Top Ten Non-Match WrestleMania Moments (in chronological order)
Roddy Piper Defeats Adrian Adonis at WM III
It was supposed to be his final match. It was supposed to be the swan song
to his career before he became "Mr. Action Hero" in Hollywood. We know
what happened later, when he came back again and again, but I'm not talking
about that right now. What was great about this moment was the love the
fans had for Hot Rod. He walked to the ring, drinking in the cheers. and
when it was over, he went back to the dressing room, tears in his eyes, as
he said goodbye to wrestling. Until the next time.
Dusty Rhodes/Sapphire vs. Randy Savage/Sherri Martel at WM VI
The match itself was bad. Randy Savage vs. Dusty Rhodes was no contest,
and Sherri Martel vs. Sapphire was even worse. So, why is this on my list?
Because this was the very first mixed tag match in WWF history. If not
for this match, there would be no way to advance storylines like
Trish/Stephanie/Vince in the ring. On second thought, maybe this wasn't
such a good thing...
Randy Savage/Elizabeth Reunion at WM VII
Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior faced each other in a Retirement
Match in Los Angeles. After dropping five elbows from the top rope, Savage
could not put Warrior and his fortitudidity away. The Warrior
testosterized and hit three splashes on Savage, sending him into the dark
recesses of unemployminitude. Queen Sherri Martel couldn't take her
unmonarchialness, and started kicking the viscerations out of Savage.
Elizabeth, noticed by Bobby Heenan before the match, leaped over the
barrierations in her way, ran down the aisle, and threw Martel out of the
ring. Savage turned to hit his attacker, but instead found the
beautificated image of Elizabeth. Instead of taking out his physicalicious
frustrations out on her, he hugged her. Six months later, at SummerSlam,
the two were married. Less than a year later, this love story was over.
Owen Hart Pins Bret Hart at WM X
Owen was a frustrated young man. He was seen as "Bret's younger brother."
When they became a tag team and tried to make a run at the titles, Bret was
seen as the star of the team. After their match at the Royal Rumble with
the Quebecers for the titles, the match was called because Bret's knee was
too injured to continue. This match easily ranks in the top ten of
WrestleMania history, but my favorite part was the reactions of both men
afterward. Owen walked across the ring, got in Bret's face, and simply
held up three fingers before walking away. Bret sat in the ring, mouth
open, shocked that he lost to his brother. Great match, and great way to
set up the series of matches they had for the title for the next six months.
The Quebecers Suplex Mabel at WM X
The match wasn't very memorable, especially when staked up against the
Bret/Owen match and the Shawn/Razor ladder match that tore down the house.
But, this match brought us one of the most amazing pictures in WWF history.
Mabel, now known as Viscera, was tired, and one of the Quebecers went for
a suplex. He stopped and stood up, clutching his back, as the MSG crowd
laughed. Then, he called his partner in the ring, and together, they hit
an overhead suplex on Mabel. The crowd stopped laughing and gasped,
shocked at one of the most impressive feats of strength they had ever seen.
Overtime Announced at WM XII
Bret Hart was champion. Shawn Michaels was the challenger. They wrestled
in the main event in an Ironman match for 60 minutes with no decisions.
Bret, knowing 0-0 means draw, and draw means he retains the title, grabbed
the belt and walked to the dressing room. Then, the voice of Howard Finkel
came over the speakers at the Alamodome, announcing Commissioner Gorilla
Monsoon decided the match is going to overtime. Hart turned around,
completely peeved that he now had to go back to the ring after wrestling a
full hour. Less than five minutes later, Michaels hits the sweet chin
music, and Hart became a former champion.
Steve Austin Wears the Crimson Mask at WM XIII
Steve Austin and Bret Hart met in a Submission Match and turned an
otherwise humdrum WrestleMania into an event that would be remembered for
this match. Austin and Hart hit each other with plenty of international
objects (thank you, Jim Ross) in this match, and it looked like Hart hit a
gusher. He put the Sharpshooter on Austin, and Austin's head, now below
his heart, began bleeding even more. The mat turned red from the puddle
Austin left there. How memorable is this moment? Next time you watch
Raw, look closely during the opening credits. Toward the end of the song
with the unintelligible lyrics, look at the screen, and you will see Austin
as a bloody mess from this match.
Shamrock Snaps at WM XIII
There are a couple WM cards with two moments on this list, but a single
match with two moments? Only here. Ken Shamrock, veteran of UFC matches,
was brought in as the special referee for this match, and he declared Hart
the winner when Austin passed out from the pain of the move. Hart wasn't
happy, and completed his heel turn by literally kicking Austin when he was
down. Shamrock, shocked with this show of unsportsmanlike conduct, grabbed
Hart and threw him off Austin, then struck his combat pose. The crowd
marked out, waiting for the beating that evil Canadian deserved.
Sable Powerbombs Luna at WM XIV
Sable was seen as eye candy, and nothing more. She was beautiful, she was
blonde, she had blue eyes, and she had boobs from here to Duluth. But
wrestle? Against Luna Vachon, from the Vachon Wrestling family?
Fuhgeddaboutit. Sable and Mark Mero vs. Luna and Goldust was just a rest
stop on the highway known as WrestleMania XIV, nothing more. During the
match, Sable wore Luna down, then placed Luna's head between Sable's knees.
The crowd started to ooh and aah, expecting some kind of typical "catfight
(geez, I hate that term)" move. Sable put her arms around Luna's waist,
lifted and flipped her, then slammed her down in the Powerslam Heard Round
the World. Even though she would pose for Playboy later that year, she was
no longer just eye candy.
Pete Rose Announces at WM XIV
Pete Rose was ready for the crowd to cheer him in Boston. Of course, he
was coming to the ring ready to change their minds. "The last time I was
in this city, we whipped your ass!" Some shocked boos, and some cheers
from those who hadn't heard. "You can't win a World Series!" Some people
were still smiling, but more began to boo. "My friend Bucky Dent says
'Hello!'" Boo. "I left some tickets for Bill Buckner, but he couldn't
bend over to pick them up!" Boo! "It's called, 'The Curse of the
Bambino!'" BOO! "The City of Losers! How about it?" BOOOOO! "And now,
introducing...." The music began for Kane, who then went into the ring,
grabbed Rose by the throat, and Tombstone Piledrived (piledrove?) him,
giving the fans an excuse to cheer the heel and younger brother of the
Undertaker. It also brought us a wonderful new tradition: Rose comes to
the ring to surprize Kane, but ends up carted to the back on a stretcher.