20. John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 23
This one probably gets more respect from its peers than it does from the fans. From the moment it became apparent that HBK would be taking Triple Hs spot in the WWE Championship match (after Hunter got injured in early January), the anticipation for Michaels vs. Cena began to build. Cena had rounded the corner and started to become a great worker during his late summer work against Edge in 2006 and Umaga in early 2007. HBK being the ultimate big match performer, Mania 23 was as much about seeing what Cena could do with Michaels than anything else. To this day, HBK vs. Cena at Mania has arguably the second greatest pre-match hype video of all-time (behind Austin-Rock II featuring My Way). It perfectly set the stage for a title match. 28-minutes was how long these two were given to work that night. For HBK, this was no big deal. For Cena, it was entering uncharted territory. He had worked matches close to that length with Last Man Standing or TLC gimmicks attached to help kill some of the dead time, but never before had he been asked to go for so long in a standard match. It was an old school kind of match, bringing forth memories of the 90s style main-events featuring HBK and Bret Hart. In many ways, it was a game of cat and mouse between the cunning veteran and the over-anxious young champion. There was one stretch of the match where HBK worked over Cenas knee that dragged a tad and at one point it seemed like HBK was noticeably frustrated with Cena. Other than that, though, the match built to a great finish. HBK pulled out a rare pile driver and Cena sold it accordingly before making his comeback and ultimately finding a way to make Michaels tap out to retain the WWE title for the second straight Mania. Their rematch on Raw a few weeks later has always been more universally praised, but the Mania match was only just a notch below it. It is supremely underrated, historically.
"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.
