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Magic, Memories, and Mania
VALENTINO'S MAGIC, MEMORIES & MANIA: WrestleMania Countdown - The Top 10 Mania Stars (w/Poll Results)

Apr 1, 2014 - 1:00:30 PM
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Originally Published March 17

- Who do you consider the Top WrestleMania Performer of All-Time?

42% - The Undertaker
36% - Shawn Michaels
10% - Hulk Hogan
3% - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
3% - Bret Hart
2% - Randy Savage
1% - Edge, The Rock, Triple H, John Cena

By Shawn Valentino, PWTorch specialist

This is an extremely special time to be a wrestling fan. Not only has the Road to WrestleMania officially begun, but WWE has released the entire library of matches that took place on the Grandest Stage of Them All on WWE Network. Over the 30 year history of the event, a number of wrestlers have stepped up to perform at their highest level on the biggest show of the year, while others are still waiting to seize their WrestleMania moment.

This article is in response to the recent Ask the Editor question about who are the top ten stars in WrestleMania history. By this, it is assumed that we are discussing wrestlers’s performances at Mania, not their overall star standing in wrestling history, which would be a completely different list. But, for these purposes, any list that does not include Shawn Michaels in the Top Five and puts Randy Orton over Randy Savage in the Top Ten has no credibility.

To use an analogy, Reggie Jackson is nicknamed Mr. October because of his amazing performances in the World Series. No objective list will place him as one of the Top Ten stars in baseball history, but it would be like somebody putting Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez as better World Series players than Reggie just because they are better overall players. I have been a fan since WrestleMania 3 so I have essentially seen the entire history of the event in real-time, and I have attended eleven of the last twelve WrestleManias so I can speak from first-hand account.

Today, I will give my perspective on who are the ten stars who have shone the brightest in the Showcase of the Immortals.

First, I want to quickly dismiss the notion that Orton should be in the Top Ten over Savage. I have been to every one of Orton’s Mania matches and most of them have been disappointing or forgettable. Just stop and think back for a few minutes about memorable WrestleMania matches. How many of them include Orton? In fact, the one that really stands out was the snoozefest of a main event between him and Triple H at WrestleMania 25. He had a great tag match at WrestleMania 20, a good match against Undertaker at WrestleMania 21, and a few okay mid-card bouts. How that can possibly put him above Savage, who was widely acknowledged as the annual show-stealer of the first decade of Manias is beyond imagination.

This is the criteria I will base my list on.

(a) Quality of matches at WrestleMania against a variety of opponents. I will rate the matches I believe to be four stars and above on a five-star scale.

(b) Historical importance and influence of the individual’s WrestleMania performances

(c) Memorable moments intertwined with the event’s history.

(10) Edge

This may be a surprising choice because we do not immediately think of Edge when we think of Mania’s top stars, but if you look back at his matches, you see that he may be the most underrated performer in the history of the event. He won the first Money in the Bank match, which ignited his Ultimate Opportunist gimmick at WM21. He had an excellent hardcore brawl against Mick Foley at WM22, and an unforgettable TLC showdown at WrestleMania. He had a brilliant main event battle with Undertaker at WM24 and an underrated championship match against Chris Jericho at Mania 26.

Edge is overlooked because other than the triple threat Tables, Ladders and Chairs match against the Hardys and Christian & Edge, his matches are not really considered of much historical importance, but he had two of the most memorable moments in the history of WrestleMania. The first was the utterly insane spot when he leaped off a ladder and speared Jeff Hardy, who was hanging from the rafters with the Tag Team Championships. The other was the equally crazy headfirst dive spearing Mick Foley through a table engulfed in flames. The Rated R Superstar deserves recognition as one of WrestleMania's top stars.

- WrestleMania 17: TLC Match: Edge and Christian versus Hardys versus Dudleys (****3/4)
- WrestleMania 21: Money in the Bank 1 (****1/2)
- WrestleMania 22: Street Fight: Edge versus Mick Foley (****)

(9) Bret "the Hitman" Hart

Hart calls himself The Best There is, The Best There Was, and the Best There Ever Will Be, but in reality he is near the top, but not in the upper elite class of WrestleMania performers. That is not to underestimate his importance both as a character and as a worker in Mania lore. First, let's look at the quality of his standout matches.

Hart's showdown against his brother Owen at WrestleMania 10 was arguably the best opening match in the history of pay-per-views. He had a sensational Intercontinental Championship match against Roddy Piper at WM8 that may have been Rowdy’s best WWF match ever. Then there is the infamous Iron Man Match against Michaels, which I consider the most overrated match in the history of wrestling, but it still has to be acknowledged for his solid workrate and making the last ten minutes a memorable technical battle. Of course, we cannot forget what may be the greatest match in Mania history, his epic Submission Match against Steve Austin that lit the fuse for the Stone Cold Era.

Hart not only has had tremendous performances, but he has also had numerous classic moments. The symbolic coronation of a new era took place at WrestleMania 10 when the other babyfaces held him above their heads to end the show. Although it is not the masterpiece some claim it to be, the fact that he and Michaels were given an hour to headline Mania ushered a change in direction to a company more geared around good matches than bodybuilders. His feud with Austin and the culmination at WrestleMania 13 with Austin bleeding in the center of the ring cannot be understated as to how vital it was in building towards the Attitude Era. The Excellence of Execution was just that at WrestleMania.

- WrestleMania 8: Bret Hart versus Roddy Piper (****)
- WrestleMania 10: Bret Hart versus Owen Hart (****1/2)
- WrestleMania 13: Submission Match: Bret Hart versus Steve Austin (*****)

(8) Triple H

Triple H may be the most complicated figure in the history of wrestling. He has undoubtedly proven himself as a top performer that has crossed generations and faced off against more of a variety of opponents than possibly any wrestler other than Ric Flair, but many refuse to give him credit because of his marriage into the McMahon family. Fittingly, his performances at WrestleMania have been a mixed bag that befits the legacy of the man himself. For years, he was the man that did not live up to his billing as the King of Kings, but with brilliant performances in recent years, he has enhanced his Mania standing.

As bad as a rap that Hunter gets for not making stars, it must be remembered that he lost in three straight main events between WrestleMania 20 to 22. It resulted in Chris Benoit having what is now an ironic and unforgettable moment standing in the center of the ring to end a landmark show. His feud with Batista made the Animal a star, and it led to his first World Championship reign at 21. The Game also had a very good match in front of a raucous Chicago crowd before tapping out to John Cena to further establish credibility that Cena’s time had arrived.

As far as match quality, the Triple Threat Match with Michaels and Benoit is arguably the best-wrestled main event in WrestleMania history. He also had a solid brawl against Brock Lesnar at WM29. His first match against Undertaker at WM17 was very good, but the two epic showdowns they had at WM27 and WM28 were timeless classics both in buildup and execution in the ring. It is those two show-stealing attractions that really earned my respect and they filled the void in Mania match quality that was left by the incomparable Michaels.

It may have even made up for the embarrassing disaster against Orton at WM25 and the ill-advised “main event” against Jericho that followed the Rock versus Hulk Hogan showcase at WM18. Some strong matches along with his pivotal role in putting over Cena and Batista on the Grand Stage early in their careers earn Triple H a spot on this list.

- WrestleMania 17: Triple H versus Undertaker (****)
- WrestleMania 20: Triple H versus Shawn Michaels versus Chris Benoit (*****)
- WrestleMania 22: Triple H versus John Cena (****)
- WrestleMania 27: Triple H versus Undertaker (*****)
- WrestleMania 28: Hell in a Cell: Triple H versus Undertaker (*****)

(7) John Cena

Let me start off by saying that John Cena is easily the biggest star of his generation, but this is a list based on wrestlers’s performances and the historical importance of their matches at WrestleMania, and when analyzing his Mania history, it becomes apparent that throughout much of his prime, Cena has been an afterthought on the company’s top show, as it appears he will be this year again. I have been to every John Cena WrestleMania match live, so I know firsthand that he has not been the headline attraction in most of those years.

Let us look back in time. His first World Championship win against JBL at Mania 21 easily took a backseat to Batista’s quest for the other World Title and dream match between Michaels and Kurt Angle. Although he main-evented WM22 against Triple H, the months leading to the show focused on Vince McMahon’s quest to destroy Michaels. He headlined against Michaels in WM23, but the build was overshadowed by the Battle of the Billionaires.

Cena had forgettable Triple Threat matches at WM24 and WM25 in years where the spotlight was on Flair’s retirement and the classic between Michaels and Undertaker, respectively. Mania 26 was built around the HBK versus Taker rematch and Shawn’s retirement. It was not until the Rock came back to WWE that Cena truly took center stage at WrestleMania, but even WM27 was a forgettable match against The Miz.

Cena and Rock absolutely deserve credit for making WrestleMania 28 the rousing success it became, but it was not even the best match on the show as Taker and Hunter stole the show for the second straight year. By WM29, people were not as excited to see Cena and Rock, and it is arguable that with Rock’s status in Hollywood, the show should have been more successful. Additionally, he deserves to go down at least a notch or two for having to sit through his embarrassingly bad entrances every year.

I went to law school and right now it looks like I am making a case against Cena, but I merely want to state the facts that we should not let his status as the main star of his era cloud our judgment when rating him based on his WrestleMania performances. That being said, much of the reason I am even placing him this high is the fact that he has been the top draw in an era where WrestleMania really became a weeklong festivity, bigger than it even was during the Attitude Era. He did have good matches against Triple H, The Rock, and Batista. But the fact remains that despite his box office status in the past decade, when objectively looking through a closer lens, his Mania track record is shaky at best.

- WrestleMania 22: John Cena versus Triple H (****)
- WrestleMania 23: John Cena versus Shawn Michaels (****)
- WrestleMania 29: John Cena versus The Rock (****)

(6) "Macho Man" Randy Savage

In the first decade of WWF’s annual showcase, the Macho Man was Mr. WrestleMania. Hulk Hogan was indisputably the top star and headlining attraction, but it was Savage who had the best match year after year and became a mainstream pop culture icon on his own. Of course, the classic Intercontinental Championship match at WrestleMania 3 against Ricky Steamboat did the unthinkable and stole the show from Hulkster and Andre the Giant. It was the match that made me, and millions of others, a wrestling fan and is still thought of fondly today amongst fans as the first great match of WrestleMania.

At the height of the Hulkamania era, Savage began a year-long reign at Mania 4, and in one of the most memorable moments, hoisted Elizabeth on his shoulder with the WWF Championship. He had another unforgettable feud against Hogan that culminated in the Mega Powers Explode match at WM5 that many consider the best of Hulk’s career, and may have been the best storyline in WWF history. In fact, Savage was probably the best opponent that Hogan ever had and was the Rolling Stones to Hogan’s Beatles in the early Mania years.

Savage had another show-stealing epic clash against Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania 7 that is one of the greatest one-man performances in wrestling history and resulted in probably the best match in Warrior’s career. and another timeless moment followed when he reunited with Liz. The following year, he was chosen as Ric Flair’s first Mania opponent and the two concluded a tremendously written storyline about the Nature Boy’s alleged past with Savage’s manager and wife Miss Elizabeth. It was a bloody battle and another spectacular bout right up there with his match against Steamboat for technical mastery. His Mania swansong was an ahead-of-its-time brawl against his friend Crush.

Looking back, Savage was not only amazing in the ring at a time where workrate was not valued in the WWF, but he was also an incredibly influential performer that rose to the occasion on big matches. He was one of the few characters that made it cool to like wrestling, and he was so versatile that he shown brightly both as a heel and a face on the Grand Stage. He was attitude before the Attitude Era and it is arguable that his style of matches and character were more of an influence on the eventual direction of WWF as a company than Hogan. Just look at the in-ring action today and ask yourself if it is more in the vein of Savage-Steamboat and Savage-Flair or the formulaic Hogan battles. The Macho Man was Mr. WrestleMania before the phrase was coined.

- WrestleMania 3: Randy Savage versus Ricky Steamboat (****3/4)
- WrestleMania 5: Randy Savage versus Hulk Hogan (****)
- WrestleMania 7: Randy Savage versus Ultimate Warrior (****3/4)
- WrestleMania 8: Randy Savage versus Ric Flair (****1/2)

(5) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

Austin was the force of nature responsible for the most successful period in wrestling history, but like Cena, we must keep his star status in mind but look closer at his WrestleMania performances when judging his ranking solely on the Grand Stage. He had some incredible matches, including one of the most influential matches in wrestling history against Hart that I mentioned above. He had a very good match against Michaels under tough circumstances because both were injured at WM14.

But, of course, his Mania history largely is based around his epic trilogy against his archrival The Rock. The first was a fairly forgettable brawl, but the Mania 17 clash is considered one of the best in the history of the event, despite an ill-advised heel turn. His final match of his career at Mania 19, complete with an emotional interaction between him and Rock in the center of the ring, was a fitting coda if he stays retired.

Overall, Austin had a very good career at WrestleMania and his rise to stardom definitely was the heart of the Attitude Era and the catalyst for the boom in business during that time. He headlined Mania during WWF’s most successful time period, but the event itself has gotten bigger since he retired. He did not have great matches against a wide variety of opponents, but since he and Rock were so far ahead of the rest of the roster, it made sense that they would fight each other.

What hurts Austin is his longevity. His Mania prime was essentially for only six years, one of which he was injured and another where he had a forgettable mid-card match against Scott Hall at WM18. He was also special referee for the infamous Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg WM20 match and the ill-conceived Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole match at WM27.

Although he does not have the long legacy of Mania matches, he deserves a spot high on this list because his sheer presence reestablished WrestleMania as a pop culture phenomenon.

- WrestleMania 13: Submission Match: Steve Austin versus Bret Hart (*****)
- WrestleMania 14: Steve Austin versus Shawn Michaels-Mike Tyson Special Enforcer (****)
- WrestleMania 17: Steve Austin versus The Rock (****1/2)
- WrestleMania 19: Steve Austin versus The Rock (****1/2)

(4) The Rock

The Rock is easily the biggest mainstream star in the history of wrestling and his latest run of Mania main events catapulted him to the Top Five in this list. I already mentioned the trilogy of matches against Austin. Those alone could place him in the Top Ten. He had a shockingly good match and one of the most memorable moments ever in front of an unglued crowd in the Skydome against Hogan. I was there in the stadium, and it was an absolutely magical moment that cannot be replicated or understood by those who were not there.

Rock also had an underrated tag team match with his Rock & Sock partner Foley against Evolution. His interactions with Flair in the contest made one nostalgic for what could have been if the two had met in their primes. Then came the box office smash against Cena at Mania 28, and the sequel the next year, which I felt was a better match because it played off the previous year’s story.

I believe Rock tops Austin in Mania performances because of the Icon versus Icon battle that really summed up what WWF's version of professional wrestling is all about - larger than life characters taking the crowd on an emotional journey. Additionally, the fact that he was able to return so many years after he left and still put on great performances gave him an added chapter to his WrestleMania legacy that Austin did not get the chance to write.

- WrestleMania 17: The Rock versus Steve Austin (****1/2)
- WrestleMania 18: The Rock versus Hulk Hogan (*****)
- WrestleMania 19: The Rock versus Steve Austin (****1/2)
- WrestleMania 29: The Rock versus John Cena (****)

(3) Hulk Hogan

If there were no Hulk Hogan, there would be no WrestleMania. Nobody can argue that it was the success of Hulkamania and the Rock and Wrestling Connection that made the initial Mania such an extravaganza. He headlined most of the first eight WrestleManias and was the foundation of what is now the WWE. Hulkster’s matches were often formulaic, but he was able to use the strength of his superhero character to put on some memorable showcases.

The original main event had some serious mainstream star power with Mr. T in his prime, and it put WrestleMania on the map as a pop culture event. When Hulk slammed Andre in front of a mammoth crowd at the Silverdome, it made headlines on mainstream news outlets and is still the biggest moment in Mania history. I still remember it being on the front page of our newspaper the next day, and it took professional wrestling to a new level of popularity.

Hogan's showdown with his nemesis Savage showed that Hogan put on a good match against the right opponent, and it was the finale of the best written story in company history. Hopefully, WWE Network can take us week by week through the slow break-up of the Mega Powers. It was the equivalent of Superman fighting Batman. The next year, he and Warrior surprised everyone and had a classic clash of the titans in the Skydome that resembled a battle between Greek gods. That was probably the final great moment of the Hulkamania era.

When he returned in 2002, he had the aforementioned classic with The Rock, and the crowd’s deafening reaction to him cemented his status as the Babe Ruth of WWF. Pro Wrestling Torch readers voted it as the match of the decade in a poll at the conclusion of 2009. He also had an excellent street fight the following year against McMahon, a match 20 years in the making as it was billed.

For somebody with a limited moveset, Hogan proved that when you have a strong character that can generate fan emotions, you can tell an epic story in the ring without having much agility. He deserves his spot so high on this list because Hulkamania and the birth of WrestleMania are forever intertwined in the history of the company, and he has given us a series of unforgettable matches and moments that will live forever.

- WrestleMania 5: Hulk Hogan versus Randy Savage (****)
- WrestleMania 6: Hulk Hogan versus Ultimate Warrior (****1/2)
- WrestleMania 18: Hulk Hogan versus The Rock (*****)

(2) The Undertaker

The Undertaker may have had the most fascinating career in pro wrestling history. Throughout the first decade-plus of his WWE/F career, he was mainly a gimmick performer that had formulaic matches based around his supernatural character. Throughout the first 14 years of The Streak, he did not have a single match that can be regarded as a standout classic. In the last seven years, it is difficult to think of one of his matches that was not a brilliant encounter.

I believe his first really good Mania match was against Triple H at Mania 17. He followed it up with a bloody brawl against Flair in Toronto. It was when he was reborn as The Dead Man at Mania 20 that the evolution of Taker’s career truly began. He had an underrated match against Orton at WM21. Then he had a show-stealing match against Batista at WM23 that shocked fans and critics and began Batista’s rise to being a respectable wrestler. (By the way, could someone find that Batista and bring him back to 2014?) Taker's excellent main event against Edge at WM24 showed that it is possible to go after an emotionally draining masterpiece like Flair’s retirement match.

With an MMA-inspired arsenal of new moves, he entered the zenith of his career as he had a series of critically acclaimed dramatic battles against Michaels and Triple H. All of these matches won PWI Match of the Year, and The Streak became the true main event at Mania, far supplanting the World Championships. The aura of his winning streak gave each bout a theatrical quality that made every nearfall an edge of your seat experience. It was wrestling at its absolute best, superhuman characters with emotional depth struggling over the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Last year, Taker again had the best match on the show against C.M. Punk that honored the memory of his former manager Paul Bearer. It is safe to say that there will never be a streak of this magnitude again in wrestling, and I hope they keep it alive until he retires because it enhances the history of the sport itself.

- WrestleMania 17: Undertaker versus Triple H (****)
- WrestleMania 23: Undertaker versus Batista (****1/4)
- WrestleMania 24: Undertaker versus Edge (****1/4)
- WrestleMania 25: Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels (*****)
- WrestleMania 26: Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels (****3/4)
- WrestleMania 27: Undertaker versus Triple H (*****)
- WrestleMania 28: Undertaker versus Triple H (*****)
- WrestleMania 29: Undertaker versus C.M. Punk (****1/4)

(1) "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels is Mr. WrestleMania, and despite his own insistence, it is more than a promotional moniker. He has earned the nickname in his two decades of Mania performances. It can be argued that he had the best match at every WrestleMania he fought in between Mania 9 and his retirement at the 26th installment of the show. Six of his last seven Mania matches won PWI Match of the Year. Jim Ross called him the greatest big match wrestler he has ever seen and it is tough to argue with that assessment. Nobody performed on the Grand Stage like HBK, and his list of moments and matches leave an indelible stamp on the event’s history.

Let us start with the match that made him a star, a ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship against Razor Ramon that revolutionized the industry. It was the first match of its type that was seen on such a major show, and it set the path for the edgy, risk-taking style in the ensuing years. His match with Diesel may have been the best match in Nash’s career and stole the show at Mania 11.

The Iron Man Match against Bret Hart was over-rated and badly booked, but in many circles it is considered a classic and it left us with one of Mania’s most memorable moments when the boyhood dream came true. His DX persona was the perfect cool, cocky heel play off Mike Tyson and to go against Austin at Mania 14. This match gave Stone Cold his first championship and established him as the industry’s top star. He could have retired right there and been considered one of WrestleMania's top performers. It is mainly with this series of matches alone that the Torch Roundtable named him one of the top five stars of the first two decades of Mania.

It is Michaels’s return and the incomparable series of timeless classics in the second half of his career that make him the top performer in the history of the event. The student versus teacher clash where Chris Jericho took on his hero at Mania 19 was the best match of Jericho’s career and is considered the Savage-Steamboat of its era, a technical masterpiece of storytelling. Then he added the necessary athleticism that to what could have been merely a solid main event between Benoit and Triple H and lifted it to become a dramatic classic. He nearly topped it the next year in one of wrestling’s few remaining dream matches, an athletic showcase against Kurt Angle.

Then, he faced off against McMahon, single-handedly creating an exciting attraction that concluded with a leaping elbow off a towering ladder. It will likely be the only time Vince is a part of a PWI Match of the Year. He was in the main event of the highest selling PPV in WWF history against Cena. The following year, he was the perfect opponent to retire Flair in an emotional spectacle that provided one of the unforgettable moments in wrestling history, “I’m sorry. I love you.”

Impossibly, he topped himself the next year in what I consider the greatest match I have ever seen against Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. They lived up to the hype in the rematch the next year where Michaels retired in dramatic fashion in the main event.

Not only did HBK have the best matches, his athletic style, pacing and psychology are the template of the modern day WWE-style of wrestling so his influence is immense. Again, I am not arguing that Shawn Michaels is one of the Top Five stars in the history of wrestling, but any list that does not have him as one of the top two or three stars in terms of WrestleMania performances is lacking credibility. If you need evidence, go to the WWE Network and watch all of Michaels’s Mania matches and all of Rock, Austin and Cena’s and compare. While you are there, watch all of Orton’s matches and follow by watching Savage’s and try to understand the baffling claim that the Viper was a bigger Mania star.

This list celebrates those wrestlers who rise to the occasion in big matches and nobody elevated his performance on the Grand Stage like Michaels, and that is why he is the top WrestleMania star of all-time.

- WrestleMania 10: Ladder Match: Shawn Michaels versus Razor Ramon (*****)
- WrestleMania 14: Shawn Michaels versus Steve Austin (****)
- WrestleMania 19: Shawn Michaels versus Chris Jericho (****3/4)
- WrestleMania 20: Shawn Michaels versus Chris Benoit versus Triple H (*****)
- WrestleMania 21: Shawn Michaels versus Kurt Angle (****3/4)
- WrestleMania 23: Shawn Michaels versus John Cena (****)
- WrestleMania 24: Shawn Michaels versus Ric Flair (*****)
- WrestleMania 25: Shawn Michaels versus Undertaker (*****)
- WrestleMania 26: Shawn Michaels versus Undertaker (****3/4)

Please send questions, comments, and feedback to shawnvalentino@gmail.com and check out my book, "The Showstopper Lifestyle," on Amazon. Feel free to add Shawn Valentino on Facebook.


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