WM 19 – If you gave me long enough, I could make a strong case for this being the greatest WrestleMania of all time. It featured a triple main event that absolutely did not disappoint.
Kurt Angle looked incredible for a guy with a busted neck. Angle would drop the WWE Championship to a young Brock Lesnar in a fantastic match.
No one will forget the Shooting Star Press Lesnar tried to pull off late in the match. Safeco Field was rocking for this one and every competitor on the card rewarded their excitement and enthusiasm.
In part two of the triple main event, it was The Rock pinning Stone Cold Steve Austin in the last of their three WrestleMania main events. This was also the last match in the career of Stone-Cold Steve Austin.
The third and most fun match of the triple main event centered around the origins of WrestleMania as Hulk Hogan took on Vince McMahon. There was interference in the match by none other than Rowdy Roddy Piper. Hogan would win as this one had the feel of early to mid-80’s all over it.
The undercard was also stacked beyond belief with such highlights as Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels taking part in an instant classic. It was old lion versus young lion and if it wasn’t for Lesnar and Angle, this would have been the best match of the night.
Heck, some feel that it was still the best match of the night. Jericho lost, but got the last laugh by kicking Shawn Michaels in the balls post-match
Perhaps the best match of the night that no one saw coming was Booker T challenging HHH for the World Title. This was excellent as Booker T showed that he still had it.
Still fresh off his WCW days, Booker T had a lot to prove that he belonged with the major players of WWE, and he did just that in this match. In the end, it was HHH hanging on to the gold, but just barely!
Other undercard gems included Trish Stratus defeating Victoria and Jazz for the Women’s Championship in what was a pretty darn good match. Also Team Angle defeating Los Guerrero’s and the team of Chris Benoit and Rhino to retain the Smackdown Tag Championships. Benoit and Eddie showed in that match why they were both headed for much bigger things in the near future.
Again, catch me on the right night with enough beer and chicken wings in my system and I may just have to make a case for this being the greatest Mania ever. It was that damn good!