Just think, last year at this time, they still hadn't gotten the "F" out... First match ... RVD vs. William Regal (IC CHAMP): does anyone else miss the IC title? This was a short but good match. Regal--per usual--gets busted open. No one bleeds hardway more than Regal. Spot of the match--a nasty half-nelson German suplex. RVD took the bump hard. But Regal goes down with the Frog Splash and RVD takes the defunct title... DDP vs. Christian: This was DDP's first Wrestlemania since driving The Honky Tonk Man's pink caddie. DDP had a funny gimmick going last year at this time; too bad it had to end. DDP is the European Champ; another good match with DDP hitting the Diamond Cutter for the pin. Yet another defunct title... Goldust vs. Maven (Hardcore champ): OK ... the word "Wrestlemania" should NEVER be used in the same sentence with "Maven." Goldust is super-stiff with Maven ... Maven shows his talents which consist of a drop kick and being able to hit guys with stuff. That's pure talent. Anyway ... both guys go down after a shot with a golden garbage can. Spike Dudley runs in and pins Maven and wins the belt. Crash Holly runs down and chases Spike away ... defunct title #3. Godsmack "tells the story" of the Chris Jericho vs. Triple H match ... OK, there was this dog names Lucy... In the back, The Hurricane swings in on a rope, kicks Spike and pins him for the Hardcore belt... Kurt Angle vs. Kane: a decent match that could have been much better. Spot of the match--Angle gives Kane a belly to belly off the top rope. Kane goes for a chokeslam but Angle counters into a pinning combination for the 1-2-3. Miracle of video #1 ... the finish was botched during the live broadcast and while it seems awkward here, it was obviously covered-up for this video. Undertaker vs Ric Flair: Great match, second only to Hogan and Rock. We're told that UT is 10-0 at Wrestlemania. Flair, for the record, was 0-1 at Wrestlemania. A nicely doen brawl ... Flair "bleeds like a stuck pig." He botches the Flair Flop but during a re-try, does it perfectly. Miracle of video #2 ... Flair takes a pipe from UT's motorcycle and pops him with it. During the initial broadcast, we saw a close-up of the pipe shot where, alas, Flair didn't even come close to UT. In the video. we see a side shot that looks legit. Arn Anderson runs in and hits a perfect spinebuster on UT. But UT comes back, thrashing both Arn and Flair. He goes for The Last Ride on Flair but can't get him up ... the announcers claim Flair is fighting it. After attempt #2 fails, he simply tombstones Flair for the 1-2-3. Again, a great match. Booker T vs. Edge: The only build-up for this match was the fact that Edge was in attendance at the Toronto Dome for WM6. An implant DDT puts Booker down. In the back, Mighty Molly clocks The Hurricane with a pan and wins the Hardcore belt. Scott Hall vs Steve Austin: The return of the nWo was a good idea handled quite badly. The legend of the nWo was greater than the angle. This was the match that started Austin's unhappiness ... a decent match, actually. Austin wins after two stunners. Billy & Chuck (tag champs) vs. The Hardyz vs. The Dudleyz vs. The APA: an elimination tag, back when there was only one set of tag belts. B&C retain when Jeff Hardy gets pinned after a belt shot. A cheap end. In the back ... Molly is running down a hall towards an open door. Suddenly, the top of the door swings open, blasting Molly. Christian sneaks under and pins her for the Hardcore belt. Rock vs. Hogan: A great match that actually seemed better live. But oh well. Was hasn't been said about this match? One of the best of 2002... Trish vs Jazz vs Lita for the Women'a title: Jazz retains, pinning Lita after a top rope fisherman's suplex. In the back (once again) ... Maven rolls Christian up and wins the hardcore belt. Just think ... Maven leads to the WM18 main event. What an insult. What were they thinking? Furthermore, what were they thinking when they made Triple H vs. Chris Jericho the main event? This match meant nothing ... worst WM main event EVER! Triple H wins the unified WCW/WWF titles by beating Jericho; Steph gets a pedigree; again, worst WM main event EVER! During the video montage at the end, we see the Flair-UT botched pipe shot ... overall, despite having little match-build-up, it was one of the better Wrestlemanias in recent years...
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