411’s Countdown to WrestleMania 23: The WrestleMania XX Roundtable Review
Posted by Larry Csonka on 03.30.2007
An event 20-years in the making…and it’s back to Madison Square Garden where it all begins again.
Introduction~! "I was there at WrestleMania XX. It was March 14, 2004 when the big dance emanated from the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden in New York City. Thanks to a friend of my father's, we were also able to attend the WrestleMania pre-show in the executive suite overlooking the main foyer in MSG. The pre-show kicked all sorts of ass, as it was catered with an all-you-can-eat buffet PLUS an open bar for those who preferred a liquid lunch. While in attendance at the pre-show, we had the chance to rub elbows with some of WWE's biggest names from both on-and-OFF the screen, including Shane and Linda McMahon, "Big" John Gaburick (WWE Producer), various vice presidents and high-level executives (who were there glad-handing investors), and, of course, a bevy of WWE superstars past and present. Matt Hardy, Hillbilly Jim, Lita and Gregory Helms, just to name a few. All told -- an AWESOME, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a really sweet way to get the party started!
It was great to see Bobby Heenan finally getting a nod from Vinny Mac and company even though The Brain was one of the company's most notorious "defectors" to jump ship over to WCW in the early days of the Monday Night Wars. All the more iconic to see Mean Gene (a fellow WCW defector) being the man to introduce Heenan while we were at it -- not to mention seeing guys who were arguably as famous for their time in NWA/WCW getting a WWE Hall of Fame induction at the 'E's biggest event of the year (see: Race, Harley). The star power at this point really felt like something special, and it was all sorts of cool to see certifiable LEGENDS (capital letters) like Heenan, Billy Graham and Jesse Ventura standing alongside one another while "legends" (lowercase) such as Tito Santana and Pete Rose (ug) received their commendation alongside them. The NYC crowd wasn't too keen on Pete Rose, of course... but to hear "Bobby Heenan, WWE Hall of Famer"? Shoot, that was almost worth our $100-a-seat price of admission alone!"
I felt that the words of 411's John Meehan were appropriate to kick off WrestleMania XX. We talk about the big time feel and the matches, but nothing matches the live experience and that is what you will get through John's commentary here. With that all being said, let's meet the panel and break down the event!
Our analysts today are…
Nineteen down, three to go for Stuart Carapola!
Making his one and only appearance in this venture, one of those positive guys, he is MEEHAN!
Another man making his one and only appearance in this venture, he is the Impact Crater's Ryan Byers
The only man who demanded a specific color for his name, he is JT~!
WrestleMania XX~!:
WWE US Title Match: John Cena defeated the Big Show to become the NEW WWE US Champion @ 9:13 via pin
Stuart Carapola: Everybody knew Cena was going over here, so there was no real intrigue. I don't have much to say about this one except that I'm still really impressed that Cena was able to give Big Show the FU. This did, however, make it look a little silly when he had so much trouble getting Umaga up earlier this year.
MEEHAN The match itself was a smart choice for the opener. At the time, Cena was well on his way to becoming Smackdown's hottest new sensation -- and fans still hadn't tired of the guy's move set and "white rapper with an edge" gimmick. For Mee, WrestleMania XX was proof that Cena had truly "arrived" in the main event of WWE -- for even though he was jerking the curtain against Big Show (whose WrestleMania win/loss record is pretty under whelming, ya' know), it was strikingly clear from the noise of the live crowd (and the sales at the merchandise tables) that yes, Chris Benoit finally getting a main event run in WWE was worth the price of admission -- but JOHN CENA was the man who many a casual "mark" fan had actually paid to see. HUGE pop for the finish of the match, and even the staunchest of "smart" fans couldn't help but rise to their feet once Cena hoisted the Big Show over his head and delivered a most-impressive "F-U" to win the thing cleanly. Like I said, a hot opener and a clean finish, so fans were pumped for the rest of the evening.
Ryan Byers Show's title reign was completely worthless up until this point, as he carried the belt around and defended it just about as often as he turned down a second helping at dinner. (See, 'cuz he's pudgy.) Fortunately WWE managed to finally get something out of it here, as this match was a big part of getting Cena in to the top tier. As far as the ring work itself was concerned, this was exactly what you would expected out of a "David versus Goliath" style professional wrestling match, with Cena being dominated from the outset until powering out of the cobra clutch. He hit the FU not long after that, which would have been a much more effective spot if he hadn't already FU'ed the Big Show a few different times in the months leading up to the show. After that, he stole a page out of the Eddy Guerrero playbook and tossed his chain in to the ring to distract the referee. With the official out of the way, he used his brass knux to get the pin on Show. Had this taken place in front of any other crowd on any other show, the audience probably would have crapped all over it due to the plodding pace. However, in front of a crowd that's already overjoyed to be at the biggest wrestling show of the year, this sort of archetypical match will play very well.
JT~!: My how I remember this. This was back when Cena was universally over, and still pining for a mere United States Championship. Good times. This match opened the show, and Cena getting his first (of several) FU on Big Show got Madison Square Garden PUMPED for the rest of the card. A fun little opening match in the early stages of Cena's rise to the top.
Stuart Carapola: This was a complete formality to get the World Tag Team Title on the show. They got seven or eight minutes and Booker T and Van Dam retained. It's too bad that these two guys have so much value as singles guys, because I thought that they worked great as a team.
MEEHAN A decent match, but WAYYY too short considering all of the teams involved. Booker and Van Dam looked good, but the Dudleyz and La Res could easily have been given more offense or at least SOMETHING to help distinguish this one from the next multi-team tag showdown Smackdown! would serve up later in the evening. Actually, I take that back -- even though La Res was amid their biggest push at the time of this show, I can't help but think that the match itself would have been a MUCH bigger draw if it simply nixed the lower-profile teams like RAW's Cade and Jindrak & La Res and Smackdown's oddballs like 'Kishi and Scotty & The Bashams (though to be fair, each of whom were also riding high on a Smackdown! push) and simply combined two (VERY SHORT) four-way matches into one (substantially longer) four-way shmozz that saw teams from BOTH brands taking the stage.
That would have left us with The Dudleyz, TWGTT, Van Dam & Booker, and The APA -- in a four-way match that could *easily* have been done "elimination" style, or at least been given the combined time otherwise allotted to both of these tag showdowns (just shy of 15 minutes). Sure the titles might have gotten lost in the shuffle, but the cross-promotion rivalry was still a pretty hot concept back in '04, and so MeeThinks fans would have forgiven a non-title (or even a one brand's title) match so long as they got to see stars from BOTH the blue and red brands going head-to-head in a WrestleMania sub-main event. Ah well... "woulda, coulda, shoulda" -- and for the sake of the brand extension's relative newness and "integrity" at the time, I completely understand why WWE chose to go the route that they did. Still would have liked to see this one given more time, though.
Ryan Byers Though they usually wind up being awesome shows, one of my problems with the recent WrestleManias is that they try to get EVERYBODY on the program, creating a bunch of blah short matches like this one instead of being able to use that time for a longer match with a well developed back story. On top of that, this wasn't even a decently put together eight man match. A chunk of it involved Rob Conway putting a rest hold of all things on Booker T. It's always been my philosophy that, if you're going to have eight guys out there for less than ten minutes, you've got enough bodies that a spot fest will make good, logical sense . . . so why not just do a spot fest? Even if you're not going that far with it, the last thing that you need is two guys resting in the middle of the ring as opposed to just doing it on the apron. As an aside, I'd also like to point out that this match was a fond reminder of the team of Mark Jindrak and Lance Cade. They weren't much in the ring, but I remember Cade cutting a couple of GREAT heel promos on behalf of the team, and I don't understand why he wasn't given more time on the mic after those early performances.
JT~!: Considering certain parties involved here, this could have been a MUCH better match. It also would have been better had they not cut them all off at the legs by ending it in under eight minutes. The Dudleyz were still pretty popular at that time and RVD and Booker had grown on everyone. Had you have been me $100 dollars that in two years times, the Dudley's would be in TNA, Booker would be at the height of his game, and RVD would be on his way out, I'd have taken – and lost – that bet.
Christian defeated Chris Jericho @ 14:51 via pin
Stuart Carapola: The storyline leading up to this match was that Chris Jericho was hitting on Trish Stratus while Christian was hitting on Lita. Turns out that they had a bet going where Christian bet Jericho one dollar (Canadian) that he could nail Lita before Jericho could nail Trish. Trish found out about this and got really upset, but turns out that Jericho had really fallen for Trish and no longer cared about the 87 cents (American). Jericho and Trish hooked up, but Christian was jealous that Trish was getting between he and Jericho and started moving in on Trish. Jericho was totally oblivious to this, of course, and the whole thing culminated when Bischoff booked Christian against Trish. Christian said he would just lay down for Trish, but instead beat the crap out of her and made her tap to the Walls Of Jericho. Jericho went after Christian when he found out, and this match was signed. They had a pretty good match and, as you might expect, Trish wound up at ringside and her presence cost Jericho the match. However, she swerved us by attacking Jericho after the match and after Christian put Jericho down with an Unprettier, Trish went with Christian. The whole thing was a really good angle, probably one of the best of recent years, had a great payoff, and just goes to show how good things can be if you book more than two weeks ahead.
MEEHAN Call Mee a sucker for the Canadian Chris'es, but this one was EASILY my early contender for "Match of the Night" (and it woulda' stayed that way, too, if it weren't for the surreal clusterfuck that was Brock/Goldberg, and -- of course -- the classic that was the night's main event). But anyhow, Christian and Jericho both brought their "A" games here, and both men did a remarkable job of delivering a gimmick-free, ring-based wrestling match that not only kept fans attention (the live crowd was eating this one up!), but also did a tremendous job of weaving in and paying reference to the outside-of-the-ring storyline involving Trish Stratus. One botched top-of-the-rope maneuver saw the typically-harsh MSG crowd showering both men with the obligatory chants of "You Fucked Up!", but the post-match turn by Trish Stratus MORE than won our favor back in a big way, as the birth of a LONG overdue (and wholly unexpected!) heel Trish Stratus made Madison Square Garden fans feel good to know that their money had been spent on a show that not only delivered in "blow off matches," but also one that would offer a welcome dose of WWE's famed "WrestleMania Moment" surprises. Great performance by all parties here.
Ryan Byers Of course, this was set up by the Jericho/Christian/Trish Stratus love triangle, which wound up being one of the few "soap opera" heavy angles in professional wrestling that actually worked out, primarily because all parts involved actually had the ability to both cut a promo and wrestle a decent match. Some people consider this match to be a bit of a show-stealer, and I will say that it's a good match which gets forgotten about just because there was so much else going on higher on the card. Obviously the two men's familiarity with each other helped, even if they did horribly botch a butterfly superplex. (A spot that eagle-eyed viewers will note has been edited off of the DVD. Of course, the greatest moment of the match happened afterwards, when we got the unveiling of EVIL TRISH~! a move that I believe got fans behind her more than anything that she ever did as a baby face. Yeah, they booed her when she was a heel, but she was so damn entertaining that, when it came time to turn her back, she was so well-respected for her abilities both on the mic and in the ring that it made her seem like a much bigger star than she would have been without the heel turn.
JT~!: Man what a match. This is the match that almost, almost got me to change my #1 from Christian to Jericho. Nothing OVERLY memorable in this match, and I will admit that the kiss between Trish and Christian was about the least authentic thing I've ever seen, but the fact is Christian's my boy, Trish is a legend, and Jericho always brings the greatness. Man I miss him.
Evolution (Flair, Orton and Batista) defeated Mick Foley and The Rock @ 17:09 via pin
Stuart Carapola: This was Foley's first comeback after his retirement in 2000. He had been goaded back into action by Randy Orton, who was doing his little Legend Killer gimmick at the time and had chosen Foley as his latest target. Foley was at a disadvantage because Orton had Evolution on his side, but Foley tried to even the odds by bringing in his old friend, The Rock. Evolution ended up getting the win when Orton hit the RKO on Foley out of nowhere for the win. This was Rock's last pro match, although Foley would stick around for another month to do another job to Orton, in a singles match this time, before disappearing again himself.
MEEHAN Going into this match, I have to say that was skeptical of Randy Orton's in-ring abilities. A nagging injury and a few lackluster feuds as an Evolution under carder did little to inspire confidence in "The Legend Killer" as WWE rolled into WrestleMania XX, and so the guy needed to deliver in a big way if I was going to walk out of the show buying Orton as a potential singles' superstar on his own merits in the years to come. Thankfully, this match was given plenty of time and the handicap element wasn't done to the point where it made the match so one-sided that "the gimmick" overshadowed any of the performances of the individuals who were involved in the thing (though Batista still looked pretty green when placed in a ring with such old-timers as Foley, Flair and The Rock).
Anyhow -- a solid, well-scripted tag match that gave the audience PLENTY of time to get behind their favorites (even if our favorites might not have been the faces.) This was the longest match of the night to this point, I believe, which allowed everyone involved a chance to tell a story and get the crowd pumped for some of the classic "PPV tag match" standbys like the hot-tag and the false-comeback sequences we saw in great succession throughout much of the contest. Bonus points for Flair audibly dropping the "F" bomb loud enough that the ring-area microphones picked it up and broadcast that four-letter-expletive all the way around the PA system of the World's Most Famous arena. All in all? Great match, and a smart way to showcase older stars (like Rock and Foley) as they went toe-to-toe with up-and-comers (like Orton and Batista) to really help spread the star power around and leave fans believing that Evolution was about a LOT more than just protecting the World Title for Triple H. Bonus points for Orton getting a cheap (but relatively "clean") pin over a certifiable "legend" on such a big stage to really help secure his "Legend Killer" gimmick, and when you go back and watch this match just after seeing Evolution's "stairwell promo" that preceded the thing where Randy, Flair and Batista are all just hanging out looking badass in the hallway and talking shit on Foley and Rock? Clearly, this match marked a HUGE turning point in the young career of one Randy Orton.
Ryan Byers This was a damn fun match. All five men knew what their roles were going to be during the bout and executed them very well, building an entertaining piece of work. Batista was there with the big power moves when needed, Flair's interaction with Rock was hilarious, and Orton struck the perfect balance of being intimidated by Foley and wanting to stand up to him for the benefit of his career. If I had one complaint, it would be that the Rock/Flair bits actually overshadowed the feud between Orton and Foley . . . but that was all made up for by the finish. The right guy went over, and he went over in a way that left the door open for a viable rematch. That was the cherry on top of a truly good tag team encounter. My only regret is that we'll probably never get an epic Rock versus Flair singles match.
JT~!: Ahhh yes. The Rock's last official match for WWE. There was nostalgia all over this match. Foley was part time, and even though he and Flair hadn't feuded yet, most of us knew they were not the other's biggest fan. Anyway, anytime you have Foley, Flair, and The Rock involved in a match, you're going to get yourself a good show. This match was no different. Everyone got in their signature moves, Rock and Foley got in some good offense, and the crowd ate it up. What's really funny watching this match now is that at the time, Orton was the one "on his way to the top", while big Dave was merely "another big man".
Sable & Torrie Wilson defeated Stacy & Jackie @ 2:21 via pin
Stuart Carapola: This was some kind of crappy nightgown match, the entire point of which was ruined when the "ladies" decided before the bell rang to just wrestle in their underwear. I'm sure you can surmise how good this match was from the names involved, although Stacy and Torrie did get in their little pinning combination reversal sequence thing that they do EVERY DAMN TIME THEY WRESTLE. The less said about this the better.
MEEHAN Though I understand the point of these sorts of things, I suppose -- I just can't quite wrap my brain around *why*, exactly, wrestling fans continue to get their hopes up for poorly-concealed diva T&A-fests when very few of them (if any, come to think of it) really deliver anywhere NEAR the point of fans' expectations. Torrie and Sable were clearly the pushed-as-favorites going into this one, but the fact that BOTH women were "old news" in Playboy terms (as both had shown their stuff in the mag before) meant that many a fan was more inclined to whip out the old binoculars when Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie made their way to the ring. Guess that says something about "always leave 'em wanting more," I suppose. Surprise surprise, though, the Playboy Cover girls got the quick win here (so Hef could sell a few more magazines, I suppose) -- and fans had a grand total of less than 3 minutes of in-ring action to "savor" all that quote-unquote "hot" diva action. Not exactly a WrestleMania classic, in my opinion... but I suppose it got the crossover-crowd excited (enough) and likely garnered a few extra casual-fan-buys, so it did what it set out to do. Regardless, the show was already beginning to show some definite signs of "bloating" at this point -- and at just about FIVE hours? Hard to blame fans for getting a bit restless when the ladies' less-than-sexy (and still in bathrobes) entrances and pre-match-antics alone ran almost a full seven minutes longer than the actual match itself.
Ryan Byers Ridiculous, misogynistic bullshit that only a twelve year old boy could love.
JT~!: Wow, I honestly thought Sable was long gone by this point. My mental wrestling index had me thinking that she was gone long before Brock, but I guess not. It's irrelevant though, nothing more than a pretty eye candy three minute time filler. I miss Stacy Keibler. I miss a lot of people on this show, for that matter.
Stuart Carapola: The idea of getting all these cruiserweights on WrestleMania was cool in theory, although everyone knew it would come down to Mysterio and Chavo. It was a little lame watching some of the cruiserweights get eliminated in under 20 seconds. It made them look like a bunch of jobbers, which I guess they are if you really think about it.
MEEHAN This match was another mixed bag for the live crowd, as we couldn't help but feel a bit dumbfounded that what was being billed as a "FIVE HOUR" WrestleMania was (by Match-count, at least) just about halfway over and lo and behold -- the grand total of actual, in-ring wrestling that we'd seen to this point still was just barely north of 60 minutes. Not a good omen if the show's remaining matches were to be equally truncated -- but the fact that we had a full roster of Smackdown's cruiserweights just rarin' to go gave fans more than enough reason to stay positive about the whole affair, as a match featuring a full TEN guys would surely be given enough time to pad out a much-needed twenty-minute midcard match, right? I mean shoot -- even if each guy involved in the match would up getting himself eliminated according to a fast-paced, Royal-Rumble-esque timetable of 90 seconds-to-two minutes apiece, we STILL were looking at no less than 15 to 20 minutes of cruiserweight action to help us forget two of the ridiculously short-for-PPV road bumps (RAW's tag match and the Playboy Evening Gown shmozz) that we'd just been forced to endure... right?
Wrong.
Shannon Moore gets eliminated at just around the minute mark (fair enough, I suppose -- he's really no great shakes), but then THE FREAKIN' ULTIMO DRAGON taps out no less than 60 seconds later?!? Holy rip-off, Batman! I understand that Ultimo never quite hit it big in WWE, but I thought for sure that he'd last more than TWO FREAKIN' MINUTES when given the no-brainer opportunity to spotlight his ridiculously-impressive move set come WrestleMania time. But alas, not to be, and just about at this point in the whole affair, fans quickly began to realize that this match was nothing more than a buffer between senseless T&A and the top of the card's "marquis" matches, and so the concession stands and restrooms started to field more than their fair share of disillusioned cruiser-fans as yet another "coulda, woulda, shoulda" WrestleMania classic was hotshotted and bum rushed in favor of letting the "more well-known" main-eventers have themselves the lion's share of the spotlight.
Ah whatever. At least the popcorn was good and buttery.
Ryan Byers It may not have been the most important match on the card, but I will say that this was an entertaining way to spend ten minutes. Just like the Christian/Jericho match, all of the men involved here knew that they were on the biggest stage of the year and pulled out some of their most exciting spots as a result. This included Billy Kidman nearly murdering himself with a shooting star press to the floor and Ultimo Dragon nearly murdering himself by tripping over a part of the ramp during his entrance. (I kid, Dragon, I kid.) Another great thing about this match? Jamie Noble got a bunch of clean wins, which is something that I think needs to happen far more often in WWE. Also, the multi-man match was the perfect context in which to do a spot fest, as it's a reasonable strategy to go all out to win in such an environment. Overall, the bout was fun to watch and provided a nice change of pace from the WWE style matches that dominated the rest of the card.
JT~!: I just want everyone to be reminded that Michael Cole said the E had the best cruiserweights in the world, and Shannon Moore was in the ring. Yeah. First, this match was short. Second, this match was stupid. In case you've forgotten, it's the match that had all these "talented cruiserweights" standing around the ring watching the actions because of the rules of the match. Oh, and Rey and Chavo were in the ring together for one minute and thirty-five seconds.
Goldberg defeated Brock Lesnar @ 13:41 via pin
Stuart Carapola: Oh man, where do I start with this one? Okay, this had been built up for quite some time, starting at Survivor Series when both men were World Champions. Goldberg lost his title at Armageddon, so at the Royal Rumble, Lesnar got in his face and gloated about still having his title, then interfered in the Rumble match and caused Goldberg's elimination. Goldberg retaliated by interfering in Lesnar's match against Eddy Guerrero at No Way Out and helping cost Lesnar the title. This match was signed to settle the score. By this point, WWE management was getting pretty tired of having Goldberg around. Goldberg was definitely still operating like he was in WCW, he was a real prima Donna and didn't even show up on TV for the weeks leading up to this match because he just had the one appearance left on his contract and was holding WWE up for a lot of money if they wanted him to do any more. Either way, Goldberg was gone after WrestleMania, so the smart thinking here was that Lesnar was going to go over here to prove himself as the REAL monster steroid freak in professional wrestling. But wait! About a week or so before WrestleMania, word leaked out that Lesnar would be finishing up at WrestleMania 20 as well. He had been unhappy for quite some time and had also proven himself to be quite the prima Donna as well. He was mostly unhappy because after being built up as an unbeatable monster for so long, it was now time for him to start doing jobs for other people in return, and he didn't want to. He decided that he was going to quit wrestling and try out for the NFL. I remember hearing this and thinking it must be some kind of joke, but it was 100% true. Lesnar never amounted to anything in the football world, and is now widely viewed as one of the biggest knuckleheads in wrestling history.
But there was still this match for him to get through, and now that we know both men were finishing up here, nobody had any idea who would win. I thought Goldberg would as a way of burying Brock on the way out. Turns out I was right, but what a crazy scene this match was. Both men were getting booed out of the place, and they were both running completely on cruise control anyway. The match sucked ass, but it was just such a surreal scene watching the MSG crowd killing both men. The only guy who got any kind of a pop was special referee Steve Austin, a pop which was amplified when he gave Brock a stunner after the match and then, after feigning a beer bash with Goldberg, gave him a stunner, too. That ending was really the best thing WWE could have done under the circumstances.
MEEHAN In the entire history of sports entertainment, perhaps there was no single match stranger than the "epic" WrestleMania XX showdown between Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg. Both former world champions and proven draws, the cross-promotional "battle of the behemoths" seemed like a no-brainer contest that would pit two of wrestling's biggest, baddest ass-kickin' machines against one another in an all-out war to settle the score once and for all. Unfortunately for WWE, New York City fans are notoriously "smarter" than your average fan -- and so by the time Brock and Goldie showed up in Madison Square Garden on March 14? Word had already made its rounds throughout the arena that not one but BOTH of these performers would be walking away from the pseudo-sport by the end of the evening.
What unfolded thereafter, my friends, was nothing short of "LEGENDARY." Though you're not likely to see it in any montage or clip show featuring "WrestleMania's Greatest Moments," ANY fan who saw the show live (particularly those who saw it in live attendance at MSG) will attest that the crowd's reaction to Brock and Goldberg easily ranks up there as one of the single most memorable WrestleMania moments of all time -- and that INCLUDES Hulk Hogan body slamming Andre The Giant.
The short form? NYC fans had a massive chip on their shoulder towards Brock and Goldberg for each thinking they were "bigger than the business" and deciding to leave the company at what easily (under a different set of circumstances) could have been the height of either man's popularity. As a sign of our (complete lack of) appreciation, we greeted their ENTIRE match with all sorts of disparaging cheers, including the obligatory "this match sucks!," "you sold out!," and -- a personal favorite -- "you both suck!" Being there live, it was almost a game of can-you-top-this between sections of the crowd to see which part of the arena could boo and heckle the loudest. There was even a good two minute chunk of the match where the entire audience simply turned and started cheering for one guy in the crowd who was dressed up as Hulk Hogan and doing the classic Hulkster pose routine. Needless to say, I'm sure MANY a fan was thrilled to see cheers of "Ho-gan! Ho-gan!" make it to the WrestleMania XX DVD while J.R. and The King desperately tried to drown out the crowd's vocals.
An AWESOME spectacle to have been a part of live, but a match that most definitely under whelmed if you were to go back and watch the thing without the audio track. Regardless -- and since sports ENTERTAINMENT is designed to "entertain" -- I can't help but give the circumstances and enthusiasm surrounding this match a solid *****, even if the actual in-ring stuff barely nudged above *1/2.
Ryan Byers As you all know, this match is remembered more for the crowd reaction than the wrestling itself. The crowd turns on both men and dubs them sell-outs because they decided that they didn't want to work for the company anymore. I'm still trying to wrap my idea around the head of how deciding to change jobs makes you a scumbag, so I guess I'm just not as smart as the MSG fans. I mean, hey, if I decide that I'm hot happy in the office I work at and decide to go back to school and get a masters degree, does that mean I sold out? However, It wasn't just sour grapes that got the crowd to chant "this match sucks." It actually did suck. Not only was the slow, plodding pace the exact opposite of what people wanted to see, but the two wrestlers also weren't smart enough to deviate from their initial game plane when it was clear that the fans just weren't buying it. There was nothing here but a ton of stalling, an unnecessarily long rest hold, and a couple of power moves that five hundred other wrestlers could've done better.
JT~!: Doomed from the start. Brock didn't care, Goldberg didn't care, and we all knew they didn't care. We all knew they were on the way out. Not even Stone Cold could help matters any. Basically, it was hard to watch then, and it was hard to watch now. I'm sure that they wanted it to be a good match, and to be honest, they probably could have had a pretty good match had the circumstances been different; but it was just the right recipe for disaster and in turn, we all suffered.
Stuart Carapola: See the World Tag Team Title match above and just substitute the names. Again, just a formality to get the WWE Tag Team Title on the show, and nobody really expected much out of it. They got what they expected.
MEEHAN After the Goldberg/Lesnar match sucked most of the positive energy right out of the arena, it was probably best that the 'E rolled out a forgettable affair to help the crowd recover from their mid-show slump. Unfortunately, as mentioned before, this match was just as short as the first tag four way (actually a few seconds shorter, I believe), and so our refractory period to re-warm towards the show was pretty well truncated... which was a BAD thing for WWE and for all the performers who happened to find themselves sandwiched between the time when Foley got pinned and the time Eddie Guerrero took the stage. I suppose that was my biggest complaint about the show, really, as everything between the Evolution match and the WWE Title match was either pretty brief or pretty bad. So once the Smackdown! tag match reached it's less-than-epic payoff at just around the six-minute mark (a PPV TITLE MATCH WITH EIGHT GUYS GOING JUST SIX MINUTES?! WTF!?), MSG fans started gettin' mighty restless as the show began to feel it's five-hours-but-little-wrestling weight. If WWE was to avoid a miniature NYC riot, it was clear that the show had to improve and FAST.
Ryan Byers If, during this match's first airing, you had told me that Bradshaw would be main eventing the next year's WrestleMania, I would've assumed that, sometime in the following three months, a massive plane crash would've wiped out half of the wrestlers on the planet. Aside from that, Smackdown wins the battle of who can book a better tag title match. All eight men seemed to know where they were at all times, and they kept the action hot and heavy instead of locking in a rest hold that ate up the majority of their ring time. There were even a few unique spots thrown in there, such as TWGTT's cutting off of Scotty's skin the cat and Bradshaw's over the top fall away slam. Of course, it's not going to be a classic at only six minutes long, but this was probably the most exciting match that could've been produced given the participants and the time constraints.
JT~!: Man, I had forgotten just how bad the tag team things had gotten. It wasn't quite there yet, but this match was evidence of its decline. Six minutes? That's not even as long as the RAW one and this match had the more established teams! Seriously though, there was nothing fun about this match. In fact, the only thing I found meaningful about watching it nowadays was that I got to see JBL throw a Clothesline from Hell!
Stuart Carapola:I give Molly Holly all the credit in the world for being a true pro. She was such a company girl that she actually came to them with the suggestion that she shave her head at WrestleMania, an idea that was quickly embraced. I have to imagine that she was promised some kind of push in return, but sadly, that push never came, and she was gone within a year. I consider her the most under appreciated women's wrestler of the modern era.
MEEHAN Take two VERY talented in-ring competitors (arguably the two most capable in-ring divas the 'E has ever seen), give them a PPV match, AND put the title on the line PLUS a wacky stipulation where the loser gets her head shaved. Sounds like a surefire recipe for full-on fan appreciation and a no-brainer way to win back an increasingly hostile New York City crowd, right?
WRONG.
Molly and Victoria were given a grand total of LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES of an actual match, while the post-match head-shaving nonsense took the better part of almost TWICE that amount (because we all know that electric buzzers are pretty much useless when shaving really long hair). Actually, the shaving portion of this thing was pretty awkward and embarrassing to sit through live, as Victoria was forced to spend the better part of the entire hype-vignette segment that followed her match performing the unenviable duty of cutting Molly's hair while the rest of the crowd was finally starting to come alive again in hopes that Eddie and Angle might save the show. Talk about being stuck between a proverbial rock and a hard place, eh?
Ryan Byers Ultimately, this was a decent women's match given the company and the era. The genre as a whole was never particularly psychology heavy, so it's not as though I was expected a thirty minute story centering around the destruction of Victoria's leg to develop. Instead, the two went out there, wrestled a decent back and forth match, and wound up taking a few bumps that you wouldn't normally expect a woman to take. It's not great wrestling, but it was fine for what it was. However, I will say that it's a shame that what could have been the most memorable moment of Molly's career will probably be overshadowed in the WrestleMania history books by the McMahon versus Trump hair match.
JT~!: This match got less time than the tag match before it, and got a cigarette out of me. The whole feud was stupid, the match sucked, and the crowd was dead. I see no need even refreshing anyone's memory on how bad it was. No, I don't care that she shaved her head.
Stuart Carapola: Kurt Angle was doing this great crazed, hateful psycho gimmick at the time. Here was this guy who was a clean cut American boy who lived his life by the rules and did everything right, and now the title he considers to be his is held by this recovered alcoholic/drug addict who is proud about the fact that he has to lie, cheat, and steal his way to victory. Angle considered Guerrero to be everything that's wrong with the business, and made it clear that he was going to destroy Guerrero and take his title back, a title that he didn't think Guerrero deserved to hold. This was a great match, easily would have been match of the night if it weren't for the main event, and Guerrero again cheated his way to victory, slipping out of his boot and rolling Angle up with the help of the ropes for the win.
MEEHAN Now THIS is what I'm talkin' about. After seven (yes, SEVEN) under whelming segments in a row (Playboy, Cruisers, GoldBrock, Vince, Smackdown Tag, Ventura/Trump, and Women's Title), Madison Square Garden was DYING for some action and a match that we could talk about more than a week after this show was in the books. Thankfully, Angle and Guerrero did not disappoint, and the live crowd was treated to a full-on 20-plus-minute affair between two of the greatest technical wrestlers ever to have stepped foot in a WWE ring. Plenty of false-finishes and psychology really helped move this one along, and it was a wonder to watch a guy of Guerrero's size and stature -- once thought to be "too small" to hold a major world title -- not only co-headlining the company's biggest PPV spectacle to date, but also doing so AT THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ARENA... and without so much as a gimmick or stipulation match to help give fans a reason to buy him as a legitimate WWE Champion. Pretty awesome if you'd followed Guerrero's career since the early days, and what a thrill it was to see that Vinny Mac and Co. actually had enough confidence in the guy to let him walk out of WrestleMania with his title belt still firmly around his waist when all was said and done. An emotional, high-adrenaline performance from both men (and some INCREDIBLE showmanship from Kurt Angle to really help sell the match's climax) was more than enough to make fans start to forgive the 'E for the past two hours' worth of crap, and I'd wager that many a fan would have been just as happy to call it a night at this point having felt privileged to witness what EASILY could have been called a WrestleMania-worthy "main event."
To our delight, however, the best was yet to come.
Ryan Byers Even without this match, I'd pay money to watch the video recap of this feud, especially the excellent bit in which Angle brutalizes a handcuffed Guerrero from Smackdown. It's one of those moments that should be a classic that's seared in to all fans' heads but has missed out on that status because everything moves so quickly in wrestling these days. Not only that, but the match winds up being just as good. The two men paced things incredibly well, starting off with some slower mat wrestling and then building up to a hot climax. However, they also did this without boring the crowd in the early going, making sure that there would periodically be a bigger spot or a brief comeback by a beaten Guerrero in order to wake up the audience. Further, the vast majority of the match consisted of counter after counter after counter. This worked well in the match's psychology for two reasons: 1.) Both men had wrestled several matches against each other at this point, going back to the "Smackdown Six" era. 2.) Even if they two never had stepped in to the ring before, they're going after the major title on Smackdown and therefore are the two best wrestlers in the company. As a result, it's only logical that they should be able to reverse the vast majority wrestling holds, regardless of who is executing them. To top it all off, we had an incredibly innovative finish that played off the characters of both wrestlers well – Eddy kept lying, cheating and stealing while Angle could continue to preach "moral superiority" despite being a pompous ass. My only problem with the match was the bizarre change in psychology about midway through. Angle started out by working over the midsection of Guerrero and then changed to the ankle for no apparent reason. Not only was there no reason for the transition, but there was also no logical reason that Eddy's midsection had to be worked over so that Angle could later get at the ankle. However, that's a relatively minor point in a good match.
JT~!: Man I had forgotten how good this match really was. For that matter, watching the little video before the match reminded me that this was in fact quite a nice little feud. Eddie was in the middle of his title reign, and Kurt was *seemingly* in top form. Kind of ironic now watching this match, knowing that one lost his life because of how he treated his body, and the other makes us quince a little every time he gets in the ring for the same reason. I'm not here to lecture though; fact is this was one of the best matches in 2004, and had it not been for this evening's main event, would have easily had match of the night. R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero.
The Undertaker defeated Kane @ 7:45 via pin
Stuart Carapola: Undertaker had been doing the biker gimmick for several years when Kane caused him to lose a Buried Alive match to Vince McMahon at Survivor Series, and this was going to be Undertaker's first appearance since that time. Everybody was hoping that this would finally be the return of the Dead Man gimmick, and they weren't disappointed. Undertaker (with Paul Bearer and urn in tow) made his return to a huge ovation and got his second WrestleMania victory over Kane.
MEEHAN Thanks to where we were seated (just above the back side of the entrance way), we could see the druids and torchbearers getting their shit together a good minute or so before the Dead Man "officially" made his return. And in a never-before-seen WrestleMania moment, we had a good laugh while watching the druids try to make their way through the auxiliary curtains (they came out to the sides of the main entrance area), since they were doing so with LIGHTED torches in hand to lead the way. Pretty cool (in a "break the fourth wall" sort of way) to see WWE's staging area catch fire while roadies scrambled to find nearby fire extinguishers before the crowd could catch sight of the blaze.
But oh yeah, the match...
By all rights, seeing Undertaker vs. Kane for the millionth time *SHOULDN'T* have been enough to keep a "smart"-heavy crowd interested in this PPV. Heck, even the "cross-promotional" stipulation was a bit of a joke in this whole affair when all it meant was that two guys we'd seen go at it dozens of times just so happened to be going at it from arbitrarily assigned "brands." Regardless, "the return of the Dead Man" was really quite a sight to see live, as it seemed like the collective apathy fans had given to 'Taker's "biker" makeover was all at once replaced by that deep-seated, nostalgic love for the "old school" zombie-style Undertaker of old. And from the instant that the infamous gong tolled, MSG fans knew we were in for a treat. The trademark spots (like the zombie sit up) were incredibly well-received, and fans went nuts to see the Dead Man keep "rollin, rollin, rollin" onto yet another WrestleMania victory when all was said and done. Sure the cat was out of the bag that 'Taker would a) be donning the "Dead Man" persona, and b) winning this match LONG before everybody even arrived in the arena... but just like all those folks who dropped millions of dollars to see Leo and Kate in "Titanic"? We all could care less if we knew how the thing was gonna' end -- we just wanted a chance to bask in the spectacle of it all.
Ryan Byers Hey, the Undertaker's dead again! The crowd loves it, though I'm fairly indifferent. Given that these two have wrestled each other approximately 9,500 times, you'd think that they could actually put together something good for the Undertaker's big return. Apparently, that was not the case. This was just a collection of UT's typical spots. I know that they just wanted to get the one big reaction for the re-re-packaging of Taker, but just a little something extra wouldn't have killed them.
JT~!: JR says, and I quote, "One of the most anticipated matches in WrestleMania history". Riiiiight, because we all know it had been SO long since we'd since these two together. Oh, wait. It hadn't even been six months since Kane buried him at the previous Survivor Series! Thank god this match was only eight minutes long, because while Undertaker got a huge response for his entrance, there was nothing exciting about this match, and I can't believe this went AFTER the title match we had just seen (I blame the record).
World Title Match: Chris Benoit defeated HHH and HBK @ 24:46 via submission to become the NEW WORLD CHAMPION
Stuart Carapola: A lot of people call this the best main event in WrestleMania history. I don't know if that's necessarily true, but what I do know is that this was as big a crowning achievement as Chris Benoit could have possibly hoped for . A lot of people feared that adding Michaels to the mix meant that WWE didn't have faith in Benoit to carry the main event and that he wouldn't win the title as a result, but Benoit got his shining moment on the biggest stage in WWE, the main event of WrestleMania. All three men worked their ASS off, and Triple H tapping to the cross face was such a huge thing that I actually jumped out of my seat when I saw it live. The image of Benoit and Guerrero, both champions, raising their hands and holding their belts in the middle of the ring as the show went off the air is one of those moments that makes WrestleMania what it is.
MEEHAN Writing a blurb on this match doesn't seem to do it justice, because there were simply few words to describe the sheer feeling of elation that permeated the halls of Madison Square Garden on the night of March 14, 2004 when Chris Benoit *finally* fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a certifiable world champion for a company that actually appreciated him for the legend that he is certain to become. With Eddie's win earlier in the night, "smart" fans had already begun to hedge their bets on Benoit's chances to fare the same, and with Triple H still riding out the dying days of Evolution (and his infamous power-trip burial of just about EVERY major competitor to have crossed his path), folks weren't all that confident that anybody *not* named Hunter could possibly walk out of Madison Square Garden with the World Title.
But just like that, it happened. And it didn't just happen by some fluke or accident... we actually saw Triple H -- long THE single biggest major player on the RAW roster -- TAP OUT CLEANLY IN THE CENTER OF THE RING AT WRESTLEMANIA!!! And to top it all off? We saw Chris Benoit crowned the new World Champion as the result. Truly, few words can describe the overwhelming feeling of excitement in the MSG air that evening, and when Eddie Guerrero hit the ring to embrace his lifelong friend as the confetti reigned from the sky? Truly MSG fans had received their money's worth, as we all left the arena that evening knowing beyond any shadow of a doubt that yes, in fact, we'd been witness to a landmark event in professional wrestling history.
Ryan Byers Before he even does anything, "Let's go Benoit" chants start. But he's vanilla and his whole title reign was a failure, so I bet that they won't continue. Some guys from the internet probably just snuck in to the building. Once things got going, he drama involved in the closing moments of this bout is incredible . . . though I think that it causes individuals to overrate the main portion of the match. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great one . . . but I don't think it holds up as the five star affair that some people make it out to be. I can't rate it that highly for a couple of reasons: First of all, there is the nature of the match itself. I've always been harder on three way matches just because it's easier to make things more exciting when there's an extra body to make dramatic saves or work in innovative spots. Thus, when Eddy Guerrero and Kurt Angle go out two matches earlier and put on a contest that is every bit as exciting without the extra crutch, I have to have a little more respect for the Guerrero/Angle match. Secondly, the reliance on the old "throw one guy out, then the other two brawl" framework for a triple threat match knocks things down as well. Had the bout established a more unique flow, I likely would've given it a higher rating.
However, with all that said, the match was still very good. Obviously, the drama was built incredibly well. When Benoit went through the announcer's table and HBK/Triple H squared off, it looked like the match was going to focus on that storyline and no longer on the aspirations of the scrappy underdog. Then, when Benoit interjected himself in to the match's closing moments, hope was regained. That moment alone was a great dramatic event in a bout full of them. Further, the three men managed to work several unique spots in to the match, including the bit with the tree of woe and Hunter's attempt to prevent Michaels from tapping out. Finally, the three men ALL did one little thing that is sadly missing from most wrestling matches. What's that, exactly? They actually made it look like they were fighting to hit every move they executed. There was a little bit of a struggle from the man being attacked or a few preliminary punches thrown by the man applying a hold. Those are little touches, but they combine with the other positive factors mentioned earlier to make the whole thing seem a little more realistic.
JT~!: This match flat out stole the ENTIRE show. Many will tell you this may be the best WrestleMania match ever, and you wouldn't get much argument from me if at all. Everything had been building so well between all three men, and you could really feel the emotions of all three of them. The feud had been set up so well, the stage had been set, and the time had come. It now mattered on one thing: All three of these men showing up, and boy did they ever. The story they told that night in that ring was just phenomenal. So good, in fact, that at one point or another throughout the match, I rooted for all three men separately. I certainly don't think anyone gave Benoit a prayer in Hell of winning that match, but he changed all that. The longer the match went on, the more you believed that not only COULD he do it, he WOULD do it. He spent those twenty-five minutes convincing the world that he was ready to take the ball and run with it, and that's exactly what he did. But it wasn't all on him. Credit has to be given to Triple H and HBK, both of whom pulled out GRADE A performances to really add to the "edge of your seat" vibe that this match had going on. By the end of the match, there isn't a result that would have surprised me. Any man who walked out champion that night had earned it. To this day even, the first image that pops into my head is Benoit celebrating in the middle of the ring with Eddie. Possibly the most memorable WrestleMania moment ever, following possibly the most memorable WrestleMania match of all time.
The Conclusion:
Stuart Carapola: Much like WrestleMania 10, this was a show that was fueled entirely by two matches: Angle-Guerrero and the three way. Undertaker vs. Kane was memorable, but not really good. Lesnar vs. Goldberg was memorable also, but for all the wrong reasons. Almost the entire under card was totally disposable, but there was enough pageantry going on for the 20th anniversary of WrestleMania that it made up for it. This show is a piece of wrestling history, but workrate wise there really wasn't much besides those two World Title matches.
MEEHAN As the night wore on following the Hall of Famers and the Evolution match, MSG fans grew tired and restless and the show really began to feel its five-hour-weight. Yet in an instant, all was forgiven the moment Eddie Guerrero took the stage, and from the moment Latino Heat rolled down to ringside in his trademark low-rider, the show totally kicked into overdrive as fans were treated to one surprise after the next. Eddie's win, Eddie's promo, Taker's return, Benoit's victory and celebration -- ANY of these events would have left fans feeling that their money had been well spent. But to have seen ALL of these events transpire ON THE SAME NIGHT (not to mention a one-time-only reunion by The Rock & Sock Connection, plus a kickass Jericho/Christian bout, a Bobby Heenan Hall of Fame moment AND the mind-numbingly surreal clusterfuck that was Brock Lesnar vs. Bill Goldberg)?!? Only at WrestleMania, folks. What an awesome show to have seen live.
Ryan Byers Really, what can I say about this show that hasn't already been said? You've got two matches that hit the four star mark (and go higher based on other people's accounts), a ***+ match with some incredibly fun interplay between the Rock and Ric Flair, and a cruiserweight gauntlet match that should keep all of the high spot fans more than happy. Even the stuff that isn't great workrate-wise is worth watching for historical purposes (UT/Kane) or perverse curiosity (Goldberg/Lesnar). Combine that with the "big event" feel that every WrestleMania retains after repeated viewings, and this is an obvious choice to add to your collection. And you know what the scary part is? It's not even the best WrestleMania of all time.
JT~!: Overall, I really enjoyed the show. It was "where it all begins… again", and really had a special atmosphere to it. The thing with WrestleMania is that for the most part the good will always outshine the bad, and I think this particular WM was a prime example of that. I mean, we had some BAD things going on with the tag team division, Trish wasn't even wrestling at the time, and of course you had the Goldberg/Brock disaster. However, when I think of this PPV those things hardly stick out in my mind. It's the two main events and the entertainment by things like Mysterio (momentarily) and the Rock. Despite how the show seems to come off when watching it now, it will probably still be one of my favorite WMs ever.
