10 Fantastic WrestleMania Matches You Totally Forgot
9. Shawn Michaels vs. El Matador - WrestleMania VIII
A lot happened in between WrestleMania VII and WrestleMania VII, but nothing would have the long-term consequences like Shawn Michaels superkicking his best friend Marty Jannetty, before throwing him through the barbershop window. Its an iconic moment in wrestling history, and marked the arrival of the Heartbreak Kid persona that would lead to Michaels being one of the biggest stars of all time. As Michaels was on his way to the top, perennial midcarder Tito Santana was on his way out. WWE were a few years away from The New Generation, and Santana (who had made his name over a decade the past decade) was reduced to the demeaning El Matador character. The Heartbreak Kid was an exciting, new gimmick, while El Matador was just the beginning of Vince McMahons weird phase of all of his wrestlers having some sort of side job alongside pro wrestling. When the two met at WrestleMania, it was ostensibly to get Shawn Michaels new character, and new manager Sherri Martel, over as a pretty boy heel, but the two had a competitive ten minute match. Its an interesting look at early nineties wrestling, as the eighties and nineties collide in one match, Santana works overtime to prove he can hang with the brash, upstart Shawn Michaels.
