WrestleMania 21

From Pro Wrestling

Wrestlemania 21
Promotion	WWE
Date	April 3, 2005
Venue	Staples Center
City	Los Angeles, California
Attendance	20,193
Last Event	No Way Out
Next Event	Backlash

WrestleMania 21 was the twenty-first annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by World Wrestling Entertainment. It took place on April 3, 2005 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. WrestleMania 21 was the first WrestleMania held at the Staples Center, but the fifth to take place in the Southern California metropolitan area (following WrestleMania 2, WrestleMania VII, WrestleMania XII and WrestleMania 2000).

Tickets for the event sold out in less than one minute, making it (at the time) the fastest ticket sell-out in the company's history as well as the fastest ticket sell-out at the Staples Center. The event drew a Staples Center record attendance of 20,193 people from 14 countries and 48 states and grossed more than $2.1 million in ticket sales, making it the highest grossing WWE event ever at the Staples Center, and the highest grossing of the five WrestleManias held in California. In addition to those in attendance, the event was seen by millions of fans in more than 90 countries.

WrestleMania 21 was a joint-promotion pay-per-view event, featuring performers from the RAW and SmackDown!. The tagline for WrestleMania 21 was Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood. The official theme song for the event was "Big Time" by The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. The secondary theme song was "Behind Those Eyes" by Three Doors Down.

Results

• Dark Match: Booker T won an Interpromotional Battle Royal. (16:33)
  • Last eliminated Chris Masters.
  • Other Participants were: Paul London, Heidenreich, Spike Dudley, Nunzio, Funaki, Doug Basham, Danny Basham, Orlando Jordan, Mark Jindrak, Luther Reigns, Scotty 2 Hotty, Hardcore Holly, Charlie Haas, Billy Kidman, Akio, Simon Dean, William Regal, Tajiri, Rob Conway, Sylvain Grenier, Snitsky, The Hurricane, Rosey, Viscera, Rhyno, Val Venis, Tyson Tomko, and Maven.

• Rey Mysterio defeated Eddie Guerrero. (12:39)
  • Rey pinned Eddie with a hurricanrana into a rollup.

• Edge defeated Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Christian (w/ Tyson Tomko), Chris Benoit and Kane in a Money In The Bank Ladder match. (15:17)
  • Edge won by climbing the ladder and grabbing the briefcase hanging above the ring.

• Eugene came to the ring and was attacked by Muhammad Hassan and Daivari. Hulk Hogan came out to the ring and delivered a big boot to both Hassan and Daivari before posing to the crowd.

• The Undertaker defeated Randy Orton (14:14)
  • Undertaker pinned Orton following a Tombstone Piledriver.
  • "Cowboy" Bob Orton interferred during the match on Randy's behalf.

• Trish Stratus defeated Christy Hemme (w/ Lita) to retain the WWE Women's Championship. (4:11)
  • Trish pinned Christy after a Chick Kick.

• Kurt Angle defeated Shawn Michaels. (27:25)
  • Angle forced Michaels to submit with the Ankle Lock.

• "Rowdy" Roddy Piper hosted Piper's Pit with guest Stone Cold Steve Austin. Carlito interupted them and recieved a Stone Cold Stunner. Austin and Piper shared a beer and Austin gave Piper a Stunner.

• Akebono defeated the Big Show in a Sumo Match. (1:02)
  • Akebono threw Big Show out of the ring to win.

• John Cena defeated John Bradshaw Layfield to win the WWE Championship. (11:26)
  • Cena pinned JBL after an FU.

• "Mean" Gene Okerland introduced the WWE Hame of Fame Class of 2005:
  • "Cowboy" Bob Orton, Nikolai Volkoff, The Iron Shiek, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan.

• Batista defeated Triple H (w/ Ric Flair) to win the World Heavyweight Championship. (21:34)
  • Batista pinned Triple H after a Batista Bomb.

Other On-Screen Talent

Commentators

• Jerry "The King" Lawler - Raw
• Jim Ross - Raw
• Michael Cole - SmackDown!
• Tazz - SmackDown!

Spanish commentators

• Carlos Cabrera
• Hugo Savinovich

Ring announcers

• Tony Chimel - SmackDown!
• Howard Finkel - Raw

Referees

• Mike Chioda - Raw
• Jack Doan - Raw
• Earl Hebner - Raw
• Chad Patton - Raw
• Jim Korderas - SmackDown!
• Brian Hebner - SmackDown!
• Nick Patrick - SmackDown!

Notes

• Lilian Garcia performed "America The Beautiful" to start the event.
• Celebrity guests in attendance for WrestleMania 21 included David Arquette, Motörhead, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, The Black Eyed Peas, Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins, Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, Carmen Electra, Sylvester Stallone, Marg Helgenberger, Matt Groening, and Will Sasso.
• This was the third consecutive WrestleMania without an Intercontinental Championship match.
• This was the first WrestleMania where both the WWE and World Heavyweight Championships changed hands.

WrestleMania
I 1985 • II 1986 • III 1987 • IV 1988 • V 1989 • VI 1990 • VII 1991 • VIII 1992 • IX 1993 • X 1994
XI 1995 • XII 1996 • XIII 1997 • XIV 1998 • XV 1999 • XVI 2000 • XVII 2001 • XVIII 2002 • XIX 2003 • XX 2004
XXI 2005 • XXII 2006 • XXIII 2007 • XXIV 2008 • XXV 2009 • XXVI 2010