Random Thoughts: WrestleMania 19

[Big Nick Dudley]

Just finished watching WM 19, and I'm pretty sure this was only the second time I've watched this particular PPV (first time was the original airing).

Here's the card:

Spoiler

1. Matt Hardy(c) vs. Rey Mysterio- WWE Cruiserweight Championship
2. The Undertaker (and NOT Nathan Jones) vs. Big Show and A-Train
3. Trish Stratus vs. Victoria(c) vs. Jazz- WWE Women's Title
4. Shelton Benjamin/Charlie Haas(c) vs. Eddie/Chavo Guerrero vs. Benoit/Rhyno- WWE Tag Team Championship
5. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
6. Stacy Keibler/Torrie Wilson vs. the Miller Lite Girls (???)
7. Triple H (c) w/ Flair vs. Booker T- World Heavyweight Championship
8. Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon- Street Fight
9. The Rock vs. Steve Austin
10. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (c)-WWE Championship

Some random thoughts/comments/questions:

-Where in the hell was Nathan Jones? I have never gotten the story on what really happened here. If anyone knows, please comment. His not coming in until the end didn't do much for his career.

-Who thought it was a good idea for Limp Bizkit to perform twice?

-Jericho kicking Michaels in the junk after the fake-out hug was freakin' classic. Perfect ending to an amazing match.

-The entire HHH/Booker T feud screamed racism, yet no one thought it was a bad idea? Although, it provide for some hilarious commentary from Jerry Lawler ("Booker and I hang out all the time..today, we went to mall, and he offered to pay for everything..in cigarettes!").

-Vince McMahon looked physically superior to Hulk Hogan, in a big way.

-Piper interfering in the Hogan/McMahon match was really, really stupid. Especially with Piper looking like a broken-down, drunken bum.

-Rock/Austin wasn't bad for neither being very active around that time.

-Having Brock/Angle go on, directly after Hogan/McMahon and Austin/Rock, probably wasn't a great idea. The crowd was quite dead..that is until Brock nearly killed himself.

-Has there ever been a WrestleMania with more "Star" power (Austin, Rock, McMahon, Hogan, Flair, HHH, HBK, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Jericho, Big Show, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Booker T)??

 

[Serious Jones]

That was when Matt Hardy was in an angle where he was actually trying to lose weight. Good times.

 

[Disturbed]

The Rock/Austin and Jericho/HBK matches were classic.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

That was when Matt Hardy was in an angle where he was actually trying to lose weight. Good times.

Complete failure. Not a Mysterio fan, but Rey is never boring. Matt Hardy made that a boring match.

 

[The Brain]

Just finished watching WM 19, and I'm pretty sure this was only the second time I've watched this particular PPV (first time was the original airing).

Here's the card:

Spoiler

1. Matt Hardy(c) vs. Rey Mysterio- WWE Cruiserweight Championship
2. The Undertaker (and NOT Nathan Jones) vs. Big Show and A-Train
3. Trish Stratus vs. Victoria(c) vs. Jazz- WWE Women's Title
4. Shelton Benjamin/Charlie Haas(c) vs. Eddie/Chavo Guerrero vs. Benoit/Rhyno- WWE Tag Team Championship
5. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
6. Stacy Keibler/Torrie Wilson vs. the Miller Lite Girls (???)
7. Triple H (c) w/ Flair vs. Booker T- World Heavyweight Championship
8. Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon- Street Fight
9. The Rock vs. Steve Austin
10. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (c)-WWE Championship

Some random thoughts/comments/questions:

This is my all time favorite mania. It was a huge show. Safeco Field was a unique venue and added a special atmosphere.

-Where in the hell was Nathan Jones? I have never gotten the story on what really happened here. If anyone knows, please comment. His not coming in until the end didn't do much for his career.

I remember hearing that WWE didn't have any confidence in Jones. He was very sloppy in the ring and they did not feel comfortable with him performing at mania. Kayfabe he was attacked by Show and A Train before mania which took him out of the match.

-Who thought it was a good idea for Limp Bizkit to perform twice?

Doing Taker's entrance would have been more than enough.

-Jericho kicking Michaels in the junk after the fake-out hug was freakin' classic. Perfect ending to an amazing match.

LOVE this match. It was great to have HBK back at mania. Match of the decade in my opinion.

-The entire HHH/Booker T feud screamed racism, yet no one thought it was a bad idea? Although, it provide for some hilarious commentary from Jerry Lawler ("Booker and I hang out all the time..today, we went to mall, and he offered to pay for everything..in cigarettes!").

I guess it's naive to think the fued had nothing to do with race, but race was never once mentioned. I liked the feud a lot and think this in an underrated match. Awkward finish but good match.

-Vince McMahon looked physically superior to Hulk Hogan, in a big way.

That's true. Kind of sad. Great performance. Vince peaking over the ring apron covered in blood with that sadistic grin on his face is classic.

-Piper interfering in the Hogan/McMahon match was really, really stupid. Especially with Piper looking like a broken-down, drunken bum.

100% disagree here. I thought Piper was a great touch. The whole feud was about who created mania, Hogan or McMahon. For years Piper had claimed he never got the credit he desereved when it came to WM1 and his surprise apperance was fitting.

-Rock/Austin wasn't bad for neither being very active around that time.

My favoite of the trilogy. Mostly because of the drama. To this day it's Austin's last match. Loved the Rock's entrance. Made him seem larger than life.

-Having Brock/Angle go on, directly after Hogan/McMahon and Austin/Rock, probably wasn't a great idea. The crowd was quite dead..that is until Brock nearly killed himself.

You're right about the crowd but I think this was the appropriate main event. Having Angle and Lesnar go on last on a card that had Hulk, Vince, Austin, Rock, HBK, and HHH was a real push for those guys who were expected to carry WWE into the future.

-Has there ever been a WrestleMania with more "Star" power (Austin, Rock, McMahon, Hogan, Flair, HHH, HBK, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, Jericho, Big Show, Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Booker T)??

This is part of the reason it's my favorite. Stars everywhere you look. Just an epic show.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

You're right about the crowd but I think this was the appropriate main event. Having Angle and Lesnar go on last on a card that had Hulk, Vince, Austin, Rock, HBK, and HHH was a real push for those guys who were expected to carry WWE into the future.

Yeah, I'm not saying it shouldn't have gone on last. But I think they should have divided the big matches up a little better. Have some filler between those three huge matches.

 

[The Brain]

Yeah, I'm not saying it shouldn't have gone on last. But I think they should have divided the big matches up a little better. Have some filler between those three huge matches.

I see where you're coming from and normally I agree. In this case I think it was great to have one awesome match after another. Having each match bigger than the last made that mania feel huge.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I see where you're coming from and normally I agree. In this case I think it was great to have one awesome match after another. Having each match bigger than the last made that mania feel huge.

Great for watching it on PPV, but yeah, it killed the live audience.

 

[The Brain]

That's true, and that's a shame. Now I feel like watching this again. That's what I should have done while I was snowed in all day. A little late to start a four hour ppv now.

Where do you rank this mania Nick? It's number one for me but I know most don't like it as much as I did.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

That's true, and that's a shame. Now I feel like watching this again. That's what I should have done while I was snowed in all day. A little late to start a four hour ppv now.

Where do you rank this mania Nick? It's number one for me but I know most don't like it as much as I did.

Well, I usually go with 4, 8 and 17. Closely followed by 5, 7 and 20. So probably somewhere between #6 and #10. I liked the show, just not as much as the others listed.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Too late to edit, so I have to add it here.

-The commentary was amazing. The banter between Lawler and JR was as good as ever, especially during the Booker T/HHH match. The chemistry those two had is almost unmatched. And Michael Cole! What in the hell happened to this guy? I forgot he was actually capable of showing emotion while doing his play-by-play job. As a heel he's doing alright, but when he's strictly play-by-play, he's boring as shit compared to what he used to do. Taz...well, he was a idiotic and terrible as ever.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Cole worked really hard on Mania 19. He had practically lost his voice by the end of the night. Tazz was dull but does get the most memorable line of the night (Being 'Oh MY GOD!' after Lensar's shooting star press).

My favourite Mania and while I liked having all the big matches towards the end, it should have been spaced out better for the live fans.

 

[THE SWAG]

if not for the hbk vs y2j, and rock vs austin this mania would have been a complete failure

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

It's so weird, I actually had the DVD of mania 19 and when I look at the card, the only match I remember clearly was Hogan and McMahon. I look at benjamin and haas for example and just go huh? Don't remember seeing them!

if not for the hbk vs y2j, and rock vs austin this mania would have been a complete failure

Yes well done, without the good matches the PPV would have been bad, I understand your rep situation now. Besides not true anyway, McMahon and Hogan undoubtedly sold a lot.

 

[Coco]

I remember most people where I lurked on the internet back in '03 thinking the Booker T vs. Triple H feud was hella racist. Everybody thought it was a bad idea.

Lesnar vs. Angle sucked. Doesn't touch their SummerSlam or SmackDown matches.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Cole worked really hard on Mania 19. He had practically lost his voice by the end of the night. Tazz was dull but does get the most memorable line of the night (Being 'Oh MY GOD!' after Lensar's shooting star press).

Yeah, Cole almost losing his voice was nice for a change. It showed that he actually, before becoming a bigger part of the show (heel turn), gave a shit about what he was doing. Same can't be said in recent years.

if not for the hbk vs y2j, and rock vs austin this mania would have been a complete failure

Maybe they were the two best matches that night, and I'm not even sure about that, but without them it would not have been a failure. Not even close.

Lesnar vs. Angle sucked. Doesn't touch their SummerSlam or SmackDown matches.

The match was boring. I still think the order in which the matches were put on had a lot to do with the dead crowd, but I'm not convinced any crowd could have stuck with this match. The ending, where Brock attempted to kill himself, was really the only entertaining part.

 

[Y-2-Jay]

After watching some WWE DVD's i found out a random "cursed" fact about this event as 3 people nearly died either before or after the event.

Austin was rushed into hospital just a day before (Nearly having a heart attack), Lesnar was knocked the fuck out so bad (Near dead) that he was near fighting with people backstage after the event for no reason because he didnt have a clue what happened. (Watch the Mania Of Wrestlemania extra on WM20 DVD for more on that) and then Kurt Angle was rushed into the hospital right after the match and everyone thought he was dead too.

Never heard so many near death things happening in one PPV weekend.

 

[Y-2-Jay]

I remember most people where I lurked on the internet back in '03 thinking the Booker T vs. Triple H feud was hella racist.

Does this back up that statement?

[YOUTUBE]kSUXd_-ojbY[/YOUTUBE]

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

It was the moment when HHH offered Booker a spot as his chauffeur that pretty much sealed that angle as racist. Thing is, it would have somewhat worked if Booker had won. Of course he didn't because it was during Triple H's war on the old WCW stars.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

It was the moment when HHH offered Booker a spot as his chauffeur that pretty much sealed that angle as racist. Thing is, it would have somewhat worked if Booker had won. Of course he didn't because it was during Triple H's war on the old WCW stars.

Yeah, Booker basically got shit on during that entire angle. He never stood a chance, and I would have been pretty annoyed with it all if I were in his shoes. He was made to look like a total piece of shit, and then lost to the heel who had been bashing him. It worked, but I bet Booker couldn't have been happier to see it end.

 

[X]

Am I the ONLY person who liked the Booker/HHH match? Yeah Trips shouldn't have gone over, obviously, but I thought up until the finish that was a pretty solid title match.

Probably my favorite 'Mania ever. Well, not counting the nostalgia factor. But on star power and match quality it's the best ever, with only 17 giving it a real run for it's money.

 

[jmt225]

Am I the ONLY person who liked the Booker/HHH match? Yeah Trips shouldn't have gone over, obviously, but I thought up until the finish that was a pretty solid title match.

The match definitely had the greatest Harlem Hangover in history. I mean, Book's leg landed right across HHH's face. I know that shit had to fucking hurt, and that alone makes up for all the crap HHH got away with during that feud (especially since Booker would get his deserved World Title run a few years later, anyway).

 

[Phoenix]

You got this video as well shows why Trips overturned the decision.

 

[The Brain]

Am I the ONLY person who liked the Booker/HHH match? Yeah Trips shouldn't have gone over, obviously, but I thought up until the finish that was a pretty solid title match.

Probably my favorite 'Mania ever. Well, not counting the nostalgia factor. But on star power and match quality it's the best ever, with only 17 giving it a real run for it's money.

I liked the match a lot. I thought it was a great feud. The only probelm was the awkward finish. I don't mind Triple H going over Booker. Triple H is better and there's nothing wrong the the champion getting a successful title defense. I think just getting the title shot at mania was a big enough push for Booker.

We agree on our top two manias. I'm right there with you with 19 as my favorite and 17 a close second.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Am I the ONLY person who liked the Booker/HHH match?

I loved the match, and I found the entire angle to be entertaining. But that doesn't mean it didn't make me a bit uncomfortable from time to time.