Chris Cooley Presents The WWE Vintage Collection: WrestleMania Road Trip's Final Stop - Undertaker vs. Kane, Christian vs. D.D.P., The Rock vs. Austin, and More

Chris Cooley Presents The WWE Vintage Collection: WrestleMania Road Trip's Final Stop - Undertaker vs. Kane, Christian vs. D.D.P., The Rock vs. Austin, and More

Welcome to our final stop on our WrestleMania Road Trip. Let's continue on the road to WrestleMania XXVI by heading back to WrestleMania XIV

Episode #93

MATCH#1: WWF LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
TAKA Michinoku vs. Aguila
DATE OF MATCH: March 29, 1998

Aguila may be more known as another persona, Essa Rios in the World Wrestling Federation, but long before then, he wore a mask, and wrestled as Aguila. TAKA won the match, with his patented Michinoku Driver, and in a sign of good sportsmanship, they shook hands afterwards.

Next, we take a look at WrestleMania XV. The event included Bart Gunn vs. Butterbean in the final of the Brawl For All, and the first encounter between The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Let’s head to WrestleMania 13, and for a Street Fight... Chicago Style

MATCH#2: CHICAGO STREET FIGHT
Nation Of Domination (Faarooq/Crush/Savio Vega) vs. Legion Of Doom (Animal/Hawk) and Ahmed Johnson
DATE OF MATCH: March 13, 1997

This was back in the day, when the N.O.D came out with an entourage, including Clarence Mason, who has an interview up with JG over at ClubWWI.com. As the match suggests, WM 13 took place in Chicago, home of the Road Warriors, and it showed, as the home crowd helped The Legion Of Doom, and Ahmed Johnson, to victory.

Let’s stay at the 13th edition of WrestleMania, and a ‘Mania debut, of Rocky Maivia

MATCH#3: WWF INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Rocky Maivia (c) vs. The Sultan w/Iron Sheik and Bob Backlund
DATE OF MATCH: March 23, 1997

The Greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time, Honky Tonk Man, was the Special Guest Announcer for this match.

Maivia won the match with a roll-up, but received a beatdown from the Sultan’s managers. That is, until the Rock’s father, Rocky Johnson, arrived on the scene and cleared the ring, allowing him to celebrate the victory with his son.

We head to WrestleMania XIV, and a recap of the Main Event between Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels, with ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson as the Special Enforcer plays, before our Main Event, from the same event from the Fleet Center in Boston, MA, and it’s the first meeting between two brothers from the darkside.

MAIN EVENT: Undertaker vs. Kane w/Paul Bearer
DATE OF MATCH: March 29, 1998

Before the match started, the Special Ring Announcer, Pete Rose, took shots at Boston, and at Kane. This angered the Big Red Machine, who promptly entered the ring, and Tombstone Piledrive the all-time leader in hits in Major League Baseball history. This started a tradition between Pete Rose and Kane, in which Kane would deliver a beatdown to Rose at two more WrestleManias, and when Pete was guest host of RAW this past Monday Night.

This would also be the first encounter between the brothers, after Kane’s arrival at Badd Blood, and the first Hell In A Cell, which cost the Undertaker the match against Shawn Michaels. Undertaker had refused to fight his brother, until the Royal Rumble, when Kane set a casket on fire, which contained the Undertaker.

It took three Tombstones to end it, but the Undertaker was able to defeat his brother in the match, but Kane would walk out, after a post-match Tombstone on a steel chair.

Episode #94

The promo video for The Rock/Stone Cold battle at WrestleMania XIX plays. It's our Main Event for this episode.

WrestleMania X-Seven

MATCH#1: GIMMICK BATTLE ROYAL
Participants include: The Bushwhackers (Butch/Luke), Duke ‘the Dumpster’ Droese, Doink The Clown, Nikolai Volkoff, Tugboat, The Goon, Earthquake, Gobbledy Gooker, Brother Love, Michael Hayes, One Man Gang, Iron Sheik, Kamala, Kimchee, Hillbilly Jim, Jim Cornette, Repo Man and Sgt. Slaughter.
DATE OF MATCH: April 1, 2001
SPECIAL GUEST ANNOUNCERS: Bobby ‘the Brain’ Heenan and ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund

The final four were Brother Love, Sgt. Slaughter, Hillbilly Jim, and the eventual winner, the Iron Sheik. As a reward, Slaughter gave him his patented Cobra Clutch.

We now head one year on, to the Skydome, and WrestleMania X-8

MATCH#2: WWF EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Diamond Dallas Page (c) vs. Christian
DATE OF MATCH: March 17, 2002

This is DDP’s wrestling debut at WrestleMania, but at WM VI, he drove Rhythm and Blues to the ring, in his Pink Cadillac.

Christian almost had the match won with a neckbreaker, but a near-fall caused the challenger to almost have a tantrum. This allowed DDP (BANG!) to hit the Diamond Cutter, and retain the title. Christian completed his tantrum after the loss.

A recap of the happenings involving the Hardcore Championship at WrestleMania X-8 plays, before our next match, from the same event.

MATCH#3: Booker T vs. Edge
DATE OF MATCH: March 17, 2002

This match came about, over a shampoo commercial, that went to Edge, and not Booker T. (I’m not joking, that was the storyline.)

Booker T thought he had the match won with a Scissors Kick, but it was Edge, in his hometown of Toronto, Canada, who got the victory after an Edgecution.

A WrestleMania moment, takes us to last year, and the epic contest between the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels. Just watching this recap, still gets me excited to watch the match again.

Our Main Event takes us to 2003, and WrestleMania XIX, where the third and final contest between two all-time greats at WrestleMania would take place.

MAIN EVENT: The Rock vs. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
DATE OF MATCH: March 30, 2003

The first two matches between these two took place at Wrestlemanias XV and X-Seven respectively, with Austin coming out on top both times. Both previous occasions were for the WWF Championship. This match however, there is nothing but pride on the line.

Rock intimidated Austin, by wearing his vest and doing Stone Cold’s taunts, but this led to Austin delivering the Rock’s own finishing move, the Rock Bottom. The Great One retaliated by connecting with the Stone Cold Stunner. After connecting with the People’s Elbow, Rock was sure he had won, only for the Rattlesnake to kick out of the pin attempt. However, the Brahma Bull would come out on top in the end, but only after hitting three consecutive Rock Bottoms on Steve Austin, and finally beating him at WrestleMania.

That’s it for this WrestleMania Road Trip, and look at that, we are parked the University of Phoenix Stadium, just in time for WrestleMania XXVI. I hope you enjoyed this Road Trip, as much as I have enjoyed bringing it to you. See you at WrestleMania, I know I’m watching.