15. Shawn Michaels vs. Owen Hart (WWF In Your House: Rage In The Cage)
Partly chosen for the angle leading up to it, HBK vs. Owen Hart was one of the finer examples of the athleticism working its way to the forefront of WWE in the 1990s. For the first decade of the WrestleMania Era, WWE had been a land of giants in the main-event scene. Owen's brother helped tear down that mold and rebuild it in a smaller, faster, better worker's image. Michaels then took it to the next level. He shot to the top of the wrestling world on the back of an attitude that basically said "there's not much that I can't physically do." If there was one naturally gifted athlete that could match Michaels move for move in the New Generation, it was Owen. His physical appearance made him an unassumingly dynamic performer. He sort of looked like what you start with in the "Create-a-Wrestler" of video games. Yet, like HBK, there was not much that he could not do in a wrestling ring. Also of note in this match was that it was one of the rare times when Owen was given the chance to headline a PPV outside of his 1994 feud with his older sibling.
"The Doc" Chad Matthews has written wrestling columns for over a decade. A physician by trade, Matthews began writing about wrestling as a hobby, but it became a passion. After 30 years as a wrestling fan, "The Doc" gives an unmatched analytical perspective on pro wrestling in the modern era. He is a long-time columnist for Lordsofpain.net and hosts a weekly podcast on the LOP Radio Network called "The Doc Says." His first book - The WrestleMania Era: The Book of Sports Entertainment - ranks the Top 90 wrestlers from 1983 to present day, was originally published in December 2013, and is now in its third edition.
Matthews lives in North Carolina with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.
