Glen Thoughts

Well it appears that the event has come and gone. I made my first post about the event last year, and it appears that this will be my last post on it. I’ll always remember the memories.

I’m going to look back at the matches, and see where it fits on my different rankings that took far too much of my time leading into this event.

An absolute crying shame that this was bumped to the pre-show, as these four performers really deserved to have a big moment in the sun, especially for something as important as a title unification match. However, in a move that shouldn’t be shocking, they were moved to the pre-show. To be honest, I have yet to watch this match, as I have only seen the highlights, so I feel myself unable to comment on it, let alone rank it.

Now this was a great way to open up the show! These guys really, really delivered. They did a repeat of the “everyone dives to the outside” spot from the first year, but followed it up with Shelton doing a crazy dive from the top of the ladder, that really could have gotten him killed. I quite enjoyed the series of ladders that they used, setting them up as a ramp going from the outside to the inside. As great as Shelton was (as always), the real star of the match for my was Kofi Kingston. He started the match by doing a standing leap over a ladder attack, and got better from there. Him jumping up the ladder that Mark Henry was holding onto was simply breathtaking. I am surprised that they gave it to CM Punk as a repeat, as the crowd seemed to want Christian really badly, and the WWE seemed to want someone else. I am hoping that they do a good redo on his first title run.

Rankings: I think that this is a hair below Money in the Bank 3, which is far from an insult. That puts it at #3 on the list of all-time openers, and #12-11 on the Extreme Rules list.

GG and TT’s Prediction: Neither of us had Punk as the winner, but Travis said that this would jerk the curtain, so he gets a point. 1-0 for the bad guy.

It seems to me that they took everything bad about the gimmick battle royal from Wrestlemania X-7 (i.e. the quality) and none of the good stuff (i.e. the nostalgia moments during the entrance), as the only time that any diva from the past was mentioned was when they were eliminated. I understand that the entrances would have ruined the surprise of Santina Marella winning, but, I am sure that they could have worked around that. Also, Kid Rock’s 10 minute “medley” was awful, and the time should have gone to the Tag teams, for shame.

Rankings: Somewhere in the “perverse entertainment” portion, mostly for Santino Marella’s dancing at the end. I guess that puts it in the #12-8 ranks.

GG and TT’s Prediction: My hope of a Stratus return was dashed, what hurts more is that my arch rival correctly called our new inter-gender champion. 2-0 for the Andy Kaufman to my Jerry Lawler.

I certainly was not expecting this to be pretty, and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by this match. At the start, all three legends got in their spots and kept their time in the ring short. Snuka then tapped out, bringing the submission streak at Wrestlemania to six (after only three submissions in the first 19 events!), Piper was eliminated shortly thereafter, leaving Steamboat to go one-on-one with Jericho. The Dragon hasn’t fought a match in I believe 15 years, and looks like he hadn’t missed a beat. His flying body press, leap to the outside, and picture perfect armdrags were things of beauty. I love how the announcers played up the veteran still being able to go one more time (a la The Wrestler) without hitting us over the head with the comparisons. Steamboats roll ups were great, and I really thought that he would pull off a fluke win at some point or another. Of course, Jericho ended up hitting the Code-breaker and taking the win. The Rourke stuff afterwards really dragged on too long, and was a bit of a let down, but the match was decent though.

Rankings: Fine match, the celebrity involvement helped build the match, but added very little to the aftermath, putting it on about par with the Battle of the Billionaires from Mania 23, if not slightly better, putting it at #7 on my Celebrity rank.

GG and TT’s Prediction: Looks like TT takes another one on me, and clinches the win in the third match. 3-0 in an anti-climatic moment, fitting of this match.

Another match that was a touch of a let down. Don’t get me wrong, these two performed well, but it seems like they just didn’t have enough time to tell the epic story that they needed to. The big spots were a little rushed, especially at the beginning. I really liked the ending, with the leap-frog, followed by the Twist of Fate of absolute death with the chair. I suppose they did the right thing, saved some bigger spots for later in the feud, and made Matt Hardy look like a champ. Hopefully they really up the ante from here.

Rankings: I have it about pegged with McMahon-Hogan, but they are hard to compare, since this was clearly a better match, but McMahon-Hogan was more epic. Probably a touch better when it is all said and done, thus putting it at #12 (including the MITB match) on my Extreme Rules list.

GG and TT’s Prediction: I finally got on the board with not one, but 2 points as there was a table break, giving me a bit of a fight in what may be automatically a lost cost. 4-2 for my turncoat brother.

What a crock of garbage. Mysterio wins in a squash and JBL quits. Lame, lame, lame, lame, lame. JBL deserved a better send off in his last match, Mysterio deserved a better moment in his Triple Crown completion, and the IC Title deserves more after not being used on the show for far too long.

Rankings: Move over Maivia-Sultan, we officially have a new worst IC Title match in Wrestlemania history. Congrats guys, you earned it.

GG and TT’s Prediction: Like the match length, we both came up short here. 4-2, but I won’t quit after this loss.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have this match, which was simply amazing. These two men, both in their fourties, went out and delivered an absolutely sensational match. They had a good mix of brawling, high flying, technical wrestling, and sick spots. I thought that Taker was going to die (for real) when he landed on his head on the concrete, but yet he got up and kept fighting. Both of these men really had you believing that anything could happen. I loved the countout spot (after said dive) and after some of those superkicks, I really thought that HBK was going to take the win. Like I said with Edge-Taker, it really speaks volumes about both performers when they got out and make you believe that what you *know* is not going to happen. What makes this even better, is that I watched this match a few days after the event (in China, you know) so I actually knew who won, and yet I was on the edge of my seat thinking that HBK would be able to pull it off. While it may not be the best Mania match ever, it is easily in the Top 10, and possibly in the Top 5.

Rankings: Taker’s best match not only in Wrestlemania history, but possibly in the history of his career (on par with the first HITC, coincidently with HBK). I’m not certain about HBK’s list though, as it is about on par with the Angle match from Wrestlemania 21. In all honesty, I would require a second viewing to decide the Number 1, and given my esteem for that match, it is saying quite a bit.

GG’s and TT’s Prediction: We both called for a Taker victory and we both said that it would be awesome, and what do you know, we were both right. 17-0 makes it 5-3.

I said that this match could be surprisingly good, and it certianly was. The three men did well, and Cena holding both men up for the F-U was simply awesome. I also quite enjoyed the Edge getting F-U’d onto the Big Show, which was similar to what I predicted, just far less dangerous. All that being said, this realyl lacked the big match feel, and came across as more of a Raw main event than anything else.

Also note: Cena’s entrance was awesome.

Rankings: This really had nowhere to go on my rank, as it didn’t fit as a “last match”, but if I were to do a ranking of best title matches to not go on last, this one would certianly be better than HHH-Booker and Cena-JBL, it was about on par with the Triple Threats from 22 and XXIV, but probably the worst of that lot.

GG and TT’s Predictions: Both of us gain a point, but I fail to gain any ground. 6-4 for the Ultimate Opportunist.

Bad match, bad result. Orton needed to win here but didn’t. I understand not wanting to end the show with a heel win, but there were lots of other options for who to give the closing spot to. It seems like they are going to give the belt to Orton at Backlash, but it may be a touch too late.

Rankings: And so the streak of great main events at six, as we get what is out worst main event match since Wrestlemania X8 (when H also ended the show with the belt, coincidence?), I’ll even rank it below Bret-Yoko from Wrestlemania X, putting this at #19.

GG and TT’s Prediction: We both get no points for both the results and the match placements, thus making us join Orton, and everyone who watched this match as losers. Unlike Orton, the man who attacked a female interest gets the win here (note: maybe 5 people will get that one) giving it 6-4 to TT.

So the obvious question stands: Where does this Wrestlemania rank? Well looking back at my ranking from last year, I think that this one is pretty much in the middle of the pack, compareable to X8, 2000, and VII, all three had some very good undercard matches, but flat main events, so it fits somewhere in that pack. Decent show, but probably the worst edition of the event in the past six years or so.

Ahh well, better luck next year.

Until next time,

G

Here we are the 9th, and final installment of the Wrestlemania Rankings, as we look at the best matches to ever close the show. Most of these matches have been pretty spectacular, and are considered the best of the best.

Ten seconds of pure crap. This was completely insulting to absolutely every wrestling fan out there, as Hogan went out and stole the show from Bret Hart, and Yokozuna in what is probably the worst Wrestlemania moment ever.

What was supposed to be Hogan’s final match, but things worked out a little bit differently to say the least. This was supposed to be Hogan vs. Flair, but sadly that never happened here for a variety of complicated reasons. This was only the second time that a non-title match closed out Wrestlemania, and it was the only time that the show ended with a disqualification finish. The match was pretty bland, but the post-match surprise of having The Ultimate Warrior return was pretty freakin’ fantastic.

Sid’s second appearance on the list is hardly a classic either. Yet again, this is a match that was not supposed to serve as the Main Event, since it was supposed to be Bret-Shawn II, but we get this instead. Not much to write home about.

Another rather bleh match, very little action, very little drama. It happened, lets move on.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: And here’s were they start to get good)

This is a hard match to hate for nostalgias sake. These four men (including one non-trained wrestler) went out and put on a fun match, that made you believe was important, and they certainly succeeded. Well worth a watch for nostalgia, but not for much else.

The third (and to date, final) non-title match to close out the show, and probably the best of the bunch. This is easily the best celebrity wrestling match of all time, and has held up well to this day.

I remember watching this match and simply jumping for joy at the finish. My Canadian hero, Bret Hart, defeated the evil villain who had squashed him a year before. Simply a great moment. That being said, the match leading up to it was not the Hitman’s finest, but still pretty decent, and one of the best of Yokozuna’s career.

I have such mixed feelings about this one. The storyling going into this one was simply ridiculous, as the main focus was Triple H vs. Stephanie. The match in itself was pretty good, but not on par with their work from a year and a half before. Also, the crowd was really not into this match at all, with everyone being exhausted after the spectacle that was Rock-Hogan.

Like the previous match, the build to this one left a lot to be desired, and like the previous match, this was still pretty good. However, unlike the previous match, the crowd was actually into this one, as Slaughter approached nuclear level heat here, thus putting it abouve Jericho-H.

I remember a lot of people raving about this match at the time, and I really didn’t get it. Maybe because it was on the same card as Rey-Eddie, Angle-HBK, Taker-Orton, and the first Money in the Bank Match, but I really wasn’t blown away by the match quality here.

The first multi-man match to close the show, and the first time that a heel left Wrestlemania as champion. Despite all of the McMahon involvment, the match was still a good one, especially when it came down to Triple H and The Rock. I think that everyone could see the Vince turn at the end, but it was still a fun ride getting there.

This was seriously the only redeeming quality to an otherwise mediocre event. The main event really delivered as both men (plus Hogan and Andre, their respective corner men) played their role well. Savage had already fought three very long matches en route to this finale, and looked like he was set to loose. Despite all the odds though, good prevailed, and Savage was able to win his first world title.

This match could be ranked as high as #1, or as low as #23 and it would be hard to argue with it. This match, while technically was certianly lacking, it is easily the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling. This was not about the holds or high spots, it was about the spectacle, and every main event has been trying to recreate the same effect, to no avail.

The second Wrestlemania to feature a “former friends, current enemies” main event, that was much more emotional that the build to Hogan-Andre. The match here was really nothing short of spectacular, as it featured a good mix of psychology and emotion, and marked a major shift to the current idea of a “soap opera for men”.

The first of their epic Wrestlemania trilogy, as The Rock was backed by Vince McMahon and Austin was trying to regain his title. The match walked the fine line between “epic” and “overbooked” nicely. The series of referees, before Foely returned to count the three helped build an undeniable drama here.

Simply one of the most bizarre crowd reactions ever, as Cena was supposed to be the face, and H was supposed to be the heel. However, the crowd ended up being split somewhere in the middle, and both men played tweeners for the match. This is perhaps the most genuinely shocked with a finish of a Wrestlemania main event that I have ever seen, as everyone was expecting a Triple H victory, and nobody expected Triple H to cleanly tap out to the STFU.

The first face vs. face main event, which was simply unheard of at the time. Both men (and the crowd along with them) gave the matches of their lives, and it was far, far better than anyone could have ever anticipated.

As I mentioned the in Showstopper list, this was HBK’s manliest performance of his career, as he probably should have sat this one out, but fought through it all. Similar things can be said for Austin who was still recovering from his near fatal neck injury. These two gave us a great match that kick started the Attitude Era. Tyson punching HBK was one of the most lasting images in Wrestlemania history.

Another of the Showstopper’s great performances. One of the most well rounded matches I have seen in a while, as these two really have a fantastic chemistry.

One of the most anticipated matches in recent Wrestlemania history. Ever since Lesnar was signed, everyone wanted to see the battle of the two amateurs turned pro, and it was saved until the biggest stage of them all. These two men mixed their amateur background in with the professional present, and gave us a match for the ages. The one thing that stopped this match from being even higher was having Lesnar miss the shooting star press at the end, and nearly killing himself.

A great match that showcased the incredibly difference between the WWF and WCW main event style at the time, as the WWF’s guys could really, really deliver. Despite my criticism of this match, I still think that this is one of the best technical matches to take place on the big stage.

Yeah, I think that the latest addition to this list was that good. The build up was sub-par, and the match was in danger of falling behind the WWE Title Match, Mayweather-Big Show, and HBK-Flair on the depth chart, but they went out and closed the show in style. Seeing The Undertaker chokeslam one of Edge’s cronies onto the other was great, followed by Charles Robinson’s lonnnng run to the ring, and Edge getting a 2.999 count was great. Edge looked like a million bucks, and The Undertaker saved the day as usual.

Simply one of the best matches to ever take place, regardless of events that have followed it. Three of the greatest in-ring performers of all time simply delivered a match for the ages.

Now here it is, THE match. As I have said repeatedly on this blog, this is the most important match in the history of the pseudo-sport. The Attitude Era was defined by Austin fighting on his own against the Evil Boss, no matter what. Yet, here he had to turn to the very same boss to beat his long time rival, he had to give in to The Man, he fought the Law and the Law Won, he loved Big Brother. There was nothing more after that, anything else was just a footnote. This is simply required viewing for any wrestling fan.

And there we have it, the last of my Wrestlemania rankings for the year. Turn back later on to see prediction for the big show, as well as post show analysis. It’s been a fun ride, let’s see how this event changes any rankings from here on out!

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women’s Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Here we are at our penultimate Wrestlemania rankings, as we look at the matches of the man who is perhaps the greatest competitor in the history of the event, Mr. Wrestlemania himself, Shawn Michaels.

While this is not a bad match by any stretch of the imagination, it still could have been better. I was not a huge fan of the “salt in the eyes lead to a count out” finish. These two teams would have a much better match at the following years Royal Rumble. Had that match have taken place here, then it would be far higher on the list.

As I said in my Openers list, “This was a fun match, between two very talented performers, but it lacked the necessary emotion to push it into greatness.”. Not much more to add here, although it is interesting to here Bobby “The Brain” Heenan say that Michaels was going to be the biggest star of the 90s, funny how things work out.

Another match that I already mentioned. It was certainly a good one, but marred by the disqualification finish, and the lack of real emotion.

Hardly the biggest debut for the future legend. These two teams worked a good Big Team vs. Little Team match, which The Rockers would become famous for. This is well worth a watch, for the nostalgia factor alone.

As I have said a number of times, this was too long and too much of Michaels beating on McMahon. While that is enjoyable to a point, they may have taken it too far and too long with this one.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s were we go from good, to great)

I ranked this one #5 on my “Openers” list, and in retrospect, I may have underrated it. It was that good.

The match that really showed that Michaels was a viable main event player. During this match, Diesel was supposed to be the dominant face, but Michaels did such a good job in this match that the Hartford fans started to cheer him on (a near unheard of thing in 1995). The Showstopper truly arrived here.

Probably the manliest performance of Michaels’ career. He had already suffered a career ending back injury, months prior, but he still fought it out for this match, and absolutely delivered. This appeared to be the last match of his career, until his miraculous 2002 comeback, and had it been, it would certainly be a good way to go.

While this match gets mixed reviews, I quite enjoy it. These two worked a very nice mix of technique, brawling, and high spots into one match. I really enjoyed the cross body-FU-Superkick-STFU counter series near the end. This really was a great way to end a very solid event.

This was from their first feud back in 2003, and not their epic feud of last year. That being said, this was an absolute dream match for me, as two of my all-time favourite performers stepped into the same ring for the first time. While it is strange to think of now, at the time, this was a novelty, as it was one of his first few matches back from his comeback, and nobody was certain how much longer he would be around for. My hopes were high, and I was certainly not let down. This is well worth a watch, even if you aren’t quite as big of a fan of these two as I am.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is where it gets spectacular)

This is perhaps the most overrated match in the history of the WWE. Many people call it the best match ever (as it was voted the best Wrestlemania match ever before Wrestlemania XX), and it certainly is a very good match, but the praise it receives may just be a little much. These two men delivered for an hour, which was something that we were not seeing at the time (and had not seen since Flair’s glory days in the 80s). My biggest complaint is the lack of falls, they announced the Iron Man stipulation, yet did nothing to play into it, as both men were tied 0-0 at the end of the hour. A 1-1 tie would have been more effective. Still, well worth a watch if you have an hour to kill.

Arguably Shawn’s greatest match before his comeback, and the day that he started to become “The Showstopper”. These two men went out and gave us something that we had never seen before. Sure the high parts have been topped since then, but words can not express how ground breaking this match was, as so much of the death-defying moves that defined the late 90s and early 00s take roots from this match.

The last match in the career of the greatest in-ring performer against arguably his closest equal. While this match may not have been a technical classic like the Iron Man Match, or as jaw dropping as the Ladder Match, this match had far, far more emotion. The story going into this was fantastic, as Flair asked Michaels to give him a Wrestlemania moment, but Shawn was hesitant to retire his friend, yet Flair insisted that he give him his all. In the end Shawn uttered “I’m sorry, I love” before giving a final superkick and ending the career of Ric Flair in what was one of the most emotional moments in the history of this pseudo-sport

While this is controversial given the news that surrounds Mr. Benoit, I decided to let this match stand on it’s own merits, and those are quite high. These three men delivered an absolute classic in every sense of the world in what is arguably the triple threat match ever, Triple H’s best match ever, and ranks among the best matches of Michaels and Benoit’s great in-ring careers. While many at the time were critical of Michaels’s involvment in the match, he certainly added his own flair to the affair, and helped the dynamics of the match. If you can get past the sickening events surround Mr. Benoit, and the surreal hug at the end of the match, this is simply a fantastic match.

The premise was simple. Who was the best, not just at the time, but of the generation? This pitted the best wrestler of the 90s against the best of the 00s. The results? Simply the best that you could ask for. Find a way to watch this match, even if you are not a fan, it will not let you down.

While I said that this Sunday’s match could be Taker’s best ever, I am not certain that it will be the same for HBK’s, he has some pretty stiff comeptition, that being said, this should still be a classic.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women’s Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Greetings one and all, to the 7th Installment of my Wrestlemania rankings. The next two installments will look at the performers in the match that I, for one, am most eagerly anticipating, The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels. Today, we look back at the sixteen previous victims of the Undertaker’s legendary streak.

One of the main reasons that this card gets so much flack, as many consider this to be the worst match in the history of Wrestlemania. It consisted of a few punches, a clothesline or two, and Gonzalez using a rag soaked with ether to knock out the Undertaker and get himself disqualified. Sadly it took seven minutes and thirty three seconds to do all of that.

Uggh…I talked about this one in my Extreme Rules match, and that was enough, I don’t want to make any of you relive this atrocity. Next.

Part of the Undertaker’s year-long feud with the Corporation. This took place here, despite the fact that his main feud was with Kama Mustafa. Why they didn’t just give us that match is beyond me.

While this match was bad, it could have been far worse, had they gone with the original plan to have The Undertaker team with Nathan Jones to take on the two monsters. Still it wasn’t very good.

The return of the Undertaker as the Deadman from the Biker for this match truly was a Wrestlemania moment. That being said, his first match back against his “brother” Kane, was not. This match was rather short and one-sided, and was a bit of a black eye on an otherwise stellar card.

Another match that I mentioned on the “Extreme Rules” list. While this match was better than I expected, it still wasn’t exactly a classic.

A match that really, really, should not have happened for a variety of reasons, least of all quality wise. While some people enjoyed this one, I found it rather bland, and was only saved by Bret Hart’s repeated run-ins. There is a rumour that Sid actually crapped his pants in the middle of this match, so it is worth it to try and see it, but other than that, worth a skip.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: And here is where they start to get good)

The Deadman’s memorable Wrestlemania debut. Sure it was a squash, but it was entertaining. Snuka still had enough gas in the tank to make the “new kid” look good, this worked quite well. That being said, it wasn’t long enough to rank any higher.

I do believe that this was the last match for Roberts in the WWF before he jumped to WCW, and boy could you ever tell. The Undertaker completley dominated him, and Jake got absolutely nothing in. It really established The Undertaker as the master of mind games, and the tombstone onto the concrete was pure Bad Ass, and like nothing we had ever really seen in the WWF at the time..

The first of many, many matches between these two, and still, to this day, the best of them all. Untertaker’s enterance with the druids was great, and to see The Undertaker dive onto the announce table was fantastic. This one is far, far better than the match from Wrestlemania XX that I previously mentioned.

I do believe that this was Diesel’s last match in the WWF, before his imfamous jump that changed wretling history, and this certainly was a great match to go out on. This had been something of a dream match for any wrestling fans at the time, and it definitely delivered, a surprisingly good fast-paced match.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: And now we get to the pure classics)

As I said in the “Extreme Rules” post, this match does not get nearly the hype it deserves, mainly because it was on the same card as Hogan vs. Rock. Still a great deal of fun between two of the all-time greats. This match could have been #1 on the list had Flair gotten in more offense.

The first truly great Wrestlemania match for the phenom. Both men were on top of their game in this one and delivered a pure classic. This was one of the few times that the streak has been legitimately in jeopardy, and was pretty close to being done for. My one complaint with this one, was the exceptionally long ref-bump, they should have just made it no-disqualification and been done with it. Still, an underrated classic here.

The most likely match to have ended the streak, was when the Deadman faced the Legend Killer. It would have been a perfect way to get Orton over as a huge heel would be for him to pin The Undertaker in the middle of the ring. However, that wasn’t meant to be. Highlights of the match include the swank chokeslam into RKO counter by Orton. A great addition to a great card.

Easily the best match of Batista’s career, and among the greatest that the Undertaker has ever had. These two men went out and silenced all of the critics. They delivered one of the best big man power matches ever, and stole the show. You could really tell that Batista was trying to bring his A-game, using moves that he doesn’t normally do, and delivered big steps, including the running powerslam onto an announce table.

Perhaps it is too early to judge, but I think that last year’s offering was the best match that the Undertaker has ever given on the grandest stage of them all, and perhaps his best non-gimmick match. These two brought it all. I was worried that Edge would be treated like a joke, but the Undertaker really made him look like a threat to the streak, selling for all of his big moves. When Edge hit Taker with the camera (like he had done back at The Survivor Series of that year), I thought that would be all she wrote, but then the Undertaker kicked back up at 2.999 and countered a Spear into the Devil’s Cross for the win. This match was nothing short of fantastic and belongs at the top of the list…for now.

Yes, I said “for now” because I legitimately think that this Sunday’s offering has a chance to be the best match in the history of The Undertaker’s fabbled streak. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women’s Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Welcome to the sixth of the nine part installment, looking back at different rankings of Wrestlemania matches. Right now, in honour of the 25 woman “Miss Wrestlemania” battle royal, I look back at all of the great (and not so great) Women’s wrestling matches that took place on the grandest stage of them all.

A really, really, really bad match. And I am not a harsh critic of women’s wrestling. These two had an unenviable position of following up the Triangle Ladder Match on the card, but they certainly did not deliver. This was just two women grabbing each others hair and rolling around. It blissfully ended with Mae Young performing a broncobuster on Moolah. I never thought that I would ever type that.

Another dull one. Sable was just turning from uber-face to indifferent heel as she took on more of her own personality as a prima-dona. Tori tried to challenge her, but Sable’s debuting bodyguard, Nicole Boss came down and cost Tori the match, thankfully ending the torture.

About as good as it sounds.

Ashley really had no place in the ring, as she was well over her head with a talented performer like Melina. This match was dull and served as a convenient break before the main event.

Pretty boring match, that was saved from being truly atrocious by being less than a minute.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: There is some perverse entertainment that comes after this)

On the other hand, this match had to be a squash, it really was the only way to end this feud. Chyna had been injured for months at the hands of the RTC, so this was the logical pay back, she had to get them, and she had to get them good. While logical, and crowd-popping, there was hardly enough here to get this to be ranked any higher.

The annual “Playboy Push” came to Hemme in 2005. She was really, really out of her league against Trish, who could not carry her to anything watchable. It seems no coincidence that Trish would take a few months off (with the title) shortly after this match.

The most recent addition to the list. These four ladies had to follow up the emotional Ric Flair retirement, and oddly the lights went out in the middle of the match. Still they had a decent affair, with the heels controlling enough of the offense, and getting the win to make it worthwhile. Also, Snoop Dogg knocking out Santino Marella was amazing.

Probably the worst placed match in the history of wrestling. These ladies had to follow up the surreal experience that was Rock-Hogan, and needless to say, the crowd wanted none of it. Still, they worked fairly hard. This match could have, and probably should have, had Trish win the belt in order to excite the Canadian crowd a little bit.

Much like the Backland-Hart encounter I discussed in the previous post, this was a horribly, horribly disappointing match. Both (male) wrestlers are incredibly talented, and a straight up one-on-one match between the two could have been great! Savage’s ability would have helped carry Dusty’s theatrics to a very good match (a la Hogan and Warrior), but alas they were saddled with two untrained women to team with them, and it really just never clicked what so ever. Probably the worst match of either of their career, certainly considering how young they both were at the time.

Part of a horribly offensive storyline that portrayed Stacey and Jackie as two women who were bitter that they weren’t allowed to pose for Playboy. Still, the ladies kept this match short enough to be as offensive in delivery as it was in hype.

It’s times like this that you’ve got to feel bad for Bam Bam. Here he was, a talented performer in his own right, teaming up with the terrifying Luna Vachon, to take on a clown and a midget clown. Thankfully he won, but the match wasn’t much to write home about, it just sort of was.

A marginally better offering from the same event. Like most of this card, it just helped to kill time between Bret-Owen and Shawn-Razor.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: And here is where they get to be watchable)

Again, another disappointing match. Both women here are more than capable, and are two of the greatest wrestlers to set foot in a WWE ring, yet they were given all of 5 minutes, and it just never worked out, which is quite the shame since they both have a ton of talent.

A fun little match with some pretty interesting dynamics. See Sable (who was a huge face) was feuding with Luna (a heel), but Marc Mero (a heel) and Goldust (also a heel) got involved and this match was set. Mero and Goldust were able to work some good stuff, and Sable was able to get the crowd mega-behind her before the finish.

I was hesitant to include this match, since it features one woman and five men. There were enough talented workers in the match to put on a good affair and stop it from being completely terrible. That being said, Chyna pinning Eddie Guerrero is something that never should have crossed my tv screen.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: And here is we get to the elite range)

While this may not have been the strongest match ever, the heat for this one was simply off the chart. This match was a huge draw to the original Wrestlemania, as Cyndi Lauper helped corner Richter. Many of these matches have been hurt by crowd reactions, but this one was immensely helped by it.

Two-thirds similar to their match from a year ago, but miles better. These three, very talented women, went out and gave a great performance that added to a really stacked-show.

A great, great, great match here. The storyline was very well thought out, as it took months of build to finally pay off in this big one-on-one show down. Both wrestlers played their part well, especially James who really had Trish (her idol) scouted and used her own moves against her. Well worth a view, even though some parts have been edited out on the DVD.

And there you have the good, the bad, and the ugly of the women of wrestling. Hopefully this edition makes it into the first category.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women’s Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

The rankings continue, in honour of the very exciting Hardy-Hardy match coming up, today we will look at the best matches to have no rules. Well that technically is not accurate, since every match needs to have some way to declare a winner (except one God awful match on this list), however there are many matches ranging from steel cage matches, to ladder matches, to falls count anywhere affairs, that have taken place that fully allow any sort of weapon or interference possible.

When compiling this list, I realize that the matches are among the greatest ones ever performed on the grand stage. As such, there are a relatively few near the bottom, and the vast majority of these belong in the upper echelon of Wrestlemania matches.

Simply put, an awful, awful match. It lacks any of the excitement, or intensity that the gimmick or event truly deserves. Bossman really was slowing down at this point, and gave the Undertaker nothing to work with, so we ended up with what is the worst pay-per-view Hell in a Cell match ever, by far. It all seemed like an excuse for an insulting post-match angle, when Edge, Christian and Gangrel hung the Bossman from the ceiling in a moment that should have killed him, but yet was never spoken of again.

Given the talent involved, I feel strange writing this match so low. While these two had a compelling classic at the Survivor Series before, this match was flat out boring. Bret Hart has stated that he felt that this was the worst match of his career, and it is easy to see why. Arguably the most disapointing match in Wrestlemania history.

I found little redeeming qualities in this match, as it just seemed like Hogan’s victory was never really in doubt, and it all seemed like a set up for Hogan to beat up Heenan at the end. Certainly worth a pass.

Not so much a match, as a show long angle between two wrestlers fighting. It started in the street early on in the show, only for Golddust to escape in a white Bronco (a la OJ Simpson, for anyone who doesn’t remember that Media side show) before coming into the arena. Oddly it ended when Piper stripped Goldust of his clothes to reveal women’s clothing underneath. Very bizare, and only perversely entertaining.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here’s where we get our first of several very large jumps in quality)

To put this in context, I ranked this match #14 on my list of openers, and now here it is 10 spots lower. That has more to say about the quality of this list than it does about this match. A fairly innofensive hardcore match that could be seen all over the place from 1998-2001, if you’ve seen one of them, you’ve probably seen them all.

When this match was announced, it seemed like it was destined to be absolutely horrible, however it turned out to be a perfectly acceptable match, with the easy high point coming when the Undertaker (in his 40s no less) dives over the ropes, over the casket to nail Henry. Taker lifting Mark Henry up and delivering a Tombstone is simply awe inspiring.

What started out as Maven defending the hardcore title against Goldust turned into a great running gag throughout the show. During the match (which was rather bland) Spike Dudley ran down to the ring to pin Maven and win the title (this of course during the 24/7 rule of the title) Crash Holly ran out to try and win the title, only for the four men to run into the back. Throughout the night there were many great bits when different wrestlers including The Hurricane, Al Snow, Molly Holly, and Christian all won the title (or tried), before Maven snuck out a pin and left with the title that he started the show with. A fun joke throughout the evening.

A fun little match, that was a sort of going away part for Randy Savage. This match had a bizare rule, where the person who was pinned had to return to the ring within 60 seconds or they would lose. As a result, there were a few falls, before the match finished when Savage pinned Crush in the back, and tied him up in some scaffolding, which prevented him from returning to the ring. Some fun stuff, that was no doubt ahead of its time, but the match was lacking in the drama required for an epic blood feud.

Simply one of the most crazy fun matches in Wrestlemania history! There was a fifteen minute time limit, where the goal was to pin the hardcore champion. The title changed hands an unbelievable 9 times. This took the fun hardcore matches taking place at the time to a whole new level of entertainment.

I mentioned this in my entry for tag team wrestling. I don’t have much more to add, this was a fun match that served its purpose. All four men busted out some good spots, and the good guys won.

While I thought that it sucked at the time, I have grown to appreciate this match upon repeated viewings. These two did the best with what they had. They used the stipulation to hide their flaws, and delivered a pretty entertaining performance. The highlight of course being the Big Show take out Mayweather’s posse.

One of the few brightspots on a pretty terrible card. These six men had a fun hardcore match that ended with a sweet double Doomsday Device. It provided a good amount of closure to the long running Johnson-Faarooq feud and served as a catalyst for the breakup of the original Nation. Well worth a viewing.

As I have said a few times. Fun match, with an odd ending that I certainly do not approve of (still). That being said, any match that includes Finlay busting a tope, and JBL throwing stairs at Hornswoggle is worth watching.

Oddly, the lowest match to feautre Vince McMahon features the greatest in ring-performer of this generation. While Shawn certainly did his best, this match really just did not do it for me. There were some crazy bumps, including the leap off of the mega-ladder, but it really was just Shawn Michaels beating up Vince for a solid 18 minutes. While that is entertaining, it just wasn’t enough for me to get any higher than this.

A forgotten match from one of hte greatest wrestling events of all time. These three men walked the line almost perfectly between comedy and violence, as they used some violent, stiff moves, but still kept it light, with the golf cart chase. After Kane won, I was really hoping that Pete Rose would run out and try to take the title, but was slightly disappointed on that one. Still, probably the best match for hte Hardcore Title that did not involve RVD.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Now here is where it starts to get really, really good)

While the second installment of the now annual Money in the Bank Tradition was full of some excellent moments, including Shelton risking his life for our pleasure and the drama of Flair almost grabbing the case, it was probably the worst match in the series. Most of the spots were repeats of the previous years masterpiece, and RVD was the most logical winner, as much as I wanted to believe that Flair would pull of a miracle.

I remember watching this match with several of my friends, fully expecting to hate it. I felt that two men in their fifties would not be able to pull off anything that was even remotely entertaining, and yet, here I have it ranked higher than several great matches. These two men pulled out all of the stops, including Vince McMahon of all people jumping off of a ladder, and one of the best Wrestlemania surprises ever, in a Roddy Piper run in. Hogan won, as everyone was expecting, but it was a great deal of fun.

Probably the most overbooked matches in wrestling history. See, Vince got a divorce from Linda (who was knocked into a comma) and was cheating on him with Trish Stratus. Shane decided to come to his father’s aid, but then just before the event, it was announced that the WWF purchased WCW, but it was revealed that Shane had boughten it underneath his fathers nose, adding a whole new dimension to the rivalry. Ohh, and Mick Foley (who had been fired by Vince) was named the special guest referee for this match. This probably had the highest scope of outside interference of any match ever, as all sorts of people at the time were expecting some sort of WCW run in. However, it certainly did not need it, as Trish turned on Vince, Linda walked again to attack him, Foley beat him up, and Shane delivered a Van Terminator (coast to coast dropkick) for the win. Confused? Can’t say that I blame you, but it all added up to be a really entertaining match.

I already raved about this match when talking about the greatest opening matches in the history of the event. As I said then, this easily had the biggest names in the history of the match, as it featured three former world champions, two men who would go on to be world champion, two more who I think will be world champions soon enough, and a well respected veteran. This had some of the highest highs, but tended to drag between the spots, which prevents it from being even higher up on the list.

Had this been on almsot any other card in history, it would have received more hype, and be better remembered than it has been. This truly was a match between two of the all-time greats, and it certainly did not disappoint. Both men brought their A-game and were sure to deliver a fun brawl. The most obvious highlight being the return of Arn Anderson to deliver a picture perfect spinebuster. My one complaint with this match was a bit too one sided, as Flair should have been given more offense.

One of the highlights of last years Wrestlemania. All seven men performed very well, and it was much better paced than the previous years performance. Shelton Benjamin proved to be a highlight again, especially when he balanced himself with one foot on top of the ladder, but the real star of the show to me was John Morrison, who busted out a great moonsault with the ladder. Well done by all men, and I was glad to see CM Punk get the win, even if his title reign left a lot to be desired.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: And now we get into the epic range)

A seemingly random pairing that had less build than it probably should have, but turned out to be a great match. Both men really fought like they had something to prove, Edge that he belonged in the main event, and Foley that he could still make another heel (a la Rock, Triple H, and Orton) and deliver a solid match. The two fought a great affair, that showed just how great of a performers they both are. They slowly built all of the high spots (especially the table on fire) and had the crowd eating out the palm of their hands, until they finally delivered. The obvious highlight of the match was Edge going face first into freakin’ fire. A very manly performance.

The first and still the best of the annual match. Going into the match I really wasn’t sure as to what to expect, as we had never seen something quite like this on such a big stage. Yet all six men (seven, counting Tomko) played their part to perfection. I especially liked the beginning where all of the men took turns diving onto everyone, until Kane ended it by jumping onto six other people. Also, Benoit’s selling during this match was amazing, and stands out as one of the best sell jobs of his long illustrious career. The highlight though was Shelton Benjamin running up one ladder to knock Jericho off of another ladder, Spiderman style. Edge’s victory here helped set up his “Ultimate Opportunist” character that we all know and loathe to this day.

A simply ground-breaking match. Sure we had seen ladder matches before, but nothing quite like this. These six men brought organized chaos to the big leagues and it’s hard not to love every single minute of it.

It’s hard to compare the back-to-back Wrestlemania encounters here, but I prefer this one ever so slightly. While they repeat a number of the same spots that they had done at Wrestlemania 2000, and Summerslam 2000, and the long-forgotten Raw ladder match between Edge and Christian and the Hardyz, this one just seems to be so much…more somehow. The addition of the three extra people as allies really helped make this even more of a train wreck, and it’s hard not to love that. However, unlike most trainwrecks, this one ages quite well and is still as jaw dropping now as it was eight years ago.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is were we enter the legendary range, with three matches that any and every wrestling fan should have seen a number of times by now)

A match that is impossible not to love. These two men pulled out a very rare mix of high spots and story telling and gave us a true classic. It was here that Shawn Michaels officially became Mr. Wrestlemania, and he hasn’t looked back since.

The fourth match from Wrestlemania X-Seven to be featured on this list, which oddly, was not even supposed to be under consideration here. It was only announced at the last second that it would be a No Disqualification match, which should have been the first sign that something strange was going on.

Now, I don’t want to talk too much about this match here, since I would like to save it for my post on the best main events (spoiler alert: this will be ranked quite high on the list), but if you just need to know how much I love this match head on back to a post from two years ago.

It could only be topped by one thing, it’s necessary precursor.

Quite possibly the greatest match to ever take place in wrestling history. These two combined scientific wrestling with pure bloody hatred in an amazing match. These two simply pulled out all of the stops, from foreign objects, to guest referees, to blood to give us an amazing encounter. This match launched “Stone Cold” into mega-star status, and turned Bret Hart to his very intriguing heel character that he would end his WWF tenure on. While it wouldn’t officially change, this match would set the WWF up for their amazing attitude era that would revolutionize the genre, and make it relevant once more.

Lofty? Of course. Inaccurate? No way. This is the match that spawned Austin and wrestling to new heights, and to think that the WWF was close to bankrupcy as this event approached, and this match probably saved it from happening.

Like the previous match, I have spoken about it once before, so give it a read if you want to know the history of this one.

Until next time,

G

Achieved Posts:

The Openers
The Intercontinental Title
The Tag Team Titles
Celebrities
Extreme Rules
Women’s Matches
The Dead Man
The Showstopper
The Main Events

Greetings one and all for the 4th of nine installment of my Wrestlemania rankings countdown. Today, in honour of Chris Jericho’s Mikey Rourke fueled feud with the legends of wrestling, we will look at the best celebrity involvement on the grandest stage of them all. While there have been a number of wrestlers who served as guest ring announcers, or time keepers, those will be ignored. We are only going to look at the 11 times (by my count) that a celebrity has been involved in a match, in one way or another.

While this was not an official sanctioned match, it took far, far too much time to be ignored. The Miller Light Cat Fight Girls (it’s ok if you forget who they are), were being interviewed, when Stacey and Tori came down, and a catfight ensued. If anyone ever asks, this is why RVD/Kane vs. Lance Storm/Morley was bumped to Sunday Night Heat. Such a crime.

One of the shortest, and most ill-advised matches to ever take place. For those of you who may not remember, the Brawl For All, was a bizarre attempt at a legitimate torunament that the WWF tried in 1998. They had felt that Dr. Death Steve Williams would win, and be a good challenger for Austin in the fall, however, Bart Gunn legitametly knocked him out in the second round of their match. Sensing an opportunity to push Gunn, the WWF worked his final two matches, to have him knock out his opponents. Sadly though, just about everyone in the tournament, including Gunn and Williams, were injured and had to take several months off as a result. When Gunn finally returned from injury (and I believe some time in Japan) he was pushed as a very tough wrestler, so logically he had to challenge Butterbean, who was a sideshow boxer at the time. Of course, keeping with the great idea, this match would not be scripted, and be fought “for real”.

The most important thing to notice here is that it probably took you just as long to read about that as it did for the match to happen, as Butterbean won the match in 35 seconds, and this match (and the Brawl for All Tournament) was never spoken of again. I don’t ever remember seeing Bart Gunn on WWF programming after this.

On the other end of the “ill-advised decision” spectrum is this match. Which, while still a bad move, was for a different set of reasons. Pipper and T had been involved in the main event of Wrestlemania the year before (more on that to come later), and their feud continued throughout the year. It was decided that it woudl be settled in a boxing match. However, unlike the Bart Gunn – Butterbean disaster, this would be worked. What resulted was 13 minutes of a boring, slow paced boxing match with no legitimate punches getting thrown. The only redeeming quality was Piper freaking out between rounds and throwing his stool.

The misery was stopped when Piper bodyslammed Mr. T to earn himself a disqualification.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Big, huge jump here to the next number, as all of them above here were quite good and actually added to the program)

One of the big attractions to Wrestlemania 2, and the second last match of the Chicago portion of the evening, was the WWF vs. NFL battleroyal, featuring a mixture of wrestlers and football players. This was a great showdown of titans, and helped bring in a great deal of fans to the event, which makes it a hard one to fault. The football players looked fine in the match, as they did not have to perform any real wrestling moves, and thankfully, it was won by a wreslter, and certainly one believable enough to eliminate the large football palyers.

THE selling point for Wrestlemania 23 was the showdown between Donald Trump and Vince McMahon, via their charges. The story being that they were having differences and wanted to settle them in a match, and they would both pick a representative. Trump picked Lashley while Vince picked Umaga. The two wrestlers had an entertaining enough match, that ended with a Lashley victory, and Vince’s head was shaved in a fun Wrestlemania moment.

This certainly was a fun match and fun celebrity involvment, but it woudl have been more highly ranked had Trump been a better talker, and Bobby Lashley had stuck around for longer than he did.

This was legitametly a highlight of the attitude era Wrestlemanias. It all started when Rose was serving as a guest ring announcer before the Kane-Undertaker match at Wrestlemania XIV, he ran down the crowd, only for Kane to come to the ring, chokeslam and tombstone baseball’s hit king. While that was entertaining enough, the next year, Pete Rose would run down again and attack Kane, only for the Big Red Machine to get the upper hand again. The next year, it would happen once more, this time with Rikishi (Kane’s partner in the tag match) giving Rose a stinkface.

While Kane was fighting for the hardcore title at Wrestlemania X-Seven, I really hoped that after he won, Pete Rose would run in and steal a pin on Kane to get the title, before Kane would tombstone him again, but sadly, the tradition ended after three very entertaining years and moments.

Probably the best wrestler vs. celebrity match ever. These two had a surprisingly competitive match, and Bigelow had no problem making Taylor look like a million bucks. This is one of few non world-title matches to close Wrestlemania, and is one of the few bright spots on an otherwise forgettable card.

An insanely important match in the history of wrestling. While there had been previous celebrity involvment in matches, it had never been like this. This received a huge amount of hype, and was central to the entire “Wrestlemania” concept coming to be. Sure the match wasn’t that great, but it helped make it all happen.

But there was another…

That’s right, I have this one a slight nod. After appearing on television a number of times, Cyndi Lauper got involved with the women of wrestling, and feuded with Leilani Kai and her manager, the Fabulous Moolah. She got herself a “temporary managers license” to stand in the corenr of Wendi Richter. While the match was far from spectacular, Lauper’s involvment was a huge boost to the event, and got everything featured on MTV, which was new and hip at the time (and actually played music). This helped get a lot of people into wrestling, and helped create a huge amount of life long fans.

A huge, huge, huge match, with a huge, huge, huge celebrity involvment. It was announced that Mike Tyson, the baddest man on the planet, would be involved at Wrestlemania. When he showed up on Raw, Steve Austin got in his face and a shoving match ensued. A few weeks later, Tyson showed up on Raw, and he ended up siding with Shawn Michaels and his group, D-X. This received a *huge* amount of coverage on news agencies, and it became a big deal. During the match though, Tyson switched sides, and joined Austin, giving him the victory and officially starting the most profitable era that the WWF ever experienced.

The countdown to Wrestlemania continues with a look at at the best matches for the Tag Team Titles being counted down. The upcoming title unification bout between Miz and Morrison against the Colons is going to be the 21st tag team title match, and to be honest, I think that it has a legitimate potential to be in the Top 3 all time.

Here are it’s contenders…

Such a shame that a match with four talented workers can be ranked so low, but them’s the breaks. See the back story to this match was pretty negligible. Owen and Jarrett were without a challenger (since Mark Henry had suffered an injury, thus leaving D’Lo without a partner), as such, the WWE decided to have a special battle royal during the pre-show with the last two finalists getting to challenge for the title, thus the random pairing of D’Lo and Test. The match was very short and unspectacular, with the champions retaining after the challengers continued to fight. Given the talent in this match, it could have been great with more time or more of a story, but sadly it lacked both, and remains a boring and sad footnote on Wrestlemania history.

A sad addition to one of my favourite events of all time. The super team of Ted Dibiase and IRS were running rough-shot over the tag team division. The Natural Disasters of Earthquake and Typhoon seemed like logical opponents. However, even the veterans of Dibiase and Rotunda couldn’t pull a great match out of the big lugs, and gave us a slow, plodding affair. Worst of all, the champions walked out for an intentional countout in a pretty low and boring move.

The match was originally billed as Owen Hart and a “Mystery Partner” challenging The Smoking Gunns. While at the time, it seemed like Jim Niedhart would be the most logical partner, it ended up being the 500lb former world champion. The match was essentially an extended squash as the challengers simply manhandled the Smoking Gunns. The match was a rather slow and uneventful affair, with the only worthwhile moment coming after the finish of the match when Owen Hart celebrated like he won the World Title, Academy Award and Super Bowl all at once.

Demolition were a very good tag team, and both members of The Colossal Connection, Andre the Giant and Haku had their share of good matches, but this was certainly not the time or the place. Andre the Giant was at the end of the line, and he very clearly knew it. He did not step into the ring, as Haku spent the entire match in the ring. This was simply an excuse to get the title off of The Colossal Connection and to turn Andre face, so that he could fade off into retirement soon after. A sentimental affair, but not much more than that.

You have to hand it to these guys, as this was probably the best match that these two teams were capable of, certainly with a count-out finish. That being said, it really wasn’t that great, with the double suplex of Mabel being the high point of the match. As with most of this card, it really served as filler between the big matches.

Speaking of filler, we have the very definition of it here. This match was randomly announced, with the three challengers having to qualify a few weeks before the event. This match was short and largely forgettable. Thankfully though, the team that was far too good for this match ended up winning.

If you want to see why this card is so despised look no further. This was easily the second best match of the night, and see where it ranks on this list. This was Hogan’s big return to challenge the evil heel tag champions with his good friend Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. This match was heavily hyped with the crowd being really into it. That being said, the lame disqualification finish did nothing for me, and made me feel like I was wasting my time.

Wrestlemania XX was the only card to see both the WWE Tag and World Tag titles defended (since the World Tag Title match at XIX was on the pre-show) and neither of them had much in the way of back-story to them, and neither of them were very good. Chances are, these matches being what they were no doubt helped lead to the creation of the Money in the Bank match taking palce the next year as a way to get the mid to upper card wrestlers a place on the card.

This match was marginally better than the other one, and that was mostly due to the portion of the match when Haas and Benjamin controlled the offense. The champs retained in this match, in yet another bland match that was not much to write home about.

Fine little match that the crowd was firmly behind. The very pro-America tag team champions defended against the common foes of the Soviets and the Iranians (note: Wrestling has never fully matched the real world of geo-politics). However, the heels were able to pull of a huge upset of a victory, which nearly sent the crowd into a riot. Like the Maniacs-Money Inc. match, the crowd helps pull this one up a few spots.

The only match on this list that I previously mentioned. Not the greatest match at all, and I fully believe that the wrong team won here. Not much to add that I didn’t mention already. Hopefully Carlito can deliver more this year!

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is an infamous break point, as the matches above here get considerably better)

Fun little match, as the face champions, Demolition, fought against their old manager and his new clients in a handicap match. The build to this match is one of the few times that the WWE has been able to pull of a double turn successfully and they deserve to be commended here. The finish to the match came as Fuji got stuck in the ring with Demolition, only to be hit with the Decapitation Device, for the victory. While not a classic, this was fun, harmless, and had a satisfying ending.

Unlike the Wrestlemania XX matches, this would be an elimination match. This match started out decent enough, with all teams running around and hitting their big moves, but after the rapid-fire eliminations of the APA and the Dudleyz, the quality dropped. Like the Wrestlemania XX matches, the champs retained, and also like the Wrestlemania XX matches, not much was done as a follow up to this. But a big step up from the XX matches.

Essentially a tag-team equivalent of a casket match, as both members of a team had to be thrown into a dumpster and the lid had to be closed. This was in the middle of the New Age Outlaws rise to fame, but just before they joined DX, so they were not quite at mega-star level yet. The crowd was quite into this feud as it had gotten rather personal, since the Outlaws had severely injured both Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie. The match was a great hardcore style encounter, with all four men pulling out some fan hardcore spots. The finish came when the challengers used a forklift to put their opponents into a dumpster backstage. Even though the Outlaws would regain the title the very next night on RAW, the challengers needed a moral victory (like this) on a big stage to give closure to the feud. Well done by all.

The Hart Foundation was seeking revenge against their original manager, Jimmy Hart, who was with his new clients, The Nasty Boys. In a great fast-paced match, Jimmy Hart used his megaphone against a team that had been the beneficiary of those shots more than any other over the course of their career. This would be the last match for the Hart Foundation, as Bret would start his rise to superstardom after this. A solid ending to a great team.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is one of the famed splits, as the matches above here are into the very-good to great range)

Fun match on an otherwise horrendous card. Given the absolute glut of talent involved in this match that really should be of no surprise. This is one of the rare occasions when the WWE has ever really done a heel vs. heel match, certainly at Wrestlemania. They had been teasing a Bulldog face turn (which would have fit nicely), but apparently they wanted to keep Hart and Bulldog as heels so that they could reform the Hart Foundation since Bret was turning heel, so those plans were scrapped at the last minute. The alignments certainly hurt the match, as it made it difficult to cheer for either team, however the worst part was definitely the finish to the match, as it ended in a double countout. That being said, this is easily the best double countout match between two heels that you will ever find.

Great match between six great performers. The champions retained in a wild flurry of a finish, that saw them steal a pin on Chavo Guerrero after he was nailed with a Gore by Rhyno. While it was a touch short, it certainly was a great one. Were this match to take place on a weaker card it would probably be more fondly remembered.

Demolition kicked off their legendary 478 day reign with a bang in this great match. Both teams played off one another well in one of the few good matches on a long and boring card. A simple, effective big team vs. little team encounter, and certainly well worth a view.

Finally, Wrestlemania 2 gets some praise on this blog! This was easily the best match of the night, as both teams delivered and then some in the main event of the Chicago portion of the evening. This match has one of the most creative finishes ever, as Davey Boy Smith uses his partners head (which was notoriously hard) as a foreign object to lead to a victory.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Like the Intercontinental Title List, this was a clear cut choice between 2 matches. However, unlike the other list, these two matches are remarkably similar)

A great match that put all six men on the map, in their Wrestlemania debuts. The men absolutely revolutionized both the ladder match and tag team wrestling, and took it to new heights (quite literally). A great match from start to finish, and it could only be topped by one thing, a rematch.

Simply put, watch this match. These men took everything that they had done the year before and upped it. While I think that their encounter from Summerslam 2000 was the best of this trilogy, this match is not far behind. The addition of Lita, Spike Dudley, and Rhyno, essentially made this a nine person affair, and only added to the carnage. From Jeff Hardy’s super Swanton to Edge’s mega spear, this match is full of jaw dropping moments. You can understand why the WWE did not decide to redo this again the following year, since it simply would have been too much, and someone could have gotten seriously injured, thus making this match all the more special.

Welcome back as I once more continue my Wrestlemania Rankings. In honour of Rey Mysterio’s challenge to JBL, this time we will be focusing on the best of the Intercontinental Title Matches of Wrestlemania’s yore. Sadly, this once prestigious title that has brought us some of the great matches underlined, but hasn’t been showcased at the Grandest Stage of them All in the past six events! Thankfully that streak will end, in what should be a good match between two wrestlers who have a long and storied history with one another.

This will be the 17th Wrestlemania Intercontinental Title Match ever, and the other 16 rank as follows…

Certainly not the most glamourous Wrestlemania debut for a man who would go on to be one of the greatest of all-time. Rocky Miavia (not yet Dwayne Johnson, not yet The Rock) would have a very boring 9 minute encounter. While that is certainly forgiveable, the truly insulting part is the aftermath. After Rocky gets a fluke roll-up to win, The Sultan’s managers, Bob Backland and Iron Shiek join in for a 3-on-1 beat-down of the champion, only for Rocky’s father, Rocky Johnson, to run down to make the save for his son. Simply a horrible way to get your good young face over, by having him need the help of his retired father. Thumbs down all around.