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WrestleMania: Through The Years (Part 3)

by Scrooge McSuck

Previously on WrestleMania: Through The Years... Randy Savage, Warrior, Sensational Sherri, and Elizabeth give us one of the all-time greatest WrestleMania performances at WrestleMania VII. The WWF Universe says goodbye to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania VIII, only for him to return unwelcomed at WrestleMania IX and senselessly win the WWF Championship in a match that was between Bret Hart and Yokozuna. WrestleMania X returned to MSG, and features not one, but two of the greatest Mania matches of all time. WrestleMania XI is held in a Mall in Hartford, CT, and the New Generation continues to tun mild at WrestleMania XII, with Shawn Michaels fulfilling the boyhood dream of winning the Title in front of a lukewarm crowd.

Hart vs Austin

WRESTLEMANIA 13 – March 23rd, 1997

  1. Free For All Match: Billy Gunn def. Flash Funk [*]
  2. The Headbangers def. The Godwinns, Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon, and the New Blackjacks [1/2*]
  3. (IC Champion) Rocky Maivia def. The Sultan [DUD]
  4. Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Goldust [*]
  5. (Tag Team Champions) Owen Hart & British Bulldog 2xCO Vader & Mankind [**]
  6. Bret “Hitman” Hart def. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin in a Submission Match [*****]
  7. Legion of Doom & Ahmed Johnson def. The Nation of Domination in a Street Fight [**1/2]
  8. The Undertaker def. Sycho Sid for the WWF Title [DUD]
Highs: The Submission Match featuring Bret Hart and Steve Austin. Going into the show, you could say this was the true “Main Event”, having been the center of attention on television since the Fall of ’96. With high expectations, they managed to not only top their previous efforts, but turned into one of the best matches in WrestleMania history, featuring one of the few successfully pulled off mid-match double-turns, and gave us one of the most iconic moments in WWF History (Austin’s blood-covered face, while trapped in the Sharpshooter). The only other match worth mentioning is the Chicago Street Fight that pitted Ahmed Johnson and the recently-returned LOD against the entire Nation of Domination. It was a clusterfuck, it had blown spots, and it might’ve been a few minutes too long, but it’s still a lot of fun to watch. Hawk literally hitting someone with the kitchen sink = comedy gold.

Lows: The Undertaker vs. Sycho Sid for the WWF Championship is easily, without a doubt, the WORST WWF Championship Match in WrestleMania history, and no, I don’t count the “match” where Hogan won it from Yokozuna. This was 20-minutes of bad wrestling, restholds, and over-booked nonsense. This match would’ve been better off in the mid-card, and with about 10-minutes shaved off. The show opens with yet another awful four-corner Tag Team Match, a trend from 1996-97 that just wouldn’t go away. Rocky Maivia makes his WrestleMania debut in a lame match defending the IC Title against non-contender, The Sultan. Yes, THE SULTAN gets a match on a 7-match WrestleMania (excluding the FFA). Shawn Michaels makes an appearance, covering commentary duties during the WWF Championship Match, instead of putting Bret Hart over for the WWF Title in a rematch from WrestleMania XII. Damn that lost smile. I wonder if he found it in the fridge?

Stuff You Might’ve Missed: Barry Windham makes his first WrestleMania appearance since the 1st, teaming up with future legend and probably Hall of Famer (snicker…) Bradshaw as “The New Blackjacks.” Rocky Maivia’s original opponent was scheduled to be a heel-turned Marc Mero, but a torn ACL sidelined him for most of 1997. Ken Shamrock makes his PPV debut, acting as the special-enforcer for Bret vs. Austin. On paper, the Tag Title Match looks oddly like an all heel match, but the WWF was pushing pretty hard for a Davey Boy Smith face-turn, before completely abandoning the move in favor of building a Hart Foundation stable. After two previous appearances under two different gimmicks (Papa Shango in 1992, Kama, the Supreme Fighting Machine in 1995), Charles Wright FINALLY gets a WrestleMania match, working under the name “Kama Mustafa” in the Nation of Domination.

Overall Rating: D+
Another one-match WrestleMania. Take away that Submission Match, and the only good match is a junky brawl. The opener is garbage, the Intercontinental Title Match is the worst on the show, nobody gives a crap for Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Goldust, and yet they still get 15-minutes to do nothing, the Tag Team Title Match is oddly booked and features a cop-out finish, and the WWF Championship Match is the bottom of the barrel. Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart is the only thing saving this from being the new holder of the “Worst WrestleMania” Title.

WRESTLEMANIA XIV – March 29th, 1998

  1. LOD 2000 won a 15-Tag Team Battle Royal, last eliminating the NEW Midnight Express [DUD]
  2. (Light-Heavyweight Champion) Taka Michinoku def. Aguila [**1/2]
  3. (European Champion) Hunter Hearst Helmsley def. Owen Hart [***1/2]
  4. Marc Mero & Sable def. TAFKA Goldust & Luna [**1/2]
  5. (IC Champion) The Rock def. Ken Shamrock by Reverse Decision [**]
  6. Cactus Jack & Terry Funk def. The New Age Outlaws for the Tag Titles in a Dumpster Match [**]
  7. The Undertaker def. Kane [**]
  8. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship [***1/2]
Highs: One of the strongest atmospheres for the pre-Stadium WrestleManias. The crowd is hot for pretty much every match, thanks to strongly booked matches and characters. It’s stuff like a hot crowd that makes an average show an above average show. Steve Austin wins his 1st WWF Championship in a match that was way better than it had any right to be, considering the near-crippling pain Shawn Michaels had to be in. The Undertaker and Kane finally meet in the ring after 6-months of build, and it’s so-so, making it their best match ever in a series that would continue on and off for the next 12 YEARS. Kane giving Pete Rose a tombstone after Rose ridicules the live crowd for cheering for the Boston Red Sox was great. I don’t know what smoke and mirrors were used, but barely-trained Sable, washed-up Marc Mero, lazy and out of shape Goldust, and Luna carried their mixed tag team match to one of the best matches on the card. Did I mention Mike Tyson? I did now.

Lows: The DX Band performing America The Beautiful. This was so awful on so many levels, I’m AMAZED ANYONE green lit it, even if the sole intention was to give us the worst possible performance. Opening the show with a 15-Team Battle Royal, with the only purpose being to re-introduce the LOD as LOD 2000, with new haircuts and slightly different tight designs. Oh, and Sunny is their manager for… reasons never explored. Sounds impressive, 15 teams, until you realize it features teams like Chainz and Bradshaw, Flash Funk and Steve Blackman, two combinations of Los Boricuas, two combinations of Nation Members, Truth Commission members, and last but not least… THE NEW MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. Oh man, I bet Jim Cornette loved that one. Owen Hart continues to look like a goof since his babyface turn following Survivor Series ’97, jobbing to Triple H for the 67th time. Giving us a fake finish for the Tag Team Titles, and going back on it the next night because of “you didn’t check the small print” explanations.

Stuff You Might’ve Missed: The WWF was intentionally going for “scummy” celebrity appearances, hence the band’s putrid performance of America the Beautiful, Mike Tyson’s involvement with the WWF Championship, Pete Rose doing ring introductions (well, kind of…) for Kane vs. Undertaker, and interviews with Gennifer Flowers… the latter was part of the Bill Clinton sex-scandal, for those like me who didn’t know (or give a shit). The original intention of the Kane gimmick was to kill it off at this WrestleMania, but it got over so well, they kept it around… 17 years, and he’s still kicking.

Overall Rating: B-
There’s nothing here that would fall under the “All-Time Classic” files, but everything, with the exception of one match, clicked. The Austin Era officially begins with a great Title switch, Undertaker vs. Kane feels like a big deal even if it doesn’t blow anyone away with the actual quality of wrestling, the Dumpster Match is a fun garbage brawl, the Mixed Tag Team Match was well booked and featured hard work from unusual suspects, Owen and Helmsley have a pretty good match over a worthless Title, and the Light-Heavyweight Title is defended in another solid effort. I could’ve gone for a clean finish for Rock vs. Shamrock, just for the sake Shamrock was chasing for so long and we get a “reversed decision” to keep the IC Title on Rock without making Shamrock job. Terry Funk makes his first WrestleMania appearance since working the LA portion of WrestleMania 2. At WM 2, one opponent is a Junkyard Dog, and at WM 14, one opponent is a Road Dogg… I don’t know, sounded nice in my head.
 
 

Rock vs Austin

WRESTLEMANIA XV – March 28th, 1999

  1. Hardcore Holly def. Billy Gunn and Al Snow for the Hardcore Title [1/2*]
  2. (Tag Team Champions) Owen Hart & Jeff Jarrett def. D’Lo Brown & Test [*]
  3. Butterbean def. Bart Gunn in the 1st Round of a Brawl For All Match [NR]
  4. Mankind def. Big Show by DQ [DUD]
  5. (IC Champion) Road Dogg def. Val Venis, Ken Shamrock, and Goldust [*1/2]
  6. Kane def. Triple H by DQ [*]
  7. (Women’s Champion) Sable def. Tori [-*]
  8. (European Champion) Shane McMahon def. X-Pac [**1/2]
  9. The Undertaker def. Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell Match [-***]
  10. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. The Rock for the WWF Championship [***]
Highs: Steve Austin finally regains the WWF Championship in a solid Main Event against Corporate Champion, the Rock, despite Vince McMahon. All these years later, I’m still assuming Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn was a shoot, and watching Gunn getting knocked out never gets old. That “match” also features the final WrestleMania appearance for the legendary Gorilla Monsoon, who sadly would pass away later in the year. I don’t know if WWE did something to work the crowd, but he gets a very solid, respectful response from an Attitude Era crowd. I guess Shane McMahon vs. X-Pac was OK, considering this was Shane’s first high profile match. Jim Ross takes over commentary duties for the Main Event.

Lows: Vince Russo. Yes, I’m one of those people who is directly blaming this disaster of a show on the guy in charge of putting together the angles and character development. WrestleMania 2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 13, and probably one or two others all ranked from boring to bad to awful, but they at least gave it their best shot at making it feel like the show of shows, no matter the success rate. WrestleMania XV was put together not just like any old PPV, but like any old episode of RAW. Multiple face and heel turns, senseless booking choices, senseless gimmick matches used, cop-out endings, cop-out booking… There’s so little to say was positive about what the direction was supposed to be. Booking a match where two serious contenders are fighting to be a REFEREE, and then holding that as a cliff-hanger throughout an entire show, A SHOW PEOPLE SPENT 40 DOLLARS ON? ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO TELL ME THAT YOU’RE WORRIED OF CHANNEL SURFERS THAT ARE WATCHING YOUR EXPENSIVE PRODUCT?!?

Oh, um… what else is there… Michael Cole’s commentary. You might complain about Cole today, and he does say some dumb stuff (usually lines fed to him by a certain out-of-touch old-man), but HOLY CRAP was he horrible at WrestleMania XV. From ridiculous claims to horrible facts, he sounds like someone who never called a wrestling show before. A Hell in a Cell Match that steals the award for “Worst WrestleMania Match… so far” pitting two heels and featuring a post-match angle that was completely ignored the next night. The Tag Title Match being thrown on at the last second, and the challengers being decided via whacky Battle Royal, and the two partners are two guys who have to pretend to hate each other, even though neither has any history with the other. Road Dogg is the IC Champion, despite being featured in the Hardcore Division for most of the year and having zero issues with any of the top contenders, and Billy Gunn, who was chasing the IC Title and feuding with all the challengers of that belt, is suddenly the Hardcore Champion and has no issues with either challengers for that belt. Chyna turns face, only to turn heel later in the show. Ryan Shamrock’s never-changing-expression of “I don’t know what I’m watching” throughout the entire IC Title Match.

Stuff You Might’ve Missed: WrestleMania XV is the first to be released on something called “DVD”. Amazingly, VHS cassettes of WWF/E productions were still manufactured until at least 2005. The Women’s Championship is defended at WrestleMania for the first time since WrestleMania X, having been reactivated in the Fall of ’98. The Hardcore Title is defended for the first time in four overall WrestleMania defenses, and the title changes hands at least once at all four shows. I still don’t know why the San Diego Chicken makes an appearance in Philadelphia. I guess the Phillies wouldn’t allow Kane to squash the Philly Fanatic. Ivory is D’Lo Brown’s manager… if anyone can tell me how that storyline relationship began, I owe you $5 and a shout out. For the second year in a row, Pete Rose is assaulted by Kane. I’m amazed Michael Cole correctly identified him as a former Philadelphia Phillies player, but it still doesn’t make sense to have him disguised as the Chicken.

Overall Rating: F
If I could give this a rating worse than “F”, I would. It’s easily, without a doubt, no questions asked, the absolute WORST WRESTLEMANIA EVER. Nothing else can ever touch it. When you have one good match and a whole ton of crap, it handicaps the show, but when you make it “just another episode of Monday Night Raw”, it somehow makes it worse. That one good match isn’t worth the time it takes to hit scene skip on DVD or the WWE Network, and they went on two have much better matches at WrestleMania X-Seven and XIX. The only other bright highlight is watching Bart Gunn getting his head knocked into last week.

WRESTLEMANIA 2000 [XVI] – April 2nd, 2000

  1. Big Boss Man & Bull Buchanon def. The Godfather & D’Lo Brown [*]
  2. Hardcore Holly won a Hardcore Time Limit Battle Royal against Crash Holly, Tazz, Kaientai, The APA, Viscera, The Headbangers, and Mean Street Posse [**]
  3. T & A def. Al Snow & Steve Blackman [DUD]
  4. Edge & Christian def. The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz for the Tag Titles [****]
  5. Terri Runnels def. The Kat [-**]
  6. Too Cool & Chyna def. Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko [**1/4]
  7. Chris Benoit def. Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle for Angle’s IC Title; Jericho def. Benoit and Angle for Angle’s European Title [***1/4]
  8. Kane & Rikishi def. X-Pac & Road Dogg [*]
  9. (WWF Champion) Triple H def. The Rock, Mick Foley, and the Big Show [***]
Highs: The first ever three-team Ladder Match, featuring Edge & Christian, the Hardy Boyz, and the Dudley Boyz, not only steals the show, but basically sets the standard for the gimmick for the next few years. Unfortunately, they somehow topped this with not only the first ever TLC Match at SummerSlam later in the year, but the following WrestleMania, as well. Despite being a garbage brawl with a bunch of JTTS’, the Hardcore Time Limit Title Match was all sorts of fun. The early days of the 24/7 Rule with Crash Holly is some unappreciated stuff. The Main Event is pretty good, but I’m sure most will argue either the Rock or Mick Foley should’ve walked out with the WWF Title.

Lows: Maybe having so much crammed onto the card hurt things, considering most of the matches featured a lot of guys just mulling around waiting for their spot of the match to come. The WWF Championship is a 4-Way, the IC and European Titles are defended in the same match, with two different falls, in a 3-Way, the Tag Titles are defended in a 3-Way, and the Hardcore Title has double digit challengers. There’s some undercard filler that isn’t needed, like Head Cheese vs. T & A (20 bucks to anyone who can name the members of those teams without looking it up), Godfather & D’Lo vs. Boss Man and Bull Buchanon (formerly Recon of the Truth Commission), and a waste of time “match” between Terri and The Kat. Despite having one of the deepest rosters in years, very little of it is allowed to shine.

Anything You Might’ve Missed: For the first and (thankfully?) only time, WWE did a special pre-show that was an EIGHT HOUR retrospective of all previous WrestleMania’s, called “Wrestlemania: All Day Long.” It was mostly recap videos of the events, with a match or two clipped down per half hour blocks. I SAT THROUGH ALL 12 HOURS. With the exception of the catfight between Terri and Stacy Carter, there is a total of zero traditional one-on-one matches featured. You have a handful of tag team matches and ever Championship Match features multiple challengers. Pete Rose makes his 3rd and final WrestleMania appearance, not only assaulted by Kane, but also gets a stink-face from Rikishi. Triple H is the first heel to leave WrestleMania the WWF Champion. This if the first 4-hour PPV since WrestleMania VII, and with the exception of WM 20, has become the standard run-time going forward. Gangrel and Mideon were rumored for the Hardcore Battle Royal, but were out with injuries. X-Pac and Road Dogg are using new theme music from Run-DMC featured on the “WWF Aggression” CD (a bunch of awful rap-remixes). Run-DMC of course have previous WrestleMania ties, having performed live at WrestleMania V.

Overall Rating: C+
I feel like WrestleMania 2000 gets a bit too much negativity, but at the same time, it has so much promise and fails to deliver. The roster is too deep with top of the card talent, so everything is bloated without resorting to a 14-match card like in the earlier years of WrestleMania. All of the Championship matches (mostly) delivered on their expectations, but only one of them would be considered a “career defining” moment, and that would be topped in grand fashion a year later. This might be the most negative I’ve been on a WrestleMania that I don’t have any problems with, but because of only getting a bunch of 3-star matches instead of a bunch of 4-star matches, it comes across as such.

WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN – April 1st, 2001

  1. Chris Jericho def. William Regal for the IC Title [**1/2]
  2. The APA & Tazz def. The Right To Censor [**]
  3. Kane def. Raven and the Big Show for the Hardcore Title [**]
  4. Eddie Guerrero def. Test for the European Title [**1/2]
  5. Kurt Angle def. Chris Benoit [****]
  6. Chyna def. Ivory for the Women’s Title [1/2*]
  7. Shane McMahon def. Vince McMahon [***]
  8. Edge & Christian def. The Dudley Boyz and the Hardy Boyz for the Tag Titles [*****]
  9. The Iron Sheik won the Gimmick Battle Royal, last eliminating Hillbilly Jim [NR, but fun]
  10. The Undertaker def. Triple H [***1/2]
  11. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. The Rock for the WWF Championship [*****]
Highs: The whole damn show? I’m going to tackle the Austin scenario first: I thought it was effective and it worked. Austin comes back from injury, unsure of his abilities, has to resort to cheating in the Royal Rumble to eliminate the dominant monster, and enlists the help of his arch-nemesis because he didn’t have faith in his abilities to defeat the Rock. TLC II is probably the best spot-fest in WWE history, adding in three new people into the formula (Lita, Rhyno, and Spike doing run-ins) without clustering it up. The gimmick battle royal, while some of the worst work you could imagine on the show, was so much fun just to see some old timers like Earthquake and Hillbilly Jim. Undertaker has his first really good WrestleMania match with Triple H. Shane vs. Vince is some of the best “sports entertainment” you’ll see, and the pop Linda gets is phenomenal. Strong opener, fun Hardcore Title Match, a lost-classic between Angle and Benoit. HOT CROWD. This is everything that WrestleMania is supposed to be. It felt like the biggest show, it delivered like the biggest show, and it still holds up years later.

Lows: As great as the show was, the build-up wasn’t the best, at least not to me. Putting a lot of focus on Debra as part of the Rock/Austin build seemed like such a second-rate time waster. The Undertaker’s natural feud was with Rikishi and Haku, but (thankfully) that was scrapped and he was suddenly pushed into an angle with Triple H. The stuff between Chyna and Ivory was just awful. As for the show itself, there’s so little that missed it comes down to nit-picking. The Women’s Title Match was as bad as the build, but it was short. There could’ve been more respect for the “WCW guys” than being lost in the shadows (say hello to the night!) in the upper-deck. Austin’s heel turn, in hindsight, wasn’t the right move. The ref’ bump in ‘Taker vs. HHH was ridiculously long.

Anything You Might’ve Missed: The gimmick battle royal originally had Cpl. Kirchner listed as a participant, but he didn’t appear. Tugboat was supposed to work as Typhoon, and the original idea was for the One Man Gang to be Akeem. X-Pac and Justin Credible defeated Steve Blackman and Grandmaster Sexay on Heat leading into the PPV. This marked the final PPV appearance of the horrid RTC stable. They would be destroyed by the Brothers of Destruction a week-or-so later, and with the exception of Stevie Richards, all were left off TV for the rest of 2001.

Overall Rating: A+
I think it’s very fair to say that this is the best WrestleMania in Mania History. All the top matches delivered, with two matches hitting the 5-star mark, the first (and last) time since Mania 10 that kind of scorecard took place. Unlike Mania 10, the rest of the card delivered too, with a handful of other matches ranging from 3-4 stars, and a very satisfying undercard, with everything being good enough, but not so much that it would burn everyone out halfway into the show. If you ignore the Diva’s Match, the worst one on the card is the 6-Man Tag, and I’ve seen much worse than that.
 
 

Rock vs Hogan

WRESTLEMANIA X-8 – March 17th, 2002

  1. Rob Van Dam def. William Regal for the IC Title [**]
  2. (European Champion) Diamond Dallas Page def. Christian [*1/2]
  3. Maven vs. Goldust for the Hardcore Title included title reigns from Spike Dudley, The Hurricane, Mighty Molly, and Christian, throughout the show, with Maven leaving as Champion. [1/4*]
  4. Kurt Angle def. Kane [**1/2]
  5. The Undertaker def. Ric Flair [**1/2]
  6. Edge def. Booker T [*1/4]
  7. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin def. Scott Hall [*]
  8. (Tag Champions) Chuck & Billy def. The APA, Dudley Boyz, and Hardy Boyz [*1/2]
  9. The Rock def. “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan [***]
  10. (Women’s Champion) Jazz def. Trish Stratus and Lita [DUD]
  11. Triple H def. Chris Jericho for the Undisputed WWF Championship [**3/4]
Highs: Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock saved this from being one of the more lackluster WrestleManias in history. With a weak undercard and a “Main Event” that wasn’t lighting the world on fire when it comes to build, it felt like WrestleMania X-8 would be easily forgotten. Then it was time for the Dream Match. As soon as the entrances were over, it felt like I took a time portal back into my child hood. Gone was the hate for Hulk Hogan and his egomaniacal antics of the best. Instead, I saw the man I looked up to, who told me to say my prayers and eat my vitamins. I cheered every move he did, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt, I marked the fuck out when he Hulked Up. Very few moments in wrestling history leave a lasting impression, but that might’ve been one of the greatest, most magical moments, in wrestling history. The next best match is probably Ric Flair vs. Undertaker, with the only memorable spot is the awesome and surprising run-in from Arn Anderson, laying ‘Taker out with his signature spinebuster.

Lows: Triple H vs. Chris Jericho was not only hyped in underwhelming style, but delivered an equally dull match to cap it off. Maybe you can blame the latter on the unfortunate luck of having to follow Hogan vs. Rock, but it’s not like either man was going for an all-time classic. The result was never in doubt. When Mania Main Events have such an obvious outcome, it’s hard to get excited, regardless of the quality of booking leading into the show. Steve Austin goes from perennial Mania headliner to working 4th from the top in an awful match with Scott Hall. Most of the undercard is cobbled together. Maven is the defending Hardcore Champion? Edge and Booker T feuding over a SHAMPOO commercial? Building up an angle between DDP and Christian only to try and blow it off two weeks into it?

Anything You Might’ve Missed: Austin vs. Hogan was Plan A, but Austin passed on the offer, refusing to work with Hogan over previous professional behavior issues. Hulk Hogan isn’t the only man returning to Toronto for a 2nd WrestleMania. Mr. Perfect, who lost to Brutus Beefcake at WrestleMania VI, works the Heat match before the PPV, teaming with Lance Storm and Test in a losing effort to Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty and “The Hip-Hop Hippo” Albert. Here’s something you’d want to miss: live performances from Saliva and Drowning Pool. This is the first WrestleMania where Undertaker’s record is actually mentioned as part of the hype (coming in, 9-0, and obviously victorious to make it double digits). The Hardcore and European Championships are defended for the last time at WrestleMania.

Overall Rating: D+
Probably the poorest worked WrestleMania of its era. An underwhelming Main Event, a poor, rushed together undercard, and the only lasting highlight is a match that benefits from one of the hottest crowds you’ll ever find. Take that crowd away (and you’ll see it a year later at No Way Out), and this same match is a steaming turd. Steve Austin is wasted, and I guess in WWF’s defense, it’s his own fault. The nonsense with the Hardcore Title lost steam 2 years ago, and yet they were still pushing the whole 24/7 rule. The Tag Team Title Match is a multi-team Elimination Match, and after two years of amazing spotfests, it’s barely Smackdown or Raw levels of quality. Kurt Angle and Kane have a decent match buried in the undercard, but the finish is spectacularly blown.

Coming up in Part Four of WrestleMania: Through The Years… it’s time for some Ruthless Aggression, we return to Madison Square Garden, “Where it all begins, again…”, WrestleMania Goes Hollywood, Billionaire’s Battle, and the WWE Universe says good-bye to the Nature Boy.

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