5 stellar WrestleMania matches that were a Superstar's first Mania match

By Justin Hofstetter
Modified Mar 21, 2018 22:36 IST
So many storied careers on this poster, and, yet, many of the performers have never performed on a Wrestlemania main card.
So many storied careers on this poster, and, yet, many of the performers have never performed on a WrestleMania main card

On April 8 in New Orleans, World Wrestling Entertainment will put on its 34th annual spectacular known as WrestleMania. At that event, based on what we know of the card so far, at least nine superstars will be making their first appearance on wrestling's grandest stage.

While performers like Finn Balor, Asuka, The Revival, Cedric Alexander, Shinsuke Nakamura, and even Stephanie McMahon (among others) have had storied careers in WWE, NXT, and around the world, they will compete at WWE's answer to the Super Bowl for the very first time in 2018.

With any luck, their WrestleMania debut will go as smoothly as the Superstars in these matches, five of the greatest contests ever to feature a Superstar's first WrestleMania appearance.

#5 Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar, WWE Championship Match at WrestleMania XIX

A memorable Wrestlemania debut which nearly turned tragic
A memorable Wrestlemania debut which nearly turned tragic

The WrestleMania Debut

Brock Lesnar, who went from interrupting a hardcore match during the WrestleMania X8 fallout edition of Monday Night RAW to main eventing his very first WrestleMania just over a year later.

It's Memorable Because

There are three big reasons why fans loved this match at the time, and still talk about it 15 years later.

First is the fact that Kurt Angle was injured to the point of barely being able to move; stemming from his broken (freakin') neck in the 1996 Olympic Games, Angle had been plagued with neck problems his entire career, which he was mostly able to ignore. Those problems only intensified as Angle's star grew, and as his workload increased from that larger spotlight; former head of creative Bruce Prichard pointed out on his podcast last week that, after this match, Angle stood in the shower completely unable to move under his own power for hours.

Second is the technical prowess both Angle and Lesnar showed; both men were highly accomplished amateur wrestlers on their own and developed a high-impact technical pro style. Suplex City was still 12 years away, but Lesnar still used a wide variety of impressive power moves to throw Angle all over Seattle, and Angle played the sneaky heel and master of submissions to perfection.

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Mostly, though, this one is remembered for its final sequence, wherein Lesnar attempted a Shooting Star Press (which he had managed to hit numerous times in Ohio Valley Wrestling) and landed scarily on his head; Lesnar reportedly did not remember anything after climbing the turnbuckle and had to be coached through an improvised finish in a total blackout.

The botched ending aside, this is a technical classic on a very underrated WrestleMania.

How It Ranks

WWE ranks this one 42 on its "100 Best Matches to See Before You Die", while Dave Meltzer gave it a near-perfect ****1/4. WWE also ranked it the 16th greatest Wrestlemania match ever in a 2017 list. The feud would win Feud of the Year for 2003 from Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and its sequel on a 2003 SmackDown (in an Iron Man Match) would win Match of the Year.

#4 Ric Flair vs "Macho Man" Randy Savage, WWF Championship Match from WrestleMania VIII

Flair, at this point, had already spent more time as a world champion than many had spent wrestling at all, but still hadn't spent any time between the bells at Wrestlemania.
Flair, at this point, had already spent more time as a world champion than many had spent wrestling at all, but still hadn't spent anytime between the bells at Wrestlemania

The Wrestlemania Debut

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, in his first year "up north" after leaving World Championship Wrestling

It's Memorable Because

First, let's talk about what this match isn't, which is Ric Flair, the biggest star of the NWA, taking on Hulk Hogan, the biggest star of the WWF. Heading into Wrestlemania VIII, most fans assumed that would be the money match; it's the fantasy match everyone had wanted to see (and which Paul Heyman had once fraudulently promised to promote a show). However, reports at the time were that Vince McMahon was unsatisfied with how the program looked and was received at house shows, so a change was made.

Flair was the defending WWF Champion, having taken the belt in one of the greatest Royal Rumble matches (if not the greatest) of all time; his program with Savage was founded on Flair alleging that he'd "had" Miss Elizabeth first, a claim he tried to prove with doctored photographs (which were pretty well done for the pre-photoshop era). Though Savage had "retired" at the prior year's Wrestlemania, thanks to a loss to The Ultimate Warrior, Savage challenged Flair for the title, and Miss Elizabeth's honor, in the Hoosier Dome.

Savage was able to deliver what Hogan never could: an athletic and technical contest which complemented Flair's style well. Hogan did better, in short, plodding affairs against giants like King Kong Bundy, Andre the Giant, and that night's monster du jour, Sid Justice. This match tells a great, well-paced, technical story for 18 minutes, which is about eight minutes longer than what most people would consider a long Hogan match.

It also features a pretty rare appearance of blood, the second match that evening where a performer "got color" (the other being Bret Hart in his Intercontinental Championship win over "Rowdy" Roddy Piper). Hart was not punished because he argued that his blood was incidental; Flair was not punished because he was Ric Flair, and a Flair match without blood is like a Hogan match without a leg drop.

How It Ranks

WWE ranks this one 24 on its "100 Best Matches to See Before You Die", and Dave Meltzer gives it ****1/4. It also finished second in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Feud of the Year poll for 1992 and helped make Ric Flair's case for PWI's and Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Wrestler of the Year.

#3 Diesel vs Shawn Michaels, WWF Championship Match at WrestleMania XI

Like Brock Lesnar, Diesel's first match at the Show of Shows was for the company's biggest prize.
Like Brock Lesnar, Diesel's first match at the Show of Shows was for the company's biggest prize

The Wrestlemania Debut

Diesel, who had appeared at Wrestlemania X as Shawn Michaels's bodyguard during the Ladder Match but did not compete until the following year

It's Memorable Because

Wrestlemania XI was the WWF's full reboot of their brand, the first event in its history featuring neither Hulk Hogan nor Randy Savage, the two men on whose backs the company built their biggest show. The in-ring product was largely de-emphasized on this card, with celebrity guests like Pamela Anderson, Jenny McCarthy, and current and former stars of the National Football League getting top billing (among literally dozens of others).

This match stands out mightily on a card full of half-hearted and largely subpar wrestling. It's not without its faults, like the infamous spot where Diesel kicks out of Shawn Michaels' Sweet Chin Music after a mere count of one, but it was a crucial ingredient in the Shawn Michaels babyface turn which would come the following night and begin HBK's path back to the main event and to his first WWF Championship the following year.

Diesel is just barely the focal point of his own WWF Championship victory celebration.
Diesel is just barely the focal point of his own WWF Championship victory celebration.

One of only two Wrestlemania contests using his Diesel gimmick, Kevin Nash ups his game pretty well to wrestle his real-life best friend, and puts on one of his three best matches during his first run with WWE.

How It Ranks

The match won Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year for 1995 (and helped make Diesel's case for his Wrestler of the Year award); Meltzer gave the match four stars, putting it at least a star and a half over every other contest on the card.

#2 Hardy Boyz vs The Dudley Boyz vs Edge and Christian, Triple Threat Ladder Match for the WWF Tag Team Championships at Wrestlemania 2000

It was clear this match would steal the show, but nobody knew it would outshine the rest of the card to the degree it did.
It was clear this match would steal the show, but nobody knew it would outshine the rest of the card to the degree it did.

The Wrestlemania Debut

Edge, Christian, and The Dudleys were making their first appearance at WrestleMania; Matt and Jeff Hardy had been in a pre-show battle royal at WrestleMania XV, but had never appeared on the main show

It's Memorable Because

This match, for better or worse, changed what a Wrestlemania spectacle meant for every show that followed. It set a new standard for high-flying chaos and featured one current Hall of Famer (Edge), two 2018 inductees (The Dudleys), and three surefire future inductees (both Hardyz, Christian).

It's important to remember a time when spots like this were unique as opposed to commonplace.
It's important to remember a time when spots like this were unique as opposed to commonplace

It's not as well-known as its sequels (the Tables, Ladders, and Chairs Match at SummerSlam 2000 or TLC II at Wrestlemania X-7), but it sets the bar high for those contests and for any ladder match to follow. All three teams were on a meteoric rise, starting from the first tag team ladder match between the Hardyz and Edge and Christian in the fall of 1999, then continuing with a memorable tag team tables match between the Dudleys and the Hardyz at 2000's Royal Rumble.

Putting all three teams, and all of their signature "plunder," together in one match made for a more than memorable Wrestlemania main card debut for all six men.

How It Ranks

The three teams in this match formed the top three of Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Tag Team of the Year Award (won by the Hardyz), while Edge and Christian took The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Tag Team of the Year. PWI also named this contest Match of the Year, and it received four stars from Dave Meltzer.

#1. Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch vs Sasha Banks, Triple Threat Match for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 32

The Women's Revolution continues on the grandest stage.
The Women's Revolution continues on the grandest stage.

The Wrestlemania Debut

Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, the WWE Women's Championship (in its current form), the notion of female competitors being "Superstars" and no longer "Divas"

It's Memorable Because

In the summer of 2015, Paige made headlines and Twitter trends for calling out her employers over their inability to properly promote women's wrestling on the main roster despite an abundance of talent both there and in the NXT developmental league.

The company responded by promoting several female competitors to the main roster and allotting more time on broadcast and pay-per-view television for women's contest. Problem was, these women were still given the label of "Divas" (seen as derogatory by many), and still fought over a title looking like it had been rescued from a clearance bin at Claire's.

WWE drew criticism for this, and observers pointed out that, when the United States Women's National Team won the 2015 World Cup, WWE sent them copies of their men's title, speculating that they, too, recognized the ridiculousness of their women's title.

This is a belt worth celebrating.
This is a belt worth celebrating.

In the leadup to Wrestlemania 32, Charlotte was the reigning Divas Champion and was set to defend against her former NXT rivals, but the company announced that the contest would no longer be for the Divas Title; instead, a new era of women's wrestling would begin in Dallas, as a new Women's Champion would be crowned, and the butterfly belt would join the term "Diva" in the Hall of Abandoned Gimmicks.

The match is a fast-paced affair which highlights the best of all three women's skill sets; the only criticism leveled against it is the fact that, like with the first women's Money in the Bank match, a man is involved in the finish, here Ric Flair holding Sasha Banks at ringside to allow Charlotte to win the title by submission with a Figure Eight on Becky Lynch.

Two years prior, two of the women in this match served as
Two years prior, two of the women in this contest served as "slave girls" during Triple H's entrance; this match is a considerable step up from that

How It Ranks

WWE ranks the match number 25 on its 33 Best Wrestlemania Matches of All Time, and the three women in it were three of the four finalists for Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Woman of the Year Award (Charlotte won, and the fourth Horsewoman, Bayley, rounded out the finalists); further, this was an entry into Sasha and Charlotte's PWI Feud of the Year for 2016, and received four stars from Dave Meltzer (the second-highest-rated contest on the show).

Honorable Mentions

It's not what people remember Wrestlemania 32 for, but it's a better debut than many.
It's not what people remember Wrestlemania 32 for, but it's a better debut than many

Wrestlemania 32 featured two other standout contests with superstars making their Wrestlemania debuts. The show opened with a four-star ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship, which was the first Wrestlemania contest for Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, as well as a hot match with a lackluster build between AJ Styles, two months into his WWE run, and Chris Jericho.

AJ Styles started great at Wrestlemania, and only seems to get better each year.
AJ Styles started great at
Wrestlemania,
and only seems to get better each year

What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.