The history of WrestleMania is littered with hidden gems. For every Rock-Austin or Michaels-Undertaker, there’s a fun little contest hidden somewhere on the card. Every year, I scroll through the archives and put together a playlist of some of my favorite/memorable forgotten treasures.
WRESTLEMANIA’S HIDDEN GEMS, VOLUME 3
The Orient Express vs. The Rockers (WrestleMania VI) – I’m a sucker for good old fashioned Rockers matches. I think over the course of the three years I’ve written this column, I’ve mentioned every Rockers WrestleMania match at this point….
Intercontinental Championship: Big Boss Man vs. Mr. Perfect (WrestleMania VII) – I will not hear the good name of Ray Traylor tarnished. Ray Traylor could go. Put him in the ring with one of the greatest of all time with the prestigious Intercontinental Championship on the line, and you’ve got a sneaky good midcard title bout.
Shawn Michaels vs. Tito Santana (WrestleMania VIII) – I don’t get the hate for WrestleMania VIII. Sure, the main event sucked, but there were plenty worse events than this one. The hot opener between Michaels and Santana looks like a fever dream of two of the greatest workers of all time in retrospect.
Intercontinental Championship: Razor Ramon vs. Jeff Jarrett (WrestleMania XI) – Jeff Jarrett was a solid Intercontinental Champion back in 1995. On a card that lacked a lot of substance outside of a banger between Shawn Michaels and Diesel, I’m surprised this contest doesn’t stand out more.
Chicago Street Fight: Ahmed Johnson and The Legion of Doom vs. The Nation of Domination (WrestleMania 13) – Look, this isn’t a very good match by any means. But, please read the list of combatants again….Ahmed Johnson…..teaming…..with the Legion of Doom. It’s a massive clusterfuck, but it’s worth a watch just for the spectacle alone.
Intercontinental -AND- European Championship Two-Fall Triple Threat: Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit vs. Chris Jericho – Just look at the names in this fucking match! WrestleMania 2000 is one of the worst WrestleManias of all time, but it’s more than just that triangle table match. This classic is often lost in the shuffle.
Edge vs. Booker T (WrestleMania X8) – I don’t care what anyone says, having a match based off of a shampoo commercial was awesome. It surely felt like these two were paired together just because they didn’t have anything else to do at WrestleMania, but they made the most of it, and looking back, the whole thing was a lot of fun.
Christian vs. Chris Jericho (WrestleMania XX) – What a heel turn. What a surprise. What a huge twist in this underrated rivalry from 2004 that began in earnest in 2003.
Triple H vs. Sheamus (WrestleMania XXVI) – Sheamus’ incredible rookie year led him to a date with The Game at WrestleMania. On a card that was loaded with excellent matches, this one’s overlooked.
Intercontinental Championship: The Miz vs. Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins (WrestleMania 34) – If I haven’t exposed myself as the sucker for good strong midcard title matches that I am by now, this ought to do it. It was the opener for the main show and brought a lot of energy to New Orleans, kicking things off on the right foot.
WRESTLEMANIA’S HIDDEN GEMS
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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