WWE WrestleMania X-5 PPV Reader Reax and Poll Results (03-28-99)
By Wade Keller, Torch editor

WWF WRESTLEMANIA X-5
MARCH 28 2003
LIVE FROM PHILADELPHIA, PA.

READER REAX AND POLL RESULTS

Mike Young (10.0): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn. Everybody had their working shoes on. Mr. McMahon is a pure genius. Austin vs. Rock is an early candidate for feud of the year. A fabulous show with a great ending. It was nice to see HBK. I liked the surprise turn of Triple H joining the Corporation. I can hardly wait for Monday night to see what's coming up next. Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff, Hulk Hogan, pay attention because you guys have a long way to go.

Jason Husby (7.5): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Undertaker vs. Bossman. A pretty ordinary WrestleMania outside of the main event. I didn't think there were any real stinkers in the bunch. Undertaker vs. Bossman came close but it had a relatively good ending with a good angle. I was really impressed with the event.

Linda Rushnak (6.0): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn. Overall the event was somewhat slow and less glitzy than previous WrestleManias. The best post-match activity was the Ministry hanging Bossman which was kind of eerie. I was disappointed with the idea of Chyna re-joining DX until she and Triple H turned on the rest of the bunch. A great twist. There was excellent use of the ring steps and Kane turned in a really good performance. The great anomaly here is that we're conditioned to expect about 15 minutes of wrestling with about 45 minutes of filler from watching Raw every week. But then when the PPV rolls around we have to switch gears to almost continuous wrestling action. Given the WWF's talent, it's extremely difficult to sustain.

Jim Bartlette (9.5): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Undertaker vs. Bossman. I thought it was an excellent show and is probably my second favorite WrestleMania of all-time. I liked the surprises with Pete Rose, Nicole Bass, and Paul Wight's face turn. The best surprise of the night was Triple H & Chyna's reunion followed by their turn. I watched the show with three pessimistic non-wrestling fans and they enjoyed it so I was pleased. Vince's facial expressions after Rock lost were some of his best. I liked the hanging angle. It was a great show that the WWF should be proud of.

Larry Paez (6.5): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Hardcore three-way. I wouldn't say that I was totally disappointed in the show, but I wouldn't say it was one of the best WrestleManias either. The Hardcore match was below average. They've had better on Raw. The tag team match could've been better and longer considering all of the talent they had in the ring. The Brawl for All was quick and that's about all I can say about that. Couldn't they give Paul Wight his own music. His match with Foley served mostly as a way to set up the Wight-Vince angle but it was still okay for what it was. The Intercontinental four-way match was a pretty good, fast-paced match. Kane vs. Triple H was good but they should've had Chyna wear an eye-patch to give her injury more credibility. The Pete Rose angle worked better last year but it was neat to see another variation of it this year. The WWF Woman's Title match actually had more wrestling than these types of matches usually do. Does Tori shop at the same wrestling gear store that Giant Gonzales used to? X-Pac vs. Shane was okay for what it was. The Hell in a Cell match was the least exciting of its kind, but it wasn't that bad. The hanging angle was a little rough but it got over the brutality of the Ministry. Austin vs. Rock was a good match made even better by Jim Ross's commentary. Earl Hebner celebrating with Austin was funny. Overall the show was a just above average WrestleMania.

Josh Buescher (6.5): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Butterbean vs. Bart Gunn. For WrestleMania this was a pretty crappy show. There was nothing that good about it. Is Bob Holly dating Vince McMahon's daughter or is Al Snow just in somebody's dog house? I loved how after they hung the Bossman, Michael Cole began talking about WrestleMania weekend. Talk about changing gears. It would've been fun to see D-Lo & Test win the tag titles and then have Mark Henry come back and feud with D-Lo for winning the belts without him. It was pretty lame that Mankind was lightly chokeslammed onto two chairs and had to be taken to the hospital but was thrown off the top of a cage and got back into the ring at an earlier PPV.

Eric Krol (8.0): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Sable vs. Tori. This was a very good show that missed greatness because of a few matches that could've been better. They had several surprises and a debut, which made the show seem special. The real problem here, though, was the Philly crowd which always seems to suck. They're like a Japan crowd only without any of the positive attributes. There simply was not enough heat and it wasn't the wrestlers' fault. Austin vs. Rock will likely be the best American heavyweight match of the year and Ross helped get it over even further.

Chad Ruffner (6.5): Best: Austin vs. Rock. Worst: Sable vs. Tori. I thought the show was below average for WrestleMania but I thought the main event and the Triple H turn set up a big money Austin vs. Triple H match that everyone has been awaiting.

Mike O'Mansky (7.0): Best: Shane vs. X-Pac. Worst: Undertaker vs. Bossman. Austin vs. Rock was a close second for best match but there were a few things that were telegraphed including Mankind coming back from the hospital and earlier in the PPV Michael Cole was nice enough to tell us that the new WWF Champion would be appearing on the Home Shopping Network. I thought the whole show was quite good with great stories and pretty good action overall. A worthwhile event.

POLL RESULTS

AVERAGE SCORE: 6.8
BEST MATCH: Austin vs. Rock (94%), Shane vs. X-Pac (3%), BFA (3%)
WORST MATCH: Sable vs. Tori (34%), Taker vs. Bossman (29%), Holly vs. Snow vs. Billy Gunn (9%), Shane vs. X-Pac (3%), Others (3%)

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