Top Wrestlemania moments
Editor's Note: WWE will be holding Wrestlemania 23 a week from Sunday in Detroit. Some very good friends of mine will be there, but I won't.
Nevertheless, I will watch on PPV. To get ready for it, I will do a complete review of Wrestlemania III this week.
My friend Phil Prusa has his top Mania moments. I will check in with my thoughts as we go along.

I'm looking at each Wrestlemania and picking one match from each one - this isn't the BEST match, but rather a match that stood out for me.

WRESTLEMANIA
Tito Santana vs The Executioner
Where it all started. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the very first Wrestlemania match ever.
Result: Tito won via figure four leglock
Zach's thought:Though historic, I usually skip the first match. I'm pretty sure that's the only WM match Jobber Santana won at WM. My pick? Wendi Richter v. Lelani Kai. The Rock and Wrestling Connection was what made the show as much as anything.

WRESTLEMANIA 2
Mr. T vs Roddy Piper (Boxing Match)
Let's see, take two wrestlers (using that term loosely with Mr. T) and put them in a worked boxing match. Sheer disaster and utterly boring.
Result: Mr. T won via DQ in Round 4 - Piper used an illegal wrestling hold (bodyslam)
Zach's thought: Boring indeed. I'll take Tito and JYD v. the Funks. Better match, plus a JYD appearance; one of the biggest stars ever.

WRESTLEMANIA III
Hulk Hogan vs Andre the Giant (WWF Championship Match)
You are not a true wrestling fan if Hogan slamming Andre isn't a sight you've seen about 500 times. I still can't get over how the Detroit crowd damn near erupted when it happened.
Result: Hogan won via pinfall to retain the WWF Title.
Zach's thought: Can't argue. Perhaps the biggest moment in WWF history.

WRESTLEMANIA IV
The British Bulldogs & Koko B Ware vs The Islanders & Bobby Heenan
Good: You get to see Bobby wrestle. Better, he's in full force wearing a protective dog outfit. Best, he actually scores the winning pinfall!
Result: The Islanders & Bobby Heenan won via pinfall (Heenan pinned Koko)
Zach's thought: This was no more or less boring than the show itself, which maybe is still going on for all I know. I choose Ted Dibiase v. Hacksaw Jim Duggan as my match, because Ted was so good at that time he could make a three-minute match pretty good.

WRESTLEMANIA V
Hulk Hogan vs Randy Savage (WWF Championship Match)
Zach says this is one of (if not the outright best) Hogan's best matches ever. Hard to disagree. Killer commentary by Jesse Ventura as well.
Result; Hogan won via pinfall to win the WWF Title.
Zach's thought: Agreed. Savage was just so great. Too bad he's blacklisted by WWE.

WRESTLEMANIA VI
Demolition vs The Colossal Connection (WWF Tag Team Title Match)
Either this or an awesome Hogan/Ultimate Warrior main event, but seeing Andre compete in his last ever WWF pay per view sways my vote. He only appeared in a few more events (non wrestling) before his passing in 1993.
Demolition won via pinfall to win the WWF Tag Team Titles (Ax pinned Haku)
Zach's thought: I'd prefer to forget that match. How about Curt Hennig's loss to Brutus Beefcake, which may have ended any chance of Hennig becoming a main eventer in the WWF.

WRESTLEMANIA VII
Ultimate Warrior vs Randy Savage (Retirement Match)
No doubt the greatest match you'll every see out of the Warrior. This match was planned down to the very last detail and Savage with Sherri made it work. Plus who could forget Randy and Elizabeth getting back together? (Prompting my favorite Bobby Heenan quote when he saw a woman in the stands crying, "Maybe her shoes are too tight!"
Result: Ultimate Warrior wins via pinfall
Zach's thought: Great match, great storyline. Agreed.

WRESTLEMANIA VIII
Randy Savage vs Ric Flair (WWF Championship Match)
I watched this match a few weeks ago and it is still the best match I have ever seen. Added bonus are the post match interviews with Mr. Perfect complaining Savage cheated, yet failed to mention how he bashed a chair into Randy's leg. True classic.
Result: Savage won via pinfall to win the WWF Title
Zach's thought: The best WM match I had ever seen, until Angle took on Michaels in WM21.

WRESTLEMANIA IX
Hulk Hogan vs Yokozuna (WWF Championship Match)
Yokozuna had just beat Bret Hart for the WWF Title when Hogan comes out of nowhere to help Hart up to his feet. Mr. Fuji, apparently not realizing that his man had wrestled 20 minutes, demanded Hogan challenge Yoko in an impromptu match RIGHT DAMN NOW! Even worse? Hogan had NO connection in the storylines - he just popped out of nowhere for this.
Result: Hogan won via pinfall to win the WWF Title
Zach's thought: I remember this for all the wrong reasons. I miss the days when people just pretended this show didn't exist. Still, I prefer to remember the only WM appearance of the Steiner Brothers, who beat the Headshrinkers.

WRESTLEMANIA X
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart
No gimmicks, no titles, no reason to take away from these two wizards who put on a hell of an opening match. The rest of the show is almost a letdown save for a great HBK/Razor match.
Result: Owen won via pinfall
Zach's Thought: Best. Opener. Ever.

WRESTLEMANIA XI
Lawrence Taylor vs Bam Bam Bigelow
Yes...THAT Lawrence Taylor, who apparently really needed the big payday. All things considered, while this won't ever be a classic, the match wasn't a train wreck either.
Result: Taylor won via pinfall
Zach's thought: Poor Bam Bam. This is the only thing I do remember from this show, actually.

WRESTLEMANIA XII
Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels (WWF Championship Match - Iron Man Match)
An incredible match (that quite frankly, went well over the heads of most WWF fans back in that day) and ended in an 0-0 fall tie that HBK won in a sudden death overtime. Also of note is this is the only Title match on the whole card (excluding the Free for All event that took place prior to the PPV).
Result: Michaels won via pinfall to win the WWF Title
Zach's thought: There are two WM's I have never seen. This is one of them.

WRESTLEMANIA 13
Steve Austin vs Bret Hart (Submission Match)
Booked to perfection, this bloody war made good guy Hart a vicious heel and Stone Cold the next big thing in wrestling. Good thing too, because the rest of this card is a disaster.
Result: Bret won via the Sharpshooter (Austin passed out)
Zach's thought: This is the other.

WRESTLEMANIA XIV
The Undertaker vs Kane
Why this match? It's simple. This match started a three year Wrestlemania tradition that saw Kane tombstone Pete Rose (yes...THAT Pete Rose).
Result: Undertaker won via pinfall
Zach's thought: Undertaker, for much of his career, was a synonym for boring. I remember Mike Tyson's involvement that put Austin over the top in his match against Michaels.

WRESTLEMANIA XV
Butterbean vs Bart Gunn (Brawl for All Finals)
Hmmm..Legit boxer who could kill you if he pleased or Bart Gunn? In a worked fight, I'd take Gunn. However, this was a real fight that lasted all of 35 seconds (highlighted by Bart's head snapping like a twig on Butterbean's final punch). One final highlight: This was Gorilla Monsoon's final WrestleMania appearance.
Result: Butterbean won via knocking Bart Gunn into a different time zone
Zach's thought: Just about the only thing worth watching from this glorified, 3-hour RAW.

WRESTLEMANIA 2000
The Rock vs Big Show vs Mic Foley vs Triple H (WWF Championship Match -- Fatal 4-Way Match)
Zach will kill me for putting it here, but it marked the first time a heel walked out of Wrestlemania as the WWF Champion.
Result: Eliminations were as follows:
1. Big Show eliminated by The Rock (pinfall)
2. Foley eliminated by Triple H (pinfall)
3. The Rock eliminated by Triple H (pinfall) - Triple H retains the WWF Title
Zach's thought: This match just fell apart from overbooking. They should have just done Rock v. HHH and been done with it. And for all the talk about a heel walking out at Mania on top, they've only done it once since, during Austin's heel turn in Houston, which the fans still popped for. Still, I do remember, with disappointment, the main event.

WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN
Gimmick Battle Royal (I'm not listing everyone)
Old school theme music! Bobby Heenan back announcing! This trip down memory lane was well done and a real treat for us who suffered through some of those gimmicks back in the day
Result: The Iron Sheik won by eliminating Hillbilly Jim
Zach's thought: Benoit and Angle put on a clinic; that's what I remember. Probably the best PPV WWF has ever put on.

WRESTLEMANIA X8
The Rock vs Hulk Hogan
Incredible match that saw Hogan "Hulk up" and the Rock deliver as the goods as well. I remember going into this match thinking it could bomb. It wound up being the best match of the night, with most people leaving the bar we saw it at once the match ended.
Result: The Rock won via pinfall
Zach's thought: I remember HHH boring the people in the final match against Jericho.

WRESTLEMANIA XIX
The Rock vs Steve Austin
It took him three Wrestlemanias to do it, but The Rock finally was able to get his win over Stone Cold after giving him three Rock Bottoms (Austin had prevailed at Wrestlemanias XV and X-Seven).
Result: The Rock won via pinfall
Zach's thought: I remember Brock almost killing himself with a shooting star press, and the improvised finish. Angle probably should have called it a career after that. He's the best performer I have ever seen, save Flair.

WRESTLEMANIA XX
Brock Lesnar vs Bill Goldberg
What should have been a dream match turned into a nightmare for the WWE. It became public knowledge that both men were leaving the company shortly after Wrestlemania XX and the fans at the PPV let the have it. The booing just drowned out the match and both wrestlers were visibly upset over it.
Result: Goldberg won via pinfall
Zach's thought: Benoit and Guerrero celebrating in the ring with their titles was one of the greatest things I've seen in wrestling.

WRESTLEMANIA 21
Big Show vs Akebono (Sumo Match)
Didn't we learn from that stupid fixed boxing match in Wrestlemania 2 that we now get a fixed sumo match?? Oh well, this match is still worth a look if only to see Big Show look a complete dork.
Result: Akebono won via throwing Big Show out of the ring
Zach's thought: I have actually wiped that out. Thankfully. Michaels and Angle is a match I still enjoy. It's the Flair-Steamboat of this era.

WRESTLEMANIA 22
Edge vs Mick Foley (Hardcore Match)
If there was ever a doubt, this match put Edge over as a stand alone singles wrestler. The ending of the match is just brutal (even by WWE standards) and is worth a look. On a side note, how many wrestlers owe Mick a big thank you for getting them over?
Result: Edge won via pinfall
Zach's thought: Flair's bump off a ladder would be considered cruel and unusual punishment in most countries. In WWE, it gets you a feud with Carlito.