WrestleMania XX Preview
Posted: 03/14/04

It’s Wrestlemania XX, the Showcase of the Immortals, and I guess now it’s also the Granddady of ‘Em All. It’s so big, we had to get the band back together and dust off the old PPV previews one last time. Of course, if I had known Scott Christ would be doing his own thorough version, I wouldn’t have bothered, but I already had most of this done by the end of Monday’s Raw, just waiting for Smackdown results for any last minute details (like, say, Brock Lesnar quitting). But it’s done, so someone may as well see it. Plus maybe Tanvir will talk about his penis a lot like he did that one time.

Caveat: I haven’t been very diligent in my viewing of WWE programming in the last few months, so if any details are inaccurate or flat out wrong, that’s why.

Wrestlemania XX
"Where It All Begins…Again"
March 14, 2004
Madison Square Garden, NY

Sable & Torrie Wilson vs. Stacy Kielber & Miss Jackie (Playboy Evening Gown Match)
Backstory: Sable and Torrie were chosen to pose for Playboy. This upset Stacy and Jackie. Vince made this match. There you go.

Joe sez: I don’t know. Let me flip a coin. OK, it was heads, that’s Sable and Torrie. I’m sure this will be short and offensive.

James: As long as this is short, I'm cool with it. The Playboy girls win the Playboy match, but since Kiebler and Jackie wind up half-naked, then that means they've shown the world why they deserved to be in Playboy. So they win too. And I win. We all win. 

TANVIR: This will be a classic match. Throw away those Flair vs. Steamboat compilation tapes you saved in your brother-in-law’s basement. Ignore all the hype over that feud between so-called “legend” Misawa and uh, Kobashi. This evening-gown match isn’t just about four women dueling it out to see who actually deserved to be on the cover of one of the most widely-read publications of the world, oh no. It’s about four women fighting to claim the title as the best bitches in the business. Dean Malenko, eat your heart out – these whores will work circles around your candy ass. Kiebler and Jackie shall go over. Why? Because they’re hungry technicians with the obvious edge in two of the key elements needed in this ultra-crucial battle – tits (Jackie) and ass (Kiebler). 

Scott: I think this will not have a decision. I think they'll all prance about and do the fake lesbian stuff after a few minutes of catfight-type crap. The problem with fake lesbian stuff is that straight women are really bad at pretending to be lesbians, and, as far as I know, all of these women are straight. Boo, Sable, you get out of here, with your boyfriend!

thecubsfan: I guess Sable and Torrie wins, but everyone's gonna end up (nearly) naked by the end of the match anyway, so I doubt it matters.

Albert Matt Hardys: Damn, I love you guys. Before I get into anything, I just want to say how great it is to be back here on thecubsfan.com! (cheap pop). Now, I'm not out here to cut a bullshit babyface promo, but the readers of thecubsfan.com are truly the best on the internet! Oh yeah, this match. Sounds H-O-T. Piping hot. Sable and Torrie are going to win, although I find it funny that these four are on Wrestlemania at all, and not because they're filthy whores, but because what have any of these broads been doing the last few months? Miss Jackie has a lot of responsibilties as Rico's manager, sure, but Stacy Keibler hasn't done a goddamn thing since Mick Foley freed her. Torrie Wilson hasn't had any meaningul time on Smackdown since Billy Gunn went down with an injury, what, six months ago? Sable is even worse, the last major angle she was a part of was the whole Mr. America thing!! Boo this match. 

Chavo Guerrero [c] vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri vs. Jaime Noble vs. Billy Kidman vs. Ultimo Dragon vs. Sho Funaki vs. Nunzio vs. Shannon Moore vs. Akio (Open Cruiserweight Elimination Match)

Backstory: Chavo, with a little help from his dad, beat Rey to win the strap at No Way Out. Rey was involved in a Fatal Four Way with Nunzio, Kidman, and Noble on the 2/26 Smackdown to see who would earn a title shot at Mania, but Paul Heyman stopped the match due to fear of litigation (there was no Japanese involvement in the match, you see) and made this match instead. There was a big brawl with all the participants on Smackdown, which saw Rey as the last man standing.

Joe sez: How will this work? Have they bothered to explain it? I’m guessing it’s a battle royal with pinfalls. Anyway, it’ll either be Rey or Chavo winning, and I’m sensing a long run with the belt for Chavo, so he wins. There’s a lot of talent here, so this could rule, or it might end up being a huge cluster. Sucks to be Paul London, though.

James: This is going to be a whole lot of excessively quick pinfalls and it will be a big disappointment. Ultimo Dragon lives out his dream; not only will he wrestle at Wrestlemania in Madison Square Garden, but he'll pin Yun Yang before getting kicked and pinned by Tajiri. Eventually it will come down to Rey and Chavo. Chavo retains. 

TANVIR: THIS IS A SHENANIGAN. Chavo Sr. cracks me up. Easily the best second in the business and if he doesn’t win the title at this year’s RSPW awards, then CRZ is obviously rigging the ballots. And no, that doesn’t suit well with me because I believe in democracy and good-will, yessir. Chavo Jr. has *really* stepped his performance up in the last couple months, ringwise and on the mic, as you can really hear those “Chavo Sucks!” chants. I think he’s been terrific. Rey Jr. has been built as the guy who deserves the belt as he was screwed over at No Way Out by Sr.’s interference. So obviously, Rey gets to claim the belt at the biggest show of the year. I can definitely see Shannon Moore taking a ridiculous bump – much the same way Taka did back at um, that Royal Rumble a million years ago. 

Scott: Cubs tried to explain this match to me in very simple terms and I still don't understand it. But I'm sure it'll be entertaining, at the least. I'm going to go with Chavo retaining *or* Ultimo Dragon winning (I've changed my mind on them doing something with him, though it more makes me  stupid than means they will).

thecubsfan: See, it's an elimination match with two (randomly! because there's not an even amount of faces and heels here unless Shannon switches back for an evening) teams, but somehow ends up one on one to end it anyway. At even twelve minutes, this could be a really good match and a chance to get someone over knew via multiple eliminations, but it's more likely to be rushed to eight minutes with few good spots for the end of show video package but not a total good match. The more people in a match, the more likely the champion retains.

Albert Billy Gunns: It warms my heart to see four different Asians on the Wrestlemania card, even if it is in the same match. I think it would be cool if this match had some real surprising winner, like anyone besides Chavo or Rey. It would be cool if it was Ultimo Dragon, since I feel so bad for the guy. That being said, let's go with Chavito. I'm sure this match will be a fun spotfest, like a couple months before WCW went under and they had so many cruiserweight matches. 

Backstory: Victoria pinned Molly about a thousand times in the past few months, and finally unseated her for the Women’s Title on the 2/23 Raw. Molly was pinned again the next week on Raw, flipped out and started pulling Victoria’s hair out post-match. Molly demanded a rematch, and Stone Cold agreed, but decided Molly would have to put her hair on the line as well.

Joe sez: I don’t see Molly losing her hair after a two-week buildup, although I wouldn’t rule it out. These two are quite familiar with each other so the match will be fine, especially if Victoria wears the shorts that show off her ass.

James: Molly loses a short match to debut a militant butch feminist gimmick. 

TANVIR: Molly is a fiiiiine woman. Like really, her body is terrific and I’m all about tha ghetto booty, nawm’sayin? Also, she’s got a great heel personality, which is even better since she’s apparently psycho these days. And she works a credible style in the ring – nothing too preposterous other than her “Molly Go Round” vaginal thrust. Yes, I did say vaginal thrust. Victoria is fantastic both physically and work-wise. In that women’s four-way a couple weeks ago, I was really impressed with her funky wristlockery. She’s one of the best female wrestlers in the company and that’s amazing considering she’s been working with an ACL for who knows how long. As for the match, Molly might want a haircut. And if she doesn’t lose, I bet Victoria trims some of her hair off anyway. So hmm, Victoria wins. 

Scott: I agree with Joe about Victoria's ass. I think Molly will win in cheap fashion.

thecubsfan: If Molly hadn't lost a hundred matches leading into this one, I might be able to buy a loss here. She has so she'll finally win one. But with this idea planted in the writers head, this one be the last time this year we hear this stip for a women's match.

Albert A-Trains: Some people think that Molly has to lose because they added that stip, but it's not like Kane set himself on fire after KOTR '98 (thank you, Jim Smith!). I imagine Molly will win in some sort of cheap way, and then Stevie Richards will make the save, and then Test will come out and give the big boot to Stevie, and then Sherrif Stone Cold will come out on his ATV, and be like, there's only one way we can really settle this one...a mixed tag team match!!! But I guess that's wishful thinking more than anything else. 

Chris Jericho vs. Christian

Backstory: Wow, how long has this story been going on for? It all started with Jericho being all gentlemanly around Trish, and Christian acting the same around Lita. Was love in the air? No, it turns out that the Canadians had a bet to see who could score first. The ladies were less than impressed when they found out, and an intergender tag match was booked for Armageddon. Vitamin C won that match, but it seemed Jericho was starting to develop real feelings for Trish, a theory that was developed when he stopped a rematch the next night on Raw so Trish would not get hurt. Christian was less than impressed with his buddy’s softer side, so he used all his wiles to keep the two apart. While Y2J was out with a knee injury, Christian was booked in a match with Trish, and rather than laying down for her, he leveled her with a clothesline and made her tap to the walls of Jericho. What a dick. Jericho was pissed, even more so when Christian cost him a match to Steven Richards on the past Raw. To quote the Wrestlemania web page, "Christian is not a friend worth having."

Joe Sez: Jericho wins and hooks up with Trish. I suppose they could do a swerve and have Trish turn heel, but that would suck. I like both guys so the match will be fine, but it doesn’t really feel like a Wrestlemania match to me.

James: I really wanted Jericho & Christian against Booker and RVD. Oh well. I figure Christian steals a win somehow to keep the issue going, but Jericho gives Trish muchas smootches after the match for the big pop. 

TANVIR: This angle can finally end with Jericho winning and FINALLY getting to bang Trish Stratus. Christian should go to Hell for being the biggest cockblocking son-of-a-bitch in the world. 

Scott: I now have the feeling that it was *Lita* that drove the car. I'm not going to *check a Raw recap* to *make sure that was possible* or anything like that, it's just a *total feeling I have*. So I think *Lita* will turn heel after Trish interference fails by attacking Jericho, so it's like, oh man, Trish couldn't save Jericho (who has a bum wheel, mind you), BUT HERE COMES LITA. And she'll hit Jericho in the balls or whatever. That's not going to happen, of course. But I'll pretend I really think it will and that Christian will win.

thecubsfan: This may be Christian's last great chance to establish himself as a singles guy worth pushing - he's running out of friends to team, then feud with. I hope it works out for him, but it won't be happening in a win for him.

Albert Tests: Chris Jericho is my favorite wrestler, everyone knows that. But as such, I expect a lot from him. So when he was a heel and he sucked (like during his Stephanie lapdog era), I was like, WTF, he should be a face, that's when he was really cool. Then I started to remember that when he was a face, he often was quite lame (the whole making fun of Stephanie in every promo thing). So just when I really started to get into his heel act (the Trish/Lita thing being a bet was gold!), he has to turn face again!! There are other problems I have with this match. It would have been better if it could have gone longer with Christian trying to get in Trish's pants, and like Jericho would have been even more of a face if she chose Christian over him, right? Either way, they "pulled the trigger" on this one too soon, but Jericho will win this one. Why doesn't he get to promo anymore? (thanks, Matt F.!) 

Backstory: Booker and RVD beat Ric Flair and Bautista for the titles on the 2/16 Raw. They defeated La Resistance a week later, but Rob Conway was not the legal man when he was pinned, so they get this quasi-rematch. Cade and Jindrak beat the Hurricane and Rosie on the 3/1 Raw to get into the match, and the Dudleys beat Lance Storm & Val Venis on the most recent Heat to do the same. Jindrak pinned Booker in a tag match on Raw involving these eight men.

Joe sez: Wow, who cares? You’ve got Booker & RVD (thrown together), La Resitance (floundering), the Dudleys (stale), and Jindrak & Cade (dull). Plus these matches are always a cluster. Bleh. Since they lost on Raw, Booker and RVD retain, although I wouldn’t rule out Jindrak and Cade winning to make this a complete debacle.

James: Is this elimination or first-fall rules? And who cares? Booker and RVD retain. 

TANVIR: I wouldn’t call Jindrak and Cade dull as much that the fans really don’t know who the Hell they are and they’ve pretty much been relegated to Heat-duty for months upon months. I’m gonna give Cade the benefit of the doubt since he’s a Michaels trainee. This will be kinda stale but if they just do a buncha spots and keep it short, this might not seem so bad, ya know? Booker and RVD need to win in order to salvage this and keep the night going on a upswing.

Scott: I was thinking Booker & RVD were a sure-fire retain and a good way to open the show on a cheerful note, but with the Lesnar situation and Smackdown possibly needing one or both of them, I'm not so sure now. I assume it won't be right away, anyway, so I'll still say the retain. If not, the belts are going to the Dudleys via it being in NYC, probably for a short reign to drop to Jindrak/Cade. 

thecubsfan: They said one fall for either this one or the other one on Velocity. Scott's right - it's NYC, so it's the Dudleyz belts. 

Albert Rhynos: Jindrak and Cade being on the card really gets my goat. Sure they're young...er than some people, but they also blow hard and blow often. In fact, they manage to define the laws of physics and they suck and blow at the same time. Rosey and the Hurricane are more over, and Val and Lance are better. But whatever, Booker and RVD retain. They should do a promo as a team or something. I can't believe I keep agreeing with you, Joealicious. 

Backstory: Rikishi and Scotty won the belts from the Bashams on 2/4, and then retained them against that same team and Shaniqua in a handicap match at Now Way Out. TSPWGTT beat the APA at the same show. Benjamin & Haas made fun on the APA on the 3/4 Smackdown, leading to a big brawl with all four teams, and consequently, this match.

Joe sez: Yes, two four ways for tag belts. I don’t hate any team here, but the SPWGTT are the only team I like, so I’ll go with them.

James: Is this elimination or first-fall rules? And who cares? Haas and Benjamin take it. 

TANVIR: I strongly suspect either this four-way or the previous to be the show’s opener. Regardless, this could be a whole lot more fun as the crowd digs the face teams quite a bit and WGTT have gotten over as heels pretty well. Hopefully, this doesn’t go too long, but hmm, we’ll see but I’ll say WGTT. 

Scott: If anyone but Haas & Benjamin win this match - and in particular, if the APA win this match - then...well, I don't know what, I'm just saying I think that Haas & Benjamin should win and there's no other choice. They should be rewarded for their hard work and great abilities.

thecubsfan: WGTT should win, but they should have won a long ago if they just went to the best team. Since they lost on SmackDown, obviously the Bashams are the most deserving to win.

Albert Litas: I'm going to agree with you again and go with Hass and Benjamin, and say that they help Angle later on it the show, as well, beefing up their profile in the now-depleted Smackdown heel ranks. 

Backstory: These two have had issues forever, I think back to when Cena pinned Show in Iraq on the Christmas edition of Smackdown. Show bounced Cena from both the Royal Rumble and the subsequent Smackdown Rumble (although Cena came back to help eliminate Show in the latter). They met again in the three-way match for the #1 contender’s slot at No Way Out, which Kurt Angle won when he made Cena tap. Cena rapped a challenge to Show for the belt on the 2/19 Smackdown. They met in a tag match on the 2/26 Smackdown, although neither was involved in the finish. The two brawled after a Big Show match on the most recent Smackdown, with Cena coming out on top.

Joe sez: Cena wins, since he’s on the rise and Show really doesn’t need the title. Won’t be a classic, but I like Show and Cena’s all right, so the match will be OK.

James: Before the match, Cena will rap and it will include poop jokes and it won't be very good. Cena wins the title, people cheer. 

TANVIR: Cena wins for the hiphop nation. Word life. Big Show has been having entertaining matches for a while now. I love that guy more than ever. Cena really needs the win to show the casual fans that yes, he is the future of this company. 

Scott: I have a feeling this could be kind of a sleeper match. Not in terms of being great, because well, they aren't going to have a great match, but just in that it could be really fun and if Cena wins, a memorable pop, because outside of Eddie Guerrero, no babyface on either program is hotter than Cena. Which, in my opinion, kind of sucks since I think he's bad, but I am not without the ability to see that there is always a place in the world, and it's at or near the top, for guys with a great natural charisma. Plus he seems to work hard at getting better, and hell, Rock wasn't very good when he first got hot either. Anyway, Cena wins, Big Show impresses again by bumping his enormous ass off for Cena's crappy offense.

thecubsfan: This match is all about Cena lifting up Show for the FU, so I hope his knee is doing okay. He's gotta win the title here, if only so future Tale of Tapes will have something more to say than "Ph.D. in Thuganomics."

Albert Orlando Jordans: They definitely had an issue even before the Christmas Smackdown, I think. This is Cena's match to win! Speaking of Orlando Jordan, he should be on this card since he is the WWE's future, probably in a match with Matt Morgan. I'll predict that non-existent match - Orlando Jordan wins! 

Backstory: Kane interfered in the Taker/Vince Buried Alive Match on Survivor Series, allowing Vince to win and Undertaker to get killed, I guess. Things were fine and dandy until Royal Rumble, where Kane was distracted by his brother’s dong and was eliminated. The bong would return numerous times on Raw, often accompanied by a scary video and some very localized showers. Kane started spazzing out and Vince made this match. Kane, however, continued to be harassed by burning symbols, a coffin, and best of all, a levitating ring.

Joe sez: This could be okay if they kept it short (short = less than ten minutes) but I know we won’t be that lucky. At least Zombie Taker is good for some nostalgia. As for who wins, c’mon, it’s Undertaker at Wrestlemania in a big comeback match with a new/old gimmick. You can do the math.

James: I'm gonna call for the big swerve - Taker comes to the ring with Paul Bearer, Bearer screws over Taker, Kane wins and ends UT's Wrestlemania streak. 

TANVIR: I’ll be at Madison Square Garden and his entrance will be probably one of the three highlights I’ll have there. Taker will always win at Wrestlemania. He’ll probably be beating whoever the new hot face is in 2015 with a second-rope walk. 

Scott: Undertaker bong etc. etc. I've really kind of had it with this idea and it hasn't even come to pass yet. Maybe I'll change my tune again if the nostalgia kicks in (and it will, and I will), but the shelf-life issues are going to be ... an issue.

thecubsfan: Undertaker. I wonder if it'll take three Tombstones this time.

Albert Hardcore Hollys: I don't want to see the zombie Undertaker at all! I liked him as a white trash biker dude, patrolling his yard. But yeah, he's going to win, and I bet it will be fast, deliving swift justice to his evil brother Kane, striking down upon thee with great vengeance and a furious anger, attempting to poison and destroy his brother. 

Backstory: Mick Foley and Randy Orton hate each other, but I forget why. I think because Randy threw Mick down a flight of stairs. Anyway, the two were scheduled to have a match on the 12/15 Raw, but Mick shocked the world by walking away from match, even though he was called a coward and spat on. Mick made a triumphant return at the Royal Rumble (triumphant in the sense that he came back and eliminated Randy Orton, plus he saved us from having to watch Test wrestle). Mick explained the next night that he didn’t want to turn into a bitter old wrestler, but changed his mind (or something). Unfortunately, Evolution beat the Pop Tarts out of Mick for the next few weeks, leaving Mick no choice but to call some backup in the form of…The Great One. Sadly, Rock and Sock were left lying yet again at the end of this week’s Raw.

Joe sez: Seems like the goal is to put Randy Orton over big time, but having Foley and Rock lose would be a downer. I say Rock pins Flair, then afterwards Randy does something truly heinous to Mick. Crowd will be jacked for this one is nothing else.

James: This has to be a clean win for Rock & Sock. Flair takes the fall. Afterwards, he gets punked out by Batista and Orton. 

TANVIR: Foley wins! Rock wins! WHO CARES. 

Scott: I still have the feeling this will be a bad match as far as quality of wrestling goes, but there's no way it won't be super hot unless something goes horribly wrong, and to be honest, I don't care how long Mick Foley and The Rock have been out, they aren't going to be shitty. They might stink, they might not be what they were, they might be sloppy, but whatever. It'll take more than sloppiness to kill the crowd for this, which will carry it through. Orton pins Foley, which I think is the right thing to do here. Have Batista really do some damage in the match too, because if he's going to be around, at least push him right and give him a fair shot.

thecubsfan: Orton or Batista have to win this one, because that's the only way this makes sense. I'm gonna go out on a limp and guess that they've talked Foley into extended this to the next PPV, where Orton gets the singles match - so Orton pins the Rock here.

Albert Jazzes: I actually think it's much more likely that Orton will eke out a pin on Rock or Sock and then afterwards it's Socko, Socko, Socko, Rock Bottom, Spine on the Pine, People's Elbow, celebration time. So that's what I'll choose. I wonder how much Mick can actually do in a match, seeing as how he was pretty much immobile (although still having great matches) at the time he retired, and now it's many years later. We'll see! 

Backstory: Brock and Bill had a rather tense encounter at Survivor Series, then again at the Royal Rumble when Goldberg punk’d out Brock by pretending Hardcore Holly was right behind him. Brock got pissy and gave Goldberg an F5 in the Rumble, causing him to get eliminated. Austin gave Bill a front row ticket for No Way Out, where he hopped the rail and gave Brock the Jackhammer, then interfered again and cost Brock the WWE title. Brock broke down on the next Smackdown and demanded a match, which got signed, with Austin as the special ref. Goldberg speared Austin by mistake, then left to shoot a movie. Brock was unimpressed with Austin’s antics, so he gave him an F5 and stole his ATV. Austin showed up on this past Smackdown, and the two brawled all over ringside. Oh, and Goldberg grew a beard somewhere in there.

Joe Sez: This seemed like a slam-dunk pick until Brock supposedly quit the WWE. I guess Austin could just run them both over on his ATV, or Hulk Hogan could stack them up and drop one big atomic leg. But I think the WWE will talk Brock back into the company and he’ll pick up the win here. Assuming all goes well, this should be a pretty awesome power match.

James: Hmm. Well, it makes no sense to put Brock over if he's leaving. But it makes no sense to put Goldberg over if he's leaving. And it makes no sense to put Austin over two guys if he can't wrestle. And it makes no sense to have the long-awaited first-ever Brock/Goldberg match end in a double DQ, since people will want a finish - and besides, there's no rematch to build to. Brock wins, I guess. Maybe he'll stay around two more days to put someone over big on Smackdown? 

TANVIR: Austin beats the holy hell out of both these loons. No contest! 

Scott: I don't know what I expect here, besides expecting Brock to be back by the end of the year or next year's Wrestlemania at the latest, and I think they do too, so the good idea is to have Brock go over still. He potentially means a lot more in the future than Goldberg does. I think we can chalk Goldberg's one-year run in WWE up to "spirited failure," though not really his fault at all. Did anyone expect him to be able to be GOLDBERG while also having to occasionally portray a normal human wrestler? I wouldn't think so. Austin will stunner them both for messing with (the) Texas (Rattlesnake), and then I think he'll get Heyman too. And drink a lot of beers.

thecubsfan: Brock gets the win, while JR makes very vague references to this situation. Maybe they can convince Brock to stick around two more days to do the goodbye job on TV, because it doesn't make sense doing it here; while I believe Brock will be back, I don't know that Golbderg is going to be at an age where it'll be worthwhile to have him around by the time he changes his mind again.

Albert Hurricanes: I really think Goldberg will be back in WWE sooner rather than later, because Vince will get desperate, and Goldberg has nothing better to do (thanks, Justin Shapiro!). So I'm going to pick Goldberg here, although not being on TV didn't help his chances. I think it's dumb that they're trying to push Stone Cold as equally mad at both guys, when Brock Lesnar, like, did all that stuff, and Goldberg just speared him and it was obviously an accident. Like, obviously. I'm not sure how good this match will be, I can't see a big wussy girl like Goldberg taking too many of Brock's suplexes. 

Backstory: Eddie made a comeback from a sneak attack backstage and won the Smackdown Rumble to earn a title shot at No Way Out when he eliminated Kurt, and went on to win the belt from Brock. Kurt rebounded by winning the #1 Contender’s slot in a three way at No Way Out. Everything seemed great until Eddie turned heel while reffing a Chavo/Eddie match at the next Smackdown. Seems Kurt doesn’t think someone the character of Eddie should be holding the WWE title. Eddie has been humiliated in recent weeks, first finding himself arrested and beaten down by Kurt. No physical contact on Smackdown, just a tense stare down after Eddie beat Shelton Benjamin.

Joe Sez: No way this issue ends at Mania, so Eddie retains. I will be stunned if this isn’t the match of the night and one of the better matches we’ll see this year.

James: Angle dominates, Eddie wins. Feud continues. 

TANVIR: Easily the match of the night. Hopefully, this’ll be better than the awesome Lesnar/Eddie match from No Way Out. Eddie keeps the title and moves on to lie, cheat and steal for months to come. 

Scott: It's going to be one of the absolute best matches in Wrestlemania history and possibly overall company history. Angle seems charged up for the match and Eddie Guerrero may end up being the unlikely savior of the promotion. Both of them can work for four when they're on, and Angle is indeed a big-match performer. I'm really glad Eddie Guerrero is getting this chance to shine, and I'd just like to mention that it truly, honestly warms my heart. Eddie should retain here, Kurt can snap further and they can continue the feud. Too bad they wasted an iron man match on Angle and Lesnar on network television last year or they could have pulled that out here for Judgment Day.

thecubsfan: Eddie wins, but he does it cheating some way that sets up the stip for the next match. 

Albert Paul Londons: This feud is going to go on for a little longer, so yeah, let's go with Eddie. Should be a good one! 

Backstory: Chris Benoit won this year’s Royal Rumble, and since he was never getting another shot at Brock Lesnar, he made the jump to Raw to challenge Triple H. HBK had issues of his own with the champ, having two consecutive draws with the champ, the first on the 12/29 edition of Raw and the other at the Rumble. He was less than pleased at being phased out of the title picture, so he superkicked Benoit and signed his name to the Mania contract. It was ultimately decided that this would be a Triple Threat match. HBK beat Benoit one-on-one on the 2/23 Raw, and then teamed with him the next week against Evolution, losing after the inevitable communication problems. HHH has been lying low, opting to attack both men after their matches.

Joe sez: If the Smackdown title isn’t changing hands, I’d bet the Raw one is. Benoit finally gets his due, pinning HBK to win and having a match with Hunter next month. A singles match (or two) would have been preferable, but what we got isn’t so bad.

James: HHH retains. He'll drop the title to Benoit at Backlash in Edmonton, after another month of Benoit getting punked out and kicked in the head and looking like a little bitch. HHH regains over Benoit at SummerSlam.

TANVIR: Horrendous buildup for a match that shouldn’t have been so hard to book. Really. HHH has made a wonderful career out of not wrestling between PPV’s, it’s tremendous. Fuck the booking. Benoit has basically gotten raped the whole time they’ve supposedly been building this card. Man, whatever, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this be a good match and maybe HHH dies or something. The only way to salvage this for me is if Benoit wins this match and CLEANLY PLEASE. 

Scott: I don't like this match as it is (I really just wanted HHH-Benoit, that's all), and if Shawn Michaels wins I will hate this match no matter what they do or how good it is. If it's great, and Shawn Michaels wins, I'll say, wow, what a great match, I hated it. I'd rather HHH close the show retaining than have Michaels win. F Shawn Michaels. Seriously. Benoit should win here but their own shitty booking may give them the excuse to not put him over. And honestly, how could you blame them? He isn't over. (Well, you could blame them, since it's THEIR fault.)

thecubsfan: After this build, I don't think it's worth giving Benoit the title at this point. Better to have him win in a more direct feud. HBK will probably have Triple H finished, Benoit will interrupt, Benoit will have HBK finished, and Triple H will vulture the pin. They're certainly not afraid of giving Triple H retaining the title as heel to end the show.

Albert Johnny "The Bull" Stombolis: Benoit Benoit Benoit! HBK is just there because, y'know, he's there. Triple H, come on, that joke isn't funny anymore. Benoit's the logical choice, and we all want him to win, but come on. Having is not such a pleasing thing as wanting, it is illogical but often true. This is the match I'm the least sure about. I just definitely don't think ol' HBK is going to win. 

Joe wraps it up: I think the problem with this Wrestlemania is all the "irregular" matches. You’ve got a handicap match, a Triple Threat, two Fatal Four Ways, and a battle royal. Mania should be straight up singles and tag matches, even if some people get left off the card. But there are some interesting matches, and some long simmering angles to blow off. I’d guess this will be in the middle of all Wrestlemanias, but should be an enjoyable show.

TANVIR: I’m gonna be at this show expecting a lot. I paid a ton of money for my seats and if I don’t get my money’s worth than I hope that someone out there molests Stephanie’s first-born. YEAH. I’m in a cranky mood since I’ve lost some money playing poker today. And I typed a buncha stuff out for this but it all got lost. ARRGH. 

Scott's summarized thoughts on the potential of Wrestlemania XX: I think, honestly, if everything lives up to its potential, this will give X-Seven a strong run for best Wrestlemania ever. But it's hard to ignore that just last year, XIX was a very good show with a lot of great wrestling, in particular the second half besides Hogan/McMahon, where you had Jericho/Michaels, HHH/Booker, Austin/Rock and Angle/Lesnar, and not a half-bad tag three-way before those. But when you think off the top of your head, was Wrestlemania XIX super memorable? That's debatable and depends on who you are, I guess. XX has to be more than that. I expect this to rank among the better Wrestlemanias ever, but I also would not be shocked if the show is a huge disappointment.

thecubsfan: I don't think this is going to be one of the more emotionally memorable WrestleManias - the two title matches aren't the conclusions of long term stuff, and most of the stuff that has been built for a while are secondary issues on the undercard. I do think that it has a chance to be one that people will look back on the matches fondly - there's no grounds set up for wild interference and unsatisfying gimmick endings around the card. Should be a lot of clean or near clean finishes.

Albert Chuck Palumbos it up: You know, whatever. I'm not going to rank this among all the other Wrestlemanias because I haven't seen most of them. I'm not going to say whether or not this did a good job of creating new stars, because, y'know. But it should be a pretty good show. Especially if they sneak in that mixed tag team match.

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