I don't think there can be much of an argument that this WrestleMania has the most stacked card in the history of "The Grandest Stage of Them All", possibly in WWE history as well. You've got your starpower in the final of the Rock/Austin trilogy, top tier nostalgia in Hulk Hogan, the biggest name in the history of the business in Vince McMahon, plus some of the most talented athletes to ever grace a squared circle in Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and more. So how does this ridiculous array of talent generate just 560,000 buys for 'Mania, 300k less than the previous year and half a million less than WrestleMania 20 the year after? I'm not really sure, but I could hazard a few guesses. My first thought would the predictability of the final two matches in particular, the build to this show left no doubt that the night would close with victories for Rock and Brock. You could also blame the wrestling-focused product, which made stars out of guys like Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle, but was a significant departure for the soap opera stylings of the Attitude Era, leading to fans of that period flocking away from the weekly programs. And if you wanted to, you could probably also toss some blame at the feet of Triple H. Like it or not, Monday Night Raw will always be the WWE's flagship program, and we are in the heart of the "Reign of Terror", with the red brand bogged down by his dull promos, meandering matches and flagrant racism against number one contender Booker T. It's probably a combination of all of that and more that left WrestleMania 19 without the hype of many of it's predecessors at the time, but in retrospect, it's been hailed as one of WWE's greatest successes, and produced the type of genuine excitement and spectacle that the company had been missing for years.
- WrestleMania 19 comes to you from Safeco Field in Seattle, the home of the Mariners. With an announced attendance of over 54 thousand, who knows how legitimate that number is, this is a truly beautiful host venue that provides a real sense of grandeur befitting of one of the biggest wrestling shows of all time. As you would expect, it's a great crowd on hand here for WrestleMania, and just like the folks at the SkyDome one year prior, they created a few historic moments.
- Our opening contest is for the Cruiserweight Championship, as Matt Hardy defends against Rey Mysterio. This is a really good way to get things rolling, two very reliable workers putting together a quick five minute sprint to get the crowd rocking. These two have some slick choreographed spots, including Matt catching Rey with a Side Effect, before he manages to counter the West Coast Pop into a pinfall to retain. With more time, this could've been a classic.
- The Undertaker is in action up next, taking on rival Big Show and his buddy A-Train in a handicap match. 'Taker was supposed to be tagging with Nathan Jones, who was instead written out of the match on Sunday Night Heat, which was apparently because he was just too green to be trusted on this big of a stage. Much like in his match with Big Show at No Way Out, Undertaker has his working boots on and makes this as good as it can be, taking some big bumps and rallying the crowd behind him. He gets an assist from Jones, who lays out Show with a spin kick and knocks A-Train loopy with a big boot, allowing the hairy giant to be laid to rest by the Tombstone Piledriver.
- The quality of Women's Championship bouts has slowly began to increase since 2001, with Victoria, Jazz and Trish Stratus all putting on decent showings on pay-per-view against each other, so it only makes sense to let them go at it in a triple threat match here. This is the culmination of all their hard work, a really solid match that might be one of the best on the undercard, featuring a blistering closing stretch, as Trish drops Victoria's ally Steven Richards with a big bulldog, before Victoria herself charges into a ferocious Chick Kick, as the ever popular Stratus gets a sizeable pop for her win.
- You can always count on WWE to book at least one "get everyone on the card" match at a WrestleMania, and the WWE tag title match serves that purpose here, with Team Angle defending against Los Guerreros and the makeshift team of Chris Benoit and Rhyno. Despite there being absolutely no heat for this one, everyone involved is talented and all eight minutes are filled with action, so it was easy watch, though unremarkable. Rhyno gets in a couple Gores, which sneaky heel Shelton Benjamin uses to his advantage, tossing the former ECW Champion out of the ring to pin Chavo to retain for he and Haas.
- We now move into the real heavy hitters of the night, with the first of five major singles matches featuring Shawn Michaels taking on Chris Jericho. The story heading into this clash was riveting, with Jericho lashing out at his kayfabe idol, and these two showmen work in plenty of mind games, each attempting to one up their rival. Everything looks so crisp, especially HBK's counter of a top rove move by Jericho into a crunching splash, and Y2J working over Michaels' surgically repaired back. This match goes up a few notches when Jericho catches Shawn with a Sweet Chin Music, before Michaels escapes the Walls of Jericho to hit Chris with one back. After 22 minutes of drama and emotion, the finish comes completely out of nowhere, as Shawn counters a suplex into a roll-up for the win. The ending to the match was a total anti-climax, but at least they sort of make up for it with Chris being a petty a**hole and booting Shawn below the belt. This match was very good and told the story of professional jealousy and pure egotism very well, a solid way for Shawn Michaels to make his WrestleMania return, setting up some absolute classics in his future.
- Obviously, the only way to follow that up is with a pillow fight, which ends with Jonathan Coachman showing off his tighty whities for some reason, before we then head to the World Heavyweight title match, as Triple H defends against Booker T. I don't really want to get into the build to this match, it's just so damn derogatory and really drags down Booker's supposed ascension to the main event scene, though the company had the opportunity to at least slightly make up for it by crowning him as champ here. Of course, that didn't happen either, reportedly because Triple H didn't think he was ready for it, f*** off Hunter. For as awful as everything surrounding this match is, it did have some highlights, with Booker staying a step ahead of "The Cerebral Assassin", catching Triple H in mid-air with an impactful kick and hitting a top rope armdrag. Booker even busts out the Houston/Harlem Hangover, ensuring that at least one challenger in a world title match managed to successfully hit a move off the top. But it's that move that costs Booker, as it damages the leg that had already been worked over by the champion, allowing Triple H to put the match away with one Pedigree.
- If there's one match on this card that I was really looking forward to watching, it's the one up next, as Hulk Hogan and Mr. McMahon collide in a Street Fight. I love the hype package before the match, which runs through the history of both men, featuring narration by Howard Finkel, detailing the story of how the other-wordly popularity of the Hulkster and the cutthroat business accumen of Vince allowed both men to take over the wrestling world, before Hulk attempted to bring Vince's empire crashing down, jumping ship to WCW and testifying against his former boss during the steroid trial. It's a brilliant way to set up an intense grudge match that blurs the line between kayfabe and reality, utilizing genuine history to make you care about seeing two of the most immobile men in the company bash each other with weapons. And let me tell you, folks, this more than lived up to the hype. I'm not sure if this is a controversial take, but I thought this was by far the finest performance of Vince's in-ring career, as he is stellar, leaping off a dang ladder to deliver a leg drop on Hogan through a table, before gifting us one of WWE's greatest camera shots, slowly rising up from below the ring to stare down Hogan, face coated in blood but still bearing a wicked grin, awesome visual story-telling. Then, holy sh**, Roddy effing Piper makes his return to the company, as the crowd just goes berserk, delivering some trademark Hot Rod by bashing Hogan in the head with a steel pipe and spitting on his prone body. It all builds to probably the greatest "Hulk Up" ever, as the crowd roars with approval and I felt it in my soul. I have never liked Hogan, and I never will, but in that moment, it was impossible not to rally behind him. Three big leg drops finally finish Vince off, which is probably my only big negative for this one, as it started a random of three finishers being necessary to win each match for the remainder of the night, which felt like overkill. Still, this was a brilliant showcase for two of the most recognizable men in pro wrestling history that worked on just about every level. The leg drop off the ladder, apron camera shot and return of Roddy Piper were all incredible, and rank right up there for me as some of my favorite moments from any WrestleMania I've ever watched. It's high praise, and I can totally get it if you can't bring yourself to like this match because of the two men involved, but for me, it's everything I could ever want out of a WrestleMania match. Five f***ing stars.
- Man, imagine having such a stacked roster that you could go from Hogan versus McMahon directly into The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, part three, that is just a stupid amount of star power that no company should ever be permitted to have. This didn't quite match up to their X-7 main event for me, but it was still packed full of powerful emotion, especially knowing that, to date, it remains Austin's last match. It would be impossible for these two men to not entertain, although Austin is obviously on his last legs, as Rock is put in the position to carry most of the action. Fortunately, The Rock might be the greatest entertainer wrestling has ever seen and he's at the top of his game, stealing the show with his heel antics. Rock wrestles the bulk of the match wearing Austin's vest, which was great, and finally slays the biggest demon of his career, putting the "Texas Rattlesnake" down with three Rock Bottoms. You can tell just how much this means to him after the finish, as Rock spends a minute or two just talking to his downed rival after the bell, and his celebration is quite muted considering his outlandish heel persona. Austin gets an opportunity to give a bit of a farewell to the crowd with some trademark middle finger salutes, but the masses in Seattle don't know how final this is, so they don't really know how to react. This may not have been the best match of either man's career, but it was a worthy final chapter on one of wrestling's most iconic and profitable feuds.
- Main event time, as Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar square off with the WWE title at stake. I did love the intensity both men displayed early on, just punishing each other and taking advantage of every opening to gain the upper hand. It did feel more like an amateur grappling scrap, with some really painful-looking offense, including Angle hitting Brock with a German onto the top rope. I would have loved if they had continued down that route, but instead they go in the direction of big kickouts, which sort of lost me as I had seen so many of those throughout the night. An Angle Slam and F-5 can't finish it, but a second F-5 gives Lesnar a chance to make a WrestleMania moment. That he does, but in all the wrong ways, as Brock's attempted Shooting Star Press goes awry, crashing head first into Angle, who was just a little too far away. Full credit to both men, who improvise a new finish on the fly, with Kurt attempting a pin before he takes a third F-5 to end it. If only that SSP had actually connected, that would've been such a great way to end this show, but considering how much of a mess it could've turned into after that point, both men pretty much saved it. This was one of the better 'Mania main events in terms of pure wrestling, and did it's job as cementing Brock as the face of the company, though that wouldn't last.
10/10
I really wanted to give WrestleMania 19 the perfect score, but much like Brock, it came up just short. Don't get me wrong, there are points in which it delivers like just about no other show in history, especially in the double punch of the Street Fight and Rock/Austin III back to back, but it's just a little too long in total. You could've cut about half an hour from this and made it significantly better, and Booker actually going over Triple H is an obvious fix. But I don't want anyone to think I didn't like this show or anything, it deserves it's reputation as one of the best WrestleManias ever, even if it's a hair behind X-7 for the top spot. The WWE has an embarrassment of riches at this time, and under the biggest spotlight, some of the biggest legends in the industry delivered a terrific show.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: I head back to the future, returning to AEW to review Fyter Fest 2019. See you soon.
- Henry
Comments