WWE: 25 of the best moments in WrestleMania history
By Dorathy Gass
19. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin Turns Heel – WM 17
Stone Cold’s feud with Vince McMahon was legendary. The average-everyday-joe versus his billion-dollar boss turned Austin into an iconic babyface anti-establishment hero.
That is, until WrestleMania 17, when he faced the Rock for the World Title. McMahon would distract the ref to help Austin win the title, and in the aftermath, as fans waited for Stone Cold to launch a Stunner on McMahon, it would never happen. Stone Cold was a McMahon crony now, and crossed over to the land of heel territory.
18. Icon Vs. Icon – WM 18
Being there in attendance that year, feeling the electricity of the audience, seeing the stare down between a then present icon in The Rock and a past wrestling icon in Hulk Hogan was incredible.
17. Bret Makes Vince Tap – WM 26
13 long years after the Montreal Screw Job, Bret Hart finally returned home to the WWE, and a WM match was booked for him against Vince McMahon.
With Hart family members surrounding the ring, taking shots at Vince every now and again during the match, Hart ended it all by placing McMahon in a Sharpshooter, where he tapped out. Retribution was finally gained by Bret, after all these years.
16. Trish Stratus and Mickie James – WM 22
Mickie James won her first of many Women’s Championships after the match was said and done, in a highly anticipated six-month program that mirrored the Single White Female movie. The story told in the ring was incredible, the rivalry between these women still stands as one of the best-of-the-best to this day.
15. Best Friends Celebrate As Champions – WM 20
While the name “Chris Benoit” still creates mixed emotions among the wrestling community, the fact is that back during WM 20, living in that moment in time, watching best friends Benoit and Eddie Guerrero holding up the respective titles they won and retained on the Grandest Stage of Them All was an incredible memory.
They travelled the world together, starting from the bottom and making it to the holy grail of the wrestling industry.