This coming Tuesday on Spike TV Ric Flair
hosts the WWE’s “Top Ten Wrestlemania Matches of all Time”
special. No, this is not the beginning of a commercial for
World Wrestling Entertainment. This is the beginning of a
column. I read this month’s RAW Magazine and they list the
“Top Ten ‘Mania Matches.” Now, I can only assume that these
matches and the matches revealed on the show are one and the
same. The Magazine didn’t it “countdown style.” They just
gave ten matches in perhaps a random order. For the sake of
the column I am going to assume that this is the WWE’s order
for the top ten to correspond with my top ten.

Number 10:

WWE: Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
with Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee from Wrestlemania
XIII.

Andy Mac: Ultimate Warrior vs. Macho King
Randy Savage in a retirement match.

The Hart Austin Match actually appears
higher on my list. This gets its spot even though it is one
of the forgotten matches in the annals of ‘Mania history.
It was a great match and even though Savage lost he ended
up better for it by reuniting with the lovely Miss Elizabeth,
may she rest in peace, in one of the greatest moments in Wrestlemania
history. The match had great psychology and although it was
obvious that Savage carried Warrior through most of it. The
finish featured Warrior repeatedly shoulder-blocking Savage
until he needed only one foot atop to fallen Mach King to
gain the victory.

Number 9:

WWE: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock
from Wrestlemania X-7.

Andy Mac: Owen Hart vs. Bret Hart from
Wrestlemania X.

This match actually appears higher on
my list too. Owen vs. Bret was a great match and Bret continued
to sell his injured knee that he sustained in this match through
the Main Event where he went on to win the WWE championship.
The match was great and it started the Owen vs. Bret feud
that culminated in an amazing cage match and gave the crowd
many other classics along the way,

Number 8:

WWE: Chris Benoit vs. Kurt Angle with
Ken Shamrock as the special guest referee from Wrestlemania
X-7

Andy Mac: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs.
Bret Hart from Wrestlemania XII

The Benoit/Angle match is great but it
just misses my list. It would have made an honorable mention
list if such a list existed, but it doesn’t. This was the
match the officially started the meteoric rise of Stone Cold
Steve Austin, and although we didn’t know it at the time was
the very early beginning of the end for Bret “the Hitman”
Hart. The match was great and even though Hart got the duke;
Stone Cold was none the lesser for it as he passed out rather
than submit to the dreaded Sharpshooter. It also provided
the classic “Blood from a Stone” t-shirt that sold so well.

Number 7:

WWE: The Battle Royal from Wrestlemania
IV

Andy Mac: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs.
The Rock from Wrestlemania X-7

That battle royal was bad even as battle
royals go. There was nothing good about it; it was just a
way to get as many guys onto the big show as possible. Austin
vs. Rock, on the other hand, was great. Not only was it probably
the best match the two of them ever had together it was the
beginning of Austin’s heel turn. I know I was stunned when
McMahon helped Austin beat Rock with the devastating finisher
of 42 chair shots. (That is an estimated figure, but there
were a heckuva lot of ‘em)

Number 6:

WWE: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels in
the ladder match from Wrestlemania X

Andy Mac: Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels
in the ladder match from Wrestlemania X

Wow, the WWE and I agree for once on the
list in both match and placement. This match was great and
was the first of its kind seen on television. It was the beginning
of the high impact wrestling that was popularized by the Hardyz,
Edge and Christian and the majority of the ECW roster. Some
wrestling purists may say that falling off of ladders is not
wrestling. For the most part, I would agree, but damn is it
entertaining.

Number 5:

WWE: Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ricky
“The Dragon” Steamboat

Andy Mac: Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate
Warrior from Wrestlemania VI

The Savage/Steamboat match is another
that appears higher on my list. The Hogan/Warrior match is
one of my personal all-time favorite matches. It is certainly
not a technical marvel but it had great psychology. It was
supposed to be the passing of the torch to the Warrior. It
didn’t quite work as planned. Hogan ended up reclaiming the
torch the next year. The match was still great and a great
moment for Wrestlemania.

Number 4:

WWE: the Undertaker vs. Triple H from
Wrestlemania X-7

Andy Mac: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant
from Wrestlemania III

The match on the WWE’s list has no business
being on any sort of great wrestling match list. It’s not
a bad match; it is just in no way shape or form a great match,
especially not a great Wrestlemania match. Hulk Hogan vs.
Andre is one of the biggest matches of all time. It was a
“passing of the torch” that actually worked. Hogan body slamming
Andre was and maybe still is one of the biggest moments in
the history of wrestling period. The biggest thing was the
no one knew until Andre laid down for the one-two-three that
he was indeed going to let Hogan win. He did and Hulkamania
officially had no roadblocks to prevent it from running wild.

Number 3:

WWE: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant from
Wrestlemania III

Andy Mac: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The
Rock from Wrestlemania X-8

The Hogan vs. Andre match is great. I
already talked about it. Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock is another
one of those matches that is not a technical wonder but it
told a great story. Not only was the audience “split 50/50″
(it was really pretty much all for Hogan); both wrestlers
were at their absolute best. It was truly Icon vs. Icon as
it was billed. It was a ton of fun. My friends and I were
going absolutely crazy in that tiny apartment. I can’t imagine
what it was like at the Skydome.

Number 2:

WWE: Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock
from Wrestlemania X-7

Andy Mac: Macho Man Randy Savage vs. Ricky
“the Dragon” Steamboat

Once again, I spoke about the WWE’s nominee.
This match is dubbed by many to be the WWE’s greatest match
of all time. I would almost agree. Obviously, I don’t agree
totally since it is not number one on this list. This match
had absolutely everything. Scott Keith, with whom I normally
disagree, said “If you don’t like this match, you don’t like
wrestling.” I agree with Mr. Keith here. The near falls and
the drama and the sub-plot of George “the Animal” Steele lusting
after Miss Elizabeth all lead to this being a great match,
one of the greatest ever.

Number 1 (drum roll please):

WWE: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn
Michaels from Wrestlemania XIV

Andy Mac: Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart
from Wrestlemania XII

The Stone Cold vs. Michaels match is very
good. It “started the Stone Cold era,” but to me it is just
not great enough to even be on my list let alone be number
one. My vote is not even on the WWE list which is absolutely
baffling. The match was amazing and the action really did
not stop for the entire hour plus. The finish was great and
the fact that it was Shawn Michaels first World Championship
made it that much better. When you factor in his entrance
and everything else it deserves to be called the greatest
match in Wrestlemania history.

There is my list. I hope you like it.
I’d like to give big ups to my buddy Ric Marko who gave me
the WWE list upon which this entire column was based. As always
if you have any comments or opinions you can spin
back on the moodspins forums
or e-mail me at andymac
(at) whrwfm (dot) org.

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