Ruthless Aggression vs Attitude Era
3. Wrestlemania 17
2. Wrestlemania 19
3. Wrestlemania 17
2. Wrestlemania 19
While other Wrestlemania's during the Attitude Era kind of fell flat, Wrestlemania 17 was an event that perfectly captured the quality entertainment that the Attitude Era produced. The main event, with Steve Austin defeating The Rock after an unimaginable heel turn that ended up going disastrously wrong, is one of the most shocking moments in wrestling history. In addition, the Hardy Boys, Dudley Boys and Edge and Christian continued to top themselves in ladder matches, having a devastating match that some fans feel is the best match ever to take place inside a WWE ring. William Regal and Chris Jericho opened the show with a solid contest, and The Undertaker and Triple H had a wild brawl that went all over the arena. Kurt Angle and Christ Benoit also competed in an often-forgotten match, but to no one's surprise, the match was very good and brought a much-needed technical aspect to the show. Lastly, and some fans probably feel like this wasn't necessarily a positive thing, but I absolutely loved the gimmick battle royal they had at this event.
If Wrestlemania 17 was the perfect Wrestlemania for the Attitude Era, Wrestlemania 19 was the perfect Wrestlemania for the Ruthless Aggression Era. Similar to Wrestlemania 10, Wrestlemania 19 sported two classic matches. The first match was Chris Jericho vs Shawn Michaels. At the time, HBK had just recently made his return to WWE after a long absence, and he still felt rusty in the ring. If there was any doubt that HBK was rusty, it was quickly put to rest when he started cooking with Y2J. Jericho didn't get enough love in this article, but it should be known that he was as reliable of a Wrestlemania performer as anyone. Jericho got the best out of HBK, and Michaels would actually credit Jericho for re-instilling confidence in himself, confidence that allowed him to go on to have a slew of great Wrestlemania matches.
The second great match was the main event, Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle for the WWE Championship. Angle and Lesnar are the most accomplished amateur wrestlers in the company's history, and their mat prowess was on full display in this match. While Rock vs Austin was a great brawl at Wrestlemania 17, it couldn't match the pure wrestling and athleticism that Brock vs Angle brought to the ring. In addition to those two matches, Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan had an exciting street fight, Rock vs Austin met one final time in what a lot of fans feel was the best match of their feud, and HHH defeated Booker T in a strong match for the World Heavyweight Championship.
The Best of the Best
1. Wrestlemania 21
1. Wrestlemania 21
Why is Wrestlemania 21 the best Wrestlemania of all-time? I will explain in three parts:
1. Shawn Michaels vs Kurt Angle
I wrote last year that this was the best match in Wrestlemania history, and while that is an easily disputed claim, I still feel justified in my opinion. Michaels and Angle are two of the best performers ever, and they met with a really exciting storyline. Angle represented his divine amateur background and mat skills against Shawn Michael's charisma and showmanship. With Jim Ross calling the match, everything just fell perfectly into place for both competitors, and they hit the ball right out of the park.
2. A strong supporting cast
While Angle vs Michaels was clearly the star of the show, the rest of the card was filled out with a lot of high-quality matches. The show opened with Rey Mysterio locking up with Eddie Gurrero, and while they were tag team champions together, they were still out for vengeance. That match was followed up with the very first, and in my opinion the best, Money in the Bank ladder match. The MITB match these days is always considered to be a great match, and that standard was set by this one. Kane, Edge, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Shelton Benjamin and Christian? That is a great collection of talent, and to have them all in one match is a true testament to the depth of talent WWE had at the time. Randy Orton and The Undertaker also had a thrilling match that really put The Undertaker's streak in question, and was the kick starter for a feud that would really elevate Orton into a full-fledged main eventer.
3. The Future
The gap between Wrestlemania 20 and Wrestlemania 21 was a tumultuous one. Gone were The Rock, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and other stars who helped get that event over. WWE had to prepare itself by creating new big time stars that could carry the company into the future. John Cena and Batista were declared to be the future stars, and both delivered with solid matches to close out the show. Cena was really over at the time of his first championship, and a majority of the fans actually thought he was "cool." Batista had a really brutal and bloody match with Triple H, that officially ended Evolution as a viable entity and would launch a series of even bloodier matches.
What are your top 5 Wrestlemania's of all-time? Sound off below.
Read more at http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2014/0328/572618/views-from-the-turnbuckle-ranking-every-wrestlemania-from-worst/#LSzqO1TYzOGDgRbH.99
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