Nostalgia has a special place in the hearts of professional wrestling fans the world over. As promised in our first edition ‘WrestleMania in Photographs: 1-10’, here we are with the second edition of our WrestleMania Rewind.
Whether we’re on The Road to WrestleMania or in the post-Mania ‘Payback’ season, sipping on a drink whilst reminiscing about past ‘Manias is our favourite pass-time.
While the first ten WrestleManias were dominated by Hulk Hogan, with a few editions ruled by ‘The Macho Man’ Randy Savage with Miss Elizabeth and some others by The Ultimate Warrior, the undercards featured names such as The Undertaker and ‘The Heart Break Kid’ Shawn Michaels.
‘Taker and HBK would go on to be an important part of several ‘Manias, right from Michaels’ WM 11 match against Diesel to the Deadman’s upcoming WM 33 matchup against Roman Reigns.
WrestleMania 11-20 include several important editions of The Show of Shows, including ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin’s WWF Championship winning performance at Wrestlemania 14 which many opine, marked the beginning of the ‘Attitude Era’- a Rated-R, no-holds-barred, wild time in the world of professional wrestling.
The latter half namely ‘Mania 19 and 20, saw the rise of young prospects such as Brock Lesnar and John Cena, who’d go on to reach the pinnacle of the sport in the years that followed.
Nevertheless, the second decade of ‘Manias saw Superstars such as HBK, Bret Hart, Steve Austin, Triple H and several others take World Wrestling Federation to new heights. Female Superstars such as Trish Stratus, Lita, Victoria, Sable and others changed the way pro-wrestling is perceived forever, with their wild and unpredictable characters, roller-coaster storylines and edgy matches.
WM 11-20 was ruled by HBK, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Mankind featuring the Taker-Kane revelations and so much more. Buckle up folks, you’re in for a wild ride!
WrestleMania 11:
WWF. Date: April 2, 1995.
Attendance: 16,305.
Venue: Hartford Civic Center. Hartford, Connecticut.
WrestleMania 11 was a bit of an anomaly, so to speak, in the sense that the headlining match featured NFL linebacker Lawrence Taylor against Bam Bam Bigelow- a match that received mixed reviews from the pro-wrestling community.
Nevertheless, the WWF World Heavyweight Championship match featured a highly publicised collision between Shawn Michaels and ‘Diesel’ aka Kevin Nash, with Pamela Anderson and Jenna McCarthy acting as valets to Diesel and Michaels respectively.
Razor Ramon beat Jeff Jarrett by disqualification but the WWF Intercontinental title remained with Jarrett, owing to the fight ending via DQ. The Undertaker beat King Kong Bundy, whereas Bret Hart defeated Bob Backlund, both in singles matches respectively.
The main event featuring Bigelow and Taylor was ho-hum, however, the HBK-Diesel match attracted a lot of eyeballs owing to Anderson and McCarthy acting as eye-candy for the WWF Heavyweight Championship bout.
WrestleMania 12:
WWF. Date: March 31, 1996.
Venue: Arrowhead Pond. Anaheim, California.
Attendance: 18,853.
WrestleMania 12 saw ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper beat Goldust in a Hollywood back lot brawl, after which Piper jumped ship from the WWF to WCW. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was accompanied by Ted Dibiase as Austin defeated Savio Vega in a singles matchup.
The Ultimate Warrior returned to WWF after a 4-year break, besting Hunter Hearst Helmsley aka Triple H (w/ Sable). Meanwhile, The Undertaker beat Diesel in a singles bout. Mania’s 12th edition saw an excellent main event, with Shawn Michaels facing Bret Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match for the WWF Heavyweight Championship.
HBK managed to eke out a victory, beating ‘The Hitman’ in overtime.
WrestleMania 13:
WWF. Date: March 23, 1997.
Venue: Rosemont Horizon. Rosemont, Illinois.
Attendance: 18,197.
WrestleMania 13 is often touted as one of the more forgettable editions of ‘Mania, but it marked the WrestleMania-debut of one of the greatest box-office attractions of all time, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, who defended his WWF Intercontinental Championship against The Sultan.
HHH (Hunter Hearst Helmsley) was accompanied by Chyna as he scored a win over Goldust (w/Marlena) in a singles match.
WM 13 featured one of the greatest professional wrestling matches of all time, with Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart defeating ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin in a submission match, with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Ken Shamrock acting as the special guest referee.
Although WrestleMania 14 is credited as the start of the Attitude Era, its foundation was laid by the aforementioned matchup between Steve Austin and Bret Hart at WrestleMania 13.
The main-event of the evening saw The Undertaker dethrone Psycho Sid for the WWF Championship in a ‘No Disqualification’ match.
WrestleMania 14:
WWF. Date: March 29, 1998.
Venue: FleetCenter. Boston, Massachusetts.
Attendance: 19,028.
WrestleMania 14 is one of the most important editions in the history of the event, which was headlined by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin winning his first WWF Heavyweight Championship in a match against Shawn Michaels, with boxing legend ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson acting as a special ring enforcer for the matchup.
It’s essential to note that HBK performed at the event, despite suffering a serious back injury in the lead-up to WM 14.
The card was stacked to the gills, with matches such as The Undertaker vs. Kane, Triple H vs. Owen Hart for the WWF European Championship, Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie vs. The New Age Outlaws for the WWF tag-team belts in a ‘Dumpster Match’ and The Rock vs. Ken Shamrock for the WWF Intercontinental title, to name a few.
Austin’s win at WrestleMania 14 is considered by fans and pundits alike as the beginning of the ‘Attitude Era’ in the WWF/WWE.
WrestleMania 15:
WWF. Date: March 28, 1999.
Venue: First Union Center. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Attendance: 20,276.
WrestleMania 15 was main-evented by The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, with Austin beating ‘Rocky’ for the WWF Championship in a no-disqualification match. The co-main event saw The Undertaker beat Big Boss Man in a Hell in a Cell match.
On the undercard, Sable defended her WWF Women’s Championship against Tori, while Shane McMahon defended his WWF European strap against X-Pac. The event also featured a shoot-fight match between boxing legend Eric ‘Butterbean’ Esch and pro-wrestler Bart Gunn, which Butterbean won in 35 seconds.
WrestleMania 16:
WWF. Date: April 2, 2000.
Venue: Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Anaheim, California.
Attendance: 19,776.
WrestleMania 16 aka WrestleMania 2000 boasts one of the craziest main-events in pro-wrestling history, pitting Triple H (defending champion), The Rock, Mankind and Big Show against one another for the WWF Championship.
The event’s tagline- ‘A McMahon in every corner’- played a huge role in the headliner, with the aforementioned four Superstars being managed by Stephanie McMahon, Vince McMahon, Linda McMahon and Shane McMahon respectively.
The show was capped off by ‘The Brahma Bull’ doling out Rock Bottoms to Shane O’Mac, Vince and Stephanie, furthermore, executing the People’s Elbow on Stephanie McMahon.
Another notable matchup was the Triangle Ladder Match between The Hardy Boyz, The Dudley Boyz and the team of Edge and Christian. Featuring several high-flying sequences, this match saw Edge and Christian win their first WWF tag-team Championships.
WM 16 also saw a 2-count Triple-Threat match between Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho for the WWF Intercontinental and European titles- with Benoit winning the Intercontinental belt and Y2J taking the European strap.
The event also saw a ‘Cat Fight’ match between Terri Runnels (w/The Fabulous Moolah) and The Kat (w/Mae Young). Trish Stratus accompanied T&A (Test and Albert) in their winning performance against the team of Al Snow and Steve Blackman.
WrestleMania 17:
WWF. Date: April 1, 2001.
Venue: Reliant Astrodome. Houston, Texas.
Attendance: 67,925.
WrestleMania 17 was the first edition of ‘Mania to be held in Texas and was headlined by ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ Stone Cold Steve Austin, who defeated The Rock for the WWF Championship in a No-Disqualification match.
The undercard featured a ‘Street Fight’ between Vince and Shane McMahon, a singles match between The Undertaker and Triple H and Chyna beating Ivory for the WWF Women’s Championship.
Kane bested Raven and Big Show in a Hardcore Match for the WWF Hardcore Championship. Eddie Guerrero dethroned Test for the WWF European Championship.
WrestleMania 18:
WWF. Date: March 17, 2002.
Venue: Skydome. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Attendance: 68,237.
WrestleMania 18 was a pivotal edition for the event, in the sense that, it was the last ‘Mania to be promoted under the WWF banner, what with the name change and brand extension that would follow in the months following WM 18.
The event was promoted with Triple H and Chris Jericho headlining for the WWF Championship, however, the real main-event of the evening was an ‘Icon vs. Icon’ matchup, featuring The Rock against Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Furthermore, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin would defeat Scott Hall and Jazz would beat Lita and Trish Stratus for the WWF Women’s Championship. The Rock would prevail over Hogan and HHH would best Y2J for the WWF Championship.
WrestleMania 19:
WWE. Date: March 30, 2003.
Venue: Safeco Field. Seattle, Washington.
Attendance: 54,097.
WrestleMania 19 was one of the most star-studded editions of The Show of Shows. It was the first ‘Mania to be promoted under the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) banner, advertised as a co-promotion between the RAW and SmackDown brands.
WM 19 boasted several main-event caliber matchups with Hulk Hogan beating Vince McMahon in a street fight, Triple H defending his WWE Heavyweight Championship (RAW brand) against Booker T and Kurt Angle losing his WWE Championship (SmackDown brand) to WrestleMania debutante Brock Lesnar.
WM 19 also featured the last official WWE match of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, who would retire after the event owing to the nagging injuries he’d accumulated throughout his career. The company lost a big-time Superstar in Austin but gained another box-office attraction in Brock Lesnar.
It’s essential to note that although Lesnar would play a huge role in the WWE after Wrestlemania 19, his pro-wrestling career saw a long hiatus after the following ‘Mania (Wrestlemania 20).
Besides, the event also featured a highly-entertaining matchup between Chris Jericho and ‘The Heart Break Kid’ Shawn Michaels. WrestleMania 19 truly was a crossroads event for the WWE.
WrestleMania 20:
WWE. Date: March 14, 2004.
Venue: Madison Square Garden. New York City, New York.
Attendance: 18,500.
WrestleMania 20 was an excellent event that was unfortunately marred by the disastrous Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar matchup, that involved little-to-no action, with the only saving grace being the fact that special guest referee ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin hit both aforementioned ‘performers’ with his trademark Stunner.
To think of that very match being one of WrestleMania 33’s main events shakes me to my very core!
Nevertheless, the card featured several entertaining scraps including the ‘Mania debut of John Cena, who dethroned Big Show for the WWE United States Championship. ‘Taker beat Kane while ‘Evolution’ (Randy Orton, Batista and Ric Flair) beat the team of Mick Foley and The Rock.
In a Playboy-WWE cross-promotional matchup, Sable and Torrie Wilson defeated Stacy Keibler and Miss Jackie in a Playboy Evening Gown match.
The SmackDown brand’s main-event was a WWE Championship match between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, that saw Eddie best the Olympic gold-medalist in a battle of wits. The RAW brand’s main-event was a Triple-Threat matchup for the WWE Championship between Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit, with Benoit emerging victorious in the end.
WrestleMania 20 ended with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, both real-life friends, embracing one another in the midst of the WWE Universe with confetti raining down on the ring.
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