DaveyBoy's Wrestling Menu - My Top 10 'Mania Matches Ever, WM 20 Feedback + More
Submitted by DaveyBoy on Wednesday, March 24, 2004 at 2:08 PM EST




THE WRESTLING MENU #81

Welcome one and all to the 81st edition of The Wrestling Menu, the column that is sure to satisfy your taste buds when it comes to discussing all things wrestling.

What a month it has been for the WWE!!! Talk about changes... there have been plenty of them. How many of them are positive & how many of them are negative? Well, I think the jury is still out on that one.

Back to normal for my column structure today... Three clear topics. Shall I begin? The correct answer is 'Yes'.


APPETIZERS - WM20 Feedback

I wasn't really surprised to see a wide variety of feedback pertaining to WrestleMania 20. The full range was there; Thumbs up, thumbs down & thumbs in the middle. You only have to read the opinion of the columnists here on LOP to know that there was a wide range of opinions on the event as a whole. It ranged from the WWE are going to die, all the way through to one of the best WrestleMania's ever. Those that saw my last column will know that I fell somewhere in between.

I suppose I should highlight 3 or 4 matches where I received the most feedback. The most negative came regarding the Kane vs Undertaker match. Many readers thought this was the worst match on the card. I disagree with this. It was kept relatively short & moved along at a decent enough pace. Yes, it was predictable, but I thought pretty much everything that had to be done, was included. The only exception may have been with regards to the way Kane was booked. But let's be honest, the Kane character hasn't been handled very well since the necrophilia angle back in 2002.

Alternately, I had all sorts of opinions sent to me regarding the Bill Goldberg vs Brock Lesnar match. So I went back & viewed the bout again. My opinion didn't change. In fact, I encourage people to try watching this match again, but this time with the sound down. Take away the crowd, and you will be reaching for the fast-forward button quicker than you can say "Minnesota Vikings".

Onto the WWE Championship match between Eddie Guerrero & Kurt Angle, and once more everyone seemed to have their own opinion. I'm not sure I can add too much more to this, as I myself was a little ambiguous in my review last week. I think the main problem with this bout was expectation. No matter what it's length, we were expecting a 10 out of 10 match similar to Angle vs Benoit from The 2003 Royal Rumble. I'm fairly sure we didn't get that, but I still think it was pretty good.

The ending to this match was also a point of conjecture, with many believing that Kurt looked like a fool because he was pinned after being surprised that Eddie's boot slipped off. I wouldn't go that far. I just think Eddie took advantage of some hesitation from his opponent, and that realistically does happen in many sports.

Finally, I had many readers state that I overrated the match between Evolution & The Rock 'N' Sock Connection. I think it was when I was reading the 3rd or 4th e-mail which said this, when I realized that they all had one thing in common that the person didn't like about the bout; The result. Now the Evolution win may have been arguable. Heaven knows, Mick Foley has suffered enough beatdowns in the last 6 weeks or so. But to not like a match purely & simply because of it's result, isn't correct in my opinion. It undermines the 15 or so minutes that came before the finish. And I also thought the ending was performed well, with Orton hitting the RKO out of nowhere, which is exactly how Diamond Dallas Page used to do it in WCW.

Apart from that, the feedback was pretty stock-standard. The other matches pretty much spoke for themselves. Those looking for me to give my full thoughts on the draft lottery, will be a little disappointed this week. I want to give it another week to see how it settles down. I'll most probably throw in my dollars worth next week.


MAIN

My Top 10 WrestleMania Matches Ever

Just before WrestleMania 20 in the United States, the WWE televised a special which basically (from what I can tell) ranked the top 10 WrestleManias of all time. This special did not make it to air in Australia, so I can only go by the final rankings that I have seen around the internet. They definitely made for interesting reading!!! Like many people, I didn't exactly agree with the rankings & decided I would do my own.

Three weeks & many changes later, my top 10 list is finally here. Seriously folks, this was a lot harder to do than I originally thought. There is so much criteria that can be used to rate & rank each match, it's not funny. Plus, fitting 10 matches from 20 years worth is very restrictive. I often thought of making it a top 15 or 20, but the WWE had their list as 10, so I was going to attempt to do the same. Anyway, I'm finally happy enough with my top 10. Please remember that all these matches are basically 10 out of 10 matches (maybe with the exception of a couple), so there is a fine line between #1 & #10 on this list.

10. RANDY SAVAGE vs RIC FLAIR - WrestleMania 8: If ever there was a feud to be settled at WrestleMania, this was it. I have to be honest here; I loved each & every time that these 2 feuded. The cocky heel Flair played so well against the maniacal face character that was Savage. All the ingredients were there in 1992; Elizabeth, blood, Mr.Perfect, and injuries. The bout was intensity personified & really had you barracking one way or the other.

9. EDGE & CHRISTIAN vs THE HARDY BOYZ vs THE DUDLEY BOYZ - WrestleMania 17: One year after the terrific Ladder Match that these 3 put on, they were back again with the official title of 'Tables, Ladders & Chairs'. Not as polished as it's predecessor, this was still supremely entertaining. Plus, it's hard to be polished when the spots attempted are so daring (who could ever forget Edge's spear on Jeff Hardy!?!?!?). Some fans didn't like the run-ins from Rhyno, Lita & Spike Dudley, but I think they actually complimented the mindset & objectives of the match quite well.

8. STEVE AUSTIN vs THE ROCK - WrestleMania 17: This is one match that has aged well. Initially, I actually thought that these two put on a better match 2 years earlier. But as time has passed, I'm now leaning more towards this bout. It's possibly because of the controversial ending which sees Stone Cold join forces with Vince McMahon & literally beat the crap out of Rocky. Not as good as the other 2 face vs face matches on this list, but not far behind them either.

7. SHAWN MICHAELS vs BRET HART - WrestleMania 12: Ahhh, the infamous 'Iron Man' match, which possibly receives more of a mixed reaction than any other WWE bout in history. I truly believe that this bout deserves to be on this list. Definitely not perfect, this bout has too few exciting spots & one or two too many restholds. But the psychology is amazingly real. So real, you would swear that all but the final 4 minutes were unscripted. Michaels' emotion following his sudden-death win caps it all off perfectly.

6. OWEN HART vs BRET HART - WrestleMania 10: Who could ever forget the opening match of WrestleMania 10? A technical masterpiece, this had the added advantage (& attraction) of having real life brothers as the combatants. Why I say that is because it almost seemed genuinely real that the underdog Owen had a real shot of causing an upset due to the fact that he knew his brother's wrestling ability inside out. And cause the upset, he did. To have a bout like this open a pay-per-view was almost too good to be true!!!

5. THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR vs HULK HOGAN - WrestleMania 6: I've said it once & I'll say it again; I absolutely love this match. It had me involved from the start until the finish. I was barracking like hell for The Warrior to win back in 1990. It also risked many things within the match; It was face vs face, HeavyWeight champion vs InterContinental champion, and possibly most importantly, it had Warrior kick out of Hogan's legdrop, when all seemed lost. The final few moments will forever be etched in my mind.

4. EDGE & CHRISTIAN vs THE HARDY BOYZ vs THE DUDLEY BOYZ - WrestleMania 16: While this was originally titled a '3 Way Ladder Match', it really did have just about everything. Especially for the WWE, this type of action was unseen at the time. While it is arguable whether or not it is better than the 2 team Ladder match from No Mercy '99, the addition of the extra team (The Dudleyz) added something special to the bout. A highlight on an otherwise average card, this match helped change the scene of the WWE in the new millennium.

3. RAZOR RAMON vs SHAWN MICHAELS - WrestleMania 10: Similar to the way the WrestleMania 16 Ladder Match paved the way for future matches, Shawn Michaels & Scott Hall pretty much did exactly the same thing 6 years earlier. This bout just wowed everyone & was extremely groundbreaking back in 1994, and it is arguable that there has never been another ladder match that has been better since. Nothing is held back, the action begins practically immediately, the offense is innovative & both competitors play their part very well. A decent storyline with HBK wearing a bogus InterContinental Title at the time, helps the match along well.

2. BRET HART vs STEVE AUSTIN - WrestleMania 13: There almost isn't enough room on an A4 piece of paper to clearly explain how this feud & match developed. It literally went on for months & months, despite the fact that Hart wasn't even on television for a great deal of that time. Following their excellent match at Survivor Series '96, these 2 took it to another level in this 'Submissions Match' at WrestleMania 13. The stipulation actually added to the bout here, and so did Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee. In one of the most amazing matches in WWE history, the majority of people watching this match (both live & on tv) literally changed allegiances from the face to the heel. The psychology was amazingly subtle, yet very successful, in this otherwise brutal bout.

1. RICKY STEAMBOAT vs RANDY SAVAGE - WrestleMania 3: No joke, I could go on & on about the quality of this match. So I will. Nah, I'll try & keep it as brief as possible. Or should I say "as efficient as possible", because that is what the match was. It was fast-paced without being confusing. It had a great mixture of mat, psychological, high-flying & power wrestling. It took place n the ring, outside of the ring & on the top-rope. It really was ahead of it's time, and was a genuine forerunner to both the main event styles of Hart, Michaels & Angle in later years, as well as the cruiserweight sensations of the mid to late 90's.

Another thing that stood out in this classic encounter was the attention to detail; The little things such as the neatness of covers, the smoothness of reversals, and the timing of everything, just seemed to go off near perfectly. This resulted in a match that flowed effortlessly & indirectly effected how efficiently they used up their time. Remember that this match lasted under 15 minutes, yet so much seemed to occur in that timeframe. The false finishes started at the 9 minute mark, and pretty much continued through to the final bell, as the feud was ended how it should be; With great intensity. To say the crowd erupted at the end of the match is an under-statement


I must admit that I left out a few matches that I really thought would be in my top 10. But when you sit down & compile the list, there's just no room for them all. Those classics that were unlucky to miss out (in chronological order) include Hogan vs Andre from WM3, Savage vs Warrior from WM7, Hart vs Piper from WM8, Austin vs Michaels from WM14, Austin vs The Rock from WM15, and Benoit vs Michaels vs Triple H from WM20. I suppose it's a little hard to judge this last one, as not enough time has passed to see how it will age.


DESSERT

Who Cares If Benoit Lives In Atlanta?

At the end of WrestleMania 20, there was one thing I was really looking forward to. I knew that in 5 weeks time, Chris Benoit would be headlining the Backlash pay-per-view in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, as the World HeavyWeight Champion. It didn't bother me whether it would be against Shawn Michaels or Triple H. I was just looking forward to one hell of an atmosphere, where everyone in the building was cheering on their hometown hero.

To be honest, I initially sort of wanted Benoit to not win the title at WrestleMania (my opinion has changed after the event). This is because I thought that if Benoit was chasing the title, the Edmonton crowd would raise the roof off the building just that little bit more to see a Benoit title win. I still think that will be the case, but sometimes when the underdog finally gets his prize, they lose a little bit of their aura (for want of a better word).

But that's not the point of this topic. The point of this topic really worries me... And folks, I don't swear too many times in my column, but this will be an edited double swear coming your way; What was the F'N BS at the pay-per-view where they twice (ring announcer & Jim Ross) made mention that Benoit "now resides in Atlanta, Georgia".

Did anyone else hear this? I'm sure many did. Yet, when I asked a handful of people after the event what their opinion on this matter was, 90% of them replied that they didn't notice it. Not once, but twice!!! Well, you can bet your bottom dollar that I noticed it both times. Go back & have a listen if you don't believe me.

I cannot even begin to fathom why the WWE would do this. And to mention it for the first time at the biggest pay-per-view of the year... when Benoit wins the title... and with only 5 weeks until the next ppv is in his hometown!!! You can't tell me that this wasn't deliberate. But don't look at me for an answer why they have done this.

They should be taking advantage of the fact that they have a hometown ppv coming up for the World HeavyWeight champion. They should encourage the buiId-up to Backlash being similar to a 'big 4' ppv. Hell, that could only be in the WWE's best interest. Pay-per-view buyrates are extremely important, and I'm not sure that they can rely on the lottery instantly causing them to skyrocket.

At the end of the day, I'm hoping that it will be irrelevant whether or not the WWE encourage a cauldron-like atmosphere on the night of Backlash. Because I encourage all those Edmontonians (I presume that is correct word for a person in Edmonton) to go along to Backlash & cheer as loud as you possibly can for Chris Benoit. He deserves it & you guys deserve to have him as your World HeavyWeight Champion.

In the meantime, I will continue to be at a loss to explain why the WWE would choose a time like this to start mentioning that Chris Benoit resides in Atlanta, Georgia!!! Fingers crossed that Benoit leaves his real hometown as still the World HeavyWeight Champion.


Ok, that is all for edition #81 of 'The Wrestling Menu'. I hope you enjoyed it. No two people probably have their top 10 WrestleMania matches exactly the same. But I would still like to hear if you think I have underrated or overrated any matches on my top 10 list. Let me know of your rankings if you wish. Furthermore, if anyone has any clue as to why the WWE have chosen now to tell us that Chris Benoit resides in Atlanta, Georgia, then please let me know. As per usual, I will reply to all feedback. My e-mail address is DaveyBoy123@bigpond.com

Next Wednesday in 'The Wrestling Menu', I think I may post my thoughts on the way the WWE have chosen to go with take 2 of the draft. Along with that, I am going to continue my 1990's review series. I'm up to 1997, which means it's time to review one of the most infamous pay-per-views ever. Let's just say that it has a connection to my 'Dessert' topic today. I think you can work it out. Furthermore, I may have another one of my polls resulting from that review. So look out for that column same Wednesday time & same LOP channel next week. Until then, this is DaveyBoy signing off & asking you to remember that dinner is best served in 3 courses.












*NEW GALLERY* The VERY CREEPY Pix of Hulk Hogan Rubbing His Daughter Brooke!

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