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Five of the most exciting and action-packed WrestleMania’s
WrestleMania is one of the most anticipated events in the WWE calendar. Each year, audiences tune in to the pay-per-view channel to get a glimpse of the action.
The first event took place in March 1985 in Madison Square Garden, New York, with over 19,000 fans in attendance. Even back then, the event, run by the Worldwide Wrestling Federation, achieved television views of over one million.
Since its conception, WrestleMania has continued to grow in popularity and has launched the careers of many pro wrestlers.
Over the last three decades, WrestleMania has presented wrestling fans with drama, thrilling matches and many unforgettable moments.
Many fans enjoy placing wagers on their favourite wrestlers at the event. Although it isn’t just WrestleMania you can bet on, as you’ll see on the betting sites featured on this list, most WWE and wrestling events are open to bets.
Let’s take a look at five WrestleMania’s we will never forget and the talented athletes who performed in them.
WrestleMania 1
The inaugural event in 1985 is remembered fondly by many of WWE’s original fan base. The event was made up of nine different wrestling matches and the Heavyweight boxing champion legend Muhammad Ali featured as a referee.
In the months preceding the event tensions had been rising as “Rowdy” Roddy Piper made a series of comments and had confrontations with other competitors on the WWF channel. In one episode he hit Jimmy Snuka with a coconut on the head.
Rowdy’s biggest feud was with Hulk Hogan. The pair confronted each other again at The War to Settle the Score event, where Hulk won due to a disqualification. They then faced each other again at WrestleMania.
In the main event of the night, Hulk, the legendary Mr T and Jimmy Snuka were pitted against Rowdy, Mr Wonderful and Cowboy. Mr Wonderful got Hogan locked in a full nelson, however Cowboy accidentally hit Wonderful and Hogan won the match by pinning him down. In anger, Piper knocked out a ring official.
WrestleMania XX
Another memorable event in the history of the WrestleMania competition is WrestleMania XX in 2004. With John Cena taking home his first title, the Rock and Sock finally reuniting and Trish Stratus turning on Y2J, this competition was full to the brim with surprises.
Stratus and Chris Jericho had enjoyed a public romance in the weeks and months leading up to the big day. Jericho took on Christian in a bid to defend her honour.
However, following Jericho’s loss against him, Stratus savagely slaps him across the face. Audiences then see Christian and Stratus passionately making out while a defeated Jericho looks on in disgust.
This is also the year that John Cena made his debut by beating the Big Show and taking home his first WWE title. In the final moments, Cena pulled out a chain that was snatched away by the referee before getting in a final punch and taking down Big Show.
WrestleMania X7
The 2001 X-7 WrestleMania was another one for the history books. The event had a record breaking attendance with almost 68,000 people in the audience at the Reliant Astrodome in Texas.
The feud that many will remember was the one between Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock in the weeks before the event. Austin’s Wife Debra, who was an aspiring manager, was tasked with managing The Rock.
During a match, Debra went to check on The Rock and found herself in an ankle hold by Angle. Stone Cold rushed to save her and in revenge gave The Rock a facelock jawbreaker, also known as a Stone Cold Stunner.
The Rock had the WWE title and Stone Cold needed to take it. The chair shots made by Stone Cold on The Rock made for a dramatic finish that was talked about by those who witnessed it for years afterwards.
WrestleMania 31
WrestleMania 31 took place in 2015 at Levi’s Stadium in California and is often described as the rise of the architect. Attendance figures reached almost 77,000 and many claimed this was the best WrestleMania ever held.
In the big event of the night, Brock Lesnar defended the WWE Heavyweight Championship title against Roman Reigns. At one point, Reigns pushed Lesnar into a post, giving Lesnar a significant head wound.
Seth Rollins, The Architect, charged into the ring with his Money in the Bank Briefcase, cashing in his contract for the first time in history during a match and turning it into a triple threat match.
He then dramatically kicked Reigns out of the ring and curb stomped on Lesnar. He took the title belt after finishing Reigns off with a curb stomp as he jumped back into the ring.
WrestleMania 21
Finally, WrestleMania 21 was also a big one and took place in 2005 in Los Angeles.
Entering to ‘The Game’ by Motorhead, Triple H set about defending his World Heavyweight title. However, in the final moments, he was pinned down by a Batista Bomb and Batista succeeded in taking it from him.
A feud between Triple H and Batista carried on long after this competition.