Jazz, Trish Stratus and Victoria provided a spiritual sequel to the WrestleMania 18 three-way clash, with Lita's replacement Victoria and safer placement on the card providing an even more satisfying outcome. The last 12 months had proved astonishing for Trish in particular - she'd exponentially improved as a wrestler, becoming doyen of a reinvented division in the wake of the first brand extension.
Victoria and Jazz were intense heels, sharing the load of smashing the sh*t out of Stratus before her eventual re-emergence. A double shoulder-breaker on Stratus was particularly innovative and ferocious and spoke to the innovative efforts that often went ignored.
The finishing sequence spoke to how well thought-out the contest had been. Victoria's valet Stevie Richards ran interference with a steel chair with Jazz disposed on the arena floor, but after nailing him with a hard Stratusfaction bulldog, Trish reversed Victoria's Widow Peak to leather the champion with a killer Chick Kick for the climactic title victory.
Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett
