Wrestlemania XIII
release year: 1997
genre: vintage wrestling pay-per-view
viewing setting: home DVD, 10/27/12
synopsis: This thirteenth annual wrestling mega-event was the first to have some really violent, "no holds barred" type matches, as well as the WM debut of he who would become known as the Rock.
where it happened: Rosemont, Illinois (suburb of Chicago)
impressions: As always, I won't go into great detail, but mention the highlights: a 6-man tag team match with three teams...Rocky Maivia's Wrestlemania debut (before he was known as "The Rock")...the Honky Tonk man joining the commentators for a match...Rocky's dad running into the ring to help him after the match...the Wrestlemania debut of the manly-looking Chyna as bodyguard for HHH while he beats Goldust...Shawn Michaels barely able to figure out how to use a computer backstage...Owen Hart and British Bulldog vs Mankind and Vader...the Wrestlemania debut of Mankind and his dreaded "Mandible Claw" finishing move...Lawler making fun of Stu Hart in the front row...guest referee Ken Shamrock for a long, brutal, bloody submission match between whining Bret Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (who was much less of a star at WM12 a year ago)...that fight spilling over into the audience, and Austin drinking a random fan's beer...the announcers' table being part of the fight, as Ross gets bowled over...gangster team Nation of Domination (with annoying rap music intro) eventually losing to Legion of Doom and Ahmed Johnson, in a "Chicago street fight" that featured garbage cans, 2x4s, fire extinguishers, and everything else imaginable...the demise of the French announcers' table...guest commentator Shawn Michaels...the big final match between 6'9" Sid and 6'10" Undertaker.
fun quote #1: Vince McMahon: (talking about one of the punk wrestler's bizarre moves) "Well, I don't know exactly what that is."
Jerry Lawler: "That's what you do in a mosh pit, McMahon. You don't know anything about rock music...your favorite rock group is Mount Rushmore."
fun quote #2: Jerry Lawler: "You see their ring attire, McMahon? You got any White Zombie CDs?"
Vince McMahon: "White...Zombie?
Jerry Lawler: "Yeah."
Vince McMahon: "They ever play with Tony Bennett?"
fun quote #3: Vince McMahon: "You sound like you're a little bit more emotionally involved in this match-"
Honky Tonk Man: "I'm extremely emotional! You have to be emotional! It's Wrestlemania 13...you forget about everything! You get in there and you try to win!"
fun quote #4: Jerry Lawler: "That lucky kid does not have enough luck to beat the Sultan!"
fun quote #5: Jerry Lawler: "Yeah you talk about him being worried about Marlena...he'd better worry about Hunter Hearst Helmsley or he'll get his gold butt kicked right here!"
fun quote #6: Jerry Lawler: "Look at Chyna...she's just standing there like a statue."
Vince McMahon: "Well, that's what Chyna does."
Jerry Lawler: "Lets hope she remains that way."
fun quote #7: Jerry Lawler: "Goldust loves movies so much...I think they filmed that movie "Gorillas in the Mist" in Chyna's shower!"
fun quote #8: Jerry Lawler: "Hunter told me that money is the root of all...wealth."
Vince McMahon: "You're rolling."
Jerry Lawler: "Well that's what he told me!"
fun quote #9: Jerry Lawler: "You guys better watch what you say about Chyna...because I'll tell her!"
fun quote #10: Vince McMahon: "Paul Bearer has not been the same since leaving the Undertaker."
Jerry Lawler: "Did you see how big his face is? He's gonna need a bookmark to find his chin."
Jim Ross: "Which one?"
fun quote #11: Jerry Lawler: "...smacked into that iron ringpost! And that is gonna shatter the cranium...maybe it won't. Stone Cold is just about as tough as they get."
fun quote #12: Jim Ross: "Austin's face...smacked with steel! And now Austin is a bloody mess!"
fun quote #13: Jim Ross: "Well, I guarantee you, if Ken Shamrock stops this match without a submission...Steve Austin will attempt to kill him!"
fun quote #14: Jim Ross: "Look how much blood Stone Cold Steve Austin is losing! He's gotta be weakening!"
fun quote #15: Jim Ross: "Good God, how much longer can they endure this?"
fun quote #16: Jim Ross: "What would Wrestlemania be without Shawn Michaels?"
Jerry Lawler: "It would be better!"
fun quote #17: Shawn Michaels: "So far, the biggest losers tonight have been the tables of the WWF."
fun quote #18: Shawn Michaels: "And we are in for a wild ride...and frankly, I'm excited and I just want to be a part of it."
final word: This one more or less marked the beginning of WWF's "Attitude Era" and had some pretty good matches.
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