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3/31/2016
WrestleMania Recall, Match #1: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 25 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on WrestleMania Recall, I will be ranking my top 31 favorite matches in WWE WrestleMania history. A new installment will be posted every day in the month of March, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Thursday, March 31st, mere days before WrestleMania 32. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. So, it all comes down to this. I've had an absolute blast re-watching all 31 of these remarkable WrestleMania matches over the month of March, and hopefully you've had just as much fun reading about them in "WrestleMania Recall." But now, exactly 31 years removed from the inaugural event (I swear I didn't plan that, it was simply an amazing coincidence), we arrive at No. 1 on my illustrious list. I'm sorry this selection won't come as much of a surprise, but I'd be remiss if it was anything else. Almost one year removed from when I started watching wrestling on the regular, I was ready for my first WrestleMania as a fan: WrestleMania 25. The hype was solid by and large in the weeks preceding the pay-per-view and I was excited for the event. John Napolitano invited me over to his place to watch with me, but due to being grounded at that time (blame my mother), I was unable to attend, and I was pretty bummed. Thankfully, my mom was out of the house at the time the show aired, so I snuck on the computer and read along with the live chat on WWE.com.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on WrestleMania Recall, I will be ranking my top 31 favorite matches in WWE WrestleMania history. A new installment will be posted every day in the month of March, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Thursday, March 31st, mere days before WrestleMania 32. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. Up until last year, WrestleMania 28 was my favorite WrestleMania of all-time. Its card was simply stacked from top to bottom, but especially the top three main events. I'm not arguing it's the greatest ever, but rather my personal favorite because of my emotional attachment to it and the fantastic build it had in the weeks preceding the event. What's funny about this specific selection is that I had zero desire to see The Undertaker vs. Triple H again at WrestleMania, and as a result, I was vehemently against the idea of yet another rematch between the two. Not only did they face off the year prior at WrestleMania 27, but they wrestled against each other a decade earlier at WrestleMania 17 as well. That would be three times in total! And I wasn't down for that whatsoever. Prior to that point, I had never seen their WM17 match, and the hype for their WM27 match was decent at best. I was in the minority that was bored by their 2011 match, although watching it back in recent years has made me appreciate it more. Nevertheless, I wouldn't be sold on the idea of HHH vs. 'Taker happening at WrestleMania 28 until the program officially kicked off.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on WrestleMania Recall, I will be ranking my top 31 favorite matches in WWE WrestleMania history. A new installment will be posted every day in the month of March, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Thursday, March 31st, mere days before WrestleMania 32. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. It's weird for match that occurred long before I started watching wrestling to rank this high on my list of favorite WrestleMania matches, but if you have ever had the pleasure of seeing this classic contest from WrestleMania 21, no explanation is needed. That event, to me, marked an all-new era in WWE, an era that featured the rise of several fresh faces including John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, Edge and others. But in the midst of the youth movement, two men remained cornerstones of the company: Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle. You might be saying to yourself, "Wait, Michaels and Angle had never gone on-on-one prior to WrestleMania 21?" It's crazy to think about, but in actuality, when would they have faced off? Angle debuted in WWE in November 1999, a year and half after Michaels was put on the shelf indefinitely with a back injury. By the time The Heartbreak Kid returned to the ring in the summer of 2002, Angle was already a part of the SmackDown brand and the two remained on separate shows for the next three years.
3/28/2016
WrestleMania Recall, Match #4: The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels, WrestleMania 26 By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on WrestleMania Recall, I will be ranking my top 31 favorite matches in WWE WrestleMania history. A new installment will be posted every day in the month of March, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Thursday, March 31st, mere days before WrestleMania 32. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. Last year, John Napolitano and I took on the arduous task of ranking every main event in WrestleMania history (which you can read here), and we came to the conclusion that the Streak vs. Career match between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels from WrestleMania 26 earned the honor of being listed as No. 1. Feel free to disagree, but no other contest comes close in my opinion, and even one year later, it remains in the upper echelon of my favorite 'Maina matches ever. I discussed Chris Jericho vs. Edge as well as Batista vs. John Cena from the same show earlier on in the series, and with the addition of this marquee match, it should become evident that WrestleMania 26 is among my favorite installments. As previously mentioned, I watched the event (the first WrestleMania I watched live as a fan) over John's house, and after an entertaining undercard, we were ready for the highly anticipated main event that was one year in the making between two of the biggest legends this business has ever seen.  By Graham "GSM" Matthews
Here on WrestleMania Recall, I will be ranking my top 31 favorite matches in WWE WrestleMania history. A new installment will be posted every day in the month of March, culminating with my No. 1 favorite match on Thursday, March 31st, mere days before WrestleMania 32. Each article will offer an in-depth look at each match and an analysis of why it is among my favorites. One of the many reasons why I loved WrestleMania 31 was because similar to WrestleMania 17, it had a little bit of everything to offer: a hard-hitting main event (Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns), a special attraction (Triple H vs. Sting), a feel-good story (John Cena vs. Rusev), a train wreck opener (the Intercontinental Championship Ladder match), a solid women's match (AJ Lee and Paige vs. The Bella Twins), and a wrestling clinic (Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins). I think most people recognized that Rollins vs. Orton had a great match, but when the screen faded to black, the focus was on Rollins' WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory and not the instant classic he contested with Orton earlier in the evening. Thus, I understand if you think this match is ranked a little high on my list, but in addition to match quality, I'm taking into consideration several other factors including build, atmosphere, finish, and overall impact. |
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