Why WWE WrestleMania No Longer Has The Best Matches Of The Year
14. WrestleMania X-Seven To WrestleMania XX: The Golden Era (I)
Many fans look fondly upon the first
years of the millennium, and with good reason. There was some Katie Vick here,
some Mae Young giving birth to a hand there, but the overall product was
entertaining, compelling, often funny, and most of all the wrestling was
fantastic. From technical wizards to megastars with cult-like following, to
hard-as-f*ck brawlers, WWE had it all. Back then watching WrestleMania felt
like a treat, and not like the chore it often is nowadays.
Potential matches of the year came pouring down at every edition of the show. WrestleMania X-8 had an underrated Undertaker vs Ric Flair brawl, and the blessed-from-the-start Hogan vs Rock dream match. At WrestleMania XX, fans were given a delightful reversals exhibition by Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero, and one of the most intense triple threat matches of all time in the main event.
At WrestleMania XIX, Shawn Michaels and Chris Jericho worked a masterfully elegant match that should be studied in every wrestling school. Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan bloodied each other in a crowd-pleasing, surprisingly rewatchable Street Fight. The Rock and Austin trilogy ended on a high, emotional note, while Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle set the standard for what a modern WrestleMania main event should be.