Ranking What Was REALLY The Best Wrestling PPV Every Year 1990-2020

18. 2003 - WWE WrestleMania XIX

Hulk Hogan Vince McMahon WrestleMania XIX 19
WWE.com

Steve Austin powered through a health crisis to put over the Rock in a hugely admirable finale befitting the seminal quality of a story that, in its emotional last seconds, had become one of profound mutual respect.

Mr. McMahon was in absolutely sublime, campy form as the sadistic, blood-soaked villain in an expert entry of his unique genre match. Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels worked the match of the night with their exhilarating mentor versus student tale. SmackDown's awesome tag team scene was represented nicely enough, the Kurt Angle Vs. Brock Lesnar main event was a damn, damn good wrestling match, and while Triple H was a foul piece of absolute dog sh*t, the event itself was tremendous.

A great time when times were sh*tty and about to get sh*ttier, WrestleMania XIX is the outlier of a company in decline.

If WrestleMania X-Seven was the last time WWE was truly great, consider XIX an encore.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!