The WrestleMania moment.
It is the time that professional wrestlers dream about making on the most important card of the year for World Wrestling Entertainment, and for years, it is the one that sticks out as having stolen the show on “the grandest stage of them all.”
Here is a look at the top five most shocking WrestleMania moments:
UNDERTAKER FALLS TO BROCK LESNAR
The Undertaker became known as “The Phenom” for his ability to perform at the highest levels when the lights are the brightest, and in his first 21 times at WrestleMania, the veteran big man reigned victorious every time he walked out of the ring.
Dispatching of former champions who have combined for 86 reigns with either the WCW World Heavyweight or WWE titles on his way to 21 straight wins, the Undertaker walked into the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans at WrestleMania 30 opposite the greatest threat to “The Streak” in former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar dominated much of the match by using his youth and superior physical strength, and with his third F-5 finishing maneuver, he brought “The Streak” to an end, much to the surprise and stunned silence of more than 75,000 people.
SETH ROLLINS CASHES IN MONEY IN THE BANK
Never before had the Money in the Bank briefcase been cashed in at WrestleMania, but Seth Rollins became the first to do so, and earned his moment at “The Show of Shows.”
With Lesnar defending the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns, Rollins picked his spot when the brutish titleholder was downed and made the match a triple-threat contest. Rollins waited for Reigns to spear Lesnar and then, hit the curb stop and rolled up his former Shield teammate for the victory.
DANIEL BRYAN DOES DOUBLE DUTY AT WRESTLEMANIA 30
Bryan, the leader of the YES! Movement, fought for years to make it to the pinnacle of sports entertainment, and his journey to the top of the mountain did not last long as he dropped a championship match in just 18 seconds earlier in his career. Then, Bryan spent the better part of the year leading up to WrestleMania 30 pursuing a championship match.
After months and months of fighting, Bryan was given a shot at the main event of WrestleMania, but only if he could be rise above The Authority and beat Triple H in a match earlier in the evening.
Despite shoulder issues, Bryan played “The Game” for more than 30 minutes and defeated Triple H to earn his championship match. After defeating Triple H, a man who has defeated multiple champions at WrestleMania, Bryan reigned supreme in a triple-threat match against Randy Orton and Batista and raised the championship belts high in the air with confetti falling from the rafters of the Mercedes Benz Superdome and nearly 80,000 people chanting “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
TLC MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA X-SEVEN
Anytime Edge and Christian, The Hardy Boys and The Dudley Boyz shared a ring and ladders, something amazing and breathtaking seemed to happen, and that was exactly the case at WrestleMania X-Seven in Houston in April of 2001.
Nearly seven months removed from the first TLC match, the trio of tag teams pulled out all the stops in the second bout. Jeff Hardy set the original standard of daredevil aerial work in the ring when he did a somersault from the top of a 16-foot ladder onto a pair of combatants. However, later in the match, Hardy was gripping the belts when his ladder was kicked out from under him, and Edge took advantage of the opportunity to spear his opponent from nearly 20 feet in the air.
Edge and Christian eventually won the match, just as they had at SummerSlam the previous August.
HULK HOGAN WINS TITLE AT WRESTLEMANIA IX
After stating earlier in the night that he wanted to face the winner of the WWF Championship match between Bret Hart and Yokozuna, Hulk Hogan did just that shortly following the original main event bout at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
Following Yokozuna’s tainted victory over Hart, Hogan went to the ring to check on the downed Canadian grappler, and then, answered Mr. Fuji’s challenge to take on the newly-crowned champion. Hogan ducked an interference attempt from Mr. Fuji and hit his finisher for the win over Yokozuna.