January marks the beginning of the Road to Wrestlemania. This month has the Royal Rumble, and there’s subsequent events in February & March that add to the anticipation. A few weeks before Wrestlemania last year, I dedicated a few posts to something wrestling related. This time around, I’m going to have my own Road to Wrestlemania. I'm doing a wrestling post once a month from January till March, each covering something different, until we reach April for my annual look at Wrestlemania & the subsequent RAW & Smackdown. To start things off, I thought I’d look at an old-school Wrestlemania. One that came out at (What I consider to be) the height of the Ruthless Aggression era, and one that conveniently came out when I finally got back into wrestling itself. It’s ironic that I say that, as I never actually watched today’s subject matter until last month when I got a copy. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at Wrestlemania 20, and see if it’s as good as the fans say it is.
(Two things before I start: First, I’m relying heavily on my memory of the time, and it’s incredibly sketchy. I’m only capable of remembering slivers of what I saw back then, and even that’s not a guarantee! Second, I’ve spoiled myself on the results of some of these matches. Thanks to a link I put at the end of this review, it showed me some of the endings of some matches. Even with that said, I heard things come down the pipeline in regards to some of the bouts. Regardless, I’ve put up predictions as a matter of courtesy. Horribly, but I’ll put them up.)
Matches
John Cena vs Big Show (United States Championship)
Prediction: John Cena
Winner: John Cena
If there one common theme with some of the matches on Wrestlemania 20, it would be predictability. Case in point is the opening bout between the Big Show (Who was U.S. Champion at the time) and John Cena, who seemed like he was a full-blown babyface at this point. The reason why I call this match so predictable is that they seemed to begin pushing Cena hard, on account of going into face-hood. He was still spitting out some beastly rhymes, but now they were geared more towards taking the heels down a notch. The match is definitely appropriate as the opening to Wrestlemania: nothing over-the-top, but filled with some nice action, and an ending that acts as a good way to get the fans to transition into the rest of the show.
Booker T and Rob Van Dam vs The Dudley Boyz vs Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak vs La Résistance (4-Way World Tag Team Championship)
Prediction: ?
Winner: Booker T & Rob Van Dam
Next up is the 4-Way match for the World Tag Team Championship, and this one was a doozy. You had Booker T & Rob Van Damn as the defending champions, against the ECW classic team that is The Dudley Boyz (Bubby Ray & Devon), the more ground-based pairing of Garrison Cade & Mark Jindrak, and the French flavored team that was La Résistance. It was a good match for the most part! While it did seem a little confusing with everybody that was in the ring, it was considerably more clear than a match I’ll talk about later in this review. Aside that, each team brought something to the ring, and put on a hell of a show, with Booker T & Rob Van Damn winning in the end.
Christian vs Jericho (Singles Match)
Prediction: Jericho
Winner: Christian (w outside help from Trish Stratus)
Much like a match later on in this show, the buildup for this bout was over the course of months. In this one, two of the biggest stars at the time were in a storyline friendship, and Trish Stratus seemed to like both guys. All throughout the story, it seemed like both sides were not only having tension between themselves, but with Trish as well. Ironically, the tension between all 3 really didn’t seem to surface until Trish showed up ringside. I’m not saying that beforehand the match was bad, because it wasn’t. Christian & Jericho were some of the biggest high flyers in the early 2000s, and Jericho can still go today! My issues was that the match between the two seemed to be only used once the object of their affection came into the picture. Regardless, the end of the match finally comes, and in a twist, Christian manages to win the match due to help & interference from Trish. To rub more salt in the wound, Jericho is still in the ring, and see his now former best friend & girl embrace & make out.
Evolution vs The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection (3 v 2 Handicap Match)
Prediction: The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection
Winner: Evolution
I had such high hopes for this match. Not because of the quality, cause it was good! Despite it being a handicap match, both sides were able to work with one another, and fed off of each other’s talent. It also helped by the fact that Mick Foley & The Rock are a natural fit, and it was great seeing them together again. However, the infamous Reign of Terror was still going on around this time. Granted, Triple H wasn’t in this match, but Evolution was his group of boys, and unfortunately the good guys wouldn’t be winning here. Regardless, the two teams gave each other hell, with Randy Orton getting the pin on Foley with an RKO.
Torrie Wilson & Sable vs Miss Jackie & Stacy Keibler (Playboy Evening Gown Match)
Prediction: ?
Winner: Torrie Wilson & Sable
On the one hand, I love me some fan service. Love it! If you saw my anime collection, you’d see that at least half is fan service themed. On the other hand, this match was......meh. That’s all it was. It was just meh. I think they were too eager to get to the goods if you know what I mean. Even the gimmick I thought was dumb. Not as dumb as a Bra & Panties match (Yes newer wrestling fans, that was a thing), but lord was this stupid! This was so “Meh” to me, I really didn’t guess who was going to win. The only thing that was surprising was the fact that Sable was in the match. Given how her exit from WWE was rather...bitter, it was something of a surprise to see her.
Chavo Guerrero (with Chavo Classic) vs Akio vs Billy Kidman vs Funaki vs Jamie Noble vs Nunzio vs Rey Mysterio vs Shannon Moore vs Tajiri vs Último Dragón (Cruiserweight Open for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship)
Prediction: ?
Winner: Chavo Guerrero (with Chavo Classic)
The best way to describe this match is with one word......cluster.
While the 4-way Tag Team Championship Match had a lot of people in it, there was at least some semi-balance of organization. Some form of structure. Here? It comes across as too random, and too chaotic for it’s own good. I only knew a select few of the wrestlers in this match, and recalling my memories of them, I only remembered a bit or two. Hell, I didn’t even know that there was a Cruiserweight division back in the early 2000s until years later. I will give this match credit in for the fact that this was when the Cruiserweight Division had weight & credibility. This match showed that the Cruiserweights could actually go, and weren’t some lepers that needed to be separated from the main roster. To wrap things up: I didn’t know who was going to win, and Chavo Guerrero won with help from Chavo Classic to keep the Cruiserweight title.
Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar w Stone Cold Steve Austin as Special Guest Referee (Singles Match)
Prediction: Brock Lesnar
Winner: Goldberg
Of all the matches in Wrestlemania 20, or Wrestlemania in general, none are more infamous than this one. It’s very obvious that neither men wanted to do it, with Goldberg leaving because of how he was treated in the company, and Lesnar going away because of health & mental issues. I should point out the fact that this was when Lesnar actually enjoyed wrestling, and wasn’t the pumped up soulless UFC hack he is now. Even Stone Cold, who was the special referee for the match, looked like he didn’t want to be there. All of this ended up in a match that was god awful......when they weren’t wrestling. When they were actually fighting, it was at least okay. They were putting in at least some effort when it came to the wrestling side of things, but more often than not they were just simply locking up, or were staring at each other. The only reason I predicted that Lesnar would win is because of how built up he was. However, I only guessed this because of his modern run. How silly I was!
Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty vs The APA (Bradshaw and Faarooq) vs The Basham Brothers (Danny Basham and Doug Basham) vs The World's Greatest Tag Team (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin) (4-Way WWE Tag Team Championship)
Prediction: ?
Winner: Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty
In many ways, this shares a lot in common with the World Tag Team Championship match from earlier in the show. In fact, this pretty much is the same match. The only difference are the tag teams, and the title in question. The thing that isn’t different is the quality, and just like the previous tag-team match, everybody brought something to the table.
Victoria vs Molly Holly (Hair vs. Title Match For The WWE Women's Championship)
Prediction: (See Below)
Winner: Victoria
Much like the women’s match from earlier in the show, I don’t really have any personal feelings for this match. That being said, I definitely preferred this bout. Despite the rather stupid gimmick of one’s hair for the title of a division, it felt like there was at least....something on the line in this bout. It also helps that both Victoria & Molly Holly were far more capable of putting on a match than the women in the fight I talked about earlier, and thus it seemed like more was going on here. I also had the end result spoiled to me early last year (See link below for details), so a little was taken out for me. Regardless, I still wasn’t fond of this match......but given that there was a little more effort put into this.....I would rather watch this.
Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle (Singles Match For The WWE Championship)
Prediction: (Spoiled)
Winner: Eddie Guerrero
Though Wrestlemania 20 will always be known as a fantastic show, there are two matches on the card that still tug the heartstrings of fans all over. Case in point: the match between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. It was a pretty dramatic buildup, as Kurt Angle messed with Eddie constantly. Citing the fact that Eddie used to be a criminal, and didn’t have the moral high ground that Kurt had. I should note that Kurt Angle actually went into this match with numbness in his fingers, but he managed to go through with it (More on that after the review).
Anyways, I’m off track. With all of this emotion going into the match, you’d expect that Eddie & Kurt to go all out on each other....and you’d be right! With Eddie being particularly furious at Kurt’s actions, and Kurt being exceedingly high strung & full of himself, the mixed feeling ended up creating a classic match. It was only right that Eddie won, as he faced his demons head on, and defeated the one who caused him so much torment. This added to how touching & heartbreaking the ending to WM20 would be, but more on that in a bit.
The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) vs Kane (Singles Match)
Prediction: (See Below)
Winner: Undertaker
Of all the matches on the card, this was the one I enjoyed the most. I knew who was going to win, but I didn’t know how the match was going to go. Even before it started, we got a clear view of how the match came about. Here’s the short version: Kane buried the Undertaker (In his American Badass phase) because he was no longer the monster he once was, and for the months leading up to WM20, Undertaker’s spirit followed the Big Red Machine. For months Kane was tormented by the spirit of his brother, and he was powerless to do anything. Then, on that fateful night on March the 14th in 2004, the Deadman came back to have his revenge.
Undertaker Entrance (Wrestlemania 20)
As for the match itself.....I enjoyed it! This fight was a simple bout between two monsters, and it relished in that fact. For newer wrestling fans, this was Undertaker at his prime. He was far less beatup than he is now, and thus was capable of demonstrating many more moves than he does now. On top of that, the return to his old character (With some minor costume chains) was heavily welcomes by the crowd. Even Kane, who despite not having the mask anymore, still came across as a monster, and put up a hell of a fight. The two monsters went at it for a few minutes, with plenty of spots for the two to have a little fun with their characters. Paul Bearer also had a little fun as well being a creeper, despite not interfering. In the end, Undertaker gave his brother the tombstone, and got the revenge he rightfully deserved.
Chris Benoit vs Shawn Michaels vs Triple H (Triple Threat Match For The World Heavyweight Championship)
Prediction: (See Below)
Winner: Chris Benoit
And here we come to the main event of Wrestlemania 20. What makes this match so good are two factors: one was the wrestlers in question. Chris Benoit had a stake in the match, Shawn Michaels has a stake in the match, and even Triple H had a stake in the match being the champion & all (Fact: the infamous Reign of Terror was at it’s tail end around this time). The second factor was the buildup. Triple H, being the ego driven champion, did everything to make sure that the title stayed close. Shawn Michaels returned back in 2002 as the old school wrestler wanting another shot, and was Triple H’s friend & rival. Then, there’s Chris Benoit. Coming in as the underdog, it was obvious that he was going to win. Constantly getting beaten down, you don’t design a story like that only for the good guy to lose (Although given the way Wrestlemania 32 was booked.......yeah)!
Anyways, to the match itself. Much like almost every other fight on the card, each combatant brought something to the ring. Triple H was the heavy, Shawn Michaels was the showstopper, and Chris Benoit channeled his idol Dynamite Kid. The whole time there were plenty of false finishes, spots for moves, and the action never let up! Then at the end, Chris Benoit defeated Triple H with a Crippler Crossface, and became the new World Heavyweight Championship (Also stopped the Reign of Terror in it’s tracks). Then Eddie Guerrero comes out, and the two celebrate their victories with a horde of confetti, and a crowd that heaped tons of praise upon the two. The moment where both men raised their titles created an iconic moment, but tragedy would strike when both men would die in the subsequent years. Hence why it’s so heartbreaking as well as amazing.
Overall Impression & Rating
Wrestlemania 20 deserves every bit of praise it gets. Even now, if you ask older WWE fans about this show, chances are they’ll say something good about it. For me, I consider this event a near classic masterpiece. If the Lesnar vs Goldberg match, along with the two women’s matches, weren’t there, I probably would have loved it much more than I did. Even with them still there, they don’t ruin the experience for me, and it took me back to the time when I was getting back into wrestling after so long. If you have the WWE Network, watch it! If you have the DVD, give it a go! Even if you have neither, find someone who does. It’s worth it!
Wrestlemania 20 gets a 8.5 to 9 out of 10.
So that was a review for Wrestlemania 20. Man, I can believe it took me so long to watch this. Again, I got back into wrestling in the summer of 2003, but it took me a longtime to get into the groove of things, and missing out on this event was just part of getting back into this. Luckily, I finally watched, and I thoroughly enjoyed everything. So see you next month for another multipart metal overview, where I’ll look at one of the greats of Germany, along with another wrestling post. Until then, watch out for the steel chair!
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If you like to know some interesting facts about this Wrestlemania, check out the link below:
Ten Fascinating Facts About Wrestlemania 20
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