Best Five Year Mania Stretch

[The Brain]

I’d have to say manias 3-7. It’s become known as the golden era of mania. This was before we got feature matches on free tv every week. Everyone being on one show against credible opponents was a special thing whether there was a storyline involved or not. To me personally this era defined my childhood. Does that make my vote a biased one? Probably but I don’t care.

17-21 is the only other period that I’d consider. There were a lot of great matches during that five year stretch. That’s probably the better choice but for my own personal nostalgia I’ll say 3-7.

What do you think was the strongest five year mania stretch? I can’t imagine anyone saying anything but the two I’ve listed but we all have our own opinions so let’s hear it.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

17-21 was the first one to pop in my head.

3-7 and 17-21 will probably be the majority since I don't know how highly Wrestlemania 8 is rated and there were some clunkers in the mid-90's.

 

[The Brain]

I rate 8 pretty high but including 8 would mean leaving out 3 and I couldn't do that.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Ye 17 to 21.

 

[PlayTheGame]

I was gonna say 17-21 exactly before I even clicked on this thread.

So I totally agree with you guys on that one. WM20 is my favorite Wrestlemania of all-time, 17 and 18 are pretty much classics, and 19 & 21 are solid overall.

 

[ABMorales787]

3-7 for me. X8 was pretty uneventful save for Rock vs Hogan.

 

[Awesome_Miz]

17-21

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I'd say 3-7. WrestleMania 8 was fantastic, better than 5, 6 and 7, but yeah, I'd have to leave out III, and that ain't happenin'. Fucking thing sucks. Top to bottom, I prefer 8 over 3, but the main event is too big to leave out.

 

[King Patrick Star]

The first 5 year stretch that immediately came to mind when reading the title of this thread was WM X-Seven to WM 21. For the Main Events, you had:

WM X-Seven
The Rock (c) vs. Steve Austin in a No Disqualification match for the WWF Championship

WM X8
The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Triple H for the Undisputed WWE / WCW Championship

WM XIX
Triple H (c) vs. Booker T for the World Heavyweight Championship
Hulk Hogan vs. Vince McMahon
The Rock vs. Steve Austin
Kurt Angle (c) vs. Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship

WM XX
Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg
Kane vs. Undertaker
Eddie Guerrero (c) vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship
Triple H (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship

WM 21
John "Bradshaw" Layfield (c) vs John Cena for the WWE Championship
Triple H (c) vs. Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship

I’m not taking anything away from WM to WM 2000 and WM 22 to WM XXVIII, but I, like many others, feel that this was the highest point of WM, with WM XIX at the very top of this peak.

I’m trying to think of the worst 5 year stretch, but I can’t seem to come up with one.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

17 to 21 for me.

I really did enjoy WM2000 but 21 tops it, so I cant leave 21 out.

17 is the best of all time by far though.

 

[HBK/RKO]

I immediately thought 17-21 as well. This one was really a no brainer for me. From top to bottom these Wrestlemanias had great matches. I must say I think we are going to be on the verge of another great 5 year stretch starting with WM28. The Rock will be at 29 and Lesnar, Austin, and even Sting could have potential matches in the next two years. I also wouldn't rule out HBK to have a WM match. We all know how big WM 30 is going to be. So I'm predicting now 28-32 will be up there in the top 3 best five year stretches.

 

[D-Man]

I'd go as far as saying that the best five year stretch would be Wrestlemania's II-VI.

I won't count WM7 in there because I don't feel it was as successful as it should have been. Because of the death threats and bad weather, they had to move the event indoors and lose over 50,000 more ticket sales. The entire card was over-saturated with too many lackluster matches. The main event, although emotionally fueled, fell short of expectations.

Wrestlemania II should be stuck in there because despite how it may look in modern day, it was a HUGE, successful deal back then.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

I'd go as far as saying that the best five year stretch would be Wrestlemania's II-VI.

I won't count WM7 in there because I don't feel it was as successful as it should have been. Because of the death threats and bad weather, they had to move the event indoors and lose over 50,000 more ticket sales. The entire card was over-saturated with too many lackluster matches. The main event, although emotionally fueled, fell short of expectations.

Wrestlemania II should be stuck in there because despite how it may look in modern day, it was a HUGE, successful deal back then.

Nostalgia factor has not been kind to Wrestlemania 2. It was definitely more of a success from an attendance standpoint but I always considered this Wrestlemania one of the worst, probably in the bottom 5 of all time Wrestlemanias.

Personally I enjoyed Wrestlemania 7. I thought the main event was good and who can forget the biggest tear jerker moment in WWE history when Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage reunited, that moment trumps anything that happened in Wrestlemania 2. I agree there was a lot of lackluster matches at WM7 but the same can be said for Wrestlemania 2.

Overall I was loved the 5 year stretch of Wrestlemanias 3-7. I was always a big fan of Wrestlemania's 3,4 and 6 thought Wrestlemania's 5 and 7 were good in their own way as well.

 

[D-Man]

Nostalgia factor has not been kind to Wrestlemania 2. It was definitely more of a success from an attendance standpoint but I always considered this Wrestlemania one of the worst, probably in the bottom 5 of all time Wrestlemanias.

Personally I enjoyed Wrestlemania 7. I thought the main event was good and who can forget the biggest tear jerker moment in WWE history when Miss Elizabeth and Randy Savage reunited, that moment trumps anything that happened in Wrestlemania 2. I agree there was a lot of lackluster matches at WM7 but the same can be said for Wrestlemania 2.

Overall I was loved the 5 year stretch of Wrestlemanias 3-7. I was always a big fan of Wrestlemania's 3,4 and 6 thought Wrestlemania's 5 and 7 were good in their own way as well.

While I can understand why you feel that way, you also need to understand that you cannot judge past Wrestlemania's based on today's standards. That being said, considering that it was the second of its kind and it took on a risky and unique format, WM2 made tons of money (at that time) and was successful.

From a business standpoint, WM7 was a bust due to the smaller venue. And 2 matches out of 14 don't make the event worthwhile. At least Wrestlemania II had three worthwhile main events for the standards of that time period. Wrestlemania 7 came 5 years after and went backwards in productivity in every way.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

While I can understand why you feel that way, you also need to understand that you cannot judge past Wrestlemania's based on today's standards. That being said, considering that it was the second of its kind and it took on a risky and unique format, WM2 made tons of money (at that time) and was successful.

From a business standpoint, WM7 was a bust due to the smaller venue. And 2 matches out of 14 don't make the event worthwhile. At least Wrestlemania II had three worthwhile main events for the standards of that time period. Wrestlemania 7 came 5 years after and went backwards in productivity in every way.

To be fair in '91 Wrestlemania 7 made more money due to PPV buys more than any other Wrestlemania before it. I know the first 3 Wrestlemania's weren't on PPV but saying WM 7 was a bust due to a smaller venue is not true. It made more money than any other WM before it.

Perhaps I went about it wrong when I say Nostalgia factor wasn't kind to Wrestlemania 2 I wasn't comparing it to today's standards although I understand why it came off like that. All I know is I've seen the first 15 Wrestlemanias probably a 100 times each and ironically I just watched WM2 over the weekend and I don't recall ever being a fan of it, this is coming from the perspective of a 5 year old to a 26 year old.

Although its possible because WM7 I got to see on the big screen (that's right Calgary did closed circuit in '91) I remember it more fondly, but even today I think Wrestlemania 7 was a better event. Although they only had 4 matches with a good build I thought they had some pretty good fillers such as the Rockers vs. Haku and The Barbarian.

Wrestlemania 2 has always just bored me to tears, there were a few good matches (battle royal, main event and Bulldogs vs. The Dream Team) but mostly it was just boring.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

What about 19-23? That's a pretty decent stretch in terms of main events.

 

[D-Man]

To be fair in '91 Wrestlemania 7 made more money due to PPV buys more than any other Wrestlemania before it. I know the first 3 Wrestlemania's weren't on PPV but saying WM 7 was a bust due to a smaller venue is not true. It made more money than any other WM before it.

Once again, for that time period, it made more money than previous Wrestlemania's. And if it didn't make more money than Wrestlemania 2 then... well... that's just embarrassing. But it can't be on par with WM2 in terms of growth from the previous year. And I've already proven that the card was weaker in term of overall entertainment.

I was probably wrong for saying that WM7 was a "bust" because the venue was changed. However, that really hurt the money that was made for the WWF because the original California stadium they wanted to use would have drawn over 100,000 fans. They had to settle for around 18,000 people in attendance. If tickets were worth around $50 back then, they lost out on $4.1 million dollars. That's a HUGE loss in money for 1991. (I wish I had real numbers to use but I can't seem to find buy rate information on either PPV.)

But I think you catch my drift.

 

[Davi323]

Wrestlemania III: Savage/Steamboat, Hogan/Andre
Wrestlemania IV: Only Tournament formatted Wrestlemania, Randy Savage wins WWF Title.
Wrestlemania V: Hogan/Savage, Rude/Warrior
Wrestlemania VI: Hogan/Warrior.
Wrestlemania VII: Hogan/Slaughter, Savage/Warrior/Reunion with Elizabeth, Undertaker begins streak.

I kind of agree with D-Man's arguments in favor of Wrestlemania 2, making it 2-6 instead of 3-7, but for me, the fact that Wrestlemania VII marked the beginning of the Streak that has defined the Undertaker's entire career is what convinced me to go 3-7 over 2-6. Pretty close though. If it was best 6 year stretch, it would be 2-7, easily.