WrestleMania XIX was presented by Snickers Cruncher and took place on 30 March 2003, at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. WrestleMania 19 was very special as this event marks a landmark change in WWE. This was the first WrestleMania under the WWE banner as the brand underwent a name change.
This also was the first event that is held in Washington state and the crowd count was close to 55,000. The event featured some very good matches and this was the first time WrestleMania had a match for the WWE and World Heavyweight Championship separately. With all this said, let us have a look at some of the best matches from WrestleMania 19-
Booker T vs Triple H
This is the first time the World Heavyweight Championship was defended at WrestleMania. The defending Champion, Triple H, competed against Booker T. Ric Flair stood by the Champ's side during the match ringside and helped Triple H gain the early advantage by attacking Booker's leg.
Triple H took the attack onto Booker's legs and applied various submission moves on the leg including the Indian deathlock. Booker, after taking all the beating came back strong by delivering a Harlem leg drop on the 'Game'. Just when Booker was feeling the pain in his injured leg and gasped, Triple H capitalised and delivered a Pedigree for the win. He successfully retained the title.
Hulk Hogan vs Vince McMahon
Hulk Hogan and the boss, Vince McMahon competed in a street fight singles match. In the Employer v. Employee bout, the stipulation was that if Hogan loses the match, he would be forced to retire from WWE while the boss had nothing to lose.
Vince tried to attack Hogan with a steel chair initially but the Hulkster countered the move and viciously attacked Vince and this resulted in the boss bleeding from the head. Roddy Piper came to the aid of Vince and hit Hogan with a Pipe. This still was not enough as the immortal one hulked up and delivered a big boot and leg drop for the win.
Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels
Inarguably the most physically draining match of the night was the classic bout between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. This was the longest match of the night that lasted for nearly 23 minutes and Michaels emerged victorious by the end of the night.
Michaels was locked in the walls twice by Jericho but on both occasions, Michaels successfully managed to break the hold. Jericho escaped a Sweet Chin Music attempt by Shawn and tried a suplex. HBK converted this into a roll up and managed to steal a victory.
After the match, Jericho offered a handshake to Michaels and both superstars hugged each other to congratulate themselves for their valiant effort and resilience. But Jericho hit Michaels with a low blow and betrayed him. All in all, the match was a blinder.
The Rock vs Stone Cold
The Rock and Stone Cold battled for the third time at WrestleMania. The only difference, this time, was the match was not for any Championship. As was the case with these guys always, The Rock delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to Austin and Stone Cold delivered a Rock Bottom of his own on The Rock.
Austin couldn't get a 3 count even after delivering a Stunner. The end neared as Rock powered up and delivered 3 consecutive Rock Bottoms and pinned Austin for the win. With this, the Rock gained a 2-1 lead against Austin at WrestleMania. The match lasted for 18 minutes.
Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle
The rivalry between Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle was one of the most entertaining bouts in the WWE. These two guys faced for the first time at WrestleMania at WM-19 in a match for the WWE Championship where Lesnar was the challenger. The match had a stipulation that title can change hands even after a DQ or a count out, taking the Champion's advantage away from Angle.
Brock delivered a few F5s in the match and Angle applied the Angle Lock but the match never ended as the superstars showed their strength and resilience. At the end, Brock attempted a Shooting Star Press on Angle but couldn't complete it successfully as he suffered a neck injury and concussion. Still, Angle couldn't get the count of 3 and Brock quickly rose up and delivered an F5 for the win and was crowned the new WWE Champion.
