Well let me tell you something, brother…The Yeti never intended to fall behind on the best Countdown list in Pro Wrestling…but The Yeti got attacked at his house by a mean case of Salmonella. I’ve been too busy making frequent trips between my bed and my toilet to even want to think about wrestling. Nevertheless, I have returned, and lucky for you I have twice as much good news. Today, you’ll be receiving the 5th AND 4th Greatest ‘Mania matches of all time, brothers and sisters. Note that Takeover matches are not included for obvious reasons. Matches are ranked based on these criteria: Critical Acclaim for both critics and fans, historical significance, the electricity of the crowd, the timing and pacing of the match, psychology, the buildup, and of course, as Finn Balor would say, the fookin’ wrestling.
Just in case you’re new or you have fallen behind (like me), here’s a reminder of what you’ve missed.
HM: Triple H vs. The Undertaker- 28
HM: Eddie Guerrero vs. Kurt Angle- 20
HM: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns- 31
HM: Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon- 10
HM: Daniel Bryan vs. Triple H- 30
10: Bret Hart vs. Shawn Michaels- 12
9: The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan-X8
8: Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker II- 26
7: Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan- 5
6: The Rock vs. Steve Austin- X-Seven
One day overdue…here’s the beginning of the top 5…
#5. Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat
Intercontinental Championship
WrestleMania 3
It is hard to even know where to begin with this one. This wasn’t a year long feud culminating. This wasn’t a spotfest. This didn’t have the attention of the mainstream media coming into Mania like Hogan and Andre did. This was a wrestling match. This was so pure down to its core that you can’t help but wonder how we have strayed so far from formulas like this today. And don’t get me wrong, I am a huge supporter in the argument that wrestling today is just as good as it was back in the New Generation’s time, but this is isn’t about being better or worse. It is just wrestling, plain and simple.
The Macho Man and his wife Elizabeth were looking to put Ricky Steamboat and George “The Animal” Steele away for good after Savage had tormented him for some time. Steamboat obviously did not get the memo, however. Being referred to as a “Johnny Come Lately” by Jesse Ventura on commentary, Steamboat arm dragged and small packaged Savage to death. Just when Savage began to get the upper hand and began looking for his aerials, Steamboat put an abrupt end to the nearly year long Intercontinental title reign of Savage with a quick roll up.
Savage oozes charisma and it is a shame that there aren’t a few people as good as him today. And if wishes were fishes I’d love to see him work some promos today with some of the better cutters. On the other hand, I don’t have a doubt that Steamboat could still go if he wanted to. His technical prowess will never be matched. And as much as Savage gets credit for his promos and his character work, he should be thrown in the mix more for his in-ring work as he hung in the with one of the best ever.
While this match won’t be as memorable as the match later in the evening with the Slam Heard Round the World, everyone watching at home and everybody watching in the Silverdome (Brother) surely still remembers this classic bout. There is one match that sort of gets lost in history for a couple of reasons. But that isn’t going to stop it from being in my top 5. #4….
#4. Triple H vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels
World Heavyweight Championship
WrestleMania 20
If this were my personal list, this would be #1 and nothing could touch it. This match has some great accolades attached to it: Far and Away the match of the night and year, Best Triple Threat Match of all, Best WrestleMania Main Event of All Time, and simply, one of the Greatest Matches of All Time. Those are all debatable, but what isn’t is the fact that this match will never be mentioned again on WWE programming, for obvious reasons. When it comes down to it, WrestleMania 20 is a sore spot for a lot of Ruthless Aggression Era fans who now know the fates of the night’s biggest stars: Eddie Guerrero and the aforementioned Chris Benoit.
The build for this match was pretty simple: HHH and Shawn Michaels were best friends and now they are not. They get the main event of WrestleMania until Benoit wins the Royal Rumble (from #1) and decides to spoil the party. Two foes looking to take the piss out of each other and one guy looking to beat both of them to make himself one of the best ever. Simply put, this match was brutal.
Michaels and HHH were bloody messes by the end of this match, which beautifully mixed brute violence with technical mastery. What this match really thrived off of was one crucial element: psychology. You could tell by body language and eventually by actions and moves that Benoit, in the other two’s minds, wasn’t supposed to be there. This was Triple H and Shawn Michaels’ moment to shine. Benoit was a threat to vision that the other two had of finally duking it out to see who would be the best of all time. Three of the best ever to lace up a pair of boots absolutely tore the house down that night thanks to those number of crucial match elements. In the end, the Rabid Wolverine put The Game in the Crossface to secure the World Heavyweight Championship.
The hugs after the match really ended up speaking volumes. The one everyone likes to talk about was Benoit’s embrace with Eddie. Nobody knew at the time that they would both be gone in the next three years. The one that gets forgotten, and rightfully so, is Benoit’s embrace of his son Daniel and his wife Nancy. Like I said, looking back on this is so bittersweet, mainly bitter, but at the time, this match, and post match celebration are both the essence of what defines a WrestleMania moment. Benoit, the ultimate underdog and the fan favorite finally reaped what he had sewn after a long time in the business. Benoit had finally made it to the top. If only it ended there.
It is a shame that this match cannot officially be in the conversation for the best WWE match ever, because I think it would take the cake or at least have a good shot. Maybe, as time goes on, we will feel less guilty for thinking back on a match that really tied together the career of one of the best wrestlers ever to walk the Earth.
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