411 Ranks The WrestleManias: #8 – WrestleMania 24

WrestleMania 24 would see many interesting event unfold in Florida. CM Punk would emerge as a star in the making with his Money in the Bank victory, while Kane returned to championship ranks by winning the ECW Title. Floyd Mayweather would step into a WWE ring to do battle with The Big Show, Randy Orton would defend his WWE Title against John Cena and Triple H, while the Undertaker would challenge Edge for the World Title. But the main event to most was the Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair match, that would see Ric Flair put his career on the line. This is WrestleMania 24…

* Belfast Brawl: JBL defeated Finlay @ 9:25 via pin
* CM Punk won Money in the Bank @ 14:00
* Raw vs. Smackdown: Batista defeated Umaga @ 7:10 via pin
* ECW Title Match: Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero © to become the NEW ECW Champion @ 0:10 via pin
* Flair’s Career on the Line: Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair @ 20:45 via pin
* Bunnymania Lumberjill Match: Beth Phoenix and Melina defeated Ashley and Maria @ 6:00 via pin
* WWE Title Match: Randy Orton © defeated John Cena and Triple H @ 14:14 via pin
* The Biggest vs. The Best: Floyd Mayweather defeated The Big Show @ 11:35 via KO
* World Title Match: The Undertaker defeated Edge © to become the NEW WORLD CHAMPION @ 23:15 via submission

Kevin Pantoja
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: World Heavyweight Championship: Edge (c) vs. The Undertaker [****1/2] – People always point to the Undertaker’s series of matches against Shawn Michaels and Triple H as the best in the Streak. I disagree with the Triple H part. Shawn does have the top spot in Streak opponents, but Edge is second. Being a huge Edge fan, I remember loving the build for this. I wanted Edge to win badly, which made the match all the better. Watching it live, I fell for every single near fall. Going back and re-watching it, it is still amazing. Edge was a step ahead of the Undertaker throughout, which was a clever way to go about the match. The match flows beautifully and the atmosphere was something to behold. Edge earned his spot as a guy who could face the Undertaker in a WrestleMania main event, and did great things with the opportunity.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Playboy Bunnymania Lumberjill Match: Beth Phoenix and Melina vs. Maria and Ashley [3/4*] – I try not to rag on the Divas but they earn the spot here. On a WrestleMania filled with good matches there was only one other candidate for this award. However, Kane squashing Chavo Guerrero in eight seconds was short and sweet so I can’t rank it that bad. I am one who appreciates when the Divas do well, but Maria and Ashley are both not very good. They were the Playboy centerfolds though, so they “earned” a spot at WrestleMania. Despite Melina and Beth Phoenix’s best efforts, this sucked. The lights around the arena went out for a bit, saving the fans. Santino was the only entertaining thing about this. That and looking at Maryse at ringside.

Show MVP And Why: They don’t call him Mr. WrestleMania for nothing right? Shawn Michaels was given the tough task of being branded as the guy who would end Ric Flair’s illustrious career. The Nature Boy’s performances had been dipping in quality for years but he went out with Shawn and put on the best match that I recall him having since his WCW days. I’ll give Flair his due, because he brought it here, but Shawn was something else. From his moonsault bump, to his insane ability to tell a story in the ring, he was incredible. The finishing touch of “I’m sorry…I love you” is just about the most emotional thing that could have gone down and it was pitch perfect.

Your Thoughts on The Show: I’ve always found this to be one of the best WrestleManias of all time. I remember buying it on Blu-Ray and watching it multiple times. Running down the card, it was really good. Finlay and JBL opened the show in a Belfast Brawl that was hard hitting and better than expected. CM Punk won one of the better Money in the Bank Ladder matches before Batista and Umaga had a decent big man Brand Warfare match. While the ECW Title and Divas matches were nothing, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, Edge and the Undertaker more than made up for it. Triple H, Randy Orton and John Cena put on a good Triple Threat match and Floyd Mayweather proved to be one of the better celebrity guests in WrestleMania history. All in all, the show flows tremendously, nearly everything is really good and it’s a damn fine show.

TJ Hawke
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: Edge vs. Undertaker [****1/4] I don’t recall anyone being too excited for this matchup. I think most people thought it would be good, but no one knew how great it could be. Well, it was great and it was a very worthy WrestleMania main event that was easily the top match of the night.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: Batista vs. Umaga [1/2*] Literally, this was one of the worst PPV matches of either man’s career. Terrible, terrible WrestleMania filler.

Show MVP And Why: Ric Flair: Flair’s image may have been tarnished in TNA, but his last match in WWE will always be an incredibly special moment in wrestling history. It’s probably not the classic match that we wanted (and that many called it at the time), but Ol’ Yeller gave it all he had to put on one last big time match in his storied career.

Your Thoughts on The Show:This WrestleMania was far from flawless, but so many things were fun or even great that I would say this is actually an under appreciated WrestleMania. It had an all-time great WrestleMania main event, a good semi-main (Orton v HHH v Cena), a fun celebrity match (Big Show v Floyd Mayweather) and of course, one of the more emotional moments in WrestleMania history (Flair’s “last” match).

Tony Acero
The Best Thing on the Show And Why: [****1/2] For the second year in a row, Shawn Michaels gives the performance of a life time, and this time with The Dirtiest Player in the Game. It was poignant, it was classic, it was every bit as much a wrestling match as it was a dramatic display of emotions. Everyone was clamoring for the match to continue just so that Flair’s career would not end, yet at the same time, erupted when the Superkick came. While one can point out that Flair looked silly at times, or that he wasn’t at his peak (obviously), there must be some sort of lee-way for the sheer amount of emotion that went into the match and the overwhelming feeling of goodbye near the end of the match. It was goosebump-worthy, and even with Flair effectively shitting on the moment even today, the match still holds up as a great one.

The Worst Thing on the Show And Why: CHAVO GUERRERO VS KANE: [No Rating] And it appears that Kane gets a two years in a row award as well, considering he was most definitely a part of the worst match of the night. In fact, this may not have had enough time to BE BAD, but it’s because of this fact that it belongs here. The match is literally a chokeslam and a pin then it’s over. And this is a title match. Just ridiculous. I also want to point out that if it wasn’t for this match, then Batista and Umaga would definitely take the cake. That shit sucked.

Show MVP And Why: HBK: I’m beginning to sound like a broken record, giving HBK all of this praise, but it’s not without merit, and neither is this particular title. In a Mania, that I felt was lacking, he put on an emotional match that told a hell of a story, and would be remembered for years to come. This was also the springboard for the rest of Michael’s and Taker’s Mania matches, which says something considering it was four years ago and still has an effect on the business. I’d give the MVP to Flair, but he effectively destroyed this match’s meaning afterwards and really, it was HBK who helped carry him from a great match to an AMAZING match.

Your Thoughts on The Show:The Main event was strong, the Money in the Bank had the right winner, The Flair and HBK match was amazing, but everything else was average at best, and crappy at worst. If you base your love of a WrestleMania off of three matches, then you will be satisfied to know that there are three worth watching. As a whole, though, it was an average wrestling show with some amazing high points.

The List So Far…
30. WrestleMania 9
29. WrestleMania 2
28. WrestleMania 11
27. WrestleMania 4
26. WrestleMania 15
25. WrestleMania 27
24. WrestleMania 29
23. WrestleMania 25
22. WrestleMania 5
21. WrestleMania 13
20. WrestleMania
19. WrestleMania 6
18. WrestleMania 16
17. WrestleMania 7
16. WrestleMania 12
15. WrestleMania 8
14. WrestleMania 22
13. WrestleMania 28
12. WrestleMania 18
11. WrestleMania 14
10. WrestleMania 26
9. WrestleMania 23
8. WrestleMania 24

REMINDER, each 411 writer had the opportunity to rank the WrestleMania events (based on overall quality, historical significance and personal preference), those rankings went into creating the final list.