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Continuing on the "think positively" tour for Wrestlemania, I'm going to, once again, write about the Top 10 Greatest Wrestlemania Matches of all time. And when speak about "great", I'm talking about match quality versus "impact". I will always give HONORABLE MENTIONS to two Hulk Hogan matches that, without them, Wrestlemania and the wrestling landscape would be completely different. While many consider the Wrestlemania 1 match with Mr. T, Roddy Piper, and Mr. Wonderful to be historically significant, I would argue that Wrestlemania 3's Andre "the Giant" vs. Hulk Hogan and Wrestlemania 5's "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan were 2 of the most historically significant matches of all time and expanded the WWE empire... But match quality, there are at least 10 matches that are better in-ring battles. That's not to rip those Hulk Hogan matches, but his matches were more about hyping the superstars and the WWE Title as opposed to wanting to amaze with match quality. My last Top 10 Wrestlemania matches column was during 2013, and unlike my Top 30 Wrestlemania Events column, I won't be recycling any material from that column. Pure rewrite... But from that column, I have actually scratched 3 matches. For one, I'm forever bothered by the Ultimate Warrior looking at his hand for some odd reason and then kicking out of 5 Macho Man Randy Savage elbows in a row. Thus, the Wrestlemania 7 Macho vs. Warrior match was removed. I also removed Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair. Looking back, that match was great but I believe there are at least 10 better matches now ahead of it with my current tastes. The controversial omission will be my removal of the Wrestlemania 16 Ladder Match (not dubbed "TLC" until later) between Dudleys, Hardys, and Edge/Christian. Looking back, much like the Money in the Bank matches, those were amazing and dangerous matches but they had more of a "shock" upon first viewing rather than later. I believe that the Wrestlemania 16 match is the best of the Dudleys/Hardys/Edge & Christian matches but that match relies on violence rather than psychology to carry that match. Plus, they took forever to set up that table platform for the finish. Just misses this year's Top 10. I continue to assess that Wrestlemania 17 remains the BEST Wrestlemania, but I do not have a single match from that event on this countdown. Love the Angle/Benoit, HHH/Taker, TLC, and Rock/Austin matches, but they just fall short of my top 10. They would probably fill up slots 10-20 if were to go beyond 10. Most of all, remember that this is MY COLUMN and MY TASTES/PREFERENCES. Many of you were upset that I ranked Wrestlemania 24 so low in my last column of Top 30 Wrestlemania shows column. Well, that's just my opinion... I saw the show during 2008 with my buddies and it was possibly the only WWE show I saw during 2008 (during my June 2007 to December 2009 "blackout" period where I boycotted WWE after Benoit). I just felt "meh" about that show. I've watched a few matches again since and my opinion still holds. But that's MY OPINION. You can comment down below or write your own column if you want to present your own opinion instead. But if you do comment, I strongly recommend that you mention WHY you disagree with me. I may learn something if you actually explain your opinion... Honorable mentions again... Honorable Mention #1 - Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant, Wrestlemania 3. This match separated the WWE from the rest of the territory competition. Additionally, this match pulled in so many non-wrestling fans and made WWE into the financial powerhouse that it remains today. Honorable Mention #2 - Hulk Hogan vs. "Macho Man" Randy Savage. Wrestlemania 5 actually held the buyrate record for 8 years until Starrcade 1997 finally beat it. Just amazing. The match is pretty damn good and capped off the amazing rise and fall of the Mega Powers. Macho Man helped breathe new life into Hulk Hogan. Honorable Mention #3 - Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior, Wrestemania 6. My 10 year old self would invent time travel and slap me if I didn't at least mention this match. It is the final peak of the Hulkamania era and a great match, all things considered, for both Hogan and Warrior. I totally marked out for the entire match and went bonkers when the Warrior won this match. Honorable Mention #4 - TLC Matches between Edge/Christian, Hardys, and Dudleys. Those guys put their lives on the line for these matches. Just unreal. I can't imagine how difficult it is for each of these 6 to get out of bed every morning because of the matches that the WWE booked for them. MR. TITO'S TOP 10 GREATEST WRESTLEMANIA MATCHES #10 - Bret "the Hitman" Hart vs. Owen Hart from Wrestlemania 10 The BEST "hot opener" in Wrestlemania history. Bret Hart's ultimate contribution to pro wrestling isn't the way he carried the WWE from 1992-1997 as WWE Champion and main eventer but how he gave back to the business. For as much flack as he gets for the Survivor Series 1997 match and not putting over Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart certainly made Owen Hart and Steve Austin look like a million bucks at Wrestlemania. I wouldn't doubt that Hitman learned a whole lot from Roddy Piper at Wrestlemania 8 on "giving back" to the business by not just putting them over, but making them look like an equal during a match. Owen Hart turned on his brother during 1993 and pretty much remained a heel for much of the remainder of his WWE career. Because Bret Hart and Lex Luger tied at Royal Rumble 1994, the WWE arranged a deal where both Bret Hart and Lex Luger would wrestle for the WWE Title. Luger drew the first match and Bret Hart was forced to wrestle an additional match just to make it fair for Luger/Yokozuna for the second WWE Title match. Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart was amazing and it helped ignite the Madison Square Garden to be hot for the entire night. Owen was such a great athlete that it gave Bret a faster pace match than he was used to but at the same time, Bret sold bigtime for Owen. Owen Hart never looked better as Bret perfectly sold his offense like no other. Being brothers, the chemistry was obvious, but Bret had an obvious agenda to make Owen Hart a star that night. That he did, as Owen actually got the clean win over Bret on this night. Bret would go on to defeat Yokozuna for the WWE Title later during the night and continue his feud with Owen through the Summer which included a good steelcage match at SummerSlam 1994. #9 - Undertaker vs. Triple H from Wrestlemania 28 I have THREE great Triple H vs. Undertaker matches to choose from... Geesh! In my opinion, the "Hell in a Cell" match from Wrestlemania 28 is their best. Wrestlemania 17 was a good match but Undertaker was still limber from coming back from the torn groin injury that kept him out for a while following late 1999 and Taker was still trying to figure out his in-ring style which incorporated some MMA stuff. But it was damn good, especially when Undertaker tried the Last Ride and HHH had the sledgehammer. Then, the Wrestlemania 27 match was a battle although at some point, Undertaker became too injured from the match that it caused lots of stalling. What I appreciate about the Wrestlemania 27 match, however, is that it provided great psychology for the Wrestlemania 28 match. While Undertaker won, HHH could still brag that he hurt the Undertaker and would "end the streak" if he had another shot. Meanwhile, the Undertaker wanted to redeem himself after Triple H beat him to a pulp. It created the perfect psychology for their Wrestlemania 28 rematch to be in a "Hell in a Cell" match and it didn't let down. The Miami fans went absolutely bonkers for many of the false finishes between the two. Shawn Michaels and Triple H helped build up the streak to matter so much and a bigger part of this match was Shawn Michaels as the referee. At one point, he tried to help HHH win the match but it failed. In the end, the Undertaker overcame the odds and pinned Triple H last time. In addition to chasing the streak, the WWE wisely pushed it as the "end of an era" kind of match and it certainly was a nice wink to many of the fans who loved the contributions that HHH, Undertaker, and Shawn Michaels gave to the WWE for many years. Psychology was off the charts for this match for the "sense of urgency" for one of the DX members to end the streak, especially through this match. #8 - CM Punk vs. Undertaker from Wrestlemania 29 This match was CM Punk's masterpiece... As great as Punk's matches with Cena and Lesnar were, he helped make the Undertaker look amazing for one last time. By Wrestlemania 29, age and wear/tear from those 2 previous Triple H matches caught up to him. With Triple H moving on to Brock Lesnar and Rock/Cena occurring again, it was almost as if Undertaker and CM Punk just were thrown together. However, CM Punk and Paul Heyman played the perfect heel foils to the Undertaker. The storyline with CM Punk through 2012 that by becoming a "Paul Heyman" guy, he became so consumed himself with a heel that it began seeing him lose regularly to Cena, Rock twice, and even Kane before this Wrestlemania 29 match. Didn't matter, as Heyman and CM Punk did everything they could to get under the Taker's skin. Heyman's impersonation of the late Paul Bearer was classic. This match was amazing and didn't need the crutches of no-disqualification or a cage. It was a straight-up wrestling in which CM Punk bumped like a champion and to the Undertaker's credit, he took a decent amount of Punk's offense as well. Taker showed some vulnerability during this match and helped give fans in the New Jersey audience some belief that Punk would end the streak. In the end, though, Taker won but the match won "Match of the Year" by many publications for 2013. Taker helped legitimize Punk through a great match which is much different than their reported backstage heat with the Smackdown brand years before that. Furthermore for Punk, the care he took of the Undertaker allowed for Undertaker to show up beyond Wrestlemania 29... But then the Shield injured the Undertaker by powerbombing him through a table. Ooops. #7 - Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) from Wrestlemania 10 Loved the reason for this match. Shawn Michaels was suspended from the WWE during 1993 but he was Intercontinental Champion when he left. Razor Ramon won the vacated title and reigned as champion. When Shawn Michaels returned, he claimed obviously that he never lost his Intercontinental Title. In fact, he still had the physical belt to show it. Couldn't Daniel Bryan have done that during his return during late 2014? With 2 Intercontinental Champions, the WWE had to figure out a way to determine who was the legitimate champion. During July 1992, Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart wrestled a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title. Obviously, this created the match idea for how Razor and HBK would determine who was the rightful Intercontinental Champion. Different from HBK/Bret of 1992, HBK and Razor did more things with the ladder. They not only did more spots off the ladder but they often used the ladder as a weapon. Michaels was great as a bump man but Razor was a talented enough performer to contribute to the match as well. For as large as Scott Hall was, he was extremely agile on his feet. However, the guy who did the bigger spots in the match ended up being the bigger WWE star in the end. This match was the blueprint for what Hardys and Edge/Christian used 5 years later for an outstanding tag team ladder match at No Mercy 1999. Razor and HBK would attempt to relive their magic at SummerSlam 1995 which was good as well. #6 - The Rock vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin from Wrestlemania 15 The best Rock/Austin match, in my opinion. Why is the Wrestlemania 17 match not on this list? Because it replicated much of the Wrestlemania 15 antics and had bad ending to it with Steve Austin turning heel to join Vince McMahon. The Wrestlemania 15 match, in contrast, was original and had a clean finish. This match helped shape up the main event style that is still in place to this day. Wrestlemania 17, in my opinion, copied the style of using false finishes and multiple finishing moves used. Most rate the Wrestlemania 17 match higher probably because of atmosphere (Houston Astrodome!) and because Rock/Austin took the great things from Wrestlemania 15 and built on them for this match. But the Wrestlemania 15 is the original great Rock/Austin match and again, it has a clean finish of Steve Austin defeating the Rock. Their match completed the storyline arc of the Rock joining the Corporation and becoming WWE Champion at Survivor Series 1998. Rock was able to avoid Austin for a while and became great through his battles with Mick Foley. Vince McMahon tried to stack the deck at Royal Rumble 1999 to provide Steve Austin "no chance in hell" of main eventing Wrestlemania 15 as the #1 contender to the WWE Title. Austin won his shot to Wrestlemania against Vince McMahon at St. Valentine's Day Massacre 1999 (Big Show's debut). Rock could no longer avoid Austin. At Wrestlemania 15, Rock and Austin continued to prove what amazing chemistry they had together from their late 1997 feud. This match would prove to be so popular that it prompted a rematch at WWE Backlash 1999. Business for the WWE hit its absolute peak during this period of time and things would get a big weird after this (Corporate Ministry, ugh...). #5 - "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs. Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat from Wrestlemania 3 I almost felt obligated to add this match to the countdown and give it a higher spot with only 4 matches ahead of it. This might be the most influencial match of the modern era. Many younger wrestlers who were big contributors to the late 1990's wrestling product point to Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat from Wrestlemania 3 as what inspired them to become wrestlers. The old phrase from many has been "Hogan vs. Andre helped draw for the Wrestlemania 3 but Macho/Steamboat 'stole the show'". You have to consider that this was 1987 and there weren't workers like Steamboat or Savage who were obsessed over match quality. Particularly in the WWE which was the "land of the giants". Hearing many wrestlers lately cite this match as their biggest influence has given me a different perspective on this match and placed this match back on my Top 10. While Ricky Steamboat was an exceptional worker, he could only work as a typical babyface. Randy Savage, on the other hand, had many layers and could ramp up the intensity in an instant. Fans legitimately believed that Savage was crazy based on the way he treated Miss Elizabeth and the intensity he showed to his opponents. When he went after Ricky Steamboat and "crushed his throat", fans were pissed. They wanted to not only see Steamboat redeem himself against Savage, but take Macho Man's Intercontinental Title as well. Reportedly, Savage and Steamboat put on amazing Houseshow battles leading into Wrestlemania 3 to prepare for this match. They only had 15 minutes to pull off this match but Savage and Steamboat packed lots of content in this match that would innovate other matches for years. Lots of near falls in this match that kept the large Silverdome crowd into this match. Steamboat would win in the end but his Intercontinental Title run would be short lived. Steamboat wanted more family time and Vince wanted him to work harder on the road as Intercontinental Champion. Eventually, Steamboat would rejoin NWA Atlantic (becoming WCW) and go on to better things during 1989 as NWA/WCW Champion. Randy Savage would win the WWE Title at Wrestlemania 4. This match legitimized both and gave promoters good reason to make both guys World Champions. #4 - Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 20 The 20th Anniversary of Wrestlemania was capped off with arguably the best Triple Threat match ever performed. This is an absolute battle between 3 highly talented performers with an added "sense of urgency" for Chris Benoit to finally win a World Title (unless you count that early 2000 WCW Title win). By 2004, Chris Benoit was about to turn 37 years old and yet he had been wrestling since November 1985 when he was 18 years old. Benoit took many bumps and bruises throughout the world and worked hard to always deliver great matches in the WWE. Once the WWE's two top stars, Rock and Steve Austin, were out of the way, many fans were begging for the WWE to give other longtime wrestlers and WCW outkasts like Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero a chance to be champions. At Royal Rumble 2003, fans gave Chris Benoit an standing ovation after giving an amazing losing effort to Kurt Angle for the WWE Title. Chris Benoit, however, won the 2004 Royal Rumble and had the choice whether to wrestle again for the WWE Title on Smackdown or challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship on RAW. Benoit chose RAW but Shawn Michaels had unfinished business with Triple H. Michaels was able to join the match by signing the Triple H vs. Chris Benoit contract (seriously). Regardless of the silly storyline, it added another fantastic worker to the World Heavyweight Championship match. This match was a battle and full of action because 1 guy could rest while the other 2 went at it. Furthermore, fans were heavily behind Michaels and especially Benoit to finally topple Triple H as champion. For much of 2002-2003, Triple H was dominant with the exception of Shawn Michaels as an opponent. Many challenged (Goldberg, Booker T, RVD, Jericho, Steiner, Nash, etc.) but they all eventually fell to the Game. Many wrestling fans, like myself, were screaming "TAP MOTHERFUCKER TAP" at Triple H when Benoit applied the Crippler Crossface to Triple H. HHH tapped and Benoit was able to have a HUGE celebration to end Wrestlemania 20. Better yet, we got a rematch of this at Backlash 2004 in which Benoit made Shawn Michaels submit. Benoit's next opponent after these 2 big wins? Kane... #3 - Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 25 These two had amazing chemistry together during late 1997 and early 1998. Complete opposites of each other, as Shawn Michaels was the pretty boy and the Undertaker was the hoss who played a supernatural deadman. Yet when you put them together, opposites quickly attracted. For one, Michaels was actually not afraid to aggressively go after the Undertaker. Michaels crushing the Undertaker with a chairshot as referee at SummerSlam 1997 seemed to set the perfect tone. The two would go on to have an amazing match at Badd Blood 1997 with the first ever Hell in a Cell match in which Kane debuted. Michaels and Undertaker would also wrestle at Royal Rumble 1998 where Michaels hurt his back getting tossed over the casket during their Casket Match. After Wrestlemania 14, Michaels would retire until returning 2002 but would remain mostly on the RAW brand while Undertaker was residing on Smackdown. Then, at Royal Rumble 2007, the Rumble Match ended with the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels as the last 2 standing. Fans immediately popped as they remembered their history and because they were separated by the brand extension, it made their finale extra special. Undertaker would win the Rumble Match and go on to defeat Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania 23. We waited 2 long years before getting the Wrestlemania 25 match-up. It was well worth the wait as this match was AMAZING. Their in-ring chemistry was still there and the fans were fully invested in this match. Tons of near finishes in this match that kept you on the edge of your seat throughout. Their Wrestlemania 26 match was quite good too, but this one is the classic and was wrestled perfectly by both guys. Poor Triple H and Randy Orton had to follow this match and were pretty much doomed to fail at Wrestlemania 25 despite all of the work they put into their feud then. #2 - Steve Austin vs. Bret "the Hitman" Hart from Wrestlemania 13 Originally, Wrestlemania 13 was supposed to feature a rematch between Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. However, Michaels "retired" with a "knee injury" and the WWE went with a Steve Austin vs. Bret Hart match instead. I don't know if I believe that story about Hart vs. Austin being rushed together. After all, Steve Austin screwed Bret Hart at Royal Rumble 1997 by eliminating Hart when the referees did not see Austin's elimination. Just seemed like it fit... Heading into this match, WWE was beginning to listen to the fans' love for "Austin 3:16" and their growing disdain for squeaky clean Bret Hart. A change was badly needed because the WWE was falling behind World Championship Wrestling (WCW) during the Monday Night Wars. This match was an absolute battle as it was like 2 heavyweight boxers slugging away without any give. The story was being told that Steve Austin didn't have to rely on rulebreaking to be great. He was great anyway... With Hart, you could see his growing frustration that he couldn't dominate Steve Austin in the ring. Bret Hart has met his equal or he made fans believe Austin was his equal. The match's ending was perfectly booked. Austin was busted open and Bret Hart applied the Sharpshooter. Rather than submitting, Austin was in pain and tried to push out of the Sharpshooter. You know the face... You've seen Austin's bloody mug and saw the agony of Austin being helpless in that submission hold. Austin passed out due to the bleeding but did not submit. Afterward, Bret Hart refused to let go of the Sharpshooter despite special guest referee Ken Shamrock calling the match. Then, Bret tried to re-apply the Sharpshooter but Shamrock intervened. Bret left the ring and Austin hit the Sharpshooter on another referee who tried to help Austin get up. Austin was able to walk back to the locker room on his own to a standing ovation. Heel turn for Bret and babyface turn for Austin were complete in 1 match. Perfectly told a great story while delivering a perfect match. #1 - Kurt Angle vs. Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 21 Retains my #1 Wrestlemania Match spot... What can I say about this match? It's a legitimate DREAM MATCH that actually happened while 2 guys were still in the primes of their careers. Kurt Angle was relatively healthy through 2005 and continued to work at a high level. For Angle, though, he was in the WWE for 5 years and was just a master at his craft. Shawn Michaels was out with a back injury between 1998 to 2002 and made an amazing comeback following his SummerSlam 2002 match with Triple H. As 2003 wore on, Michaels became a full-time performer again and had a great 2004 in the ring. Michaels was back to wrestling at a higher level but unlike the 1990's version of Michaels, he was level headed and focused more on the in-ring product instead of what he might be doing after a show. After a confrontation at Royal Rumble 2005, it was on! The workrate of this match is off the charts. Both guys have their motors cranked up to their highest level and gave us an amazing display of chain wrestling that we haven't seen before. Then went from move to move with ease and neither guy showed any signs of slowing down. Both Angle and Michaels were in tremendous shape for this match and neither guy was winded throughout. The ending sequence with the fight over the Anklelock was awesome. Michaels fought hard to get out but Kurt Angle had it locked in. Eventually, Michaels tapped out and put over Kurt Angle huge for this match. Along with tapping out to Chris Benoit a year earlier at Backlash 2004, this helped show fans that the HBK of old who might have argued against putting over certain wrestlers was gone. Michaels and Angle would put on another classic at Vengeance 2004. To this day, I'm amazed that 2 guys from different eras and backgrounds could come together while in their primes for a legitimate dream match for the fans. ---------------------------------------------- Hope you enjoyed this year's Top 10 Wrestlemania Matches column. If you have the WWE Network, check out these matches along with other matches mentioned throughout the column. Nobody has created a bigger wrestling stage than the WWE and when a great match happens at Wrestlemania, you never forget it. SO JUST CHILL... 'TIL THE NEXT EPISODE! Comments and feedback are welcome. Follow and Tweet me @titowrestling or login in below to post comments. © Mr. Tito and LordsofPain.net/WrestlingHeadlines.com - 1998-2015
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