Who Is Wrestlemania's Most Valuable Player

[Mitch Henessey]

When it comes to Wrestlemania, there are many things we look forward to. A spectacular show, great matches, and the one match that help define a wrestler's career. What I want to know is, who do you think is Mania's MVP? First of all, let me say that I'm talking about who is Mania's MVP now a days.What I mean by that is, I'm trying to focus on who still is a current draw for the grandest stage of them all. I'll list all the candidates:

Triple H- I know A LOT of people hate it when he main events a ppv, and is going in as the champion or going for a championship, but I feel The Game is still a major player in WWE's biggest show of the year. Triple H is a veteran, and a well established superstar who is among a very short list of people who can be trusted to main event WWE's #1 ppv.

The Undertaker- Everyone wants to see if Taker can keep the streak going, and it is one of the main attractions at Wrestlemania every year. The Deadman might be banged up times, and is getting up their in age, but he is always in top form come Wrestlemania time.

Shawn Michaels- Mr.Wrestlemania is still an attraction. Like Taker, plenty of people always look forward to seeing him perform on the grandest stage of them all. HBK still has that mystique after all of these years.

John Cena-A lot of people love this man, and a lot of people hate him, but the facts are, he is way over, a HUGE draw, and a merchandise selling machine. I guess you can look at Cena as the future of Wrestlemania's, but he still has main evented some highly hyped and anticipated Mania events.

Randy Orton- I know he was in the MITB at Mania 23, but I'm putting Orton in here because he's WWE's #1 heel. Seriously, who else could've been so evil to go up against HHH and the McMahon's going into Mania 25. While, I do think Orton is overrated as a wrestler, I can't deny him being a damn good heel.

I'm going to go with John Cena. As I said before, whether people love him or hate him, this man always causes a frenzy at Wrestlemania. There are so many people that want to see him fail, but on the other hand, there are also tons of people who want him to succeed. It's always a huge spectacle when John Cena is at Wrestlemania.

Now, there are many ways you can look at this to determine who is Wrestlemania's MVP:

Are they constantly an attraction that Mania can't be without?
Do they provide us with memorable moments?
Do they put on a great/good matches?
Are they trust worthy main eventers?

So who do you think is Wrestlemania's MVP?The Game,The Deadman, Mr.Wrestlemania,Cena,or The Viper? Thoughts?

 

[marklouis]

Even though he's nearing the end of his career, I'm going to have to go with HBK. I'll just run through the criteria you put forth.

1. Are they constantly an attraction that Mania can't be without?
There have been Wrestlemanias without HBK, there have been great Wrestlemanias without HBK. But his participation adds a buzz, because he is clutch. He shows up biggest on the biggest stage. And if he is in a match with a younger guy, you know the company thinks highly of the youngster, because facing HBK at Wrestlemania is something of a rite of passage.

2. Do they provide us with memorable moments?
Do I really have to go thru the list? Last year vs. The Undertaker. Retiring Ric Flair. Match vs. Angle. Match vs. Jerhico. Title match lost to Austin (Tyson knock out). Iron man match vs. Bret Hart. First Ladder match.

3. Do they put on a great/good matches?
Again, do I have to go thru the list. If you put together a list of the 10 greatest matches in Wrestlemania history, you could make the case that HBK would be a part of at least half the matches, maybe more. I still watch the Angle match on Youtube occasionally. The Jerhico match was great. He retired a legend. He had the match vs. 'Taker, the best of last year's card. The iron man match is still talked about. The ladder match was ground breaking. If HBK has a match at Wrestlemania, you'll still be talking about it years later.

Are they trust worthy main eventers?
Has there been a main event where HBK hasn't done his part? Where he hasn't given the ultimate effort, even when he had to drag someone below his level to a decent match? Even his worst matches are better than a lot of guys' best ones.

Until HBK literally breaks down (again), he has to be in a big match at every Wrestlemania.

 

[Zeedeevel]

Id have to say HBK as well. Every wrestlemania he is in he seems to have the best match on the card. I dont count VIII and IX simply because I can barely stand to watch those events

X vs Razor: Stole the show in the first televised ladder match.

XI vs Diesel: Managed to make himself look better than Diesel even though he lost

XII vs Bret Hart: Possibly the best main event of the 90's just a great performance

XIV vs Austin: Injured and still passed the torch to Austin in a great match

XIX vs Jericho: The storyline and match really saved this night also elevated Jericho to being a superstar

XX vs Triple H and Benoit: Showed that he could still go during the main event on the grandest stage

XXI vs Angle: Besides the start of Super Cena and Batista, this is the match that the event is remembered for

XXII vs Vince: Even managed to get a good match out of Vince and pulled out all the stops for the crowd

XXIII vs Cena: Made Cena look golden and was the start of Cena's transformation into being decent in the ring

XXIV vs Flair: Best Retirement match ever

XXV vs Taker: Showed that the 2 oldest guys could still work better than half the roster.

I dont think anyone, not even Taker can compile a list of matches that can beat that. While Taker may have won all of his, they werent exactly against the best competition. (Bundy, Henry, Gonzales)

 

[Jsaturn14]

Is this even a serious question? Do we even have to ask who the MVP of Wrestlemania is? Yes, I know that Taker has the Streak, and it is a very impressive thing, but as the previous poster mentioned some of those matches are very forgettable, and weren't against great competition. (Bundy, Gonzalez, Hell in a Cell vs Boss-man, the horrible tag team match at 19 against Big Show and A-Train). There is only one man who can say that anytime he steps into the ring at Wrestlemania, he has the BEST match on the card, and that is MR. WRESTLEMANIA, HBK Shawn Michaels. You don't earn a nickname like that for nothing. Now I could go through what HBK does in the ring at Mania, but that has already been discussed, instead I will say this. Think about the build-ups to all of HBK's Mania matches. I can easily make the argument that not only does HBK have the best match at Mania, but he has the best promo's and build-ups to those matches as well. Think about the build-up to the Iron Man match, or the Ladder Match at Mania ten, against Angle, against Jericho, Against Taker this year. HBK not only brings his A-game at Mania itself, he brings it months in advance building up his matches, Ex. His graveyard Promo this past year, or the epic "I'll see you at Wrestlemania, boy" after he knocked out Jericho with SCM before Mania 19. If that is not the epitome of an MVP, IDK what is.

 

[Madico_Fs]

I have to agree with the above on HBK being Wrestlemania's MVP, all the titles he has won, lost attempted to win and his match quality is perfect. However Cena has to come in 2nd because every match he has been in at WM has been a title match:

20-US TITLE
21-WWE TITLE
22-WWE TITLE
23-WWE TITLE
24-WWE TITLE
25-WHWC
26-WHWC

Third Place would be the dead man because of the Streak.

 

[SHAYAN_CENA_Y2J]

Needless to say,Everybody knows who is Mr.Wrestlemania.

Each year he steps into mania he steals the show.Unlike Taker,All of his matches are show stealers.just look back and see masterpieces like WM 12,WM,14,WM 19,WM 20,WM 21,WM 22,WM 23,WM 24, and WM 25 all of these matches were match of the year.You can't deny his skills. he is the best performer this business has ever seen and also the only headliner,showstopper, main event and MR.WRESTLEMANIA

Taker has the streak and I think this streak is the reason that he isn't the best performer in WM history.He has to win each year so for sure it's impossible for him to have the best match each year.

 

[Dagger Dias]

The most valuable player for Wrestlemania is Undertaker. Every year from January until April, millions of people worldwide begin discussing Undertaker's undefeated streak and wonder who will be this year victim? Will the streak be broken? Will the match be good? Even though we knew deep down for the vast majority of his matches that Taker was going to win.... but yet many of us keep tuning to see if Taker retains his streak. Some of his opponents actually were made to look like they had a good shot at winning such as HBK, Kane (at Wrestlemania 14, not 20), Edge, and even Orton all looked like they might have had a chance at ending the streak. Undertaker's streak has become one of the main reasons many people order Wrestlemania, and that is easily why he is the most valuable player there.

It's a tossup between Cena and HBK after that. HBK is "Mr Wrestlemania", he always puts on memorable matches. Cena does that too, to a lesser extent, he always has some sort of unique entrance (the car crashing through the window at Wrestlemania 23 was awesome, so was the long line of clones entrance at 25).... and whether you like him or not, he's over and gets a reaction out of just about everyone at the shows.

Taker is definitely getting my vote here because fans will always tune in to see how "this year's victim" does in their attempt to end the streak, unless (for some odd reason) WWE ever does end it.

 

[Travaje]

It's Shawn Michaels and it's not even close. He has the best match every single year, and it doesn't matter who he wrestles...be it Taker, Flair, or Vince McMahon. He may not be the biggest draw of the card, and he may not be the guy who sells the most buy rates, but he's the guy who's match at the end of the day you'll say "his match was the best" and it'll be the one you remember. And that's what matters most.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

The myth out there about HBK is that he has the best match of the year at Wrestlemania when in reality he hasn't but I'm not go to into that much in detail. I believe Wrestlemania's MVP is The Undertaker because he has that one thing that everybody talks about and that is his undefeated streak. It is always a driving point of discussion as to whoever will break it and the Undertaker can work well in the main event of a Wrestlemania and in the middle of it. He can help a younger superstar get over as he has done and work decent with big guys as he has done. So that is my opinion of why I think the Undertaker is the MVP.

 

[Mondaynightwars2010]

What are you some of you talking about? Undertaker has defeated some of the best of mania.

Wrestlemania VII Snuka.
Wrestlemania VII Roberts
Wrestlemania IX Giant Gonalez
Wrestlemania X (Injuried)
Wrestlemania XI Bundy
Wrestlemania XII Diesel
Wrestlemania XIII WWF Title Psycho Sid
Wrestlemania XIV Kane
Wrestlemania XV Bossman
Wrestlemania 2000 (injuried)
Wrestlemania XVII Triple H: No Holds Barred
Wrestlemania XVIII Flair: No Holds Barred
Wrestlemania XIX Show/A-Train: Handicap
Wrestlemania XX Kane
Wrestlemania XXI Orton
Wrestlemania XXII Henry: Casket
Wrestlemania XXIII World Title Batista
Wrestlemania XXIV World Title Edge
Wrestlemania XXV Michaels
Wrestlemania XXVI


No one mentions how he beat two factions are wrestlemania Evolution and the original DX. This year and time and time again He will win as well. Even after he retires I expect him to come back yearly just for Wrestlemania. And was he sees A young up and comer he feels will go far the Mania Torch will be passed on.

 

[trailbyfire]

Yea, this one is pretty much a no brainer. The match I look most forward to every Wrestlemania is the one with HBK in it, and his match is always the one I consider the best of the pay per view. There is no doubt that HBK truly is Mr. Wrestlemania, as he has had some of the best matches in wrestling history at this pay per view. The only competitor that HBK has is Undertaker, but even the streak couldn't match the pure quality and entertainment that Shawn provides in all his Wrestlemania matches. I'd say that this one definitely has to go to HBK.

 

[SickJames]

Here are my thoughts.

The MVP hands down is The Undertaker and really I'm shocked that Cena or Orton could even cross anyone's minds as being the MVP, not even Triple H, Austin or The Rock could be that. I dont care how many times HHH main events, Hogan was carrying WrestleMania in the main event well before HHH from the very first one.


I'd say the only ppl who should even be considered for this are

The Undertaker- being undefeated

Shawn Michaels- always stealing the show, Mr. WrestleMania

Hollywood Hulk Hogan- he carried WrestleMania from it's infancy and was a huge part of what made it work

Vince McMahon- created WrestleMania and even had some good classic slugfest style brawl matches

but no, Cena & Orton should not be considered after all the history WrestleMania has had and all the other Superstars that have gone through it, they've been around, but not long enough for that honor, really. The Rock vs Stone Cold was the best main event to grace WrestleMania, they did it three times so maybe you could say they'd be runner ups for that title of MVP, definately over Triple H who is at this point tiring to see in the main event and I like him. And in the back of my head Vince though he competed really wouldnt be the MVP either.

So I'm still sticking with the 4 above because they make more sense and out of the 4 of them The Undertaker has to be the MVP with the most prestigious legacy at WrestleMania being undefeated and putting on good performances still to this day, it's simply undeniable


I know you are going on current time, but I just wanted to throw that out there, I pick Taker who is still around now, but still think it's just important if we are talking current or not to point out that the big stars like Cena & Orton really shouldnt be mentioned in a topic like this when Taker, HBK and many before them did so much more. Even MVP of today's time for WM would be one of the guys from back then like Taker or HBK.

It's just how can you have an MVP and not include all of the history and prestige of WrestleMania

It definately comes close between Taker & Shawn, but Taker wins

1. Taker
2. HBK
3. Hogan

the top 3 stars of WrestleMania in that order

 

[Jsaturn14]

What are you some of you talking about? Undertaker has defeated some of the best of mania.

Wrestlemania VII Snuka.
Wrestlemania VII Roberts
Wrestlemania IX Giant Gonalez
Wrestlemania X (Injuried)
Wrestlemania XI Bundy
Wrestlemania XII Diesel
Wrestlemania XIII WWF Title Psycho Sid
Wrestlemania XIV Kane
Wrestlemania XV Bossman
Wrestlemania 2000 (injuried)
Wrestlemania XVII Triple H: No Holds Barred
Wrestlemania XVIII Flair: No Holds Barred
Wrestlemania XIX Show/A-Train: Handicap
Wrestlemania XX Kane
Wrestlemania XXI Orton
Wrestlemania XXII Henry: Casket
Wrestlemania XXIII World Title Batista
Wrestlemania XXIV World Title Edge
Wrestlemania XXV Michaels
Wrestlemania XXVI

What are we talking about? Okay, let me explain. Yes, Taker has beaten some great wrestlers at Mania. The matches against Triple H, Flair, Kane at WM 14, Orton, Edge, and Michaels jump out at me from that list. However, there are other matches on this list that jump out at me for the opposite reason. They were horrible matches that should never have been put on the card to begin with. The matches against Gonzalez, Bundy, Sid, Bossman, Show/A-train, and Henry jump out at me. Yes, Taker has the streak, but that does not mean that his matches are always GOOD at Wrestlemania. There is only one guy who can say that, and that is Mr. Wrestlemania, HBK.

WM XIII: Tito Santana (Great back and forth match)
WM IX: Tatanka (Pretty Good Technical Match)
WM X: Ladder Match against Razor Ramon (It really is a toss-up between this and Hart vs Hart for the Best Match of the Night, but I give the nod to this match because of how groundbreaking and innovative it was.)
WM XI: Diesel (Best Match of the Night)
WM XII: Iron Man Match vs Bret Hart (Best Match of the Night, and Best Match of the 90's)
WM XIV: Stone Cold (Best Match of the Night)
WM XIX: Chris Jericho (Best Match of the Night)
WM XX: Triple Threat vs HHH and Beniot (Best Match of the Night)
WM XXI:Kurt Angle (Best Match of the Night)
WM XXII: Vince McMahon (Maybe not the best technical match of the night, but certainly the most entertaining match of the night)
WM XXIII: John Cena (Best Match of the Night, and the night that Cena became decent in the ring. why? Because HBK is a lightning rod, and every guy he works with gets better in the ring)
WM XXIV: Ric Flair (Best Match of the Night)
WM XXV: Undertaker (Best Match of the Night)

So lets see here, out of 13 Wrestlemanias that HBK has worked, as a singles competitor, he arguably has had the Best Match of the Night in 10 of them. That is a true MVP right there.

 

[undertaker fan]

It's between The Undertaker and Shawn michaels. Doesn't everybody look forward to both of them being in Wrestlemania because they are the top 2 wrestlemania draws to me. The undertaker has the streak we wonder if anybody will ever beat him at Mania. Every time someone Is beaten by the undertaker the question always is who's next who is going to be the next opponent? Will they win or lose will they actually beat The Undertaker? I always like to say no because I want the streak to live on. The Undertaker always steps up his game at Wrestlemania. If anyone has notice the only time the undertaker soars through the air jumping over the top rope is at Wrestlemania Hmmm....

Shawn Michaels he almost never has a bad match at Wrestlemania win or lose eh always puts on a great preformance. Shawn Michaels is MR. Wrestlemania by the way. Look at his last two Wrestlemania matches Shawn Michaels VS The Undertaker he loses but great match. Shawn Michaels VS Ric Flair WOOOOOO Shawn Michaels wins great match and now he goes down in history for the man who retires ric flair. His last two wretlemania's to me will go down in history for ever just like his other matches can't ever forget the very first ladder match at Wrestlemania.

But between Undertaker and Shawn Michaels I would no matter how much it pains me Shawn Michaels is first Wrestlemania MVP and Undertaker is second Wrestlemania MVP.
1. Shawn Michaels
2. Undertaker

 

[Mr. Wrestlemania]

There's nothing that I can really say that hasn't already been said, so I'll simply tell a story which lead me cast my vote. I have WWE 24/7, and if anyone has it you know that they were doing a "10 Count" of the greatest ppv matches of the 2000s. And without question, HBK/Taker from WM 25 was on there. It ranked pretty high also, for good reason. Me and my roommate watched the match and afterward discussed the respective Wrestlemania legacies of HBK and Taker. He asked me what I thought was Taker's best match at WM was and of course I replied the match we just watched. Then he asked me the same about HBK.....and it wasn't the match that I had just watched. Taker has the most memorable matches, but only with the guys who are big names. Do you remember the match with Bundy? I don't...it probably wasn't good anyway....how many of HBK's Mania matches do you remember? My display name isn't Mr. Wrestlemania for nothing, if anyone else had the most 5 star matches at WM, then they would be called Mr. Wrestlemania. I define a MVP in the wrestling business as someone who doesn't have to win, or lose or be champion all the time to be successful. It's someone who night in and night out gives the best match and gives people their money's worth. HBK gives just as much effort at Wrestlemania as he would a Raw in Cleveland. And that's why I voted for him.

 

[Davi323]

This has to be HBK. The streak is nothing but a gimmick. Perhaps I am in the minority when I say this, but, the streak is even overrated. Some of those matches that carried the streak have been utter rubbish. He built it by wrestling has beens (at the time they wrestled, not dismissing their entire careers) like Snuka, Jake Roberts and King Kong Bundy, professional midcarders like the Big Boss Man and Mark Henry, and worthless pieces of excrement like Giant Gonzalez. Simply put, Undertaker can wrestle a worthless opponent, have a shit match, and the streak lives. Undertaker doesn't have to do anything special, he just needs to be scripted to win.

HBK, however, doesn't have a streak. He doesn't win every match at wrestlemania...but, he doesn't need to. When Shawn Michaels is at Wrestlemania, you are guaranteed to have a match of the year candidate. Even last year, ask yourself, if Undertaker had gone against anyone but HBK, would that have been a great MOTY candidate match? Maybe, but not guaranteed. Now ask yourself, if HBK had wrestled anyone but Taker, what are the chances HBK still creates a MOTY candidate? Far more likely than Taker. HBK isn't Mr. Wrestlemania because of his wins, he is Mr. Wrestlemania for the effort he puts in, for the bar setting quality of matches he wrestles in.

Wrestling isn't about winning or losing, and we have to keep that in mind. You can't delude yourself into thinking it is real sport, and that wins and losses define a career. Its scripted, planned out, just like a TV sitcom. It is, deep down, just entertainment, a show. What counts more than wins and losses is the quality of the match itself. Who entertains you the most by putting on consistent fantastic matches at the largest showcase of wrestling talent every year? It isn't the Undertaker, is it? No. Its Shawn Michaels.

Basically, its the message of School of Rock. The purpose of rock is not to win or lose a battle of the bands, the purpose of rock is to ROCK, and that is why Shawn Michaels is the real MVP of Wrestlemania.

 

[SpoodBeest]

This is a rather interesting topic, if I do say so myself but in my opinion all of these guy are each valuable players to WM in their own right. Let me explain:

John Cena: He at this point in WWE's tenure is probably the most profitable superstar on the roster, and in his own credit can sell pay-per-views, for that having him in a main event will get a good number of buys. From a business point of view Cena is a valuable player.

Shawn Michaels: This man tries his best each and every year to put on "Match of the Night" or even pull off "Match of the Year" at every WrestleMania he competes at which has given him the nickname of "Mr. WrestleMania". And in my humbled opinion no one really does out perform him on the grandest stage of them all.

The Undertaker: This guy is perhaps the icon of WrestleMania due to one major factor: His undefeated WM streak. But other than that what has he got? Perhaps he helps sell shows like Cena does, gets the crowd into his matches, but Taker is so well known because WWE has given him the most impressive pay-per-view winning streak ever at their biggest event of the year.

Orton and Trips: They to me aren't as valuable as the other players mentioned above, but they still contribute a lot. I'm sure people will watch a show for Orton or "The Game". They put on watchable matches and the crowd gets into them so they are always a good addition to a card, especially a Mania one.

So all in all everyone contributes to make WrestleMania great, but its not a one man effort, it's a team pulling together to make an event great.

 

[SHAYAN_CENA_Y2J]

As a quick note,HBK's WM opponents are famous for their match with him,but Taker's,NO.

Bret hart,Angle,Cena,Benoit,Flair,VKM,Y2J and the others.For these guys their match with HBK at WM is a career highlight which is not true for Taker's WM opponents but few of them like Edge and Henry.