Wrestlemania XXX has come and gone, obviously I didn't keep my word and publish these before the biggest wrestling event of all time, but who really cares? Anyways, WM 30 was an awesome event. Lots of new stars were made, Daniel Bryan shined as our new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Antonio Cesaro won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in astounding fashion. Super Cena came came out as victor over the vicious and vile Bray Wyatt. Finally the Undertaker loses at Wrestlemania to Brock Lesnar ending an impressive 21 match winning streak. No one saw this coming and the reactions were priceless. This was easily one of the most entertaining WM's of all time. The right guys and gals won, and a new generation of wrestler is on the rise. Now let's jump back to 1995 with WM XI and witness the beginning of a rocket ride to the top.
Wrestlemania XI: April 2, 1995 - This was a weird event, and didn't feel like WM to me. The card was awesome, the matches were solid but it didn't feel like the grand daddy of them all. I can probably attribute it to it being in Hartford, CT, not the biggest arena. The opening match was pretty entertaining. The Blu Brothers were pretty talented, and had a good match against Bulldog and Luger. The Blu Brothers would have a tough time getting over in the future. They've changed their gimmicks so many times and had some success as part of the biker gang DOA. Razor vs Jarrett was decent, lots of Memphis shenanigans going on. Undertaker would continue his streak against King Kong Bundy. Bundy was let go from the company later that year. I was really excited to see Yokozuna and Owen Hart team up seeing that they are my favorites from the early 90's plus heel Doink of course. The main event featured Bam Bam Bigelow vs. NFL veteran Lawrence Taylor. The match wasn't bad. LT played his role perfectly, got beat up by the bad guy and somehow got the win. It was entertaining but shouldn't have ended the show. Diesel vs. HBK Shawn Michaels really stole the show. That's what these guys are known for and they didn't disappoint.
Wrestlemania XII: March 31, 1996 - The opener had really good potential especially when Vader and Yokozuna squared off. Unfortunately, the match itself was sloppy and didn't deliver. That's ok though, because we got to see HHH get squashed by the Ultimate Warrior in his first match back in 4 years. Undertaker continues his dominance at WM with a win over Diesel. Roddy Piper made his WM return with an interesting, hilarious Hollywood Backlot Brawl with the eerie and controversial Goldust. They tried to spoof the OJ Simpson car chase with sporadic segments throughout the show. Priceless stuff. The brawl itself got really brutal at times, showing a glimpse of the future of WWE matches. The main event was easily the most important match at WM since Hogan vs. Andre. It showcased two of the best wrestlers in the world. Bret Hart was the fighting champion from Canada. Shawn Michaels was the rising star and had the crowd behind him. The build up of this match was perfect. The vignettes were honest, and real. The match itself was an instant classic. Hart and HBK battled for an hour, trying to gain the advantage and reached a 60 minute time limit. Hart would walk away with the belt since it was a draw. They really turned up the volume at the end of the match with HBK in the Sharpshooter for over a minute without giving up. The match went into sudden death over time, and with two Sweet Chin Musics, Michaels beats the Hitman for the title. This is a match that I've seen at least 20 times, and it still gives me goosebumps. Wrestling at it's finest.
Wrestlemania XIII: March 23, 1997 - WM 13 is the first big event with the label of the Attitude Era. The theme of this show was Heat. Heat is a wrestling term that personifies the hatred towards a wrestler. A bad guy wants a lot of heat, a feud requires a lot of heat to really make an impact. The two matches with the most heat were the Nation of Domination vs. Ahmed Johnson and LOD, and Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Chicago was the perfect place for these feuds to blow up. The rest of the card was ok. Undertaker beat Sycho Sid to win the WWE Championship and continue his streak. The Rock made his debut at WM along with Mankind, big things will happen with these two later in their careers, but lets focus on the heat. The Nation of Domination really did not like Ahmed Johnson and beat the piss out of him on a weekly basis. So what did he do? He got the two baddest dudes to ever step into a wrestling ring, Hawk and Animal, and went to war in a Chicago Street Fight that went all over the arena. This was a fun match that showed intensity, and the right guys won. Stone Cold was the most hated man in wrestling at this time. Bret Hart was still a fan favorite, doing what was right. Hart had an issue with Stone Cold attacking people from behind and cheating to win. He also had an issue with his language and obscene gestures. These two guys were on fire when they walked into the Allstate Arena. The match stipulation was a submissions match meaning one guy had to willingly quit. They brawled, they hit each with chairs, slammed each other into the barricades and had a hell of a fight. Mid-way through the match, something happened. Stone Cold started garnering the sympathy of the fans. He was a bad guy, but he was getting whooped and wouldn't give up. Hart kept on laying them in, and giving Stone Cold his all. Eventually they end up back in the ring, Stone Cold bloodied, and Bret slaps in the Sharpshooter. In a pool of his own blood, Austin refuses to give up. He eventually passes out from the pain and Hart is rewarded the victory by referee stoppage. Hart may have won the match, but Stone Cold won the crowd, and that's the most important part of wrestling, having the crowd behind you. The scene of Austin screaming NO with blood dripping down his face is the most iconic scene of 90's wrestling.
Wrestlemania XI: April 2, 1995 - This was a weird event, and didn't feel like WM to me. The card was awesome, the matches were solid but it didn't feel like the grand daddy of them all. I can probably attribute it to it being in Hartford, CT, not the biggest arena. The opening match was pretty entertaining. The Blu Brothers were pretty talented, and had a good match against Bulldog and Luger. The Blu Brothers would have a tough time getting over in the future. They've changed their gimmicks so many times and had some success as part of the biker gang DOA. Razor vs Jarrett was decent, lots of Memphis shenanigans going on. Undertaker would continue his streak against King Kong Bundy. Bundy was let go from the company later that year. I was really excited to see Yokozuna and Owen Hart team up seeing that they are my favorites from the early 90's plus heel Doink of course. The main event featured Bam Bam Bigelow vs. NFL veteran Lawrence Taylor. The match wasn't bad. LT played his role perfectly, got beat up by the bad guy and somehow got the win. It was entertaining but shouldn't have ended the show. Diesel vs. HBK Shawn Michaels really stole the show. That's what these guys are known for and they didn't disappoint.
Wrestlemania XII: March 31, 1996 - The opener had really good potential especially when Vader and Yokozuna squared off. Unfortunately, the match itself was sloppy and didn't deliver. That's ok though, because we got to see HHH get squashed by the Ultimate Warrior in his first match back in 4 years. Undertaker continues his dominance at WM with a win over Diesel. Roddy Piper made his WM return with an interesting, hilarious Hollywood Backlot Brawl with the eerie and controversial Goldust. They tried to spoof the OJ Simpson car chase with sporadic segments throughout the show. Priceless stuff. The brawl itself got really brutal at times, showing a glimpse of the future of WWE matches. The main event was easily the most important match at WM since Hogan vs. Andre. It showcased two of the best wrestlers in the world. Bret Hart was the fighting champion from Canada. Shawn Michaels was the rising star and had the crowd behind him. The build up of this match was perfect. The vignettes were honest, and real. The match itself was an instant classic. Hart and HBK battled for an hour, trying to gain the advantage and reached a 60 minute time limit. Hart would walk away with the belt since it was a draw. They really turned up the volume at the end of the match with HBK in the Sharpshooter for over a minute without giving up. The match went into sudden death over time, and with two Sweet Chin Musics, Michaels beats the Hitman for the title. This is a match that I've seen at least 20 times, and it still gives me goosebumps. Wrestling at it's finest.
Wrestlemania XIII: March 23, 1997 - WM 13 is the first big event with the label of the Attitude Era. The theme of this show was Heat. Heat is a wrestling term that personifies the hatred towards a wrestler. A bad guy wants a lot of heat, a feud requires a lot of heat to really make an impact. The two matches with the most heat were the Nation of Domination vs. Ahmed Johnson and LOD, and Bret Hart vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Chicago was the perfect place for these feuds to blow up. The rest of the card was ok. Undertaker beat Sycho Sid to win the WWE Championship and continue his streak. The Rock made his debut at WM along with Mankind, big things will happen with these two later in their careers, but lets focus on the heat. The Nation of Domination really did not like Ahmed Johnson and beat the piss out of him on a weekly basis. So what did he do? He got the two baddest dudes to ever step into a wrestling ring, Hawk and Animal, and went to war in a Chicago Street Fight that went all over the arena. This was a fun match that showed intensity, and the right guys won. Stone Cold was the most hated man in wrestling at this time. Bret Hart was still a fan favorite, doing what was right. Hart had an issue with Stone Cold attacking people from behind and cheating to win. He also had an issue with his language and obscene gestures. These two guys were on fire when they walked into the Allstate Arena. The match stipulation was a submissions match meaning one guy had to willingly quit. They brawled, they hit each with chairs, slammed each other into the barricades and had a hell of a fight. Mid-way through the match, something happened. Stone Cold started garnering the sympathy of the fans. He was a bad guy, but he was getting whooped and wouldn't give up. Hart kept on laying them in, and giving Stone Cold his all. Eventually they end up back in the ring, Stone Cold bloodied, and Bret slaps in the Sharpshooter. In a pool of his own blood, Austin refuses to give up. He eventually passes out from the pain and Hart is rewarded the victory by referee stoppage. Hart may have won the match, but Stone Cold won the crowd, and that's the most important part of wrestling, having the crowd behind you. The scene of Austin screaming NO with blood dripping down his face is the most iconic scene of 90's wrestling.
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