WrestleMania 21 is a significant WrestleMania as it signaled the changing of the guard, that saw two stars emerge. Nevertheless, there were some outstanding matches on the card regardless of the rise of John Cena and Batista.

It was always going to be incredibly tough for WWE to top WrestleMania XX, which was one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time. Moreover, WrestleMania 21 focused on high-profile one-on-one matches, although the very first Money in the Bank ladder match took place at this event.

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Both of the inter-promotional matches on the card delivered to a high standard, and unfortunately, the two World Title bouts were underwhelming. Nonetheless, this Mania is always going to be remembered as being the crowning moment for both John Cena and Batista.

8 Akebono Vs. Big Show

Akebono v Show

At WrestleMania 21, the first-ever Sumo match in WWE took place when Big Show collided with Japan's legendary sumo figure Akebono. The World's Largest Athlete doesn't boast the best of records at WrestleMania, so he was unfortunate to be put in this position.

It was a dreadful encounter which was one of the worst gimmick matches to be on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Inevitably, Akebono won the match with ease and Show was once again humiliated at WrestleMania.

7 Trish Stratus Vs. Christy Hemme

Trish v Hemme

It's always good to see the Women's Championship being defended at WrestleMania although the first batch of Women's Title bouts at 'Mania were underwhelming. Trish Stratus defended her title against the 2005 Diva Search winner Christy Hemme, who was accompanied to the ring by Lita.

Unfortunately, the whole match was dreadful although Hemme was quite aggressive and took it to Trish. The reigning Women's Champion never felt like her title was in jeopardy even when Hemme took a leaf out of Lita's book by using the Twist of Fate. Trish remained as Women's Champion after nailing Hemme with her patented Chick Kick.

6 John Bradshaw Layfield Vs. John Cena

JBL v Cena

John Bradshaw Layfield defended the WWE Championship against John Cena, who was searching for his first World Title. Layfield had a grand entrance, and he was all business as he sent the United States Champion and his Chief of Staff Orlando Jordan back into the limo.

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This was the biggest match of Cena's career to date, but the two lacked the chemistry to make this bout an entertaining exchange. JBL was 280's days strong into his WWE Championship reign, but he crucially missed the Clothesline From Hell which led to Cena countering it into the Attitude Adjustment to become the new WWE Champion. Cena celebrated his crowning moment with the fans in the crowd.

5 Rey Mysterio Vs. Eddie Guerrero

Mysterio v Eddie

For the first time in WrestleMania, two reigning tag team champions collided. Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero were the WWE Tag Team Champions, and they opened up the show in one of the greatest openers in WrestleMania history.

Mysterio and Guerrero have tremendous in-ring chemistry together which got the show off to a flying start. Neither man held back and they displayed their high-flying style of wrestling. However, out of nowhere, Mysterio caught Guerrero with a Hurricanrana to prevail. Latino Heat was clearly disappointed in his final WrestleMania outing before he sadly passed away in November. He showed his class by shaking hands with Mysterio after the match.

4 Triple H Vs. Batista

Game v Animal

Triple H pulled out all of the stops to try and avoid a World Heavyweight Championship encounter with Batista, but it did not work. The Animal won the 2005 Royal Rumble match, and he headlined WrestleMania 21 with Triple H in just his second WrestleMania appearance.

It wasn't a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, but both men are capable of putting on much better. Besides, it was The Animal's first time to be in a match of this magnitude. The Cerebral Assassin wore the proverbial crimson mask, and he made Batista look like a million bucks in this hard-hitting affair. Ultimately, Batista executed the Batista Bomb, dethroning his former mentor to become the new World Heavyweight Champion.

3 Edge Vs. Chris Benoit Vs. Christian Vs. Chris Jericho Vs. Shelton Benjamin Vs. Kane

MITB ladder match

The first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match took place at WrestleMania 21 and it proved to be a huge success. Ladder match specialists Christian, Edge, and Chris Jericho were all involved in the match. Chris Benoit and Kane who were no strangers to ladder matches, and the reigning Intercontinental Champion Shelton Benjamin, were added to the mix.

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This was a magnificent match, which was fast-paced right from the get-go. All the participants tried to remove Kane from the equation by meeting him in the aisle way. Ultimately, there were some crazy bumps as expected but the night belonged to Edge, who retrieved the Money in the Bank briefcase becoming the inaugural winner of this high-octane match.

2 The Undertaker Vs. Randy Orton

Orton v Undertaker WM 21

The Undertaker's unbeaten WrestleMania streak was gaining traction in the 2000s as the matches began to get better and better for The Deadman. Undertaker collided with Randy Orton, who was needing to bounce back after a failed run as a face.

Undertaker and Orton were in the early stages of their rivalry which dominated 2005 but their clash at WrestleMania 21 was superb. The Legend Killer adopted an aggressive style to get the upper hand on Undertaker. However, Orton's father Cowboy Bob, who just got inducted into the Hall of Fame, nailed Undertaker with his trademark cast. Orton countered Undertaker's Chokeslam into RKO, which was one of the best RKOs in his career. Ultimately, Undertaker extended his WrestleMania streak to 13-0 with a Tombstone Piledriver.

1 Kurt Angle Vs. Shawn Michaels

Angle v Michaels WM 21

Fans were in store for a treat at WrestleMania 21, when Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels put on an instant classic. The Olympic gold medal winner represented SmackDown, and Michaels represented Raw. However, these two weren't fighting for a battle for brand supremacy, they wanted to steal the show.

They tore the house down with magnificent counters and false finishers which added drama to the match. Fans were heavily invested in this bout and were amazed at what they were witnessing. Michaels couldn't keep Angle down with the Sweet Chin Music, and he was fighting and clawing, but the pain proved to be insurmountable as Angle forced him to submit to the Angle Lock.

NEXT: Kurt Angle's 5 Best Matches As A Heel (& His 5 Best As A Face)