27. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle - WrestleMania XIX
Few have ever had a string of classic matches with a larger variety of opponents like Kurt Angle did from 2002 to 2003. It was an unbelievable run that could be ranked against the same span of time for any wrestler from any era. Angle was a wrestling prodigy. Perhaps the only more prodigious wrestler in history was Brock Lesnar, who burst onto the scene in the midst of Angles brilliant stretch and took over quickly as one of WWEs top draws. Angle vs. Lesnar was a dream match, of sorts, as it approached in 2003. Their amateur backgrounds were unequaled in modern wrestling lore. However, when news broke of Angles recurring neck problem, expectations were changed and the dream nearly became a nightmare. As fans clamored to see Angle make it out of the match alive, the hope for a classic was put on the backburner. An emotional roller coaster to end the night was just what XIX needed to be considered arguably the greatest Mania in history. With every hip toss; with every shoulder tackle; with every suplex; with every high risk maneuver; and with every finishing move, the people waited to see if Angle would get back up. One shoulder tackle in particular smacked so loud that it reverberated from Seattle across the globe. You could see the look on the refs face, as he checked to see if Angle was OK; to see if he could continue the classic match that he was in the midst of performing. Luckily, Angle endured and kept going. For over 21-minutes, he kept going. He and Lesnar built to an exciting conclusion after having each kicked out of the others finishing move. And that was when the story changed to Brock. It had been rumored that he was athletic enough to pull off a Shooting Star Press. If he had hit that move, Angle-Lesnar would without a doubt be one of the greatest matches ever. However, he tried, missed, and nearly killed himself. How quickly the concern shifted from Angles neck to Lesnars. The intangibles involving Kurts neck and Brocks botched gainer add something extra to the table that most matches do not have. However, the botch did come during what was supposed to be the finish to the match. The improvisation was well handled, but it prevented it from being a truly epic.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
