WrestleMania 23 Review

Sunday, April 1st, 2007
Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan

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Well, I finally made it to the first WrestleMania (of three total to date) that I have attended live. My excitement for this day was out of control. I don't think I would have cared what the card was, I just wanted to go to WrestleMania. As a little kid who watched WrestleMania VII over and over, I never thought in a million years would have guessed that I would actually be able to attend it. Looking back on this event nearly 17 years later, there are some mixed feelings towards it. I didn't really care for the Vince/Trump stuff as it was happening, but it has been insufferable to watch all of the build up for that. Watching two people I have absolutely no respect for as human beings are going to be featured here and it sucks. Not to mention Chris Benoit being on here now. I try to separate reality from entertainment, but it is definitely going to be a little challenging here. When I left Ford Field that night, it was a pure adrenaline rush and a major event checked off my bucket list. Let's see how it holds up here now.

Aretha Franklin kicks things off with "America The Beautiful" and does a fantastic job, as you would expect from the Queen of Soul.

This of course leads into the intro for the show, which are typically good. We then get some huge pyro that I would have to think is still the most in Ford Field history. We hear from all of the announce teams and now it's time for Money In The Bank.

Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Jeff Hardy vs. King Booker vs. Finlay vs. CM Punk vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. Matt Hardy vs. Randy Orton vs. Edge

I almost never make signs for wrestling shows, but I did make huge cutout letters of CM Punk in hopes of making it on TV. It didn't work. It doesn't help when you're in the third level. I do think I did find myself on the DVD, but only with really searching and pausing. The first big spot is when Finlay hits a dive off the top rope to the floor where a group are brawling. Edge tries to take advantage and climb up, but Matt is there to stop him. Booker gets the comedy spot with the step ladder, which CM Punk then uses on him. CM Punk gets busted open when Edge throws the small ladder into his head. Booker does a throwback Spinarooni and then gets hit by a ladder courtesy of the Hardys. The Hardys try to get something set up but Finlay tosses Jeff off the top rope. Edge then suplexes Matt onto the ladders set up. Kennedy goes for a Kenton to Matt on a ladder, but Matt rolls out of the way. Jeff then hits a Swanton on Kennedy. The Hardys clear the ring and then climb the ladder before getting shoved off by Finlay. Edge hits a bunch of Spears, which leads to CM Punk/Terry Funk spinning ladder spot. Edge then Spears him and takes out a whole group from it. Edge brings in the big ladder and starts climbing. Orton grabs his ankle and then pushes him off and to the floor. Matt then puts Edge on the ladder propped between the ring and guardrail. Jeff climbs the giant ladder and dives right onto Edge and collapses the ladder. There is no way that didn't hurt. The medical team is out and Orton starts hitting RKOs on everyone. Orton does the annoying thing where he keeps moving the ladder like it's rocket science. Punk comes from behind and hits him with another ladder and sets it up next to the other one. Meanwhile, Edge is being wheeled to the back. Punk and Orton are battling on the two ladders and Orton hits a RKO off the ladder. Orton goes for another one on Booker, but Booker hits a Book End instead. Matt comes into climb, but Sharmell comes in and grabs Matt off. Matt threatens to hit a Twist Of Fate and Booker comes down to save her. Matt hits a Twist Of Fate on Booker and is climbing alone. In comes Finlay to tip him off. Finlay is bleeding badly from the top of his head. He hits a Celtic Cross on the ladder to Matt. Out comes Hornswoggle and he offers to climb for him. In comes Kennedy and he hits a Green Bay Plunge from the ladder on Hornswoggle. Finlay is now climbing until CM Punk dropkicks the ladder. Punk gets to the top until Kennedy meets him up there and they start brawling. Punk shoves him off and gets his hands on the briefcase, but Kennedy shoves a ladder in his face. He grabs the briefcase and is Mr. Money In The Bank. This was the obvious and correct choice to open the show. It had a lot of star power in it and also did a good job of showing Punk and Kennedy were on the same level. This was definitely the most memorable match on the card in terms of moments, but will it be the match of the night? 

Match Rating: ****

They show highlights of The Condemned premiere. 

Mr. Kennedy cuts a promo and it's pretty weak. I think he'd want that one back. 

Great Khali vs. Kane

It seriously does not get much worse than this. I've watched two minutes and it feels like an hour. Plus Kane and that stupid hook. Kane uses it to crotch Khali and then hits a body slam for a 2 count. Trust me, Kane. We wish it was over too. Khali hits the double handed chokeslam and gets the win. The real winners are us, as it is finally over. After the match, Khali chokes Kane with the chain. Why not use the hook instead? Oh yeah, because it's stupid.

Match Rating: 1/4*

Cryme Tyme is with Eugene backstage. Remember them? They have a surprise for him and it's Extreme Exposé. Eugene is then more excited because there is also Moolah and Mae Young. In comes Slick and he starts dancing with them. Next up, it's Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, Jimmy Hart, IRS, Mean Gene and Jack Brisco. Ricky Steamboat brings it to a halt and then gets it going again. This is all here just for Ron Simmons to do what he does. 

United States Championship Match
MVP vs. Chris Benoit

This one just didn't have the build up that it needed to make it feel like a WrestleMania worthy match. They give us a little bit of mat wrestling to start. MVP mostly dominates the match here, which is a little telling as to how the finish will go. Benoit comes back with the German suplexes and then hits the top rope headbutt. That's enough to win? This was kept under 10 minutes and just didn't have that big fight feel to it. The action was clean and well worked, it just didn't mean much. 

Match Rating: **1/2

The most embarrassing president in the history of this country is in a skit with Boogeyman and it's a reminder that he's almost as horrible at acting as he is being a human. 

We get some highlights of the Hall Of Fame ceremony. This was a really great event to get to be part of. I was way up in the nosebleeds, but still had a great time. I also remember being very impressed by Cody Rhodes here. 

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Batista vs. Undertaker

Teddy Long is your guest ring announcer here. Batista goes right at Undertaker to start things off. I was not excited for this match at all back in 2007. I had not been a fan of the Undertaker character in many years (and still am not). Today I think he's better than I had given him credit for, but he's still not a favorite. I did not like Batista either, but did prefer when he was more of a heel. Batista goes off the top rope in a rare moment. I don't care what the podcasts say about being in the main event and all that, there's no way these two guys didn't go into this match with a chip on their shoulders. Batista also had the extra motivation of having to miss last year's WrestleMania. Undertaker hits Snake Eyes and the big boot. Taker hits Old School and goes for the chokeslam, but Batista blocks it. These two are working a great pace for a big man match. Taker hits the big leg drop over the ring apron and slows things down. He uses that as the perfect opportunity to hit the dive over the top rope and to the floor. Batista is able to throw Taker into the guardrail and through some chairs in the area. Batista puts Taker up on the announce tables and hits a running powerslam through another table. I honestly forgot that spot was in this match. Taker battles back and hits the Last Ride, but Batista kicks out. He then hits a chokeslam and that is still not enough. Batista hits a Spear and the Batista Bomb with Michael Cole declaring the streak is over, so Taker kicks out at 2. Taker comes back and hits a Tombstone in the middle of the ring and we have a new champion. That was a big pop for that victory. This was much better than I remember and it's kind of surprising how little of this I remembered. It's not like I didn't re-watch this show after the fact either. This was smartly worked and they maximized their minutes. Taker gets the firework treatment before heading to the back.

Match Rating: ****

Stephanie brings her daughter in to wish her disgusting and despicable father good luck in his match against another piece of garbage. We then get a stroller cam and see Vince cutting a promo to them. It wasn't funny in 2007 and it sucks even worse now. 

Sabu, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer & Rob Van Dam vs. Elijah Burke, Matt Striker, Kevin Thorn & Marcus Cor Von

The ECW Originals come through the crowd. Sabu and Striker start the match, with Sabu hitting some springboard moves to kick it off. Sandman hits a leg drop on Striker, who was draped over the top rope. They are working a quick pace here even though there is seemingly a ton of time left on this show. Cor Von comes in and tosses Dreamer around a little bit. We're getting lots of quick tags here to make sure everyone gets their moment. Elijah hits the double knees to the back of Dreamer, but the pin attempt is broken up. Thorn hits a sit down spinebuster and again the pin attempt is broken up. RVD is finally in with a hot tag and hits a top rope single leg kick on Thorn. He hits Striker with the monkey flip and Rolling Thunder. Cor Von pulls him out of the ring and hits him with a clothesline. He's then hit with a dive from Sabu. Dreamer hits a DDT on Striker before being attacked by Burke. Sandman clotheslines Burke out of the ring. RVD climbs back in and hits the 5 Star Frog Splash on Striker for the victory. This was very much a TV match, but the energy was WrestleMania level and the ECW Originals got their moment. 

Match Rating: **1/2

I should probably at least note that they have been showing "All Grown Up" commercials throughout the evening. The Steve Austin one they show here is probably the best of the bunch. 

They then announce that WrestleMania will be in Orlando next year. Maybe I should go to that. 

Battle Of The Billionaires Hair Vs. Hair Match
Umaga vs. Bobby Lashley

I am just so ready to get this match out of my system. Trump came down to $100 bills falling and was escorted by a former Miss USA or something. I try not to gag every time I see his face. Steve Austin is the guest referee and gets brought out last. Look, I underrstand that this match is often credited for the huge buyrate for the show. As someone who was in the stadium for the show, I can tell you that this match had nowhere near the reaction that the other two main events had. It was not even in the same ballpark. The first big spot of the match is Lashley ducking a charging Umaga and him flying over the top rope. Lashley ends up with a similar fate just moments later and goes through the ropes and to the floor. Umaga doesn't break a count, so Austin grabs him by his hair and gets in his face. Umaga clocks Lashley with a big clothesline and goes to work on the injured Lashley. Umaga hits his signature Samoan drop, which gets a nice reaction from the crowd. Other than that, the crowd is mostly in the middle in terms of reactions so far. Lashley decides to go for a body slam, but he falls on his back and Umaga gets a 2 count. Vince gets up on the apron and Lashley accidentally knocks him to the floor when running the ropes. Umaga goes up top, but Lashley gets there and powerslams him off the top. He then turns him inside out with a clothesline. Both men are down and Austin begins to start. He almost gets to 10, but stops counting and tells both men to get up. Shane McMahon has found his way out to ringside now. Umaga again is not listening to Austin, so Austin grabs him by his eye. Shane gets up on the apron, but jumps off when Austin sees him. This distraction allows for Umaga to hit the Samoan Spike on Austin. Shane is now in there to make it a 2 on 1 and Umaga hits the butt bop in the face. They get out the trash can and Shane hits coast to coast. You would think that the disgraced former president would have tried to help out his competitor, but he just watches instead. Shane takes off his dress shirt and has a referee shirt on. Umaga goes up to the top rope and hits a big splash. Shane starts counting, but Austin pulls him out of the ring and throws him into the steps. Umaga then hits a shot to the throat from Umaga. Trump comes over and hits Vince with what you maybe could call a clothesline on Vince. Austin hits a Stunner on Umaga and Lashley hits the Spear for the victory. I didn't think that the match did a very good job of making Lashley look super strong here. Obviously they stacked the deck on him, but he needed help to overcome it. Obviously in hindsight, this match didn't accomplish the long term plan of making either of these guys top guys. Lashley didn't even make it until the end of the year and Umaga's story had a sad ending. Lashley did eventually become a top guy, but way further down the line. Onto the post-match shenanigans. Vince tries to escape, so Lashley chases him down the entrance ramp and carries him to the ring on his shoulder. Austin hits a Stunner on his and into the barber chair he goes. They buzz him and then slap on some shaving cream to actually shave him bald. Lashley shows Vince a mirror and Vince sells it like a buffoon and heads towards the back. Austin gets some beers and celebrates with Lashley. Austin then gives Trump a Stunner, showing off how absolutely unathletic Trump is with one of the worst sells ever. Austin heads to the back and Lashley checks on him. The match itself felt like an Attitude Era main event, which is obviously what they were going for. It wasn't as interesting since it's been done a million times. It was entertaining for what it was, but nothing super memorable. I also had zero investment in the hair angle and it just felt like a ton of time that could have been given to something else. 

Match Rating: **3/4

They show highlights of the untelevised Carlito and Ric Flair vs. Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms lumberjack match. 

Lumberjill Match For The WWE Women's Championship
Ashley vs. Melina

Mickie James vs. Trish, this is not. Having read more about the whole Ashley story does not make this match any more enjoyable. Ashley misses a top rope elbow drop, but kicks out at 2. Ashley rolls her up and gets 2 before Melina reverses it and gets the win in a little bit of an awkward finish. This was hardly a match. It was a few moves and a finish. Ashley goes after Melina and then all the Lumberjills come in and brawl. None of this was good unfortunately. 

Match Rating: 1/4*

WWE Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena

Michaels gets his usual DX entrance and Cena gets the driving a car super fast through WrestleMania glass entrance. Michaels is aggressive to start and the crowd is seemingly 100% behind him winning. The first big move of the match is Michaels hitting a springboard moonsault. I'm not sure if he was hoping for a table break there, but it didn't and the landing as a little awkward there. Michaels slams Cena's knee into the ring post and now is targeting that left knee here. Cena was able to avoid a charging Michaels and Michaels busted his head open on the ring post. Cena goes after it and then hits some shoulder tackles and his modified powerbomb. He hits the 5 Knuckle Shuffle. Michaels ducks a right hand and goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Cena ducks that and he knocks out the referee with it. Cena goes for the FU, but Michaels counters that into a DDT. They go outside the ring and Michaels hits a piledriver onto the steel steps. Michaels hits the top rope elbow drop and starts tuning up the band. Cena explodes for a clothesline to a chorus of boos. Cena goes for the FU and this time Michaels counters it into a pinfall and gets a 2 count. Cena comes back and hits the FU again, but takes too long to cover him and Michaels kicks out. Cena goes for a super FU on the second rope, but Michaels battles out and knocks Cena to the mat. Michaels goes off the top rope with a crossbody, but Cena catches him and rolls through. We get a bunch of counters and Michaels almost gets a victory with an inside cradle. Cena is able to put on the STFU. Michaels struggles, but makes it to the bottom rope. Michaels hits Sweet Chin Music and both men are knocked out. Michaels is able to crawl over, but Cena gets his shoulder up before 3. Cena is able to get the STFU on again and this time Michaels has to tap after a great battle between the two. Cena gets the pyro celebration and he has now stood tall at the last four WrestleMania shows, with the last two being the last match of the night. Cena goes up to Michaels in the walkway, but Michaels heads to the back. Cena gives him a salute before going back into the ring. 

Match Rating: ****1/4

There is a lot of mixed emotions with this show for me. No matter how you look at it though, there were three four star matches here and it was the first WrestleMania I ever attended. The two bad matches could have easily been deleted from the show, but at least they were short. The whole Vince/Trump garbage is hard to watch, but the match itself was fine. This is definitely a memorable WrestleMania outside of those three and one of the better ones up to this point. Thumbs up. 

Overall Rating: 87%