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The showcase of the immortals, WrestleMania is just a few days away. The event will emanate from Tampa, Florida. WrestleMania has annually set the stage for the most iconic moments in the history of the professional wrestling business.
When Mr McMahon visualized the concept and enacted the event in 1985, he could not even have imagined how big it would get. The first WrestleMania took place on March 31st, 1985, at the Madison Square Garden.
Today, WrestleMania is a full-tilt entertainment event featuring the most popular wrestlers, celebrity interaction, live performances by mainstream rock acts, and unbelievable fireworks display.
Also read: 20 Greatest WrestleMania Moments (#10-6)
On April 10, WWE will celebrate the 37th Anniversary of the Grandest Stage of Them All. I thought it would be great to look back on the last 36 years and relieve the six greatest moments in WrestleMania history.
#6: I'm sorry, I love you!
Over the 36-year history of WrestleMania, there have been several emotional moments, but this one may take the cake as the one that tore at the heartstrings of fans the most.
"The Nature Boy” Ric Flair has had a long and successful career in professional wrestling that nobody else has quite been able to duplicate. That in-ring career came to an end at WrestleMania 24 in a career-threatening match against “The Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.
Earlier in the year 2008, Vince McMahon added a stipulation to each of Flair’s remaining matches that his career would end the next time that he lost a match. With everything on the line, he went on a winning streak heading into WrestleMania 24 and claimed he would never retire.
However, if it were the end for him at WrestleMania 24, he wanted the match to be against Shawn Michaels. When Flair asked him for a match, Michaels turned him down at first saying that he didn’t want to live with that.
"The Nature Boy” would force him into taking the match, and HBK promised to put “Old Yeller” down once and for all. In an emotional weekend where Flair was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the night before, Shawn Michaels put Ric Flair away in their match at WrestleMania with a superkick.
A wave of emotions hit Ric Flair at that moment as he burst into tears. His 30-plus year wrestling career was over and “The Nature Boy” walked out to a standing ovation.
The veterans put on a solid display in front of the WWE universe in a fixture that was emotionally charged. Flair begging Michaels to confront him towards the end of the match will remain one of the most iconic moments in WWE history.
#5: Steve Austin sells his soul
When “Stone Cold” Steve Austin stepped into the ring with The Rock in the main event of WrestleMania 17, we were only a few weeks removed from WCW going out of business.
Vince McMahon had the intention of buying the WCW brand, but on the final WCW Nitro broadcast, Vince’s son Shane McMahon announced that he beat his father to the punch and bought the WCW brand.
Vince bragged that he had put WCW out of business and the main feud that pushed WWE over the top in the rating war was the one between Vince McMahon and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
Austin was at a crossroads at WrestleMania 17 when he was coming into the main event as the challenger for the WWE Championship. He promised to do whatever he had to do against The Rock to win the title, and by the end of the match, he proved that he wasn’t bluffing.
Vince McMahon came down to ringside during the match and pulled The Rock off of Steve Austin when he tried to pin “The Texas Rattlesnake” after a People’s Elbow. It was obvious that McMahon was attempting to cause a distraction to make Rock lose, but nobody realized that Austin would have anything to do with it.
The world was shocked when McMahon handed Steve Austin a steel chair to hit The Rock with. Austin would go on to hit Rock with multiple chair shots before he scored the pinfall and became WWE Champion.
The show ended with Vince and “Stone Cold” sharing beers and giving WrestleMania a rare ending with the heels walking out on top.
Stone Cold and Vince McMahon have been at loggerheads with each other ever since their storied rivalry began and it was an absolute shock to see the duo on the same page.
#4: Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth Reunite
When you think back throughout WWE history at some of the greatest on-screen couples that we’ve ever seen, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth have to be near the top of that list.
We've seen their love stories play out on WWE television for years. The entire world was enamored with Miss Elizabeth, but the “Macho Man” acted as if he didn’t realize the treasure that he had and continuously disrespected Liz on television.
He made her hold the ropes for him to go through. He ordered her around and sent her away. He would also get very possessive though and lash out at anybody that would even take an extra look at her.
Tensions came to a head between the two at WrestleMania V in 1989 when “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan ended Randy Savage’s WWE title reign at 371 days when the two fought over Miss Elizabeth. Savage as the Macho King would drop Elizabeth in favor of Sensational Sherri, and this would lead to a two-year separation between Savage and Liz.
Heading into WrestleMania 7 in 1991, the “Macho King” headed into the match of his life as he faced The Ultimate Warrior in a career-ending match. Miss Elizabeth was on hand for the event and sat in the front row to watch the match.
Warrior scored the victory to send Savage into retirement. Sherri began berating Savage and kicked him on the ground. This was too much for Elizabeth to watch, and she would jump the guardrail to save her soulmate.
When Savage got up and realized what had happened, it led to an emotional reunion of the two in the ring, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
#3: Hulk Hogan bodyslams Andre the Giant
It's been over thirty years since the "Immortal" Hulk Hogan slammed Andre The Giant at WrestleMania 3.
It was 1987, and the '80s wrestling boom was in full swing. Hulk Hogan became a household name through his appearances in "Rocky 3," and gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated. In addition, he regularly made the talk show rounds to promote the WWE.
Andre the Giant, arguably the biggest name in the sport before Hulk Hogan, was on his way out. He was in a lot of pain due to his battle with Acromegaly, and his wrestling days were numbered.
The two most popular wrestlers of the 1980s were the main event at WrestleMania 3 in front of 93,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit. After a hard fought battle, Hulk Hogan began to "hulk-up" and body slammed the dazed giant.
Hogan followed the slam up with a giant leg drop to get the pin and retain his championship.
Hogan was always known to perform super human feats in the ring, but bodyslamming Andre was on another pedestel altogether. This helped cement his position as one of the brand's biggest names and it still hasn't changed.
#2: The Miracle on Bourbon Street
Everybody loves a great underdog story, and that was exactly what the ascension of Daniel Bryan to the WrestleMania main event was. Aside from being one of the best technical wrestlers on the roster, Daniel Bryan built a fan following unlike any other.
No matter how popular Daniel Bryan seemed to get though, it didn’t appear to matter, and there was still only so far that Bryan was able to get. He was a Champion before, but this was truly his time to shine in a WrestleMania main event and the entire world demanded it.
While it may not have been in the cards originally, we did eventually see Daniel Bryan walk out of the WrestleMania main event with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, and it finished the 30th anniversary of WrestleMania on a very positive note.
#1: Steve Austin passes out to the Sharpshooter
If this were a listing of the top WrestleMania matches, this match would have easily cracked the top 5. The WrestleMania 13 pay-per-view was lackluster for the most part, but this match was the brightest spot.
Bret "The Hitman"Hart and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin had chemistry working together, and it showed on the Grandest Stage of Them All. This match was special in that the performers effectively pulled a double turn for the fans.
Heading into this match, Bret Hart was the hero while “Stone Cold” was the foul-mouthed villain. However, by the time that the bell rang to end this match, the fans were booing everything that Hart did and cheering The Texas Rattlesnake.
While the match itself is iconic, the one moment that this match will be remembered for is the image of the blood pouring down the face of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin while he was locked in Bret Hart’s sharpshooter.
Ultimately, Austin would wind up passing out to give Bret the victory, but “Stone Cold” was the ultimate winner in this one as he became the biggest superstar of the Attitude Era and pretty much the biggest star that professional wrestling has ever seen.
