WWF
WrestleMania VII
(1991/3/24)
Career Ending Match: “Macho
King” Randy Savage vs. Ultimate Warrior
Minus
two glaring in-ring flaws (the five elbow drops and the finish), this was
pretty much a perfect piece of successful storytelling. The whole
Savage/Sherri/Elizabeth saga was glorious, and the post-match with Randy and
Miss getting back together was so neat. Those tears from the audience told the
entire story, and damn it, I loved the whole thing. No matter how cold I might
be. Both guys played their characters and sold the angle down to a T. Drama,
suspense, bigger-than-life feeling, this classic match had it all.
****3/4
WWF
WrestleMania VIII
(1992/4/5)
WWF Championship: “Macho
Man” Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair ©
This
shit gets better and better on every damn rewatch. Right now this is probably
the best WM match ever, such a sumptuous epic filled with amazing and sky high
dramatic wrestling. The brawling parts were excellent and beautifully dynamic,
Flair controlling the opening phase was some superb pacing, Macho Man’s
comebacks were fabulous and had the crowd going BONKERS for him, and so on and
on… Then there’s Mr. Perfect, the biggest scumbag ever, with his constant
interferences that only fired up the atmosphere each and every time. Flair
bleeding was another story. Fucking hell, what a tremendous masterpiece, the
finishing run was crazy exciting and then the finish itself with Savage
rolling-up the Naitch for big victory while Miss Elizabeth was supporting him ringside
was pretty much the icing on the cake after everything that happened, this
match is the peak of WWF style of pro-wrestling storytelling.
*****
WWF
WrestleMania VIII
(1992/4/5)
WWF Intercontinental Championship:
Bret Hart vs. Roddy Piper ©
Yep,
five stars, aaaall the way, baby. Perfection, this match is pure and crystal
clear perfection, the story they told was incredibly captivating. Simple and
effective, Roddy can’t hang with Bret in hold-for-hold department so he starts
to brawl and gains a significant advantage, especially after busting Bret wide
open. Excellent wrestling back-and-forth, the ref bump was well done and then
the two moments that made this whole thing – Piper not hitting the Hitman with
the bell, going for a clean win instead; Piper congratulating and hugging Bret
after the match was over. One of the most underrated stories ever told, matches
like this one remind you what pro-wrestling should be all about.
*****
WWF
WrestleMania V
(1989/4/2)
WWF Championship: Hulk
Hogan vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage ©
Man,
if only Hogan made a more creative final comeback, this would’ve been a top
notch masterpiece. But unfortunately, after Macho Man’s fantastic workover and
preparation, and after his beautifully executed flying elbow, all the Hulkster
did was hulking-up and doing his punches/big boot/legdrop combo for the win.
Bang, that’s it! Sheeeeit, it felt kind of cheap and all… Sure, the finish
makes sense considering WWF’s cartoonish nature and that’s what Hogan’s
character was/is all about, but c’mon man, put some color in there, this is
WrestleMania after all. But hey, ****3/4 is still sure as hell pretty damn
high, amirite? Excellent title match with superb storytelling that also
involved Miss Elizabeth, all the ingredients from the feud were incorporated
into the match very well, not to mention Savage’s phenomenal performance and
grand mental games. Hogan was great himself, but Randy was the clear MAN of the
match.
****3/4
WWE
WrestleMania 22
(2006/4/2)
HARDCORE
MATCH: Edge vs. Mick Foley
The
ultimate Edge match, also one of the best Foley matches ever. Edge is the most
overrated WWE guy of the decade, but sometimes he could pull it off big time in
these hardcore slugfests. They just clicked perfectly in this match, they took
a helluva beating and some sick bumps, they bled heavily, yes, this was a true
hardcore match and it’s totally awesome it happened in front of a gigantic live
crowd. Foley’s biggest Mania moment for sure, and I like to think the same
about Edge, because I don’t really remember him having anything that would come
close to touching this one. TLCs? Ladders? Nah… Taker? Damn fine match, but
nah… Alberto? Jericho? Nah… This is THE shit for both dudes.
****3/4
WWF
WrestleMania III
(1987/3/29)
WWF Intercontinental Championship:
Ricky Steamboat vs. “Macho Man” Randy Savage ©
You
know it, one of the most famous Mania matches ever, and rightfully so, because
the match was beautifully paced with all the twists and turns, the flow was
natural, organic, felt so smooth. All the reversals and counter-attacks hold up
tremendously, the match was truly nifty. Not to mention the amazing big ass
crowd, sheeeeit!
****3/4
WWF
WrestleMania III
(1987/3/29)
WWF Championship: Andre
the Giant vs. Hulk Hogan ©
Now,
this is THE most underrated and underappreciated match of all time. And not
just in WWF/E, mind you. Well, probably not with the casual audience, but
rather with the Meltzer-influenced smarks and internet know-it-all thugs who
mark out for cruiserweight jumpfests and reversal-heavy sprints. xD Those of us
who realize pro-wrestling is all about storytelling, we enjoy this match
tremendously, and I honestly think this is the Top 3 Mania match ever, with the
other two being Savage/Flair and Bret/Owen.
This
is arguably the greatest story ever told inside the North American squared
circle, immovable object vs. irresistible force, the “525 pounds, 6 foot 5, 15
years undefeated, never being slammed” Andre against the reigning and defending
Champion, the all-American superhero. And really, it translated into the match
perfectly, this is basically a three act play: 1) Hogan tries to bodyslam Andre
right away but fails, injures his back, Andre works over it, Hogan sells for
him like a motherfucker, makes him look like a fucking BEAST; 2) Hogan makes a
brief comeback before eating the big boot, Andre applies the bearhug (I love
bearhugs and wrestlers who use them!) and there’s an incredible struggle in the
middle of the ring, the crowd is BEGGING for a Hulk comeback, Hogan’s selling
is all time great at this moment; 3) Hogan, carried by the electrifying
gigantic crowd, makes a proper comeback, and after the brief back-and-forth
sequence he clotheslines Andre to finally bring him down, which draws MASSIVE
cheers, then he BODYSLAMS Andre (been done dozens of times before, yeah, I know
it lol) in the most iconic Mania moment ever, leg drop, 1-2-3 and it’s over,
the Hulkster retains the strap. It’s as simple as it gets, and that’s the
beauty of it, that’s the beauty of Andre’s matches with right opponents who
know how to sell for him, who know how to work within his obvious physical
limitations. Wrestling has always been the game of mind anyway, not the game of
athleticism. Athleticism is nice, but it’s just a bonus to your brain.
I
love this masterpiece and I will defend its honor until my last breath.
*****
WWE
WrestleMania 21
(2005/4/3)
Shawn
Michaels vs. Kurt Angle
The
story of two halfs, the first one with HBK insisting on side headlocks and
owning Kurt in his own game was amazing, Kurt sold the growing frustration very
well, the whole thing was organic, coherent and direct. The second half,
however, turned into a fake epic that was all over the place, and it was
inevitable considering this is Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels after all, lol.
All in all, though, the match is great, but not even close to being GOATworthy
or anything like that.
****
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