Five WrestleMania Matches That Deserve A Second Look

 

Wrestlemania Season, bring's excitement, spectacle, and frenzy in the air. Along with excitement over the event, many fans look forward to the matchups slated for Mania. There are alot of factors that go into a match. Story build, promos, prep work, execution during the match, crowd response etc. There's also a lot that can go into a match being overlooked or possibly not living up to the hype. A miscue, placement on card, fan interest, the wrestlers momentum at the time. Sometimes there were bigger moments that took the fans attention, as time goes on they can only recall those moments from a particular event.

With that I've decided to pick 5 Wrestlemania matches that maybe were overlooked, got lost in wrestling history. Or just didn't click at the time but was quite good in hindsight. Since Wrestlemania is next weekend, I figured I'd share some matches and give people enough time to check them out themselves. With that here are five matches that deserve another look in my opinion.

5. Trish Stratus vs Christy Hemme-Wrestlemania 21

The build to this match was kind of strange, but looking back what do you expect from the WWE in this time period. Trish Stratus was on top the division as the divas champion, initially she was due to face Lita but an injury to Lita forced them to pivot. Her new target became Christy Hemme the 2004 Raw Diva search winner, who Trish was a little jealous of because she made the cover of playboy. Lita ended up training Christy in preparation for the match.

During this time womens wrestling was not taken seriously at all in the WWE. Trish had become a very formidable wrestler in her own right on her way to legend status. While Christy made the best of the opportunity given to her. During their match, there were clunky moments, but Christy showed a lot of aggression and fire in her match like she really wanted to take Trish out. Trish helped guide the match to some sort of respectability during their 5 and half minute match. 

By no means does this match compare to Sasha vs Bianca, Charlotte vs Rhea, or even Trish's match against Mickie James a year later. However, for the time it was held in the WWE world regarding women wrestlers, it's not a bad match if you take it for what it is.

4. The Rockers vs Haku & Barbarian-Wrestlemania VII

While technically this was the second match on the Wrestlemania card this year, it was the right match to air televised and give the masses a hot start to the card. The perfect match of power against agility, David vs Goliath for these two tag teams. The Rockers soon as they hit the ring from their mad dash at the entrance way, they never slowed down. Haku and The Barbarian were able to catch them and display devasting power moves. 

Both teams sold well for each other, leaving audience members on the edge of their seat on which team maybe victorious. In the end The Rockers came out the winners, but not before exhausting the audience and setting a standard for the rest of the card in the process. The two clashing styles that worked so well together made it even more beautiful to watch. It also highlights how underrated Haku and Barbarian are for their respective skills, and the ability to work with smaller teams and make them look just as good as they made them look.

The match was also part of the beginning of the end of The Rockers as they separated later in the year. Besides that, you can also see the rising star that Shawn Michaels was becoming, and that something was there that would lead him to being the best in-ring performer ever if you ask me. I can't say enough good things about this match.

3. Chris Benoit vs MVP-Wrestlemania 23

Chris Benoit was one of the best technical wrestlers that ever stepped foot in the ring, his legacy is complicated because of his unspeakable actions. MVP is more known for this command of the microphone and the audience, and the swagger he projects. However, MVP is no slouch in the ring and he proved that during his Wrestlemania 23 bout against Chris Benoit for the United States Championship. 

Soon as the bell rang, the two went toe to toe with reversals, counter holds and back and forth action on who was on offense. Suplex attempts, reversals, suplex attempts, reversals, submission move, counter....the list of back and forth goes on and on. Being that this was MVP's first Wrestlemania appearance, debuting for Smackdown in September the year before. He put a star making match, and had many people thinking he was going to walk out of Ford Field the new United States Champion.

According to MVP this match really opened officials eyes in the company that he was truly more than a good talker and could truly "go" in the ring as much as he could talk. If you've never seen the match go back and watch it, see just how damn good both men were.

2. AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura-Wrestlemania 34

For whatever reason this match between Styles and Nakamura just did not live up to the hype. Being in the audience I chalk it up to fan exhaustion, it was the 12th match on a 14 match card including 3 matches on the pre-show. WWE also didn't put go all in with building to this match. Despite that this 20 minute match was better than many have given it credit for. 

The two crossed paths a couple of years before in New Japan, wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom 10. Which was hailed as a five star match by many columnists.  I don't think people expected a complete rehash of that match, but maybe a part two still carried massive expectations it couldn't meet. Despite that the two still produced a quality hard hitting match. While thing's did start slow the two eventually kicked into gear, Shinsuke with his usual strong style kicks, and AJ with his one of a kind skill set. There were reversals, near falls, and damn did he get the 3 count moments.

One component of the match that has been lost in the disappointment of the match, is Shinsuke's facial expressions throughout the match veering from dramatic to hilarious. He's an amazing seller that perfectly displayed his frustration and disappointment throughout the match leading to the emotional aspect of making a damn good match. His post match attack on AJ to continue their feud, after a brief moment of mutual respect, was another great piece in telling an overall story. 

1. Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio-Wrestlemania 27

I'm not sure Wrestlemania is the worst Wrestlemania of all-time, but man it was a underwhelming event, even with The Rock being the "host" as a part of his return to WWE after 7 years away. Since it was my first Wrestlemania it will always have a special place in my heart, but even I can acknowledge it wasn't great. Lost in everyone's disappointment in how the overall event turned out is the gem of a match that is Cody Rhodes vs Rey Mysterio.

The entire feud between the two is underrated, and Cody's run as the scarred "undashing" Cody wasn't long enough to me. The storyline and the match told a classic comic book story of good vs. evil, Cody with his mask and Rey dressed as Captain America. Throughout the match Cody's goal was to further damage Rey's already compromised knee, which Cody succeeded in doing. We as fan's should have taken heed that Cody was preparing us for his masterclass of storytelling in the ring.

If you were to do a class on Cody's journey to being the superstar he is now, this match should be included in the lecture. Having a match against a legendary figure like Rey Mysterio, still early in his career and having the nuances from body language and facial expressions to sell this feud. We should have known then, he would be a star now.