Thursday, April 12, 2007

WWE Wrestlemania

WWE Wrestlemania Unforgettables



Image Courtesy:usc.uwo.ca


Wrestlemania is often considered the crown jewel of the World Wrestling Entertainment calendar. It is the show piece event that WWE promotes above all other events. Even the prize for the winner of the Royal Rumble is a title shot at that Year’s Wrestlemania. This more than anything illustrates the importance an event that is considered to be the super bowl of WWE.


So what better tribute to Wrestlemania than to chronicle some of the best matches ever showcased at the event. The matches showcased in this post follow no particular order and the readers are welcome to rank them as they see fit in their comments. Also if I have forgotten any match that you have liked please feel free to mention it in your comments and those matches can be taken up as the subject of another post. So let’s cut the chase and set the ball rolling shall we?


“Macho Man” Randy Savage v Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat – Wrestlemania 3



Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org


The match was a title match for the Intercontinental championship. There was some good build up to the match when Randy Savage crushed Steamboat’s larynx with a ring bell. Steamboat therefore was understandably looking for revenge. To this day many consider this as the greatest match ever at Wrestlemania. The two men put on a great show of athleticism that was truly heart pounding at the end of which Steamboat pinned Savage with a roll-up.


Shawn Michaels v Bret Hart - Wrestlemania 12



Image Courtesy: obsessedwithwrestling.com


This was an iron man match for the world championship belt where the man with the most falls within the time limit would be declared the winner. But the two were so good that they cancelled each other out. The two men put on a show so intense that they wouldn’t let the other score a fall. The match as a result spilled over into overtime making it the longest match in WWE history. In the end Shawn Michaels won with one of his trademark sweet chin music move. And who can forget Shawn Michaels’ descend into the ring on a zip line. Truly a timeless classic!!!


Razor Ramon v Shawn Michaels – Wrestlemania 10



Image Courtesy: wrestlemania.org


The match had a good build up when Michaels, who had earlier quit the WWF, returned claiming to be rightful holder of the Intercontinental championship. Razor Ramon had won the vacant title in a tournament held during Michaels’ absence. The resulting feud culminated with both men engrossed in a ladder match to decide who would ultimately win the title. This was the match that defined how a ladder match should be played out. Though there has been other ladder matches before and after this, none of them really matched the death defying and inhuman physical sacrifices that these two pulled off that day. Razor Ramon won the match when Michaels got entangled in the ring ropes. But it was Michaels who won in the long run as this match heralded his arrival as a star.





Bret Hart v Steve Austin – Wrestlemania 13



Image Courtesy: wikipedia.org


Talk about a match being brutal and this one will surely come to mind. Probably we should have known that it would be that way when a match between two of the most intense performers of all time at the WWE was scheduled as a I QUIT match. The two men were feuding for some months prior to the match and they both went at it like men possessed. Stone Cold had his head cut open and he passed out from severe blood loss as Bret Hart squeezed him with a sharpshooter. The sight of the blood pouring from down Austin’s face will never be forgotten by whoever watched it. This match marked the beginning of the Stone Cold era and simultaneously assured in the attitude era of the WWF.


Hulk Hogan v The Ultimate Warrior – Wrestlemania 6



Image Courtesy: obsessedwithwrestling.com


This was supposed to be the ultimate passing of the torch match where the Ultimate warrior was supposed to lead the WWF’s next generation. The fact that the Ultimate Warrior tragically self destructed later on does not take way the sheen from this match. It was definitely not the most technical match ever. But it was the most hyped and electrically charged up matches of all time. It was one of those rare title against tile matches where both The Warrior’s IC championship and Hogan’s World Championship was on the line. Even rarer was the result where Hogan lost a match in a clean job. The match will be remembered more for the hype and drama than actual technique.


There have been countless other great matches over the years in Wrestlemania. But it would be a tough task to put them all under a single post. But take any number of great matches and the name of Bret Hart is bound to crop up more than once. And what about the Undertaker, who has had a phenomenal record of 15-0 at the grandest stage of them all. So let’s hope that we get to see more memorable matches in the years to come befitting the grandeur of wrestlemania.


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3 comments:

hoeman said...

When i was youngest i liked Hitman.

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