10 Hugely Underrated WWE WrestleMania Matches

1. André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal - WrestleMania XXX

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WWE.com

Rendered retrospectively pointless - even depressing - as a result of Cesaro's non-push and the attraction's stigma as a tedious waste of time and talent, the inaugural André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal was actually brilliant.

It was the usual mass and mess of flesh in the opening half, though not not fascinating on re-watch. Santino Marella eliminated The Miz in a comedy spot. The A-Lister deserves much credit for staying over, especially since, post-NXT, the quality of the roster improved considerably over the next four years. In an actually funny comedy spot, Sheamus caved Fandango's chest in after one Bodhrán beat for every WrestleMania. Fandango's dead-sell elimination was a riot.

Kofi Kingston was more Kofi than Kofi on the night, performing a better Rumble elimination spot than he ever managed at the Royal Rumble itself. He vaulted over the ropes, propelled by Cesaro's strength, with such velocity that the scope for a botch was vast - so vast that everybody who should have known better bought it. Those fans also bought into winner Cesaro, big time, after a phenomenal performance amid a flood of fast and dramatic eliminations.

Capped off by a neat tribute to WrestleMania's most famous moment, at the Detroit Superdome, Cesaro didn't do much as a singles act following his elimination of The Big Show. But people still perceive him as a great lost star four years later, even if he wasn't recognised by those matter for his awesomeness.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!