Since it’s inception in March 1985,
Wrestlemania has become the highlight event in Wrestling calendar.
It’s more than just an event but also a tradition to all the
wrestling fans worldwide. Created by WWE chairman, Vincent Kennedy
McMahon, in an attempt to make the wrestling industry a mainstream
edition to society. Superstars such as Muhammad Ali, Mr. T and Mike
Tyson have been ‘A-list’ celebrities than have been in the main
event of the ‘Granddaddy of them all’. So let’s see what the
best and the worst Wrestlemania’s of all time truly are and why:
Personally,
it’s a no brainer. The only Wrestlemania I can think of where the
event itself wasn’t even booked to make the event special, it was
looking forward to the following year at Miami, Florida. With The Miz
(see picture) in the main event it was also a one-way ticket for
disaster. He will ultimately go down in history as the worst main
event superstar of all time with his pathetic performance against
John Cena for the championship. The Rock was the Wrestlemania host
for the night and it would ultimately be the pie-eating, smackdown
laying, jibrony that would have the final say. The event itself seen
a disastrous booking with Orton and Punk stealing the show. The
Undertaker’s match with Triple H was a let down when you compare it
to what occurred at Wrestlemania X-7 in the Houston Astrodome. It’s
difficult to tell which match was the biggest let down, but with
‘King’ Jerry Lawlor’s only Wrestlemania match coming during
this event, it’s safe to say he won’t be missed.
29. Wrestlemania 11:
There is no doubt in anyone’s
mind that Wrestlemania 11 occurred during the worst period in
Vince McMahon’s tenure as WWE chairman. The event is many people’s
number one choice to be bottom of the list and to be honest, it’s
very hard to disagree. The poor attendance, the silenced crowd, and
the terrible celebrity input all contribute to the very disappointing
event at the Hartford Civic Centre, Connecticut. The major highlight
of the event was the performance of Shawn Michaels (see top), who won
the Royal Rumble in January, showcasing his main event capabilities
on the biggest stage of them all against WWE Champion, Diesel,
despite the defeat. The return of King Kong Bundy to face The
Undertaker was an enormous attraction for long-lasting WWE fans.
However, it wouldn’t be harsh to say that Bundy left his
Wrestlemania main event status in the cage with Hulk Hogan nine years
previously. Bundy wasn’t the only fan favourite to return as Bob
Backlund returned to face Bret Hart in an “I Quit” match. The
main attraction of the night was the match between basketball legend,
Lawrence Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow. The tattooed giant was deserved
of his status at a main eventer after being a long standing roster
member, but for one time only. The match was a very poor, slow paced,
quick wrestling match. Once Bam Bam had been defeated by Taylor his
status quickly fell down the pecking order in the company. Wrong
decision and wrong match up’s, however certainly one to be
remembered.
28. Wrestlemania 25:
Not the greatest piece of viewing
especially at such a landmark event with it being twenty-five since
the inception of Wrestlemania. A lot of the build up was focused on
the evil Randy Orton’s viper persona against the babyface Triple H
who was determined to punish Orton for hurting both his family and
his pride in the build up. Unfortunately for this event, it was the
build up to the match that was greater than the actual match as the
crowd where blown away with the match between The Undertaker and
Shawn Michaels. One that is arguably the greatest Wrestlemania match
of all time. Fan favourite CM Punk won the ‘Money In The Bank’
ladder match enabling him to challenge for the championship at any
given stage during the next year. Punk was then not seen as a main
event superstar but his performance in the ‘Money In The Bank’
match displayed the straight edged superstar’s talent to a world
wide audience. Brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy faced off in an extreme
rules match which didn’t live up to the fans expectations of what
they could do, and showed, almost a decade previously as a tag team.
One image that will be forever shown from this event is John Cena
delivering an ‘AA’ to both Big Show and Edge in his victory over
the two to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion. (see top)
27. Wrestlemania 29:
It’s difficult to remember a
Pay-Per-View event that disappointed as much as Wrestlemania 29. Held
at the infamous MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the event seen a
re-match of the John Cena and The Rock’s, ‘Once in a Lifetime’
story that took place a year previously. Ironically, it was now
happening a second time. It was an event that seemingly was ready to
catapult the career of, Ryback. The Goldberg-esque destroyer had been
on a bit of a downward spiral since his streak was beaten months
previously by John Cena. Now up against Mark Henry, it was dubbed as
a match of strength. Ryback ultimately lost the match after being
squashed by Henry when attempting his finisher ‘Shellshock’. Any
momentum Ryback had going into Wrestlemania was now shattered. It
never made sense giving the win to Henry at the end of his career,
instead of a fresh Ryback that could be pushed into title contention.
The much anticipated debut of Fandango finally revealed itself. For
weeks leading up to his match with Chris Jericho, Y2J would be unable
to pronounce the Latin American’s name wrongly much to his
annoyance. It was basically a dead end storyline with Jericho
basically pushing Fandango, who would go on to achieve nothing
throughout the remainder of the year. Let’s face it, the show
wasn’t all bad. The design for the arena and ring was second to
none and so was Brock Lesnar’s match with Triple H. With The Game’s
career on the line, he had to beat Lesnar who broke the arm of the
former champion twice prior to the clash and did so with the move
that broke the arm of The Game. (see photo). The highlight of the
night without question, was the streak match between CM Punk and The
Undertaker. Punk who had lost the title only a few months previously
at the Royal Rumble was now teasing The Undertaker who was mourning
the death of former manager Paul Bearer (AKA William Moody who passed
away in 2013) by showcasing the iron of his past mentors ashes. Punk
was being talked about being the first man to break the streak and
the performance he showed in the match really didn’t leave any
doubt that CM Punk definitely was…….”The Best In The World”.
26. Wrestlemania 24:
It’s really sentimental value keeping
this event so far down the list (let’s be honest). Only the second
Wrestlemania to be filmed outside in the open air, and the first
since Wrestlemania 9 in 1993. The eyes of the world were well and
truly focused on Wrestlemania as since the first time in a decade, a
star from the boxing world was the main attraction at Wrestling’s
biggest event of the year. Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather was taking on
the Big Show in a knockout or submission match. The pairs feud had
stemmed from when Mayweather was live in an audience and opted to
jump over the railings and attack Show leading to him breaking Big
Show’s nose. Despite the world’s media focused on the match, the
match was really a bore fest. It was simply made to look like the Big
Show was ready to destroy the “pound for pound king”, before
Mayweather caught Show with a sweet shot to knock him out to win the
match. (see photo). The entire booking of the event was a pretty
mediocre affair also as Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero within 11
seconds of the match commencing for the ECW championship. There’s
only one thing that will be fondly remembered from this event and
that is the last professional match in the career of the Nature Boy,
Ric Flair. The sixteen time world champion had to beat Shawn Michaels
or else he must retire. A broken Michaels superkicked Flair for the
victory with tears streaming down his face. Michaels left the ring
and Flair had his moment where the entire Citrus Bowl in Orlando
applauded and cheered Flair for all the memories in his illustrious
forty-year career to a heartwarming moment for the WWE Universe.
25. Wrestlemania 7:
It say a lot when the biggest event of
the year is moved to an arena next door to it’s original venue
because it cannot sell enough tickets. The then WWF, had planned on
bringing Wrestlemania XII to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with a
capacity of 100,000, but had no option to move the event next door
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena with a capacity of more than five
times less of it’s original venue. The WWF used a poor excuse that
a bomb threat had been ordered on the stadium due to the highly
intense main event between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter who was now
a defector to Iraq. Hogan stood for 100% American made whilst
Slaughter was seen as the bad guy siding with the enemy in the height
of gulf war tensions. It is rumoured that Slaughter wore a bullet
proof vest on the way to the ring in case of anyone taking the story
to heart. The main event certainly did not go down as a classic with
the outcome shocking no one. The Ultimate Warrior’s retirement
match with “Macho Man” Randy Savage was arguably the highlight of
the event with a fantastic twenty minute plus match mapped out with
pure entertainment from two of the biggest names in the industry
during this period. (see photo). It must also be noticed that this
event gave birth to the longest streak in professional wrestling
history, as The Undertaker fresh from making his debut at the
Survivor Series in November 1990, took on WWF legend, Jimmy
‘Superfly’ Snuka.
24. Wrestlemania 23:
Unfortunately during this time in the
WWE, Pay-Per Views were not of the standard that they were being
showed at only a few years previously and Wrestlemania 23 was no
better. There’s no doubt it wasn’t the worst event created during
this time and in fact there has been worse in the past but, it just
lacked the main event feel all good Wrestlemania’s should offer
you. Even The Undertaker’s streak match with Batista was a very
slow paced affair compared to some of the matches both competitors
have given us in the past. The ‘Money In The Bank’ match was the
poorest of it’s kind even to date for me and a rather undeserved
winner also in Mr.Kennedy. Mr. McMahon having his head shaved bald at
the expense of billionaire ‘nemesis’, Donald Trump was a sight to
behold in itself. (see photo). The main event between John Cena and
Shawn Michaels definitely lived up to the hype it showcased. The pair
locked horns for almost a half an hour in a closely contested affair
with Hustle, Loyalty and Respect coming through in the end.
23. Wrestlemania 13:
It may not have been the best spectacle
that’s for sure, but Wrestlemania 13 was a historic one as there
were a lot of first’s and a lot of last’s. Future Hall Of Famer,
The Rock, appeared in his first Wrestlemania in 1997 against the
masked Sultan who many people don’t know is actually Rikishi. The
Rock’s first appearance at Wrestlemania seen him aiming to hold
onto his Intercontinental title. Hunter Hurst Helmsley otherwise
known as Triple H, picked up his first and definitely not his last
Wrestlemania victory when he defeated Goldust in a good quality
wrestling match. Bret Hart (appearing his last Wrestlemania before
joining WCW) took on the Texas rattlesnake, “Stone Cold” Steve
Austin in one of the most memorable matches in the history of the
sport. Austin came into the match as a heel wrestler facing Hart who
he had lost to at the Survivor Series in 1996. The match was a
submission match and with neither man willing to tap out, it would be
Austin who would pass out with the pain of the sharpshooter in what
would become one of the most iconic images in the history of the
sport. (see photo). From that moment on, the heel Austin, instantly
became a fan favourite and would lead onto the rise of one of the
most popular men in WWE ever. Despite the brilliant match between the
two, it would be the main event that will leave a sour taste in the
mouth when thinking of this Mania. Sycho Sid and The Undertaker
wrestled for twenty minutes in one of the most boring main events
ever seen on TV to date.
22. Wrestlemania 26:
This one to this day is still the most
unusual Wrestlemania’s to date for various reasons. Set in Phoenix
Arizona, the event was an open air event much to the disappointment
of many people. The strong line up with two main events that had the
WWE Universe talking were John Cena vs. Batista (see photo) and the
other one being the Streak vs. Career match between The Undertaker
and HBK. Should Shawn Michaels lose, the career of the heartbreak kid
would come to an end at the hands of The Undertaker. The match was a
great match but is still to this day overshadowed by the match in the
previous year that is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever
Wrestlemania matches. Cena and Batista’s rivalry was built upon
events of five years previously where both men won their first WWE
title’s on the same night at Wrestlemania 21. Batista felt Cena had
become the main man in the company and wanted things to change should
he be vicotious. A jealous storyline between the two led to an
average match that didn’t last very long in the Phoenix desert. One
of the highlights of the event was the CM Punk and Rey Mysterio match
that should have gone on longer. The match certainly lived up to the
story-line that had occurred on both Raw and Smackdown and would see
Rey join the ‘Straight Edge Society’ should CM Punk beat him.
Many people are still extremely critical even to this day of the Bret
vs Vince match, however I’m not so sure. Yes the match was a poor
and not a great spectacle, however the return of Bret Hart when no
one could have imagined the Hitman ever returning to the WWE made it
special. It was truly great to see “The best there is, the best
there was and the best there will ever be” returning. A really
sentimental moment for all WWE fans of the era of the ‘Montreal
Screwjob’.
21. Wrestlemania 22:
For me, this is the worst card in the
history of Wrestlemania. None of these story-lines will ever go down
in history as iconic. However the matches weren’t that poor. The
‘Money In The Bank’ match was pretty good viewing with the
exception of Ric Flair who at the age he was at, just wasn’t
capable of keeping up with the other contenders such as Rob Vam Dam.
John Cena and Triple H may have been the main event but they
certainly didn’t steal the show. Yes it was great to see the two
biggest stars go head to head but the match itself wasn’t in anyway
memorable. When you talk about title matches on this night, you
remember that after more than ten years on TV with both WCW and WWE,
Rey Mysterio (see photo) was finally given the honour of winning his
first World Championship by defeating Kurt Angle and Randy Orton in a
triple threat match. A moment that was almost Deja Vu of one Eddie
Guerrero at ‘No Way Out’ 2004. One match from this card will
stand out amongst them all, and even for Mick Foley, was the hardcore
match between Foley and Edge and let’s just say this match was
incredible. The match between Mick Foley and Edge took place and left
the crowd in sheer awe at the ability and lengths both these
superstars were willing to go to. Entertainment from start to finish,
both men left the crowd knowing they had nothing more to give. This
match was worth the ticket price alone.
20. Wrestlemania 5:
For the second year in a row and the
only time in Wrestlemania history, the WWE decided to bring the event
back to the same venue, Trump Plaza Atlantic City, it was held the
year previously. However, unlike the year previously, Wrestlemania V
was a pretty poor event with the exception of one or two highlights.
The atmosphere compared to the Wrestlemania’s prior to this were
second to none and there was always an aura of unpredictability,
unfortunately during this event the match-card wasn’t to the
standard of the previous four. One thing that did stand as a shock
and still to this day, is that the Ultimate Warrior was beaten when
he faced Rick Rude for the Intercontinental title. The Ultimate
Warrior was rising to the top of the WWE ranks and to the surprise of
all he was beaten by Rude to lose his Intercontinental title and
suffer his first pinfall defeat in the WWE. The main event was
Hulk Hogan taking on Randy Savage who had become jealous of Hogan and
his then wife, Elizabeth’s relationship. Savage caused the once
‘Mega-powers’ (see photo) to split and the one time best friends
were now arch enemies and the World Title was on the line. The
match itself was the best main event match (wrestling wise) since the
start of Wrestlemania.
19. Wrestlemania 12:
The card may have been short, but it
was effective. Wrestlemania 12 will always be remembered for one
match but looking closely at it, there were many standouts in a short
but decent card in Sacramento, California. The opening match was the
six man tag match between ‘Camp Cornette’ and Mr. Fuji’s dream
team. The match was more than pleasant viewing, however it was a sad
sight for any wrestling fan to see the near six hundred pound
Yokozuna barely able to move around the ring due to his sheer size
very un-comparable to when he joined the company in late 1992. Many
may have forgotten about “The Ringmaster” Steve Austin’s
Wrestlemania debut against Savio Vega during this event. (See Photo).
Arguably the greatest star in the history of professional wrestling,
Austin made his debut against the Vega in what turned out to be a
very good match. This would not be the last we would hear about
the Texas Rattlesnake. After four years out of the ring, The Ultimate
Warrior returned in the build up to Wrestlemania for his match with
Hunter Hurst Helmsley. The match was a Warrior special, over in a
matter of seconds, made him look unstoppable, and takes all the
plaudits but I can assure you there is nothing to be thankful for,
for this match. The Undertaker’s anticipated showdown with Diesel
was an okay match but it wasn’t too different to the match he would
have a year later with the stiff Sycho Sid. Diesel (a poor
in-ring performer) really didn’t step up to the occasion when he
faced the demon of death valley. Roddy Piper won’t look back on
this event fondly, his match with Goldust was nothing but an
anti-climax. The build up was brilliantly executed however the end
result will be easily swept under the carpet. When you think of
Wrestlemania 12, you’ll always think of Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart,
and an iron man match. Nothing but pure athletic wrestling for over
an hour was our main event. Critics were unsure as to whether the two
guys would keep the entertainment value high, but the match is
unmissable from start to finish and one of the greatest moments of
Wrestlemania.
18. Wrestlemania 2:
Regardless of our thoughts on the
event, Wrestlemania 2 is historic. It’s the first, and most
probably will be the last time, the WWE holds an event that is
broadcasted from more than one venue. A move from Vince McMahon that
would either make him a fortune or completely bust his company
according to his own personal views. There were many issues with the
event, including both sound and production however the event
financially for the company ran in a healthy turn of revenue.
Unfortunately the card wasn’t so great with short and brief
matches. In the Nassau Coliseum in New York, the main event was
between Mr. T and ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper in a boxing match. The
match was quiet a poor main event for the New York crowd with the
only highlight being the fact Mr. T was in another Wrestlemania.
Shortly after the match they switched over to the Rosemont Horizon in
Chicago where their segment was to be headlined by a twenty man
battle royal in which André the Giant would be successful yet again
in a battle royal. The British Bulldogs faced off against The Dream
Team in what turned out to be a very worthy tag-team match for the
Chicago crowd. With the Bulldogs victorious production switched to
the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (The venue for Wrestlemania 7)
and the highlight of the show and the event three part event would
see Hulk Hogan face off against King Kong Bundy (see photo) in
a steel cage match for the WWF World Title. The injured Hogan would
fight back to beat a bloody Bundy in a memorable match and remain as
WWF champion. The match itself saved the event from being
terrible viewing and will go down as one of the best cage matches
ever.
17. Wrestlemania 21:
Very hard to take much away from this
event. A lot of very talented, beautifully timed, highly entertaining
matches whilst at the same time, a certain match in particular that
should never be carded on a wrestling event. The match I’m
referring to is the sumo match between Big Show and Akebono. Why this
match happened is a mystery to us all, and the reason behind the
victory for Akebono is an even bigger one. The match made a run down
Big Show look easy to beat and incredibly incapable of such stardom
again. The full two minutes the match lasted, is time the viewer will
never get back. This event also brought the WWE into a new era of
champions as both Batista, who recently defected from Evolution, beat
Triple H to win the World Heavyweight Championship whilst John Cena
finally ended the title run of John “Bradshaw” Layfield, who had
been champion for nearly ten months. Also it was the first ‘Money
In The Bank’ match. The victor would be enabled to “cash in”
the contract for his chance at the WWE title at any time within the
next year. The event seen the dawning of a new era, but not in all
segments, as Randy Orton took on The Undertaker in his attempt to
carry on his “Legend Killer” stigma. Unfortunately for Orton, in
beating off other legends, he had never faced anyone like The
Undertaker and faced the wrath of the Deadman. The match of the night
definitely goes to the Olympic hero, Kurt Angle, and ‘Mr.
Wrestlemania’, Shawn Michaels for their incredible match lasting
almost thirty minutes. The match (see photo) showcased both men’s
enormous talents and brought the aging men to even greater levels
than ever before.
16. Wrestlemania 1:
Without this event, Wrestling wouldn’t
have reached the scale of popularity it has reached in the last
thirty years. Created to bring the wrestling world into the
mainstream industry and establish the Rock N’ Roll gimmick to
Wrestling, Vince’s intention was to make wrestling “cool”. Held
at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the first Wrestlemania
match ever was between Tito Santana and The Executioner in which
Santana won after The Executioner taped out to the figure four leg
lock. King Kong Bundy would then follow suit by defeating Special
Delivery Jones within nine seconds, a record that stood for twenty
three more years. The evening would also seen the crowning of a new
Intercontinental title as Hall Of Famer, Junkyard Dog, would defeat
Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine and become the first African-American
champion. The gimmick match of the night was between André The Giant
and ‘Big’ John Studd. Should André lose, he would have to retire
but should André bodyslam (yes bodyslam) Studd, then he would have
to pay out $15,000. Part of Vince’s strategy to make Wrestling
become more popular was the introduction of A-list celebrities and
that’s exactly what we seen when Cyndi Lauper was ringside for the
women’s title match between Wendi Richter and Leilani Kai. Lauper
wasn’t the only celebrity introduced into the event as former
heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, was the special guest
referee for the main event match between Hulk Hogan and Mr.T vs. ‘Mr
Wonderful’ Paul Orndorff and ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. Mr.T (see
photo) who starred in Rocky III with Hogan was the WWF champions
tag-team partner, which further influenced the concept of mainstream.
15. Wrestlemania 8:
Half way down on the list, so basically
not the best, but not the worst. Wrestlemania 8 is the only event in
Wrestlemania history that has been advertised with a double main
event. WWF champion Ric Flair was set to face ‘Macho Man’ Randy
Savage in one main event for the title. The pair had feuded for some
months leading up to the match due to Flair’s attempts at
irritating Savage by using his wife, Miss Elizabeth. The match would
be voted 15th in the 50 greatest Wrestlemania matches. The in-ring
chemistry between the two was exceptional and led to a beautiful
match. Unfortunately, the other main event wasn’t as enjoyable.
Dubbed as Hogan’s last match in the WWF, he faced off against Sid
Justice in attempt to bow out at the top. Hogan was rumoured to have
a match against Ric Flair, however Flair refused to put Hogan over if
rumours are to be believed. The ending of the Hogan/Justice match
also seen the return of The Ultimate Warrior who left in the summer
of 1991. Originally, Papa Shango was meant to come out to ringside
prior to the ending of the match however the voodoo magician never
made his entrance on time and the match ended in unplanned
circumstances. The highlight of the night was probably the
Intercontinental match between Bret Hart and then veteran, Roddy
Piper. Voted 13th in the list of 50 greatest matches, both
competitors wrestlers to such a high standard that it left the crowd
red hot for the duration of the night.
14. Wrestlemania 4:
The event seen the first tournament
held at Wrestlemania and it was for the vacant WWF title match. Andre
The Giant had vacated the title after he screwed Hulk Hogan out of
the title in the first Saturday night’s main event. He then sold
the belt to Ted Di Biase for a large sum of money. Andre then
revealed, in an arena interview with Di Biase a few weeks before the
event, that he planned to take a year off and go on a cruise with the
money Di Biase was paying him once he secured the title for him,
thereby providing the explanation as to why Andre would sell off the
belt he had wanted himself at WrestleMania 3 just a year
earlier. Then president, Jack Tunney, vacated the title and ordered
it to be decided in a 14-man tournament at WrestleMania IV at Trump
Plaza. It wasn’t only the tournament that took place that night as
there were a small number of matches also. The Ultimate Warrior made
his Pay-Per View debut when he took on Hercules and beat him to
continue his fast growing momentum. En-route to the final Randy
Savage defeated Butch Reed, Greg Valentine and One Man Gang where he
would face Ted Di Biase. The million dollar man had gotten past Jim
Duggan and Don Muraco to face Savage in the final of the tournament.
The match itself was a brilliant wrestling match and was topped when
Savage was victorious. Celebrations continued with Savage’s wife
Miss Elizabeth and best friend, Hulk Hogan, who had been eliminated
when he and André faced a double disqualification in the quarter
final stages, came into the ring to celebrate the victory with
Savage.
13: Wrestlemania 3:
Arguably the most iconic Wrestlemania,
number three comes in at a healthy 13 in our list. Held at the
Pontiac Silverdome, Michigan, the event broke the all-time attendance
record for an in-door event ( a record not broken until 2010). In
possibly the most famous main event of all-time, Hulk Hogan took on
André The Giant for the WWF title (see photo). André who had been
undefeated for nearly fifteen years in professional wrestling was
coming up against the biggest name in the sport at the time. The
ultra famous Hulk Hogan challenged his one time friend André to the
bout after André turned on Hogan and teamed up with Hogan’s long
time nemesis, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan. Dave Meltzer called the
match ‘The Worst Worked Match Of All time’. However to all
wrestling fans worldwide it was incredible to see Hogan body-slam The
Giant. Gorilla Monsoon famously described the match as the meeting of
‘the irresistible force meeting the immovable object’. If you are
being honest, it was Ricky ‘The Dragon’ Steamboat and Randy
Savage that stole the show, when they fought for the Intercontinental
title and displayed some of the best athletic wrestling ever seen on
the grandest stage of them all. The rest of the card was pretty
average in comparison to the two match just discussed however the
even is one of the most memorable in the history of Pay Per Views.
12. Wrestlemania 6:
At WrestleMania VI, fans witnessed a
jam packed card featuring the first-ever mixed tag match, the end of
a long-running streak, an inarguable legend’s final in-ring
appearance, and the crowning of a new champion. Held at the world
famous Toronto, Skydome. It was the first Wrestlemania to be held
outside of the United States. The undercard was an action packed
event alone with some of the most famous stars in the industry
squaring off against each other. ‘The American Dream’ Dusty
Rhodes and Sapphire took on Randy Savage and The Sensational Sherri
in the first ever mixed tag match. The Hart Foundation were
victorious in the shortest ever tag match lasting 19 seconds. Which
is still a Wrestlemania record. The million dollar championship was
also on the line as Ted Di Biase took on Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts
in a match that resulted in a count out. Former tag-team allies Big
Bossman and Akeem faced off after Akeem screwed the Big Bossman in
the build up to the event, however that wasn’t to be the only tag
team split as André The Giant and Haku, otherwise known as the
Colossal Connection, split after André turned on mentor Bobby Heenan
much to Haku’s disapproval. After all this action from the
undercard, it was time for the main event as The Ultimate Warrior
faced off against Hulk Hogan. For the first time ever, the crowd in
at a Wrestlemania were split between the two men. The Ultimate
Warrior had gathered great momentum since he arrived nearly three
years previously and was enjoying a long stint as the
intercontinental champion. Whichever man would become victorious
would claim both titles and become the first man in the history of
the company to do so. The match didn’t let the viewer down and it
also seen the crowing of a new champion in the Ultimate Warrior.
11. Wrestlemania 16:
Otherwise none as Wrestlemania 2000,
the event kicked off the first Wrestlemania of the millennium with
bang. The first major match of the event took place with a 15 minute
hardcore battle royal. The man with the last pinfall after the
fifteen minute time limit would be victorious and claim the hardcore
championship. The match seen a total of 9 championship exchanges in
the fifteen minutes and was pure ‘hardcore’ entertainment from
start to finish. This match came in the middle of two tag-team
matches that won’t be fondly remembered however neither were poor
viewing. Shortly after the second tag-match of the night, history was
made as a triangle ladder match took place between The Hardy Boys,
Edge and Christian, and the Dudley Boyz in possibly the greatest
ladder match ever (possibly eclipsing Wrestlemania 10) when Edge and
Christian finally took hold of their first of many tag-title
victories and would claim that it was the pinnacle of both their long
and illustrious careers. Fortunately the entertainment value would
not stop there. A two fall triple threat match was scheduled between
double champion Kurt Angle (who held both European and
Intercontinental titles) Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. The first
fall would be for the intercontinental title in which Chris Benoit
won by beating Chris Jericho and vice versa for the second fall and
claim the European title from Angle. Angle would lose both titles
without being pinned. Another first in wrestling history. The event
was the only event in any shape that would not see a male singles
match. The main event was a fatal way for the WWF title. Triple H
with Stephanie on his side would have his title on the line against
Big Show with Shane McMahon in his corner, The Rock (see photo) who
had Vince backing up the people’s champ, and Mick Foley who finally
would get his chance at a Wrestlemania main event, with Linda McMahon
in his corner. Big Show would be the first to be eliminated, followed
by Mick Foley who left to a warm reception from the crowd before
finally retiring. That left The Rock and Triple H, and the champion
would be fortunate to come out victorious in the bout only to lose
the title to The Rock at the King Of The Ring three months later.
Overall an incredibly action packed event and very worthy of it’s
place on the list.
10. Wrestlemania 10:
By the time Wrestlemania 10 came
around, the WWE was celebrating a landmark achievment in its history.
Possibly nobody but Vince McMahon would honestly have thought the
company would have made the event ten times and become a worldwide
piece of viewing. In 1985, Wrestlemania 1 was held at Madison Square
Garden, and the WWF felt it would be necessary to return to the place
where it all began nine years previously. The landmark occasion
certainly didn’t fail to disappoint. The benchmark for the event
was set when Owen Hart took on his brother Bret in an attempt to
prove that he was indeed the better of the two Hart brothers. Owen
was seen as the jealous younger sibling attempting to bring his
brother down to earth. The match went on for more than twenty minutes
and for any fan of the wrestling talents of either man couldn’t
but admire these two. It was suggested that this match, along with
the epic ladder match between Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels, could
be a contender for not only match of the year but match of the
decade. The ladder match we see during this event is monumental in
terms of star quality. It ultimately became the bench mark for ladder
matches for the forseeable future. It was truly fitting to see such a
match of this magnitude occurring on a special occasion for all
involved. Randy Savage took part in his final Wrestlemania also when
he faced Crush in a ‘falls count anywhere’ match that didn’t
fail to disappoint either. After all the action packed undercard, the
main event would need a lot to top what we had already seen. Because
the Royal Rumble was jointly won by both Bret Hart and Lex Luger, a
coin toss occurred on Raw to see which man would take on champion,
Yokozuna, first. Luger lost the toss and lost the match to Yokozuna
by disqualification and would now be out of the title contention
whereas Yokozuna would continue to defend his title against Bret Hart
in the main event. The match was a repeat of the previous years final
and didn’t disappoint either. For a man of his mass and size,
Yokozuna and Bret Hart put on a great battle with Bret coming out the
deserved winner after he fell from the middle rope after attempting
to bonzai drop the hitman. A fitting event for a landmark in the
WWF’s history.
9. Wrestlemania 20:
Boom, here we are again, back at
Madison Square Garden, however it’s for Wrestlemania 20. One of the
most critical of Wrestlemania’s however people aren’t looking at
the full picture. Hard-working wrestlers who had been in the industry
for numerous years were all praised on the twentieth anniversary of
Wrestlemania. David met Goliath when John Cena took on the 500 pound
Big Show in a match for the United States championship. Cena was
beginning to get a lot of attention from WWE fans for his role as the
rapper in the thuganomics era. The match placed Cena firmly at the
top of the WWE roster. There was a massive WCW influence on the event
which added to the likeness of it. One of the best, if not the best
segment of the WCW era was the introduction of the Crusierweight
division. Wrestlemania 20 was the event where a ten man match would
determine the winner of the belt. The most criticized match of all
time would be Brock Lesnar facing Goldberg (see photo) where “Stone
Cold” Steve Austin was the special guest referee. The match
received a 0 out of 10 in match rating, as the crowd u-turned on both
men due to the news that both men where leaving the WWE after the
bout. Unlike most, personally I feel the involvement of Goldberg in a
Wrestlemania event was much deserving for one of the greatest
superstars of the WCW era. Brock Lesnar on the other hand let himself
down when you compare it to his match with Kurt Angle the year
previously. Unfortunately it was brought to an end to the popular
career of Bill Goldberg. The man with the longest undefeated streak
in professional wrestling. The match-card wasn’t the only pull back
to the 1990s as the Rock n’ Sock connection returned to take on the
present in Evolution with the exception of Batista in a 2 on 3
handicap match. The Undertaker and Kane went back to 1998 when the
pair re-kindled their feud after Kane helped Vince McMahon bury the
Undertaker alive at the Survivor Series in 2003. Unfortunately, the
match was nothing like the feud we once seen. The WCW theme continued
as Eddie Guerrero successfully defended his Undisputed title against
Kurt Angle in typical Eddie style by lying, cheating and stealing to
carry on the Texan’s title dream. Along with Eddie, best friend
Chris Benoit finally got his hands on the top prize after years of
dreaming. Benoit travelled with Guerrero during his time with WCW
defected to the WWF in 2000, the same time as Guerrero. In what was
titled the second best match in Wrestlemania history, and the best
triple threat match of all time, Benoit defeated both Shawn Michaels
and Triple H to finally conquer everything he had worked for bringing
to an end of a great Wrestlemania.
8. Wrestlemania 9:
There is no doubting, the award for the
most unique Wrestlemania goes to Wrestlemania 9, at Cesar’s Palace,
Las Vegas, Nevada. The roman themed event has received the most
criticism down the years and is regarded by most ‘experts’ as the
most shameful event the WWE has ever produced. In 1993, Vince McMahon
decided to try something new by introducing the ‘biggest toga
party’ styled event for his showcase pay-per view. Most feel it
failed however, how can that be true? The most unusual event that
lasts long in the memory for reasons both good and bad is the change
of style and the theme around the event, which definitely made it
stand out. A brilliant match opened proceedings when the undefeated
native American, Tatanka, took on Shawn Michaels for the
Intercontinental title. Yes the match ended via count-out but the
viewing put on for us prior to the abrupt ending was one of the
matches of the year in 1993. In their only Wrestlemania appearance
together, The Steiner brothers took on the Headshrinkers in a
phenomenal tag-team match. The Steiner’s would soon leave the WWF
for WCW, however they sure as hell left there lasting legacy on
Wrestlemania 9 after this performance. The much anticipated return of
Hulk Hogan for the event (despite retiring a year previously) was
arguably the fans main attraction. Hogan had teamed up with long time
friend, Brutus Beefcake to take on Money Inc. after the team that was
led by Jimmy Hart savagely attacked Beefcake despite the barber’s
facial reconstruction a year previously. The match for Hogan was
average compared to Hogan’s standards however the crowd’s heat at
the end of the match proved it was worthwhile bringing back the
Hulkster. Also, the highly anticipated pay-per view debut of
‘The Narcissist’ Lex Luger was on for card. Luger, who had been
billed since the Royal Rumble in January after he was unveiled by
manager Bobby Heenan, was described as the perfect man for his
wrestling ability, good looks and physique. Luger had gathered a lot
of attention prior to his match with Mr.Perfect and didn’t let
down. The match didn’t disappoint as Luger finished up in the ring
by landing Perfect with his ‘forearm smash’ finisher. The
finisher was created after Luger’s motorcycle accident prior to his
debut that nearly caused his right arm to be amputated. The WWF title
match on this particular occasion was a let down unfortunately. Since
his debut, Yokozuna had destroyed all before him and after winning
the Royal Rumble he set up a main event match with champion, Bret
Hart. In quite a good, short match, Yokozuna captured the title after
his manager, Mr. Fuji, threw salt into the eyes of the Hitman whilst
he locked the sharpshooter on the 500 pounder. Yokozuna covered the
champion and become the new WWF champion. An angry Hulk Hogan came
out object to the finish and the cocky Mr. Fuji challenged Hogan to a
match right away in which ultimately the Hulkster won (see photo)
making Yokozuna’s title reign the shortest in history. A
disappointing end to a very good event.
7. Wrestlemania 28:
The start of this event is as average
as the wrestling ability of Giant Gonzales. But that’s about all
that was average from this Wrestlemania. Big Show’s end to his
losing streak against Cody Rhodes really set the crowd up nicely for
their illustrious Wrestlemania event in sunny Florida. The production
team have to take massive credit for their work on this show as the
set up with the large screens, the venue, the ring props and much
more all add to the quality of the show. The half time entertainment
for a Wrestling show has to be second to non and it must be spoken
about as we talk about the event as a whole. In wrestling terms, the
show was fantastic also. It may have been slow to start however it
was but anything, a quick ending. The show kicked into life when The
Undertaker was about to take on Triple H to try and extend his streak
at Wrestlemania’s to 20-0. This wasn’t going to be any ordinary
match and if the deadman wanted to hit the significant number in his
streak, then he would face his toughest challenge yet as he was
taking on the game, in a ‘Hell In A Cell’ match with the game’s
long time friend Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee. What
followed was beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations and for me is the
most underrated match of all-time. Dozens of times during the match
both men looked to be out only for someone to kick out just before
the count of three. The match had everything! Drama, emotional
attachment and best of all, pure brutality in the toughest structure
known to man. This match alone was worth the entrance fee and a
fitting finale as all three men walked side by side back up the
entrance to a standing ovation from all 73,000+ in attendance. The
value for money didn’t stop there as CM Punk took on Chris Jericho
in a title match. It can be argued that the story-line was pointless
however, neither men seen it that way as both men kept the crowd
pumped up with some brilliant atlethicism on numerous occasions. Punk
after the victory was proving his worth as ‘the best in the world’.
Leading from this was one of the most talked about matches in
wrestling history as hometown boy, The Rock took on John Cena in the
clash of two era’s. Again, it’s so difficult to take anything
away from this match so I won’t. From start to finish the
electricity in the ring and the arena was second to none at any
Wrestlemania main event. (Wrestlemania 6 runs it close). Edge of your
seat stuff from both men ended with The Rock picking up the victory
in his first Wrestlemania since his defeat in the tag-team match with
Mick Foley at Wrestlemania 20 (see photo). This is certainly an event
worth watching over and over again.
6. Wrestlemania 15:
This event was lucky at the time it
fell in simply because the matches weren’t the best but the
competitors and the story-lines leading up to the event were some of
the best that have ever been created. The recently introduced
hardcore division in the WWF had caused a lot of stir and focus upon
a lot of the lower-card wrestlers and it proved to be some of the
best entertainment on any given show. With the title up for grabs
24/7, it added the element of surprise and unpredictability to it. A
triple threat match for the hardcore title was set to take place
between Hardcore Holly, champion Billy Gun and the deranged Al Snow
(with head) all fought for the coveted tattered belt. In a classic
yet simple match, Hardcore Holly came out on top between the three to
take the coveted hardcore title. A very entertaining spot during the
show and a shame when the WWE decided to get rid of the division in
2002. One thing I ain’t a fan of is gimmick matches at
Wrestlemania’s and another took place when Butterbean took on Bart
Gunn in a brawl for all. A pathetic match that needs to be kept off
any wrestling card as it does no good for either man.
Intercontinental matches at Wrestlemania are nearly as important as
the main title match as it sets the tone and mood for the event. At
Wrestlemania 15, this one didn’t let anyone down as a four corners
elimination match between defending champion, Road Dogg and Ken
Shamrock, Goldust and Val Venis. All four men had gathered a lot of
pace and were the four main contenders to Mr. D.O double G’s crown.
The Dogg would come out on top and regain his title in a match of
pure quality and different to any other match that had taken place at
the time. One of the most heated rivalries during this time had come
in the form of an unlikely source, as Shane McMahon (Vince’s son)
had become a large on screen character and was taking on X-Pac for
the European title after Shane O’Mac had screwed his former friend
to capture the title as champion of European. And Shane won the match
in pretty much the same fashion as he screwed X-Pac with a little
help from some friends. The main event was the two biggest superstars
of a generation challenging for the biggest prize of all. Corporate
Rock had become the champion back in the Survivor Series in November
1998 and ‘Stone Cold’ wanted back what he felt was rightfully
his. The build up to this event can be described as the greatest ever
to a major pay-per view as the iconic beer truck moment (which was
voted Raw’s best ever moment) occurred during this build up. A
no-disqualification match between the best two wrestlers in the
company left fans in awe. Austin took back what he felt was rightly
his (see photo) much to the joy of the 20,000 fans in Philadelphia.
The poor arena and the shocking ‘Hell In A Cell’ match between
The Undertaker and The Big Bossman make sure this event stays lower
than it should have been on the list of the greatest Wrestlemania’s
ever. The extremely creepy human sacrifice at the end of the match by
The Undertaker left everyone wondering, why?
5. Wrestlemania 19:
This event is has a major likeness to a
Wrestlemania that would occur nine years later. Very like
Wrestlemania 28, the start of the event was rather poor until the
half way stage where the show itself burst into life. With the streak
continuing after The Undertaker defeated both the Big Show and
A-Train in a 2 on 1 handicap match and Matt Hardy beating Rey
Mysterio in his first Wrestlemania, it wasn’t until Shawn Michaels
and Chris Jericho took to the squared circle and took part in one of
the greatest matches ever to take place. The heat was building around
these two after Michaels attacked his boyhood hero at the Royal
Rumble and the two contested an epic, and vastly respected dual that
witnessed seen both men hug at the end of the contest as a sign of
their gratitude for one another (see photo). Trust me when I saw it
is not to be missed. The WCW legend that is Booker T was heavily
underachieving since he made his debut in the WWE in 2001. The fans
had not taken to Booker like they had on Nitro where he was a crowd
favourite. Incredible to say but cometh the hour, cometh the man, as
Booker stepped up to the occasion as he took on Triple H to try and
become a six-time, six-time, six-time, world champion. However
unsuccessful in his attempt he may have been, it was certainly clear
for all to see that the once tag-team mastermind was back to his main
event status with his performance. Unfortunately, the same can’t be
said for Hulk Hogan who came back to take on Mr.McMahon after the two
were battling over who created ‘Hulkamania’. Neither man needed
this match but it was the match people had wanted to see for over a
decade. Hulkster kept the crowd interested with his charisma and
persona whereas McMahon should have retired in the ring there and
then. Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar were once major rivals in the
amateur wrestling divisions prior to both men joining the WWE and the
two carried on their rivalry on Smackdown when they were both drafted
on the same show. Both phenomenal workers, both incredible athletes
and both incredible characters, this was the main event in Seattle
for Wrestlemania. Smackdown in 2003 seen arguably it’s best period
and much thanks to the talents of these two. When the two locked
horns for the Undisputed title this year it proved to be an epic
contest of all proportions. The respect both men had for each other
showed at the end of the contest after Lesnar’s attempt at a
shooting star press ended up in him almost breaking his neck, but
that wasn’t going to stop the beast himself from claiming his
second WWE crown within the first year of his debut. Two of the
previous four Wrestlemania’s had The Rock and ‘Stone Cold’
Steve Austin squaring off against each other for the title and on
both occasions ‘Stone Cold’ came out the victor. With almost
everything achieved in the career of the great one, Rocky didn’t
want to allow ‘Stone Cold’ to retire without giving him one final
shot to beat him at a Wrestlemania. Austin allowed the match to go
ahead and still produced a classic match in Seattle even with knee’s
that were crippling the rattlesnake. The Rock’s victory finally
ended the four year feud between the two and put to bed the greatest
rivalry in the history of the WWE.
4. Wrestlemania 14:
Don’t you just love a battle royal?
But don’t you just love a battle royal even more when it occurs
when the wrestling world is at it’s best time ever? Yeah me too.
Well the one that occurred at Wrestlemania 14 to determine the number
one contenders for the tag-titles was brilliant. The match itself was
rather good, probably one of the better battle royal’s that I can
remember, and an even better winner as the Legion of Doom 2000
defeated 14 other tag-teams to win the prize 30 men had been fighting
for. That wasn’t all that was on the offering. The newly re-named
Triple H, now an active member of D-X, was the European champion at
the time and was causing quite a rift with Owen Hart. HHH with Chyna
by his side had managed to get away with beating Hart in some way,
shape or form and to remain champion until then commissioner and
Wrestlemania 7 main eventer, Sgt. Slaughter attempted to put a stop
to it by handcuffing Chyna to him for the entire match. The muscled
princess managed to get away from Slaughter after blinding him with a
white powder to help Triple H retain his title in a highly
entertaining battle. The new leader of the nation of domination, The
Rock, took on ‘the most dangerous man in the world’ in Ken
Shamrock for the Intercontinental title and after Shamrock was
disqualified, Rock held onto his title he coveted so much. In a six
month build up to Wrestlemania, The Undertaker took on younger
brother Kane in a battle not for the faint hearted. Kane had come
into the WWF in 1997 after making his entrance at Badd Blood during
The Undertakers ‘Hell In A Cell’ match with Shawn Michaels. Kane
had tormented Taker right up to the Royal Rumble where Taker
continuously refused to fight his younger brother. It was at the
Royal Rumble where things changed. In a casket match with Shawn
Michaels, Kane interrupted the match and savagely attack his brother
before setting him on fire inside the casket. The spirit of The
Undertaker would continue to haunt Kane and the two would finally
battle at Wrestlemania where it would take The Undertaker three
tombstone piledriver’s to finally conquer his younger brother.
Having been losing the ratings war to Eric Bischoff’s WCW for
nearly two years, the WWF finally opted for change and done so in the
most publicized way possible, by bringing in the most known man in
the world, Mike Tyson. With ‘Stone Cold’s’ rebellious attitude
towards the boss and authority, Tyson was introduced to the world as
the special enforcer for the main event at Wrestlemania. Much to
Austin’s annoyance, his battle with Tyson leading up to
Wrestlemania changed the ratings war full circle and had the eyes of
the world focused on the main event between Austin and Michaels for
the WWF championship. With Tyson now a member of D-X, Austin’s
chances were seemed to be shortened. This would not be the case as
Austin and Tyson all along had hatched a plan for him to cheat the
boss and claim his first WWF championship (see photo) before Tyson
knocked Michaels out in the middle of the ring. Epic entertainment
value from start to finish of this event.
3. Wrestlemania 18:
This was the first event of the
ruthless aggression era and with the roster now star studded with
former ECW and WCW talents at a Wrestlemania, it was certainly going
to add a different factor and feel to the event. Mr. Pay-per view,
Rob Van Dam opened the event with a short but welcomed match with the
brilliant mat wrestler that is, William Regal, for the
Intercontinental championship. Yes, slightly less violent that the
ECW main events and slightly less dangerous, however neither men let
themselves down with a well contested battle in which RVD retained
his much adored title. Remember DDP? The two-time WCW champion? Well
believe it or not this wasn’t his first Wrestlemania, as at
Wrestlemania 6 (also in the Skydome) he was the driver for the Honky
Tonk Man and Greg Valentine as they took to the ring, but yes this
was his first competitive action at a Wrestlemania. Although aged a
little and in the twilight years of his career, Page took on former a
trainee of his in Christian in a good match. Great to see the legends
of the sport being acknowledged in the highest stage possible.
There’s no denying it that Kurt Angle down the years has displayed
some of the best athletic ability ever seen at Wrestlemania. His
matches have never been short, boring, but of the highest
entertainment value to the fans. This was no different when he took
on Kane in Toronto. Angle defeated Kane whom he had a short
rivalry in the build up to the event. Who would have thought it,
between 1996-1998 the NWO were the biggest thing in professional
wrestling. They characters, upsets and story-lines raised the bar
even higher. The same faction that nearly put the WWE out of business
were now working for the WWE. Hogan, Hall and Nash all returned to
the WWE in 2002 when they attacked The Rock and started a feud with
the people’s champ. Hall had become involved in a story-line with
Steve Austin where he and the rattlesnake locked horns at
Wrestlemania were the fans could see the two greatest bad guys of all
time go head to head with Austin reigning supreme. That wasn’t the
talking point of the night, as the event was dubbed ‘Icon vs.
Icon’, as Hollywood Hulk Hogan took on The Rock (see photo) in the
match the world wanted to see. The match will go down in history as
one of the best moments to grace the wrestling ring as both men
shared each others company at the end to celebrate the careers of
both with The Rock beating Hogan with a people’s elbow. Hall and
Nash swiftly turned on the Hulkster, who came out to a chorus of
boo’s only for the crowd to be chanting for him before the finish.
The NWO split there and then and the event has become immortal.
Triple H and undisputed champion Chris Jericho followed the match but
it certainly didn’t live up to what was planned. With the crowd red
hot from the previous match, they didn’t seem interested in the
championship match. No denying however, the match made awesome
viewing and brought the curtain down on an incredible night in the
Skydome in Toronto.
2. Wrestlemania 30:
Every couple of years, a particular
Wrestlemania event comes out of no-where to shock the world. Whether
it be The Ultimate Warrior’s title victory at Wrestlemania 6, or
Shawn Michaels ‘iron man’ victory at Wrestlemania 12, it leaves
the WWE universe in awe at what they have just witnessed. And where
did it start in the Superdome? Right from the first minute of the
event when guest host for the night, Hulk Hogan, came out to
introduce the first Wrestlemania to be held in the state of
Louisiana. Only moments later, the iconic window smash theme music
broke and who came out to a rapturous audience? ‘Stone Cold’
Steve Austin. Austin began the promo where he was describing what it
was like to be back when boom, another theme song struck, The Rock.
When the three biggest stars in the history of the business were in
the same ring; Hulk Hogan “the biggest name”, Stone Cold Steve
Austin “the biggest star” and the Rock, “the most successful”,
the crowd’s heat, the viewers awe and the shock of the scene sent
shockwaves around the world. Could anyone have asked for a better
opening to an event than this? Possibly not. The first match was
underway when Triple H took on Daniel Byran for a chance to compete
in the main event for the WWE World heavyweight championship against
Randy Orton and Batista. In a quality twenty five minute battle,
Daniel Byran came out on top just as it looked like Triple H was
gathering momentum. The YES! movement was well underway and en-route
to the main event but not without suffering at the hands of the
authority. After the match, Stephanie entered the ring and
slapped Bryan, distracting him long enough to allow Triple H to
attack him from behind. Triple H then picked up a steel chair and hit
Bryan’s injured shoulder before the biggest match of his career, as
of yet. Since it was announced that Hogan was going to be the special
guest host, he announced on Raw that he was setting up the ‘André
The Giant, memorial battle royal’, in which thirty superstars would
battle it out for the momentous ‘André The Giant memorial trophy’.
It was fitting that the biggest giant in the last decade, Big Show,
made it down to the final two where he faced off against surprise
entrant, Cesaro. The king of swing picked up the victory to claim the
first ever ‘André the Giant trophy’ and after separating from
long time tag partner, Jack Swagger, earlier in the night. It’s
pretty safe to say that no man has made as much of an impression in
his first year in the WWE as Bray Wyatt. The leader of the Wyatt
family, Bray had established himself as a well respected single’s
competitor despite being a rookie. In New Orleans, Bray was set to
take on John Cena whom he had attacked on numerous occasions in the
lead up to the event. Cena willing to risk his reputation took on
dark-sided Wyatt in a phenomenal match of mental strength for Cena.
Luckily, Cena picked up the victory with his signature AA, but the
performance of Bray Wyatt show’s the he will be no pushover in the
WWE ring and will be around for a very very long time. It must be
said that there is no question at all, this event caused the biggest
upset not only in Wrestlemania history, not even the history of the
WWE, but the history of professional wrestling. Since Wrestlemania 7,
The Undertaker has wrestled in twenty one matches, winning every one.
It has since become a tradition for someone to attempt to beat the
streak but all have failed. Facing Brock Lesnar this year, it was
expected The Undertaker’s streak was to continue, however this was
not the case as Lesnar for the first time in history, conquered the
streak to the utter amazement of the world. (see photo). Fans were so
annoyed and furious at Lesnar’s victory that many flocked to the
exit’s all around the Mercedes-Benz arena. Lesnar had achieved
something that no man had and probably will never achieve again. The
entertainment wasn’t going to end there as the triple threat match
for the title was still up for grabs. The half injured Daniel Byran
took on the two former members of Evolution in Batista and Randy
Orton. Rumble winner Batista had received a lot of heat from the WWE
crowds since his return to wrestling in early 2014. Byran was the
crowd favourite and despite all the odds being stacked against him,
the YES! movement exploded when he made Batista tap out to the
no-lock and win the WWE world heavyweight championship bringing to
the closure of a truly remarkable event.
1. Wrestlemania X-7:
There really isn’t any prizes for
guessing the number one Wrestlemania in this countdown. Described by
nearly everyone as the perfect event, voted the best event on the
WWE’s official website and receiving a perfect ten out of ten
score, no one can take away the brilliance of what occurred in the
Houston Astrodome in 2001. This event signified the end of the most
popular time in the then WWF, as the ‘Attitude Era’ came to a
close. Vince McMahon a week previously had bought out all his major
competition in accumulating the business of both WCW and ECW. The
roster in the WWF was expected to expand and many wrestlers were
being readied to be pushed out. During this time William Regal was
the commissioner of the WWF and had introduced us to his assistant,
Tajiri. Never one for playing within the rules, Chris Jericho took a
strong disliking to Regal’s position as commissioner and attempted
to unease the British, Regal. After pulling numerous stunts including
urinating into commissioner Regal’s tea, he then challenged Jericho
to a match at Wrestlemania for his Intercontinental title. Despite
Regal’s best efforts he wasn’t able to avenge his payback on
Jericho and fell short of claiming the Intercontinental title in a
closely fought battle in which Jericho came out victorious. For the
final time at a Wrestlemania event, the hardcore title would be put
on the line in a triple threat match between Kane, Raven and Big Show
as the three men battled in the best hardcore match the division had
seen. Brutal force, close calls and a brilliant ending put this match
right up there with the very best of them. After Big Show attempted a
press slam on Raven off the top of the entrance, Kane landed a big
boot to the Big Show causing both he and Raven to fall of the stage.
Kane then performed a diving leg drop to become the new hardcore
champion. The European championship was also on the line as Eddie
Guerrero took on Test and after some interference from Eddie’s
friends, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko, Eddie struck Test in the face
with the gold to cheat his way to a title victory that would see the
feud not end there. The past year leading up to Wrestlemania had seen
the McMahon family split on screen. After Vince McMahon announced to
his wife Linda that he wanted a divorce, live to a Smackdown! crowd,
Linda went into shock and Vince began seeing diva, Trish Stratus. For
the cruel treatment he witnessed his mother receiving, son Shane
McMahon returned to our screens to challenge Vince to a street fight
at Wrestlemania. Vince’s performance in the match may not have been
anything to write about, but the courage and daredevil instincts of
son Shane seen him become massively respected as an in-ring
performer. In one of the best moves seen at such an event, Shane
jumped from the top of one ring post to another across the ring, to
land a dropkick to the trash can that was placed in front of father
Vince’s face. Shane recovered from his stunt and covered his Dad to
pick up a well deserved victory. We weren’t finished there with the
highflyer’s and entertainment. The event held host to the match of
the year for 2001 when the Dudley Boyz, The Hardy Boys and Edge and
Christian took on each other in the second Tables, Ladders and Chairs
match. Both Edge and Jeff Hardy came out of the match receiving most
of the plaudits but it can’t be forgotten that it was Edge and
Christian (for the second Wrestlemania in a row) that took the
tag-titles home in a hard fought battle against two of the best
tag-teams in the history of the industry. The penultimate match was
between Triple H and The Undertaker. After Triple H’s annoyance
over not being put in the main event, and claiming he had beaten
everyone, The Undertaker swiftly came out to deny these claims and
also challenge him to a match at Wrestlemania. The match began with
Triple H entering the ring when Motorhead sang his theme song before
The Undertaker’s arrival. The two battled outside the ring and ‘The
Game’ was then put threw the Spanish announce table before the
referee was knocked out. During this segment, the pair went into the
crowd and battled long and hard in between the 67,000 that were
present before making their way back to the ring. The Undertaker
attempt to finish the match with his finisher the last ride, before
Triple H grabbed the sledgehammer and struck Taker down before he
could land the finisher. The referee regained consciousness and Taker
kicked out before the count of three. He finally managed his last
ride finisher bringing a halt to proceedings between the pair. Just
before the final match of the night it was announced that The Rock
and Steve Austin’s title match would now be a no disqualification
match. The pair took to the squared circle before a brutal encounter
took place that showcased both mans extreme talent and desire to get
the championship gold around their waist. Neither man was refusing to
lay down until Mr.McMahon came out just before the end. Austin’s
arch enemy for four years was ringside and suddenly the wrestling
world was stunned to see both men had paired up to beat The Rock.
After Austin hit The Rock with sixteen consecutive chair shots,
Austin pinned the champion to become the villain for the first time
in his career in the WWF. The show ended with both men shaking hands
and drinking beer (see photo) and the crowd in awe at what had just
happened.
There is no doubting that Wrestlemania
truly is the showcase of immortals and has set the standard for
matches throughout the years. No matter what rating each event was on
this countdown, there is no Wrestlemania that isn’t worth viewing.
Yes some have been poorer than others, but they have all incredible
in their own way. Superstars career’s have been defined in such
events and it has been proven down the years that it only takes one
moment in one match, that makes a good superstar, a legend.
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