5 Greatest opening matches in WrestleMania history

#2 Intercontinental Title Ladder Match (WrestleMania 32)

Owens & Zayn - Destined to fight forever

Kevin Owens went into WrestleMania 32 as the reigning Intercontinental Champion. In the weeks leading up to the show, he attempted to avoid defending his title against the likes of Sami Zayn, The Miz, and Dolph Ziggler. It was eventually decided that he would defend his title against all of them, as well as Stardust, Zack Ryder and Sin Cara in a Ladder match.

The main thread of the match was the epic rivalry between Owens and Zayn. The two men had many storied battles over the years, dating back to before they arrived in WWE. Now they were on the grandest stage of them all, both appearing at their first WrestleMania.

That’s not to say the others didn’t get their chance to shine. They all had their moments, such as Stardust paying homage to Dusty Rhodes with a polka dot covered ladder. Even Sin Cara had a couple of memorable moments, including a springboard dive to the outside and a giant leap from a ladder through Stardust, who was lying across another ladder.

In the end, it came down to The Miz, who thought he had the match won and gloated while atop the ladder, only to be shoved off by Zack Ryder who went on to claim a shock victory.

This was an excellent opener to ‘Mania 32, full of crowd-popping moments to kick off the show.