411 Ranks The WrestleManias: #2 – WrestleMania 19

WrestleMania XIX is a fascinating one for many reasons. For the first time ever we would see the company’s “two” world titles being defended as HHH battled Booker T and Kurt Angle battled Brock Lesnar. If that wasn’t enough, Vince McMahon would step back onto the WrestleMania stage and battle his own creation, Hulkamania! Shawn Michaels would also return to the WrestleMania ring, and would do battle in what some thought of as a match we would never see, facing off with Chris Jericho. Finally, we would have the final part of the WrestleMania Trilogy, as Steve Austin did battle with the Rock! There was a ton to look forward to on this show, but how does it stand up to our panel of reviewers?

* WWE Cruiserweight Title Match: Matt Hardy © defeated Rey Mysterio via pin @ 5:39
* The Undertaker defeated The Big Show and A Train @ 9:46 via pin
* WWE Women’s Title Match: Trish Stratus defeated Victoria © and Jazz to become the NEW Women’s Champion via pin
* WWE Tag Team Title Match: Team Angle © defeated Los Guerreros and Chris Benoit and Rhyno via pin @ 8:46 via pin
* HBK defeated Chris Jericho via pin @ 22:30 via pin
* World Title Match: HHH © defeated Booker T @ 18:47 via pin
* Hulk Hogan defeated Vince McMahon @ 20:37 via pin
* The Rock defeated Steve Austin @ 17:53 via pin
* WWE Title Match: Brock Lesnar defeated Kurt Angle © to become the NEW WWE Champion @ 21:07 via pin

Kevin P
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels [****1/2] – It was hard to choose between this and Austin vs. Rock, but I decided to go with Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho. I have always been a huge Jericho fan and wanted him to get that WrestleMania moment. Sure he went into X8 as the Champion but that turned out to be rather lackluster. However, being the first guy to get Michaels at WrestleMania after his return is a big deal. The build up was great as they played into Jericho idolizing Shawn growing up and it was worked into the match. Masterfully, Jericho and Michaels traded offense throughout and Jericho could even be heard shouting “I’M BETTER THAN YOU.” This was all wonderfully done. Jericho stole Sweet Chin Music and came close on several occasions, but in the end, a well-timed rollup earned Shawn the win. Both guys came out looking incredibly strong, and in true heel fashion, Shawn delivered a low blow after a post match handshake. One of the best WrestleMania matches that I can remember.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: A-Train and Big Show vs. The Undertaker [*] – This is the WrestleMania that I consider to be the best of all-time, but there was one blemish and it was this handicap match. The original plan was for A-Train and Big Show to face Undertaker and Nathan Jones. Jones sucked so badly though that they had him get “beat up” backstage so Undertaker went in alone. Never have two men so big posed such a little threat. As expected, the match was slow and the handicap stipulation made things even worse. Jones got involved near the end, assisting Undertaker, but it was still dull. It also got nearly ten minutes, while Matt Hardy vs. Rey Mysterio got less than six and Team Angle vs. Los Guerreros vs. Rhyno and Chris Benoit got under nine.

Show MVP And Why: Brock Lesnar – In 2002, Brock Lesnar had possibly the quickest rise in WWE history as he won the Undisputed Title within five months of his debut. After Paul Heyman turned on him, Brock turned face, which was an interesting move. He went on to win the Royal Rumble and set up a classic with then WWE Champion Kurt Angle. Now, before I get into why, I’d like to point out that there were many candidates here. Michaels, Jericho, Austin, Rock, hell even Mr. McMahon and Hulk Hogan overachieved for sure. But Brock went into his very first WrestleMania, got the main event and totally delivered. He and Angle put on a wrestling clinic. Not only did Brock attempt a Shooting Star Press, but he landed badly and managed to finish the match. Brock won the belt, which should have been the crowning moment that solidified him as the man. We all know that he would leave the company a year later, but this was still his finest hour.

Your Thoughts on The Show: I consider this to be the best WrestleMania of all-time, but I wouldn’t be upset if someone put X-Seven ahead of it. They are neck and neck. The showed started good as Rey Mysterio and Matt Hardy put on a fast paced match to give the Cruiserweight Title some shine. Undertaker’s match was the only negative because after that Trish Stratus, Victoria and Jazz gave us a hard hitting women’s match and then a Triple Threat Tag Title match that was also good. All good so far, but then the show kicked it into high gear and what followed is the best stretch of matches that WrestleMania has ever seen. Jericho and Michaels tore the house down, having the best match on the best Mania before Booker T and Triple H put on a solid World Title match. Mr. McMahon met Hulk Hogan in a brutal, better than it had any right to be Street Fight. Steve Austin and the Rock completed their WrestleMania trilogy with another classic that ended up being Austin’s last match ever. Brock and Angle closed thing down with a fantastic wrestling clinic. This WrestleMania has something for everyone. You want spectacle? Austin/Rock. You want a bloody fight? Hogan/Vince. Pure wrestling? Angle/Brock. Storytelling? Jericho/Michaels. There is no better Mania than this masterpiece.

Alex Crowder
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: WWE World Championship: Kurt Angle(c) vs. Brock Lesnar. I know most people will choose Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho, which was a fantastic match. However, I must disagree. The moment of the night for me is Kurt Angle defending the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar. The shooting star press missed, but in this case the botch became a legend of its own. This only enhanced the match’s reputation in my opinion, because the ideal ending was not there. Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar put on a hell of a match. I remember the reports that Angle’s career was over. This made me want to see it that much more. I remember it vividly and I remember the feeling of it being the last time I’ll see Kurt Angle (obviously that was not the case). Nevertheless, I consider the Lesnar and Angle rivalry to be the last great rivalry in WWE (with Cena and Edge being a close second). These two had awesome chemistry and put on great matches. They were the stars of WrestleMania XIX in my opinion.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: The Undertaker vs. Big Show and A-Train in a handicap match. That is the one match I find actively bad on this edition of WrestleMania. I do not like the handicap match with A-Train and Big Show against The Undertaker. This match is just bad and does not work well. The story line established Nathan Jones who only interfered in the match (at least he would have made it entertaining in a train wreck sort of way). The less said the better.

Show MVP And Why: Kurt Angle is again a WrestleMania MVP. Kurt Angle was in the main event and the ending had just fallen apart. Kurt Angle like the professional he is holds everything together and gives Lesnar his moment. Kurt Angle like The Rock was amazing at making new stars. Kurt Angle helped his opponent look good in a victory and a loss. Lesnar continued to dominate the ranks afterwards and he owes an assist to Angle.

Your Thoughts on The Show: I ranked this WrestleMania pretty high on my list. I think everything on the card was decent to good except for 1 match. I ranked it the 5th best WrestleMania. I enjoyed the opening Cruiserweight Title match and it set the tone well. I know they only got five minutes. Matt Hardy and Rey Mysterio made those 5 minutes count. The following Undertaker match was bad. The women’s title match was mediocre in my opinion. I liked the WWE Tag Team championship match with Team Angle, Los Guerreros, and Benoit/Rhyno. It was a little short, but good for what it was. Anytime you have Team Angle, Los Guerrerros and Chris Benoit…the match is going be good if nothing else (Rhyno was solid too). Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho was an incredible match. I loved Jericho being a complete dick afterwards and kicking Michaels in the balls, it was such a jerk move after a hellacious match. Triple H and Booker T is a good match, but the booking is horrendous. Booker T should have won, it wouldn’t have hurt anything. This match is usually the number 1 reason for Triple H hate and despite the good Triple H has done, this is still an egregious mistake. Still, I’ll call it decent due to the balance of good and bad in the match. Mr. McMahon and Hulk Hogan put on an entertaining car crash match. I think it is good not great. The Rock and Steve Austin going at it for the last time is awesome. I like this match as well as I like Michaels and Jericho. The match was great and probably the second best match they ever had. This was the perfect ending to their feud with Rock finally besting Austin in a one on one situation clean. Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle ended the night on a perfect note. How many Wrestlemanias have 3 great matches of this level with nothing too mediocre to bring it down? Not many.

Mike Hammerlock
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (c) for the WWE Championship (****½) – The pace of this match is furious. It rarely slows down. These two guys may have had the best cardio in WWE history and it looks like they wanted to prove it on this night. They innovate throughout the match, hitting each other with moves outside their standard arsenal. Angle sending Brock into the buckles with a German is a particular favorite of mine. Also, this match had an impossible task. It had to follow Rock-Austin, which followed the Hogan-McMahon street fight, which followed the HHH-Booker T clash, which followed the Shawn-Jericho instaclassic. The audience should have been worn out, desensitized to anything Brock and Kurt threw at them. Instead, they kicked it up another notch. They closed the show by demonstrating just how hardcore it can be when you put the best pro wrestlers on the planet in a ring together. The athleticism they brought was off the charts. It was headed to ***** territory, but Brock nearly killed himself at the end by trying to hit a shooting star press while Angle was in the middle of the ring. The distance he attempted to cover was preposterous, which caused him to land on his head. How he didn’t die right there is a minor miracle. It may be the scariest moment in WrestleMania history. Good thing Brock has the world’s largest trapezius muscles. Anyway, Angle improvised a near fall allowing Brock to recover enough to hit a third F-5 for the victory. Had Brock hit that shooting star press the match would have been flawless.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: It’s a testament to the quality of this WrestleMania that this is the worst match on the card. Limp Bizkit playing live for Taker’s American Badass entrance was pretty cool. The match itself worked fairly well, with Taker being awesome in between impact moves from his two behemoth opponents. I’d say they were having a **½ match that could have climbed to *** with a cool finish. Instead we got Nathan Jones. Jones was an enormous Aussie who was being groomed as a potential next big thing until it became clear that he lacked anything like ring skills. Later he decided the WWE travel schedule wasn’t for him. Jones was supposed to tag with Taker against Show and A-Train, but they took him out before the match. That actually made the situation far more interesting because a handicap tag match seemingly put the Streak in all kinds of jeopardy. Yet Jones came out at the end of the match, clocked Show outside the ring (should have been a DQ) and landed a big boot on Albert inside the ring (should have been a DQ). So, instead of Taker overcoming enormous odds, we got overbooking involving a future member of the “Where are they now?” club. The excuse that Jones was supposed to be in the match, so it wasn’t a DQ offense is beyond lame. Taker should be 20-2 at WrestleMania. Yet the bigger sin in this match is the overbooking. What makes this Mania so great is how few shenanigans were pulled. Unfortunately this contest stands out in the worst way.

Show MVP And Why: MVP: Shawn Michaels – Five years after he passed the mantle to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WM14, Shawn Michaels returned to the big stage, kicking off the most unexpected and best career comeback in wrestling history. For the next seven years, HBK would go one of the greatest runs in wrestling history. Everything he touched turned to gold and he transformed WrestleMania into his own personal playground. It all kicked off here. Chris Jericho battered Shawn, taking control of the match with a Walls of Jericho outside the ring. Then Shawn started pulling rabbits out of his hat. No one’s ever been better at it. You don’t just kick out of finishers. You need to find unexpected ways to save yourself, to temporarily break your opponent’s momentum, to give yourself a few moments to recover. Shawn’s the absolute tops at that. For anyone who had forgotten how good he was in the ring, this was a rousing reintroduction. Also, it let us know that Shawn was coming back into a company filled with guys who could hang with him in the ring. He almost had to go away for five years for the industry to catch up to him.

Your Thoughts on The Show: This is my pick for best WrestleMania ever. There’s almost no garbage outside of the catfight, which served a purpose in that there needed to be some sort of palate cleanser after Shawn’s triumphant return to WrestleMania. Amazing that Kitana Baker kept her clothes on for the most part. It would be great to watch a montage of the start of each match. No one wasted time. They just kicked it off with immediate action. It was ruthless aggression in the best sense of the term. The stadium explodes every time. Matt Hardy deserves a boatload of credit for starting off the event in style. People forget how cool Mattitude was. Victoria, Trish and Jazz had what is easily the best women’s match in WrestleMania history. Sections of the IWC continue to bitch about HHH beating Booker T, but the match was very good and the I maintain the right guy went over. HHH was the franchise at that moment. He doesn’t win there and he can’t give the rub to Chris Benoit, Batista and John Cena at the next three Manias. As for Booker, he looked excellent in defeat. Unlike other WCW stars like Steiner, Goldberg, Hall, Nash and DDP, Booker found a home in WWE. He may not have won on this night, but he proved he belonged. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon staged the most unlikely great match you’ll ever see. They beat the tar out of each other in a street fight. It stands out because it’s the only battle like that on the card. Otherwise this event was marked by hellaciously good wrestling, which is why I prefer it to the somewhat plunder-reliant WM17 (which also had lower low spots). This is also my favorite Rock-Austin match, largely because Rock wins. Rock kind of had to win this. Going 0-3 against Austin at Mania would have been a bitchslap that reverberated across history. For his part, Austin did a phenomenal job of playing the icon on his (literal) last legs. This was his final wrestling match and he went out in style. Unspooling why it was Austin’s final wrestling match requires more time than we’ve got here, but it serves as the bookend on Austin’s Clash-like, six-year run. Historically, it’s mega-important. Plus you get Shawn returning as the sun sets on Austin, plus Angle-Lesnar. It’s an absurdly good WrestleMania. Starts hot, then hits top gear with HBK-Jericho and stays there for the rest of the night. It stands the test of time too. Twelve years on and the action doesn’t feel one bit dated.

Greg DeMarco
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho [****] – It’s amazing that this match happened in 2003, considering the great run these two had several years later. As a fan I wanted to see Jericho get the win, considering he was the first ever Undisputed Champion and had quite the rough WrestleMania X8. This match had great wrestling, great storytelling, and a great moment at the end (the fake embrace from Jericho that ended in a low-blow). An argument can be made for Angle-Lesnar, but I am going to stick with HBK-Y2J here.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: The Undertaker vs. Big Show & A-Train [**1/2] – Originally scheduled to be a tag team match with Nathan Jones paired with ‘Taker, he was taken out pre-match and Taker went it alone. That did hurt the believability as he was facing two monsters and was not Zombie Taker, but Biker Taker. Still, this was not a horrible match by any accounts. That’s just how damned good this card was.

Show MVP And Why: Kurt Angle – This is such a hard choice, as so many men delivered amazing performances. Kurt Angle gets the nod over an amazingly talented group of wrestlers for the sole reason that he showed how much of a veteran he was after less than five years in the business when he covered for Lesnar’s knockout SSP, carrying through the end of the match that Lesnar still doesn’t remember.

Your Thoughts on The Show:Safeco Field was an appropriate home for WrestleMania XIX, because it was a home-run. Five great matches to close the show, and the worst match still being in the “good” category. Roddy Piper gave us a surprise return, and this was a night all about wrestling. This is the card that all WrestleManias aspire to be.

The List So Far…
30. WrestleMania 9
29. WrestleMania 2
28. WrestleMania 11
27. WrestleMania 4
26. WrestleMania 15
25. WrestleMania 27
24. WrestleMania 29
23. WrestleMania 25
22. WrestleMania 5
21. WrestleMania 13
20. WrestleMania
19. WrestleMania 6
18. WrestleMania 16
17. WrestleMania 7
16. WrestleMania 12
15. WrestleMania 8
14. WrestleMania 22
13. WrestleMania 28
12. WrestleMania 18
11. WrestleMania 14
10. WrestleMania 26
9. WrestleMania 23
8. WrestleMania 24
7. WrestleMania 21
6. WrestleMania 3
5. WrestleMania 30
4. WrestleMania 20
3. WrestleMania 10
2. WrestleMania 19

REMINDER, each 411 writer had the opportunity to rank the WrestleMania events (based on overall quality, historical significance and personal preference), those rankings went into creating the final list.