on both of them. Rey tries a sunset flip into a powerbomb from over the top rope, but Moore attacks him. Matt takes over on offense and gets a nearfall with a sidewalk slam. Matt catches Rey springing off the ropes and hits him with a Side Effect. A slugfest is won by Matt. Rey boots Matt and then when Matt charges again, he ends up ramming his shoulder into the post. A high crossbody gives Rey a nearfall. He gets another two count off of a DDT. Rey gets Matt up for the 619, but Moore trips him. Matt connects with the Twist of Fate, but Rey kicks out at 2. Matt gets Rey up for Splash Mountain, but Rey reverses it into a ‘rana. He covers, but Moore puts Matt’s foot on the rope. Heel miscommunication causes Matt to knock Moore off the apron. Rey gets Matt set for the 619 again and this time hits it. Rey attempts the West Coast Pop, but Matt ducks it. Now Rey goes for a victory roll, but Matt reverses it, grabs the ropes and keeps Rey down for 3 to win.

Bottom Line: A nice, fast-paced opener that got everyone pumped up until the cheating finish. Having Matt win was probably the right move as they hadn’t enough time to properly build the feud and Rey as champ would probably be a division killer. The match was exciting, but way too rushed to be able to tell a decent story. Given how popular and entertaining Rey has been since coming over, he should have gotten more time to shine. ** ¾

- A limo pulls up and out come the Miller Lite catfight girls. They barely step out and already begin arguing over what is the bigger match tonight. Boy, talk about a pair that seemed so big then, but now seem like just a blip on the popular culture radar. They can take their place next to Herb and Clara Peller on the list of irrelevant Wrestlemania guest celebrities.

This was supposed to be a tag match, but Taker’s partner, Nathan Jones, was attacked by Show and A-Train earlier tonight. In reality, they realized how awful Jones was and didn’t feel he deserved to be in a Wrestlemania match. The WWE’s “favorite band in the world,” Limp Bizkit, performs Rollin’ for Taker to come out to. This would have been cool….back in 2001. The heels try a sneak attack, but Taker thwarts it. Taker chokeslams A-Train and covers, but Show pulls him off at 2. Taker is being quite successful in dividing and conquering thus far. Taker connects with Old School on A-Train. Show distracts Taker long enough for A-Train to hit him with the Derailer. Now Show abuses Taker on the floor. Back inside, Taker elbows a charging Show. Show tries to chokeslam Taker, but he escapes and puts him in an armbar. Taker sees A-Train coming in, so he puts him in the armbar. That allows Show to legdrop Taker. Show slows things down by putting Taker in an abdominal stretch. Taker ends the onslaught with a back suplex on A-Train. Taker runs to the ropes and gets nailed by Show. A-Train clotheslines Taker and gets 2. A slugfest between Taker and A-Train is won by Taker. Taker DDTs A-Train and gets a nearfall. Taker goes coast-to-coast to attack both heels. Taker hits Show with a big clothesline, but A-Train drops him with a bicycle kick. Show chokeslams Taker and then runs out of the ring. He did this to meet Nathan Jones, who has come down the aisle. Jones hits Show with a spinkick, as A-Train gets a nearfall on Taker in the ring. Jones comes in the ring and boots A-Train. Taker then grabs him and plants him with a Tombstone. That’s enough for him to get the pinfall and move to 11-0.

BL: Having it be a handicap match was probably the right move as it cast just a bit more doubt as to whether Taker would remain undefeated. The action was what you would expect from these guys, which isn’t a whole lot. As a low match on the Wrestlemania card, this worked well enough. * ½

- The catfight girls bump into Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson. They share some pleasantries and then leave together to talk about Stacy’s next marketing campaign. Stay tuned for the next scintillating chapter of Masterpiece Theater

Jazz knocks everyone down and gets a quick nearfall on Trish. Trish comes back with a Lou Thesz Press on Jazz. As Trish tries to go up top, Victoria dumps her to the floor. They all briefly brawl on the floor before Victoria tosses Trish back in and legdrops her. That gets 2. Victoria and Jazz now team up to attack Trish. That doesn’t last long and the two start to slug it out. A powerslam by Victoria on Jazz gets 2. As they continue to fight, Trish rolls up Victoria for a 2 count. Jazz hits Trish with a running slam and covers, but Victoria breaks it up. Jazz and Victoria brawl again until Trish attacks both of them. Miscommunication leads to Jazz hitting Victoria with a spinkick. Trish nails Jazz with the Chick Kick and covers, but Victoria breaks up that. Trish ‘ranas Victoria off the top rope and then attacks both girls with everything she’s got. Trish dumps Victoria to the floor, but then Jazz gets Trish in a half-crab. Now she shifts it into an STF. As the referee checks on Victoria, Steven Richards pulls Jazz to the floor. Richards tries to attack Trish with a chair, but his plan backfires. Trish hits him with the Stratusfaction and then goes after Victoria. Victoria gets Trish up for the Widow’s Peak, but Trish escapes. Victoria kicks Trish and then charges at her, but Trish gets up and nails her with a Chick Kick. Trish covers and scores the three count. New champion!

BL: I’ll give the ladies credit for trying some new moves instead of their usual bag of tricks. However, this match was just too disjointed to be any good. You had an assortment of blown spots and just a general lack of flow. In the end, having Trish win was the right call. There are more heels than faces in the women’s division and you always want to have faces emerge as champs at Wrestlemania. ¾ *

- The Rock tells Jonathan Coachman that tonight, he doesn’t care about the people. All he’s concerned with is beating Steve Austin. Austin has beat him twice before, but he says “Acts 1 and 2 don’t matter”. All that matters is “Act 3”. That is, unless The Rock is like the other Rocky. Then we’re supposed to care about Act 4, 5, 6, 9, 20 and every other act until he quits.

As soon as everyone gets into the ring, the brawl breaks out. The referee regains control and things settle down to Chavo and Haas. Benoit is tagged in and Los Guerreros double-team him. Benoit comes back with some chops on Eddie. Rhyno powerslams Eddie and gets 2. Now Team Angle make quick tags to work over Rhyno. Rhyno manages to tag Benoit, who takes it to Haas. Eddie gives Benoit a back suplex and goes up top. Benoit gets up and then superplexes Eddie. Benoit covers and Benjamin breaks it up. Benoit launches Eddie in the air and then puts him in the Crossface on his way down. Haas comes in and breaks that up. Chavo comes in and takes out everyone in sight. However, Benoit catches him with the Hat Trick. Chavo blindly tags Benjamin, who comes in and superkicks Benoit. He covers and Eddie puts a stop to it. Benoit and Eddie collide mid-ring. Benjamin legdrops Benoit, but when he covers, Eddie hits him with a frog splash. Haas hits Chavo with a belly-to-belly suplex, then gets blasted with a GORE by Rhyno. Rhyno then GORES Chavo. Eddie pulls Rhyno out of the ring, so Benjamin comes in and covers Chavo for the cheap win.

BL: No matter how good the talent is, triple threat tag matches just don’t work. These guys had a few good sequences, but ultimately they couldn’t produce sustainable action. The solid Smackdown tag division needed to be displayed better than how it was here. ** ¾

- The bimbos continue to have fun until Torrie and Stacy argue over who created Wrestlemania. This leads to the catfight girls getting into an argument as well. You know, I’m seeing a lot of arguing, but not a lot of clothes getting ripped off. Somebody want to fix that? Thank you.

We get an unintentional funny moment to begin, as half of the pyro guns Shawn tries to shoot during his entrance don’t work. Sadly, the DVD edits out Jericho giving Shawn the finger as he makes his way to the ring. The two engage in a little mat wrestling with neither man gaining an advantage. Shawn goes for a leapfrog, but Jericho slaps him. Shawn retaliates by knocking him down and then throwing him to the floor. Now it’s on! Shawn hits Jericho with a baseball slide and throws him back in. Shawn nails Jericho with a high crossbody, but Jericho rolls through it. Jericho gives Shawn some rough turnbuckle treatment. Jericho attempts his crappy bulldog, but Shawn shoves him off. Shawn applies the figure four leglock, but Jericho eventually turns it over to break the hold. Jericho tries to throw Shawn out of the ring, but Shawn skins the cat and ‘ranas him to the floor. Then Shawn leaps over the top rope and hits Jericho with a crossbody. In the aisle, Shawn attempts to dropkick Jericho, but Jericho blocks it and puts him in the Walls of Jericho. Now Jericho picks up Shawn and rams his back into the post. As Shawn tries to get back into the ring, Jericho dropkicks him. Back inside, Jericho continues his focus on Shawn’s back. Jericho hits a backbreaker and then does the C’mon Baby cover for 2. Shawn reverses a backdrop into a DDT. A slugfest breaks out and it ends with Jericho hitting Shawn with a flying forearm. Now Jericho kips up, which draws big heat. As he does a HBK pose, Shawn kips up behind him. Now Shawn hits a flying forearm, kips up again and starts to make his comeback. Shawn boots a charging Jericho and then hits him with a moonsault. That gets 2. The two exchange a series of nearfalls, which leads to Jericho attempting the Walls of Jericho. However, Shawn powers out of it. Jericho connects with his crappy bulldog and the Lionsault. That gets 2 ¾. Shawn attempts a hurricanrana, but Jericho counters it into the Walls. Somehow, Shawn makes it to the ropes. Shawn gets Jericho in a small package for 2. Jericho gives Shawn another backbreaker and then hits him with an elbow from the top rope. Now Jericho gives Shawn Sweet Chin Music! Somehow, Shawn kicks out at 2. Jericho whips Shawn to the corner, but he puts on the brakes and hits Jericho with a crossbody. Shawn catapults Jericho to the corner and rolls him up for 2. Jericho attempts a top rope back suplex, but Shawn reverses it and lands on top. Shawn goes back up top, but Jericho kicks the referee into the ropes, which crotches him. Jericho attempts a superplex, but Shawn shoves him down. Then Shawn connects with a big elbow. Shawn goes for Sweet Chin Music, but Jericho ducks it and puts him back in the Walls. Shawn struggles and makes it to the ropes. Jericho charges and gets blasted with a superkick. Shawn crawls over and covers, but can only get a nearfall. Jericho whips Shawn to the corner and he does his flip, flop and fly. Jericho grabs him and attempts a back suplex, but Shawn escapes and rolls Jericho up for a 3 count.

Postmatch: Shawn offers a handshake, but Jericho ends up hugging him. However, when he lets go, Jericho kicks him low and shoves him to the mat.

BL: A well-worked match, as was expected. With two guys who have similar work styles, they easily meshed well together. Some will complain about Shawn not selling the back enough, but it didn’t bother me. However, I would have liked to see Shawn work over a body part on Jericho instead of just doing one Superman effort after another in the later parts of the match. That’s a minor nitpick, though, on an otherwise stellar match. ****

- Crooked referee Sylvain Grenier knocks on Vince McMahon’s door and enters. It appears as if some mischief is a-brewing.

- Tonight’s attendance: a Safeco Field record, 54, 097. Yay Seattle!

- Limp Bizkit performs the Wrestlemania theme song. Time to grab the remote.

- Jonathan Coachman brings out the bimbos and they all tussle on a bed and eventually involve Coach in their fracas as well. OK, I think the crowd’s cooled down enough. Let’s get back to some actual action.

After locking up, the two exchange chops in the corner. HHH elbows a charging Booker and then goes up top. Booker joins him and armdrags him to the mat. The two briefly brawl on the floor. Back inside, Booker blocks a hiptoss and clotheslines HHH. HHH backdrops Booker to the apron and then rams Booker’s head into the turnbuckle. Now HHH rams Booker into the steps. HHH slowly beats down Booker. A neckbreaker by HHH gets 2. Booker starts to comeback, but HHH drops him with a spinebuster. That gets a nearfall. The two chop away on each other. Booker escapes a suplex and DDTs HHH. Booker starts to gain momentum and gets a nearfall on HHH after hitting him with a forearm. As Booker goes for the scissors kick, HHH puts him in a sleeper. Booker escapes, but then gets hit with a high knee. That gets 2. HHH hits Booker with a facebuster, but Booker comes back with a spinebuster. HHH boots a charging Booker, but when he tries a move from the second rope, Booker kicks him in mid-air. That gets 2 ¾. Booker misses the scissors kick and when he goes for a side kick, HHH ducks, causing him to fall to the floor. Flair grabs Booker and rams his knee into the steps. In the ring, HHH puts Booker in an Indian deathlock. After a while, Booker manages to make it to the ropes. However, HHH continues to attack Booker’s knee. HHH attempts the Pedigree, but Booker escapes and goes for a slingshot. However, HHH manages to shove him off and into the corner. Booker avoids a clothesline and rolls HHH up for 2. Booker nails HHH with the scissors kick, but can’t cover. When he does, HHH kicks out at 2. Booker climbs up, but Flair distracts him. That allows HHH to climb up with him. Booker knocks HHH down and then hits the Houston Hangover. Booker covers, but Flair puts HHH’s foot on the ropes. Booker tries for another move, but his knee is too hurt. HHH gets up and Pedigrees Booker. After quite some time, HHH puts a hand on Booker and somehow gets the 1-2-3.

BL: Where to begin here…the match started off way too slow with neither guy gaining an advantage and everybody just doing a lot of punching and kicking. Once HHH began to work on Booker’s knee, things were looking up. However, the finish was really contrived. First, Booker can do the Houston Hangover, but then can’t walk to do a follow up move? Then HHH hits a Pedigree, takes forever to cover, and when he does, barely puts a hand on him, yet wins it. It’s clear that they didn’t want Booker in this spot at Wrestlemania, so they never treated him like a legitimate contender. That’s a shame because after a year of really getting over with the crowd, he deserved to get this opportunity. This loss set Booker way back, in my opinion. ** ½

I think its apparent why these two are fighting. If Hogan loses, he’ll have to retire. The two do the staredown and then Vince slaps him. Hogan retaliates by tackling him. Hogan keeps trying to punch away on him, but Vince is trying to cover up. Vince comes back and rams Hogan into the corner. Vince takes Hogan to the mat and works over his arm. Vince puts Hogan in a test of strength and when Hogan starts to take the advantage, Vince kicks him down. Hogan fights up again, but Vince kicks him and tosses him to the floor. On the outside, Vince shoves Hogan into the post. Vince tries to nail Hogan with a chair, but misses. Now Hogan sends Vince into the post and nails him with the chair. Vince has been busted open. Hogan continues to abuse Vince with the chair. As they fight by the announce table, Hogan swings the chair and accidentally nails Hugo Savinovich. Now Vince nails Hogan with a low blow. Vince blasts Hogan with the chair and then pulls a ladder out from under the ring. Vince sets the ladder between the two announce tables and then hits Hogan with a TV monitor. Vince gets Hogan on the Spanish announce table and then legdrops him from the ladder. Sweet! Vince brings Hogan back inside and covers, but Hogan kicks out. Vince goes back outside and finds a pipe underneath the ring. When he reenters, the cameraman gets a great reaction of pure evil from Vince. Before Vince can use it, Hogan low blows him. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rowdy Roddy Piper enters the ring. As both men slowly get up, Piper grabs the pipe and nails Hogan with it. Vince crawls over and covers, but Hogan kicks out at 2. When Vince goes for the pipe, the referee tries to stop him. So Vince grabs the referee and tosses him out of the ring. Two more Smackdown referees run out, one being Sylvain Grenier. Grenier knocks down the other referee and gets in the ring. Vince hits Hogan with the pipe and then legdrops him. Vince covers, but Hogan kicks out at 2 and begins to Hulk Up. Hogan knocks down Vince and then beats up Grenier. Hogan boots Vince and delivers three legdrops. The other referee comes into the ring and makes the 3 count.

Postmatch: Shane McMahon comes out, but all he does is check out his dad. Well that was disappointing.

BL: This could have been real ugly, but they provided enough extracurriculars to make this an entertaining brawl. The spots they did were safe, but still looked cool. The guest appearances by Piper and Grenier were also used effectively. This was a fun match and made itself worthy of being this high up on the card. ***

The premise of this match is that The Rock has done everything in wrestling, but beat Austin at Wrestlemania and he’s out to do it here. As always, the two staredown and they immediately slug it out. Austin goes for an early Stunner, but The Rock bails. Austin clotheslines The Rock in the aisle and then attacks him around ringside. Back inside, Austin puts the boots to The Rock. A back suplex by Austin gets 2. Austin begins to choke The Rock against the ropes. As the referee argues with Austin, The Rock clips him in the leg. On the floor, The Rock continues to attack Austin’s left knee. Now The Rock whips Austin’s knee into the post. Austin attempts to comeback, but The Rock knocks him down with a kick to the knee. The Rock applies the Sharpshooter, but Austin manages to make it to the ropes. The Rock goes outside, finds Austin’s vest and puts it on. When he comes back in, Austin goes back on the attack and clotheslines him. Austin connects with the Lou Thesz Press and pounds away on The Rock. The FU elbow gets 2 for Austin. Austin stops a mudhole in The Rock, but he comes back with a clothesline. However, Austin gets back up and hits The Rock with a Rock Bottom. That gets 2. Austin goes for a Stunner, but The Rock blocks it and delivers a Stunner of his own. That gets 2 ¾. The Rock slugs away on Austin, but he comes back with a Stunner. He gets a nearfall from that. Austin shoves away the ref, which allows The Rock to low blow him. The Rock goes for the People’s Elbow, but misses. Austin attempts a Stunner, but The Rock blocks it and gives him a spinebuster. The Rock follows that up with a People’s Elbow. He gets a nearfall from that. The Rock delivers a Rock Bottom and gets yet another nearfall. The Rock manages to get another Rock Bottom, but again Austin is able to kick out. The Rock hits yet another Rock Bottom and finally that is enough to keep Austin down for the count. The Rock has finally done it!

BL: Even with a broken down Austin and a part-time Rocky, you still get a more magical match-up than what you get in most traditional match-ups. Let’s face it, these two are money together. This wasn’t nearly as great as the Wrestlemania X-7 match, but it was still thoroughly entertaining. It’s weird to think that this is Austin’s last match to this date. However, if it remains that way, he certainly could go out on a worst match. *** ¾

The build to this feud was interesting because it became known that Angle was having some major neck problems and may not be able to compete here. So they had a couple of matches where they could have had Angle lose and be written out, yet he won and swerved the smarks. We start this match with a lockup between the two as they jockey for position. The two go through some chain wrestling with neither gaining an advantage. Angle backs Brock to the corner and knees him in the midsection. Brock recovers and powerslams Angle. That gets a nearfall. Angle connects with a German suplex, but Brock pops right back up. Angle bails to the outside and baits Brock to follow him. In the ring, Angle goes back on offense. Brock grabs Angle and delivers a gorilla press slam. Angle boots Brock and then German suplexes him into the corner. Wow! Now Angle attacks Brock on the floor. A back suplex by Angle gets 2. Angle wears down Brock with a bow and arrow. Brock powers out by ramming Angle into the corner. Angle goes back on offense with a belly-to-belly suplex. Angle knocks Brock out of the ring, but when he brings him back in, Brock nails him with a spinebuster. Brock starts to comeback by attacking Angle in the corner. Now Brock nails Angle with a pair of belly-to-belly suplex. That gets 2. Angle recovers and hits Brock with four German suplexes. Unbelievable! Brock escapes an Angle Slam and attempts the F5. Angle escapes that and puts Brock in the ankle lock. As Brock tries to escape, Angle puts him in a half crab. Brock grabs the ropes to free himself. As Angle charges, Brock backdrops him out of the ring. Angle recovers and hits Brock with a German suplex that causes Brock to flip all the way over. Angle connects with an Angle Slam and gets a long 2 count. Angle takes down the straps, but Brock catches him with a small package for 2. Brock hits Angle with the F5, but Angle manages to kick out at 2. As Brock goes for another move, Angle gets him in the ankle lock. Now Angle grapevines the leg. Despite that, Brock makes it to the ropes. Brock goes for an F5, but Angle gets him in a small package for 2. Angle attempts an Angle Slam, but Brock escapes and gives him an F5. Instead of covering, Brock climbs up top. Brock delivers a Shooting Star Press, but accidentally falls short and practically lands on his neck. Holy Shit (and not in a good way). Angle covers Brock, who kicks out at 2. Brock somehow gets up and gives Angle a third F5. Brock covers and gets the pinfall. New champion!

Postmatch: Angle hugs Brock, who is clearly still knocked loopy from missing that Shooting Star Press.

BL: Oh, what could have been. If Brock properly hits that Shooting Star Press, it would have been a fantastic finish to an excellent contest. Instead, we have to settle for a revised finish. Give credit to Angle as well as he wrestled a flawless match, despite his injuries. It may not have been the most glamorous main event, but it was a well worked effort that also sent the crowd home happy. You really can’t complain about that. ****

Final Thoughts: There are some noticeable problems with this show (rushed opening matches, injuries plaguing main events), yet I find the show enjoyable on the whole. While all the matches have their flaws, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The excitement level is high with very few lulls throughout the show. I could nitpick about all the ways they could have improved the show, but the bottom line is that I had fun watching this and you can’t ask for too much more. This is a Wrestlemania that lands closer to the top half of the all-time list than it does the bottom.

Next time, The Rock shows why he’s a company man while John Cena takes his first step to be the company’s top man.