlers, and running down the fans for months, and this is the part of WrestleMania where the fans and the legends and everyone else takes out their payback on Jericho, and he’s the kind of character who will not be hurt badly at all by losing here, especially if it’s due to involvement of Flair and Rourke. I also wouldn’t be too surprised to see an appearance by Batista if they want someone with history with Flair, and a modern guy, to interfere and give Jericho an “out” and a future potential storyline.