WrestleMania Fever Hits Houston

By Adolfo Gonzalez

The anticipation was over and the time had finally arrived. World Wrestling Entertainment’s WrestleMania Axxess had finally arrived in Houston. Wrestling fans from around the world gathered for this incredible event taking place at Houston’s Reliant Center.
WrestleMania Axxess is an event held every year where fans have the opportunity to interact with their favorite superstars at autograph signings and photo sessions. Fans can also experience unique activities including the chance to be filmed creating their own ring entrance and take home a DVD of the experience, call classic WWE matches, walk the Undertaker’s Graveyard, test their skills at WWE trivia, compete in the SmackDown vs. Raw video game challenge and have a chance to win a championship belt.
This event is held annually for four consecutive days leading up to the pay-per-view event known as WrestleMania. This year it ran from Thursday, April 2, to Sunday, April 5.
For the second time in eight years, wrestling fans gathered outside the Reliant Center, waiting with joy and eagerness for the doors to open. Enthusiastic fans waited in a long line discussing everything and anything about wrestling. As soon as the doors opened, many fans let out the famous Rick Flair “WOOOO!” chant while walking through the doors.
Some of the WWE Superstars on hand signing autographs the first day were Goldust, Christian, Shelton Benjamin, William Regal, The Great Khali, Kane, Jesse and Festus, Cryme Tyme and WWE Hall of Famers Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson. WWE Divas Maryse and Layla were also signing autographs while ECW Interim General Manager and Diva Tiffany took pictures with fans throughout the evening.
The show was hosted by WWE Hall of Famer “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart.
The first WWE superstar to come out for the question-and-answer session was Rey Mysterio, who defeated John “Bradshaw” Layfield for the Intercontinental Championship April 5 at WrestleMania XXV  .
A member of the staff passed out note cards to the fans so they could write their questions for Mysterio.
“The best match I’ve ever had,” Mysterio said “was without a doubt, ’97, Halloween Havoc, Eddie Guerrero versus Rey Mysterio, Las Vegas, Nevada.”
Mysterio was referring to a pay-per-view match he had with the late Eddie Guerrero, who passed away in November of 2005.
Mysterio left when he was done with his question-and-answer segment, but still took the time to sign autographs for fans who were gathered out back waiting for him.
The next WWE Superstar to come out for his question-and-answer session was none other than John Cena, who defeated both Edge and The Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship April 5 at WrestleMania XXV.
“Toughest match for me is going to be Sunday,” Cena said. “The reason why it’s the toughest, not only is the Big Show the world’s largest athlete, but the third wheel in there, Edge ‘The Rated-R Superstar,’ is one of the best at being in the right place at the right time.”
A triple threat match, like the one Cena participated in, involves three wrestlers set against each other where whoever scores the first pin wins the World Heavyweight Championship. The catch is that the current champion does not have to get pinned in order to lose.
After the question-and-answer sessions, there were two live wrestling matches. The first was R-Truth versus Chavo Guerrero, Jr., where R-Truth came out on top. The second match was Jimmy Wang Yang against Paul Burchill with his sister Katie Lea Burchill standing in his corner. Yang came out the winner of this match.
The second day of the event was even better than the first. More WWE superstars and divas made appearances and there were more activities in the ring that was set up dead center of the arena.
The first WWE superstars to come to the ring were Triple H and Shawn Michaels. What was unique about their introduction was that instead of coming out separately with their own music, they decided to come out as Degeneration-X, one of the greatest wrestling stables of all time.
After Triple H and Michaels completed their short segment, the World Heavyweight Champion Edge made his way down into the ring.
The Undertaker defeated Edge for the world Heavyweight Championship and his 16th consecutive win at last year’s WrestleMania XXIV in Orlando, Fla.
“Wow, I’ve got nothing against Shawn, but I think Undertaker is going to come out on top,” Edge said.
The Undertaker has a 16-year winning streak at WrestleMania. If Shawn were to win, he would be the only wrestler to ever defeat the Undertaker at WrestleMania.
Jeff Hardy, Mark Henry, Vladimir Kozlov, Hurricane Helms, Ted Dibiase, Jr., Cody Rhodes and Matt Hardy were some of the WWE Superstars signing autographs at their booths.
The main event of the night was the annual THQ Superstar Challenge where 16 WWE Superstars, Legends and Divas, are pitted against each other to play WWE Legends of WrestleMania video game.
The first round included WWE Hall of Famers “Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and Sergeant Slaughter. WWE Superstars participating were Ted Dibiase, Jr, Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, along with WWE Divas Michelle McCool and Beth “The Glamazon” Phoenix.
The second round included WWE Superstars Kofi Kingston, Finlay, Hornswoggle, The Brian Kendrick, Ezekiel Jackson and Evan Bourne, along with WWE Divas Brie and Nikki Bella.
Kofi Kingston emerged triumphant out of the 16 participants after beating Cody Rhodes. Out of nowhere “The Golden Standard” Shelton Benjamin came out to congratulate and challenge Kofi, intending to show that Kofi’s win was a fluke.
Needless to say, Kingston beat Shelton using himself as the wrestler in the game and was named THQ Superstar Challenge 2009 Champion.
For a true wrestling fan, nothing could top meeting and watching your favorite WWE Superstars up close and personal. This is a once in a lifetime experience.
What better way to top off an amazing weekend than the event which made WrestleMania Axxess possible?
Houston, the Reliant Stadium and 72,744 fans from around the world welcomed WWE’s 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania with open arms, cameras and lots of fan-made signs to hold up during the show.