I thought it might be fun to put together my top ten favorite WrestleMania matches. The only problem is that I’ve only seen the first six. And WM23. Because it was in Detroit at Ford Field. But in case you are interested in a list that has those limitations, I decided to rank my top ten favorite matches. So while I normally rely on Blake the Snake, our resident WWE expert, I’m still going to try and do this. If I were me, I would be on the lookout for Blake’s official WM preview coming out soon. Oh and one more thing. I’m listening to Rick Derringer’s Real American while I’m writing this – so get ready for a healthy dose of the Hulkster!
10. WrestleMania 23 – Bobby Lashley (with Donald Trump) defeated Umaga (with Armando Alejandro Estrada and Mr. McMahon) – Hair vs. Hair Battle of the Billionaires match with Stone Cold Steve Austin as special guest referee: For me it was all about the end of this one. Having missed the Stone Cold era – I knew who he was, of course, but didn’t really know his thing. When this dude did the Stunner to a celebrating, in the ring, Donald Trump – the crowd erupted. Remember this was pre-political Trump. Forget what you think about him now on either side of the aisle. People gasped, cheered and wowed at the audacity. Then when Austin cracked open some beers and climbed up on the corner ropes and threw a couple out to the crowd.. I totally got it. I finally got why people loved this man. In a night filled with many high’s – this was one of the things I kept talking about. I don’t even remember who won. Who cares.. that ending rules.
09. WrestleMania I – Wendi Richter (with Cyndi Lauper) defeated Leilani Kai (c) (with The Fabulous Moolah) – Singles match for the WWF Women’s Championship: There wasn’t the kind of push for women’s wrestling like there is today. But the storyline of these women was great and pushed this match toward the top of the ticket. Moolah was the old but wise legend. Kai was the reigning champion and under the tutelage of Moolah. Richter was the all-American girl that appealed to many young women at the time. Us guys also latched onto her. I wanted her to win so bad that night! For my age group, there was nothing cooler than Cindy Lauper, The Goonies Hulk Hogan and Wendy Richter. Richter was the neeeew champion!
08. WrestleMania I – The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff (with Freddie Blassie) defeated The U.S. Express (Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo) (c) (with Lou Albano) – Tag team match for the WWF Tag Team Championship: This is probably the match pissed my young-self the most, back then. I was so mad that the Iron Sheik hit Barry Windham in the back of the head with Classy Freddie Blassie’s cane to win the Tag Team Championship belts. Cheaters. I almost wrote a letter to the WWF. When I look back now, The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff were one of the best, most blood boiling tag teams. Great writing. Great villains. Plus The Sheik is one of my favorite Twitter accounts.
07. WrestleMania 5 – Hulk Hogan defeated Randy Savage (c) with Miss Elizabeth in a neutral corner. Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship: Mega Powers Explode. This really put Miss Elizabeth in a bad position. Those were probably close to my exact words back then. Ahh good times. But when she tried to stop Randy from getting thrown into the ring post by Hogan, I was truly shocked. Of course, this set up Hogan to be.. thrown into the ring post. It ain’t poetry but gaht dammit did it make for some intense moments. Hogan eventually hulked up. You know the rest. Some great theme music and some flexin’. Perfect finale to the show.
06. WrestleMania I – Hulk Hogan and Mr. T (with Jimmy Snuka) defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper (with Bob Orton) – Tag team match with Muhammad Ali and Pat Patterson as special guest referees: It wasn’t the most technical match of all time but the build up was enormous. As an added bonus, I’ve always been a boxing guy (kid at that point) so seeing Ali in the ring made me cheer out loud. I think it was Gorilla Monsoon that said something like – “looks like the champ could still go a few rounds.” I was like, “Yeah he could. You’d better watch it Piper! grrr”. Hulk Hogan & Mr. T. Friggin A-Team was my show and I swore that someday I’d drive a van just like B.A.’s. Never happened but I’m still hopeful. But Cowboy Bob Orton accidentally hitting Mr. Wonderful, setting up a Hogan pin-fall was a great end to the first extravaganza as Mean Gene Okerlund used to say.
05. WrestleMania 23 – Mr. Kennedy defeated CM Punk, Edge, Finlay, Jeff Hardy, King Booker (with Queen Sharmell), Randy Orton and Matt Hardy – Money in the Bank ladder match: I didn’t know what the Money in the Bank was all about and not wanting to be a complete annoyance to my other buddies, I refrained from asking. I just sat back and watched this ridiculously amazing match unfold. I remember thinking.. “Damn, a lot has changed since I last saw one of these.” Then it happened. Jeff Hardy climbed up a fifteen foot ladder (in the ring) and jumped off onto another ladder that had Edge laying on it. It was the gutsiest move I saw since aircraft one performed a split S. Heck, it didn’t even matter to me who won. That leg drop was sick.
04. WrestleMania 6 – The Ultimate Warrior (IC Champion) defeated Hulk Hogan (WWF Champion) – Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship and WWF World Heavyweight Championship: This was the passing of the torch match. This was also the most bittersweet match and outcome I ever witnessed. On one hand – It was Hulk Hogan. On the other – The Ultimate Warrior. The guy that made the Honky Tonk Man look so stupid at Summer Slam ’88. He also had that music. An entrance song that rivals Real American? If there was, this was it for me. How I eventually came out of it satisfied was that if anyone had to beat Hulk Hogan, it should be the Ultimate Warrior. He was going to carry the WWF for the next decade, right? Hated to see the Hulkster lose but his sportsmanship in the ring showed why he was so beloved. Luckily for fans, Hogan wasn’t done just yet.
03. WrestleMania 23 – The Undertaker defeated Batista (c) – Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Even though I wasn’t an avid fan of wrestling after the sixth ‘Mania, I still knew who some of the personalities were. My Dad LOVED wrestling. So when I’d go over to his place, he’d always ask if I saw this guy or that guy. He’d bring up The Rock, N.W.O and The Undertaker. He said to me, do you know who The Undertaker is? I said, “the grave digging guy with the hat?” He laughed and said, yep you’re right. But no, it’s Mean Mark Callous from the WCW. Hey, I knew that guy! The first thing I said to my Dad the next time I saw him was, “I went to WrestleMania at Ford Field and holy smokes.. The Undertaker stole the show!” My everlasting memory of that match is when Batista was outside of the ring and Undertaker slingshot himself off of the far ropes and launched like a missile out of the ring, onto Batista. Seriously was the coolest thing I could remember. Incredible, man. Incredible.
02. WrestleMania 3 – Ricky Steamboat (with George Steele) defeated Randy Savage (c) (with Miss Elizabeth) – Singles match for the WWF Intercontinental Championship: Even with today’s world of high flyers and uber-acrobatic moves, this is still one of the greatest matches in the history of the company. But you know what? Brian Campbell – the Combat Sports writer and personality for CBS Sports put all of it into perspective with this article:
WrestleMania 3: An oral history of Randy Savage and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
‘Nuff said.
01. WrestleMania 3 – Hulk Hogan (c) defeated André the Giant (with Bobby Heenan) – Singles match for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship: Not only is this my favorite match, it’s arguably the most important match in Pro-Wrestling history. One word describes this fight. EPIC. Two biggest stars, both figuratively and literally. Biggest stage, in front of the biggest indoor audience at the time. Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan. This was the match to right all wrongs. Good Vs. Evil. When Andre ripped Hogan chain off of his neck on Piper’s Pit – it was the second most pissed off I ever was (U.S. Express losing really bothered me, apparently). We now have the information and behind the scenes of what was really going down that day. Things like Andre telling Hogan he was ready and to slam him as he was actually in a great deal of pain. Or Hogan not knowing if Andre was actually going to go along with the whole set up of Hogan slamming him and winning. But in 1987 there was drama. When Hulk eventually scooped up the Giant and slammed him, it felt like 93,000 people all slamming him at once. It never got any better for me as a fan than that moment right there. I’ll never forget that feeling. It was truly epic.
-Tommy Marz
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