WrestleMania 28: Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart and the Best 'Mania Openers of All Time

With plenty of conversation regarding the WWE Championship match between CM Punk and Chris Jericho possibly opening WrestleMania XXVIII, it brings to mind some of the best opening bouts in the history of wrestling's biggest event.

The importance of an opener can't be understated, as it truly sets the tone for the rest of the night. Over the past year or two in particular, the WWE has often led off pay-per-views with major title matches in an effort to get the crowd involved early. While not everyone has embraced that system, there is something to be said for putting an important match on first.

Here are the three greatest opening contests in WrestleMania's storied history.

Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart: WrestleMania X

Some matches need a championship involved in order for them to seem important, but when brothers Bret and Owen Hart went at it to start WrestleMania X, none of that was necessary. Although it had been teased for quite some time, Owen officially turned on Bret at the Royal Rumble after an unsuccessful bid to win the Tag Team Championships. This led to an epic encounter at WrestleMania and one of the most underrated matches of any kind of all time.

The match was a technical masterpiece, as it lasted more than 20 minutes, and there was a genuine emotional feel to it with Owen playing the role of the evil brother quite well. Bret and Owen had probably wrestled each other in The Dungeon hundreds of times previously and it showed as they were totally in sync. Perhaps the best part of the bout was the surprise ending, as Owen shocked his big brother with a roll-up. Bret would go on to beat Yokozuna for the WWE Championship later in the night, though.

Edge vs. Alberto Del Rio: WrestleMania XXVII

Much like it is being discussed this year, last year's WrestleMania kicked off with Edge defending his World Heavyweight Championship against the Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rio. The fact that such a high-profile match led off the show took a lot of people by surprise, but it certainly was effective in kicking the event off right. It would have benefited from being a bit longer, as the match lasted only 11 minutes, but both Edge and Del Rio put on a good show.

What makes this match most memorable, though, is that it was the last major match of Edge's career, as a neck injury forced him to retire just a couple weeks later. It has been assumed that the original plan was to give Del Rio the win at WrestleMania because of how much momentum he had heading in, but the revelation regarding Edge's condition changed things. Whatever the case, few 'Mania openers have ever been as significant as last year's.

Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero: WrestleMania 21

When you pit two superstars with a long history of working together against each other, it's usually a good bet that they will put on a quality match. That is exactly what happened at WrestleMania 21, as Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero got the show started off right. The two long-time friends had met in the ring on countless occasions dating back to their time in WCW, and it's tough to remember a match in which they disappointed.

Both men displayed their signature styles and put on a fantastic show with Mysterio winning. Interestingly, Guerrero and Mysterio were Tag Team Champions at the time, so the crowd was really behind both of them. The two legends shook hands after the match, and sadly, it was the last time Guerrero would ever participate in a WrestleMania, as his untimely death occurred later that year.