9 Good Matches From Bad WrestleManias
WrestleMania is the highlight of WWE's year. It's when Vince and co sit down to enjoy their firework, short and intense storyline filled spectacle. However, sometimes WrestleMania has been rather disappointing but often there have been a few good matches that have been featured at what are, without being too expressive, bad WrestleManias and lucky for you I've found nine of them.
9, The Ultimate Warrior vs "Macho Man" Randy Savage (Retirement Match) (WrestleMania VII)
Maybe not the masterclass of in-ring action from the off but this match was reasonably good, given it's 20 minute run-time, but Savage is on the Golden Generation's greatest Wrestlers and lead to great ring psychology with the Ultimate Warrior. Add the reuning of Miss Elizabeth with her real-life husband Savage after he lost to the Warrior, this match is firmly the best match of WrestleMania VII when you see that The Mountie beat Tito Santana in 90 seconds, the Intercontineal match ended in DQ when it featured the awesome Mr Perfect and that Hulk Hogan yet again won the WWF title in the WrestleMania main event again... *yawns uncontrollably*.
8, The Ultimate Warrior vs Hulk Hogan (For the WWE and Intercontinental Championships) (WrestleMania VI)
So WrestleMania VI was poor. A double countout between Roddy Piper and Bad News Brown, The Hart Foundation won in 19 seconds and Big Boss Man basically squashed Akeem. However, the main event between Hogan and Warrior lead to critics claiming that it was a good show. Well not really, as listed above, but the intensity shown between Warrior and Hogan captured the 1990's crowd like they had absolutely no shame whats so ever. Through the context of a Sporting event, it's fairly poor but the entertainment and novelty factor, which is quite noticeable when Warrior surprisingly pins Hogan clean, leads it onto this list at number eight.
7, The Undertaker vs Triple H (No Holds Barred Match) (WrestleMania XXVII)
WrestleMania XXVII is by far the worst WrestleMania that I've seen. There was a six-person mixed tag team match that lasted just under four minutes, Michael Cole faced Jerry Lawler (for God sake...) and finally, the Miz main evented the show with John Cena and won via interference by The Rock after a double countout. Anyway, to every cloud there is a sliver lining and from WrestleMania XXVII that match is The Undertaker vs Triple H in a savage No Holds Barred match. Despite hitting three Pedigrees, several chairshots and a tombstone piledriver, Trips couldn't beat Taker in a match that put the Deadman's undefeated WrestleMania streak even more over with the fans.
6, Edge and Christian vs The Dudley Boyz vs The Hardy Boyz (Triangle TLC Match for the WWF Tag Team Championships) (WrestleMania 2000)
No way near the classic that is TLC II from WrestleMania the following year but a spot-filled match never-the-less. Tables did get introduced though, as expected when the Dudley Boyz are in a no DQ match, and ultimately through a few major spots, such as Matt Hardy getting pushed from the top of a ladder into a set of tables, Edge and Christian won their first tag team championship. What makes this match higher than Taker vs Triple H at WM27 on this list is that WrestleMania 2000 featured only one singles match (between The Kat and Terri), a tag team between Rikishi and Kane versus D-Generation X and a fatal-four way elimation match for the WWF Championship... that had a McMahon in every corner... and they wonder why everyone was happy when Austin returned at Backlash.
5, Zack Ryder vs Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens vs StarDust vs The Miz vs Dolph Ziggler vs Sin Cara (Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Championship) (WrestleMania 32)
A match from the most recent WrestleMania that was largely disappointing, especially with Roman Reigns winning the WWE World Heavyweight title in the main event. However, this match is a huge contender for the best WrestleMania opener ever with ridiculous ladder spots from the various high-fliers such as Zayn, Sin Cara and StarDust (a.k.a Cody Rhodes). The biggest moment from this match was Zack Ryder winning the championship in the opening match of WrestleMania. I mean Zack Ryder is the definition of a joke in WWE yet they decided to have him win the second biggest singles title at that point, April 2016, which still baffles me beyond belief.
4, CM Punk vs The Undertaker (WrestleMania 29)
Punk's last WrestleMania match, potentially ever, and it was arguably his best. Being shoved out of the main event for the Rock v Cena rematch from the previous year, Punk went on a mission to prove to everyone behind the corner that he deserves the WrestleMania main event slot. From Punk stealing Taker's Old-School move, Heyman getting involved with the urn and Punk mocking the Undertaker throughout, it was by far the best match from WM29, especially when you compare it to the rest of the card, such as Fandango facing Chris Jerchio, Triple H in a slow no Holds Barred match against Brock Lesnar and the Rock vs Cena being an exact replica of their WM28 match, except it was painfully obvious that Cena was going to win.
3, The Rock vs Hollywood Hulk Hogan (WrestleMania X8)
Many think that this match can convert non-Wrestling fans into Wrestling fans and if I had to pick one, this would be highly considered. Despite Hogan being the heel as part of the nWo, the crowd in Toronto got lost in nostalgia as they cheered on the former WrestleMania headliner against the People's Champion. The Rock won in a genuine dream match and subsequently overshadowing the main event of the evening, which was the first undisputed champion Chris Jericho against Triple H, and well as the rest of the WrestleMania X8 card, especially Stone Cold vs Scott Hall.
2, The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels (WrestleMania 25)
Look, I rant and rave about this classic match between Taker and Shawn Michaels and many Wrestling fans consider it one of the very best matches of all-time. Contrasted with the rest of WrestleMania 25, such as Santina Marella winning the "Miss WrestleMania" battle-royal, JBL losing in 21 seconds to Rey Mysterio for the Intercontinental title and the unification of the WWE and World Tag Team championships was scheduled as a dark match (a match that doesn't air on television), it's an genuine masterclass at the event that was marketed as the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania.
1, Bret Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin (Submission Match) (WrestleMania 13)
With WrestleMania 13 being widely-regarded as the worst WrestleMania of all-time, this match is not only the sliver lining of WM13 but also the match that solidified Steve Austin as the most popular Wrestler of all-time. Austin and Hart battle in a bloody submission match, were the no DQ stipulation was heavily played on, and infamously the roles were switched with Hart leaving a heel and Austin as a face after he refused to tap out to the Sharpshooter. WM13 had Triple H vs Goldust and Sycho Sid, as champion for God sake, against the Undertaker as the main event and this match was a five-star classic, that Dave Meltzer quite rightly awarded, and also voted 1997 Match of the Year in Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Newsletter and is the best match from a bad WrestleMania.
Stone Cold refuses to tap out to the Sharpshooter against Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13.
