Wrestlemania XXIII Re-Do Review

Wrestlemania XXIII Re-Do Review



On paper, this didn't look like a particularly great Mania, but somehow it all just came together and worked, creating a great show. But do the matches still hold up since last I watched? Let's begin.






Loved the choice of using Vince's intro to WM 3 to introduce Aretha Franklin to sing America the Beautiful like she did twenty years before . She does a great job singing and makes it a big deal .


(Still enjoyed this, and that wouldn't be the last time that Mania 3 was referenced. Unfortunately it was during the Kane/Khali match)


Money In The Bank
Very star-studded MITB this year . It's just a shame they didn't have storylines going into Mania , especially Edge & Orton . The back of Kennedy's neck hitting the ladder was brutal . Jeff jumping from the HUGE ladder in the ring onto Edge on the ladder outside is one of those moments that will live forever . This was just flat out awesome . When the match was aired , i was genuinely surprised that Kennedy won the match . I expected Punk to win . KENNEDY !!!! ****


(Some people regard this as the best MITB match. I personally believe that it's the second best. Something that helps is that there are a lot of stars in this match. It was hard to predict who was going to win, but I'm not sure if Kennedy was a favourite to win. Up until Cena, Kennedy was the only MITB winner not to win the championship, mainly thanks to Edge. Still an excellent ladder match with some great spots, including the insane spot with Jeff jumping about 20ft onto Edge. Great stuff and still  **** in my eyes)


Kane vs The Great Khali
This match wasn't as bad as I thought it would be . Still not good , but not very bad . Although I am a big fan of Kane so that might explain it . Thought it was cool they tried to recreate the WM 3 slam , but obviously it didn't have the same impact . *


(I always wonder who it is backstage that thinks these two have great chemistry. Why at Mania as well? It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still wasn't great or even good. It wasn't really a good idea to try and recreate the Hogan/Andre slam as there was no way in hell it would have the same impact. If it was just meant as a tribute then that's cool. Kane tried his best to make the match good, but just wasn't able to. I'll go with 1/4*)


Fun backstage segment follows .

Chris Benoit vs MVP
This would be Chris's final Wrestlemania match . For those wondering , i hate Benoit the person who destroyed his legacy with despicable actions , but i still love Benoit the wrestling character who gave us so many amazing moments and matches . This started with great mat wrestling that had me impressed and just kept going until the end . Had it been longer , it could have been a classic . ***1/4



(I've gotten to that point where I can watch any Benoit match without thinking about the elephant in the room. MVP had only been in the company for around six months at this point, so it must have been a big deal for him to have his own Mania singles match. He did well in first Mania, looking like he could wrestle with the likes of Benoit. I'd always thought this one was quite underrated, but it's not as good as I remembered. Still quite a good match, just needed more time to be better. **3/4)


Another fun backstage segment featuring Donald Trump .


(Meh, it was ok)


This was a great Hall of Fame class featuring many that deserved to be there such as Mr Perfect , Jerry Lawler , Jim Ross , Mr Fuji , Nick Bockwinkel , The Sheik , The Wild Samoans and Dusty Rhodes . ( I think i just named them all )


(Yes I did, and with uncapitalised I's)


Attendance record for WM 23 set for just over 80,000 . Wow i think that's the second best for Wrestlemania's .


(Still don't know if I'm right about that. Could be wrong)


Thought i should mention that while reviewing this event , I ordered the History of the WWE Championship DVD so now i have all 3 ! I will certainly be reviewing that one along with the other two someday .


(And now someday I'll be re-doing it! Excellent DVD though)


Batista vs Undertaker
I remember before this match took place , i was sure it wouldn't be a very good match . Boy was i wrong . This match rocked . Love it when Taker uses druids for his entrance . Amazing entrance for Taker . Really surprising fast pace for this match . Love the Undertaker's WM suicide dive . Always great to see . These two guys went out there and tore down the house and showed they deserved to be in the main event at Wrestlemania . Taker goes 15-0 and wins the world title with a tombstone . ****


(Quite possibly the most surprisingly great match in history. I don't think anyone was expecting even a good match, and I wasn't surprised when it went on so early, but it stole the damn show. It wasn't the best match of the night, that would be the main event, but because it wasn't expected to be so good, it made it look legendary. Just an awesome big man vs big man match all the way through. This is what happens when you just let two big guys beat the crap out of each other. Awesome. In fact, I'm gonna increase this to ****1/4)



ECW Originals vs The New Breed
The was an emotional moment for ECW fans as their guys finally got to the biggest stage of them all , Wrestlemania . A good Wrestlemania moment . Standard entertaining tag match . **


(Still nice to see the ECW Originals make it to Wrestlemania, but it's just a shame that they had to follow that awesome World Title match. Another one that could have used more time, and probably would have been better as an extreme rules match. The match was quite enjoyable, but the crowd was just burned out after the World Title match. In fact they only livened up when RVD was in the ring. I'll stick with  **)



Battle of the Billionaires : Bobby Lashley vs Umaga
So they can give these two a storyline but not Edge or Orton ? Interesting . I think this is the match that made the PPV the highest selling for a few years . Ok match that left us with a Wrestlemania moment . **1/4


(This is the reason that this Wrestlemania had the highest buyrate for any Mania up until that point. The storyline did create a nice opportunity for both Lashley and Umaga. This was Umaga's Mania debut and Lashley had only been in MITB at that point. Lashley would leave a few months after this and Umaga would continue being awesome. Thankfully they never let the two have a proper match, as they didn't have a lot of chemistry, so they overbooked it to hell. That made it a lot of fun. I'll keep it at  **1/4)


Ashley vs Melina
Next !! DUD


(Ah the obligatory divas match, who doesn't love these? Really a step down from the previous year's match between Mickie James and Trish Stratus. Just a really sloppy, really bad divas match. It's still a DUD)


John Cena vs Shawn Michaels
Wow they really made this match a big deal . Awesome match that was just as good as the Batista/Taker match . Great stuff . ****1/4


(The build for this match has been repeated a few times over the years, with the two guys who were feuding ending up winning the Tag Titles together. Originally this was meant to be a rematch of Cena/HHH, but obviously HHH was injured. I think this match ended up being the better choice anyway. This was also the first time since Mania 17 that the main event was a face vs face match. The match did start a bit slowly with HBK doing a lot of leg work in vain, since Cena basically no-sold it for the rest of the contest. The rest of the match felt epic though, which definitely made up for it. A main event worthy of Wrestlemania. I'm increasing the rating to  ****1/2)







7.5/10 Underrated Wrestlemania that is worth watching for the two World title matches and the MITB .


(Bringing this one up to 8/10. A surprisingly great Mania here worth a watch, with the two World Title matches being MOTYC and one of the best MITB matches. Add a solid US Title match and a fun battle of the billionaires, and you have a great Mania. Check this one out.