This blogy-thingy will be mostly stuff that I think is awesome and occasionally the delusions of grandeur and realities of mediocrity that is my life.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
I think WRESTLEMANIA 18 falls squarely in the above average category.
There is stuff to like, stuff to dislike and stuff to wonder how it got on the card in the first place. I think it will always be remembered as the Rock/Hogan Wrestlemania but I don’t think it was just a one match show.
WRESTLEMANIA 17 might be my favorite Mania.
The WWF was dominating the world of pro-wrestling at this point, having just bought ECW and WCW to use as storyline fodder and DVD bonus features. The undercard was great with most matches having some sort of actual feud and not just tossed together like a lot of Manias. The TLC match was a thing now and making stars out of 3 tag-teams and making the tag-titles meaningful. Plus Triple H and the Undertaker teamed up to give Taker his only good Wrestlemania match to this point.
But even with such a big card, the main event stood apart as something special. You had the Rock and Stone Cold putting another chapter on their now storied rivalry but adding new twists. This match would feature them both as hugely over babyfaces, both undeniably the biggest stars in the sport at this time and still in their primes. And on the horizon for them, Rocky’s first shot at being a movie star and Austin’s first heel turn since he became one of the biggest draw in WWE/WWF history. We might never get another Wrestlemania match-up like that main event again.
Another shot of CM Punk and The Rock hanging out today. If Punk is asking for Rocky to hook him up with tickets to the GI Joe movie premiere later this summer it doesn’t look like the invite is in the mail just yet.
I’d love to have been a fly on the wall for this conversation.
(Source: heelcena)
Wrestlemania 16 is forgettable and over-looked for a lot of valid reasons.
There are however two really memorable things about this show, the first being the 3 way ladder match for the tag-titles that would later evolve beyond just a ladder match and become a WWE staple known as the “TLC match”. The second is a bit more subtle but showed how “business” had changed in the WWF and that is for the first time a heel went home victorious from the main event of a Wrestlemania.
WRESTLEMANIA 15 revolved around the 2 biggest rivalries of the “Attitude Era” in one match.
Stone Cold Steve Austin vs The Rock was the match but with Austin vs McMahon as a subplot it only intensified the match and the fans desire to see Austin regain the WWF Championship. A great example of how bat-shit crazy the fans were for Austin back then is his infamous beer truck promo from the episode of RAW just 6 days before this Wrestlemania.
WRESTLEMANIA 14 came around and the WWF’s “Attitude Era” was now in full swing. This card is filled with the mainstays of a roster that would put them back on top of the wrestling and Monday night wars and take the business to levels we’d never seen before.
Austin, DX, The Rock, Triple H and Mick Foley all had major roles on this show and it was definitely a sign that the future was now for them and the WWF. Sadly this event also marked what seemed to be the end for Shawn Michaels due to health (and other issues). Thankfully both for HBK and the fans this turned out to not be a permanent vacation, but watching the event live back in 1998 it certainly felt that way.
WRESTLEMANIA 13’s card is kind of a mess.
It is a mix of talent split between a bunch of up-and-comers and the guys they would soon be replacing. Change was coming to the WWE, it would soon be a new “attitude” and a new era. Leading that charge would be a guy named Stone Cold Steve Austin and his match with Bret Hart was not only fantastic but would also begin is rapid climb to superstardom.
Ah, WRESTLEMANIA 12…everybody say it with me. “the boyhood dream has come true for Shawn Michaels!”
The main event for this show was special and it still stands out today. The Ironman match format is still a rare thing in WWF/WWE history especially on PPV. Having someone win their first WWE or World title is still not a common thing at Wrestlemania. And having a babyface vs babyface match especially the main event is not common for any card in McMahon-land much less Wrestlemania.
I also kind of look at this match as a tribute to an old-school main event wrestling style that those two performers both admired but that was soon going to be replaced by a new WWE “attitude” and new WWE styled main event match. And as an HBK fan, seeing him have the best match/performance in the last two Manias only to lose both times, it was nice to see him finally get his big win.
So then WRESTLEMANIA 11 happened.
The event went backwards again delivering not only one the worst cards in Mania history but also taking Vince’s favorite (and the worst) Mania tradition of having a “celebrity” wrestle to new highs/lows. Lawrence Taylor vs Bam Bam Bigelow, even though both gave a good effort, is just not a main event material especially for your biggest show of the year.
Highlight of the show (just as the previous year) was Shawn Michaels continuing to earn his “Mr. Wrestlemania” nickname by bumping like a madman to try to steal the show. And speaking of HBK (which we will be for the next couple of Manias) HERE is a link to a good article about his Wrestlemania performances.
