PWP’s endless coverage of WrestleMania continues with Matthew Hollie covering the 20th anniversary of WrestleMania.
There was plenty to talk about in 2004. The New England Patriots were coming off their Super Bowl run, my beloved New York Yankees were well on their way to another run of the American League East, my Knicks weren’t doing any good, and I was counting down the days to the end of my junior year in high school. During that period, musical acts such as Usher, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, and many others whereon teenagers radios and CD Players at the time, and who could forget about the controversial moment at a Super Bowl halftime show featuring Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, huh? Well, at that point in time I wanted to see WrestleMania live in New York City, but the ticket prices were way too expensive.
So, I settled to watching the entire pay-per-view event with my family, so it wasn’t all that bad. On March 14, 2004, WrestleMania XX emanated from one of the most storied venues of professional wrestling, the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City for the third time in the event’s history and the. The event itself was a classic.
The first match of the night was for the WWE United States Championship as the defending champion Big Show went up a guy who was making his WrestleMania debut, John Cena. This marks the first time the United States Championship was defended on the Grandest Stage Of Them All. Big Show went on the offensive and dominated early, not allowing Cena any breathing room. Then the tide began to turn as Cena nailed Big Show with the FU but only got a two-count kickout. Then Cena got a hold of his chain and tried to knock the big man out, but he was caught by the referee and it was confiscated.
But when the ref turned his back, Cena used his brass knuckles on the Big Show and delivered another FU to win his first championship in WWE. What I liked about this match is that John Cena was just getting some love from the fans thanks in part of his rapper gimmick. But it was this time that even though Cena was popular with fans, he will still rely on knocking people out with either his chain or his brass knuckles. This title win marked the beginning of the Cena era, which will later culminate at WrestleMania 21 when he won the WWE Championship for the first time in his career.
Although this match is to get everybody involved in the event, the fatal four-way for the World Tag Team Championship that featured the teams of Booker T and Rob Van Dam, Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak, the Dudley Boyz, and La Resistance was a match that I really didn’t care too much about. But there was fast paced action throughout the match, but in the end it was Booker and RVD that got the win after Booker nailed Rob Conway with the Scissor Kick and RVD connected with the Five-Star Frog Splash. That match wasn’t too good, but it wasn’t too bad either. Nothing wrong with getting others involved at WrestleMania.
Chris Jericho and Christian have been fighting it out in this next match, getting me interested again after that last match. Lots of back and forth action throughout the match, and that kept me interested in this match-up. But when Trish Stratus nailed Jericho with her elbow, Christian took advantage and rolled Jericho up for the 1-2-3. What happened after the match was shocking to say the least.
Trish slapped Y2J silly allowing Christian to put Jericho out of his misery with the Unprettier. Although my respect for Trish was lost when she aligned herself with Christian, she regained that respect a year later. But one thing is this; the chemistry between Trish and Christian worked well after this match, and that can’t be ignored.
The match that featured Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair) vs. The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (The Rock and Mick Foley) has gotten my undivided attention after what happened in the past few months. After an Evolution ambush that saw Orton and Flair put a hurting on Foley and threshing down the stairs, and when Orton spat in Foley’s face, I wanted to see these guys lose big time. But with The Rock by Mick’s side, The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection were the guys for the job. But in the end, Evolution won when Orton put Foley out with the RKO. I felt that it was disrespectful to see them win on what appeared to be Mick and Rock’s last match. But fortunately enough Mick battled Edge two years later while The Rock returned to action in 2011.
People would say that this match would feature plenty of eye candy, and I would have to agree. The Playboy Evening Gown Match that featured former Playboy cover girls Sable and Torrie Wilson against Miss Jackie and Stacy Keibler was pretty entertaining, but it wasn’t athletic by any means. As all four women wrestled in their lingerie, it was a catfight that harkens back to the Attitude Era. It ended with a win for Sable and Torrie after Torrie rolled up Jackie for the pinfall win. It might not be an athletic competition, but it was entertaining to say the least.
The Cruiserweight Open for the Cruiserweight Championship was a gauntlet style match that determined the champion of the most exciting divisions in that time period. The first two wrestlers go head to head in the ring while the others waited outside of the ring.Once a wrestler lost, another one goes in his place. Sounds simple, right?
First off, Último Dragón and Shannon Moore started the match off on the right foot, and just like that, Último Dragón got the first pin after he nailed Moore with the Dragon-DDT. And next up, it was Jamie Noble’s turn. Noble eliminated Dragón by forcing him to submit to the Dragon Sleeper, he eliminated Funaki in 8 seconds (thereby breaking King Kong Bundy’s WrestleMania record of bone seconds), and he eliminated Nunzio via count out. It looked like Jamie Noble was on a roll. But once Billy Kidman entered, Jamie Noble’s momentum was basically lost when Kidman put Noble down via his top rope BK-Bomb. Then, it was Rey Mysterio’s turn, as he got rid of the Kidman problem with a Modified Powerbomb from the top turnbuckle.
Up on deck was Tajiri, but he was just another victim of Mysterio’s standing West Coast Pop, and that was it. Akio was supposed to go up next, but after Tajiri sprayed Akio with his signature green mist that was meant for Rey, he was unable to compete. Then, it was the champ himself. Chavo Guerrero was the last guy in, and he scored the pin and win as he reversed Mysterio’s Sunset Flip (with the help of his old man Chavo Classic). It was fast paced all around, but the ending was just a bit fishy for me.
Then, it was Lesnar vs. Goldberg with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee. Before this match ever happened, Brock Lesnar delivered an F5 on Goldberg at the Royal Rumble, but Lesnar wasn’t in the Rumble match to begin with. Then Goldberg (With a front row ticket given by Austin) retaliated by screwing Lesnar out of the WWE Championship at No Way Out. The beginning was just a staring contest and they were talking plenty of smack. This caused Austin to get them to get physical after several minutes of less contact. Both Lesnar and Goldberg were both were leaving the WWE after this match, but their lack of effort drew plenty of heat from the Garden crowd throughout the match, and who can blame them?
From the chants of “You sold out” to “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye” to “Austin” to “This match sucks” to “We want Bret” to “Boring” to “Goldberg sucks” to “Hogan” and a lot more, the fans were not into the match. I have to agree, this match was just a complete letdown. Goldberg speared Lesnar down in the later stages of this match, but all it got was a two count kickout. Lesnar then went for the F-5 on Goldberg, but that too also was a two-count kickout. Lesnar missed an opportunity to put the indestructible Goldberg down, and that allowed Goldberg to take down Lesnar with another spear and it was all over when Goldberg sent Lesnar to the ground with his Jackhammer powerslam for the pin and win.
Lesnar at the end of the match responded to the criticism by flipping the crowd and Steve Austin off. Giving Austin the bird is something you do not do. Austin then sent both Lesnar and Goldberg packing via the Stone Cold Stunner to the cheers of the crowd. And when it was all said and done, Stone Cold was the last man standing in the ring, celebrating with a cold one. This match was just too overhyped and the way it was executed, it didn’t catch the interest of the fans. To say this match was an absolute dud is an understatement.
Another fatal four-way tag team match was for the WWE Tag Team Championship, and it featured for of the best tag teams on SmackDown at the time; the defending champions Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty, the APA, the Basham Brothers, and the World’s Greatest Tag Team. Like the first fatal four-way tag team match, it was fast paced all the way, but that came to an end when Rikishi delivered a Bonzai Drop on Doug Basham for the 1-2-3.
One of my favorite women’s wrestling matches at WrestleMania was Women’s Champion Victoria (Before she was Tara in TNA) and Molly Holly for the WWE Women’s title. The stipulation was this; if Molly lost, she would end up with one bad haircut. Although Molly tried to nail the Widow’s Peak, Victoria would counter that with a Backslide pin, getting the three count, the win, and another successful defense of the WWE Women’s Championship.
Poor Molly, she tried to escape from the stipulation by heading backstage, but Victoria stopped her by knocking her out real cold and and sent her to the barber’s chair, where she proceeded with the haircut. When it was all said and done, Molly ended up with a very bad hair day, and the fans were in complete shock! It remains one of my favorite women’s wrestling matches at WrestleMania, because of the talent of those two ladies in the ring.
Next up, it was the WWE Championship match featured two talented men on the roster at the time, “Latino Heat” Eddie Guerrero and “The Olympic Hero” Kurt Angle. The first few minutes was a technical masterpiece, where either man can get the upper hand. Guerrero nailed Angle with a DDT and the Frog Splash, but that would be in vain as Angle recovered from the attacks and locked Guerrero up with his signature ankle lock.Eddie rolled through it and he threw Angle to the outside.
With Angle at the ringside area, Guerrero loosened up his boot to loosen the pain on his ankle thanks to the ankle lock. Once Angle returned, he tried to lock up the ankle lock again, but this time, Eddie broke free of Angle’s hold by pushing him back and leaving Angle holding Eddie’s footwear. Latino Heat them rolled up a flustered Angle for the pin and win, retaining the WWE Championship in the process. I have always liked Eddie’s antics during his time in WWE, and the way he outsmarted his opponents was one of the many things that made him great.
Then, it was time for The Undertaker and Kane confrontation eight years in the making. Although Kane’s entrance had the entire city on fire, The Undertaker’s was even better. Flanked by druids and led by Paul Bearer, Undertaker entered Madison Square Garden in his classic “Deadman” gimmick, with elements of his American Badass persona still intact. His appearance shook Kane like a leaf, while the Deadman just stood staring at the guy. Once Kane reached out to see if Undertaker was real, the Man In Black punched Kane real hard. It was a brawl throughout the match, but once Kane unleashed a Chokeslam to Undertaker, I thought to myself; “That’s it, Kane is gonna put the Deadman out.”
But not so fast; Undertaker sat up from that chokeslam shortly afterward, then gave Kane his Chokeslam and putting the final nail on the coffin with the Tombstone piledriver, resulting in the pin, and the win. That win marked Undertaker’s 12 straight victory at WrestleMania, a feat in which we will never see broken. I don’t care who didn’t like it, I enjoyed that match with great enthusiasm.
And finally, it was time for the main event for the World Heavyweight Championship as defending champion Triple H defends his belt against his bitter rival Shawn Michaels and the 2004 Royal Rumble winner Chris Benoit in the seventh title match of the evening, the most in WrestleMania history. It started off with Benoit and Michaels wanting to get their hands on The Game, but it would be better idea to try to gain the upper hand by wrestling each other, before Triple H made it a back-and-forth battle with three of the competitors used their signature holds and maneuvers. Benoit got the upper hand over The Heartbreak Kid when he applied the Crippler Crossface on Michaels. Just when Michaels was about to quit, Triple H attacked both men, thus continuing the match.
Then, Triple H and Michaels delivered a suplex on Benoit through the announcer’s table, with the objective was to eliminate him from the match, because, that’s what the triple threat match was all about; get rid of an opponent so both men can go at it one-on-one. It was an all out brawl until Triple H sent Michaels down with the Pedigree, and Benoit returned to the ring to make a critical save. Shawn Michaels on again tried to nail Benoit again with his Sweet Chin Music, but Benoit reversed it, and he threw Michaels to the outside. As this occurred, Triple H tried to take Benoit with the Pedigree again, but Benoit countered it and locked into the Crippler Crossface, and Triple H was forced to tap out.
Chris Benoit has finally won the big one, winning the World Heavyweight Championship in the process. Afterwards, his friend Eddie Guerrero came to the ring and the two hugged one another. That moment was one of the most memorable moments in not just WrestleMania history, but in wrestling history.
Some called that triple threat match one of the greatest matches in WrestleMania history, but that was overshadowed by the controversial death of Chris Benoit in 2007. But to a 16-year old growing up on Long Island, it was the best match ever put on by a wrestling company to this date. Although there are some matches that don’t live up to the hype or some matches aren’t as good as the others, WrestleMania XX is still one of my favorite wrestling events I have ever seen.