WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
    • WWE Reviews >
      • Raw Reviews
      • SmackDown Reviews
      • NXT Reviews
      • Other >
        • 205 Live Reviews
        • NXT UK Reviews
        • Main Event Reviews
        • Superstars Reviews
        • ECW Reviews
    • AEW Reviews >
      • Dynamite Reviews
      • Dark Reviews
      • AEW PPV Reviews
    • More >
      • IMPACT Reviews
      • ROH Reviews
      • NWA Reviews >
        • Shockwave Reviews
        • NWA PPV Reviews
      • LU Reviews
  • Week in Review
  • Audio
    • WrestleRant Radio
    • Interviews
    • Audio Archive
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact Us

Columnist Corner

WrestleMania Recall, Match #29: Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania 19

3/3/2016

Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Here on WrestleMania Recall, I will be ranking my top 31 favorite matches in WWE WrestleMania history. A new installment will be posted every day in the month of March, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Thursday, March 31st, mere days before WrestleMania 32. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites.

Is it just me or is WrestleMania 19 extremely underrated? After a series of stinkers from WrestleMania 13 through WrestleMania 2000 (my personal opinion, people), The Show of Shows returned to its former glory with WrestleMania 17 in 2001, arguably the most epic installment of all-time. It was followed up by a solid WrestleMania 18 and then WrestleMania 19, and despite a surprisingly low buyrate, the four hours were a ton of fun.

The card featured three outstanding marquee matches: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock (in what would be Austin's final wrestling match), Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. McMahon, and Kurt Angle vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho also occurred, but that was on the undercard and I'll be discussing that more in detail later in the series. Triple H defended the World Heavyweight Championship against Booker T, but that bout was less-than-stellar and told a poor story. Angle vs. Lesnar, on the other hand, was everything a championship should be on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Brock Lesnar pretty much owned the year of 2002. Within a matter of months, he arrived on Raw, won the King of the Ring crown, and defeated The Rock in decisive fashion at SummerSlam to clinch his first WWE Championship. He went undefeated until Survivor Series where he suffered his first loss at the hands of Big Show and it was there that Lesnar's road to redemption officially began. In his absence from the title picture, Kurt Angle captured the gold at Armageddon and bested all comers for his championship. Meanwhile, Lesnar won the 2003 Royal Rumble match and earned himself a title opportunity versus Angle in the main event of WrestleMania 19.

The best part about the matchup was that the two had yet to touch prior to their encounter at the event. Lesnar had run through a majority of the roster with the exception of the Olympic Gold Medalist, and in order to win his second WWE title, he had to go through the measuring stick for success on SmackDown. Additionally, Angle went rogue on the WWE Universe shortly before the bout, setting up Lesnar as the next big babyface in WWE.

Had this match taken place today, it likely would not have headlined WrestleMania, simply because of how stacked the rest of the card was. That was a time when winning the Rumble match still had value and guaranteed the victor a main event slot at WrestleMania, and this matchup was definitely deserving of that honor. Almost exactly one year removed from his main roster debut, Lesnar was ready to solidify himself as "The Next Big Thing" by knocking off Angle for the WWE Championship.

One of the many reasons why I love this match was because it was essentially everything you could ask for in a pure wrestling match. Both guys had wrestling backgrounds and therefore it was no surprise they found such excellent chemistry with each other. Angle, ever the ultimate heel, turned the crowd against him in Seattle as they rallied behind the beast. Hold for hold, blow for blow, the two were very much equally matched.

Sadly, the match is remembered for Lesnar's botched Shooting Star Press, and boy, did it look ugly. You have to give it to him for attempting to have his "WrestleMania moment" and he did hit it successfully several times before in developmental, but according to Lesnar, it was someone else's (John Laurinaitis?) idea for him to go for it. At any rate, that backfired for Brock, who still managed to power through with an F5 on Angle to secure the win and the prestigious prize. Lesnar earned Angle's respect that historic evening, and they earned their spot on my list of my top 31 favorite WrestleMania matches.


SEE ALSO: "WrestleMania Recall, Match #30: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H, WrestleMania 30"
Comments

    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    Tribute To The Troops
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2021 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
    • WWE Reviews >
      • Raw Reviews
      • SmackDown Reviews
      • NXT Reviews
      • Other >
        • 205 Live Reviews
        • NXT UK Reviews
        • Main Event Reviews
        • Superstars Reviews
        • ECW Reviews
    • AEW Reviews >
      • Dynamite Reviews
      • Dark Reviews
      • AEW PPV Reviews
    • More >
      • IMPACT Reviews
      • ROH Reviews
      • NWA Reviews >
        • Shockwave Reviews
        • NWA PPV Reviews
      • LU Reviews
  • Week in Review
  • Audio
    • WrestleRant Radio
    • Interviews
    • Audio Archive
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • About
    • Contact Us