Which Wrestlemania Weekend Was More Emotional: Wrestlemania 24 Or 26?

[Mitch Henessey]

Last Sunday, we saw Shawn Michaels wrestle his last match. His match with Undertaker was awesome, and it was a great way to end his storied career. Two years ago, Ric Flair had what we all thought would be his last match against Shawn at Wrestlemania 24. Flair lost to HBK, and received an enormous standing ovation at the end of the match. Let's further review both Wrestlemania weekends:

Wrestlemania 24

Before he had his "last match" with HBK, Flair was involved in a series of win or retire matches after being given the ultimatum by Vince McMahon.....If Flair lost a match, he would have to retire. On the Raw before Mania 24, HBK and Flair had a segment in the ring, where Shawn called Flair "Old Yeller". Flair was inducted into the Hall Of Fame, and would go on to lose to HBK at Wrestlemania 24. The next night on Raw, Flair had an elaborate send-off. Friends, and family filled the ring to say good-bye to the Nature Boy. The Undertaker also payed tribute to Flair, but this was not shown on television.

Wrestlemania 26

Undertaker VS HBK II at Wrestlemania was probably the most anticipated re match we've seen in years. WWE spent months hyping this match, and the match it self didn't disappoint. After the match, HBK also got a standing ovation. The next night on Raw, Shawn's career highlights were shown, and he gave a long and tearful speech. Triple H and Shawn hugged at the end of the show, and HBK walked away from a long and prolific career.

Now of course Flair had the more elaborate and grand send-off. He was inducted into the HOF, he wrestled at Wrestlemania, and he had the most grand good-bye we might ever see a pro wrestler have. I was at Wrestelmania 24, and being there while Flair was getting that standing ovation was just such a surreal moment.

HBK's send-off on the other hand, wasn't as spectacular as Flair's, but it still was pretty emotional. It was tough watching him fight through the tears while he was giving his farewell speech. Now there's a chance Shawn could come back, but even if he does, I think it'll only be for one more match.

Which Wrestlemania weekend do you think was more emotional? Ric Flair's Wrestlemania 24 weekend or HBK's Wrestlemania 26 weekend?

I believe Shawn's Wrestlemania weekend was more emotional. His match with The Undertaker showed as all one thing.....at 44 yrs. old, this man can still go. He might not be what he used to be in the ring, but Shawn can still wow us every now and then. Shawn has still got it, and with him retiring after a great match like the one at Wrestlemaina 26, it still makes you wonder what else he could've accomplished.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Rammsteinerteen]

I rather liked both WrestleManias, wrestlemania 25 was awful, but wrestlemania 24 and 26 were entertaining. But I would have to say WrestleMania 26. WrestleMania 24 had some good matches, but more matches in WrestleMania 26 were better. Shawn michaels for me dude

 

[marklouis]

Personally, I'd say WM 26. I've always been a bigger fan of HBK than Flair, probably because at my age I'm not old enough to have seen Flair at the top of his game. I grew up watching HBK, and some of the matches I remember most are his. You also have to factor in the personal story of HBK-he was forced to leave because of an injury, and if he hadn't had the injury, he might have self destructed. He healed, found salvation (whether you agree with his religous beliefs or not), and came back to prove he was still one of if not the best. I think many people were inspired by his story.

You also have to look at HBK's history with WWE. He was the ultimate company man, almost his entire career was spent there. Certainly his biggest success happened in WWE. Flair was already a huge star when he signed for Vince, then he left, only to return for what seemed to be the end. But, of course, it wasn't. That's fine if he didn't want to retire, but the way he hangs on has sort of diminished WM 24.

It just seemed different with HBK. It seemed like the end of an era. I think I'll miss him for a long time.

 

[8five]

I'm gonna say 24 because of the storyline. The flair retirement angle went on for months. He faced orton and narrowly escaped then kennedy, then vince and finally the build was better towards mania with HBK not wanting to accept it but then finally did. If you want to simply talk about more emotional it was Flair's retirement angle. Plus you can add in the hall of fame induction the night before his whole family at ringside, and the entire crowd sitting there on the edge of their seats. It was just the perfect build and close of an emotional angle.

 

[#hamler]

Shawn Michaels was way more emotional. Let's face it, most of us was tired of seeing a 60 years old man flop down to the matt every match. Shawn retired at the right time while still in his 2nd "prime". Some might say that his prime was during the attitude era 1997, but i think he became more motivated in the last few years of his career. from wrestlemania 23 i believed he was at the top of his game. he left in the right time, also Ric came back to TNA after promising to have his last match with shawn. So this was a big middle finger to Shawn and his whole send off. So to me, HBK's wrestlemania 26 send off 10 times or so better

 

[Tyler44]

I agree that Wrestlemania 24 match was extremely more emotional because we were all 100% convinced Flair was losing and that was his last match, but I still enjoyed the HBK vs. Undertakers a lot more even if I was about 95% sure HBK was losing. You see, I grew up watching HBK rather than Flair, so it was more emotional to me, but the Flair match was so much more emotional overall to everyone else.

 

[DL23]

Two totally different situations, as for Flair the fans knew he was retiring at Mania, hense the win streak going from November-March beating some pretty top quality guys in the mean time, the HOF etc etc, so people were far more emotionally involved in Wrestlemania 24 for that very reason, they knew he was retiring.

HBK on the other hand, the fans didn't know what to expect, it was up in the air as far as the fans were concerned, simply because they'd been know indication he was retiring apart from a few websites saying he was taken extended amount of time off after Mania, but didn't he do that last year? so fans didn't know what to expect, as far as matches are concerned, I think Wrestlemania 26 blew Mania 24's out the water as far emotions go, fans NEEDED the rematch, HBK NEEDED the rematch, the storyline was spot on career vs streak.

 

[DL23]

Also the streak is about the only thing left in wrestling that the fans believe is real, and Shawn really highlighted that, jobbing twice in a row to show the streak means something.
I honestly don't think as fans we'll see anyone come as close to ending the streak as HBK, and out the current crop of wrestlers I don't see any of them having that 50/50 feeling among the fans that it can be broken.

 

[wushady]

To me HBK's farewell was more emotional. I started following wrestling about the same time he started in WWE. I was a huge fan of his since day one. I always respected Flair for everything he's done, and his amazing ring work. However like many people I felt he stuck around way to long. So his farewell was an amazing thing to watch and emotional, but but it also felt relieving that he was finally retiring. Even though I was skeptical that he would stay retired which he didn't.

 

[Decarow]

Also the streak is about the only thing left in wrestling that the fans believe is real, and Shawn really highlighted that, jobbing twice in a row to show the streak means something.

You obviously don't know wrestling terms that well. HBK did NOT job. He lost, but he didn't job. Great match.

Onto the subject, I felt that Wrestlemania 24 was built to have more emotion. Flair's send off was bigger and even had it's own theme song. However, I personally found HBK's more emotional. He retired when he knew he should. I don't think he wanted the big sen off that Flair had, but he could've if he wanted to. So IMO, WM26 was more emotional.

Flair didn't even really get to choose in the match when he wanted it to end. HBK just said "sorry, i love you" and ended it. HBK SLAPPED the undertaker, telling him he was ready to retire.

 

[VintageWWE]

I would have to go with Wrestlemania 26. With Ric Flair everyone knew he was going to retire. He was inducted into the ball of fame and got a grand sendoff. The fans were all prepared to see Flair go. Shawn on the other hand is a different story. Going into Wrestlemania 26 we weren't sure if he was retiring or not. It gave the fans something to think about. I for one was quite nervous throughout the match. I didn't want to see the streak end and I didn't want to see Shawn retire. Shawn's match with the Undertaker and the stipulation of career versus streak made it that much more emotional. The end of the match was a bittersweet moment. That match is what I call emotional.

 

[ccotreau1]

I would have to say Wrestlemania 26 for the reason that we didn't know going into the match who was going to win. What I thought was a nice gesture was seeing The Undertaker come out on Raw before HBK's speech and take his hat off to HBK. For me that was the ultimate sign of respect that HBK has earned throughout his career. Whereas with Wrestlemania 24 and Ric Flairs "retirement", we knew that once he was going into the HOF, he was going to lose at Mania. So it wasn't as much as a shock. Even though he had a bigger sendoff from the WWE on the air, we knew it was coming nonetheless. At most, I was more surprised they didn't do more for HBK outside of the Undertaker's hat removal and HHH coming out once HBK was on the stage.

 

[hhhfan14]

Im coming in from a huge huge ORIGINAL DX, Shawn Micheals, HHH, and Ric Flair mark, nad i have attended all events for every Wrestlemania weekend from 22 to 26, excluding 25 witch i am glad i missed, but in my opinon Wrestlemania 24 was more emotional and i will give you the three reasons why i believe so

In the HOF, witch they did not induct shawn into this past weekend like they did with rick when he went in, ric sat there and went from day 1 to that day and talked, cried, laughed, and brought you through Space Mountain like only he can, and that night alone was emotional knowing it was not only one of the biggest honors a wrestler can achieve, but at that time thinking, that one of the biggest men that lead wrestling to its success, was having his honors shown it was just so big its hard to explain much like the next two nights

The second reason, unlike Taker v Shawn witch whether you say you knew what was going to happen, or you didnt, unlike the ric match, there was that What if Shawn wins, unlike Ric, every move you saw you knew it had a chance to be his last one, and has the match went on, at least with me, the more i didnt want to see it end, and when it finally did the whole crowd was heartfelt and cheering for the best there is

My third reason, and it pissed me off the way they let shawn leave on raw, but the way rick left, everyone that was under contract that was anyone was there in that ring, hell they even had taker, along with shawn and hunter who in my opinion were the next generation after rick, letting him know that they knew what he had done, it was overlooked, rick was the man, even the man Mr.Mcmahon (refering to him out of character) was out there to salute him. It was really heartfelt knowing, or at least believing, that it was going to be Rick Flairs last appereance ever on WWE tv,

Witch in my opinon Shawn should have had the same leave, except i believe give it 5 or 10 years, and he will be back, maybe not as a wrestler, but the man will be back, he just needs to be a father right now and a husband, you have got to give respect to that, but anyways before i go on a rant, this is why, wrestlemania 24 was more emotional

 

[FozzyRocks2009]

Since Flair should of been gone like oh 20 yrs ago 24 was more of a releif than sorrow for me however Shawn was a diff story he will be missed. I have to respect how he says (for now) he is going to honor the stipulation and stay away but im sure he'll be back in some shape maybe not on air or wrestling

 

[legenddkiller]

It was more difficult to see Shawn go. Ric was clearly at the end of his wrestling career for some time before WM 24. HBK still had something in the tank, and possible final run at a World Championship. It was sad to see him leave at the almost the end of his prime.

 

[jarose24]

I was at both Wrestlemania XXIV and XXVI. The entire weekend in Orlando was so grandiose with all of the respect showed to Flair and while it was not flat out said, the entire WWE Universe knew that Flair would not defeat HBK. The whole weekend itself was a celebration of Ric Flair and it was certainly more emotional in delivery.

As for the weekend in Phoenix many people were behind Shawn to end the streak but most educated fans knew that HBK would lose. Before Monday Night Raw, I believed firmly that no matter what, Micheals would have a farewell match probably at Wrestlemania XXVII next year. On Raw his tearful speech to me made it clear he has no intention of coming back, even if for one more match. That doesn't mean I'm sold on a true retirement I feel that Shawn is sincere and will try to stay away. No I dont think he'll come back for any extended runs on TV though. In short yes I believe HBK will have that farewell match to be hyped and sold for a future Wrestlemania, when that will be, I don't know.

For me though, I didn't grow up on Ric Flair. I didn't see Flair in his prime I grew up on Shawn Micheals. I saw him tear the houses down and create more moments in this great business than anyone in history. While Bret is my all time favorite, HBK takes 2nd place by percentage points. Shawn's emotional standing ovation brought tears to my eyes (no shame in admitting that), not Flair's.
While Flairs was emotional for all of us, it was his time to say goodbye and quite fitting at that moment. The best way to compare it to those of the older generation, HBK was "my Ric Flair". Both HBK (and Bret0 captured my imagination like nobody ever did and have made me so passionate about this business. To see them in action with such definitive endings to their storied careers made this Wrestlemania a special place in my heart. That's where the emotional attachment is and that's what created such a tearful moment for me and those who grew up idolizing HBK (and Bret).
Shawn Micheals and (the WWE Universe) I grew up together and for Shawn to ride off into the sunset in this fashion is a moment that I will hold close to me until the day I die. His send off still sends chills down my spine (no pun intended) and for me was a lot more emotional.

 

[Takerfan93]

That's a really tough one. It could be said that Wrestlemania 24 was more emotional because everyone knew Flair was going to lose and "retire" going into it. And the moment before HBK superkicked Flair and said "I'm sorry. I love you" was tough to watch as a fan because you saw how hard it was for Shawn and you knew at that moment it was going to happen right then.

But you could also say Wrestlemania 26 was more emotional because going in, no matter what the outcome, SOMETHING was going to end, the streak or HBK's career. And it was that not knowing which made it even more emotional because we couln't prepare ourselves like we had for Flair. And as you said, HBK-Taker was the most anticipated rematch in Wrestlemania history as well as one of, if not the best match in Wrestlemania history. We knew that HBK-Taker would be better than HBK-Flair because of Shawn's opponents. Flair was 59 going into his match and should have retired longg before he did, HBK and Undertaker were 44/45. So in terms of the actual match, I guess Wrestlemania 26 was more emotional because we knew we were in for an awe-inspiring contest.

As for the post match part where they walk up the ramp and wave goodbye, I'd say those were equal, but Flairs match was not the main event, HBK's was, so the end of Wrestlemania kind of left us emotional. But I think many will have found Shawn's retirement more emotional because while Flair's retirement was sad, we knew he needed to badly and was about 10 years late in doing so. Shawn, at the time of his retirement was still one of the, if not the greatest wrestler in the world today; he was still giving us fantastic matches constantly, so for many it would have been harder to lose him.

Flair's sendoff was much more grand, but Shawn's speech I preffered much more. I loved how he thanked the guys in the back who make the video packages and everything. And it was much more personal than Flair's I thought because he spoke on some of his deep past issues; he thanked HHH for being there after Montreal when no one was his friend, Bret Hart for forgiving him (which lets face it no one would have believed would happen 10 years ago) and even Vince. But I thought he deserved a send-off as grand as Flair's. I would have liked Triple H, Vince, Bret, Undertaker to come out one by one to the ring and the rest of the roster to come out at the end.

But in all, I would say Wrestlemania 24 weekend was more emotional; because we knew Flair was going to retire. But from the beginning of the HBK-Taker match onwards, I would say Wrestlemania 26 was more emotional because no one knew it was going to happen and so when Shawn lost it was such a hit. But we all knew he was going to lose when Undertaker said "stay down", and we saw how hard it was for Undertaker which made it even more emotional. So WM24 weekend was more emotional, the aftermath of WM26 was more emotional though.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I would say that personally it would be 26. Shawn Michaels was the first wrestler I loved where as Flair was a retiring legend who we all knew was going to lose. While tears came to my eyes at WM 24 & the following Raw, I full on cried for HBK at WM & Raw. So for me it was 26.

 

[Ferbian]

I would definitely have to say Wrestlemania 26, while we didn't exactly see Shawn Michaels inducted into WWE Hall of Fame this year, probably because it would spoil the surprise cause we knew Ric Flair got inducted the night before he retired, would spoil that, and while I think the induction of Shawn Michaels would've definitely added to the emotional feeling of Wrestlemania 26, and it was a good feeling to Ric Flair's induction, I still don't see it enough to top Wrestlemania 26, simply because while first of all I haven't been around long enough as a fan or in life in general to have the bigger impact of Ric Flair's career, and while I do know of his accolades and I have watched some of his old promos, all I must say is that Ric Flair was great, absolutely golden on the microphone and in the ring, but Ric Flair never had that period that really got me to over the top care for the guy, as opposed to Shawn Michaels, D-generation X in the 90's heel or not, I abso-freaking-lutely loved Shawn and Triple H.

And in the 2000's Shawn Michaels certainly continued to make me care for him in every thinkable way, awesome matches in calibers Ric Flair couldn't put on in those years, or potentially ever could (that's another subject to discuss, but not now) and Ric Flair was awesome in Evolution, I will give him that, but in the 2000's I feel that Ric Flair was only properly put out there while a part of Evolution, as opposed to Shawn Michaels who could do without D-Generation X or any associates really.

Shawn Michaels was my favorite wrestler of all time, while Ric Flair's "retirement" was heartfelt, I got into wrestling about a year ago, knowing Ric Flair was still strutting around somewhere on WWE television, and later on in TNA, it ruined everything for me, and while I know Shawn Michaels will probably make some kind of appearance, I don't see him wrestling again, and cause he was my favorite, it has that much more of an impact on me, hell I must honestly say, I miss him already.

 

[Dragonfirez]

based on how I reacted to the Wrestlemania matches and the farewells on the following RAW episodes, I have to say that Wrestlemania 24 weekend was way more emotional. I actually ended up crying at Flair's farewell and was expecting a very upsetting farewell with Michaels however I barely got upset. I would have enjoyed the whole Raw and Smackdown rosters to come out and pay respect to Michaels but I was disappointed.

 

[dxparza]

this one is easy for me, definitely wrestlemania 26 for me. I'm not saying wrestlemania 24 wasn't emotional but I think rick flair was way past his prime and shouldve retired many years ago.. plus I grew up watching Shawn Michaels and have been a fan of his since the rocker day.. ever since he threw marty jannety through the barber shop's window I've been a fan. for 18 years I got to see the greatest in ring performer of all time and now it was coming to an end and it was very emotional. his goodbye speech seemed more real and more legit to me. wen flair was talking I could sense that he'd wrestle again. but with shawn michaels speech, he was holding back the tears and you could just feel the emotion the crowd as they were chanting "one more match" and "thank you shawn" and especially the "please don't go" chant" I'll admit that I got very emotional see the guy i've looked up to since I was 6 years old retire.. thank you shawn michaels for all the great matches and the thousands of memories..