Wrestlemania 21: A Retrospective Look

May 2024 ยท 5 minute read
Mania 21 is absolutely historic and deserves all the praise it gets. this event is responsible for the main event pushes of Cena, Batista, Edge and Orton. sure, they had all accomplished a lot prior to this event, but this stage quite literally set the stage for the rest of their careers. it was a pretty big gamble but clearly worth the risk.

still, true to this series, some quick changes...

Eddie vs. Rey was an incredible opener and i've long liked the storyline of them being current Tag Team Champs here. however, having read some other responses, i've changed my mind in that regard. i'd keep the match as is, but the build would be a bit different. i'd have the Basham Brothers defeat Eddie and Rey for the Tag Team Titles for two reasons. first, it gives JBL's Cabinet all the gold (World Title, US Title and Tag Titles) and it gives Eddie and Rey a reason to fight here on this stage. they can blame each other for the loss of the gold and settle it on this stage. so that works for me.

Tag Team Titles: i mentioned (in my Mania 20 response) that i would have unifed the two sets of Tag Team Titles at that event since the division was lacking from previous years and two sets seemed a bit excessive. that said, i'd have the Basham Brothers defend the only Tag Team Titles at this event against the newly debuting MNM. it would have been a perfect debut for "WrestleMania Goes Hollywood" given their gimmick and a strong debut to win the Tag Team Titles on the biggest stage in their first match. so that's the match i'd have added.

US Title: i'd have Orlando Jordan defend his title against Booker T. it would be a pretty logical build and decent match. give Booker the US Title here. yes, it'd be a bad night for JBL's Cabinet, but it happens.

Sumo Match: Akebono vs. Rikishi. if you absolutely must have this match, put Rikishi in it instead of Big Show. we saw Rikishi in a thong for years. a diaper isn't much worse. and if Akebono gives this event some celebrity status and some bigger buys in Japan and Hawaii, then so be it. to be clear, i'm not recommending this match stays. but if it absolutely has to, then i'd make this switch.

Taker vs. Orton stays as is. it was a pretty perfect match and the first time the Streak became the primary story for Taker's match.

Angle vs. HBK was match of the night and stays as is also. the build up was amazing and the match was phenomenal. i always prefer HBK winning at Mania, but Angle was the right call here.

Women's Title: i think this should have been Trish vs. Victoria since Lita was injured. maybe make Christy Hemme the special referee and screw Trish out of the title.

MITB: Jericho vs. Benoit vs. Edge vs. Benjamin vs. Kane vs. Christian. i would prefer that Benjamin defend his IC Title at Mania instead, but he was on such a roll going into Mania 21. i legit thought he had a chance to win the briefcase here and go on to the main event scene long term. so he belonged in this match in my opinion. and i like having the powerhouse Kane in there too to mix up some of the fighting styles. great ladder match and awesome ending with Edge becoming the Ultimate Opportunist.

i think Big Show belonged on this card and i thought the Piper's Pit segment was a bit flat. plus, another thing i mentioned in my Mania 20 response was to have Piper's Pit at MSG with Rock and Austin and i think that would have been better then and there. so for Mania 21, how about having Hogan/Big Show vs. Piper/Muhammed Hassan? i think that'd be a decent-ish tag match, it's got some history with Hogan and Piper and it gets all four still on this card.

then if you want to do an interview segment, have Carlito do Carlito's Cabana, have his guest be Eugene (who was very popular at the time) and script in a confrontation/beat down that leads to a feud between the two later on down the line. so again, that gets all the guys that were on the actual show on my fantasy show, just switched around a little bit.

World Title #1: Batista vs. Triple H. i thought this was a decent match and told a logical story. their rematches were also good and this set up Batista well for his future in the WWE. leave this match mostly as is.

World Title #2: JBL vs. Cena. this match was way too short and as many have said, didn't make a ton of sense given JBL's tendency to cheat to win in every match. i think i've got some of that taken care of in my fantasy card by having all the members of his Cabinet booked in matches and losing their respective titles. so having suffered defeat, they wouldn't be in any physical or emotional condition to help out their leader here. and then i'd make this match a Street Fight. JBL would then get to legally cheat, as he often did in his title defenses anyway, and Cena a chance to overcome even greater odds. hit JBL with a chair and then hit an FU on the chair. it might have made for a better story inside the ring.

still, between some of the great matches we saw (MITB, Angle/HBK, Taker/Orton) and for the careers it launched (Cena, Batista, Orton, Edge) this was an impressive Mania that did its job well on this night.

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