Tape Reviews
WWF Wrestlemania X-8
By Peter Kostka
Mar 7, 2003, 00:50

Welcome to the conclusion of the Wrestlemania Trifecta. Click here and here for the first two parts.

Before we begin:

- I�d like to thank 411�s Stephen Gray for his plug of the site and my reviews. He was one of the Smarks news reporters, but the site was dissolved in the creation of 411mania.com, so check out his last update to see what he will be up to now.

- I picked up High Heat Baseball 2004 (PS2) during the week, so instead of a tape review next Friday, you will see a review of that. Just a change of pace. Look out for Dr. Tom�s review of World Series Baseball for X-Box soon.

- The WWE loses yet another star due to a neck injury as Angle goes down. They have to do SOMETHING about this problem since that makes 5 guys that have gone out with a similar injury (Angle, Edge, Benoit, Austin and Rhyno).

Let�s get on with it.

WWF Wrestlemania X-8

- Saliva performs Superstar to open up the night. Not a bad song for a Wrestlemania theme. In the opening video, Superstars involved in the bigger matches (Rock, Hogan, Jericho, HHH, Flair, Undertaker, and Austin) talk about the importance and the prestige of Wrestlemania.

- We are LIVE from Skydome in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. JR and the King are ringside to call the action.

- Opening Match: Rob Van Dam vs. William Regal (C) (Intercontinental title match)

Background: Here is my biggest problem with this Wrestlemania, half the matches were thrown together in one week, so the buildup is completely forgettable. Example, this match. All I know is this is the second straight Wrestlemania Regal has opened and this is RVD�s first big event.

RVD takes control to start with a spinkick and standing moonsault. RVD whips him into the corner but runs into an elbow and Regal goes into his tights for the knucks right away, but RVD kicks them out of his hand and hits another spinkick. Regal begs off, but RVD isn�t from France and he dropkicks Regal in the chest. RVD goes up and hits a flying kick then goes for the Five-Star, but Regal moves. Regal knees him in the head and keeps him down for a trio of 2 counts. RVD ducks a clothesline and hits a cross-body for 2, then backslides him for another 2 count. Regal trips him up and hits a vertical suplex for 2. He lays in some European uppercuts, but RVD reverses a whip and hits a BAAAAAAACK body drop. He tries another whip, but Regal holds on to his arm and hits a Regal Cutter for 2 (RVD took a nice bump there) and puts on a cross armlock. RVD escapes and hits a superkick, but Rolling Thunder hits knees and Regal hits a butterfly powerbomb for 2. Regal tries to get the Regal Stretch hooked, but RVD rolls him up for 2. Regal slugs him down and goes for another powerbomb, but RVD backs him in to the corner and dropkicks him. He whips Regal into the other corner and monkey flips him. He delivers some shoulderblocks in the corner, and Regal charges out with a clothesline as Rob flips. He ducks it and goes for his stepover kick, but Regal catches him and suplexes RVD right on his head (ouch). Rob rolls out of the ring and Regal follows, tossing him back in and retrieving the knucks RVD kicked out earlier. The ref wrestles them away, but Regal has another pair hidden in there. Make your own �brass balls� joke here. Regal turns around into a jumping kick and RVD hits the Five-Star for the win.

That finish kinda came out of nowhere and there really was little flow to the match, just like his match with Jericho at X-7. 5/10

- Christian cuts an anti-Toronto promo and assures everyone he�s in touch with his emotions, so no more tantrums (I�ll explain in a minute).

- Christian vs. DDP (C) (European title match)

Background: See, Christian�s gimmick, after he lost the European title earlier in the year, was that he never wins, so, instead of making him a sore loser by beating the hell out of the winner, he�s made a sore loser that throws temper tantrums like a 4 year old, pounding the ring and whining. DDP was a motivational speaker (and also the European champion), so he took Christian under his wing to try to get him back to his winning ways. On RAW, Christian finally won by beating Billy, and turned on DDP. A match was set for Wrestlemania on Smackdown.

Christian now hails from Tampa, Florida, according to the Fink. He stomps DDP to start and they blow a whip, and then repeat it with DDP reversing and knocking Christian down. He gets a gutwrench gutbuster and Cactus clotheslines him out. Christian goes into the barrier and DDP tosses him back in. DDP goes for the 10 punch in the corner, but Christian low blows and drops his face into the buckles. Christian suplexes him into the ropes and shoves him into the barrier. Back in, DDP takes over and tries to crotch Christian in the post, but he pulls DDP into it instead. Christian gets an abdominal stretch back in, but doesn�t grab the ropes like a good heel should. DDP elbows out of it, but gets backbreakered for 2. DDP reverses a whip but runs into an elbow and Christian goes up, but DDP crotches him and slams him down for a double KO. DDP hits a spinning clothesline and goes for a punch, but Christian cowers, so DDP hits a sitout powerbomb instead for 2. Christian flips out of a suplex and goes for the Unprettier, but DDP tries to counter with a Diamond Cutter and gets shoved into the corner. Christian misses a charge and DDP tries again, but Christian holds onto the ropes and counters with a diving reverse DDT for 2. Christian starts to lose it, but calms himself down with some deep breaths, but gets rolled up for 2. DDP ducks a clothesline and hits the Cutter for 3. DDP grabs the mike and commends Christian for not losing his cool, especially since he just lost on the biggest show of the year in front of 67,000 people and a big home audience. He of course, throws a tantrum and DDP leaves through the crowd.

Eh, not a bad match. The crowd wasn�t too interested and it was pretty sloppy, but not bad. 4/10

- Coach talks to the Rock, who gets a mixed reaction. Rock talks about Hulkamania and asks Coach if he took his vitamins and said his prayers. Coach says he got busy, so Rock gets on his case and makes him say them now. Coach: �What up, G? Coach here, just want to give you a little shout out.� Rock kicks him out and cuts a fiery promo on Hogan.

Goldust vs. Maven (C) (Hardcore title match)

Background: Again, not much here. The 24/7 rule is back in effect.

Goldust loads up the golden plunder as he enters and jumps Maven as he enters the ring. He tosses him into the barrier and hits a clothesline off the apron. In the ring, they blow a slingshot onto a trash can and Maven tosses it to Goldust and blows a dropkick (he missed the can AND Goldust). He still gets a 2 count. Goldust hits a suplex, but Maven rolls him up for another 2. Goldust ducks a clothesline and hits a neackbreaker for 2. Goldust gets a goadbuster and gets a shovel. He stomps the handle into Maven�s throat and puts a trashcan in the corner. He whips Maven hard into it and gets 2. They hit each other with lids and Spike runs down with his own ref to get the pin and the title. Crash gives chase, with Goldust and Maven behind them.

The 24/7 rule was played in 2000. Good thing they dumped the title before it became even more of a joke. 1.5/10

- Drowning Pool performs Tear Away in tribute to HHH's quad muscles.

- Spike and Crash brawl in the back and Al Snow and Teddy Long (in a golf cart) crash into some boxes. Hurricane swings in and wins the title. They actually replay what happened for those who yawned during the pin and missed it. Well geez, if you don�t have enough talent or writing skill to fill a 3 � hour show, fill in the extra time with crap, it�s the WWF/E way!

- Kane vs. Kurt Angle

Background: They had a pretty good match on Smackdown a few weeks previous where Kane tapped to the Anglelock. Angle had also pounded Kane�s head pretty good in that match, so he�s still feeling the effects here.

Angle cuts a promo saying that if he won his gold medal like the Canadian pairs figure skating duo did, he would �shoot (himself) in the freakin� head!� Angle jumps Kane as he lights the posts, hitting him with the bell. Slugfest and Angle hits a German suplex, barely getting Kane off the ground (no wonder his neck�s fucked up now). Angle lays in the boots, but Kane comes back with an elbow and tries a chokeslam, but Angle hangs onto the ropes. Kane clotheslines him down and whips him, but Angle avoids a charge and runs into an elbow. Angle ducks a clothesline and hits a belly to belly and some hard clotheslines, then chokes him in the ropes. Kane tries to rally, but Angle takes him down with a backdrop suplex for 2. Angle puts on a front facelock, but Kane powers out and tosses Angle onto his stomach. Another slugfest and Kane catches Angle with a sidewalk slam and goes for a suplex, which Angle escapes and hits the ROLLING GERMANS~! for 2. He goes up and hits a flying clothesline, then gets cocky and goes up for another, but Kane clotheslines him on the way down. Kane reverses a whip and hits a BAAAAAACK body drop and a powerslam for 2. Kane whips him into the corner and Angle elbows him, but runs into a chokeslam, but he gets his hand on the rope on the pin. Kane goes for a Tombstone, but Angle escapes and goes for the mask, then hits an Angle Slam for 2. Angle DROPS THE STRAPS and locks in the Anglelock. Kane escapes for a second, but Angle just slaps it back on. Kane gets to the ropes and hits an enziguri. Kane goes up, but Angle follows with a popup superplex and goes for another Angle Slam, but Kane escapes and slaps on the goozle. Angle counters it and sloppily rolls up Kane (putting his foot on the ropes) for the pin.

Another average match. There are a lot of these on this card. 6/10

- Hurricane arms himself with a broom and hides behind a screen in a locker room, but his silhouette can be seen. Some of the Godfather�s ho�s (or as they were called at this point, �escorts�) come in and start to disrobe, and we get the obvious �broom handle = erection� joke. When you are stealing from Robin Hood: Men in Tights, you know the creative well is dry. The ho�s see it and scream, and Godfather chases him out.

- The Undertaker vs. Ric Flair

Background: Flair was 50% owner of the WWF at this point. He cost Taker his match against Rock at No Way Out, so Taker wanted a piece of Flair at Wrestlemania. Flair refused the match, wanting to take the high road, causing Taker to beat up Arn Anderson. Flair still wouldn�t accept, so Taker went to the Trax training facility and beat up David Flair (his only WWF TV appearance, I believe). Flair finally got the message and accepted. Vince took this opportunity to try to get full power back and asked the Board of Directors to give him a full confidence vote. He got 100% authority up until Wrestlemania ends (which set up the roster split), so Vince made the match no DQ.

Flair beats the hell out of Taker to start all the way out to the American announce table. Back in, Flair slugs him out again, but jumps into Taker�s arms and gets rammed into the post. Back in, a slugfest and Taker whips Flair into the corner, with Flair doing one of the worst Flair Flips in history, barely getting off his feet. They repeat the spot and Flair does a much better one and Taker boots him to the floor. Taker lays in the right hands some more, busting Flair open. Back in, Taker boots him again and slugs Flair in the corner, and Flair flops to the mat. Flair tries to come back with some chops, but gets whipped into the corner and clotheslined hard. Taker whips him into the other corner and hits another clothesline, then puts him on top and hits a pretty cool looking superplex (Flair was vertical for a good 3 seconds). He covers, but pulls Flair up at 2. Flair tries some more chops, but Taker just boots him down again and drops a leg on the apron. Another cover, but Taker pulls him up again. Taker slugs some more but misses a legdrop and Flair tries to rally again, pulling Taker off as he goes for the Old School, but he gets sidewalk slammed for 2. Taker crotches himself on a boot attempt and Flair knocks him to the floor. He goes for the pipe attached to the bike and hits him a few times, but Taker spears him onto the apron. They punch some more (all right already) and Flair hits him with a �do not stand� sign. Back in, Flair punches and Taker goes for a chokeslam, but Flair boots a 45 yard field goal and locks in the figure four. Taker sells it for a while but decides �fuck it� and sits up, slaps on the goozle and hits a chokeslam for 2. Taker slugs him some more for another 2, then spears Lil� Naitch and gets the pipe. Flair chops him some more as Arn Anderson runs in and hits a spinebuster. Flair pins for 2 and Taker goes for Arn. He boots him down and locks in a dragon sleeper, but Flair comes in with a chair and hits him a few times, which Taker no-sells and boots Flair. He tries a Last Ride, but Flair struggles, so Taker just Tombstones him for the pin.

Man, fuck Undertaker. Flair with a chair, a pipe and Arn Anderson couldn�t stop the almighty march to a 10-0 Wrestlemania record. At least give us an entertaining match out of it, Mark. 1/10.

- Booker talks to Cole about Edge and proves that he�s smart by wearing glasses and revealing he wrote a thesis on �Einstein�s Theory of Relatives.�

- Edge vs. Booker T

Background: A Japanese shampoo commercial. That�s what these two are fighting over. THIS was actually thought of as a good idea for a Wrestlemania setup. And it actually got WORSE as the year went by (Katie Vick, anyone?) Gotta love WWF/E 2002.

They lockup to start and Booker knocks him down. Edge comes back with a dropkick and faceplant for 1. Booker reverses a whip and drops Edge on the ropes, then kicks him for 2. Booker clotheslines him out and hits an elbow off the apron. Back in, Booker goes up and hits a missile dropkick for 2 and slugs away. Edge takes control but gets spinebustered for 2. Booker goes up and Edge crotches him, and hits a horrible hurricanrana (Booker just rolled off on top of Edge). Edge hits a spinkick and clothesline, but Booker knees him in the gut and goes for the scissors kick. Edge avoids and hits an Edge-o-Matic for 2. Edge goes up and hits a spinning wheel kick for 2. Booker rolls him up, but Edge slingshots Booker into the corner. Booker avoids a spear and hits a kick, followed by a Spinaroonie, then a scissors kick for 2. Booker goes for a Book End, but Edge escapes and gets the spear for 2. Edge gives us an Edgearoonie and it bitesaroonie. Edge hits the Edgecution for the pin.

Yet another middle of the road contest. 5/10

- Coach catches up with Hurricane and Mighty Molly waffles him with a frying pan for the title.

- Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall (w/Kevin Nash)

Background: Hall cost Austin the Undisputed title at No Way Out by Stunning him. Austin kidnapped Hall and tortured him by tying him up in a room full of beer, then beat him up. Hall challenged him to a Wrestlemania match.

Austin jumps Hall to start and stomps a mudhole, then delivers some chops. Hall rakes the eyes to take over and slugs. Austin reverses a whip and hits a Lou Thesz press and FU elbow. Hall bails and Austin follows, wiping out Nash first, then sends Hall into the steps. Back in, Austin puts his head down and Hall clotheslines him down for 2. They fight in one corner while Nash removes the pad from the other corner. Austin goes into it and gets booted out. Nash gives him a cheap shot and tosses him back in. Hall hits a fall away slam for 2. Austin blocks a hiptoss, and Hall clotheslines him down for 2. Hall chokes him on the ropes and Nash punches him again while the ref pulls Hall off. Hall lays in the boots and Nash gives another cheap shot. Austin reverses a whip and gets a spinebuster. Austin hits a Stunner, but Nash pulls the ref out and punches him down. Nash comes in and beats on Austin while Hall gets a chair. Austin boots Hall and low blows Nash and then hits Stunners on both. He covers as another ref comes in, but Nash drops an elbow on the ref. Austin clotheslines Nash out and Hall goes for a Razor�s Edge near the ropes, but gets backdropped out while more refs come down to eject Nash. Back in, Hall blocks a Stunner and hits one of his own for 2. Austin blocks another Stunner and hits two on Hall for the pin.

Hey, guess what this one gets. 5/10

- We see the goings on at the annual Axxess festival.

- The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz (w/Stacy Kiebler) vs. A.P.A. vs. Billy and Chuck (C) (Four corner elimination match for the WWF Tag titles)

Background: This was pretty much the entire WWF tag division at this point since Edge and Christian had broken up in late 2001. They just tossed these four teams to have a long match to fill time, I guess.

Saliva plays the Dudleys out and Stacy dances with the lead singer. The APA pound on Billy and Chuck to start and Bradshaw knocks Chuck down. He goes for a fall away slam, but Billy pushes him over and Chuck covers for a 1 count. Bradshaw hits a fall away on Billy instead and tags Faarooq. He slugs away but Chuck clotheslines him down and B & C double-team him. Billy knocks him down for 2 and goes for the Fameasser, but Faarooq powerslams him and tags Bradshaw. He clears house and DDTs Billy for 2. Billy tags in D-Von and the Dudleys go for a 3D, but the APA break it up and Bradshaw hits the Clothesline from Hades on Billy, but the Dudleys 3D him for the pin.

The Hardys come in and hit a double-team BAAAAAAACK body drop on Buh Buh, then double team D-Von. Jeff covers for 2. Chuck comes in but gets DDTed by the Hardys while the Duds set a table up on the outside. The Hardys go after the Dudleys and Jeff tosses Buh Buh back in. He hits Whisper in the Wind and Stacy hops up on the apron, pulling up her shorts and giving Jeff a good look. He slaps her ass and kisses her, then tosses her to the floor. Hmm, he might not be gay after all. Jeff hops on Buh Buh�s shoulders, but Billy clotheslines him off. Buh Buh hits a Bubba Bomb on Billy and works over Jeff in the corner. He runs into a boot, but D-Von knocks Jeff back down and whips him into Buh Buh, who hits a BAAAAAACK body drop for 2. He hits the chinlock, but Jeff fights out and D-Von tags in and takes him down with a hard clothesline. D-Von works Jeff over as the crowd goes for nachos. Buh Buh tags back in and whips him into the corner, doing a better Flair Flip than Flair did, and hanging himself in the Tree of Woe. Buh Buh steps on his groin and Matt shoves him to the floor. D-Von tags and chokes Jeff, but he gets a DDT and tags Matt while D-Von tags Buh Buh. Matt wails on the Dudleys and takes out Billy and Chuck. Buh Buh takes him down with a backdrop suplex and goes up for a senton, but misses. Matt hits the yodel legdrop for 2. Buh Buh slams him and goes for the Whassup Drop, but Billy shoves D-Von off through the table on the outside. The Hardys hit the Twist of Fate/Swanton combo on Buh Buh to eliminate the Dudleys.

Chuck clotheslines Jeff and superkicks Matt for 2. Jeff trips him up and hits a legdrop, but Billy dumps him and Matt hits a Side Effect and tags Jeff. They hit Poetry in Motion on B & C and hit the combo on Chuck, but Billy Fameassers Jeff for 2. Billy goes out and hits Jeff with a title belt for the pin.

This show just can�t shake its mediocrity. 2.5/10

- The NWO has a powwow and Hogan tells Hall and Nash he wants to beat Rock alone. Molly runs down the hall but a door is slammed in her face. That dastardly Christian walks out and pins her.

- Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock

Background: Hogan came out on the RAW after No Way Out and said the fans turned on him and ran him out of the WWF. He�s the reason wrestling became huge and there will never be another star like him again. That drew the Rock out. Rock told him the fans (and the Rock himself) believed in him and challenged Hogan to a match at Wrestlemania. Hogan accepted and was Rock Bottomed. Hall and Nash jumped him in the aisle and Rock got beaten down, which would have been an awesome way to end the segment, but they had Hogan smash the ambulance Rock was in with a semi, which was overkill in my opinion. Hogan pinned Rock on the previous RAW tag match and beat him up some more.

Hogan gets a monster pop on his entrance and a HUGE Hogan chant. Rock comes out to a fair amount of boos. They stare each other down and then look at the crowd as they break out into simultaneous �Hogan� and �Rocky� chants. The heat here is INSANE. The bell rings and they lockup. Hogan shoves Rock off and poses to rabid cheers. They lockup again and Hogan gets a side headlock as a big �Rocky sucks� chant starts. Rock pushes him into the ropes but Hogan knocks him down and poses again, to more cheers. He tells Rock to �just bring it�. Hogan clubs Rock, but he comes back with some punches, but Hogan clotheslines him down. Hogan whips and Rock ducks a clothesline and hits a flying one of his own to boos. Rock tells Hogan to �just bring it� and they shove each other. Rock blocks a punch and punches Hogan out of the ring. Rock follows him out and elbows Hogan in the head. Back in, Hogan puts his head down and Rock clotheslines him, and then goes for a Rock Bottom, but Hogan escapes and elbows Rock in the head. He drops some more elbows and steps on his face. He whips Rock into the corner and follows with a clothesline. He whips him again, but Rock spears him down and punches, but Hogan hits a backdrop suplex for 2. Hogan puts on an abdominal stretch and rolls him up for 2. He rakes the back, and Rock oversells it (hey Terry, it ain�t the 80s anymore, those went out with recreational cocaine use.) Hogan slugs and chops in the corner, but Rock counters and gets some chops himself, getting completely into heel Rock mode. Hogan reverses a whip and runs into an elbow, but takes Rock down with a quasi-chokeslam. Hogan chokes him with some tape. Rock comes back and charges, but Hogan uses the momentum to toss him over the top. Hogan goes out and tosses him into the steps and barrier and then clears the American table. Rock slugs and slams his head on the table, then goes for a chair, but the ref takes it away and Hogan clotheslines Rock down. Back in, Hogan whips Rock, but accidentally knocks him into the ref. Rock reverses another whip and hits a spinebuster. Rock slaps on the Sharpshooter and Hogan is tapping, but the ref is still out. Rock releases to kick the ref a bit, but turns around into a low blow and Rock Bottom from Hogan! The fans go nuts as the ref crawls over, but Rock kicks out at 2. Hogan takes off his weight belt and whips Rock with it, but he ducks a punch and DDTs Hogan. He grabs the belt and whips Hogan and hits a Rock Bottom, but Hogan kicks out at 2 and Hulks Up, with the crowd going INSANE again. Hogan hits the BIG BOOT and BIG LEG, but Rock kicks out at 2. He hits another boot, but misses the legdrop and Rock hits two Rock Bottoms. He kips up and hits the People�s Elbow for the pin.

I know the match itself was awful, YOU know the match was awful, so why is this match the one I always go to first when I put in the DVD? I don�t know why WWE tried this match again last month since this was a once in a lifetime occurrence as far as emotion goes. This one gets 2/10 for the actual bout but 10/10 on the atmosphere and heat, so we�ll split the difference (and keep with my ratings for most of this card so far) and give it 5/10.

- Rock celebrates and Hogan asks for a handshake (�Sorry about that semi, dude.�). Rock accepts and leaves the ring. Hall and Nash come down wanting to know what the hell that was all about and turn on Hogan, drawing Rock back. He helps Hogan clear house, making him a face again. Hogan goes to leave, but Rock stops him. He (and the fans) wants to see some posing. Hulkamania is reborn as Hogan reverts back to his former self and the fans love every minute of it. They walk up the aisle together and Hogan raises Rock�s hand. Rock seems to genuinely not believe what had just occurred.

- At WWF New York, the Big Show greets the fans. Fink announces X-8 has set a Skydome attendance record of 68,237.

Jazz (C) vs. Lita vs. Trish Stratus (Triple threat for the Women�s title)

Background: One of the most surprising things about 2002 was the resurgence of the Women�s division. It went from crappy T&A matches to T&A matches that weren�t as crappy, thanks to Fit Finlay, a good wrestler in Jazz, and Trish�s huge improvement in skills. Trish and Lita had a catfight on Smackdown to put heat on the match, but after Rock-Hogan, forget it.

Lita�s music isn�t that bad until the horrible vocals kick in. Trish�s 100% Canadian outfit makes me yearn for some maple syrup for some reason. Jazz and Lita start brawling during Trish�s entrance and she and Lita pound on Jazz when she gets in. Jazz rakes Trish�s eyes and puts on a single leg crab and stretches Lita. She legdrops Lita for 2 and hits a double underhook suplex. She kicks Trish out and Lita takes Jazz down. Jazz reverses a whip, but Lita hits a headscissors and a spinout powerbomb for 2. Jazz puts her on top, but Trish comes back in and puts Jazz on her shoulders. She punches Trish to get down, but Lita kicks her into a Trish rollup for 2. Lita hits a crossbody on Trish, but she rolls through for 2. Lita hits a jawbreaker and clotheslines Jazz, but Trish bulldogs her for 2. Jazz splashes her for another 2 and hits a fisherman�s DDT on Trish, but Lita breaks the pin. Trish escapes a Jazz slam and hits a reverse DDT, but Lita breaks the pin again. Trish and Lita argue but slug down Jazz before brawling. Lita gets a sloppy BAAAAACK body drop on Trish and hits a crappy Twist of Fate on Jazz. She goes up for a moonsault, but Trish lifts her knees and rolls her up for 2. Trish chops Lita, and Lita reverses a whip, but Trish puts on the brakes and hits a shoulderblock. Trish backslides Jazz for 2 and Lita backdrops her out. Trish flips out of a suplex and goes for some Stratusfaction, but Lita tosses her into the corner and she flops out of the ring. Lita goes up, but Trish crotches her. Jazz knocks Trish back to the floor and hits a fisherman�s DDT off the top on Lita for the pin.

Pretty disjointed and had zero heat since the crowd was drained after Rock-Hogan. 3/10

HHH vs. Chris Jericho (C) (w/Stephanie McMahon) (Undisputed title match)

Background: Peter Ramon covered this angle in detail in his 2002: the Year in Crap article, so check that out to see how bad Jericho was made to look.

Drowning Pool plays a shitty version of HHH�s music for his entrance. Seriously, these guys are EXACTLY like Saliva, except that they suck more. Jericho gets a fair pop, even with Stehpanie. Jericho goes for the quad to start (Steph had revealed it was �hanging by a thread� on RAW and Jericho attacked it on Smackdown), but HHH clotheslines him down and hits a BAAAAAACK body drop. Jericho unleashes the chops, but HHH reverses a whip and gets a kneelift, then grabs his leg. He charges and Jericho backdrops him to the floor. Jericho goes up, but HHH tosses him into the crowd and suplexes him back to ringside. HHH clears the Spanish table, but Jericho kicks him in the leg and tosses him back in. Jericho chop blocks and works on the leg. Jericho argues with Hebner and HHH spears him down and punches. HHH works Jericho�s leg in retribution and hits a kneebreaker. He puts on a figure four but Steph slides in and rakes his eyes. HHH pulls her up to the apron by the hair and Steph is accidentally shouldered to the floor by Jericho. HHH rolls Steph back in and goes to Pedigree her, but Jericho comes off the top with a missile dropkick and wraps his leg around the post. Steph gives it a kick for good measure. The crowd still doesn�t seem to care and even chants for Hogan at one point. Back in, Jericho works the leg some more and Steph slaps HHH. Jericho breaks out the ringpost figure four as a tribute to Bret and puts on a spinning toe hold back in, holding onto the ropes (bout time someone did that in this show). HHH shoves him into the post and hits a neckbreaker and a clothesline for 2. Jericho reverses a whip, but HHH hits a knee to the face. They blow a spinebuster spot and have to repeat it, and HHH gets 2. Jericho reverses a whip and HHH tumbles out. Jericho goes out and clears the American table, then puts HHH on it and goes for the Walls, but HHH escapes and goes for a Pedigree, but Jericho backdrops him through the Spanish table. Back in, he hits a Lionsualt, but HHH kicks out at 2. He goes for the Walls, but HHH fights out and goes for a Pedigree. Jericho hits the leg to escape and locks in the Walls. HHH almost reaches the ropes but Jericho pulls him back. Hebner raises the arm and it stays up the third time. HHH powers up and reaches the ropes. Steph hops onto the apron to distract Hebner and Jericho goes for a chair. HHH kicks it back in his face and DDTs Jericho on it for 2. Steph sneaks in with the chair, but Hebner stops her and reprimands her. She backs into HHH and he finally Pedigrees her (to not as big a pop as you�d expect). As Hebner rolls her out Jericho hits HHH with the chair, but he kicks out at 2. Jericho goes for a Pedigree, but HHH counters and slingshots Jericho into the corner. Jericho hops onto the second rope, but jumps into a boot and a Pedigree and HHH wins the title to a kinda big pop (not an Austin X-7 pop). HHH celebrates with the belts as we fade to black.

This show ended on kind of a high note but there was little heat again (should have put Rock-Hogan last), but it was a pretty good match. 6.5/10

The Verdict: Might as well call this Wrestlemania X-eh since there were no real memorable matches outside of Rock-Hogan and the wrestling was fair for the most part.

Final Score: 5/10 (Guess you can call this an average since half my ratings were the same.

Next week: No tape review, see the intro.

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