Hello one and all, and welcome back to the penultimate part of our journey down memory lane as we continue to gear up for WrestleMania 33.
With just a week and a half remaining until the Orlando spectacular, things really are heating up, with Raw and SmackDown LIVE continuing to pick up the pace with just the go-home shows remaining.
But we're here to look into the past as opposed to the future, with so much to unpackage in terms of old school facts and figures.
Thus far we've spoken about everything from backstage shenanigans to the actual matches themselves, and we're going to be continuing down that unpredictable path as we attempt to separate the odd from the remarkable.
Whether or not this ramps up your excitement for the Citrus Bowl extravaganza is irrelevant, because the important thing is that the WWE Universe appreciates and respects WrestleMania for is for what it is: the biggest event in sports entertainment.
It's taken on a life of its own and there's a reason why people say it's bigger than the Super Bowl - because it is.
With all that being said, let's take a look at five rare WrestleMania stats and facts - part three.
#1 WM16's debuts
WrestleMania 16, also known as WrestleMania 2000, wasn't the greatest of shows, especially when you consider that its sequel was potentially the best wrestling pay per view of all time.
The event was riddled with multi-man bouts that didn't make all too much sense, however, if you look a little bit deeper, there was a lot of future stars in the making on the card.
For example, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Christian, Edge, The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz all made their WrestleMania debuts on that fateful night.
When you consider that they were all involved in mid card matches, it's frightening to think how much potential the WWE had on their hands. Thankfully, they utilised it pretty well in the long run.
#2 HHH's 'odd' luck
Let's get the shovels out, everybody, because this particular entry doesn't paint Triple H in the best light.
When it comes to Mania, we all know that The Game has put over quite a few younger stars in his day, but we also know that he's executed his fair share of burials - and the results we're focusing on kind of fall somewhere in the middle of the pack.
At the last four odd WrestleManias, Triple H has defeated Sting (WM31), Brock Lesnar (WM29), Randy Orton (WM25) and beat down The Undertaker so badly that he had to be carried out of the stadium (WM27).
When you extend that to a victory over Booker T at WM19 and a loss to Batista at WM21, it takes The Game to a 4-2 record. Don't cross the boss, guys.
Does anyone still like this next guy?
#3 Cole messes up
Poor old Michael Cole receives a lot of criticism from the WWE Universe, despite being an extremely loyal and dedicated member of the commentary team for almost two decades now.
Yes, he may not be the greatest announcer of all time, but a lot of that comes down to the information that is fed into his ear by the likes of Vince McMahon.
With that being said, what we're about to reveal doesn't really follow the tempo of this entry, so we apologise.
Back at WrestleMania 15, Cole was promoting the home shopping network's post-show, during which he stated that you could hear from "the new WWF Champion". So naturally, Vince was pretty annoyed that he had, erroneously, pretty much confirmed Austin's victory over The Rock in the main event.
We miss Andre.
#4 Andre's close call
Andre The Giant truly is a legend in the world of professional wrestling, and anyone who thinks differently is just kidding themselves.
Obviously, the majority of fans know him for his legendary bout against Hulk Hogan back at WrestleMania 3, but what some people may not know is that the match was very close to being scrapped altogether.
The Frenchman was in a tremendous amount of back and joint pain in the lead-up to the match, and it took a lot of convincing from Vince to even get him to the arena.
Paul Orndorff was lined up as a potential replacement, but thankfully, the big man made it to the Silverdome and took part in the bout - that is, of course, after drinking 14 bottles of wine to prepare himself.
We conclude with the start of a legacy.
#5 No title changes
One of the major selling points of WrestleMania is that it tends to be the dawning of a new era in one way or another.
Whether that be a heel authority figure being dethroned or a title change, you often expect something big to happen that alters the course of WWE's storytelling in some way. When it comes to the latter of those two options, however, there has been one Mania, in particular, that was severely lacking.
Also read: WWE WrestleMania 33: 5 rare WrestleMania stats and facts: Part 2
The event in question was WrestleMania 27, which, to this day is the only Mania ever to not feature any title changes. None. At all.
Now obviously not too many titles were on the line, but when both World Championships remain on the same champion as they did going in, it's a bit of a shocker. So take a bow Edge and The Miz, as you broke a pretty long streak.
It's time to play The Game..
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