6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE WrestleMania 21
Ups...
6. WrestleMania Goes Hollywood
McMahon relied on the Los Angeles locales for his penultimate small-scale edition of the show, but the silver screen helped him strike gold. "WrestleMania Goes Hollywood" as a premise drew mountains of praise thanks to a series of p*ss-funny parody vignettes, with the staging on the evening paying off all pre-show investments.
WrestleMania 21 was one of the most-purchased too. 980,000 parted with their cash to see the stereo ascensions of John Cena and Dave Batista, but credit must also go to the fabulous sense of occasion the company created around the card.
It was ironic - a back-to-basics 'Mania between the ropes was masked by the faux-glitz and glamour of the aesthetic, but it cannily provided equal parts sizzle and steak. After years of clinging to the past for profit, the seventh highest-drawing show in WWE's history dove headfirst into the future.