The Importance of…3.27.09: Wrestlemania XXI

Posted by Mike Chin on 03.27.2009

Wrestlemania goes Hollywood for a show that went a long way toward shaping the next five years in wrestling, establishing John Cena, Batista, Edge and Randy Orton as the main event players of a new generation.

This is the 52nd edition of The Importance of…, which means it's one year down for this column. Many thanks for to all readers and commenters—you're the ones who make this project worthwhile.

On to our regular column...

Vince McMahon has long touted his performers as superstars, rather than wrestlers.With the title of superstar comes a certain air of superiority—celebrity status, and a larger than life aura. What's more, McMahon has cultivated the image of his superstars as heroes, and figures of legend amidst a world of mere mortals. The most obvious way in which to elevate a talent above the rest of the roster, and into this mythic stratosphere to legitimate superstar status is a big win at Wrestlemania, and—much more so—a world title victory at the biggest show of the year. Rarely have world championships been used to this effect more clearly and more powerfully than at Wrestlemania XXI.

After the first match of Wrestlemania XX, it was probably already clear enough where John Cena's career was headed. After all, he was the fastest rising face on the company, and had just slain WWE's truest goliath en route to his first singles title. It therefore came as no surprise that he would be challenging for a world title one year down the road. The champion would have been far more difficult to predict a year before. Who would have thought that, out of the ashes of a long run with the APA, beer-swilling, hard hitting, mid-card face Bradshaw would become JBL—the Million Dollar Man of the 2000s. And yet, by the time one year went by, Bradshaw was not only the champion, but the longest reigning one in the history of the show. He had somehow become the establishment—ready to be challenged by the face of a new generation.

Sure enough, Cena was up to the challenge, going one on one with JBL with the top prize of the day on the line. The match was not a great one, but went a fair way toward supporting what WWE critics have long held—that it's not the in-ring action, but the storytelling that this promotion is really all about. Indeed, the rich, old champion got his comeuppance. Indeed, the rising start got his moment in the sun. The Champ was there.

And so, Cena took his place as the number one performer on Smackdown. Things were a bit more interesting on Raw. For months, all signs pointed toward a face Randy Orton reclaiming his heavyweight title against mentor, Triple H, at Wrestlemania. After all, Orton had claimed the title of youngest world champ ever the summer before, only to have Trips screw him over, kick him out of Evolution, and then steal that title away. It only made sense that young Randy would give chase, and that that chase would culminate here. But a funny thing happened on the way to Hollywood. The fans did not warm to a face Orton and, indeed, by the time he did get another title shot at the Royal Rumble, it was clear that he was not the face they wanted to see reaching the top of the mountain to kick off the spring.

As Orton's stock sank, it was Batista who reaped the benefits. A monster of a man, the moment Evolution teased dissension, the fans climbed on The Animal's back, ready to cheer him on to glory. And so a new path was set. A year earlier, when Batista was playing second fiddle to Orton as he cemented his place in the uppercard by beating Mick Foley and The Rock, it would be unthinkable that Batista would get a Mania main event before The Legend Killer. A year later, fans probably couldn't have seen it any other way. Batista exploded on the main event scene. Similar to Cena, his match itself was nothing to write home about, but it was the moment that mattered, and when The Animal stood triumphant, title in hand to close the show, there was no question that a new main eventer was born, and was going to stick around for the long haul.

Of course, with Cena and Batista claiming the top spots at Wrestlemania XXI, the question remained of what to do with Randy Orton, once the golden child, newly placed in the role of, at best, number three new breed star. Here's where WWE did some of its brightest work, transitioning Orton back to a heel persona as he challenged The Undertaker for his streak. What resulted was a far better match than either of the main events, and one of the few occasions in which Taker's streak legitimately seemed to be in peril. In the end, Orton did not get the job done, but he came close enough to raise a few eyebrows and to assert himself as someone who was still to be reckoned with—someone who would be foil for Cena, Batista and other top faces in the years to come.

While Cena, Batista and Orton all had relatively rapid rises to the top of the roster, it was a slower climb for one Adam Copeland. Indeed, Edge had been around the company for years, shining in the tag division, before moving on to a solid mid-card to upper-mid-card singles career. Wrestlemania XXI proved to be his moment to shine. WWE held its very first Money in the Bank ladder match at this show, and though the match featured more established stars like former world champions Chris Jericho, Kane and Chris Benoit, and more flashy performers like Shelton Benjamin, it was Edge who got to shine brightest here, beating back everyone, and becoming the very first Mr. Money in the Bank. This was no small victory, but became all the more important in historical context, as in the year that followed, Edge's real-life affair with Amy Dumas would up his heel capitol exponentially, paving the way for him to get his nefarious world title victory the next January. It all began with this match.

With all of the new stars being born, WWE also took a moment in Wrestlemania XXI to let two of its older stars shine. Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle would probably each have to rank among the top 20 in-ring performers in WWE history (heck—maybe even the top 10, or conceivably the top 5). Despite having both been a part of the WWE product for so many years, injuries and the brand extension had kept the two from ever locking horns. When WWE did, at last, pull the trigger and let these two greats go at it in the ring, I find it hard to believe that anyone left disappointed. The match was fast-paced, dramatic, and altogether great—quite arguably the best match of that year.

Wrestlemania XXI had a lot of highlights. In addition to the points referenced above, there was the mark out moment of Hulk Hogan taking out Mohammed Hassan and Daivari, and a Christy Hemme-Trish Stratus match that was far better than it had any right to be. Sure, the sumo match sucked, but it was a spectacle in its own right. Taking all of this into consideration, Wrestlemania XXI was far from the best Mania of all time, but certainly did carve its own niche as a very important one.

That's all for this column. Next week, The Importance of… makes its final stop on the road to Wrestlemania. We take a look ahead at the importance of Wrestlemania XXV. See you in seven.