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DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed are those of the writer and does not reflect Sportskeeda's views
There's just something special about Wrestlemania season in the WWE. Superstars have a little more spring in their steps. Fans cheer a bit louder, and from top to bottom, in the wrestling industry and the media that covers speculation runs wilder than Hulkamania in 1986.
Most of the speculation revolves around who will be in the main event, but there are also questions as to what will be the best match of the event this year. Most wrestling fans agree that Wrestlemania is to sports entertainment as Woodstock was to the music industry: A watershed event that sets the stage for what's to come after.
In its long and illustrious history, Wrestlemania has produced some fantastic matches. It has also, unfortunately, put on some bouts that were less than well received. Here are five excellent Wrestlemania matches, and five that were not so excellent.
Great Wrestlemania Match: Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart--Wrestlemania X
In a perfect wrestling match, technical precision is balanced with emotional content and physicality. Owen Hart and his brother Bret wrestled a perfect match in 1994 at Wrestlemania X.
The build up to the match was fantastic storytelling. Owen Hart was a babyface midcarder and the plucky little brother of main event talent Bret. But Owen had apparently grown jealous and attacked his brother, leaving him with a kayfabe knee injury. The cocky Owen gave a speech about how he was going to be the dominant Hart brother and turned heel.
According to the storyline, Doctors had begged Bret Hart not to compete due to his injury, but he stubbornly refused to take more time off. He wanted revenge, and he had his chance at Wrestlemania. What really sets this match apart is both the technical wrestling and the sheer brutality the brothers brought to bear on each other. The finish was also a jaw-dropper, as the younger Hart cleanly pinned his brother, denying the Hitman his revenge.
There is always something about family feuds that work in the WWE and the Canadians made the most of their Wrestlemania bout. The match can be described as a blueprint on how to wrestle in the ring.
(Don't feel too bad for Bret: He later won the WWE championship on the same night!)
Not a great Wrestlemania match: Hulk Hogan vs. Sycho Sid--Wrestlemania 13
When it comes to Wrestlemania Icons, you can't get much bigger or bolder than Hulk Hogan. His Wrestlemania opponents are a veritable who's who of wrestling legends.
Then there was the time he faced the not-so-legendary Sycho Sid, aka Sid Vicious (Sid was initially brought in as Sid Justice, a babyface, but changed to heel so he could feud with the champ.)
At this point, Hulkamania was beginning to fade. After years of watching Hogan go through his shtick -- getting pummeled for most of the match only to rise invincibly at the last minute -- fans were just getting tired of it. You can look at the fan's faces in the above photo and see a lot of disengagement with the match. On paper, two behemoths in a Wrestlemania ring is a good thing. But this time, not so much.
Hogan was an extremely popular wrestler whose charisma often outshone his limited wrestling skills.
Great Wrestlemania Match: The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin--Wrestlemania XVII
Wrestlemania matches come in all varieties, but usually there is a lot of pomp, preening, and stare downs before the fists start flying, to build emotional resonance with the attending fans. However, this was NOT the case for the 'no-disqualification' match between Attitude Era icons The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Right off the bat, the match turned into a brutal slugfest, with the wrestlers battling it out in the crowd. They were certain to use scientific wrestling as well, as both would lock in sharpshooters and other submission moves on one another.
What really amped up this match was both the no DQ stipulation, which ensured there would be a decisive winner and cleared the way for foreign object use, and the fact that Austin would turn heel mid-match, aligning himself with his former nemesis Vince McMahon. Jim Ross would declare that "Hell had frozen over" after Austin and McMahon celebrated in the ring together.
Not a Great Wrestlemania match: Ashley Massaro vs. Melina--Wrestlemania 23
On one level, this match didn't stand a chance because of what happened just moments before: Vince McMahon had been shaved bald by Donald J. Trump and Bobby Lashley during a red-hot match that also featured the dearly departed Samoan Smashing machine Umaga.
But really, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, because this match is probably the most terrible women's title match in history, far worse even than Wendi Richter vs. the Spider Lady (Fabulous Moolah.) The only thing that you can say about this match is that it was blessedly short.
Melina was, of course, a gifted athlete, but Ashley Massaro was a model with little experience who had won the Diva Search. Her main reason for being involved was that she had recently posed for Playboy. Literally, no one has ever said anything good about this match.
The lumber-jills entering the ring and trying to salvage something was also a dull spot in this poorly executed match.
Great Wrestlemania Match: Dudley Boyz vs. The Hardys vs. Edge and Christian--Wrestlemania XVII
Sometimes, a great Wrestlemania match happens not because two legendary icons are involved, but because young, hungry superstars who want to make a mark put on the performance of a lifetime.
That is exactly what happened at Wrestlemania 17, where the Hardys, Dudley Boyz, and Edge and Christian tore the house down in TLC II. In fact, many critics and fans consider this to be the best TLC match to date.
The match was brutal and featured terrifying chairshots to the head of most of the athletes that would never be allowed today. The Hardys were probably the fan favorites, but there was plenty of support for all the athletes involved. Without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight is Jeff Hardy getting the ladder taken out from underneath of his dangling feet, forcing him to hang from the tag team title belts. Edge would ascend halfway up a massive ladder and spear him right off of the belts, setting up and eventual win by Edge and Christian (with a huge assist by Rhyno, who literally carried Edge on his shoulders to the top of the ladder.)
Not a Great Wrestlemania match: Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar--Wrestlemania XX
It's hard to believe that, given the two icons in the ring with each other, this is considered one of the worst Wrestlemania matches of all time. Even Goldberg's quick squash of Brock Lesnar--and Lesnar's later revenge match, which was equally short -- were at least somewhat exciting.
Not this match though. Part of the problem was that Lesnar had recently announced he was quitting the WWE to join the NFL. Fans were not happy about what they perceived as selling out and abandoning them. Goldberg just wasn't as red hot in WWE as he had been in WCW, and fans were also aware this would be his last match with the company as well.
The two behemoths mostly traded rest holds while the crowd booed relentlessly. The only person getting any pops at all in the match was the referee--Stone Cold Steve Austin. He also gave the only memorable moment of the match when he stunned both men at its conclusion.
It still remains a surprise as to how the two powerhouses of the industry squared off and put on such a damp squib of a match at wrestling's grandest stage.
Great Wrestlemania match: Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ricky the Dragon Steamboat--Wrestlemania III
According to legend, Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage were well aware that the main event of Wrestlemania III - Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant--was what was driving ticket sales and PPV buy rates. However, they both agreed that they were going to go out and steal the show. In the minds of many wrestling fans and critics, that's exactly what they did.
Ricky Steamboat said that Macho Man wrote out every detail of the match in a spiral bound notebook prior to the event, and they spent hours going over it in the locker room. Given such supreme dedication to their craft and the amazing athleticism of both men, it's no wonder that this is tentatively considered the 'best' Wrestlemania match of all time.
The bout was so good, that many people forget that it was for the Intercontinental championship, which Steamboat won cleanly. The following year, both men would be 'big belt' title holders, with Savage winning the WWE World championship and Steamboat capturing the NWA World title--proof that the wrestling world took notice of their performance at the grandest stage of them all.
Not a great Wrestlemania match: Rocky Maivia vs. The Sultan--Wrestlemania XIII
Years before he would become the sensational ticket selling machine and movie star The Rock, Dwayne Johnson would portray a much different character: Third Generation wrestler Rocky Maivia, carrying the legacy for both his father, Rocky Johnson, and his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia.
Fans did not take to Rocky Maivia--as in at all. His perpetual smile, bright blue flanged ring gear, and lack of experience all made the fans turn on him, even though he was aggressively pushed as a babyface. His opponent, the Sultan, was even less over, and would later enjoy a great deal more success as Rikishi sans the mask. But in this era, neither man was over in the least, and the fact that this match was for the Intercontinental championship did nothing to increase fan interest. If you look at the crowd in the above photo, literally no one is on their feet or cheering. They look as if they've been hypnotized into a near slumber.
Don't feel bad for Rock--he appears later on our list!
Great Wrestlemania Match: The Rock vs. Hollywood Hogan--Wrestlemania XVIII
The Rock was so over during this era that Vince McMahon allowed him to pick his opponents. Since Hollywood Hogan had recently joined the company, The Rock suggested a 'dream match' that would pit "Icon vs. Icon," Attitude Era vs. Classic Era, tugging at the heartstrings of the fans in attendance.
During the build-up to the event, Rock was clearly being pushed as the babyface. However, Hollywood Hogan seemed to have a lot of support from the crowd for a villain. Nevertheless, the match was planned to have Rock as the hero and Hogan as the villain.
One of the things that makes this a great match is the way both men improvised the bout when it became clear that the nostalgic fans were thoroughly behind Hollywood Hogan. They subtly switched roles, with Rock acting more heelish and Hogan battling back against adversity like a good babyface. The crowd was insanely loud during the entire event, so much so that many fans reported temporary hearing loss after the match.
The Rock would go over -- which made sense, as he was in his prime and Hogan was obviously far past his own -- but it was as a heel.
Not a Great Wrestlemania Match: Booker T and Sharmell vs. Boogeyman (handicap match)--Wrestlemania 22
If ever there were a wrestler who had a great look and gimmick that was utterly wasted on a completely talentless performer, it was The Boogeyman.
On the surface, his story might garner sympathy: Boogeyman was an out of work bodybuilder in his early 40s who lied about his age to get on the WWE's Tough Enough competition. He has kicked off the show for his false claims, but WWE gave him a contract anyway.
They were hoping to build another Undertaker-type character, but Boogeyman was simply terrible in the ring. WWE was hoping the experienced and athletic Booker T would be able to carry Boogeyman to a good match; they were wrong. Sharmell being forced to eat worms is probably the highlight of the match, which involves Booker T pretending to be scared of Boogeyman. And as for Boogeyman himself, he seemed to lose all sense of what he was doing, and just kind of ran into Booker T over and over again. He even messed up the match finish, leaving the announce team struggling to cover for him.
There you have it; Five great Wrestlemania matches and five that were not so great. What is your favorite Wrestlemania match of all time? Please comment and let us know, and as always, thanks for reading!
