March 17th, 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada
Venue: Skydome
Attendance: 68,237
Theme songs: "Superstar" by Saliva; "Tear Away" by Drowning Pool
If there was one day I couldn't wait for when I started reviewing every WrestleMania, it's this one. It's the show that hooked me to the WWF and the first WrestleMania I ever saw.
We've reached day 18, and this is my favorite WrestleMania in history.
Our journey takes us back to the Skydome in my hometown of Toronto, Canada. It would be the second and last time WrestleMania was outside the United States (at the time of this writing). Skydome also hosted WrestleMania 6 back in 1990.
One thing I didn't mention back at WrestleMania 6 is anytime I'm back at the stadium for baseball games, I always end up asking myself, "How the heck did WrestleMania 6 and 18 fit in here?" or "How big was that stage in 2002?"
In 1990, the entrance was set up by home plate with a WWF logo. Twelve years later, a giant structure would be set up at center field with the jumbotron and a long ramp/aisle to get to the ring.
With this held in Canada, "America the Beautiful" wasn't sung to open WrestleMania 18. But unlike in 1990, "O Canada" wasn't sung either. Instead, Saliva was tasked to open the show and perform the theme song for WrestleMania 18, "Superstar." The giant screen showed the build-up to every match on the card as they sang. In my opinion, this is the best musical performance in WrestleMania history.
I haven't been mentioning within the last few WrestleManias that they'll present a video package showing many different memories of the grand spectacle. If you're watching each Mania in order, you begin appreciating what the company has been through and its growth.
Below is the video that showed before the opening pyro went off. Oddly enough, it gets you a bit emotional (or that may be just me).
Alright, that's enough about the intro. We are moving forward with the show.
While there were 11 matches scheduled for the show, in reality, there were (unofficially) 15. This was all thanks to the Hardcore Championship. Maven (entered as champion) and Goldust went head-to-head for the title. But thanks to the "24/7" rule, Spike Dudley came running in with his own referee and pinned Maven to win the title.
That's when things got weird. In the backstage area, Spike was ambushed by The Hurricane to win the title. Later in the evening, Hurricane's sidekick, Molly Holly, hit him with a frying pan to claim the Hardcore title herself.
It didn't stop there as Christian hit her with a door when she was running away and pinned her to become champion. As Christian tried to leave with a taxi, Maven came from behind to roll him up for the pin. Maven stole the taxi and reclaimed his Hardcore Championship. Isn't the WWF so great?
Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) had a bit of a homecoming in Toronto. While he was making his WrestleMania debut as an in-ring performer, it wasn't his first WrestleMania appearance.
At WrestleMania 6, he was the pink Cadillac driver, which brought the Honky Tonk Man and his band "Rhythm and Blues" down to the ring to perform their new song "Hunka Hunka Honky Love." DDP would retain his European Championship against Toronto's own Christian.
Other title matches included Rob Van Dam (also making his WrestleMania debut) defeating William Regal for the Intercontinental Championship and Jazz retaining her Women's Championship against Lita and another Toronto native, Trish Stratus.
At WrestleMania 6, a young Edge (along with Christian) sat in the 6th row to watch his idol Hulk Hogan compete against the Ultimate Warrior. Twelve years later, he walked down the aisle to the ring to take on Booker T, something I'm sure he never thought would happen. He would take the win as he soaked in the crowd who roared for the hometown boy.
Finally, The Undertaker made things very personal with Ric Flair. When Flair interfered in 'Taker's match against The Rock and cost him a win at the No Way Out pay-per-view a month earlier, Undertaker asked him for a fight in Toronto.
Despite Flair rejecting the offer, Undertaker assaulted his best friend Arn Anderson and his son David to get his attention. Flair said yes, and a "No Disqualification" match was set at WrestleMania.
It would be Flair's first WrestleMania since 1992, who put on one heck of a fight against the deadman. Unfortunately, The Undertaker would have the last laugh and pick up yet another win at WrestleMania. His undefeated streak grew to 10-0 and had no end in sight.
It's time to look at the three things that stood out from WrestleMania 18.
The poison has arrived
My first point dates back to July 7th, 1996, at WCW's Bash at the Beach. Scott Hall (AKA Razor Ramon in WWF) and Kevin Nash (AKA Diesel in WWF) were a tag team called "The Outsiders," who stated they had a third member partnered with them for a six-man tag team match.
That third man would end up being Hulk Hogan, turning him heel for the first time in his career, shocking everybody in the wrestling world. They would be known as the New World Order (or NWO) and raise hell in WCW.
Eventually, the NWO faded, and WCW would fold in 2001. The trio would take a break from professional wrestling until they received a call from an old employer.
Vince McMahon brought Hogan, Nash, and Hall back to continue the NWO in the WWF. They returned at the No Way Out pay-per-view in February 2002, which McMahon and Jim Ross referenced as "The Poison."
The NWO interfered and cost Austin the title in the WWF Championship match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and Chris Jericho. Hall would give Austin a stunner and spray-paint "NWO" on his back.
Of course, Austin would be pissed off, and rightfully so. Hall and Austin began to feud, which culminated at WrestleMania.
As the big day had arrived, Hall would be making his first WrestleMania appearance since 1995. He would be accompanied by Nash, appearing for the first time since 1996.
The two would go back and forth, and things would pick up when Nash attacked referee Tim White to give Hall leverage. When referee Jack Doan slid in, Nash elbow-dropped him to continue assisting Hall.
As a group of referees came to take out Nash, Stone Cold would give Hall the stunner of a lifetime, sending him flying to pick up the win.
Even though two-thirds of the NWO would lose, it was great to see two big names from the 90s back with the company that escalated their careers. The third NWO member would compete later in the night without realizing how badly Toronto wanted to see him.
Not the right main event
In May 2001, Triple H's career was at serious risk when he tore his left quad muscle, putting him on the shelf for eight months. After a grueling recovery, he would return to a thunderous ovation at Madison Square Garden in January 2002 on an episode of Raw. He announced that he would be entering the Royal Rumble match.
Sure enough, Triple H would win it and be granted that main event championship match at WrestleMania.
During his recovery, Chris Jericho would rise to the top. He would win the WWF Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship in a triple-threat match against Stone Cold and The Rock at the Vengeance pay-per-view in December 2001. Jericho became the first Undisputed Champion of the company and had nothing but arrogance with him.
After the Rumble win, Triple H had problems in his marriage with Stephanie McMahon (all storyline, everybody). After Triple H asked Stephanie for a divorce, she joined forces with Jericho to get back at her ex-husband (Weddings + WWF/WWE = Amazing combo).
At WrestleMania, Jericho and Stephanie attacked Triple H's left leg to weaken him. That's all the fight was about, that left leg of the challenger.
Jericho had complete control of the match, looking like he would retain the Undisputed Championship. Near the end, Jericho would try to hit him with a chair before Triple H used it against the champion. Stephanie then got involved and tried to hit her ex-husband with it.
Triple H would end up grabbing his ex-wife and hitting her with his signature Pedigree. Next thing you know, Triple H found the strength to hit Jericho with the Pedigree and take the win.
The closing image of WrestleMania again had Triple H raising the gold he desperately chased. His long, eight-month recovery would pay off.
While Triple H would get his fairy-tale ending, the crowd was simply out of energy.
Chris Jericho was interviewed by Inside the Ropes in March of 2019, and he's on record stating how he wished he wasn't the main event because of the next point I'm going to make.
He desperately tried to pitch to producers the Undisputed Championship match was not the main event. It didn't matter. As tradition, the championship match would go on last.
Icon vs. Icon
When the NWO appeared at No Way Out, one man of the trio would receive the most prominent attention from the WWF faithful.
Hulk Hogan. The man who helped put WWF on the map and (more importantly) helped promote WrestleMania would return to the place that made him a household name.
When I last spoke about him in this series, he stole the show at WrestleMania 9, and not in the best way imaginable. Shortly after winning the WWF Championship, he would leave for WCW, making history there.
On an episode of Raw in Chicago, Hogan stated the fans turned their back on the Hulkster and drove him out of the company. According to Hogan, there would be no WWF if it weren't for him.
That was until The Rock came out and met him in the ring. He reminded Hogan of who the fans adored in the '80s and early '90s, including himself. The Rock would remind Hogan of how much fans would love and believe in him, how much of a legend he is, and how many WrestleManias Hogan headlined.
In saying that, The Rock asked one question nobody thought would be asked in history.
"How do you feel about headlining one more WrestleMania with The Rock?"
As Hogan looked to the crowd, he turned to The Rock and said the one word everybody wanted to hear.
"Yes."
The match was set, and the big day had arrived after weeks of assaulting each other. Hogan played the role of a bad guy, but the Skydome fans ensured that wasn't the case.
Hogan was introduced first with the loudest ovation of the night. The fans erupted to see their idol make his first WrestleMania entrance in nine years.
In an interview years after WrestleMania 18, Hogan mentioned he tried to insult fans on his way down to the ring. However, he couldn't get to them as they kept on cheering.
Before The Rock came out, fans would chant "Hogan" as he looked around in shock.
Once The Rock's music hit, it would be a mixed reaction as boos and cheers would be coming from the 68,000+ in attendance.
Before the bell rang, the two would stare each other down and then take one look at the crowd, who were on their feet and wouldn't stop chanting Hogan's name.
If you had to find the definition of a "WrestleMania moment," look no further than this.
Mike Choida called for the bell, and Skydome jumped for joy as The Rock and Hulk Hogan began their fantasy match.
At the start of the match, Hogan shoved The Rock to the ground, and the crowd went wild. Hogan taunted his opponent and even told him to "Just Bring It." Hogan again shoved The Rock down, and the crowd only got louder. Anything Hogan would do would be a cheer.
When The Rock tried to show some offense and some taunts, the fans responded in boos.
Midway through the match, Chioda was knocked down when Hogan tossed The Rock onto him. To win the Canadian fans over, The Rock executed the Sharpshooter, made famous by Calgary's Bret Hart.
Moments after, Hogan hit a low blow on The Rock, nailed him with his own Rock Bottom, and went for the pin. Chioda woke up but couldn't hit the three.
That's when Hogan had some fun by taking off his heavy leather belt and began whipping The Rock to the crowd's delight. To the crowd's anger, The Rock eventually grabbed Hogan's belt and hit him right back.
When The Rock went for his Rock Bottom and kicked out, Hogan did something fans hadn't seen in the WWF in nine years. Hogan "hulked up," hit his signature big boot kick, and hit the leg drop.
At this point, the crowd lost it and was pretty mad when The Rock kicked out of Hogan's pin attempt.
Hogan went for the leg drop again, but The Rock got out of the way as Hogan hit the mat. The Rock capitalized, hit two Rock Bottoms, his signature "People's Elbow," and got the three-count to win in Toronto.
Hogan got up with a sad look as The Rock celebrated and extended his hand. The Rock extended his hand, and a mutual sign of respect was met, much to the fans' pleasure.
After seeing their third member lose and attack the Hulkster, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would come down to the ring in anger. Rock came rushing in to back him up, and the two stood tall in the ring.
When Hogan was set to leave the ring, his new friend asked him to stay back and give the crowd what they wanted: him.
Hogan then proceeded to do what he does best: show his love to his adoring fans.
It was a match-up for the ages. While Hogan would lose again in Toronto as he did back in 1990, it didn't matter. Hogan was home in the WWF, right where he belongs.
Final thoughts
I have to admit that I took my sweet time with this review. The memories of myself when I was seven came rushing back.
On March 17th, 2002, I got dressed to head out for some stupid reason and asked my mom if I could go to WrestleMania, not knowing that tickets to an event were a thing. She sat back and chuckled and told me, "One day."
When I got the VHS that our neighbor taped for me to watch WrestleMania 18 the day after, I remember sitting cross-legged in front of my TV, enjoying every bit of this.
It's not the best WrestleMania. Heck, knowing that this followed WrestleMania 17, it had a ton of pressure to try and match that. I don't care that it never did, as I reviewed it. WrestleMania 18 will always be my personal favorite.
This WrestleMania means a lot to me, more than people think. I remember being amazed and excited to see that people in my city enjoyed this grand spectacle in person. I've met many people who attended this event and shared their experiences of how great the night was. I'm very jealous.
It was the reaction of those in attendance, especially for Hogan, that started the dream to go to WrestleMania one day.
I can't emphasize enough how excited I was when my friend told me he got the tickets for WrestleMania 35. That feeling of being seven again hit me, and my mother's words of "one day" were reality.
WrestleMania 18 will always hit home. It may not have been a perfect night, but this will always be special.
As we move alone in the series, the following year would also be another favorite of mine. I, however, along with everybody else at the time, had no idea that a legend would be saying goodbye with the help of an old enemy.
Results:
- Rob Van Dam def. William Regal (c) - WWF Intercontinental Championship
- Diamond Dallas Page (c) def. Christian - WWF European Championship
- Maven (c) vs. Goldust ended when Spike Dudley pinned Maven - WWF Hardcore Championship
- Kurt Angle def. Kane
- The Undertaker def. Ric Flair - No Disqualification match
- Edge def. Booker T
- Stone Cold Steve Austin def. Scott Hall
- Billy and Chuck (c) def. APA (Bradshaw and Farooq), The Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray and D-Von), and The Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) - Four corners elimination match for the WWF Tag Team Championship
- The Rock def. Hulk Hogan
- Jazz (c) def. Lita and Trish Stratus - Triple threat match for the WWF Women's Championship
- Triple H def. Chris Jericho (c) - Undisputed WWF Champion
Rating: A-
Thanks for reading. Look out tomorrow when I take a look at WrestleMania 19.
17 days away until WrestleMania 35.
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