The early Kurt Angle vs. Kane match was a bore, as Angle, the U.S. Olympian turned WWF star, ran circles around Kane, a laborious man of a reported 326 pounds. Perhaps the best story line was offered by the bout between the Undertaker and Rick Flair. Yes, this is the same bleached-blond Nature Boy Rick Flair who first became a wrestling star in the '70s. He's now 53 years old and remains a master showman, but he's no longer much of a wrestler. Since Flair doesn't have the speed and strength to work inside the ring, most of his battle with the Undertaker took place outside, by the scorer's table. Lots of walking around and muttering. The crowd seemed to lose interest after five minutes; Undertaker eventually dragged Flair back in the ring and dropped him on his head with a patented Tombstone move.

Stone Cold Steve Austin faced off against WCW has-been Scott Hall. According to Meltzer, Austin was cool to the idea of wrestling Hogan, so he was moved down the card for this forgettable bout. (Die-hards take note: For his victory ritual, Austin smashed cans of Molson, rather than Budweiser, before the Toronto crowd.)

Wrestling historians had to appreciate the Rock vs. Hogan: Two of the biggest names, and most charismatic performers, in wrestling history in their first-ever match. (Actually, the two had a preliminary tangle last Monday night on "Raw," which robbed the pay-per-view broadcast of some of its thrill; Meltzer thinks that WWF executives panicked over "Raw" ratings and inserted the bout.) Yes, Hogan is 48 years old and hasn't learned a new ring maneuver in 10 years. But so much of the WWF is about manufacturing excitement, giving eager and willing fans a reason to scream and jump to their feet.

That explained the sheer bedlam that erupted when Hogan came out strong early, taunting the Rock and flexing for the crowd. For many of the fans it was pure nostalgia, taking them back to the late 1980s and early '90s, when Hulkamania was running wild in the streets of North America and indeed the globe. In 1987, for example, more than 93,000 fans packed into Michigan's Pontiac Silverdome to witness Hogan lift the 500-pound Andre the Giant off his feet for a body slam.

But Hogan hadn't appeared in a Wrestlemania in nine years and his lack of endurance showed. Just as the match was starting to generate some juice at the 15-minute mark, it was cut short, with the Rock dropping the People's Elbow on Hogan. (Actually, it appeared that the Rock's dramatic finisher missed Hogan by at least half a foot, which is probably why no replay was offered.) Ten more minutes of action might have elevated the match to something that core fans would long remember.

A women's championship bout followed, and it was a boring mess indeed. And then in the championship bout, trash-talking Chris Jericho lost his title to Triple H, who seems to have more muscle mass in his neck and shoulders than most families possess collectively. A decent match. But again, nothing to make the WWF faithful stay up past midnight posting online opinions.

And when wrestling fans stop finding reasons to obsess over matches, buy live-event tickets, and subscribe to a plethora of parasitic magazines, the whole phenomenon -- which looked just three years ago like an impregnable pop-culture empire -- can collapse. Just ask Ted Turner and WCW.

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