Preliminary matches WrestleMania 23

mr. kennedy grabs briefcase win money in bank ladder match

in first match aired, raw s edge, randy orton, , jeff hardy smackdown! s king booker (with queen sharmell), mr. kennedy, matt hardy , dave finlay , ecw s cm punk competed in third annual money in bank ladder match. match featured many notable spots, including points edge performed spear on other opponents, followed randy orton doing same leveling many of participants rko later in match. mr. kennedy missed kenton bomb , landed on ladder on of neck. instead received swanton bomb jeff hardy. several dangerous ladder spots featured, including orton performing rko on cm punk whilst standing on ladder, , king booker performing book end orton top of ladder well. midway through match, jeff hardy climbed fifteen-foot-high ladder inside ring , on brother, matt hardy s urging, performed leg drop off of ladder onto edge, lying prone on ladder outside ring, set-up on ring apron , barricade. due impact, ladder on edge placed, broke in half , he, along jeff, severely injured. carried off on stretchers paramedics. later, when booker retrieve contract briefcase, matt hardy held booker s wife, queen sharmell hostage, threatening perform twist of fate on her. booker went aid , received twist of fate matt. finlay fought matt sometime in ring, , performed celtic cross matt onto ladder. finlay s associate hornswoggle emerged under ring , attempted retrieve briefcase finlay. stopped kennedy, performed green bay plunge on hornswoggle. kennedy went on win match, after knocking cm punk off ladder hitting him ladder.

the next match billed smackdown! versus raw interpromotional match . raw s great khali faced smackdown! s kane. short match, contained notable spot. in homage hulk hogan slamming andré giant twenty years earlier @ wrestlemania iii, kane picked khali first time , body-slammed him mat. match ended khali pinning kane after giant chokeslam. after match, khali choked kane out kane s chained hook, reference kane s movie, see no evil, character used said hook signature weapon.

a backstage segment featured next, involved cryme tyme persuading eugene dance extreme expose instead danced mae young , fabulous moolah, dressed strippers cryme tyme danced extreme exposé. featured in segment wwe legends slick, ricky steamboat, jimmy hart, irwin r. schyster, dusty rhodes, sgt. slaughter, howard finkel, gene okerlund, pat patterson , gerald brisco, many of whom had not been seen on television in years until farooq interrupted festivities signature damn! catchphrase.

in fourth match, chris benoit faced montel vontavious porter united states championship. match started off chain of takedowns, holds, , reversals, mvp keeping benoit, going submission holds. match lasted ten minutes, benoit attempting lock in of signature submission holds, mvp reversed them, including crippler crossface. 2 exchanged suplexes , holds until benoit executed diving headbutt on mvp, led benoit getting pinfall victory retain wwe united states championship.