Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy 03/30/03

Where: Seattle, WA

Backstory: Rey Mysterio had just made his debut with the WWE in July of 2002 and had an extremely impressive showing with the heavyweights. I was pleasantly surprised because like a lot of other WCW cruiserweight alumni, I felt he wouldn't be able to have competitive and exciting matches in the WWE environment. After proving himself to be a marketable star he decided to set his sights on the WWE Cruiserweight title. He was matched up against the Cruiserweight champion Matt Hardy in the opening match of Wrestlemania XIX. Matt Hardy is in his "Version 1.0" phase of his career. Version 1.0 means that he's being himself and giving an honest character rather than the pretty boy tag wrestler. It was definitely different from any other character nickname in wrestling, but maybe a little too complex for the average fan. Shannon Moore is in Hardy's corner as "Mattitude Follower #1."

In Ring Analysis:

Hardy enters the ring second and Moore distracts Mysterio to let Hardy attack from behind. Rey is too quick and catches Hardy with a backdrop outside the ring. Mysterio comes out with a corkscrew plancha to the outside on Hardy and Moore. When a big exciting move like this is done right away, it either means that the guy doesn't know how to maximize his high spots and save them for meaningful moments, or the match isn't that long and the guy wants to get in his spots. Mysterio is a longstanding professional (started at 13), so this will be short.

Mysterio throws Hardy back in and gets a 2 count. Hardy whips Mysterio in the corner, but get met with a boot when he charges. Rey then gets a head scissor takedown from the second rope on Hardy. Hardy takes a breather on the apron, but Rey stays on top of him with a springboard and tries to powerbomb him to the outside, but Moore interferes and kick Mysterio in the gut. Hardy then drops Mysterio over the ringside barricade stomach first.

Hardy throws Rey back in and gets a 2 count. Hardy picks Mysterio up and gets a modified Side Effect for another nearfall. Hardy then chokes Mysterio on the ropes. As Hardy argues with the ref, Moore sneaks in and chokes him some more. Hardy goes to pancake Mysterio on the ropes, but Rey dodges. Rey has his Irish whip reversed, and Hardy takes advantage from a kick to the gut on a hurricanrana attempt. Hardy then goes for a Twist of Fate, but Mysterio gets a reverse victory roll for a nearfall on Hardy. Rey then has another Irish whip reversed and Hardy catches Rey with a Side Effect. By the way, as a general rule, the smaller guy always gets his Irish whip reversed because the bigger guy needs to look stronger, plus the smaller guy is probably a better runner and can do some better spots when he's on the move. You'd be shocked at how some of the older wrestlers can barely run anymore, but that's besides the point.

Hardy takes Mysterio down and applies a Surfboard to set up the comeback for Mysterio. Rey fights out, but Hardy pummels on Rey and gets him in the corner. Matt whips Rey into the ropes, and catches another boot as he charges him. Hardy then charges again and Mysterio dodges and Matt runs into the ringpost. Rey is the fastest guy in the company at this point, so it's good to show that it's hard to catch him when he creates distance.

Rey gets a springboard senton splash. He then does another springboard off the second rope into a crossbody block for two. Rey takes Hardy down with another leg scissor takedown. Rey runs the ropes again and gets a spinning DDT for a nearfall. He forces Hardy into a prone position on the second rope to set up the 619. Moore catches Mysterio by the leg which allows Hardy to hit the Twist of Fate. Mysterio kicks out of Hardy's finisher as Hardy acts shocked. I know it's important to sell that your finisher should never be kick out of, but it looks a little silly when it's not a devastating move, and its so overblown. Subtleness counts a lot in wrestling.

Hardy sets Mysterio up on the top rope for a Razor's Edge, but Mysterio reverses into a hurricanrana for another nearfall, but Shannon Moore puts Hardy's foot on the ropes. Rey has had enough and pulls Moore up to the apron, but dodges Matt Hardy who was trying to attack from behind. Hardy is set up for the 619, and this time Rey hits it. Rey goes for for the West Coast Pop, but after a series of maneuvers Hardy rolls Mysterio up and grabs the ropes for a three count.


Winner by Pinfall in 5:39: Matt Hardy **3/4

While it was anticlimactic for the babyface to lose his big title shot, the company was saving the big Rey win for Smackdown in his hometown of San Diego which I will review next week. There was no point in wasting it on a show that has so many other matches that will overshadow it.

Otherwise the action was good, but the match was very short, so you couldn't really build a ton of sympathy for Mysterio.