Tons of Fan Observation Notes from Mania

[Guest HartFan86]

OFF AIR NOTES FROM WRESTLEMANIA 

 

by Many Authors  Updated: 3/31/2003 11:02:08 AM 

 

     

    Andru Edwards sent this one.

 

I was there live, and the Shooting Star Press definitely did more damage than Brock let on before the PPV went off the air. If you saw the end, you noticed his eyes were glazed over, and he wasn't really standing on his own.

 

After the show was over, it literally was 10-15 minutes before Brock made it up the ramp. He was stumbling when trying to get up, and a bunch of trainers were around him. It took him about 7 minutes to get out of the ring, and once he did, he leaned against the guardrail for a good 4-5 minutes.

 

They brought a stretcher down, but he ended up walking up the ramp with help...and raised the belt one more time.

 

I don't know how audible it was on PPV, but about twice an hour a train passes by SafeCo (sounds like the beginning of A Train's entrance). This train block all traffic and pedestrians.

 

Well, we were all leaving and the buzz in the street was the botched shooting star press. We all heard an ambulance and someone jokingly yelled out "Its probably Brock". Well, the train has just passed, and the bars were being lifted to allow traffic through. The ambulance had to slow down because of this, and the lights were on inside, and there was a window on the side and the back. We looked in, and sure enough Brock Lesnar was in there - crying. A couple of the trainers were also in there, and Gerald Brisco was sitting next to Brock, with his arm around him looking concerned.

 

The ambulance turned its sirens off, and literally sped off.

 

I really hope Brock isn't THAT seriously injured - but look at that replay of the move again - it looked bad.

 

JD sent this report.

 

I was at WrestleMania last night and here are a few side notes:

 

-The HBK vs. Y2J match was the match of the night as the crowd was very into this match and at one point there was a pretty good Y2J chant going.

-The crowd was not very happy with the outcome of the HHH vs. Booker T match as there were a lot of boos when HHH won and while he was leaving ring area.

-The Goldberg promo got a huge pop and a strong Goldberg chant.

-Austin got the biggest pop of the night but during the match the crowd was 60/40 for Austin.

-After the match, the Rock went down to ringside to where his wife was sitting and gave her a kiss before going to the back.

-The 4 hour show was very draining to the fans and many left after the Austin/Rock match with one 100 level section actually half full by the time the main event rolled around.

-Brock Lesnar appeared to hurt his neck on the shooting star press as he was very slow to leave the ring after the match. There was something going on after the match as a group of agents/trainers were attending to him in ring for about 10-15 minutes. At 8:57pm the paramedics brought out a stretcher and they tried to get him on it but he made it back out of the arena on his own (with about 15 people within arms reach). 

 

Brian Westcott and Lee Karl Palo sent this report.

 

WWE WrestleMania XIX Live Reaction Report for Sunday, March 30, 2003 at Safeco FieldThe gates opened at 2:30 p.m. (PST). My friend and I sat in some decent seats where we could actually see the ring, even though we were very high up. (300 level) Al Snow made an appearance in one of the dugouts. They showed the Miller Lite Catfight Girls commercial (yippee… …note the sarcasm). They also ran a Fan Axxess video featuring some of the Superstars we did not get to see during the morning session we went to, except for Flair and Hogan (and we didn’t care to see Hogan).

 

John Cena did his rap segment with a couple of cutouts. He got a good dig in at the XFL with one of his lines. When he first came out, his microphone wasn’t on. A video segment showed Nathan Jones being ambushed by Nunzio, A-Train and The Big Show. 4:30 p.m. (PST), Howard Finkel made his usual announcements about laser pointers, etc. Two fans brought in a huge Jerichoholic banner that appeared to me to be more than 7 feet across. Finally, the announcers come out starting off with Jim Ross, then Jerry Lawler, followed by Michael Cole and Tazz together.

 

Sunday Night Heat: Lance Storm & Chief Morley over Rob Van Dam & Kane to retain the WWE World Tag Team Title (RAW version) with help from the Dudley Boyz. RVD was definitely over with the fans. Kane even did a nice plancha on Morley & Storm earlier in the match. Storm, Morley, and the Dudleys (after they turned on RVD) appeared to have a good amount of heel heat.

 

WrestleMania itself:

 

Ashanti sang a nice rendition of "America the Beautiful".

 

Matt Hardy retained the WWE World Cruiserweight Title over Rey Misterio, Jr. with leverage from the ropes. Misterio wowed the crowd with his aerial moves.

 

Limp Bizkit performed "Rollin’" (which sounded barely intelligible for those of us who were there), which set up Undertaker to make his entrance on his motorcycle. I am curious as to whether it sounded good to those of you who saw it on pay-per-view.

 

Handicap match: Undertaker over A-Train & The Big Show (with genuine Seattle train noise in the background). Taker raised the U.S. Flag to a nice pop. There was a positive reaction to Nathan Jones as he came out. I can’t say I was surprised to see how they chose to use Nathan Jones in the match (though I would like to see him in a full match).

WWE Women’s World Title: Trish Stratus regained the title defeating Victoria and Jazz in a Triple Threat match. Appeared to be a pretty good match.

 

Rock promo with Coach to a VERY mixed reaction from the fans. For that matter, the fans didn’t really know whether to cheer or boo The Rock for the rest of the show.

 

Triple Threat match for WWE Smackdown World Tag Team Title: Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin & Charlie Haas) over Chris Benoit & Rhyno and Los Guerreros. The crowd was disappointed with the outcome of the match. Oh yes, the "You Suck!" chant was in unison!

 

Shawn Michaels over Chris Jericho. The best match of the night, period. Huge pop for Shawn Michaels as he came out. The crowd was really into the match. Great psychology from both men. The majority of fans rooted for Michaels, while a minority cheered for Jericho including us. It wouldn’t have mattered to us who won with such an excellent match.

 

54,097 fans in attendance for a new Safeco Field record. They showed a promo on Goldberg which led to one of the biggest pops of the night, plus a "Goldberg" chant soon afterward.

 

The catfight was nothing special. The Limp Bizkit song was used as a bathroom break by both of us.

 

Triple H over Booker T. to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Title (RAW version). Good match, but definitely not a classic. Booker T. appeared to have been injured legit and was helped to the back. The fans responded to Flair’s tactics, including his bumps.

 

Hulk Hogan over Vince McMahon in the Street Fight match (unfortunately for both of us). It seemed like we were the only ones rooting for McMahon. Big pop for Hogan as he came out. Huge pop for the surprise appearance of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. The look on Vince McMahon’s face as he got the lead pipe was classic! The legdrop by Vince on Hogan from the ladder was exceptional. Once Hogan began his "Hulking up" comeback, the cheers never ended for him.

 

The Rock over Steve Austin. Very mixed reactions, mostly with regard to the Rock.

 

Brock Lesnar over Kurt Angle to regain the WWE World Heavyweight Title (Smackdown version) in the second best match of the evening. The heel heat for Angle did not appear to be entirely genuine, as the Angle fans in front of us did the "You Suck" chant, and proceeded to root for him during the match. The crowd didn’t seem to be aware of Angle’s current medical condition. The Angle fans in front of us seemed to expect him to win. The spot where Angle flipped Lesnar over "German-style" was awesome. Lesnar’s attempted Shooting Star Press was also very impressive, but it appeared that he didn’t land right. He didn’t leave the ring immediately after the match was over either.

 

John Perry sent this report.

 

Well, It IS Seattle, so I can't act surprised that the roof was closed - Sad, since Saturday was gorgeous.

 

OK, Top of the show, I'm a big Kane/RVD mark, so I was disappointed in the finish, but if it's the start of a good angle for them and they Dudleys....OK, I'll deal.

 

Matt/Rey - Don't get it....THIS was a Heat match...nothing special, and a big no-end to the build up.  I guess a decent opener, but....pointless.  Have to wait till I can see Rey's new outfit on the replay - it had a distinct Batman feel to it from what I saw.

 

Taker/Jones - A-Train Show.

I've no clue why this turned handicap...I'm sure we'll find out.  Not a bad match with three very large guys in the ring.  I was expecting Jones to run it...though I expected something more explosive. 

 

Trish, Jazz, Victoria

I think they're getting a good stable of Women, and Lita will be back soon, I believe, so this may be the start of some legitimacy on the Women's belt.  I now appreciate Steven Richards...something else I hadn't expected to see.

 

Team Angle, Guerreros, Benoit/Rhyno

Looked good, but the 3-team thing was hard to follow live - might have been on air too...not sure.  It doesn't seem like it was, but the end had the feel of a screw job...can't say why. 

Not sure I get the Lie/Cheat/Steal concept....It almost seems they're wasting an angle on a team that doesn't need any help getting over...Let them fight and cut promos....fans love 'em.  Also, Team Angle appears to be quite over, even though it seems they've been appearing without Kurt a good deal.  Kurt, Brock, now these guys....maybe there's something about successful amateurs that gives them an edge?

 

Jericho Michaels. 

I can't put this over enough.  I think this should be shown to anyone who doesn't understand what JR means by 'Telling a story.'

I've always admired Jericho, but until tonight, hadn't realized exactly how much he had.  I was also not following Wrestling while Michaels had his time.  So I was just sitting in complete awe, watching something that looked like one of the Angle/Benoit classics.  It came to a point where it didn't matter who won...the performance was brilliant.  The audience seemed to be behind Jericho for a good deal of the match, I think the low-blow afterwards was to just insure Jericho didn't appear too close to a face turn.  I think  I'm going to brag about seeing this one in person for a long, long time.

 

HHH - Booker T.

I hope there was a story here.  Neither of these guys had the match I expected from them, or that they've had recently.  I think Hunter had a far better match against 'Dust...who I actually expected at ringside, and didn't get.  I was at the infamous Booker T - Bagwell match, and while this wasn't anywhere near that bad, considering the expectation I had coming in, it started quite poorly.  It became a very good 'Beat the Hell out of each other' match, though, and they did pull off a decent match - No title change, no 'Dust, no spinaroonie.....something must have been not quite right.

 

Hogan - McMahon

Exactly what it should have been - maybe a bit longer than necessary, but adding Piper made it a huge hit, and the 'silent encounter' with Shane actually added depth.  Now...do we actually think a McMahon Ventura match is possible.....?

 

Rock - Austin.

OK.  I'm not objective here.  I really dislike Austin.  I don't see Austin having the ring skills of most of the top guys on either brand.  I find his promos annoying, and it has just seemed to me like he gets involved, consistently, in the most ridiculous story lines (Fighting Booker in a church?).  But, luckily for me, I only had to put up with him for half the match...because at some point, he was pretty much not there anymore.  The Rock just put on a show for the remainder of the match, and seemed to have the crowd back- but that wasn't universal.  As just a quick comparison, Booker T sold (I hope) his knee injury very well...maybe there was a story there after all.  Austin had a similar knee-bashing done to him....and you'd never know it.  Maybe he could take lessons from the Hardys on selling injuries.  I never had HUGE expectations for a Matt Hardy solo match, and Booker and H still pulled of a solid match.  This one would have to be the weak point of the night.  (If Angle's music had hit, instead of Rock's, following the Hogan Match, I was probably heading out before this one.)

 

Angle - Lesnar

These two broke all the rules.  Not in the ring sense, but in the Sports Entertainment sense.  They went through a serious period of amateur-style wrestling, and got a round of applause when they rested.  They did this about twice more, but each time, getting more into the Pro style.  You saw it...or you read the recaps.  This was just incredible to watch.  My gut feeling is that this won't go 'down in history' quite like the Jericho Michaels, though I'd be hard pressed to explain why.  The embrace(s) following may well have been genuine, and like the Jericho match, it wasn't as important who won....just the performance.

 

Now, the bad news is Brock seemed legit hurt at the end, someone ran (yes, RAN) out of the back....(Pat Patterson, maybe?) and they seemed to have a back board ready to carry him out on. 

 

Overall -

9 out of 10....lost point for the lame band, lame catfight, and not giving me 'Dust. 

Pretty neat to get a Mania baseball jersey in Mariner colors, though....19 was Jay Buehner...outfielder who looks a lot like Austin. 

[Guest Eagan469]

I feel terrible for Brock - although I knew the minute he looked at the turnbuckle he was too far away to hit the SSP

[Guest Mole]

Okay, if a man like Brock's size is crying, YOU KNOW he is in a lot of pain.

[Guest notJames]

Or, he was extremely disappointed and pissed at himself for the botch.

 

Which he shouldn't be. All that pressure for a 25-year-old main eventing his first Wrestlemania is enough to make any man fall to pieces. I'm just glad he came out of it somewhat okay.

[Guest Slapnuts00]

I hope Brock is ok. He shouldn't feel bad, he still looked awesome last night and the move was done properly, he just misjudged how far away Angle was.

[Guest Brian]

Nobody mentioned that Tito Ortiz was first row ringside behind the announcers. What a cool guy, he was in on Rock's invite. Took pictures and signed for everyone. It was sorta weird being four rows away from him.

 

Everything from the floor came off dead, heat-wise.