WWE All-Stars: An All-Time Ideal WrestleMania Card
Vince McMahon is very worried.
WWE Creative staff is running out of ideas and struggling to generate excitement PPV after PPV.
He had to use all the big guns to save WrestleMania 27.
The Rock is back, Stone Cold Steve Austin is back, Shawn Michaels is getting inducted in the Hall of Fame and Triple H will get his ass kicked.
Still, there are people complaining this card is not good enough.
What else can McMahon do for WrestleMania 28?
A mysterious man enters McMahon’s office.
“I have the solution for you”, says the man. “I came from 2052 with this time machine and I want you to use it to create an all-time ideal card. You can pick any match from the past and bring the wrestlers to the present. That will save WrestleMania.”
McMahon is more excited than ever in his life. He calls me and asks me to take a look at the past and select the best card possible.
The mysterious man is about to leave, but McMahon takes his arm. “Why now?”
“Because otherwise you would ruin WrestleMania next year,” responds the man. “You would finally turn John Cena heel and make him lose the WWE Championship… against Hornswoggle.”
Rules to Select the Matches
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Well, Vince has given me this crucial assignment, so let’s make the best card possible.
He told me there are some basic rules for this work.
1) It will include 10 matches, following the usual structure of WrestleMania
- One WWF/WWE Championship match (the Undisputed Championship is also included in this category)
- One World Heavyweight Championship match
- One mid-card singles title match (Intercontinental, United States, Cruiserweight, Light Heavyweight, Hardcore)
- One Tag-team Championship match
- One multi-men match (Battle Royal, Money in the Bank, six-plus tag-team, Gauntlet)
- Three singles matches
- One “Guest Star” match
- One Divas match
2) No wrestler can appear more than once in the card. Otherwise poor Shawn Michaels or Randy Savage would end on a wheelchair for the rest of their lives.
3) Any stipulation (no-disqualification, submission match, Ironman, Casket match) can be used only once. We don’t want to bore people repeating gimmicks.
4) Hornswoggle is banned from the card.
Here we go.
Dark Matches (on the Titantron)
2 of 15Instead of giving the fans a filler match that nobody cares about, we use the hour before the live event to remind some great matches that didn’t make the card for any reason (mostly, one of the wrestlers was already committed to another bout).
Retirement match (WrestleMania VII)
The Ultimate Warrior vs. Randy Savage (with Sensational Queen Sherri)
A very good match and a touching final: the reunion of Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth.
Intercontinental Championship (WrestleMania X)
Razor Ramon (c) vs. Shawn Michaels
As many pundits said, “one of the most ground-breaking matches in history”.
WWE Championship (WrestleMania XIX)
Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle (c)
A terrific match that almost got ruined by a botched shooting star press by Lesnar, who still managed to recover to hit a F-5 to pin Angle.
Match No.1: Money in the Bank – WrestleMania XXIV
3 of 15CM Punk vs. Chris Jericho vs. MVP vs. Mr. Kennedy vs. John Morrison vs. Carlito vs. Shelton Benjamin
Money in the Bank was the perfect start for WrestleMania, but sadly it won’t be anymore due to having its own PPV.
Every MITB had something special, so it’s hard to pick just one, but in my opinion this was one of the best.
It had amazing spots, great bums, a lot of pain and the start of the push for one of the best performers of our generation.
And, better yet, it’s one of the few that doesn’t include two men who have a spot reserved for later in the card and gives me a chance to include Chris Jericho.
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Match No.2: Intercontinental Championship – WrestleMania III
4 of 15Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage (c) (with Miss Elizabeth)
One of the best matches of all-time, definitely the highest point in the career of Ricky Steamboat and also one of the best performances by Macho Man Savage.
This match culminated a six-month feud, one of the best buildups ever for a mid-card title.
Now, we get a new Intercontinental Champion without even bothering on making him No.1 contender first.
Match No.3: Singles Match: WrestleMania XII
5 of 15The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hunter Hearst Helmsley
Every WM needs a squash match. Still, this one has an iconic value:
Triple H got destroyed in 96 seconds. He even hit a Pedigree and Warrior was again on his feet two seconds later.
Today, the IWC would call it The Ultimate Burial.
Still, the guy who got crushed 15 years ago became a legend with 13 World Championships in his career.
As any other new talent, he was paying his dues against an established star.
Think about that the next time you want to whine because WWE “buried” your next golden boy.
Match No.4: Tables, Ladders and Chairs Tag-Team Championship – WrestleMania XVII
6 of 15Edge & Christian vs. The Dudley Boyz (c) vs. The Hardy Boyz
These six guys had stolen the show one year before and they did it again in the second TLC in history.
This is unquestionably the best tag-team match ever, featuring some of the greatest spots I’ve seen in my life.
The nine wrestlers involved in this match (let's not forget the interference by Spike Dudley, Rhyno and Lita) put themselves in danger one and another time.
It was truly epic.
Alongside the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock match, this is one of the main reasons a lot of people consider WrestleMania X-Seven the best of all time.
Match No.5: Singles Guest Start Match: WrestleMania XI
7 of 15Lawrence Taylor vs. Bam Bam Bigelow (with Ted DiBiase)
Of course, we can’t say this was a great match, but in the “Guest Star” category it's definitely the best.
Taylor had a very good performance for a non-wrestler, the match was solid and it gave WWF big mainstream press coverage.
If you complain, I’ll change it for the match that includes Snooki.
Match No.6: Triple Threat World Heavyweight Championship – WrestleMania XXII
8 of 15Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle (c) vs. Randy Orton
I know this will be a controversial pick. But it’s the best one.
The World Heavyweight Championship is relatively new, so it has been disputed in only eight matches so far.
Yes, I realize there was another certain triple threat that probably deserved this spot, but two of the performers in that one are busy for this card.
This was a very good match on its own, included three future members of the Hall of Fame and culminated the Ultimate Underdog (when he was still an underdog) story, honoring the late Eddie Guerrero in the process.
Match No.7: Submission Match – WrestleMania XIII
9 of 15Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Another all-time best, some could argue this is the best match ever.
Bret Hart entered the arena as a face, Steve Austin as a heel. They reversed their roles in 22 minutes.
Despite the loss, this was the match that elevated Stone Cold to the legend category.
Match No.8: Women’s Championship – WrestleMania XXII
10 of 15Mickie James vs. Trish Stratus (c)
Do you want a break? This would be your chance.
Except that it isn’t.
This match had a six-month buildup since Mickie’s debut under the Trish’s biggest fan gimmick.
It had all you could want in a Divas match. Two hot women, some great moves and good bumps in almost 12 minutes (it’s not a typo, 12).
Oh right, and a bit of lesbianism.
Match No.9: WWF Championship: WrestleMania III
11 of 15Hulk Hogan (c) vs. Andre the Giant
You knew this match had to be included in the card.
It probably isn’t among the top 10 matches for the WWF/WWE/Undisputed title in terms of in-ring work, but it has to be here.
It’s the most iconic moment in WrestleMania’s history.
Hogan bodyslamming Andre changed the course of wrestling forever.
And of course, Hulk Hogan was still the American Hero, not the cartoon he is now.
Match No.10: Streak vs Career – WrestleMania XXVI
12 of 15The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels
I still remember people complaining about having a rematch of WM25
“They won’t repeat their performance of last year,” “it’s a lose-lose situation,” “they are old!”
But it turned to be the best match I’ve seen, a great good-bye for one of the greatest of all-time.
There were a lot of mixed emotions in this match. As many other fans, I didn’t want to see the end of the streak, but I didn’t want to see HBK leaving either.
The moment The Deadman executed the third Tombstone Piledriver we realized it was the end of an era.
Mr. WrestleMania made sure we'll never forget him.
Umm… Something Is Missing
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Is it me or there could be something else in this card?
Most of the WWE Legends are included, but I feel I left two out...
I guess Vince won’t complain if I made a last minute addition to the card.
Fans won’t, I’m sure.
Special Main Event: WrestleMania XXVIII
14 of 15The Rock vs. John Cena
Finally!
The Rock had some epic matches at previous WrestleManias, but his rivals were involved in other bigger moments.
John Cena is the current face of the WWE, but despite that he wins every year in the Grandest Stage of All, he still lacks a special moment.
Oh yeah, they seem to despise each other.
This has to happen at Atlanta.
What Do You Think?
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Follow me on Twitter: @luisrha
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