The 450 Splash: Mondays w/ The Smart Marks

Here's another edition of Mondays with the Smart Marks, where I pose a question to wrestling fans on the Wrestling Clique and Wrestling Forum message boards and post their responses here are the 450 Splash.

This Week's Question:

Next Sunday marks the 24th annual Wrestlemania event and every year there's at least one or eight things that happen that make that show stand out from the rest. What is everyone's top 5 (ranked or in no particular order) Wrestlemania moments and why?

"1. The Rock versus Hulk Hogan, at Wrestlemania X8. My reasons are simple - it was a dream match.

2. Chris Benoit defeating Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania XX. Benoit won the title he had been competing all of his life, let alone career, for.

3. Wrestlemania 1. It was the first ever Wrestlemania.

4. Eddie Guerrero retaining the WWE Championship against Kurt Angle. I couldn't see it coming at all.

5. Vince McMahon being shaved bald. It was quality!"

-TR (Wrestling Forum)

“1) Austin limping out of his submission match to chants of "AUSTIN" with him looking up at the crowd. A star was born. That whole match, including the shot of him bleeding in the sharpshooter but that moment for #1.
2) Benoit and Eddie celebrate there gold.
3) Hogan slams Andre
4) Savage and Liz Reunion
5) Austin's entrance at WM 17...just amazing, foreshadowed his heel turn in his face, the texas POP, the theme, the ovation, the MOMENT.”

-Austin101 (Wrestling Forum)

“1.Eddie and Benoit in the ring as world champions to close wrestlemania xx
2.Shawn Michaels winning the championship against Bret Hart in an iron man match
3.Austin and Rock one last time at wrestlemania 19
4.Rock and Hogan at wrestlemania 18
5.Bret and Austin in the submission match at wrestlemania 13”

-mister kennedy (Wrestling Forum)

“5. Austin's heel turn in 2001. Great match, great false finishes and really did not see that coming.
4. Razor Ramon vs. Shawn Michaels Wrestlemania X. I remember watching this match and literally having my jaw on the ground I had never seen a match like that before.
3. Austin vs. Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13, being a Canadian at the time I HAD to cheer Bret Hart at the time, this match made me want to cheer for Austin as well but with the "North American War" between Canada and America. This match was crazy.
2. Shawn Michaels vs. Bret Hart Wrestlemania 12. Iron man match that kept (and still keeps) me seated at the way through. Two technically sound athletes going non stop for over an hour was really entertaining, throwing my dislike for HBK to the side I was happy to have witnessed this match, my all time favorite Mania match.
1. Eddie and Chris standing together at the end on Wrestlemania XX. These showed that you didn't have to be the biggest to get over with the fans. They wrestled together for nearly 20 years and finally had their chance at the top. I get chills to this day seeing HHH tap out and Benoit get the title. It's a shame how it all ended for him though.”

-C…L…B (Wrestling Forum)

“1.- Austin heel turn at WMX7
2.- Austin last match at WM19
3.- Eddie and Benoit celebretion at WMXX
4.- Jeff Swanton bomb from the top of the ladder at WM16
5.- Hogan slamming Andre at WMIII”

-wweadrian (Wrestling Forum)

“1- Hogan slams Andre
2- Eddie & Benoit celebrate with the world titles
3- Shawn Michaels winning the WWE title
4- Rock/Hogan meet
5- Edge spearing Jeff Hardy while he hangs

But really the list could go on forever as Wrestlemania has had many amazing moments. Other moments i would like to acknowledge are: Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy putting Edge threw a ladder, All of Jeff Hardy's swantons off the ladders, Stone Cold heel turn, Hart/Austin submission match, Edge spearing Mick Foley threw the flaming table and All of the Rock vs. Austin matches.”

-Kyle Edge (Wrestling Forum)

“In no particluar order...
-Rock/Hogan at WM18. The entrances, the crowd, the face off, the finish. Just fantastic.
-Edge spearing Foley through a flaming table to put the exclamation point of a cracking match.
-Ultimate Warrior returning to help Hogan at WM8.
-Edge, on the top rope, spearing Jeff off the belts.
-Hogan/Warrior face off at WM6. Two of the biggest faces of the time squaring off was just unheard of. Plus it was my first 'mania. “

-MITB (Wrestling Forum)

“5) Kane vs. Pete Rose feud, spanning Wrestlemanias 14-16: My favorite celebrity moments in Wrestlemania history. I wish they would bring this back just to shcok people, but I think they figured they'd stick to the rule of three.
4) Elizabeth & Randy Savage reunited at Wrestlemania VII: This is a bit of a forgotten moment, but this actually made people cry when it happened. I don't believe those were plants in the crowd.
3) A bloodied Steve Austin passes out while in the Sharpshooter at Wrestlemania 13: This moment made "Stone Cold" Steve Austin a huge superstar and the ending also turned Bret Hart into a monster heel for the rest of his stay with the company.
2) Hulk Hogan vs. The Rock, Icon vs. Icon at Wrestlemania X-8 - The energy in this match was indescribable. It was one of the greatest things I have ever seen in wrestling.
1) Hulk Hogan slams Andre the Giant: The Biggest Match of all time contained the biggest moment in wrestling history.”

-TripleG (Wrestling Forum)

“1.- Austin vs. Hart WM 13
2.- Savage vs. Steamboat WM III
3.- Brock Lessnar's F'ed up SSP WM 20
4.- Austin vs. Rock WM 18
5.- Hogan slamming Andre at WMIII”

-Mankind2112 (Wrestling Forum)

Here are some clips of the more popular Wrestlemania moments:

The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 18 (2002)