I took the Top 25 from yesterday determined what Manias those came from, took the ones with the most matches and made my top five wrestlemanias of all time, once again for me. Except for Manias 2000 and 21, where the two matches from those cards were the ONLY two good matches on the entire card and as such thrown out of competition.
5. Wrestlemania IV, Atlantic City, Trump Plaza. The only Wrestlemania to feature a tournament for the WWF title. It began with a great battle royal which really saw the first face turn for Bret Hart after losing it to the late Bad News Brown. The Ultimate Warrior made his presence known to Wrestlemania for the first time against Hercules. The tournament looked like a whos who in 80s wrestling, all it was really missing was Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. Randy Savage showed us all how good he could be and it was a great show. I know many don't hold this opinion like I do, but I thought it stands out above the first five Wrestlemanias.
4.Wrestlemania VIII, Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, IN. When one looks at this Mania you can't help wonder, what if? This was their one chance to give the fans THE biggest match of all time, Hogan vs Flair for the title. Both men could still work at this point and it would have been something special on the biggest pro wrestling stage in the world. I'm guessing the egos of both men, but mainly Hogan, got in the way. We were treated with a great title match between Flair and Savage, which is probably a better match then what we would have got between Flair and Hogan but still. Also had the Mania debut of HBK, mind you I said HBK not Shawn Michaels. Of course Piper and Hart steal the entire show so what is there not to like...other then the eight man tag match just to get folks on the card.
3.Wrestlemania XX, Madison Sqaure Garden, NYC. The best Wrestlemania in the last five years by far. This may be the first Wrestlemania that Vince McMahon has given the fans what they actually want since Wrestlemania 15. In the sense that the people the fans actually wanted as champion and we all knew were the best wrestlers on your roster. The rest of the card may be a bit lackluster, but it does have the memorble moment where the fans stopped the show with the booing of Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg in their last match, and rightfully so. I thought the booking and match of Jericho and Christian that night is really underplayed and was almost a show stealer. The saddest thing is some fans will only remember Ultimo Dragon for him slipping on his cape this night and it is truly sad for one of the best cruiserweights ever.
2.Wrestlemania XII, Arrowhead Pond, Anahiem, CA. This Wrestlemania has the distinction of having the fewest amount of matches on a Wrestlemania ever in this history of Wrestlemania. Then again, it also had an hour long Iron Man match that took up a third of the card. I think it is underestimated because of the lack of the matches, but think of some of the moments. Other then the opener, that had great workers, every match is solid. Roddy Piper and Goldust was beautifully done by Piper actually punching Dustin. It introduced us to Steve Austin, HHH and Sable. It was the last return of the Ultimate Warrior, the farewell for Diesel, and the beginning of the end for Bret Hart. His last great World Title match, I still kick myself for not going to it.1.Wrestlemania XVII, The Astrodome, Houston, TX. Damn, I wasn't living there at the time, but I have no doubt that they will return there one day, perhaps two years from now, that seems about the right time line. I don't know if there was a bad match on this card, maybe Chyna and Ivory, but honestly don't remember it. We all got a kick out of the Gimmick Battle Royal as it was great to hear Bobby Heenan again pre-cancer. This may mark the epitome of the attitude era of the WWE, much like Wrestlemania 8 or 6 epitomized the 80s hey day. You know how difficult it is just to have a normal show without one bad match? WRESTLEMANIA 17 MANAGED TO DO THIS.
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