Here it is Ladies and Gents, the top 10 WrestleManias. Numbers 5 through 1 will be revealed after a long wait, which by the way I apologize for. Just to refresh everybody, numbers 10 through 6 were WrestleMania XII, 22, IV, VIII and XIX. Now here is the top 5:
5. WrestleMania VI – 1990
Sure the undercard was just a lot of filler matches just like WrestleMania VIII. However the fans watching at home and in the Toronto SkyDome were treated to a truly classic main event.
This WrestleManias tag line was “The Ultimate Challenge†for one reason and for one reason only. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior squared off in the main event. Hogan was the WWF Champion and Warrior was the Intercontinental Champion. Not only was this a title for title match but it had two huge faces of the WWF going at it. This wasn’t a fast paced match whatsoever but it was amazing to watch because it was not predictable at all. This was enormous for fans back in the day because who could they root for? Both of them represented the faces in the WWF and both were huge draws. This biggest shocker in this match was the finish. At the time, Hulk Hogan winning in the main event was always part of WrestleMania but not this time. After Hogan missed the Leg Drop, Warrior hit his giant splash on Hogan and got the three count.
WrestleMania VI will always be remembered for Hogan/Warrior but if I had to mention another match, I’d have to go with The Colossal Connection vs. Demolition. This was Andre the Giants last WrestleMania match and was also the last time he was managed by Bobby Heenan. After Demolition defeated The Colossal Connection for the Tag Team Titles, Heenan got in Andre’s face only for Andre to snap back at him.
4. WrestleMania 21 – 2005
Now I have a bit of a feeling some may not like that I put 21 ahead of VI but I do have a reason for it. I’m one of those Anti-Cena fans but I can’t deny that he has done a lot for the WWE. WrestleMania 21 boosted the careers of both him and Batista. Both of them won in their Championship matches that night.
For a while John Cena was over with the fans, and to this point his biggest accomplishment was winning the U.S. Title from the Big Show. At the time, John Bradshaw Layfield was the WWE Champion and had a lot of heat going into this main event. Cena vs. JBL was no classic but like I said before, this match made John Cena into the star that he is today. This was Cena’s first of quite a few WWE Championship reigns and as we all know, he has been the new face of the WWE since Mania 21.
Batista was not as over as John Cena but he still had plenty of supporting fans. His feud with Triple H was phenomenal. Evolution started to fade away around New Year’s Revolution and you knew Batista was going to walk alone (no pun intended). The feud between Triple H and Batista became more personal when Batista won the Royal Rumble match. Their match for the World Heavyweight Title at WrestleMania was great to watch. This became such a heated feud that you didn’t know what was going to happen, everybody wanted to see HHH lose the title that night. In the end, Batista was the new Champion and this was a great way to finish off WrestleMania. Like John Cena, Batista would go on to be one of the top stars in the WWE until 2010.
WrestleMania 21 was also the first time we saw the Money in the Bank ladder match. This match involved, Edge, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin, Kane, Chris Benwho?, and Christian. This match may still be the best MITB match that we’ve had so far. This was such a fantastic match and plenty of big spots. Edge won the match and would go on to cash in for his title shot at the 2006 New Years Revolution.
3. WrestleMania XIV – 1998
WrestleMania XIV would be the official start of the Attitude Era. Stone Cold and D-Generation-X were the two biggest reasons for this new era. Both of them were so over the top and did things people wouldn’t expect to see on TV. This was big for the WWF because WCW was dominating in the ratings with the whole NWO storyline.
Stone Cold Steve Austin had won the Royal Rumble match earlier in the year and was guaranteed his title shot. Shawn Michaels was the current Champion and had mixed reactions from the fans, some loved DX and others hated them. At WrestleMania the main event was Stone Cold going up against Shawn Michaels for the WWF Championship. Mike Tyson was the special enforcer for this match and played a big part in the feud. Tyson was part of DX and really made it seem like he and Austin hated each other. When it was time for the match, the crowd was behind Austin 100%. You knew Austin would be the next big name in the WWF after this bout. The match ended with Stone Cold winning the title and Tyson attacking HBK. Jim Ross chanting Stone Cold’s name after the match was something you can’t forget, to this day, people are still imitating that call.
This WrestleMania also marked the first time Undertaker and Kane had a match. This was a heated feud going back to the Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood ’97. Undertaker refused to fight his own flesh and blood until Kane’s mind games finally got to Undertakers head. This match is similar to Diesel/Undertaker at WrestleMania XII. It was just two big guys having a slower paced match. It wasn’t a bad match but it only had a few memorable moments, the entrances, Undertaker’s dive over the top rope and the three Tombstones to Kane.
2. WrestleMania – 1985
Here it is, the original, without it we wouldn’t be able to look forward to the next one every Spring. There isn’t much to say about it because there really isn’t a classic match on the card but it was an all around entertaining show. One of the biggest features of this event was all the celebrities involved. Liberace, Billy Martin and Muhammad Ali are just some of the names involved. The main event of the evening was Hulk Hogan and Mr. T going against Rowdy Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful†Paul Orndorff. The match was just your typical non-title tag team match. Hogan did his usual stuff and Jimmy “SuperFly” Snuka and “Cowboy” Bob Orton even got involved. It was a fun way to close the show with Thunderlips and Clubber Lang getting the win.
1. WrestleMania III – 1987
The tagline was, “Bigger, Better, Badder†and that’s exactly what it was. With 93,173 fans packing the Pontiac Silverdome, the WWF really had to deliver for this extravaganza. To this day, there still hasn’t been any WWE event that has surpassed this attendance record. WrestleMania III made the WWF into what we know and love today and that’s just one of the reasons why this event will always be remembered.
One of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time took place and that was “Macho Man†Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat fighting for the Intercontinental title. This was a back and forth match from start to finish, the crowd was into it and the energy in this match was incredible. Ricky Steamboat got the win and was the new IC Champion at the end of an emotional and competitive match. This match and the IC Title match from WrestleMania VIII are two matches that are a must see for anybody looking for a good title match.
The main event was Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant for the WWF Championship. This is still the most talked about match of all time. Everything from Gorilla Monsoon’s description of this match to the final count was classic. It was truly the irresistible force going against the immovable object. The match was slow paced but had the crowd on the edge of their seats. When Hogan was able to lift up and body slam Andre, the crowd in the Pontiac Silverdome went insane. Nobody would have been able to predict that Hulk Hogan would body slam the 525-pound Andre the Giant. Hulk Hogan retained the WWF Championship after he hit the Leg Drop on Andre. Without a doubt this is a classic and when it’s time for WrestleMania 50, we’ll still be hearing about this match and how it had an impact on the WWE.
I hope you all enjoyed this article as it really was not easy to choose the top 10 WrestleManias. I would love to hear all your opinions on what should be the top 10.
Until next time, stay classy.
