Wrestlemania Moments

Well, WMX-7 is upon us, so I thought I would get a bit nostalgic, and look back over the years to the Wrestlemanias I have seen.

WRESTLEMANIA V - They say that the first time is always the best, and I still have very fond memories of this, my first Wrestlemania. More than anything, it was watching this great event from The Trump Plaza in Atlantic City that got me hooked on pro wrestling, a long, 12 years ago.

We in Britain didn't see the event until June 30th, 1989, and originally, Sky cut out a few of the matches, the most memorable being Strike Force (Tito Santana and Rick Martel) versus The Brain Busters (Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard), so we didn't see Martel's heel turn.

The three matches I remember most were Ted DiBiase versus Brutus The Barber, IC Champion The Ultimate Warrior losing the title to the late Ravishing Rick Rude, and of course, The Mega-Powers exploding as WWF Champion Randy Savage lost to the all-American goofball, Hulk Hogan. To be fair, the Hogan/Savage match was very good. Hogan actually displayed some technical skill. Even then, early on in my WWF watching career, I didn't really take to Hogan.

WRESTLEMANIA VI - Coming from the Skydome in Toronto, this one proved to be better than the year before. Jake Roberts and Ted Dibiase put on a great contest, Andre The Giant turned face on his partner Haku after they dropped the tag titles to perhaps the most aptly named team in WWF history, Demolition, and the main event lived up to all the hype. It was Champion v Champion, Title for Title as IC Champion The Ultimate Warrior faced WWF Champion Hulk Hogan.

For a good example of the fans really getting into a match, get a tape of this one. 67,000 plus screamed their lungs out for what seemed an eternity. In a hard fought power v power match, the Warrior became a double-champ, capitalising after Hogan missed his patented leg-drop, and Warrior got in a big splash.

Hogan showed a touch of class by passing the torch, handing the Warrior the belt. Almost immediately fans began to ask about a re-match. Everyone thought it would come the following year at Wrestlemania VII, slated for the LA Colliseum. But world events would get in the way.

WRESTLEMANIA VII - With the Gulf War, Vince McMahon changed his original plans for the Hogan/Warrior re-match. The Warrior had dropped the title to American turn-coat Sgt. Slaughter at the Royal Rumble, and who better than the all-American hero Hulk Hogan to kick his ass. The original venue changed, for security purposes, from the Colliseum to the Sports Arena.

I was a little disppointed by the match. Slaughter didn't really seem right as champion, and you all know my feelings about Hogan.

Still, the undercard was good. The retirement match between Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior was a sight to behold, and WMVII also marked the first Wrestlemania appearance of The Undertaker, who would later win the WWF title from Hogan in that year's Survivor Series.

WRESTLEMANIA VIII - A return to a Dome in Indianapolis. Ric Flair had entered the WWF a few months earlier, and in my opinion, Vince McMahon made a big mistake by pitting Flair against Hogan straight away, instead of holding off until the big one.

Instead, we were treated to a double main-event as WWF Champion Flair went up against Randy Savage in quite a good match, and the big men battled as Hulk Hogan fought Sid (Vicious) Justice. The main event was notable for the return of The Ultimate Warrior.

This was also The Undertaker's first Wrestlemania as a face, as he totally destroyed Jake Roberts. Roberts never stood a chance. In a face v face match (seen quite rarely back in those days), IC Champion Roddy Piper dropped the belt to Bret Hart in a very good match.

WRESTLEMANIA IX - Caesar's Palace in Vegas saw the debut of Jim Ross, and a most unpleasant sight, one that will be with me for as long as I live - JR in a toga. Enough said.

Hogan returned to the WWF as part of a tag-team, The Mega-Maniacs, with his cousin Brutus Beefcake, going up against Money Inc., Ted DiBiase and IRS. They failed in their attempt to wrest the tag titles from the money men.

In a great match, the then-undefeated Tatanka fought IC champion Shawn Michaels, but it is probably more notable for the cat-fight between Luna Vachon and Sherri Martel.

In the main event, the late-Yokozuna challenged WWF Champion Bret Hart, who had one the title from Ric Flair the previous winter. This was a classic size v skill battle, with size winning out, with the help of a handful of salt to Bret's eyes, courtesy of Yoko's manager, Mr. Fuji.

Then, the all-American goofball came out to help Bret, and Yoko challenged him to a title match. Hogan won the title in less than ten seconds, and would only defend it once, in his last ever WWF match at the first King of the Ring pay-per-view, dropping the strap back to Yokozuna (thank-god!)

The Undertaker made perhaps his most memorable entrance at Caesar's, for his match against The Giant Gonzalez. He came to the ring on a gold chariot, with a vulture perched near him. Boy do I miss these days.

WRESTLEMANIA X - WMX returned to where it had all started from - Madison Square Garden, and with both Lex Luger and Bret Hart having won the Royal Rumble, they were both granted title shots at the WWF champion, the late-Yokozuna.

Lex got the first shot, so Bret had to face his own brother, the late, great, Owen Hart in the opening match. This was a great contest, and it was this family feud that propelled Owen onto the next level in his wrestling career. Owen pinned Bret for the win.

In the first title match, special referee Curt Hennig screwed Luger out of the title after he had big Yoko pinned. The big man went on to win the match, and the events with Luger and Hennig were meant to set up another Luger/Hennig feud, something that, because of Hennig's antics, never happened. Hennig would turn up in WCW about a year later.

In the second title match, Bret went against Yoko in a re-match from the previous year. A good contest, not exactly a show-stealer, but Bret came out on top for his second reign as WWF Champion.

But the match had to be the IC title ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon. I don't care what anyone says about the Hardys and E&C, but this is the best damn ladder match I have ever seen. One of the great moments in Wrestlemania history, and I highly recommend this match to any new wrestling fan.

This was the first Wrestlemania without Hulk Hogan, and the WWF showed they didn't need the old fossil to put on a good show.

WRESTLEMANIA XI -  With Big Sid by his side, Shawn Michaels challenged the man who at the time thought was a most unlikely WWF champion, Kevin "Diesel" Nash. The WWF surprised everyone by giving the title to Nash just days after Bob Backlund had beaten Bret Hart at the Survivor Series the previous November.

The match was not a classic, but it was good. The storyline between these two was well thought out, but it won't go down in the annals as being a Wrestlemania classic.

If anything, WMXI will be remembered for a match I don't particularly care for - Bam Bam Bigelow v Lawrence Taylor. Having Bigelow job to Taylor just didn't seem right. Neither did having this as a sort of "main event" match. Not one of the classic WM's in my opinion.

WRESTLEMANIA XII - In the preceding months, three men, Bret Hart, The Undertaker and Diesel had been feuding over the WWF title. Bret won the title from Diesel the previous November, starting a heel turn for Big Daddy Cool. The WWF then played a storyling involving Shawn Michaels collapsing in the ring during a match with Owen Hart, then coming back from seeming retirement to win the Royal Rumble and earn a title shot at Bret.

But first the big men - Diesel and The Undertaker, both about the same size as each other, put on a damn good show in one of Kevin Nash's last WWF shows. The shame about this feud was that it didn't run the full course. Nash would soon leave to form the nWo in WCW, while 'Taker moved onto other things.

Roddy Piper also made an appearance as WWF President, in a Back Lot Brawl with Goldust. The fight would carry on to the arena, with the help of the O.J. Simpson car chase footage. This was Piper's last (at this time) WM appearance.

In the main event, Bret and Shawn contested a sixty-minute Ironman match. As an old-school mark, this was a sight to behold. Two of the greatest wrestlers of the 90's went hold for hold and move for move. Neither man, no matter what they did, gained the advantage. We were treated to sixty minutes of pure wrestling action, and after those sixty, no man had managed to pin the other. So, Gorilla Monsoon ordered over-time, and after a superkick, Shawn pinned Bret to become the WWF champion, while Bret took time off to heal several nagging injuries.

WRESTLEMANIA XIII - The events surrounding Shawn Michaels giving up the WWF title would take too long to explain here. There are also several versions of this story, so it would take me too long to e#recount them all.

But these events led to one of the greatest moments in Wrestlemania history, and the beginning of a legacy, the birth of a wrestling icon which will be remembered for years to come.

For months, Bret Hart and Steve Austin had had a violent feud, which led to the submission match, with UFC legend Ken Shamrock as special referee. This was one of the best matches in WM history. Over the past months Austin had been building something of a cult following, and Vince McMahon, seeing this, realised he had to make a change.

So in one match, the beloved Bret, failing to release the Sharp-Shooter on an unconscious and heavily bleeding Austin, became the company's biggest heel, while Austin, who didn't actually change character that much, would go on to become the biggest star in wrestling, perhaps even bigger than Hulk Hogan himself.

In the main event, The Undertaker and Sid fought in a battle of the big men over the WWF title. Sid didn't exactly excite me as WWF champion. This was a typical big man battle, with The Undertaker, garbed in the original attire he wore in his first WWF appearance, coming out on top.

WRESTLEMANIA XIV - The continued growth of Steve Austin as a wrestling legend continued here, with Stone Cold defeating DX leader and WWF champion Shawn Michaels.

It was obvious early on that Michaels, suffering from a back injury, was in constant agony, and this match would mark (at this time) his final WWF match. Michaels looked like he would pass out at any moment, but still continued in the match.

A good match which will probably only be remembered for the fact that the special enforcer was Mike Tyson. Tyson at the time was banned from boxing, and this was his way of staying in the public limelight, and for the WWF to ensure a good buy rate for WM.

Michaels' buddy, Triple H, defended his Euro title against Owen Hart. This didn't seem a good point in Owen's career. Owen didn't really seem that great as a baby face. I preferred Owen as the heel.

The "brothers", Kane and The Undertaker, had their first of countless matches here. At the previous Royal Rumble, Kane had locked 'Taker in a casket and set it on fire. 'Taker returned vowing revenge, setting up this match. 'Taker came out victorious in this one.

WMXIV also marked the beginning of the long-running Kane/Pete Rose feud.

WRESTLEMANIA XV - Steve Austin and The Rock had feuded off-an-on for some time, but with The Rock as Vince McMahon's corporate champion, pitting him against McMahon's number one nemesis was good business.

The biggest heel and biggest face in the company put on a great match, with each kicking out of the other's finisher. Just reading about this in The Rock's book brought back good memories, and it would be interesting to see Austin's take on this match.

Austin emerged victorious (a sign of things to come, perhaps?), while The Rock soon turned face, sending him on a similiar path to Austin's - not changing character that much, but becoming incredibly popular.

The Kane/Pete Rose feud continued. Rose, in a chicken suit, attacked Kane but soon got his ass whipped.

Kane later went on to face Triple H. In the preceding months, Chyna had joined McMahon's corporation, and had sided with Kane. In this match, Chyna turned her back on Kane and returned to Triple H and DX. This didn't last long though as Triple H turned on X-Pac during his Euro title match with Shane McMahon, as both he and Chyna joined the corporate team.

WRESTLEMANIA XVI - In my opinion, probably the worst Wrestlemania I had seen. With only one singles match, a cat fight at that, this was a pretty poor showing. It seemed like they wanted to shove everyone on the roster into the event, so they had countless tag-team matches.

There were some good points though. The Hardcore Battle Royal was very entertaining, even if the planned ending was fluffed a little. The TLC match was excellent. The Euro/IC title match with Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho showcased three of the finest wrestling talents in the world today.

The main event was very disappointing though. The WWF title match pitting champion Triple H, The Rock, The Big Show and Mick Foley was very disappointing. Foley had come out of retirement for this match, and the ring rust was plain for all to see. Show was just plain embarrasing. Things only got better when it got down to Triple H and The Rock, but even then, it couldn't make up for the disappointment of the entire event.

And before you ask - the Kane/Pete Rose feud continued.