50 Must-See WrestleMania Matches

16. Ric Flair Vs. Shawn Michaels – WrestleMania 24

CM Punk The Undertaker
WWE

This would have been a dream match 10 years earlier than it happened, but better late than never, right? Flair had been put into a situation where if he lost a match, he would be forced to retire from wrestling. This edict made every bout a career-threatening match and added urgency to every Flair contest.

Enter Shawn Michaels. Given the task of fighting Flair at the biggest show of the year, Mr. WrestleMania was forced to choose between ending a legend’s career or giving up his title of performing at the highest level at WrestleMania.

The two had a good match – not something that would have competed with a bout from a decade earlier – but it was the Sword of Damocles hanging over Flair’s head that added drama and tension.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.