Wrestling Wednesday #1 Review – WrestleMania X-Seven

Hey guys, and welcome to Wrestling Wednesday, the first of many reviews looking at modern, classic, and in some cases, classically bad wrestling shows! Whether it be WWE, WCW, ECW, TNA, ROH etc. I’ll be giving the lowdown on my thoughts as the show is in progress, and following up with further notes afterwards. It’s a new format that I’ve decided to use, as it allows me to get engaged and involved, and show off some creativity and comedic chomps, so hopefully it catches on! Without further ado, let’s get this show on the road with a review of arguably the greatest WrestleMania of all time, WrestleMania X-Seven!

Pizza & Jack Daniels at the ready. Pizza because I love Dominoes. Jack Daniels to help me through the Ivory vs Chyna match.

·         Little did I know that amazingly this would not be the worst match on the card. God help me.

The opening promo package to this show is truly amazing. Narrated by Classy Freddie Blassie, it makes WrestleMania feel truly special.

·         Was a real nice thing to see Blassie in this promo package, as I had genuinely forgotten all about him narrating this one. I know he narrated a few other promo packages in 2001 (Survivor Series 2001 springs to mind, but I could be wrong), but this is the one that I remember the most.

Plus being a huge fan of promos and production music in general, the music used is perfect. Feels like a celebration as well as a PPV.

·         This goes without saying. A week earlier, Vince McMahon had won the Monday Night Wars and vanquished WCW. Not to mention ECW had all but closed down at this point also. McMahon was the "sports-entertainment" kingpin. Must have been a pretty awesome feeling for Vinny Mac and co.

Jim Ross and Paul Heyman welcome us to the broadcast. These guys for me, were #2 commentary team ever. Great chemistry.

·         Except for the efforts of Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, there is no other commentary team that I have enjoyed more throughout the years than Paul Heyman and JR. Their dynamic style is really awesome to hear. Reminds me a lot of the Don Callis/Cyrus and Joey Styles commentary team in the dying days of ECW.

Chris Jericho vs William Regal is up first. JR lets us know 11 matches are booked for the card. A tad over-stacked perhaps, we'll see.

·         I started having horrible flashbacks to those early 'Mania's with about sixty matches per card that were just brutal at times to sit through.

Jericho takes a piss in Regal's tea. That's the only thing I took away from that promo package. That, and RTC absolutely sucked.

·         As far as reasons to feud, this one was pretty weak. That being said, Regal was such a great heel, and Jericho such a huge fan favourite, that fans were going to be into this one regardless. And yes, Right To Censor was a really crap stable. There, I said it.

Solid back & forth so far. Regal hits a tremendous double underhook suplex from the top rope. How has Regal never won the WorldTitle?

·         William Regal's body of work often gets overlooked, I think simply because he spent long portions of his career as General Manager/Commissioner. He's not, in my mind, had that one five star classic in WWE, but he's come close a number of times (his work with Chris Benoit, Finlay, CM Punk and Dean Ambrose is all tremendous). It's just a shame he never had that main event opportunity after his whole King of the Ring/RAW General Manager run in 2008.

Lionsault (FROM OUT OF NOWHERE!!!) and Jericho picks up the win. Good match, really flat finish.

·         It's almost as if the referee told them to go home, and they just improvised on the spot. The match was good, nothing spectacular but a decent enough opener. The ending came so out of the blue, that it deflated me a tad.

Shane McMahon arrives with a tacky "WCW 1" license plate. Fans dunno whether to cheer or boo. Backwards Russo-esque booking there.

·         WWF fans had been trained to hate WCW. So, when you're trying to build Shane as this babyface going against Vince, why the hell would you put him in charge (kayfabe) of WCW? Baffling. Plus, I hate this because I've always said Bischoff should have been the on-air owner of WCW in this angle, but I digress.

Bradshaw cuts a promo that has me struggling to envision him as JBL 3 years later. Was it passionate? Yes. Was it good? Fuck no.

·         Really sucky promo here. Bradshaw was fired up, and he spoke from the heart, but it was just a disjointed mess. Surprising considering his promo work as JBL is fantastic IMO.

Jesus Christ, it's Right To Censor with the absolute worst wrestling theme in history. This makes Jillian Hall's singing seem awesome.

·         Seriously, this song makes me ears bleed.

Bull Buchanan's push always puzzled me. He went from being Big Bossman's bitch, to Steven Richard's bitch, to John Cena's bitch.

·         He was doomed after being renamed B2 (B-Squared). No way he was living that one down.

Next is APA/Taz vs Right To Censor aka the first piss break of the night. I'm going to finish my firstglass of Jack Daniels instead.

·         Any excuse for a Jack Daniels is a good one.

Forget Sonjay Dutt @Maffewgregg, Val Venis deserves better. Why the hell was he put in the career-killing RTC?!

·         Not going to lie, I really dug Val Venis. I'm glad he sprung back from this down the line with the awesome Chief Morley gimmick. Here, he was just Val Venis with the handcuffs on, and goofy looking shirt-tie combo to boot. Val should have been pushed as a guy who opposed RTC. Why he was eventually booked to join them, I have no clue. Did nothing for his career.

Bradshaw hits a fucking brutal Clothesline From Hell on the man-bitch Bull Buchanan for the win. Run of the mill six-man-tag.

·         I've seen stiffer clotheslines, but this one ranks up there. Painfully average match.

Trish/Stephanie/Linda segment. Trish is Steph's bitch, while Linda does nothing. Seriously, she just sits in a wheelchair. That's it.

·         Linda's expression here is priceless. She looks so damn depressed.

Honestly, she looks like she's just had to sit through ten David Otunga matches. Or one Great Khali promo. Take your pick.

·         And now you know why.

Raven vs Kane vs Big Show for the Hardcore Title. Honestly, I would've rathered just Raven/Kane.

·         Nothing against Big Show today, but back then, he was just so damn unmotivated. Being sent to OVW to lose weight can do that to a man.

"This one may be over before Big Show ever gets to the ring!" - JR on commentary. In summary, Big Show has gotten fat and lazy.

·         Obviously his time down in OVW didn't help much. May I suggest the Simon System?

This match so far has consisted of walking, and punching. Sloppy as fuck. Raven deserves better. So does Kane in fact. Fuck Big Show.

·         Seriously, at least Kane and Raven are mobile. Big Show is blown up FUCKING WALKING. To quote Jim Cornette, he's sucking wind so bad, the first three rows passed out of oxygen deprivation.

Kane hurls Raven through a window, which looks awesome. Willing to bet Raven wishes he was back to 1994 as Johnny Polo at this point.

·         Johnny Polo was an awesome gimmick. Plus, Scott Levy back in 1994 legit took Shane McMahon out to get hammered on booze and drugs. I'm sure Vince absolutely loved that. And people wonder why Raven was never pushed upon returning to the WWF in 2000. VINCE NEVER FORGETS.

The infamous go-kart moment where Raven almost killed WrestleMania. Jesus, can you imagine if THAT had happened?!

·         Basically, Raven almost blew out a power generator when he lost control of his go-kart. If that had happened, the PPV stream and power to the building would have cut out. He would've been blacklisted by the McMahon's, and likely become a hero to any WCW fans (that's if they had any left at this point).

I remember loving this match back in the day. But holy cow, it has not aged well. Not good at all. Walk-Punch-Spot. Rinse, repeat.

·         It's painful to watch. By this point, I'd nearly finished half a bottle of JD to pass the time.

Kane hits The Legdrop Of Doom off the stage (Hogan ain't got nuthin' on Kane, BROTHER!) for the win. Fans give a lukewarm cheer.

·         Lukewarm cheer is probably me being generous, simply because the Legdrop Of Doom wasn't half bad. And I like Kane. Sue me.

Kurt Angle wears out the word "Officially" in the space of thirty seconds, while Edge and Christian look scared shitless.

·         Please, if you have a minute of your life to waste, track this segment down. Angle says "Officially" at least ninety times. It's terrible.

Can't blame them. They probably think he's drunk. And we all know Drunk Kurt is no fun unless he's on his Twitter account.

·         I'd make a joke about how Angle claims to have been hacked each time he's shitfaced and posting on Twitter, but I think that speaks for itself, don't you?

Jimmy Snuka is shown in WWF New York, looking royally fucked off his face. Hide your girlfriends & wives, gentleman.

·         'Nuff said.

Eddie Guerrero vs Test next. Eddie rocking his mullet, while Test is rocking nothing. The best thing going for him is his theme music.

·         Test was so lousy at this point. He'd been jilted by Stephanie McMahon, squashed by Triple H, and stuck with Albert for pretty much an entire year as T&A. Doesn't get much worse than that.

And trust me, that is no compliment. Any entrance music that just repeats your name over and over, sucks. See: Heidenreich.

·         I take that last comment back, it could have been worse - Test could have been Heidenreich.

JR says Perry Saturn's hat looks ridiculous. Considering Ross never wanted to don his black cowboy hat, he's in no position to talk.

·         Hypocrisy, thy name is JR.

Test gets his foot trapped in the ropes. The referee tries to free him from the botch, while Eddie just kicks away at him like a boss.

·         Eddie could have broken kayfabe and helped Test loose, but he just kicks away at him instead, letting the referee do all the hard work. That's just another reason, if not THE reason, why Eddie is in the Hall of Fame. Not to mention the outstanding wrestler than he was, and fantastic promo man.

Dunno whether the crowd just doesn't care about these two or if they're still stunned by the Hardcore Title match, but they are silent.

·         As soon as I typed this, there was a Dean Malenko run-in to yet more silence. Says it all really.

Screwy finish & Eddie Guerrero wins the worthless European Championship. Much like the IC and US Titles today, it means nothing.

·         I know the roster was stacked at this point, but I'm honestly surprised the European Championship lasted for as long as it did. After Shane McMahon won it, and it was then given to Mideon, that title was dead in the water.

Hell yeah, Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit time! Considering the classics they'd have down the line, I wonder if this match will hold up.

·         Expectations, as you may have gathered, were high.

Angle cuts a pretty good promo to get some heel heat heading into the match. Benoit recently turned face, so gets a tepid reaction.

·         It's far from Angle's best mic work, but it's good enough. He's trying to tow the line between serious badass and goofy heel, and it's obviously hard to pull off both. Benoit thankfully, doesn't cut a promo on his way to the ring.

Some really great catch/chain wrestling to start off. Fans give a decent reaction first time round, much louder the second time.

·         The crowd were slow to get into this one, because this is pretty much unlike anything they'd seen in a really long time, probably since the days of Bret vs Owen. It reminds me a lot of some ECW matches between Guerrero and Malenko, and has a big fight feel to it, not unlike a UFC fight today.

Kudos to both Heyman and JR putting this style of wrestling over on commentary. Making this feel big time.

·         Just another reason why these two were a almost flawless pairing on commentary.

"Angle just decked him! Kurt Angle just made this a brawl! He was getting out-wrestled by Benoit and now he's turned it into a fight!"

·         Such a fantastic call. Simple, yet brilliant storytelling for Heyman.

That previous tweet? That's storytelling via commentary thanks to Paul Heyman. The commentators today should take notes.

·         If only Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler could master this art of storytelling on commentary instead of plugging the WWE App, people may actually watch RAW with the volume turned up. Just saying.

This is just great stuff. Not as explosive as their later matches, but it's just really psychologically solid. Can't fault it so far.

·         It may not be as good as their later matches, Royal Rumble 2003 springs to mind, but it's damn good. Not much of a surprise considering who's wrestling.

That's the second reference to The Dynamite Kid made by Heyman when talking about Benoit. The comparison is uncanny.

·         Which makes it all the more sadder once you know what eventually became of Benoit (and Dynamite for that matter - though some may argue, karma came calling in Dynamite's case).

Benoit with an Ankle Lock, Angle returns the favour with a Crossface. We get a ref bump which sucks because I don't think it's needed.

·         Pointless ref bump. Didn't need it whatsoever. Oh well.

Does Kurt Angle ever actually hit his Moonsault?! ... *remembers Bob Holly getting his arm broken* Never mind.

·         Holly would likely threaten to break my ass in half and call me a shithead if he ever reads that tweet.

Bullshit finish to the match which sucks, but it doesn't take away from the awesomeness of it. Fantastic stuff.

·         Really underrated match that I feel doesn't get the praise it deserves. Not a classic, but it's as solid as a match you will ever see.

William Regal finds Kamala in his office which is actually a lot funnier than it had right to be. Raised a smile, simply cos of Regal.

·         This was actually quite funny, probably because of the sheer randomness of it. Regal's face is absolutely priceless. "Bugger off!"

We get a slice of Americana, where Olympic Gold Medalist Kurt Angle gets booed mercilessly at an Army Base. Kayfabe lives!

·         Angle tries to not stay in character, but gives up fairly quickly. Can't say I blame him.

Kevin Kelly doesn't stop talking when asking Angle a question backstage. Get over on your own time, poser. #StickItUpThereHermy

·         Never liked Kevin Kelly. He shoved his finger up his nose. That's just dumb. At least Coach was entertaining when Rock ripped the piss out of him.

Oh Jesus... Ivory vs Chyna is next. Double dose of Jack Daniels on the rocks coming up.

·         Even that couldn't numb the pain of this match.

Ivory gets the biggest heel heat of the night so far. It's gotta' be that fucking RTC music. Nobody cares about the Divas division.

·         Seriously, I thought that Steven Richards had come out in a thong or some bullshit. The heel heat was insane for Ivory. Hard to tell if it was because she was such an effective heel, or people just genuinely didn't care for her.

Chyna jogs to the ring, presumably cos they have two minutes for the match. Y'know, cos not even Vince cares about the Divas division.

·         Honestly, if you're putting Chyna in the Women's division, you clearly have nothing planned for it.

Ivory drills Chyna with the belt, then kicks her for about a minute, to which Chyna no-sells to the best of her "ability".

·         Admittedly, I don't think Chyna was THAT bad of a worker. She was decent, but she's clearly phoning it in here.

Chyna makes a comeback that would make John Cena feel somewhat embarrassed. Forget Cena, Chyna is the true #ManOfSteel!

·         She just no sells everything. Somewhere, Road Warrior Hawk was grinning.

Chyna buries Ivory in a homage to the Ultimate Warrior fucking over Triple H at WrestleMania 12. Take that, Hunter.

·         She even copies the finish with the overhead slam. Chyna looks totally bored, which is funny, considering I am too. Get off my TV.

Michael Cole shows he has BALLS THE SIZE OF GRAPEFRUITS, interrupting Vince mid-sentence backstage. Vince appropriately jobs him out.

·         Cole looks timid as hell, while Vince just gets all up in his face. I imagine this is how things go whenever Cole screws up on commentary these days.

"I have acquired W...C...W!" Vince is fucking beaming in this promo package. Can't say I blame him. Somewhere, Bischoff was weeping.

·         Half of this promo for Vince vs Shane is just Vince gloating over buying WCW. Great way to rub it in Bischoff's face.

"I now own WCW!" The interest for a potential Invasion angle lasts all of two minutes. Nice going.

·         Don't get me started, seriously. I could be here for fucking hours otherwise.

Shane McMahon points out his WCW stars in the audience. I see Lance Storm, Bill DeMott and... Johnny Ace. With a huge blonde mullet.

·         Because nothing screams "money" more than Johnny Ace, am I right?!

You can see why people started to worry at this point about the purchase of WCW. Not one marquee name there. Shawn Stasiak? Fuck off.

·         I also spotted Mike Sanders, and quickly became pissed off that Sanders was never called up for the Invasion angle. Not a brilliant worker, but Sanders could cut a sweet promo when the time came.

Both Vince & Shane still have the same "No Chance In Hell" theme song. Shane should have come out to the American Males theme song.

·         EVERYBODY NOW! AMERICAN MALES! AMERICAN MALES! AMERICAN MALES!

2 minutes in & Steph interferes, slapping the piss out of Shane, who no-sells & continues beating on Vince. McMahon's are invincible!

·         I say that the McMahon's are invincible, because between Shane's no-selling and Vince's horrendous selling in general, I'm not sure if the two know how to conduct a wrestling match.

Shane-O-Mac has got guts, man. He jumps off the top rope, with Vince moving off the announcers table, and Shane splats onto concrete.

·         Try no-selling that one, buddy.

Trish brings Linda down to ringside, and has apparently "upped the dosage" of her medication...

·         This is JR's words, not mine. Fans openly laugh at Linda as she's wheeled down the ramp. Man, what a sympathetic babyface huh?

I take that as she has looked into her future running for Senate, and seen what a dismal job she does.

·         Either that, or she's seen that in the future, Triple H would become her son-in-law. That would depress the shit out of me too.

Trish turns on Vince, and beats the crap out of Stephanie. Mrs. Foley's Baby Boy/Pervert stands by and watches the cat fight ensue.

·         It was a predictable swerve, but the fans pop for it anyway. Foley honestly looks like he's suppressing a huge chubby whilst watching the catfight ensue.

Vince calls Linda a bitch. Tough love - the man puts her in a mental institution, has her sedated & shags Trish Stratus. What a prick.

·         This was 9 year old William talking, here. I loathed Vince with a passion. Sometimes, that anger is hard to let go.

Or you may think he's the biggest (Primetime) Player in existence. To each their own. Kayfabe lives!

·         And then 23 year old William had a change of heart.

Linda kicks Vince straight in the grapefruits to an absolutely monster pop! Foley beats the crap out of Vince for the hell of it.

·         Hey, Mick had to earn that payday of his somehow, right? May as well smash Vince's face in.

Shane McMahon steals one from the RVD handbook with the Van-Terminator. Vince eats the trash can, and Shane picks up the popular win.

·         I remember reading around this time that RVD was negotiating with WWF around the time of this event, and was legitimately miffed that Shane stole his move.

TLC II time. The pinnacle of tag team wrestling in the WWF.

·         I think I'm justified in that statement. As 2001 would continue, the tag division got more and more over-saturated, with the inclusion of the WCW Tag Team Championship.

Slow burn match so far... as then the Hardy's hit a legdrop/splash combo from opposite ladders. Remind me of The Rockers.

·         At this point in their careers, they really reminded me of The Rockers circa. 1991. You liked both men, but you always knew was destined for stardom above and beyond the tag team division. And mark my words, it wasn't Matt Freakin' Hardy.

WAAAASSSSSSUUUUUUUPPPP Diving Headbutt from the Dudley Boys, and then Bubba screams for the tables. D-Von knows what to do.

·         This suddenly reminds me of the storyline where Teddy Long and Rodney Mack were trying to call Bubba a racist for always asking D-Von to get the tables. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds. It was the shits.

Bubba powerbombs Jeff Hardy ontop of Edge & they crash through a table. He freakin' plants Jeff with as much care as Psycho Sid would.

·         That's probably a tad harsh on Bubba, considering Sid nearly damn near crippled Brian Pillman once.

We get the Wile E. Coyote Cam as all six takes insane bumps off the ladders. And... FUCK YES, SPIKE DUDLEY BITCHES!

·         As you may have gathered, I totally forgot Spike Dudley was involved in this.

Spike nails Christian with the Acid Drop through a table and... RHYNO!! GORE!! GORE!! GORE!! Matt Hardy gets broken in half.

·         Likewise, I totally forgot about Rhyno being in this also.

True story - Vince originally wanted Rhyno to dye his hair blonde and be introduced as Edge and Christian's other brother. Suck-Ass.

·         If Vince had wanted to kill Rhyno's WWF career before it even had a chance to start, that would've been the way to do it. Luckily, E&C talked him out of it.

"Lita jerking Edge of!" Fantastic foreshadowing by JR. It was all a work, damn it!

·         Never fails to raise a smile.

Jeff Hardy hits an absolutely insane Swanton Bomb off a crazy ladder onto Rhyno and Spike. Crowd react as you'd expect: "Holy shit!"

·         I swear, every single PPV there was a holy shit chant for one reason or another.

Move of the match - Edge hits an incredible spear from the crazy ladder to Jeff Hardy dangling over the ring.

·         Seeing moves like this, it's no wonder Edge retired due to neck problems.

Edge and Christian win with assistance from Rhyno. Fantastic match with plenty of high spots, and everybody got their chance to shine.

·         For my money, the best TLC in history. If you haven't seen it, do so.

We get a highlight package of WWF Axxess. Best part is Tazz looking thoroughly miserable having to be there.

·         It honestly looks like he's gonna' cuss out this little kid asking for an autograph and choke out his Dad. That would've rocked, to be fair.

I spoke to soon. Al Snow promising to personally hug everyone who visits his booth was the best part of that highlight package.

·         What would've been even better is a shot afterwards of a dejected Al Snow sitting alone at the booth, ala Virgil. 

Gimmick Battle Royal time! "Mean Gene" Okerlund and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan on commentary, which should be brilliant. Love Heenan.

·         Best manager of all time, and best colour commentator of all time, Bobby Heenan. Mean Gene Okerlund is passable.

True story - The final two men recognised by wrestling fans as members of the infamous Heenan Family stable are @ColtCabana & @CMPunk.

·         It's true - it says so on Wikipedia, the fountain of truth.

Bushwhackers lick Okerlund. Duke "The Dumpster" Drose comes out to virtually no reaction. Iron Sheik however gets a big pop. Legend.

·         Duke The Dumpster Drose was the absolute pits man. Apparently he slipped date rape drugs in girls drinks when the wrestlers used to party too, so he sounds like a real piece of trash, no pun intended... ah fuck it, pun intended.

Earthquake gets a positive reaction, always thought he was an underrated worker. The Goon comes out to silence. And then we get Doink.

·         "How would you feel if your parents named you The Goon?" asks Bobby Heenan. Pretty fucking mad at life is what I say.

No idea who's playing the role of Doink here, but I know damn well it isn't the original and best, Matt Borne. #RIPDoink

·         Still sucks Borne passed away last year. Such a great talent IMO.

Fresh from tearing up Regal's office, we get Kamala. And then possibly my favourite gimmick ever, REPO MAN! Love it.

·         Repo Man was awesome. His theme music, his attire, his gimmick, you name it.

Jim Cornette is next, who isn't really a gimmick but who cares. Corny rules. Nikolia Volkoff is next, and people don't care. Shame.

·         Jim Cornette's shoots are legendary. Check them out. If you hate Russo, you'll love Cornette. Trust me.

Michael P.S Hayes gets a great reaction, as well he should. Terrific worker and promo man back in the day. Badstreet USA baby!

·         This is before Hayes lost most of his hair, and developed one hell of a Badstreet Belly.

Next up is One Man Gang, who I have to say, I'm really disappointed in. Why the hell didn't he come as Akeem, the African Dream?!

·         YOU'RE A JIVE SOUL BRO, A JIVE SOUL BRO, AND YOU'RE ALWAYS LYING TO YOUR FRIENDS!

Gobbledy Gooker. Fuck off Hector Guerrero. Then we get Tugboat. Fred Ottman should've come as Shockmaster instead. What an entrance!

·         The Shockmaster entrance would have been the greatest moment in WrestleMania history, mark my words.

Hillbilly Jim gets the biggest pop so far, fuck knows why. Meanwhile, Brother Love is met with indifference. Silly Attitude Era crowd.

·         Hillbilly Jim looks absolutely ridiculous, and considering this is a gimmick battle royal, that's saying something. Brother Love's seriously red face looks equally dumb, but that's the point I guess.

Sgt. Slaughter is last who gets cheered. Yep, we'll forget that whole Iraq deal, yes sir. Heenan states that Slaughter "shoots blanks".

·         That last line from Heenan gave me a good chuckle.

Repo Man is first out. Fuck this company.

·         If you hadn't of gathered, this pissed me off.

Non-wrestler Jim Cornette outlasts Tugboat, Repo Man, Earthquake and Gobbledy Gooker. What the deuce?!

·         Terrific Russo-esque booking here, I must say.

Fans are pissed Doink is eliminated. Now they know how I feel about Repo Man's elimination.

·         Still mad, obviously.

Final four and Brother Love is still in. How?! Ah who cares, Iron Sheik wins, and Heenan pays tribute to his Royal Rumble '92 call.

·         "YES! YES! YES! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! I TOLD YOU, I TOLD YOU HE'D DO IT!

Next up is the match WWE has tried to make people forget in the last couple of years - Undertaker vs Triple H 1.

·         Hell, I almost forgot about this match myself.

I'm pretty sure Vince McMahon wishes he owned that "flashy thingy" from Men In Black. Heck, sometimes I wish I owned it.

·         Seeing Mae Young's tits is something that scarred me at age 8, and I've never truly recovered.

Haha, it's Motorhead's fucking awful rendition of their very own song, "The Game". Lemmy doesn't have a clue what the words are.

·         You'd think the band would at least learn the lyrics before the show, eh?

Undertaker's entrance here is, pardon the pun, badass. Zooming down that long entrance ramp on the motorcycle is an awesome visual.

·         Nuff said. Looks great.

JR mentions that The Undertaker hasn't been defeated at WrestleMania and is 8-0. The Streak in its early days, now it's 21-1. Damn Lesnar.

·         This was back when matches involving Undertaker were more than just about The Streak. The build for this match was actually pretty damn good.

Great brawl so far, which is exactly what the fans wanted to see out of this match. They've spilled into the crowd. Crowd love it.

·         Hey, Raven/Kane/Big Show - start taking notes guys.

Difference between this and the Hardcore Match is that this may be a brawl, but it's not mindless weapon shot one after the other.

·         My point exactly. In fairness, at Backlash 2001, Rhyno and Raven had probably the best match ever for the Hardcore Championship, so at least Raven learned something from his crapfest of a match earlier.

'Taker chokeslams Triple H off a scaffold. Hunter hits a crash mat, but no way you can tell me that didn't hurt. Stiff bump.

·         Yeah, though it's a crash mat, I doubt there was much give. Hunter is a good seller, but he isn't THAT good.

This has been really, really good. Not as good as their Hell in a Cell from WrestleMania 28, but a real close second.

·         I'd honestly forgotten how intense this match was.

Great back & forth ending which concludes with The Last Ride for the win. That match was far better than I remember it being. Awesome.

·         Crowd were really into it, and I'm surprised they aren't burnt out yet. They've been treated to one great match after another.

After an absolutely fantastic promo, it's time for Stone Cold vs The Rock.

·         Hunt that promo down. It's damn near perfect.

Stone Cold gets an absolutely spine-chilling reception, crowd are so pro-Austin. With the show being in Texas, it's no surprise.

·         The Rock meanwhile, gets booed by the majority. Considering this reaction, I'm surprised he was so butt-hurt by the fans turning on him the following year against Hollywood Hogan... brother.

They start the match with a fist fight & holy cow man, the crowd are just eating it up. The pinnacle of the Attitude Era right here.

·         Please, if you haven't seen this match, search for it, you can find the full thing on YouTube. The atmosphere is off the charts.

The No DQ stip is definitely adding to this match so far. Fast paced, violent, and "smash mouth" as JR would say.

·         Whoever decided ahead of time to add the stip deserves a Steveweiser.

Twice Heyman has questioned why the match has been changed to No DQ and who made that ruling. Nice foreshadowing.

·         Have I mentioned how much I rate Heyman as a commentator? Oh, I have? Okay.

This match is reminding me a lot of Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage. Arguably the two best of their generation facing off at WrestleMania.

·         A comparison can certainly be made. I'd say the equivalent today would be John Cena vs CM Punk.

15 minutes in, and I can totally see why people rank this the best of their 3 WrestleMania matches.

·         I'm inclined to agree, though their Mania 19 match holds a special place in my heart, purely cos I think The Rock's Hollywood gimmick is one of the best ever.

Austin busting out the Million Dollar Dream. JR puts over Austin's desperation to win. More great foreshadowing...

·         Jim Ross is awesome. But you already knew that.

Here we go... Vince McMahon is coming down the ramp. I remember as a kid, this confused the holy fuck out of me.

·         "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

A ref bump in a No DQ Match... Why?!

·         Shit like this infuriates me to no end. Serves no purpose whatsoever. DUMB.

Austin calls for the steel chair, and Vince does as he's asked. Say what? My ten year old self was having a bitch fit at this moment.

·         "WHAT?! WHY?! WHO?! HOW?!"

Austin has gone from beloved babyface during the match, to desperate heel. Looking back, his heel turn was foreshadowed pretty well.

·         I will always, kayfabe wise, defend the decision to turn Austin heel. To me, it made sense.

"Stone Cold Steve Austin will do ANYTHING to become the WWF Champion!" - Paul Heyman

·         Great call.

"What the hell is this?!" - Jim Ross

·         Another one.

Stone Cold Steve Austin beats the crap out of The Rock with the McMahon-endorsed steel chair, turns heel and wins the WWF Title.

·         I remember being stunned as a kid seeing this. Crowd didn't give a crap though, they cheered anyway.

The crowd very nearly turned Vince McMahon babyface with their response here, which looking back on it, is pretty hilarious.

·         Naturally, had that occurred, Vince would have blamed Austin purely for being Texan. God knows it's never Vince's fault, oh no.

And thus, The Attitude Era came to an end. Stone Cold turns heel and aligns with his greatest foe, Mr McMahon.

·         MIND BLOWING.

The show closes with Stone Cold and Vince McMahon shaking hands. Surreal.

·         Even watching it back now some 12 years later, that lasting image of Austin and Vince sharing a beer and heading up the entrance ramp together, is hard for me to get my head around.

OVERALL

This totally deserves the title of greatest WrestleMania ever. Sure, the Hardcore Title Match sucked, the six-man tag was flat and Ivory vs Chyna was a mere squash match, but everything else ranged from decent to phenomenal. Test/Guerrero. Jericho/Regal and the Gimmick Battle Royal were all fun. Vince vs Shane, whilst not technically sound by any means, was enjoyable for the McMahon family drama. Benoit vs Angle was brilliant, and I urge people to track it down. Triple H vs Undertaker was extremely solid, a hell of a lot better than I remember it being. TLC II is the best TLC in history, and makes me sad thinking about the state of the tag division today. As for the main event? While the heel turn of Austin isn't looked back with much fondness by many, it doesn't take away from the fact that it was an absolutely awesome half-hour match that never relented and had the crowd into it every step of the way.

However you can, track down this PPV.

 That about does it for this review guys and girls, hope you enjoyed the slightly different format! Will be back here on Friday for Fun Friday (go figure right!) for a review of one of the greatest video-game franchises ever – Metal Gear Solid!

Until then, take it easy and as always, thanks for reading!

Will