Best WM Curtain Jerkers

[IrishCanadian25]

It's a simple question - which Wrestlemania opening match is the greatest of all time? I'd like your top 3, please.

Wrestlemania 1 - Tito Santana b. The Executioner in 4:50.

This match is legend simply because it's answer to the trivia question "what was the first match in Wrestlemania history?" It was a throwaway match featuring a popular babyface getting a quick win over a forgettable heel. Just to get the crowd going.

Wrestlemania 2 - Paul Orndorff draw Magnificent Muraco in 4:10.

Double count out. Blah.

Wrestlemania 3 - Rick Martel and Ton Zenk def. Bob Orton and Magnificent Muraco in 5:37.

O...k... The only think of note in this match was Tom Zenk, who is only noteworthy because he is one of only a few wrestlers in history whose last names start with "Z." And he'd get his ass kicked by Zeus.

Wrestlemania 4 - Bad News Brown wins 20 man Battle Royal for "a large trophy."

Interesting only because it marked Bret Hart's face turn. Otherwise, this was 20 guys who were either 1) in tag teams or 2) not good enough to be in the WWF Title Tournament, whereas One Man Gang WAS good enough. Poor JYD.

Wrestlemania 5 - Hercules b. King Haku at 6:57.

The worst of the "King" gimmicks here, and two big brawlers end a match with a bridging back suplex. Oops.

Wrestlemania 6 - Rick Martel b. Koko B. Ware at 3:51.

Nice showing here by the hall of famer in Koko. Ugh.

Wrestlemania 7 - The Rockers b. The Barbarian and Haku at 10:41.

Apparently the Republic of Tonga staged a coup and Haku was no longer royalty. Regardless, this match wasn't as awful as the first 6. At least an exciting tag team showed up and did something of note.

Wrestlemania 8 - Shawn Michaels b. Tito Santana at 10:39.

NOW we're talking. Great match, which really was a #1 contender's match for the Intercontinental Title, which Roddy Piper and Bret Hart would face off for later in the day in a classic. Honestly, Shawn looked great here in his first MAJOR match since dumping Marty Jannetty and going heel. He played his character PERFECTLY, and the crowd ate it up. Sherri and Martel were also spot on. A great opening bout.

Wrestlemania 9 - Tatanka b. Shawn Michaels via count out at 18:13.

The first time the opening match was for a title, and a forgotten match in WM history which was actually very good. Tatanka was STILL undefeated at this point (he'd beaten Rick Martel at WM 8 a year prior) and Shawn was riding high as a top heel and IC Champ. Good work by Luna Vachon and Sherri outside as well.

Wrestlemania 10 - Owen Hart b. Bret Hart at 20:21.

The prohibitive favorite. Often called one of the 5 greatest matches in Wrestlemania history, and it opened the show. This match told the story for the rest of the night perfectly. The fact that a newly minted heel in Owen beat his brother, world title contender Bret cleanly in the opener was a MASSIVE shock.

Wrestlemania 11 - Lex Luger and British Bulldog b. Eli and Jacob Blu at 6:34.

Oh boy. The Luger fall from grace on full display here. Ouch.

Wrestlemania 12 - Vader, Owen, and Bulldog b. Yokozuna, Ahmed Johnson, and Jake Roberts at 12:51.

Not as thrown together and peice-mailed as it seems. It followed a storyline. Still, the heels shouldn't win matches like this.

Wrestlemania 13 - The Headbangers b. The New Blackjacks, Furnas and LaFon, and The Godwins at 10:39.

4 teams. 8 men. No titles. ONE significant career (JBL on the New Blackjacks). The Headbangers won it. That should say it all.

Wrestlemania 14 - L.O.D. 2000 wins 15-team Battle Royal at 8:19.

So wait - 30 guys in the ring and this thing goes less than 10 minutes? Next...

Wrestlemania 15 - Hardcore Holly b. Billy Gunn and Al Snow at 7:06 for the Hardcore Title.

Billy Gunn entered this match as Hardcore champ. Typical 7-minute hardcore match. Nothing to see here.

Wrestlemania 2000 - Bossman and Bull Buchannan b. Godfather and D-Lo at 9:05.

Godfather and D-Lo come out with Ice-T and a gaggle of ho's - and lose to Bossman and Buchannan in less than 10 mins. Anti-climactic doesn't even begin to describe it.

Wrestlemania X-7 - Chris Jericho b/ William Regal to retain the IC Title at 7:08.

Solid match for the IC title following an entertaining RAW feud between General manager Regal and cocky babyface champ Jericho. Not a barnburner, but a fair technical match.

Wrestlemania 18 - RVD b. William Regal to win the IC Title at 6:19.

Regal's 2nd consecutive Wrestlemania opening match IC Title loss. RVD's first IC Title. A short match, but exciting. Regal tried to use the brass knucks, but failed, and got frog splashed. End of the line.

Wrestlemania 19 - Matt Hardy b. Rey Mysterio to retain Light Heavyweight Title at 5:39.

Decent, quick, un-noteworthy match.

Wrestlemania 20 - John Cena b. The Big Show to win the US Title at 9:14.

Good match! Cena used a load of heel tactics, such as trying to use his chain and then brass knucks. He hit 2 FU's on Show to get the pin and win the US Title.

Wrestlemania 21 - Rey Mysterio b. Eddie Guerrero at 14:14.

A solid opening match. Good technical display, hand shake at the end. No silly gimmicks, just a display of two top, young talents.

Wrestlemania 22 - Kane and Big Show b. Carlito and Masters to retain Tag Team titles at 6:41.

Typical and unremarkable tag team match with two guys who should have been in singles feuds crushing a potentially legit tag team.

Wrestlemania 23 - Mr. Kennedy wins Money in the Bank at 19:05.

I loved that the MITB kicked off a stacked Wrestlemania, and Kennedy's win was exciting and solidified a face turn for the charismatic, though injury prone, star. Despite the anti-climax that was his run with the briefcase, the match itself was solid.

Wrestlemania 24 - JBL b. Finlay at 8:35.

Interesting match with a build up. JBL had been bullying Hornswoggle, recently revealed to be Finlay's son. Ok. Belfast Brawl ensued and was a fairly hard hitting falls count anywhere no DQ match.

Wrestlemania 25 - CM Punk wins Money in the Bank at 14:24.

Quick match for MITB. The inclusion of Kane and Mark Henry wasn't a favorite move of mine. Punk wins his 2nd MITB. Not bad.

Wrestlemania 26 - Miz and Big Show b. Morrison and Truth at 3:24 to retain tag team titles.

This match couldn't even get 5 minutes!? Coulda started with Orton vs Legacy and done better here.


IC25's Picks

#1 - Wrestlemania 10, Hart vs Hart. Never before has an opening match had this type of emotion, nor set so many other things into motion. An instant classic, hands down.

#2 - Wrestlemania 21, Mysterio vs Guerrero. No titles. No drama. No fight for custody of a ******ed kid. Just good old fashioned wrestling.

#3 - Wrestlemania 8, Michaels vs Santana. See above. Set Michaels up as a top notch mid-card championship contender and further cemented Santana as one of the most important performers in WWF history by putting over the young talent.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Here are my picks:


1.)

Wrestlemania 10 - Owen Hart b. Bret Hart at 20:21.

This was a HUGE shock. Considering Bret was also in the main event that night, it was a major win for Owen as he was by far the lower-ranked Hart at this point. 2 wonderful wrestlers putting on a masterclass. This certainly deserves a spot in my top 3.

2.)

Wrestlemania 21 - Rey Mysterio b. Eddie Guerrero at 14:14.

Same as Owen v Bret, no gimmicks needed. Just two top talents showing what they can do. There was no phoning in performances here, Eddie and Rey gave us everything and it was a great way to kick off WM. Was it this match in which Eddie suplexed Rey onto the steel steps?

3.)

Wrestlemania 23 - Mr. Kennedy wins Money in the Bank at 19:05.

I always thought MITB was a great way to open WM and get the crowd pumped up, and this one was no exception. It looked like we had witnessed the birth of a new star in Mr Kennedy who was the deserved pick to win the briefcase. Lots of action as always and the new face took the victory. It is a shame that we never got to see Kennedy win the title in WWE, he looked set to be a major player but injuries and other circumstances stopped him in his tracks. Still a really good match though.


If I had to pick just one it would have to be Owen v Bret at WM 10. It is so rare that the main eventer also appears in the opening match, so you have the star power right there. You have two of the most accomplished wrestlers ever to step into a ring, you have the history between the two, you have the fact they are brothers, you have the fact that Owen is a fresh heel going up against one of the biggest babyfaces in the company, you have 2 guys guaranteed put on a top class performance every single match.

Add all these factors together and you have yourself the best WM opener of all time.

Another great thread as always IC, good work bro.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Great thread as usual IC. I would agree with your top choice. There has never been a better match to open any PPV let alone WrestleMania, than Owen vs Bret. Good storyline, the first of it's kind in the WWF, backed up by even better in ring action. The correct guy won and the significance of the match was truly realised at the end when all the babyfaces carried Bret on their shoulders following his title win and Owen came out. He had beaten Bret on his best day but as always it was Bret, the older sibling hogging the spotlight while his effort was forgotten.

My second favorite would be the MITB match at WrestleMania 23. I still think that it's the best MITB match except for the first one. I did not like Kennedy much at that point but I did like it when he gave the Green Bay Plunge to Hornswoggle. It was a very well booked match. Hardy insane spot was the other highlight, apart from the aforementioned Green Bay Plunge on Hornswoggle. I know kids don't like it but violence on Hornswoggle always does it for me.

My third choice would be Chris Jericho vs William Regal at WrestleMania 17. This match probably gets lost in the shuffle due to the awesomeness that follows it but it was still a pretty solid bout. Jericho's selling was the highlight of the match for me. Also it was an interesting clash of styles between a technical guy and a more high flying one. The feud was also mildly interesting from what I remember.

 

[JGlass]

My two picks are Hart vs. Hart and Cena vs. Show.

Hart vs. Hart, as you said, was one of the most emotional matches in Wrestlemania history. Obviously a ton of history existed between the two brothers and it showed in the match, and the upset was a huge deal.

Cena vs. Show didn't exactly steal the show, but as you said, it was a good match. It was Cena's first Wrestlemania, and he did it in style by beating the dominant Big Show for a title. A great way to start off Wrestlemania history-making for John Cena.

 

[BigLuther]

IC, I agree with all three of your choices. If I were to add a fourth option, it would be the MITB match from WM23. I was in attendance for that show, and the spots that were in that match were just insane. It got the crowd hot for the whole rest of the night, and at the time, Kennedy winning was very exciting.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

I'm going to add to the large amount of people voting for Hart vs. Hart - 2 of my favorite wrestlers going at it and the young heel getting the win over his established brother. Just like rattlesnake said, the right man won and I could watch that match time and time again.

2nd and 3rd picks have to go to WM21 and WM9 respectively. Guerrero and Michaels were great performers and they really went to work here

 

[byrnside]

I'm going with, what I'm sure will be, an overwhelming win for Bret vs. Owen. Not only is this one of the best "curtain jerkers" from a 'Mania, but probably one of the best matches of all-time in my opinion. We finally were starting to get to see what Owen could really do, and the non-Sharpshooter finish was always a favorite of mine. I've always loved quick roll-up victories.

 

[Барбоса]

Bret vs Owen wins hands down for me. Not only is it the best opening match of Wrestlemania history and one of the best openers to any show ever (contends with Mysterio/Angle in my mind), it is perhaps one of the best pure (not necessarily the right word) wrestling matches I can remember. Owen going over was the extra bit of cream on top of the cherry on the cake that continued on a year long internecine feud that catapulted Owen to become King of the Ring and one of the best cage matches ever at Summerslam later that year.

The back to back HBK show openers were both good, displaying what the HBK gimmick could do first against the perennially excellent performer in Tito Santana and then the undefeated, and somewhat underrated, Tatanka, in a match that, as has already been mentioned, had great outside work from the two ladies.

As much as I enjoy them, I just cannot bring myself to vote for the clusterfracks of the MitB matches, as much as I enjoyed both Kennedy and Punk winning. I do, however, have a soft spot for JBL vs Finlay as I thought they had a good, old-fashioned brawl and good chemistry in this kind of setting. The adding of Hornswoggle actually helped make JBL look even more of a bastard (if such a thing is possible) with his vicious throwing of a garbage can at the little guy. I would really have liked to see these two go at it in a non-PG setting.

 

[Dzone]

I'll try not go for the obvious picks but my personal favourite (not counting obvious ones like Owen vs Bret WM10 etc) is Jericho vs Regal for the IC Title in WMX7. I really don't know what was good about it... I guess I just liked it? It was just a short, solid, IC title bout which was just a solid opener (?).

 

[The Brain]

I’m going with three consecutive years for my choices.

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart, WrestleMania X: No surprise here. This was one of the greatest matches in mania history regardless of its place on the card. Easily one of my favorite matches ever.

Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka, WrestleMania IX: You’re right IC, this is a forgotten match. It wasn’t as great as a lot of other HBK mania matches. It was still a solid match. I was really looking forward to it. Considering Tatanka was undefeated I thought he had a great chance to walk out of mania with the title.

Shawn Michaels vs. Tito Santana, WrestleMania VIII: For a long time I didn’t like this match. Not because of the match itself but because I was hoping for Shawn Michaels vs. Marty Jannetty. This left me disappointed at the time. Looking back, and realizing Jannetty simply wasn’t an option, I’ve come to like this match. As said above it was Shawn’s first chance to shine on his own. He did not disappoint.

 

[Linubidix..]

My three'd be.

Hart vs. Hart
For all the reasons already stated. Fantastic Wrestling.

Eddie vs. Mysterio
Again, wrestling at its absolute finest. Nothing on the line but bragging rights and no hype other than the spirit of competition. It also was the set up to the best series of matches in Rey Mysterio's career, in my opinion. A stellar opening match to one of the best WrestleMania cards.

Mr. Kennedy winning Money in the Bank
Probably THE BEST money in the bank match (only other contender is the original at WM 21). Amongst the 8 competitors, you had former world champions, popular rising stars, ladder match specialists and a couple veterans within the ring all fighting for that briefcase. Never a dull moment in this match. It was also the first match to feature the snapping of a ladder (on purpose).


If I had to pick a favourite, it'd be Guerrero/Mysterio.

 

[Mister Nice Guy]

1. Bret Hart vs Owen Hart at WrestleMania X -- Seeing Owen come out on top in a back and forth wrestling classic was amazing

2. John Cena vs Big Show at WrestleMania XX -- Its the future of the WWE PG Era winning his first title at his first WrestleMania.

3. Shawn Michaels vs Tatanka at WrestleMania IX -- sentimental favorite of mine. I had a bet with my friend that the winner of this match was going to go on and become the future of the WWE. He swore it was going to be Tatanka, based solely on his undefeated record at the time. History has proven that I won that bet. Thanks, Shawn Michaels.

 

[Terror316]

The Wrestlemania VII tag match to open the show is really good, if I'm recalling the right one off the top of my head. The Rockers always put energy into the crowd though.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

WrestleMania X - Bret vs. Owen
This was just an amazing opener... gets the crowd into it straight away.. the best Mania opener and arguably the best technical wrestling match with a great result..

WrestleMania 21 - Rey vs. Eddie
The best opener since Bret vs. Owen IMO, this match is my favourite from this ppv, I hardly liked the card, I stopped watching wrestling from 2005-2007, but this match when I heard about it, I watched it!

WrestleMania 9 - Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka
I liked the background to this.. When they showed it on vintage collection, I watched it everytime they showed it and recorded this match!! I liked it a lot.. and probably the best of that night!

 

[Tech N9ne]

I'll go with Bret versus Owen, Wrestlemania X. One of my favorite matches ever, period. Seeing Owen get that win, is really big for me. So, that has to easily take it for me.

Worst of the King Gimmicks? Are you telling me you didn't think Haku was a great King? I give special consideration to the Wrestlemania V match between Haku and Hercules. Wrestlemania V was my favorite for a long time. I have watched it more times then any other Mania. I have probably watched that more times then most people have watched any Wrestlemania. I was 8 when it was live on PPV. I had it recorded on VHS and watched it solidly every couple days for a couple years.

Hercules wins that match by a belly to back suplex and rolling his shoulder before the count of 3, as Haku's shoulders were still down. The same move Hercules actually lost to, a year before by The Ultimate Warrior, at Wrestlemania IV. Not a classic technical match by any means, but I always liked it.

 

[ashe draven]

not a whole lot of greatness to choose from here, but there is some. my picks are:
bret vs owen WM X- well cmon, whoever doesnt include this is a fool. as u said its one
of the top mania matches ever and was a huge huge upset. bret
and owen were golden in the ring.
rockers vs haku & barbarian WM 7- this is a personal pick 4 me. this match was the rockers
at their best. it really got the crowd going which is
always a plus. janetty and micheals unique (at the time) double team attacks and high flying action were on display to the crowd in LA.
micheals vs tanaka WM 9- this was for IC strap. not a groundbreaking match, but hbk was a young heel champ and tanaka was undeafeated. horrible ending in a countout. but there was a decent back and forth and a feel that the native american could pull the upset. on of the few..very few WM 9 matches that are not complete garbage.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Bret vs. Owen - WM X: Top notch, great wrestling & who would've expected Owen to win. Sometimes I wish this were actually the main event of Wrestlemania X but if it were then this wouldn't be one of the best openers ever.

Eddie vs. Rey - WM 21: Along with Owen vs. Bret, part of my 2 favourite opening matches ever. As pretty much everyone else said, no stupid storylines over Dominick, just great wrestling and just like how Owen countered Bret to win, I loved how Rey countered Eddie to win.

I didn't think Shawn vs. Tito was all that spectacular but I was fond of it and I'm hoping to get WM 8 just to see Shawn vs. Tatanka.

 

[The Crock]

The best WrestleMania curtain jerker ever would easily be Bret Hart vs Owen Hart at WrestleMania X. This was an excellent match. The whole backstory and everything else was great as well. The one thing that really stands out to me though is the length of the match, it went on for 20 minutes! For an opening singles match, that is astounding. The 20 minutes was actually a great move by the WWE. It allowed Bret and Owen to put on one of the best matches of all time, they had an excellent chemistry, something that can be accredited to the fact that not only are they brothers and they'd been wrestling together for 20 years at that point, but they were two of the best in-ring workers of ALL TIME. This match did wonders for the both of them, Owen picked up the surprise win over his brother, who would later on in the night claim the WWE Title! That gave instant credibility to not only Bret, but also Owen!

This was an excellent match and it is, sadly, overshadowed by the Razor Ramon/Shawn Michaels ladder match on the same card. That's not to say the ladder match wasn't a great match, but the opening match certainly deserves more recognition.