WrestleMania XIX was a 2003 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 19th annual WrestleMania and took place on March 30, 2003, at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington, marking the first WrestleMania held in the U.S. state of Washington. WrestleMania XIX was the first WrestleMania to be promoted under the WWE name after the promotion was renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002, making this the first WrestleMania of the Ruthless Aggression Era. It was also the first WrestleMania to take place after WWE introduced the brand extension in March 2002, in which the roster was divided between the Raw and SmackDown! brands; the event was held for wrestlers from both.
The marquee match from the SmackDown! brand, which was the main event, saw Brock Lesnar win the WWE Championship from defending champion Kurt Angle. The marquee match from the Raw brand was the third and final WrestleMania bout between The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (after XV and X-Seven), which The Rock won, marking Austin's final match before his retirement from in-ring performance due to injuries sustained in previous years (although Austin would return for a one-off main event match 19 years later against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 in 2022).
The other primary match from the Raw brand saw Triple H retain the World Heavyweight Championship against Booker T, while other matches on the undercard included Shawn Michaels, in his first WrestleMania since WrestleMania XIV in 1998, defeating Chris Jericho, Hulk Hogan defeating Mr. McMahon in a street fight billed "20 Years in the Making", and The Undertaker defeating the team of Big Show and A-Train in a handicap match.
A record-breaking 54,097 fans from all 50 states and numerous countries around the world at Safeco Field resulted in ticket earnings of $2.76 million. The official theme song for the event was "Crack Addict" by Limp Bizkit, who appeared at the event to perform the song; the band also performed their song "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" during The Undertaker's entrance.
Production Background
WrestleMania is considered World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) flagship professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event, having first been held in 1985. It has become the longest-running professional wrestling event in history and is held annually between mid-March to mid-April. It was the first of WWE's original four pay-per-views, which includes Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series, referred to as the "Big Four",Ian Hamilton. Wrestling's Sinking Ship: What Happens to an Industry Without Competition (p. 160) and was considered one of the "Big Five" PPVs with the addition of King of the Ring in 1993 until it was discontinued as an annual PPV after its June 2002 event. WrestleMania XIX was held on March 30, 2003, at Safeco Field in Seattle, Washington. It was the first and so far only WrestleMania held in the U.S. state of Washington.
WrestleMania XIX was the first WrestleMania promoted under the WWE name, following the company being renamed from World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to WWE in May 2002 following a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initials. It was also the first WrestleMania to be held under the company's original brand extension that began in March 2002, which split the roster between the Raw and SmackDown! brands, where wrestlers were exclusively assigned to perform on their respective shows; WrestleMania XIX featured wrestlers from both brands. It was also the first WrestleMania to feature the World Heavyweight Championship that was introduced for Raw in September 2002 after the WWE Undisputed Championship became exclusive to SmackDown! and truncated to WWE Championship.
A documentary entitled The Mania of WrestleMania was filmed live during the event and released the following year. It was the first sole production from WWE Films. WrestleMania XIX also marked the first time that production equipment was suspended from the underside of Safeco Field's roof (while in the closed position) with WWE suspending their lighting truss system from it.
Storylines The main feud heading into WrestleMania on the SmackDown! brand was between Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, with the two feuding over the WWE Championship. Angle won the title three months prior at Armageddon by defeating then-champion Big Show with Lesnar's help; Lesnar had lost the title at Survivor Series in November 2002 after his agent, Paul Heyman, betrayed him and assisted Big Show in winning the match. On the episode of SmackDown! immediately following Armageddon, Angle revealed that he too had taken on Heyman as his agent, and together they would ensure Lesnar never received an opportunity to regain the WWE Championship. Lesnar responded by brutally attacking Angle at the end of the show, injuring Angle's knee.
At the Royal Rumble, Angle faced Chris Benoit for his championship, while Lesnar was forced to wrestle Big Show for a spot in the Royal Rumble match, which guaranteed the winner a shot at his brand's championship at WrestleMania. Angle defeated Benoit by submission to retain his title. Lesnar defeated Big Show, despite interference from Heyman, to win his way into the Royal Rumble, which he entered at number 29 and won after last eliminating The Undertaker. The following month at No Way Out, Lesnar and Benoit defeated Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Shelton Benjamin, and Charlie Haas) in a handicap match. During No Way Out, Edge was supposed to team up with Lesnar and Benoit to wrestle Team Angle in the scheduled six man tag team match, but Edge was attacked backstage and it was announced he could not participate in the match. In reality, Edge had suffered a severe neck injury prior to the event, and needed time off for surgery. On the March 6 episode of SmackDown!, Lesnar defeated Heyman in a steel cage match to earn a WWE Championship match against Angle. On the March 13 episode of SmackDown!, Angle defeated Lesnar to retain the WWE Championship. Before the match began, Kurt, who was "praying" in the corner, switched places with his brother Eric. Lesnar then came out and the match began. Shortly after the match began, Lesnar nailed the imposter with an F-5 and attempted a pinfall. Lesnar then broke his own pinfall attempt after quickly realizing that his opponent in the ring was not Kurt Angle. Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas then came to the ring and distracted Lesnar, which gave Eric time to switch back with Kurt. As Lesnar regained his focus, Kurt was able to pin him with a small package for the win. The following week on the March 20 episode of SmackDown!, SmackDown! General Manager Stephanie McMahon told Angle that, at WrestleMania, if he tried to get himself disqualified, counted out or if Benjamin, Haas, Heyman, Eric or anyone tried to interfere in their match on Angle's behalf, he would lose the title.
The main feud on the Raw brand was between The Rock and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. On the February 20 episode of SmackDown!, The Rock returned to WWE after a six-month hiatus from wrestling (his last appearance being at SummerSlam the previous August). On that evening, he was involved in a confrontation with Hulk Hogan before their WrestleMania X8 rematch at No Way Out, officially turning heel in the process. At No Way Out, The Rock defeated Hogan with the help of Mr. McMahon. On the February 24 episode of Raw, The Rock moved to the Raw brand and competed in a 20-man battle royal that would determine the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. The Rock, however, lost after he was eliminated by Booker T. The Rock would go on to criticize Austin for being chosen as the "Superstar of the Decade" by WWE fans in January, beginning the feud between them. On the March 3 episode of Raw, Austin, who had left the company during the summer of 2002 before returning at No Way Out, made his WWE television return. As Austin was cutting a promo, he was interrupted by The Rock, who challenged him to a match at WrestleMania, with Rock admitting he was obsessed with not beating Austin at a WrestleMania event, since The Rock had lost their two previous encounters at WrestleMania XV and X-Seven, respectively. As soon as the challenge was made, Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff announced that the following week on Raw, The Rock would face Booker T in a match, and if The Rock won, he would have the choice to face either Austin or challenge Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania. On the March 10 episode of Raw, The Rock, with Bischoff's approval, announced that he would pick his own opponent for later that night, which turned out to be The Hurricane, in hopes for The Rock to gain an easy victory. However, during the match, Austin made his way down the entrance ramp, which distracted The Rock and allowed The Hurricane to roll up The Rock into a successful pinfall, thus making the match between Austin and The Rock at WrestleMania official. On the March 24 episode of Raw, Austin was banned from entering the arena, as The Rock proceeded to perform the first ever "Rock Concert" that night. However, he managed to enter the arena and attack The Rock during the segment before The Rock fled the ring.
The secondary feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Hulk Hogan and Mr. McMahon. One month prior at No Way Out, during a match between Hogan and The Rock, McMahon came down to the ring, only to distract Hogan, which allowed the referee, Sylvan Grenier, to give The Rock a chair, which The Rock used to hit Hogan and pin him for the win. After No Way Out, McMahon proclaimed that Hulkamania was dead and proclaiming a new 'mania; "McMahonamania". On the March 6 episode of SmackDown!, Hogan informed McMahon that Hulkamania was not dead and that McMahon had nothing to do with creating it. McMahon informed Hogan that he did not hate the Hulkamaniacs or Hulkamania, but that he hated Hogan. McMahon then told Hogan that he hated him for leaving WWE (then known as the WWF) and signing with Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and for testifying against him in the infamous steroid trial in the 1990s. McMahon proceeded to challenge Hogan to a Street Fight at WrestleMania where, if Hogan lost, he would have to retire from professional wrestling. Hogan accepted his challenge later that night. Two weeks later on the March 20 episode of SmackDown!, McMahon and Hogan had a contract signing for their match at WrestleMania. As Hogan was preparing to sign the contract, McMahon attacked Hogan with a steel chair from behind. Shortly afterward, McMahon hit Hogan several times with the chair in the head, causing him to bleed. McMahon then signed the contract and forced Hogan to sign with his own blood.