WrestleMania 25: A Quarter Century Of Phenomenal

   While this payperview is not mentioned as often in WrestleMania moments, it does have a few notable moments. In an event that was kicked off by Gladys Night's rendition of America the Beautiful, there were two major matches, both of them WrestleMania firsts.

   The first match was the WrestleMania debut of the Ultimate Warrior, who defeated Hercules in a powerhouse vs. powerhouse match. There was electricity in the air, and this match went a long way towards making it known that there was no one with quite the same intensity as the Ultimate Warrior.

   The other major match was a 14-man tournament to determine the new WWF World Heavyweight Champion. The tournie feature many of the most popular superstars of the time, including Andre and Hulk, Ted DiBiase, Randy Savage, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Greg Valentine, Rick Rude, Ricky Steamboat, One Man Gang, and Bam Bam Bigelow. While Hulk and Andre eliminated themselves with chair shots to each other, Randy Savage and Ted DiBiase battled it out for the vacated title. It would ultimately be Hogan and Andre who were the deciding factors however, as a distraction by Andre would allow Hogan to nail DiBiase with a chair, allowing Savage to hit the Savage Elbow for the win. Another massive viewing across the nation for another star-studded affair. However, while these two matches were worth watching, overall this ppv was not quite as fulfilling as the first three. Still, it did have some memorable moments and must be mentioned.

WrestleMania V:

    This one brought back some of the excitement of the first three and added it to the stories from the the fourth. The two big matches on this night had both historical value and WrestleMania moment-nominee written all over them. The first major match also wound up being Ultimate Warrior's first pinfall loss, as he was defeated by one Rick Rude for the Intercontinental Championship in an exciting affair. The other major match was one of those matches that again cemented the legacy of Hulk Hogan, as he defeated Randy Savage in an exciting, close affair to regain the Championship. The whole thing took place in the Trump Plaza, significant because Donald Trump has a WrestleMania moment of his own later on, and also because it was held there the year before, the only time WrestleMania has ever been held at the same venue two consecutive years. Run DMC performed a special rap for the event, significant because many future WrestleManias would feature special performances by major groups. Unfortunately, this WrestleMania's moment would be that it was labeled as the Worst Wrestling Event Ever but a major wrestling magazine.

WrestleMania VII:

   In a time of major events, this WrestleMania has one of the most important events relevant to WM25....and that would be the debut of the undefeated Phenom himself, the Deadman.....Undertaker. This is the event that launched the single-most impressive active streak in wrestling today....the WrestleMania undefeated streak of the Undertaker. It was only fitting that an event that featured musical legend Willie Nelson singing "America the Beautiful" and Regis Philbin on commentary at one point, as well as an American Patriotism theme with a Slaughter-Hogan main event would be the launching point for the greatest WrestleMania streak of all time.

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