The FGB crew has revised our top WrestleMania match list by adding matches from the past two WrestleManias. Thus, we have a new top 25.

Check out 25-16 if you missed it.

Here is 15-6:

15. The Undertaker vs. Edge – Wrestlemania 24
Big D says:

I was actually there live to watch Undertaker vs. Edge at Wrestlemania XXIV. It was really a great match live as well as a great match on DVD with the exception of the absolutely horrible commentary by Cole and Coachman. The match itself felt sort of like an All Japan main event. The Orlando crowd was watching with intent and popping for the near falls and Edge’s reversals. The finish however, was predictable. Taker doesn’t lose at Wrestlemania.

The best moment for me was just seeing Edge walk down with his fireworks and music blazing. This was his first real WrestleMania main event and he was closing the show. He got to close out the show with an awesome match.

Winner: The Undertaker

14. Shawn Michaels vs. John Cena – Wrestlemania 23
Alan says:

This match truly gets better on repeated viewings. I liked this when I first saw it, but it was on the re-watch that I really saw how magical it is. The build to this was so good, and the match was worthy of all the great angles that preceded it. Cena’s best ever work was from late ’06 to summer ’07 and this match fell slap bang in the middle of that period. His selling was unreal and he showed much more poise when on offense than usual. Shawn was as masterful as he always is on the big stage. The back and forth down the stretch was beautiful.

Winner: John Cena

13. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit – Wrestlemania X-Seven
Alan says:

The first 5 minutes of this match were surreal. You had two “smaller” wrestlers on Wrestlemania in front of 50,000-plus (really over 67,000) WWF fans, doing nothing but amateur wrestling. It was hold and counter hold….. AND IT GOT OVER…. it got over huge. I don’t think anything like that would have been envisioned in 1987. Heck, it wouldn’t have been envisioned in 1997. But Angle and Benoit were just that good, and while they would go on to have better matches, this remains a technical classic. It was the first time we witnessed their display of countering each other’s finishers which became a staple of their matches, and at the time that was really really cool. The finish was perhaps not what you’d ideally want from these two, but it’s non-conclusiveness left things open for rematches.

Winner: Kurt Angle

12. Shawn Michaels vs. Razor Ramon: Ladder Match – Wrestlemania X
GG says:

It might not have been the single most exciting Ladder Match of all time. In fact, if you re-watch it back today, you might not be as impressed as you’d expect to be. But there might not be a match that was more influential to the smaller wrestlers than this one. It’s a basic stunt match. The ladder is used as a prop. But on this day, Shawn Michaels wrapped a wrestling match around a ladder and made Razor Ramon/Scott Hall’s career. This is the one match that made Ramon a star and gave him his reputation as a star performer. Though Michaels would lose, true fans knew who made the match. Scott Hall should thank Michaels every chance he gets.

Winner: Razor Ramon

11. Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle – Wrestlemania XIX
GG says:

At one point in this match, I thought to myself that I was watching one of the greatest matches I’d ever seen in my life. In fact, as the match was going on, I thought this could possibly be the greatest match in Wrestlemania history. Kurt Angle was injured going into the match and there was worry that he wouldn’t be able to work. But this is Kurt Angle. You knew he’d be there. And he went on to have a fabulous performance. Brock Lesnar held his own and it was a match mixed with fast and hard hitting action. It fell off near the end as Brock tried a shooting star press and nearly broke his neck. There was a bit of a breakdown as Lesnar was in a fog, but Angle led him through to the finish. While the ending didn’t allow it to achieve its full greatness, it’s still one of the greatest Mania matches of all time.

Winner: Brock Lesnar

10. Randy Savage vs. Ric Flair – Wrestlemania VIII
Duan says:

There are only a handful of matches from the earlier Mania shows that have really stood the test of time. This is definitely one of them. 17 years later and it still holds up as well as it ever did. They wrestled with a level of intensity you rarely see. It was an intensity that was befitting of the storyline. Flair was magnificent as usual, but most of the credit for this match has to go to Savage. He played his role to perfection, and brought a believability to it. The involvement of Liz and Perfect was also excellently booked and only added to the tension.

I would also be remiss if I did not mention Bobby Heenan’s work on commentary. In my opinion, this was his greatest performance.

Winner: Randy Savage

9. Ricky Steamboat vs. Randy Savage – Wrestlemania III
Big D says:

What more can I say that hasn’t been said? A lot of people consider this to be the greatest match in Wrestlemania history, and without a doubt, it is the best in the first 9 years of Mania.

Randy Savage defeated Tito Santana for the Intercontinental Championship in 1986 and held the title for a year. He wrestled Steamboat initially on Saturday Night’s Main Event and dumped Steamboat’s throat over the guard rail as Vince McMahon screamed at the top of his lungs that Steamboat swallowed his tongue. Steamboat was probably the #3 or #4 babyface in the company at the time, but this shot him up a few levels.

If I could use one word to describe this match, it would have to be – smooth. There were tons of near-falls and reversals and hordes of psychology. There are at least three or four times in the match where you thought it was over and it wasn’t. Everything was crisp and tight. In the end, the Dragon vanquished the Savage with his buddy Animal Steele at his side.

Winner: Ricky Steamboat

8. TLC II – Wrestlemania X-Seven
GG says:

This is the highest ranked match of all the gimmick matches. There was just something a little more special about this one. Part of that reason is because this match was on the greatest Wrestlemania card in history, which was nearing the end of their popularity explosion. Also, the setting helped. When you saw these guys on top of ladders surrounded by near 70,000 fans watching with baited breath, it just added to the excitement. All three teams were brilliant, and though Edge and Christian won, Jeff and Matt Hardy, and Bubba Ray and Devon were all spectacular in their own right. Tables, ladders, and chairs, oh my!

Winner: Edge and Christian

7. Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock – Wrestlemania X-Seven
Big D says:

I could write about this match for days and days and all of the little nuances in the spots, transitions, the build-up, as well as the aftermath because it meant so much.

This match, like Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant in 1987, was the defining moment of the Attitude Era wrestling boom. The two biggest stars in the business went at it. Both were babyfaces for the past year (Austin even helped Rock win the title a year prior), but in Texas, nobody was going to be worshipped like Austin regardless of the little heelish things he did during the match. Austin wanted to win, and how did he do it? It was with the help of his arch-enemy for four years – WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. The crowd reaction in this match was louder than perhaps anything in all of Mania history. The work, heat, and fantastic moments make this truly fitting of the words “Wrestle” and “Mania”.

It’s a shame that they wouldn’t be able to follow this up ever again.

Winner: Stone Cold Steve Austin

6. Bret Hart vs. Owen Hart – Wrestlemania X
Duan says:

WWE couldn’t have wished for a better match to kick off the 10th WrestleMania. The Hart brothers delivered an absolute technical masterpiece. It featured just tremendous back and forth action. There were some really great displays of counter wrestling throughout this match. I thought the victory roll reversal made for the perfect finish.

The benefits of this match were two-fold. Firstly, Owen got a big win over a main event level guy. It established him as a star and set up a rematch for down the line. And secondly, it meant that the crowd was going to be particularly hot for Bret vs. Yoko in the main event. The story of Bret losing in the opener only to come back later and win the title played out perfectly. It was what made that show special.

Winner: Owen Hart

In our final post, we’ll countdown the top five greatest matches in WrestleMania history.

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