There's No Way You Can Name The Wrestlemania These WWE Matches Took Place In
- by Edward Cambro
- – on
- in Sports
Vincent Kennedy McMahon is crazier than an outhouse rat with rabies. He’s also even less consistent than Lorne Michaels in the creativity department. However, like the Saturday Night Light creator, when McMahon gets it right he does it better than anybody. In that way, Vince’s greatest victory wasn’t even in defeating and then rewriting the history of WCW, but in taking the ultimate gamble of creating Wrestlemania.
The annual event has become a sensation of its own. Going from arenas to stadiums. Going from a three-hour event with a few more fireworks and a few Hollywood cameos, it’s now an exhausting exhilarating trail of tears journey that’s tedious worth every minute. It has live musical performances, ornate decorating, pageantry, and, once in a while, the occasional wrestling match.
Okay, we can make fun of the WWE all day and night, but, look, Wrestlemania is an unparalleled accomplishment in professional wrestling history. With 34 different Wrestlemanias featuring hundreds of matches, it’s difficult to keep the history straight. Only a real wrestling fan would know where all the matches belong. So, are you a true wrestling fan? Figure out at what Wrestlemania these matches happened and we’ll find out.
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart
Sure, the giants usually rule the roost in the WWE. Vince loves his oily, muscly men, but it’s usually the smaller guys who put on the better matches. This brother vs brother match opened this Wrestlemania and was the best damn match on the card. It’s no surprise; the Hart family love to do two things: wrestle and wrestle each other. The storyline saw the entire Hart family torn apart and the brothers told an emotional and physically exhausting matchup that guaranteed the feud continue after the match.
Edge vs Mick Foley
WWE lost its balls over the years, there’s no question about it. The PG era proved lucrative and marginally safer for wrestlers. However, there is something to be said for the occasional hardcore bloodbath. Admittedly, while hardcore, there wasn’t much bleeding here. Edge and Foley still fought a classic, violent match filled with Stop signs, stiff shots, a barbed wire vest and a flaming table. It was one of the last brutal matches of its time and certainly the most notable at Wrestlemania.
Charlotte Flair vs Sasha Banks vs Becky Lynch
Prior to recent history, you’d be hard-pressed to find that many great women’s wrestling matches post-Ruthless Aggression era. Even then, there were only a few good women’s matches at Wrestlemania. Usually they were stuck in Battle Royals and tedious tag matches. The ‘Mania where this triple threat took place undoubtedly stole the show; granted, it was a crap Wrestlemania as it was, but at least this match delivered. Many of us were worried that the Women’s Division wouldn’t be given much space outside of the NXT Takeovers, but here, we got a damn good sign that the Women’s Revolution wasn’t stalling.
The Hardy Boyz vs The Bar vs Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson
Over the last 15 years, the WWE has relied heavily on nostalgia acts rather than building new stars. It, of course, has been to the detriment of these new talents. However, this Wrestlemania ladder match was done to perfection. The surprise return of the Hardy Boyz was well-engineered and their win was a receipt for years of past Wrestlemania failures. Matt Hardy himself pulled down the titles, creating for him a Wrestlemania moment that he has always deserved but never received from a company that rarely appreciated his talent.
Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage
Despite this being a Hogan match, this was damn good. Thank god for Randy Savage. This was the climactic showdown between the two former Mega Powers team. Savage was at his heelish and charismatic best. Hogan did the usual Hogan shtick. Despite its predictable ending, the emotion felt real, the moves felt urgent, and the match itself underlined how much of an asset The Macho Man was to the WWE and what a legend he was to the business in general.
Edge vs The Undertaker
Sadly, this Wrestlemania main event is often overlooked due to this event’s extensive undercard. It’s a damn shame because it’s a great match. Edge proves why he’s a main eventer by picking apart the Undertaker piece by piece and countering all of his major signature moves. In turn, the Undertaker looks strong by overcoming the Rated-R superstar. In the end, it’s Edge’s hubristic character that does him in; he prepared for everything but the one move that cost him the match.
Christian vs Chris Jericho
Christian never got the run at the top he deserved. Vince McMahon just didn’t see him as a top star regardless of his in-ring skill, charisma and his ability to get the audience to love or hate him at any given minute. This bought against Chris Jericho was low on the card at this Wrestlemania but told a strong in-ring story filled with clever counters and high-spots. And that’s to say nothing of the end twist that, again, was a missed opportunity to give both men a push to the stars.
Mr. Kennedy vs CM Punk vs Edge vs Finlay vs Jeff Hardy vs King Booker vs Randy Orton vs Matt Hardy
This was the first Money in the Bank Ladder Match to feature on a Wrestlemania card. Of course, when you have the Hardys and Edge with ladders, there has to be a moment where you crap your pants. Jeff leg-dropped Edge through a ladder, which was unbelieveable. Sure, that spot has been done to death these days with a variation, but that night, it was new and shocking. Mr. Kennedy was the winner that night, for better or for worse, but that’s another story entirely.
Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon
Hey, speaking of ladder matches, here’s the original. To a younger audience HBK vs. Razor Ramon’s inaugural spot-fest is tame and lacks imagination. Just remember all the “basic” moves seen in ladder matches today were created here, and all the crazy crap you see now are elaborations of the things these two pioneered back in the day. And if that isn’t enough, keeping in mind that many of the back problems Shawn Michaels had later in his career began with the bumps he took in this match. And that time he fell on the edge of a coffin. Long story.
Yokozuna vs Hulk Hogan
Nothing quite says “Hulk Hogan” like politicking your way backstage to win a title match you’re not even in and then leaving again because you’re a bald megalomaniac second only to Lex Luthor. Then again, at least Lex didn’t have a steroid problem. Unfortunately, this was the icing on the crap cake that was this Wrestlemania. There were two highlights on the show: seeing poor Jim Ross attempting to be a professional while wearing a toga, and the rumor that Hogan’s black eye was caused by Randy Savage’s macho fist.
Daniel Bryan vs Batista vs Randy Orton
And speaking of politics and stupidity—Vince McMahon never wanted Daniel Bryan to become a main event player. And he certainly didn’t want him to headline a Wrestlemania. For the better part of two years, they tried to bury Bryan in the face of an increasingly vociferous fandom that wanted the former indie darling to succeed. Eventually, the old dragon had to relent, and Bryan received his Wrestlemania moment on this night where he defeated every active member of Evolution. If only we knew in the dark days of 2004 that Evolution would still be a thing more than a decade later. Ugh.
Booker T vs Triple H
Most people believe that Triple H’s signature weapon is the sledgehammer. It’s actually a shovel. He’s buried many high-caliber talent, but none or publicly than Booker T. The story here was that Triple H was the smug blue-blood lording his success over the underprivileged blue-collar Booker T. A racial element was sprinkled in between, and it seemed obvious that their Wrestlemania title match would see Booker T overcome the odds. And that was the plan, until the day of when Trips decided he needed to keep the title. Dickhead.
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Rude
Jake Roberts vs. Rick Rude is an underappreciated feud. The story had Ravishing Rick Rude become obsessed with Jake’s wife. He was constantly hitting on her and claiming that she secretly wanted to “trade up.” He went so far as to get new tights that had Mrs. Roberts’ face on it. The crowd was going crazy at how suggestive this was, to say nothing of Rude’s, well, rude promos. Everyone just wanted Jake the Snake to get revenge but were given a bonus at an In Your House event where Mrs. Roberts slapped Rude.
Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar
Angle rarely mentions this, but when he won an Olympic medal in 1995, he had a broken neck. Going into his Wrestlemania main event match with Brock Lesnar, Angle—the reigning WWE champion at the time—he had a broken neck again. The match was one rough suplex after another. Angle took a world-class beating, and still managed to dole some out as well. Of course, the most memorable part of the match is Lesnar’s botched Shooting Star Press. Lesnar dropped head first onto the mat from the top rope, giving him a massive concussion and nearly killing him.
Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels 1
“I just had an out of body experience!” Jim Ross yelled as Shawn Michaels kicked out of the Tombstone piledriver. It was a bizarre call. Michaels was hardly the first person to kick out of the finisher, but because a gravelly-voiced Oklahoma cowboy actually said it that made it so damn strange and funny. This match woke up the audience at subpar Wrestlemania. It’s not only considered to be one of the greatest ‘mania matches, but one of the best matches in company history.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock 1
Rock and Austin had a trilogy of memorable Wrestlemania matches. This was the first. It was the height of the Attitude Era and this match. This match was when the then-WWF realized they had lightning in a bottle with these two; they were the Hogan and Savage of their era. The match itself never slowed down, which means the two were no-selling like crazy. But still. Finishers were kicked out of, which was unheard of at the time. The Rock went through and announce table and Austin took a sick leg bump on a spotlight.
Goldberg vs Lesnar 1
The highlight of this match was when special guest referee Stone Cold Steve Austin, bored and dejected, looked at his watch, hoping the end of this televised molasses drip was close to ending. At the time, Lesnar and Goldberg were both leaving the company; Lesnar for the NFL (and later UFC) and Goldberg for retirement. Neither wanted to get injured in the match, neither cared about the match, so it was very plodding and tedious. It sped up at the end, but only out of necessity.
Seth Rollins vs Randy Orton
Okay, look. We’ll be honest here. This is a typical latter days Orton match. The announcers call him “methodical.” It’s a nice way of saying boring. The match moves glacially, Orton hits a comeback, slows back down again, and hits are RKO—"OUT OF NOWHERE!!!!” The only reason this match is remembered is because, well, the RKO out of nowhere was actually really, really cool. Orton has recounted how he and Seth practiced the spot for hours and never hit it. The only time they did was in the match itself.
The Rock vs Hulk Hogan 1
While we’re being honest, yeah, this match isn’t very good either. It’s the audience that makes the match work. They were hot for it. Unfortunately, if you trace back WWE’s reliance on nostalgia, this match—where the audience chose to cheer the heel Hogan over the babyface Rock—is patient zero. That’s why it’s harder for new stars to establish themselves today. The old timers won’t sail away on their block of ice. The Rock saved this match by calling an audible and playing the heel himself. He was always better as a heel and would drive that fact home with his Hollywood Rock persona.
Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels 1
For all of WWE’s many, many booking mistakes, they did at least one right thing: they didn’t overexpose the Kurt Angle/Shawn Michaels feud. There were three matches in total in their entire feud and it was decompressed over the spring and summer. It didn’t become like Cena and Orton who have had more matches than most people have hair follicles. This Wrestlemania match was the first between Angle and Michaels and it was an instant classic featuring the best ring psychological you can ask for. It should—and probably is—taught in wrestling schools today.
Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesnar
The match no one asked for. Hell, nobody asked for it and we’re still getting a damn sequel. As easy as it is to pick on Roman Reigns—and it’s very easy—this match was actually solid. Roman took a good beating, Brock got busted open the hard way. Heyman was the national treasure he usually was. The pace did lag and the repetition of suplexes did grow tired, but then, well, you know how it ended. Michael Cole finally gave us a good line of commentary: “Seth Rollins with the heist of the century.”
TLC 2
This was a rare instance where the sequel was better than the original. TLC 2 was not even 20 minutes, but it feels like a hell of a long match. This brutal spot-fest saw broken tables, ladder-leapfrogging, spears from 15 feet in the air, and many, many long falls. It’s a festival of violence that saw Lita murder Spike Dudley with one of the stiffest chair shots you can ask for, Rhyno goring Lita like she insulted his mother, and Jeff Hardy being torn apart like a Kleenex in a hurricane.
Randy Savage vs Ric Flair
Randy Savage vs Ric Flair was originally meant to be this Wrestlemania’s main event. What changed, you ask? Hulk Hogan. He demanded the headline yet another ‘Mania because he’s Hulk Hogan. So, he and Sid Vicious—neither of them being particularly good wrestlers—took the spotlight from two of the best of their generation. Despite their fight being for the WWF Championship, Savage and Flair were consigned to the mid-card. Their match was on the brief side—just under 20 minutes—but was still the longest fight on the card and easily the best of the night.
The Rock vs John Cena I
When the Rock returned, he wasn’t quite the Rock anymore. He was Dwayne Johnson playing the Rock. The difference is noticeable—the character was now translated through a game of telephone; it’s there, it’s familiar, but it’s not the same. The match itself isn’t all that great, save for two things. A rather salty Cena clearly calling the match move for move to show that, yes, he’s the one making the rules here; the second is that first AA that the Rock kicked out of. It was a close pin-fall that had my friends and I actually screaming at the television.
CM Punk vs Chris Jericho
This one had a great build. Jericho attacking the straight-edge CM Punk with bottles of whiskey, and shaming Punk’s father for his real-life addictions. Heel Jericho is the best Jericho. Their match varied between being technical and an all-out brawl. Jericho tried to get Punk to bash him in the head with a chair by psychotically yelling, “How’s your father?” With a bombastic but fun story and a well-structured match, the only reason it doesn’t get the love it does is because the match itself wasn’t quite long enough.
Bret Hart vs Roddy Piper
Ahh, the good old days—back when titles meant something in the WWE. This match could have used a few more minutes to tell its story, but when you have storytellers like Hart and Piper fighting it out, there’s not but nitpicks to make. Sure, this Wrestlemania was largely terrible, but this match was a rare highpoint. As usual, it’s the smaller guys who are more capable of actually wrestling that save the show from the glacial behemoths.
Roddy Piper vs. Goldust
Does that match make any sense? Does it need to? This fever dream is cut with pure WWE insanity. Though it’s clearly Hollywood-inspired, it’s the kind of crazy crap that you could only pull off in wrestling. A hit and run. A car chase that uses OJ Simpson footage. Crossdressing. A fire hose. A possible reference to Roddy Piper in “They Live.” Piper accidentally hit Goldy so hard he broke his own hand. This match had everything but an actual ending. No pin fall, no submission. It just ended.
Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair
“I’m sorry. I love you.” With that, Shawn Michaels gave Ric Flair a Sweet Chin Music and ended The Nature Boy’s career. This match was exactly what it needed to be. Hell, the emotion would’ve carried it fine, but Michaels and Flair put on a great show with great little touches, including using Charles “Little Naitch” Robinson as the referee. While not exactly on topic, I do want to point out that the WWE doesn’t count all of Flair’s championship reigns. He’s actually a 22-time champion, not 16. Suck it, Cena.
Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant
Yeah, we’re giving this one away. It’s too iconic not to mention. Andre wasn’t in the best of health at the time and Hogan was…never going to be anything more than Hulk Hogan. Fun fact: this was not the first time Hogan body-slammed Andre, despite WWE’s revisionist history. It is, however, the most-seen body-slam, so there’s that. Oh, and there’s also the fact that Andre was in so much pain that he had to drink 14 bottles of wine before the match in order to loosen himself up and numb his ailing joints.
Triple H vs The Undertaker
Here are some random thoughts I had watching this match for the first time: Why is a 50 year old man wearing mascara? Is Shawn Michaels having a convulsion? Why is this happening? Why are three dads having a hockey fight? How am I enjoying this? How are they still moving? Why is nobody bleeding? Goddamn you, Vince. What the hell is wrong with Michaels’ eye? Good god, he’s really balding, isn’t he? I think their bones are calcifying in front of our eyes. This match is better than I thought it would be. Holy crap, that sledgehammer shot. Holy crap, he kicked out of the Superkick-Pedigree combo. This was pretty okay.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Bret Hart
We’ve mentioned before about how emotion can carry a match. The Austin/Hart feud was so well-built and so redolent with hate that despite the ridiculousness of seeing Texas alcoholic brawler Stone Cold in a submission match, we wanted to see it. It’s up to speculation if the match would have been as regarded so highly (5 stars from Dave Meltzer) if Austin and Hart didn’t do the blade job, but it’s damn sure lucky they did it.
Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero
They say Steve Austin was the heel that everyone cheered for. Well, yes, that’s somewhat true, but nobody is a better example of that phenomenon than Eddie Guerrero. His catchphrase was itself a confession: “I lie, I cheat, I steal.” I would constantly do these things in storyline, he would consistently scumbag opponents in matches. We loved him for it. In this match, Kurt Angle shows that, yes, he can be a comedy heel and a comedy face, but he can also be a terrifying villain. Their match was a technical masterpiece with a brilliant ending.
Floyd Mayweather vs The Big Show
Yeah, we were all kinda hoping Big Show would just eat Mayweather. We all know what a prick the guy is. Unfortunately, Big Show was on a diet and Mayweather would probably be pretty gamey. But, holy crap, does Big Show not get enough credit. Did you see his face at the end of the match? Or the next night on RAW? He was all kinds of beaten up—to say nothing of the fact Mayweather accidentally broke Show’s nose a few weeks before. Look, this was a car wreck of a match, but we mean it in the best possible way.
Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage
Even Bret Hart likes this match and he doesn’t like anything. Rather than call this match in the ring, Savage devised it spot for spot beforehand—literally writing it all down like a play. He and Steamboat practiced it until they were driven insane and then did it one more time where they put on one of the best matches in Wrestlemania history and revolutionized the way matches would be performed. Apparently, even the wrestlers loved this match; the entire locker room stopped to watch it on the monitors and gave the two a standing ovation when they returned from the ring.
Stone Cold vs The Rock 2
Of the Austin/Rock matches, this one is quite probably the best (special shout-out to their forgotten Backlash ’99 battle). It was the match both men needed to win and neither man could afford to lose. It ended infamously; Stone Cold shook hands with Satan himself. Everyone (except those working at the WWF apparently) knew a heel Austin wouldn’t work. The match, of course, is a bit weak at the end because of this twist, which probably kept it from being 5 stars. I suppose we’ll have to live with the fact it’s almost perfect.