I haven’t written in a while, so you can start to expect more lists and entries from yours truly. For all the complaints we have about WWE’s booking, one thing that we can’t dispute is that each year, we are left with at least one lasting memory from the event. Sometimes the matches may not be up to par, but there’s also a moment that we can never remember, and boy does this season of WrestleMania have reminiscing to some of the moments that I have seen. With that said, here is my personal list. This isn’t the 10 best moments of all time, because I’m sure all of you have different opinions. These moments, however, is what resonated with me.
Honorable Mentions:
Brock Lesnar nearly kills himself
Oh my goodness. I think we can all say that Brock Lesnar is perhaps the best pure athlete WWE has ever seen, and he certainly showed, at least, what he’s capable of in his WrestleMania 19 main event match against WWE Champion Kurt Angle. We all know Lesnar can suplex the hell out of people while using his frighetning combination of athleticism, speed, precision and power in his matches. But we normally don’t associate Brock Lesnar with a shooting star press. When Lesnar first climbed, I think it’s safe to assume that no one knew what to expect. He sort of felt the ropes as he lightly jumped on it, then he leaped back first. But he tucked his knees in too late so his body didn’t fully land forward and he landed squarely on his neck. Lesnar couldn’t remember what happened and everything went black, and after that move, he’s lucky he didn’t suffer anything more.
Randy Orton RKO’s Seth Rollins
Randy Orton’s RKO is one of the most exiting finishers because it’s quick, sudden and most importantly, OUTTA NOWHERE. If you want the definition of what out of nowhere means, this would be it as Orton hits perhaps the best RKO of his career.
Triple H and Undertaker’s WrestleMania 27 Entrance
I wasn’t a huge, huge fan of their match at WrestleMania 27, but both these men know how to make an entrance. Triple H used Metallica’s For Whom The Bell Tolls in a masterful entrance leading to his Motorhead music. Then, Undertaker countered, not with his normal Rest In Peace music, but a country song, Ain’t No Grave. That song perfectly encompassed Undertaker’s career and his then-perfect WrestlMania record about how nothing can keep him down. These two were telling a story before they threw one punch.
10. Tie: Chris Jericho’s WrestleMania 18 entrance and Randy Orton’s WrestleMania 30 entrance
Okay, I know what you guys are thinking. Richard, just what in the hell is so memorable about these? Approximately 99 percent of you will not have these on your all time favorite moments, but they are for me. Why? Firstly, if anyone knows me, they’d know that in some order, Chris Jericho and Randy Orton are two of my all-time favorite wrestlers. But what I loved here was that they were walking down the WrestleMania aisle with two world title belts. Chris Jericho, a WCW cruiserweight who was on a roster with established legends such as Triple H, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock was the one main eventing WrestleMania while holding a world title belt in each hand. Meanwhile, Randy Orton had the band who sings his theme song, Rev Theory, play him down to the ring and he held a world title in each hand in smug fashion. Now, both men would of course go on to lose those belts, but seeing my favorite wrestlers on top of the wrestling world getting their WrestleMania moment is something that I will not forget. All of you may, but I certainly won’t.
9. WrestleMania 21’s Rising Stars
Now, technically this isn’t a moment so much as it is a compilation of moments, but this WrestleMania stands out to me because I believe this was the show that propelled some of the biggest stars of the Ruthless Aggression Era. Batista defeated established legend Triple H in the main event, John Cena defeated a veteran in JBL for the WWE Championship, Edge won the Money In The Bank ladder match, and Randy Orton, while not upsetting the Undertaker in his match gave one of the best performances of his career up to that point (anyone remember the Chokeslam-RKO counter? Sick.). Edge would go on to cash in that briefcase at New Year’s Revolution the following year, thus giving the briefcase meaning for the first time, Randy Orton would go on to win 11 world titles from that point (he already had a weak 3-week run with it in 2004), John Cena would go on to win 15 world championships, Batista would become the face of Smackdown and a six time world champion and the veterans that put them over enjoyed success up until the PG era. This is was, I believe, booking done right, and it is amazing to see how the stars here had grown.
8. The Rock defeats John Cena at WrestleMania 28
The Rock and John Cena facing off was most certainly one of the legit dream matches that no one thought that we would ever see. The Rock and John Cena were two faces for two completely different eras, and them colliding one on one, in The Rock’s home in Miami, had an electric atmosphere. Before the men even touched each other, the crowd was on their feet because they are witnessing a match that we never thought would be possible. The Rock clearly had some ring rust, but the match itself was very good for a main event, filled with false finishes, and the memorable Rock bottom that gave Rocky the victory. I respect Cena, but I loathed him with a passion, and if there was one person I wanted for Cena to lose to very badly, it was The Rock. This was a memorable Once In A Lifetime match that lived up to its billing………before WrestleMania 29 of course.
7. Macho Man and Miss Elizabeth Reunite
You know, I really am not a huge fan of romance storylines in wrestling, because more often than not, the booking is atrocious and the story goes off on a tangent in horrible acting. However, this may be the exception. At WrestleMania 7, Randy Savage couldn’t defeat The Ultimate Warrior even after 5 of his legendary elbow drops from the top rope. Macho Man’s replacement of Miss Elizabeth, Sherri, took out his frustrations on Mach Man after realizing that she is out of the job and the crowd trashed it. But just as if it was written in a perfect movie script, one Miss Elizabeth came running out of the crowd to protect her ex-husband and attacked Sherri. Savage, a little disoriented, but finally getting wind of what had happened embraces Elizabeth after 2 years in what had to be a tear-jerking moment. I understand wrestling is all about good-storytelling, great matches and entertainment. Romance rarely has ever worked as a storyline, but if you ever wanted to know how you can make it work, this would be it. When I saw this, I have to be honest with you, a couple of tears did fall from my eyes, because it was a truly beautiful moment. We all know WWE is, well, “fake”. But this was a moment that felt real, and this was a moment that lives in WrestleMania history. You have to have a heart of stone to not like this.
6. Edge spears Mick Foley through a fiery table
In a 1, 2, 3 order or something along those lines, Randy Orton, Chris Jericho and Edge are my 3 favorite superstars. Edge, up to that point, had a perfect WrestleMania record, even though he did only have one singles match. Edge was upset that Mick Foley cost him the WWE Championship against John Cena, and they decided to duke it out, and seeing as how Foley’s selling point is his crazy antics and his willingness to put his body through unimaginable pain, naturally, this match was No Holds Barred. While this wasn’t Foley’s best peformance, these two managed to put on the match of the night. Whether it was Edge being put through thumb tacks, or the use of barbed wire immersed bats, this match had the brutality to live up to its billing. However, we all know why we remember this match. This match was memorable for the moment that pushed the limits of physical pain and showed what WWE superstars are willing to do to their bodies for the sake of sports entertainment. Lita attacked Foley from behind and set a table behind him on fire. I don’t know what Edge was thinking, but nonetheless, he threw caution to the wind, ran without hesitating and hit his finishing move, the shoulder tackle, er, spear, and put Foley, and himself, through that burning table. The “HOLY S***” chants that emanated throughout the arena, coupled with Joey Styles’ OH MY GOD line perhaps belied the magnitude of that move. Edge’s bloody face and his shivering body gave an indication of the third-degree-burns starting to take effect, but deep down, he knew that this move would be a WrestleMania moment he wouldn’t forget, and neither have I.
5. “I’m Sorry, I Love You”
We always hate to see established legends go, but there is a time and place for every wrestler to hang up the boots instead of continuing to force the issue, and Shawn Michaels was the one who put Ric Flair out of his misery. Vince announced the year prior, that after a certain point, Ric Flair’s matches would each have his career on the line. If he lost one of them, his career was over. He survived against the likes of Mr. Kennedy, MVP, Triple H, and the then-WWE Champion, Randy Orton. However, Shawn Michaels approached Ric Flair and told him that he would be the one to end his career. At WrestleMania 24, in a solid match, both men went back and forth in a match worthy of two legends, but as we all know what Shawn Michaels does best, he super-kicked Ric Flair into oblivion, but Flair still kicked out. Flair, showing his resillency and his typical red-hot face, Shawn Michaels before tuning up the band, visibly said the phrase, “I’m Sorry, I love you”, and then, Old Yeller style, he pulled the trigger, kicked Flair one last time, and that was all she wrote. Michaels gave Flair a hug, left the ring and gave Flair the ring so the crowd could properly give Flair to appreciation and respect that he has earned as perhaps the greatest wrestler the industry has ever seen.
4. Undertaker kicks out of Superkick-Pedigree Combo/End of an Era
Undertaker and Triple H are no strangers at WrestleMania, facing off against each other on three separate occassions. In a No Holds Barred match at WrestleMania 27 between the two who returned after a leave of absence, ended with Undertaker winning via submission. However, Undertaker’s pride prompted to challenge Triple H to a rematch because he couldn’t leave on his own power. Triple H brutalized him so badly that even in victory, Undertaker felt like a loser, so he challenged Triple H, and after taking a shot at him for calling HBK better, he agreed, but made it Hell In A Cell with Shawn Michaels as the special guest referee, because we all know HBK is a fair and balanced referee. The match had great brutality and told a great story as we expected, but at the time, Undertaker’s streak was something we all thought couldn’t be realistically broken, but there was a moment where I thought, no matter how many finishers Undertaker has kicked out of in his career, he couldn’t climb this mountaintop. After Undertaker attacked Shawn Michaels and when Triple H reversed a Tombstone, he shoved Undertaker into Shawn Michaels, who greeted him with Sweet Chin Music, right into a Pedigree by Triple H in a classic D-X combo. We’ve seen Undertaker kick out separate finishers time after time, but these were two iconic finishers in rapid succession. Before Triple H covered Undertaker, I second guessed myself in believing that perhaps Triple H would win. After all, he has lost to Undertaker twice in a row at WrestleMania. So perhaps the third time would be the charm, but Undertaker’s shoulder kicked out in what appeared to be pure instinct. The crowd absolutely lost it as their collective heart rates went up. They believed that was it right there, but Undertaker proved that he wasn’t going to be stopped, and before the act of defiance, Triple H told Undertaker to suck it as Undertaker finished him off. After the match, the camera got a good look of the carnage and hell Triple H and Undertaker unleashed on each other. With Shawn Michaels in the middle aiding both men, the crowd paid their respects to three legends who paved the way for a generation. And that wasn’t even the main event of that night.
3. Seth Rollins cashes in
At WrestleMania 31, there was much controversy surrounding the main event as many people ran through a list of possibilities for the ending. Would Rollins run down the ramp to cash in? Would Brock Lesnar beat the upcoming face of the WWE? Or would Roman Reigns, someone who would unquestionably get trashed at WrestleMania, win the belt? We are all wondering, but for the time being, the main event of WrestleMania didn’t disappoint. It became a beat down and a bloodbath as Roman Reigns felt the full brunt of Lesnar’s powerful arsenal. Of course, he never gave up, because if you want to be the face of the WWE like John Cena, you need to do that sort of thing. So Lesnar began to get frustrated, but then Roman Reigns mounted a comeback in what would be, I believe, his only dose of offense for the match with three superman punches, and two spears, and that was not enough to defeat Brock Lesnar. As both men lie flat on the ground, exhausted and the crowd getting ready for the finish, Rollins’ generic music instrumental played on the titantron and the crowd went nuts for the yellow and black haired superstar. With the golden briefcase in hand he made the long run down the aisle, slid into the ring and became the first person to cash in the MITB briefcase at WrestleMania and became a triple threat match. He curb stomped Lesnar, but he wouldn’t stay down, and as he went for another one, he caught Rollins and the crowd briefly got scared. But Roman appared out of nowhere and speared Lesnar, but Rollins capitalized and curb stomped Reigns and won his first WWE World Championship and celebrated with the belt as he used to do with the NXT belt, showing how far he came. I am huge Rollins fan as well, and seeing this moment, him celebrating with the WWE Championship was a sight to see. It’s not often you see a heel ending WrestleMania on top, but in this situation, it was a great finish, to a great WrestleMania.
2 (tie). The Rock and Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania 18
Before The Rock and John Cena, you had The Rock and Hulk Hogan. This was THE dream match that people wanted to see. When Hogan made his way over to WWF with the NWO from WCW, the possibilities became endless. Going into the match, I believe a great majority knew The Rock would win this match because Hogan pinned The Rock on the RAW before WrestleMania. But seeing them one on one, staring each other down, two icons for the first time, with an electric Toronto crowd, you needed to be in the arena to grasp the electrcitiy of the moment. Now the match, AS A MATCH, it was bad. It wasn’t really pretty, but the two made it work just by the sheer presence. No one forgot, however, Hulk Hogan “hulking up” and the crowd going absolutely beserk. Hogan hit all of his typical comeback moves. The punches, the big boot and the leg drop. For some perspective on how big that moment was, The Rock said that during the sequence he almost forgot to kick out of the move because the crowd was so pumped for it. The Rock went over in the match after surviving the onslaught, but both men showed respect for each other, and I believe only these two were capable of making a sub-par match into something special.
2. (tie) – Steve Austin’s Bloody Face vs. Bret Hart
Yes, it’s a cop-out as I have my second tie on the list, but I couldn’t leave this moment out. Coming into this match, Bret Hart was the face and Stone Cold was the heel, and their roles reversed after this match. When we think of Stone Cold Steve Austin, we think of beer, but more importantly brawling. He doesn’t really have a wrestling style so much as he just likes to punch, mud-hole stomp and just basically beat the living crap out of his opponents. The reason why this match was so big was because it led to perhaps the biggest double turn in WWE history. Stone Cold, not as a full-fledged heel, proved to be a moment that would shape WWE history forever. But getting back to my point, when think of Stone Cold, we don’t think submission. In this submission match, you’d think Bret Hart would clean Stone Cold’s clock, because Hart, in my opinion, is one of the top 3 workers in WWE history. However, Stone Cold matched Hart pound for pound. The moment that we remember though, is Austin’s face after battle, pooled with blood and him crying out in agony as Bret Hart has the sharpshooter firmly locked in in the middle of the ring. Austin has no means of escape and fight as much as he could, he couldn’t stop the pain, so to stop the agony, you’d think that he would just tap out, but he did not. He sat there and took every bit of it. He refused to give in until he eventually passed out and the match was called. Normally, when heels are in that predicament, they would just tap out and give the face the rub as the infallible hero, but in this instance, the heel played the role of the face, as a man who simply would not give up until he passed out. This would lead to perhaps the single greatest career in WWE history as The Attitude Era was welcomed after, and he spearheaded that movement.
1. Edge spears Jeff Hardy off the top of the ladder
Yes, I am an Edgehead, but not even you guys can deny that this has to be one of the most memorable moments in not just WrestleMania history, but in WWE history. The Dudley Boyz, Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz had revolutionized a standard ladder match into a match that incorporated three aspects. The Dudley Boyz took care of tables, the Hardy Boyz had ladders and E+C locked up. In a series of three TLC matches between the three teams which Edge and Christian swept, the best of the three matches was undoubtedly the WrestleMania 17 version. All three put on a spectacular spotfest, but there was one spot that we all remembered from this match. Jeff Hardy is climbing up the ladder to grab the titles, but the ladder is removed from other him. Edge climbs a ladder across from Hardy on the top. Hardy is dangling onto the titles for dear life with the only way to end the suffering is to fall. Edge, however, took him to the pavement first class. Edge leaped off the ladder and destroyed Jeff Hardy in mid-air as both men came crashing to the pavement. Can you imagine what both men must have been thinking? Edge was always one willing to put his body on the line, but here, he set a new standard, even for himself. As Edge and Christian regained the titles, this was an exceptional way for us to remember what all three tag teams did to push forward this moment. Jim Ross’ call was the icing on the cake. Respect, Edge. Respect.
There are probably better moments and ones that I may have forgotten, but these are the ones that I personally like. Agree? Disagree? What are your favorite WrestleMania moments that I should have considered? Let me know. Until next time. Deuces.
