WWF Wrestlemania 18
Wrestlemania 18 (3/17/2002)- Toronto, ON
WWF INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: William Regal(c) vs. Rob Van Dam- 5/10
WWF EUROPEAN TITLE MATCH: Diamond Dallas Page(c) vs. Christian- 5.5/10
WWF HARDCORE TITLE MATCH: Maven(c) vs. Goldust- 2.75/10.
OVERALL RATING FOR HARDCORE TITLE SEGMENTS- good stuff. Some good comedy, and all of the changes looked like things that could legitimately knock someone out. Not going to lie… I popped huge when Molly won the belt. Great selling by Molly and Hurricane, and great character work from Christian.
KANE vs. KURT ANGLE- 6.25/10. Disappointing, considering the talent involved, but I think a lot of people underrate this match. I’ve got to take points off for the finish, as I have to agree with JR. It really didn’t look like Kane’s shoulders were down, and there was no follow up to this whatsoever.
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- 7.5/10. Whoever thought up the spot with Arn Anderson is a genius.
EDGE vs. BOOKER T- 5.75/10
“STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN vs. SCOTT HALL (w/Kevin Nash)- 4/10. This felt like one of those damn Randy Orton matches from 2010 where Randy always went over and no one ever got any clean offense in on him.
FOUR CORNERS ELIMINATION MATCH FOR THE WWF WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: Billy & Chuck(c) vs. The APA vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz (w/Stacy Keibler)- 6.75/10 They spent the first three minutes of the match establishing that the APA are tough badasses who are just dominating the match… then they get eliminated after just one 3-D, three and a half minutes in? Other than that, the match was good.
NWO BACKSTAGE SEGMENT- Great.
THE ROCK vs. HULK HOGAN-8/10. AMAZING crowd, a lot of excitement, and just two icons doing their thing. PERFECT aftermath, too.
WWF WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Jazz(c) vs. Lita vs. Trish Stratus- 5.25/10
WWF UNDISPUTED TITLE MATCH: Chris Jericho(c) (w/Stephanie McMahon) vs. Triple H- 8/10. Great story here, with Jericho going after Triple H’s injured leg and Steph’s constant interference.
Overall, a good Wrestlemania, but not a great one. The lower card was mediocre, Kane vs. Angle was good but disappointing, and Austin vs. Hall was a HUGE disappointment, but that is balanced out by the great moment that was Rock vs. Hogan and the great story told in Triple H vs. Jericho.
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. J.R. (after Christian slammed a door into Molly Holly and pinned her to win the Hardcore Title)- “What a dastardly act. Christian beat a woman”- So what? She just turned on her friend and teammate, The Hurricane, and hit him in the back of the head with a frying pan! You didn’t call that “dastardly.” What? Was everyone just supposed to stop because Molly happens to be female, and just let her have the title forever?
2. Along the same lines, when Triple H went for a Pedigree on Steph, J.R., who had been trashing Steph all match, talking about how she was such a mean and evil person, how she wanted to crush Hunter’s dreams, and had just said how unfair it was that Steph got involved, breaking up a submission hold by raking Hunter’s eyes… says “No Triple H. Don’t do it. Don’t Pedigree the woman”- Why not? You yourself just laid out the case against her. Hitting her with a pedigree would not only be payback, but it would also keep her from interfering in the match! Hell… the pop that Triple H got when he did it later on in the match (from the pro-Y2J Canadian crowd, nonetheless) should show just how much everyone disagrees with J.R.
WWF INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH: William Regal(c) vs. Rob Van Dam- 5/10
WWF EUROPEAN TITLE MATCH: Diamond Dallas Page(c) vs. Christian- 5.5/10
WWF HARDCORE TITLE MATCH: Maven(c) vs. Goldust- 2.75/10.
OVERALL RATING FOR HARDCORE TITLE SEGMENTS- good stuff. Some good comedy, and all of the changes looked like things that could legitimately knock someone out. Not going to lie… I popped huge when Molly won the belt. Great selling by Molly and Hurricane, and great character work from Christian.
KANE vs. KURT ANGLE- 6.25/10. Disappointing, considering the talent involved, but I think a lot of people underrate this match. I’ve got to take points off for the finish, as I have to agree with JR. It really didn’t look like Kane’s shoulders were down, and there was no follow up to this whatsoever.
NO DISQUALIFICATION MATCH: Undertaker vs. Ric Flair- 7.5/10. Whoever thought up the spot with Arn Anderson is a genius.
EDGE vs. BOOKER T- 5.75/10
“STONE COLD” STEVE AUSTIN vs. SCOTT HALL (w/Kevin Nash)- 4/10. This felt like one of those damn Randy Orton matches from 2010 where Randy always went over and no one ever got any clean offense in on him.
FOUR CORNERS ELIMINATION MATCH FOR THE WWF WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES: Billy & Chuck(c) vs. The APA vs. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz (w/Stacy Keibler)- 6.75/10 They spent the first three minutes of the match establishing that the APA are tough badasses who are just dominating the match… then they get eliminated after just one 3-D, three and a half minutes in? Other than that, the match was good.
NWO BACKSTAGE SEGMENT- Great.
THE ROCK vs. HULK HOGAN-8/10. AMAZING crowd, a lot of excitement, and just two icons doing their thing. PERFECT aftermath, too.
WWF WOMEN’S TITLE MATCH: Jazz(c) vs. Lita vs. Trish Stratus- 5.25/10
WWF UNDISPUTED TITLE MATCH: Chris Jericho(c) (w/Stephanie McMahon) vs. Triple H- 8/10. Great story here, with Jericho going after Triple H’s injured leg and Steph’s constant interference.
Overall, a good Wrestlemania, but not a great one. The lower card was mediocre, Kane vs. Angle was good but disappointing, and Austin vs. Hall was a HUGE disappointment, but that is balanced out by the great moment that was Rock vs. Hogan and the great story told in Triple H vs. Jericho.
STUPID ANNOUNCER QUOTES:
1. J.R. (after Christian slammed a door into Molly Holly and pinned her to win the Hardcore Title)- “What a dastardly act. Christian beat a woman”- So what? She just turned on her friend and teammate, The Hurricane, and hit him in the back of the head with a frying pan! You didn’t call that “dastardly.” What? Was everyone just supposed to stop because Molly happens to be female, and just let her have the title forever?
2. Along the same lines, when Triple H went for a Pedigree on Steph, J.R., who had been trashing Steph all match, talking about how she was such a mean and evil person, how she wanted to crush Hunter’s dreams, and had just said how unfair it was that Steph got involved, breaking up a submission hold by raking Hunter’s eyes… says “No Triple H. Don’t do it. Don’t Pedigree the woman”- Why not? You yourself just laid out the case against her. Hitting her with a pedigree would not only be payback, but it would also keep her from interfering in the match! Hell… the pop that Triple H got when he did it later on in the match (from the pro-Y2J Canadian crowd, nonetheless) should show just how much everyone disagrees with J.R.