**Edited As Of April 2019**
Six months ago I began a personal journey to watch, and review every Wrestlemania from I-XXX. I never want to rate matches or the events, so the general idea was to give my thoughts, laugh at the good times, cry at the bad times, and share my personal experiences as a fan. The purpose was to see the responses, with fans drawing their own conclusions on how good or bad the event was, and possibly adding more back story.
After the first few articles, I realised how much work was ahead of me. I knew it was going to take several months, but I didn’t know it would take this long. I’m hoping to have the series finished by Wrestlemania XXXII next year. To make it easier for readers to look back on the series, I’ll provide a list of links for each entry going forward:
Wrestlemania I – Wrestlemania 2 – Wrestlemania III – Wrestlemania IV – Wrestlemania V – Wrestlemania VI – Wrestlemania VII – Wrestlemania VIII – Wrestlemania IX – Wrestlemania X – Wrestlemania XI – Wrestlemania XII – Wrestlemania 13 – Wrestlemania XIV – Wrestlemania XV – Wrestlemania 2000 – Wrestlemania X-Seven – Wrestlemania X8 – Wrestlemania XIX
Wrestlemania XX (tagline: Where it all Begins… Again) drew 18,000 fans to Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 14th 2004. The event was the third Wrestlemania to be held in Madison Square Garden. It was also the second Wrestlemania under the “WWE” banner and brand extension, which split the wrestlers into two rosters for Raw & Smackdown. Jim Ross & Jerry Lawler provided commentary for Raw, and Michael Cole & Tazz for Smackdown.
Drowning Pool’s song “Step Up”, and Godsmack’s “Touché” were used as the PPV’s main themes, and unlike previous Wrestlemania events, neither band performed live. The event did not include any dark matches.
Before I get into the event, I want to say I will include thoughts on Chris Benoit. No matter how much WWE buries history, Wrestlemania XX exists, and anyone who didn’t see it should not be persuaded to skip over it because it would be disrespectful to everyone else who worked on the show.
Wrestlers making their Wrestlemania debut: Goldberg, John Cena, Garrison Cade, Mark Jindrak, Rene Dupree, Rob Conway, Randy Orton, Batista, Miss Jackie, Último Dragón, Jamie Noble, Funaki, Nunzio, Billy Kidman, Tajiri, Akio, Doug Basham & Danny Basham.
Match #1 – John Cena vs. Big Show (c) for the WWE United States Championship
The first big shock of the night? John Cena was cheered like the babyface he once was. Cena got on the mic, and although he didn’t sound as comfortable doing his rap than on previous occasions, he managed to slip in some crude insults you won’t hear in WWE today.
“Nah nah nah nah is wrestlemania here to represent, yo you got the franchise player at da Superbowl stage, let that gorilla Big Show outta his cage, there ain’t no way I’m gonna lose to that King Kong rip off, that’s like Gary Coleman beating Patrick Ewing in a tip off, everybody knows that he can’t see me, I’m itching to beat him like a penis with an S. T. D. I’m not even wrestling the Big Show, this whole things a charade, I’m really facing the hippo float from the Macy’s parade. It’s time for me to get a championship to match these custom nux, Madison square chant it loud, Big Show sux!”
Big Show continued his downward spiral. He went from being a main event player (in 2002), to a handicap match at WMXIX .. to the opening match at WMXX. I think anyone can agree that Big Show’s relevance had stagnated by this point. He had reached his peak, and would only be used as a high mid-carder in future.
The match itself? Well, I’ve seen so many of their matches and there was nothing new, however, the crowd were firmly behind Cena. They cheered as Cena distracted the ref by throwing his chain (the ref turned to throw it out), then pulled some brass knuckles out of his shorts. Cena used the knucks on Show and finished him with an F-U to claim his first WWE United States Championship. And although the match was lackluster, the fans were there to see John Cena pick up the win.
Match #2 – Booker T and Rob Van Dam (c) vs. Garrison Cade and Mark Jindrak vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. La Résistance for the WWE World Tag Team Championship
What happened to the tag division? It feels like every Wrestlemania since the E+C/Dudleys/Hardy Boyz days, the divisions gradually faded in to mediocrity. Even more so after the brand extension, because suddenly you have random teams (except Dudleys & APA) going over established teams, and there’s just no sense of urgency in the multi tag team contests.
And just to add to the silliness, the match was billed as a Fatal Four-way, and WWE decided to add a screen informing us of the rules. Jim Ross informed us it was “sudden death”, so first pin-fall to finish. Did they only have elimination tag matches before Wrestlemania XX?
So the match was a typical Raw/Smackdown contest, and you can tell how bad the division was when Cade & Jindrak filled a spot. As usual, Booker, RVD and The Dudleys picked up the slack, and Booker T & RVD combined finishes to retain. Didn’t get to see a 3D. Yawn, next please.
Match #3 – Christian vs. Chris Jericho
I remember loving the buildup for this back in the day. I was suckered into everything Christian was doing, and I felt sorry for Jericho and Trish. A rare occasion where a mid-card feud works as it should. At the same time, you had to feel sorry for Jericho, as he and Michaels stole the show at Wrestlemania XIX, and Jericho not only lost his promising heel character .. he was relegated to the mid-card role.
Why didn’t they include Jericho in the next match against Evolution? God knows why Jericho wasn’t going anywhere. Christian had a “jock” (might be using the term wrong, I’m English) image going on, the guy who enjoys messing around with women for his own entertainment, and turning on any guy who didn’t join in. And the match was as we’d expect from two of Canada’s finest, so definitely the first good bout of the night. Not going to include all the action, because it was what happened later which fans remember.
The feud highlighted the “friendship” between Jericho and Trish. Jericho clearly fancied Trish (despite the original bet between Y2J and Christian over who could “nail Trish or Lita first.”), and Christian didn’t like how loving Jericho was towards her, so they came to blows and the match was made.
Trish entered the fray late into the match, and she helped Jericho against Christian; to the point that Christian threw Trish down to the mat. So after Christian had already attacked Trish, she remained in the corner with her back turned. When Jericho tried to console her, she “thought” it was Christian and elbowed Y2J in the face, giving Christian the opportunity to roll him up for the win.
Christian taunted Jericho and Trish from the outside, Trish attacked Christian but was held back repeatedly by Y2J. After a scuffle, Trish suddenly broke free of Jericho’s grasp and SLAPPED THE HELL out of Jericho, and Christian followed up with his finisher. Trish turned heel at Wrestlemania in probably the most memorable turns of any female wrestler in WWE. I thought Christian would go far after the match, but sadly nothing came of it.
Following this, we got classic Rocky backstage as he turned Mick Foley from a cynical writer in to a believer of kicking Evolution’s butts all over Madison Square Garden. If ya smell .. what The Rock .. and Sock is cooking.
Match #4 – Evolution (Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair) vs. The Rock ‘n’ Sock Connection
I can’t remember why, but back in 2004 I simply did not care for this feud. Maybe because I thought it was obvious Evolution would lose, so I didn’t pay much attention? I was more looking forward to the main events, so it was filler to me. But then I watched it back recently, and boy was I wrong. It’s one of the better handicap matches you will see, and even with aging wrestlers like Flair, Rocky and Foley, they all delivered. Even Batista and Randy Orton brought their best games.
It’s probably Ric Flair’s best Wrestlemania performance, he stuck out as the best performer for Evolution. And despite playing the bad guy, the fans wanted to cheer Flair over Rocky, which led to some entertaining strut exchanges.
Back in 2004, I was disgusted with the fact Evolution went over on The Rock N’ Sock. It didn’t feel right to me, but looking back, having Randy Orton finish Foley with a RKO outta’ nowhere was absolutely the right thing to do. I was waiting for this on my re-watch, because I knew I hated it for some reason That’s the cool thing about the series. Even I get caught up in my own expectations and find myself liking something I thought I hated.
Up next, the Hall of Fame inductees walked out on stage for the first time, marking the beginning of the annual WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. Biggest pops went to Bobby Heenan (weasel chant), Junkyard Dog (dog chants), Superstar Billy Graham (who later said he didn’t want to be in the HOF anymore), Jesse Ventura, and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine; who got the loudest pop by far.
Match #5 – Torrie Wilson & Sable vs. Stacy Keibler & Miss Jackie in a Playboy Evening Gown Match
Umm … yeah. Miss Jackie didn’t want to get nekkid, but the rest did so they stripped her. They all wrestled in their underwear. Torrie won with a roll-up. And that’s all folks!
There was little buildup for the World Championship matches during the show. One backstage segment aired with Eddie Guerrero motivating Chris Benoit before the biggest match of his life. Eddie was adamant they would walk out as World Champions by the end of the night.
Match #6 – Chavo Guerrero (c) (with Chavo Classic) vs. Último Dragón vs. Shannon Moore vs. Jamie Noble vs. Funaki vs. Nunzio vs. Billy Kidman vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Tajiri vs. Akio in a Cruiserweight Open for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
So much Cruiserweight talent .. all used to put Chavo over. I’m going to get angry here, because I freaking loved Ultimo Dragon, and after Dragon started the match by eliminating Moore, he jobbed shortly after to Noble. Why did WWE hate Ultimo Dragon? Anyways, Mysterio wore a “Flash” costume.
The biggest highlight of the match was Billy Kidman almost killing himself as he so nearly botched a springboard shooting star press. Luckily two guys broke his fall, otherwise he would be disabled or worse. Aside from that, it was like a conveyor belt of talent quickly being pushed off the edge into an incinerator, with Chavo & Chavo Sr. laughing maniacally at their opponents demise. Chavo entered the match last, so it wasn’t much of a challenge. A good waste of time, aside from Kidman’s botch.
Match #7 – Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar, with Steve Austin as Special Referee
Oh jeez. This was special, to the point of hilarity for anyone who looks back on it. We have Goldberg & Brock Lesnar, two of the biggest,most dominant dudes WWE has ever seen, and what happened? Vince booked them in a match despite them leaving the company immediately after Wrestlemania. Not only that, but Steve Austin was in the mix .. just because? I guess Vince didn’t anticipate how the MSG crowd would respond.
Word got out (curse you internet! j/k) that both men were leaving the company, so the New York fans took a steaming pile all over it. As Goldberg and Lesnar stared into each others eyes (Madness – It Must Be Love), the fans chanted “YOU SOLD OUT!” at Lesnar; he was leaving .. to fail miserably at American Football.
Then you could hear the singing of “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!”. Over two minutes in and still no action, so the fans chanted for Austin. He couldn’t help smiling uncontrollably as Goldberg and Lesnar gave dejected stares. So almost three minutes in .. they finally locked up, and neither man wanted to expend energy. They were phoning it in, so the fans chanted “This match sucks!” and “Boring”.
The match continued, painfully, with neither man trying to put on a show. Fans still booing. You could hear a “Hogan” chant at one point, which tells you how desperate the New York fans were for some excitement. For anyone who cares, Goldberg won with a spear and jackhammer, which got a small ovation as the fans were relieved to see it end.
They had to end the match with a good moment, so Lesnar got in Austin’s face with a two middle-finger salute to the fans, and Austin. Not smart, as it inevitably led to a Stone Cold Stunner. And then Goldberg returned to the ring for no apparent reason, and the fans went deadly silent as Austin threw Goldberg some beers.
The fans cheered for Austin when he drank his beers, but booed Goldberg when he drank his. The fans remained unsure whether they should cheer or boo, until Steve Austin gave Goldberg a stunner! The fans popped, and Austin celebrated with a happy MSG crowd. Jeez .. and to think, this was both guys last matches til their returns many years later.
Match #8 – Too Cool (Rikishi and Scotty 2 Hotty) (c) vs. The World’s Greatest Tag Team vs. The Basham Brothers vs. The APA Bradshaw and Faarooq for the WWE Tag Team Championship
Like the earlier tag team match, it was just a six-minute filler. Bradshaw was looking like JBL, so the end of APA was drawing near. Aside from that .. um, Rikisih won by squishing Danny Basham after Bradshaw’s flurry of clotheslines. Yay? Rikishi and Scotty danced afterwards.
Match #9 – Victoria (c) vs. Molly Holly in a Title vs. Hair match for the WWE Women’s Championship
Um .. yeah, no Lita at Wrestlemania for some reason, perhaps she was injured? I don’t know. The match kinda happened, and Molly lost to a backslide on the five-minute mark. Molly Holly refused to have her head shaved, so she ran away, but was unsuccessful as Victoria knocked her out and restrained her in the chair. Victoria shaved her head for a while, then Molly woke up and started screaming. Victoria continued shaving the screaming Molly through the next match. Moving on quickly.
Match #10 – Eddie Guerrero (c) vs Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship
Love everything about this. Angle told everyone Eddie was a former drug addict and didn’t deserve to represent WWE. Angle had a mean streak, while Eddie appeared so relaxed you wouldn’t believe he was defending the title at Wrestlemania.
What I did find odd though, was the MSG fans cheered for Angle as much as Eddie, so the crowd was 50/50. The match was excellent, totally top-notch stuff, and not the typical main event “trade three/four finishes” ending, but a match with psychology, and counters upon counters. The flow, the storytelling, and the finish, truly unique and worked so well with Eddie and Angle’s characters.
After a long competitive match, with Angle as the aggressor, Eddie loosened his boot during an ankle lock. It gave Eddie the element of surprise, as Angle tried the ankle lock again, Eddie slipped his foot out of his boot, catching Angle off-guard, so he charged towards Eddie and ran right in to the greatest roll-up finish I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t notice it back in 2004, but the roll-up was as superbly executed as the rest of the match. No complaints about anything, it was a true WWE Championship match, and I wouldn’t blame anyone if they felt it was better than the main event, Eddie & Angle are true legends, and they absolutely delivered.
Match #11 – The Undertaker (with Paul Bearer) vs. Kane
I remember buzzing about this, because I’d grown tired of the biker Undertaker, and I wanted the old one back. The return of Paul Bearer was arguably as big as the return of “The Deadman”. Kane played the cowardly heel, which I didn’t approve of, but I knew someone had to take the fall for the rise of The Undertaker.
Sadly, it was another typical Undertaker vs Kane match, and Kane didn’t stand a chance. Taker finished him off with a Tombstone Piledriver, and I wish I could say more, but it really was an average match. The Undertaker’s entrance was far superior.
Match #12 – Triple H (c) vs Shawn Michaels vs Chris Benoit for the World Heavyweight Championship
There was hardly any build to this throughout the show. The main event is personal to me, as back then Chris Benoit was definitely one of my favourite wrestlers, and my Dad’s too, so we watched Wrestlemania XX to see Benoit challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship.
The Royal Rumble victory was like nothing I had seen in WWE before (I wasn’t watching when HBK did it), it was a truly amazing feat, and a great way to build the main event storyline. In the back of my mind, I had a nagging feeling that HHH or HBK would win instead, and if they did, I was going to be pissed that I stayed up til 4am to watch it. I also remember being tired, I was happy to have reached the end .. to the one match I was really looking forward to.
Shawn Michaels was booed by the New York fans, more so than Triple H. “Let’s Go Benoit!” chants were prominent from the beginning. But again, damn, so much action to call, and all three men played their part. Anyone who says Triple H can’t wrestle, or can’t work, this is an example of him doing his part in an excellent triple-threat match.
Benoit delivered wrestling like no one else, his intensity was over-the-top. He set the bar in terms of wrestling quality, and only Kurt Angle could match him hold-for-hold. So you had Benoit in the match of his life, and it’s clear how much effort he put into it. The moment Triple H tapped like a drummer boy .. damn, it was one of the greatest moments I have ever experienced as a fan, and I’ll stay true to that. The relief of seeing Benoit finally reaching the top of the mountain, with no BS, no politics, no interference, just Chris Benoit winning the gold? Was like nothing else.
And then the heart warming, but yet, eerie end to the show, as Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, claiming the WWE and World Heavyweight Champions, celebrated together as the confetti surrounded them. They proved smaller guys can have their dreams realized on the grandest stage. And that’s why Wrestlemania XX will be remembered, it was the turning point. It set a precedent, telling everyone it doesn’t matter how big you are. It’s the size of the passion you have which matters, and they proved it on the biggest stage of all.
Conclusion
First off, it’s a long show, the longest in the Wrestlemania series, so I had to cut thoughts out to trim down. While Wrestlemania XX is not remembered by WWE, the fans should remember it, otherwise it undermines all the hard work by the staff and wrestlers.
The event started OK, slumped during the first tag team match, then Y2J & Christian put it back on track. Evolution vs Rock n’ Sock continued the momentum. The playboy match was over quickly, and the cruiserweight open underwhelmed. Followed by the hilariously bad Goldberg/Lesnar “match”. The other tag bout was as long as Molly Holly screaming in her barber chair segment. The World Championship matches were two of the best in Wrestlemania history, and Undertaker fans were sent home happy. The ending is one of the most memorable for various reasons.
There’s a mixture of good and bad, like all Wrestlemania’s, but you have to wait a long time to get to the great matches, so I wouldn’t be surprised if fans skipped through half of it. The biggest difference with Wrestlemania XX to others in its history is the event included two great matches for two World Championships, and those matches alone are worthy of a 20th anniversary.
And then you think about how much changed in the WWE following this. Brock, Goldberg, The Rock, all left, Cena, Orton, Batista, JBL, and Edge rose through the ranks. The landscape changed so much, and the changes suit the tagline for Wrestlemania XX, Where it all Begins… Again. Essentially it did, WWE went into panic mode, the major pushes began, and suddenly fan reaction didn’t matter, John Cena, Orton, Batista, JBL, all of them were going to the top, and I remember it vividly because there was anticipation from fans for new talent to be as popular as Stone Cold Steve Austin, yet no one emerged who could match.
WWE lost so many talents in a short time, they didn’t know who “The Man” was anymore. I believe Vince rewarded the titles to hard workers he felt deserving of recognition, until he decided who would lead WWE in the future; John Cena and Randy Orton continue eleven years later. Wrestlemania XX was the end of an era, and the beginning of a new one, and whichever era you enjoyed the most .. the crossroad lies in this PPV, so it’s a must-see for any wrestling fan. Thanks for your time.
