WrestleMania XXV WrestleMania XXV ( also known as " The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania " ) was the twenty - fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay - per - view ( PPV ) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE ) , which took place on April 5 , 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston , Texas . The event featured talent from all three WWE brands : Raw , SmackDown , and ECW . It was the second WrestleMania to be held in Houston , with the first being WrestleMania X - Seven at the Reliant Astrodome , which was held in 2001 . Eight matches were held on the event ' s card , which featured a supercard , a scheduling of more than one main bout . The first of these matches was a singles match for the WWE Championship that featured the champion , Triple H , defeating Randy Orton to retain the title . The second was a Triple Threat match for the World Heavyweight Championship , which saw John Cena defeat the champion , Edge , the other participant in the match , The Big Show , to win the championship . The third main event was The Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels . Featured matches on the undercard included , Jeff Hardy versus Matt Hardy in an Extreme Rules match , Chris Jericho versus the team of Roddy Piper , Ricky Steamboat and Jimmy Snuka , and the annual Money in the Bank ladder match . Tickets for the event commenced sale to the public on November 8 , 2008 . For the third consecutive year , WrestleMania broke the record for the highest - grossing pay - per - view in WWE history , grossing US $ 6 . 9 million in ticket sales , which included fans from all 50 U . S . states , 24 countries , and seven Canadian provinces . Approximately 960 , 000 people ordered WrestleMania XXV , grossing $ 21 . 0 million in revenue . This amount was less than the 1 , 058 , 000 buys that WrestleMania XXIV achieved . The event pumped an estimated $ 49 . 8 million into the local economy and generated $ 5 . 7 million in local tax revenue , equating to 600 full time jobs for the area . Background . WrestleMania featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre - existing scripted feuds , plots , and storylines that were played out on " Raw " , " Friday Night SmackDown " , and " ECW on Sci Fi " — World Wrestling Entertainment ' s ( WWE ) primary television programs . Wrestlers were portrayed as either a villain or a hero as they followed a series of events that built tension , and culminated into a wrestling match or series of matches . The event featured wrestlers from WWE ' s Raw , SmackDown , and ECW brands — a storyline division in which WWE ' s employees are assigned to a television program of the same name . The predominant rivalry for , not only the Raw brand , but the entirety of the show was a confrontation over the WWE Championship , rooted at the 2009 Royal Rumble pay - per - view event in January by Randy Orton winning the Royal Rumble match , a match with thirty participants that sees the competitors eliminated by being thrown over the top rope and hitting the floor . Per the traditional stipulation of the match , Orton was given the opportunity to choose to wrestle for the WWE , World Heavyweight , or ECW Championship at WrestleMania . Simultaneously , Orton began to assault the McMahon family , the owners of the WWE . During this conflict , Orton punted both Vince and Shane McMahon ( father and son , respectively ) in the head as well as performing his signature maneuver , the RKO on Stephanie McMahon ( Vince ' s daughter ) , which enraged the WWE Champion ( and Stephanie ' s real - life husband ) Triple H . On the March 2 episode of " Raw " , Orton was convinced by Triple H to use his title opportunity in a match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania . The following week on Raw , Triple H came out with a sledgehammer and attacked Orton and Legacy into the backstage area . Orton and Legacy were able to escape in Orton ' s limosine . As they were leaving , Triple H smashed one of the windshields of Orton ' s limosine . Triple H also attacked Orton by breaking into his house and throwing Orton through his living room window , but Orton did not press charges . The following week , Orton and Legacy attacked Triple H and handcuffed him to the top rope . Stephanie McMahon came out begging Orton not to attack her husband . Instead , Orton performed the DDT on Stephanie , enraging Triple H . Orton then kisses her on the lips as she lies on the ring unconscious . Accompanied by Cody Rhodes , Ted DiBiase and a group of security guards , Randy Orton came to the ring for his special WrestleMania address . While describing his reprehensible actions in recent months ( punting Mr . McMahon and Shane McMahon , attacking Triple H ’ s wife Stephanie on multiple occasions ) , Orton explained how every step of the way was part of a plan to destroy everything Triple H cares about . He then began detailing how the balance of power in WWE would permanently shift in his favor following his WrestleMania win . But before Orton could finish outlining his twisted vision of the future , a black limo arrived . Though Orton expected WWE Champion Triple H to make an appearance , calling Rhodes & DiBiase to his side , he was stunned by who accompanied him . Joining Triple H on the stage were Mr . McMahon and his son , Shane . The three family members made their way down the ramp , where they collided with Orton and his “ Legacy , ” ending Raw in a massive , heated WrestleMania - bound brawl . Following the main event of the March 2 edition of " Raw " , SmackDown general manager Vickie Guerrero announced that her storyline husband , Edge , would defend his World Heavyweight Championship against The Big Show ( Paul Wight ) at WrestleMania . A contract to be signed to make the match official was intended to be held on the following episode of " SmackDown " ; however , John Cena , from whom Edge won the World Heavyweight Championship at the previous month ' s pay per view , No Way Out ( in the Elimination Chamber match ) , interfered with the signing before whispering a message in Vickie ' s ear prompting the signing to be canceled . On the March 9 episode of " Raw " , Vickie announced to the surprise of Edge and The Big Show that Cena would be in the match making it a Triple Threat match , a standard wrestling match involving three wrestlers that is won after one wrestler scores a decision . It was soon revealed that the match would involve the new challenger based on Cena extorting Guerrero with footage of the general manager having adulterous relations with The Big Show . On the March 16th edition of " Raw " , Edge , his wife Vickie Guerrero and Vickie ’ s lover Big Show were set to confront John Cena . Due to Cena revealing the affair between Vickie and Big Show , much to the chagrin of all three . As a result , Guerrero arranged a match pitting Edge against Cena with herself serving as a special guest referee . With all that misdirected hostility focused on Cena , who could not touch Vickie lest he sacrifice his World Title Match at WrestleMania , a lopsided confrontation seemed inevitable . As Edge and Cena battled , Big Show lumbered down the ramp toward the ring . When he arrived , Edge joined him in tying Cena up within the ring ropes . Fittingly , each drove their anger in his direction : Edge speared him , Vickie slapped him and Big Show drove his meaty fist into Cena ’ s ribs several times before clocking him in the jaw . But that proved only to be the entrée . It was Edge who then speared Big Show and thus delivered him his just deserts . At No Way Out , Shawn Michaels defeated John " Bradshaw " Layfield ( JBL ) in a match with the added stipulation that if JBL had won , he would have become the owner of Michaels ' name and likeness . On the February 16 episode of " Raw " , Michaels challenged JBL to a match the following week , with the winner advancing to WrestleMania to challenge The Undertaker to attempt to end his undefeated streak at the event . On the February 23 episode of " Raw " , Michaels defeated Layfield , but it was later announced that another competitor would stand in his way to prevent him from advancing to the show in the form of Vladimir Kozlov , who also made a challenge to The Undertaker ; the two would wrestle the following week on " Raw " with Michaels defeating Kozlov , earning his match with The Undertaker . On the following week ' s edition of " Raw " , Undertaker and Shawn Michaels defeated Kozlov and JBL in a tag match . Afterwords , Taker and Michaels locked eyes for a few anxious moments before Michaels exited up the entrance ramp . Taker followed , pausing at the top of the ramp to turn back to the crowd . That was HBK ’ s cue as he stepped onto the ramp and laid out Undertaker with Sweet Chin Music . On the March 23rd edition of " Raw " , The Undertaker emerged on Raw to warn Michaels of what ’ s in store for him come WrestleMania . He noted that while it ’ s true that he has never defeated HBK , the last time they faced ( which was in January of ' 98 at the Royal Rumble ) , Michaels ’ body was so broken that he spent the next four years recovering . Not one to be outdone , Michaels appeared , addressing Undertaker from a graveyard . HBK made it known that he isn ’ t afraid of his match with Undertaker , and won ’ t be intimidated . Michaels went on to promise that Undertaker would be the one to rest in peace . On the March 30th edition of " Raw " , when Michaels came to the ring , it became clear that the “ funeral ” announced earlier in the night was not for HBK , but rather for the undefeated WrestleMania streak of his opponent , Undertaker . It was also the 3rd year that a funeral / burial for the Undertaker ' s WrestleMania streak has been set up before the event , the first being the last edition " SmackDown " before WrestleMania 22 . At that event , Undertaker extended his steak to 14 - 0 by defeating Mark Henry . It was also held before WrestleMania XXIV , but at that event , the Undertaker became 16 - 0 by defeating Edge . Complete with a casket , roses and images of Michaels defeating The Deadman in their past encounters , the service saw HBK boast of his actions during recent weeks : Kicking Undertaker in the face and trespassing on his hollowed cemetery . Michaels announced that he had done all of this without enduring any retribution , and promised that the most memorable moment of the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania would be his victory over The Undertaker . Just then , the arena darkened and a gong rang out , heralding the arrival of Undertaker . When the lights came back up , Taker stood in the ring , but Michaels was nowhere to be seen . As Taker searched , HBK emerged from under the casket and once again laid Undertaker out with a superkick . The fifth annual Money in the Bank ladder match was announced for WrestleMania XXV on the February 23 episode of " Raw " . In this match , a certain amount of participants ( eight for this year with differing amounts from other years ) from all three WWE brands compete to retrieve a briefcase that is suspended above the ring with a cable by climbing a ladder . The briefcase holds a symbolic contract which the holder would be able to exchange for a WWE , World Heavyweight , or ECW Championship match at any time or location of his choosing up until one year . To participate in the match , a wrestler had to first qualify for it by winning a match ; this process began on the February 23 episode of " Raw " , in which CM Punk qualified by defeating The Miz and John Morrison in a Triple Threat match . The following week of " Raw " saw Kane defeat Rey Mysterio and Mike Knox in another Triple Threat match . The following night on " ECW " , Mark Henry qualified for the match by defeating Santino Marella . Both Montel Vontavious Porter ( MVP ) and Shelton Benjamin qualified for the match on the March 6 edition of " SmackDown " by defeating Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy in respective singles matches . On the March 9 edition of " Raw " , Kofi Kingston qualified by defeating Chris Jericho . Christian qualified the following night on " ECW " by winning a battle royal when he last eliminated Chavo Guerrero . Finlay was the final wrestler to qualify for the match when he defeated The Brian Kendrick on the March 13 edition of " SmackDown " . On the March 23rd edition of " Raw " , Giving the eight participants a chance to size one another up prior to the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania , CM Punk , Kofi Kingston , Christian & WWE United States Champion , MVP took on the team of Kane , Mark Henry , Finlay & Shelton Benjamin in an 8 - man tag team match . Sending a clear message to the other ring warriors , Christian pinned Shelton Benjamin to lead his team to victory . But his celebration was cut short as another ECW Superstar , Finlay attacked , clearing the ring with a ladder . Later that week on " SmackDown " , Kane , Finlay , Christian and Shelton Benjamin defeated MVP , CM Punk , Kofi Kingston , and Mark Henry in another 8 men tag team match when Kane delivered a devastating chokeslam to CM Punk . But once the final bell rang - in a WrestleMania prelude - a free - for - all between the eight Superstars ensued . When Christian tried to make his own WrestleMania statement by producing a ladder and climbing it high to the Money in the Bank briefcase , Finlay tipped over the 20 - foot ladder . Christian took a freefall onto his six other WrestleMaia opponents outside the ring , while Finlay made a climb of his own to touch the briefcase he soon hopes to make his . On the last edition of " Raw " , the match ’ s participants competed in an Eight - Man Over the Top Rope battle royal with Kane coming out on top , enabling him to taste victory . Following the match , Kane climbed a ladder in the center of the ring to symbolically grab the briefcase suspended above the ring . The buildup to WrestleMania XXV also included a rivalry between brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy . During Jeff ' s match against Edge at the Royal Rumble for the WWE Championship , Matt came down to the ring , appearing to help his brother . Instead , Matt turned on Jeff by hitting him with a steel chair , costing Jeff the match and his WWE title . After losing his Money in the Bank qualifying match to MVP on the March 6 edition of " SmackDown " , Matt interfered in Jeff ' s qualifying match later that night by punching Jeff ' s opponent , Shelton Benjamin , disqualifying Jeff from the match . A week later , Matt provoked Jeff even further by referring to Jeff ' s recent accidents , including Jeff ' s incident at the night of Survivor Series where he was found unconscious in a hotel stairwell ( which caused him to be removed of the WWE title match and being replaced by Edge at that event ) , the recent account of a someone driving Jeff off the road , and the misfiring of the pyrotechnics in his entrance . Matt then talked about the real - life fire to Jeff ' s house a year prior , causing the death of his dog , Jack . This led to Jeff ultimately retaliating against his brother after weeks of passive resistance . Later that night , it was announced that Matt and Jeff would wrestle each other at WrestleMania with a subsequent announcement a week later declaring the match to be held under Extreme Rules , which would allow for the combatants to use weapons without being disqualified . On the January 23 edition of " SmackDown " , WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns — ( Primo ) and ( Carlito ) — defeated World Tag Team Champions , John Morrison and The Miz in a tag team match . After their loss , Miz and Morrison proceeded to harass their defeaters on their weekly Internet show , the " Dirt Sheet " , as well as profess the brothers ' impotence towards their associates , The Bella Twins . The two teams wrestled again on the February 13 edition of " SmackDown " , with the winning team earning a date with the Bellas . Miz and Morrison won the rematch and the date . The two teams continued their feud in the coming weeks , and while the initial focus of the feud was the competition for the Bella Twins , the feud took on a dual purpose as each team successfully defended their respective titles in subsequent matches with both teams retaining their respective belts ; it was announced on the March 17 edition of " ECW " that the WWE and World Tag Team titles would be unified at WrestleMania into what would be called the " Unified WWE Tag Team Championship " . At the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards , actor Mickey Rourke , who gained critical acclaim at the time for his role in the film " The Wrestler " , had announced he would be competing at WrestleMania , specifically targeting Chris Jericho . The announcement led to a storyline confrontation between the two on " Larry King Live " , which showed signs of second thoughts from Rourke . On January 28 , it was announced Rourke ' s spokesperson that the actor would not compete at the event , but would still be in attendance . Jericho ' s narrative subsequently evolved towards one of the themes from " The Wrestler " , which was the respect for older wrestlers after their careers start to decline , of which Jericho disapproved . On the February 9 edition of " Raw " , Ric Flair appeared to protest Jericho ' s tirades , professing that the wrestlers should be respected , as they had paved the way for the future generations to make a living , leading to a heated exchange between the two . Over the coming weeks , Jericho would be confronted by a number of legends including : Roddy Piper , Ricky Steamboat , and Jimmy Snuka on an episode of " Piper ' s Pit " hosted by Jericho himself . Each confrontation resulted in Jericho viciously attacking each respective wrestler . The following week , Jericho challenged Flair to a match . Although Flair declined ( honoring his retirement from active competition ) , he offered to be in the corner of Piper , Steamboat , and Snuka for their challenge against Jericho in a handicap match . Jericho accepted the challenge , but subsequently attacked and bloodied Flair . Event . Production . As the second WrestleMania to be held in Houston and the state of Texas after WrestleMania 17 at the Astrodome , WWE mainly promoted WrestleMania XXV under the tagline " " Everything Is Bigger in Texas , Especially WrestleMania " " since its announcement at WrestleMania XXIV in March 2008 . WWE later began using " " The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania " " name in late - 2008 to primarily promote the event . This branding was technically incorrect , as Wrestlemania XXV ( 2009 ) was actually the 24th anniversary of the first Wrestlemania . WWE made the same error in 2011 with referring to the 25th Suvivor Series as the 25th anniversary , although that phrase was not used in branding or the logo for the event . Tickets for WrestleMania XXV were originally scheduled to go on sale September 20 , 2008 , but had to be postponed out of concern for the residents near the Gulf of Mexico due to Hurricane Ike and the disaster area declaration by Texas Governor Rick Perry . Following another postponement due to the effect of Ike on the state of Texas , WWE announced that ticket sales would be postponed until November 8 , 2008 . The official theme songs for the event were AC / DC ' s " War Machine " and their live version of " Shoot to Thrill " , as well as " So Hott " by Kid Rock . Other songs used at the event include " Crash " by Decyfer Down and " Touched " by VAST . Marketing . According to WWE ' s executive vice president , Michelle Wilson , WrestleMania XXV featured the most extensive promotional campaign in WrestleMania history . Promotion for the event included a merchandise deal with Kmart enabling discounts on the pay - per - view ' s retail price , as well as deals with DirecTV and Dish Network to promote through interactive television . The campaign also saw WWE mail to previous purchasers of WrestleMania , professional boxing and mixed martial arts pay - per - views to order their show . WWE spent US $ 10 million for cross - channel spots on television networks such as ESPN , MTV and the USA Network . The Army National Guard were the primary sponsor for the event , using the event to help enhance their recruitment . To commemorate the event , THQ and Yuke ' s produced a video game , " WWE Legends of WrestleMania " , that was released a few weeks prior to the event and featured past competitors from the company . As with previous WrestleMania events , a series of events were held in the week preceding WrestleMania XXV . For the second consecutive year , " WrestleManiArt " , an art exhibition and auction featuring work by WWE superstars and local artists , was held at the Julia Ideson Building on April 1 , with the proceeds going to Houston Public Library Foundation . WrestleMania ' s annual fan convention , " WrestleMania Axxess " , was held from April 2 through April 5 at Reliant Center . On April 4 , WWE hosted its annual WWE Hall of Fame ceremony at the Toyota Center , where the Class of 2009 were inducted . Pre - show . Before the event was aired live , the crowd in attendance were shown a match that would be exclusively aired on the company ' s Web site which featured the WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns ( Carlito and Primo ) compete against the World Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz in a Lumberjack match , which has a number of wrestlers surround the ring in order to keep any competitor from avoiding the match , to unify the World Tag Team Championship and WWE Tag Team Championship . The Colóns won the encounter after Primo executed the Backstabber on Morrison . As the event went live on pay - per - view , Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls sang " America the Beautiful " . Preliminary matches . The Money in the Bank ladder match was the start of the event as the participants : CM Punk , Kane , Mark Henry , MVP , Shelton Benjamin , Kofi Kingston , Christian , and Finlay , fought for the briefcase that was suspended . The match was littered with many notable moments , including a series of the match ' s combatants performing dives onto the floor of the arena onto each other , as well as Benjamin diving off of the top of a ladder with a senton bomb onto his opponents . The ladder was also used as a weapon by the competitors , which saw it being thrown at each other or , in the case of Kingston , to be used as extra force dropped on their chest as Kofi would incapacitate them , draping the collapsed ladder over their bodies and Leg drop s onto the ladder . The finish came with Punk and Kane on top of the ladder , which saw Punk hit Kane with a series of kick s from atop the ladder , knocking him off . Punk went on to win the match after he grabbed the hanging briefcase . Punk ' s victory marks the second time he has won the match and his second consecutive victory , having won the first at the previous year ' s event . Following the match , Kid Rock performed a live medley of songs : " Bawitdaba " , " Rock N Roll Jesus " , " Cowboy " , " All Summer Long " , and " So Hott " . During the last song , the female competitors of the WWE would come to the ring to compete in a 25 - Diva battle royal , to crown a " Miss WrestleMania " . The match featured Divas that were employed by WWE at the time and Divas that had worked for WWE in the past . Santino Marella , who portrayed a diva called " Santina , " his twin sister , won the match and was crowned " Miss WrestleMania . " For a list of participants see below . Mae Young acted as the special guest time keeper of the match while Candice Michelle was the one who gave the sash and crown to Santina . The following match featured Chris Jericho facing Ricky Steamboat , Jimmy Snuka , and Roddy Piper ( who were accompanied to the ring by Ric Flair ) in a three - on - one handicap elimination match . Before long , Jericho had caused Snuka to submit the Walls of Jericho . He then pinned Piper after an enzuigiri . Steamboat , however , would outlast his partners as he was able to execute a number of his signature moves including arm drags , chops , and a plancha . Jericho was able to regain control of the match by connecting with the Codebreaker . After the match , Jericho challenged Mickey Rourke , sitting at ringside , to come into the ring . Rourke finally entered the ring and knocked Jericho onto the canvas with a punch before being commended by Ric Flair . The fourth bout was the Extreme Rules match between brothers Jeff and Matt Hardy . This featured a multitude of moments that saw the Hardys assault each other with many different weapon - based attacks , which included assaults with numerous objects under the ring and Jeff splash from the top turnbuckle through a pair of tables , with Matt sandwiched between the two and a chair . Jeff , seeking to end the match , attempted to set up a ladder for him to ascend while he would perform a maneuver similar to a leap frog over the hurdle , and diving down in a seated position known as a leapfrog leg drop , ultimately missing his target , due to Matt ' s last - minute dodge , which resulted in Matt gaining the advantage over his brother . He then forced Jeff ' s head in between the seat and back of a steel chair , then executed the Twist of Fate with Jeff ' s head in the chair to win the match via pinfall . A singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship was next , in which Rey Mysterio faced defending champion John " Bradshaw " Layfield . Before the match started , JBL kicked Mysterio and punched him down to the ground for a few seconds . But once the referee started the match , Mysterio surprised JBL by quickly hitting the 619 before pinning him for a win via pinfall in twenty - one seconds . Following the match , a frustrated JBL grabbed a microphone and proclaimed , " I quit ! " . JBL would announce his legitimate retirement the following day . The match marked the first time since WrestleMania X8 that the Intercontinental Championship has been defended at a WrestleMania event . Main event matches . The next match pitted The Undertaker against Shawn Michaels . Michaels made his entrance descending on a platform to symbolize the light ; in sharp contrast , The Undertaker entered second ascending from the floor with fire shooting up from the stage . The match started out with a fast pace by both men going for strikes to have them countered before Michaels feigned a knee injury to gain the advantage , and the pace slowed . This led to an exchange of signature moves and submission holds , which saw Michaels able to escape The Undertaker ' s Hell ' s Gate and dodge multiple attempts at the chokeslam while his adversary blocked attempts at Michaels ' Sweet Chin Music . The action went to the outside of the ring with Michaels attempting a moonsault , only to have The Undertaker stop the attempt this was followed by The Undertaker doing a suicide dive over the top rope , only to have Michaels dodge the attack and pull the nearby cameraman into harms way with The Undertaker hitting the cameraman and nearly landing on his own head . He remained on the floor of the arena with the referee checking to see if he was alright before he headed into the ring and proceeded to count ; if The Undertaker were to have not gotten in the ring by the referee ' s count of ten , he would have lost the match ( referred to as a countout ) , but he managed to return to the ring by a count of nine . The match continued with both men performing all of their respective finishing moves . The Undertaker hit The Last Ride and Chokeslam , and Michaels hit the Sweet Chin Music at two points in the match . Both men were unable to win through these moves . The Undertaker even hit Michaels with a massive Tombstone Piledriver , but Shawn kicked out . Undertaker finally won the match after Michaels ascended the top rope , attempting to perform another moonsault only to be caught in mid - air by The Undertaker and hit another Tombstone Piledriver and pinning him . As a result of this victory , The Undertaker remained undefeated at WrestleMania , extending his record to 17 - 0 . Throughout the match , fans were split , chanting for both Undertaker and Michaels , and at one point chanted " This is awesome " , referring to the match itself . This match won the Match of the Year Award at the 2009 WWE Slammy Awards which took place live on WWE Raw . It also won the Match of the Year award from Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Wrestling Observer Newsletter . The World Heavyweight Championship was contested for in a Triple Threat match between the champion , Edge , The Big Show , and John Cena , who entered through an aisle of look - alikes to get the match underway ; Vickie Guerrero was brought out to ringside in a wheelchair by Chavo Guerrero due to her emotional investment in both Edge and Big Show . The action started with some brawling and some early teamwork from Big Show and Edge before their alliance crumbled . The match spilled to the outside seeing Edge tackling Big Show through the guardrail with a Spear . Cena returned Edge to the ring before applying the STF before Big Show came to his senses , and broke up the action , leading to Cena and Edge teaming up to remove Big Show from the equation before turning on each other . Cena won the match by lifting The Big Show and set up the Attitude Adjustment , then dropping Edge onto Big Show with the same move before pinning The Big Show to win his second World Heavyweight Championship . The last match of the event was for the WWE Championship ; the match was contested between the champion , Triple H , and Randy Orton . As per a pre - match stipulation by Vickie Guerrero , if Triple H had been disqualified or had been counted out during the match , he would have lost the title to Orton . The champion had his signature weapon , the sledgehammer , in hand only to relinquish it prior to entering the ring by throwing it through a glass wall . Once the match officially started , it quickly dissented into a wild brawl with both men hitting their respective finishers to try and end the match quickly with both leading to only two - counts ; the action continued immediately between the two with Triple H doing everything in his power to hurt Orton without being disqualified in the process . Some highlights of the match would include the challenger delivering a suplex to the champion on the English announce table onto the Spanish announce table that did not break at all from Triple H landing on it . At a point , Orton threw Triple H to a turnbuckle where the referee was standing , causing him to collide , and knocked out the referee . Orton tried to gain more advantage went out of the ring to pick up Triple H ' s signature weapon , the sledgehammer . As Orton made his way back to the ring , Triple H ran to Orton , and delivered a punt kick across Orton ' s face similar to how the latter performs the move , possibly as revenge for Orton ' s similar attacks on both Triple H ' s brother - in - law and father - in - law . The champion would defeat Orton after he took his sledgehammer from Orton , hit him with it and the Pedigree to retain the WWE Championship . Aftermath . The rivalry between Triple H and Randy Orton continued after WrestleMania when both men would meet in a six - man tag team match at Backlash on the following episode of " Raw " . The match would pit Triple H , Shane McMahon and Vince McMahon against The Legacy ( Orton with his protégés , Ted DiBiase and Cody Rhodes ) . Vince ' s part in the match was later replaced by a returning Batista . At Backlash Randy Orton and The Legacy defeated Triple H , Shane , and Batista for the WWE Championship . Triple H was put out of action after being punted by Orton after the events of the PPV , while Shane was attacked by Legacy and was taken out on a stretcher . Two months later , Batista later suffered the same fate and was taken out of the building by security , while Triple H made his return and continued his feud with Randy Orton . They would later battle in a Last Man Standing Match on Raw for the WWE Championship which went to a no contest , then at The Bash , Randy Orton defeated Triple H in a Three Stages of Hell , and would later end their feud in a Triple Threat Match at Night of Champions , with Randy Orton retaining his title against both Triple H and John Cena . Orton would then begin a feud with Cena while Triple H would go out to re - unite DX . On the same episode of " Raw " , it was announced that Vickie Guerrero would vacate her role as SmackDown general manager to become the new permanent Raw general manager . As her first act , Guerrero announced that John Cena would defend his World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash against Edge in a Last Man Standing match . The animosity between Matt and Jeff Hardy continued on the edition of " SmackDown " following WrestleMania , leading to continued assaults between the two ; newly - appointed SmackDown general manager , Theodore Long would announce one last match between the two at Backlash , an " I Quit " match . Which would have Jeff winning the match . CM Punk would be drafted to " SmackDown " brand , which would see him try on multiple occasions to invoke his contractually - guaranteed title match from winning the Money in the Bank ladder match ; Punk would be able to get his match at Extreme Rules in June by defeating Jeff Hardy to win the World Heavyweight Championship . Prior to CM Punk defeating Jeff Hardy , Hardy was involved in a World Heavyweight Championship ladder match with Edge . Hardy had managed to trap Edge between the ladder , climb it , and retrieve the hanging belt . It was at this point that CM Punk cashed in his " Money in the Bank " briefcase . As the briefcase guaranteed a title shot , CM Punk capitalised from an exhausted Jeff Hardy . CM Punk had hit the " GTS " ( Go to Sleep ) yet remarkably Hardy kicked out . CM Punk then hit the second to win the World Heavyweight Championship . After the events of WrestleMania , both Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker took a four month hiatus from the WWE . Shawn came back to reform D - Generation X with Triple H so that they came face to face with The Legacy at SummerSlam . The Undertaker also returned at SummerSlam and attacked the then - World Heavyweight Champion , CM Punk . At the Slammy Awards , the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels won the Best Match of the Year , with Shawn expressing that he was glad that he had created history at WrestleMania , but just when he was about to leave , he challenged the Undertaker to a rematch at the next WrestleMania . The Undertaker later denied the challenge , saying he had nothing more to prove to Michaels , and told Shawn that he would have to earn the spot . Michaels later entered the Royal Rumble 2010 , but would be eliminated by Batista . He later tried to enter the Elimination Chamber Match for the WWE Championship , but he was defeated by Randy Orton to earn the spot . Then at the Elimination Chamber PPV , Shawn cost The Undertaker his World Heavyweight Championship . The next night on Raw , the Undertaker accepted the rematch , but only on the condition that Michaels would retire from WWE if he lost . At WrestleMania XXVI The Undertaker defeated Shawn Michaels in a Streak vs Career Match , thus ending Michaels ' career . The next night on Raw , Shawn said farewell to WWE , with his best friend and D - X member Triple H right next to him as they spent their last time , together before Shawn finally left the building . Reception . WrestleMania XXV received mixed reviews from various sources . Gordon Holmes of Comcast criticized the mini - concert by Kid Rock , stating that " Kid Rock gets ten minutes and The Miz and Morrison don ’ t ? Blashemy ! [ sic ] " He also criticized the 25 - Divas Battle Royal which " was a bit of a mess , we didn ’ t even get proper introductions for returning Divas like Sunny , Molly Holly , and Torrie Wilson . " Dale Plummer of Canadian Online Explorer ' s Slam ! Sports - Wrestling stated that " the top of this year ’ s card looked an awful lot like last year ' s . Just swap out Floyd Mayweather for Shawn Michaels and everyone else was the same . " However , he praised the Undertaker vs . Shawn Michaels match by rating it a ten out of ten , his highest rated match . The main event received a 7 out of ten . Overall , he rated the event 7 . 5 out of ten . Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter also criticized Kid Rock ' s performance , but praised the Undertaker vs . Michaels match . He rated it five out of five , and stated that " the match that deserved to end this show was Taker - Michaels . " IGN offered their own review of WrestleMania XXV , with IGN TV writer Dan Iverson praising Kofi Kingston , Shawn Michaels , and Ricky Steamboat for their performances , but also criticizing WWE for not showing the Tag Team unification match during the event itself . He finished off the review by stating : " It was just too bad that the potential of the card wasn ' t lived up to , " also giving it an overall rating of 7 out of 10 . Arash Markazi of " Sports Illustrated " wrote that Mickey Rourke ' s appearance " may have been one of the worst executed in WrestleMania history . " The Randy Orton vs . Triple H main event was generally regarded by critics as a disappointing ending to the show . Holmes of Comcast . net believes that the match " never seemed to click " and Kevin Eck of " The Baltimore Sun " stated that he was " disappointed that it didn ’ t feel more special after some great angles on TV . " Nick Tywalk of Slam ! Wrestling wrote that it was " solid and had its share of drama , but the lack of outside interference or plot twists of any kind failed to spark the same feeling of energy Reliant Stadium had in it a few hours before . It was almost a " That ’ s it ? " reaction that first came to mind . " Wade Keller gave the match 3 . 75 out of 5 . He called the match " good , both well - plotted and well - executed , appropriate to the storyline and feud , " but added that " it just wasn ' t able to follow the classic two matches earlier . " Randy Orton later attributed the reaction to the match to the stipulation that if Triple H was disqualified , he lost the championship , stating that the storyline called for Triple H to get retribution , but he wasn ' t able to get it because " We weren ' t able to go to the extreme . If anything hurt us , it was that . "