Wrestlemania 19 Re-Cap & Commentary
| [3/31/03]
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From WWE HEAT ...
--Lance Storm & Cheif Morely d. RVD & Kane to retain the tag belts : The Dudleys are with Storm and Morely and help them retain after what appears to be a double cross. Buh Buh drops an elbow ... yes, an elbow ... on RVD and Storm makes the pin. Bad finish to a match that unquestionably should have been on the actual PPV.
The arena definately had the Wrestlemania aura ... great setting, great set-up.
--Matt Hardy d. Rey Mysterio : Good opening match with some really cool spots ... a somewhat disappointing finish with Hardy using the ropes for the pinfall.
--Undertaker vs. A-Train and The Big Show : Nathan Jones was assaulted on HEAT by A-Train, TBS and ... Nunzio. Regardless, we see the aftermath--Jones was attacked with a padded chair. OK ... the guy who ripped prison doors off the hinges and withstood multiple macings goes down with a padded chair? Whatever. UT takes on the duo in a handicap match ... UT carries them well. A decently surprising match with Jones running down, leveling TBS and Albert with kicks. UT follows up with a big tombstone for the pin. "The Undertaker" is announced as the winner.
--Trish vs. Victoria vs. Jazz : For the women'a title ... Victoria has become impressive, especially in her character. The typical match for these gals ... Trish gets the pin on Victoria (after an anticlimatic kick) and takes the strap.
--3 Way WWE Tag titles : The crowd was dead for this one. Some good moments but overall, this match was a disappointment. Benjamin pins Chavo (after a Rhyno gore) to retain the belts.
--HBK d. Y2J : This match had it's moments but, at least to me, was nothing special. The double-nip-up was good and the finish was nice.
--A Goldberg promo aired. OK ... who was the proverbial marketing genius behind revealing Goldberg's signing? Unquestionably, this should have been kept secret and used as a surprise. The promo, however, was well done but should have been saved...
--Limp Bizkit performs. They sounded craptacular. But, alas, they are the "WWE's favorite band."
--The Catfight Girls vs. Torrie vs. Stacy : this fiasco ends with the gals teaming up on "The Coach."
--Triple H d. Booker T : A bad segment followed by a dreadful match. Worst of the show. The finish shows Booker hitting the Harlem Hangover but receiving a pedigree and the loss moments later. Who booked this finish?
--Hulk Hogan d. Vince McMahon : Best, most entertaining match of the night. It started slow but picked up ... many great moments. Hogan accidentally hits the Spanish Announcer with a chair in a soon-to-be-classic moment. Vince does a leg drop off a ladder ... both guys bled hard. Roddy Piper returned (in a trench coat) and after spatting at both guys, smacked Hogan with a "lead" pipe. Piper looked out-of-shape but still ... a great moment and a great surprise. A surprise that no one expected. A surprise kept secret. Unlike Goldberg. Anyway ... Hogan hulks-up and hits a series of leg drops for the pin. Great match.
--The Rock d. Steve Austin : Yet another match that failed to live-up to the hype. A standard match for these two ... each guy used each other's finishers ... each guy used their finishers ... Rock finally gets the pin after three Rock Bottoms. OK .. in the future, when The Rock hits someone with The Rock Bottom and gets the pin, won't this make the guy look even weaker
--Brock Lesnar d. Kurt Angle : A slow but good match ... obviosuly slow and tentative due to Angle's serious injury. Unfortunately, the match itself is overshadowed by Lesnar's near-disastrous shooting star press. A wobbly Lesnar somehow hits the F-5 and gets the 1-2-3 and the belt. Lesnar looked downright sick afterwards.
Notes : One thing that gets tiresome is when guys use their opponent's finisher. How many times did we see this on WM19? Over and over. Talk about overkill. Overall ... there were highs and lows but a decent, enjoyable effort. Goldberg's debut should have been a secret like Piper's "return." Much like the angle-rushing of the past year, they probably viewed it as good sense in revealing Goldberg's presence. But to viewers without short attention spans, it seemed out-of-place and a waste of something that could have been done much, much better.
RAW Notes : Remember when the night after Wrestlemania was "special." Oh, well. You can't help feeling thankful that we didn't see Maven, Nowinski or Steiner on the PPV. Hey ... remember when 3 Minute Warning were actually kept strong? Wouldn't it have been better to have the tag titles change at WM? Goldberg's not-so-surpising debut was lackluster to say the least. A disappointing show considering what aired 24 hours prior.
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