Best match from every WWE WrestleMania event in history

WrestleMania IX

Shawn Michaels vs. Tatanka

I don’t even know where to begin about WrestleMania IX. It’s not as if there weren’t talented wrestlers in the company at this time but apparently nobody really wanted to work that day and the awful set in Las Vegas didn’t do much from a viewing standpoint either. Of the four guys that had been in main event matches a year earlier, only Hulk Hogan was on this show and we all know how that went down. His tag match with Beefcake against Money, Inc. was dreadful and him winning the title at the end of the show is still considered one of the worst decisions in history. The Undertaker and Giant Gonzales is still one of the all-time worst matches at a WrestleMania and Razor Ramon and Bob Backlund only got about four minutes to work. The Steiner Brothers and The Headshrinkers should have been better than it was and I just can’t watch Lex Luger work, even if it is against a craftsman like Mr. Perfect. No, the only match that was any good was the curtain-jerking match with Shawn Michaels and Tatanka.

Tatanka was being built as a mid-card face that was actually undefeated at this time and he wanted a shot at Michaels’ Intercontinental Championship. It made sense. These two could both wrestle so I understand why Vince threw them out there to start. And while this one may have gone on a couple minutes too long, I still enjoyed it. Shawn hit a nice sunset flip off the ropes early and Tatanka got in some nice spots as well, although he did hit a shoulder breaker on the opposite shoulder that Shawn was selling but that’s neither here nor there. Tatanka almost got the win with a crossbody and another with an impressive powerslam after catching Shawn in midair. Michaels then kicked him out of the ring but missed a crossbody block from the apron. Tatanka rolled back in but Shawn pulled the ref out of the ring before climbing back in and taking a Samoan Drop. However, instead of making the count, the ref called for the bell and disqualified Michaels, leaving Tatanka still undefeated and Michaels still the champ. Sure, the screwy finish takes away from the match a bit but it’s still better than anything we got the rest of the night.