#246: Triple H vs. Randy Orton, WWE WrestleMania 25 (4/5/2009).
This is a request brought to me by one of my buddies from work.
This is for Triple H’s WWE Championship, and should he have been disqualified or counted out, he would lose the championship.
Surely, you’ve heard of this one, right? One of the most, dare I say, divisive main events in WrestleMania history. It followed The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, a match many believe to be the greatest match of all time, WWE or otherwise, and the results were...well, I’ll be kind and say “mixed.”
In January, Randy Orton’s naughty actions of late caused Vince McMahon to appear on Raw, and promptly get punted in the head. Orton would then go on to win the Royal Rumble Match, and then defeat Shane McMahon in a No Holds Barred Match at No Way Out in February. The following night on Raw, Orton would punt Shane in the head, and then deliver an RKO to Stephanie McMahon, which brought out WWE Champion Triple H to the rescue.
Orton would choose Triple H as his WrestleMania opponent, and make it known that he was not only dead set on destroying the McMahon family, but that he was also going to take everything away from Triple H, the same way he took everything from Orton in 2004 when he kicked him out of Evolution. At one point in this feud, Triple H broke into Orton’s home and threw him out of his living room window. Naturally, you’d think that a feud like this would turn into a crazy, weapons filled brawl, right?
Naturally, the stipulation was added before the match that if Triple H got disqualified or counted out, he’d lose the championship. Boring.
Fun fact: This is the last wrestling event I ever recorded on VHS, and I still own it to this day!
The bell sounds, and both men are staring daggers at the other. Triple H takes Orton down and unloads with several punches to the head. He gets Orton in the corner, and throws many punches, already at risk of getting DQed. Triple H argues with the referee, which leads to Orton hitting an RKO out of nowhere. It does not get much of a reaction from the crowd. Orton backs up in the corner, and he misses the Punt, as Triple H hits the Pedigree out of nowhere. Two finishers in the first minute or so of this. That’s a choice!
On the outside, Triple H clotheslines Orton in the back of the head, then smashes his head off the announcer’s table. Orton quickly rolls back into the ring, as Triple H pours water over his head. He hits more punches to the head, which causes Orton to roll back to the floor. Triple H sends him head first into the steel ring post. Orton tries to beg off, but Triple H isn’t having any of it. He kicks him in the chest, and continues to unload with punches to the head.
He guillotines him off the bottom rope. Next, the champion drives his knee directly to the side of the head, before dropping a knee Ric Flair style to the neck. A running forearm to the back of the head connects flush, and he follows with a neckbreaker. Orton rolls back to the floor, and he irish whips Triple H into the steel steps, shoulder first. Orton whips him over the barricade, into the time keeper’s area, causing more damage to the shoulder.
Orton returns to the ring, opting for an easy countout win. The Game returns to the ring, but Orton is right there with an onslaught of stomps. As Orton drops a knee to the neck of Triple H, the crowd seem interested in something else going on amongst themselves. Probably some jackass getting kicked out. Orton goes for his trademark chin lock, but Triple H counters it into a back suplex. Orton counters some offense with a scoop slam, which gets him a nearfall. Orton with the chin lock next, as he is slowing things down in an atmosphere that does not need that. Triple H is able to get back to his feet, but Orton is quick to stun his momentum with punches to the head. High knee, Harley Race style, to Orton’s head by the WWE Champion.
Triple H follows up with a clothesline in the corner. Facebuster to the challenger, and now Triple H looks for the Pedigree, but Orton counters it and catapults Triple H to the turnbuckle. He gets caught with a clothesline, though. Triple H covers, and Orton kicks out. Triple H places Orton on the top rope, and unloads with punches, until Orton drops him face first on the turnbuckle. Orton comes off the middle rope with something, but Triple H catches him with a boot to the face.
Orton counters a Pedigree with a Jacknife cover, which Triple H kicks out of. Orton kicks Triple H in the chest, and walks into a Spinebuster, Arn Anderson style. Orton counters the Pedigree again, this time with an inverted backbreaker. He covers, and Triple H kicks out. Triple H comes off the top rope for something, and Orton catches him with a beautiful dropkick. Orton gears up for the Punt Kick, but Triple H catches it instead.
The Game flips him over the top rope, and quickly follows him to the floor. He smashes Orton’s head off the announcer’s table, and then grabs a monitor. He thinks about using it, but he’s reminded of the DQ rule. He tosses it aside, and kicks him in the head instead. They fight atop the table, as Triple H looks for the Pedigree, but Orton counters with a back body drop onto the other table, which does not break.
Orton grabs Triple H and hits a DDT from the table to the floor. The referee counts, and Triple H is able to get back into the ring before losing his championship. Orton immediately stomps away at his opponent, with no remorse. Orton forces Triple H into the corner, and digs his boot right into the throat of the champion. Triple H throws a punch, and Orton punches him backwards, knocking him into the referee. Orton throws Triple H into the ref, causing further damage, and then hits an RKO to Triple H.
Orton goes to the floor, and grabs the sledgehammer. As he tries to return to the ring, Triple H drills him with a Punt Kick of his own. Triple H grabs the hammer and decks Orton right in the head. He tops Orton, and unloads with hard punches to the head over and over again. After unleashing a roar of anger, Triple H hits the Pedigree to Orton to win and retain the WWE Championship.
Unpopular opinion: I like this match. I won’t go as far as to call it an all time classic, but I also won’t say it’s complete garbage. I think what they did here was great, but it was just the wrong type of match on this match. Not only was this the wrong kind of match to follow something the likes of Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, but it was also the wrong way to go for a feud like this. With all the hoopla and drama and crazy soap opera bullshit surrounding this, you really expect this to be a crazy brawl, and it wasn’t.
It was a basic, bare bones wrestling match, and it didn’t need to be that. I will say, this match had intensity, and that saved it. Had it lacked intensity, I probably wouldn’t rate it as high. That said, these two threw all their shots in this match like they actually hated each other, and that helped with how this feud was going. So for that reason, I won’t ever call this a dud. I’d actually go as far as to say it’s quite underrated. It is still the wrong way to go in so many respects. It’s also one of the rare times where I agree that something else should’ve main evented WrestleMania instead of the championship match.