WWE WRESTLE
MANIA XX:
(03/14/04)
Hey, hey, I'm Sean Carless, and it's
time for Wrestlemania! But first, for those who forgot what
country you live in, "America The Beautiful" is performed
by the Harlem's boy's choir! Meh. Considering the alternative
for them, I guess it beats running through the streets of
New York for your life. Just saying.
Opening montage highlighting past Wrestlemania's,
while not forgetting to put over Vince. Can't forget about
that. Closing shot is of Shane and his new baby
while the phrase "Where it all begins...again" is heard. The
shot of HHH and Vince laughing maniacally, while Vince pointed
at Hunter's gift of a "World's Greatest Dad"
T-shirt, with HHH locking the midcard in the dressing room,
pouring some gasoline and lighting a match, was
thankfully left from the
broadcast.
John Cena Vs. (C) Big
Show: U.S. Championship match;
We open with a U.S. heavyweight Title match, featuring
the fightingest U.S. champion, never! Anyway, Cena pops the crowd first with a rap.
Somewhat of an awkward match as Cena is basically working
with a wet bag of laundry here. Not as offensive as
it could have been considering that Show is
apparently injured though. Show turns things around after
an early Cena flurry, and chops him in the corner.
You see, it hurts more BECAUSE HIS HANDS ARE LIKE SKILLETS.
Great. That's just what this guy needs, something else you can
prepare large quantities of food in. Big Show then hits the
"Hog log" which might be the dumbest name for a move EVER.
Sounds more like something Show left swirling in the Locker
room toilet. Show applies a Cobra clutch (~!) soon after, but
Cena gets out of it and gets a sudden FU out of
nowhere, but Show manages to kick out at 2. This prompts
Cena to grab his chain, but the referee confiscates it.
However, this briefly diverts the Ref's attention, and Cena
uses his "Word Life" knux to punch Show in his
"type-writer" head, thus negating any future
potential Hemmingway classics if Show chose to indeed
pound one out on his skull, and
Cena finishes with a second FU to win the Title. THERE IS
NO STOPPING THE AWESOME POWER OF HIP HOP. So don't even
try.
Winner & *NEW* U.S. Champion: John
Cena. Hopefully, now that Cena is U.S. Champion, he
can defend the title with the same honor and prestige that
Show did. But, be wary Mr. Cena; it's all up hill from here,
as you'll be expected to defend that Title maybe two, three
times every six months. A tough schedule to be sure, but one
I'm sure you can handle. Good Luck.

/5
(C)"Tokin' Blackguy"
(RVD & Booker T.) Vs. The Dudley Boyz Vs. Mark Jindrak
& Garrison Cade Vs. La Resistance (Dupree &
Conway) World Tagteam Title at stake;
This match is not bad by any means, but
honestly, it just felt like a throw away match. In the
case of Jindrak & Cade, I'd have preferred that be literal
though. Oh well. But hey, you just HAVE TO give
that Mark Jindrak a PPV payoff! He has an INCREDIBLE
vertical leap, don't you know! Now if only we could convince
him to do it off a cliff.
Anyway, RVD & Book are your defending
champions here, having defeated Ric Flair and Batista a few
weeks before. I picked my brain to come up with a patented
ridiculous Sean Carless team name for these two, and it
came down to "Tokin' Blackguy" and "Rob Wendy's", but
ultimately, I decided on the first. Clearly, I made the right
decision. I think.
For the record, Someone SERIOUSLY needs to buy
Bubba some long slacks RIGHT NOW. If I wanted to see a grown
man try and squeeze his way into a pair of children's shorts,
I'd just hangout with Rob Feinstein. Anyway, this is your typical multi-person match where
there's always someone there to break up an attempted cover.
Eventually all hell breaks loose, and Booker T. looks to be 3D
fodder, but Garrison "Can't I just be Lance now" Cade
breaks up that attempt. Conway then attacks Booker, while
everyone else is brawling on the floor, in hopes of
finishing him off, but Booker kicks him low, and hits the
scissors kick; and from there RVD hits a quick five-star
frogsplash to pick up the win. I'd put over the fact that a
team representing the French was done in by a frog
splash, but I'm not that kind of guy. Oh, wait. Yes I
am.
Winners & still champions: Rob Van Dam
& Booker T. I'm loving this combination. But hey,
I'd think it's only natural. When you're a pot head like Rob,
who better to associate with than a black guy with
dreadlocks? Some stereotypes just make
sense.

/5
-Backstage, Eric Bischoff sends Jonathan
Coachman in search of The Undertaker, and I smell some
possible Leslie Nielson "hilarity" coming.
From there, a stage-hand tells Coach that
"Freaky" noises are coming from a room down the hall. When
Coach opens it, out spill Mean Gene Okerlund and Bobby "The
Brain" Heenan, who look ruffled and are covered in lipstick.
Of course the culprits can only be two people...Moolah &
Mae Young. Poor Bobby. I tell you what, if I just beat
cancer, I might aim my sights a little higher than making out
with my Grandmother in a broom closet (although she is a great
kisser). Lymph nodes can be replaced. Your dignity
can't...
Christian Vs.
Y2J;
This whole feud came about because one man
forgot the time honored tradition of Bro's before Ho's.
Excellent match in my opinion, as both men clicked very well,
and Christian's heel persona is SO winning me over. We all
know that this one can't end until Trish makes an appearance
and she does eventually. Christian ends up tossing Trish into
the ring which causes Jericho to snap, like only a man who
equates the worth of his woman to the world's most worthless
currency can do. Y2J then goes to check on Trish, but she
throws a blind elbow thinking it was Christian, and Jericho
stumbles back into a roll up and pin by
Christian.
After the match, Trish SWERVES us all and turns
on Jericho, as Christian beats him down and delivers an
"Un-prettier". Trish then kisses Christian in a less the
virtuous manner meaning she has fully transitioned into a BY
GAWD JEZEBEL. WWE Misogyny in the
Hizhouse!
Winner: Definitely Christian. I might follow
Christian's awesome example and try and convince a friend of
mine to place a one dollar bet on his hot girlfriend if only
so she can become mine through some unrealistic convoluted
fashion... but on second thought, I might kinda need that
Loony. KFC has 2 dollar Classic sandwiches every Tuesday.
Can't pass that up.


/5
Evolution (Randy Orton,
Batista & Ric Flair) Vs. Rock & Sock
Connection;
Is it just me or is Rocky's Tattoo seemingly
eating him alive? Every time he shows up it's bigger than the
last time we saw it. At this rate, by Wrestlemania 21, Rock
should just be a pair of eyes floating to the
ring.
Anyway, another great match that had it all;
drama, action, comedy and the greatest Wrestlemania moment
EVER as Ric Flair attempts the single GREATEST people's elbow
in history.
Everyone worked incredibly hard, and the
crowd was very much into this, and rightfully so. The big
story here of course is the issues between Foley & Randy
Orton, and eventually after Rock was worked over for a decent
stretch by all three heels, Mick gets the hot tag, and goes
right after Orton, blocking a cheap shot attempt, and getting
the mandible claw. Batista makes the save and dominates for a
while, until Foley applies a desperation claw to him, but once
again that's broken up. Foley then makes the hot tag to Rock,
who comes in a destroys everybody. Spinebuster to Batista, but
Flair attacks from behind, and sets up the aforementioned
People's elbow which sees Flair take about 30 seconds to
hilariously strut and dance, which then allows Rock
to kip up and annihilate Flair. Orton then tries an
RKO on Rock from behind, but he transitions that
into a big Rock Bottom. Flair makes the save, and Batista
comes in and hits the spinebuster and Demonbomb, but Rock
still kicks out. Rock finally gets the hot tag to
Foley, who looks to finish Orton with Mr. Socko, but you see,
Evolution is a mystery, full of changes no one sees,
especially Mick, as Orton ducks out and hits an RKO
out of nowhere for the shocking win. Great
match.
Winners: Evolution. Darwin would be so proud.


/5
-They recap the Hall of Fame inductees which
include, Jesse Ventura, Heenan, Tito Santana, Don Muraco, Sgt.
Slaughter (who must've recently switched to more
Atkins-friendly K-rations) Billy Graham, PETE
ROSE, and Big John Studd and JYD, who had the GAUL
to no show this ceremony. Oh that's right, they're dead. But
hey, so is Undertaker, and he STILL Made
it! What's their excuse?
Torrie
Wilson & Sable Vs. Stacy Keibler & Miss Jackie,
"Playboy Evening Gown Match".
Good booking by WWE here, 'cause when you think
of "Playboy" you always think of fully clothed women
in "Evening Gowns" right? Right?
Anyhoo,
this one had the potential to get as messy
as the sofa cushions of all the heroes watching it. And
it definitely didn't disappoint. If you were "expecting" a
complete blunderfuck of a match, that is. Sable grabs the mic before the
match, and says that she and Torrie will start the match
in their bra & panties. Her voice however is so
shrill that my dog's head exploded scanners style right next
to me. He was 4. And I loved
him.
Anyway, Stacy complies, but Miss Jackie
seems a little apprehensive to disrobe, which is a little
a strange considering she SHOWED HER FUCKING TITS ON NATIONAL
TELEVISION. Torrie & Sable then force her into her
underwear by violently stripping her. It's funny, because I
always seem to get arrested when I do this. Anyway, an actual
match breaks out in the loosest sense, (hey, just like Sable!)
and the whole big fat abortion comes to a climax (as do I)
when Torrieberg pins Jackie. Man. That was terrible. So much
so that I could barely repeatedly masturbate to
it...
Winners: Kleenex! They must have made a bundle
of this PPV thus far!
/5
-A bunch of teenagers are seen talking about
how cool it is to be at Wrestlemania. They are
subsequently stuffed in their lockers the next day at
school.
Cruiserweight Open
(featuring Nunzio, Jamie Noble, Kidman, Shannon Moore, Ultimo
Dragon, Funaki, Rey Mysterio, Tajiri, Akio & (C)
Chavo Guerrero)
This a gauntlet match, meaning two men start,
and every time there's an elimination another dude comes in to
take his place until everyone is eliminated. Kind of like
what'll happen in a couple of weeks when the WWE does it's
annual roster cuts. Hey, just saying.
Rey Rey carries on the Comic book character
look this year too, this time mirroring The Flash, which is
called "Spider Man" by Tazz, who obviously was too busy
choking people out or exposing his genitals to sun-tan
parlor attendants to ever actually read a fucking comic.
Also, poor Ultimo gets a near-shockmaster moment during what
was supposed to be his career highlight when he slips during
his intro. Poor Ultimo. His WWE tenure hasn't exactly worked
out too well for him. But hey, who could say they didn't see
this coming? There just comes a time, when after
an agent pulls you aside, and actually has the nerve to
give you a tape of A-Train, saying "do this", to just go
ahead pack up your spikey mask, and catch a plane back to
Nagoya. Hell, take Brock's. He won't be needing it after
tonight...
Dragon starts things out with Shannon Moore,
and pins him with the Asai DDT (Fun fact: HE IS
ASAI! Fun, eh?) to eliminate him, but soon
after he's toast by Noble, who chokes him out with a
front guillotine. Hey, since when do trailer park people know
complicated submission moves? Know the lyrics to every
Leonard Skynard song ever? Sure. Catch as catch
wrestling? Not so much.
From there, Funaki gets eliminated next in
about 3 seconds after Noble counters a body press. See you at
next year's Lestlemania![/racism]. Nunzio is next, but he
gets counted out after Noble stuns him with an incredible top
rope-to the outside senton flip. Remember when they were
supposed to be "cousins"? (despite the fact Italians in
trailer parks are rarer than Michael Jackson's penis in a
woman).
Billy Kidman is up next and dives onto both
Noble & Nunzio, who are arguing on the floor, with
a HUGE Shooting Star Press...that nearly kills Kidman.
Apparently God will never allow ANYONE to ever hit this move
at Wrestlemania.
Back in the ring, Kidman eliminates Noble with
a BK Bomb which is a version of D-Lo's old "Sky-high"
powerbomb, and not a fast food sandwich
apparently.
So far it's very rushed, and Rey comes in next and
eliminates Kidman with a crazy top rope sunset flip bomb.
Tajiri is called in from there, and he and Rey put
on a brief clinic. I then wonder to myself what kind of
"clinic" a "Dr. Mysterio" would run, then balk at the
idea when I realize taking medical advice from a dude with
white eyeballs probably isn't the best idea. Tajiri looks to spit the mist in Rey's
face, but he ducks and it connects with Tajiri's
henchman, Akio. Rey quickly pins Tajiri. Akio apparently
is now too "blinded" to compete. Poor bastard, his first
WrestleMania and he gets the gimmick spot. But hey,
being blind didn't stop Nidia from wrestling at No Way out a
month ago. What a pussy. Tajiri then blindsides Rey before he leaves
though, and Chavo (who is last to enter) tries a
sneaky pin, but to no avail. Finally though, Rey attempts
a sunset flip but Chavo drops to his knees and gets an assist
from the ever pimping Chavo Senior from the outside to
retain.
Winner and still champion: Chavo
Guerrero! If only Rey had dressed up as Superman. He'd have
been able to at least go back and win the match by
circling the earth until he changed the Earth's rotation,
which as we all know causes one to go back in time (and not
fling billions of people to their deaths). But sadly he
didn't. I don't know what he was thinking.


/5
Goldberg Vs. Brock
Lesnar w/Steve Austin as Referee, "Loser leaves the WWE...
right after the winner"
match....
This match had to be seen or "heard" to be
believed. The crowd obviously got hold of that
"new fangled Internet thang" that Vince seems so
terrified of, and heard that BOTH men were leaving, because
they absolutely SHIT on this match. But you know, I
can't say I blame Goldberg for bailing out of the WWE. With
all the rednecks, burning crosses, "Elimination
Chambers" and giant Germans running around this place,
it's not exactly the safest working conditions for a Jew right
now...
The match itself was absolutely horrendous
as both men kept stalling and the crowd's disdain just kept
growing and growing, until full chants of "This Match Sucks" ,
"We Want Bret" and even "Hogan" were bellowed. It was just
surreal. For the record, Brock got only three offensive holds
in, with two of them being REST HOLDS. Note to Self: When
the crowd chants "This match sucks" perhaps repeatedly using
slow non-physical moves may not be the best idea.
Just saying. The only move that got a pop was the F5, but
when Goldberg kicked out of that the crowd booed again.
Goldberg does recover though, and hits his spear &
jackhammer...to complete apathy. Goldberg gets the win to
finally put this abortion to rest.
After the match, the crowd chants that "na, na,
na" song at both men, and Austin FINALLY pops the crowd by
laying Brock out with a Stunner. He then toasts Goldberg (who
the crowd continue to shit on) until he stuns him too. Wow. A
WrestleMania moment to be sure, but not like they'd want, I'm
sure. The biggest irony of all is that Austin "retired"
because of the fear that he would put on stinkers, and here he
was REFEREEING his worst nightmare.
Winner: Not a damn soul.
/5
WWE Tagteam Title 4 way match: APA
Vs. Bacardi & Cola (Haas & Benjamin) Vs. The
Bashams Vs. (C)Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty: All Interest is
Barred From Ringside!
Unfortunately for these guys, they had to
follow the last match, which acted as the equivalent of
opening an outer-space air-lock door in the Garden. Rikishi
& Scotty are your defending champions here, and this might
be the only case I can ever think of where people would look
forward to the combination of "ASS" and
"Worms".
Anyway, uneventful but inoffensive match, but
the crowd is more subdued than Stephen Hawking with a mouth
full of valiums. They do keep this one short
however, but thankfully somewhat fast paced. The ends sees
Bradshaw hit the "Clothesline from that place you go when live
a life of unrepented sinfulness" on one of the Bashams, but
Rikishi quickly hits Bradshaw with a Samoan Drop (or
"The Drop" as it's known in Samoa) to put an end to
that. Rikishi then just casually sits on
a Basham for the win. Bleh.
Winners and still champions: Rikishi &
Scotty 2 Hotty, who continue to party
post-match like it's 1999 (literally) as they dance their
way into the hearts of, well, nobody...

/5
(C) Victoria Vs. Molly
Holly; Women's Title Vs. Molly's mop;
This match also seemed to suffer from the
"Brockberg" vacuum earlier. Very solid performance by both
women who are arguably the two stand out performers of the
division currently. Very anti-climatic finish though as
Victoria counters an attempted Molly "Widow's peak" into a
backslide for the pin. Molly realizes her hair is history and
tries to bail, but Victoria, after suffering a brief beating
herself, manages to strap Molly into a chair with heavy
buckles and restraints, and shaves her head. (no word on
whether the chair actually belonged to Bradshaw). For those
interested, Molly does get the full shaved head and not the
Kevin Nash yellow buzzcut of stupidity like we saw in the last
hair Vs. hair match. God, give Molly credit. Not many women
are willing to be completely shaved. And believe me, I ask all
the time! All right then.
Winner &
STILL Women's Champion: Victoria. She wrestles a HELL of a lot
better than she dances. Unless she has epilepsy. In that case,
I'm sorry. And with that said, thanks for
still ripping off your pants and proving to us
all, that just because you're amidst what appears to
be the throws of a wildly dangerous seizure, it
doesn't mean you can't still be sexy while you
potentially die. You're an inspiration to everyone.
Clearly.

/5
Kurt Angle Vs. (C)
Eddie Guerrero: WWE Title match.
Ah, yes. Lying, Cheating & Stealing Vs.
Lying...about the condition of your broken freakin'
neck? Sounds about right. Awesome match here, but
hey, what did you expect? The crowd was brought back to life
during this one which is a testament to both men's
story-telling. The first half of the match is worked primarily
on the mat, but Eddie's facials and Kurt's intensity keep it
interesting. Big turning point comes when Eddie misses the
Frog Splash, and Kurt eventually hits his crazy running top
rope armdrag. I think I'm going to do that to the old man in
the park that feeds the pigeons, just to see what happens.
Eddie does eventually hit the Frog splash, but Kurt
tenaciously kicks out, because he's Kurt Angle, damn it. That,
and like Darkman before him, his copious amounts of injuries
have rendered him totally void of pain & reason!
We'll soon know there's more in common with them if
Kurt's chrome-dome starts to bubble and smoke by match's
end...
Anyway, Angle applies the ankle lock soon
after but Eddie manages to get to the ropes. Eddie sells the
ankle like it was broken and unties his boot, to seemingly
relieve the pressure. Eddie's expression as he sees Kurt's
shark-like look at his vulnerability is PRICELESS. Angle like
a psycho goes straight for the ankle, but Eddie's boot comes
off and he slips free. It was just a ruse to escape the
anklelock! AWESOME. Kurt, angry, does a blind charge but Eddie
quickly rolls him into a small package and scissors the rope
with his legs for extra leverage for the pin! Eddie
rules. Bottom line. The psychology in this one was off the
chart.
Winner and STILL WWE Champion: Eddie Guerrero.
Making basic racist stereotypes work for 15
years!



/5
Kane Vs. "Almost" The
Undertaker;
The crowd was so STOKED for Undertaker, giving the
evening's loudest pop to the Gong and the shrill of Paul
Bearer, who is heard saying "Oh Yesss!" The full druid intro
is given (are there even druids in New York?) and The
Undertaker is introduced looking....kind of like he did
before... only with a black trenchcoat and cowboy hat. In fact
he seemed more like fucking "Brave Starr" then the
Deadman in my opinion. "Then one day, A Law Man appeared,
with (undead) powers of Hawk, Wolf, Puma and
Bear."...
Once the lights came o,n it appeared
that Undertaker was in fact wearing the exact same
attire as his American Badass character. Maybe they just dug
his ass up from the arena at Survivor Series, and he hadn't
had a chance to change yet? I don't know. All I do know
is I doubt his mortuary services would be to
reputable with those cumbersome shoot-fighting gloves on.
I can just picture him using some poor schmoes corpse as
a speed bag as he lays in the "soup
bones".
Anyway, Undertaker dominates Kane from
the onset only really getting stunned when Kane hits a
desperation chokeslam. The crowd EXPLODES when Undertaker
suddenly does the zombie sit-up, and chants tombstone
until getting their wish. 1,2,3, done.
12-0.
Winner: Taker Texas Ranger. As much as I looked forward to this
return, I kind of feel somewhat disappointed. Other than
rolling the eyes, Taker had no make-up, no outfit, nothing to
connect to the old image. Just "Mean Mark" in a singlet with
zombie powers. It was kind of like watching Batman fight crime
without the suit. Kind of a let down in my opinion. I mean,
how hard would it be to just cut the fucking sleeves off
a shirt?

/5
HBK Vs. Chris Benoit
Vs. (C) HHH: World Heavyweight Title match.
First thing I have to mention is that Benoit
was announced as from being from Atlanta, Ga. and not
Edmonton, Alberta. Great. First our beef is not up to your
standards, and now you steal Chris Benoit from us. YOU'RE
RAPING CANADA! But we wanted it. You can just tell by
that look in our eyes.
All three men worked their collective asses off
and the crowd cheered on the right man here, which made the
story even more compelling. The Garden crowd absolutely
ate up Benoit's plight to become Champion, at the expense of
Shawn Michaels, who despite what WWE will tell you, was never
all that popular in NYC to begin with (See Survivor
Series '96). It must be also noted though that HHH looked in
WAY better shape then the last time we saw him, so no fat
jokes...for now.
Crazy bump of the night sees both HHH & Michaels
(who were standing on one announcer's table) double suplex
Benoit through the other. Poor Spanish guys. They should
seriously call the action in one of those cages you see bands
play in in redneck bars. Anyway, from there, Shawn does a sick blade job, as does
Hunter. My theory on Hunter's, is like a
disgruntled housewife getting drunk before mandatory
"sex", Hunter needed to bleed himself out to the point where
he got so fucking woozy, he'd forget he was
doing the job here, and spare himself the unbelievable
mental anguish of actually putting someone over whose name
didn't end in Michaels, Nash or umm, Razor
Ramon? That's right.
The last 5 minutes of this one was more
compelling then I can remember seeing in a long time, as
everyone was teased as possibly pulling it out
here. Benoit gets a monster pop when he applies a
Sharpshooter to Trips, but HBK ends that party with some Chin
Music, and because he's the only allowed to fuck someone over
with that move. Michaels then tries the cover but
Benoit kicks out. HBK then tries another superkick, but Benoit
ducks and pitches Michaels out of the ring. Benoit then turns
around into a waiting HHH, as the crowd gasps as HHH sets up
the pedigree; but somehow, Benoit counters into a Crossface!
Triple H to his credit tries to fight free, but Benoit rolls
through the counter attempt still holding onto the crossface!
HHH then taps out and the crowd erupts! New Champion (and a
CLEAN job to boot, wow.)
A
teary-eyed Benoit celebrates, and Eddie Guerrero comes out to
congratulate him and the two embrace. Great
Finale.
Winner and NEW World Heavyweight
Champion: Chris Benoit. His boyhood dream has finally come
true! Mine was getting laid. Sadly, only one of ours came true
tonight.




/5
Final Thoughts:
Although hot and cold at times, this pay-per-view delivered
when it mattered most, putting over some NEW faces
(Orton, Christian, Eddie & Benoit) and for the most
part having the right people going over. And in the end
that's all we can ask. Thumbs
up.
I'M SEAN.
Sean Carless is a man of many hats. And he
wears those hats to cover an ever-increasing bald spot. Sean's
various scribblings have been read at Live Audio Wrestling,
411 Mania, Honky Tonk Man.com, The Toronto Star.com, and
Lethal Wrestling. He has also cured
AIDS.