WrestleMania Rewind #13: The Rock vs. Stone Cold at XV

Ruthless-RKO

F*ck Friends, Rather die wiv ma AK!
Click here for rewind #12 Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle at 21
-------------------------------------------------
My WrestleMania Rewind #13 is..
The Rock vs. Stone Cold from WrestleMania XV

Promo & Match
[YOUTUBE]WErlMHTVtok[/YOUTUBE]

The Questions I would like to ask about the match are:

  1. Was the feud going into the match good?
  2. Was the match entertaining?
  3. Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)
  4. Was there any good spots?
  5. How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?
  6. Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)
 
Oh this match ...

Was the feud going into the match good?

I would say so-so. The reason being is that there were two feuds here Austin-Rock and Austin-McMahon. As an Austin-McMahon feud it was great since they were coming off hot the Cage Match at the Feb PPV and this was the Wrestlemania stop with their rivalry.

As a Rock-Austin feud. Not so much. History is very kind to this feud since it became a part of the Austin/Rock trilogy, where The Rock would sky rocket to what he is today (this would take form within the year but not yet) and they would have better matches at WM17 and WM19. But at the time this match felt nothing more than a match between Austin vs. McMahon's Pawn. Austin dominated the buildup here, it was only once that The Rock got the upper hand at a RAW event, that was the very last one before WMXV.

The Rock was still not equal to Austin in his stature heck he was probably still two steps below him and was actually not a legit threat to Austin. One analogy is The Miz vs. Cena at WM27 even though Miz did win that match but you get the idea.

Was the match entertaining?

It was fun brawl, but that's all what it was really. The run ins were predictable but fun.

Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

The storytelling was about Austin getting his title back despite the odds. I just didn't see that here so no.

Was there any good spots?

I actually just remember a brawl. I did like the botched pin Rock did after the Rockbottom on Austin.

How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

It was the Attitude Era with Austin, the evil McMahon, Foley, and The Rock. So year, the reaction was good but nothing electric. Actually thought the reaction in WM14 had a better reaction.

Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

It's 16 mins, that would have been fine if the rest of the card was also good. It wasn't so this match should have been longer to make up for it.

I think it would have been better if McMahon stalked up the odds here since this was the whole story since Breakdown 98, McMahon screwing Austin from the title.

McMahon should have just been the ref and HBK in Austin's corner to make sure McMahon doesn't screw Austin but constant taunting would altercate between Vince and Austin. Think of Over the Edge 98 with Dude Love vs. Austin. I would also like to see run ins from the Corporation with Mankind making the save and become the referee.

Overbooked? Definatley but, as mentioned earlier, The Rock was not a legit threat to Austin at this time. It would have actually made it seem Rock could retain the title.
 
I was at WM XV, so I'll offer this:

Was the feud going into the match good?

The real feud here was Austin/McMahon. The Rock was still relatively young in his role both as "The Rock" and in The Corporation and was still in the building stages, but it was VKM that really carried this feud during this time.

Was the match entertaining?

It was OK, but just OK. WM XV was a very weak card to begin with. A better mid-card and this match wouldn't likely be so well-regarded. This match actually saved the show, but just barely, and even then it was somewhat lackluster until Vince made his appearance. I think they knew that going in, too. That would explain HBK's role and the Mankind/Big Show angle.

Was there good story-telling? (Psychology)

Eh... Austin/McMahon already had history with alot more to come later. That was the story here. The Rock/Austin story was just beginning here and would become one of the greatest rivalries in WWE history. This match was also a lead-in to The Rock's 1st face run as "The Rock" which was something he desperately needed by then.

Was there any good spots?

Other than Vince getting the shit kicked out of himself at WM, pretty much just standard PPV fare. Good match, but otherwise pretty ordinary. Being WM gave the match that "big-time" feel, but like the rest of the card, never fully delivered.

How was the crowds reaction throughout this match?

Ok. We were all pretty beat by the time this match came. Up until this match, we were all trying really hard to at least act interested. Because of that, we never really got that "hot" for this match. The overall disappointment in the show as a whole was evident.

Length of match? (Was it too short? or too long?, could more time have been added to make the match better? etc.)

See above comment. Crowd energy plays a large part in the way the story comes across and it was nothing to write home about here. There wasn't much that could have been done. This WM was a bust long before the main event.

The real payoff to everything that occurred in WM XV would come in later years. It's just ashame that this WM was used as the platform to launch the stories that would come later. That's not what an event the size of a WM should have been used for. It should have been timed much better than it was.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
174,851
Messages
3,300,884
Members
21,726
Latest member
chrisxenforo
Back
Top