15 Greatest WrestleMania matches of all time: Part 2

WrestleMania. The Grandest Stage of Them All. When a Superstar walks down that aisle, they know that they have to give a hundred percent of their emotion into their match. They have to make the fans feel everything they are emotionally and physically.

Since it's a pay-per-view which is rich when it comes to history and considering the 35th event is approaching fast, I have decided to choose fifteen matches that I think are at the top of the chart in the pay-per-view's 35-year history. The challenge is a daunting one because WWE’s long-running wrestling extravaganza has seen countless classics over the past three decades, but which of these deserve the honour of being labelled as the greatest match in the history? Let's take a look.

Part 1: Greatest WrestleMania matches Part 1

#5: Hulk Hogan vs Andre The Giant, WrestleMania 3

Andre the Giant locking his eyes on Hogan!

Every kid that grew up in the ’80s and ’90s has this match engraved in their memories as the biggest and most anticipated matches to ever headline a WrestleMania. "The irresistible force meets the immovable object" as the late-great Gorilla Monsoon put it so nicely that night. That really set up a tremendous story to be told.

Even though it wasn’t your classic, old school mat-wrestling match, it did two things that matter more than anything in wrestling - it put butts in seats and made tons of money. Andre The Giant and Hulk Hogan are two of the biggest draws to ever be involved in professional wrestling, and they need to be respected for that.

The match itself was slow and moved at a snail’s pace, but it told a story, and it eventually led to Hulk Hogan slamming Andre The Giant on TV, which hadn’t been done before that. It raised the Hogan character to a new level, and I don’t think Hogan would be the star he is today without Andre The Giant.

Hogan ended up pinning Andre and walking out with the WWE Championship. Hogan slamming Andre is one of the most replayed clips of all time, and it will continue to be in wrestling history.

#4: Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho, WrestleMania 19

HBK attempting his signature Elbow drop!

Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho is one of the greatest feuds in WWE history, and these two performers put on a great match in Seattle at WrestleMania 19.

Despite competing against four main event calibre bouts further up the card, this was undoubtedly the match that stole the show and proved a fitting blow-off to the tension they had developed.

It was a technical masterclass in how to tell a story in a match. Shawn Michaels began the match, letting both the fans and Chris Jericho know that he had not lost a step. He took the approach of schooling his younger opponent and demonstrating that he had forgotten more about wrestling than Jericho had learned.

Jericho played the classic heel, as he showed HBK no respect, by slapping him multiple times, in attempts of demeaning the showstopper. There were a lot of cool little spots that they did, one in specific was in about the halfway point in the match, HBK goes for a hurricanrana, but Jericho later counters it into a Walls of Jericho. This has been done with Jericho a lot, but I loved that spot, and thought they worked so well together in creating a good story.

The closing minutes were back and forth, with HBK refusing to surrender to the submissions of his opponent, and Jericho kicking out of the original Sweet Chin Music. Yet, it was Michaels that proved to have one more trick up his sleeve, catching Y2J in an inventive roll-up to end this incredible encounter.

Jericho was in tears at the disappointing conclusion and seemed set to reconcile with his one-time idol when Michaels extended his hand after the match. He was greeted first with a hug from Jericho but then felled with a kick to the groin, as the young lion refused to take his loss graciously.

#3: The Undertaker vs Triple H, WrestleMania 28

If you want to talk about emotions and storytelling, this is the match to take notes from. From the entrances to all three men standing tall at the top of the ramp, these three legends and leaders of this business told a tremendous story.

It was truly the end of an era.

Michaels is fully retired, and only appears for special events. Triple H is now running things behind the scenes, and the Undertaker continues his once-a-year match at WrestleMania. So in all honesty, this truly was an end of an era.

Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and The Undertaker, three of the biggest names in WWE history are “walking into the sunset” together. As far as the actual match, I thought it was pretty good, and the addition of Shawn Michaels was more important than people think. He was more a part of this match than any of the other two, and I think without him, it would have lacked a lot.

There were some awesome moments in this match like HBK kicking the Undertaker, and making us think that DX was going to beat the streak together. That was a spot where you actually thought the streak was coming to an end, and it's one of my favourite moments ever. But in the end, if you loved this match or hated it, you have to respect the men involved in it. They are three of the greatest ever to lace up a pair of boots.

#2: The Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 26

This match has a special place in my heart, due to the fact that Shawn Michaels is one of my favourite wrestlers of all time. This match had so much emotion and heart, which you rarely see in a WWE ring anymore, and it is an all-time classic.

From the start of this feud, WWE did an amazing job of making this so personal, with Michaels costing the Undertaker the World Heavyweight Championship at the Elimination Chamber, and not letting the Undertaker refuse one more match between the two.

From the entrances, it told the classic story of a man walking to the end of his career. It was like all the fans that night knew that this was the last time we’d ever see Shawn Michaels wrestle. Early in the match, The Undertaker was in deep control and was on the offensive. Of course, as the match went on, it was a lot of high impact moves, followed by dramatic kick-outs, which seems to be the only way to have a great match nowadays.

It was back and forth, as these two legends battled it out to keep what was so important to each of them. Both men pulling out all the stops, as they hit their signature moves multiple times, but in the end, as we all know, the Undertaker’s streak lived on, and the storybook of Shawn Michaels' career was closed forever.

After the celebration for the Undertaker was over, the sorrow from Shawn Michaels set in as we saw a legend walk away from the thing he loved the most. The Undertaker helped HBK up to his feet showed him the ultimate respect and shook his hand. Undertaker then left the ring, and gave Shawn his final moments in the ring, as he said goodbye to the fans.

#1: The Rock vs Steve Austin, WrestleMania 17

Two of the most iconic Superstars of the WWE’s most popular era meeting at The Showcase of the Immortals in a No-Disqualification WWE Championship main event? It does not get better than that. The rivalry between The Rock and Stone Cold has always been iconic and legendary and the feud had had three matches at WrestleMania.

This was the second of those three meetings, Stone Cold Steve Austin once again came out on top and walked away with the WWE title. It was once again a No Disqualification Match, which gave the match an element of surprise, and a classic Attitude Era fun.

The match had lots of great spots like The Rock put on the Sharpshooter to a bloodied Austin while Austin desperately tried to get to the ropes in a scene reminiscent of the classic match Austin had with Bret "The Hitman" Hart at WrestleMania 13. Austin returned the favour with a sharpshooter of his own and even brought back the Million Dollar Dream into his arsenal from his days as the Ringmaster, further showing how desperate he was to win the match.

Of course, Vince McMahon got involved in the end and aligned himself with the Rattlesnake.

One of the craziest WrestleMania finishes ever, as the end of the match was capped off with Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin shaking hands, as Austin celebrates with McMahon, and walks out the WWE champion.

This was, of course, the beginning of the Austin heel run which also led to The Rock becoming a bigger babyface, and in the end, it helped both superstars accomplish what they wanted to do.