wrestling / Columns

The Contentious Ten 03.22.10: Top 10 WrestleManias

March 22, 2010 | Posted by Aaron Hubbard

Welcome once again to The Contentious Ten, your weekly dose of controversy over one man’s opinion! Cue the comments!

No Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho from XIX. It’s not in the top 10 and not even in the Honorable Mentions.

Posted By: oh great

This sentiment was shared by a lot of people last week. And that’s fine; it’s a good match that’s workrate friendly and is technically better than three of the Hogan matches I had listed (Andre, Warrior and The Rock). However, I have issues with it: Shawn Michaels never sells his back longterm, despite it being a major plot point, and Jericho lost when he really shouldn’t have. Jericho beating Michaels would have been a career victory, something he could still be bragging about, and it wouldn’t have hurt HBK one bit. A good match to be sure, but I really think it hurt Jericho more than it helped. Compare that to Michaels-Angle or even Michaels-Cena.

What about Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper Wrestlemania VIII
Very underrated match.
Aaron I’m glad you have the triple threat match from Wrestlemania XX. Great match & still one of the best moments.

Posted By: Tom

Yeah, actually I forgot about that one when I made the honorable mentions. Great, great match. Unfortunately, I would have had to kick Angle-Lesnar off of the list and then people would whine some more. As for the triple threat, I’ll discuss it later.

Warrior/Savage deserves to be top 10. I’ll plug that match till the end.

Posted By: DangerousG

All of the matches I listed in the honorable mentions deserved to be in the top ten, for one reason or another. That’s why I included them. Warrior-Savage is a GREAT match to be sure, but I’ve given it plenty of love and I never gave Hogan-Warrior it’s due. I’ve kind of viewed all of these Wrestlemania lists to be one big column and I’m trying to spread the praise around.

Rock vs. Austin II is the most overrated match since HBK won the title from Bret. The Rock/Austin match dragged, and dragged and dragged some more. When Vince walked down the aisle, it was a relief that finally some intrigue was coming. And I’m not usually a fan of run-ins. Even though there was significance at the time of Austin turning heel, the match itself doesn’t even deserve an honorable mention let alone be #3.

Posted By: guest

Sure.

kudos for not jumping on the ‘shawn michaels had a match witha ladder’ bandwagon though. way too much scott hall hate out there, the dude was an underrated worker though obviously not in shawn’s class

Posted By: Hercules Strongs

Is that THE Hercules Strongs? Wow…um, I’m in shock. Shawn certainly did not just have a match with a ladder; Razor took a tremendous beating in that match and was a great worker on his day. Also, along with Jerry Lawler and Undertaker, he had the best punches I’ve ever seen.

How predictable that Aaron Hubbard would put Chris ‘The Family Murderer’ Benoit so high. This confused douchebag Hubbard will find any excuse to hero-worship his idol Benoit.

Posted By: Guest#7821

Chris Benoit is not, never was, and never will be my “idol”, or my “hero”, and I certainly don’t “worship” him. I simply give what I perceive to be the facts in as unbiased a manner as I can. For the record, my favorite wrestler is Eddie Guerrero, and I marked more for him beating Lesnar than I ever did for Benoit’s title win. And, I was more impressed with Shawn Michaels in the triple threat match. His reaction after he and Triple H put Benoit through the table is some of the most dramatic storytelling I’ve ever seen.

The use of Honorable Mentions on this site is borderline ridiculous. You’ve got no less than 10 in this column so why don’t you just make it a top 20? Or, better yet, commit yourself to just 10 choices.

Posted By: Guest#6402

It was a special occasion. I could make “The Contentious Thirty” without naming a Wrestlemania match that doesn’t deserve mention. Usually I stick to five-seven honorable mentions, but of course, you would have to pay attention in order to realize that your argument holds no water.

You guys will have plenty of time to argue about X-7 and which is the best WM in NEXT WEEK’S COLUMN. Holy shit.

Posted By: The REAL MP

What’s that MP? Logic? Say it ain’t so….

Let the debate begin!

Honorable Mentions:
Each of these Wrestlemanias were in consideration for the tenth spot on the list, while the others had virtually no chance of making the list. In chronological order:

Wrestlemania V: Headlined by the epic clash between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, this show has always been fairly underrated in my opinion. One of my favorite moments in Wrestlemania history took here; the split of Strike Force during a great match with The Brainbusters. Ultimate Warrior and Rick Rude had a good match for the IC Title, Mr. Perfect and Owen Hart had a fantastic match, and The Rockers and Hart Foundation pulled great matches out of lesser teams. A thoroughly watchable show.

Wrestlemania VIII: Two great, fantastic, amazing matches took place on this show: Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair and Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper. Both are among the best matches in Wrestlemania history. The show was headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice, which gave us two memorable moments as Sid kicked out of the legdrop and the Ultimate Warrior made a surprise return to save Hulk from a beatdown from Sid and Papa Shango. Unfortunately, the rest of the card is a chore to sit through. Or, it would be if not for Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan providing some of the most entertaining commentary ever.

Wrestlemania XII: Most of this show was dedicated to the one-hour Iron Man match between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels; the main event was “The Whole Show” in a much more obvious, complete way than ever before or since then. It had to deliver, and it did, and gave us Shawn Michaels’ first World Title victory. Two good matches on the undercard kept it from being a one match show; The Undertaker vs. Diesel and Savio Vega vs. Steve Austin. While there is good wrestling here, the show is literally all about the main event; even if the wrestlers gave a good effort, the booking didn’t give us much reason to care.

Wrestlemania 2000: This Wrestlemania has always fallen somewhere in the middle of the road for me. On one hand, it’s a lot like Wrestlemania X: with Austin and Undertaker gone, new stars dominate the show. Triple H and Big Show were new main eventers, Rock was a face and Foley finally got his day in the sun; it was a fresh and solid main event scene. The IC and European Titles were defended in a match involving Kurt Angle and the two Canadian Chrises, all three making their ‘Mania debut in a high profile match. And the match that stole the show was the Triangle Ladder Match between The Hardy Boyz, Dudley Boyz and E & C. All six men were making their ‘Mania debuts. On the other hand, there’s something missing on this show to make it truly great.

Wrestlemania 23: I love half of this card. Money in the Bank was stellar, one of the three best they did. MVP vs. Chris Benoit was an unexpectedly great match. John Cena and Shawn Michaels had an epic main event, and Batista and The Undertaker had a fantastic match that ranks among my favorite Wrestlemania matches. However, I don’t there there’s enough good to counter the bad: the embarrassing ECW match, the awful Ashley vs. Melina match, the poor Khali vs. Kane match, and the whole Vince McMahon-Umaga-Lashley-Donald Trump fiasco. Still a good card, but not top ten worthy.

Wrestlemania XXV: Yes, that’s right, the show that was universally bashed by the IWC is one of the best Wrestlemanias ever. The main event was a letdown, for certain, but one match doesn’t destroy a whole card, much like one match doesn’t save a whole card (Warrior-Hogan at VI and Austin-Bret at XIII, for example). Jericho and Ricky Steamboat put on a memorable performance, the Hardy Boyz had a good match, MITB was solid if unspectacular, and the World Championship Triple Threat match was a very entertaining “sports entertainment” match. Oh, and Undertaker and Shawn Michaels had a classic. Much like XIX, this ‘Mania is just going to get sweeter with age.



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Los Angeles, California, March 24, 1991size=4>

Any of the Wrestlemanias in the honorable mentions has a case for being in the top ten. However, one match and one moment helped me to choose this one over the others. The Ultimate Warrior versus Randy Savage is a great, great match with a five-star story. Savage carried Warrior to the match of his life, and Sherri Martel helped the match as well. But what happened afterward is my favorite Wrestlemania moment. After Warrior beat Savage so badly that he could cover him with a single foot on his chest, Sherri further embarassed him by screaming and kicking him while he was down. The man had already taken the beating of his life and lost his career (I know, work with me here), and this berating was just excessive. Suddenly, Miss Elizabeth, who had watched the Macho Man fight like a man five years younger only to lose, could not take it. For one of the only times in her career, she had a physical confrontation, sending Sherri outside. After some tense moments as Savage gathered his wits, the first couple of wrestling finally reunited. Tears were shed, and in a brilliant reversal of roles, Savage held the ropes for Elizabeth to exit the ring.

While that was certainly the highlight of the show, there were many other things to love as well. The Rockers faced Haku & Barbarian in one of Wrestlemania’s best openers. The Hart Foundation dragged the Nasty Boyz to something passable in their last major match as a team. Japanese Legend Genichiro Tenryu unleashed his powerbomb to defeat Demolition with his partner Kitao. Mr. Perfect and Big Bossman had a good match for the IC title that featured the last Wrestlemania appearance of Andre the Giant. Virgil and Roddy Piper stood up to Ted DiBiase; the aftermath saw Sherri Martel align with the Million Dollar Man. The Undertaker made his Wrestlemania debut by defeating Jimmy Snuka. Jake Roberts and Rick Martel had a blindfold match that’s a guilty pleasure of mine. Davey Boy Smith wrestled his only singles match at ‘Mania and The Road Warriors got a shining moment. Greg Valentine gave a spirited effort before being squashed by Earthquake. Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter had a main event that I feel is highly underrated. It’s not a blow away show by any means, but there is very little that doesn’t have some redeeming quality to it.


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Pontiac, Michigan, March 29, 1987size=4>

The biggest show in wrestling history. I really could just leave type that wrestling sentence and nothing else and make my point for why it’s on the list. It’s tempting. However, that’s a) lazy and b) doesn’t adequately explain why I have it at nine only. There are the obvious reasons why it is here: 1) The record breaking paying audience that fills the Pontac Silverdome, which is a great specatle in it’s own right. 2) The match that brought that crowd there, Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, which is the biggest main event in Wrestlemania history and the Slam that everyone who’s at all familiar with wrestling has heard about. 3) Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, one of the best matches of the eighties that set the standard for greatness at Wrestlemania and has rarely been topped since then.

As for why it’s this low? Well, other than those three things, there’s not a whole lot that stands out on its own. Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis, which was billed as Piper’s last match and was entertaining if not exactly “good” is an underrated Wrestlemania moment, and the six-man tag that saw Danny Davis team with The Hart Foundation to face The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana is a great little match. Oh, and there’s King Kong Bundy squashing a midget. Classic. Aside from those though, it’s a bunch of decent matches made more important by the fact that they take place at this event, while doing little to make the event more important. On the flipside, there’s little that’s actively bad; even the most jaded workrate fanatic will find enough good wrestling on this to satisfy them. But really, it doesn’t matter. It’s the biggest show in wrestling history and as a wrestling fan, you HAVE to see it at least once.


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Orlando, Florida, March 30, 2008size=4>

I really liked this Wrestlemania when it happened and I initially had it much higher. However, when I really started to think about it, there’s a lot that really hurts this event. The opener between JBL and Finlay is an okay brawl between two veterans, but considering it was the payoff to the months long McMahon-Hornswoggle saga, an okay brawl just really isn’t enough. The Batista vs. Umaga match was a HUGE letdown: both men could put on a hard-hitting power match if they wanted to, but this match was just boring all around. Bunnymania was also rather horrible. Kane-Chavo is a guilty pleasure of mine because I like how they finally gave a legitmate “shortest match in Wrestlemania history” and Kane won the ECW Title, but didn’t exactly contribute to the card in any meaningful way.

Of course, it wouldn’t make the list if it didn’t have some good things. The Money in the Bank was a great, great spotfest, my favorite MITB since the original. Floyd Mayweather and Big Show had what may be the best wrestler vs. celebrity match of all time. Show was in the best shape he’d been in since the 1990’s and was motivated, and Mayweather was an athlete and had a dickish sort of charisma that worked brilliantly in the context of a wrestling match. Randy Orton got a shocking win over John Cena and Triple H in a good match that was compact and exciting. The Undertaker and Edge put on a great performance in the main event, something they should both be very proud of. But the highlight of the show was Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair. Quite possibly the best performers in the history of the business, one-on-one, on the biggest stage of them all. The entire match, from the moves used to the storytelling, were a tribute to Ric Flair, as this was supposed to be his last match. Flair gave everything he had left, and Michaels gave his usual amazing performance, and the result was an emotional, flat-out amazing match that I still love watching. Flair’s long walk to the dressing room is a great Wrestlemania moment, even if he didn’t retire from in-ring competition for good. The show had highs that were high and lows that were low, and the result is a moderate placement on the list.


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New York, New York, March 20, 1994size=4>

What I have to say about this show is pretty similar to what I have to say about Wrestlemania III. As the tenth Wrestlemania, this one would have been important regardless of anything else. However, this was also the first ‘Mania without Hogan around; since his departure, the WWF had been focusing on four main people: Yokozuna, the monster WWF Champion…Lex Luger, the Hulk Hogan wannabe…The Undertaker, who was a fan favorite and pretty much the biggest star in the promotion…and Bret Hart, a former champion, the best performer in the company, and who had the fans approval. Unfortunately, The Undertaker had a serious injury and couldn’t be at the show. Therefore, there was a lot weight on the outcome of the two WWF title matches. Whoever came out the champion would be the top star in the company. That ended up being Bret Hart, and deservedly show; he was legitimately the best performer at a main-event level in the company. Well there was a lot of sheer dumb luck involved, Bret managed to take the title from Yokozuna, an exact reversal of what had happened the previous year. At Wrestlemania IX, Hogan stole Bret’s thunder. At Wrestlemania X, everyone celebrated Bret Hart’s victory.

While Bret ended the night, it was also a big night for three other men, who took massive steps to filling in the main-event gap: Owen Hart, Razor Ramon and Shawn Michaels. Owen Hart opened the show by wrestling with his brother Bret (a match done in the interest of fairness since the winner of Yoko vs. Luger would have to wrestle twice), and the two had a classic match that told an intensely personal story with pure scientific wrestling technique. Shockingly, Owen outmanuevered Bret and got the biggest win of his career. Meanwhile Michaels and Ramon had the first televised ladder match in the WWF, giving one of the most innovative, iconic, and best matches in the history of the event. It stole the show and made both men into major players: Scott Hall would form the nWo with Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash in WCW and revolutinize the business, while Michaels would became a main event star and perhaps the greatest in-ring performer of all time. Both the battle of the Harts and the Ladder Match are considered classics. But, much like Wrestlemania III, the rest of the card is lackluster if not actively bad. Both events were very important for the WWF, but lack the overall consistent goodness of other Wrestlemanias on this list. The only other match I can recommend on it’s own merits is Crush vs. Randy Savage. However, this is a show you should definately see once.


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Seattle, Washington, March 30, 2003size=4>

Is it possible for a show to be great and disappointing at the same time? If so, Wrestlemania XIX would be one of those shows. The in-ring action is consistently good. Even matches that had potential to bomb, like the Women’s Triple Threat and McMahon vs. Hogan, exceeded expectations and were very entertaining. The only real black spot from a quality standpoint is Undertaker vs. A-Train & Big Show, but that’s not horrible and it could have been a lot worse. The rest of the show sees everyone work hard to entertain the fans in SAFECO field: Angle vs. Lesnar and HBK-Jericho gave us great wrestling matches while Austin and Rock gave us a fantastic end to their rivalry (and Austin’s career). Booker T and Triple H had a match so good it almost makes up for the borderline racist angle that led up to it.

But, for how good it is, there’s just so much that could have been better. Both the opening contest between Rey Mysterio and Matt Hardy and the triple-threat tag-team match were robbed of precious time, and let’s face it: Vince & Hogan really didn’t need all of those twenty minutes to tell their story. Booker T and Chris Jericho, two of Raw’s biggest potential breakout stars lost their big matches to Triple H and HBK; Kane & RVD were relegated to a Heat match with Lance Storm & Val Venis. And while Jericho-HBK and Angle-Lesnar are good matches, they aren’t nearly as good as they could have been. So while the show is still great, one of the best that has ever been produced as far as in-ring, there was so much potential for it be even greater. And maybe if Lesnar had stuck around this would be remembered as the big stepping stone for the star of the new millennium, but it was not to be. Instead, it’s just a really good show.


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Rosemont, Illinois, April 2, 2006size=4>

Consistency. That’s the word I associate Wrestlemania 22 with. Many Wrestlemanias have that one match or that one moment that is always remembered, but very rarely are there cards where almost everything on the card is worth watching. That’s the case here. Nine of the eleven matches on this card are worth watching. Some even approach the status of “great”. Kurt Angle, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio had a tremendously fun, albeit short match, capped off with Mysterio’s emotional and long overdue World Title victory. Shawn Michaels gives Mr. McMahon won of the worst beatings of his life and proves that he is Mr. Wrestlemania by carrying a sixty-year old non-wrestler to an amazing, perversely entertaining match that I can watch over and over and over again. Mickie James and Trish Stratus have a smart, well-worked match that is often overlooked due to the lesbian stalker angle, but there was more than the vaginal claw, I promise. MITB II was a solid effort that made Ric Flair look like the toughest man alive and gave Rob Van Dam his title shot that would give him the biggest opportunity of his career.

The two biggest highlights were a hardcore match between Edge and Mick Foley and the main event between Triple H and John Cena. The hardcore match was the most outright violent match in the history of the main event, with barbwire, thumbtacks, and a spear through a flaming table. It gave Edge a huge victory that helped legitimize him as a main-event player and gave Mick his Wrestlemania Moment. The main event was a good match, but what really put it over the top was the big fight atmosphere and the violently anti-Cena crowd. In something I never thought I’d see, Triple H, the bane of smart fans everywhere was almost exclusively cheered over Cena, who was apparently even worse. Cena’s victory over The Game shocked EVERYONE. This was the peak of Cena hatred, and this match really saw John come into his own as a top guy. I had been a Cena fan since his debut, but it took this match and this victory for me to buy him as someone who deserved to be World Champion. Really, the only thing keeping me from putting this higher is that it has TWO of the ten worst Wrestlemania matches of all time. Torrie Wilson vs. Candace Michelle is atrocious, and The Boogeyman vs. Booker T and Sharmell isn’t much better. Even with those two matches, the show rocks.


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New York, New York, March 14, 2004size=4>

There’s the obvious reason why this Wrestlemania is great. The main event is a classic and the final moments are some of the most emotional in Wrestlemania history. HOWEVER, I’ve done enough talking about them in the last two columns. Here, I am going to explain that if you can’t stomach that match, the rest of the card is still something very special. While there are flaws (the meaningless four-way tag-team matches, the horribly botched cruiserweight open), there is so much good here. Brock Lesnar and Goldberg have a match that is so bad you have to see it once, just to listen to the crowd. Christian and Chris Jericho had a fantastic match on the undercard that gave us an awesome heel turn for Trish Stratus, and helped put Christian on the path to being an upper midcard star. John Cena, the biggest star of the last several years, won his first title from The Big Show in the opening match in front of an adoring crowd. Torrie Wilson, Sable, Miss Jackie and Stacy Keibler wrestled in their underwear….WHAT?

But seriously, it that isn’t good enough to convince you: the awesome handicap tag team match featuring The Rock & Sock Connection against Evolution. Five of the biggest stars in wrestling, in one match. Ric Flair and The Rock being awesome and just having fun. Randy Orton getting a big win at Foley’s expense. Oh, and it’s The Rock’s final match to date. Still not sold? Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle have a fantastic match with one of the more original finishes in wrestling history, perfectly playing up the “Lie, Cheat & Steal” character. Aside from beating Lesnar for the title, it’s probably Eddie’s shining moment. Plus, The Deadman cometh…after four years as the Biker Taker, Undertaker returns to the darkside in one of the greatest markout moments ever. Which is actually what this Wrestlemania is about: mark-out moments. It’s full of them. If you turn it off before the main event, you’ll have watched a great, entertaining show. If you add the main event, then you get one of the best Wrestlemanias of all time. There’s something for everyone on this card.


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Boston, Massachusetts, March 29, 1998size=4>

I’ve made a few mentions over the last few weeks that this Wrestlemania is one of my favorites. As I wrote down my blurbs for other Wrestlemanias and what made them great, this one just climbed higher and higher up the list. This is as solid a card as you will ever see at a Wrestlemania. With the exception of the opening battle royal that the Legion of Doom wins and celebrates with the smokin’ hot Sunny and a glorified squash match with Ken Shamrock and The Rock which sees Ken snap and drop referees and The Nation of Domination like flies, there is literally nothing bad on this card. When the crap is short, inoffensive and has memorable moments surrounding it, how can you complain?

There’s so many little things I love about this card. First off, all of the titles are defended. Take Michinoku and Mr. Aguila had a highflying encounter for the Light Heavyweight title, Owen Hart and Triple H had a great little match for the European Title, Rock and Shamrock continued their war over the IC title, and Foley and Funk beat the New Age Outlaws in a dumpster match that was a great feel-good moment. The matches that aren’t for titles involve two of the biggest acts in the company: Sable (who was legitimately one of the most over people on the roster) teaming with Marc Mero against Goldust and Luna Vachon in a fun match with GREAT psychology, and Undertaker vs. Kane. Undertaker and Kane was a huge blowoff to a hot angle, and one of the most underrated matches in ‘Mania history. The fact that Undertaker actually SOLD for Kane the whole match put Kane over as a huge monster, and the finish of three Tombstones, complete with Taker going for a traditonal pin instead of his showy one, make the match one of the best pieces of storytelling at The Big Dance. Oh, and Pete Rose got Tombstoned. Can’t forget about that.

However, the main reason that this ends up so high on my list is the main event. Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin put on a great show in the match, a worthy Wrestlemania main event. I must take a moment to commend HBK’s performance in this, considering the incredible pain he was in. You don’t need me to tell you that, all you have to do is watch Michaels to see how much pain he’s in, yet he still gives a great performance. He deserves all the credit in the world. But this was Austin’s night. After a great swerve ending where Mike Tyson, who had been aligned with D-Generation X heading into the event counted the pin, Steve Austin finally won the big match and his first WWF Championship. This was everything Austin had worked for, a moment that he and his fans had been longing for since his babyface turn at Wretlemania 13. The first title win of the second biggest star in wrestling history is a truly memorable moment, but when you combine it with Shawn’s courageous effort and the rest of the card, you get one of the best Wrestlemanias ever.


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Los Angeles, California, April 3, 2005size=4>

My personal favorite Wrestlemania to watch. The show opened with a very strong outing between Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio, which was the first part of a rivalry that would last through the spring and summer of 2005, and would sadly be the last Wrestlemania match for Eddie Guerrero. Then came the first ever Money in the Bank match that very nearly stole the show. It was the start of a Wrestlemania tradition and gave Edge a title shot that would lead to him becoming a World Champion within a year’s time. The Undertaker’s streak was challenged by Randy Orton, Legend Killer, and many believed that he would finally break the streak. It was not to be, but Orton gave a great effort and came out better for it. Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels wrestled a fantastic match that became an instant classic. Angle got a huge career victory by making HBK tap out to the Ankle Lock, while HBK’s performance solidified him as Mr. Wrestlemania. Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper all made special appearances.

While those four matches provided great wrestling action and the legends gave us great moments, the night was about making new stars. In the main event, Batista battled Triple H for the world title and became champion. Just before that, John Cena ended the nine-month reign of John Bradshaw Layfield to become WWE Champion for the first time. Both men were products of the fans; while the WWE were certainly behind them, it was the fans that pushed them over the top. When the WWE pushed Randy Orton as the face of a new generation in a bland storyline with Triple H, the fans rallied Batista to be the Evolution member that betrayed The Game. When John Cena was climbing up the ranks as an arrogant, foul-mouthed midcard heel, the fans starting cheering him, and when he turned face they cheered him louder. The night belonged to Batista and John Cena, and they, along with Edge who also got put on the path to world champion status here, have made up the core the WWE’s main event scene ever since.


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Houston, Texas, April 1, 2001size=4>

As is often the case when I make these lists, there is an obvious contender for the #1 position and I went with it. That’s not because I’m compliant or trying to prevent a riot; I’ve never shied from controversy. However, anyone who puts together a list of the greatest Wrestlemania events and doesn’t put X-SEVEN at the top is either biased or a hack. I have personal favorites (21 & 24), but I don’t pretend they are better than this one. Whether you want to talk about the in-ring product or historical significance, Wrestlemania X-SEVEN has all of it. Some are more important in the grand scheme of things (III & XIV), some may have matched the in-ring quality (XIX & 22), but no other one has both in the amounts that this show has them.

First, let me focus on the in-ring action. The matches are almost uniformly great, and they are very different. The Undertaker and Triple H gave us a fun, wild brawl typical of the attitude era main events, but did it very well. TLC II gave us an “explosion of catastrophe” in the form of crazy spots that very nearly stole the show. Vince and Shane McMahon told a great story Mick Foley, Trish Stratus, Linda McMahon and Stephanie McMahon getting involved in the sports entertainment spectacle. Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit gave us a great wrestling match that focused on technical wrestling. Even undercard matches like Chris Jericho vs. William Regal, Kane vs. Big Show vs. Raven and Eddie Guerrero vs. Test were good matches that were different from others on the show. The only ones that lacked were Chyna vs. Ivory, a glorified squash, and a six man tag where The Acolytes and Tazz fought Right to Censor, but the crowd was hot for the match and gave Bradshaw a home state welcome. In fact, the 70,000+ in the crowd were positively raucous for the whole show, which made the great event just that much better.

Yet all of the in-ring greatness pales to the main-event. Austin was the biggest star in pro-wrestling in 1998 and 1999; the rebel without a cause and his feud with Mr. McMahon had almost single-handedly saved the WWF and put WCW for it’s last legs. Not bad for a guy who Eric Bischoff fired over the phone who was never supposed to be King of the Ring anyway, but got it due to fluke politics. Unfortunately, neck injuries accumulated during his rise to the top forced him to take nearly a year off; in that time the WWF was carried by the rivalry between Triple H and The Rock. Austin had barely won the Royal Rumble to get his main event title shot, and had lost to The Game in a match at No Way Out before the show. On that show, The Rock beat Kurt Angle to become champion and Austin’s opponent. Austin had The Rock at Wrestlemana XV, but that was a different Austin and this was a different Rock. Austin was on borrowed time, and Rock’s star was starting to eclipse him. The match would determine not just who the WWF Champion would be, but who was truly the WWF’s biggest star. If that wasn’t enough, WCW (and ECW) had gone out of business mere weeks before this show; Austin and Rock had won the promotional war, but who would win their war?

Really, there wasn’t a winner. Austin couldn’t beat Rock on his own merits, but had to get help from Vince McMahon. First the match was made no disqualification so that Austin could even the playing field, and then McMahon physically got involved, saving Austin from being pinned by The People’s Elbow. A multitude of chair shots ended it; not a Stunner. It was a tainted victory, but it didn’t matter to Austin or the partisan fans, because Austin was champion again. As bizarre as the scene was, there could be no more appropriate sight for the occasion, a celebration of the WWF’s victory over WCW, then Austin and McMahon, the workhorse and the promoter, sharing a beer in front of 70,000. People call this show the end of the Attitude Era, but it’s really more than that; this was the end of a promotional war that dated all the way back to McMahon’s hostile takeover of the wrestling world in the eighties. Finally, the WWF was the only viable wrestling promotion in America and wrestling has never been the same. So many things, both in the context of storyline and in the political climate of wrestling, led to this show and this main event. Many called it the greatest Wrestlemania shortly after it’s occurrence; hindsight has shown that to be true, and it is literally unforeseeable that anything will ever top it. The show’s quality might be surpassed, maybe even this Sunday. But this was the culmination of years and years of history that cannot be duplicated.

*****

Whew. Well, the Wrestlemania series is done. I am super hyped for this year’s show, and while a lot of that has to do with the strength of the card, I also have to say that the 411 staff has done an EXCELLENT job of hyping it up the last several weeks. There’s been several fantastic articles posted in that time and you should definitely check them out if you have the time.

After five weeks of focusing on WWE history, and with Wrestlemania Results bound to be the topic of discussion next week, I’m going to take a little time off to focus on something near and dear to my heart. Next week, this column will do The Top Ten ROH on HDNet Matches. If you want some great wrestling or want to see what the fuss is about, you’ll definitely want to read that column and watch the videos.

Enjoy Wrestlemania folks!

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Aaron Hubbard

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