horrorfan_1986

WWE Wrestlemania
March 17, 2002

William Regal (c) vs Rob Van Dam - Intercontinental Championship
Regal gets to jerk the curtain for the second 'Mania in a row. Once again, it's in an IC title match. Meanwhile, this is Van Dam's Wrestlemania debut. The night after No Way Out, Van Dam defeated Lance Storm and the Big Show to win this title shot. RVD lays in the forearms to start the match. The loud is JACKED. Standing moonsault by RVD. Regal goes in his tights to try and find a pair of brass knucks. RVD kicks the knucks out of Regal's hand. RVD nails a back kick from the second rope. Regal moves out of the way from the 5 Star Frog Splash. Running Knee Strike. Regal tries several pin attempts, but can't hold down Mr. PPV. Regal attempts an European Uppercut, but RVD counters it for a two count. Regal hits his Regal Cutter that he used briefly in 2001. Regal is bleeding from his mouth. I swear, Regal bleeds so easily. ROLLING THUNDER, but Regal gets his knees up. Double Under hook Powerbomb. ONE...TWO...NO! RVD counters a Regal Stretch into a pin attempt. Monkey flip to Regal. RVD tries his trademark heel kick, but Regal catches him for a BRUTAL Half Nelson Suplex. Eat your heart out, Albright. Regal throws RVD back in the ring and retrieves his brass knuckles that was kicked out of his hand earlier in the match. The ref takes the knucks away from Regal, but Regal has another pair in his trunks. RVD catches Regal with a dropkick, sending the knucks into the face of Regal. 5 STAR FROG SPLASH! One...TWO...THREE! RVD wins his first IC championship. Hot opener. There were a few awkward moments, but overall, it played out exactly how it should have. RVD would give the IC title some much needed importance. Sadly, this was the last IC title match at Wrestlemania up until now. 6 Minutes. 2 3/4 Stars.

DDP (c) vs Christian - European Championship
Page defeated Christian for the title in the beginning of the year. After the loss, Cage suffered a losing streak that saw Page finally take pity on Christian. Page took Christian under his wing and taught him all about "That's not a bad that...that's a good thing" way of life. Finally, Christian had enough and attacked DDP after a match with Billy and Chuck (It might of been a singles match though). Christian still has the bad ass opera-like music. Christian lays in the boots as Page enters the ring. Is it a Pearl Harbor job if it's done in Canada? Ah...the many questions of the Pearl Harbor. JR reminds us that Page was the driver of the Honky Tonk Man at Wrestlemania VI. Page with a Cactus closeline. Cage gets in a low blow while Page was going for the 10 in the corner. Stun Gun followed by being thrown to the guard rail by Cage. Page loves his punches. Christian is caught up on the top rope and takes a Flair dive. Sit down Powerbomb by Page...ONE...TWO...NO! Cage gets a shoulder up. Cage connects with the alternate Unprettier, but Page kicks out. DIAMOND CUTTER!!! Page retains his title. After the match, Page reminds Christian that he lost in front of 68 thousand fans and millions at home. Christian throws a temper tantrum.While the final minute was entertaining, most of the match didn't have a story. Page was pretty sloppy by this point in his career. Call it old age...call it lack of caring. Either way, he wasn't nearly as good as he used to be. This would end up being Page's final major moment in the WWE. A couple weeks later he'd lose the European title to William Regal and within a few months, he'd suffer the injury that temporary ended his career. 6 Minutes. 2 1/4 Stars.

Maven (c) vs Goldust - Hardcore Championship
Damn, I guess they're letting anyone on this year. Maven won the title in the middle of his brief feud with the Undertaker with the help of Al Snow. Goldust had returned to the company since his 1999 departure at the Royal Rumble. After a very brief feud with Rob Van Dam (Filler feud), I have no idea how this match came about. Let's just assume that Goldust saw something very wrong about Maven holding any title in the WWE. I have to admit though, I love Maven's theme song. In a cool move, Goldust has gold colored garbage weapons. Goldust attacks Maven before the bell. On the outside, Goldust sets Maven up on the barrier and jumps from the apron down on the champion. In the ring, Goldust monkey flips Maven into a garbage can. Only Maven completely misses it. Maven can't even nail Goldust with a dropkick. Goldust pulls out a gold shovel. Goldust uses it on Maven's ribs. I've heard Hunter has his own specialize gold designed shovel. Only he uses it to bury everyone. Maven and Goldust pulls a double KO spot. Spike Dudley runs out with his own referee to pin Maven to become the new Hardcore champion. Crash Holly, Goldust and Maven runs after Spike. Maven was so green. Maven only had a few moves he needed to do, but he managed to botch just about every one of them. Even a veteran like Goldust couldn't help hide those weaknesses. Maven didn't have any business being on a Wrestlemania. Thank-God for Spike. 4 Minutes. 1/4 Star.

Spike continues running while Al Snow and Teddy Long drives through in a golf cart. Holly and Spike moves out of the way and Snow and Long ends up crashing through some stacked boxes. The Hurricane swings through and pins Spike becoming the new Hardcore champion.

Kurt Angle vs Kane
Let's see if I can remember. No Way Out ended with Kurt Angle winning the Wrestlemania title shot away from Triple H. The next night, Kane cost Angle a title match against Jericho. So through a lot of screwiness, everything that happened at No Way Out became meaningless (More on that to come). Angle attacks Kane with a ring bell during Kane's opening pose with the fire from the posts. What's with all of these attacks before the bell? JR tells us that Kane has a big red heart. Aww. Kane chokes Kurt and slams him down to the mat. Big time overhead suplex from Kurt. Angle gets a nice 'Angle' chant proving that Toronto has been bizarro world for years. Angle slows down the match with a front face lock. Kane powers out and throws Angle forward. Kurt runs into a side walk slam. Angle continues to rip off Benoit with the rolling Germans. Kurt decides to steal one of Kane's moves by using the top rope closeline. Angle gets cocky and tries it again, but falls into a closeline. Angle and Kane trades some terrible punches. Nice tilt-a-while power slam by Kane. Chokeslam, but Angle easily gets a hand on the bottom rope breaking up the fall. Kane calls for a Tombstone, but Angle pulls at Kane's mask. That's enough of a distraction for Angle to nail the Angle Slam. One...TWO...NO! Kane kicks out. Down goes the straps. Ankle Lock. Kane kicks out of the lock, but Angle goes right back to it. The Big Red Machine is screaming in pain. Not bad for a guy who couldn't even talk just mere years ago. Kane makes it to the ropes, but Angle wont let go. Kane on one foot hits an enzuguri kick! Damn. Kane slowly heads to the top rope while Angle remains on his back. Angle spots Kane and runs up to the top and slams Kane off. Kane counters an Angle Slam into a Chokeslam, but Angle reverses out of that into a pin attempt. Angle gets his feet on the ropes and gets the pinfall. Kane can't believe what happened. While it was far from perfect, a Kane putting in effort equals a good Kane. By this point, Angle was in full same step-by-step mode that we'd become used to. The punches and selling could of been better, but it's a lot better than what you'd expect from a gimmick-free Kane match. 11 Minutes. 3 Stars.

The Hurricane hides in a locker room. It ends up being the locker room of The Godfather. Two of the hoes compares their breasts and Hurricane raises his kendo stick *Wink wink nudge nudge* The girls scream and The Godfather chases the Hardcore champion away.

The Undertaker vs Ric Flair - No DQ
'Taker was trying to cheat at No Way Out to defeat The Rock, but Ric Flair came out and cost Taker the match. After that, Taker kept trying to get Flair to agree to wrestle him. Flair kept refusing, so Taker kept upping the ante by attacking Arn Anderson and bloodying up Ric's son, David. Finally, Ric had enough and thus we have this. This is Flair's first Wrestlemania match in ten years. Flair runs half way down the entrance to kick start the match. Yet another match that doesn't have a traditional start. Flair punches Taker out of the ring. Flair jumps Taker sending both over the US commentating table. More punches. Taker once again falls out of the ring. Flair is a man possessed~!!!! Taker catches Flair and sends him into the post on the outside. Straight punch to the forehead of Flair. Taker throws Flair back in the ring after a steel steps shot. More punches by Flair. Flair gets in a half 'Woo' before Taker grabs him around his throat. Flair botches his Flair bump in the corner. Taker lays in the punches. Flair retires the Flair bump in the corner with success this time. Taker gives him a big boot to send him to the outside. More fighting on the outside. These two are just beating the shit out of each other. Flair is bleeding from the forehead. Taker continues to take shots on the cut. Back in the ring, Taker continues the assault. Flair bump. CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP. Taker screams in pain before closelining Flair in the corner. Taker sets Flair up on the top rope. SUPERPLEX!!! Flair's in agony. Taker covers...ONE...TWO...NO, Taker pulls Flair up. Flair - "You sonofabitch." Flair's blond hair is turning red from all of the blood loss. Taker covers, but pulls Flair up again. Flair lays in the chops, but Taker returns with punches. Time for Old School Taker or in Michael Cole talk VINTAGE TAKER! Flair jerks Taker off of the top rope. CHOP. CHOP. Sidewalk slam by Taker. Flair gets a shoulder up for a two. Flair drops down to avoid a big boot, crotching Taker. Taker falls to the floor. Flair finds a lead pipe in the motorcycle of Taker. This was the weapon Flair used to cost Taker the match at NWO. Flair gives Taker several shots to the body. Flair nails Taker with a 'Keep Off' sign. Back in the ring, Flair with several punches opening Taker up even more. LOW BLOW by Flair. FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK! Taker is trying to hold out. Shoulders on the mat, but Taker sits up at two. Taker grabs Flair's throat. CHOKESLAM!!!! ONE...TWO....NO! Flair gets a shoulder up. Taker covers again and Flair kicks out. Taker argues with Charles Robinson and just sends Robinson down to the mat. Taker brings back the lead pipe. Flair sends Taker to the ropes SPINEEEEBUSSSTTTERRRR by Arn Anderson!!!! Flair covers....ONE...TWO...NO! Taker kicks out. Taker attacks Anderson on the outside. Anderson is thrown in the ring, bleeding. Big Boot by Taker. Taker locks in the Dragon Suplex to the retired Horseman. CHAIR SHOT by Flair! Taker gets in a boot to Flair. Taker tries a Last Ride, but can't get Flair up. Taker says hell with it and sets Flair up for the Tombstone. ONE...TWO...THREE. Taker wins and becomes 10-0 at 'Mania. Charles Robinson raises Taker's arm, but Taker gives Robinson a closeline. AWESOME. I loved this match back in 2002, but I was blown away with how well it holds up. I'd say it's even better watching it now, then back then. Great match. With the no DQ rules, they didn't waste any time using any technical holds. Instead it was just a fight to the end. Much like Kerry Von Erich vs Jerry Lawler, it proves you can produce a great match with mainly punches. Hands down my favorite Flair match of the decade. Taker finally produces a great 'Mania match. 19 Minutes. 4 Stars.

Booker T vs Edge
This is the infamous Japanese Shampoo Commercial feud. Basically, 'Mania rolled around with neither guy doing anything. So they threw the two in a ridiculous storyline where Booker was upset that Edge stole his Japanese shampoo commercial away from him. Sign of the night - "They are fighting over shampoo" Tie-up to start. Nice to see a traditional start. Edge barely connects with a dropkick. Booker hotshots Edge. Cover and Edge kicks out. Closeline to the outside. Booker smashes Edge with a forearm. Back in, Booker with a Missile Dropkick. Booker lays in the pain in the corner. I pity the fool. Booker gets in an awkward spinebuster or Alabama Slam. Edge crotches Booker on the top rope. They botch a top rope hurricarana spot with Booker landing on top of Edge. Spinning heel kick by Edge. Edge nearly falls over when he stands. Edgeomatic for the two. Edge with a weak top rope Spinning Heel Kick. Edge misses the spear and walks into a Superkick. SPINAROONIEEEEEE. Scissors Kick. Edge kicks out at two. JR confesses to trying the Spinaroonie out on his porch. Spear by Edge. Booker kicks out. Edge does the Edgearoonie that just looks horrible. Edgeacution finishes Booker off. Well that's time I wont get back. Incredibly sloppy and didn't have any real story. With the exception of the cause of the feud, everything about this match was forgotten within a month and for good reason. Especially at this point in his career, it was two steps forward and one step back for Edge. This is now the third PPV in 2002 that Edge comes off as a poor midcarder. This is bad even for Heat standards. 7 Minutes. 1 Star.

The Hurricane talks with The Coach as he and Molly gets ready to leave on the Hurricycle. Molly takes out a pan and knocks Hurricane out. Molly covers and becomes the new Hardcore champion. This would be the split between the super couple leading to Molly becoming Molly Holly again.

Steve Austin vs Scott Hall
The nWo came to the WWE at No Way Out. The three of them attacked Austin during his World Title match with Jericho, costing him the belt. Since Rocky got Hogan, Austin was stuck with Hall as Nash was injured (Shocker, I know). This is billed as one of the three main events. Jim Ross is upset that Kevin Nash is out with Hall. I don't know why since it's pretty clear Hall has very little chance of winning. Austin attacks Hall before Scott can get his vest off. Austin chops Hall in the corner. Lou Thesz Press. Austin's elbow/knee combo next. Austin whips Hall to the ropes, but Hall stops and rolls under the ring. Austin attacks Nash on the outside and continues his assault on Hall. Hall finally has the vest off. Back in, Hall connects with a closeline to get a two. Behind the ref's back, Nash removes the padding for the turnbuckle. Hall gives Austin an Irish Whip into the exposed turnbuckle. Nash attacks Austin on the outside. Fall Way Slam by Hall. Austin kicks out. Nash gives Austin a punch while Hall distracts the ref. 'Razor' chant from the crowd. Austin comes back with a weak Spinebuster. Stone Cold Stunner. One...TWO...NO! Nash pulls out the ref and gives him a punch. Nash comes in the ring and lays down the hurt on Austin. Hall brings in a steel chair. Austin low blows Nash and gives Stunners to both Outsiders. Austin covers Hall, but the ref is still down. In comes a new ref, but Nash gives him an elbow. Austin closelines Nash out of the ring. Hall calls for the Outsider's Edge, but Austin counters it with a back body drop over the top rope. Several refs comes out to order Nash to the back. Stone Cold Stunner by Hall. The ref comes back in the ring, but Austin kicks out at two. Austin sends Hall into the exposed turnbuckle and gives Hall two Stunners to which Hall oversells terribly. Austin gets his final Wrestlemania victory. Austin's final WM win is also his worst WM match. Hall was treated as a complete jobber during this feud. There was no hook to even have this match since the face was already made to look dominant. Hall didn't have a title or anything to make a story. While Hall was one of the better wrestlers at one time, by 2002, he was a broken down has been. Keep the squashes off of Wrestlemania, please. 10 Minutes. 1 3/4 Stars.

Billy and Chuck (c) vs The Hardy Boyz vs The APA vs The Dudley Boyz - World Tag Team Championships
With their win in the tag team gauntlet at No Way Out, the APA won the shot to challenge the tag team champions, Tazz and Spike Dudley at the big show. However, Tazz and Spike lost the belts to Billy and Chuck (Who were also in the gauntlet match) on Raw. No idea why the Hardyz and Dudleyz were added to the mix except that Billy and Chuck vs The APA wont exactly bring in the buys. The match is under elimination rules, so last team standing are the champs. The Dudley Boyz have Drowning Pool to rock out to live. During Billy and Chuck's entrance, Lawler reveals that he was in a boy band in his teens. The band was called The Backseat Boys. Somewhere in the world, Trent Acid is pissed. As soon as the champs enter the ring, the fight begins before the bell. Of course. Chuck and Bradshaw starts off. Chuck gets an one count. Billy takes a Last Call. You have to figure that Bradshaw is in his glory beating down a former WCW wrestler. In comes Simmons. The champs lays in the boots to Simmons. Big shoulder block by Bradshaw to Billy. Billy kicks out at two. D-Von is tagged in by Billy. Simmons gives Bubba a Spinebuster. Simmons and Chuck fights on the outside. Closeline From Hell to Billy. 3D to Bradshaw! D-Von covers and the APA are eliminated. Hardyz in now. JR - "Who in the hell is legal?" Good question. The Duds set up a table on the outside. Jeff actually doesn't botch Whisper in the Wind. Stacey pulls up her skirt to distract Jeff. Jeff gives her a slap and a kiss. Bubba chokes Jeff with his own shirt. JR mistakes Jeff for Matt. Huge back body drop by Bubba to Jeff. Jeff kicks out at two. Jeff takes a Michaels bump in the corner. Matt takes out everyone once he's tagged in. Matt avoids the back senton. Screaming Legdrop gets a two for Matt. Billy shoves D-Von off of the top rope to send him crashing through the table. Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb to pin Bubba, eliminating the Dudz. Billy throws Jeff out of the ring. Sign Effect to Billy. Tag to Jeff. Poetry in Motion to Billy. Poetry in Motion to Chuck followed by the Twist of Fate and Swanton Bomb. Billy hits the Fame-Ass-Er on Jeff. Chuck covers...ONE...TWO...NO! Jeff kicks out. Billy comes back in the ring with a tag belt. Jeff is knocked out allowing Chuck to easily pin Jeff. Billy and Chuck retains the tag team championships. The match had two distinct parts that they relied on. It was either a clusterfuck that was hard to follow or it was boring. As exciting as the TLC era for tag team wrestling was, by this point you could tell it lacked one major thing - making new stars. The Hardys and Dudleys were the only teams being pushed (Along with E&C) for the past few years. So even when they desperately needed new teams, they didn't have anyone to fall back on. We get this lackluster attempt at putting Billy and Chuck over as the new dominant team in the WWE. They'd be done in October. This is a great example of how Vince failed his tag division when they were at a peak. 14 Minutes. 2 Stars.

Molly is running around in the back, but gets a door slammed against her face. Christian kneels down and covers Molly becoming the new Hardcore champion.

Hollywood Hogan vs The Rock - Icon vs Icon
At No Way Out, Hogan disrespected Rocky, so Rocky challenged Hogan to a match on Raw. In the weeks to follow, Hogan and the nWo attacked The Rock. Once Rocky was in an ambulance, Hogan ran into it with a truck. Before the entrance, Hogan tells Hall and Nash that he wants to take care of this on his own. Hogan is taken aback by just how popular he is in Toronto. Loud 'Hogan' chants. Rock and Hogan just stares around the arena at the screaming fans. The iconic staredown. The bell rings and they circle. Tie-up with shoving Rocky down to a huge applause. By this point, just a minute into the match, it's obvious that Hogan has to be the face. Headlock by Hogan. Hogan gives Rock a shoulder block to the fans standing cheering. JR continues with his mixed reaction BS. Big closeline to Rocky. It's all Hogan in the early going. Rock ducks a closeline and gives Hogan his own. Rock tells Hogan to 'Just Bring IT'! Rock lays in his trademark punches. Hogan botches going over the top rope. Hogan powers himself out of a Rock Bottom. The fans have no quieted down since the two came out. Elbow to Rock. Another. Hogan calls for another, but just facewashes Rocky. LOUD 'Hogan' chant. Rock takes Hogan and gives Hogan a few punches. Back suplex to Rocky. Hogan with an abdominal stretch on Rock. Hogan with a wrestling hold? But...but...but I thought he only had 5 moves?! Hogan scratches the back of The Rock to a great ovation. Hulk looks like he's having the time of his life out there. Hogan bites the forehead of Rocky. Chops in the corner from The Rock. Rock runs into a chokeslam that sends the fans to their feet. Hogan pulls off his wrist tape and chokes Rock. Hogan's doing damn near everything in the heel handbook, but the fans refuse to boo him. Hogan sends Rocky out of the ring. Once again the fans jump to their feet. Hogan tears down the WWE commentating table. Rock slams Hogan's face in the table. The ref pulls a chair out of Rocky's hands. Rock hits the ropes, but Hogan sideswipes Rocky sending The Rock into the ref. Ref Bump~! Spinebuster by Rocky. Rocky wraps Hogan up in the Sharpshooter. Hogan crawls to the ropes. The Rock just pulls Hogan back to the center of the ring. Hogan taps, but the ref is still out cold. Rock kicks the ref to try and wake the ref up. That should really work.
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'Rocky Sucks' chant. Low blow by Hogan. ROCK BOTTOM BY HOGAN!!! One...TWO...NO!!! Rock kicks out. Hogan takes off his weight belt. Hogan whips the back of the Rock. Rocky counters a punch with a DDT. Rock sees the belt laying on the mat. Hogan gets whipped with his own belt. The fans are booing the Rock out of the building! ROCK BOTTOM! One...TWO...NO!!! Hogan kicks out. HOGAN'S HULKING UPPPP!!! YOUUUUU! Punch by Hoan. Another. Hogan sends Rocky to the ropes. BIG BOOT. LEGDROP!!! ONE...TWO....NO!!! Rocky kicks out. The fans are going crazy! Hogan pulls Rocky up to his feet, another Big Boot. The fans are incredibly loud. Rocky moves out of the way of the second legdrop. ROCK BOTTOM! Rocky picks Hogan up again. ROCK BOTTOM again! Rock kips up. Rocky throws his elbow pad to the crowd. PEOPLE'S ELBOW!!! One...TWO...THREE! Rocky finally wins. The Rock celebrates his victory. The Rock's music is cut as Hogan stands in front of him. Hogan slowly extends his hand. Rocky looks into Hogan's eyes then shakes Hogan's hand. Hogan holds his injured ribs as The Rock heads out and the Outsiders enter the ring. The nWo isn't happy that Hogan shook the hand of Rock. The Outsiders attack Hogan. The Rock runs back in the ring and defends Hogan. Hogan and the Rock takes care of the Outsiders sending them out of the ring. Hogan tries to leave the ring, but The Rock stops him asking him to pose for the fans. Rocky's music is cut as Hogan poses. VINTAGE HOGAN!!!! The crowd is going crazy. In the background, The Rock acts as just another fan taking in the historic moment. This was the reason why I ordered Wrestlemania 18 nearly 7 years ago. With Hogan having hip surgery just months before, this could of been a train wreck. However, the combination of an extremely hot crowd and The Rock figuring out how to get a good match out of Hogan gets the job done. Rock gave Hogan his best match of this decade. I'm sure I mentioned it a lot in my Rock DVD review, but while Hogan was the star, The Rock was the one who deserves the praise for this match. Triple H, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton and others all had their shot to put on a match with Hogan since his return, but no one came close to putting on as good of a match as The Rock did. Granted, there were some sloppy moments. However, the fans didn't care, I didn't care in 2002 and I don't care now. The first MOTYC for the WWE. And to think, I was initially disappointed that this was booked over Hogan vs Austin. 17 Minutes. 4 1/4 Stars.

Jazz (c) vs Trish Stratus vs Lita - Women's Championship
How would you like to be followup for Hogan vs The Rock?
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Since debuting in the WWE at Survivor Series 2001, Jazz had been destroying the divas. At No Way Out, she defeated Trish for the title. Now, the two most popular divas gets their chance to win the belt for the second time. Jazz has different music from her debut. Hmm, this one doesn't sound familiar though. Lita just started using the rock theme with vocals. Trish is still rocking her old school theme that she had before the Lil Kim version. Before Trish even gets in the ring, Jazz and Lita are fighting it out. Trish and Lita teams up in the early going. Jazz has Trish screaming in pain with a half Boston Crab. Lita takes the chicken wing throwdown. KILL THESE BITCHES~! Wow, the crowd is completely dead. Lita gets a two count on Jazz. Trish catches Jazz, but Jazz stops her before she can do anything. Schoolgirl cover gets a two for Trish. Trish gets a two on Lita. STIFF kick to the back of the head to Lita by Trish. Damn. Standing Frogsplash by Jazz on Lita. Fisherman buster to Trish by the champ. The crowd is still dead. Reverse DDT by Trish, but Jazz kicks out. Trish and Lita has a stare down. Trade of punches. Badly botched back body drop by Lita. God, Lita sucks at kicks. Seriously, how can you be bad at kicks? Lita even manages to botch taking off her shirt. Trish gets her knees up to block the moonsault by Lita. Double KO spot. Another bad kick and Trish and Lita manages to botch a suplex. Trish attempts the Stratusfaction, but Lita throws her into the corner. Trish's leg is tied up in the ropes looking sick. Trish distracts Lita on the top rope long enough for Jazz to knock Trish down and hit the Fisherman Buster from the middle rope. That's enough to get Jazz the victory. Well, that's your piss break for the evening. The match was very sloppy due to Lita. With the crowd so dead, it was hard to get into it. With a more excited crowd or better placement on the card, this might of been decent enough. But this is just yet another poor women's match on PPV. Pfft, like there's any other kind. 7 Minutes. 1 Star.

Christian runs to his cab with the Hardcore title in hand. Maven attacks him and gets the pin. Maven steals Christian's cab and rides away as champion. Luckily, Raven would end up beating Maven for the title in a couple of weeks.

Chris Jericho (c) w/Stephanie McMahon vs Triple H - Undisputed Championship
Once Hunter won the Royal Rumble and Jericho retained the championship at No Way Out, the match was made. After the wedding meltdown, Stephanie and Hunter were feuding. To further the feud, the WWE decided it'll be best to put Stephanie with Jericho, ignoring their years of feuding. This is of course the feud that saw Jericho picking up the shit of Triple H's dog. Yup, that was your World Champion. Hunter has Drowning Pool playing him to the ring. Jericho is still rocking with the two titles as the Undisputed title would come the next night. JR questions just how bad Hunter's knee is now. Tie-up and Hunter pushes Jericho into the corner. Chris goes after Hunter's knee. Multiple short armed closelines to Jericho. High Knee, but Hunter appears to have injured his knee some. Jericho slowly throws Hunter over the top rope. Hunter catches Chris on the top rope and launches him onto the barrier. Hunter delivers a suplex to the floor. Hunter tears down the Spanish Announce Table. Jericho goes after the knee of Hunter. Spear by Hunter. Trips locks in a Figure Four. Stephanie rakes the eyes of her husband. Hunter grabs the hair of Stepanie. Jericho runs, but Hunter moves out of the way so that Chris runs into Steph. Triple H sets Stephanie up for the Pedigree, but Jericho comes back with a Missile Dropkick to prevent it. Jericho goes back to working on the knee of Trips. With the ref distracted, Stephanie takes a shot at the knee as well. For the main event, the crowd isn't too into this. More knee work by Jericho. Steph slaps Hunter. Figure Four in the ring post by Jericho. Hunter gets in a neckbreaker, but can't follow up on it. Hunter gets in his Arn Anderson Spinebuster. Hunter takes a Hennig bump to the outside. Jericho tears apart the WWE commentating table. How many times has this been done tonight? Jericho and Hunter are on top of the table. Trips sets Jericho up for the Pedigree, but Jericho back body drops Hunter through the Spanish announce table. Lionsault...One...Two...No, Hunter kicks out. Jericho tries turning Hunter over for the Walls of Jericho. Hunter fights out of it. Jericho avoids the Pedigree and locks in the Walls of Jericho. The crowd finally comes alive, but it's short lasting. Hunter tries crawls to the ropes, but Jericho pulls him to the center of the ring. Trips has a burst of energy and makes it to the ropes. Jericho can't believe it. Chris brings in a chair while Stephanie distracts the ref. Hunter gets in a boot to send the chair into the face of Jericho. DDT into the chair. One...two...no! Stephanie climbs in the ring to grab the chair. Referee, Earl Hebner takes the chair away from her. Hunter grabs Stephanie's hair. Pedigree to the Billion Dollar Princess. Chair to Hunter's face! One...Two...NO! Hunter kicks out. Jericho sets Hunter up for the Pedigree, Hunter counters with a monkey flip. Jericho lands on the middle rope and jumps backwards right into the boot by Hunter. Pedigree! One...Two...THREE! Hunter wins the Undisputed Championship and the crowd shows excitement for a few seconds. The crowd was dead. Anytime you have a main event on PPV that has little to no crowd reaction, it really takes a lot away from the match. What made it worse was that the story of this entire match and feud was Hunter vs Stephanie. You just don't ignore the champion like that. It doesn't help matters that Stephanie is such a poor actress either. The knee work was good, but I never really bought into the fact that Hunter was struggling to win. Even as champion, with Stephanie and Hunter being injured, Jericho was the underdog going into the match. While having the World title match as the main event is an obvious choice, it was the wrong choice here tonight. Perhaps had Hunter vs Jericho happened earlier in the night, the crowd would of been more into it and we would of had a better and more memorable match. Jericho's lackluster reign comes to an end and no one even cares. 19 Minutes. 2 1/4 Stars.

Overall
Bad booking can kill any PPV. Sadly, this is one of the worst booked 'Manias in history. Outside of Rock vs Hogan and Taker vs Flair, everything is poorly booked and the match/feud becomes instantly forgotten. I don't know if the failure of the Invasion caused the WWE to have to rewrite their Mania plans, but very little of the show was Mania worthy. There was no reason to book Austin vs Hall when you had perfectly good Hunter vs Austin feud waiting to happen. That at least would of been close to being on the level of Rock vs Hogan. The tag team match needed some serious work. A Hardy Boyz vs Outsiders match could of been a better idea. Wrestlers like Maven, Goldust and DDP didn't really deserve to be on the show. I can remember the first week after it happened, I would come home from school and watch the show every day. Nine years later, I have no desire to watch most of the show. That being said, it's not an one card show like some believes it to be. However, it's only a two match show. Sadly, this Mania reminds me greatly of the older Wrestlemania's where bad booking ruins what could of been a great show. At least the two good matches were great.

Best Match: Hollywood Hogan vs The Rock
Worst Match: Maven vs Goldust

Overall grade: C

__________________

Tommy Platinum

Stop calling Christian ''Cage''.
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The only matches I have watched since I saw this Wrestlemania live are Flair/Taker and Rock/Hogan, both of which, I agree, are of a very high standard. I guess your advice to me would be, don't bother checking out the rest? lol

And yeah Maven in particular on a Mania card = lmao.

__________________

King Steventon

Nothing more to add as you summed this show up as well as I ever could.

Angle/Kane is a pretty underated match, though.

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James Deuce

Yeah I agree with all of this. When I was watching the show at my friends house I though man, I'm really glad I didn't spend my money on this. I thought the whole show was just really boring aside from the Rock/Hogan match...but then again I was/am a huge Rock mark.

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tom2cool

I disagree with the SCSA match, i liked it just due to the fact nash was in it, and hall
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I highly enjoyed the HHH jericho match, dont see why u didnt rate it highly, a rare match i can watch all the way through, shame about the quiet crowd though.

I'l put this mania in my top 5, and a grade B i admit it could of been better dont get me wrong

Mark Bradford

That review is very accurate. I never saw this live though and just bought the wwf dvd. It was nothing special as far as wrestlemanias go. Rock vs Hogan will obviously be the match it will be remembered for. A surprisingly lacklusture show given the importance, in a year which I thought was one of the best in wwe history.

horrorfan_1986

A dead crowd, too much Stephanie, a poorly booked feud and Hunter not being 100% resulted in the rating I gave it. Like I said in the review, had it been booked earlier in the show, it may of been better. When it comes to the main event of Wrestlemania, a dead crowd will take a lot of fun out of the match. Imagine had Cena vs Hunter from 22 had a dead crowd.

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tom2cool

True, i admit it was badly booked.

The crowd was dead due to Rock and hogan being before it which is understandable. Showing they shouldnt of had it last, but rock vs Hogan i guess.

WM 22, with a dead crowd that would of been the worse main event i would have ever seen lol.