WWF: Wrestlemania X8 VHS

This was the first chance I'd gotten to go to a Wrestlemania and it was a great experience. I will say that the event wasn't as good as 17 or 10, but was probably as good (or better) than 12, 3, 8 and 6. It was easily better than 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 16.The highpoints of the night were easily Hogan vs. Rock and Flair vs. Undertaker. Crowd was really hot for these two matches and most of us there lost our intensity after Hogan/Rock. HHH and Y2J tried, but they couldn't get us into their match. All I can say is the WWF should have put Hogan/Rock on last if they wanted a hot crowd the whole night.A few interesting notes from the live event -- the hardcore match(es) went over very well live, but I've heard they were flat on PPV. Stone Cold made an appearance in our section (200) during the Maven/Goldust portion of that match, so if you hear what? chants during the match that's why. Also there were two pretty loud chants directed at HHH during the main event, but I've yet to read of anyone picking these up from PPV.Here's my ratings for the night (in no particular order):Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm & Test vs. Rikishi, Albert & Scotty 2 Hotty -- * 1/2, highlight was Perfect using a towel to protect himself from the stinkface.RVD vs. William Regal for the Intercontinental Title -- *** Regal finally meshed well with a WWF wrestler and RVD's win got the official card started off well.Christian vs. DDP for the European Title -- *1/4, boring match that had any heat for it killed by the announcement of Christian residing in Tampa.Hardcore Title matches -- **1/4, harmless, amusing entertainment. Al Snow crashing his golf cart was pretty funny.Edge vs Booker T -- ** 1/2, expected a lot more from this match. Shockingly this was the only win for a Canadian.Jazz vs. Lita vs. Trish for the Women's Title -- * 3/4, Jazz's super fisherman buster gets this match a few extra points. I felt bad for these women having to follow Hogan/Rock.Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall -- *1/4, easily Stone Cold's worst PPV match in at least six years, and it wasn't his fault. Hall is a waste who drags opponents down several levels. It was smart of Austin to go home and stay from TV following this junk.Billy & Chuck vs. Hardy Boyz vs. Dudley Boyz vs. APA for the Tag Titles -- DUD, one of the worst matches on a Wrestlemania, probably since 12's Warrior/HHH match. Horrid stuff, figured Hardys and Dudleys could carry this, but everyone looked bored and it showed.Kurt Angle vs. Kane -- ***, Angle carried Kane once again to a solid match. Not Angle's best match, but look at the opponent.Ric Flair vs. Undertaker -- ****, really hot match. Taker sold for Flair unlike he's done for anyone else. Give Taker credit for that because selling isn't his strong suit. Flair worked extremely hard and put on quite a show for a guy that's wrestled only once before this year. Awesome spot with Arn Anderson nailing Taker with the spinebuster. Too bad Benoit didn't appear (though I did meet him on Friday at Axxess). Expected Taker's WM win streak to end, but the match was so good it was all right he won.Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock -- *****, easily Hogan's best match since 5 (Savage) or 6 (Warrior) and one of The Rock's best ever, which says something. The crowd was INCREDIBLE for this match, heck the cheering for both guys started while we were waiting outside. Unreal heat. Great script. Cool ending. Not the best Wrestlemania match (Bret vs. Austin or Savage vs. Steamboat take that honor), but easily the best match in the US thus far this year. Don't believe the haters out there saying the match was just okay, it ruled trust me and I really dislike Hogan.Jericho vs. HHH for the Undisputed World Title --- *** 1/4, Jericho got a strong reaction, but Stephanie ruined it for him. Not the blow away match most Mania main events are, but they had to follow Hogan/Rock, so they had a spent crowd against them. Hot ending sequence put the match over. Not many remained for HHH's celebration, though.This was really a two match card, but those two matches will be remembered for years. The rest of the card is an average PPV with some above average matches and 1 or 2 stinkers. An easy recommendation for Hogan/Rock alone.

This one was as close to a perfect DVD as one could get. It had a great card along with great extras! The extras are nice and even features a bonus match with Hulk Hogan Vs. The Ultimate Warrior from WrestleMania VI! But, it is ultimately the card itself that sells the DVD so let's get to it:Rob Van Damn Vs. William Regal(WWE Intercontinental Championship Match) - A good opener. Many thought that the clash of styles might be a problem but it worked out okay. Despite his critics, William Regal might be one of the better workers out there while RVD......well, he's RVD!Diamond Dallas Page Vs. Christian (WWE European Championship) - This match was better than expected! I thought it would be boring but the two put on a decent showing. This turned out to be DDP's last PPV bout due to a neck injury that he suffered about two weeks later or so. At least he fulfilled one of his dreams and that was to compete at WrestleMania.Maven Vs. Goldust (WWE Hardcore Championship) - This one was a bit boring but got interesting as the "24/7 rule" was reinstituted for this match. We saw Spike Dudley, Al Snow, The Hurricane, Christian and even Molly Holly get involved in this! It made for some good light comedy.Kane vs. Kurt Angle - This one was actually a good bout but a horribly botched ending due to Kurt Angle (a rarity for him since he's usually on point with his matches). A good bout nonetheless.Ric Flair vs. Undertaker - If not for Rock Vs. Hogan, THIS would've been the match of the night without a doubt! For two guys past their 40's (Flair is mid 50's), they did what guys half their age can't do! Only wished they could've got Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson for a real Horsemen run in but all in all, I can't complain. Great match!Edge vs. Booker T - Not a bad match. Had a couple of good spots.Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Scott Hall - Now, there is a slight controversy over this bout. Originally, Hall was supposed to win but Austin insisted on not jobbing and the nWo agreed. Some might complain and I am not a big Austin fan but how many times did the nWo get the job in the old WCW? Poetic Justice to me. Anyway, not a great match but watchable.Four-Team Elimination WWE Tag Team Championship - Unless you just like these teams, just skip this match!The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan - This match was the true main event of WrestleMania 18. I don't care what HHH says (though I do agree with him in principle that the WWE title should be the main event at WrestleMania, I think an exception should've been made here), THIS IS THE MAIN EVENT! The crowd was all into it. The biggest surprise was the crowd as they not only booed The Rock despite the fact he was a face and Hogan was the heel, they brought energy to the match! You'll love it just for the crowd reactions alone!Triple Threat WWE Women's Championship - I felt bad for Jazz, Lita and Trish Stratus as this was actually a good three way match! On another night, these women would've gotten the applause they deserved but coming after Hogan/Rock was an unenviable task. The crowd, while appreciative of the efforts, were emotionally drained.Triple H Vs. Y2J (Undisputed WWE Championship) - This one was decided before the two stepped into the ring. It wasn't exciting to begin with and coming behind Rock/Hogan, the crowd was just waiting for this match to be over with by this point. If you want to see a good HHH Vs. Jericho match, may I recommend renting or buying WWF Fully Loaded 2000 for the Last Man Standing match! That one was classic!All in all, a great DVD!

this was an awesome pay per view tbh. still didnt watch the championship match y2j vs hhh n hogan vs rock. what a thrill