WrestleMania 23 (tagline: All Grown Up) drew 80,103 fans to Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on April 1st 2007. At the time, the event was the second most attended event (behind WrestleMania III), and the PPV buy rate was the highest in company history with 1.2 million buys. For the first time, the brand extension included Raw, Smackdown and ECW, and each brand were represented by their respected announce teams: JR/King (Raw), Cole/JBL (Smackdown) and Styles/Tazz (ECW).
Before the show, Carlito and Ric Flair won a Lumberjack tag team dark match against Gregory Helms and Chavo Guerrero. The tagline “All Grown Up” was used throughout, as video packages showed child equivalents of the wrestlers growing in to their adult selves, as the wrestlers emphasized their dreams to perform from a young age. The main event matches included: John Cena vs Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship. The Undertaker vs Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. Also, the Billionaire Hair vs. Hair Challenge, which saw Umaga represent Vince McMahon, and Bobby Lashley for Donald Trump, with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee.
Aretha Franklin sang a stunning rendition of the American Nation Anthem, which could only be beaten by Lillian Garcia’s. And without any further delay, let’s delve in to the match card.
Match #1 – Money In The Bank Ladder Match including: CM Punk, Randy Orton, Finlay, Matt Hardy, King Booker, Mr. Kennedy, Jeff Hardy & Edge.
CM Punk and Mr Kennedy (Kennedy!) WM debuts! Like previous MITB matches, this one did not disappoint. Brawling ensued immediately, and Finlay hit a dive on everyone on the outside. Edge and Matt waste no time fighting each other, so clearly no love lost. Everyone scrambled up the ladder, Hardy was closest, til Kennedy pushed him off. Booker soon found the mini ladder usually reserved for Hornswoggle, CM Punk hit him from behind, took the tiny ladder, and smashed Booker, Randy and Finlay with it. Edge noticed and took the ladder off him, before throwing the ladder at Punk’s head.
Edge bridged a huge ladder from the ring apron to the guard rail. Punk cut open from the mini ladder shot. Edge goes for a suplex on Punk on the bridged ladder, but Punk reverses with his own. In the ring, Booker T nails spinebusters back-to-back on everyone. WrestleMania SPINAROONIE! The Hardys work together to sandwich Booker between two ladders. Edge sneaks in and punches Jeff, but Matt cuts him off with the Side Effect. Jeff sets a dangerous ladder spot up (the same which mangled Joey Mercury’s face), but Edge and Finlay ensure it doesn’t happen. Edge suplexes Matt on the ladder .. ouch.
Kennedy takes advantage of Matt and sets him up on another ladder. He attempts the Kenton Bomb, but he misses and hits the ladder with the tip of his head! OW! Jeff nails the real Swanton on Kennedy shortly after. Hardys work together to take everyone out. They climb the ladder and exchange punches, but Finlay pushes them off and takes everyone else out with clotheslines and splashes. Edge turns it up a notch, spearing all except CM Punk, who moves out the way in time to send Edge crashing in to the ring post.
You know the funny thing about the match? All six commentators called the action. CM Punk’s left in the middle of the ring, so Joey Styles and Taz put him over. Punk uses the Terry Funk ladder on the shoulders spot, til Edge finally spears him, sending the ladder in to Finlay and Orton as well. He brings the biggest ladder in to the ring and climbs. Orton gets some brief spotlight by pushing Edge off the giant ladder to the outside, but Hardy drops him with a facebuster.
Matt lifts Edge on to the bridged ladder on the outside, and Jeff has plenty of time to climb the ladder to retrieve the briefcase, Matt Hardy encourages his brother to throw his body straight through Edge and the ladder! Definitely a holy bleep moment. Edge is stretchered to the backstage area immediately, while Jeff Hardy carries on. In the ring, Randy RKO’s Finlay and Mr.Kennedy. He takes a very long time finding the right position for the ladder so he can climb .. and gets it terribly wrong, so he climbs to the top and can’t reach. Punk knocks him off with a ladder of his own. Orton and Punk fight on two ladders, til Randy sees the opportunity to hit the Super RKO!
Orton and Booker T on the ladders now, and this time it’s Randy who crashes down with a Super Bookend; you don’t see that often. Booker climbs the ladder and looks set to win, but Matt grabs Sharmell and tells him if he doesn’t come down he will put her in harm’s way. Booker leaves the briefcase to help Sharmell, but it goes against him as Matt lets her go and drops him with the Twist of Fate.
As Matt climbs, Finlay casually drops him by lifting the ladder up. He’s bleeding heavily from the top of his head, but goes ahead with a Celtic Cross to Matt Hardy on to the ladder, Finlay caught some of the ladder too, so he sells while taking his time climbing the ladder, Hornswoggle sighting! He climbs the ladder to help Finlay get the briefcase, but Kennedy recovers, hits Finlay, climbs the ladder and threatens Hornwoggle. He punches Kennedy in the face twice, but it’s not enough to stop Kennedy throwing him on to his shoulders and crashing to the mat with a rolling fireman’s carry slam!
Finlay throws a ladder at Kennedy and climbs again, only for Punk to dropkick him off. Punk climbs the ladder, and Kennedy follows. He knocks Kennedy off, but is unable to grab the briefcase as he was brutally struck with the other ladder. With no one to interfere, Kennedy sets the ladder in the right position, climbs it and wins Money in the Bank match! Commentary team express the importance of the victory, and how it guarantees a championship match at any time.
While the result is questionable, the match itself was brutal in a good way. Quite possibly the most intense opening match to a WrestleMania I can recall. It leaves me wondering whether Edge was supposed to win, or if his injury was a work to protect him in loss. The reason why I assume Edge was originally scheduled to win, is because he soon claimed the Money in the Bank briefcase after goading Kennedy in to defending it. Edge won the match, and Kennedy never received his World title shot. In the end, it turns out that Kennedy was injured and needed time off, so they handed it over to Edge in a quick match on Raw.
Everyone in the match played their part, although Orton felt like an afterthought. He never looked like the aggressor, aside from the Super RKO on Punk. I have to say, it was an improvement to the MITB at WM22, and just as good as the previous two. Very fun way to start the show. I’ll never forget when I saw it live.
Match #2 – Kane vs. The Great Khali
Oh yes, this is as bad as it sounds. So The Great Khali was in super monster heel mode, and The Undertaker was lined up to take the fall. But first, Kane has to job to him, because that’s his specialty at WrestleMania. Ok, we start with typical brawling, some clotheslines. That big palm thing Khali does. You know, the usual boring stuff. And then out of nowhere, Kane finds a giant meat hook!
Oh no, is he going to stick that in Khali? Not quite. Khali fights back, but Kane low blows him with the chain attached to the meat hook. ANDRE THE GIANT slam on Khali, which was really the only thing worth seeing. Khali stood up and tree slam finished Kane, and it’s over. I wouldn’t blame anyone for clicking the fast forward button. This match sucked, I can’t be any clearer.
Oh, but such an hilarious segment afterwards to make up for it. Crymetime, Eugene, Mae Young, Moolah, Slick, Brooke Adams, Kelly Kelly, Layla, Slick, Sgt. Slaughter, Dusty Rhodes, and so many more, I’m going to include videos at the end of the article, so you can enjoy these moments. RIP Dusty.
Match #3 – Chris Benoit (c) vs. MVP for the WWE United States Championship
MVP’s WrestleMania debut. Benoit and MVP managed a decent mid-card feud together, so the heat is there to get MVP over in some degree. MVP executed his game plan of working on Benoit’s arm so he couldn’t use the crossface to full effect. MVP appears to be out-wrestling Benoit in the first half. JBL overselling the game plan of MVP a little, which is to target the arms and shoulders. Repeated crossface attempts countered by MVP; so clearly done his homework. He does not get out of the german suplex combo though.
Surprisingly, Benoit went to the top, hit the diving headbutt .. and pinned MVP. Unlike the previous year when Benoit lost to a cheating JBL, he defeated his rival clean in nine minutes, and given time to celebrate with the title. The commentary labelled him a future WWE Hall of Famer, one of the best of all time. It was so hard to listen to. Not the best match, not the worst, but still a fairly average contest which was made MVP look good in defeat, and a good reward to Benoit for his continued loyalty.
Match #4 – Batista (c) vs. The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship
Boogeyman and Donald Trump backstage .. dammit Boogeyman, go get Trump some sandwiches! Anyways, on to this title match, I have mixed feelings when it comes to having the Royal Rumble winner not main event the show for the title. Isn’t that the point of winning the Rumble? To main event WrestleMania? And have you noticed how they always have Undertaker in the 3rd-5th match every year? Hardly ever in the main event? I can only recall it happening once.
I already called the Money in the Bank match, so I’ll cut this one to the highlights. Lots of brawling, and Batista doing a flying shoulderblock; which amazed JBL. A flying clothesline from Taker helped the momentum. They fight on the outside, with Batista whipping Taker in to the timekeepers table. Batista gets frustrated and hits a belly-to-belly on Taker. He hits the spinebuster on Taker, but counters his pin attempt in to a chokeslam! The good thing about this match is the streak vs title gimmick; you know something big has to happen for The Undertaker.
Batista tries for the bomb .. but is countered in to the Tombstone Piledriver! 1-2-3, and NEEW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION, THE UNDEERRTAKER! Sorry, I turned in to Howard Finkel for a second. I have to say, Batista did pretty well here, and the crowd were into it .. so why book it right in the middle of the card? I don’t know, maybe someone can fill me in and give some reasoning. Oh, almost forgot. 15-0!
Match #5 – ECW Originals (RVD, Sabu, Sandman & Dreamer) vs The New Breed (Cor Von, Burke, Thorn & Striker)
Yay.. it’s the old ECW guys at WrestleMania 23. Took ya time guys! Yeah .. I love ECW, but I didn’t love this eight-man tag. You know what’s missing? Blood, weapons, violence, excitement, everything. Just a match to give the old ECW fans something to cheer for, but sadly, it was a mere shadow of its former glory. The Originals won in six minutes.
Match #6 – Battle Of The Billionaires Hair vs. Hair Match with Lashley (representing Trump) vs. Umaga (representing McMahon) with Stone Cold Steve Austin as Special Referee.
Let me attempt to explain this. McMahon wanted to shave Trump’s head, Trump wanted to shave McMahon’s head. So instead of fighting each other, they chose a representative. And instead of picking any big names, they chose Lashley and Umaga. No one was caring for Lashley, and Umaga was still kinda new .. so he wasn’t anyone to care for either. Luckily, the match had Stone Cold Steve Austin.
During the match, Umaga and Lashley took liberties with the rules, and Austin made the crowd pop each time he manhandled and forced them to stop. Neither wanted to hit him back. McMahon sold his evilness, while Trump stood around with his smug smirk. Who are we cheering for here? Trump I guess? So the match dragged on, and on, and on a bit more. Despite the little excitement, both men were spent and couldn’t get up for a ten-count .. so Austin drew another sweet reaction by refusing to count the final ten.
Shane McMahon suddenly appears to create some excitement. Austin drags Umaga off Lashley by his eyes, so Umaga knocks Austin to the outside with a Samoan Spike. Shane enters the ring and works his magic on Lashley. Umaga and Shane work together to set Lashley up for the Shane Terminator. Love the move, but where was the buildup? Austin drags Shane out .. who was pretending to be the referee, and runs into another Samoan Spike.
Trump asks “What’s going on here?”. I agree with him for once, what the hell is going on here? A short time later, Trump ambushes Vince, knocks him down and fake punches like only a billionaire can. Nice one Trump .. at least you didn’t get him at a predictable time; it literally came from nowhere. Austin recovers and nails Umaga with a stunner, Lashley follows up with a spear, and Lashley wins the match on Trump’s behalf.
Vince tries getting out of it, but is incapable of running away from Lashley (Vince overselling with dramatic bumps and goofy facial expressions), and if you enjoy watching someone get his head shaved, then the next part is gold to you. Otherwise, you’re watching two bald guys, and a dude with hair which never moves, shaving another guy bald. Is this entertaining? You decide.
Match #7 – Melina (c) vs. Ashley for the WWE Women’s Championship, in a Lumberjill match.
Oh my. I wondered what could follow the shaving of Vince, and I was NOT pleasantly surprised. So there’s lumberjills at ringside, wrestlers like Mickie James, Victoria, Layla, and a bunch of other divas for the eye candy. Melina decided to leave the ring early on, which was really dumb as she was soon thrown back in. Some choking going on .. Melina locks a surfboard-like move on Ashley for a while. Dead crowd, yawn. Thinking whether I should go to the toilet.
I should have really .. after a missed elbow drop by Ashley, and a pin attempt, Melina reverses in to a pin of her own and retains the title. Seriously!? You bring out girls like Mickie James, Victoria, and Layla, and have them stand there doing literally nothing at WrestleMania 23? While a green wrestler like Ashley, and a decent, yet not great wrestler like Melina wins a match .. where the Lumberjills are used ONCE!? For no reason whatsoever, the divas enter the ring and attack each other. Moving on quickly ..
Match #8 – John Cena (c) vs Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship
SUPERCENA time! Are you ready!? HBK enters to the D-X theme, which is kinda cool. And then John Cena, the master of trying so hard to be cool, starts his entrance in a Ford Mustang somewhere in Detroit. He (not a stuntman, it was Cena dammit! Keep kayfabe!) drives the Mustang like a professional, drifting it around the streets of Detroit. Eventually, he makes his way to the arena and smashes through some glass. He gets out of the car on the drivers side .. to a hateful reception.
Most of the crowd sides with HBK, so I guess he is the babyface. Some early offense is dodged and weaved by Mr. WrestleMania. Shawn tries wrestling Cena, but he clotheslines HBK instead. Michaels gets angry and downs Cena with a Thesz Press, an Enzuiguri, and an Asai Moonsault. He starts working the knee, and Cena sells pretty well. Shawn charges at Cena but he moves, sending him to the ring post; and busting him open.
The fans boo Cena more when he jumps on the opportunity to punch at HBK’s head wound. FIVE MOVES OF DOOM .. but wait, HBK counters the FU. He tries following with the Sweet Chin Music, but again, Cena ducks and HBK hits the ref with instead. Probably the best Superkick I have ever seen on a referee. Shawn gets pissed and reverts to dirty tactics, setting up the steel steps on the outside. He drills Cena with a wicked piledriver, and top of his head is busted open now. Michaels gets the upper hand delivering the elbow drop and setting Cena up for Sweet Chin Music. HBK tries again, but Cena counters in to a flying lariat.
Michaels counters the FU again, but soon finds himself taking one anyways. HBK kicks out at 2, which at the time was pretty rare. Cena goes for for the super FU from the turnbuckle, but HBK blocks and counters in to a crossbody. Cena rolls through and picks HBK up for the FU again. Really nice sequence follows, as Cena tries locking in the STFU repeatedly, but HBK blocks the attempts and eventually counters in to a roll-up. Shawn misses the enzuiguri, leaving him open to the STFU! HBK is too close to the ropes and gets a hand on the rope for the break.
Cena gets frustrated now, and almost gets disqualified when he refuses to let go of the STFU. The referee (does a Steve Austin) overpowers Cena, forcing him to break the STFU. Cena argues with the ref and almost knocks him over, which gives HBK time to hit Sweet Chin Music for a long two count. With both men spent, they try getting to their feet, and only manage to do so at nine. Cena once again hits HBK with the FU, and transitions straight in to the STFU. In the 28th minute Shawn Michaels has nowhere to go, and with no options available to him, he is forced to submit.
Cena tries consoling HBK after the contest, but HBK is in no mood and walks off. The Tag Team Champions were not going to celebrate together. Cena holds his title in the air, as the mixed reaction from the fans continue. Fans either loving or hating him profusely, Cena is still “The Man”, and HBK delivers another solid performance at WrestleMania 23. The match was really good, and I’ve read reviews saying it was match of the night. It certainly was, although it was given extra time to shine.
I remember being shockingly appalled by HBK losing by submission to Cena when I saw it live in 2007. I thought .. yeah, it’s Cena, he always wins. Even against guys like HBK at WrestleMania, he still wins. It’s booking like that which got me looking for an alternative, so I soon tuned in to TNA. I was already tired of Cena by 2007, and I wasn’t ready to accept him as a main event guy. Regardless of how we feel for either man, it was a really good match, and one of Cena’s best efforts.
Conclusion
I was a little disappointed with WrestleMania 23 for various reasons. Firstly, why stack the MITB ladder match so high? They could have taken Jeff Hardy, or Edge and put them in a main event spot. The first match stacked a lot of the better talent, so it left some of the later matches begging for them to be involved. We also had two time wasters with Khali vs Kane and Melina vs Ashley. Seriously, put these matches on Smackdown, not at WrestleMania.
I feel like Vince purposely books the worst matches ever, just to ensure nothing outshines the main matches. There’s also a lack of title matches, aside from the WWE, World, US, and Women’s Championship, the ECW and IC titles weren’t on the line, and neither were any of the tag titles. Some of the backstage interviews/segments were pretty good though. Batista vs Undertaker was pretty sweet too; you could believe Undertaker losing to a guy like him. The ECW Originals match was like “Hey look! We have the ECW guys here!”, but no one used any weapons.
The Trump vs McMahon stuff was not my cup of tea. If Austin hadn’t been there to provide some excitement, the whole thing would have trumped. Think about it, they could have used Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton .. or Matt Hardy and Edge. At least use guys with some popularity and chemistry. Overall, it was mildly entertaining, thanks to Austin, Vince, and the Shane Terminator.
And for once, the main event ended the night on a good note. HBK and Cena always worked well together, and Cena stepped up. The biggest problem in the buildup to the main event? There’s no feud, Cena and HBK were tag team champions; that’s it. HBK wanted to prove himself to Cena, and vice-versa. More of a mutual respect thing, with HBK trying to turn heel during the match, but unable to do so due to the hatred for Cena. Overall, the PPV was alright. Not excellent, Overall, WrestleMania 23 was not very memorable, but at least it provided decent entertainment. I thank you for staying with me, it was a long PPV. With that said, goodnight everyone.
