SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 22:30 Min.
WrestleMania XX occurred on March 14, 2004, at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. One of its two main events would pit the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) World Champion Eddie Guerrero defending his title vs. four-time ex-champion Kurt Angle. The bout’s ringside commentators are Michael Cole and Tazz.
REVIEW:
This title defense is flawlessly executed. In their mid-thirties, rugged veterans Guerrero and Angle both still appear in virtually peak technical form. More so, there aren’t any cheap added components: i.e. outside inference or foreign objects to taint their in-ring star power.
Their ultra-competitive bout instead focuses on choreography (both masterful and brutal), especially as neither Angle nor Guerrero telegraph the match’s outcome. In the moments leading up to the inspired finish, one does get a hint, but it’s ingeniously played.
The match ultimately comes down to Guerrero’s ring savviness and high-flying agility vs. Angle’s pit-bull tenacity and mastery of submission holds. Decades later, this Guerrero-Angle title showdown absolutely merits re-discovery.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 10 Stars
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