411Mania’s Countdown to Wrestlemania XXVI 03.21.10: Underrated Mania
Posted by Julian Bond on 03.21.2010
In the midst of all of these “Top 10” Wrestlemania lists, I wanted to put a focus on a few bouts that sadly have been either forgotten (Rock vs Shamrock) or left for dead (JBL vs Finlay). So I'll talk about why this is the case by a good number of fans and discuss why they aren’t talked about as much as they maybe should.
Hello everyone. In preparation for my heavy past Mania DVD watching before the big day of Wrestlemania XXVI, I decided to dust off my keyboard after taking a break from my "Against The Grain" column to contribute to 411's Annual Countdown To Wrestlemania. This year, I wanted to provide a minor recap of sorts from my Mania' column from last year "Living Through A Decade of Wrestlemania" (and for the record I wanted to thank every reader who commented then on this as those were seriously some of the coolest and nicest comments that I've EVER had gotten for any article/column/piece that I've written so far…greatly appreciated), by looking back at my discussed main last 10 years (1998 – 2008) of witnessing the event to pick out the matches that I found to be somewhat underrated throughout the years. And by "underrated", I don't particularly mean a match that may have had a very low, undeserved star rating from fans/writers…what I really mean are the bouts that may have been pretty good, but sadly aren't even really mentioned as much as they should be when looking back at past Manias. So I unearth a few here and discuss why exactly I believe that this type of underrating has occurred. Let us begin…
The Rock vs Ken Shamrock
Wrestlemania XIV (1998)
Overshadowed by:
-the official rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin with his World Title win over Shawn Michaels
-the mega-hype with the Undertaker/Kane feud
-the fact that this bout had a "non-finish" with Shamrock's post-match DQ
I swear…NO ONE ever mentions this interesting bout here with the future multi-time World Champ the Rock and former-UFC megastar Ken Shamrock. Sure it was short…sure it had a quasi-BS finish…BUT that's made it very good in my eyes. The feud between these two was played up so damn well at the time with the super-cocky pretty boy Rock screwing (with Shamrock winning the belt in their first match at that year's Royal Rumble only to have it taken away on a reversal when the Rock pretended he was hit with brass knuckles) and sneak-attacking the super tough-guy Shamrock every chance he had with his Nation of Domination crew (especially with another underrated moment when the Rock KILLED Shamrock in the face with one of the most brutal straight-up chairshots I've ever seen weeks before on Raw). For the match itself, it was a very short back and forth affair that had some good basic spots (like the Rock laying a perfect timed chair shot, like the other time I just mentioned, when the ref's back was turned) until the finish where Shamrock actually won the match and the belt…that is when all holy hell broke loose. When the bell rung and they announced him as the winner, mother-f*cking Shamrock kept the freakin' ankle lock on Rock and wouldn't let it go. And when 3 Nation members (including the huge-ass Mark Henry) and 3 different referees tried to get him off of the Rock, Shamrock went ape-shit and gave every one of them belly-to-belly suplexes, while still continuing to be a like a rapid dog with applying the lock on the Rock. Despite this craziness, the bout got even crazier with the crowd cheering on Shamrock to continue his rampage when the "World's Dangerous Man" gave everyone left standing surrounding him his psycho-killer eyes and then suddenly proceeded to beat the living shit out of The Rock AGAIN after the man was stretchered out of the ring. So sure this match wasn't on an epic level or even had a very significant Wrestlemania moment, but it was one hell of crazy, clusterf*ck of match and a good underrated one at that.
Randy Orton, Batista & Ric Flair vs The Rock 'n' Sock Connection
Wrestlemania XX (2004)
Overshadowed by:
-arguably the "greatest" Wrestlemania match/overall main event of all time with the Triple Threat World Title match with Chris Benoit, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels
-the "warm embrace" of best friends Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit hugging in ring and sharing World Titles
-the horror that was Brock Lesnar vs Goldberg
-the better and still much talked about Cactus Jack vs Orton match done the month afterwards
With the mostly filler-match card of Mania' 20 here, it wasn't too hard to pick out the best bouts here. The Angle/Guerrero World Title match was a good technical match, the Triple Threat was breathtakingly awesome, and then there was this match right here. This match was definitely and easily talked about at the time with the main fact that it was part of one of the hottest feuds at the time with Mick Foley trying to get revenge on Evolution (mostly with Orton's infamous spitting in Foley's face), the involvement of the living legend Ric Flair, and of course…the in-ring, one night only return of The Rock. So with all of the facts why do I feel that this bout is underrated? It's mainly because of it being overshadowed not just because of the entire celebration of Benoit/Guerrero but also because of the highly-rated hardcore crazyfest known as Catcus Jack vs Orton the very next month at Backlash. Everyone remembers this match, but no one really mentions this awesome bout which helped to nicely set it up in the first place. When I was watching this here, I was pretty sure that with the freakin' reunion of the great Rock N' Sock Connection that the good guys would take the win here to finally give Foley some closure. So as a result, it was a pretty good match to keep my eyes glued to only to have the rug pulled over with Evolution sneaking in a win here. Overall this was a very good tag match (especially considering the minor ring rust with both Rock and Flair), had some feel-good moments here (like with the Rock/Flair confortation in mid-match), a nice built-up with its feud and nice promos beforehand (including one during Wrestlemania with Evolution narrating their multi-month beatdown of Foley), and the finish with the bad guys winning. Hell…this could've easily been a semi-main event if it wasn't shuffled in the huge Wrestlemania card that year. Just too bad that no one talks about this match in their top Mania' match lists, only to be remembered when they watch the entire Wrestlemania XX PPV again.
Shawn Michaels vs Mr. McMahon
Wrestlemania 22 (2006)
Overshadowed by:
-John Cena's shocking victory over Triple H
-the Rey Mysterio World Title Win/Tribute To Eddie Guerrero
-the widely-frown upon "God/Michaels vs McMahons" match the following month after this
This match's situation was almost exactly like the Evolution/Rock N Sock bout from above. Similarly very good hype (with McMahon harassing HBK at every turn for many, many months before this). Nicely rated match. And had Shawn Michaels doing what he does best at Wrestlemania…trying to steal the show. But I believe that this match is never mentioned on anyone's Mania list is because of the other two monumental things that happened right after it with Cena pulling one of the biggest upsets ever over Triple H and with Rey Mysterio winning his first World Title as a tribute to his fallen best friend Eddie Guererro AND because of the semi-stupid angle with the McMahon challenging Shawn Michaels…and GOD…yep…the big man himself…to a match the following month. More people talked about these silly shenanigans more than looking back at this very good, kick-ass bout which had some memorable spots that included Michaels pulling out a way-too-big ladder to drop an elbow on a blinded (!!) McMahon who had a can over his head and McMahon at the conclusion being stretched out only to give Michaels a nice one-finger salute on his way out. Not the greatest match in the world, but was a perfect "revenge" bout that perfectly had HBK avenge the multi-month torture that McMahon put him through. Sad that this match would only be brought up in a "Best McMahon Matches" list rather than any "Best of Wrestlemania" one.
JBL vs Finlay
Wrestlemania XXIV (2008)
Overshadowed by:
-SIMPLY PUT…the god-awful storyline behind the match aka the stupid-ass, waste of time angle with Mr. McMahon claiming small man Hornswoggle to be his "son" only to have it revealed that Finlay was actually the real daddy…and somehow JBL became all involved with this for some odd reason
When I rewatched this match the other day, it reminded me of how much wasted potential that this had as a whole. If one were to look at this bout without ever knowing the storyline behind it, then one would see a nice, semi-brutal, short opening match with known tough hardcore bastards JBL and Finlay simply kicking each other's ass. It had some pretty good spots (like with Finlay doing a very uncharacteristic suicide drive to the outside…only to get smacked in the head with a trash can lid) and it was short and to the point. BUT NOOOOOOOO…this bout just had to have one of the lamest angles ever behind it. Not to repeat myself again, this multi-month "Who's Vince McMahon's son" storyline (which at some point was featured in multiple main event segments on Raw?!?) bored most viewers to death with poor Hornswoggle being taunted by McMahon to no real effect. I swear if you took this pathetic excuse for an angle and maybe instead just had JBL straight-up harassing Finlay and "lil Horny" to be the main feud focus instead of having it be part of an epic, long extravaganza with McMahon involved (look up the lame video montage played before this to see the lameness), I think that it would have just been known as a good short brutal opening to Wrestlemania. Instead this match sadly won't ever get an honorable mention even on a freaking "Top 50" Best Mania' match list.
Michaels vs. McMahon was primarily overshadowed by two things you didn't mention. One was the Foley/Edge match, which was the best match of that card and two this match planted the seeds of the DX reunion (HHH also performed the crotch chop in his match with Cena).
Posted By: Guest#2745 (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 12:27 AM
JBL and Finlay are both criminally underated
Posted By: FUZEY (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 01:00 AM
How can HBK/Vince be overshadowed when it won PWI's 'match of the year' for 2006? Just asking....
Posted By: Question (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 01:03 AM
Let's not forget that the HBK/McMahon matchup was also on the same card as Edge v. Foley. Both matches were ariations of the streetfight theme, and the Edge/Foley encounter just took things to a new level of insanity that managed to put Edge over the top as a main event player.
In terms of underrated WM matches, I'd also like to add the following encoutners;
Benoit v. Jericho v. Angle--WM 2000: This was a very good matchup on what is generally regarded as a tepid WM card, and even that would be overshadowed by the triangle madder match. Also, throw in the fact that two titles were on the line at the same time, with one of them switching the next night anyway (Jericho wins the euro title, but loses it to Guerrero, thanks to Chyna's turn).
HC Title--Kane v. Big Show v. Raven at WM17: WM 17 was a killer show from top to bottom and the TLC2 and World title matches tend to get attention, as does the Shane/Vince matchup, which was a very good brawl, or the Angle/Benoit, which was an excellent clinic of technical wrestling. No wonder this HC matchup, which was early in the card, gets lost. However, this was a very fine example of the standard "brawl outside the ring and to the back" type of match, and it had a fun kind of insanity. Unfortunately, this would be buried thanks to the many HC title switches--and I can't even remember who won, without going back to the tape--but I believe it was Kane.
Tag title dumpster match--Cactus Jack & Terry FUnk v. New Age Outlaws--WM14: This was a pretty solid brawl that showed that the outlaws could hang with the roughest of them. There were brutal spots from just about everyone, particularly Foley and Funk. However, the ending (Outlaws dumped in a backstage dumpster) tended to overshadow match, as did the subsequent developments where the Outlaws won back the title in a cage match and joined DX only the next night.
Chicago Street Fight--LOD & Ahmed Johnson v. Nation of Domination--WM 13: This would be overshadowed by a mediocre WM, and by following the Austin/Hart classic. However, this would be a rare example of the WWF effectively emulating the wild brawling style of ECW without taking it backstage. This also served as an excellent blowoff to the Nation v. Johnson angle and transitioned into the revitalization of the Nation (which wouldn't be complete until Rocky Mavia's entry later that year).
Posted By: Michael L (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 01:04 AM
Hey Julian,
A rapid dog is one that can run fast. I didn't know Shamrock resembled a greyhound.
Posted By: Kliq's Lackey (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 01:21 AM
Love the Rock N Sock connection vs Evolution match. Honestly, that was the first wrestlemania i've ever seen, and every match seems pitch perfect to me.....even Goldberg/Lesnar (didn't have the internet at the time). I was so new to wrestling, i didn't even notice any of the fakeness....and i was 15 at the time. I've seen 6 Wrestlemanias (soon to be 7) and nothing tops that one for me.
Posted By: the danger stranger (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 01:36 AM
The best part of the Rock/Shamrock match comes at the very end when it's announced the decision has been reversed. Shamrock charges out of the ring only for us to see Rock, nearly unconscious on the gurney, holding up his title triumphantly like he actually won. It's stuff like that, that turned him into a mega star. Probably also gave Vince the idea for his middle finger in the Michaels match as both a callback to that moment and his cage match with Austin at Valentine's Day Massacre or whatever it was called.
Posted By: Guest#5758 (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 02:08 AM
JBL/Finlay isn't really remembered, because the wrong person came out on top.
Finlay should have won the match, pure and simple. JBL winning made no sense to the story.
Posted By: Spaz Monkey (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 03:30 AM
Are you kidding me?Shawn Michaels vs. Vince McMahon was voted a Match of the Year.And as far as underrated matches go, one match that I feel is underrated 'cause it's not really talked about was the Chris Jericho/Christian match at WrestleMania XX.That fued is underrated.That's how you do a love triangle.Maybe I'm just saying that because it was part of one of my favorite WrestleMania's since 20 was the first WrestleMania I ever seen.
Posted By: Ted (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 05:03 AM
Totally agree with the Opener of WM 24. This was brawl with non-stop action and the crowd was really on, more than HHH/Cena/Orton that hapened latter on the Show.
Totally disagree with Mc Mahon/Shawn. Shawn even not showed 1 % of his usual wrestling abilities. And this was simply a 20 minutes suash.
For WM XX, I would better mention Y2J/Christian than Evolution/Rock & N Sock.
Posted By: Jissen (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 06:58 AM
Why nothing before WM14?
All the under-rated matches you missed Dibiase/Virgil, Savage/Steele, Diesel/Taker to name just 3.
There was wrestling before the attitude era you know.
Posted By: legal eagle (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 08:32 AM
Interesting idea for a column. Id also put Taker vs Diesel in there. It was one of the best "big man" matches I have ever seen.
Posted By: AG Awesome (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 09:24 AM
i'M glad somebody else sees WM20 for the filler card that it is. Definitely some amazing matches on there but damn there's a lot of filler.
Posted By: Gozzo (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 10:34 AM
Also, Michaels vs McMahon wasn't that overshadowed. It won PWI's match of the year and I think everybody would agree it was a pretty solid brawl. They pulled out all of the stops to make it entertaining. Just because a match is an undercard match doesn't mean it's a forgotten match.
Posted By: Gozzo (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 10:42 AM
THANK YOU. While the lists are putting up some good and deserving matches, I'm tired of hearing about the same matches and moments ad naseum.
I loved the Rock/Shamrock match, showed how decent Ken actually was and also a good way to gauge Rock's rising skill and show off his cocky heel act, which was gangbusters.
Speaking of Rock, he totally gave the rub to Evolution in that match. And yeah, Michaels/McMahon was an entertaining little schmooz.
Posted By: Guest#2530 (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 11:55 AM
Rock & Sock/Evolution would be my pick for this list. Great match, with wonderful comic interplay between Rock and Flair.
Also:
Rockers/Haku & Barbarian- VII (red hot opener)
Jericho/HBK- XIX (unappreciated classic)
Hogan/Vince- XIX (peak of McMahon garbage matches, and in a lot of ways the last match for Hogan as a true icon)
Posted By: JC (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 04:45 PM
Not for nothing, but not only was Foley/Edge one thing that overshadowed that match... wasn't that also the year we got Mickie v Trish? Say what you want about Mickie now, but on that one night she was insanely over. To the point where people were actualy like "wow that women's match was good"
Posted By: Me (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 05:34 PM
Good concept but I disagree with the choices. The reason these matches aren't remembered much is because most of them are from the awful, homogonized, new era of wrestling and/or weren't very good to begin with.
I'd say examples of true underrated WM matches (and underrated is a relative term) are: Bret/Piper, Flair/Savage, and to a lesser extent Shawn/Tatanka and Savage/Crush.
Posted By: Good wrestling occurred pre-02 (Guest) on March 21, 2010 at 06:05 PM
i wish some1 would mention rey vs eddy from 21. awesome match and opener. probably the best opener of all time after owen/bret if you really think about it. not including MITB
Posted By: Guest#7452 (Guest) on March 22, 2010 at 04:56 AM
You didn't even mention Evolution vs. Rock N' Sock was The Rock's last match.
Posted By: Smarter than Julian Bond (Guest) on March 29, 2010 at 09:56 PM
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