by Matt Loede, Let's Wrestle
With WrestleMania XXIV around the corner, its time to take a step back and look at what's become the biggest show of the year each and every year for the WWE. With that today I want to run though my opinion of the ten Best Mania's overall of all-time. I think that some of the results may actually surprise you when it comes to what cards were overall the best. And these are in the order of number one being the best of all-time and so on and so on...
1. WrestleMania III - March 29th 1987, Detroit MI: Sorry, I can't help but still get chills when I think about this event, possibly still to me the biggest and best event in all of wrestling history. 93,173 was the announced attendence, which to this day is an indoor attendence record. There was so much about this show to love - Savage vs Steamboat, Piper vs Adonis, and of course - Hogan vs Andre. This event truly put wrestling and WrestleMania on the map as the premier event in wrestling history.
2. WrestleMania X-Seven - April 1st 2001, Houston TX: 67,925 and a great atmosphere in Texas made this a special event, to me the 2nd best Mania of all-time. The Rock vs Steve Austin main event was awesome, and that was just the end of a great night with a solid group of matches - Chris Jericho vs William Regal, Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit, Shane McMahon vs Vince McMahon in a street fight, and of course the memorable TLC match in which Edge and Christian won. A great night only second to Mania III.
3. WrestleMania XIV - March 29th 1998, Boston MA: A speical night in which the company used Mike Tyson to push the attitude era over the top. The main was Austin winning his first WWE title vs Shawn Michaels in a classic 20-minute match. You also had Taker vs Kane for the first time, The Rock vs Ken Shamrock, and Triple H vs the late Owen Hart for the European title. A very solid card that came at a time when the company was really gaining momentum.
4. WrestleMania VIII - April 5th 1992, Indianapolis IN: A very good card with a double main event showcasing Ric Flair vs Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan vs Sid Justice. The Hoosier Dome also had some solid undercard matches, the best of which was Roddy Piper vs Bret Hart for the IC belt. An early heel Shawn Michaels vs Tito Santana, and Undertaker vs Jake Roberts also were the best on the card. The Flair vs Savage match was very well done, and the title change was a bit of a surprise, while the Hogan vs Justice match which ended with the return of the Ultimate Warrior was a pretty fun match as well.
5. WrestleMania XV - March 28th 1999, Philadelphia PA: The first Rock vs Austin match for a main which again, was great. You really could never get a bad Rock vs Austin match in my opinion, so this was very, very good. Plus add in Mick Foley making the three-count, and it was pretty memorable. The rest of the card was okay, Foley beating Big Show by DQ, in a match that was supposed to be to see who would be the ref for the main event, Kane vs Triple H, Sable vs Tori, a heel Shane McMahon vs X-Pac, and a rather bad Taker vs Bossman in a Hell in a Cell which was overlooked. Good card that was clearly defined by the main event.
6. WrestleMania XIX - March 30th 2003, Seattle WA: The first real joint-promotion Mania with RAW and SmackDown, as they did the SmackDown side as the main event for the first and only time, with Brock Lesner and Kurt Angle having a very good 21-minute match that had a scary shooting star press that Lesner missed and almost knocked himself out. The final ever Rock vs Austin match, where Rock won was very good, and the Hogan vs McMahon match was well done, with Roddy Piper being a surprise along with Shane McMahon involved after the match. Jericho vs Shawn Michaels was also very good, going 22:33. Interesting enough the match that no one remembers is Triple H as the World Heavyweight Champion beating Booker T. to retain the title. It's the last time HHH won at Mania.
7. WrestleMania 22 - April 2nd 2006, Rosemont, IL: For an arena with only 17,159, which at the time was a rather small crowd for a Mania, this was one of the hottest crowds I can remember at an event, and their reaction for the main event between John Cena vs Triple H was awesome. It was the first time that a crowd really gave heat to Cena, which now is the "in" thing to do. The Money in the Bank match was very good, Edge vs Mick Foley in a street fight was well done, and about the most confusing part of the night was why the three-way for the World Heavyweight Title between Kurt Angle, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio was only 9:18, while the Mark Henry vs Undertaker casket match was 9:26. Of course this also leads us to wonder why Shawn Michaels vs Vince McMahon got over 18 minutes. Nevertheless, a good card and good crowd.
8. WrestleMania VI - April 1st 1990, Toronto, CA: The night was built around the Ultimate Challenge, with two faces going at it with Hulk Hogan vs The Ultimate Warrior. While the crowd seemed split on the match, the Warrior was supposed to be the next big thing, only to eventually be derailed since he couldn't handle having the belt and Hogan wanting it back. The 22:51 match was pretty good, with a lot of great back and forth, and a memorable ending. The rest of the card was not all that memorable, but the main was so pushed, it didn't matter. Demolition getting the tag belts back and Andre the Giant going face was part of the show, the Roddy Piper-Bad News Brown match was awful, and the mixed tag with Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire vs Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri was okay, but again - it was a mixed tag. Only on the list due to the main event.
9. WrestleMania X8 - March 17th 2002, Toronto, CA: The earliest a Mania was ever held, and it was misbooked in that the Hogan vs Rock match was truly the main event, while by the time we got around to Triple H vs Chris Jericho for the undisputed title it was a letdown. There were some other good matches on the card, but Hogan vs Rock really is what drew the card to be one of the better Manias. Rob Van Dam beat William Regal, Taker beat Ric Flair in a no-DQ match, and a medicore match with Steve Austin vs Scott Hall made up the best of the undercard.
10. WrestleMania 23 - April 1st 2007, Detroit, MI: Over 80,000 at Ford Field, which was a very cool thing to see, and a card that was very well put together with Batista vs Taker being better than we all throught, and Shawn Michaels vs John Cena was a solid 28 minute match. Then you had the build up with Bobby Lashley vs Umaga, which really was a hair vs hair between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon. Good match with a lot of celeb in it from the word go. Money in a Bank was a sick bump show, which gave the crowd a lot to cheer about from the start, but overall, just 8 matches made you wonder if they booked this show enough.
More... THE 10 WORST WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES OF ALL-TIME
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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15 comment(s):
What about WM 12? Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart in an Ironman Match (with Michaels going to the ring on a zip line)? The Hollywood Backlot Brawl between Goldust and Roddy Piper? 'Taker vs. Diesel in a decent match? HHH's WM debut, getting punked by Ultimate Warrior?
Definitely a top-10!
A good list. But where the hell is Wrestlemania X? Hart v. Hart. And besides Owen and Bret kicking ass in a great technical battle we had a match that started a trend: Ladder Match. Michaels and Ramon. Man that was HOT. Even now some of Shawn's bumps are amazingly sick. Whaddaya say?
Have to agree that WM 12 shuld have been not only on here, but in the top 2. The Iron Man Match is the greatest match in Wrestlemania history. That alone puts it above the others. Add in a solid undercard and it gives III a run for its money.
and wm 12 had barry horowitz vs. skip. barry horowitz at WM!!!
There is no way you are more then 25 years old. This list is a disgrace. Everything after WM X is all shite.
I think you faggots need to get out of your mothers basement and get laid. QUEERS...
This list needs some serious work.. Where is WM 12? Where is WM 7? Disappointing...
Wrestlemania III will always be the greatest. The main event, while not being the greatest technical match ever, passed the torch from legend to star of the era. Steamboat vs Savage is the greatest match ever. Often forgotten is the amazing opener with the Can-Am Connection defeating Bob Orton Jr. and Don Muraco. Zenk and Martel were on their way to being one of the greatest teams ever when backstage problems caused the split. From top to bottom, it was a great card.
The problem is, Hogan actually bodyslammed Andre before WWE says he did.
Antonio Inoki, Stan Hansen, El Canek, and several others had done it before WM III.
One more thing, Randy Savage always gave youa clue as to how his Wrestlemania match was going to end. He wore white tights before a face turn and wore gold attire when he beat Flair.
yeah, really, you are probably what? 16? 17? and what's with top 10 lists that go from 1. to 10.? where's the buildup? 10. to 1. Sonny Boy.
First of all Wrestlemania 12 sucked besides the Ironman Match and to me that match is overrated to the highest regard. Its great but how much of that hour was rest holds? My point exactly.
Wrestlemania 7 had 1 good match and that was Warrior/Savage. I dont need to say anything else.
This list is pretty decent. I don't disagree with anything you picked except I believe 17 is the best Wrestlemania there is. HHH/Taker Owened, The TLC, Rock Austin with Austin Goin Heel, Benoit/Angle, plus Shane And Vince in a great Street Fight. 17 is great.
And this crap is on a sports website for what reason?
Wrestlemania 15 was horrible, and Wrestlemania X should clearly be on the list. But the list isn't that bad. And I have some bad news for you old timers upset about the lack of older Wrestlemanias. They don't hold up so good. Wrestlemania 3 is required viewing, and Wrestlemania 5, 7 and 8 are decent as well. But the rest of them up til X are one match shows at best.
Wrestlemania III was obviously a big deal, but Andre v. Hogan is easily the most overrated match in pro wrestling history. All of the Vince McMahon/Hulk Hogan revisionist history is bullshit. There was never any "passing of the torch"--Andre was paid to "do the job" and he did. It wasn't the first time he'd been bodyslammed nor was it the first time he'd been pinned. Off the top of my head I can think of Antonio Inoki and El Canek. You can also add The Sheik (not the Iron Shiek, WWE nuthuggers) who beat Andre in a Texas Death Match when the big guy couldn't answer the bell.
The match itself is brutal to watch--you've got poor Andre who's physically deteriorating right before our eyes and can barely move at this point. Young Andre was a pretty good worker for a guy his size, but at this point in his career he was more sad than anything else. Sympathy isn't a quality you want your heels to evoke.
This left Hulk Hogan to carry the match. Hogan has had a few good matches in his career, but they're always when he's in with a guy like Flair, Michaels, etc. who can make him look good. The result was a horrible match that looked more like a bull trying to mate with a heifer than anything else.
I know this was written before this year's event but I gotta put 2K8 up there for Flair/Michaels alone. I haven't really "marked out" for a wrestling match since I was a six year old watching Georgia Wrestling and afraid that Abdullah the Butcher would come through the screen and kick my ass. Flair and Michaels actually got me to "suspend disbelief" for the first time in years.
I disagree with this list. Wers WM XX? triple threat match for the WHC between Benoit HHH and HBK, Eddie vs Angle classic one on one match, crusierweight open match, christian vs jericho and the celebration of eddie and benoit at the end, thats a gd WM and should b up ther. So should WM 21, it had the first and best MiTB ladder match, taker v orton, pipers pit was sick, and it also had the greatest WM match in history...Angle vs Michaels a classic to remember
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