WWE WRESTLEMANIA XIX
March 30, 2003
Live from the Safeco Fieldhouse in Seattle, Washington
WWE went into this year’s WrestleMania with business at the lowest level in years. According to data stored in 11/01 and 11/02, average attendance is down 44.4%, the average RAW rating is down 20.4%, the average SmackDown rating is down 14%, and buyrates are down 14% as well. The buildup going into WrestleMania was poor as well, as I detailed in last week’s column (http://www.thebalrogslair.com/opinions/figurefour/033003.shtml). Where does that leave us? The grandest stage of stages and perhaps the biggest show of all time in times that aren’t great for WWE. Yet and still, with a full card, an aura that can only be generated by WrestleMania, talent all over the place, and a framed picture of a bloody Vince McMahon next to my big screen… this could only be one event… WrestleMania. By the way, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll skip Heat because I really don’t care. I will also be breaking tradition by not giving complete results due to time constraints. Anyway… on to the show.
A. Lance Storm and William Regal over Rob Van Dam and Kane to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships.
The show opened with the lovely cross-eyed Ashanti singing “America the Beautiful”. Nice touch. Jim Ross thanked the troops overseas. The WrestleMania video hit.
1. Matt Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio, Jr. for the Cruiserweight Championship
The first few minutes of the match were a lot of spots and back-and-forth. Three minutes into the match Matt Hardy hits the Twist of Fate to get a near fall. Rey hit the 619 four minutes in and attempts a West Coast pop but Matt ducks and gets the pin, while hanging on to the bottom rope.
Winner: Matt Hardy at 4:30. Horrid. The work was better than good but it was only a five minute match, which right there will tell you it didn’t have time to build and work properly. I expected the finish, and no complaints there.
2. Undertaker & Nathan Jones vs. The Big Show & A-Train
Limp Bizkit performed “Rollin,'” the Undertaker’s old theme as he road out on motorcycle and Fred Durst walked to the ring, while singing. Why in the name of Jesus does Fred Durst have to be a wrestling fan? Anyway, Nathan Jones was knocked out on Heat in a shower, apparently, so the finish is obvious. Jones is so bad that they can’t even debut him here. What I don’t understand is that with all the time he had to recover during Heat and for the first, oh, fifteen minutes of the PPV, Nathan Jones couldn’t make it to the ring. As Big Show approached the ring, A-Train attempted to distract the Undertaker by spiting on his bike and moving the mirrors. Undertaker capitalized for awhile, chokeslamming A-Train and getting a near fall. Big Show interfered. Taker walked the rope and worked the arm of Albert. Show came in gain and attacked Taker. On the outside, Show rammed Taker into the ringpost. He officially tagged in at 3:00 and went for the chokeslam which was quickly reversed by Undertaker into an armbar. Albert tried to interfere but Taker attacked him. Show legdropped Taker and he damn near died. The heels dominated for several minutes, both of them now stomping Taker. Albert put Undertaker in the abdominal stretch. Undertaker, seven minutes in, regains control and takes on both Show and Albert at the same time. He hit the boot on ‘Bert, then ducked Show’s clothesline and hit him with one of his own. ‘Berta got his own boot into the face of Taker. Show got up and gave the chokeslam. Nathan Jones ran in, and Show tried and failed in trying to stop him when Jones kicked him. Jones got in the ring and gave A-Train a stiff kick. Taker did a tombstone on A-Train for the win.
Winners: The Undertaker and Nathan Jones at 9:44. Awful, and this time it was because of the work in addition to the timing. This was ten minutes of utter crap and Nathan Jones didn’t even have to be in it to mess it up. On the topic of Jones, the finish was poor as well – poor, in that it was predictable and accomplished nothing. I’m about the millionth person to note the irony in having this match go ten minutes and Hardy/Mysterio gets half the time.
Jim Ross told the troops, who are supposedly able to watch WrestleMania, that they are doing the right thing and to kick ass and get back soon because we miss them.
3. Victoria vs. Jazz vs. Trish for the WWE Women’s Championship
Jazz started the match quickly as she attacked Victoria and Steven Richards as they were posing. Victoria got the first near fall of the evening on Jazz after powerslamming her two minutes in. Jazz went for the reverse sidekick on Trish but it hit Victoria because Trish ducked. Richards interfered 5:30 in, when Jazz had locked an STF on Trish. Jazz, still fighting Trish, threw her around the ring as she was in an especially aggressive mood this evening. Victoria hit a boot on Jazz’s face, and failed at a moonsault. Victoria backdropped her out of the right. Richards tried to hit her with a chair from inside the ring but the chair hit the rope and bounced back and knocked him out. Victoria put Trish in a submission move but Trish regained strength and got a clean pin on Victoria for the win.
Winner: Trish at 7:20 to win the title. This match was more than I expected from it in that it was solid action.
4. Team Angle (Charlie Haas & Shelton Benjamin) vs. Rhyno & Chris Benoit vs. Los Guerreros (Eddie & Chavo Guerrero) for the WWE (SmackDown) tag team title
We start with everyone brawling before the match gets started. Benoit suplexes Chavo off the top rope and hits three huge German suplexes. What was that about a safer in-ring style? The match ends as Rhyno tags in and hits the gore on Haas and then Chavo, Benjamin sneaks in for the pin.
WINNER: Team Angle at 8:35. You expected more, what you got was a rushed, eight-minute match that could have been more, but wasn’t.
5. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
This here was the turning point of the show. It helped that it followed a solid match, instead of a bad match like the handicap earlier. You see where they are going with it a little from the beginning, but not exactly how good it will end up. Jericho utilizes the walls of Jericho early and Michaels does a plancha as well. Jericho works the back on the outside and controls for several minutes. Michaels battles back with a DDT as he gets out of Jericho’s chinlock. Jericho knocked Michaels again but Michaels was able to get the backdrop. Michaels got the boot on Jericho followed by a moonsault and nearfall. They all then get two near falls each back to back with reversals on the mat. Jericho suplexed Michaels, later gets the lionsault on him. Walls of Jericho applied on Michaels mid-ring, HBK gets the ropes in hand. Later, Jericho ducks sweet chin music and locks the walls of Jericho on Michaels. After awhile, Michaels finally grabs the ropes. Jericho attempts a suplex but Michaels reverses it and rolls Jericho up for the 1-2-3. Jericho cries and Michaels extends his hand. No, Jericho wants a hug. As they hug, Jericho kicks Michaels in the crotch.
Winner: Michaels at 22:34. The chemistry, timing, and excellence in planning and execution all worked to make this one of the best undercard WrestleMania matches ever. They played off the fundamentals of the confrontation well, as well. Michaels pulled out one of his greatest matches ever and Jericho has matured tremendously both in and out of the ring. The finish was questionable because of the fact that Jericho needs the bump especially in this element, and Michaels doesn’t. I still will not be quick to criticize the finish because I don’t know how they plan to continue in the future. In addition to that, the post-match confrontation would not have been possible without this.
Bonjour, comment ça va? That’s right, Sylvan Grenier is back. Hope they cleared up those drug trafficking problems. A promo with vintage Goldberg clips advertised B.G. as being in action for Backlash. Crowd popped huge and camera panned the crowd to showcase those reactions. They announced the new Safeco attendance record, a legitimate 54,097. Limp Bizkit performs badly again. As bad as that was, it doesn’t hold a candle to what’s next. This is so horrible it doesn’t deserve even the play by play I reserved for H.L.A. and the Torrie/Dawn hotel rendezvous. Jonathan Coachman does play by play and interviews for the segment on the house microphone for the “Oversized Bed/Cat fight/pillow fight” contest with the Miller Lite Cat fight Girls. Stacy wants in on the fun. Torrie comes out and says a Playboy cover girl is missing. Torrie rips Stacy’s top off and spanks her. Meanwhile on the bed, the ladies follow suit and rip each other’s tops off. They fight with the pillows. Eventually they all fight and turn to Coach who they rip the pants off of and pin.
6. Triple H vs. Booker T for the World Championship
The commentary for the match is not good and then goes about deteriorating as the match goes on. JR and King spend most of the time repeating the same arguments over and over again and there is little calling of the match. We are a few minutes into the match and Booker hits two roundhouse kicks on HHH, Booker has had most of the control so far. As Booker tries to hit another kick, HHH ducks and knocks Booker out to ringside. On the outside, HHH sends Booker into the stairs where he attacks Booker. Booker eventually fights back and gets a DDT on HHH.
Booker gets the kick on HHH followed by a sidewalk slam and flying forearm. While Booker was able to regain some momentum and get a boot on HHH as he came off the top rope, Ric Flair worked against him by attacking his knee, a theme in this match. HHH then applied an Indian death lock and Jim Ross sold the hell out of it – a good thing. Booker punched out of it and HHH applied another submission which I am not aware of. The hold was held for about 30 seconds before Booker reached the ropes. HHH continued to work on the knee. HHH went for the pedigree but Booker kicked out and did the scissors kick and a near fall. HHH went for the superplex but Booker got out of it, attacked Flair, and hit the Harlem Hangover. Booker sold the injury and did not go for a pin. HHH hit the pedigree and then fell flat on his back. HHH finally made his way over to Booker T and got the pin.
Winner: HHH at 18:50 to retain the championship. Good match. They buried T here, unquestionably, and it’s ridiculous. The announcers conceded early on that WCW was screwed up when Booker T was champion, and in the ring HHH had the upper hand for the last half of the match, Booker was weak, and HHH got the pin even after delaying on the ground. All this after the controversy going in.
7. Vincent Kennedy McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan in a street fight
We begin with slapping, brawling, and chocking between Hogan and McMahon for the first few minutes of the match. The match extends to ringside where McMahon continues to dominate against Hogan. Hogan fought back seven minutes in and whacked McMahon with the chair. McMahon juiced. When McMahon got back up, Hogan continued to hit him with the chair until he ducked and Hogan hit Spanish Announcer Hugo Savinovich, himself a former wrestler. Hugo juiced. McMahon hit a low blow on Hogan and got a ladder and set it up at ringside. McMahon took one of the monitors and hit Hogan in the head with it. McMahon climbed the ladder, and sat at the top imitating Hogan posing. McMahon then jumped off the top of the ladder and hit the legdrop on Hogan through the table. The table spot inspired “Holy Sh**” chants. A bloody Hugo was taken away from ringside. Hogan juiced. In the ring, Vince got the nearfall on Hogan… twice. Vince looked under the ring and found a led pipe. Camera shot of the night deserves an award as it catches a closeup from across the ring of McMahon with a maniacal look on his face which is absolutely covered in blood. Hogan was able to get a low blow on McMahon and both men were down. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper (?) gets in the ring in a trench coat and takes his coat off revealing the old getup and about 50 more pounds since like one week ago. Crowd popped. He stood in the ring for several moments as if he were deciding who to attack. Who decides to interfere in a match at WrestleMania and doesn’t think about it until they are in the ring? He hits Hogan in the head with the lead pipe, turning heel. As Piper leaves, McMahon gets a nearfall. Hogan can kick out but Booker can’t? McMahon tries to get the pipe but Brian Hebner prevents it. He threw Hebner out of the ring to set up the run in. Sylvan Grenier comes out. McMahon hit the legdrop and got a near fall. Hogan did the comeback routine and punched Vince, also attacking Grenier and throwing him out of the ring. Hogan hit the big boot on McMahon followed by three legdrops and got the pin. Shane McMahon walked out to the ring in a nice suit. Hogan helped McMahon in and then left. Shane assisted his father. Vince gave Hogan the finger.
Winner: Hulk Hogan at 20:53. There was no real wrestling except at the beggining but this was just what it needed to be, a good, long, and bloody battle. Hogan and McMahon were great at putting this match together, which they did, and executing it.
8. The Rock vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
After a staredown, the bell rang and Austin punched away at Rock. They fought at ringside where Austin whipped Rock into the ringpost. At 2:00 they returned to the ring where Austin continued to work over Rock, including choking him over the middle rope. Ross talked about the history of the rivalry. Rock clipped Austin from behind as the ref scolded Austin for not breaking his choke soon enough. Austin bailed to ringside to rest his knee. Rock chop-blocked Austin from behind once again. At 6:45 Rock applied the Sharpshooter. Austin reached the bottom rope. Rock put on Austin’s ring jacket and drank some beer. Back in the ring Austin ducked a Rock clothesline and then fired back with one of his own. Austin nailed Rock with a Thesz Press at 9:30. He then hit Rock with a flurry of punches. He gave the ref the double middle fingers when he admonished him. After a kneedrop, Rock kicked out of Austin’s pin attempt. Rock made a comeback, which drew boos. Austin surprised Rock with a chokeslam. When Rock got to his feet, Austin went for a gut kick to set up the Stunner, but Rock caught his leg, spun him around, and gave him a Stunner. Rock hooked Austin’s leg, but Austin kicked out at two. Rock began punching away at Austin, but Austin surprised Rock with a Stunner at 13:00 leading to a near fall. Austin shoved the ref out of his way, but was met with a Rock low-blow. Rock began bragging about how smart he was to think of the low blow. Rock milked the moment, took off his left elbow pad and threw it to the crowd, and went for the People’s Elbow. Austin moved. Rock, though, put Austin down again, took off his other elbow pad, and hit the People’s Elbow successfully. He scored a two count. Rock followed up with a Rock Bottom for another near fall. Austin clutched the back of his head and neck. Rock got serious and waited for Austin to rise. He went for another Rock Bottom, but Austin escaped. Rock, though, gave Austin a second Rock Bottom and scored a very near fall. Ross screamed, “I don’t believe it! How did Austin kick out!” Austin was slow to get up. Rock waited patiently, yet intensely. Austin rose at 17:30. Rock set up a third Rock Bottom and delivered. Austin laid flat for the three count. “It took three Rock Bottoms, but Rock has finally broken the jinx and defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania.” Rock celebrated, then bent over Austin and patted him on the chest in a subtle shoot salute to his top rival. Austin was slow to exit the ring, but when he did, they played his music as he walked to the back. He turned to look the crowd for a second, then kept walking. When he got to the stage, he did give them the double middle finger salute.(*)
Winner: Rock at 17:52. Another excellent match for several reasons. First of all, Rock was great in his role and carried Austin to a certain extent. Rock is and has always been a fabulous wrestler and he brought is all once again for WrestleMania. Austin was great too because he did not allow his weaknesses at this stage to be revealed to be mocked by the crowd. Austin was great as well. The finish was logical.
9. Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
They had a brief staredown before the bell. They did amateur style wrestling for the opening few minutes. Angle had the first impact on the back of his neck when he back suplexed Lesnar at 4:20. He let out a “whoo!” afterward. The crowd understandably was a bit drained at this point, so the pacing of building this match slowly worked well given all circumstances. Brock pressed and slammed Angle at 5:15. Angle caught a charging Lesnar with a boot. He then back suplexed Angle into the turnbuckles and seemed to land hard himself. Brock bailed to ringside. Angle followed and rammed him back-first into the ringside barrier. Angle gave Brock a vertical suplex for a two count at 7:00. Angle then applied a bow and arrow. Angle shifted into a chinlock. Brock rose up and backed Angle into the corner to break it. Angle came back with an overhead released suplex. Angle then hit Brock with a flying knee, sending Brock to the floor. When Brock returned to the ring, he surprised Angle with a spinebuster. Brock, though, was slow to get up. Both Angle and Brock lay on the mat as the ref began to count toward ten. Brock gave Angle a released overhead suplex and then scored a two count. Angle came back with three unreleased German suplexes, clearly landing to the side on his shoulder instead of the back of his neck as much as possible. At 13:40 Brock went for a surprise F5, but Angle escaped and twisted Brock into an Anklelock. He yanked Brock away from the bottom rope. He turned it into a half Boston crab. Brock reached the ropes. Angle charged toward Brock, but Brock backdropped him over the top rope. Angle landed on his feet and then tumbled to the ringside bat. Back in the ring Brock attacked Angle with shoulders in the corner. Angle reversed Lesnar with an overhead released German suplex that got “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd. Angle scored a near fall. Angle followed with an Angleslam for a near fall at 16:25. Cole said he thinks that is the first time anyone has ever kicked out of the Angle slam. The crowd didn’t know that since they didn’t pop as you’d think they would for such a historic moment. Brock rolled up Angle for a surprise two count out of nowhere. He followed up quickly with his F5 for a very near and convincing near fall. Cole pointed out that that had never been done before. Angle went right into an Anklelock. Brock crawled toward the bottom rope, but Angle dragged him back toward the middle. Lesnar, though, forced his way to the bottom rope. Lesnar then kicked Angle off of him. Lesnar kicked Angle in the gut and went for an F5, but Angle escaped and turned it into a small package. Angle went for the Angleslam, but Brock escaped and set up the F5. Rather than go for the cover, he rolled to the bottom rope. The announcers wondered what he was doing. He left the ring, climbed to the rope rope, and went for a shooting star press. He couldn’t pull it off and landed on the side of his head in a scary moment. Angle covered him for a very near fall. Lesnar, still hurting, pulled off a rushed F5 and scored the pin. Lesnar looked extremely groggy, almost as if he weren’t aware of his surroundings, as he grasped at his title belt. Angle approached him and they shook hands and hugged after the match. Fireworks went off to end the show.(*)
Winner: Lesnar at 21:07. Amazing. Another great match. See comments for Michaels/Jericho.
This show is a huge positive for the company. The more fans get what they pay for, the more inclined they will be to pay for it. House shows have done the exact opposite. My only hope is that the company doesn’t completely go stale after this, which is a possibility.
In terms of work, the best match on the show was Michaels/Jericho, but it had stiff competition… I wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up near the top of the list of “Match of the Year”, when we do the balloting later this year. In addition to that, I must commend the announcers. With few exceptions, they were on the top of their game and for the first time, I felt Michael Cole and Tazz eclipsed JR and Jerry Lawler. I am not going to rank them, but simply say that these are the three best-booked WrestleManias in the company: III, X7, XIX. The work was much better than we’ve ever seen on a WrestleMania and the fans got what they paid for, compared to last year’s event which, while people enjoyed, was a disaster in retrospect.
{9/10 (9.5/10 for work; 9 for entertainment; 8 1/4 for booking)} —————–
My current predictions record is as follows:
Royal Rumble: 4/6
No Way Out: 6/8
WrestleMania: 4/9
Overall: 14/23 or 60.8% (from 3 shows)
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