With WrestleMania 32 only a couple of weeks away (April 3 to be exact, and remember, it’s free for first time subscribers!), one of the best ways to prepare for the biggest WWE event of the year is to watch some of the best matches of previous WrestleManias. If you only have time to watch a few select matches before April 3, here are some matches that I highly recommend (all links are to the WWE Network).
Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle (WrestleMania 21)
Just by looking at the names involved in the match should be enough to convince you to watch this match. Shawn Michaels is arguably the greatest performer in the history of professional wrestling, having amazing matches with anyone he is paired up with. Kurt Angle, on the other hand, is probably the best mat technician the WWE has ever seen. This makes sense, considering he won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 for wrestling (“with a broken freakin’ neck!”).
This match took place during the height of the brand split. For those who don’t know, Raw and Smackdown were their own separate brands, with each show having its own championships and roster. At WrestleMania 21, this match took place as essentially a “Smackdown vs. Raw” match, with each man representing their respective brand.
What makes this match amazing is the pacing, as well as the variety of styles in the match. The match starts with a mat wrestling clinic, with Michaels adjusting his style to be more ground focused. Slowly the match develops, adding more “spots” over time, including some battles outside the ring. Even though WrestleMania 21 featured the first-ever Money in the Bank ladder match, this match might have stolen the show.
Randy Orton vs. Batista vs. Daniel Bryan – WWE World Heavyweight Championship (WrestleMania 30)
This match is the culmination of Daniel Bryan’s rise to the top. Months had gone by where Daniel Bryan kept getting pushed down by the Authority, and with every chance he got at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the Authority would take it away. In order for Daniel Bryan to be a part of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, he had to defeat Triple H at the beginning of the night. After defeating Triple H, he would be attacked after the match, causing him to have an injured shoulder going into a triple threat match against two members of Evolution.
This match is one of the greatest moments in WWE history. The build to Daniel Bryan’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship title win was a very (very, very, very) slow one. Fans were agonizing for the moment that Bryan would overcome the odds (#RomanReigns), and Bryan’s victory in this match was probably the most satisfying moment that a fan could experience in wrestling. Watching the fan favorite go from being buried to being the face of the company solely because of “Yes!” chants is what being the WWE Universe is all about.
CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman) vs. The Undertaker (WrestleMania 29)
This is a match that has a lot of important events surrounding it. This is the last match where somebody lost to “The Streak” (Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania before Brock Lesnar broke it at WrestleMania 30). This match was also around the time that Paul Bearer (long time manager of The Undertaker) passed away, which CM Punk used to get heat, since he was a heel going into this match. Also, this is the last WrestleMania that CM Punk had competed in before leaving the company in 2014.
CM Punk and The Undertaker have battled a lot in their careers (mainly since they both were on Smackdown during the brand split), and I could have seen CM Punk walking out of WrestleMania 29 as the “1” in “20-1.” Whether or not you wish CM Punk broke “The Streak,” this match is still a treat.
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