Welcome to Last Word on Mania month at Last Word on Sports! All month long we will be doing articles to build up for WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015. Be sure to read everything this month by clicking this link. Enjoy!
We live in the age of the internet and social media, and being a professional wrestling fan in this age has made following the business far more in depth than ever before. Never is this more evident than during WrestleMania season. As the months turn into weeks, fans are inundated with rumors and possibilities for the showcase of the immortals. Some of these rumors turn out to be nothing more than that, red herrings meant to distract us from the reality of the situation.
With hindsight being what it is, sometimes we look back on these whisperings from our past and wonder how the history of WrestleMania would have changed had fate played a different hand. As passionate fans, it is easy to get swept up in the fantasy of altering the timeline to improve upon the product as you see fit. It is in that spirit that I am writing this article.
In 2002, WrestleMania was headed to Toronto, Canada, and I couldn’t have been more excited, particularly because I had tickets to the show. As the 18th edition of WrestleMania got closer, I began to hear rumors about what the card might look like. Some of these ideas seemed great to me, and I was honestly a little disappointed that they never materialized. Today I look back to WrestleMania X8 on its 13th anniversary and play fantasy booker and alter the timeline by giving those rumors I heard more than a little credence.
First, some ground rules. I can already hear some fans grumbling or even getting angry over my audacity to change what was a pretty damn good WrestleMania, specifically robbing them of the classic that was The Rock vs Hulk Hogan. Fear not, for I am not altering Rock vs Hogan, nor am I altering everything on the card. Some of the matches that occurred at WrestleMania X8 will need to be changed in order to accommodate for my new main event that gets the ball rolling on this, but the majority of the card will be kept intact. Going forward in the article, simply use this general rule: If I don’t mention it in the article, I would not alter it in any way. This includes Rock vs Hogan, so there’s no need to riot.
As we approached WrestleMania, I consumed WWE content like hot dogs at a BBQ. It wasn’t odd to find me with a group of friends watching pay per view events on Sundays. Such was the case for the 2002 edition of No Way Out, which featured a number of big matches, and two of those big matches were particularly interesting to me. The #1 Contenders Match for the Undisputed WWF Championship, and the Undisputed WWF Championship Match. Obviously with WrestleMania X8 just weeks away, these two matches were closely connected, and the topic of much gossip in the wrestling world.
Heading into No Way Out, Chris Jericho’s reign as Undisputed WWF Champion had been less than impressive, and many assumed that heading into his title defense against Stone Cold Steve Austin, his championship days were over. At the same time, there were rumors circulating that although Triple H had won the Royal Rumble match, he would not be the only #1 contender taking on the champion. Kurt Angle was a name whispered among insiders as a possible addition to the main event. At No Way Out, Triple H was scheduled to face Kurt Angle in a #1 contenders match, with Triple H’s vindictive wife Stephanie McMahon as the guest referee. If the rumors were true, then fans would be getting a triple threat main events with champion Stone Cold Steve Austin defending against both Triple H and Kurt Angle.
During the #1 contenders match, I predicted that Stephanie would be incapacitated, and another referee would take her place, only to have that second referee incapacitated, allowing McMahon to referee the match again. She would be all but happy to count the shoulders of her husband out after a German suplex from Kurt Angle and award the Olympian turned sports entertainer the match, if the second referee hadn’t regained consciousness and counted Angle’s shoulders to the mat, rewarding him the victory. Everything happened just as I thought it would, except for the double pin. Instead, Stephanie just gave Angle the victory and Triple H later beat him the next night on Raw to win his title shot back. There was no controversy or way that both men could have a legitimate claim to the championship opportunity. In this alternate timeline, things would have happened as I first predicted and we would head into Wrestlemania X8 with two #1 contenders.
Regarding Chris Jericho and Steve Austin, there was still a possibility that with Angle winning his match against Triple H, a decision could be made to give both men a shot, meaning Austin could still come out victorious against Y2J. Instead the returning N.W.O needed to make an impact upon their return and decided to do so at the hands of Stone Cold, costing him the match, the championship, and ruining my hopes of a triple threat main event for Sky Dome that March 17th. Of course, that was reality, and this is fantasy. In this alternate reality, Chris Jericho’s luck runs out and after a stunner, Steve Austin becomes the new Undisputed WWF Champion. Much beer is had and the fans rejoice while Chris Jericho’s reign comes to a miserable end.
For those keeping score at home, that means heading into WrestleMania X8, our new main event is Undisputed WWF Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Triple H vs. Kurt Angle in a triple threat championship showdown. So what would make this match more compelling than the story we originally had at WrestleMania X8 with Triple H returning from injury to take out the man who injured him? Granted, that is a great story to tell, so much so that I felt Triple H still needed to be a part of this main event. His story is still one of a man’s courageous return from injury, but instead of focusing on the man who injured him, his rage is set on the partner that abandoned him, and the company they used to rule with an iron fist. Taking away Austin’s championship would be the perfect revenge for what he feels was a betrayal on the part of Stone Cold. Standing in his way is Kurt Angle, a man who feels taken advantage of. After all, he was the man who infiltrated the Alliance and stopped the doors of the WWF from shutting down for good at Survivor Series, and what did he get in return for his loyalty? Nothing. He got passed over for championship opportunities while title shots were being given to guys like Austin, a WWF turncoat, and Triple H, who wasn’t even around to help the WWF during the Invasion. In Angle’s mind, the WWF wouldn’t be around if it wasn’t for him, and he deserves some respect. Thankfully, his good friend Stephanie McMahon has been helping him get those opportunities for him. She has even offered to be in his corner for the big match at Wrestlemania. For Austin, being champion means everything to him, it is what drives him, and he has never had any qualms about fighting the odds, so for him, the chance to beat two of the best and retain the title at Wrestlemania is good enough a reason for him. Sometimes the simplest motivation is the best one.
Who would walk away victorious? I don’t want to mess with history too much here, and I still feel like Triple H’s story of a triumphant return is one worth telling, so the Game would still be champion when all is said and done. He would still drop the title to Hulk Hogan a month later at Backlash and the timeline would return to normal. Who would take the fall? Likely Kurt Angle, who after Wrestlemania would return to his original timeline plans and begin feuding with a red hot Edge. As for Austin, he would be pretty upset with having to drop the title, and after being moved into a feud with General Manager Ric Flair, then later Eddie Guerrero, would walk out on the WWF after conflicts with the creative writing team frustrated him to the point of walking out on the company after being asked to lose clean to rookie sensation Brock Lesnar in a King of the Ring qualifying match on an episode of Raw, which was being broadcast for free, instead of building towards a showdown with Brock on pay per view.
This of course, leaves a few gaps to fill in the WrestleMania X8 card. Take Chris Jericho for example. In this alternate time line, he lost his championship and was booted from the main event. So what became of Y2J after No Way Out? I imagine the next night on Raw, Jericho would be pretty upset and want to complain to anyone that would listen. Sadly for Jericho, there would be one man who was not only uninterested in his woes, but also unafraid to tell him to stop whining. That man would be fellow Canadian Edge, who would mock Jericho for being a cry baby, stating that he had lost the Intercontinental Championship last night, but you didn’t see him crying about it. This of course would infuriate Jericho. How dare Edge interrupt him? How dare he compare the Intercontinental Championship with the Undisputed WWF Championship? How dare he mock him and humiliate him. Perhaps to gain revenge, Jericho would cost Edge his rematch with Intercontinental Champion William Regal, sparking a feud between the two that could only be settled in front of 68,000 of their fellow countrymen. At WrestleMania X8, it would be Canuck versus Canuck in the All-Canadian showdown of Chris Jericho vs. Edge.
Who would be victorious? This one is tougher to call. At this time in WWF history, Edge was white hot, and only gaining more momentum. Jericho’s lackluster run as Undisputed Champion had certainly lowered his stock, so much so that if I were a booking man, I’d have Edge pick up the upset over Y2J, sending him off to feud with another former World Champion, Kurt Angle. Jericho on the other hand, would continue to slide, not even being booked on the Backlash card. Thankfully, the first ever WWF draft would give him new life as a top heel on Smackdown where he and Triple H would finally meet almost one year after Jericho put the Game on the shelf, clashing at Judgement Day in a brutal Hell in a Cell contest.
Switching Jericho over to face Edge means that Edge’s original WrestleMania X8 opponent, Booker T would be left without someone to fight. Luckily for him, our alternate main event opens up a spot against Kurt Angle’s original opponent at WrestleMania X8, Kane. So, what would be the driving force behind Booker T vs. Kane? Although it could be something as simple as two competitors trying to see who is best, what would be the fun in that when you have the ridiculous, over the top Booker T of 2002? In this alternate reality, Booker T, still coping with the loss of World Championship Wrestling would attempt to punk out Kane over trying to steal his pyro! Is it a ridiculous concept? Yes, but please remember, in our actual reality, Booker T and Edge went into battle at WrestleMania X8 over a shampoo commercial. While some folks might find the concept silly, Kane would find nothing funny about Booker calling him out, as for the next few weeks we would be treated to Booker T at his cowardly heel best, doing everything he can to avoid Kane, all the while trash talking the Big Red Machine.
Who would be victorious? Booker T made an incredible cowardly heel, and there is nothing fans would love to hate more than having Booker T pull a fast over on Kane, leading to a Wrestlemania sized spin-a-rooni, cut short by a Kane choke slam in the aftermath of the match. Following Wrestlemania, Kane sback in the fall to participate in a World Heavyweight Championship feud with Triple H that he would rather forget, while Booker T would struggle to find his place in WWF. After trying to make people believe he was a tough guy by joining the fledgling NWO, Booker would find success by embracing his more entertaining side and forming an odd couple tag team with Goldust.
That leaves only one spot to fill in our alternate Wresltemania X8, the spot held by Stone Cold Steve Austin before we changed the timeline, a spot against New World Order member Scott Hall. With Stone Cold winning the Undisputed WWF Championship, the nWo never ran in to stop him, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t causing trouble. Throughout the No Way Out event, the nWo were seen unsuccessfully trying to buddy up to various WWF superstars. One team in WWF who wouldn’t take too kindly to a group of Outsiders would be Faarooq and Bradshaw, the Acolytes Protection Agency. They have a history of protecting the WWF, in fact, when the Alliance began invading, the first guys to step up and fight for the honor of the WWF were the APA. After six months of battling it out with WCW and ECW, if you think Faarooq and Bradshaw would just let another group of Ted Turner leftovers come in and take over, you’ve got another thing coming. With Hollywood Hulk Hogan busy fighting the Rock, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would step up against the WWF’s first line of defense. There would be nothing pretty about The Outsiders vs. The APA, but there would certainly be an emotional investment there as these two brawlers would pull out all the stops in the final battle of the Monday Night Wars.
Who would be victorious? The nWo were brought in by Vince McMahon to kill the WWF. With Hulk Hogan not getting the job done against the Rock, if the Outsiders were to fail here, it would make the NOW look less like a cancer, and more like a cold. A victory against the APA wouldn’t be a huge win for Hall and Nash, but it would get them off to a great start, and put them on the path of destruction that would last a full two months until Scott Hall would be fired for inappropriate conduct and the whole NWO falls apart. As for the APA, not everyone would be as lucky as Chris Jericho in the WWF Draft, as Faarooq and Bradshaw would end up on different shows, effectively ending their run as a tag team and any momentum they had built during the summer.
Putting the APA against the Outsiders would take them away from the Four Corners WWF Tag Team Championship Match. Instead of leaving that match as a triple threat, I’ll show it the same kind of attentive care as the booking team by just slapping something together in order to fill spots. Right up until a few weeks prior to Wrestlemania, the team of Spike Dudley and Tazz were the WWF Tag Team Champions, and a pretty popular dup to boot. Their small stature and never say die attitudes made them a great underdog team that fans could get behind, so it was a shock that after losing the titles rather unceremoniously to Billy & Chuck, they weren’t included in the WWF Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania X8. Their inclusion is one of the many pleasant surprises to come out of this alternate timeline which now sees the four corners match listed as Billy & Chuck vs. The Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardyz vs. Tazz & Spike Dudley.
Who would be victorious? Although I really like the combination of Spike and Tazz, they can only beat the odds so many times. By the time WrestleMania rolled around Tazz had been doing work as a commentator as well, so eliminating them first would put the final nail in the coffin of that team while giving Tazz a farewell at WrestleMania. I see no reason to mess with history further. Billy and Chuck would retain their titles and go on to have a rollercoaster 2002, while both the Hardyz and Dudleyz would be forced to separate in 2002 thanks to the WWF Draft.
With Spike Dudley being added to the tag match, that means someone would have to take his spot in the multiple segment Hardcore Championship Series. I would replace him with Stevie Richards because he was also one of WWF’s hardcore mainstays and most of those guys were interchangeable anyway. Besides, with Maven leaving Sky Dome as Champion, no one could make that whole debacle any better.
It is kind of amazing to think that just by changing around the main event what kind of trickle down effect it would have on the rest of the show. It really demonstrates the interconnectivity of pro wrestling. Although I have had a fun time with this little thought experiment, I don’t want to give anyone the wrong impression. I think WrestleMania X8 was a great event, made even better for me by the fact that I was there in person. I wouldn’t change those memories for anything in the world, but it’s always fun to ask, what if?
