Best WrestleMania Opening Match Over The Past Decade?

[a7xfan93]

I was going through and watching some past wrestlemanias, and I saw one match in particular that grabbed my attention from start to finish. This match was Wrestlemania 24's Finlay vs. JBL in a Belfest Brawl match. From start to finish this match was pretty intense and very entertaining. The weaponry was great, with a good amount of weapon attacks, from the kendo stick and shileighly (SP?) to the trash cans and tables. I wasn't for JBL winning the match, but the match itself was pretty good, and it was the best Wrestlemania opening match in my own opinion. Honorable mention is Rey Mysterio vs. Matt Hardy for the cruiserweight championship at Wrestlemania 19.

Now that I shared my thoughts, I want to know you're favorite wrestlemania opening match, and why you thought it was the best.

 

[therealchosenone]

I'm gonna say WM 17, Jericho vs Regal. It may not of been the most technically sound match ever, but it was entertaining and put the IC title on display for one of the last times in the past decade. And it went a long way in putting Jericho on the path to the WWE title.

 

[The Future Rises]

Wrestlemania 21. Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio. Whenever you put Eddie and Rey together they put on one hell of a performance. They even made the Dominic Custody storyline look good. Both men were over. Both men were talented. And both men had a lot of chemistry. Their match at Wrestlemania might not be their best match but it was definitely a very good match. I can't remember a Wrestlemania opener that was as good as Eddie vs Rey.

 

[The Perfect Max]

I agree with Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero being a good one. Great back and forth match between two friends and no one cared who won, because they enjoyed the match. Jericho vs Regal was also good, but not as good as Mysterio/Guerrero. The Belfast Brawl was also good. I didn't know how much weapons-wise the match would be, but, for me, the table, the trash can, the chair, the kendo stick and others made it great.

However, my favourite of all time has to be... WrestleMania IX - Shawn Michaels vs Tatanka for the WWF Intercontinental Championship. The ending was shit, but the match itself was really good, some parts slow, yes, but was enjoyable and probably the only match at WrestleMania IX which was any good.

 

[TM Punk]

Bret vs owen at mania X is the best there is was and ever will be. The story of the younger brother who is jealous over the successes of his older brother is something that we will probably never see again. (Not counting matt vs jeff storyline) The match told that same story as well with owen trying to one up bret at every turn, and eventually revearsing brett's victory roll ftw. Amazing. But to me, the most amazing part about this story, is bret's half of the story. He didn't want to fight his little brother. For months he tried and tried to convince owen to reconcile, but to no avail. So against his own heart and against his mothers will, he agreed to WRESTLE owen at wrestlemania. Now I capitalized WRESTLS because that's what it was. They are brothers. They did not fight. They WRESTLED. There was not a single punch thrown in the entire match. Not one. And in this day and age, where every two seconds in a professional wrestling match involves a punch or kick. That is truly amazing to me. For them to tear the house down in the opening segment of wrestlemania, without punches or kicks (I think owen threw a knee when he started getting desperate) will be something I never forget.

 

[DiscipleofWrestling]

I'm going to make the argument for WrestleMania 27's Alberto Del Rio vs. Edge as the best WrestleMania opener in the last ten years. First off, it was for the World Heavyweight Championship, which is still mind-blowing considering a world championship match traditionally happens later in the evening. Personally, I would have held the match off until later, but I can understand after Rock's promo that they would want to get the show started with a bang. Secondly, I think the match itself was very strong with both wrestlers hitting their moves and getting the crowd into the actual wrestling. The match was technically sound and is one of the underrated matches on that show in my honest opinion. Third, the outside participants (Christian and Clay) both contributed well to the match, making the bout seem more important. There was a question as to what these two would do outside the ring, even some thinking Christian was going to screw Edge out of the championship. Another point is that most people were predicting that Alberto Del Rio was going to win the championship at the show. WWE had done a lot to build up Del Rio before WrestleMania with the Royal Rumble win and attacks on Edge. Del Rio seemed to be a lock to win the championship. Lastly, looking back, it is made that much more important because it was the last match in Edge's career. For a performer like Edge, there really wasn't a better way to go out than having this type of match at WrestleMania. So, no offense to Eddie and Rey, but I personally prefer Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio as the best opening match in the last ten years at WrestleMania. Overall, I agree with a few of you: Nothing compares to Owen vs. Bret at WrestleMania X as the best opening match at WrestleMania period.

 

[ridaboy123]

I think it was wrestlemania 27 Edge vs Alberto Del Rio.
It was a great match.
1) Edge Last Wrestlemania
2) Alberto first Wrestlemania
3) It was a World Title match

 

[THE AWESOME MIZFIT]

I'm going to have to go with WrestleMania 10 where the opening match was Owen Hart vs Bret Hart. Two of the best technical wrestlers going at it you couldn't go wrong. Not only that but it was two brothers from the most famous wrestling family and it added so much emotion and attention. This was one hell of a match and it will go down as one of the best in history.

 

[Linubidix..]

This has been discussed before and the general consensus came down to one of three matches:
Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart - WM X
Eddie Guerrero vs. Rey Mysterio - WM 21
Money in the Bank - WM 23

Personally, my favourite is Eddie vs. Rey from WrestleMania 21. It was wrestling at its finest with both guys at the top of their game.It was exciting, it was fast paced and to top it off, it wasn't for anything; it was just two friends wanting to see who would win. It was an excellent way to warm up the crowd and prepare them for one of the best WrestleManias in history.

 

[mayankeagle]

Mania 23's MITB was pretty good with a lot of spots. Next to Owen vs Bret which should be the obvious choice (also ranked as one of the only 4 matches to get 5 star rating from Wrestling Obserber), I would put MITB from Mania 23 as the second.