Top 3 WWE Title matches in WWE WrestleMania history

The Grandest Stage of Them All, WrestleMania, is just a few months away. The anticipation for the extravaganza is sky high.

With two high profile matches already set for the big stage, the expectations couldn't be any higher.

The WWE Championship is the most prestigious championship in WWE. The title was held by legends like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H, The Rock and John Cena.

The biggest stage has witnessed tons of classics over the past three decades, and plenty of those matches were fought for the prestigious WWE title.

With another WrestleMania around the corner, I have decided to take a look at 3 matches that I think are the best WWE Championship matches, and have occurred on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

#3 Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania 19

Lesnar and Angle embracing after their classic match!

This match happened at WrestleMania 19 as Kurt Angle defended his WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar. This was the feud that garnered so much attention on SmackDown for months.

Kurt Angle was trying to dodge Lesnar at every point, but when the two finally met at the Grandest Stage of Them All, it was just magic.

The two amateur wrestling standouts headlined the biggest milestone of 2003, WrestleMania 19. Live from Safeco Field in Seattle, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle engaged in a pure wrestling clinic. It was the perfect mix of amateur wrestling, traditional catch-can wrestling, and sports entertainment.

Unfortunately, the match often gets lost in the clutter of more glitzy WrestleMania moments. Aside from the botched shooting star press that saw Lesnar almost break his neck while giving himself a genuine concussion, there wasn't a dull moment at all. From a classic pro wrestling point of view, it was one of the best WrestleMania main events.

Lesnar defeated Angle by hitting the third F-5 of the match and capturing his second WWE Championship. With a shocked expression on his face, Lesnar grabbed the title and went on to embrace Kurt Angle with the fireworks going off in the background.

#2 Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 12

Referee Earl Hebner stating the rules!

There are no ladders or folding chairs or steel cages, just two guys in the ring going for 60 straight minutes, and whoever has the most falls when the time expires wins.

The Iron Man/Marathon match is one of my favourite gimmicks because it is so simple, and because when it's used with the right wrestlers, it brings out the best aspects of pro wrestling - the athleticism, the creativity, the psychology. All those are on full display here, as Shawn and Bret wrestle for a full hour without a single fall taking place.

It's the equivalent of a 60-minute draw, the kind of thing you would've seen between Lou Thesz and Verne Gagne back in the 50s and 60s. The pace is slow and deliberate, with both guys saving their best stuff for the later stages of the match. There's a lot of mat wrestling to start, headlocks, hammerlocks, reversals and what not. Things build nicely as the hour goes on, with both Shawn and Bret getting more aggressive as more time passes without a fall.

The 60 minutes elapses just as Shawn is caught in Bret's Sharpshooter and about to submit. The match is declared a draw and WWF Champion Bret grabs his belt and heads up the aisle. Gorilla Monsoon talks to the ref and the timekeeper and orders that the match is restarted in sudden death overtime - there must be a winner.

Bret is livid, runs back to the ring and starts pounding on Shawn. Bret charges and Shawn drops him with a superkick. While Bret recovers, Shawn crawls to the corner and pulls himself up, nails Bret with a second superkick just as Bret gets to his feet from the first one, pin, three counts.

This was the final step in elevating Shawn Michaels, who started with the company as one half of the Rockers and then became a multi-time Intercontinental Champion as a mid-card heel, into a main event babyface. This was his first WWF Title, and though he switched back and forth from face to heel several times, and sat out a few years with back problems, he didn't leave the main event until his retirement in 2010.

#1 Steve Austin vs The Rock, WrestleMania X-Seven

One of the greatest wrestling rivalries!

In late 1999 Stone Cold Steve Austin got injured and spent over a year out of the WWE, but when he returned, he set his eyes on The Rock and the WWE gold again. This time the two wrestlers would face off in Houston, Texas at WrestleMania X-Seven.

Months prior, Austin won the 2001 Royal Rumble and started a feud with The Rock that involved Austin's manager Debra. The hatred between the two built up, Debra was removed from the picture, and the main event was set.

Instead of just knocking out referees like their previous encounter, the battle between The Rock and Austin was declared a No Disqualification match.

Early on, a ring bell was used, and both shed blood in the WWE ring. These two changed tactics later in the match when they both used submission moves on each other. One of the most surprising parts was The Rock's clever use of Austin's stunner.

Vince McMahon showed up at ringside later in the match and stopped The Rock from defeating Austin. McMahon gave Austin a chair, which Austin used to pound The Rock with and then defeat him.

Austin turned heel for the first time in his career, shook hands with Vince McMahon and won over The Rock at WrestleMania for a second time.