TOP 20 Wrestlemania Moments
1. Hogan slams Andre in the main event at WM III
In front of 93,000 (Actually 78,000) fans at the Pontiac Silverdome, Hulk Hogan faced Andre the Giant in the main event. It was this match that MADE Wrestlemania into something that mattered, and the visual of Hogan picking up the massive frenchman is replayed on just about every WWF retrospective piece.

2. Bret Hart and Steve Austin have one of the best matches ever at one of the worst WM's ever, but it turns Austin into a mega-star, and begins a turnaround that eventually re-established the WWF as the marquee name in wrestling.

3. WWF signs Mike Tyson as an outside enforcer at WM XIV, then Steve Austin ends his year-long quest for the WWF title in a great match against Shawn Michaels.

4. WM VIII saw Ric Flair's first wrestling appearance at Wrestlemania, and he and Randy Savage tore the house down in what friend Phil Prusa called "The greatest WM WWF title match of all time." Not only was the match rocking from start to finish, it also featured one of the greatest feuds in history, Flair's "She was mine before she was yours" angle with Savage.

5. Shawn Michaels faced Razor Ramon at WM 10 in something called a "ladder match" for the intercontinental title. The match, a total show stealer, did three things. It turned Michaels into a legit main eventer for the rest of his career, it turned Ramon into a serious midcarder, and fooled people into thinking he was a good worker, and ... the ladder match, now the standard for all feud blowoffs, whether it be the Hardy Boyz, HHH, or the Rock.

6. Wrestlemania VI, the Skydome, April 1, 1990. It was billed as Hulk Hogan's toughest challenge, as for the first time anyone could remember, he faced off against another face in the final match. Amazingly, these two guys would wrestle a great match, showing that Hogan, when motivated, could not only put on a good match, but also carry a slug, in Jim Hellwig. This was supposed to be a passing of the torch, as Warrior went over Hogan clean, a truely shocking experience. Of course, Hogan doesn't go away so easily, and Ultimate Warrior was a flake both inside and outside the ring. Still, a great moment.

7. Back to Wrestlemania III, as Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat capped a hot angle with the first REALLY GREAT Wrestlemania match, with the Intercontinental title hanging in the balance. The match was the reason for workrate fans to love WM III. Reportedly, in addition to turning the two into superstars who would both go onto hold world titles, it also did something else: It ticked off Hulk Hogan, who felt the two had upstaged him at Wrestling's biggest event. Maybe that's why Steamboat lost the title a few months later (a short period of time in 1987 wrestling) to the Honky Tonk Man, and headed to the NWA a little more than a year later.

8. Wrestlemania VII will be remembered for two things: the tasteless Hogan-Slaughter "Iraqi Sympathizer angle" that drew so poorly they had to move the venue from the LA coliseum to the much smaller arena next door. But there is also a wonderful match that existed in the center of the PPV, a match between Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage. This match was billed "Career Ending," meaning the loser would retire. (Yeah, well, it's wrestling) Now, a few things to note. Ultimate Warrior walked to the ring for the first time in his career. This was incredibly smart on his part (wow, the first and last time I'll write that) as he conserved energy for what would be a long match. Savage paced the match brilliantly, carrying the Warrior after he ran out of energy, and carrying him to the first **** 1/2 match of his career, and his last.
Oh yeah, and the finish. See, Elizabeth was in the crowd, and after Savage lost the match, she would run in to save him from a beating from the ticked off (and unemployed) Sensational Sherri. Savage hugging Elizabeth afterwards brought down the house, and turned Randy into the most over performer in the Fed, AFTER his supposed retirement.
What's interesting is that Warrior would remain in the WWF only four more months, then leaving until Wrestlemania VIII. Savage would return in November for what turned into some of his hottest feuds and best matches ever. Maybe in retrospect Savage should have won, I don't know.

9. Fast forward 11 years, to Wrestlemania X-8. Hulk Hogan had made a return to the WWF after a nine-year absence, with the nWo. His first act of business: Going after the promotions top Star, and good guy, the Rock. Now, Hogan was never much of a performer in the ring, and he had deteriorated quite a bit by 2002. Rock is and was awesome, maybe the best performer in wrestling history. The match was held in Skydome, 12 years after Hogan's showdown with Warrior there. Seemed like Rock would be the fan favorite finishing off the out of his prime Hulkster.
But Canadians love Hulk for some reason, and cheered for him and roasted the Rock the whole match. The match is still fun to watch, if only for the out of this world crowd reaction, turning all of the 20-somethings watching with me at BG into 11 year olds once more. Rock one the match, but Hogan stole the show.

10. Rewind a year, as Rock and Austin faced off at WM X-7. This match may be the only one to compete with Flair-Savage as a great WWF title match. The Texas crowd was JACKED, screaming for Austin. The match may have been the best in either's career, with an awesome storyline and awesome psychology. The ending, Stone Cold turning heel in Texas, failed, but the match and the atmosphere ruled.

11. Wrestlemania featured one more great match, as Bret Hart faced mentor Roddy Piper for the IC title, and Bret carried him to a great match. Piper was not much of a worker, and Hart solidified himself as a superstar here.

12. Lets go back to Wrestlemania, the first one. Now, my panel of experts seemed to mention one match here, the Andre-Big John Studd match. I have only seen it once, when I was about 11. and all reports on the actual match have said that it sucked as a match. But it was ANDRE as a face, slamming the devious John Studd and throwing money out to the fans at the end. So ok, there it is.

13. Bret Hart didn't want to job first, and neither did Shawn Michaels. It was an iron man match, 60 minutes worth. Now, no one that I have talked to was much of a fan of this match, but it is the only of its kind at mania, and it was Shawn's first title win. Wrestlemania 12, by the way.

14. Boxing and wrestling don't really mix, but for one night, they did at Wrestlemania 2. Roddy Piper, a huge fan favorite despite his heel status, faced Mr. T, a celebrity wrestler who was so unpopular that the fans booed him out of the building. But hey, it was a classic moment. Wrestling fans like WRESTLERS.

15. The Mega-Powers exploded at Wrestlemania V, what may be the best match of Hogan's career. It also was a great way to blow off the alliance between Hogan and Randy Savage, which had started a year earlier. Hogan won, of course, but it was a great match.

16. Now we are up to Wrestlemania X, as we take a look at the best opener at mania ever, the match between Bret Hart and the late Owen Hart, which turned Owen from midcard joke to top contender. It's a shame to me that Owen never won the world title and had Bret chase, since I have always thought that Owen was a superior character. The only thing I think Bret was better at was protecting his opponents. Regardless, it was a great great match, and is well worth a look.

17. Wrestlemania IV has the distinction of being my brother's favorite wrestlemania, and not much else. I loved it too when I was young, but the rushed matches, dead crowd and opening match (a battle royal?) have dimmed my view. Still, Randy Savage's first title win, and the beginning of a very successful year long run, warrant a spot on this list.

18. Wrestlemania XIX is a mania that I certainly was left with a negative feeling about. For one thing, HHH's win over Booker T after interjecting race into the program continues to anger me to this day. Still, Kurt Angle's performance in the night's final match, in what should have been his last match, deserves praise. The match itself was fantastic, only marred in a big way by the missed shooting star press from Brock, which nearly broke his neck. The match was awesome, and a fitting farewell for Kurt Angle. Oh wait, he's wrestling this year? Why?

19. One more Wrestlemania XIX moment here, as we now use an Andy Barch selection, the Hulk Hogan-Vince McMahon match. It was fun and historic, and Andy has some pull on this list.

20. At Wrestlemania X-7, the best Wrestlemania ever, there was the TLC match between the Dudleyz, the Hardyz, and Edge and Christian, a ***** star match with death defying bumps. Great match.

That's the list. Now, I am going to celebrate by watching my Ric Flair DVD.