Now it might sound like a cliché but there really is nothing like seeing the WWF live, and of course, if you're going to see one WWF live event, it has to be the granddaddy of them all, the Superbowl of sports-entertainment, Wrestlemania! The first PPV I ever watched was Wrestlemania VI on video and from that point onwards it became the standard by which I judged all other events by, and to be honest few have matched up to that 1990 edition. VIII was a solid card with the awesome Savage - Flair affair, however the main event with Hogan and Sid disappointed. X saw the awesome Ladder match with Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall), but it also featured a convoluted main event with Bret Hart battling his brother Owen and Lex Luger battling Yokozuna before Bret eventually defeated Yoko for the title. XII had some great matches with The Undertaker and Diesel (Kevin Nash), and the 'Iron Man' match with Bret & Shawn, but it also featured The Ultimate Warrior squashing Hunter-Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) in a matter of seconds. XIII saw the emergence of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin as a main event star in his gruesome and bloody 'I Quit' match with Bret Hart, but once again the title match with Sid and The Undertaker was a disappointment. All in all, for me personally, nothing had quite matched up to VI until Wrestlemania X-Seven emanated from Houston last year when the card featured solid matches from start to finish with highlights including 'TLC II' and Austin versus The Rock. Therefore hopes for Wrestlemania X-8 were high as after twelve years it was once again emanating from the Skydome in Toronto, but the question was, could this years event top last years or the first Wrestlemania from Toronto in 1990?

The event began with a dark match as Mr. Perfect, Lance Storm, & Test, took on Rikishi, Scotty 2 Hotty, & Albert, in a 6-man tag team match with Jacqueline as the special referee. The match only lasted a matter of a few minutes as time was running short before Wrestlemania was due to start, but it served the purpose of warming up an already charged crowd. Although the 'heel' team of Perfect, Storm, & Test were defeated, at least Storm & in particular, Test were able to fulfil what must have been a life long dream of competing at a Wrestlemania on their home soil.

1. In the first 'televised' match of the evening Rob Van Dam went through his full repertoire of breathtaking manoeuvres in defeating William Regal for the Intercontinental title. Mr. Pay-Per-View truly lived up to his billing as he pulled out all the stops at the ultimate PPV!
2. Next up was another title match pitting European Champion Diamond Dallas Page against challenger Christian. Leading up to this match up DDP had been coaching Christian to think positively and stop having tantrums when he lost. Christian returned the favour by attacking DDP and challenging him for the European title. Christian began the match by alienating his Canadian fans by saying he was better off living in the U.S. During the match DDP looked more like his old WCW self than he had since entering the WWF and finished off Christian with the diamond cutter. After the match DDP said Christian had managed not to throw a tantrum despite losing in front of 68,000 of his fellow Canadians, and this wasn't a bad thing, this was a good thing! Which sent Christian into an uncontrollable tantrum!
3. Next up was yet another title match as Goldust took on the rookie and Tough Enough winner Maven for the Hardcore title, however during the match Spike Dudley pinned Maven and ran off with the belt.
   
   After a special performance by Drowning Pool the cameras went backstage where Spike had been chased by Crash, Al Snow attempted to run over the duo in a golf cart narrowly missing and crashing into a stack of boxes. Meanwhile the Hurricane swung in on a rope and pinned Spike to steal the Hardcore title!
4. Back in the arena 'The Big Red Machine' Kane took on the red, white, & blue machine Kurt Angle. After being pounded by Kane, Angle went for his ankle lock only to have Kane manage to reach the ropes due to his height advantage. Angle won the match after using the ropes for leverage to pin Kane.
   
   Meanwhile backstage, the Hurricane stumbled into The Godfather's 'escorts' changing room, but just when he thought he'd found a safe place to hide he was chased off by The Godfather!
5. In the first of four main events, The Undertaker put his 9 - 0 undefeated record at Wrestlemania on the line against the former 16-time world champion Ric Flair in a no disqualification match. The dead man had previously assaulted Flair's son David leaving him battered and bloody and now 'The Nature Boy' was out for revenge. After a brutal and bloody affair Flair came within inches of winning the match after his good friend Arn Anderson had run in to give the dean man a spine-buster. However the Undertaker kicked out and attempted to finish Flair off with the Last Ride, but as he was so exhausted instead reverted back to his old finishing manoeuvre, the tombstone pile driver! The Undertaker pinned Flair and extended his undefeated streak to 10 - 0! !
6. Hometown boy Edge was next up, twelve years after he'd watched Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior battle it out in the Skydome at Wrestlemania VI. His opponent was five-time WCW Champion Booker T, who once he felt he had the match wrapped up went for what he calls "the most electrifying move in all of sports entertainment" the 'spinerooni'! However this gave Edge the time he needed to recover and after a spear and an 'Edgecution' DDT pinned the Bookerman to win the match.
   
   Backstage once more and the Hurricane ran into his sidekick 'Mighty' Molly, however just when he thought he'd found an ally, Molly levelled him with a frying pan to steal the Hardcore title.
7. In the second of our main events 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin took on the nWo team of Scott Hall, along with Kevin Nash in his corner. After much outside interference by Nash a group of referee's came out to escort him to the back and without his buddy to help him Hall soon succumbed to a stunner to give Austin the 1-2-3.
8. The tag titles were up for grabs next in a four team elimination match as champions Billy & Chuck took on the APA, and both the Dudley, and Hardy Boyz! The APA were the first to be eliminated compliments of the Dudley Boyz and a 3D, however the Dudleyz were next to go after Matt hit the twist of fate on Bubba and Jeff followed up with a swanton bomb. However the Hardyz were unable to put away Billy & Chuck who retained their titles after Billy hit the fame-ass-er on Matt Hardy for the win.
   
   Meanwhile backstage, Christian stole the Hardcore title from Molly after slamming a door in her face!
9. In what many felt to be the match up of the evening, icon went up against icon when The Rock battled 'Hollywood' Hulk Hogan. Before the match Hogan had asked his nWo comrades not to interfere in the match and they had reluctantly agreed. The two icons started the match by squaring up to one another and the noise in the Skydome was deafening. As both Hogan and The Rock looked towards the 68,000 plus crowd the roar from the crowd made it feel like the building itself was trembling as the anticipation was at fever pitch. Many were surprised when Hogan was met with a chorus of approval considering his attacks upon The Rock leading up to Wrestlemania, and as the match began it seemed like the sentimental favourite could do no wrong. Be it whipping The Rock with his weight belt or scratching at his back, everything Hogan did was met with a chorus of approval. In contrast, although the great one undoubtedly had his share of fans, he was also met with a chorus of boos every time he unloaded on Hollywood, and it wasn't long before The Rock's frustration began to show. Although The Rock is usually the peoples champ, on this night it was Hogan who the people cheered for the most. After a classic encounter in which both men had kicked out of each others finishing manoeuvres, Hogan went to give The Rock a second legdrop, however, much like the Warrior had twelve years previously, Rock quickly moved out of the way to send Hogan crashing to the canvas. Several moves and a peoples elbow later and The Rock had the victory! Following the match Hollywood uncharacteristically made a sporting gesture when he offered to shake The Rock's hand, and when he accepted this brought out Hall & Nash who attacked Hogan. The nWo seemed most displeased with Hogan's sportsmanship and viciously attacked the weary icon. Luckily The Rock helped Hogan fight off his nWo 'comrades' and then posed for the crowd as it seemed Hulkamania was alive and well in the Skydome once more!
10. The Women's title was up for grabs next as Champion Jazz defended against Lita and Toronto's own Trish Stratus, however not even the home field advantage could help Trish gain the victory as Jazz successfully retained the belt.
    
    Backstage one last time we find Christian making his way to a waiting car so that he can make his escape with the Hardcore title, but before he could do so Maven suddenly appeared to roll him up and reclaim his Hardcore title before jumping into the car and stealing Christian's ride!
11. In the final match of the evening Triple H challenged Chris Jericho for the Undisputed Championship. 'The Game' had earned the opportunity to wrestle for the title by winning the Royal Rumble back in January, whilst 'Y2J' had become the very first Undisputed Champion by beating both The Rock and Steve Austin in the same night back in December at Vengeance. Leading up to the event Triple H had learned that his 'wife' Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley had lied about being pregnant to prevent him leaving her. Upon hearing this Triple H had demanded a divorce and in-turn Stephanie had sided with former nemesis 'Y2J' in an attempt to ruin 'The Game's' chance of winning the title. Back in May Triple H had torn the quadriceps in his left leg during a match involving Jericho, and had undergone an intensive eight months of rehabilitation. Then, leading up to the event, 'Y2J' had re-injured the Triple H's leg and constantly attacked it during the match. Added to this, Triple H's estranged wife constantly interfered in the match even going so far as to rake 'The Game's' eyes. None the less 'The Cerebral Assassin' continued to battle against the odds even managing to survive the Walls of Jericho by reaching the ropes. Jericho attempted to end things with a steel chair but ended up receiving a DDT on it from the challenger, furious at this, Stephanie too tried to strike 'The Game' with the chair but received a Pedigree for her troubles. This distraction allowed the Champion to strike Triple H with the chair, but he still managed to kick out at the count of two. In desperation Jericho attempted to finish 'The Game' with his own move, but Triple H managed to get out of it and in turn delivered a Pedigree of his own to pin 'Y2J' and become only the second Undisputed Champion.

And so, after nearly four hours of action the eighteenth Wrestlemania drew to a close with fireworks signalling the crowning of a new champion. Although the title match was the final contest of the evening and is traditionally the main event, on this occasion that accolade would have to go to the match-up between Hulk Hogan and The Rock. This is not to say that Triple H and Chris Jericho did not put on a fine display, but after The Rock/Hogan match the crowd was completely drained and close to three hours of action had passed already, which is the usual length of a WWF PPV. None the less this was an incredible event that more than lived up to the hype, at the very least equalling last years Wrestlemania and surpassing the previous one at Skydome in 1990, making this the greatest Wrestlemania yet!