WrestleMania is almost upon us again, and as usual wrasslin’ fans are divided about the build to the show. If you’re one of those people who’s been left unimpressed, take solace in the fact that the road to WrestleMania doesn’t always tell the full story. Many of the most memorable WrestleMania moments of all time were barely hinted at (or not teased at all) during the lead-up to the big show.
Here’s a ranking of the best ‘Mania moments that came straight out of left field to shock us all…
10) Hulk Hogan Leaves as Champion (WrestleMania IX)
It was 1993, and new WWF Champion Bret Hart was heading to WrestleMania to face off against the massive Yokozuna. Meanwhile Hulk Hogan, who had returned from a steroid scandal-prompted “sabbatical” looking 40-pounds lighter and a decade older, was paling around with Brutus Beefcake in a tag match in the middle of the card. Every indication was that Hogan had been reassigned a “special attraction,” while Hart was the new young face of the company. Or so we thought.
In the first of several rapid-fire surprises, the dastardly Yokozuna actually won the title after his manager threw salt in babyface Bret Hart’s eyes, an unthinkable outcome for a WrestleMania main event at the time. Hulk Hogan came out to protest this injustice, which was odd considering he’d never associated with either Hart or Yokozuna, and suddenly he had an impromptu title match: 22 seconds later, Hogan was the new champ. Wait, what? Hogan beating Yokozuna wasn’t exactly a good surprise, but it was certainly unlike anything that had happened in the WWF to that point (regular Money in the Bank cash-ins weren’t a thing back then) and it’s kept people talking about the otherwise forgettable WrestleMania IX for over two decades.
9) Arn Anderson Spinebusters The Undertaker (WrestleMania X8)
One of The Undertaker’s most underrated WrestleMania matches was his 2002 no-DQ battle against Ric Flair. At this point, Flair was a face, and Undertaker was in the midst of his also-underrated Booger Red bad guy biker persona. In the lead up to ‘Mania, Undertaker had been targeting Flair’s friends and family, including Arn Anderson and David Flair, but most fairly assumed their role was just to take a beating to add heat to the Flair/Taker confrontation. Few expected either man to get involved physically at WrestleMania, but Arn Anderson did exactly that, running out to flatten Taker with a bone-rattling spinebuster. It was a perfectly-timed moment, and it seemed like Undertaker’s ‘Mania streak may be about to end. Obviously it didn’t, but still. Maybe not the most outright shocking entry on this list, but a personal favorite.
8) Roddy Piper Tries to Kill Hulkamania (WrestleMania XIX)
At WrestleMania XIX, Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan engaged in an unexpectedly great war with the fate of Hulkamania on the line. The match was a horror movie gorefest and memorably featured a 57-year-old Vince McMahon leaping off a ladder to leg drop Hogan through a table, and a shocking (yet perfect) run-in. That run-in came courtesy of Roddy Piper, who had no part in the build to the match. With both Hogan and Vince down, Piper snuck into the ring in a trench coat and hat, then revealed himself to rapturous applause. Piper teased who he might side with, but ultimately nailed Hogan with a lead pipe, because duh, Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan should never be friends. Roddy then treated the crowd to a clearly audible “f*ck you all” then walked out, having created yet another indelible WrestleMania moment.
7) The Three Biggest Stars of All Time Have a Beer (WrestleMania XXX)
By the time WrestleMania XXX rolled around, Hulk Hogan was no longer in any shape to wrestle, but WWE tossed him a gig hosting the show. Things didn’t exactly kick off swimmingly, with Hogan misidentifying the Superdome as the Silverdome, but the crowd was willing to quickly forget Hogan’s senioritis when the sound of breaking glass hit. Steve Austin marched down and went face-to-face with Hogan, teasing a long-rumored match, and then “If you smeeeell…” broke over the speakers. Hoooo boy. Rock, Austin and Hogan didn’t actually end up doing a whole lot, but the sight of the three biggest stars in pro wrestling history hanging out drinking beers set the show off on a great foot, creating an “anyone can be here and anything can happen” vibe.
6) Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth Reunite (WrestleMania VII)
In 1991, Randy Savage was deep into a heel run, and had replaced his former manger, muse, and dangerous obsession Miss Elizabeth with “Scary” Sherri Martel. At WrestleMania VII, Savage was up against the unstoppable Ultimate Warrior in a retirement match, and it seemed like the once-beloved Savage was going to end his career on a dark, bitter note.
But wait! During the match, the camera cut to the crowd revealing that Miss Elizabeth, who’d been off TV for nearly a year, was in attendance. Sure enough, Savage would lose a hard-fought match, and Sherri was far from sympathetic. In fact, she started kicking the Macho Man’s ass, which caused Elizabeth to charge the ring, a house of poofy-haired fire. Elizabeth disposed of Sherri, and then things got awkward. Savage and Elizabeth look into each other’s eyes, and, and…they embrace! Pro wrestling love reigns supreme! Savage’s career was over (for now), but the Macho Man had redeemed himself on the way out.
5) Ultimate Warrior Returns to Save Hulk’s Bacon (WrestleMania VIII)
Yeah, this list has a lot of Hogan material, but there’s really no separating WrestleMania and Hulkamania. The main event of WrestleMania VIII was a clash between Hulk and Sid Justice, which Hogan of course won. Unfortunately, after the match, the ultra ’90s combo of Sid and Papa Shango attacked Hogan, and things looked grim for the orange one, until…
Ba-wawawawa-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM. Here comes the Ultimate Warrior, blasting through the Hoosier Dome to make the save like the maniac he is. Warrior had been missing in action for nearly a year, and he and Hogan hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye before then, so the shocked crowd was nearly orgasmic. Both Hogan and Warrior would disappear again in short order due to the WWF’s unfolding steroid scandal, but there’s no denying they sent WrestleMania VIII out with a bang.
4) Seth Rollins Cashes In During the Main Event (WrestleMania 31)
The main event of WrestleMania 31 seemed to be set in stone. Crown prince Roman Reigns was going to win the title, and that was that. To be fair, Reigns and Brock Lesnar had a solid bruising bout, but it seemed like we were heading to a predictable underdog victory until Seth Rollins and his Money in the Bank briefcase made their surprise appearance. Sure, we’d seen plenty of Money in the Bank cash-ins before, but during the main event of WrestleMania? In the middle of another title match? How would that even work? The answer is the match became a triple threat and in the confusion, Brock tried to F5 Rollins, but Reigns speared Brock, inadvertently saving Seth, who then hit the curb stomp for the win. And just like that, a guy who wasn’t even in the main event, who many once predicted would be the forgotten member of The Shield, was WWE Champion.
3) Ronda Rousey Destroys The Authority (WrestleMania 31)
On almost any other ‘Mania, Seth Rollins winning the title would easily be the night’s most shocking moment, but WrestleMania 31 delivered an ever bigger stunner. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon were in the ring cutting the regular spiel, when The Rock came out to confront them. Stephanie being Stephanie hauled off and slapped The Rock and dared him to do something about it.
Rock appears as if he’s going to leave, but instead takes a stroll around the ring, and wait, is that Ronda Rousey in the crowd? Awwww dang. And now she’s jumping the barricade and getting in the ring. Awwww double-dang. And now she’s judo-throwing Triple H like a rag doll. Sh*t. And threatening to break Stephanie’s arm. Sh********t. Sadly, the Rousey segment hasn’t really led to anything (at least not yet), but who cares? WWE managed to get the biggest star in Hollywood and the most talked-about legit fighter in the world together for a white-hot segment nobody saw coming. If you weren’t crapping your pants as it happened, you’re a liar.
2) Steve Austin Turns to the Dark Side (WrestleMania X-7)
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Steve Austin would win the 2001 Royal Rumble, putting him on a collision course with The Rock, who he had previously beat at WrestleMania XV. This time, Austin was obsessed with taking back his top spot after spending a year away recovering from neck surgery. But otherwise, both Austin and Rock were generally depicted as good guys, with Rock being slightly more heelish if anything.
The battle at WrestleMania X-7 was epic, with Austin throwing everything he could at Rock to no avail. Vince McMahon was at ringside for the match, seemingly siding with Stone Cold, but Austin rejected the help. Or at least he did until The Rock kicked out of the Stunner. With nothing else left in his arsenal, Austin took the symbolic steel chair of corporate evil from Vince McMahon and pummeled Rock into submission with 16 brutal shots, then pinned him. Steve Austin turning heel was shocking enough, but siding with Vince McMahon? The antithesis of everything his blue collar Texas Rattlesnake character stood for? That blew some minds, particularly because WWE didn’t spend six months teasing it first.
1) Brock Lesnar Ends the Streak (WrestleMania XXX)
There was no way The Undertaker was losing at WrestleMania XXX. Obviously Undertaker never lost on the grandest stage of them all, but the build to WrestleMania XXX had really gone out of its way to make Lesnar look like a goober. Week after week, Lesnar would be out-thought, outfought and sent scurrying by Undertaker’s Halloween spook show theatrics. The A-Train had been given a better build than Brock Lesnar.
Well, we all got our asses swerved. Brock Lesnar didn’t just beat Undertaker, he beat him bad, never letting the Deadman get out of the box. The most impressive streak in pro wrestling history was over, and the cynical, hipster-packed 2014 WrestleMania audience was a sea of legitimately shocked faces and teary eyes. Real surprises are hard to come by these days, but at the 30th anniversary of WrestleMania, WWE cashed in their biggest shock chip possible.
There you are, a few legendary surprises to give those of you cynical about the WrestleMania 32 card some hope. WWE loves to talk about how anything can happen in the company, and WrestleMania is one of the few times they’re not bullsh*tting. Any surprising Mania moments I missed? Head on down to the comments and let’s talk about your favorites.
