411Mania’s Countdown to WrestleMania XXVI 03.19.10: Top 20 WrestleMania Moments

Posted by Shawn S. Lealos on 03.19.2010

WrestleMania is much more than just a professional wrestling card. It is the biggest stage in the world of wrestling and has been filled with some of the most memorable moments in wrestling history. Join Shawn S. Lealos as he counts down the biggest and best moments in the history of WrestleMania, from the breakout of Stone Cold Steve Austin to the reconciliation of The Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth.



Welcome to the end of Week 1 of 411's countdown to WrestleMania 26. My name is Shawn S. Lealos and this is my first year to contribute to this countdown where I will be giving you my Top 20 Favorite WrestleMania Moments. This is not a match countdown, but an overall look at the moments that stand out in my mind to be the highlights of the biggest PPV of them all. It can be a special moment on the card, an appearance by someone, a moment in a match or the entire match itself.

Without any further ado let's get into the list.



WrestleMania IX: Hulk Hogan beats Yokozuna for the World Championship

The reason this match is listed here is because this moment, while huge for "Hulkamaniacs", was proof Hulk Hogan was finished in the WWF. The fact that Hogan won the title to begin with is ridiculous. Hogan had returned to help his buddy Brutus Beefcake and lost in a World Tag Team Championship match earlier on the card to Money Inc. In the main event, Bret Hart defended his World Championship against Yokozuna, a wrestler built to be an unstoppable monster. Yokozuna won the match and was ready to become the next giant monster champion when Hulk Hogan ran down. Mr. Fuji agreed to let his wrestler defend the title then and there and Hogan beat Yokozuna in 21 seconds to win the title. Hogan should never have won the title here and it almost killed the threat Yokozuna presented in the WWF.






WrestleMania 22: Edge Goes Hardcore

Ever since he joined up with Christian, Edge had always been seen as a comic act. Even when he split off on his own and became one of the best heels in the WWE, he was still more cocky, arrogant and opportunistic than dangerous in the ring. He was a multi-time champion but never more than just a chicken shit heel in the right place at the right time. Then something beautiful happened. Mick Foley and Edge started a feud that did more to elevate Edge's career than any feud up to that point. I always knew Edge could go with the best of them. All you needed to watch was the tag team battles he and Christian had with The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boys to see he was fearless. But Mick Foley spent the road to WrestleMania pointing out Edge cared more about messing around than actually wrestling. After all the promos by Foley, we ended up with a match that proved Edge was as hardcore as anyone and this match was a master course in how to put over a younger talent by Foley. When Edge speared Foley through the flaming table, he took the next step in his career to awesomeness.






WrestleMania 21: Money in the Bank I

One of the best WrestleMania specialty matches going today is Money in the Bank. The holder of the briefcase has gone on to cash in his briefcase to win the championship every year, making it one of the few actual guarantees in wrestling today. The winners of the match have been Edge (beat Cena), Rob Van Dam (beat Cena), Mr. Kennedy (lost the case to Edge, who beat Undertaker), and C.M. Punk twice (beat Edge, beat Jeff Hardy). I am listing the first event here because (1) it was the one that started it all and (2) it proved how great the concept was. The storyline was that Chris Jericho pitched the idea to then General Manager Eric Bischoff and he agreed to the match. The bout featured some great moments including the awesome spot where Shelton Benjamin used the ladder as a ramp, running up and hitting a clothesline to Jericho. It was a fantastic match and has led to great sequels at every WrestleMania since.






WrestleMania V: The Mega Powers Implode

The biggest feud in professional wrestling during this time was the implosion of the Mega Powers. Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage were the two biggest stars in the WWF and when they teamed up with Miss Elizabeth by their side, they couldn't be beat. Of course, all it takes to bring down an Empire is the will of a woman. Anytime Hogan was friendly towards Elizabeth, Savage would lose it. Savage continuously came to Elizabeth's rescue while letting Hogan get beat down and after a win where Hogan got a little too touchy feely with her, Jesse Ventura riled up Savage's jealousy. The split finally came when Savage was thrown onto Elizabeth, knocking her out in a tag team match. Hogan picked her up and carried her to the back, leaving Savage alone for several minutes. Hogan returned, Savage slapped him in the face and the team was irreparable. Elizabeth refused to take a side and Hogan ended up beating Savage in this match for the World Championship. The match was great (especially for Hogan) but the entire back story was what made it unforgettable.






WrestleMania 21: John Cena and Batista Become Superstars

I have been looking at wrestling lately and realized what is missing. In the eighties, there was Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper. Then Randy Savage stepped up to the plate and stood on even ground with Hogan. Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart stood toe-to-toe in the nineties as equals. Then in the awesome years of the Attitude Era, The Rock and Steve Austin were the top dogs. When I watched a match where Steve Austin ran into the ring and faced off with The Rock, it was enough to send chills up my spine. It was the biggest stars in the sport going toe-to-toe and you never knew who was going to come out on top. These days there doesn't seem to be those "Superstars" with a capital "S". While watching the road to this year's WrestleMania, there are two stars treated like actual Superstars. Those men are Batista and John Cena and WrestleMania 21 is where it all began.

Batista was a part of Evolution and the fans were solidly behind him when he turned his back on Triple H and set his eyes on Hunter's title. Over on Smackdown John Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a shot at JBL's title and the matches for WrestleMania were set. It had been one year since WrestleMania had the heartwarming moment of two young superstars winning their respective belts (see #10) and this might be seen as a redo. While the winners of WrestleMania XX were the young blood Internet fans loved, the two men who won this year were prototypical WWE superstars, big, strong men, homegrown in the developmental system. The two men were the newest main event stars and they have never looked back.






WrestleMania X-Seven: Stone Cold turns heel and joins Vince McMahan

If any two wrestlers feuds were based almost solely around WrestleMania, it was Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. They were the two biggest stars of the Attitude Era and when they fought it had to be on the grandest stage of them all. In total, the two men faced off at three different WrestleMania cards. Austin was the first man in the main event scene, taking the title from Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIV. After this Austin began a violent war with Vince McMahan, the biggest feud of the entire Attitude era by far. McMahan began to use anyone and everyone he could to keep Austin from the title, including the hot new superstar The Rock. McMahan got the belt off Austin and onto The Rock and the two ended up fighting at WrestleMania XV. It was their second WrestleMania meeting that changed the landscape of the WWE when McMahan turned on The Rock and handed Austin a chair to use on his opponent allowing Austin to once again regain the WWE Championship. After the match, Austin shared a beer with his sworn enemy McMahan and the two began a partnership no one saw coming. It was not only a huge heel turn, but it was done at WrestleMania. Normally a card used to end feuds, this year it was used to set up a new direction for the company and was one of the most shocking moments I have seen.






WrestleMania: The Card That Started It All

The match wasn't great but, honestly, none of the matches on the first two WrestleMania cards were very good. However, this was the one that started it all. The WWF was looking for something to help get them to the next level. They had found a star in Hulk Hogan and they needed that something extra to compete with rival promotions like the NWA, WCCW and UWF. What they found was WrestleMania. They took mainstream pop culture and mixed it with their specific brand of sports entertainment, filled with cartoon caricatures of wrestlers and something big happened. The main event of the inaugural WrestleMania involved Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorff against Hulk Hogan and television star Mr. T. The special guest referee was boxing legend Muhammad Ali. The special ring announcer was former Yankees manager Billy Martin. The event was cross promoted on MTV and Saturday Night Live while spawning a Saturday morning cartoon. It was a show for the masses and began the "event" we all know and love today.






WrestleMania XIV: Shawn Michaels passes the torch to Steve Austin

Shawn Michaels was the star of the WWF, flamboyant, arrogant and more talented than anyone on the entire roster. Then after one fateful bump in a match against The Undertaker, he was a broken man. In a casket match with the Dead Man, Michaels took a backdrop out of the ring and clipped his lower back on the casket on the way to the floor, causing two herniated discs while crushing one completely. Two years after he won his first World Championship, the 33-year old Michaels was going to have to retire. It is lucky for the WWF there was someone waiting in the wings in the form of Steve Austin. They knew they could take the title from Shawn and give it to Austin and move on without problem but what they ended up getting was a spirited performance from Michaels, in what he thought was going to be his last match. It was clear the entire match Shawn was in pain but he still hit all his signature moves and never held back, making sure he gave his fans one last great performance. And in the meantime, he helped put over Steve Austin, so the company could move forward without him. It was a great match, an amazing performance and a fitting farewell for the Heartbreak Kid.






WrestleMania X: Owen Hart beats Bret Hart / Bret Hart beat Yokozuna

Bret Hart was coming off a great run as a tag team wrestler in the WWF and had secured himself a place in the main event scene in the early nineties. He had already held the World Championship on one occasion, having defeated Ric Flair before losing it at WrestleMania IX to Yokozuna. Since that loss, Hart had welcomed his younger brother Owen into the WWF and soon found himself embroiled in a family feud of sorts. Owen was extremely jealous of his older brother and eventually inflicted a brutal beat down on Bret, attacking his brother's injured knee. After Bret and Lex Luger tied in the Royal Rumble, both men received World Championship matches at WrestleMania against Yokozuna, with Luger getting the first shot of the evening. Owen demanded and eventually received a match against Bret early on the card as well and went on to pull the surprising upset of his brother, with a clean pinfall. Bret then went on later in the card to beat Yokozuna for the Championship, leading to an even bigger feud with his brother, who now knew he could beat Bret on any given day. It was a great card, and the Hart brothers were the MVPs of the evening.






WrestleMania XX: Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit celebrate in the ring after their World Championship wins.

A lot of you will hate this pick but this column is about the best moments in WrestleMania history and this moment was an incredible conclusion to a great PPV. Yes, Chris Benoit killed his family and, yes both wrestlers are now dead, but the final moments of WrestleMania XX were special at the time they happened. When Eddie Guerrero ran into the ring, holding his new championship belt and embraced his best friend Chris Benoit, who had just won his first world championship in the WWE, I felt so happy inside for both men. They had worked their asses off since leaving WCW and this was their just reward. Of course, what has happened since that moment has dampened the greatness of the memory but it still remains frozen in time as a very special moment in the lives of these two men. If Benoit had not snapped, this might be a Top 5 moment.






WrestleMania 2000: The Hardy Boyz vs. Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boys revolutionize the ladder match

Tables, ladders and chairs - oh my! The weapons of choice were once the property of ECW, with an occasional ladder match for a title belt in the WWE. Then the tag team division introduced the TLC matches to WrestleMania where they were not just weapons but also the devices used for high spots that risked every man's life and limbs. This all started at the Terri Invitational Tournament at No Mercy in 1999 when Edge, Christian, Matt, and Jeff Hardy proved what they could do with big ass ladders. By WrestleMania 2000, these two teams, along with the Dudley Boys were ready to prove what they could do on the biggest stage of the year. The match was a ladder match but The Dudley Boys made sure to bring the tables into play as well. The match was brutal, devastating and left all three teams a bloody mess and ended up with Edge and Christian celebrating their first tag team title reigns. It was the precursor for the TLC matches of later years and eventually of the Money in the Bank match. It was groundbreaking and the perfect start to the high impact matches WrestleMania has become known for.






WrestleMania X: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon perfect the ladder match

There have been so many ladder matches over the years, it is just a generic specialty match now. With the Money in the Bank Matches and the TLC matches, the ladder is just a tool to use lately. The goal became taller ladders, or numerous ladders, brought into play for risk takers like Jeff Hardy to fly from. But when it was getting started, the ladder match was something different, something unique and this match between Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels was something special. The two men had a better ladder match at SummerSlam the next year, but this match is still one I will watch anytime I get the chance. The Intercontinental belt was on the line with both men claiming to be the champion (Michaels was stripped of the title but kept his belt anyway). The match was a brilliant back-and-forth affair with both men devising new, innovative ways to actually use the ladder as a weapon. As I said, this is all old school now but at the time it was revolutionary. Every ladder match since owes something to these two men.






WrestleMania III: Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage - first really great WrestleMania match

I mentioned earlier that the first two WrestleMania cards were all about the spectacle and there was not much in the way of good wrestling action. Hell, the best match on either of the first two cards was a tag match between The British Bulldogs and Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake. But the third WrestleMania presented two great moments and one of those was the fact we actually got a spectacular bout that deserved to be called the Match of the Year. It is no secret Randy Savage was one of the most precise wrestlers to ever step into the ring. He made sure to have every spot in the match worked out to perfection. He was so great in his preparation that he brought some classic matches out of Hulk Hogan. It only means when he stepped into the ring with Ricky Steamboat on the biggest card of the year, it could only be magic. These two men did not disappoint, delivering one of the greatest matches of all time, WrestleMania or not. They proved you could have all the spectacle you wanted at the PPV but all it took was one match like this to bring down the house. Despite all the names from the first two WrestleMania cards, this one still reigns supreme and it is mostly because of this one match.






WrestleMania VI: Ultimate Warrior is handed the torch by Hulk Hogan when he beats him for the World Championship

I grew to hate Hulk Hogan after a while. He was the world champion and held onto the belt with an iron grip. He fought all the guys I hated like King Kong Bundy but there was something about him I didn't trust. Understand, this was during the kayfabe era when I watched wrestling as a fan and knew nothing about the inner workings of the sport. I had favorite wrestlers like Ricky Steamboat, Paul Orndorff, Tito Santana and The Junkyard Dog and they never received a shot at Hogan's world title. These guys worked their asses off and Hogan never seemed to give them the time of day. Whenever a good guy wanted a title shot, they had to turn bad (Andre, Orndorff) and then were treated like a heathen for wanting a shot at the gold.

Seeing this, I really started to hate Hulk Hogan. Then a new guy came along and I was enthralled. This guy wore face paint and ran to the ring and shook the ropes and was the hottest face in the company, even more so than Hulk Hogan. Of course, I knew who this guy was because I discovered him in Oklahoma when I watched Mid South Wrestling (Rock of the Blade Runners) and World Class Championship Wrestling (Dingo Warrior). So, when he finally was granted a shot at Hulk Hogan, I got excited. What is even better was the fact he didn't turn into bad guy to get the shot. The match pitted a good guy versus good guy for the World Championship, something unheard of in that era.

Then The Ultimate Warrior won the championship by pinning Hulk Hogan and Hogan didn't throw a tantrum or pout and bitch like he had in the past. Hogan congratulated the Warrior and left the ring, allowing the new champion to enjoy the spotlight. It is one of the only times Hogan has ever stepped aside for someone else. You know, if Hogan had fought more good guys before this, even if he had beaten them every time, I might not have grown to hate him as much as I did. On this one evening, Hogan did what was right for the sport and we got a WrestleMania moment all fans could enjoy.






WrestleMania XII: Shawn Michaels Fulfills His Boyhood Dream

I have been a fan of Shawn Michaels for a very long time. I started out following him way back when he wrestled in the AWA as one half of the Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty. Even at the time, I was a bigger fan of Michaels, so when The Rockers debuted in the WWF and Michaels eventually turned on Marty, I wasn't too sad because I knew it meant bigger and better things were in store. Shawn eventually moved up from being a tag team partner (who criminally never won WWF gold with Jannetty) to a single's star with nice runs in the mid card. He held the Intercontinental belt and proved to be one of the two fastest growing stars of the nineties.

At Wrestlemania XII, those two stars were put into the ring together as Bret Hart defended his World Championship against Shawn Michaels. It was a different kind of main event. Instead of a super human like Hulk Hogan or a monster like Yokozuna, we got two of the most athletic wrestlers in the promotion and they were allowed to fight for an hour in an Iron Man match to determine the champion. It should be no surprise they brought the house down. From the start, when Shawn propelled from the ceiling on a zip line, the match was a scene to behold. When time expired and the two went to sudden death overtime, Shawn pinned Bret and became the new World Champion, fulfilling his "boyhood dream" on the grandest stage of them all.






WrestleMania VII: Randy Savage and Elizabeth reunite

The Macho King Randy Savage entered WrestleMania VII with his career on the line. While the match was great, it did more to make The Ultimate Warrior look like a superstar than help Randy Savage go out in style. The Warrior kicked out after five consecutive flying elbow drops. Five!!! But this moment is not about the match, but about what happened after the match ended. Savage had built his career with the beautiful Elizabeth by his side. She stood by him regardless of the abuse he inflicted on her. When the Mega Powers exploded, it was all due to Elizabeth. Then Savage kicked her to the curb and took Sensational Sherri as his manager. When Savage lost to Warrior, and was forced to retire, Sherri proved she was only out for herself and turned on him, beating him down. Then from the stands ran Elizabeth, who had been watching in the audience. While the retirement match itself was not as great as others, the post match celebration with Elizabeth was the perfect end to years of storylines. The once abusive relationship turned in a beautiful climax where, for the first time, Savage held the ropes for Elizabeth to leave the ring as he received a standing ovation from the tearful audience. It was the perfect conclusion to the Macho Man/Elizabeth storyline.






WrestleMania 13: Stone Cold Steve Austin becomes a star

Steve Austin was trying to find himself in the WWE. He had been fired and sent packing by WCW after being underutilized his entire stay there. Even a US Title reign and a Tag Team title reign were not enough to make Eric Bischoff see how special Austin could be to his company. Then Austin proved he was as charismatic as anyone in wrestling with his short stay in ECW. Austin then moved to the WWF where he became The Ringmaster, managed by Ted DiBiase, but he made a name for himself when he won the King of the Ring and insulted Jake "the snake" Roberts by saying "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!"

Fans started to take notice of this tough as nails wrestler and began to watch him carefully. Bret Hart was the top baby face in the company at the time but fans were tiring of his sanctimonious attitude and holier than thou personality. Austin began to torment Hart, first eliminating him from the 1997 Royal Rumble after Austin had already been eliminated himself, and then later costing Hart the WWE Championship to Psycho Sid in a title match on Raw. Austin was the aggressor and Hart was furious with how many times Austin screwed him (that seems to be a theme with the Hit Man). This final incident led to their WrestleMania encounter, which Hart won. However, what makes this match special is the fans chose to turn their allegiances thanks to this match, not because of anything Hart did wrong, but because Austin refused to give up and passed out from the pain instead. He then refused help to the back and suddenly Steve Austin was the most popular wrestler in the WWE. It was the defining moment in the Rattlesnake's career and changed the face of the WWE, ushering in the Attitude Era.






WrestleMania X8: The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

Armchair quarterbacks complain this match was not that good. It was not a technical masterpiece and was not as fast paced and original as it could have been. I say: Who Cares? When Hulk Hogan reformed the nWo in the WWE, he was the same old evil leader of the pack he was in WCW, except for one important thing. Fans in the WWE love Hulk Hogan, whether he is a good guy or a bad guy. The Rock is the most charismatic man to ever step into the ring, but fans have loved him and loved to hate him over the years. When the good guy, The Rock stepped into the ring with the evil Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania X8, the fans made the easy decision. They were going to cheer Hulk Hogan at all costs. This might have screwed up a match with lesser competitors, but these men were the best of the best. They looked around and made an unspoken decision on the spot. Hogan immediately became the baby face and The Rock began to wrestle as a heel. It made NO sense. The Rock was almost killed by Hogan leading up to the match and Hogan was the total evil in this feud. But this is WrestleMania and the moment overshadows the lead in feud. If the fans wanted to cheer Hogan, far be it from The Rock to disappoint them. The match became a thing of beauty with the improvisations the two made and it goes down as one of the more special moments in recent WrestleMania memory.






WrestleMania XXIV: Shawn Michaels retires Ric Flair

I guess this moment is not as special as it was when it occurred, thanks to Flair's return to the ring in Australia and now in TNA, but taken as a moment in time, it is one of the most special moments at any WrestleMania. No, Flair was not anywhere near as great in the ring as he was when he was younger, and I have grown tired of his overreacting in his later years, preferring his arrogance over his pomp and circumstance. But this feud, between the greatest wrestler of all time and the best wrestler in the world, was more than special. Shawn made sure he brought out the best in Flair and gave everything he had to make sure that Flair's last match was something to remember. It got cheesy when Shawn paused before the final Sweet Chin Music, but I don't care. I have followed Flair since his days in the Carolinas and this was exactly the way the man should have gone out. It was the biggest stage in professional wrestling and the ovation he got at the end was beautiful. It's too bad the moment will not be Flair's swan song to in-ring competition because it was the best "final match" I have ever seen.


 



WrestleMania III: Hulk Hogan body slams Andre the Giant

Hulk Hogan was the most popular wrestler in the world, a super hero in the ring. Andre the Giant was a legend. He was "undefeated" and was easily the most beloved wrestler in the entire sport. At the first Wrestlemania, Andre had a bodyslam challenge with fellow big man Big John Studd. When Andre lifted Studd and slammed him, the place went nuts. Two years later, Andre the Giant was one of the most hated wrestlers in the WWF, managed by the manipulative Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, and he dared challenge Hulk Hogan for the World Championship. As I mentioned earlier in this column, Hogan didn't like people to challenge him, friends or not, and took it personally. Andre had to turn bad to get the match and that meant I was in Andre's corner. But something happened to impress the hell out of me. Hulk Hogan lifted Andre and slammed him to the mat, setting up the leg drop for the win. When Hogan lifted the Giant and slammed him, my jaw hit the floor. WrestleMania III was one of the greatest of all time. The Steamboat/Savage match was awesome but the moment Hogan slammed Andre, the show became immortal.