Match four of WrestleMania 25 took on a family feel, as it was brother vs brother as Matt and Jeff Hardy did battle in Extreme Rules. Here's our breakdown of the latest match at Mania:

Matt Loede:This was more brutal than I thought, but at the same time, it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. Give it to Jeff for trying though, it's amazing that at the end of the day he's even able to walk given all the crazy moves that he misses. As for Matt, the only thing I can say is that he did a solid job here, and all I can think is that they are going to keep this thing going. Overall, a good ending, and a cool visual with Matt doing the Twist of Fate on Jeff on the chair. I thought this would be the end of this feud, but I guess not.

John Sefcik:Now that's extreme. Hey ECW, take note and return to your roots. How does Jeff Hardy walk away from a failed drop off the high ladder and twist of fate while his head is in a chair. The length these two went to in this match is unbelievable. They definitely picked up interest in Mania after the great opening with Money in the Bank. If they continue this feud it will be hard to top this match. We'll have to wait and see were this goes from here. Hopefully both Hardy's will avoid any major injury trying to keep the momentum going.

Labels: jeff hardy, matt hardy, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:44 PM | Permalink | Comments

We're three matches in at WrestleMania 25 in Houston, and the latest match saw Chris Jericho take on three wrestlers - Ricky Steamboat, Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper. But wait, Ric Flair and Micky Rourke also got involved. Here's our thoughts:

Matt Loede - Okay, the end of this was about as bad as the womens battle royal. It easily could have been Ricky Steamboat vs Jericho, as Snuka and Piper added nothing to this. Snuka looked like a 70-year-old woman, and Piper has not taken very good care of himself over the years. Steamboat could wrestle today, on a very limited basis of course. As far as Jericho winning, that was what should have happened.

As for the post-match junk, Flair getting a beat down to set up Rourke coming in was expected. To be honest, the Rourke getting in the ring took WAYYY too long, and no one in the crowd seemed to care. Then Y2J took a cheap, and a miss of a punch to bite the dust? This was pretty bad. At least the two worst matches of the night are now done.

John Sefcik: The legends match was a roller coaster of feelings. It's always great to see legends like Piper and Snuka, but when they put on horrible performances it only sullies our great memories of these guys. These two guys had no business being in this match as they struggled to sell anything that seemed like a match. Ricky Steamboat on the other hand showed he stills has what made him a Hall Of Famer. This match would have been good if it was just him and Jericho. In a way I hope they can get at least one more match out of these two. But with the inclusion of Micky Rourke knocking out Jericho, I think this is buried. The ending of Rourke's lame punch on Jericho only made this match worse. Even the fans didn't seem to care as Rourke came to the ring. I'm not sure what the price would have been, but the WWE should have paid Stone Cold whatever the amount was in order to get him involved to make this match legendary.

Labels: chris jericho, Mickey Rourke, ric flair, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

You can add Wendi Richter to the list of former female performers who won’t be appearing at WrestleMania XXV. The former WWE Women’s Champion has declined the company’s invitation to appear at the 25-Diva Battle Royal in Houston. It would have been her first appearance in a WWE ring since losing the belt via screwjob to The Fabulous Moolah on November 25, 1985.

Here is an updated list of the former female performers who will definitely not be appearing in the 25-Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXV:

- Amy “Lita” Dumas (declined offer)

- Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald (declined offer to wrestle, but will be on hand during WrestleMania weekend)

- Wendi Richter (declined offer)

- Terri Runnels (said she has no interest in wrestling)

- Ashley Massaro (unable to appear due to personal reasons)

- Debra (has denied reports of a possible appearance at WrestleMania)

- Rena “Sable” Lesnar (pregnant)

- Dawn Marie (pregnant)

Labels: Wendi Richter, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments

Two former WWE Divas you shouldn’t expect to see participate in the 25-Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXV are Rena “Sable” Lesnar and Dawn Marie. According to an article on TwinCities.com following husband Brock Lesnar’s UFC Championship victory over Randy Couture back in November, the former WWE Women’s Champion was confirmed to be pregnant. The couple is expecting their first child together in June. Dawn Marie is pregnant with her second child and due to give birth in June as well.

Labels: dawn marie, sable, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

5,000 tickets remain for Wrestlemania XXV in Houston, not including additional ones that will likely be released after production moves in. The event is expected to be full one way or another. As far as the Hall of Fame ceremony is concerned, a few hundred tickets remain for the event.5,000 tickets remain for Wrestlemania XXV in Houston, not including additional ones that will likely be released after production moves in. The event is expected to be full one way or another. As far as the Hall of Fame ceremony is concerned, a few hundred tickets remain for the event.

Labels: WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments

The advance for WrestleMania XXV in Houston so far is about 55,000 tickets. Reliant Stadium holds 71,500 for football, but with the big WrestleMania stage and obstructed view seating they can probably max out at around 65,000 seats. The show was expected to be automatic sellout, but that has not been the case. Nonetheless, the stadium will be full come show time. WWE papered last year's event near show time as they had trouble selling the last few thousand seats.

Labels: WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 2:53 PM | Permalink | Comments

One source close to the situation says that WWE’s creative team is going through a chaotic process trying to plan WrestleMania. They have one set of plans for if Mickey Rourke does agree to wrestle at WrestleMania, and another set of plans for if he does not. Mickey Rourke is holding back on making his decision until after this Sunday night’s Academy Awards, as it may hurt his chances at winning the Oscar. Rourke does have a legitimate concern, as the entertainment industry’s opinion of wrestling is still very low.

At this point in time, the only matches locked in for the big event are still HHH vs. Orton, Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy, and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker. WWE wants obviously Rourke to face Jericho, but is trying to secure Hogan as a replacement opponent for Y2J should Rourke decline.

The days after the Academy Awards will be interesting, with more solid plans for WrestleMania 25 being put in place.

Labels: Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 1:43 AM | Permalink | Comments

Hulk Hogan is in talks with Vince McMahon about a match at WrestleMania. There was some word making the rounds backstage at No Way Out was that John Cena would be Hogan's opponent, but WWE clearly shook things up at the pay-per-view and started the Cena vs. Edge program on RAW. With Mickey Rourke's WrestleMania involvement still up in the air, there's now talk of Hulk Hogan wrestling Chris Jericho at WrestleMania as part of the ongoing "legends" storyline.

During today's Bubba the Love Sponge radio show, a caller asked Bubba if Hulk Hogan would be appearing at WrestleMania 25 since a number of WrestleMania moment clips on WWE television seem to feature him. Bubba said he knew why WWE was running the clips, but could not comment at this time. As many of you know, Bubba is one of Hogan's best friends. Seeing how he didn't deny anything, his silence on the matter should spark even more speculation on "The Hulkster" appearing at WrestleMania 25.

Labels: hulk hogan, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments

As of right now, the only matches set in stone for WrestleMania 25 are Triple H vs. Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy vs. Matt Hardy, and Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker.

Mickie Rourke is telling people that he won’t be attending WrestleMania 25, but WWE is expecting him to change his mind after the Academy Awards on Sunday. If Rourke still doesn’t bite, WWE has laid out a possible backup plan where Chris Jericho will beat down a number of legends week after week on RAW, building up to a big match with Hogan at WM 25.

If Rourke did come through to face Jericho, that would free up Hogan to then wrestle someone like John Cena. Cena is currently involved in a program with Edge which COULD lead them right into WrestleMania. It all really depends on Rourke and what he chooses to do AFTER Sunday’s Oscars. He doesn’t want to risk not getting an Oscar due to taking part in a WWE angle. Rourke’s concerns are legitimate, as the entertainment industry still has a very negative view on wrestling.

Also, expect the annual tradition of Money in the Bank matches at WrestleMania to continue this year.

Labels: chris jericho, hulk hogan, john cena, Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments

As you can see from the poster front and center - this very well could mean the return of upcoming WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin. Now who Austin will go up against is a whole other story. Of course this poster could also very well be a fake.

Labels: steve austin, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments

The original plan for WrestleMania was to be Chris Jericho vs. Mickey Rourke in some form of boxing match, with Ric Flair in the corner of Rourke. That may still happen, but if Rourke ends up not coming back into the angle, there are two ways the angle could go. The first is the Jericho vs. Flair match, which seems to be already teased. The second is a match between Chris Jericho and Steve Austin. Austin reportedly says Jericho is one of the few people he would trust to have a match with at this point, and also, it would play into Jericho’s recent promo work, where he made fun of “washed up Hall of Famers.”

There is belief among some that Rourke is just holding off until the Academy Awards are over on February 22nd to see if he wins an award for The Wrestler.

Labels: chris jericho, Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 7:58 PM | Permalink | Comments

WWE’s website has a new story on Mickey Rourke appearing at WrestleMania 25. They mention the e-mail from his publicist the other day stating that he would not be participating in WrestleMania, instead focusing on his acting career. WWE has confirmed that Rourke will not be participating in ‘Mania but are saying they have “invited the actor to the event and looks forward to his attendance – as a guest of the company.”

Labels: Mickey Rourke, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments

"The Wrestler" star Mickey Rourke was at tonight's Screen Actors Guild Awards in Hollywood and spoke about a possible appearance at WrestleMania 25.

We now have confirmation that Rourke will in fact be in Houston on April 5th. PWTorch.com reports that Rourke is "officially signed" to appear at WWE's showcase event.

This evening, Rourke spoe to Access Hollywood on the red carpet and said, “The nicest thing has been the whole wrestling community embracing us. The movie was about their world.”

He continued, “The boys from the WWE called me and asked me to do it. I said, ‘I want to.’ I’m talking with [WWE legend] Rowdy Roddy Piper about it.”

Just as he did on the E! channel's pre-show, Mickey Rourke cut another promo on Chris Jericho. "Chris Jericho, you better get in shape," Rourke said. "Because I'm coming after your ass."

Labels: The Wrestler, WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 11:20 PM | Permalink | Comments

Here are the latest dates for 2009 WWE PPVs through September's Unforgiven:

1/25 Royal Rumble
2/15 No Way Out
4/5 WrestleMania XXV
4/26 Backlash
5/17 Judgment Day
6/7 One Night Stand
6/28 Night of Champions
7/26 Great American Bash
8/23 SummerSlam
9/13 Unforgiven

Labels: WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

Tickets for the 25th anniversary of sports-entertainment’s greatest spectacle go on sale Saturday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. ET, as WWE prepares for WrestleMania XXV in Houston on April 5, 2009, at Reliant Stadium.

Labels: WrestleMania XXV

Posted by Matt Loede at 6:55 PM | Permalink | Comments