Top 10 WrestleMania Matches

[SAMBOLIEWWE]

Around this time of year I start to watch all the old Royal Rumbles , and then Move on to WrestleManias . I was watching extras on my WM XX DVD and they had a Spike TV special Countdown of WM's Best Matches hosted by Ric Flair. And it got me to thinking, what would my list be , and how would I incorporate Matches to the list that have happened since. So in the last 25 Installments of the Biggest show in Wrestling , what are your Top 10 Matches in WM history.

and this is personal Preference, doesn't have to be the best technically , but if thats your deal , then great. Maybe you are a big Iron sheik fan and love the Gimmick Battle Royal. What are your favorite WM matches?

Mine-
# 10 - Hogan vs. Andre - WM III. A classic and such a monumental Moment for WWE and Wrestling

# 9 - HHH vs HBK vs Benoit - WM XX . A knock down drag out fight, that regardless of how his life ended , will always be a special WM moment , especially with Eddie at the end. Its a shame how his life ended , but man the guy could work.

# 8 - Angle vs HBK - WM 21 . Two of the best in ring performers doing what they do best , stealing the show.

# 7 - Flair vs HBK - WM XXIV . Its a shame Naitch can't stay out of the ring, because that was such an emotional match, that was put together so well, and really capped off an amazing career . Love the way it finally worked out for Flair when he went up top. Classic

# 6 - Savage vs Steamboat - WM III . Arguably one of the best matches of all time. Just classic good Wrestling at its finest.

# 5 - Taker vs HBK - WM 25 . a great match, and for me will always be memorable because of how I marked out while it was happening. Not much sucks me in to a match where Im really on teh edge of my seat anymore like this one did. Very refreshing .

# 4 - Hogan vs Warrior - WM VI . When I was a kid I honestly believed this was the greatest match in Wrestling History. My brother and I could re enact the entire match by memory ( which should have been my first clue that it wasnt a technical masterpiece , but hey I was a kid ) its the One WWE tape that I wore out so much and still have and cherish my original copy.

# 3 - Hart vs HBK - WM XII . The first and best Iron Man match . Being a Huge Hitman fan, not the out come I wanted , but in my opinion the best technical match I have and probably ever will see .

# 2 - The Rock vs Hollywood Hogan - WM X8 . This to me is great because to me its like a combination of the reasons why I love matches #4 and #5 . The nostalgia of Hogan, and the memories as a kid. And the fact that it was the first in a long time I was standing marking out. I remember everyone in the house gradually making there way into the Living room ( even members of my family who almost detest wrestling ) and getting sucked into the rebirth of Hulkamania . a great moment I will never forget.

# 1 - Hart vs Austin - WM 13 . My personal favorite match of all time . It was technical and hardcore. It had two of ,not only my favorites, but best of all time in it. Austin wa son the rise and Hart was really at his peak as a performer ( his Anti- American stuff was his best ) It will always just be the perfect and most entertaining matches ever.


your thoughts?

 

[Ferbian]

mine would go :

10. The Undertaker vs Batista - wrestlemania 23 : works just as a up-comming mention (nr 2 -> Shawn vs Taker) some finishers being popped, Batista being very close to beating Taker quite a few times, it was a awesome brutal match that made you think Batista might actually do it, but then Taker "took yet another soul to the grave"

9. Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - Wrestlemania 13 : the submission concept in it self proved that this was definatly a Bret Hart specialty, but I must admit Stone Cold managed quite well out of his element (considering he's not exactly the most submission gifted person in the WWE history) which proved to be a quite nice match, nice ending not damaging any of the wrestlers image.

8. Chris Benoit vs Chris Jericho vs Kurt Angle - Wrestlemania 2000 : the two fall match, technically awesome, and the promo Jericho cut before the match was pretty fun if you ask me, the reaction of Kurt when he realised he just lost both belts in 1 match, the whole match had a slightly fun, yet amazingly technical feeling to it.

7. The Hardy boys vs E&C vs The Dudleys - wrestlemania 2000 : this was nothing more than the greatest tag team match i have ever seen, the constant extreme spots, Jeff Hardy jumping off that huge ladder through the table, and then the ending to it all, the two ladders, the table in between, it was simply amazing, and gave another title-reign for my favourite tag team of all time

6. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H vs Chris Benoit - wrestlemania 20 : The names in it self, made this match a blockbuster, and it proved to be so, the constant booking of the match to be trying to make it a 1 vs 1 match eliminating one from the equation of the triple threat, especially when Shawn and Triple H eliminated Benoit through the table, you would never have thought he'd come back and win by submission, and certainly not by making Triple H submit!

5. Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle - wrestlemania 21: Yet again the buildup made this match even better, also knowing it was two of the greatest wrestlers in WWE at that moment, you knew it was gonna be awesome, and it sure was.. only downside to it was that I really wanted Shawn Michaels to win..

4. Triple H vs Mick Foley vs Big show vs The rock - wrestlemania 2000 - The whole wrestlemania 2000 was an awesome PPV, but this match was truly the best, all the Mcmahons in each corner, Shane and Vince actually breaking into a fight, the small alliances made inside of the ring, the constant excitement around this match, and the thought "no way is Triple H gonna walk out champion" atleast that was my thought.. but he truly did walk out as a champion.

3. Shawn Michaels vs Bret Hart - wrestlemania 12: The iron man match, probably the greatest match of the 90's if you ask me, this match was the final part in Shawn Michaels becoming a true main eventer, as I heard both Bret and Shawn say "they said we couldn't do it, nobody would care to watch a match for a whole hour" well.. they did it, to some parts it was a little boring with the constant takedown holds that Bret started the match with, but as it progressed, it simply grew by sheer awesomeness.

2. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - wm 25: This was absolutely awesome, mr wrestlemania vs the undefeated streak, even before the match started you knew you were in for a treat, and personally I kept thinking, this is it, shawn is out, the streak lives! and then Shawn kicks out, still beeing a little omg'ish but also excited to see what happends then, simply one of the best matches ever.

1. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - wm 19: Simply the greatest match I've ever seen, it its also my favourite match of all time, the whole storyline building up to it, the match in it self with all the copying that Jericho did, Shawns entrance, everything was just awesome.

 

[tk_anderson]

10.Bret-Owen WM 10 Anyone who said they saw Owen winning this match beforehand was a damn liar. No one thought it would happen. At all.And it was a helluva match to boot. I've always believed Owen was a better wrestler than Bret and this is where I started to believe this.

9. Hogan-Rock WM 18 The heat in this match is just insane and this is probably Hogan's best match in over 10 years at this point, which tells alot about how talented Rock is. Awesome how the nostalgia made Hogan relevant once again!

8. Savage-Flair WWF Title WM 8 Man how awesome was Randy Savage from late 91-early 92? Fuggin awesome. How did he follow up the best feud of 1991 with Jake Roberts? With the best feud of 1992 with Ric Flair. This match was just awesome and so emotional. There are very very few people who can put the emotion into a match today that this match had.

7. HBK-Flair WM 24 Again, another extremely emotional match. HBK shows why he's the greatest North American worker of his time and retires the greatest North American worker of his era in Flair. How many people get a farewell like this? No one. Too bad poor Flair had to lay down to Hogan because divorces have left him in the poor house.

6. HHH-Benoit-HBK WHC 3way WM 20 Probably the best triple threat in WWE history with two of the greatest workers ever and Trips is no slouch either. Extremely good match with an equally emotional victory for Benoit the murder. So sad that so many poignant moments get tainted in the wrestling industry...

5. Rock-Austin WWF title WM 17 The best match in their WM trilogy on the greatest WM ever. The ending with Austin and McMahon was probably the biggest shocker of the attitude era.

4. Savage-Steamboat IC title WM 3 Best match @ WM 3 with two world class workers and easily the best IC title match ever. This is the first show stealer in WM history!

3. HBK-Taker WM 25 The best match @ WM 25 with the two longest tenured WWE employees. And what do you get when you put the streak up against Mr. WrestleMania? One helluva match with two dudes that rocked the crowd in a way no other talents in the E can.

2. HBK-Razor Ramon IC title Ladder Match WM 10 When I saw this match my jaw dropped. It would be three more years before I was exposed to ECW and hardcore wrestling in general so I had never seen anything like this before. This match was so successful that WM has an annual Ladder match as a staple. And no matter how today's workers can push the envelope no ladder match has amazed me the way this one did.

1. Austin-Hart WM 13 What can I say about this match that hasn't been said before? I think this might be the greatest WWE match ever and definitely the most entertained I have ever been by Bret. The animosity felt so real, the image of Austin's blood spattered face is iconic and the double turn was the ultimate payoff. No feud has come close to the mastery of Hart-Austin.

 

[Kayoh]

I don't have a top ten list to contribute right now, but I just have to say that the posts in this thread are proving why Shawn Michaels truly is Mr. Wrestlemania. The man is in 5 matches in two peoples' lists, and 4 matches in the third. Just had to point that out because it's extremely impressive what he does at Wrestlemania, and it almost makes me actually want to see him try to beat Taker at WM26.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Mine would probably go like this:

#10: WM 7: Randy Savage vs. The Ultimate Warrior: A really emotional match that was an instant classic due to the retirement match status.
#9: WM 10: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart: A personal one on one that was a wrestling clinic AND saw a shocking result in Owen winning before bret went on to win the World title.
#8: WM 8: Ric Flair vs. Randy Savage: My favourite build to a match ever. savage brought his A-Game to take down the nature Boy who had been talking smack about a prior relationship with elizabeth. And the match was awsome too.
#7: WM 17: TLC II: An amazing spot-fest at probably the grandest WrestleMania of them all. It was fast paced and great entertainment.
#6: WM 6: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior: The Ultimate Chalenge is 20 Years old this year and it still is an instant classic. Both Warrior and Hogan were soooooo over that it would be fondly remembered whatever the outcome but they actually put on what I would consider a classic in Canada.
#5: WM 21: Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels: the build up to this was great and both Angle & Michaels brought it. This match was a superbly fought back in forth contest. great match.
#4: WM 20: Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels: The greatest main event in WrestleMania history? Yeah I would say so. WWE and triple threat matches aren't always the best match but here it was magic. Despite Benoit being hot favourite, there were moments where you thought that it was going to be Michaels or HHH. Great match.
#3: WM 10: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon: The Ladder match. Both Michaels & Ramon put their asses on the line in this one. It's a great match and if anyone says that Michaels wrestled a ladder that night, well you're dead wrong.
#2: WM 3: Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat: A great undercard feud that lead to a great undercard match. Steele & Elizabeth's appearances only added to the excitement and the right guy won as Savage began his elevation towards the World Title.
#1: WM 13: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart: My favourite match of all time. This was brutal and it's got one of the greatest moments in pro wrestling history in it, Austin's face covered in blood, locked in the Sharpshooter. It was also the subtle things that helped like ken Shamrock as ref that helped build this.

 

[Muffin Top Merkley]

There have been so many great matches doing the 26 years of WrestleMania, that ranking a top ten is a difficult task. Nonetheless, here is my list of top WrestleMania matches.

10)WrestleMania 18 - Hulk Hogan vs The Rock: During this Battle of the Icons, the crowd gets more into this match than maybe any in history, elevating the level of performance by both men and turning this one into an instant classic. This match shattered expectations and turned out to be much better than it looked to be on paper. Hogan showed more in this match, than he had in years. The Rock takes the bumps and sells everything like this was 80's Hogan attacking him and really adds to the unpredictability of the match.

9) WrestleMania 19 - Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho: Growing up Chris Jericho wanted to be the next Shawn Michaels. Then he decided he was going to be better that HBK, and be the first Chris Jericho. This match would determine who was the better talent inside the ring.

8) WrestleMania 19 - Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesner: Both professional wrestlers were well known for their very successful background in amateur wrestling. This match was filled with counters, reversals and counter reversals keeping everyone on their toes.

7) WrestleMania 21 - Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels: A dream match that many hoped to witness for years featuring two of the best wrestlers to ever step foor in the ring. The two technicians give fans everything, from submission holds to high-flying action to an breathtaking ending that saw both men receive standing ovations.

6) WrestleMania 3 - Ricky Steamboat vs Randy Savage: The build up to this match was incredible and lasted for over six months. The pace of this match was unlike anything ever witnessed in wrestling at the time. Full of two counts and forced you on your feet each time.

5) WrestleMania 17 - Edge & Christian vs The Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz: The second TLC match for this trio of teams turned out to be the best as this bout includes some of the most memorable bumps wrestling fans have ever witnessed. The entire match ended up being an entire 'Holy Shit' moment.

4) WrestleMania 10 - Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon: Very rarely can one say that a single match changed the wrestling business. This ladder match was so entertaining that a whole new style of wrestling was created that has seen wrestlers take unbelievable risks. Easily, this was one of the most ground-breaking matches in wrestling history.

3) WrestleMania 20 - Chris Benoit vs HHH vs Shawn Michaels: The first triple threat match main even match in WrestleMania history was a hard-hitting back and forth match from bell to bell.

2) WrestleMania 17 - Steve Austin vs The Rock: Steel chairs, tables, the ring bell, the steel post, more steel chairs. This is one brutal and bloody battle between the two icons and the best match between the two long time rivals. Each pin attempt had the crowd thinking it would be the end of the match. The actual end of the match may be one of the biggest shockers in wrestling.

1) WrestleMania 25 - Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker: The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak is one of the most well known feats in wrestling. Shawn Michales has seemingly done everything at the biggest wrestling PPVs. If anyone had a legitimate chance of putting the streat to rest, it was Mr. WrestleMania. Easily my favorite match of all time.

Honorable Mentions:
WrestleMania 22 - Edge vs Mick Foley
WrestleMania 24 - Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair
WrestleMania 13 - Steve Austin vs Bret Hart
WrestleMania 10 - Bret Hart vs Owen Hart

 

[Aeon Mathix]

#10. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian Wrestlemania X-Seven TLC 2 This was one of the most exciting matches i have ever seen with nonstop action and unpredictability.

#9. The Rock vs Hulk Hogan Wrestlemania X8 Icon vs Icon The match says it all, two of the greatest in the history of the industry collide for the first time ever. As the king said we would never see Tyson vs Ali but we did witness the rock and hogan. true classic and tremendous atmosphere.

#8. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat vs Randy "Macho Man" Savage Wrestlemania 3 Intercontinental Championship This was just amazing old school wrestling. Back when the intercontinental title had prestige.

#7. Kurt Angle vs Chris Benoit Wrestlemania X-Seven Watching this match felt like watching a present day dragon and macho man match. The 2 greatest technical wrestlers in the history of the industry in a match to see who the better man was. I wish it had a different finish but cant complain about that.

#6. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho Wrestlemania XIX I was there live at this event and i was in awe watching these two future legends tear the house down, that whole card was stacked as XIX is my personal favorite wrestlemania, but this match stole the show hands down.

#5. Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania 21 This was really the only match I was looking forward to at this event minus the first MITB. These 2 had never been near each other since Angle cost HBK the Rumble win months prior. It had such a great build with Angle's jealousy of winning olympic gold while that year everyone was talking about HBK. Worth the whole ppv just for this match.

#4. Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Wrestlemania 13 Submission Match This was the "unnofficial" passing of the torch from the hitman to the rattlesnake. The ending with Austin not tapping and just passing out from blood loss and the way the announcers sold the "Austin never quit he never quit!' made me believe that Austin was going to be huge. But little did i know how big.

#3. The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Wrestlemania X-Seven WWF Championship This was awesome. Plain and simple. The match had such a high pace start with two men beating the hell out of each other (obviously they had a incredibly great card to follow) and they delivered every second of this bout. These were the 2 biggest stars in wrestling at the time going one on one. Usually people would be pissed having a WM match let alone main event repeated (which ironically brings me to my number 2 here in a sec), but no one cared because it was rock and austin. I could watch these two wrestle all day and never get tired of it.

#2. The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels II Wrestlemania 26 Streak vs Career I am probably in the low minority of fans that liked this match better then their first one and thats fine by me. The fact that I had no idea which way this would go (I dont read spoilers or news on sites just discuss things on the forums) made me SO hyped for this match. I did not want the streak to end or HBK's Career to end but something had to give. I honestly thought the streak was over I just could not see how they would let HBK lose 2 years in a row at wrestlemania to the same guy. But in the end it all made sense and cemented the fact that if HBK failed in two attempts to end the deadman's streak, it will never be broken.

#1. Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar Wrestlemania XIX WWE Championship I know some of you might be like wtf that I picked this as my favorite but as I said earlier I was there live at this event and was a HUGE fan of Brock Lesnar (still am and thinks hes doing great in UFC but anyway), I was really pulling for brock and it was a situation like if he lost I would pissed the whole rest of the night. It really amazed me too by how great brock can wrestle let alone hang with Kurt! These 2 were labeled as the greatest athletes in the industry at the time and I cant argue with that at all. The shooting star botch is still one of the most talked about wrestlemania moments and I seriously thought Brock was dead. How he finished the match was beyond human and the emotional after match with him and angle shaking hands and hugging just made that event the greatest wrestlemania ive ever been to. yes im saying better then X-Seven probably because I was live but hey XIX still is on the top of my list

 

[Canadian-BadAss]

#10. The Hardy Boyz vs. The Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian Wrestlemania X-Seven TLC 2
some of the greatest, most hardcore moments in WWE history came in this one single match, anytime i hear "TLC" this is the match that comes to mind for me. never will they re-create the magic of this match.

#9. The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin Wrestlemania X-Seven WWF Championship
i was going to put this higher up on the list, but this was where it fell in, the Austin/Rock feud was one of the highest profile ones ever. trading titles back and forth, switching from heel-face. and who could have seen the outcome of this one?

#8. The Rock vs Hulk Hogan Wrestlemania X8 Icon vs Icon
match made in Heaven. was a little surprised to see the fan reaction in this match, but will forsure go down as one of the greatest matches in not just WWE, but Wrestling history

#7. Shawn Michaels vs Ric Flair WrestleMania 24
"to be the man, you gotta beat the man" after this match, HBK was definitly the MAN. Was a fitting end to the storied career of flair, and passed the torch onto one of the greatest WWE superstars ever.

#6. Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar Wrestlemania XIX
these guys both had real heat with eachother at the time, and being that they both had an amature background, it made for an instant classic, also the botched shooting star press? OUCH! i think i watched it like 40 times in a row, rewind..play. damn that had to kill

#5. HHH vs Randy Orton Wrestlemania 25
i know that comes as a surprise, as a lot of people hated this match, but i thought it came across great, the build up to it was epic, and i thought the match it's self was well done! great finish to it too

#4. Shawn Michaels vs Triple H vs Chris Benoit wrestlemania XX
3 of the best ever in the ring at the same time, what more could you ask for? benoit FINALLY had the push he deserved, HBK and HHH got to re-new their always classic rivalry, one of my favorite matches.. still watch it from time to time. RIP benoit

#3. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho Wrestlemania XIX
HBK, and the man who everyone said was "the next HBK" these two have always had great matches, and promo skills in the build up to the big one, not only was this a great match, but the major heat Y2J got after he kicked shawn after it was over? really helped further his character.

#2. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker WrestleMania 25
i really thought that HBK would end the streak.. but once the match started it was about way more than that, most people do consider this the #1 match of all time, with both men kicking out of eachothers finishers, was on the edge of my seat for this one, still have te hair stand up on the back of my neck watching this


and the top wrestlemania match of all time is....

#1. The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels II Wrestlemania 26 Streak vs Career

i dont think anyone could have asked for a better finish to Shawn's career then to go out on the biggest stage of them all, to the biggest star of them all. Losing to 'Taker didnt even make him look bad, as it would have if it had been someone like Cena. Those two men have been there longer than anyone, and the fan appreciation for HBK after was heart warming.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

mine would go :


9. Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin - Wrestlemania 13

7. The Hardy boys vs E&C vs The Dudleys - wrestlemania 2000

2. Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - wm 25

1. Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho - wm 19:

AWESOME choice of matches there man, I LOVE the Y2J v HBK match too, its probably my favourite wrestlemania match too. The HBK entrance is just epic, I used to re-watch his entrance 2 or 3 times every time I watched the DVD haha

Undertaker v HBK at WM25 would be a close 2nd, same as you put it

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

My countdown!!

10. The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. Edge and Christian vs. The Hardy Boyz - Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match for the WWE Tag Titles (Wrestlemania X-7) - It was either this or their triangle ladder match the year before...but seen as this was a TLC match, it won it for me..great spots, only thing that ruined it was the interuptions, but hey, they went through tables as well...

9. Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Andre the Giant - For the WWF title (Wrestlemania III) - The biggest ever build to a match ever...and most people say the match was a disapointment, maybe it was, but you can never leave it out of a top ? wrestlemania list!!

8. Razor Ramon (c) vs. Shawn Michaels - Ladder Match for the WWE Intercontinental Title (Wrestlemania X) - The first ever ladder match on a ppv?, this was just awesome, great spots and some people look at this match and forget that the winner was Razor Ramon!!


7. Bret Hart (c) vs. Shawn Michaels - Iron Man Match for the WWE World Title (Wrestlemania XII) - Can't say a bad word about this match, they went at it for an hour with no pinfalls or submissions...just amazing!!

6. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock (c) - For the WWF title (Wrestlemania X-Seven) - This match has to be the best of their 3 Mania meetings, the match was just great and the No DQ added to that, the ending, very shocking!!

5. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (c) - For the Intercontinental Championship (Wrestlemania III) - The show stealer for the biggest Wrestlemania ever!! these 2 put on such a great match start to finish!!

4. Triple H (c) vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels - Triple Threat Match for the WWE World Title (Wrestlemania XX) - Great Match, Benoit had to go through 29 men to get to this match, then finding out he had to face 2 wrestlers and what a match as well..the ending did it for me, such an emotional moment, both him and Eddie..

3. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart (Wrestlemania X) - What can one say about this match, it was meant to be...such a great match, arguably the best opener to a Wrestlemania ever!! With Owen winning, it made it better..

2. The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania XXV) - How can you leave this match out, it was just amazing, the build to this feud, we knew we were going to see an absolutely amazing match...and guess what? WE DID!!

1. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart - Submission Match (Wrestlemania 13) - Every bit of this feud was booked perfectly. The match was booked perfectly. Bret Hart started as the good guy and Stone Cold Steve Austin was the bad guy and by the time the match was over Bret Hart was the bad guy and Stone Cold Steve Austin was the good guy. If it wasn't for this match "Stone Cold" Steve Austin never would've been the icon we know him as now.


Honourable Mention
Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock (Wrestlemania X8)
Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels (Wrestlemania XIX)
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (Wrestlemania 21)
Edge vs. Mick Foley (Wrestlemania 22)