Wrestlemania XV Review

[Scott Fire]

The last Mania of the 90's...

Wrestlemania XV
March 28, 1999
20,276
First Union Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1) Opening featuring Boyz II Men
Score: 3/5
Comment: I love the Boyz II Men song "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday", but I was underwhelmed here by their performance and the opening video.

2) WWF Hardcore Championship - Triple Threat Match: Al Snow VS. Hardcore Holly VS. Billy Gunn (c)
Score: 3/5
Comment: I miss the Hardcore Championship, w/o the 24/7 rule anyways.

3) WWF Tag Team Championship Match: D-LO Brown & Test W/ Ivory VS. Jeff Jarrett & Owen Hart (c) W/ Debra
Score: 2/5
Comment: D-Lo and Test were determined to be partners by battle royal, not a great idea as far as Wrestlemania is concerned.

4) Bart Gunn Video/Judges For The Brawl For All Introductions
Score: 3/5
Comment: Heartbreaking to see Gorilla Monsoon w/ health deteriated, but uplifting to see the standing ovation for him. R.I.P. Gorilla.

5) Brawl For All Match W/ Special Referee Vinny Pazienza: Butterbean VS. Bart Gunn
Score: 1/5
Comment: Maybe they should have choreographed this and it might have been a little more entertaining.

6) Mankind Promo
Score: 2/5
Comment: I expect a lot, lot more from Mick Foley in his promos.

7) Big Show VS. Mankind
Score: 3/5
Comment: Props to Foley for taking the choke slam on the chairs, although that is nothing new for him.

8) WWF Intercontinental Championship - Four Corners Elimination Match: Road Dogg (c) VS. Val Venis VS. Goldust VS. Ken Shamrock
Score: 3/5
Comment: Ryan Shamrock was smokin'!

9) Kane/Pete Rose Pre-Match Segment
Score: 3/5
Comment: I would like to take this time to say I am in favor of Pete Rose going into the Baseball Hall Of Fame.

10) Kane VS. Triple H
Score: 3/5
Comment: Chyna's face was really scary at this point, obviously in admist a lot of plastic surgerys at this point.

11) Mr. McMahon Promo
Score: 3/5
Comment: This is the time where the Mr. McMahon character was really strong and in full swing.

12) WWF Women's Championship Match: Sable (c) VS. Tori
Score: 1/5
Comment: Yikes, it's Nicole Bass. The woman more manly then Chyna.

13) D-Generation X Promo
Score: 3/5
Comment: Not great by any means but, the fact that it was DX and that they didn't completely screw it up, earns it a 3.

14) Shane McMahon W/ Test VS. X-Pac
Score: 4/5
Comment: Not a technical classic by any means, but it was entertaining as all hell.

15) Undertaker/Big Bossman History Video
Score: 4/5
Comment: The Ministry Of Darkness Undertaker is my favorite version of Taker, and this video showed him doing some really cool evil things from that time.

16) Hell In A Cell Match: Big Bossman VS. The Undertaker W/ Paul Bearer
Score: 3/5
Comment: Obviously the worst Hell In A Cell Match of all time.

17) Wrestlemania Rage Party Recap Video/Shawn Michaels & Vince McMahon Pre-Match Segment
Score: 3/5
Comment: Debra & Sable both looked great in the Wrestlemania Rage Party recap!

18) WWF Championship - No DQ Match: The Rock VS. Steve Austin
Score: 5/5
Comment: My third dish of 'props' in this review goest to Austin for insisting that Jim Ross call this classic match.

19) Highlight Video
Score: 2/5
Comment: Seemed rushed too much and the music wasn't great.

20) Commentary
Score: 3/5
Comment: Michael Cole wasn't at his worst here, but he still incredibly annoyed me. JR should have called the whole thing, not just the main event.

21) Intangibles
Score: 3/5
Comment: The 2nd Wrestlemania appearance of Pete Rose and the first main event meeting between Rock & Austin earns it a 3.

Overall Score
61.9% (65/105)

Current Wrestlemania Rankings

1) Wrestlemani XIV
Score: 66.66% (60/90)

2) Wrestlemania III
Score: 62% (93/150)

3) Wrestlemania XV
Score: 61.9% (65/105

4) Wrestlemania VI
Score: 61.875% (99/160)

5) Wrestlemania XII
Score: 61.25% (49/80)

6) Wrestlemania 13
Score: 61.176% (53/85)

7) Wrestlemania X
Score: 60% (54/90)

8) Wrestlemania VIII
Score: 59.09% (65/110)

9) Wrestlemani VII
Score: 58.125% (93/160)

10) Wrestlemania IV
Score: 58.82%(100/170)

11) Wrestlemania 2
Score: 56.8% (71/125)

12) Wrestlemania 1
Score: 55% (66/120)

13) Wrestlemania V
Score: 54% (81/150)

14) Wrestlemania XI
Score: 49.473% (47/95)

15) Wrestlemania IX
Score: 47.058% (40/85)

[Shon Maxx]

Another great job as usual. I'm surprised the IC and HC matches scored so high. Of course, I'm basing my thoughts of them on the fact that I remember absolutely nothing about them.

Actually, the only two matches I remembered were UT/Bossman (I'll have to tie it with Brock/UT for worst HITC match) and Austin/Rock (Even though it was like the 15th time they had fought each other).

You're right; Cole should not be anywhere near a WM microphone.

Take care,

Jay

[Scott Fire]

Don't get me wrong, the HIC & IC matches were great but I only give out less then a 3 if the match is really hard to watch. If I was ranking the HIC match amongst the other HIC matches I would have given it a 1 or 2.

On a different note I'm suprised you didn't like the Taker/Brock HIC match. I loved it and would rank it in the top 5 HIC matches of all time. I thought it was very intense and serious, and holy crap did Taker bleed buckets. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. : - )

[WTIC]

Another great review, Scott! LOL @ the Nicole Bass comment!

Rock VS Austin = ALWAYS a classic!

Hey, Scott, WrestleMania 25 is out in the stores, I just picked it up Friday! Make sure you pick it up! Looking forward to your next review!

WTIC

[Shon Maxx]

May 8, 2009 21:53:17 GMT -5 Scott Fire said:

Don't get me wrong, the HIC & IC matches were great but I only give out less then a 3 if the match is really hard to watch. If I was ranking the HIC match amongst the other HIC matches I would have given it a 1 or 2.

On a different note I'm suprised you didn't like the Taker/Brock HIC match. I loved it and would rank it in the top 5 HIC matches of all time. I thought it was very intense and serious, and holy crap did Taker bleed buckets. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. : - )

I tried to get into it as I loved Brock's matches. But it just seemed to crawl...and didn't they spend a lot of time on the turnbuckle (It's been a while since I've seen that one).

And I agree with you on the ratings of those matches. I was just basing my opinions of those matches on the fact that I barely remember anything about them.

[Chris Ingersoll]

May 8, 2009 19:08:11 GMT -5 Shon Maxx said:

Another great job as usual. I'm surprised the IC and HC matches scored so high. Of course, I'm basing my thoughts of them on the fact that I remember absolutely nothing about them.

The only thing I remember about them is that Road Dogg was supposed to be the Hardcore Champion and Billy Gunn the IC champ. They switched titles on like the Raw IMMEDIATELY BEFORE Wrestlemania.

Fuckin Russo. Way to kill build-up.