I would show that person pretty much the entirety of Wrestlemania 19. Everything after the Women's Championship match on that card was outstanding. The first three matches were good, but not overwhelming.
Match 1: Matt Hardy vs Rey Mysterio
Sadly, this match was a bit too short, and played a lot of the fact that Matt Hardy is actually heavier than the weight limit for the Cruiserweight division. Good open, but it should have been longer.
Match 2: Undertaker vs. Big Show and A-Train
Honestly, this is the match I would skip on this show. It would take too long to explain the stroryline, and to explain why the Undertaker is that level badass to take out two guys that each outweigh him by over 50 pounds. The finish, with Nathan Jones interfering, was also kinda stupid, and hurt the quality of the match.
Match 3: Trish Stratus vs. Victoria vs. Jazz
Let's be real for a second. Outside of Trish vs. Lita, how many great women's matches are there in mainstream wrestling? Answer: Not many. This is one of the best examples you're going to come up with in mainstream wrestling. It's a good sign of what women's wrestling is capable of.
Match 4: Team Angle (Haas and Benjain) vs. Los Guererros vs. Chris Benoit and Rhyno
Now, we get to the good stuff. This is the match that shows a big selling point in professional wrestling. The difference in styles. Let's face facts. In MMA, there ae really only 3 styles. Knock them out standing, put them on the ground, and knock them out, or make them submit. In MMA, you don't see very much play between those styles.
Hass and Benjamin are both breat wrestlers, and work very well together. Benjamin is the faster and more agile of the two, with Haas being, in my opinion, better at mat wrestling and a bit more powerful. Their amateur background is something that should appeal to an MMA fan.
Los Guererros, on the other hand, were all about out-thinking their opponent, and capitalizing on mistakes. They tricked opponents, and created their own opportunities. Granted, that usually came through cheating, but, as Jesse Ventura would say, "If the ref doesn't see it, it's not illegal."
Chris Benoit and Rhyno, however, never struck me as a real tag-team. These were just two guys who were thrown together to be on the card.
That doesn't mean that I don't think they're good wrestlers. They were both completely intense, and could be seen as legitimate threats in any match. All 6 of these guys just worked so well together, and put on a great match that, to me, is a high water mark for tag team wrestling. I'm sorry to say that I don't remember specifics about this match, just that it was a good match.
Match 5: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho
One thing WWE has always done a good job with is video packages that showcase the best parts of a fued. And, with Michaels and Jericho, there was a great library of moments to choose from leading to this match. And, it didn't hurt matters that these were among the best in the world at the time.
One of the compaints about professional wrestling that I hear is that in ring decisions make no sense. Therefore, I love matches in which everything flows smoothly, and things can be explained simply. "Why the hell did he do that?" was never asked during this match, and the in ring work was spectacular.
Match 6: Triple H vs. Booker T
MMA is full of champions that underestimate their challengers. In a nutshell, that's the storyline behind this match. This is another match that made perfect sense, to me, and these guys really put on a good match. The idea of taking away one of your opponent's strengths should make sense, and explains Triple H's attacking Booker's legs during the match. It's not often that people in MMA have a true heel, who they just want to see get demolished. Triple H is an incredible heel, and makes you actually care about Booker, even if you didn't beforehand.
Match 7: Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon
I refuse to believe that there's a person living in a developed country that doesn't know the name "Hulk Hogan." This match, while not a technically good match, showed an emotion that MMA completely lacks. How many UFC fans dislike Dana White, and want to see him in the Octagon with Royce Gracie?
Tell me that you can look at this picture, know that Hogan won the match, and not believe that Hogan overcame a singular force of evil. Also, any MMA fight would have been stopped long before that level of bloodhsed could be reached. This match was amazing, not for the in ring quality, but for the passion shown by two men, both of whom were well into their 50's, and had absolutely nothing to prove. This match was solely for the love of the game, and the product showed it.
Match 8: The Rock vs. Steve Austin
Do I really need to say anything about this match? It's The Rock and Stone Cold at a Wrestlemania. I genuinely dislike Dwayne Johnson. I genuinely hate The Rock. And, yet, I can't say anything bad about this match. This match is one-ups-manship, of the highest level.
In this match, you got the finale of a fued that has gone on, at least at a simmer, for the last 5 years. This match had a tall task put on it, as well. This match had to follow the bloodfeast that was Hogan/McMahon, without losing the crowd's interest, or painting the ring with even more crimson. The fact that this was Austin's last match is just an added bonus to this match, which was a great match, on every level.
Match 9: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle
What we have here is one of the biggest names in MMA against one of the greatest amateur wresters of all time. Lesnar had spent the last year being pushed as a humanoid beacon of destruction, and Angle was the WWE Champion. They went blow for blow and move for move for 20 minutes. The pace was fast, the action was intense, and the drama was there.
The one part of the match that baffled me when I saw it was Lesnar going to the top rope. At the time, I was unaware that he was able to actually do a Shooting Star Press. So, when he came off the tope rope, I jumped off of my couch. And, a second later, I cringed, because I thought that Lesnar had just died. But, he found a way to get up and finish the match. Afterwards, Angle showed respect to the new champion, and Lesnar had a short celebration to end the show.
Seriously, I would put this as the single best wrestling show in history. There wasn't an overall bad match on the card, and everything flowed fairly well. I think it would have done better as a longer show, but that's a small complaint. I certainly got my money's worth getting this show on pay-per-view, and I feel that it should be a part of any serious wrestling fan's DVD collection.
(Edited after re-reading the card for this Wrestlemania, and realizing that I missed Benoit and Rhyno being in the tag title match)
