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WrestleMania 23
The set setup for WrestleMania 23.
Details
Promotion	World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s)	Raw SmackDown! ECW
Date	April 1 2007
Venue	Ford Field
City	Detroit, Michigan
Attendance	80,103[1]
Pay-per-view chronology
No Way Out (2007)	WrestleMania 23	Backlash (2007)
WrestleMania chronology
WrestleMania 22	WrestleMania 23	WrestleMania XXIV

WrestleMania 23 was the twenty-third yearly WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It took place on April 1 2007 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.^[2] The event was the first WrestleMania at Ford Field and the second to take place in the Detroit metropolitan area (following WrestleMania III). The tagline for WrestleMania 23 was "All Grown Up". The official theme song for the event was "Ladies and Gentlemen" by Saliva.^[3] The secondary theme song was "The Memory Will Never Die" by Default.^[4]

The event was a joint-promotion pay-per-view, featuring performers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands. The main match on the Raw brand was John Cena versus Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship, which Cena won by forcing Michaels to submit with the STFU.^[5] The predominant match on the SmackDown! brand was Batista versus The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Undertaker won by pinfall after performing a Tombstone piledriver.^[6] The primary match on the ECW brand was an 8-man tag team match between The ECW Originals and The New Breed, which The ECW Originals won.^[7] The featured matches on the undercard included Bobby Lashley versus Umaga and an interpromotional Money in the Bank ladder match.^[8][9]

Tickets for the event went on sale on November 11 2006. The all-time attendance record at Ford Field of 80,103 that consisted of people from twenty-four countries, all fifty states, and nine Canadian provinces, pumped an estimated $25 million into the local economy, and, at that time, made this event the highest grossing one-day live event in WWE history, grossing more than $5.38 million in ticket sales.^[10] This made WrestleMania 23, at the time, the highest-grossing pay-per-view in WWE history and the highest-grossing event in professional wrestling history in North America, breaking the previous record of $3.9 million held at WrestleMania X8.^[11] With 1.2 million buys, the event had one of the highest WrestleMania buyrates ever.^[12]

Contents 1 Report 1.1 Background 1.2 Event 1.3 Aftermath 2 Production 3 Results 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[change] Report

[change] Background

The main feud heading into WrestleMania 23 was between WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. The feud began on the January 1 2007 episode of Raw, when McMahon returned to WWE TV after several months absent. While in a segment with Rob Conway, he stated the Trump is credited with the phrase "You're Fired!" McMahon, however, stated that the phrase was originated on Raw. He went on to use that phrase, kayfabe firing Conway in the process.^[13] It was announced at the New Year's Revolution pay-per-view on January 7 2007, that Trump and his real life rival, Rosie O'Donnell, would face each other on the January 8 2007 edition of Raw. McMahon stated on WWE's official website that both parties had agreed to the contest.^[14] Instead of it being the "real" Trump and O'Donnell, local wrestlers portrayed them, as "Trump" won the contest.^[15] On the January 22 2007 edition of Raw, McMahon announced that their would be a "Fan Appreciation Night" scheduled for the January 29 2007 edition of Raw.^[16] He tried to live up to his claim by signing a picture of himself on the cover of the Muscle & Fitness magazine for a female fan. Trump, however, interrupted him from the Titantron, and made it clear that he knew what the WWE fans wanted. Trump angered McMahon by dropping huge amounts of his own money into the arena.^[17] The two eventually met face to face on a special edition of Raw on Thursday, February 15 2007. Trump challenged McMahon for a match at WrestleMania, but the challenge was rejected, with McMahon stating that he had a damaged pelvis and broken coccyx that would prevent him from competing. They came up with another match for WrestleMania, where the stipulations for the match were that they each had to choose a representative to wrestle for them and the loser would have his head shaved bald. This match was known as the "Battle of Billionaires."^[18] McMahon picked Umaga as his representative on the February 19 2007 edition of Raw. Later that night, Umaga defeated Jeff Hardy to become the WWE Intercontinental Champion.^[19] Leading up to WrestleMania, Umaga was used as McMahon's enforcer, with McMahon ordering Umaga, on the February 23 2007 edition of SmackDown!, to kayfabe assault the injured Rey Mysterio.^[20] On the February 26 2007 edition of Raw, Trump announced that he had picked ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley as his representative. Lashley and Umaga began to brawl at ringside, before security officials, kayfabe broke up the brawl.^[21][22] McMahon ordered Lashley to defend the ECW World Championship against Hardcore Holly in a Steel Cage match on the February 27 2007 edition of ECW, with the stipulation that if Lashley failed to win in five minutes, he would lose the title. Lashley won the match, pining Holly after executing a powerslam. After the match, Lashley charged at the cage and slammed through it, landing on top of Umaga as a result.^[23] Both Lashley and McMahon appeared on the March 2 2007 edition of SmackDown!, with McMahon offering a way out of the deal with Trump, offering double the money that Trump had kayfabe originally offered him. Lashley refused, and McMahon slapped him in return. Lashley, at the time, was involved in a small feud with Mr. Kennedy, with Kennedy attempting to win the ECW World Championship. Lashley kept his title through the small feud, retaining once via pinfall and once by getting himself intentionally disqualified.^[24][25] On the March 5 2007 edition of Raw, Stone Cold Steve Austin was announced as the Special Guest Referee for the "Battle of the Billionaires" match at WrestleMania.^[26] On the March 12 2007 edition of Raw, after McMahon and Trump signed a contract for the match at WrestleMania, Trump shoved McMahon over a table.^[27] On the same edition of Raw, The Rock made a special appearance on the titantron and give his thoughts on the "Battle of the Billionaires" match.^[28] Many other celebrities and former wrestlers gave their thoughts on the match, including Norm Macdonald, Jason Alexander, Eric Bischoff, Wil Wheaton, and Brutus Beefcake.^[29][30][31] On the March 19 2007 edition of Raw, after McMahon's representative, Umaga, defeated Eugene, McMahon shaved Eugene's head bald. McMahon went on to announce that he would face Trump's representative, Lashley, the following week.^[32] Lashley defeated Chris Masters the following night on ECW, followed by beating Randy Orton and Kennedy in a Handicap Tables match on the March 23 2007 edition of SmackDown!.^[33] On the March 26 2007 edition of Raw, McMahon's Executive Assistant, Jonathan Coachman, announced moments before the McMahon versus Lashley match that it would be a No Disqualification match. In the match, several people interfered on McMahon's behalf, including Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch, Chris Masters, Johnny Nitro, and Umaga. This interference allowed McMahon to win the bout.^[34]

The main feud on the Raw brand was between John Cena and Shawn Michaels, with the two feuding over the WWE Championship that Cena was holding at the time. Michaels was one of the last two superstars left in the 2007 Royal Rumble match, but failed to win as The Undertaker eliminated Michaels to win the contest.^[35] The following night, on the January 29 2007 edition of Raw, Michaels cut a promo, stating that he would somehow win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23. He teamed with Cena to take on Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship. Cena and Michaels won the title, after performing an FU to Orton. After the match, The Undertaker rose from underneath the ground and stared at Cena and the WWE Championship.^[17] The Undertaker also made an appearance on the January 30 2007 edition of ECW, chokeslamming Test.^[36] Cena made an appearance on the February 2 2007 edition of SmackDown!, and demanded to know who Undertaker was going to face at WrestleMania. As Undertaker looked set to make his decision, Shawn Michaels came out and stated that he wanted to know as well. The two, along with World Heavyweight Champion Batista, never got an answer, as WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that Michaels and Cena would team up to take on Batista and Undertaker at No Way Out.^[37] Undertaker finally made his decision on the February 5 2007 edition of Raw, opting to face Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. As a result, McMahon announced that Michaels, Edge, and Randy Orton would face each other in a Triple Threat match to determine the number one contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 23. Michaels won the match by pinning Orton.^[38] Cena and Michaels defeated Batista and Undertaker at No Way Out after Batista turned on The Undertaker and performed a Spinebuster on him.^[39] The following night, on Raw, Cena faced Orton in a singles match. Cena looked set to win after locking in the STFU, but Orton's partner, Edge, interfered and caused a disqualification. The two attempted to execute a con-chair-to Cena, but Michaels ran-in and attacked them with steel chairs.^[19] Michaels and Cena were booked to defend the World Tag Team Championship against Edge and Orton on the February 26 2007 edition of Raw. Before the match, Orton played a video that highlighted the past friendships that Michaels was involved in, before turning on the friend. In the match, Michaels nearly Superkicked Cena after Orton moved. Due to a later disagreement, Edge left Orton and walked off backstage, allowing Cena and Michaels to retain the World Tag Team Championship.^[21] The following week, Michaels responded to the video set-up by Randy Orton, and made comments to do with John Cena.^[26]

I will have your back until WrestleMania. I’ve turned against all my partners and more importantly, I’ve stabbed all my friends in the back. But with you, John, it’s different.

—Shawn Michaels commenting on his future WWE Championship match against John Cena.[26]

Michaels later defeated Orton, pinning him with a roll-up pin. After the end of the contest, Edge and Orton attacked Michaels, with Orton performing an RKO on a steel chair. Cena then ran-down to the ring and sent Edge and Orton to the outside.^[26] The same night, Cena defeated Johnny Nitro by disqualification. After the match, Nitro, Nitro's partner, Joey Mercury, and Edge, kayfabe assaulted Cena. Michaels ran-down to the ring looking to make the save, but stopped just moments away. After hesitating for a moment, Michaels eventually entered the ring and saved Cena from the trio.^[26] Two weeks later, on the March 19 edition of Raw, Michaels was booked to face John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) in a singles match. JBL, however, backed out the contest, stating that he would only come out of retirement on his terms. JBL continued to talk, stating that Michaels "can’t beat John Cena." Michaels then proceeded to Superkick JBL. Later in the night, Cena defeated WWE United States Champion Chris Benoit. After the bout, Michaels entered the ring and attempted to Superkick Cena. Cena countered and attempted to perform a FU, but Michaels countered before Cena was able to execute.^[32] On the final Raw, before WrestleMania, Cena and Michaels would team up to face Batista and Undertaker in a rematch from No Way Out. Cena and Michaels looked set to win, performing a synchronized 5-Knuckle Shuffle; however, Michaels turned on Cena and Superkicked him.^[34]

The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and The Undertaker, with the two battling over the World Heavyweight Championship, which was held by Batista. The feud started when The Undertaker won the 2007 Royal Rumble match, thus earning him a shot at any of WWE's three World Championships. The storyline started with The Undertaker appearing on all three brands, taunting each of the champions. On the February 5 2007 episode of Raw, The Undertaker decided that he would challenge Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. In the weeks prior to WrestleMania, the situation on SmackDown! mirrored that of Raw, with champion and challenger taking part in tag team matches. The two were able to work effectively together, though on SmackDown, no tag team titles were involved. In the beginning of the feud, Batista claimed to have great respect for The Undertaker. Due to several attacks by The Undertaker, two nights before WrestleMania, Batista claimed to have lost all respect for the legendary Undertaker.

The main feud on the ECW brand was The ECW Originals stable feuding with The New Breed over who was the dominant force in the revived ECW brand. The feud started on the January 30 2007 edition of ECW, when Vince McMahon declared Elijah Burke the "future of ECW." After the two posed for photos, several superstars that had competed in the original ECW ran down to the ring, including Tommy Dreamer, Balls Mahoney and Sabu. The Originals proceeded to attack Burke.^[36]

The two factions of four faced off in several tag team matches throughout the weeks prior, using various combinations. The New Breed dominated for several weeks before ECW Originals leader, Rob Van Dam, defeated New Breed leader Elijah Burke in a singles match. ECW Original Tommy Dreamer issued the challenge to the New Breed for an 8-Man Tag Team Match at WrestleMania, which was accepted by Burke on behalf of the New Breed.

The last major feud involved eight men. Several weeks before WrestleMania, it was announced that the Money in the Bank ladder match would be held again, as it was in the last two years. This year, however, there would be eight men involved, rather than six the two previous years had. Throughout the weeks leading up to WrestleMania, qualifying matches took place on all three shows. On an edition of Raw, Edge, the winner of the match held in 2005, defeated Rob Van Dam, the winner of the match held in 2006, to earn the first spot in the match. The next night on ECW, another cross-brand match took place, with CM Punk defeating Johnny Nitro to qualify. On that week's SmackDown!, King Booker became the third man to qualify, defeating Kane in a Falls Count Anywhere match following interference from The Great Khali.

On the next edition of Raw, Jeff Hardy pinned Shelton Benjamin in a match to become the fourth man to qualify. The next night on ECW, Mr. Kennedy defeated Sabu in an Extreme Rules match to earn the fifth spot. On the next SmackDown!, two qualifying matches took place, with Matt Hardy and Finlay winning their respective match to qualify. The final qualifying match took place on Raw between Carlito and Ric Flair. The match was deemed a no-contest after The Great Khali interfered and attacked both men. The match was rescheduled for the next week on Raw, with Randy Orton kayfabe bribing his way into the match up, which was to be an Elimination match. Orton pinned both Flair and Carlito after performing an RKO to each of them. Edge and Randy Orton had recently stopped teaming together and there was a lot of tension between them. They both attempted to get the other taken out of the Money in the Bank ladder match; however, both men failed, as Edge won a "last chance" Battle Royal to retain his spot and Orton won a match on ECW to retain his.

At No Way Out, WWE United States Champion Chris Benoit and The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) defeated MNM (Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro) and Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP). After Benoit and MVP had some matches with the two in them (tag team and triple threat matches), MVP decided to start showing he is the true United States Champion. MVP would then have matches against the "champions" of other countries (including Luxembourg and Scotland, which in reality were jobbers), beating them within minutes. MVP then challenged Benoit for the title at WrestleMania, which led to Benoit and MVP getting in mind games and, in some instances, physical retaliation.

[change] Event

Before the event went live on pay-per-view, a dark match was held. The Raw tag team of Ric Flair and Carlito defeated SmackDown tag team Chavo Guerrero and Gregory Helms in a Lumberjack match, in which every WWE Superstar not booked on the card surrounded the ring. Carlito pinned Guerrero after a Backcracker to win the match for him and Flair.^[40][41] The event officially began with Aretha Franklin singing a rendition of "America the Beautiful," reprising her role from twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III.^[41]

The first televised match of the night was the third-annual Money in the Bank ladder match, this time featuring eight participants; Edge, Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton from Raw, King Booker (w/Queen Sharmell), Mr. Kennedy, Matt Hardy and Finlay from SmackDown!, and CM Punk from ECW. The match featured many notable spots, including points where Edge performed the Spear on all the other opponents, followed by Randy Orton doing the same by leveling many of the participants with his RKO later in the match. Mr. Kennedy missed a Kenton Bomb and landed on a ladder on the back of his neck. He instead received a Swanton Bomb from Jeff Hardy. Several dangerous ladder spots were also featured, including Orton hitting an RKO to CM Punk whilst standing on the ladder, and King Booker hitting his Book End to Orton from the top of the ladder as well. Midway through the match, Jeff Hardy climbed a fifteen foot-high ladder inside the ring and on his brother, Matt Hardy's urging, he performed a leg drop off of that ladder onto Edge, who was lying prone on another ladder outside the ring, set-up on the ring apron and the barricade. Due to the impact, the ladder on which Edge was placed, broke in half and he, along with Jeff, were severely injured. They were carried off on stretchers by the paramedics. Later, when Booker was about to retrieve the contract briefcase, Matt Hardy held Booker's wife, Queen Sharmell as a hostage, threatening to perform his Twist of Fate on her. Booker went to her aid and received the Twist of Fate from Matt. Finlay fought Matt for sometime in the ring, and also performed his Celtic Cross to Matt onto a ladder. Finlay's associate Hornswoggle emerged from under the ring and attempted to retrieve the briefcase for Finlay. He was stopped by Kennedy, who performed his Green Bay Plunge on Hornswoggle. Kennedy went on to win the match, only after knocking CM Punk off a ladder by hitting him with another ladder.^[40][41]

The next match was billed as a "SmackDown! vs. Raw Interpromotional match." Raw superstar The Great Khali faced SmackDown! superstar Kane. It was a short match, but contained a notable spot. In homage to Hulk Hogan slamming André the Giant twenty years earlier at WrestleMania III, Kane picked up Khali for the first time and body-slammed him to the mat. The match ended with Khali pinning Kane after a Giant Chokeslam. After the match, Khali choked Kane out with Kane's chained hook, which was a reference to Kane's movie, See No Evil, where his character used said hook as a signature weapon.^[40][41]

A backstage segment was featured next, which involved Cryme Tyme persuading Eugene to dance with Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah, who were dressed as strippers as Cryme Tyme danced with Exposé. Also featured in the segment were WWE Legends Slick, Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Hart, Irwin R. Schyster, Dusty Rhodes, Sgt. Slaughter, Howard Finkel, Gene Okerlund, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco, many of whom had not been seen on television in years.

Following the segment was the WWE United States Championship match, with Chris Benoit defending the title against Montel Vontavious Porter. The match started off with a chain of takedowns, holds, and reversals, with MVP keeping up with Benoit, even going for some submission holds. The match lasted almost ten minutes, with Benoit attempting to lock in some of his signature submission holds, but MVP successfully reversed them, including the Crippler Crossface. The two exchanged suplexes and holds until Benoit was able to ascend the top rope and execute a Diving headbutt on MVP, which led to Benoit getting the pinfall victory to retain the WWE United States Championship.^[40][41]

Long time ring announcer Howard Finkel then introduced the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2007. The next match featured Batista defending the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker. The match started with Batista performing a Spear, which he had recently adopted as a secondary finisher, to The Undertaker as the bell sounded. The match went back and forth, with both men countering each other and performing their finishers. Undertaker thought he had the match won after a Chokeslam, but Batista kicked out of the pin attempt. The Undertaker was then able to perform a Last Ride to Batista, but again failed to win the match. Batista was also able to execute his finisher, the Batista Bomb, but failed to get the pinfall victory. Midway through the match, The Undertaker vaulted over the top rope and onto Batista. At one point, Batista was able to perform a running powerslam on The Undertaker through an announce table. Back in the ring, Batista executed a Spinebuster, followed by a Batista Bomb, but still failed to get the pin. After some more back and fort action, Undertaker pinned Batista following a Tombstone piledriver to become the World Heavyweight Champion and emerge from WrestleMania with his winning streak intact. Undertaker's win made him the only wrestler to have won both the World Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship at a WrestleMania.^[40][41]

The ECW Originals (Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman) took on The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker) next. The short match was fast-paced and had many high and low points for each team. Van Dam pinned Striker after a Five-Star Frog Splash to win the match for The ECW Originals.^[40][41]

The match that WWE billed as the "Battle of the Billionaires" was next, as Umaga (representing Vince McMahon) fought Bobby Lashley (representing Donald Trump), with Stone Cold Steve Austin serving as the special guest referee. Umaga was accompanied to the ring by Vince McMahon and by his "handler" Armando Alejandro Estrada. Lashley was being managed by Donald Trump, who was attended to by Tara Connor. Midway through the match, Austin took a bump and was taken out of the match for several minutes. Shane McMahon, who attempted to replace him as referee, called the match while being biased towards Umaga. After Umaga got a near-fall on Lashley, Austin pulled Shane out of the ring, gave him a Stunner, and continued refereeing the match. Lashley won the match after a Stunner from Austin and a Spear.^[40][41] After the match, Trump and Lashley shaved McMahon's bald, followed by Austin executing a Stunner on Trump.^[40][41] The next match was for the WWE Women's Championship. Ashley took on champion Melina. The match was a short, as Melina pinned Ashley with a Bridge pin to retain the WWE Women's Championship.^[40][41]

Other on-screen talent

Role:	Name:
Commentator	Michael Cole (SmackDown!)
	Jim Ross (Raw)
	Jerry "The King" Lawler (Raw)
	John "Bradshaw" Layfield (SmackDown!)
	Joey Styles (ECW)
	Tazz (ECW)
Spanish commentator	Carlos Cabrera
	Hugo Savinovich
Interviewer	Jonathan Coachman
	Todd Grisham
Ring announcer	Tony Chimel (SmackDown!)
	Howard Finkel (WWE Hall of Fame)
	Lilian Garcia (Raw / Money in the Bank)
	Theodore Long (Batista vs. Undertaker)
	Justin Roberts (ECW)
Referee	Scott Armstrong (ECW)
	Mike Chioda (Raw)
	Jack Doan (Raw)
	Marty Elias (Raw)
	Mickie Henson (SmackDown!)
	Jim Korderas (SmackDown!)
	Charles Robinson (SmackDown!)

The main event was John Cena defending the WWE Championship against Shawn Michaels. The match contained several notable spots, including Michaels piledriving Cena onto the steel steps outside the ring. Cena was unable to execute the FU during the match, and Michaels also failed to execute Sweet Chin Music several times. Twice during the match, Cena managed to lock in his STFU submission hold, with Michaels reaching the ropes to break the hold the first time, but tapping out the second time, resulting in John Cena retaining the WWE Championship.^[40][41]

[change] Aftermath

John Cena and Shawn Michaels continued their feud, with Michaels betraying Cena the night after WrestleMania on Raw. During the second of two battle royals, Michaels eliminated himself and Cena, resulting in The Hardys winning the World Tag Team Championship.^[42] On the Raw before Backlash, Cena and Michaels wrestled an hour long non-title match, which Michaels won.^[43]

Batista also continued his feud with The Undertaker, facing off against him in a Last Man Standing match the following month at Backlash. The match ended in a no-contest after both men failed to answer the ten count, therefore resulting in Undertaker retaining the title.^[44] The two faced each other in a Steel cage match on the May 11 2007 edition of SmackDown!, which ended in a draw after both men escaped the cage at the same time.^[45] The feud ended when The Undertaker dropped the World Heavyweight Championship due to a legitimate injury. Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, defeated The Undertaker after the Steel cage match to win the title.^[45]

Bobby Lashley's feud with Vince McMahon continued for a further three months after the event. Vince, livid after being embarrassed at WrestleMania, vowed to destroy Bobby Lashley and take his ECW Title. At Backlash, Vince, his son Shane and Umaga teamed up a Three on one handicap match against the champion, and after two Samoan Splashes by Umaga from the top rope, Vince pinned Lashley to win the title.^[44] The feud continued for a further two pay-per-views, with Lashley pinning Shane in a repeat match from Backlash at Judgment Day, but Vince ruled that as he didn't get pinned, Lashley didn't win the title.^[46] At One Night Stand, Lashley finally defeated Vince in a Street Fight to reclaim the championship.^[47]

The match between Chris Benoit and Montel Vontavious Porter expanded into a lengthy feud for the WWE United States Championship, resulting in Benoit retaining via pinfall at Backlash and Porter winning the title in a Two out of three falls match at Judgment Day, winning 2-0.^[46]

The feud between the ECW Originals and the New Breed continued, with the New Breed defeating the Originals in an Extreme Rules match on the next edition of ECW. Sabu was released from the company shortly after WrestleMania, and The Sandman was drafted to Raw a few months later in the 2007 WWE Draft. Kevin Thorn left the New Breed shortly after WrestleMania and Marcus Cor Von was also released shortly thereafter. By this point, Elijah Burke and Matt Striker had ceased associating with one another, with Striker eventually being relegated to a manager role for Big Daddy V. In addition, Rob Van Dam left the company when his contract expired shortly after One Night Stand. As a result of all of this, the feud eventually puttered out and was rarely mentioned again.

[change] Production

The set design for WrestleMania 23 began development in October 2006 after WWE set designer, Jason Robinson, first received the final logo for the event.^[48] Robinson and his team first surveyed Ford Field in July 2006 and began planning out the staging and lighting designs. After returning to the stadium in January 2007 for more site surveying, Robinson and his team finalized the set's design in February.^[48] The final design resulted in WrestleMania 23 having the largest set ever built for a WrestleMania event.^[49] It incorporated 414 LED video screens and automated lights, 10 spotlights, 56 searchlights, 50,000 ft of cable for pyrotechnics and other use, and 35 stage flamethrowers used to produce 30 ft high and 6 ft wide flames, all which gave the set a unique look for each performer's entrance and an expanded stage lighting element of 300 ft in width and 100 ft in height using the specialized stage lighting instruments.^[50][49] The ramp used to reach the ring from the entrance set was 187 ft in length.^[51]

The ring used for WrestleMania 23 was the first to use all-white ring rope as oppose to the recent usual black color scheme. Following two previous designs, the final logo used for the event was completely redesigned from the traditional variations of the WrestleMania logo used throughout the years.^[50]

Though it took three weeks to fully prepare Ford Field, set assembly began the week before WrestleMania 23 and was completed shortly before the day of the event.^[50] It took a week for three hundred staff members, unloading and working from forty semi-trucks, to build the set and assemble the event's lighting within Ford Field, far more than the usual forty hours, one hundred staff members, and fourteen semi-trucks required for the production of WWE's weekly television events.^[49][48] After the event concluded, it took around thirty hours to disassemble the set and lighting, also far more than the usual three hours required for WWE's weekly television events.^[48][50]

[change] Results

Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.

• Dark match: Ric Flair and Carlito defeated Gregory Helms and Chavo Guerrero in a Tag Team Lumberjack match (5:13)
  • Carlito pinned Guerrero after a Back Cracker.
  • Lumberjacks: Viscera, Shad Gaspard, JTG, Chris Masters, Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, Robbie McAllister, Rory McAllister, Super Crazy, Val Venis, Johnny Nitro, Jim Duggan, Eugene, Lance Cade, Trevor Murdoch and Kenny Dykstra from Raw. Daivari, Shannon Moore, Sylvain Grenier, Deuce, Domino, Paul London, Brian Kendrick, The Miz, Vito, Scotty 2 Hotty, William Regal, Dave Taylor, Jimmy Wang Yang, Jamie Noble and Funaki from SmackDown!. Balls Mahoney, Little Guido Maritato, Hardcore Holly and Snitsky from ECW.
• Mr. Kennedy defeated Edge, CM Punk, King Booker (w/Queen Sharmell), Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Finlay and Randy Orton in a Money in the Bank ladder match (19:05)
  • Kennedy won by retrieving the suspended briefcase.
  • During the match, Jeff Hardy performed a leg drop off a 20 foot ladder in the ring through Edge on a ladder outside of the ring. Both men were removed from the match on stretchers.
• The Great Khali defeated Kane (5:31)
  • Khali pinned Kane after a Khali Bomb.
• Chris Benoit defeated Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) to retain the WWE United States Championship (9:19)
  • Benoit pinned MVP after a Diving Headbutt.
  • MVP came out accompanied by a squad of cheerleaders.
• Howard Finkel introduced the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2007:
  • Jim Ross, Jerry "The King" Lawler, Nick Bockwinkel, Mr. Fuji, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika). The Sheik was represented by his widow Joyce Farhat, and "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig was represented by his widow Leonice and his father Larry Hennig.

• The Undertaker defeated Batista to win the World Heavyweight Championship (15:47)
  • Undertaker pinned Batista after a Tombstone Piledriver.
  • Undertaker came out surrounded by druids.
• The ECW Originals (Tommy Dreamer, Sabu, The Sandman and Rob Van Dam) defeated The New Breed (Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker and Kevin Thorn) (w/Ariel) (6:25)
  • Van Dam pinned Striker after a Five-Star Frog Splash.
• Bobby Lashley (w/Donald Trump) defeated Umaga (w/Vince McMahon and Armando Alejandro Estrada) (w/Steve Austin as Special Guest Referee) in a "Battle of the Billionaires" Hair vs. Hair match (13:04)
  • Lashley pinned Umaga after a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin and a Spear from Lashley.
  • Shane McMahon interfered on Umaga's behalf wearing referee attire.
  • After the match, Trump and Lashley shaved Vince bald followed by Austin giving both Trump and Vince a Stunner.
• Melina defeated Ashley Massaro in a Lumberjill match to retain the WWE Women's Championship (3:13)
  • Melina pinned Ashley with a Bridge Pin.
  • After the match, the lumberjills got into a catfight.
  • Lumberjills: Victoria, Layla, Jillian Hall, Candice Michelle, Kelly Kelly, Trinity, Torrie Wilson, Brooke Adams, Kristal Marshall, Michelle McCool, Maria and Mickie James.
• John Cena defeated Shawn Michaels to retain the WWE Championship (28:20)
  • Cena forced Michaels to submit with the STFU.
  • Cena entered the stadium in a Shelby GT-H Mustang.

[change] Notes

• Celebrity guests in attendance for WrestleMania 23 included: Franklin, Trump and Miss USA 2006 Tara Conner (for the Hair vs. Hair match), Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith, Miss Teen USA 2006 Katie Blair, Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera, members of the Detroit Tigers, Thomas Hearns, Detroit Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hašek, and Rev. Run from Run DMC.

[change] References

[change] External links

• Official WrestleMania 23 website