Greetings everyone! We are just two solid days from Wrestlemania XXVII (as of this posting) and the world is abuzz with the sounds, sights, and smells of the Showcase of the Immortals. I am your ever-so-humble host, Mike Gojira, and welcome back to The Stomping Ground. This week’s column will focus on my memories of Wrestlemania, from the truly epic to the truly dismal. For another in-depth look at Wrestlemania memories, check out Steven Gepp right here.
A word of caution: I started watching wrestling religiously around 1996, so this post will reflect that. Hence, we will begin with Wrestlemania XII: the first Wrestlemania I watched live on television. Go ahead and mock me in the comments for it. I’m a big boy; I can take it!
Wrestlemania XII
This was the Wrestlemania that turned me into a wrestling fanatic. I remember rushing home from my grandparents in Long Island to catch the start of the legendary Iron Man match between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. It was an epic showdown that caught my attention from start to finish. Fun factoid: my sister, who quickly jumped on the HBK bandwagon, wrongly predicted that Bret would walk away with the belt. What was the worst part of XII for me? That would be the Backlot Brawl between Roddy Piper and Goldust. Blech. What a train wreck.
Wrestlemania XIII
I was a HUGE Undertaker mark at this time and was happy to see him win his much-deserved title and time in the spotlight. This was during the WWE’s “Give a new guy a title run until around Summerslam” phase that they had every year since Michaels won at XII and which ended when Triple H held onto the gold at Wrestlemania 2000. However, Taker’s victory was not the best moment of the PPV. That is reserved for Austin/Hart and their awesome “I Quit” match. Austin cemented his place in wrestling history here and his resolve earned him the respect of the fans and turned Hart heel. The lowlight of the night was the Intercontinental Championship match between Rocky Maivia and The Sultan. This was just, just…bad. I was not a fan of Maivia and Rikishi’s cartoonish portrayal of an evil foreigner was a terrible idea.
Wrestlemania XIV
The night’s biggest moment came at the hands of Mike Tyson, but HBK and Austin put on quite a show. Michaels was clearly working hurt and still gave it his all. My favorite moment was when Austin caught HBK’s foot during a Super Kick attempt and KICK WHAM Stunner! The Attitude Era was now in full swing. As for the worst moment of the night, that honor goes to Triple H’s burial of Owen Hart. The last of the Harts drew the short straw once the rest of the family left and was forced to get jobbed out to DX on a regular basis. Even when he did get the upper hand it felt like a weak win, and his union with the Nation ended with Triple H on top. In any case Owen should have won this match.
Wrestlemania XV
The first Rock/Austin battle was great at the time and started what became the greatest rivalry of the Attitude Era. Other than that, the PPV was forgettable. The Triple H heel turn, the “thrown together tag team” of D’Lo and Test, the stupid Hardcore Championship triple threat, the Bossman/Taker Hell in a Cell (complete with lynching!), the end of Bart Gunn’s singles career at the hands of Butterbean….I could go on.
Wrestlemania 2000
The three-way ladder match for the Tag Team Championship was truly out of this world and ushered in the TLC match which has now become a PPV staple. Another match that I thought was great was the Triple Threat for the Euro-Continental Championship (as Angle called it) where the winner of the first fall would earn the Intercontinental title and the winner of the second would win the European belt. The stinker of the night goes to the Fatal Fourway that had one of the worst Mania endings of all time, in my opinion. Triple H should NOT have walked out of that match as champion, and it took a month for the ‘E to get the ending right when The Rock took the gold at Backlash.
Wrestlemania XVII
I refuse to call it “X7,” as that name is asinine and assumes the general public doesn’t understand Roman numerals. Many tout this as the greatest Mania of all time and with good reason: Austin/Rock 2 and a wonderful TLC match for the Tag Team Championship. The Undertaker and Triple H put on a decent performance and Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit (Shock! Gasp! I said “He Who Must Not Be Named”!) had an amazing technical battle that was only overshadowed by their Royal Rumble encounter. The undercard was kind of “eh” for me, but the worst moment of the night was the Austin heel turn. I’ve always believed that heel turns in the main event of Wrestlemania are a bad decision and turning Austin was just awful. He became a whiny, self-absorbed cheater instead of remaining as a bad ass. The whole event was affected by the purchase of WCW literally a week before and the stink of an impending invasion permeated the air. Looking back now, it was a sad end to the Attitude Era.
Wrestlemania XVIII
Jericho’s shining moment should have been his match with Triple H, but the feud became all about Stephanie and Hunter with Jericho as an afterthought (many have compared this to Miz’s current run as champ, but I disagree). Not only that, but they had to follow Rock/Hogan, which was an impossibility. Interestingly enough, Triple H’s main event would be overshadowed yet again seven years later. As far as the quality of Rock/Hogan is concerned, it was not a technical masterpiece by any means but it delivered in atmosphere and emotional impact. My friends and I still recall where we were when we saw the passing of the torch: my friend Alex’s house, where we drove to from Stony Brook to watch the PPV.
Wrestlemania XIX
This Mania had a strong card, highlighted by The Rock vs Austin for the third and final time (the end of Austin’s in-ring career), Lesnar vs Angle for the WWE Championship, and Jericho/Michaels. Y2J and HBK’s match was the show-stealer and Lesnar’s botched Shooting Star Press was quite memorable. I can’t believe he was able to continue after that. Once again, Triple H managed to become the focal point of my ire as he was booked to go over Booker T, a man who by all rights deserved to win. Is it a coincidence that Booker’s last WWE match was against Triple H, where he was buried once again? Methinks not.
Wrestlemania XX
My favorite Benoit moment happened at Madison Square Garden, and for once Triple H was involved in a GOOD part of the show. Seeing Benoit force Trips to tap out and his subsequent hug with Eddie Guerrero was very emotional and it reminded me how much I love this business. It’s unfortunate that neither one is with us now. Eddie had a great battle with Angle and I loved the ending wherein Eddie loosened his bootlaces to counter the Ankle Lock. Undertaker and Kane had a boring match and you’d think the ‘E would learn from their mistakes putting these two against each other. Noooo, we had to have a SERIES between them last year. Jericho and Christian had a great match, which was highlighted by a heel turn from Trish Stratus (I still prefer her as a blonde). We also saw the Lesnar/Goldberg debacle which the fans hated outright. That’s what we New Yorkers are all about; if we don’t like something, we’ll let you know it.
Wrestlemania XXI
I loved the Wrestlemania promos the WWE created which basically spoofed movies like Braveheart, Pulp Fiction, and Basic Instinct (I especially LOVED the Stacy Keibler as Sharon Stone scene). Batista had a good showing in his title match against Triple H. I have to say kudos to the Game for putting over Big Dave for three consecutive PPVs in a row (despite the ridiculous “Batista fears the Pedigree” storyline), something Trips is not known for. And yes, I am aware that the bookers and ultimately Vince decide who wins and who loses, but this was during Triple H’s height of power both onscreen and off. You can’t tell me that he had absolutely no influence in the outcome of his matches for the past few years, just like Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Austin before him. Anywho, where was I? Oh yeah, Michaels had a huge match with Kurt Angle and we also bared (is it “bared” or “bore”? I can never tell) witness to the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match, a series of ridiculously over-the-top high spots that earned its own PPV. Now it seems watered down but the concept was fresh, exciting, and intriguing, which ultimately led to one of my Top Ten Swerves in Wrestling. Yeah, go on and click that link. You know you want to.
Wrestlemania XXII
This took place during the cringe-inducing “Eddie Guerrero is in Hell” storyline that the heels of the company used to get cheap heat. It was inexcusable and tainted Rey Mysterio’s momentum, as it seemed the only reason he was given the chance to main event Mania was due to Eddie’s demise a few months earlier. Orton was added to his match with Kurt Angle, making it a Triple Threat for the title. The match itself was “meh” and Rey’s win was overshadowed (I keep using that word too much!) by his terrible title reign that followed. On the Raw side of things we had The Game vs Cena in which both men gave us a great match. At this point Triple H seemed to be more willing to put people over and tapped once again. The second Money in the Bank was excellent and nearly eclipsed the first but it was clear that the match was starting to become all about a combination of spots and ingenuity and nothing more. Michaels took on McMahon (no word on whether God sanctioned the match) and you can see the highlights here. Quite a table spot McMahon went through. I wonder how he felt being stuck in that trash can, awaiting Michaels without the gift of sight. I’d be nervous as all hell. We unfortunately had to suffer through Undertaker vs Mark Henry in a “We don’t have anybody intimidating for Taker to face, so here’s some crap to tide you over” match. I meant to say Casket match.
Wrestlemania XXIII
The “Hair vs Hair” match brought Donald Trump to the forefront of Wrestlemania and made him a major contender for Hall of Fame status (Drew Carey’s credentials notwithstanding). Bobby Lashley aka Babyface Lashley aka Black Lesnar aka Blacktista (I got a million of ’em) was horrendous and if it weren’t for Vince getting a close shave the match would have been a total bust. Michaels/Cena was another great title match but I actually preferred their rematch on Raw. Batista/Taker was pretty good as well. I actually enjoyed Batista’s feud with Undertaker, but it’s unfortunate that Big Dave was defeated by the Deadman far too often.
Wrestlemania XXIV
Still with me? Good. Almost done. For me, the biggest highlight of WM24 was the retirement match between Flair and Shawn Michaels. The image of HBK mouthing the words, “I’m sorry; I love you” are iconic and will be a part of wrestling lore forever. In fact, at the following year’s Wrestlemania Fan Axxess, my friends and I guest commentated on the last few minutes of the bout; I still have the DVD and it’s hilarious. More on that later. Edge faced Taker for the title, but at this point the Streak was on full blast and there was no way Edge would leave with the belt. Orton defended his belt against Triple H and Cena but I never expected the Viper to walk away as champ so that was a pleasant surprise. At that point Cena was undefeated at Mania so it was nice to see him take the loss for once. Other than the Flair/Michaels encounter, nothing really stood out for me on this night.
Wrestlemania XXV
“Where it all begins again.” As many of you already know, this was my first-ever WWE PPV event that I attended in person. Not only that, it was my first WRESTLEMANIA appearance so I was doubly stoked to be there. I have so many memories of that weekend, which I will share in detail in a future column; suffice to say it was an incredible experience that I will never forget. The highlight, of course, was Taker/HBK. The crowd was absolutely dead after that one so I don’t know why the ‘E felt it necessary to follow it up with TWO title matches. The blood feud between Orton and Triple H had fizzled because everyone was too exhausted to get emotionally involved in it. Besides that, the only other poor decision the company made was to put Morrison/Miz vs the Colons as a PRE-Mania dark match and throw in Kid Rock for a terrible Diva Battle Royal won by a cross-dressing Italian.
Wrestlemania XXVI
Last one, I promise! WM26 came across (for me, anyway) as poorly built at the last minute with the exception of Hart/McMahon, Edge/Jericho and Undertaker/HBK. What do I mean? It wasn’t until the end of Elimination Chamber which was just weeks from the big show that we had our WWE Championship main event set between Batista and Cena. The ridiculously pointless slow break-up of Legacy led to a Triple Threat that only served to put Orton over, proving Legacy was a waste of time. Rey and Punk had a decent build but it suffered from the short amount of time given to them to perform. I wasn’t a fan of Ebony and Ivory challenging ShowMiz (what a stupid name) for the Tag Team Championship and Triple H vs Sheamus was just decent, built up around the same time as the Cena/Batista feud. Edge’s face turn sucked and he lost as a result (which made this Jerichoholic happy) and the Hart/McMahon match was an unnecessarily overbooked mess. The ‘E finally got it right this time and put Undertaker/Michaels on last, but the mystique surrounding the pairing had dissipated the year before. I still prefer their previous match, by the way.
God damn, that took a long time. No random thoughts this week, but I will provide you with a head’s up: expect a special Wrestlemania XXVII recap on Monday night from yours truly. It’ll be a lame “Top Assorted Number of Thoughts” column that everyone seems to be pulling out of their ass these days. Plus, it’ll be a painless exercise for me and I guarantee it won’t be a literary epic (in length, at least) like every damn column I churn out these days. Hell, my word count is currently clocking in at 2,516 as I type this.
And Rhett thinks writing over 2,000 is a milestone for him. Ha!
Cheap Plugs
The following column will be old by the time you read this, but here is a sample of Joe Fiorello’s work that gets posted every Friday. By now his Top Ten Wrestlemania Matches (Part 2) should be up so look him up and check it out.
Jonah Kue is back, but this time he’s a disorganized mess with rants based on the week before Mania. Totally out of character for him. I smell a heel turn!
The man, the myth, the Biscuiti is back with a look at ten surprises he wants to see at Mania this year.
Joel Leonard has an in-depth report on whether the Streak ends and the aftermath. To quote the title of his column: No Chance.
Note to Chris Sanders: we need more Dad Quotes!
There’s some other stuff on this site, like Recaps of all 26 prior Wrestlemanias by Scott Keith, daily Backlashes written by people other than Glazer, Wheeler’s Judicial Review of Raw, the Professor and Mary Ann, all on Gilligan’s Island. I’m too lazy to link them all.
Enjoy Wrestlemania weekend and remember to look out for me this Monday night.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.
