WrestleMania XIX Is The Greatest

Close your eyes. Think about what may constitute your perfect WrestleMania.

Does it have a spirited game of “can’t top this” between two legitimate athletes? Does it have a retirement match featuring two of the biggest icons in the history of the business? How about a technical wrestling match between teacher and student? What about an intense personal issue between Dr. Kevorkian and his de facto Frankenstein? Maybe it has Triple H breaking out the golden shovel, or perhaps another notch in the belt of The Undertaker?

What if I told you that 15 years ago to the day, such an event not only happened but exceeded all expectations at the time, thanks in part to flawless execution and one of the most star-studded talent rosters WWE has probably ever seen?

WrestleMania XIX emanated from Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington, on Mar. 30, 2003. While I mentioned the stacked talent roster, it’s important to understand the context of time. Ratings were down and the company had been criticized in recent years for not making the most of its talent following a failed Invasion angle and panned nWo storyline salvaged only by Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock at the previous WrestleMania. Needless to say, the WWE was not under the same microscope it was during the peak years of the Attitude Era. Many also considered this show to be the first WrestleMania of my personal favorite era of the company: the Ruthless Aggression Era. Why the moniker? See here:

Although John Cena went on to become the biggest box office attraction since Austin and Rocky, he was absent from this show. The reason? Sporting a rapper gimmick at the time, the WWE had Cena tapped to have a rap battle with a name rapper for a throw-in angle to take the edge off the action. Those plans failed to see the light of day; however, because rappers like Jay-Z and Fabolous either felt they were too big for WrestleMania or too worried to risk their reputation in a battle rap against Cena, a reputable rhymer in his own right. Cena ended up settling for some comic relief on the preshow and though he would find himself in the Smackdown main event just two years later, he did not factor into the greatness of WrestleMania XIX.

But the principle of “ruthless aggression” spread like wildfire and the spectacle shapeshifted into a game of “follow that.” Rey Mysterio and Matt Hardy opened the show with a brief, but thrilling and engaging babyface vs. heel match and proved time is not a requirement in order to leave a lasting impression.

The show on the whole really takes me back to just how different the times were back then. The pay-per-view’s theme song, “Crack Addict” by Limp Bizkit (yes, CRACK ADDICT by Limp Bizkit) received heavy play throughout the show with the band even performing it in the likely spot Cena vs. Rappers would have been in addition to sticking around to perform “Rollin’” for one of The Undertaker’s most memorable WrestleMania entrances. You also had the Miller Lite catfight girls. Basically, a couple women not lacking in certain assets appeared in a controversial commercial for Miller Lite around this time and because of WWE’s then-involvement with Girls Gone Wild, Miller paid the WWE a boatload of cash to include the girls on the show. Their involvement gave us one of the more iconic cringe worthy, yet entertaining moments in Mania history when they argued between Mr. McMahon and Hulk Hogan before reaching a mutual agreement to settle their differences in bed. Of course, as the show played out we would find that they meant this literally.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxPB9sUmmKw

But the action this show gave us is unparalleled. There’s a lot of debate as to when the prime of The Undertaker’s career might have been but for me, this show fell right in the heart of it. The Deadman looked to be in peak shape and surprised the audience with an exceptional handicap match with A-Train and Big Show that also gave us a WrestleMania moment for “Lactating Bullshark” Nathan Jones. WWE followed it up with Trish Stratus defeating Victoria and Jazz in perhaps the weakest match on the show, but one that to this day, probably stands as an above average women’s match, especially for 2003.

From here, things get interesting. Team Angle, Los Guerreros and odd bedfellows Rhyno and Chris Benoit tore the house down with a very good triple threat tag match par for the course on Smackdown in 2003, one that holds up as the best non-gimmicked multi-team tag match in the history of the show, even though it fell just short of the nine-minute mark!

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho looked to be something straight out of The Karate Kid. Shawn Michaels’ big return may have come at SummerSlam eight months prior, but this match really locked him in for his full-time comeback run. A cool embrace after the match which reeked of realism turned on a dime with a well-timed low blow from a defeated Jericho. Many say this match stole the show. For me, it was probably the third best match on the show, but perhaps my favorite encounter between the two just because of the narrative.

Lost in the excitement is just how good both commentary teams were, from J.R. to the King, to Michael Cole and yes, to even Tazz, everybody was on their “A” game. How can you tell, you ask? Just listen to how hoarse the voices of J.R. and Cole are by the end of the night, and that’s after having split duties. Of course, J.R.’s may have very well been from going back and forth with Lawler. Take a shot for every time the King says, “But it’s WrestleMania, J.R.” to justify the actions of a heel, namely the winner of the Triple H-Booker T World Heavyweight Championship match. The winner? Well, that’s rhetorical. For as much praise as Triple H gets now for his work in developmental and getting the most out of his star pupils, he had a well-deserved reputation around this time as a backstage politicker and downright jerk. The stories know no end – I just read one today that the marketing teams behind the WWE video games had a mandate from the top to not show Triple H bloodied or in any sort of vulnerable position in trailers and on packaging. I wonder where that request could have come from…

Of course, this is what made Triple H a great heel! With Evolution in his corner, you could watch the show and wholeheartedly believe that Triple H the man equaled Triple H the character. And that’s why his match with Booker, though lacking in quality in context of the show, worked just fine. With all the heat Triple H had been garnering, you could have put him in the ring with Joey Ryan and it would have held my interest.

At this point, we’ve downed the appetizers, maybe a few drinks and have reached the three course meal. Yes, THREE main events that I would individually put up against many WrestleMania headliners. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say if the three matches that closed this show were split into three different years as three different headliners, they would all be in the top 10 as far as WrestleMania main events are concerned.

My personal favorite match came up first: McMahon vs. Hogan in a street fight, 20 years in the making. And the truth was, it really was 20 years in the making. Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard gave us a great anecdote that shortly after Hogan jumped to WCW, he and McMahon were scheduled to appear in the same place at the same time and McMahon legitimately pondered the idea of ambushing the Hulkster. So yeah, there was some real animosity between these two and boy, did the match deliver. No chain wrestling here. Just two men teeing off on the back nine and in the process, teeing off on one another. McMahon did a blade job. Hogan did a blade job. Vince even leg dropped Hulk through the Spanish announce table, OFF A LADDER (at 58 years old no less). In spite of that, this was merely the second best spot of the match. The money shot (and yes, this was the money shot) came when a sinister, diabolical looking McMahon found a lead pipe under the ring to finish Hogan off with and slowly peered over the apron sporting a crimson mask and the most wicked grin imaginable. Bruce Prichard recently claimed this moment came unrehearsed, but regardless of what you think, it’s probably one of the five or six most iconic shots in the history of the show. And if that wasn’t enough, a run-in from Roddy Piper, some classic Hoganisms and THREE leg drops (R.I.P Hulk’s back) eventually led to a victory for the red and yellow in a match where both men worked their asses off and may have even stolen the show back from Jericho and Michaels, depending on who you ask, that is.

There’s a reason Troy Taroff and I once debated Stone Cold and The Rock’s chemistry on an older episode of The Wrestling Estate Podcast. It’s because you could virtually throw Austin and Rocky in the ring together with no build and expect them to deliver because that’s just how they’re wired and that’s just how well they work together. Well, WrestleMania XIX tested that theory. Of course, it was not known to the viewing audience at the time that this was going to be Austin’s swan song. Of the three matches these two had at ‘Mania, this one is universally picked out to be the worst. That may be. Thing is, the matches at XV and XVII set the bar unreasonably high for any pair of athletes to meet on a third go-around, let alone two of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. This match has greatness written all over it, make no mistake. But the build was comparatively weak to the duo’s previous two matches and I believe many fans used it as a chance to cool down from Hogan-McMahon. That’s not to take anything away from what the two did in Austin’s final match, especially considering Austin took a trip to the ER the day prior. They left it all in the ring and there is no denying that.

Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle, two of the WWE’s most legitimate stud wrestlers perhaps ever, surprisingly took top billing on the show in a match that while intriguing and significant for the Smackdown brand, did look small on paper next to the previous two matches. But for the third consecutive match, both men gave and gave until they had nothing left to give. Literally. Angle’s body had shut down on him by the end of the match and as for Lesnar…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HOjarqQnF8

It is still not known to this day who convinced Lesnar to break out the Shooting Star Press, but when you consider the extremes many of the wrestlers went to in order to entertain the fans on this show, it’s easy to see why Brock decided to go for it. Hell, I would have done it if I were him. I just would have pulled Kurt a little bit closer because to hit that move at that angle that far away all while weighing as much as Brock Lesnar weights, it’s going to be a tall order. The scary thing is he came dangerously close to nailing it. But alas, Lesnar knocked himself out in the middle of the ring in front of the capacity crowd, somehow revived himself, and hit Angle with an anti-climatic (yet completely necessary) F-5 to win the WWE Championship in his WrestleMania debut. The ending really put a dampener on the match, but both guys came into the fight feeling like they had something to prove to the world, and boy, did they ever. They proved they could be the alpha and omega for what a WWE superstar should be going forward: superstar looks, technical prowess, power, speed and a daring desire to be great. Of course, Lesnar fled the company one year later and Angle had another solid two years left in him before he and the WWE had a falling out that led to a memorable, yet at the same time forgettable run in TNA.

I didn’t originally intend for this piece to be as long as it has become, or for it to read like a recap. I guess I just got carried away in awe of its greatness. Just last week I watched it back and while I am a subscriber to the theory that good wrestling is defined in the eye of the beholder, it would be impossible to put this show outside the top three when ranking the greatest WrestleManias ever. Maybe we’ll even do that in the build up to 34…. I’m not sure. I am sure, however, that 15 years later, WrestleMania XIX still stands up as one of the greatest wrestling shows ever, let alone one of the greatest WrestleManias ever. It’s a must watch for wrestlers, aspiring wrestlers, fans and even non-fans because of the variety.

Variety, my friends, is the spice of life.