For the last three decades, WrestleMania has provided the WWE Universe with some of the most memorable moments and matches in the history of sports entertainment.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania X-7 (17)
Over the next month, Sports World News will delve into the past 30 WrestleManias in a countdown to the 31st edition of the WWE's banner event, which takes place on Mar. 29 live from Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
In 2003, the WWE had a crazy amount of talent up and down the roster after ECW and WCW went out of business, and it led to the brand extension as the company split its roster into the RAW and SmackDown brands as WrestleMania XIX came around.
Countdown to WrestleMania 31: 3 Best Moments From WrestleMania X-8 (18)
WrestleMania XIX was the first edition of the company's marquee event that was under the "WWE" banner and not the "WWF" and to feature the brand extension. WrestleMania XIX took place on March 30, 2003, at Safeco Field in Seattle in front of 54,097 fans and had the tagline "Dare to Dream."
Here are our top three moments from WWE WrestleMania XIX:
Honorable Mention: Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho had a classic encounter in the middle of this stacked card, which saw "The Heartbreak Kid" compete in his first WrestleMania match in five years and pick up the win. After the bout, Jericho embraced Michaels, but then hit him with a low blow in classic heel fashion.
3) 20 Years in the Making: Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan were the keys to the original WrestleMania being successful. McMahon, seeing that Hogan could generate a lot of mainstream publicity in the early 1980s, paired him up with Mr. T in 1985 at WrestleMania I and a new concept that revolutionized professional wrestling was born.
Hogan would go on to be a huge part of the first nine editions of WrestleMania before departing the company in 1993 and eventually ending up in WCW and once again revolutionizing the wresting industry with the creation of the nWo -- nearly putting McMahon out of business.
The story of Hogan and McMahon spanned two decades and it all came to a head when Mr. McMahon, the arrogant heel boss, took on babyface yellow-and-red donned Hulk Hogan in a Street Fight at WrestleMania XIX.
The match was surprisingly good, with McMahon doing a gory blade job and gushing blood all over the place. The bout spilled all over the ringside area and saw Hogan and McMahon beat the hell out of each other. McMahon played the arrogant heel persona to perfection.
The contest even saw "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, who teamed up with Paul Orndorff to take on Mr. T and Hogan in the first WrestleMania, make a shocking return and attack Hogan.
In the end, "The Hulkster" made his traditional epic comeback and hit the big leg drop to notch a victory that was 20 years in the making.
2) 'The Beast' Is Born: Brock Lesnar had one of the best rookie years ever in the WWE as he burst on the scene in mid-2002 and won the King of the Ring tournament that June and went on to defeat The Rock at SummerSlam in August to capture his first WWE Heavyweight Championship.
When the calendar flipped to 2003, Lesnar was just getting warmed up as he would go on to win the Royal Rumble Match and earn a title shot against Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XIX.
The match was expected to be an instant classic as the two had heavily touted amateur wrestling backgrounds and Lesnar had emerged from being "The Next Big Thing" to one of the top names on the entire roster.
Angle, a former Olympic gold medalist, was set to undergo neck surgery after the bout, but opted to have the match anyway despite the health risks.
Even with Angle limited, the contest was an epic showdown between two of the best pure athletes the WWE has ever boasted.
Everything went swimmingly during the match until Lesnar went up to the top rope. The capacity crowd looked on in shock and awe as Lesnar attempted a Shooting Star Press -- which he had done successfully in Ohio Valley Wrestling -- but failed to complete the full turn, landing right on his head and almost severely injuring himself.
Angle, not knowing what to do, went to pin "The Beast," but he managed to have the wherewithal to kick out. Lesnar then hit a quick F-5 to win the match and the WWE Championship, but he had a dazed look in his eyes as the show went off the air.
Despite the botch and Lesnar being unable to celebrate his big win, the match was still a really good main event between two tremendous athletes.
1) Austin-Rock III, One for the Road: "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson had one of the best rivalries in the history of the WWE, and it culminated with their third and final WrestleMania meeting at WrestleMania XIX.
The Rock left wrestling for Hollywood in 2002, but he came back in time for WrestleMania with a heel gimmick, stating that the people turned on him.
Austin, meanwhile, was winding down his time in the ring due to a severe neck injury, but The Rock returned because he was hell-bent on accomplishing one thing: beating the "Texas Rattlesnake" at WrestleMania.
Austin defeated The Rock at WrestleMania XV in 1999 when he was the top babyface and The Rock was the top villain in the company and he then got the better of "The People's Champion" again in 2001 at WrestleMania X-7 after turning heel and aligning with Vince McMahon.
Then in 2003, The Rock was back in the WWE and he vowed to defeat Austin, stating that if Hollywood taught him anything it's that Act 1 and Act 2 mean nothing, but people always remember Act 3.
The two Superstars collided in an epic confrontation that saw the them battle in a back-and-forth match with each Superstar once again kicking out of the best their opponent had.
Austin was rushed to the hospital the night before due to experiencing severe dizziness in his hotel room, but he went on with the match anyway against doctor's orders.
The Rock played his obsession with beating Austin amazingly during the match, while the "Texas Rattlesnake" was too stubborn to go down.
Late in the match, The Rock kicked out of the Stone Cold Stunner, and Austin looked on in shock. The Rock then hit Austin with three consecutive Rock Bottoms, finally pinning his shoulders to the mat at WrestleMania.
The contest proved to be the final match for Austin in what was an amazing sendoff and the final clash in the epic trilogy between two of the most iconic Superstars in the history of the WWE.
Looking Ahead: The WWE would return to where it all began as WrestleMania XX would emanate live from Madison Square Garden in 2004 and see two key Superstars overcome the odds and stand tall at the biggest spectacle in WWE history.
Rank-O-Mania: As we go through each year, we will rank each WrestleMania as it comes along. WrestleMania XIX was a great, often forgotten show. It's one of the rare editions of the flagship event where the matches just keep getting better as they go along. This show had four amazing matches in Jericho vs. Michaels, Hogan vs. McMahon, Rock vs. Austin and Angle vs. Lesnar as well as a highly entertaining opener in Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy for the Cruiserweight Championship and a three-way WWE Tag Team Championship bout. The card isn't as stacked as WrestleMania X-7 and may not be as feel-good as WrestleMania X, but it did earn its way between both of those events as the second best WrestleMania up to this point.
1) WrestleMania X-7
2) WrestleMania XIX
3) WrestleMania X
4) WrestleMania VI
5) WrestleMania III
6) WrestleMania XIV
7) WrestleMania VIII
8) WrestleMania VII
9) WrestleMania X-8
10) WrestleMania V
11) WrestleMania XV
12) WrestleMania 2000
13) WrestleMania XII
14) WrestleMania IV
15) WrestleMania 13
16) WrestleMania I
17) WrestleMania XI
18) WrestleMania IX
19) WrestleMania 2
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