My top ten moments look like this. Number 10 through 4 were my favorites far before I ever did anything involving this little Internet thing. The top three I think are probably the most historically significant events for the WWF in general.
10 - WrestleMania VII: The Ultimate Warrior "retires" Randy Savage. I remember hating Savage and Sherri so much... I couldn't wait for the Warrior to get him out of the federation. Of course, this was back when I believed that retirement matches meant you'd never see a person again. I remember this one so well because it was the re-uniting of Savage and Elizabeth. It was amazing how quickly they made the crowd forget about two years of heelishness with one quick reunion and hug.
9 - WrestleMania III: Savage vs Steamboat. Yeah, this is ranked kind of low on a "best of" list for WrestleMania. Watching it again now, it's a terrific match, but when I watched it the first time, I was revved up for the Hogan/Andre match. I was happy to see Steamboat get the win, because I saw Savage crush his throat with the bell on Saturday Night's Main Event, which was the ONLY time I ever got to stay up till 1 am ANY night of the week.
8 - WrestleMania V: The Mega-Powers Explode. This is the first feud I really remember from the teaming up of the Mega-Powers, to Savage getting jealous, to finally turning on Hogan and going on a rant about he was a big grandstander. When the match finally came about, I was ready for Hulk to maul the Macho Man.
7 - WrestleMania VIII: The Undertaker buries Jake Roberts. I had no idea Jake Roberts was headed for WCW after this match, I just knew the Undertaker royally kicked his ass. He sat up from the DDT, and basically no sold everything Jake threw at him. This was in '92, so I was still scared of the Undertaker.
6 - WrestleMania X: Michaels vs Razor Ramone. Probably the best match I'd ever seen until the Benoit/Jericho Ladder match from... hmm... was it the Royal Rumble? Whichever... I couldn't stand Michaels, and was astounded at the pounding these guys gave each other, before "Hardcore" was everyday terminology. This thing shattered the barriers and gave me as many mouth dropping spots as I could handle. For what Bret and Owen had done earlier in the night, this just overshadowed it.
5 - WrestleMania VIII: The Ultimate Warrior returns to save Hogan after a year absence. I remember sitting home watching this by myself. At this point, I was noticing the Wrestlemania pattern of Hogan beating the "unstoppable force" every Wrestlemania. AAAAANYWAY... I had pretty much forgotten about the Ultimate Warrior by then, but when his music hit, I started freaking out and yelling. It was probably the most surprising swerve ever in a Wrestlemania. I loved it. Only beaten by......
4 - WrestleMania III: Hogan slams Andre: back when I first watched this in 1987, I was nine. I had no idea of all the "politics" of professional wrestling. I had no idea Andre had never lost. I never even saw Wrestlemania 2. I just knew that Andre had turned on Hogan and, dammit, this was the Hulkster's chance to get him back. They built up that damn bodyslam so much, I nearly wet myself when he actually did it.
3 - WrestleMania XII: The Undertaker buries Diesel. Even at WrestleMania 12, I was still a year away from discovering Micasa, Ringside Seat, and Scoops (RIP, all the above). Anywho, I guess when a contract is up and you need a guy good and buried, you call on the DeadMan. Taker kicked out of TWO Jackknifes and spiked Diesel dead with one Tombstone. I THINK this was Diesel's last televised WWF match before heading south. Of course, his dismissal from the WWF would lead to a little faction known as the N.W.O., and all the fun stuff that went with it.
2 - WrestleMania XIII: Austin vs Bret. In the darkest hour shall come the light. The WWF was really the pits at this point, with Bret the champ and his only real foil being Michaels, the two of whom refused working together. But, they managed to take up-and-coming heel Stone Cold Steve Austin, and use Bret to turn him into a face, ushering in the WWF's Attitude era. This was the beginning, leading us to...
1 - WrestleMania XIV: Austin stuns Michaels. The culmination of a year of skyrocketing popularity for Austin. Riding the coat-tails of what the N.W.O. started, Austin finished it with an exclamation point. This turned the federation over to "Stone Cold" and the next night (in Albany, I might add, I got to witness it) began the Austin/McMahon feud. It also began the top card ascension of that other guy, HHH.
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