Posted in: The Classroom The Classroom - History Of: WrestleMania Part 20
By Sean Taylor
Mar 20, 2009 - 3:03:07 AM
"My teacher tried to tell which letters to use for my algebra homework but it was all Greek to me."
Hello again everyone and welcome back to The Classroom. This time around we’ll be looking into the events and happenings surrounding WrestleMania XX. Before we get to the meat and potatoes, I thought I’d share a personal story from about this time. On the Thursday before Mania that year, my friend and I decided to take a road trip to Niagara Falls since I’d never been. While there, we visited WWE Niagara, a store selling only WWE merchandise. The store was dead empty and my friend saw a DVD he wanted but it was really expensive so he passed and we headed home. We stopped in St. Catherine’s (15 minutes from Niagara Falls) for dinner and he went into the Wal-Mart to see if they had the DVD for cheaper. They didn’t have it at all and that’s when we remembered that the DVD wasn’t due to be released in Canada for another few weeks. We went back to WWE Niagara and I dropped him off and said I would turn around and come back to pick him up thinking it would only take a couple of minutes to buy one DVD.
Well after about five or six passes by the store, my friend still hadn’t come back out. So I parked the car and went inside. There I saw a sea of people just ripping merchandise off the shelves. I found my friend in line at the checkout. He told me that there were two buses full of Australians who were on a special travel package trip. They came to WWE Niagara to pick up merchandise (because WWE merchandise is scarce Down Under), then onto MSG for WrestleMania, then on to Las Vegas, then to Los Angeles to fly home. I saw some of the totals being rung through climb as high as $1200. While waiting in line with my friend, I remember telling one of the Aussies about an e-fed we were in. Eventually we left the store and saw the two buses. One was painted red with a Raw logo and the other in SmackDown blue. It was a very cool day. During the WrestleMania telecast, they showed the same group from Australia on camera. That was really cool
So if there’s anyone that was on that trip reading this, email me. I’d love to hear about the rest of your trip and what it was like. But let’s get on with the good stuff, shall we?
WrestleMania XX: Where It All Begins Again
Date: March 14, 2004
Venue: Madison Square Garden (New York, New York)
Commentators: Jim Ross (Raw), Jerry “The King” Lawler (Raw), Michael Cole (SD), Tazz (SD)
Attendance: 20,000
Since creating the idea of WrestleMania twenty years prior, Vince McMahon had seen and done just about everything in the wrestling business. He’d taken over and eliminated the NWA and the territorial system, created a globally profitable company, fought hard and nearly escaped bankruptcy after an attack by WCW, and ended up becoming the owner of a professional wrestling monopoly in North America. WrestleMania XX was a chance to start anew and take the WWE in new direction. The Brand Extension Era was still in its infancy. Pay-per-views were split between Raw and SmackDown with the exceptions of WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Royal Rumble, which were cross-branded. Titles like the United States and Intercontinental Championships were brought back out of retirement. Plus, the AOL/Time Warner contracts withholding the top WCW superstars like Bill Goldberg and Sting were expiring so despite not having any competition, fans were still tuning into see the dream matches they talked about on the Internet.
WrestleMania XX was the third WrestleMania held in Madison Square Garden, which set the record for most WrestleManias held in the same venue. In September of 2003, Vince McMahon was inducted into the Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame for his countless sell out events. The broadcast started with The Boys Choir of Harlem singing “America The Beautiful”. Following in the theme of “Where It All Begins Again”, the opening video package began with Vince McMahon walking into a dark room. After clips of past WrestleManias showed, the camera returned to a close up of Vince. The camera panned out to see Vince holding his new grandson Declan and his son, Shane, standing beside him.
Another new tradition that was started with WrestleMania XX was the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. The WWE Hall of Fame had actually been open since 1996 when it was opened to honour the passing of Andre the Giant but up until 2004, the ceremonies were done behind the scenes and only brief clips were ever released to the public. This year, however, the WWE opened the doors to a select number of fans, broadcasted it on television, and turned it into a show of its own. The Hall of Fame class of 2004 included wrestlers Don Muraco (inducted by Mick Foley), Greg “The Hammer” Valentine (inducted by Jimmy Hart), Harley Race (inducted by Ric Flair), Tito Santana (inducted by Mick Foley), Junkyard Dog (inducted by “The Big Cat” Ernie Ladd and accepted by Latoya Ritter), Sgt. Slaughter (inducted by Pat Patterson), Big John Studd (inducted by “Big Show” Paul Wight, accepted by John Minton Jr.), and Jesse “The Body” Ventura (inducted by Tyrel Ventura). Also inducted that year were Pete Rose (inducted by Kane into the Celebrity wing) and manager/broadcaster Bobby “The Brain” Heenan who paid a tearful tribute to his former broadcast partner when he said, “I wish Monsoon was here.”
The official theme songs for WrestleMania XX were “Step Up” by Drowning Pool and “Touche” by Godsmack.
US Represent!
The first match featured the WrestleMania debut of the WWE United States Championship. Champion Big Show defended the title against newcomer John Cena. Cena debuted on SmackDown in the summer of 2003 as a part of Kurt Angle’s Gold Medal Challenge. At the very beginning of his career Cena was a bland, characterless babyface. But during a European tour, Cena was discovered free-styling backstage with other superstars. The bookers thought it would make a great gimmick and so Cena was turned heel and became a white-boy rapper and called himself the “Doctor of Thuganomics”. The new gimmick not only got over with the fans, it got over huge. Fans were buying Cena’s merchandise faster than they could keep it on the shelves and some fans even claimed Cena would be the next “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. Cena was quickly turned face and pushed towards the United States Championship.
At WrestleMania, Cena came out first and cut down Big Show in his trademark rap style. When Show entered, Cena attacked him with fiery rights and lefts but Show eventually used his size and strength to overpower Cena. Cena mounted a comeback but was stopped when he was unable to hit his FU finisher. Cena went to his corner and picked up his chains. The referee stopped him, took the chains away, and gave them to the ring attendant. While the referee was doing that, Cena went back to his corner and put on his customized brass knuckles. Cena hit Show with the knucks, hit his FU finisher, and hid the knucks in his shorts. He pinned Show and became the new United States champion.
Four-Way Mayhem I
At WrestleMania XX, both the WWE Tag Team Championships and WWE World Tag Team Championships were put up in Fatal Four Way Tag Team Matches. The first on the card featured the WWE Tag Team Championships from Raw. Rob Van Dam & Booker T defended the titles against The Dudley Boys (Bubba Ray/D-Von), La Resistance (Rob Conway/Sylvian Grenier), and Mark Jindrak & Garrison Cade (aka Lance Cade). Since it was a Fatal Four Way match, whichever team scored the first fall won the titles, only two of the eight men were allowed in the ring at one time, and they could tag any of the men standing on the outside. RVD and Booker T pulled out a win and successful defense when they combined their Scissor Kick and Five-Star Frog Splash finisher to pin Rob Conway.
It’s Like American Pie In Spandex
In 2003, Chris Jericho and Christian were a tag team of cocky heels. In early November, they were backstage at Raw arguing which of them was better at closing the deal with the ladies. Christian proposed a friendly bet. He bet Jericho one Canadian dollar that he could get Lita into bed before Jericho could sleep with fellow Canadian Trish Stratus. Lita blew off Christian early but Jericho pretended to be truly enamoured with Trish and attempted to trick her into bed. But he spent more time with Trish; he started to actually fall in love. Christian told Trish about the bet leading to Trish wanting to be “just friends with Jericho. Christian played both sides making each believe that they didn’t feel anything more for the other while he slowly started to put the moves on Trish. On an episode of Raw, Christian agreed to lay down for Trish when General Manager Eric Bischoff booked them against each other in an Intergender match. But Christian kicked out and hit Trish with a clothesline before making her tap out to a Walls of Jericho. Christian claimed that he did it out of “tough love” since he felt Trish had come between them as a tag team and as friends. A match at WrestleMania XX between the two men was quickly signed.
With Trish in Jericho’s corner, he and Christian showcased their natural wrestling talents. It was a back and forth match that left fans wondering just who was going to win and how. In the end, Trish interfered and attacked Jericho causing him to lose to Christian. It would be revealed later that Christian and Trish were tricking Jericho all along. Christian and Trish walked back up the ramp to the entrance where they kissed each other blatantly while Jericho watched in heartbreak from the ring.
Darwin Would Be Proud
After WrestleMania XX, Triple H and Ric Flair teamed up with relative newcomers Randy Orton and Dave Batista. The four of them formed a faction known as Evolution and were like an updated version of the Four Horsemen. The group took pride in calling themselves the “next evolutionary step of professional wrestlers” and referred to themselves as the measuring sticks by which all other wrestlers were to be measured. The group had great amounts of success as by the end of the year, they held all of the titles on Raw (excluding the Women’s Championship).
Since June of 2003, Mick Foley had waged an on-again/off-again war with Randy Orton. It all started at Madison Square Garden after Foley was awarded with the retired WWE Hardcore title belt as recognition for his contributions to the WWE and the wrestling business. Later that night, Evolution attacked Foley backstage and Orton threw Foley down a flight stairs. Foley returned to replace “Stone Cold” Steve Austin as Raw’s co-General Manager but didn’t last long. In reality, Foley didn’t like the constant traveling but on television, he accepted a challenge for a match against Orton for Orton’s Intercontinental Championship but ended up “being afraid” and walking out.
Foley returned to compete in the Royal Rumble and eliminated Orton and himself with his classic Cactus Jack over-the-top-rope clothesline. The next night, Foley called Orton to the ring and asked him to spit in his face again. Orton had been doing that to legends in the recent past. Foley then snapped and demanded that spit in his face. After several slaps in the face from Foley, Orton spit in his face as he asked. Foley then “turned the other cheek” and asked for Orton to spit on the other side his face. Orton complied. Foley then cut a passionate promo talking about know that Orton had spit in his face, he’d also spit on Foley’s career and that gave the darkness in Foley’s heart the hatred he needed to settle the score with Orton. Foley attacked Orton and fended off Flair and Batista who had run to ringside. Foley then turned to his old tag team partner, The Rock and had a handicap match booked for WrestleMania XX – Evolution (Orton/Flair/Batista) versus The Rock N’ Sock Connection.
Prior to The Rock cut a promo to pump up the crowd and Mick Foley. When all the competitors were in the ring and the opening brawl settled, The Rock started off the match with Ric Flair. Rock and Foley dominated in the first half of the match but soon the numbers game became too much and Evolution took over control. In the end, Rock tagged in Foley so he could finally get his hands on Orton. Foley went to pull out Mr. Socko but Orton caught him with an RKO and pinned Foley. After the match, The Rock led the live crowd in applauding Mick Foley.
Honouring The Past
In addition to the Hall of Fame ceremony the previous night, the WWE began another tradition of having all of the Hall of Fame inductees come out in front of the live WrestleMania crowd and allow them, on behalf of fans worldwide, to thank them for their contributions to the business. The inductees took a final bow as the crowd paid their respects with a standing ovation.
Hugh Heffner’s Favourite Match
The annual tradition of having a WWE pose in Playboy just before WrestleMania continued in 2004 with a twist. This year’s features were two SmackDown Divas and former posers – Torrie Wilson and Sable – posing together. However, Raw Divas Stacey Keibler and Miss Jackie (Jackie Gayda) took exception to Torrie and Sable claim to being the most beautiful women in the WWE. The four decided to meet in the ring at WrestleMania XX in a Playboy Evening Gown Match. Before the match, Sable announced that she and Torrie would wrestle, not in evening gowns, but in their underwear. The Stacey followed suit and the match began with Torrie and Sable stripping Jackie of her evening gown. The match ended two and a half minutes later when Torrie pinned Jackie
The Mat Is Made Of Lava!
The next match was a Cruiserweight Open in which Cruiserweight Champion Chavo Geurrero Jr (with his manager/father Chavo Geurrero Sr.) would defend his title against Ultimo Dragon, Shannon Moore, Jamie Noble, Funaki, Nunzio, Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio (dressed as The Flash), Tajiri, and Akio. Two men started in the ring while the other eight competitors stood on the outside. When one man was eliminated, another man immediately entered to take his place. The order of entry was randomized with the exception of Geurrero would automatically enter at number ten. The match started off with Ultimo Dragon defeating Shannon Moore. Noble came in next and defeated Dragon, Funaki, and Nunzio before getting eliminated by Kidman. Rey Mysterio entered next and defeated Kidman and Tajiri. Akio was taken out of the match after Tajiri mistakenly spit his green mist into Akio’s face. With only two men left, Chavo Sr. helped Chavo Jr. pin Mysterio to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.
There Would Never Be A Rematch
The night after WrestleMania XIX, The Rock bragged about now that he had defeated Austin at WrestleMania, he had beaten everyone there was to beat. He claimed that he was retiring because there wasn’t anyone he hadn’t beat yet. Suddenly, strange music played and through smoke on the ramp walked Goldberg. Bill Goldberg was one of only a few names WCW had created during their popular period and to finally see him on WWE television was a big moment for fans. Goldberg defeated The Rock at Backlash and went on to defeat Triple H for the World Heavyweight title at Unforgiven. Goldberg soon lost the title back to Triple H in a triple threat match with Kane. Goldberg wanted the title back and entered the 2004 Royal Rumble. Backstage at the Royal Rumble, Terri Runnels was about to interview Goldberg about his number thirty spot when Brock Lesnar interrupted. Brock bragged about his successful title defense and was insulted that he wasn’t being interviewed. During the Rumble match, Brock ran to the ring and attacked Goldberg. With Goldberg distracted, Angle eliminated him, dashing his chances for a title shot.
Goldberg vowed revenge. When Brock was scheduled to face Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out, Raw General Manager “Stone Cold” Steve Austin gave Goldberg a ringside ticket. During the match, Goldberg jumped the barricade, entered the ring, and speared Brock. This allowed Guerrero to hit his Frog Splash and win his first World calibre title. Now it was Brock who wanted vengeance. Brock dropped to his on SmackDown and begged Mr. McMahon to book him against Goldberg at WrestleMania. On the following Raw, McMahon said that no one could control the match and was about to say no to the match but was interrupted by Austin. Austin polled the audience and convinced McMahon to make the match but McMahon added Austin as the special guest referee.
At WrestleMania XX, the match started off extremely slowly with both men circling each other. While the match was nowhere a technical classic, the live crowd made it hard to turn away from. It was no secret that Brock was leaving the WWE right after WrestleMania XX for an attempt at a career in the NFL. The fans angrily chanted “Lesnar sucks!”, “You sold out!”, and sang “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey goodbye” directly to Brock and later “This match sucks!” Goldberg ended up hitting Brock with the Jackhammer and scored the pinfall. After the match, Austin Stunnered both men and celebrated in his usual beer drinking way. Goldberg also left after WrestleMania XX as he retired from the wrestling business.
Four-Way Mayhem II
Before the next match, Vince McMahon walked onto the entrance stage (designed to resemble the New York skyline) and publicly thanked all of the fans for making WrestleMania the success it had become. After that, Rikishi & Scotty 2 Hotty put their WWE World Tag Team Championships on the line against the APA (Bradshaw/Faarooq), The Basham Brothers (Doug/Danny), and The World’s Greatest Tag Team (Haas/Benjamin) in a Fatal Four Way Tag Team Match. Rikishi and Scotty retained after Rikishi sat on Danny Basham for the win.
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
The following match was for the Women’s Championship pitting babyface champion Victoria against the heel Molly Holly. Molly was so confident that she would win the title that she said if she lost, she would shave off her hair. The match was a complete contrast to the Playboy Evening Gown Match earlier in the night. This match was an actual wrestling match featuring two very talented female wrestlers. Molly attempted to perform Victoria’s Widow’s Peak finisher but Victoria reversed it into a backslide. Molly was so caught off guard that she wasn’t able to kick out in time and Victoria retained the title.
After the match, Victoria caught Molly trying to escape and dragged her to the barber’s chair. Molly reversed and put Victoria into the chair and threatened to cut her hair but Victoria doused Molly’s eyes with hairspray and finally put her into the chair. Victoria began shaving off her hair while Molly screamed. However the shaving went on way longer than needed as Victoria was still shaving Molly’s head when the next match started.
Boot Will Never Tap Out
When Eddie Guerrero defeated Brock Lesnar at No Way Out, he completed his lifelong dream of becoming a World Champion. But Kurt Angle, who had won a number one contender’s match earlier in the same night, soured his celebrations. The following week on SmackDown, Angle attacked Guerrero claiming that he was a disgrace to the title because of Guerrero’s previous drug and alcohol addictions. Much like the Triple H/Booker T feud a year before, there was an underlining – yet more subtle – racial storyline being done. Angle and SmackDown General Manager Paul Heyman gave off the impression that they thought a Latino would be a disgrace to the championship. But Guerrero refused to apologize and said he was proud that he was resolving his issues with his personal demons and that he was representing the fans as the WWE Champion. Guerrero was in the middle of his “Lie, Cheat, & Steal” gimmick that provided constant entertainment and unique endings to matches.
The match at WrestleMania XX was another instant technical classic match up. Both Angle and Guerrero were known as masters of wrestling holds, maneuvers, and counters and the match lived up to every ounce of hype it had in that respect. Eventually, Angle had Guerrero hooked in the Anklelock but Guerrero freed himself and rolled to the outside. While on the outside, Guerrero held his leg, which had obviously been hurt in the Anklelock. He undid his boot to relieve the pressure and allow more blood flow to his injured ankle but with the referee’s count almost reaching ten, he had to quickly slide back into the ring. Angle quickly recaptured Guerrero in the Anklelock but Guerrero slipped his foot out of his boot and escaped. While Angle was struck with confusion, Guerrero rolled him up with a small package for the pin and the victory. Guerrero rolled to the outside and celebrated with the ringside fans revealing that there was nothing wrong with his foot. Guerrero had stolen another win to retain his WWE Championship.
The Return Of The Dead Man
At Survivor Series 2003, Vince McMahon challenge The Undertaker to a Buried Alive match. With Vince in the grave, Undertaker had the match won and all he had to do was use the front-end loader to drop the dirt onto the grave. But as Undertaker reached the door, an explosion went off in his face and Kane emerged from the cabin. Kane assaulted Undertaker, chokeslammed him into the grave and motioned for McMahon to dump the dirt. Within seconds, The Undertaker was buried alive.
Kane came out on Raw and eulogized his brother at a mock memorial service. Kane explained that he and Undertaker used to be unstoppable monsters, which was what they truly were. But then the Undertaker changed, according to Kane, and became one of the people. Kane was furious that Undertaker was pandering to the fans and not acting like the monster he truly was. With Undertaker gone, Kane became a dominant force on Raw. At the 2004 Royal Rumble, Kane seemed to be repeating his 2001 performance but suddenly familiar bells tolled and the lights dimmed. A single, blue light shone on Kane signifying that the Undertaker was coming back. After that, “signs” of Undertaker’s imminent return would interrupt Kane’s matches. Kane announced that he would go to WrestleMania XX and prove that Undertaker was not coming back.
With all of the build up, fans knew that The Undertaker was retiring the “American Bad Ass” gimmick and returning as the “Dead Man”. Paul Bearer returned and led a troupe of druids down the aisle before the WrestleMania set opened to reveal the shadow of the Undertaker. The Undertaker walked to the ring in a different version of his old costume. The match was physical and allowed for a lot of throwbacks to Undertaker’s former ways such as sitting up and walking the ropes. Kane caught Undertaker in a chokeslam but Undertaker sat up immediately. Undertaker returned with a chokeslam and Tombstone combination allowing him to pick up his twelfth WrestleMania win.
Achieving The Impossible
The main event of WrestleMania XX unhinged on two matches from the 2004 Royal Rumble. Chris Benoit (representing the SmackDown brand) became only the second man to start the Royal Rumble match as number one and end up winning it. For Benoit, it was a near twenty-year road to compete in the main event of WrestleMania. Being a former WCW superstar, many fans believed he had served his time waiting for a World title opportunity and now he was finally getting the shot he deserved. The other match at Royal Rumble affecting the main event of WrestleMania XX was the Last Man Standing match between World Heavyweight champion Triple H and the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels. That match, which was supposed to end a long running feud between the two men, ended in a no-contest when neither man could answer the ten count.
On Raw, Michaels laid claim to the WrestleMania title shot but Raw co-GM Steve Austin interrupted him and brought out Benoit. Benoit announced that he won the right to face the champion at WrestleMania and he was choosing to switch brands and challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. This, obviously, upset Michaels who still wanted to finish off his issue with Helmsley. During the contract signing between Benoit and Triple H, Michaels interrupted. He Superkicked Benoit and signed the contract in Benoit’s place. A week later, Austin announced that Eric Bischoff had changed the match and for the first time in WrestleMania history, the World Title would be decided in a Triple Threat Match.
With three wrestlers of the calibre of Triple H, Chris Benoit, and Shawn Michaels, there was no doubt that the match would have great psychology throughout. But what really made the match stand out was the roughness of it. Each punch, kick, Irish whip, submission hold, and strike seemed to be done with an extra bit of viciousness to them. It added a new level of intensity as well as making the match seem more violent without using any weapons. The action was evenly distributed with each man getting in their offensive moves while getting their finishers blocked or interrupted. Soon the action spilled to the outside where Triple H and Benoit battled on top of the Spanish announce table but a bloodied Michaels joined them and surprisingly helping Triple H. Without a word spoken, Michaels and Triple H suplexed Benoit back and through the SmackDown announce table taking him completely out of the match. Michaels went back into the ring and challenged Triple H to finally settle the score. The two battled back and forth and Triple H finally hit Michaels with his Pedigree finisher. Triple H draped an arm over Michaels but Benoit came from out of nowhere to break the pin. Triple H was the first to his feet and he went for Benoit but Benoit caught him and turned him into a Sharpshooter. Just when it seemed Triple H was going to tap out, Michaels Superkicked Benoit and then crawled over to cover him. Benoit kicked out at two and Michaels set up for another Superkick. Benoit ducked and dumped Michaels over the top rope before turning into a Pedigree attempt from Triple H. Benoit reversed it into his Crossface submission hold. Benoit applied more and more pressure but Triple H reached for the ropes. Benoit rolled Triple H into the middle of the ring where Triple H had no choice but to slap the mat to end the pain.
The referee handed a crying Benoit the World Title belt and he went to the corner to pose for the crowd. When he stepped back to the mat and turned around, Benoit found his best friend, Eddie Guerrero, standing and applauding him. It was an emotional moment to see two best friends standing triumphantly in the ring together amidst a storm of confetti raining down around them.
The ending of WrestleMania XX played out as if it were a movie. The hero goes into battle, is almost beaten down for good, but comes back to pull out the big win in the end. But the next year the WWE would get a lesson in telling great stories when they took WrestleMania across the country . . .
. . . to Hollywood.
Well that wraps up Part 20. I want to apologize to the wait for this column. Good news though, I have a week’s worth of vacation time coming up next week so I’ll be banging out column after column in rapid succession. The only thing that MAY hinder that is the opening of local golf courses. Regardless, if you liked or hated this column, you can email me here or if you’re a member of the Columns Forum, drop me a line here.
Pop Quiz
Congratulations to Gerado Rodriguez, Hhh4scu, Anthony, Joseph Roderick, Daniel Rees, Diego Talavera, Manny Calderon, Patrick Giguere, Josh Pigott, Mr. Z, BossHogLarry87. They all knew that Nathan Jones appeared in “Troy” and that Kurt Angle’s music had been used by “The Patriot” Del Wilkes, Sgt Slaughter, Mark Henry, and Team Angle. They all get Star Pupil status this time around. But a special Teacher’s Pet award goes to my long lost friend, Tommy Mac who, for extra credit, added that Nathan Jones also starred in Jet Li’s “Fearless”. 1) Jesse Ventura interviewed what celebrity sitting at ringside?
2) The two Fatal Four Way Tag Team matches were contested with what unmentioned stipulation that was first created in 1998?
