Lilian Garcia sang ""America the Beautiful"" at the start of the event. The first televised match of the night was between Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. In the beginning of the match, Mysterio jumped over the top rope, knocking Guerrero down. Mysterio also attempted another aerial attack but was countered by Guerrero into a Powerbomb. Guerrero placed Mysterio into the Three Amigos and attempted a Frog splash but was unsuccessful. Following a Hurricanrana by Mysterio on Guerrero, Mysterio pinned Guerrero to win. After the match, both shook hands in the ring.
John "Bradshaw" Layfield and Orlando Jordan were then shown backstage talking about Layfield's match against John Cena. As Triple H and Ric Flair walked by, Triple H mocked Layfield. Layfield retaliated by advising Triple H to worry about losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Batista and assured him that John Cena would be unsuccessful at defeating him for the WWE Championship. Triple H then stated that only the end of the night would reveal who would still be champion.
The match that followed was the first Money in the Bank ladder match which featured Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Shelton Benjamin, Edge, Kane, and Christian with Tyson Tomko at ringside. The match contained many notable moments, including points where Jericho, Christian, Benjamin and Kane all jumped over the top rope to the outside of the ring to knock down multiple opponents. Another moment included Benjamin executing a T-Bone Suplex on Edge off the top of a ladder and later using an inclined ladder as a ramp to run up a standing and hit Jericho with a Clothesline maneuver. Benoit also executed a Diving headbutt from the top of a ladder onto Kane. In the conclusion to the match, Benoit climbed a ladder to attempt to retrieve the Money in the Bank briefcase hanging above the ring but was stopped by Kane who had also climbed the ladder. Benoit used repeated headbutts to knock Kane to the ground and attempted to retrieve the briefcase once more but was knocked down by Edge who hit him with a steel chair. Edge then climbed the ladder and successfully obtained possession of the briefcase to win the match.
In an interlude, Eugene entered the ring and shared his excitement about being at his first WrestleMania with the crowd in attendance. While attempting to recall his favorite WrestleMania moments, Muhammad Hassan and Daivari interrupted him with Hassan expressing his outrage for not being included in a match for the event. Hassan concluded that since he was not scheduled to compete at the event and was therefore denied the opportunity to experience his own WrestleMania "moment", he would have to create a "moment" of his own. Following this remark, Hassan and Daivary began to assault Eugene. With Eugene placed into a Camel clutch hold while Daivari verbally attacked him, Hulk Hogan came down to the ring to save Eugene from the assault, knocking Hassan and Daivary out of the ring. Hogan celebrated posing in the ring for the crowd.
The third match featured The Undertaker and Randy Orton. Bob Orton, Randy's father and ringside manager, interfered and attacked Undertaker with his arm cast resulting in Randy Orton gaining control of the match. Undertaker attempted to chokeslam Orton, but Orton countered the maneuver with an RKO that led to a two-count. Orton then attempted to use Undertaker's own finishing maneuver against him with the Tombstone piledriver, however, it was reversed by Undertaker into Tombstone piledriver of his own which led to the definitive pin fall. The Undertaker won the match and continued his undefeated streak at WrestleMania with a 13-0 record.
The next match was for the WWE Women's Championship, between Trish Stratus and Christy Hemme with Lita at ringside. Stratus controlled most of the match though Hemme attempted many pinning maneuvers that were unsuccessful. Hemme then executed a Twist of fate on Stratus and attempted another pin, which was also unsuccessful. After a Roll-up attempt by both Stratus and Hemme, Stratus hit Hemme with a Chick kick and followed it with the decisive pin, thus winning the match and retaining the WWE Women's Championship.
The fifth match was the encounter of Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. Mid-way in the match, Michaels hit Angle with low blow, after he countered a suplex attack from Angle. Following the low blow, which was not seen by the referee, Michaels leapfrogged from the ring and laid out Angle onto the announce table. Angle would then gain control of the match, as he would apply the Ankle Lock on Michaels, forcing him to submit, thus Angle winning the match.
The next match was between Akebono and The Big Show in a Sumo Match. The match went for a minute and Akebono won the match after he threw The Big Show out of the ring, thus winning the Sumo Match.
The next match was John Cena vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield for the WWE Championship. The match was dominated a lot by JBL. At the end Cena would win the match and the WWE Championship after ducking a Clothesline from Hell attempt from JBL into an FU and pinning JBL to become the WWE Champion.
The eighth and final match of the night was Triple H defending his World Heavyweight Championship against Batista. The match was dominated a lot by both men. At the end Batista would pin Triple H after a Batista Bomb and would win the World Heavyweight Championship.
Batista and Triple H's feud would continue. It would continue to Backlash where Batista and Triple H had a rematch for the World Heavyweight Title. Batista won the match after a Batista Bomb out of a corner. Following that, the two concluded their rivalry at Vengeance where Batista scored the third and final win over his former mentor inside Hell in a Cell. Shortly thereafter, Batista was drafted to the SmackDown brand, and Triple H opted to take time off.
John Cena and JBL's feud would continue until Judgment Day where Cena and JBL would have a rematch for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match, which Cena won after he was going to hit JBL with an exhaust pipe but made JBL say "I Quit" instead. After Judgment Day Cena and JBL's feud ended. Cena was subsequently drafted to the Raw brand shortly after.
In line with the event's location and tagline, WrestleMania 21 was promoted on television with a series of parody movie trailers with wrestlers playing the starring roles from famous modern movies.
Tangor
The tangor is a citrus fruit. It is a hybrid of the tangerine and the sweet orange. The name "tangor" is a mix of the "tang" in tangerine and the "or" in orange.
Imperial lemon
The Imperial lemon is a lemon and grapefruit hybrid. It is a citrus fruit. Its fruit is slightly larger than a lemon but smaller than a cherimoya.
Cagliari
Cagliari () is a city in the region of Sardinia in Italy. It is also the capital of the "Province of Cagliari". Cagliari has one of the biggest ports in the Mediterranea Sea and an international airport.
There are 149,575 people living in the city. With an area of , its population density is of inhabitants/km². It is bordered by the "comuni" of Assemini, Capoterra, Elmas, Monserrato, Quartu Sant'Elena, Quartucciu, Selargius and Sestu.
It is also the seat of the University of Cagliari from 1607 and the Primate Roman Catholic archdiocese of Sardinia, from the 5th century AD.
Cagliari has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ("Csa" in the Koeppen climate classification).
The urban area of Cagliari, with a total area of , has a total population of about 420,000 inhabitants, of which 36.57% of them are in the city of Cagliari.
The metropolitan area of Cagliari is formed by the city of Cagliari and by 15 "comuni".
The city of Cagliari has, as twin cities, the following cities:
Foggia
Foggia is a city in the region of Apulia, Italy. It is the capital of the "Province of Foggia".
Rimini
Rimini is a city in the region of Emilia-Romagna in Italy. It is also the capital of the "Province of Rimini". About 138,000 people live in Rimini.