Wrestlemania 15: A Retrospective Look

[Dagger Dias]

This is part of a series of threads looking back on the previous Wrestlemania events, one by one, up until Wrestlemania 30 which is just a little more than a month away. We are now halfway through, with this being the 15th of 29 topics in the thread series. Every couple of days I will post another topic until all 29 have been covered in time for the big day in April.

We are discussing Wrestlemania 15 this time around....!

Wrestlemania 15 took place on March 28, 1999. It was held at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where 20,276 fans came to watch the show. Here are the match results:


0. Jacqueline (with Terri Runnels) defeated Ivory (with D'Lo Brown) in a singles match as part of Heat.

0. D'Lo Brown and Test won when Droz and The Godfather eliminated each other in a 21-man battle royal to determine the number one contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship as part of Heat.

1. Hardcore Holly defeated Billy Gunn (c) and Al Snow in a triple threat hardcore match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship (07:07)

2. Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (c) (with Debra) defeated D'Lo Brown and Test (with Ivory) in a tag team match to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (03:57)

3. Butterbean defeated Bart Gunn in a brawl for all match (00:38)

4. Mankind defeated "The Big Show" Paul Wight by disqualification in a singles match to become the special guest referee of the main event. (06:52)

5. Road Dogg (c) defeated Ken Shamrock, Goldust (with The Blue Meanie and Ryan Shamrock) and Val Venis in a four corners elimination match to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship (09:46)

6. Kane (with Chyna) defeated Triple H by disqualification in a singles match (11:35)

7. Sable (c) defeated Tori in a singles match to retain the WWF Women's Championship (04:51)

8. Shane McMahon (c) (with Test) defeated X-Pac in a singles match to retain the WWF European Championship (08:38)

9. The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated The Big Boss Man Hell in a Cell match (09:46)

10. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock (c) in a No Disqualification match to win the WWF Championship (16:55)





Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 15, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in March 1999. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Wrestlemania 15 in this thread. The other Wrestlemania events will be getting their own retrospective threads shortly, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

 

[enviousdominous]

Alright, I'll be the first one to say it. (unless someone beats me to it while I type this, I'm trying to be diligent.)

The best match on that card was, Steve Austin vs The Rock. Why? It had every memorable spot from that entire card. I mean honestly, I have to pick The Undertaker's match as the worst match only because I can actually remember how bad it was. The other matches happened before my very eyes, and my brain dumped them. Completely forgotten, I don't know which is worse but at least I can remember why I hated Undertaker's match.

The Rock and Stone Cold put on a barn burner for us. The entire match was chock full of high spots, both men played to the strengths of their gimmicks and it was the only reason anybody bought a ticket or got it on PPV. It was one of those rare moments where a main event truly lives up to its hype and over shadows the other matches so well that we immediately forget why we hated what we just saw.

The Undertaker vs Bossman was terrible. I remember a spot where I think Bossman handcuffed Undertaker to the chain link wall, only to have the weight of Undertaker's arm manage to rip the chain of the handcuff. I remember the hype going into this match as well. Undertaker was in the Ministry of Darkness, Bossman was in the Corporation. They were two heel stables that nobody gave a shit about at the time because all they did was run around the back and do stupid shit. Undertaker confronted Bossman in the back.

Undertaker: Bossman, I've been looking for you.

Bossman: You wouldn't have to try very hard to FIND me!

Both men pause in suspense and Bossman looks confused. Then they all fight in the back.

It was a great show, only because Austin and Rock had the crowd in the palm of their hands and they didn't disappoint.

 

[MMK]

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 15, what would it be and why?

First thing that should be changed is Paul Wight being booked in a match. He NEVER should have debuted at St.Valentines Day Massacre. All that did was lead to a match with Austin on RAW in which Big Show lost clean in his first big WWF Match. It's the number one reason why his stint in WWF never lived up to the billing. He looked liked a fool from the second he showed up.

Austin simply should have won his 3rd straight Rumble and advanced to face Rock for the title. Simple as that. McMahon winning the Rumble left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't see it being that different from Vince Russo winning the World Title in WCW. Bookers booking themselves to win never works.

Here are my changes to the WM15 card:

Mr.McMahon vs Mankind:Hardcore match
THIS is where Paul Wight should have debuted. He interferes and chokeslams Mankind through the ring, thus helping Mcmahon win. Big Show should have debuted at THE BIG SHOW: Wrestlemania. What better night to make your debut than at Wrestlemania. His feud with Mankind could have carried over into April, and after that he feuds with the likes of Austin, Undertaker, and eventually Rock when he left the corporation. Big Show should have gone undefeated for at least several months upon his arrival in WWF, instead he debuted a month too early and immediately lost to Austin. All down hill from there.

Corporation VS D-Generation X
Test, Shane, Shamrock and Bossman vs Triple H, XPac, Roaddogg and Billy
Seeing as how there were no traditional elimination matches at the 98 Survivor Series, why not have one at Wrestlemania. Triple H joined the corporation at this event when he assisted Shane in defeating XPac. You could still do that scenario here in this match only Triple H and Chyna could have turned on all 3 fellow DX members and assisted the entire corporation in beating them down.

HELL IN A CELL: The Undertaker vs Kane
Undertaker wrestled in a Hell In A Cell at this Mania, which I'm fine with, the only problem was his less than believable opponent: The Bossman. I would have gone with Taker vs Kane 2. Only this time, unlike last years Mania, Taker is the heel and Kane is the face and it takes place inside Hell In A Cell where they first encountered each other back in 97.

TAG TEAM TITLES: OWEN HART & JEFF JARRETT VS THE BROOD
The Brood deserved at least ONE tag team championship reign. They could have pulled the old Demoltion/Freebirds rule in which you never which 2 of the 3 you'd be facing. That group was one of the best they came up with during this era. The entrance, the music, it all worked. They deserved a better fate.

 

[The Brain]

We have arrived at what in my opinion is the worst WrestleMania. I know it was smack in the middle of the beloved attitude era but this was an awful mania. It's hard to pick a favorite match because I don't think any of them were any good. I guess my choice for a favorite match would be Bart Gunn against Butterbean. Think about that for a minute. This mania was so bad that my favorite match was an irrelevant low card guy in a 30 second boxing match against a non wrestler that most people never heard of. The knockout punch was a sight to see but it's sad that it was the highlight of the night. My least favorite match was Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett vs. D Lo Brown & Test for the tag titles. It was supposed to be either D Lo and Mark Henry challenging for the belts or possibly a six person tag with Debra teaming with Hart and Jarrett and Ivory teaming with D Lo and Henry, but Mark Henry got hurt and the brilliant creative minds of the attitude era couldn't come up with a decent solution. Either that or they couldn't be bothered. Either way this was a ridiculous match for WrestleMania. D Lo and Test got the title shot because they were the last two standing in a battle royal right before mania started. Lame as can be.

I think this was destined to be a bad mania but I have a few changes that would have made it better. My first change is to not make a change in the IC and Hardcore title matches. Road Dogg was supposed to be in the Hardcore match and Billy Gunn was supposed to be in the IC match. Both had storylines with their original opponents that had been going on for several weeks. A week or two before the show they switched places for literally no reason. LITERALLY no reason. Obviously I would have kept the Outlaws in their original matches. Another change involves the match between Mankind and The Big Show. I have no problem with these two wrestling each other at mania, even though they didn't click and it was a bad match, but I wouldn't have had the stipulation where the winner got to be the referee in the main event. It was a distraction and mostly irrelevant. It was unnecessairly overcomplicated. Speaking of the main event I would have booked that differently. Austin vs. Rock was fine and the outcome was fine. I would have booked the actual match differently. There was too much brawling outside the ring and in the aisle. I hate that style and that's what most of the main events were in 1999 (especially those involving The Rock). I would have just kept the match in the ring for the most part. A little outside brawling would have been ok but the majority of the match should have taken place in the ring. It still could have been a brawl. I thought this was a terrible match and is very overrated.

My last change involves that terrible tag title match I mentioned earlier. I know this is going to sound like hindsight booking but I can honestly say I had this idea while watching this show live in 1999. The Hardy Boys should have won that battle royal and gotten the title shot. They would have gone in as huge underdogs and Hart and Jarrett wouldn't have taken them seriously. The announcers could have emphasised that they kind of lucked into this title shot and weren't ready for such a big match on the biggest show of the year. The Hardy Boys could have given the champs a great fight and come close to winning the titles several times. Eventually one would get caught in the sharpshooter and tap out. They would have lost but it would have been a breakout moment for the Hardys as the proved they had arrived. They were about to break out soon anyway so putting them on mania would have been good. It would have easily been the best match on the card given the talent involved and would have been a hell of a lot better story than D Lo and Test, which wasn't any kind of story at all.

 

[LODemolition]

I will echo what's already been said. Probably the worst Mania of all-time. At least right down there with WM11. Nothing, and I know because I tried to watch it on the Network last night, was watchable other than Rock/Austin. The rest was simply horrific. There was just too much going on, very hard to follow. I completely forgot that Road Dogg and Billy Gunn went their separate ways and won single titles, which was one of many mistakes made here. Since I don't even remember who was aligned with who at this point, I'm not going to try and fix the card. It was beyond repair really. I would've put Taker against Kane or Mankind in the cell, but that's the only suggestion I'd make. Smh.

 

[Pedigree1]

While i dont think this was the worst WM of them all WM11 takes that cake this one,was pretty piss poor IMO.. This WM just felt like it was put together with literally no afterthought or foresight.. I never liked the Mankind Vs Big show stipulation,where the winner gets to ref the ME later that night..

I didn't have a problem with them battling each other,the big show was brand new and Mankind was just not himself.. Too many wars IMO kinda made that match,lackluster.. Correct me if I am wrong but the Hardy Boyz weren't they signed and delivered in 1999? They should have battled Owen Hart and Jarrett for the titles. That match alone,knowing what the hardy's brought would have made that tag team title match much much better..

The Undertaker vs Big Boss man match was just godawful.. That match was just sloppy and possibly undertakers worse WM performance.. I enjoyed the SCSA and Rock match,seeing rock ping pong all over the ring,after the Stunners was quite entertaining.

I would have had Triple H go over in the Kane match,rather than have kane win by DQ. Triple H was just starting to become the Cerebral Assassin we all know and love.. Having him defeat Kane clean back then would have sent a huge message.. Those are my changes to the card

 

[THTRobtaylor]

This is part of a series of threads looking back on the previous Wrestlemania events, one by one, up until Wrestlemania 30 which is just a little more than a month away. We are now halfway through, with this being the 15th of 29 topics in the thread series. Every couple of days I will post another topic until all 29 have been covered in time for the big day in April.

We are discussing Wrestlemania 15 this time around....!

Wrestlemania 15 took place on March 28, 1999. It was held at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where 20,276 fans came to watch the show. Here are the match results:


0. Jacqueline (with Terri Runnels) defeated Ivory (with D'Lo Brown) in a singles match as part of Heat.

0. D'Lo Brown and Test won when Droz and The Godfather eliminated each other in a 21-man battle royal to determine the number one contenders to the WWF Tag Team Championship as part of Heat.

1. Hardcore Holly defeated Billy Gunn (c) and Al Snow in a triple threat hardcore match to win the WWF Hardcore Championship (07:07)

2. Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (c) (with Debra) defeated D'Lo Brown and Test (with Ivory) in a tag team match to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship (03:57)

3. Butterbean defeated Bart Gunn in a brawl for all match (00:38)

4. Mankind defeated "The Big Show" Paul Wight by disqualification in a singles match to become the special guest referee of the main event. (06:52)

5. Road Dogg (c) defeated Ken Shamrock, Goldust (with The Blue Meanie and Ryan Shamrock) and Val Venis in a four corners elimination match to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship (09:46)

6. Kane (with Chyna) defeated Triple H by disqualification in a singles match (11:35)

7. Sable (c) defeated Tori in a singles match to retain the WWF Women's Championship (04:51)

8. Shane McMahon (c) (with Test) defeated X-Pac in a singles match to retain the WWF European Championship (08:38)

9. The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) defeated The Big Boss Man Hell in a Cell match (09:46)

10. Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock (c) in a No Disqualification match to win the WWF Championship (16:55)





Now, here are some discussion questions concerning the event:

What was your favorite match on this show, and why did you like it the most? What about the worst match of this show, why did you like it the least?

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 15, what would it be and why?

You may only use wrestlers who were available at the roster at that time or make changes that could have realistically taken place in March 1999. Please keep in mind the situations going into the show such as who could actually have been pushed into a title match, or what songs existed back then if you wanted to change the show's theme music, and so forth.

You may only discuss Wrestlemania 15 in this thread. The other Wrestlemania events will be getting their own retrospective threads shortly, any posts regarding other events will be considered spam and you risk getting an infraction.

Discuss!

The problem with this Mania is that the true "Attitude Era" and the guys most associated with it hadn't quite gelled yet or in many cases debuted. Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle didn't debut till later that year and Austin was suffering from the crazy booking of him losing the belt so soon to Kane for one night.

To me they would have been better putting Shane as the one to win the Rumble and have built it that he was going to Mania. He had the talent in the ring and he had the Euro belt anyway. Rock and Austin would still be the match of course, I could see Taker being the one to take Shane out of the picture and those two fighting at Mania - perhaps making it a handicap match with Shane and Bossman.

The roster itself hadn't really gotten into the "Attitude era" groove yet although the momentum was headed upwards. As such a lot of the pushed guys like Road Dog, Test and Bossman hadn't bedded in correctly to their pushes.

The Brawl for All farrago also came into play... Bart Gunn winning was not the plan and a lot of the talent brought in for that who would have been players at this Mania were gone as a result. Sure Dan Severn was never gonna set Mania on fire but he or Steve Williams v Butterbean would have been a far better draw. It's one of the few times that someone was punished for actually doing what they were supposed to do, but Bart Gunn was indeed punished.

A lot of people are gonna mention Owen and it's remiss not to, but it's equally wrong to place him higher on the card cos he died 6 weeks later. Owen was very close to the end of his deal and Vince knew it so his push was to all intents and purposes over by this Mania. He was gonna start riding the job trail all the way to the day he left had he survived and that process started 2 days later when he and Jarrett lost the belts. The popular line is Owen was slated to win the IC the night he died but of course they would say that... I frankly disbelieve it. Did he deserve better? I can't even say that in all honesty... by this time he was best for putting over new guys and if he wanted out, let him do just that but most people will "elevate him" cos he died.

Best match was clearly the main event by a long way. The rest was lacking as no one was really showing that Mania "pizazz" at the time. Some due to inane booking like Kane and Big Show while others like Val Venis, Hardcore Holly and even X-Pac just hadn't clicked with the fans as "big time" performers yet. This is evidenced by the sheer number of talent raids made between this and the next Mania... sure Owen died and Droz was crippled but neither were going to be in the spots that Jericho, the Radicalz, Angle and Tazz took.

The worst was the Tag Battle Royal - it made literally no sense to book it the way it was and put it on the Pre-Show. With the level of teams in it like LOD, Hardyz and Edge and Christian not only should one of them won it but they should have done the...."and the match starts now" thing where they got no rest...

Personally I would rebook it this way (again based on my previous rebookings as well)

As I mentioned in the 14 thread, I'd have used Tyson as a wrestler at 14 against Austin... the shakedown to this would roughly be the same but this time I'd have had Rock accompanied by Tyson as his "bodyguard". In my timeline Pillman was ok so if that was the case I'd have him as Austin's second. Finish is roughly what happened at 14 with Tyson turning on Rock and Vince to help Austin win.

Undertaker v Shane & Bossman in HIAC Elimination match - No hanging takes place here but here is where I debut Big Show in much the way he did against Austin... Taker lost the "streak" last year by losing to Kane so another loss isn't an issue for him as it's clearly tainted. He takes Bossman out leaving he and Shane... just when Taker is about to get his hands on him Show comes from under the ring (not through the floor) and chokeslams Taker 3 times to help Shane win. I do this because Shane genuinely could have had that World belt at one point talent wise within a year had Vince not given it to himself... indeed had Shane not been known as a McMahon he could have been a real asset.

Tag Titles/Battle Royale

Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett defend the titles against Legion Of Doom

This is a no brainer, you have LOD under contract, use them on the main show even if you have Hawk cost the team by "being drunk" so Droz has to go in and they lose.

Euro title/ IC title - As Shane isn't Euro champ I have have Val go against Shamrock for the Euro title with a special guest referee of Davey Boy Smith - he was back by the end of the year so again.. his back was bad so he couldn't wrestle yet but he would probably have been far better off in the WWF those extra months early.

For the IC I propose something different... a masked "Millenium Man" appears with a countdown to Wrestlemania where he will shock the world... he defeats Road Dogg for the IC title and promises to unmask on RAW the following night when the countdown is finally over. Of course this is Jericho..

Jericho was all but done in WCW by that time and it was worth making the push to get him in for this Mania rather than debuting the 4 months later. Following night he comes out just as he did, but holding the IC title he won the previous night making his challenge to Rock a little more substantial...

Mick Foley is kinda the odd one out for me - clearly still very popular but not quite ready to win the title in my eyes... History would show he did so in January 99 but for me I hold off on it a little longer and have him defeat Kane and Triple H in a number one contenders match. This is his "breakthrough" moment.

 

[Gibby]

A complete garbage dump of a PPV really. I thought the ending to the Taker - Bossman match was in very poor taste too, down there with some of their real low points.

What stands out for me is not just the farago of the Brawl For All (it was an entertaining legit squash actually, Butterbean's punch to knock Bart out was really something) is just how wrestling never learned from it. NJPW sent half their roster to its doom by making them fight legit MMA guys, hardly any of them made it out unblemished or with their reputations enhanced.

Favourite matches were the main event and IC title matches, though neither had enough build or time to get going. I think they really learned their lesson badly here and by 2000 things begin to show signs of heading in the right direction.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I recognize how great Austin/Rock was and for the longest time this was my favorite match. But the one thing that rubbed me the wrong way with this match was how quickly they transitioned from Rock/Mankind to Rock/Austin. Looking back on it, it made Rock look weak and not a viable opponent for Austin. I wouldn't change the back and fourth Rock and Mankind had, but end it at Mania with Rock winning the title back that he dropped at Halftime Heat. To set up their final rematch, I would have had the Rumble play out as it did and have Vince give Rock his title match for Mania 15. As for what Austin would do, I would have pushed back his match with Vince for Mania. They had the biggest feud of 98 and it should have culminated at Mania. Once Vince gives Rock his title match, Michaels would come out and say that as a Rumble winner Vince is to have a match at Mania, and since he gave his spot to Rock, he has a suitable replacement and thus we get Vince/Austin. The other major change I make would be to round out the triple main event would be to replace Bossman with Big Show. Show was a major add for the WWE and Vince's corporation and he should have been the guy to face Taker and his Ministry.

Now as for the fallout, Rock beats Mankind and gets the title reign he needed to make his match with Austin better. Rock would hold the title till SummerSlam before dropping it to Austin and turning face. Austin would then beat Vince and follow that up by beating Vince's guys from the corporation and than the corporate ministry on his way to Rock. As for Show and Taker, Taker wins, on his way to being revealed as being with Vince which would set up a face turn for Show before years end to possibly set up a rematch at 16 if they could both stay healthy in this alternate reality.

WWF Title Match: Mankind (c) vs Rock

Austin vs Vince

Hell in a Cell: Taker vs Paul Wright

Kane vs Triple H

European Title Match: Shane (c) vs X-Pac

From there I would probably scramble around the IC and Hardcore Title matches so that Gunn ended up IC champ and Road Dog Hardcore champ.

 

[MCMG]

Main-event aside this is an awful Mania. Perhaps the worst. Rock v Austin delivered but besides them there are only about 5/6 exceptionally talented guys on the roster.

The Hell in a Cell was dreadful. Big Boss Man didn't deserve this match with Taker and it was a complete waste. Moreover, they had The Brood involved rather than letting them wrestle.

I also think they could have utilised DX better. There were four of them and all wrestled in separate matches. DX vs The Corporation would have been fine. Owen and Jeff could have had a tag-title match against The Brood or Bradshaw and Faarooq. Anyone else could have faced Taker. I'd have been fine with Foley and they could have rebooked the title match.

There is a poor Mania and there aren't many obvious solutions. There isn't a lot of talent and that is a problem. If I had to completely rebook I would say:

Acolytes vs Owen and Jeff. Test, Shamrock, Bossman and Shane vs DX. Taker vs Mankind. Rock v Austin as well as having Kane and The Big Show spare. I think this is a better way to utilise the talent they had and give us a more memorable Mania.

 

[AnthonyM4]

This was one of the worst wrestlemanias. So many bad matches like Sable vs Tori, hell in the cell, and the 4 way match. I don't know what they were thinking putting Bart Gunn in a shoot with real boxer Butterbean. Only thing I liked about this show was the main event. Not that the event would be a lot better for it, but I would have had Public Enemy win the battle royal and challenge for the titles being that it was in Philly where PE became stars. I guess because they had a bad attitude, it wasn't booked like that. This show certainly wasn't one of the bright spots in the awesome attitude era.

 

[Dedamn666]

I liked Mania 15. The wrestling quality wasnt there but the storylines were intriguing and outrageous. Infact it was my favourite time in wrestling ever.

 

[LODemolition]

Another major blunder was not having The Brood in a match. They got involved at the end of the Taker/Bossman match, but that was it. This is one of my favorite groups of all-time. Cool gimmicks (reminded me of the movie The Lost Boys), and an entrance and theme music that I absolutely loved. Edge & Christian should've been involved in the Tag Team Title match . Can't believe they went with Test and D-Lo. What a joke that was. Owen and Jarrett shouldn't have been in the match either. I would've preferred something like E&C vs LOD vs The Acolytes. Owen should've been in the IC Title match and Jarrett in the European Title match.

Gangrel would have made a great opponent for either Kane, Mankind, or possibly even Taker. Let's just say Kane so that Mankind could've squared off against Taker in a rematch of KOTR from the previous year.

I also like the idea of having a 6 or 8-man tag between DX and The Corporation. They dragged this feud out through several matches. The only one that deserved his own spotlight was Triple H.

I also would've put Chyna against Sable for the Women's Title.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I'd remove Butterbean vs Bart Gunn from the card. Did the WWF really think Bart Gunn could stand a chance against Butterbean?

1) Hardcore Holly (c) vs. Al Snow vs. Big Bossman for the WWF Hardcore Title

I would've put Bossman back in the hunt for the Hardcore Title after him & Shamrock dropped the Tag belts. With these 3 hardcore experts, this would've been a helluva opener for the PPV and it would have saved Bossman from being part of one of the worst Hell in a Cell matches in history.

2) Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Titles

Billy and Road Dogg should have stayed as a team and competed for the titles at Wrestlemania. The tag division had become so weak by this point they needed to have Test & D-Lo Brown, who weren't even a tag team, win a pre-show battle royal just to challenge for the belts on the main card. The Outlaws had failed singles runs after losing the belts, and they would end up reuniting after Mania to face Owen & Jarrett at Backlash anyway. The NAO's singles runs were poorly booked and never made any sense - Billy went after the IC Title and Road Dogg won the Hardcore Title, but then they decided to switch things around, and have Road Dogg win the IC Title and Billy win the Hardcore Title.

3) Mankind vs Paul Wight in a Boiler Room Brawl Match

I'd keep Show vs. Foley but I'd move the Boiler Room Brawl match they had at Backlash down to Wrestlemania, that was a better match than the one they had at Mania. They could've saved Show turning face and Chokeslamming McMahon for Raw the next night.

4) Val Venis (c) vs Goldust for the WWF Intercontinental Title

Get rid of the Four Corners Elimination and just have Venis & Goldust go one-on-one since Venis dumped Ryan Shamrock after St Valentines Day Massacre and she would go on to become Goldust's valet.

5) Kane vs Triple H

6) Sable (c) vs. Tori for the WWF Womens Title

7) Shane McMahon (c) vs X-Pac for the WWF European Title

8) The Undertaker vs. Ken Shamrock in a Hell In A Cell Match

Another match from Backlash they should've moved down to Wrestlemania. Shamrock and Taker had a good match with each other at Backlash, Shamrock was more of a threat to Taker than Bossman was, and I could never buy into Bossman being the "face" in this match, but with Shamrock I could as he actually was turning babyface during his feud with Taker. Also Shamrock had a lot of experience in cages, so they could've used that to make him look like more threatening in the Cell.

9) The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Title

 

[Judah's Lion]

i'm with Brain on this one. although Mania 15 was smack-freaking-dab in the middle of our beloved Attitude Era, this show flat out sucked donkey balls. and that's putting it as nicely as possible. really incredible potential given the talent available and creative direction the company was going in. just bizarre switches made, as Brain stated, for LITERALLY no reason. whatever.

lots of changes to make here, but i'll start at the Rumble...

Mick Foley winning the World Title on Raw in December is one of my all-time favorite wrestling moments. ever. so richly deserved. truly a feel good moment. epic. and it made decent storytelling sense. so leave that as is and book the rematch at the Rumble with Rock in the "I Quit" gimmick. have Rock win as he did. the change I'd make is to then let Rock keep the Title till Mania instead of dropping it at Halftime Heat, losing a rematch at St. Valentine's Day Massacre and regaining it on Raw. just have Rock keep the World Title and win all the rematches with Mankind, sometimes clean and other times thru Corporate interference.

McMahon/Austin should have happened on a bigger stage than St. Valentine's Day Massacre. what I would do is have them fight at the Rumble in a cage with a spot in the Rumble on the line. Austin wins the Cage Match with McMahon and then wins the Rumble.

now for Mania, you have Rock as a strong defending World Champion against Rumble winning Austin. keep the match no DQ at Mania but, again, as Brain said, keep most of the action inside the ring. sorry for all the Brain love on this one.

also for Mania, I'd have Mankind/McMahon to culminate their feud. they'd been on a huge storyline since mid to end of 98, including Survivor Series and a Mania grudge match would have made sense. McMahon kept Mankind out of the Mania Main Event. so give Mankind a match with Big Show? totally illogical. getting revenge on the guy that kept you out of the biggest match with the biggest paycheck of the year? much more logical. and as MMK said, have Big Show debut here and cost Mankind the match, igniting their feud. Big Show debuting at the "biggest show" is kinda poetic.

i'd keep the original plans and creative direction of the fatal fourway: Billy Gunn vs. Val Venis vs. Goldust vs. Ken Shamrock. but it didn't need to be for the IC Title. that title was really secondary in this personal feud. but since I can't think of a better IC Title replacement, let it stay and put someone over that is actually gonna be sticking around for awhile. that leaves either Val Venis or Billy Gunn and either winning works for me.

Hardcore Title match was awful but should have been better. Macho Machismo is dead on when he swapped out Billy Gunn and even Road Dogg for Boss Man. Boss Man vs. Al Snow vs. Hardcore Holly would have been a much more exciting opening contest and the stories all lined up well too. make that switch.

Owen Hart/Jeff Jarrett was pretty rough as defending Tag Team Champions. I remember feeling that this tag team had run its course and really hating the match between D-Lo and Test. especially since they weren't even a team. Brain suggesting the Hardy Boys to fight for the Tag Titles is good. everyone that said the Brood is also good. LOD and the Acolytes are also good choices. in fact, that's my match switch. four corners elimination style match: Hardy Boys, Brood, Acolytes, LOD. give the belts either to LOD or Acolytes here. it wasn't quite time for the Hardy Boys or Brood, but they get some good exposure and turn some heads leading to the resurrection of tag team wrestling the next year.

so how about Owen Hart vs. Jeff Jarrett in a tag team split up type match? just cuz it'd be a good wrestling match with the groundwork already laid in the story. and go ahead and make it for the Euro Title since it was wasted in this ppv and I've got plans for the guys that were in the actual Euro Title match (gotta keep reading to find out).

scratch Butterbean. although that knockout punch did look brutal. okay, scratch that. leave it in. it only took a minute anyway.

DX vs. Corporation is a no-brainer. been building up for months. doing two singles matches and having both involve turns was just too much for me. so, like others have already suggested, do a multi-man tag match and have the turn happen here. Shane/Test/Chyna vs. Triple H/X-Pac/Road Dogg. Billy Gunn and Boss Man were in separate matches so keep this 3 on 3. have Triple H turn on X-Pac here and Corporation goes over.

Sable vs. anyone here is okay. maybe against Luna. they had a fun Dog Collar Match at the Rumble, but maybe save that gimmick for this stage instead.

the only match I couldn't think of is Taker's Cell match. i'm a huge fan of the Streak and it's given us some of the best matches in Mania history, and one of the best matches ever (i'm looking at you HBK Mania 25). but how to keep that Streak going here? I've used a lot of talent already on my rebooked card. maybe Kane in a rematch? only this time, as MMK suggested in an idea that I really liked, have Kane the face and Taker the heel and let them meet in Hell in a Cell, where Kane debuted two years earlier. looks like MMK gets some double-love here too.

my final Mania 15 card, as impossible as it is:
World Title: Rock vs. Austin, no DQ. Austin wins.
IC Title: Shamrock vs. Goldust vs. Val Venis vs. Billy Gunn. pick a winner.
Euro Title: Jeff Jarrett vs. Owen Hart. let Owen win this one. if he never died but was in fact on his way out at this point, let him win one last title and put someone over big time when he does drop it, say at SummerSlam.
Hardcore Title: Boss Man vs. Hardcore Holly vs. Al Snow. Holly wins.
Tag Team Titles: LOD vs. Acolytes vs. Brood vs. Hardy Boys. Acolytes win.
Women's Title: Sable vs. Luna, Dog Collar Match. Sable wins.
McMahon vs. Mankind. McMahon wins/Big Show debuts.
Corporation (Shane, Test, Chyna) vs. DX (Triple H, X-Pac, Road Dogg): Triple H turns, Corporation wins.
Butterbean kills Bart Gunn.
Streak: Taker vs. Kane, Hell in a Cell. roles reversed here, but Taker still wins.

semi-realistic and logical storytelling without adding or removing any major talent. this is what Mania 15 could have looked like. give or take.

 

[enviousdominous]

Austin vs. Rock was fine and the outcome was fine. I would have booked the actual match differently. There was too much brawling outside the ring and in the aisle. I hate that style and that's what most of the main events were in 1999 (especially those involving The Rock). I would have just kept the match in the ring for the most part. A little outside brawling would have been ok but the majority of the match should have taken place in the ring. It still could have been a brawl. I thought this was a terrible match and is very overrated.

I didn't know that you were so fine with things that are terrible and overrated.

Different strokes for different folks as far as your not liking outside brawling. I was 17 at the time and still a die-hard ECW mark. My expectations were pretty low brow, but I think that with all the hype (or over-hype as you might put it) and the lack of excitement regarding the rest of the card, the WWF had to give us a series of exponentially brutal spots.

A little outside brawling would have been too little for that card. We got our traditional matches and we got a gimmick match that somehow managed to disappoint those who already didn't expect much from it. Now we were getting The Rock and all of his self-sycophantic sadistic glory vs Stone Cold who draws as a shit talking brawler. These guys could have made the crowd happy just squaring off for 90% of the match in the ring, they made fans like me happier by tearing the arena down.

I'm better now, I aged.

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

While the Attitude Era was a hot moment in the WWE, WMXV had one problem there really wasn't anyone credible enough for Austin to wrestle that is a legitimate threat.

WMXV there were only two real options for Austin to work with. It was either going to be against The Rock or Vince McMahon. Austin already worked with Undertaker and Foley vs. Austin wouldn't have made sense since they also worked together before in a storyline also involving Vince McMahon.

Problem with Vince is that he's not a Wrestler and while it would have made good business, I think even Vince knew he needed to build stars and WM was the platform to do it. Which is why Vince vs. Austin was done in the Feb PPV instead.

That really left the main event going to be The Rock vs. Austin. Now this isn't The Rock at the year 2000 and beyond. This was a corporate heel Rock that won matches by backdoor victories, screwing the faces, and one that Austin was easily beating a year before.

That said The Rock was no real threat to Austin during this period. Sure WWE's revisionist history will tell you that The Rock vs. Austin was an epic trilogy of matches, and I think that reputation was more to do with WMX-Seven and WMXIX than WMXV. Where as The Rock was a superstar equal to Austin during the later events, at WMXV he was rising but still a spot below Austin.

The best comparison I can to this match up is that The Rock vs. Austin at WMXV was like John Cena vs. The Miz at WM27.

The real feud here anyways was Vince vs. Austin and The Rock was just a lackey.

As for the main event match it was good but nothing special. Too many run ins, ref bumps, and botches to make it anything beyond a solid match. It was the best match of the card, but the card wasn't good at all to begin with.

If you could change a few things about Wrestlemania 15, what would it be and why?

I would remove the Brawl for All.

I would book Shamrock vs. Undertaker instead of Taker and Bossman. Shamrock was a more legit superstar at that point and he wasn't really doing anything at the time beyond that dump IC Title storyline involving his "sister". I know many don't like Shamrock here but here was pretty over during this time and deserved better. Plus they could have had a better match.

Hardcore Title will be Road Dogg vs. Al Snow vs. Hardcore Holly because it made sense and I saw no reason why they swapped Road Dogg and Billy Gunn's matches.

IC Title will be Billy Gunn (c) vs. Big Bossman - It won't be a great match but I'd rather have this so Shamrock can work with Undertaker.

Tag Team Titles will be - Goldust and Blue Meanie vs. Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett - As Dumb as it sounds it would, at least, be more entertaining than what we got.

Big Show vs. Foley should just have been a match without a guest referee stipulation.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

Hate to say it but beyond Rock Vs. Austin and Foley Vs. Big Show, I barely remember any other storyline from that timespan, and yet the players at that time made this one of my favorite parts of the era. It's just too bad the event didn't quite live up to snuff. The crazy thing is I remember watching Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, and St. Valentines Day Massacre...but didn't watch this PPV (live...I've since gone back and watched it, and yeah...meh, but not the absolute worst). Premonition that it was going to suck ass? Possibly.

Changes:

1. Getting rid of Brawl for All is just a given. This was another one of McMahon's "brilliant" moves that fell flat on its face.
2. Move Boss Man into the Hardcore match, and move Big Show into Hell in a Cell. Undertaker Vs. Big Show would've been more of a spectacle and some added suspense than Boss Man's obvious loss was. Undertaker still goes over, but I'm sure there's a way to make Big Show look strong in the loss as well.
3. Foley gets Shane. X-Pac just never did anything for me in the ring. Wouldn't be hard to change the booking around here, let the match go longer than Foley's match did, and gives him a much better match in the bargain. Shane keeps the win.
4. Road Dogg goes into WM as Hardcore champion and is put in a 4 way match with Boss Man, Hardcore Holly and Al Snow. Boss Man comes out the winner of this one.
5. Billy Gunn goes into WM as IC Champ and faces Shamrock in a one on one title rematch. Gunn goes over strong to help boost him as a strong singles competitor.

 

[Low_Ki]

For what its worth, I thoroughly enjoyed the PPV as a 16 year old kid.

Everything engaged me, and obviously the best match of the night was always going to be the highly anticipated main event for the WWF Title.

What would I change?

Brawl For All - Oh man! I think Bart Gunn is still feeling that knock-out shot. That was brutal. Pointless. But brutal. We never saw him again. Poor sod.

Foley Vs Show - This should have been Foley vs McMahon. After the Survivor Series 98 I felt like Mick had unfinished business with the boss. What you do with Show is beyond me, but he could have easily been inserted into a...

DX Vs Corporation - I know a lot of people have mentioned this but it really should have happened. A mix of any four Corporation guys vs DX and still have Chyna and HHH turn heel.

Undertaker Vs Bossman - Man this was terrible. Even the hanging at the end didn't really have any shock factor by the end. Taker should have started a feud with Shamrock or Kane. Either of these would have been better than someone with whom did not pose a legit threat to Taker.

Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing

 

[classymikec]

Personally my card for this would have been...

WWF Title - The Rock (c) vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin*

Bit of a no brainer - the two biggest starts in the company who hadn't properly faced off in over a year.

Hell in a Cell Match - The Undertaker* vs. Kane

Keeps in with the Corporation/Ministry feud, has more of a back story and means we don't have the awful Taker/Bossman match. I'd have HHH/Chyna come out at the end and attack Kane instead of Taker to get him out of the corporation

6 Man Tag - The Brood (Gangrel, Edge & Christian) vs. The Corporation (Ken Shamrock, Big Bossman & Test)*

Again the Ministry/Corporation feud, have the Corporation go over in this one and have Christian take the fall, leading to the storyline that eventually happened when he was treated as the weak link and the Brood turned face on the Ministry

European Title - Shane McMahon (c)* vs. X Pac

Same as on the card, HHH turns on X Pac and the rest of DX and hands Shane the win

Intercontinental Title Fatal Fourway Match - Billy Gunn (c) vs. Val Venis vs. Goldust vs. The Godfather*

A bit left field this. The Godfather was massively over at the time (or at least his Hos were) and wound up with the belt a few weeks later anyway so I'd give him his moment on the big show - it'd lead to a nice pop/celebration for a veteran of the company and he could then go on to drop it, had the terrible accident not happened, to Owen Hart a few months later as was the plan. The alternative would be to put D-Lo Brown in his place, who was well thought of and fairly well over at the time

Hardcore Title - Al Snow (c) vs. Hardcore Holly vs. Road Dogg*

The match they should have had before Russo's silly swerve. I've said give Road Dogg the win but it could have been any of them and it wouldn't have really mattered

Women's Title - Sable (c)* vs. Tori

Can't really see a viable alternative, it had been building to this and the division was fairly turgid at the time

WWF Title Number One Contendership Boiler Room Handicap Brawl - Mankind vs. Vince McMahon & Big Show*

Stick Vinny Mac in there with Big Show, winner faces the champ at Backlash. Allows Show to get over as a monster and can lead to the cracks that eventually lead to the Rock's face turn

Pre Show Battle Royal for Tag Team Title shot at Backlash: LOD vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Acolytes* vs. Mideon & Viscera vs. Public Enemy vs. Too Much vs. DOA vs. Steve Blackman & D-Lo Brown vs. Droz & Tiger Ali Singh vs. Gillberg & The Blue Meanie vs. Kai En Tai vs. Kurrgan & Golga vs. Giant Silva & George "The Animal" Steele vs. Bart Gunn & "Dr. Death" Steve Williams

Try and start a tradition from the previous year and have the first match/Heat match be a tag team battle royal. It gets everyone on the roster a pay day and acts as a novelty attraction. In a perfect world Mark Henry would have been healthy and thus D-Lo/Henry would have won, but without him I'd have the Acolytes win - the Hardyz were nowhere near ready and LOD were past their best so give it to a genuinely threatening team and have them take the titles at Backlash.

Ideally you'd be able to bulk it up to 15 teams (like the previous year) with a couple of legend teams or some jobbers from the time - Koko B. Ware was working with the company at the time as part of the Blue Blazer angle, you had the likes of Buddy Landell, Flash Flanagan, Devon Storm (aka Crowbar), Joe E. Legend (aka Just Joe) or even Christopher Daniels (imagine the mark out moment if that was to happen these days) or Kurt Angle (the previous comment x1000) working dark matches/as jobbers as well - stick a pair of those in there

And as a final note - avoid the Brawl For All by any means necessary!

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I'd remove Butterbean vs Bart Gunn from the card. Did the WWF really think Bart Gunn could stand a chance against Butterbean?

1) Hardcore Holly (c) vs. Al Snow vs. Big Bossman for the WWF Hardcore Title

I would've put Bossman back in the hunt for the Hardcore Title after him & Shamrock dropped the Tag belts. With these 3 hardcore experts, this would've been a helluva opener for the PPV and it would have saved Bossman from being part of one of the worst Hell in a Cell matches in history.

2) Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett (c) vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWF Tag Team Titles

Billy and Road Dogg should have stayed as a team and competed for the titles at Wrestlemania. The tag division had become so weak by this point they needed to have Test & D-Lo Brown, who weren't even a tag team, win a pre-show battle royal just to challenge for the belts on the main card. The Outlaws had failed singles runs after losing the belts, and they would end up reuniting after Mania to face Owen & Jarrett at Backlash anyway. The NAO's singles runs were poorly booked and never made any sense - Billy went after the IC Title and Road Dogg won the Hardcore Title, but then they decided to switch things around, and have Road Dogg win the IC Title and Billy win the Hardcore Title.

3) Mankind vs Paul Wight in a Boiler Room Brawl Match

I'd keep Show vs. Foley but I'd move the Boiler Room Brawl match they had at Backlash down to Wrestlemania, that was a better match than the one they had at Mania. They could've saved Show turning face and Chokeslamming McMahon for Raw the next night.

4) Val Venis (c) vs Goldust for the WWF Intercontinental Title

Get rid of the Four Corners Elimination and just have Venis & Goldust go one-on-one since Venis dumped Ryan Shamrock after St Valentines Day Massacre and she would go on to become Goldust's valet.

5) Kane vs Triple H

6) Sable (c) vs. Tori for the WWF Womens Title

7) Shane McMahon (c) vs X-Pac for the WWF European Title

8) The Undertaker vs. Ken Shamrock in a Hell In A Cell Match

Another match from Backlash they should've moved down to Wrestlemania. Shamrock and Taker had a good match with each other at Backlash, Shamrock was more of a threat to Taker than Bossman was, and I could never buy into Bossman being the "face" in this match, but with Shamrock I could as he actually was turning babyface during his feud with Taker. Also Shamrock had a lot of experience in cages, so they could've used that to make him look like more threatening in the Cell.

9) The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Title

No they didn't.... Gunn was basically punished with this for winning the tourney and derailing the Steve Williams push which was meant to be huge. They wanted him to be in position against Austin and Rock by Mania, not out of the company cos Bart Gunn knocked him out. Like I said earlier, one of the times the poor sod gets screwed for doing as he was told... that seems to happen a lot in VinnyMacLand (Bryan with the tie for one)

 

[shooter_mcgavin]

No they didn't.... Gunn was basically punished with this for winning the tourney and derailing the Steve Williams push which was meant to be huge. They wanted him to be in position against Austin and Rock by Mania, not out of the company cos Bart Gunn knocked him out. Like I said earlier, one of the times the poor sod gets screwed for doing as he was told... that seems to happen a lot in VinnyMacLand (Bryan with the tie for one)

True on Bart Gunn, I am not saying he would have been a huge star but he was screwed over because he won a shoot contest setup by Vince McMahon. It's probably one of the very examples I have heard where someone actually worked hard and shrived but got punished by winning.

 

[John Cena's Sweatbands]

For years, my favourite match was Undertaker vs Boss Man. I felt they had a great story leading up to it, and I was very into the ministry Undertaker at that time. That said, watching it years later, I think it was an awful match only remembered for the wrong reason at the end of it.

Looking at it now, I think the best match was X-Pac vs Shane. Everyone played their part well, including the Posse. And it set up Triple H's heel turn.

I feel it's sad that something bigger wasn't done with Paul Wight. He was brought in to be a big deal, however he just ended up being another mid card guy at this Mania.

Ok, here are the changes I would have made:

Intercontinental Championship:

Goldust (C) vs Val Venis vs Ken Shamrock vs Billy Gunn - this was the logical conclusion to all the feuding they had done over the past months. Road Dogg was needlessly inserted into it instead of Billy Gunn. Billy would win the strap.

Hardcore Championship

Al Snow (C) vs Hardcore Holly vs Road Dogg - For similar reasons above. The booking for the past few months was leading to this. Dogg wins, and as both have singles gold, sets up a friction between NAO.

Triple H and X-Pac vs Shane and Test (with Chyna) - Match still goes the same way with Hunter and Chyna screwing X-Pac

Undertaker vs Kane - Still Hell in a Cell, this make more sense than Boss Man, with the Corporation against Ministry storyline and history of Undertaker and Kane. Who is the heel and who is the face needs to be more established. Kane can be the reluctant member of the corporation, doing McMahons bidding against the threat of being returned to the asylum, therefore face.

Stone Cold vs The Rock (C) vs Mankind vs Big Show - Could have been the beginning of the corporation fallout. With Rock and Big Show turning on each other. Mankind was in the mix for the title up until then so wouldn't be put of place in the match. Austin still wins.

 

[Cub McCallister]

This is another Wrestlemania that could of been one of the best ones but it didn't pan out, I would of done the card like this:

Battle Royal on Sunday Night Heat just as a filler

1) Big Bossman (C) Vs Hardcore Holly Vs Al Snow Hardcore Title
Bossman would lose here to Hardcore

2) Jeff Jarrett and Owen Hart vs The New Age Outlaws vs The Hardy Boys Vs Edge and Christian Tag Team Titles
I would have Hart and Jarret staying as the champs

3) Goldust (C) vs Godfather Intercontinental Title Triple Threat Match
I didn't like the four corners match so I came up with this and I would have Godfather win the title

4) Mankind vs Vince McMahon Street Fight
I would like to see this instead of facing off against Big Show I'd have Mankind go over and then have Big Show make his debut and pummel Mankind after the match

5) Kane vs Triple HHH
keep this as the same except have triple hhh go over cleanly ]

6) Women's battle royal for the Womens Title
just as a filler to make Sable look tough

7) Shane McMahon (C) vs X-Pac European Title
keep this as the same just like at mania

8) Undertaker vs Kenshamrock Hell in a Cell
I would of preferred this and Shamrock knows his way around the cell with Taker coming out the victor

9) The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin WWF Title
Keep this the same just like the ppv

 

[Elchicano15]

I actually didn't mind this Mania. It seems like the roster at the time was stacked so you had to give all these performers a chance on the card. I think maybe I would have had the New Age Outlaws go against Owen & Jarrett for the tag titles and have D lo in the hardcore title match (maybe even as champion) and Test in the IC title match.

I actually didn't mind the Boss Man/Taker match but I don't think they should have hang him. Not that I was offended or anything but it was just weird that they hung him and he returns the next night on RAW with a clean bill of health as if it was forgotten. They could have maybe end the match with Taker and the Brood tying him up and hoisting him on the Undertaker TX symbol or have him become a member of the Ministry. A ghoulish more Boss Man.

Stone Cold/Rock match was the best match of the night. From the start of the match to Chioda getting slapped with the chair, to the beer drinking celebration.