Because of this, Batista missed WrestleMania and forfeited the title, which was won by Kurt Angle in January of 2006. Batista tore his triceps while he was the World champion and was out of action until July of 2006. Another circumstance that brought about the triple threat was the injury to Batista. Guerrero's death opened the door for the Rey Mysterio to be given the title and complete he heartwarming story of Guerrero's friend winning in his memory.
The first reason was the death of Eddie Guerrero, who was scheduled to win the World title not long after he died. The World Heavyweight Championship match was a triple threat that was put together relatively late in the process for two reasons. As Triple H himself says, it was what was best for business. The finish may not have been to Chicago's liking, but that doesn't take away from the quality of the match. Cena, like he usually does, tuned out the naysayers and still put on a very good match with Triple H. It's almost crazy to think of the hatred hardcore fans have of Triple H, but yet a lot of them were cheering him like crazy on that night. For whatever reason, the fans soured on him to the point that Triple H, a heel for the better part of three consecutive years to that point, became a de-facto face during their match. The mixed reaction that Cena generates on a nightly basis today was still very new at this time, especially because Cena was positioned as the top babyface and the fans actually cheered him once upon a time.
The biggest story coming out of the match wasn't the fact that Cena stood tall at the end of WrestleMania for the second year in a row, it was that the fans had begun to turn on him. The main event on this show was John Cena defending his WWE Championship against Triple H. That's a lot more matches than you would see on a lot of WrestleManias throughout its history. The show itself delivered with five matches that I would categorize as at least good and some were even great, in my opinion. Because of all of those things, WrestleMania 22 will be the last time you'll see less than 20,000 people in attendance.
#Mickie james vs trish stratus wrestlemania 22 driver#
It also knows that it is an economy driver for host cities, which is why cities must now bid on hosting the event. WWE knows that it can sell upwards of 60,000 tickets months before the event. With the way WWE promotes WrestleMania, it may continue to be in stadiums for a long time. People should get a good look at WrestleMania 22, as it is the last WrestleMania to date to take place in an arena and not a stadium. Playboy Pillow Fight – Torrie Wilson def. World Heavyweight Championship – Rey Mysterio def. No Holds Barred Match – Shawn Michaels def. Trish StratusĬasket Match – The Undertaker def. United States Championship – John Bradshaw Layfield w/Jillian Hall def. Ric Flair, Finlay, Matt Hardy & Bobby Lashley
Money in the Bank Ladder Match – Rob Van Dam def. World Tag Team Championship – Big Show & Kane def. Here's the WrestleManias we've covered so far: So, for 30 days leading up to WrestleMania XXX, we will take an extensive look back at each event from the very first, to the most recent. Because of the WWE Network, fans can now watch every single WrestleMania from start to finish.