The Complete A-Z Of WrestleMania

8. S - Shawn Michaels

Stone Cold Steve Austin The Rock
WWE.com

It takes bravado to label yourself 'Mr WrestleMania', but as well as casting himself as 'The Showstopper' and 'The Main Event', Shawn Michaels admirably carries the lofty moniker.

His excellent WrestleMania displays prior to his 1998 retirement were par for the course. 'HBK' dazzled in early tag efforts with The Rockers, was sensational in matches against Razor Ramon and Diesel, and showed incredible physical gifts in his divisive Iron Man match with Bret Hart.

However, his matches at the 'Show of Shows' following his remarkable 2002 return transcended to another level entirely, with Michaels solidifying his legacy as possibly the greatest to ever ply the trade.

His WrestleMania 19 match with Chris Jericho was the best match on a stacked card, and his addition to the expected Chris Benoit/Triple H match at WrestleMania 20 helped the brawl exponentially. The contest with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 remains one of the best matches in the history of the show, he created drama from the comedy of his angle with Vince McMahon at WrestleMania 22, and had one last memorable crack at the WWE Title in a superb show-closer with John Cena at a record-setting WrestleMania 23.

His final three WrestleManias were his very best.

Giving Ric Flair one last great match at WrestleMania 24, he followed that up a year later with the best WWE match of the decade against The Undertaker, with a fabulous rematch against 'The Deadman' at WrestleMania 26 marking his own glorious send-off.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett