Cruiserweight Championship
Matt Hardy Vs Rey Mysterio
We kick off the show with a fast paced and enjoyable bout for the only singles mid-card title in the company at this time. Rey had been having a great year working in the upper mid-card with Angle, Benoit, Guerrero and Edge but unfortunately this match marked the beginning of his move away from that and into Cruiserweight Championship contention only, much as he had been in WCW. Thankfully it won't be long before his main-event potential is recognised again, but not for another two years. Shannon Moore actually adds a lot to the bout as Hardy's “MF'er” (Mattitute Follower/Manager) and Matt was doing some of his best work under the Version 1.0 gimmick. This match should have been given twice the time it had to really mean something, but as is, it was an effective opener to get the show going.
Rating: 4 Stars
Handicap
The Undertaker Vs The Big Show and A-Train
I might not be the biggest Limp Bizkit fan in the world, but I found their integration into this event was well balanced and added a lot to the atmosphere. The Undertaker's entrance here was better than the match itself and comes across as really special. This one was interesting as it was originally booked as a proper tag match including the rookie Nathan Jones, but in the final hour plans were changed and Jones now only has a quick, effective run-in. At this time, Taker's streak was only trivial and it was at one point going to end here to put over, of all people, A-Train. Thankfully that didn't happen, allowing for many great WrestleMania moments in the future for Undertaker and a trip down the card for the former Albert. The match benefits from the terrific atmosphere in Safeco Field, and while it is the worst match of the night as expected, it doesn't go on too long and is completely watchable.
Rating: 2.5 Stars
WWE Tag Team Championship
Team Angle Vs Los Guerreros Vs Chris Benoit and Rhyno
Ever since it's inception in the autumn, the SmackDown tag team division has been one of the highlights of the entire WWE. While this match may not have the same star power as the earlier classics, it's still very good and very entertaining. Aside from Benoit and the Guerreros, three of the talents whom the division was based on this year, you have the rookies Haas and Benjamin as well as the returning and motivated Rhyno. Haas and Benjamin earn the name Team Angle, showing amazing athletic and grappling talents while working cohesively as a unit. Rhyno has never been the most charismatic of performers but his Gore/Spear has huge impact and he fits in well here. Benoit and the Guerreros work just as well as usual together, even if it's a shame Chris and Eddie couldn't have been given something better to do. Could have used a smidgen more time to really get going, but it does it's job as an entertaining match in the mid-card.
Rating: 4 Stars
Shawn Michaels Vs Chris Jericho
So often we look back at the history of the wrestling industry and all we see is tragedy, an awful melody death, drugs and despair. What we see less often are the stories of unbelievable triumph, and make no mistake: The return of Shawn Michaels in 2002 was one of wrestling's greatest triumphs. Four years previously at WrestleMania XIV, Michaels retired due to suffering a broken back, but not before passing the torch that was the WWF Championship to Steve Austin. Austin was the mega-star needed to defeat WCW during the Monday Night Wars and return the WWF to it's former popularity. Michaels had never been that guy, like Bret Hart he was popular but never a true draw despite his talent. During the 90s Michaels had numerous bad attitudes and habits, which by the end of the decade caught up to him as both his personal and professional lives fell apart.
It's oddly poetic that the WrestleMania return of the Heartbreak Kid would come on the very same night as the end of Austin's career. Between these two events I'd argue WrestleMania XIX was the end of the Attitude Era that took place in the gap of Michaels career, with Shawn now a guiding force for a new generation. Shawn turned from drugs to religion, stabilised his life and became a husband and a father. Older and wiser, he returned to the ring a new man and would go on to give us some of the greatest matches of the last ten years.
Many of those matches would be with Chris Jericho, a legendary performer in his own right, whose year so far had been a long drop from his world championship position twelve months ago. Perhaps the best all-round pro-wrestler in history, Jericho is also one of the most professional workers in the world, multi-talented and oozing with charisma. This first feud of many would be based around the similarities between Jericho and Michaels, and how Jericho didn't want to be the “next Shawn Michaels”, but rather the first Chris Jericho.
So you have arguably the two most rounded wrestling performers of all time, squaring off on the grandest stage of 'em all. To say greatness was expected from this match would be a huge understatement, and boy did they deliver. Jericho performs well as the image of the old Michaels - rude, arrogant, aggravating - but also extremely talented. He steals all of Michael's signature moves, most memorably even his own rendition of Sweet Chin Music, but ultimately can't get the job done. If he hadn't proved it through his work with Triple H, this match solidified Michaels as not only being back, but better than ever.
Both men work a well balanced, fast-paced, physical match with plenty of memorable high-spots. My one gripe is with the ending, where Michaels abandons selling his back completely to land on his feet and roll up Jericho for the three. It's not the roll up that's the problem, rather it's how it comes directly after a Flair Flip in the corner that should put Michaels down for a while. If I was Jericho, I'd kick Michaels in the balls for that one too.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
World Heavyweight Championship
Triple H Vs Booker T
This is a pair I always expect to put on a great match, but one who never quite click in the ring (See SummerSlam 2007 as well). Triple H had dominated Raw since the Brand Extension, and besides the return of Shawn Michaels his matches as champion ranged from lackluster (Vs RVD) to downright awful (Vs Kane, Vs Steiner). Booker T had been very popular in the tag division all year but never came near a main-event run beyond the Elimination Chamber. It seemed to be the perfect choice for the World Title match as the popular, down to earth face took on the unpopular, entitled heel. For what it's worth, this is probably the best Triple H match since becoming World Heavyweight Champion besides the matches with HBK. Again, this match benefits from the big fight atmosphere in Seattle, but unlike the rest of the main-events this one didn't need twenty minutes, dragged in the middle and ended just as it became enjoyable. Disappointing.
Rating: 3 Stars
Street Fight
Hulk Hogan Vs Vince McMahon
The wild card match of the night, this one could have gone either way. The build-up had been solid and any wrestling fan can understand the significance of it, but at the same time you had two men with a combined age of 106 going out and performing a match for almost twenty minutes, one a wrestling has-been another who never-was. Fortunately both were willing to go all-out for this one, using the Street Fight stipulation to cover their various inabilities. McMahon and Hogan bled all over, and considering their age they took part in some crazy spots. The various run-ins were all on point, McMahon even bringing Roddy Piper back to try to get revenge on Hogan for the first WrestleMania, but in the end Hogan won and all was right in the world. There's not much to say about this one, it's a messy, bloody brawl with buckets of atmosphere and real-life animosity between the performers - and much more entertaining than it has any right to be.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
The Rock Vs Steve Austin
Although Rock and Austin have collided at numerous point in their careers, history will remember their WrestleMania trilogy above all else. The first instalment at WrestleMania XV was the classic match of the Attitude Era – The Rock, the corporate champion and Vince McMahon's stooge against Stone Cold Steve Austin at the hight of his popularity. It was a hardcore brawl that ended with Austin reclaiming the gold and toasting it with a beer. Two years pass and the second instalment at WrestleMania X-Seven was even bigger, another all out brawl where both men were favourites which ended with the shocking alliance between Austin and Vince McMahon. Two years have passed again, only now Rock and Austin have both been away from the spotlight for quite some time.
Austin had been in serious pain the year before and was having difficulties with the direction of the WWE product. His departure was controversial and forced many plans to change for the summer. After some time away he felt in better shape and was convinced to return at No Way Out 2003. The fans forgave him easily although backstage some still held a grudge. The Rock also returned at No Way Out, but his return was the total contrast. His star rising in Hollywood, he left the WWE after SummerSlam to make more films and live a much more comfortable lifestyle. The WWE fans resented this and booed him upon his return. In response, The Rock became a better heel than he'd ever been, delivering some of the greatest promos of all time.
However with both men so out of the loop, for WrestleMania there were few places left for them to fit. The big feuds were already in place, so it was decided to put them together again with the story that Rock was desperate to defeat Austin at a WrestleMania, something he'd never done. The build up was filled with great Rock promos and the match was rightly Raw's main-event. However what was not widely known at the time was the physical condition of Steve Austin. As documented on 'The Mania of WrestleMania', a film made at this time, Austin's neck problems were becoming very serious and he was told he could never wrestle again. He knew going in that this match would be his last, but barely told anyone outside his inner circle. Austin was extremely nervous, concerned with being able to perform at the standard expected of him and put on a good show for his last ever.
His physical condition meant this match would be difficult, with only The Rock and JR aware of the situation within the production. It's a shame in many ways that we didn't know, but that was how Austin wanted it. He didn't want lots of attention or emotion, no big final hurrah to send him into the sunset - all he wanted was to put on a show and leave with dignity. Inside the ring they tell a personal story, this time without the violent brawling of their first two encounters. Instead they stick with pure wrestling, strong character and plenty of taunts.
I don't know if it's my background knowledge, the amazing set-up at Safeco Field or my partiality for endings, but this is my favourite Austin/Rock match of all time. Even unspoken you can see the emotion in both men, the knowledge that this is the end of the most iconic era in modern wrestling and the end of one of the greatest careers in history. The six second pause before Rock delivers the third and final Rock Bottom gives me chills, I just wish the commentary could have recognised what this moment truly was, instead focusing on Rock's achievement of finally besting Austin at WrestleMania. Had this match been Career Vs Career it would have been absolutely huge and the ending could have been even better than it already was.
As it is, this is still a great match, but when you know the background on Austin and the future of both men it moves up a peg into all-time best status. The idea that this could have been even bigger boggles the mind, but on his last night Austin delivered a classic for which he should be eternally proud.
Rating: 5 Stars
WWE Championship
Brock Lesnar Vs Kurt Angle
Now we come to it, the main event of the evening and would you believe it: they saved the best for last. Despite two classics on the card so far, in the first and only WrestleMania main event for either man, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar put on the match of the year. On paper it's the perfect match to sum up the SmackDown brand at that time. Performing in a resume of classics other can't match in their entire careers, from his feud with Edge to his tag team championship reign with Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle had been the best wrestler in the WWE from 2002 through 2003 by a wide margin.
On the other side, Brock Lesnar had enjoyed the best rookie season any superstar has ever had. As a man he possessed every quality a top wrestler could ever need – size, strength, skill, stamina – all guided by the best booker in the business, Paul Heyman. He won the King of the Ring and the Royal Rumble in the same year. He defeated Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam, Hulk Hogan, The Rock and The Big Show clean – even The Undertaker in Hell in a Cell. He was the youngest WWE Champion of all time in a record that still stands today.
Their feud had been built since Brock lost his championship at Survivor Series 2002 and, although it was teased many times, we never saw a true match between them until now. As with Austin, Kurt Angle was badly injured, in need of surgery and greatly concerned that he couldn't make it to WrestleMania. The lure of competing at his first main event at the big show kept him going, and fortunately for everyone this would not turn out to be his last match.
The pace is steady throughout, mixing up Angle's fantastic grappling with Lesnar's amazing power. On commentary I've never been a fan of Cole or Tazz as individuals, but together they somehow work really well. Here Tazz adds to the grapples and submissions by explaining them and bringing in his background of pure wrestling strategy. Meanwhile Cole's voice is just downright gone at this point but it actually adds to the emotion of the match. The way he asks Tazz to expand or explain something is actually really good and together they help translate the story the athletes are performing in the ring.
Given the men involved this match is all about the moves; the gorgeous Release German Suplex from Angle to Lesnar, the Grapevine Ankle Lock which Lesnar crawls out of and Lesnar's infamous botched Shooting Star Press. If you've ever seen Lesnar perform that move right, you'll know how impressive and devastating it is to see such a beast of a man do something so athletic. Unfortunately he doesn't make his rotation and lands on his head, giving himself a concussion instead. The professional Angle realises what happened, rolled away as if he avoided it and covered Lesnar for two. Incredibly Lesnar then gets up, hits Angle with another F5 and finishes the match, but everyone watching thought he might be dead when he hit the mat, and that fear takes away from the ending. Never the less, this is classic stuff and Lesnar had been fully legitimised now as the top star of the future. Sadly he only had one year left with the company before he tired of the work and ultimately ended up being the modern face of UFC. At only 34 years old today, a pro-wrestling return is completely possible for him, in which case the WWE will be happy to have such an impressive main event background to promote from.
Rating: 5 Stars
WWE WrestleMania XIX 2003 Final Score: 5 Stars
It's hard to believe that the WWE could put on a better show than SummerSlam 2002, but they pulled it off. The World Heavyweight Championship match was a small let down and a fair amount of time was wasted on the usual filler involving the divas, but the big matches all delivered, each received nearly twenty minutes and the atmosphere in Safeco Field was incredible. I do wish we'd all known going in that this would be Steve Austin's last match, but had that been the case Kurt Angle would have missed out on a well earned main-event spot so I'm okay with it. It's hard to divorce this event from the amazing insights of The Mania of WrestleMania behind-the-scenes film released the year after, which really adds retrospective significance to Rock Vs Austin and Lesnar Vs Angle. Rarely does a PPV contain this amount of quality, action, story and history but this one certainly does. A serious contender for the best WWE PPV of all time, WrestleMania XIX was an amazing show to cap off a very important year in wrestling history.
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